body,subreddit "Thank you. My son was recently diagnosed and I want to do whatever I can to support and help him. His current teacher also has ADHD and has been wonderful. I’m hopeful for my son.",1 "Omg. Yes, I didn’t realize how close this was to the obsession-compulsion cycle.",0 "I love how our positive way is to laugh of ourselves and say fuck it. We accept our shit and life with that but it feels so good to be able to laugh and know that there is lots of people feeling tge same. ADHD exitation is great, and founding people that struggle like yourself and have your same isues is a beautiful excitement. Thats not toxic positivity, thats the positive part of the shit.",1 "I am really, really struggling with the sudden change in what's right. My family always mocked me for my compulsions and now they're on at *me* to wash my hands more. My medication isn't giving me the buffer anymore.",0 i was just unconciously procrastinating doing homework thank you,1 thank you bro but not rn lol. tryna waste time in the bus otw to school,1 "Walmart has a 14 oz. jar of Advanced Healing Ointment for dry cracked or irritated skin. No fragrance. Put it on at bedtime. I take Lexapro for depression and it is said to help OCD. There is a sub r/Lexapro",0 "Thank you for this, this is a reminder for me to my partner with ADHD. I do my best to remember and take things in a different perspective. Thank you.",1 "I bought the book ""at last a life"" a few weeks ago and it's completely changed my view of anxiety and how to live with it. I'm certainly not 100 yet but I'm a lot closer since reading.",0 Sorry but you can't just blame ADHD for this... start holding yourself accountable. You are only a victim of your own actions. Nothing else. Sorry it sounds harsh but I do love you <3,1 Yeah I’ve found it’s best to have an easy Obsession/worry cause if you clear that then it seems a worse one could easily fill the gap.,0 I am not ashamed to say that I am using the first paragraph to help with my application for accommodations for college.,1 "If I feel like I didn’t pronounce one of my family members name right during a prayer I have to start all over again,otherwise I’ll think something bad will happen.",0 "Really great way to put it. I'm sure everyone will agree it's near impossible to describe how frustrating it is to want to do something and not be able to get there. You end up trying many approaches, like a plane trying to land in a storm :)",1 "I'm really sorry ... Don't beat yourself up because of the procrastination, it's not gonna solve anything. Thanks for sharing",1 Why are you calling me out literally a day after talking with an engineer about engineering stuff omfg,1 "I guess the problem is I can't really tell where my rationality starts and OCD ends, or where OCD starts and I end. I can't even make out if my compulsions to help others are OCD or me, or whether my personality is 99% OCD and 1% me, or if there's even a me. I know that must sound weird, but I have no ability to differentiate whether my thoughts are OCD or not OCD aside from when the OCD is causing me to feel adrenaline coursing through my veins in response to not doing a compulsion. Only then can I truly tell it's OCD, which makes me feel confused, as I usually end up going ""...ah, so the past few things I thought I was doing of free will were actually all completely OCD, great... am I even a human?"" Probably doesn't help with me researching my other disorder (autism) and knowing autism kind of comes with the inability to understand your emotions and communicate effectively. It's not like there's a different voice, or it's referring in third person, or it feels foreign. This is my conscience demanding things of me, and OCD feels as natural as one's own thoughts. I have no ability to tell if what I am thinking of doing is, say, because I want to do it, or because OCD wants me to do it, because the voice that is protecting me from bad things and the voice that is my OCD is exactly 100% the same in every facet, except that one is hurting me slowly and accidentally and the other is hurting me directly and accidentally.",0 Well when he’s old and having health problems just tel him to get out of his head and do what you need to do. Who cares about the plaques in your brain or in your arteries. Just will yourself out of shit like Alzheimer’s and atherosclerosis.,1 "Same thing happened to me, except instead of a retainer, it was the title to my car that my dad threw out. It was in the bottom of three garbage bags in the garbage can in the garage waiting to be taken out to the curb. I had left it on the table because I wasn't sure where to keep it yet as I had just been to the DMV, and my dad decided to clean up the house that same day.",1 "Watching this I kept thinking “girl, click the pen. Click the fucking pen!!!” I have issues.",0 "i feel so worthless because of it. seriously, i feel like i cant handle shit",0 "Hey man, I know this post is 12h old and so I doubt you’ll see this, but I see you man. I spent my whole life struggling trying to figure out wtf was wrong with me. I pushed myself to emotional breaking points over and over and over again. I enlisted in the Navy with my girlfriend and we were married while in together, I did 7 years and the whole time I pushed myself at the absolute limit even when I didn’t have to, constantly wondering what the hell is broken in me. I’m 31 years old now, and I was diagnosed with ADHD 2 weeks ago. Why was I diagnosed? Because my wife was diagnosed a month ago and when she shared with me what ADHD ACTUALLY manifests as, I was blown away. I’m now one week into medication and being mindful of the actual condition I (we) have and it’s been one of the best weeks of my life. My wife and I will be celebrating 8 years of marriage this summer and I believe it will be the best year so far, as we happily raise our (likely ADHD) little boy. You’re not alone, you’re not a freak. Some of us don’t know for a long ass time and it’s not a kids thing. I was addicted to nicotine for 12 years and didn’t realize I had these symptoms until I went clean. You’ve got friends here and we’re all just figuring this out together. TL;DR: I’m an elder millennial and I just found out I have this shit so it’s ok, we’re here, don’t get discouraged.",1 "I very interesting meme. This does say about how we spend time, and what is the best method to use it.",0 Say hello to new consistent schedule borne out of a sense of obligation to not get your family memebers sick. Woot woot.,1 "I’ve had a nightmare of a week as well - dealing with this stress on top of my school digging in its heels about midterms operating as normal has been actual hell. I have an anxiety disorder and the ADHD and I’m sure many of you can imagine how my kind of brain would be dealing with all this covid19 bs. Studying for me has been 30 minutes of my mind going “coronacoronacoronacoronacorona” until I finally process the single line of text I’ve been staring at on my screen. I unsurprisingly probably failed my midterm this morning, and subsequently spiraled. This feels like ass :( we out here bro, hopefully we can be support for each other.",1 When I was in middle school and my dad would help me edit/revise my essays he used to say that it’s like I “sprinkle commas all over the essay randomly” lol,1 "I save money doing grocery shopping online and picking it up or having it delivered. I know I'm paying more for the groceries I'm getting, but I buy WAY less random stuff and junk food so overall I spend less.",1 I get these types of questions on Quota all the time. So ridiculous. Has to be a translation issue 🤦🏽‍♀️,0 "The only think that is kind of working for me was switching from a digital clock to an analog one. Seeing the numbers always made me anxious about being late or deciding I didn’t have enough time for it. I even managed to get a watch with no numbers at all, just hash marks where the hours should go. Its done leagues for my time management. Still not great, but its better than what it was.",1 its sad that i can relate to everything i see on this sub. adhd is fucking hell.,1 "There's an app called Freedom that's helped me out a LOT with this. It basically lets you block whichever apps you designate on a timer that you set. Whenever I think ""okay I need to do something else"" I'll just set it for an hour or 2 and force myself off my phone. It's led to much more interesting uses of my time. I highly recommend checking it out.",1 "I am struck by this comment. My bf has adhd (untreated, diagnosed in early childhood, no follow up) and I joined this sub to try to gain insight into his world. He is supremely frustrated when I bring up problems for discussion. He translates comments, discussion points, problems, and attempts to communicate and compromise into deep, personal criticisms and rejections. Says he can’t make me happy no matter how hard he tries (i feel the same - he’s very critical and angry about it) and now he’s so frustrated that he doesn’t even want to try any more. My question to OP is honest and genuine. Why is this feeling you describe about disappointing people your whole life something you hang on tour adhd? What would that be an explanation? How can I be more supportive and constructive for my bf? All advice welcomed. Thanks.",1 "I think that my ocd really took off on its own when I was little and was told this. Like don’t say or think anything you don’t want to happen... yo that messed me up. While I do get what they mean, the literal statement is like a useless nonsensical torture sentence for those of us with ocd and little to no control over intrusive thoughts.",0 Happened to me yesterday at work. A coworker wouldn't shut up over something that triggers my OCD and wanted to talk only TO ME about it. Had a rough time after when I got home.,0 "I feel this. My brain, like most adhd folks, thinks in a mess of bullet points. Complete sentences, who dat?? I do have a bit of advice for important convos you can plan for, which is the minority, but still. Plan it out. Dump your thoughts into an outline and then heavily edit it together to a coherent narrative. Keep it as bullets, but put in a logical order. And then practice the edited version outloud, repeatedly. You'll get familiar enough with the flow to naturally add in the transitions and shit.",1 "It must be a universal experience among ADHD sufferers. When I was in elementary school I was as frustrated as everyone else — my parents, my teachers — at why, despite gifts, I could not pull it together no matter how much I wanted to. This was way before the concept of attention deficit disorder was even a gleam in a therapist’s eye. I remember trying to sleep at night around age eight thinking that someday a doctor or maybe a coroner would find I had a steel plate stuck in the middle of my brain. Why else would an idea or an attempt start in one part of my mind never reach the finish? But it wasn’t until I had a middle school daughter that ADHD began to be recognized.",1 "No worries, sorry to hear what you're going through also. It's not easy having OCD thoughts.. but we'll get through it. All the best.",0 "Dude, thank you so much for posting this. I have this same problem as well and my parents don't get it either. ",0 Sometimes I go all Detroit gangbanger on that shit. Works 99% percent of the time,0 "I've always felt there was something different about me. When I was growing up, my mom had several health and psychology textbooks in the house from studying to be an LPN. I used to skim them, look at pictures, study diagrams, read some parts. I knew that many mental disorders can be inherited. My mom has been diagnosed with several. Bipolar, depression, PTSD, etc. Every time I found out about one of her diagnoses, I'd look it up to see if it fit. Nothing ever fit quite right. It wasn't until I was 24, with a newborn, spending a lot more time at my mom's house because I was an exhausted single parent, that she had mentioned she had ADHD. What? There's no way. You're definitely not hyperactive. You can pay attention to things. Then I researched. And it hit me. This is it. This is what's different about me. It explains SO MUCH. Imagine how much better I could have done in school. I could have graduated college by now. I'm 28 now. I tried to get diagnosed once. The psychologist told me that he didn't think I had ADHD and that ADHD wasn't really a disorder on its own, it was really just secondary to other disorders. He said I was just an overwhelmed single mother. I knew he was full of shit. But it still felt like wasted effort. I have yet to try to get diagnosed again. I'm coping the best I can. My house literally looks like a tornado ripped through it. I've amassed so much stuff trying to fill a void from when I moved into my college apartment in 2011 to when I had my son in 2016. Then when my son came, baby stuff, then toddler stuff. There are toys everywhere. I've realized I don't need stuff to make my house a home. But it's a huge, nearly insurmountable task to declutter it all. I work about 36 hours per week. I'm in school (AGAIN, 3rd time's the charm right?) to finally try to get a bachelor's degree so I don't have to work as a restaurant manager for $12.50/hour. I'm about 40 lbs. overweight, and for the first time it's starting to slowly, but steadily increase. I'm tired all the time. I know WHAT to do. I hold so much knowledge (from hyperfocus research sessions) about decluttering and organizing and about nutrition and fitness that I could be a professional organizer or a dietitian or whatever. I just have a hard time forcing myself to DO. I'm trying little by little. But my goodness is it discouraging. I didn't really mean to write a novel, and I don't really need advice or encouragement. I guess OP's post struck a chord in me and I just needed to vent to people who understand.",1 Yes. This rule also applies to sleeping. If I get up to do anything once I lie down and get settled in (which is difficult enough) I’m not getting my “sleepy” back and will probably end up doing something else until 3am,1 I feel this in my soul. I have small bits of contamination OCD with certain things but that’s by far my usual theme. I’m still not worried about me feeling contaminated that much but I feel like everything everywhere is and I can’t even fix it with a compulsion idk how to explain it,0 Personally I use Voice Note on my iPhone to record every single school lecture.. there’s just some days I can’t pay attention or I’m too tired.. and sometimes I can’t take notes for 3 hours without my hand feeling like it’s gonna fall off and die.. instead.. in my notes I right the general topic / subject every few minutes and the time that correlates with it in my voice note recording.. this way when I need to go through my notes I can just immediately find the exact subject matter in the recording and listen to what the teacher said without having to write everything down all the time,1 "If you desire to be good, begin by believing you are wicked. -Seneca :/",0 "oh yessss, everyday since the day i turned 18 and i probably felt it before too and just don’t remember",1 "My wife and I (and most likely our son, but time will tell) are both ADHD and only recently diagnosed in our late 20s/early 30s after nearly 8 years married. Stuff like this makes us laugh so hard realizing that if we’d been plugged into these communities we could have avoided so many misunderstandings, arguments and just confusion.",1 "Oh god, my dad told me the “everyone has a bit of OCD” before he realized how severe my disorder actually was.",0 "Can you say If thus is OCD or not, I’ve seen it many times before",0 "I tend towards clutter even though I have OCD. I think part of it for me is a need to check every single thing before throwing it away, making sure it doesn’t contain personal information, or something like that. It makes me wonder if people don’t believe me about having OCD because the general view is it is that it’s all about order, cleanliness, etc.",0 "Definitely not trash! I FELT your art, right away. I understand...",0 "Yes, I call it my OCD thought of the day, because for that day it’s the most important mystery to solve, until the next day….",0 Oh wow this is accurate. Or on some days it's that edgy 10-year-old boy trying to think of the worst possible thing to say just to make someone mad... :/,0 omfg i need this posted once a day everyday lmaoo. what a lifesaver,1 "Now, I wouldn't take my word as verified truth; but I wouldn't be surprised to see universities creating a 'covid forgiveness' program for those who got fucked this semester. Can't say it's *guaranteed* to happen, just saying it would likely be in the collective colleges' best interests to do so, in an attempt to 'smooth out' whatever outliers this year will provide to everyone's performance graphs/spreadsheets/whatever.",1 "I wish I had an award to give this post because I feel this so much. I used to write multiple novels a year when I was homeschooled and had enough time. I got through a second draft AND full edit except for the last 3 chapters and then I started college and I just cannot pick it up again. I love to sing and play piano. I want to do something with music so bad. I also started learning ASL and French and want to finish learning so so bad. It's kind of painful to be honest because I just don't buy anything hobby related anymore because I know it'll be a waste when I inevitably give up / forget.",1 That is freaking brilliant. Just reading it and thinking through the metaphor made me feel calmer. Thank you so much for sharing it,0 "I’m right there with you- i leave a million small things on a to do list that never gets done.. even if i start it I’m like fuck i have other things to do… its 10x worse trying to get through nurse practitioner school , my teachers think I’m dumb and wonder how i even got into the program.",1 "This. Me. For the last two weeks. I'm finally coming out of the fear, but my God, it's been tough.",0 So true. The more you ask for reassurance the more you spiral out of control.,0 "No matter how much I do, my brain will always tell me I’m a bad person. Give away all your money , brain says you’re just doing it so people think you’re not bad. Do something nice for someone but make sure no one else knows, brain says nothing you do can make up for the bad. Sometimes it’s just easier to not fight it and just accept that I will always think I’m awful. Nothing will ever be enough.",0 "I would suggest tough love doesn't work on anyone outside of a group setting. Even If it does motivate someone to get a task done the likely emotional blowback, either internally or externally isn't worth it.",1 "Hm, idk, I disagree somewhat. Before I was diagnosed and before I did all the work that ERP entails, I think I liked my OCD. OCD was my friend through thick and thin, it protected me from dangerous stuff and we shared so much together. I never questioned my OCD, I just did what it asked, it was my accepted reality. This was not healthy behaviour, and saying OCD is a good thing in your life is definitely insensitive to people who struggle through hell. But if liking having OCD was a diagnostic criteria I might not have been properly diagnosed. Or like, it is to an extent, but a lot of the work I did leading up to diagnosis and treatment was to understand how it was indeed a problem, and a problem that can be fixed.",0 Congrats! Keep doing it! Yeah! You got this! I'm so happy to read OP and repliers are working so hard!,0 "Ugh this reminds me of Sidgeir, I think he is just as killable as Nazeem. Fuck that guy.",0 "There's a website where you can get an accountability partner. Maybe schedule studying at normal class time? https://www.focusmate.com/",1 "I want you all to know that it does get better, I promise. Just hang on in there",0 "Hey that’s me! Even if the topic is something I know inside and out I’ll ruin it by making connections in my head and then going back to explain it is just impossible. I’ll just repeat myself a lot and it sounds like I’m beating a dead horse. Like a painter who uses buckets instead of a brush to show their painting",1 Wait till you drive through a hole on the road and you’ll start wondering if you ran someone over by accident and if you keep driving you’ll think it’s a hit and run and police will find you and put you in prison and you’ll have your life ruined. So you turn back to see if anyone is laying on the road.,0 For me it’s when OCD sneaks up on me after a good hour,0 "So. True. I just moved a dentist appointment to 8:30am on Saturday rather than tomorrow after work, like a reasonable person might. Nope. I’ve handled my limit and I’m not up for anything more. The dentist can have Saturday morning then I get my weekend back after that.",1 "As long as it takes If it means so much youl keep coming back Eventually youl get there Same for me and sketching My sketches are pretty good but many aspects need alot of work and shading is just the bubonic plague never go anywhere near it Other aspects are improving and eventually I'll hopefully bottleneck and or improve that much I have more creativity to desire improve shading and ultimately more stimulating a task and build momentum . Break the mould find your own meaning whatever it is",1 "This filled my heart with warmth and love, and it seems as though you’ve touched many hearts by writing this. Thank you so much! What a beautiful soul you have. Also, I’m deeply sorry for your loss xxxx",1 Lol tell me about it. My top artist and song are one I got really fixated onto and just listened to over and over for a couple days straight back in the spring. I haven't really thought about it since.,1 "Your ocd looks so happy, I hope through exposure you can make it more miserable. :)",0 "I don't suffer from ADHD (or, at least, I haven't been diagnosed), but I almost never ever feel the need to eat yet I end up consuming food just because I know it's good for my health",1 "I have a very small compulsion that kind of signals to me that my meds are starting to not work. First time I realized what it was though. Its wild. however, it does feel like this.",0 "'' Don’t interact with your thoughts, watch them.'' This one really hits home, I need to tell myself this more often.",0 then your ocd jumps obsessions and it’s like “nah that one was stupid but THIS one though...”,0 "That actually used to be one of my techniques. I would say ""fuck ocd!"" Over and over to myself trying to convince myself I dont need to do my rituals.... while sti ensing up taking that extra step or whatever anyways. OCD sucks, there is no med that cures it. Best I've found is a med that helps improve my overall mood and helps keep me stable. If you haven't yet, try Clomipromine(?) It works pretty well imo.",0 Thank you! You have given this mom valuable insight into my son’s head as our family waits hours for the “shower” process.,1 "FUCK! You are right, it's almost 1 a.m.! I slept 4 hours the last two days and I had a workload of a ridiculous nature and a job that requires me to be mentally active a 4:40 in the morning (but end the active phase of my work early, then I had 7 reports of a particular analytical nature to write, and you better believe I stretched all this with checking up on my new inconsequential fixation). Anyway, I'm also sorry to not have read your what you wrote, but this message will help me find it tomorrow. If I came here and started writing, it's because I was touched by the headline. I wish everyone a good Sunday. OH FUCK IT'S ALMOST 1 A.M.! EDIT: I read your post my dude or dudette (I'm too engaged again to scroll back up and read your name. I'll probably edit later. Fuck... what did you say that touched me. WHY CAN'T I TYPE WITH MY MIND like directly fufucufuc. Edit 2: I have calmed down and went up to get information. OK! JOE! Fuck I should have called myself WSB_ADHD that would have been a good name. Wait let me register the account. I'll be back. Edit 3: Ok I would have to logout, I already got lost in the tabs but I'm back. I don't want to copy paste this anywhere so WSB_ADHD is perhaps still available, any takes? ALL IN $GME TO THE MOON. Together we have momentum! Ok so anyway, talking to yourself. I consulted with myself and my housemate did a wellness check. Everything good I said, thinking to myself ""Well done"". I never talked to myself I am going to try. I'm half diagnosed after suspicion and I found this community here and I just started and I decided I'll go right in and just be myself right? I've been reading left and right and I even saw a stream of a guy with ADD and I thought that there are others like me! Or sameish, or round in different ways (i.e. not square, that's how I see some people opposite from me) FUCK IT'S 1 A.M.!!!! Hahahahaha my housemate recommended me to listen to a .. fuck what did she call it... zen music youtube meditation playlist or something. Is it true that I could learn superpowers, like laser beam my mindfire after it? I'm really new to this. I tried medication made me a square and I'm already very happy, somehow, through this pachinko of life Good night everyone. I think sleeping would be wise.",1 There was a period in high school where I couldn’t walk past one of those pull down fire alarm things without my brain being like “pull ittttttt”. Stupid ass brain trying to get me in trouble. I never did pull it thankfully but I had a rough couple of months having to walk past the many fire alarm things every day.,0 "Hands normally = a natural grassland Hands over-cleaned = a empty wasteland Hands not cleaned enought = a dump",0 "I am interviewing for a internal job posting and I’ve had four interviews. I cannot function before them. I will get nothing done. Yesterday’s and today’s started before 9 which made me happy then I had one at 12…kill me. I want them all first thing in the morning. But 4 down, 3 to go.",1 "I like that a lot! I'm not a tattoo person, but I've been wanting something like an incomplete/ imperfect circle on my wrist for a while now, and then I recently learned the significance of the semicolon and wanted that too. I really like the idea of combining them like this. Thanks for sharing!",0 "Saw this as I'm coming down from a really bad compulsion attack. I handled it really well, considering, but seeing this made such a difference and gave me a deep sense of calm. Thank you.",0 Same! I've done that all my life even before I had OCD symptoms.,0 for me when I get a task that I just don't want to do it won't get done ill just lay on my desk for a minute and then think about doing it.,1 What a cool idea! I’d love to see more people depict their OCD/mental ailments in the form of visual arts.,0 i set a reminder and then it reminds me and i’m like “SHUT UP REMINDER IM BUSY GLUEING PLASTIC GEMS TO MY FACE”,1 "Replace ""committed war crimes"" with ""murdered a hobo"" and ""heaven"" with ""Canada"", and that's me right there!",0 "I’ve kinda got this, I just can’t fall asleep until my bladder is completely empty. I’ll wait for hours until I get the tiniest urge to pee and then I use the bathroom and go to bed. If more than 30 minutes pass I do it all over again.",0 Are anyone’s ocd in there dreams almost worst then real life I have vivid dreams were I’m freaking the shit out and I wake up with my heart racing I’ll ocd can fuck off,0 "I work in history too! I don’t have a masters haha, but I’m so proud of you!!!!!!",0 "Ugh, I've been looking for a new job but I have to share my screen sometimes for work (working from home) and I have this momentary panic if I'm showing my tabs in my browser to give away that I'm looking for a different job. 🙃 the joys.",0 Before coming on here I completed 2 hw assignments after 2 days of being very unproductive so I feel relieved and I am scrolling with NO anxiety! 😊,1 when i had my theorie driving lessons online i always almost fell asleep after an hour. it was horrible. and i often got really tired at school too.,1 "OCD is a living hell, but for the sake of understanding I'll give my two cents as to why they might want it for some reason It could be that they have a very low opinion of themselves and what they want isn't really OCD but just something to add to their identity or who they are to make them seem more unique when they look in the mirror. I only say this bc I think I have the same issue. Kinda weird because I already have OCD though so it's like it acts like some sort of weird twisted balance",0 " Positive reinforcement Definitely works better for me. I found that most of the people/employees I’ve come across,ADHD or not, it gets the job done better than negative reinforcement. If one should use negative reinforcement they should do so in the form of positive Criticism. I Have found that positive criticism is the best way to get on same level. I communicate the approach to any Individual before i go and list negatives and positives. Apologies for bad grammar and punctuation and spelling:)",1 Explains why I always write unnecessarily long paragraphs as well.,1 Yh its hard cause if its a thought about something that actually happened then if you dont think about it ill feel guilty until I do and think of a way to reassure myself,0 "Damn, people here are soo sure they can't do it. I decided to draw on tablet for any amount of time daily, to learn it with time. I started in January, and at this point I know mostly how to draw, and last week I've been drawing for 18 hours on art piece I want to finish. If you give excuses and don't start, it will never be a reality! Start anything at all, daily, minimum amount, and see how it goes.",1 "Not anymore, but it took a while to get here. I was diagnosed at 30 so I had pretty solid impostor syndrome by then. But the more I understood about my brain the less shame I felt. When I got to where I felt like I could on my own, I went to therapy to resolve the rest. I did a CBT module targeted at self-esteem and it really helped me let go of the shame and feelings of inadequacy. Occasionally I still feel it momentarily but now I know those thoughts are incorrect and I have the tools I learned in therapy to deal with them pretty quickly. I hope you'll find your way to a better headspace! 💚 Although your feelings are valid, they are also not based in reality (you're not stupid & lazy, you have ADHD and are doing your best) and they can be reduced dramatically.",1 "Me, I have a hard time keeping things in order, my room is a mess.",0 "I swear, of all the other subs on Reddit, this one hits home the most.",1 "dude!! i thought i was the only one who went thru this. ive never voiced this because i felt so weird about it. but yes i have to pee a whole lot of times before i go to bed. if i feel like there might be a little pee left inside me so i get up and go to the bathroom about 30 times a night. it's so annoying. also, when i get up to pee it makes me have to check all my doors, oven, fridge, sink and make sure they're all locked/off.",0 "I’m fairly new to the ADHD diagnosis (I’m in my forties, and was diagnosed 2 or 3 years ago. I’m also female, assigned at birth) anyway I always felt like I understand - and I always believed that everyone around me understood, mental health professionals included - that obviously Jim Carrey had ADHD. I mean, obviously, right? But that made it so much harder for me to get my diagnosis. I mean, honestly, it didn’t make it hard for me to *get* my diagnosis... ... it just made it really hard for me to understand that I was even a candidate to be evaluated for this diagnosis. I mean, obviously, I was a super focused student. Obviously I was an exceptionally gifted over-achiever. Obviously I had no issue with a deficit of attention I mean, I was f***ing killing it on all the parameters where they told me it was important to create destruction. How much of a rude awakening was it for me to realize that the real world didn’t give a sh** about all my supposed achievements? How much of a wake-up cap was it to learn that the world literally wiped its bum with my resume (true story) but still wouldn’t invite me in for an interview? I’m in my forties, and gosh, I wish I’d understood my diagnosis earlier. But yeah...I always understood that Jim Carrey was probably ADHD. It honestly made it so much easier accepting my diagnosis... ...I mean, one of my heroes had been working with this condition, AND SUCCEEDING, all of these years. Ugh I’m blathering on... the whole point of your (u/humbled_lightbringer) - cool user name, btw - anyway, the whole point of your post was basically, like, low-key, look how awesome this dude is, just out here representing our community in the most positive and most empowering and best-feeling way ever! I know there’s a lot of hate for the whole ADHD is my superpower! shtick - and I hate that shit too - but this post just tickled my positive bone. I guess this is just my long, bloviated, overly exuberant way of saying, thank you so much for sharing this. This brought up a lot of memories, specifically of being validated by Jim Carrey’s humor, and I’m grateful to you for sharing.",1 "Self-worth helps diminish OCD :) The more you start believing in yourself, the less emphasis you put on compulsions because you start increasing your belief in your ability to handle problems. When you have faith in yourself and your ability to work through things, you don't put so much stress and strain on the little things. Because you have faith in your own abilities and in your own future :) That's why the root of so many cases of OCD are actually truly gaslighting. Superstitious human histories and all of the cognitive dissonance and conflicts that exist in the world truly do not help. But i have spent the past few months focusing on my own personal development, childhood traumas, memories and ect. and I have made almost a complete and full recovery! :) & I have had OCD my whole entire life :) It doesn't help when we are financially stressed and stuck in scarcity like, poverty mindsets either! But I have faith that one day I will be able to help people get through those issues as well! :) Everyday I learn and that increases my ability to trust that I don't have to have all of the answers right now! Because I have enough work and discipline already put in to believe in myself that I will have what it takes to put in even more effort and learn even more in brighter days :) Increase your knowledge, increase your self worth! Tell OCD it can slowly but surely, one day just kiss your butt goodbye :P (: <3 ;)",0 "I’m so thankful my husband is so compassionate and understanding, if he starts a conversation and I have too much going on in my head I can just say “I’m really sorry babe, I’m overstimulated right now. Give me a few minutes” and he’ll just respond “oh, oh yeah,my bad, take your time babe”. Never takes it personally. Hell he’s the same way with my anxiety if I snap at him when I’m over loaded.",1 came here to laugh at memes about my condition but these hit way too close to home,0 Can we make this an official semi-regular post? I’d also be down to subscribe to another subreddit that exclusively sends out messages like this every so often. It helps a lot.,1 Ocd is logical that's why it's scary. It may be irrational but its not illogical. The scary part is realizing that logic is something that exists in our heads and not in the earth,0 "I’ve been working on a task that should take me an afternoon, maybe two if something unexpected happens. I’ve been on it for nearly a month now. No reason at all.",1 "literally my mom. ​ ""You're in control of your thoughts."" ​ Yes thanks very helpful clap clap clap",0 "Mines the exact opposite, I found 30 songs I really like and never deviate from, so the other 70 songs are ones I listened to like twice.",1 You can't tell me my symptoms aren't serious enough and still bitch at me for all the other things I am not doing right!,1 "You're not on your own. It's really tough, I know. ❤",1 "I know the information for myself because i learn the insitinctual ""feeling"" of doing the thing. Like muscle memory. But I couldn't pass on that knowledge and teach somebody else that thing. I wouldn't have the patience anyway! AMIRITE?! HAHAHAHAHA",1 "This happened to me in high school when my OCD was REALLLLY bad. I used to work in the office during lunch and the secretary noticed me blinking like crazy and she was like... ahaha.... what are ya doin....? God that was embarrassing.",0 It's funny that I'm doing the same with my watch later playlist right now! 90 of 120 videos left haha,1 "This is excellent because it isn’t confrontational at all, but is (too put it in the wise words of the ancient warrior poet Mr. Rogers) “an expression of care.” It is a MasterClass in succinct emotional intelligence both in standing up for the boyfriend to the “in-law” and also showing the “in-law” that she really loves their child. It isn’t passive aggressive, because the mother initiated a negative criticism seeking approval to validate her beliefs, and it was simply countered with fact that obviously resulted in 1000s of likes and reactions and affect you, Thanks for sharing.",1 "No way. For me, I’d look at that obsession and think “how ridiculous... unless?”",0 "Moral rigidity. It sucks, we need to learn how to be more flexible with our judgments. This is one of the hardest parts of OCD, because at least for me it is deeply rooted in my personality to have this moral code.",0 "I wish I had this as a kid, fecking traumatic experiences I got from OCD when I was a little kid",0 And even if you smoke or drink or do drugs or don’t exercise and you get cancer it is still sad.,1 "Omg. Yes. I have had pretty severe OCD for as long as I remember being alive. Looking back, there were VERY clear signs of this from when I was a young child -- for example, I pulled out every single one of my eyelashes when I was 7 -- but I didn't put the pieces together until I took some psych class in high school that described some of the symptoms. I mentioned to my mom that I thought I had OCD, which was totally brushed off and eventually even turned into a ""joke"" among my family members. My bedroom was often messy, so how could I possiblyyyy have OCD! According to them, I just ""love being dramatic/different"". [Note: I come from a very loving, close-knit family...I would never describe them as any type of abusive, and I know they care about me deeply, but they are historically *terrible* when it comes to understanding my struggles with mental health. I also have heavy ADHD & have been dealing with depression for most of my life.] I wasn't officially diagnosed with OCD until I was around 23..I was applying to grad school and finally decided to talk to my doctor about the ADHD I knew I had, but was never actually medicated for because that, too, was brushed off by my mom on account of my being ""too smart to have that."" Well anyway....turns out I *VERY* have both. I didn't mean to make this so long but I say all that to say.... IT IS SO GD FRUSTRATING HOW LITTLE EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS OCD. I try not to make a huge deal about my triggers/'quirks' in public, but people inevitably notice stuff. If/when I decide to share that ""Oh, I actually have OCD...."" the response I get like, almost every time, is ""OMG me too, like if that picture was crooked on the wall I'd definitely fix it! // you should see how neat my bedroom is! // I like, always have to double check that I turned my iron off!"" 🙄🙄🙄 I have a COUPLE of friends who are actually sympathetic to the issue & understand that it's a really difficult part of my life, but a lot of my friends are frankly just complete dicks and still don't treat OCD as a legitimate disorder, no matter how much/how often I try to explain. But don't worry, they'll still post about the importance of mental health on National Mental Health Day for Instagram!! Just an example since I'm already on a tangent here, but a few weeks ago I was away with some of those ^ friends for a weekend trip. One of my ""things"" is a magic number issue -- it's probably the lowest ranked in severity of all my triggers, but it's one that's followed me since I was little -- I can't set anything to an even number. Microwave times, TV volume, thermostat, etc. Anyway, someone asked to turn the temperature up to 70°. I was closest, so I simply went over to the thermostat and set it to 71°. I didn't say a word. But almost immediately I was bombarded with ""how stupid"" it was for me to care about the number it was set to. ""Like, what could POSSIBLY happen if you just put it on 70?"" + insinuations that I only did that to ""try to be different."" They also still drop comments like ""yeah I was soooo OCD at work yesterday..."" NO, YOU WERE NOT. YOU WERE NOT SO OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER YESTERDAY. It's fucking exhausting.",0 "1000000000%. I make a kk noise to distract myself. Wish I would have come up with something less weird, but here we are lol",0 You are absolutely incredible in every way. Poetic. Absolutely beautiful image and color combination. This is a masterpiece. Thank you for sharing :),0 Lol I forgotten I was having sex while I was inside of her with her on top of me. Possibly was the wine and edibles though.,1 "When I was a child I used to tell people that it just meant that I worried a lot. Now, as an adult, I know that’s not what it is AT ALL",0 I know this feeling of never feeling you tried hard enough because you didn't try as hard as you.. Tried to try.,1 "Does anyone with OCD ever get paranoid thoughts, like specifically paranoid about friends not liking them?",0 """But also dont look too nervous, they look for nervous people""",0 "Damn well Now it’s 2:30 and I’m still doing this to myself :/",1 "lol yeah, because of this I thought I have some level of psychosis or something before taking therapy",0 "This shit makes me think. Also guys - look up baader meinhof phenomenon for some peace of mind.",0 "This is part of the reason I know I need a phone break. And better phone habits. And better gaming habits. It's just so easy to be distracted *enough*, you know? Just enough that you're complacent in doing nothing but still being stressed.",1 I love this. So happy for you! This also helps so many people reaffirm we can do it❤️,0 Seeing this in a meme sounds so stupid but feels so real.,0 Yep. Takes 5 minutes to do. But 5 weeks to get done.,1 "Sigh. ocd has gotten to the point i have to plan & make a list on how to have fun. 'Cause i cant simply sit down & enjoy a movie without ocd being a bitch about it. I've procrastinated so many things for years. I could have enjoyed so many things like a normal person if it weren't for this stupid illness.",0 "I was honestly thinking this the other day: Why am I so smart, but my ADHD makes me so **DUMB**. A good critical and analytical thinker, but yet folding laundry is a really **hard** task...",1 "this is like completely opposite for me. when i DO perform my compulsions, even though while I do it it’s good, right after it only makes me feel like shit and weak and suicidal and the guilt/failure makes me feel like i’m never gonna recover. anyone else?",0 "Ughhh, why does this hit so close to home.. I mainly doubt myself due to my father telling me that I was just lazy and not trying hard enough throughout my life. That can really fuck with someone's head. I still doubt myself and have issues seeking therapy or help. I've went through a lot of trama throughout my life and now I feel like I am just an attention hogging freak. I feel bad right now just talking about it because it feels like a lie. ADHD is not fun.",1 "Yep. My rote memory sucks, but telling me the ""why"" of something encodes it into my long term memory.",1 I like to do this epic thought where I think to myself ‘this will pass just like when you were thinking about x and x and x and x and x and-‘ and then have a mental breakdown cause now I’m worrying about all those things again,0 "It's why I am shit at coding, but the best at my workplace when it comes to technical documentation. I have to articulate the sentences in a coherent way. It is physically impossible for me to write a sentence unless it makes sense in my head.",1 "This! When I use to work and had a pretty stressful day, I had to clean my desk, keyboard, mouse and make sure everything was organized. I was working with health information so my desk had to be locked, so then I started my routine with checking the lock, lock it, pull on each drawer, pull on it again, get to the elevator and go back to check, Ive even turned my car around to check, and then since my husband worked at the same company but different department I would have him check before going home as well.",0 "I used to have pretty strong contamination ocd. It's insane seeing people do all the shit i used to do when i was younger, like changing clothes when getting home and washing their hands all the time. I don't know if it's my depression but nowadays i'm not the neatest person. I still have a bit of contamination ocd left but not with germs.",0 "I did that once in eight grade cause my mom forced me to do so. I forgot to put it in my bag on the day we were supposed to hand them in. Thank god for elder sisters am I right? Also, congratulations!!!",1 "The other weekend I had a ""Fuck it. I'm finally going to commit to doing nothing/having fun and just play computer games"" weekend.... and I was also actually way more productive. After games I did some gardening, cleaned the house, meal prepped etc. I learnt that actively committing to SOMETHING even if it is the fun reward part first, actually made way for the second thing to be done as well. I'm going to try that from now on. If the hard thing to do is too hard... just commit to doing one tiny fun thing and see if completing an action spurs me into more action.",1 does it have to be a new planner ? i have a bunch of empty ones from 2017-2020,1 "Tbh, I like how Chris is portrayed in parks and rec. I really appreciate being able to laugh at how silly we can be sometimes.",0 "I would change stupid into stupidity. Because that is how it feels for most of us carrying this ocd around",0 "Me: are you mad at me? My boyfriend: no My brain: he’s lying to you",0 "Merely existing disorder I also like the description that it’s an interest-based nervous system but not sure how to turn that into a name for it",1 "I hate that magical thinking bullshit so much. It's such an awful thing to tell someone with intrusive thoughts and mental illness, but people keep repeating it because it's an easy mantra to peddle.",0 "yes, this is what i go through. everything is infinite loss hard to break out of that",0 This is so true. It’s why I’m writing a book where one of my main characters struggles with childhood OCD. It’s not a quirky little thing and it significantly impacts his happiness. His obsessions are religion based and manifest in reassurance seeking and praying.,0 Ehhh! Same boat my friend. She says I need prayer and rest. I'm atheist so it feels like she's implying my lack of faith causes ocd. So I get how you feel friend.,0 "I don't have OCD but anxiety and I'm so paranoid of this, I keep checking to make sure I'm muted. Also, the damn camera. I hate that we have to turn it on during every class. It feels like an attack on my privacy",0 "This post is amazing!! Thank you so much! I wanted to do this, too, and ran into the same problems, but none of the categories even close to fitting my situation really left me feeling so awful that I kind of shut down and gave up. But you just gave me the inspiration to try again, thank you thank you thank you!!!",1 "Lol turns out I have depression and combo ADD / ADHD ( maybe ADD is not used anymore? ) too!! I've been recommended mood stabilizers because anxiety × depression × ADHD was presenting very strongly as extremely rapid cycling yet sorta mild bipolar / manic depression but my parents never let me have them, only Concerta because I think my old high school forced them. I do a bit better on Concerta but I'm wondering about Adderall ( illegal here ) and mood stabilizers as well as antidepressants. Apparently combining stimulants with these can have weird effects so anyone else on more than just ADHD meds?",1 Holy crap; I’ve literally imagined it the same way!,0 "Yea it feels like my depression, ADHD, and anxiety are having a constant three-way and fucking up my head, and im so tired and bored but also restless and just AKSHFSGDOJF. Everything is either dully underwhelming, or painfully overwhelming. There's no in-between and it's exhausting.",1 "Hey, I would really recommend talking to your doctor about your depression and maybe starting anti-depressants? If you're on those meds now, maybe it's a good time to ask about increasing your dose? I just had to do that last week...probably should've done that months ago, though. I was actually diagnosed with depression first, then ADHD (at a ripe old age), and I have to say that without starting anti-depressants I don't know if I would've been able to manage or even recognize my ADHD symptoms. The real amazing quality of life increase happened when I was on \*both\* medications and I can't exaggerate how much that combo helped. Dopamine and serotonin! Wild to think some people just have both...naturally?? You're completely correct that these conditions feed into each other in this really vicious cycle... I hope talking to your doctor about depression is an option! Everything you've articulated here is very real!",1 "I once read a joke on my local social media: ""What does someone who is bipolar say to their SO after sex? -Who was I?"" First response: ""That's schizophrenia, not bipolar"" Took like 10 comments to figure out that it's actually called DID.",0 I've always had a messy room but my parents cleaned it when I was hospitalized because of my severe contamination OCD ._.,0 "And then when you try to tell them politely to leave you alone and they don't get it so your anxiety kicks in and you have to tell them that the reason you don't want to talk to them is because their voice right now is like someone throwing melted kit kats at your face on a balmy 100 degree day after you just got out of the shower. Like go away, damnit!",1 "What do you mean ""not great""?? This is really nice! I like the shading. I agree with one of the commenters, the guy that called this trash didn't know what they were saying.",0 "Had one of the worst I've ever had the other night. It lasted 4 hours. And the more angry, and anxious I get, the harder it is to stop. I know I'm not saying anything new but I dont type or post that much on here because I have a thing about even typing the right way. I've deleted posts just because of my ocd. Feeling good today though. I wanna keep it goin.",0 Never thought I’d be able to relate to Patrick so well,0 [Literally my last saved reddit post](https://i.redd.it/t7locejwugt51.jpg),1 OCD IS NOT BEING A PERFECTIONIST YALL👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 P R E A C H,0 "It's increments of 4 for me...4, 8, 12, 16... Hell, I even blink in sets of four",0 “i’m trying my hardest to try” is my response almost always,1 "First post that popped up after opening Reddit lmao. I should get to cleaning and showering, thank you!",1 "Its the reason i discovered reddit, this subreddit specifically.",0 "allison raskin is my favorite voice when it comes to ocd content and speakers! she has a podcast with her friend gabby dunn, who has bipolar, where they give advice and talk about mental health/maintaining friendships with mental illness etc.",0 Oh fuck. Why do I get called out.. I have like 20 posts saved -_-,1 "Oddly no not much for me. I generally haven't given much of a f@ck. But then again I also pretty firmly belive I may be OCD enough to figure out how to handle those negative consequences in most senerios. Peoples opinion are always gonna be pro and con when looking at the masses. Can't please them all of course, gotta keep some on their toes! If it's govt or some form of something recording or somethin, don't worry we know they are. They don't care lol. The internet is the world as it happens in peoples heads, and we are all just giant gross evil rage monsters in our heads. Express yourself how u see fit, just don't willfully hurt someone that isn't asking for it expressly and I think u should be good. Or alternatively, learn some stuff about Internet Security and Networking. Good to know",0 "Agreed and I have the same experience. I've always assumed/thought it came from my parent's style of lecture and guilt trip, but maybe it's a more universal ADHD experience. The emotional disregulation means I cry the second anyone is firm or demanding of me, regardless of my emotional state a lot of the time. (And I'm a 350lb, 30yr old, 6'3"" man) And opposition defiance means I, as a rule, will agree to people's faces and then resent it later and do whatever I want. I'm working on NOT defaulting to that, but it's definitely my instinct. I do it to MYSELF, even, and that's the cause of most of my self-destructive behavior. Meds have helped me react more evenly to things, but I'm finding they are not a pill-solution to this sort of stuff, which I didn't expect and am kind of glad for. I personally think it's important to use the meds to help build skills for all times.",1 "Thank you so much! Sometimes that voice that tells me to do the complete opposite of what I wanna do gets loud and mean, but I keep reminding myself that my disdain for those thoughts is a reflection of my true morals.",0 "I'll do it one more time, just to be sure... Fuck, I'll. Do it one more time, just to be sure... Fuck, I'll do it one more time, just to be sure... FUCK,FUCK,FUCK...",0 "Yeah, that’s why I hate the “all OCD people are clean” stigma",0 Of all days today I needed this the most. Thank you so much.,0 "Is that why when life gets in the way and the plans deviate I get seriously anxious? Like ""wait, it's not in the plan- what do I do next??""",1 "Everyone else has said the good stuff, so I just want to say that I really appreciate your use of an epsilon in your spelling of '""meth"".",1 "this is why im a little glad to have a slightly long distance girlfriend, talking over text is 1000 times easier for me and im kinda scared to talk in person, i feel like ill mess it up.",1 Or it's 4am which is basically 6am which means it's time to pull another all nighter.,1 literally how i visualized it in my mind with switches or locks or burners,0 I love those clothes on you! You are totally owning this outfit.,0 """am i homocidal"" ""am i a sociopath"" ""am i delusional"" ""do i have adhd"" ""do i have autism"" ""do i have insomnia"" ""do i have dissociative identity disorder"" ""do i have ptsd"" ""do i have hiv"" ""do i have a yeast infection"" ""do i have a skin disease"" ""do i have an allergy"" i've literally search and done quizzes for things i show absolutely NO symptoms of because my ocd is convinced something has to be wrong with me all the time",0 "Yes! It's such a relief. We're all feeling like outsiders in our daily lives, so it's nice to have a place where we feel accepted. There's something about my attitude that bothers some people. Not that I'm particularly negative or pessimistic–I'm just a little different–but it seems to scare some people because they see a lack of conformity as a threat. People keep trying to correct me, as if I'm too stupid to understand how I'm supposed to behave. It's all very subtle, but it still feels like a put-down. Nobody does that here. I mean, it also helps that my gender isn't as obvious as it is in real life, but that's more of a reddit thing than a r/ADHD thing.",1 "I feel like with my ADHD I never feel satisfied. Too many thought and ideas go through my head each day, it’s impossible to keep up. Thus I feel like I’ve never reached my full potential and there’s so much more for me to do. It can be draining truly",1 "This hit me very very hard. It's exactly what I've been experiencing too. Telling people I have things to do and then spending the whole day alone but getting absolutely nothing done. It's sad to imagine what my life would be like without this problem. I'd have my own design business for sure. I'd be a better friend, son, and brother. ADHD is crippling.",1 Just gotta keep so busy there is no time for the thoughts!,0 "Honestly though, people are always talking about ""calling of the void"" and intrusive thoughts but, are these thoughts not normal? How else are you gonna avoid getting cut by a knife if you dont imagen bad outcomes? Like you walk over a road and look both ways.",0 "My husband had to send me a reminder to talk to people at work about fixing my birthday days off as Vacation PTO instead of unpaid. I kept accidentally reading the text because I would forget, so he had to send it 7 times",1 "LMAOOOO one of the best memes I've seen in a minute, stay golden OP",0 "Of course everyone has certain characteristics of autism, OCD, ADHD, and depression. That’s called being human. It’s a mental illness when it’s to the extreme.",0 Lmfao story of my life half are deleted tho cuz they don’t abide by community rules,1 "OCD is a paradox of ""I dont want to die,"" and ""I dont want to live like this.""",0 idk I call them tic tics cause it's cuter than 'visceral and uncontrollable physical attention-grabbing reactions.',0 "Yes. You know a person really cares about you when they listen even though we both know it doesn't make sense. Also, they will laugh at you when you need it. I've been to the point of tears from my anxiety and when I explain it my bf sees the 'threads' of anxiety I put together and he'll laugh and hold me and tell me it's okay and that he can't believe how my mind works. And then I'm in tears because his laughter is contagious. He brings out the best from the worst.",0 Hell no I’m not sure idk why the hell I haven’t jumped off a bridge. Wait I know wouldn’t want to make a mess with my blood when I hit the ground,0 "Oh my god, I just found this subreddit after having a very similar freakout like, 2 minutes ago and being greeted by something that shows im not alone with these kind of things immediately calmed me down. I know I’m late, but thank you.",0 "I identify so hard with this! Reflecting it happened to me too a few years ago. I was working at a school, big summer exam, exam papers are collected in, students allowed to leave the room, examiner starts bagging up the exam papers to send off to the exam board. They can’t find one of the papers. The student was in the room, they sat the exam, the paper isn’t in the pile, examiner remembers collecting the paper from her. Everyone was having KITTENS. I walked into a room of panicking adults operating like headless monkeys. I called out for them all to calm down, said I’d bought my ‘bi-noc-u-lars’ with me, and put my fingers up to my face like I was looking through them. I told everyone to back off and started slowly looking at one end of the room, checking everything in every cubic meter of the room before slowly moving to its neighbour. Everyone kept saying, “no it can’t possibly be there!” And “we’ve checked there”, as I went. I found it. In a pile of spare papers and general paper crud which someone said ‘it can’t be in there’ whilst someone else said ‘I already checked there’. I’d learnt over the years not to bother using memory and reasoning when looking for lost items. The only answer is forensic, physical searching. Took me another 10 years to learn I had ADHD.",1 What is worse is when this happens for somthing you actually *want* to do.,1 y r talented ! i would want one like this to be pinned on the wall of my room,0 "Great, now I have to wash my hands for 15 minutes..",0 Alarms don’t work for me I need to be hit by a truck,1 "Most of this is sound no-nonsense advice, but I don't agree with the tolerance point. I'm sure there is a limit to tolerance, but that doesn't mean that you want to reach that ceiling. Upping your dose is not inherently a good or bad thing, but it's definitely good to keep an eye on your intake. If you find yourself constantly taking a higher dose because you want to reproduce that feeling from the first week of being on medication, it could lead to you taking more than is good for you. And in the worst case scenario it could slowly lead to a usage pattern that starts to resemble addiction (which is not very likely; I don't mean to be the alarmist fearmonger).",1 It’s so cute when you wash your hands until they bleed and tap your foot on the doorstop until you rip your hair out 😍🥰🤩,0 My best advice is: dive into the thoughts and you'll see they can't hurt you.,0 This guy is one of my favorite social media account I follow,0 I just tell them how every day I worry that I’m a murderer and just somehow forgot about it or how I can’t be around knives and people at the same time because stabby stabby thoughts,0 I have said and thought that last paragraph so many times!!,1 I have always felt it was not me but the whole world was fucked up. I simply did not fit in it. Then I found out about my ADHD when I was 45. Now it makes sense why I do not fit in this fucked up world.,1 "Wtf yessss I felt this, it dead ass ruin all the enjoyable shit n the things that makes u happy in life & push u to stay away.. it’s a fucking kill joy for sure!",0 I thought the intrusive thoughts were normal and then my therapist was like “um no hun that ain’t normal”,0 Sounds like he means well. He’s probably just trying to help. It maybe hard for him to understand what your dealing with.,1 "Honestly OCD is so common. It’s approximated that 1 in 40 people have it and I can’t imagine how many there are undiagnosed because of all the misconceptions. Some people actually think the “C” stands for cleaning... I’m not open about my mental health at all in person. I imagine there’s a lot of people like that too? The pediatrician I had as a kid was autistic AND had OCD. Such an Amazing doctor with a really good sense of humor too.",0 Super relatable to me. It was particularly bad when I'd go to stay with family or friends.,0 "😂 😂 yea.. best advice I can offer is focus on studying what you’re most interested/need to know first. I often don’t use the play later, if I cut out of a video early and really need to see it again later I use view history.",1 "I remember in college (was not diagnosed until like 10 yrs later) I was desperately trying to figure out what was “wrong with me,” and my parents, trying to be supportive, told me to “just do my best.” I told them that my best wasn’t the problem, the “doing” was the problem.",1 "I’m so sorry that you’re dealing with that. I have a lot of swollen lymph nodes but when I got a biopsy last year, it came back normal. I still wonder if I should follow up and get anxious that they missed something. Because of covid my annual doctors appointment was pushed to next year, but this is encouraging me to reach back out again and see if they have openings.",1 This or the sudden urge to go to the toilet even if I went 3 times already in the past hour,1 "Wow, can't believe I never thought of that myself. My ADHD must have made me forget to try it.",1 "Thank you for sharing this op, and I hope its mundane and you get it resolved quickly. This post reminded me that my left lymph node has been swollen for about a year now and I'm sweating...",1 Thank you! I have gotten quite better recently for OCD which had lasted like 7 years but then a surge of anxiety and depression kicks in. But I'll cope with it eventually! I'm so glad you have coped with it!😆😆😆,0 "Disappointed Everyone: 'If only you could focus like this on x, y, or z...'",1 "Forewarning, or maybe its just me. If you take it everyday, which which I started doing that this semester taking seven days a week. Make sure you don't run out. I ran out of Adderall XR and just wanted to die.",1 Story of my life. I think many people here will agree.,1 "i agree, this has ruined my life several times over, and i hate myself because of it. I don't know what to do anymore, its been pretty hopeless for me.",1 "as a 35 year old man, my wildest dream is literally to talk to an ocd therapist.",0 Creating the worst possible scenarios. That's my natural habitat,0 I just love you guys. I've never come across people so much like me. I used to think I was just a lazy weirdo.,1 "When it comes to cleaning and organizing I always put it off until I can’t stand my room anymore because I know that once I begin I won’t be satisfied until everything is “in its right place.” I had the same problem with homework, which is why I didn’t do it most of the time. It takes hours to do and so much of my mental concentration (partly because of my perfectionism and fear of seeming stupid) so I just never do it.",0 I’m so giggling about this - I’m literally laying on the couch surfing Reddit avoiding my dishes- I love knowing I have peeps !!,1 "consuming/making memes and treating OCD like an actual condition instead of trying to pretend I'm super neurotypical (and that therefore problematic thoughts are ""actually"" problematic) is quite literally part of my therapy. Meme on.",0 Yooo thats real good tho!! I can hardly go through a week with 14/14 brush-my-teeth record coz I get lazy sometimes lmao,1 "I'm alone and this made me say ""holy fuck"" out loud.",1 "This is not pathetic, each one is a victory! Keep it up!",0 "I got diagnosed last year (at age 21) and my entire experience with the medical system has been infantilizing. Googling symptoms and how to deal with them was really the cherry on top. It sucks that you're going through that too, but at least we aren't alone in this :(",1 "PSA that in most countries *other people can make phone calls to doctors for you*. I enlisted a friend of mine who wanted to help, they called around at psychiatrist offices until they found a place that could help me. I still wouldn't even have my diagnosis now if I'd had to make all those phone calls myself. It's not shameful to ask someone to help you with this! It IS hard, your friends care about you, if you tell them how they can help, a lot of the time they will *be glad* that they can help!! You're always allowed to ask, and they're always allowed to say no - that's the much better approach than anything that includes ""oh I can't ask that, they'll feel obligated to say yes..."" or ""oh I can't say no, because they asked..."". No! You're allowed to ask for *any* help, and they're allowed to say no if they so choose. You'll find that often times, people *want* to help and are super happy to find that there's something they can do to make your life easier! This doesn't just go for phone calls, this goes for anything!",1 This is one of those few times that having ADHD feels like a real super power. I’m so used to losing shit all the time so I’ve had great practice with finding things. My boyfriend isn’t used to losing things but will occasionally set his wallet or phone down somewhere and will give up on looking when he can’t find it. I usually step in and find his stuff within a matter of a few tries. So I always joke that he can’t ever lose me bc then he’s screwed lol,1 This is my parents reaction to me being diagnosed with OCD and then telling me I don’t have it cause my room is messy,0 "I'm in this situation way too often. Especially with my favorite video games. I'm scared of interacting with it or fan content, while my OCD is flaring up. However, some of the best advice I've gotten is to do something engaging. Like, play my favorite video, make fanart if it, etc. It might not be best for everyone. Regardless, I send lots of love and support to those who try it or not. It's freeing to go against your OCD. It's hard and scary, but sometimes, I get that feeling of power and control in my life again.",0 It’s like your brain is constantly working overtime. It’s so tired of itself yet keeps staying late after work.,0 What I needed to hear as I battle more disgusting thoughts in my head 😭,0 Yes!!! I can tell when mine is wearing off because I feel anxious,1 This made me feel bad but also good at the same time. Alone but not lonely,1 Acknowledge your successes. We overlook them far too often.,0 I'm at work and I pray that I will remember this until I get home,1 "Oh all the time. I hate it so much because there’s nothing I can really do about it and I don’t know if others remember it as well. Even mentioning to a therapist that I might have OCD, which we did a screening test for it (not an official test tho) and her telling me that technically I may have mild OCD, makes me feel guilty and like I’m faking. Almost any time I have any intrusive thought I remember this and then worry myself over thinking that I thought something bad intentionally even though I didn’t because who would willingly think about something bad like that.",0 "I honestly thought I’d written this for a moment. I feel your pain! I have also resorted to shutting myself off and I feel like no one knows who I really am because of it. NOT wishing anxiety on you, but a coping mechanism I have built up throughout my life has been to spend much of my time rehearsing what I might say if a certain situation comes up. Funnily enough, I never seem to say it the way it is in my head 😂 but if I’m lucky, a useful sentence survives when the conversation happens. Does your girlfriend know that you struggle with ADHD? I feel like partners, family and friends are the most important relationships, so of course we want to do it right. One thing I have done in the past is to almost “schedule” an important conversation with someone when there is something I want to discuss with them, and in the mean time I spend some time alone and write down all my thoughts and feelings and any important stuff I want to communicate. If they care about you, you keeping this at hand during the conversation will not offend them, and in fact they may appreciate the effort you have gone to for them. This has helped me communicating with my parter and some family. As for work situations, it’s a lot harder and I haven’t found something that works every time, ESPECIALLY for casual or unexpected interactions where you have to have a response right there. When it’s conflict-related, I retreat almost every time and just get flustered. I guess what I’m trying to say is that it could help to rehearse for situations where you have the time to prepare. Whether the information comes up when you need it is a different story 😂 I hope this gets a little easier for you eventually OP. Hugs 🥰 EDIT - incoherent idea lol",1 "This is the first time I've come to this sub, and this is the top thread after I opened the front page. Holy fuck I had a laugh for a minute straight - this is me currently. hahahaha we're all doomed my friend wtf is wrong with me?",1 I love Mother Mother! I’ve been listening to them a lot recently. Great music choices.,0 Now featuring a bonus bundle of apathy and anosognosia,0 "Thank you for making this. At the moment my therapist isnt adamant about me being ocd, but she is not an ocd expert. This only confirms my entire world that is never said out loud ☺️🥰",0 "Nothing makes me feel worse than someone pulling something out of my hands so they can do it themselves. I wanted to do it myself! I know it's not always going to happen, but I feel so awful if someone else picks up what I'm trying to do out of annoyance.",1 I had my first two days of still not being able to focus after taking meds since I recently started on them today and yesterday and honestly feel this post so much. Really hoping tomorrow is better...,1 "This is a trap. I'd never catch up. Give me (roughly)infinity time, I'd still be ""OH CRAP I FORGOT"" 5min before the time-bubble pops.",1 "I feel like believing none of what my experiences and thoughts are real is just an act of avoidance and not acceptance or non judgement. I’ve had my fair share of telling myself that my obsessions and feelings aren’t real, which they are real and they exist within me for a reason. I have realized that I just need to understand, accept and then let go of what’s inside me for them to really not interfere with my life. Everytime I’ve just tried to drown them out they just come back stronger when I do have episodes and I always hear this voice saying “Not real? See how REAL I AM NOW” and it just freaks me the hell out.",0 "I’m 31 years old. I was working on something like this when I was a senior in high school for art class. I had it out working on it during World History. The teacher walked by my desk and confiscated it, then refused to give it back. I’m still not over it.",0 This shit is like a long term effect. It just won’t go away.,0 "No actually my defense to intrusive thoughts is a thought as well. If I don't like the thought ill picture myself destroying the thought in some way, usually by throwing it in my head and quickly thinking of something else. It sounds weird, but ive responded this way as long as I can remember",0 "as someone who has been told ""you're overthinking it"" approximately 1 million times... this fills me with incoherent rage",1 I. Can’t. Stand. when people think ocd is an adjective.,0 "Nobody can know that I haven't put the clean sheets on my bed yet. It's been like 5 months and you can see the dirt spot where I've been sleeping on the white mattress cover. ....how much pay is required to wash a multitude of old coffee cups? And the corner of my shower where soap scum accumulates and I just ignore it until I hate myself! This is actually a big-brain, genius idea.",1 I usually take one day off on the weekends so I can sleep more. It gives me a sleep deficit throughout the week.,1 "I feel like its more a “hyper” type analogy (sort of). For me its mostly just because I easily drift into myself. I am diagnosed Combined, but I would discribe myself as inattentive. My focus is not everywhere and everything. Its more like I just dont want to do the thing in front of me but only the thing in my head. But when I get to do the thing in my head I want to do another thing. I need huge amount of motivation. And its easiest if I find the movitvation by myself from an external thing.",1 "sometimes I just make a weird sound to “change the subject” lmaoooooooo. If people notice, I’m sure that’s more weird than me spiraling about the thought.",0 Tiktok creeps me out. What is the point of sitting in front of the words and just staring into the camera,0 "I have the same reaction as you. Pretty much any negativity directed towards me just instantly drains me. Once I'm through it tho, I generally come out with a sense of purpose and energy and I'm a real go getter! For a few hours - couple days until it wears off.",1 I genuinely couldn’t be more happier for you!!!! You’re AMAZING 😁🖤,0 "It’s harder to deal with something when you don’t know what it is. After I was diagnosed I was also told by my father that he had ocd, so that explained the compultions I did and what they were. It definitely made it better when I knew it was a disorder that I couldn’t control.",0 "I can't really tell you if any of these ADHD books are good. I'm 1/3 of the way through five of them, and I've forgotten all their titles.",1 "I absolutely love it!! I would love to have a sticker of that.",0 "“Just focus”. right. Let me do that real quick while there are many things happening in my brain multiple fictitious scenarios simultaneously, random anxiety of things that may be real or not and omg my assignment is due in 2 hours but OH i hear voices downstairs ? who’s here? i must go say hello oh and a snack i should get a snack and water on the way. and since i have so much time i should also start a journal entry too since i have a little thought needs to be recorded and SHIT there’s only an hour left and damnit i forgot my snack i better go back to get it",1 I am 51 years old with ADHD. I have tried bullet journals and the concept is great. However I just cannot seem to get into paper. I suggest an app called ClickUp. This has made a big change in my life. Try the web version first. It has just enough structure and flexibility. Used it a work yesterday for the first time and had the most productive day ever.,1 That's huge! You should be super proud of yourself!!,0 "So stressfull! Exam is coming up, its supposed to be written school exam. 8 hours, write what you remember. There is a chance the exam might be switched to home exam. Home exam is a nightmare! I cannot structure myself, plan and structure a text. Last time I had an home exam I failed to deliver it on time, a few seconds after deadline. I had prepared so well, knew the curriculum. Fucked up.",1 How do you get diagnosed or the option to do a brain scan? What do you have to tell your doctor,0 "My dad had schizophrenia and my kids have OCD. My dad never worried that he might be crazy. He worried that external things were affecting him, like aliens had installed a loudspeaker in his bedroom or the FBI was following him. It was really different from my kids' OCD, which is all about fears they might cause something through their actions. So I think if you're really worried about being schizophrenic, you probably aren't.",0 "Absolutely relate! Have you tried the app “HabitShare”? You can track your progress towards habits/daily goals and can setup reminder alerts. You can also share select habits with others to help hold you accountable! Highly recommend, it’s the only way I’ve been remembering to do 50 sit-ups a day lol.",1 "For me it’s working memory. My seems to have a synergistic effect with my social anxiety. Whether my social anxiety is *entirely* caused by my adhd, I’m still not quite sure, I think it may be. But I do know my social anxiety makes my working memory worse in conversation, I’m losing place in conversations constantly. This enters a feedback loop where eventually I’m just like ahhh screw it, id rather stay home and play video games",1 "Oh god I feel seen. Except for me it's after I shut the bathroom door after washing my face my brain is like ""mmmm sink turned itself back on you didn't turn it off and if you did it turned itself back on"". So I end up standing by the door with my eyes closed listening. Walking away, circling back again. Rinse and repeat. I have never one forgotten to turn the sink off.",0 "Since I got diagnosed, I've kind of managed to level my good and bad days out a little bit by recognizing that my brain just, kinda... sucks? And I can't trust it. Which is disorienting and doesn't play nice with my existential obsession, but hey, what the hell. OCD is full of logic knots. Our amygdalae are just kind of constantly screaming, and that's part of our experience of the good times too. We can redefine it. ""The weather's nice, my dog wants breakfast, I don't know what gender I am, here's your breakfast doggie, maybe I'm a sociopath, I could really go for some cheerios."" It's annoying, but definitely possible to live with.",0 "Sounds like emotional abuse from a freaking sexist or otherwise ""rape"" or ""victim blaming"" mentality.... This literally sounds like my freaking mom and the epiphanies I've been having lately. (on my youtube channel... and a little bit on my blog for anybody who wants to see me try to explain what I mean...) But it's basically like being demeaned for trying to acknowledge somebody who is asking for your attention. It's like being demeaned for trying to respect somebody, who was really only ever asking you to compromise your own self-respect... because you fell for the trap of being manipulated into believing that they and their evil tricks (whether subconscious or otherwise) were ever actually worth your attention... It's an intriguing paradox. I'll have to try to elaborate more on this later... It feels like my mom saying ""if my argument wasn't valid then why did you validate it by giving it your attention..."" As if purely ""dignifying something with a response"" is an appropriate conclusion to have made... It's like the emotional abuse of having ever tried to love, somebody who was only ever just trying to make you stoop down to their level. Just so they could say... ""see! I told you we were unlovable!!!"" OCD sounds like the result of narcissistic or otherwise emotional neglect and abuse... (gaslighting...) and in my case I know that IT IS! OCD can be reversed. OCD can be curable!! Because OCD to me, sounds an awful lot, like never having fully came to terms with... who it was that your abuser... actually really is!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 \*\*\*\*Edit- this is my channel for anyone who might actually be interested! [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1ikz0\_b6Ngx1mouoRA7cQ/](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1ikz0_b6Ngx1mouoRA7cQ/) I would LOVE to hear from YOU. I would LOVE to know what YOU THINK!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3",0 "Everyone is suddenly waking up to all the places germs frequent. I can't touch my face because I touched the underside of the table! You have to wash your hands this way! They're all lecturing and trying to ""educate"" others and I'm just standing there like :l Because this has been me my whole life. The most amusing to me is when they decide to lecture me and I've been doing this shit long before you Karen. This is serious! I know. No. You don't understand! I do. But! No really, *I do*.",0 "There’s a particular “feeling” with ocd thoughts that gives it away every time, making it easier to label and ignore.",0 "So... it isn't normal for a 7 year old to not step on the tiles because he believes that if he does, everyone close to him will die? Shit...",0 My dad once threw a lego set I had built against the wall saying that if I could manage to build that then I didn’t have attention dysfunctional whatever. Idk. It hurt my feelings pretty bad as a kid. I don’t even remember how old I was.,1 Imagine you just want to rub one out and then BAM! Intrusive thoughts ruining your vibe and setting you off causing you to either be unable to finish or finish despite the thoughts causing guilt and self doubt.,0 Tell me about it. Add bipolar and anxiety to the mix and you got yourself a hot mess,1 "Far too relatable. This is how I feel trying to work from home. Just deciding to see it another way now, I'm at home because of a world crisis and if I can get some of my work done, then that's good. I'm not expecting too much of myself because my mental health is bad. And that's ok. Please try and reach out for some kind of help though. I'm in the uk, have given up on the nhs and have gone for low cost private therapy through a charity - I'm only going to have to wait a couple of weeks, and itll be online. Theres no way I can do this on my own.",0 This is me 100%. I have to see a doctor and get on something. Maybe the same stuff Bart was on...FocusIn.,1 "All the time, could be reading or watching. Sometimes I have to just give up watching/reading because my brain won't let me. It could be something as simple as a letter that's come in the post, 3 paragraphs long. Its like I try and read all 3 paragraphs at once and end up reading none of it. So. Fucking. Frustrating.",1 FUCK YOU I LITERALLY READ THIS AT 1AM ON THE DOT PLAYING VIDEOGAMES THAT IM REALLY NOT ENJOYING THAT MUCH ANYMORE,1 "Don’t know if that helps you, but on our very first date my now girlfriend of four years suggested to view my adhd as my 'superpower'. When we met, I had been struggling a lot and suffered from a constant feeling of worthlessness after a mountain of setbacks in both my personal and professional life. I 'confessed' my diagnosis to her to give her a chance to leave the failure I felt I was early. Since then, I always remind myself that I can do things with ease that most of the people around me aren’t equipped to do and openly address that there’s this other area of life that I am not suited for. I mean, super heroes all have flaws too. Life’s been really good for me since that change of my mind.",1 "Got rid of all the physical rituals years ago, but the mental ones are another thing entirely",0 "Is this the same for lock checking and do handwashers see the germs? I have Scrupulosity which deals with intrusive ""sinful"" thoughts and obsessions regarding unworthiness to God...my compulsion...confession. I would consider anything or any thought as a stain on my soul and sought confession to relieve that.",0 Am i the only ADHD person here who does not consider herself smart or intelligent,1 I have very few physical / manifested compulsions so I'm always second guessing. terrible intrusive thoughts etc tho. It's weird and I kinda hate being high functioning cuz I force myself to do too much stuff,0 I wish I had this feeling of Euphoria or clarity. I don't feel any change at this time with my 20mg a day.,1 I didn't realize how much I relied on it until my therapist wanted me to try and stop. it's so hard. good job for working on it though!,0 Howard Stern used to say his father told him Stop being stupid!,1 omg I use SO many commas and I’m always called out for it! concise writing is definitely something I’ve struggled with. good points,1 Meanwhile I’m still at way you don’t need a subscription for Microsoft word anymore? I stopped using it because my subscription ended. I might try this. I should definitely try this.,1 My adhd kid can watch tv while carrying on a full conversation and reading a book. It’s insane. She doesn’t look track and knows exactly what’s happening.,1 Im accepting that it is a medical condition where my brain cannot filter and move on from thoughts. So I actively face my thoughts and use my higher cognition to help get through. I totally get the feeling described here. Be strong all,0 "Reading this lowkey makes me wanna cry. I’ve been suspecting since last year that I️ have adhd (specifically inattentive). And reading that “smart people can have adhd” is so comforting. I️ ping pong between thinking I️ have depression and/or adhd, but mostly thinking that I’m a dirty rotten imposter who is making all my symptoms up for attention. One of the biggest reasons I️ feel like I’m an imposter is because I️ have two degrees. “If I️ made it through nursing school it must not be that bad right?” when in reality it was the hardest thing I’ve had to do and I️ actually got held back because my brain couldn’t get motivated soon enough. Reading this helped to validate what I’m feeling. So, thank you",1 This has happened to me beforeee. I will be putting away dishes and while I’m putting away a knife my brain is like “if you don’t put that knife away right now you’re going to stab yourself or a family member”,0 "I have procrastinated my health also even though I’ve shown issues for a while. I haven’t slept much due to worrying. I have gone through many test and they are worried it’s colon cancer. I haven’t been diagnosed yet but I understand part of the process. I keep trying to wrap my head around if they tell me if I have cancer but I just can’t because I think it’s something that you have to experience. I’m sorry that you have cancer. Thank you for posting this, it can’t be easy.",1 "When I was getting ideas for humorous essays, I wrote the headline “Student Solves World Hunger While Putting Off Homework.” I thought it was a typical college thing.",1 Well now I’m gonna think about whether or not the thought actually appeared like lightning or if I’m a horrible person lol.,0 "Ugh I spent my entire day napping and playing mindless games on my phone. Nothing got done. My house is a disaster, I’m behind at work, and I feel like my husband just thinks I’m lazy, which just makes me feel like garbage. It’s never ending.",1 “I’m just locked in my own head” is one of the best ways to describe ADHD for me personally. I might use that,1 "Oh god all the time! This was one of a few of the first few intrusive thoughts that initially drove me to therapy. That one and other related ones. It’s tough but it helps to just accept the uncertainty that maybe it did happen and continue on with your work day. I know it’s easier said than done but it is the only thing that seems to work.",0 "Drinking alcohol is the only way to suppress it for me. It’s the only time I feel free and not consumed with anxiety regarding it...so of course it led to me developing a drinking problem. I don’t even like drinking at this point but I feel obligated To when it gets really bad. I’m in therapy and everything but it’s just so tiring.",0 I had it happen during class but idk if i have adhd or not,1 "Oh my God, I'm so scared about this too. My university hasn't gone online yet, but there's a lot of rumors about them planning to, and other colleges around us have started going online. If this happens to us to, that's that, my fate is sealed. I'm so unable to learn from video lectures, I don't know how it'd be possible for me to pass this semester.",1 "And anxiety on top of that. The trifecta. Some days are nearly impossible to get through. Honestly though, if I even just as much as made it through those days (productivity and accomplishments aside), it's a win. Please know that you aren't alone at the very least.",1 24f who was diagnosed this year and completely agree with the feeling of infantilisation but i feel so vindicated hearing someone else realises they're procrastinating and it makes them research ADHD stuff lmao,1 Ugh. I try to just accept the thought but why would I want to do that because it might become true??,0 This is good information... I just reached 4400 today...,1 " If I see an object like a statue broken in a movie, especially if the statue is of a person or an animal, I feel really bad. Same with paintings. ",0 I honestly wish there was a post like this pinned at the top of my feed every day. This one thing is frustratingly tricky to remember.,1 I burned all of my old journals wish I hadn’t kinda wish I had something to look back on that time in my life to see how much things have changed,0 "You have nothing to be ashamed of. Society unfortunately is not designed for people with ADHD. It’s similar to being left handed. There’s nothing inherently wrong or shameful about being left handed, but considering 99% of the world is designed for right handed people (which makes up more than 90% of the population), it’s harder for left handed people just due to societal constructs. The guilt/shame you are expressing is a result of other’s judgements of you. People tend to rush to judgement/generalizations about others as many don’t have solid explanations/knowledge for their behaviors. However their lack of perspective/knowledge has nothing to do with you, nor is it a reflection of who you are. As for “maning up”, the fact that you are willing to face your problems and are trying to find solutions for them instead of taking them out on others is the epitome of what a man (or woman) should be/do. And as for your concern about being too sensitive, that’s a good thing. It means you’re not a heartless POS, and the world needs more people like you (so stay with us :) ).",1 Reading this was sooooo liberating in a way :’)). I love you all so soo much!!! We all will get through this!! 😤❤️,0 "You have to be careful with the third point though especially if you are suffering from Pure-O or Harm OCD. Exposure without proper supervision can further fuel your compulsions.",0 Me except it’s stab yourself in the eye when I’m using a fork or see someone else using a fork,0 "Same, fashion is my hobby and my OCD always attack my hobbies",0 This made me cry. I'm very sorry for your loss. Thank you for the kind words of encouragement. We need more people like you in the world.,1 Fuuuck this hit me so hard! I feel so selfish though. Like manipulative asking people if everything is okay so I can put myself at ease.,0 "Thank you! I have been doing much better generally, but last night was rough. Definitely caught myself trying to search for the “right” feeling and trying to solve my thoughts. Is SO hard not to engage sometimes.",0 "Yes!!!! That’s why my room is in the state it’s in... I mean it could be my diagnosed hoarding disorder, but... Still. :)",1 Me in fourth grade stepping in and out of a room: ....dancing¿? ?,0 "I haven't done the dishes in a year. Whenever I get drinking water from the tap now, I'm literally afraid to touch the contents of my sink and be contaminated. My kitchen sink is literally a biohazard—this isn't even an OCD-related fear of contamination...",0 Actual footage of me opening this subreddit everyday,0 "Sonic boom. One across my bed room that goest off at 4:45am and one in the kitchen that goes off at 4:46. I have to get out of bed for the first alarm and then have to physically leave my bedroom for the second. At that point I’m semi functioning enough to get the day started. Don’t have to get up as early but the alarm system has worked so far for me on getting me up. As far as time: I try to look at everything on an hourly basis. If I have a full days schedule ahead of me I’m tapped out before I get started, but if it’s an hour it’s doable. So 6 is close to 8 but it’s almost 7. And that chapter I need to read will take me almost an hour. And at 7 it’s almost 8 which I can almost finish outlining what I just read. But the “hey I’ve got 2 hours to read and outline this chapter” is enough that I’ll procrastinate until I die.",1 "YES! I do this with any relationship that I value, my husband, my kids, my cousins. It's nice when my brain goes in dark places that everything isn't actually falling into chaos, it will pass.",1 My only saved post is a meme I want to add a gif to,1 "I'll tell you what I've told my siblings with ADHD: I'll impart with you my technique for never* being late. -find out travel time to you destination -include additional travel (e.g. Walking from the parking lot, stairs, etc.) -add 15 min to this time (this'll be the time you leave the house) -add the time it takes for you to get ready (brushing teeth, showering, pooping, seeing, etc.) -this final time will determine when to set your alarm to get ready/wake up *never: rarely These rough plans and alarms have always helped me.",1 Lol totally. I see a new relatable post on her everyday,1 "This is the most amazing comprehensive list I’ve ever read! Seriously, this is going to help me so much in so many areas of my life. Thanks for being my superhero today!!",1 Words can’t express how happy this makes me feel. Congrats dude,1 "You literally just stopped me in my tracks walking from one room into the other! I just wanted to say thanks for writing this. You don't know how much this meant to me. I'm in my 40s and I only found out about the inattentive-type last year. I sought help from mental health professionals for the first time in my life. After months of lockdown-limited phone-appointments and super long written forms (gah!!), I started a med trial last week. Constantly reading stories from others with worse symptoms than me, I'm constantly thinking ""Maybe I don't have ADHD after all. Perhaps I'm just lazy"". This post summed up my whole life. Thank you.",1 "Oh wow. Yes. I just had to talk to my mom about this yesterday! I feel overstimulated when she’s just in the room... 🥵 For the past couple months my mom has been living with me and my partner... and my sister. I’m REALLY trying to hold it together. Feel like I’m bursting at the seams sometimes.",1 "Since home schooling began I feel like my symptoms have gotten way worse. When im sitting (if I even am) its really difficult concentrating on a given task and even if I need to read a small text i scroll with my eyes and sometimes even don't remember anything. Yet my grades ar good. Most of them are A's. And that leads me to believe that I'm just lazy. I haven't been diagnosed but I'm looking forward to being. I'm not sure my self but I feel like something's wrong with me. It might not be ADHD but it's the closet one. I experienced weird ticks when i was younger like checking my phones clock 10 times and i would not understand it, i knew the time yet i had to check. I still get these some days. My attention is really hard to control and I feel like sometimes i can focus super good on something and other times it's just impossible. Fidgeting is a big part of me. I can't go without fidgeting for a minute. It doesn't matter what the situation is I do it. These are a few things that make me believe it could be ADHD. What is your opinion on this?",1 "In New Zealand I can go to a counsellor for therapy sessions for basically free. If I had any other illness, I would go get it treated. Health insurance wouldn’t be a problem.. Tf is wrong with America",0 Theres so much I want to do.. Yet i have zero motivation or push to do it,1 "I am clean and organized and do have OCD, though. So…",0 Dude. This shit has me fucked up. I was making steady progress on my own......bam........my standard fears I know are irrational all of a sudden are real real,0 "I always think about what I might say to the security if they stop me, when I've done absolutely nothing to be suspicious about",0 "Fighting the thoughts IS the problem. When you fight the thoughts and engage with them, you're doing mental compulsions. ANY engagement with the thought or threat or feeling or danger IS the compulsion. And the compulsions are what LEAD to OCD and the thoughts in the first place! ​ You've been fighting the thoughts for so, so long. Why not try something new?",0 I’m cured from reading those words. Thank your father for me.,1 I have to organize some interviews I did for school. I'm sitting in front of my computer on my phone. And the coffee I made 2 hours ago is now cold.,1 If I don’t turn the bathroom light on it’s all I think of!,0 It seems like this is a really common experience. What do I actually do to help it be less of a problem? 😭,1 "Brian isn’t a computer. It’s a folding of one material to trap electricity. Left & right pronged, it’s actually a fuse. Makes sense don’t it.",0 "Ahhh, holy crap is this accurate. I always try to get things out of the way first thing in the morning, or right after work, if I have to work that day. I had the choice to see the psychiatrist at 7 am on a day off. or 1:30 pm, and I jumped on that 7 am without even thinking twice. Whenever people want to meet up at 2:00 pm, I take it as a personal offense. I know they don't feel that way, but WHY DON'T THEY UNDERSTAND THAT THAT'S A TERRIBLE TIME TO MEET UP?! I feel sick at the prospect of 3 pm. I was just coordinating to meet a family member with my mom this weekend, and my mom suggested afternoon. I said, ""Okay, so like noon?"" We'll be meeting at 12:30, so I'm okay with that, I suppose. Though I would prefer meeting at 10 am. 😆 Thank you. I feel seen and less alone in this constant social/professional/appointment struggle.",1 "Fucking mood. My councillor said that she would be away for the rest of March, and I have to wait a whole month of pain and suffering :(((",0 "To be fair, perfectionism is a disorder too, but it’s called OCPD. To also be fair, in this example, they were probably using it colloquially which I then agree with what this post is saying.",0 "it doesn’t help that a good amount of my family members have schizophrenia, ocd, and manic depression. i’m just counting down the days, getting weirder and weirder until i’m lost in my mind and too far gone",0 "You know, you didn't have do call me out like that...",0 "I've found its really theraputic to paint how ocd makes me feel, great work OP, maybe I'll post one of mine eventually!",0 "Yes!! I was also diagnosed late (at 21) so the idea that I’m lazy and useless has really been ingrained into me. And on top of ADHD, I developed significant mental illness, so the amount of times I’ve had my ADHD diagnosis questioned by doctors treating my mood disorder has been truly infuriating and upsetting. I’ve had symptoms of ADHD since I was 5! I could never keep up with homework and rarely finished exams, despite being ‘smart’. There has been no variation in my symptoms and I was always ‘falling short of expectations’ in school. So I either have ADHD, or I really *am* all of the horrible things I was convinced into believing as a child. School was traumatizing and the only way to explain why is because I have ADHD, I am so tired of being told it ‘could be so many other things’!",1 What’s dumber is people think it just means I have to flick my light switch on and off 8 times before entering a room,0 You know what I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was young about 9-10 and as an adult my hyperactivity is non existent but this list here sums it all up so well they’re was even times I think I was prescribed wrong my dad passed 5 weeks ago and my sister are super upset but me I just carried on as normal and I thought am I weird or some thing,1 I had this so bad it nearly lead to suicide for me. I convinced myself I had done horrible things that never happened and would obsess about it. Not until I understood how bad my OCD was did I then realize that’s why I had gone insane in my head. And I’ve read on here a lot of other people had the same experiences. The brain is a mother fucker sometimes lol,0 Should've looked at this sooner so I wouldn't miss the train,1 "Because we have too much to talk about, because reasons",1 "So. Many. Times. Actually I was fired today because of this. I just won't do things.",1 Anybody ever looked into understanding right brain thinking? It's a perspective thats really been something thats helped me a lot...,0 Literally didn’t know I had OCD because of the overuse of the disorder and miseducation of what it actually is.,0 yep... when you get over one obsession thinking that it's over...,0 "I need to do my taxes. I am just gonna step out to get some dinner at my favorite pizza shop first . Told my friend around the corner that I would meet him.... *Comes back with a bucket of KFC alone "".....",1 wow - i thought that was just a perfectionist trait. Opps,0 My university asked me to get ready for that possibility... I'm the teacher. All is lost....,1 True here in the US. It’s like yeah... thanks. Wtf are you supposed to do in the mean time when you feel like you hit rock bottom. 🙄,0 "Plus: feeling like you don’t have time to learn to / try to build a rocket because you’re watching tv, scrolling through TikTok, and doing literally anything else but productivity all hours of the day… (Or is that just be & my senior thesis? Lol)",1 "Another pro tip, though admittedly, a dangerous one potentially: When I was in school, I got a 0.8 . After 3 years at college, I got a 3.5 overall. The trick was first, finding something I loved, and secondly (the pro tip): *was that I noticed I only excelled when under extreme stress. I took 18-21 units a semester. While it was hell, not allowing myself any time to waste forced me to be on top of everything and to do any work as it came.* So, use this with a grain of salt. Learn yourself and what works and doesn’t work for you, but perhaps for some, this strategy of making yourself too busy to procrastinate got me through school. This can also possibly be adopted to other things in ADHD life not pertaining to school.",1 "Best thing I ever did was channel that need to keep my hands occupied into a productive hobby. I picked up embroidery in university after I was diagnosed, and my professors were very understanding. It's a quiet, portable hobby and as a bonus I was able to channel focusing in lectures into a profitable little side hustle on etsy!",1 "Other people giving sleep advice: always have a set time to go to bed, it helps. For example, try going to sleep every night at 11pm. How my brain interprets that: if it’s 11:03 I’ve fucked up oh well might as well stay up Seriously though, the best sleep advice I’ve gotten is listening to a podcast or something while going to sleep. It helps me focus on one thing instead of a million thoughts. Because it’s dark and I usually choose a calming podcast I’m asleep very soon.",1 "ADHD, depression and anxiety is the holy trinity. What an awesome combo. I feel like I hit the jack pot in life.",1 OMG LOLLL I can’t believe I’m reading this post. I literally have a fear of signing up for game shows or attempting to become an “influencer” because of this fear.,0 "I have PureO basically centered around relationships. But I didn't know it was OCD till about 3 weeks ago. And I still haven't told my gf. I just thought it was anxiety so I'm in my head doing my thing and she goes: ""what are you thinking?"" And the ONLY logical response is ""nothing"" because how do you explain that you're trying to figure out if the feelings you have are real or imaginary and that you should break up with her because of the red flags but also are they really red flags or am I imagining things.... Etc etc... Then she says ""I don't know how to deal with you when you're like this!"" And storms off and ignores me for a few hours. Yeah.",0 "Jokes on you, it’s 3:23 at time of posting this comment",1 "Somehow I have actually increased exercise per day, only problem is I sacrificed lunch and a normal sleep schedule",1 "I hope you feel better. I can relate to the contamination struggles. It’s so difficult. I also haven’t cleaned my room in over a month because I’m scared to touch certain things. Wishing you the best. Brilliant depiction by the way.",0 "I'm in bed. Even if I've forgotten something life threatening that will kill me minutes from now, it can wait til tomorrow.",1 "The worst part is when people aren’t even joking. You know, when they say they have (or rather, “are”) OCD and genuinely believe that it’s just a synonym for anal-retentive.",0 "I agree with this minus the Alzheimer's thing. Aren't we basically doing the same thing that the ""So OCD"" people are doing to us? ...this was probably a compulsion, but my point still stands. Good for you for finding a trick. Edit: a word",0 "Honestly I’m really really appreciative about how my younger brother and Mum handled it when I told them about my struggle with intrusive thoughts for the past few years. When I told them, I made sure they understood that OCD wasn’t just about cleanliness and that stereotypical stuff, but that it can manifest in other obsessions. I sat down with her and Googled OCD together. She didn’t dismiss it or invalidate me which I thank her so much for. And my younger brother has been just as supportive which is awesome and asks me regularly how I’m doing and if I’m being bothered by my thoughts.",0 "Imagine struggling to get better, go through therapy, get better by fighting for it with all you've got to then get told that you did nothing, Jesus did it... I would get pretty mad",0 Whoa. I mean I've been terrified that I'm a malignant narcissist like my mother but I've never worried about this. I'm pretty sure that you know whether or not you've got the urge to rape or murder.,0 "I ask all my friends, family, and therapist for reassurance constantly...to the point where I realized I've become very manipulative to get it in order to relieve the anxiety and crushing critical thoughts. It sucks donkey balls big time.",0 "Damn. I am you. I do 5 hour shifts, where I force myself to sit in a chair and do my job. I cannot stand up. I prepare for this 1 hour beforehand. Clearing my uterus and rectum in the bathroom and all. This is how I get the work done. Its extreme will-power once a day. Once I complete such a shift, I reward myself with cigarettes or whatever. Dont ever smoke. You will regret your 2000th cigarette.",1 "Okay, I read all 212 comments and no one said they just watch all 5000 videos in the moment and let their whole life set on fire to do so. So just me? ADHD imposter syndrome is real tonight.",1 Holy sh*t I wish I had known about this. This is so smart.,1 "I hate this so much!! I was researching ADHD experiences and others have called it ""Waiting Mode"" which makes it a lot easier for me to explain",1 this saved my day!!!!! i woke up with a new obsession attacking. couldn’t leave it behind!!! suddenly i started worrying i’d manifest it by worrying so much. see this post instantly after and now i feel like i can relax.,0 "More like ""bro that mf wants me to burn your house down with your family in it. We don't listen to what he says""",0 "Huge same, I know it looks stupid but I always make dumb connections between things and this just adds fire to that.",0 " 10-minute Online Survey for Individuals beginning treatment for OCD (less than 3 sessions in) My name is Alex and I am conducting an online study on individuals with OCD in an effort to improve treatment outcomes. The criteria to participate are that you: 1. Have been diagnosed with OCD. 2. Are at least 18. 3. Are being treated with Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP; i.e. your therapist has been instructing you to do things that you find scary or that you previous avoided, such as practicing shaking hands with someone when you believe their hand may be contaminated). 4. You are just beginning ERP treatment/you have not yet completed 3 ERP sessions (intake, assessment, and intro sessions do not count) 5. You cannot be actively psychotic or intellectually disabled. 6. Are comfortable granting permission for your therapist to be contacted to answer questions about your treatment. Questions about this study can be directed to lyona1@xavier.edu. In order to participate in this study, please go to http://tinyurl.com/yygucsce. All participants will receive a $10 Amazon gift card for their time. Your help is very much appreciated!",0 "Holy shit, me too. Can we talk about this? I’m so glad to know that I’m not alone. ",0 "I have these all the time, my most common ones are when I'm outside and I sit in class and the teacher is talking and I fear I will start shouting or singing or something, but it can also get much worse, like I'm gonna hurt a baby if I see one or something. It's killing me.",0 Dude I feel. This is why I’ve seen both the office and Bob’s burgers 10+ times through.,0 "My parents started disinfecting the door knobs, even money bills. I was genuinely in shock, because when I used to do stuff like that, they told me I was exaggerating.",0 "Me when trying to do my online work, once I get started I get tons of it done in a short amount of time but before that I just panic because I don't know where to start",0 "My last job I was at for 4 years and the owner ended up hating me and thought I was mean. She was the one who hired me and loved me! Then as time went on and I was honest about things when they got fucked up or how I thought she used some of the other employees for free social media work and free artwork. I told her it was wrong and that if people work they should be paid for it. It shouldn't matter if the are college kids or not. She wanted me to compliment her more but I told her I don't do that because you want it. I do it only if I mean it. The last 6 months I worked there we couldn't even be in the same room at the same time. It was sad to me and I really liked the job but my ""novelty"" wore off. It also happens a lot with friends too. Starts off great and then fizzles out. Even my own family things I'm mean because I'm too honest. People don't want that but my mouth just walks off to a place and my body follows right along. It makes me feel very alone.",1 "I usually say ""no I'm I'm gonna over think !"" Or ""no I'm not doing this!""",0 "I’m a few months in to being medicated and I’m still amazed at that first dose. I have certainly leveled out by now, but I can take myself right back to how good that first day felt and remember that everything is going to be okay because I am okay now. It’s like I finally have access to the place inside me that is happy all the time for no reason. I used to be sad all the time for no reason and I never could escape it but now I can. Ugh now I’m crying about how much better things are. Wishing you all the luck in the world on your adhd journey!",1 "I'm currently working through receiving a diagnosis, and this describes to a T every feeling I've experienced around communication my entire life. I've struggled with anxiety and depression because of it, and I've told myself too many times that something must be wrong with me because why can't I just have a normal conversation with someone without getting lost in a flood of racing uncontrollable uninterpretable mind-dumps? I was very anti written communication as a kid because I could never organize my thoughts enough to even put a single thing down on the paper, but I realize now how truly amazing, eye-opening, and even cathartic it can be. You can dump your mind, and then take time and care to re-arrange and re-piece together the story into a narrative that truly represents your thoughts and feelings. I've ended up keeping just about everyone in my life at a safe distance from me, with the exception of my wife who pushed me to finally seek out help. I'm also described as a quiet type introverted person, and I think to a large extent I am truly introverted, however at the same time I've created this persona of calmness and quietness in order to hide the tumultuous nature of my thoughts and mind, which I perceived for years to be full of character flaws. I would constantly second guess myself saying ""I'm fine, I just need to try harder"" or ""I just need to think harder about my words and just communicate"" but I know now it is so much more complex than that and I never would have been able to recognize that there was a possible disorder interfering with my life without the help of my therapist. And for all the years I didn't get help, I know now it's not that I didn't want help but rather that my brain has been in a state of dysfunction, actively and subconsciously working against my efforts and desires to seek out help",1 Now imagine having both along with being a T1D... not sure how I even made it this far.,1 "This happens to me all the time. My doctor actually first diagnosed me with anxiety alone, but then later diagnosed me with OCD that was causing my anxiety.",0 Why is this actually such an accurate description of intrusive thoughts-,0 "Some videos are boring to just watch and only really work for background noise- I created a ""listen later"" list for them, and make sure to remove them when I'm done with them",1 Nope for me people don't normally have guns in my country,0 "This is me at the gym counting reps, at work watching the timer(my line of work is unique in that it involves specific time intervals).",0 "I really love this, it made me emotional 😭. It looks great!",0 "I plan to do that, too, once I have the money for it. I know I will have some trouble once I move out from my parents', but I also know that it is not really my fault, so I already had this in mind to do. Don't feel bad about hiring a nanny, many celebrities basically do it too 😂 They have someone who cleans for them, does the dishes, the laundry, etc.. We should not feel ashamed.",1 "This was so beautiful I'm crying right now, thank you so much you're a beautiful being of light and so sorry for what's happened. Peace or shall I say Chaos and love haha 🙏🤍 (That was a joke to how Chaotic life can be with ADHD just thought I'd specify, also that kinda rhymes.)",1 "this is me right now me: “okay you washed your hands perfectly, we’re all good 😌😎” me 2 mins later: “fuck no wait-“",0 I’ve never been diagnosed but I’ve always expressed that I thought I have adhd and every time I hear a symptom of it or see a post on here I relate to it so hard,1 "I’m not in university, but my company has gone to “default work from home”. I was still going in for a while, but my partner is having mild cold/flu-like symptoms, so I’ve been staying home to be extra-cautious. Work from home is okay for me occasionally, but more than a few days and it really starts to wear on my mental health. I hyperfocus so much harder, and I can’t direct it as well, and I just struggle without other people.",1 "I don't think it's an ADHD thing, it's a human thing",1 This headline made me laugh so hard. And then cry a little. I haven't even read the post yet. Feel like this needs to go on my fridge or something - motivational reminder? 😂😳😭,1 "Thank you, because of your dad I now learned how to fly",1 My solution to this has been singing or fishing. Essentially meditation where my brain can single task with full concentration on something that creates good feelings. I'm able to relax even though no work gets done.,1 Anyone found a good medication combination for the trifecta? Vyvanse works good for me but doesn’t quite cover the anxiety and depression side of things. Tried some antidepressants but find most don’t work for me.,1 "I dont think anyone has ever said something that really nails how I am feeling or gets it. I'm ecstatic, but also sad, that others understand it and feel the same way. The way I've always tried to describe it is that ""I just feels like my bones do not fit into my body right"" and that no matter what I do I just cant be the good person I want to be, l though that clearly doesnt make any sense.",1 I feel this so much right now. One thing that helped me in the past was getting super into fitness (not a replacement for therapy or medication or anything like that calm down people) and I think it worked because by the end of the day I was too tired to have the mental energy to ruminate and obsess. Things are so bad now I haven't worked out in months though,0 I remember learning about the parts of the brain in 5th grade (including the memory part) and I couldn’t stop worrying that the memory part of my brain was somehow defective (despite having a top-notch memory). Once I found out what ocd was it made a lot more sense😂,0 Can we find a way to pin this to the top of my feed every hour on the hour :),1 It physically pains me how many times I’ve been told to stop overthinking like I haven’t tried everything under the sun to not hyper-fixate on things I’d rather not even think about.,1 "thanks for advice I was worried about this until I started obsessing about something else. That’s typically how it goes for me I obsess about a certain thing until another comes up, I found that focusing on my breathing and trying to meditate made it subside for a while, but I mostly just played games. Now that I am to busy worrying about other obsessions it doesn’t show up. I always think that going through all this torment makes us stronger and better equipped to handle difficulties in the future because we can appreciate how stupid a lot of the stuff we worry about is. I also take comfort in the fact that me worrying about stuff like this doesn’t change the fact that we have responsibilities and that the sun will come up in the morning every day, whether or not I’m dealing with this stuff. It can be hard considering music is a way to deal with the stress but when all you think about is the music stuck in your head you just want to never hear music again. I don’t know if I’m lucky but when I go out and do things my obsessions seem to disappear, but I guess that’s why they say an idle mind is the devils playground because any mental illness loves to show up when we are not occupied. Sorry for the rambling but I had stuff on my mind I guess.",0 "For me, it's pretty weird A few months before I was diagnosed with OCD, my older sister had said something to the effect of: do you have OCD or something? And I was totally offended and hurt even though I didn't really know what it was. Well, I went to a mental hospital a few months later and at the end, my diagnoses of OCD was given and I was in shock but almost relieved. I finally knew what I had, and the next step was awaiting me: partial hospital specifically designed for those who have OCD.",0 "This is me, with the exception of 2 or 3 things, ex: binging sugar— I don't crave it much since being on metformin. Salty snacks and cheese? I'll beat down a grown man for a plate of chips and queso.",1 omg i literally thought i was the only one who thought this kinda thing and it made me crazy,0 "My most played song, (Tranz by Gorillaz) which I first streamed in March, hit 100 plays by mid April, about half the plays through the year. If that doesn't show how quickly I listen to music, nothing does.",1 "I have too many alarms in the morning. I ignore them to the point that I spend three hours in a limbo state of sort of awake, sort of not.",1 Hahaha so true 😂 Convincing my brain that we are not schizoprenic was so tough. Lol it took me 3 months or smth hahah...,0 the eyelash thing and the shower thing... oh man. can relate. same with the door.,0 Obsessed on A&E was pretty good. Was unhappy they cancelled it after the second season.,0 "I've thought about this before, I can't tidy my own place but I'd happily tidy someone elses. I wished there was some system where you could tidy someone elses house and vice versa but then I just realised you could pay someone to do it and earn the money doing something else. ",1 "I ate a burrito! I already was, but I'm counting it still.",1 "Either 1) they want to be cool and trendy because faking mental illness is very popular on social media right now, or 2) they don’t understand it at all and just think OCD will make them neat and organized",0 "Absolutely 💯 % and this includes everyday things from everyone, including my Partner, and holy fuck I’m surprised anyone has been able to stay in a relationship with me because that must be exhausting for them because it’s exhausting for me.",1 God yes. 80% of the time I do anything creative it’s working on a new project for the first time. It’s so hard to just go back and finish something,1 This is so true! I do this and really trying to stop. Also apologising when I know I am not wrong to be reassured I'm not wrong...,0 "2, 4, 14, 17 and 69 (nice) are good numbers. 4 especially pleases me. But I use only 5 when I need to do something for work. If I need to stack something I stack it in 5, never 4. But 4 makes me feel very good and grounded at any other times.",0 "You’re so lucky. I’m too scared to say i have it because it’s not the contamination kind or having odd rituals, mine is “I’m scared of liking children.” Not easy to share at all, I hate it and wish i had a different obsession.",0 Oh god I feel like I get that for others. That I’ll stab a family member or something.,0 "Jokes on you, I also suffer from untreated crippling depression lmao.",1 "Yeah I have just started to let myself start every creative project I want to and so far I've eventually managed to get enough bursts of focus over time to finish 98% of them (even if it takes 2 years...), the other 2% of them I end up hating and pull apart to use for other projects. I currently have 18 knitting/cross-stitch/sewing/painting/studding/etc. projects going on right now and while it sounds insane, and I'm sure it annoys my roommates slightly how much space they take up in the apartment (though I contain them nicely to not be in the way), I have a list of all of them and go through it every so often so I don't forget about any of them. And I'm confident they'll all get finished... eventually. Edit: And if I'm counting correctly, I also have at least 10 project ideas lined up for starting when I finish some of these, I just haven't had the strong urge to start them yet and have been fine alternating between the ones I already have going. It means I probably won't end up getting around to all of my ideas, but that's alright too.",1 "I hate cbt, especially the way it was done to me. My therapist basically blackmailed me to stop compulsions or he would end therapy. After a year of basically bullying me to stop, he (thankfully) ended our sessions and said he can't work with me anymore because I'm the one that can stop this and I'm not trying enough. I was devastated at the time but I'm a million times thankful now because I got a lot better when I stopped behavioral therapy, I started simple therapy, and I realized this cbt shit made it a thousand times worse than it already worse. I can't say it never works, as it is always different for everyone, but just because it is supposed to be the most efficient it doesn't mean it always works.",0 "Mine told me that if I did not hit the trash can with my piece of crumpled paper - I’d never become a zillionaire. To be fair, my OCD was right. Also, it frequently tells me that if I prepare for something - I’ll perform far worse than just go in cold. So I’m quite the underachiever. Also, things have to be just right or I am often very irritated and horrible with anyone who might want to live with me. So I am all alone now. Oh well.",0 Oml I thought I was the only one. I will tirelessly do any compulsion my brain can think of but the moment I want to clean my depression just kicks in full force.,0 "My psychiatrist slipped up and told me to just stop thinking about it. I figured she was having a bad day. I smiled at her and laughed and said, ""If only I could, I wouldn't be here."" But yeah. I try to not take it to personally",0 "Thanks. Good one. We can live such separate lives nowadays, as if we are just roommates. Maybe this will help a bit.",1 It's fucking hell. I hate these normies that think it's about being clean.,0 "I'm new to actually starting to understand my OCD so I hope this isn't a stupid question, but what's ROCD?",0 I honestly only really relate with 5% of the content here. Maybe I’m just odd,1 "I certainly am disorganized, and sometimes even dirty.",0 My ADHD is crucial but I've never forgotten to finish. I'll pray for you.,1 Not anymore. This shit hasn’t affected me for 2 years. Seems like I learnt how to control them.,0 "Me. I want to clean shit but I always over think it and my brain shuts down. I mostly get intrusive thoughts, excessive guilt, and checking instead of rituals and routines.",0 in my defense i just started procrastinating and this is the first thing i’ve seen on reddit today,1 "Yes. I like this. Having ADHD is hard don't get me wrong. Life is sometimes overwhelming, but at the same time when I set my mind to something. I am a force to be reckoned with. I look at the world from the angles, sure sometimes I miss the obvious path, but I see connections that many miss. It's not all bad.",1 Ha! Mad props to you if you managed not to hang up on her at that moment.,1 This could possibly be OCPD NOT OCD. When will the media get it right and add 1 mf letter.,0 "See, I have to take medication holidays because adderall XR causes me erectile dysfunction if I stay on it when I’m with my partner on the weekends",1 Omg yes! I use to think I was hearing voices cause my intrusive thoughts felt so foreign!,0 "I'm not trying to excuse it,. Just pondering...I think when people say that what they really want is motivation. They see cleaning /organization ocd as just being really motivated, not as being tormented. They want the motivation and energy to clean that way. Because they don't really understand the torment part of it.",0 When I was 17 I kept telling myself I was gay and that I didn’t know it the whole time. That went on for another 3 years. So traumatizing,0 I’ve done this with my last and current relationship and it helps a lot. Really reaffirming,1 Yeah especially when the panic attacks happen at very inconvenient times.,0 "Awesome story! I've done similar things with my wife and kids.",1 "If I hear the phrase, “but you have so much potential!” one more time,I will start throwing punches.",1 "I will be circling back to read this again, but I just wanna say my doctor (before she went and retired like a jerk) was the main reason I got any treatment at all. I told her all the stuff my first psych told me and she was like, ""okay well that's just ridiculous we're scheduling you an appointment with someone else."" She stood up for me, she explained how it affected her, and she's a saint.",1 "As someone who unknowingly had ADHD my entire life, I’ve never related more to anything. It may not seem like a big deal to some people, but after years and years of being seen as the “awkward” kid, it’s enough to make anyone question their self-worth. Thanks for sharing this",1 "I think its' current name is just a mashup of all the previous iterations. ""Attention Deficit Disorder"" seems to fit, but doesn't account for the differences in Inattentive and Hyperactive. So they threw the ""Hyperactive"" part into the overall name. Well, then that gets confusing because ""ADHD Type Primarily Inattentive"" is a contradiction. I guess it's shorter than ""Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, hold the Hyperactivity"", but still.... I jokingly call it ""SOS"".....Spaced Out Syndrome....lol.",1 Whats really messed up is when ADHD distracts you from the fact you have it or depression. It is very good at keeping you in denial for a long time.,1 Wait what is object emotional impermanence? Like fear of loss?,1 "It's funny because for me, I want the first bite so I don't get anybody elses germs. My friends (bless them) always ask me if I want a sip of their drink or a bite of their food before they dig in because they know I can't have any after they begin.",0 "So often, even when I’m not on medication and know I need to eat and hydrate but the thought of eating or drinking water is so unappealing",1 "Ugh I hate that I worry too much about if their right. Like did I manifest this? It’s exhausting I could get so much done if I wasn’t so consumed",0 This is AMAZING! I used to do it for so long and so many times and I know exactly how hard it is. I'm so proud of you.,0 "I struggled with this for YEARS. It still sometimes comes up whenever I'm in lgbtq spaces tho and I'll sit there like ""what if I am straight and lying to myself??""",0 "This was me last night. Just going to finish this quest, and make that thing. Then I'm going to bed. Oh fuck it's 4am. It's midnight right now. Going to bed right now.",1 "Hey, all. Struggling stepmom here who isn't affected by ADHD, but desperately wants to help my stepson. What IS the best way, in your opinions, to redirect and reinforce someone with ADHD? My 7 year old stepson doesn't seem to respond to positivity nor negativity. Long story short, I'm at a loss as to how to help him. I've tried everything in my teacher repertoire and mother portfolio. Tried heart to heart talks, explaining the ""why"", asking nicely, yelling, cussing, guilting... (I'm not proud of those, and I regret that they've happened). I just get so angry that he makes bad choices. This morning; okay you forgot the dog's water. Forgetfulness happens. But intentionally not taking the adhd medicine so that you can be silly in the mornings? Not okay. Rubbing lotion into the carpet instead of your skin? Not okay. Brushing your teeth sans toothpaste and water? Not okay. And it's EVERY morning we go through this. Same thing every single day. I'm exhausted of it, and I just want to get through to him. I don't want to resent him, and I don't want him to resent me. I want him to think back on his childhood as happy, not all of us fussing at him. Not all the parent-teacher conferences that explain how awfully he's behaved in school.",1 "Can someone explain what ""on read"" means in the context here? Is that like the last text message just says ""read"" and there's no more communication?",1 "wowwww this literally just happened to me today. Procrastinated on picking up a purchase, the store cancelled it, and when I went to buy it again - it’s $30 more expensive, there was some sale that ended today. My b",1 "I'm in this picture, and (I don't like it), I no longer feel alone",1 I just wish that it was okay to other people that sometimes 'My Best' actually means I'm completely brain-tied and can't do anything except stare at the wall wondering which thread I should be pulling on to unravel the whole thing for 2-6 months.,1 I literally have had OCD symptoms since I was six and I genuinely believe that I was born with it.,0 "This is probably the best sentence to explain to someone who thinks OCD is ""liking things in order"" what OCD is really like",0 😮 I don't think this is an adhd thing & if it is than I mastered it without meds.,1 "prozac 25 mg, Wim hoff method, extra sleep, and exercise went a long way",0 Oooooof and then I obsess over the guilt because of being close to people w schizophrenia and go down that rabbit hole of psychotic symptoms and self hate and guilt xD,0 "I have definitely felt overwhelmed many times before (heck, more than once last week). Lots of virtual hugs/comforts are going your way if you want them! If you'd like some useful perspectives on depression, I have found 'Lost Connections' by Johann Hari is really good at explaining how the modern world is essentially 'junk values' (think junk food but for mental stuff) that cause depression: [https://thelostconnections.com/](https://thelostconnections.com/) Your comments about feeling bad that you cannot 'man up' and are wasting other people's time can definitely be looked at as 'junk' values'--not helpful and actively harmful. (Note: this is NOT to blame you, just pointing out the negative spiral that depression) You have a lot to unpack, I hope you have loved ones or a therapist to help!",1 "I feel you, hang in there and don't give up, time will heal this. I beat it and have faith in that you can beat this to! Lots and lots and lots of meditation, don't feed it anything, agreeing with the voice is one thing that helps a lot. If you need support on how to deal with ocd, Ali Greymond on youtube is amazing. sending you love and support!",0 It was having a gaming pc for me and when I have my pc I'm not that interested in playing games now :/,0 "I am getting told all the time “just get out of your head! What were you even doing? You’re just in your own little head over there and can’t function right. Like why is it so hard” I wish they knew exactly how hard it is.",1 "Yeah...100% I ""took a break"" in efforts to follow my passion and degree path to move back home to help my Mom run our family business when my dad's early onset Alzheimer's showed up. I promised her a year, which turned into 9 before I decided to bail and try to have some adventures of my own. I had no idea how much more difficult being out in the ""real working world"" was going to be...it seems in large part my success was tied to the environment working well with my ADHD - I had a lot of flexibility as one of the bosses, I had a clear direction and sense of purpose through ownership of what I was doing, we had a simple production schedule and I was easily able to pick the design/production jobs I was working on based on whatever factors fit my state that day best... Now I've been in the general working world since 2019 and it's been a shit show the whole way. I worked for some toxic crazy people - at least I'm in a better place now in that sense but still... I work for an awesome boss with great coworkers who I've known for a decade as family friends - they're flexible and care a lot about me, but I'm sadly learning I do find the work itself intolerably boring most of the time... Job #2 is a part time vet tech gig (my background is animal science/conservation bio) that I picked up when they needed extra help during the pandemic, so I work after my 9-5 for about 15 hours a week. I'm always active, feeling like I'm making an impact, surrounded by badass women with amazing senses of humor, and my mind never just wanders off because I find the work itself so engaging. Sucky part is that Job #1 is critical because it pays the bills and I'd feel super guilty jumping ship after only a year and change. Job #2 doesn't pay shit - I couldn't survive on that income, but I love it and I'd feel just as guilty letting that one go because they're always telling me what a huge help I am and how they wish they could steal me for full time...but I'm burning at both ends, having to keep the job that makes my ADHD harder to manage, but not wanting to cut the one I love loose even if it'd probably make my main job easier if I had more breathing room and worked a standard 40 hours a week... My heart's with you!",1 "More like when I mutter something to myself while hanging out and being like ""oh shit I hope no one heard that. I hope I didn't say that too loud"" Worst feeling ever and then there's the constant nagging thought of does everyone know I do this and just say nothing to me or around me about it?",0 Lmao I’m just gonna use this as a reaction image to everything from now on,0 "Sad part is, there was such an easy way for them to not make light of anybody and still bring in the same consumer base: Well-Organized Candy Company. Like, COME. ON. It wouldn't have been hard!",0 "I just got here, and I kinda suspect i have ocd, but what has this meme got to do with ocd? I thought these kinda thoughts were just idk, like an active imagination?",0 "No, don't downplay it. GREAT JOB, way to go!! This is a victory. Don't apologize.",1 Yeah I got through this constantly but the weird thing is is that's the disorder making u believe that! It sucks alot and it's so hard to deal with,0 "I.. think I have ADHD, i related so much to most of what was talked about. I need to start looking for where I can go to get the help that I clearly need, but I never really felt like I knew how to properly express any of this before I read this. I'm glad this popped up as I was scrolling through the popular tab. Thank you.",1 "ADHD is also being able to half-build a rocket a week later, after not sleeping for days. Sure, you dropped the project after that week, but who else can build half a rocket?! I’d say it’s still impressive! ...right?",1 "A problem shared is a problem halved. You are really stressing and those feelings are valid. It’s a crappy time we are living in. This subreddit is here for you, we are here for each other. We care about you because we share your pain. We know what it’s like. You are not alone.",0 "Oh my *god*. I never would have thought this could be an ADHD thing, but after reading this comment section it seems like it is. I always use way too many commas. My mom edits my papers for grammar and she always takes away so many commas.",1 Thank you. These have been popping up more frequently and I’m hoping that they won’t lead to another depressive episode for me. It scares me.,0 "I did not even understand the idea of reassurance seeking until this subreddit and I honestly think that realization could change my life in the long run. I just thought i was overwhelming, didn’t get that it was a compulsion.",0 "I’ve completely disassembled my office workstation, there are pieces all over my apartment. Meanwhile I’ve stopped to eat peanut butter out of the jar and browse Reddit",1 Could ya see all of us at some ADHD - ADD convention? No one could organize it or stay on topic 🤣 someone would say have you ever tried and before they could finish the question a resounding YES would ring out from the crowd because we’ve tried purnt near everything so there’s no point in waiting to see what the thing was.,1 We had the same percent battery and I got extremely confused.,0 "I think I might just refer to my phone reminders as timed guilt trippers going forward, because... yes I do this.",1 "First it's 3. Then you realize it's gotta be 3 times 3 times in a row, so you pull 3 times again and then again, which gives us a total of 9 pulls. But then you pull 3 times more to be sure and you realize you pulled it 4 times now (4x3) and even numbers are not good, so you gotta pull it 3 times again, which gives us 5 times total (5x3). ​ You can walk away from the door now, but couple feet later you realize you gotta pull it again ""just to be sure"", so no one would break into your house, kill your family and steal your shit. ​ Eh, life is beautiful.",0 "I struggled with this and washing my face for years. The thoughts of the future problems never helped. what helped was realizing I didn't like it when my mouth wasn't clean. It was gross and my breath smelled. I didn't realize it at the time but I had given myself a good reason in the moment to get it done. With washing my face it helped to wear makeup. At night I had to wash it off or it would be uncomfortable. At this point years later I still use these reasons and its become much easier to just do it. no more standing in the bathroom not doing anything. It gets easier over time and just becomes what I do. Flossing is still a challenge though.",1 I feel this. I think much of my success academically is just my ocd fear of not PeRfEcTLy AnD cOmPleTelY UnDeRsTanDiNg what i’m studying 🙄,0 "All the time! I only recently found this sub, but you are my people! Thank you for helping me understand why I'm like this xxx",1 That is amazing! I support you 100%! Keep it up things will just keep getting better from here! :),0 "You just described every single day of mine for the last 6 months, I'm starting CBT but I kinda just want to say throw some more pills at me because anything else is too much effort, I want to be better but I don't want to do anything to be better",1 "Have you heard of betterhelp.com?? They are a strictly online therapy provider. From what I understand the cost is 35-70$ a session, not sure what determines the high or low end, or if that is within your current budget.",0 "I’m a man. Don’t have ADHD but my daughter does so I roam on this sub stealing nuggets of advice. So allow me if you will to give something in return. Manning up is exactly what you are doing by feeling your feelings and better yet, expressing them in an outward fashion. We all feel alone, out of place, and definitely like what’s the point of going on, from time to time. All that shit is pretty normal according to the many many therapists, psychologists and psychiatrists I’ve spoken to over the years. I will not assume to know in what ways having ADHD affects one’s ability to connect with your own emotions, but I do know that brain chemistry plays a HUGE role in self regulating our emotional state. The part that upsets me is that you feel negative about yourself for HAVING FEELINGS that we all share. You are just brave enough to admit that your feeling a certain way. Wish I was able to do that more often. I’d probably have better relationships with those close to me. So yeah-Man up! Man up and feel your feelings, contemplate where they come from, and hopefully you will get through the rough patches and back to a more stable frame of mind…albeit for only a few more moments until the next wave hits! Be well.",1 Ohh another post that hits way to close to home. I can definitely relate to this and feel it on a day to day basis.... ☹️,1 that is sooooo awesome the “small” accomplishments are actually the big ones,0 "I used to enjoy this, now I have this issue of what I call ""groundhogs day-ing"" where I foresee all the things that will happen, need to happen, and how they will play out. Once I've done this I realize that now I have to live out what I did already mentally which is exhausting because I feel like I'm doing it twice over. At that point I just want a fast forward button in life so I can auto pilot through the monotonous of events. I often have this issue with repetitive scheduled events. If I do something every Wednesday than I play out how all of Wednesday will happen making actually living Wednesday out redundant feeling.",1 THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THIS UP! Wow I've always found this particular scenario so hard to explain and thought I was the only one. Everyday is panicked 'but what if I die' and then the depression hits and you're like 'actually I don't care if I die'.,0 "Take medication and never post anything like this ever again. Adhd is not a disease and nothing to be ashamed of. Never post anything like this ever again. Nobody is perfect. I repeat I nobody is perfect. Take medication and their are few to no hidden costs. Also, not everything that occurs in your life is b/c of ADHD. Many of it can be trauma related for example. Having adhd is not the end of the world and I'm tired of people in this group treating it like that.",1 "At this point I just think fuck it. Fuck the social norm, fuck the 9-5, fuck psychiatry trying to fix us, and fuck people who misinterpret us as being rude or lazy. Besides the game is rigged, it’s a loosing struggle and there are no winners. We’re birthed without consent to crawl across a floating rock in meaningless apathy for a blink in a boundless cosmic abyss with no beginning or end So may as well do whatever we want to enjoy it a bit",1 "I want to be good at it, but I want to be good RIGHT NOW",1 "Thanks for sharing. It's cliche' but sometimes imperfections are what make something unique. As someone who doesn't draw or have a very critical eye for art (although I'm gifted musically), I wouldn't have noticed the lines at all had you not mentioned it, and even now as I look at it it feels more like a stylistic choice because it's so consistent rather than a mistake. Also I really like your username for some reason.",0 "Well why don't you just walk into my home and call me out there too? Man I feel you. So do the extra hours I put in to hit output when I can't hyperfocus on a task. ow.",1 """Life has it's burdens...and I'm not going to be one of those people that dumps it on somebody else."" I agree, but I think it's very, very important that everyone knows that it's OK to ask for help. Without my girlfriend, I would be a much bigger mess than I am. Sometimes you need someone to get you through those hard times, reassure you everything is ok, and assist you with your illness. I think we should all understand this isn't dumpling it on someone else, but there are ways of doing it that can be.",0 "On boxing Day, I said I'd shower in the morning. I'd been saying it for three days, but I got to boxing Day and still didn't shower. So I spent a few minutes going through my dresser trying to find hoodies that weren't too warm so i could wear them inside while keeping my head covered.",1 "I use soap 1-3 times per shower, just because I get lost in my own thoughts for too long; proceeded by insecurity about whether or not my memories of lathering and rinsing are from the current or a previous shower.",1 "The version I tell myself is ""You can't sleep until you finish your assignment"" (never finishes assignment) (never sleeps)",1 I cannot understand stand direction unless someone else shows me how to do it,1 "This feels like me. I've always been the joker and wanting to impress even since childhood - it's been my way to prove my ""worth"". A typical ""people pleaser"" you may say, it's something I work on because it's not as a good trait as you might think. What you unconsciously do is giving away your power to everyone you impress, because: * Not receiving the response you want / are after = bad feelings, anxiety, over-analytic thinking. I'm an extrovert/introvert and some days I have super high energy and all I want is to see people and other days I just want to be alone. I've came to realize that integrity and a ""zero f*cks"" attitude goes a LONG WAY. So what if you feel like you ""disappoint"" people? If they don't like both your high and low sides they ate really nothing to care about : ). Just be true to yourself and don't push yourself to always be the entertainer, that's my biggest tip. It's hard at first, but not caring what other people think is a huge anxiety killer. All done in respect and integrity of course, it's your universe 🙏",1 "Okay but do they understand the amount of obsessing and overthinking that goes into finding a planner?!? I bought three and I’m still not cured. I’m starting to think they were lying.",1 can relate. my room is still a mess after trying to tidy it.,1 Aww that is really adorable! I am glad you are so happy!!,1 "Oh my god, thank you. I've been coming down hard on myself, but you are right I would feel destroyed if someone else did these things that I should be doing. It's some comfort.",1 "I’ve been doing somewhat better. Before I’d give up on all my classes now this semester I’m actually doing all my work and submitting everything in time getting %100 & a B on my exam. Math aswell which is something I was never good at. I got tired of feeling like a failure. I also put in a lot of time on OSRS I hand trained two accs in a couple month which are worth $400+ currently but sadly I experienced burnout the past month. Gave up on classic wow, CSGO which are my primary games. I’ll be back tho ! :D",1 It’s literally 12:30 am. And with some intoxication. Not only do I feel called out... thank you as I’m debating on sleep vs YouTube videos and snacks instead of sleep!,1 "“At least you don’t think about x. That would be way worse!” says well-meaning person. * immediately starts to panic about x *",0 By the gods! I never envisioned something so simple would undo all these years of turmoil. Bravo! /s,1 "I've also noticed that, at least for me, I write very formally. Even if it's just a text to a friend or a discord message, then sometimes I'll go back and edit it to be more casual!",1 "It's hilarious that all this is what I've ended up doing for the same reasons. And I buy things I like and know will take me forever to refill if I didn't, in bulk. Like a coffee cream I use daily, I buy 4 that will last me a couple month and I'd use them before they would expire. Or frozen fruits I buy as many as I can store away because Ive been in a routine of drinking one each day. These are things I know I'll want around but if they weren't, I'd likely be compelled to go to the store and buy it where I may impulse buy other items. Or I'm not motivated enough to drive the few minutes in the winter and slowly fuck up my routine which is extremely important for me to stay on top of my ADHD.",1 Thank you for doing what I don't have the patience to.,1 She got you donuts just because you mentioned craving them 🥺🥺 You’re both adorable. This post made my day.,1 My notes app is LOADED with brilliant ideas that I captured in moments of brilliant clarity...so brilliant that I have never opened up my notes app to “review” anything. Ever. Never ever.,1 "As an artist and ocd sufferer, I’d like to say: props to you. It takes a well developed and intelligent mind to be aware of all the levels ocd might affect you. If you get to that point, it’s almost twice as hard to put the energy and intention in to take a mental picture, plan out your medium, and spend the hours turning it into a tangible object. And on top of all of this... you have OCD. Any one of those statements would be a big step for someone, and you have managed to conquer all of the challenges needed to get here. You are a true hero, and I want you to know that i was moved by your image. Have a good day/night. ☺️💙",0 "Hello everyone, my 6 year old son has being diagnosed with ADHD and honestly I don't know much about it but I don't want to be an ignorant parent and I truly want to understand him and try to help him out as best as I can. If its not much to ask can Y'all give me some tips and advice to help him. I will truly appreciate it 🙏",1 My goodness. I am just discovering adhd and realizing a lot of things just add up. Like this. Thanks for this post! Need to see a specialist.,1 "I’m the opposite of this, probably why everyone hates me",0 My second most listened to song was one that just got added to Spotify to a month ago and my most listened to song was streamed 871 times lmao,1 This makes me spiral so much. Ridiculous amount of Panik. CAPITAL P!!,0 "Actually, I typically ignore the reminders whether I want to our not. 😬",1 I used to do this a LOT. I just had to accept the fact it may happen and let it be. I stopped doing it eventually. I hope you can feel better soon!,0 "Dr. Jesus Martinez is, indeed, an excellent psychiatrist.",0 "They said think outside the box so I went and got some kind of rhomboid made using noneuclidian geometry and then glitched into the side of it. I'm trying to figure out how my mind fits in this world in a meaningful way and I hope my unique perspective can bring others joy some day. I'm sorry for your loss and I hope we all figure out how being built different can make us valued and desired team members rather than lost causes, cogs built for a machine that doesn't exist for neuro typical people.",1 "I feel totally the same, but slightly different in that it makes me less motivated not because of any personal doubt concerning my abilities, but out of spite that they (my abilities) are being questioned in the first place. Idrk where this comes from, but if i had to guess maybe from the years and years of having my aptitude/drive constantly under scrutiny from authority? I’m not sure, but it’s unfortunate because i don’t think those who try to appeal to those certain sensibilities are intentionally trying to be patronizing or anything, i just think my brain can’t help but take it the wrong way. Either that or the offense taken on my part is totally rational. Probably a case by case thing, to be sure",1 "Or “Wait, I thought I locked the door but maybe I actually unlocked it! Gotta go back!” Then I turn the knob several times to make sure it’s locked but then I think ..wait what if I broke the knob and now the lock won’t work and it’s actually still unlocked ...",0 This is exactly how I’ve been feeling all September. It’s been rough.,1 YES!!! CONGRATULATIONS!!!! SO GODDAMN PROUD OF YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!❤️❤️,0 "**”Feels like the logical side of me is held hostage”** I’ve used those exact same words before.",0 It’s even worse for me because I have ADHD and autism and one symptom of autism is being easily overstimulated and overwhelmed by too much sensory input.,1 "I've bought several planners, calendars, budget planners, etc over the years and I'd say between all of them no more than 6 pages are used.",1 Half of my Wrapped were songs I had on repeat for a day,1 "I am 33 years old and was diagnosed about 4 months ago. I have been told similar things by my therapist, as well as read the testimonies of those in this forum. I logically understand that the feeling isn't ""ME"", but for some reason I am unable to let myself believe it emotionally. I am currently on medication and I recognize a difference in being able to control my obsessive thoughts and anxiety, but I still struggle with getting things started due to the emotional walls and self shame. I am working on it but have found that it is very difficult. I was given the task of making a list of my personal strengths by my therapist about 2 months ago, but every time I sit down and try, I am unable to do so because of the constant self devaluing that goes on every time I think positively about myself. I am also unable to take a compliment or any act of praise. It makes me feel physically uncomfortable. It also make me feel like the person giving the compliment or praise is just lying to me out of some sort of social politeness. These are mental habits that I am working on but once again it is very difficult. Hopefully one day I can get to a point where I can honestly think positively about myself.",1 "I can understand ! ...hv faced some horrible n life threatening days from this issue. But ...we shall overcome ! ..I always think , we r too strong n dats y we r sent with these issues to be faced . Not everyone can handle n overcome such situations . Anyway ! Allll power to u. ..U r going to enjoy life ..much more than before ! dats sure !! ..",0 "And as I've been struggling with ADHD, depression, and suicidal thoughts lately, this is exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you, OP.",1 "If literally anything I eat or drink looks or tastes just a tiny bit different, I automatically think I’ve been poisoned and am going to die. And don’t get me started on pills lmao",0 "I have a huge meal planner on my fridge and that really helps. When the food shopping is delivered, I look what goes out of date first then I write what we need to eat each day. This then prompts me to use things that will go out of date. You can get a huge magnetic planner from amazon that goes on your fridge, it might help? X",1 hey everyone! I'm new the the subreddit and y'all saying to divE INTO THE THOUGHTS WH,0 What about when it’s a “quick” thing and you accidentally do it too many times on the left and then the right and then the left and I’m just stood there flicking the wall in some weird morse code pattern in the middle of a funeral.,0 "I don't know what I did... but I can PROMISE YOU. I AM SO SORRY. SO, SO, SO, SO SORRY... THAT I DID IT!!! -\_\_\_\_\_- lmao smfh. wonder what on earth that could possibly be a sign of. Life sucks........ This worlds a mess. I have my freaking stupid and intrusive ""compulsions...!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"" \-\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_-",0 "Same, I have already decided to take 15 credits instead of the maximum 18 because I know it will be impossible, and that course is an elective that I was only taking because it is the only one that wouldn’t clash if I want 18 credits. I’m not doing too good but it’s more or less manageable still",1 That is one of the most disgusting posts I’ve ever seen. I wanna comment on it. Lmao.,0 "if you use Google Chrome on phone then you must know what this "":)"" means... LOL",1 "no one: socialization & any sense of pride: *don't fucking do it. We're all thinking it, there is a reason no one has said it. Do NOT FuCkiNg SaY iT* adhd: Work Will Set you Free",1 "Short term, your dad's strategy can work. Sometimes pushing through and just doing it does work. At least for me. But doing it consistently, routinely, or because someone else tells me to just do it is a whole different story. I think this is one of the main points of difference between someone with ADHD and not, at least on an external level. At least for me. Motivation and willpower is very thin in my end. It can work. But don't expect it to work for very long.",1 7 yr old me worrying about accidentally committing the unforgivable sin,0 27 days?! That’s great. It’s something I always struggle with. Good for you,1 "Yeah, making it more spicy, interesting, hmm what kinda life is this? Lack of rewarding chemicals makes you realize it’s all that makes this cumbersome unmotivated body move. Well at least you got clean teeth out of an sexual act.",1 "I have harm OCD, and I get Intrusive thoughts about hurting my loved ones and even random strangers. I keep living my life as normal as possible and loving my family as more as possible, no matter how hard this OCD makes things for me.",0 Now that I have a job that pays well above minimum wage for the first time I've decided I'm going to hire a cleaner for my house. I don't even care if my housemates don't pitch in (they're on minimum wage still and one is suffering from severe anxiety atm). I don't like cleaning and I will put it off. The only thing that holds me accountable right now is said housemates,1 "Sometimes when I realize I'm doing this, I'll realize that I need to accept the fact that I'm not doing work and might as well do something more enjoyable. So I'll walk my dog or something, to break that cycle. Doesn't always work but helps sometimes",1 I just made a video about this. [https://youtu.be/YUSCI5wd7vg](https://youtu.be/YUSCI5wd7vg),0 I was thinking about this kind of thing at work. The amount of detail those with OCD think about is unbelievable.,0 "I used to do this as well. What ""OCD Theme"" would this fall under? If anybody knows please tell me",0 "Therapy is the best thing? They always tell me what I already know, reaffirmation isn’t helpful. At best they have provided a different angle to look at things. I smile and nod, but they are little more than sounding boards.",1 Sometimes. I usually raise my eyebrows to force it up and out of my head.,0 Don’t listen to Liability by Lorde when you’re sad too it makes it worse,1 "Yes! I think it's an anxiety thing maybe? Like a ""flight, fight, or play dead"" response to perceived danger. In our case our brain tells us to play dead because it perceived the task as a threat or something.",1 "Google Narcolepsy, a friend of mine have it. It's like ADHD but instead of driving to other activities ou feel sleepy and tired",1 "Awesome job! I used to struggle too! I actually learned I was putting TOO MUCH TOOTHEPASTE on my toothbrush! Apparently a pea sized amount is appropriate. This stopped irritating my tongue. I also chose aim toothpaste that wasn’t super duper powerful tasting. Maybe this will help others struggling. :)",1 "I wanted to say I relate to this so hard. I actually spoke to my therapist about it this week as I’ve been really struggling and she said, “Real or fake, it’s real to you. What does it really matter.” Of course my OCD wants to scream “Of course you would say that fake-dream-illusion therapist!” I feel like recently movies and television are really playing on the ideas of these alternate realities and it can makes things even more difficult for someone who struggles. Anyway, just wanted to say, keep on swimming man, you are not alone in your fight. ",0 "I just can't win in any scenario. This is so tiring.",0 "Interesting, my hand washing compulsion comes and goes too. My Lexapro helped with it a lot, but I can tell when it’s not cutting it because my anxiety brings compulsions back.",0 "If you have OCD, and you are expending any mental energy getting angry about people for posting this, you are not focusing on your own mental health properly. *edit* and since I see that so many of you unnecessarily freak out when you see things like this, why the holy #%^* do you share them with each other? Why are you trying to make each other mad about something you can’t control that in no way affects your condition?",0 "Wait, hating how your hair feels on your face and how clothes feel on your body is an adhd thing? God damn",1 "Lol my therapy is always at 3 and my work always starts at 4, maybe that's why I'm depressed and freaking out all the time that I have no time",1 "This really pisses me off. I was diagnosed with OCD and depression by a psychiatrist. I hear people all the time laughing saying ""Oh I guess I""m OCD cause I always keep my desk clean"" when talking about theirself. No Karen you don't have OCD. You're just a piece of crap. If you had OCD you wouldn't be able to function because you couldn't find the EXACT 3 pens that MUST be on your desk because if they aren't on your desk you can not KNOW where they are even if you know you must have put them in a drawer. THAT is OCD Karen. Having to lock the door at least 30 times otherwise it's not REALLY locked is OCD. Spending all that time and going through all the pain of your own brain SCREAMING at you that something is WRONG even when you just did it. THAT is OCD. Now this card. This card is offensive. This card is a slap in the face of anyone with OCD or really any mental illness. This company is saying your pain and your struggle is a joke. Your pain is to be laughed at. Please post the name of this company, I want to make sure I NEVER buy any of their products.",0 "This is why I personally believe it is a spectrum disorder. In order of severity : ADHD, Aspergers, Autism.",1 "i had never considered it because i am ALWAYS so tired. couldn’t be adhd if i’m the opposite of hyperactive, right? (wrong)",1 "I've learnt that saying out loud ""locked"" is really helpful. The worst is when I'm in autopilot mode leaving home for work and I just can't remember. I've been late for work so many times because of walking back to check.",0 "CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I had enough for a platinum award, I'd give it to you.",0 "That's painfully accurate. Gave me a laugh nevertheless - humour is the best way to deal with it, I guess... (well, and therapy. Lots of therapy.)",0 "Dieting took a heavy hit for me today. I gotta do better tomorrow. The bad thing is that I need to keep my food in my own room, else the person I share a flat with just steals and eats it. I thought I was well stocked with frozen goods for the current crisis. Turns out that he has been eating my emergency supplies for weeks.",1 Thanks so much for this. I hate those posts and struggle with them a lot. I love dogs and this actually gives me such an amazing tool to defeat those thought loops. Bless your soul!,0 I’m in high school and I want to go into film. For my tv production project this quarter I want to do a “morning routine with ocd” video. I had always wanted to do something like that and I finally think I’m ready to :),0 I take my meds everyday! Or else I can’t function. I just wish that the meds would work 24 hours instead of retaking every 4 hours. I hate fact that it works for certain hours and you crash. Have they not thought of how awful it is for some one with ADHD???,1 "I know how you feel, I didn't always brush my teeth too. You can be very proud of you! ❤",1 "I saw somebody that said that in order to manifest something, you have to do more than just think about it. Like, you have to actually do the thing that you’re manifesting... doesn’t that just ruin the whole idea of manifestation lmao",0 "Fell into a depression a couple of years ago. Didn’t know I had ADHD at the time, but I got depressed due to being undiagnosed. I finally got help in the form of a low dose of meds, therapy and sick leave from work. Considering the circumstances I really got back on my feet rather quickly. I didn’t quite understand why this was. Fast forward to know, I’ve just been diagnosed, and everything make sense now. During my sick leave I had NO obligations. I was renting an appartement but decided to stay with my parents for two weeks and then my boyfriend. They took care of me and I just had to focus on resting and getting better. Taking the pressure off and having zero responsibility really helped me. The adhd symptoms weren’t that bad then because I didn’t have to fight them. I could just be me, 100% me. People wanted me to be me again, it was even expected. I needed to be my weird chaotic self again. Slowly I added more responsibility again and went back to work. Therapy really helped me be kinder to myself. Getting the adhd diagnosis afterwards was the last missing piece of the puzzle. I’m wishing all of you the best! It can get better, it really can",1 Fuck i just realized i am really a tractor and my whole life is a lie,0 "I have imposter syndrome for literally every ailment I have, including the physical, visibly apparent ones... doesn’t really make sense, but neither does anything else my brain does",1 I…didn't know other people had this problem. Thanks for giving me hope :),1 Always! It’s had and frustrating. I honestly forget that they are intrusive thoughts tied to my OCD so I take it on as my fault too often. I just try to ask for clarification from that person or i want to start to write down my thoughts and feelings and file them away or toss them so they can work their way out of my system,0 This is amazing. Thank you so much. I am very good at doing the Jim smile.,0 "I cannot recommend more of this schedule, it makes me more productive than the school day I think. https://reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/fn3mh5/i_made_a_schedule_to_help_everyone_with_adhd/",1 "legit like post this every once in a while, im going to keep forgetting I just know it. Don't have time to do it right now, so I'm gonna save it to look at later XD",1 lately it gets so bad that i can't focus or even think at all until i nap for at least a little but then i oversleep for way too long and then those assignments have to be turned in late. it makes me wonder how am i going to get through college and fulfill my career??,1 "It's hard because I always saw myself as a really easy going, chilled and friendly person, but the past years (only got diagnosed last year) I've noticed I'm getting irritated and overstimulated more and more quickly and it's getting harder to just ignore and power through. I don't want to be mean and moody but I'm seeing myself become it more often",1 "I've had multiple teachers in the past that said I was really good at writing. It got to a point where some teachers started talking about me among themselves. At times, I could write essays/reports in 3/4 to half the time my neurotypical counterparts could. I've had multiple managers that said I was really good at writing emails, but always with a hint of bewilderment. So, I'm not sure whether to be flattered or insulted there lol But similar to you, talking for me is kind of rough at times. My brain's already a step ahead of me. I sometimes say things before I've had time to process it into something coherent cause I already understand it well before it's coherent enough. Then there's times where I talk too much, be it vocal or written... It's 1 of the reasons why I prefer dealing with customers over email instead of phone/in person. After reading this & some of the comments, I get the feeling people with ADHD must be better writers than most. It's extremely rare for me to say anything with confidence about myself, but 1 thing I can say for certain, is that I'm good at writing, mostly, if not exclusively, thanks to ADHD.",1 Thanks for making this community such a rewarding place!,1 I feel this. Sometimes I really do wish I could just pull out my brain or switch it off.,0 "I wish you the best of luck with your treatment, you're only 3 years older than me, it's scary to think it could happen at any age. What exactly did you experience since you first started? Is it non Hodgkins lymphoma or Hodgkins lymphoma? I've had my lymph nodes playing up for a little while but wouldn't even know what to do, my doctor probably won't care since I ask questions and suggestions for treatments based on previous experience, she doesn't seem to like it. I was having ectopics heart beats and mentioned it towards the end of my appointment, her reply was ""oh KingCat, you're killing me."" What was your diagnostic process?",1 "Also if you can't do it with your dad, you can do it with another family member or ADHD friend.",1 "Ocd fucking sucks. To anyone who reads this that is battling ocd, I hope you overcome it.",0 "Especially with ROCD the amount of ""trust your gut"" posts about relationships kills me. When I'm trying my best to not allow my OCD to gaslight me constantly, and then I have people going ""well if you think he isn't telling the truth then maybe he's not""... ugh.",0 "HUNDRED PERCENT. IT DOESNT WORK BECAUSE YOUR DISORDER DOESNT ALLOW YOU TO MAINTAIN THINGS LIKE MOTIVATION, AMBITION, AND DETERMINATION. Its not a matter of will holding us back, the disorder itself that does, and at some point that's what needs to be resolved, its a lot easier to blame someone's own complacency for their failures even when you see them trying so hard. Its very frustrating.",1 "You're spot on about planners! Mine was actually $80, and it was worth every penny because I actually use it. If you're picky about your planner layout, I highly recommend checking out [Golden Coil](https://www.goldencoil.com/) because you pick which layout you want (I love Horizontal Half 4), which date it starts (meaning you don't waste money buying one in the middle of the year), and it's high quality so I enjoy the tactile feel when I use it everyday. It's been a game changer with my need for tons of lists amidst some scribble.",1 Me when I think about my boyfriend and how he’s a great person and I’m horrible 🥲🙃,0 """Did you try your best?"" ""I did everything I could with the resources I had at the time""",1 "Report: I'm in the post and I don't like it. Seriously though, I don't know when I washed my hair last... November? That's not good...",1 "me, with adhd reading this post: heheh they call trash rubbish",1 "I just found out I had ocd about 7 days ago I’ll have it from October to may or April then it will go away completely only to come back. I started obsessing over if I can pull a set of girls I know and from there I looked up why am I repeating things. And it seems that now I am obsessing over the fact that I have ocd, I’ll have intrusive thoughts for the 80th time about the fact that I have ocd with all different reasons like I’m gonna have a lower quality of life and shit like that but I find that just agreeeing with these thoughts stop the anxiety but I still feel as if they are making me lose focus. Usually when I’m good I’m the summer I can do 40 things at once now I can’t even fuckin jerkoff. My sexual desire is shot the only thing I fuckin care about is ocd looking up ocd symptoms I’m obsessed and have compulsions about being obsessed and having compulsions and at this point I’m just getting ready to go another 6 months of depression and I might as well be in a coma cause my life is not mine.",0 "Yes! CBT has helped me immensely with this aspect of my life, but it still gets in the way of so many things.",1 I do this just about daily with the goddamn garage door.,0 "God I'm going through this now, it's so hard to try and do the fastest mental sprint of my life to see if I'm actually okay with it or if I'm just trying to make myself seem okay with it because I don't want to cause problems",1 It's basically 1am and i should have gone to bed hours ago.,1 "This is so true!! My day is ruined if I have something in the afternoon, I just won't get anything done and I will feel sick in my stomach, ill just walk around the house not able to enjoy my day off. I'm really thankful now I have a job that starts at 8am, I once did shift work and it really didn't gel well with me.",1 The hard part is knowing whether your fears are real or driven by OCD / anxiety. ,0 "i do this all the time. i have such a hard time giving anything away. i even feel bad for food i don’t eat. i’m surprised to see this on the OCD sub, i never thought that that could be the cause of why I feel this way but it makes a lot of sense now. ",0 "Worst thing about being intermittently brilliant is that when you do fuck up, people think you must be doing it on purpose or you’re lazy.",1 "Literally have ""how to build rockets"" on my clipboard from last night. http://www.projectrho.com/public_html/rocket/index.php",1 "For real, I start work at 5pm on Fridays and Saturdays. I wake up at 10am and then do absolutely nothing for the whole day. I just sit there and think about the fact that I have to go to work later. Got most of the day free before my shift and do literally nothing with it. So frustrating",1 "Ive started drinking too much coffee, the sort of mindset of ""if I don't I might fall asleep in class."" And ""I have to drink it so I look presentable to people i meet.""",0 i’ve finally figured it out. up at 8. news. feed the cats. clean the litterboxes. breakfast. animal crossing from 11-1. take oscar for a walk. feed the cats. work from 2-6. dinner. feed the cats. watch tv. bed. repeat. 8 hour workdays will never happen but this works.,1 "This one started up for me, then got crazy paranoid anxiety thinking I didn't have OCD all along. The most mind tricky disorder there is.",0 "It bothers me when singers stigmatize antidepressants through song titles and album covers and music video visuals, and the words adhd ocd and the works are thrown around like a joke between people who more than likely don’t even have that disorder.",0 "I'm about to roll over and (try to) sleep for the night, but I've got the technical name for what you're experiencing and some books that might help with it. I'll drop back in tomorrow when I'm not half asleep.",1 "....... I have to be getting ready for work ;( Baaah ok",1 "Hey that was well done. You educated without shaming the uneducated like an SJW, so you probably reached some people.",0 "I definitely pay for the reassurance that I won’t forget to eat the food. And now, no more guilt for throwing out food I forgot I had! Surprisingly, I now pay less for groceries each month — I am SAVING money — because I just have Daily Harvest deliver bowls that take zero focus to turn into a meal. I buy milks and snacks at the store once a month, but otherwise... winning.",1 I think it’s important to say how strange and terrifying the thoughts could be. Just like this picture which is really relaxing 😅 People will better understand what fighters we are hah!,0 Thank god Risperidone for making me sleep instantly. :),0 "KUDOS , ONE DAY AT A TIME ! IM SO PROUD CANT WAIT FOR YOUR UPDATE NEXT WEEK",1 Well done. Many of us have dreamed of doing what you just did,1 "This is… painfully accurate. Even if I wear gloves when I do something, I still feel the need to scrub my hands at least three times. Or as many until I mentally feel it’s clean enough. I’m so happy they portrayed it accurately here.",0 People can read my intrusive thoughts and now want to hurt me.,0 "Haha—this, but your boyfriend wondering if you’re having an affair because you’re always on the phone or in the bathroom.",0 "Yep. 5 exams in one week, we were given 1 month plus a thanksgiving vacation to prep yet I spent 1 hour prepping for each of my exams. In total.",1 "I actually get lost in this kind of thinking. I wonder what have I become. What would I say to my childhood self? But the truth is I am am still me. Those memories, joys and wonder are still in me. We are all developing all the time and perhaps we haven’t even developed into our best selves yet. But I still struggle with how did I get from being excited to do stuff to being frozen by fear and haunted by my thoughts.",0 "Being lactose intolerant is a choice. Getting the flu is a choice. Getting an STD is a choice. Having asthma is a choice. Catching COVID is choice. Having celiac disease is a choice. You have full control of your body! LMAO STFU",0 I don't have adhd (im on this sub cause my girlfriend does) but this exact thing happens to me when im high.,1 "This actually made me feel a lot better about my intrusive thoughts, thanks :)",0 "Fuck, I feel called out. Thanks (wo)man! Closing the app.",1 "Bro. I feel this. Articles on the internet are not really friendly towards adult ADHD. There's even less articles about adult males. And more about females. I'm not saying female adhd isn't important, I just think adhd affect both sexes differently and males need to know how to deal with it, as adult men. A doctor told my parents as a kid I had adhd and was offered to take ritialin, but my parents thought it was a bad idea ( it was 1999s to early 2000s, and there was a certain sigma at the time) ""boys will be boys"" someone put it when I was a kid. Id talk to myself, run aimlessly, move a lot in classes, not do good in school. A lot of teachers thought I mightve been autistic. But anyways, back to being an adult. I still have many of those symptoms, including high stress and anxiety thru the roof, intrusive thoughts, constant motion, and yes, I still talk to myself from time to time. As an adult trying to research my condition and combating it has been difficult."" Adhd men"" doesn't yield many results and it can be frustrating.",1 "Fuck yeah! I'm so glad there's stuff like this that treats OCD like what it actually is. I'm used to seeing shit like 'sort the skittles into different bowls by colour', this is giving me hope of the disorder being taken more serously",0 I don’t do it as many times as you but I get this too. If I wake up at any point I can’t go back to sleep unless I go to the bathroom first or else I will think about it nonstop. It’s more of a mental urge than a physical. I wasn’t sleeping well at one point and that was excruciating for me having to get up so many times in the night to use the restroom even though I didn’t really physically need to.,0 The tough love just misses the point that it is not desire but lack of skills and supports. Goes back to the whole misconception that ADHD folk could be neurotypical if they just wanted it more and tried harder. That just isn't the way it works but it fits in with our cultural mythology.,1 "I was once bedridden with health anxiety and crazy symptoms for almost two weeks. It's far from ideal now, but I go to work, meet with friends, read lectures. Heck, I even made a public speech at a conference. To anyone who reads this - if you think ""maybe there's is no improvement"" - I just want to you to know there is.",0 "You stole the words right out of my keyboard. Even when I told my mom about my recent diagnosis as a 23 year old male, she went to search it up online and said ""this is all about kids."" It almost feels like those of us with the condition who are adults don't really struggle as much as kids when that is clearly not the case. I always thought I would ""grow out of it"" eventually before I even knew what ADHD was but here I am. If anything my symptoms got worse with adult obligations aside from university. But thankfully every health care professional who I've seen regarding ADHD has taken me seriously and heard me out.",1 That’s so awesome. I’m so happy for you. It really does get exhausting. My head is bursting with fear by the end of the day. It’s painful. Every second of my life is spent thinking and overthinking about everything I do and all the things around me that are gonna kill me.,0 "I've got a phobia of eye injuries so mine are very specific about stabbing myself in the eye. Can't use box cutters or pocket knives anymore. Thankfully Amazon packages are pretty easy to open with my fingernails.",0 I wish I could transfer my OCD to someone else and not have it anymore lmao,0 So I'm not deficient as a human in all ways? Thanks cake❤,0 "A friend of mine said the other day: Why don't you just write things down so you don't forget what you have to do. I am literally crying. It worked and now I'm actually doing things and I'm not forgetting!",1 When I was younger. Losing something was terribly distressing for me. I would look for hours even if what I lost was insignificant. I still remember the few things I lost as a child and I still feel really bad about it. ,0 "You’re not alone! I feel you. Every conscious second of the day is a rat race sometimes. But you CAN do this. I believe in you. If there’s anything that quiets your mind hobby wise, try to do it when you can.",0 "I was that way with Depakote after a while, too bad I cant take it anymore 😔",0 "Ahhhhh. Yeah its like having malware on your software / brain that constantly sends you to whatever the malware is programmed to reroute you to. If it were ransomware, I'd just pay the ransom.",0 "This is really rough but I think a big part of OCD is not knowing how to believe in and strengthen that REAL and KNOWING inner voice inside of us. Has anyone ever related their OCD to gaslighting? I have been focusing on my own healing for the past 5 months or so especially, and I have made huge progress in overcoming my own ocd tendencies from identifying and coming to terms with my own experiences with childhood trauma and other gaslighting throughout my life. It's a better use of your time to speak to yourself positively and be patient with yourself! Sometimes OCD is a way that we are avoiding things that we care and want to learn about as well! For me, the more I learn, the more confident I feel in my ability to handle life and my OCD thoughts because hey, even if I am worried about that 1% chance that the door could somehow come unlocked... I also believe in myself enough to know that I can take a part of door handle and figure out the ""mechanics"" of it need be! Healing from these sorts of compulsions are all about trust! Sometimes we just have to take the time to get to know ourselves! Sometimes it helps to just let ourselves know that we care! <3",0 Worst is “obsessive Christmas disorder”🙄yes I actually saw a sign with that this year😒,0 "This. And then you find out that you are genetically resistant to SSRIs, to a point where they are ineffective, and go through 9 other medications, and counting. Then on top of all that all of the meds you try give you side effects that outweigh the benefits by miles and leave your mental health worse than before... :/",1 I feel you pain. Hell I'm rubbing lotion on right now and it BURNS!,0 "Is it confirmed that there's anyone for which tough love works? I've always assumed that it's so counterproductive for me that it's probably not very effective for normal people, either.",1 Yes dude I use way too many commas when writing and never linked it to ADHD! That’s crazy,1 "It really fucking is. I hate it. And now I probably can't get my medicine because all the pharmacies have been looted by me. Without these pills, I'm basically fucked. Thankfully I had a 3 month bottle of depression pills but even still. It's going to really fucking suck to not have my Vyvanse to keep me from not fucking my life up.",1 "My husband has given me the theme song ""The Warrior"" except instead of 'warrior' I'm ""The Worrier"" lol",0 "Its the same for me with doors. Is the door closed? Better check *checks* Yup, great; better check another 15 times just to make sure",0 "Best thing to do is to think. ""Let em shoot me"" and walk. First 100 times it will be anxiety provoking. Then, its a breeze.",0 "Wish I could go back in time and show this to therapists as explanation lol. ""No I'm not afraid of getting sick; I don't care about real illness. I just don't want the germs to TOUCH me.""",0 "Honestly I have a really nice woman who comes once a week to the house I share with my GF and a roommate and she does a fantastic job. I've found that having a clean house is much easier to maintain (for me and my ADHD) than to actually Clean a house. It made a huge difference and nothing to be ashamed of... I look at it the same as buying food from the grocery store... I COULD grow my own, but 8ts much easier to pay for a service to someone who is specialized in that activity. Ive also been thinking of getting a personal assistant or something to help me stay organized at work (work from home has been AMAZING for my anxiety and depression but terrible for my organization and motivation (which can cause anxiety and depression))... Thinking of finding one of those virtual (online) assistants who can check on me and put deadlines and todo lists for me and make sure I'm on track. Hope you're doing well!",1 i feel terrible when I get this specific thought and I hate myself for it. Would any professional help make these thoughts go away?,0 "All the time! It’s so tiring. With magical thinking I feel like I can’t do certain things in case it makes something bad happen, then I feel guilty for wanting to in the first place.",0 My parents habituated me doing the kitchen every day. No matter what. Don't know how I'll be able to live with different people soon.,1 "I had lumps in my lymph nodes recently and my doctor brushed it off. I've been going from specialist to specialist for seemingly related health problems (kidneys not working etc) to no avail, and half the time they straight up cut me off mid sentence. I have left appointments crying because I knew I wouldn't get answers that seem fairly obvious given my symptoms. I say this because I want you to know, you had some valid reasons to procrastinate your appointment and you shouldn't beat yourself up too much for taking that long. People with ADHD especially know how dismissive and unhelpful doctors can be, and one appointment becomes five appointments just trying to get them to listen to you. So I completely understand the mental block that comes with health care visits, especially for us in this sub. It seems like an insurmountable pile of effort that you have to keep putting in to schedule and schedule and schedule and prepare what you're going to say and take time off work to go to the appointments and.... I get you. Go easy on yourself. I think we're all very familiar with this particular kind of procrastination. 💗",1 My brother passed from cancer & I've been prone to migraines since I was 8. 😩 i feel this in MY SOUL,0 Gonna show this my Dad next time this is happening and he thinks it's a good idea to create a new whole fucking book verbally just to fill silence.,0 "Had an old friend who basically once said “so having people say that you can’t do something doesn’t motivate you to do it?” I never realized that it was suck a normal thing to do things you were told you can’t do until that moment, felt awful afterwards",1 Haha this picture applies to literally all OCD thoughts!,0 "My dynamite method may help you. In the wise words of Mary Cooper (Big Bang Theory), ""there's only so long you can fish before you gotta throw a stick of dynamite in the water, *and I'm done fishin'*"". The way the dynamite method works is that when you find yourself caught in a negative spiral because you're constantly seeking the most optimal solution, the best and most ideal outcome, the way to break out of it is to do something big and ""explosive"", and see what you're left with when the dust settles. Why? Because when you're caught in a death spiral, the harm from staying stuck in the spiral is often *worse* than the harm you would get from a negative or sub-optimal outcome. So, it's six and it's too late to do anything? Do it anyway. Half-ass it. Accept the crunch, accept that the work will be sub-par. Once you have something, even a *bad* something, *then* you have a platform you can work from. It's traffic hour? Get caught in the traffic. It's less than ideal, but you will get where you need to go *in the end*, it's just sub-optimal. I developed this method 10 years ago, long before I got diagnosed. I'm *still* having to remind myself to apply the principle. It's not easy - perfectionism and other issues get in the way - but it is *excellent* for your mental health when you can apply it successfully.",1 "LOL. Scatterbrained? “Just use a planner”. Although, I am gonna try the bullet journal because I read that it was super helpful for our non-linear minds!",1 "Raw Shea butter has been a godsend for me. It is thick, but melts easily. It absorbs into the skin quickly. And it takes a really miniscule amount to cover hands. A small container can usually go for about $5. It will last for a couple of months if you use it everywhere, or over a year if you use it just on your hands.",0 Luckily in my case my mom has OCD as well so she understands,0 Ifs all about balance. I’ve learned to keep myself just busy enough that my downtime actually feels like a break instead of another slot to fill. I also read A LOT. Anything from articles to comics to novels to scientific research. Anything that gets me interested I try to dive into a little.,1 this could explain alot I have adhd and iam the person who never does anything and I only do it with stress like i have no time left bcs i cant concentrate or I just cant do it,1 "not very accurate but still interesting https://www.cracked.com/article_20905_5-brain-disorders-that-started-as-evolutionary-advantages.html",1 “You need to remember to try and focus on what you need to do rather than what you want to do” - Some ADHD ‘expert’ that thinks the solution to ADHD is focusing...,1 I will generously volunteer to let them take mine :),0 """what would you do if I purposely triggered you"" My 19 yr old sister used to do that to me all the time when I told her I had OCD and every time she'd see me she'd do some weird shit that she knew would trigger me. I kicked her out of the house and moved to another continent",0 "You are amazing! As a 47 year old, just coming to terms with adhd I’m so impressed by your initiative. Well done for working out what you need and working with your disability. Bravo!",1 Congratulations! Every little step is very important. You're gonna get through this! :),0 When I was younger I called OCD a pussy disorder because I thought it was bullshit. When I found out it’s the reason I suffer I felt like it was karma,0 "I call it putting shit back where it goes and then checking to make sure it really goes where I put it and then taking it out and putting it back 4 more times to round it out to 5 but then taking it back out again since it doesn't blend in with the color of everything else and then trying to find another spot where it would match by checking everything in the room exactly 5 times before putting it into a different spot but then realizing the color shade of everything around there is off by more than 5 hex codes as well too so then I need to get rid of everything because it's all ruined if one sticks out among the rest and now I have to punish myself for breaking the pattern by banging my head against a wall 5 times and getting ready for the next day, rinse and repeat...",0 "OCD is like playing chess with an opponent why can read your mind, you can never win no matter what you do. It always targets thoughts you can't tolerate having. It's hard. May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you.",0 Literally think about stabbing myself almost every time I see a sharp knife. Using a blender also triggers harm thoughts. Harm isn't even my theme.,0 "Man, sometimes I’m like “idk if I really belong on this subreddit” and then I see stuff like this",0 " The only task I can be certain to finish is cooking, but that is only because if I get distracted and walk away, a fire might result. Whether or not the leftovers get put in the fridge in a timely manner is another issue, though.",1 "I simply think one letter should be changed. Instead of the D standing for deficit, I think it should stand for Direction. Attention Direction Hyperactivity Disorder. I don't think we have a deficit of attention, if anything, our attention spans can be much larger than others. We just have extreme difficulty pointing it where it needs to go. Either that, or it needs to have a name that incorporates more of what ADHD is. Something like ""Attention, Emotional, and Executive Disfunction Disorder."" It's a big long, but ADHD is such a wide spectrum with so many different nuances that it's hard to fit everyone's experiences :/",1 "Oh yeah, getting a snack and a coffee will properly help... to keep me from getting shit done",1 "Good question, I was just wondering the same thing.",0 I also went so far down the watch later rabbit hole yesterday 😅,1 Meanwhile I can look in the exact spot something is in 5 times and not see it.,1 "My day be then boom. So fine intrusive thoughts. r/dontdeadopeninside",0 "or the ""but you're not throwing up thinking about it, so you must like it.""",0 "Wow, that is really, really amazing! Congratulations that you managed to do this :)",1 "From one artist to another (with OCD). GOOD JOB! I am v proud of you! (: When you have a hard time walking away, try to remind yourself that art is about learning and if you do something ""wrong"", you can learn from it and make a better painting next time. You've got this!",0 "Just adding to the pile here so you get a sense of the scale of impact you've made with this post: Not only did I read and resonate with the entirety of this post - it completely changed my attitude on how I'd like to communicate my condition to folks. Tbh, if I do choose to share, I would typically just say ""ADHD"" to save time and not overshare with the listener on details or feel like I'm unloading baggage onto them. I can do that just as simply with ""neurological condition that makes my executive functioning more difficult"". And avoid the stigma and any preconceptions immediately. Thank you for this infodump. It helped me a lot today.",1 brushing your teeth is one of those things that can seem like the worst thing ever and i’m definitely guilty of a spotty brushing record but it’s also such a victory especially in this post!!! congrats!!,1 I manifested this reddit post and all these replies with my anxiety about manifestation,0 Me with literally every single thing ever in existence,1 And then months later you finally realize that these new weird rituals that you once swore were normal things you had to do are actually OCD compulsions.,0 What are you passionate about that you can’t talk to your friends about it? Same here. That’s why I’m wondering.,1 VH- the psych central link regarding the not-so-helpful effects of talk therapy on OCD was very useful. Thank you!,0 "Oh no. I hoped this was a joke. 2 steps forward, 2 steps back......",0 "That’s incredible! That sounds like a crazy hard exposure, that’s so great that both you and your husband followed the exposure and were successful. That’s a huge victory, congrats !!",0 I feel this so deeply today. Love and solidarity. X,1 I may be under educated but aren’t they the same thing. Just happy chemicals,1 Hey at least I got my tabs under the max amount my phone will allow,1 "Yupppp. Thats me. Right there. In that entire post. Btw, if you want some sort of insight into why our brains arent made for this world, and how to work and get the best out of it, check out this vid by Healthygamergg. Harvard psychologist. This video gave me a huggeeeeeee lightbulb. Legit changed how I do anything lol. https://youtu.be/tRWX21lW_bU",1 "My mind is always racing 100mph and I absolutely hate it. Honestly, I can’t remember when was the last time I had peace and quiet.",0 Yeah I feel like this quarantine has made my OCD worse.,0 "1 am? I'd wish... More like: oh would you look a that a new season I haven't watched yet, now I have something to do over the next week after studying. *TIMEJUMP* Damn Cliffhanger again... well... sleepy time,... wait. Why is there sunlight in the middle of the night? *look to watch nervously* **6 am**",1 Lmao this is me except when I'm nauseous I also think it could be a brain tumor lmfao,0 I always have to look at my door as I'm riding my bike to work. I've gone back and checked.,0 "Nice work! That’s a rough one for me to do but hopefully I’ll get there soon.",0 My husband is also ADHD so he’ll hyper-fixate and go off on special interest tangents at like...the exact moment that I really need him to shut up lol,1 "Since getting on meds, I've found myself surprised by how often I'm able to recall something. Remembering where I lost saw something or where I sat something down. Remember steps in math or the name of a specific resource. It's stuff that I thought was literally impossible, despite how trivial it seemed. Remembering stuff I thought I'd either forgotten completely or not learned properly in the first place is _wild_ to me. There were so many times that I was frustrated and felt hopeless because no amount of studying would make a difference. I'd get so angry that I'd spend hours stewing, anxiety building in my chest. Super close to tears because it felt like I had to relearn _everything_ any time I took a break. Binge reading something and not recalling a goddamn thing about it. I've read entire series of books that I recall _nothing_ about. In fact, the only reason I remember so much about Harry Potter was because I went through a fanfic phase and damn-near lived in that world. I'm still not quite _there_ yet, but it's the first time in my life that I feel like I can put this stuff to use. It's the first time I feel like I'm close to getting where I want to be. And it's kind of frustrating to just _wait._",1 "Not really a way to mess up, keep that in mind. Congratulations!!",0 "Supposed to fall asleep, was scared to, thanks. I'll tuck myself to bed now. :)",1 I've been really getting that way lately. The compulsions have been getting out of control. ,0 "This is me every fucking day and right now. I still have to write a text for a presentation tomorrow, have to write a text I should have sent in two weeks ago and have to do a huuuuge task which was due to today which I haven't even started",1 I kinda wanna tattoo it on my upper arm as a reminder-someone who also struggled with POCD,0 "me: picks up knife OCD brain: sharp blade go brr (+various intrusive thoughts) me to me: you wanna go? let's tango OCD brain: [oh no](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/023/180/notsurprisedkirk.jpg)",0 Looks like you need to wash your hair 😁 seriously though Ketamine is the only think that helps my intrusive thoughts btw,0 "This one hits the nail on the head for me...even minor errands can do that. Also, I'll STILL schedule stuff at 3 because I'm afraid I'll sleep in or get hung up on something and be late.",1 "Yes- thank you for this post, because this really validated what I’ve been struggling with me. As some other people mentioned on here, I’m also very aware I may come off as rude, or have “blonde moments”- as my family will jokingly say, when I struggle through conversations with others (especially bosses or people who are more well-spoken than me). It’s been a major struggle with self esteem because of this, and has more recently caused me to slightly stutter, go entirely blank, and/or literally choke on the words I’m attempting to say when I’m put on the spot in conversations that require more me to be more cognizant. Hang in there OP, I’m sure there is research out there on how to work on developing the skills needed to make this at least a little better! Edit: typos",1 "well said, unfortunately. Hope you feel better soon.",1 This was actually amazing. I wish it was as easy to talk back to my own thoughts as it was to talk back to yours!,0 You really just made a whole lot of drama about getting a cleaner XD,1 "Yeah i agree with you. In my case, it is obviously the case.",0 What were you drinking out of then? Straight from a bottle? ,0 "I don’t know if this will work for you, but what helped me when I had major assignments I needed to focus on was to eliminate everything that normally distracts me. I would delete all games and social media from my phone. I would block websites to any social media site or put a 1 minute time limit on them. I would still get distracted, but every time I was thwarted by all the blocks I set in place it forced me to at least try to be productive. Also, your school should offer accommodations for ADHD. I’m not familiar with the paperwork, but I do know the option is there. If you meet the requirements you could be granted more time for assignments and tests. You will have ask the school to get details.",1 "Haha, my wife and I both have OCD & on most days, our house is trashed, our cars are trashed, our Garden is littered with weeds",0 "Big time! I started downloading MP3s of my fav YouTube shows and put them on my iPod so I could just have endless noise and talking to keep me from panicking, but also to keep me from getting distracted. Surprisingly effective.",0 "I'm the most disorganized person I know. I once had a student looks at my absolute disaster area of a desk and say ""It's a good thing you don't have OCD."" I laughed and told him it's funny because I actually do. I'm pretty sanitary, in general, but not like germaphobia-OCD sanitary. Like, I wash my hands all the time now, but remembering to do a full 20 seconds is an adjustment.",0 "Yes! I'm so relieved that I'm not the only one. It doesn't help that my best friend actually has pretty severe chronic illness. My brain goes though the entire process of thinking about how they died, when I found out, how I reacted, etc. And I don't even really get upset when I think about it. It's like my brain is just running simulations, or something. It's weird.",0 "When my ocd gets bad (its been really good as of late, thank God) I panik in the moment and run away from people.",0 "one of the reasons i got sterilized. check out r/childfree, r/truechildfree, r/fencesitters, and r/antinatalism to learn more about this philosophy! and yay for considering your future children rather than blindly having children without careful thought.",0 holy sh\*t I remember dealing with this back when I was younger its so good knowing how much progress iv made over the years. Or having to worry about meteorites hitting you in the head haha,0 "Ahhh what a great advice, if you want the premium benefits start a bullet journal it cures adhd and depression 😃",1 Okay but especially when I'm having an intrusive thought about them. And you have to look them in the eye.,0 Okay that’s the best way to phrase having ocd. I literally have to stop and talk to myself rationally like a toddler when it’s going crazy,0 "Very helpful thread! I'm having a time figuring out my dosing. My GP is not knowledgeable enough to know how to help me find a dose that works, so I'm being referred to someone else for ADHD treatment, but the referral will take a few weeks(months??) so she'll keep treating me in the meantime. I'm on Vyvanse and I DEFINETLY need help figuring out the dose and stuff. It worked great the first month and a bit, then I started crashing ~7 hours after I took it. So then I split the dose and that solved it, but splitting the same 30mg pill was too weak. Then my doctor prescribed me 10mg pills to add to my 30mg since I still have a bunch of them left. So anyways today was my first day of trying a 30/10 mg split dose. I forgot to eat for the first couple hours too. So anyways was working normal up until hour 5, then I got super fatigued and spaced out for a few hours, even with taking the 10mg booster. I'm so frustrated, mostly because I'm in essay crunch writing time and figuring out: the ideal time spacing of my Vyvanse split dose+the mg each dose should be+any other stuff that effects it like meal and coffee times, all on my own is overwhelmingggggg will listen to any and all advice on this meals",1 I'm working with special needs kids and last week I was in the bus with one of them who was talking his head off and it took me every fucking piece of strength I had left in my overly stressed body to not shut his mouth manually.,1 "You get your 3 hours as a contiguous window?? I get 30 minutes at 8 AM, 7 minutes at noon, 15 minutes at 4 PM, an hour at 9, and and the rest from 2 AM on if I'm awake for it.",1 "Gosh, you nailed it. I'd just add that the energy expended doing those executive functions is a lot. I don't respect it sometimes so I know people who don't have ADHD, etc. al. can't.",1 "Love it. Your style is very nice. I like how you made the eyes black and empty, and the contrast between the inside and the outside is wonderfully done",0 Somebody showing up at 5pm to my house? Better sit here anxiously all day by the window so I don't miss them.,1 "omg when people in my class say something like ""oH mY oCD hAs bEeN sEt oFf"" ffs",0 semi-related but one time my therapist told me to count how many times i had to do a compulsion for a week and i filled up like 3 pages with tallies,0 "Yeah. One of my buddies had the symptoms and it was obvious to me (asking for reassurance that he didn't do anything, compulsively checking, etc). He didn't get diagnosed until recently.",0 "I'm really into films and media and such, so I usually just pause to have an internal dialogue. Whether I'll press play in a reasonable amount of time is another question.",1 "Oof my “textbook” about OCD lists all the main obsessions and talks about meta OCD where you have OCD about your OCD, so this is a diagnosable form and infuriating.",0 "I think this also explains why quasi-hallucination urges feel more intense, because anxiety is added into the mix - which explains why sensations feel more 'real'.",0 Oh shit I touched the faucet. (Washes hands 14 more times),0 I don’t even really “need” a therapist as much as I used to but I still go. I literally just be talking about myself and my life nowadays.,0 "You should get a new psychologist. Really, finding one that actually knows how to treat ocd will make a world of difference.",0 "I'm in the middle of a diagnosis and have this form I filled out which I need to take back to the GP but I keep forgetting to do it. This is week 3 of it sitting in my drawer!",1 "How amazing! I can’t imagine the level of work and pain you put in to get here! I’m so proud of you and even if you ever fall back into old patterns, you know you can do it. You’ve done it before. You. Can. Do. It. I believe in you and congratulations!",0 "Edgar Allan Poe is notorious for his run-on sentences, I wonder if he had ADHD...",1 "Yep. I just counted and have 151 tabs open in chrome on my phone, 6 browser windows with 103 tabs open on my laptop. 1024 screenshots on my phone just from the last two months. I never got around to moving my SD card from the old phone to the new one and there's about 32 gb on that. I'm sure 90% of it is camera photos and screenshots. Very, very rarely do I ever go back and look at either the photos or the screenshots. I'd like to organize them because there are some I really WOULD go back and look at. At this point though they are buried in the gigantic digital pile on my phone and I don't have the mental energy to look through them to find the ones I want. I don't know how many saved posts I have here on reddit, or fb, or videos on youtube, but I'm sure it's a lot. I want to be that person who is organized and I do try to be that person. I'm usually unsuccessful. My partner is always appalled by the number of tabs I have open and tells me to bookmark them instead, but honestly that's just trading one problem for another. Instead of a million unorganized tabs I'll have a million unorganized bookmarks.",1 "I clean for others and my own house looks like I have adhd (cuz I do), but my rate is $45 and hour",1 This!! So many people (especially on tiktok) have made trends of intrusive thoughts and I'm just skipping them like...yeah that sure didn't make me feel something!,0 "Yes but fuck it do it anyways. A coward dies a thousand deaths. A brave man but one. Listen to Mark Freeman on youtube. He goes into this with the term ""values"". Doing what you value despite OCD",0 "Lord I love this sub. I honestly think sometimes I would be dead if it wasn’t for humor. Laughing at this dark shit is an act of defiance and I think something truly beautiful when we can do it. Reminds me of something I was talking to my therapist about. “Well I don’t want to have a family until My mental health is better. Don’t really want to have the kids asking their mom why daddy is crying because he’s spent the last 4 hours trying to figure out if/why he may have cheated on his math homework 25 years ago.”",0 "These type of intrusive thoughts may be related to thoughts knows as ""The Call of The Void"". This is a real thing. Google it to learn more. These Call of The Void thought are thoughts of like jumping out of a moving car, jumping off a balcony or cliff or other high area. I found that saying the Lord's prayer from the bible, helped block these type of intrusive thoughts for me, but everyone is different. I created a FP page last week to share news stories, articles, books and other information for those who have intrusive thoughts. This is the link. It is still a work in progress, but It may be helpful. [https://www.facebook.com/Intrusive-Thoughts-and-Pure-OCD-Stop-The-Thoughts-Now-101927631678910/](https://www.facebook.com/Intrusive-Thoughts-and-Pure-OCD-Stop-The-Thoughts-Now-101927631678910/?modal=admin_todo_tour)",0 Always that imaginary burglar waiting to materialize in thin air.,0 Yep pandora kind of was a flop for me. Just had to keep creating new stations because they’d wander off in the direction I was temporarily obsessed with and then just straight up leave the genre I liked because of how I was “driving” the algorithm.,1 i’ve missed the bus like at least 5-6 times bc of this i hate it,1 SAME I GOT RID OF A INTRUSIVE THOUGHT AND ANOTHER ONE COMES IN!,0 "Congrats!! I did something hard for my ocd today too! Hope you celebrated your achievement :) Edit: I wish this sub had a lot more achievement posts and less reassurance seeking :(",0 "When I was in middle school, I was in the school psychologist's office and I was looking through a book (I think it was the DSM but I'm not sure) and I read about OCD. And I knew I had it. I always had mantras and rituals and stuff. But I never knew why. And I was happy to know what it was. But I didn't tell anyone for years because I was embarrassed.",0 "My recent attempts to get more organized after I ended up using Todoist for only 3 days: Spend weeks agonizing over Google Calendar, Keep and Tasks for the ULTIMATE PRODUCTIVITY HACK! After spending about 3 weeks agonizing about what to use for what, I ended up ignoring all alerts in about a week. What I've wished for is some sort of app that allows you to set alarms in 'relative time', so all you'd need to do is hit a button and it'd populate your To-do list starting from that time, but until then I'll make do with using the note-taking app on my phone (and Notepad++ on my PC)... when I remember to check them, that is.",1 "Same. Mine told me my top artist and I remember specifically spending about a week and a half listening to them while trying to do a project for school and then not listening again the rest of the year lol. Spotify also told me my most played song. Which I discovered on June 22, had the most plays on June 22, and reached my 50th play on June 22. How I played one song 50 times in one day is beyond me.",1 wait oh my god this happens?? i thought i was just faking it-,0 "The grammar is triggering my OCD😂😂(it not wrong, I think it could be put better though)",0 That’s so adorable!!! Ugh! I had to draw as well and mine is nothing as cute and creative! I drew a dark cloud and named him cloudie. Haha,0 Have you tried just remembering what you need to do at a convenient time and then just doing it?,1 Think you know coronavirus? Name one song of theirs.,0 """Reflect on a happy moment you've had recently"" I honestly cannot remember the last time I felt happy, or felt any emotion to be honest. I'm just grey and empty inside, like my mind's leaked out. Like I literally just live to do compulsions. Don't/can't do anything except compulsions, even the thought is just stressful and unappealing. It's like I've reverted to a bicameral mind.",0 Im literally sitting in a Lowes parking lot with returns and I've been scrolling through reddit for 10 minutes...thanks lol,1 We put off dismantling a broken trampoline in our backyard for three years. Did it yesterday and it took about 10 minutes.,1 "Ugh I feel you. Religious scrupulousity was hell for me when I was younger, in large part because I would get other intrusive thoughts (harm OCD etc), punish myself for being a bad person, then obsess over the fact that god could hear my thoughts and see how evil I was, and compulsively pray for hours on end. It was awful. What worked for me - no longer believing - unfortunately won’t work well for you. But for what it’s worth I still get the first part of that scrupulosity cycle (obsession over having done something morally wrong and compulsive reaction to address it) and find that ERP has been helpful. Hang in there though... sorry you are dealing with this. It sucks.",0 Awesome!! I think I'm about a month in now too. I should've marked the day. This is the longest I've ever resisted. It's so nice to just feel normal for a bit lol. Whats weird is that what drove me to this was having to do compulsions after almost everything I did. Sorta like hitting rock bottom.,0 Thank god. I have never thought of just stopping before!,0 Its like the opposite for me. My meds have knocked out my depression but my OCD is still there,0 same oml i always get a rush of anxiety after sitting down on the toilet,0 "Good news, after reading this I told my blind friend to just look at things harder and try to see them better and now she can see! Thank your mom for tuning me in to this amazing technique of ""just do thing you can't do""!",1 " **You don't rise to the level of your goals**, **you fall** to the **level of your systems**. Atomic Habits - James Clear",1 I got a flat tire on my way to work and someone called in and I’m by myself working the desk at a doctor’s office. I thought about how I’m going to have to take my car at lunch ALL morning.,1 "Here’s my tactic... do a project for as long as i can focus, forget about it then finish it a year+ later 😂",1 "Many people don't get what OCD is, it's annoying, terrifying (in some ways) and it makes me feel helpless",0 "I have a really stupid story to share. I had a flight out of London to Mallorca a few years ago and being the super cautious person I am, i showed up 2 hours early and finished checking in and stuff. Then i had about an hour left, so i started reading my book . I got so absorbed in the book that i forgot about the flight and actually missed it! The next flight from this airport was in 12 hours , but there was another flight from a nearby airport leaving soon. However, you can’t just leave an airport after checking in for an international flight. I had to wait for them to escort me out, then take a 2 hour taxi to the other airport and finally caught the flight. The worst part - my luggage had gone in the first flight , so it was a nightmare when i landed in Mallorca to finally get my luggage. The original airline’s office at the airport was closed, so i had to come back the next morning for my stuff! I feel you OP.",1 "My hidden cost of ADHD is that i don't relate to any of these in the slightest, yet I still have ADHD and it is still a real problem. My adhd is that I literally can't think straight. Cloudy mind, so very often, when I gotta make myself do something, I am unable. Can anybody relate? Just me? Probably is. Always is.",1 I have this exact conversation with my therapist every week lol,0 "Thank you for making and sharing this, I needed a reminder and this describes my thoughts so well",0 I'm happy for them that they don't truly know what it is. I'm jealous,0 Me trying to give parent teacher conferences. Oh yes I totally know and care about your child. I just can’t think of any of the words to tell you about them. At least not in a way that makes me seem intelligent and competent. Certainly not in the way I consider their needs and best practices when I plan lessons to support their own unique learning styles.,1 "Thats such an annoying advice right! Here this really helped me with my intrusive thoughts https://www.ocdonline.com/rethinking-the-unthinkable",0 I’m a bit confused about this because I have had suicidal thoughts before but I also seem to get intrusive thoughts about suicide and have related compulsions. Is that possible?,0 "Are your goals what you actually want to do in life, or are your goals things that you think will bring admiration?",1 It only took my parents 3 decades to learn that lol,1 Same! I am putting off studying for my accounting midterm. *sigh*,1 God this community is so helpful. I was diagnosed relatively late and to finally stumble upon this treasure trove of relatable memes is a godsend,0 "Yes, when I think of all the things I'd like to learn I feel overwhelmed, like there's no way to learn everything while I'm on this planet. I'm not sure if that is the OCD or not, but it can feel discouraging.",0 "THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS! I'm really glad you posted this because I'm actually making the same habit of making sure to brush my teeth before bed every night. I was about to forget and I opened up reddit and saw this awesome post so THANKS! My parents never strictly enforced the habit of brushing so I never developed it. ADD/negative mindset/low self-esteem doesn't help either. I've got like 6 supernumerary(extra)teeth coming out from the sides of my mouth and that's not including all my wisdom teeth. It's SUPER RARE and people usually affected by the condition have some nasty medical disorders that accompany the extra teeth. So I've been BLESSED to have perfectly straight, strong teeth... That I've taken horrible care for up til now. I REALLY can't afford to get any more root canals or anything invasive. It makes the dentists jobs a nightmare and is expensive as ****! Good job on your dedication to forming good hygiene habits! You've helped me double down on my own efforts! Thanks!",1 This is essentially how norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (strattera) work. A constant stress response like every day is finals week and you need to cram NOW.,1 Fr😭🤣 rolling my ankle in circles to the left 300 times so my family doesn’t die at home,0 "I feel actually overwhelmed with that much things I have to consider doing, but I will check on a bit of them each day. I gotta say you’re an awesome person and thanks for helping so many people, I would give you an “faith in the world restored” award if I had money. Lots of love ❤️",1 "OMG this legit got me laughing because damn, I relate.",0 This is TOO perfect because I have named my OCD Donald. I hate Trump so fucking much and also my dad is not a great person and his name is also Donald 😂,0 im so proud of u♥️that's how i feel when i get myself to wash my hands less than like 5 times lol,0 "You hit the nail on the head. Especially since I’m medicated and it only offers limited improvement. So I’m always convinced that if even the medication can’t “fix” me, that it must be solely a problem with me being a lazy and incompetent pile of trash. The sensible part of my brain *knows* that ADHD medication isn’t a 100% fix-it tool, but the nonsense part of my brain feels like I should still be better than I am while medication so this is just my own fault.",1 “I just locked the door. Better get up and check the door again”,0 "Yeah not looking forward to this. I'm literally in my last seven weeks, taking the hardest class of my major... Online.. Murder me :)",1 For me it’s like having a f*cking annoying bully who tries to confess me that i’m psychotic or sinful,0 "OCD is so god damn ironic. im mysophobic but boy am i a lazy slob. But like my fellow sufferers, to avoid cleaning 'cause itll take hours & be stressful",0 "I need to make art/edit videos. I want to play video games or watch stuff on Netflix. Let's do neither and just grind on Fate Grand Order for hours and whoops there's the whole day gone. It's like my brain's equivalent of throwing a tantrum and going ""BUT I DON'T WANNNAAAAA"".",1 "My therapist has to constantly remind me that people can’t read your thoughts so the only one feeling guilty/or weird about them is you....in a way it’s like trying to practice mindfulness in meditation...bad thoughts comes up, you have to recognize it, then try and push it away while simultaneously trying to keep your cool.....exhausting 😒",0 "I have contamination OCD. I’ve had dry, cracked and bloody hands for years now and I recently started using bar soap instead of liquid soap to wash my hands and it really changed my life! It’s only been some weeks that I’m using bar soap so I don’t know if the effect will last, but my hands have never been so smooth",0 just reading the phrase “3pm appointment” makes my skin crawl,1 "Do people really hear these statements as often as this sub suggests? I don't think I've ever heard it, maybe once. A lot of meme-posts about this lately.",0 "It's not that I can't understand, I just know I'll forget if I don't understand why I'm doing something. It also helps with morale, knowing I'm doing something for good reason rather than just because it's always been done a certain way.",1 "Haha same @ Folklore. I listened to it nonstop - while working, while browsing the internet, while doing puzzles, even as I fell asleep, for a couple weeks. On Spotify Wrapped Taylor Swift was my top artist, Folklore was my top album, and all of my top songs were from Folklore. But after that, I only listened when it happened to show up on my playlist. I have a lot of other songs I would consider my favorites so that was a little surprising.",1 "Yep. Mostly with my homework lmao. Also, happy cake day! :D",1 "As many before me have said, I feel this. It’s the static that seeps out. It’s the buzzing creepy crawly feeling I get when I’m stuck with my uncomfortable thoughts. It’s the anxiety that I exude. It’s everything I wish I could make non-ocd people feel/understand.",0 Also colleges have programs that will read your books to you if you go through disabilities services!,1 " Good job. I used to pull out ingrown hairs (well into my adult years). I’m 41 now, and I appreciate how difficult it can be to stop. I no longer have this compulsion (not sure why), but I’m very glad not to. I think getting over some other things end up softening this facet of my ocd, even though I didn’t do any direct work on it. At its worst it was definitely life disrupting. Great job for kicking it!",0 "I know there’s already so many comments so this will get lost but I genuinely can’t thank you enough for this post, this is the most helpful thing I’ve seen for adhd and it’s so well organised that it’s perfect to refer back to, thank you !!!",1 "I feel this a lot. It's actually one of my biggest insecurities. I'll have an idea in my head that seems super clear and if I try to say it to someone out loud for the first time, it just never really makes sense. I often have to restart what I'm saying and thank god that the people around me are patient. I also have this problen when writting but it's definetely not as bad, cause at least I can reread and correct things when I want. I will always just think of what I want to say or write before hand to make sure that everything makes sense. I'll even do this for just a simple phone call. If I don't prepare myself or someone asks me something I wasn't expecting, I freeze and don't know what to say (which is so bad for job interviews oh my god). Idk if this is adhd, anxiety or what, but it's definitely something I'll need to figure out.",1 "I get scared doing this because every time I let the thought persist and I go “oh yea there it is”, I get scared that I’m accepting it as fact and letting it distort my memories.",0 "* Has obsession I did something bad. Don't remember what specifically. But it's bad. * Ruminate scenarios and memories that don't logically make sense * Realize the absurdity and move on with life * Has obsession that I'm using OCD as an excuse to repress memories of my crimes",0 Open reddit(when I should be doing something else) and this is the first post I see. Setting my phone aside as soon as I submit this reply. Thank you!,1 "You know, for a long time the song Wrong from Depeche Mode was my favorite one. I feel that every cell in my body is shifted slightly from reality. and that's maddening.",1 Im sorry you're struggling so much with your family right now! But it's good that your working to cope with it in a healthy way like writing it down. Hopefully things will get better soon and you'll find ways to manage.,1 My OCD is pretty manageable compared to some of the intense situations on here,0 Can you send me your watch later playlist and I’ll watch them and send you a report?,1 "One thing that has helped me, is doing all the 'getting ready for bed' stuff way before bedtime. So I am an adult with no job, I don't have a bedtime but my cats wake me up around 8 AM, so midnight is what I aim for generally as a bedtime. Lately I've started brushing my teeth and doing all the other before bed routines at like 10 PM. So that when I finally am nodding off, I can just go to bed instead of having another interruption. Or I can just sleep on the couch.",1 "Thank you for sharing, I really think more needs to be discussed and studied about the link between ADHD and suicidality and I truly appreciate you opening the conversation in this subreddit.",1 "Honestly, it annoys me SO much that OCD can even make you doubt your OWN OCD!",0 ":( I have one question I hope someone can help me haha... I feel kinda stupid sometimes because Ive been going to a therapy for a looong time now, 2 years I think ( not continuously ) but even though I understand everything behind my OCD and how to reduce it ( not to give in to compulsions and what happens if I do etc. ) , I still do the same things all over again... same compulsions same things even though I know I shouldn't do them... Does anyone else have this problem? Im sorry if this is out of topic, In advance thanks :) Best of luck to everyone suffering from this annoying OCD :(",0 "I know I have more than my share of issues, but I'm pretty sure this line of thinking isn't one of them. I struggle far more maintaining healthy behaviour than I do maintaining healthy outlook and thinking.",1 Wow I totally never thought about just focusing on my work. I'm cured!,1 "Yes this has been me lately, even the sound of someone eating or making noises I hear super amplified and it makes my skin crawl",1 "Did this for three weeks over the spring holidays. Instead of doing my university work I just sat in this perpetual state of ""business"" where all I was doing was staring at my phone and avoiding all responsibility",1 "For fxck sake indeed. I feel like a total asshxle most days but I just can't sit around and listen to the small talk if my mind is already so full.. I dont know how to say it properly besides being immediately annoyed.. does anyone have advice for this?",1 "Ugh I feel this. When the TV is on and the dogs are licking their feet loudly and partner comes in to talk to me... AAAA HOLD, PLEASE.",1 "It’s not only coronavirus, but it could be a wide, massive array of various things that you feel you gotta urgently address at ONCE! Massive bummer. I know my OCD is going haywire at the moment but I really hope you guys are doing what you can to stay healthy. Best of luck to you all",0 "At least I am not the only one, ""You have Moderate Manic Depression SEVERE GAD SEVERE Anxiety Moderate Depression Me: ""I took this test before, I knew the questions and what the answer would be, I am doing this on purpose, this can't be true.""",0 "Yeah, the NTs seem to have a hard time getting ADHD right.",1 "You should be so, so proud! Hell, I’m proud of you!",0 "A bunch of colorful, jagged pieces of random intrusive thoughts. Did you make this?",0 So what do you do about it. I keep telling myself that one day I’ll be able to just quit my compulsions cold turkey but whenever they pop up it’s nearly impossible to ignore.,0 "Dude this makes a lot of sense. When I working I can’t seem to concentrate on my work or even know where to start, but for some reason when a co-worker asks a question I can figure out their problem and answer it pretty quickly. ",1 "I'm struggling with this with my crush turned friend right now. Like I really liked him, then I got to know him more, realized he's kind of a jerk, but he's still funny and cute and I want to be around him. But I also know I probably shouldn't be friends with him if he makes me so upset sometimes...but I don't want to hurt his feelings or mine and make things weird at work because we work together!!",0 "i realized this quite recently!! i am now very self conscious on how long my sentences are, and how much punctuation i use. in school i always wrote run on sentences, my teachers just said to add punctuation, and it would be fine. god they were wrong. it’s hard for me to read most of the things i write up. so many of my sentences are pretty much a paragraph, with so. much. punctuation. it’s hard, but i’ve really been trying to work on it recently!",1 "I learned to love the Lord my God’s son Jesus, with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength. Give it all you’ve got despite a very beloved follower being unworthy.",0 "My Spotify discover weekly playlist is kinda creepy. Last week it had a song called focus and this week it has a song called dopamine!! Spotify is sus",1 I was around 11 when all my stuff started and I also kept a journal. I'd write stories in it to distract myself. It's strange to view it now because I was so critical of myself yet I had the informality of youth? 🤔 You probably know what I mean. I used to have bad masochistic and fatalistic thoughts though. I'm writing a book about everything now in the hopes all my experiences might help someone someday.,0 Google is the worst compulsion. No clear answer which is what your searching for. Add to that speed reading as your worried what it might say. Google just ramps up anxiety levels,0 "I literally done this last night though star signs. These memes are so refreshing. Apparently the problem with people with OCD is we apparently care TOO much. Which is a good sign in to this matter,Al and a pain elsewhere.",0 ...I literally just checked mine today and it was pretty much the same band over and over again.,1 "Congrats! Fantastic acheivement, and beautiful hair.",0 "I'd probably trade that for an ability to actually perceive time as it is haha I think the cons outweighs the pros imo :(",1 Ooooh see I do this! There’s a playlist on Spotify called “best morning ever” or something like that and I do it whenever I have physical tasks like washing up or cooking and it really gets me bouncing!,1 "Hey, you’re doing great. You’re so strong for having to fight with this. You’re not weak at all, you’re doing great. You’re awesome :).",0 "Ehhh I tend to disagree. I describe it to people by asking them how well they're able to focus on 4 hours of sleep. Typically my add is me getting impulses to stand up and go to the fridge or an impulse to go find my cat to pet him, or to open reddit and hyper focus on nothing for an hour. And when I try resisting the impulses it feels like what I described above",1 "Yep, and then when it’s sent, you worry even more because you forget what you said",0 "This is amazing!! I only 3 months ago started setting 2 alarms every day to brush cause my dentist said I was starting to develop gum disease, but ever since then my teeth look great and the gum disease has completely gone away! I'm so happy for you and everyone else in this thread that's done the same!!!!",1 "Or when you get in an argument with someone, but can't come up with a single example in your favour...then do the next day",1 Laughing at the gummy vitamins part so true. It's like a little treat how could I forget! Also a pill requires a cup and water and I have to find a clean one then find the pills... Usually I'll do one of those things then walk away and come back from work with pills on the counter I never took.,1 Wow I wish I could myself this more. My brain often tries to tell me that I might be overreacting and faking my OCD and that Im just weak and a bad person for having the thoughts that I do...😌♥️,0 My brain says you're wrong and I don't know what to believe anymore,0 Hell no not today!!!Today I cleaned my room and bought some headphones,1 I hate stuff like this. Would send me into a spiral.,0 "😭 YUP I love the gold bond eczema relief lotion with colloidal oatmeal, it helps so much! I obsess about washing my hands, I’m at the point where it almost feels pointless to moisturize because I will wash them so soon after. This still helps, just make sure to apply a bit to the parts that get the driest (back of the hand and in between fingers for me).",0 I have lost my erection more times than I care to admit because I'm staring off into space. It's infuriating.,1 "Omg just like me on youtube mostly haha. I have over thousands of videos in: watch later 🤣 i have so many playlists and stuff and i never even take a look at it lol. Or lists on apps like pinterest, weheartit, etc. Its crazy.",1 The uncomfortable feeling of resisting that compulsion/obsession is awful :(,0 "On a positive note, my forgetfulness about having masks when I traveled (live in Asia) meant that when the pandemic hit I had built up a stock of 60 or so masks. So yay?",1 "Oh god Edit: my therapist of 5 years doesn’t know my worst intrusive thoughts ",0 Yup. We’re walking contradictions. I like to call it ‘Organized Confusion’.,1 I am SO happy you decided to hyperfocus on this and make this huge list!!! I've seen a lot of useful things!! And some i didn't even know it was ADHD! I've saved this and will definitely be using this a lot!!,1 It didn't cure it but it did give me a droplet of serotonin,0 Great meaning and congratulations on your achievements <3,0 "Has anyone suspected mom is ADHD? She might be frustrated at being distracted and reacting emotionally instead of being considerate and honest, that she isn't able to listen with a lot of visual stimulation and needs to avert her eyes or something. Tell her to try looking away to listen; a stranger on the internet recommends it.",1 A trick I do to prevent this is to vocally say out loud “door is locked” or “I locked the door” and if I don’t say it I’ll have to go back and double check,0 Did I usher this horse in because this is really what I think? Is the Trojan Horse really me?!? Am I the fucking enemy?,0 "I just left my mom on the road for 20 mins Without a phone, because I forgot I had to go pick her up. But also aced a paper, and came at the top of my class with no effort. Life feels like a parody of a sherlock Holmes story sometime.",1 Atleast it's not called MBD (minimal brain damage) anymore like it used to back in the day 😅,1 "This is actually a concern I had as well. Being in a major (nursing) that requires HIGHLY STRUCTURED time in clinical setting and in the classroom, it’s a shit storm in my brain right now and I haven’t gotten much done the last couple days even though we just made the decision last night.",1 This would probably explain a large part of the imposter syndrome I feel about a lot of my success.,1 it's especially hard when you're recovering from self harm lmao,0 I'm more than my thoughts... but I am made up entirely of my feelings. :(,0 "Thanks, I enjoyed scrolling past this while continuing to do nothing",1 "I completely agree. I hate it. I'm not even diagnosed, I just don't want the label to myself of having it. When I don't have the diagnose I can sometimes doubt it and think that it's just something that will pass. Sometimes when I'm working on something or even just watching Netflix, I suddenly see something that bothers me so much, and I can't get my mind out of it until I go to move it. Whenever I think of something bad that might happen to someone close to me, I have to start manifesting/praying good health and happiness for them even though I'm an atheist. I just feel like maybe they will get hurt or something will happen because of my sudden thoughts. I think so often ""what if"" and see all kinds of scenarios in my head. Then I have to prevent those things from happening by replacing items, changing plans, telling them to avoid something and so on. This is not even all of it, but there hasn't been a moment in my life that I have enjoyed any of these. It's a curse, not a blessing.",0 I’ve read somewhere that less than 10% of people with OCD actually get treatment for it. Crazy!,0 This is literally me! 2 years and it took me a whole year to get over it,0 "THANK YOU. I have been basically thanking God that I went back to school and completed my degree when I did, a little over a year before this clusterfuck began.",1 "This was beautiful. And in that beauty, lies the reason for ADHD. I relate to much of what you said, and wish I could say I feel you, but alas I've self-medicated myself the past day to the point I don't really feel much, not to mention being sleep deprived after a skipped night. But though I can't pull out the feelings that resonate with what you said the most - because I'm well trained in the art of making them disappear from my awareness - I hope I can get myself to write you, perhaps via DM or here, a letter of sorts of whatever comes to mind. Feel free to remind my ass when I inevitably wake up tomorrow as if I got a brain reset and all my seedlings of intentions from today and before dissolve yet again, ejected from sparse malnourished soil, lost in a room only barely lit by smoldering embers of a neglected hearth. In any case, be well, and thanks for reaching that place despite me having locked it away. It helps with finding it back.",1 "I'm having my first in less than a month and I am terrified of passing on my OCD to her. But hopefully if she has it one day, I can recognize the signs and get her help way sooner than I got help",0 "OP, you're not alone. Instead of rambling on about how I go through the same exact thoughts and feelings, just know that a lot of us here are going through it and it's nothing to be ashamed of. Honestly, I don't know how I'm going to solve these ADHD related issues but eventually we could try and cope in any way that we can. Sending love your way and showing my support!",1 "Sure, it sucks for those of us who were diagnosed as adults, but on the bright side, look at all help for the next generation. It still sucks for us. That doesn't change. And I'm sorry we had to go through that. We're here now, and we're moving forward, learning to cope, and that's okay. It'll suck less for them, and that's something I can feel good about.",1 "omg this is literally so beautiful. the colors. the detail. everything. this is by far the best sculpture i have ever seen, it's so unique and pretty. u should totally keep making these!! i wouldn't be surprised if you become famous one day because of your amazing work.",0 "I casually spout the fraze ""I know"". Its my go to word to try and cancel out those pesky intrusive thoughts.",0 Lexapro for 15 mg. Literally CVS fills it like it's 2 separate prescriptions one for 10 and one for 5.,0 "Very cool. You can't beat it all at once, it's the individual wins.",0 Yayy it seems like ur making great progress! I don’t have contamination OCD but if I work with raw stuff I wash my hands nonetheless lol idk I’m not a big meat person but hey if not washing ur hands help u overcome ur OCD like go for it haha,0 "I gave maybe found a worse one today. Colleague of mine, knows I have adhd. It’s my afternoon off at 5pm messages me saying ‘I need to speak to you urgently!’ I try to reach back to no avail and I’m rather worried and my meds have run out…",1 Hahahaha I didn’t know I needed this meme in my life,0 I am a software engineer and this is me everyday all day.,1 "This says that our life is valuable simply by its existence and not dependent upon anything. We are innately important that way. Yes, breathe. A nice message. By the way I suggest mindfulness in general as well as breathing.",0 OCD is *not* needing your pens straight. OCD is having a goddamn panic attack at 3 in the fucking morning because the tally scores won’t go even for each side of your body and your heart hasn’t slowed down since.,0 lmao for me it’s always having compulsions to comment on posts a certain number of times,0 yeah i could see this happening. sounds about right,1 "aw no, i just had a meltdown after i compulsively picked at my healing tattoo :( it’s so hard not to pick tho!!",0 Is fear of chemicals a normal thing with OCD??? Please someone answer,0 Im have this problem too especially when i got piles of project i have to do. :( i dont really know where to start 😔 but today i went to say heck it and did 20mins of exercise at home. I feel guilty but i also feel good. Now im gonna tell myself to sit on 20 mins of work then imma head to bed 😜,1 Thanks! But I'm just going to scroll past this and pretend I didn't read it :),1 "Damn why didnt I see beforehand? I should have been appreciating my extended ocd breakdown these past few weeks in which I was convinced I had cancer and was dying! Fucking awesome man. God, fuck me, but more importantly, fuck anyone who thinks ocd is remotely positive or pleasant.",0 "True, and this is probably why i ate all my foods as soon as posible otherwise i'll just forgot.",1 I have a masters degree with honours but a lot of jobs I've had people acted like they thought I was a total moron because I'd always get distracted and forget everything.,1 But are you REALLY sure they haven't turned on? You need to go check again for the 483372727 time because that's the magic number.,0 You are just like me! That’s how mine is too. I did great in school but have tons of symptoms. I do procrastinate though.,1 "Unthinking mollification is an unfortunate curse some people seem to have picked up. I'd rather not be heard at all than be told my concerns are meaningless. I'm happy to tell you things are terrible any time you like, if you need. I can even say things that aren't terrible are terrible, really help put them into perspective.",1 "Can i add, ""use your windows, mirrors, fridge, etc. as white boards""? The markers wipe off just the same.",1 "Haunted by my mistakes. I also am very moral. I am trying too much to be a good person. Which makes my mistakes hurt more. Although i did read a good quote that said you would not be where you are today without making these mistakes.",0 "Damn, I'd never dare. Chicken, especially with bones is my absolute nightmare. Even cooked by a professional.",0 "Consistent brushing is a goal for me too this year. My 8 year old daughter just had a cavity free dentist visit today and I was so proud. They reminded me that she needs to brush and floss twice a day and I'm like, riiiiight. Shiiiit, I should be a good role model. I need to do better by her and myself. And don't minimize your hard work. Teeth brushing is a rad goal!",1 My MOM is my biggest unbeliever. She does not believe In me. I feel worthless at times. She could care less about my personal feelings. It's sad when the one person you have to lean on is yourself. I am in a tough boat and it feels bad. I want to just end my life at times cause of how I feel. Anyways I just want to not live anymore at times. When I lost my job from the covid I feel more broken than ever and I feel stuck. 💔 I feel so broken down,1 I'm amazed to see so many people from my time zone here lol. Good morning everyone,1 "Thanks OP, hope your week will be amazing and less bothered by OCD",0 "Bad time for me to be allergic to fluoxetine. Hehe. I'm glad that you were able to enjoy eight hours of your life today, u/__whyamibroken! I hope that you are enjoying your time here on this earth and continue to!",0 imagine using a disorder to get people to click a shitty article,0 "Ima be the one that says it. Don’t throw stuff at me. I have a degree in psychology so the over achieving know it all is bursting at the seams to say this. 😅 It could be ADD. I look at adhd as a spectrum disorder. adhd is one end the other is ADD and then we have those in the middle who experience both but don’t have a classification yet. Idk if they labeled it a spectrum disorder/ cognitive way of functioning. But they should. It’s like autism. The spectrum is vast. It could be seriously debilitating or just annoying. The daydreams tend to be ADD and the fidgeter Adhd. However since the 90s They tend to label all forms of attention-deficit disorder as adhd though. Which honestly is super unhelpful. It’s like ptsd another fucking spectrum and they finally rolled out cptsd not to long ago. Mental health still has a long way to go. If we took the time to not umbrella term everything a lot more people would probably get the correct help they need. 🤷🏼‍♀️or I’m just talking out my ass but that’s my soap box for the night 😂 I’m the type of person that swings on the spectrum. I go from ADD symptoms one week to ADHD the next. Makes me feel bipolar but hopefully it’s just the joys of having a different way of cognitive thinking. Tried to edit but then saw there was to many typos and I don’t have time for that. I’m pretty sure everyone in here can decipher that mess lol",1 "Another good way of looking at this is: just because your experience with OCD doesn’t line up with another’s experience with OCD, does not make it invalid. OCD thinking patterns are pretty much a blueprint. And most of the time (unless speaking specifically about exposure based treatment) content really doesn’t matter. But it’s really important to not take one’s experience with OCD as god speak. It’s important to note that OCD in general is not a blueprint. There’s different shades and obsessions and one does not (and should not) overshadow the other.",0 "YES. I'm not even mad about others self-disgnosing. I'm mad because washing my hands bloody doesn't mean my house is any less of a disaster than it is. Yes. It's a mess. No that doesn't conflict with my germ-avoidance. I'm mostly fine with mine, it's *everyone else's* I can't do.",0 "OCD since ten, did not stop me being a messy person. Because honestly its like if I can't get it exactly how I know I need it -- then something in me shuts down and can't try. That's only on some things. It's hard to explain to people who don't have it in their brains. But yeah, the amount of people who say 'oh, your house must be spotless..."" God forbid they saw it...",0 Omg I have 780. I tell myself everyday to stop adding more and then it increases by like 20 a day smh,1 This is literally too accurate and funnyyyyyyy 🤣🤣🤣🤣,0 I’ve had a cyst for years that’s been on my mind a lot lately. Thank you. I hope you’re alright,1 "I'm one ""how could you forget/lose something so important"" comment away from losing my mind. I've always been this forgetful how is it still surprising?",1 "Yes, this and repetitive counting because my brain doesn’t know when to be quiet.",0 So accurate it hurts lol this was my entire day today,0 "My favorite recommendation was I should “try to not forget things”. Thanks chief! Was really struggling with forgetting not to forget.",1 I have to go talk to a teacher because he put me in a group project with another guy and I can t do anything. I don t wanna drag him down with me I m gonna ask him if he can put him in another group and just fail me because I know there is no way I m doing this,1 "While I agree with where you're coming from, worrying about the fact that you like your OCD compulsions *is* an OCD compulsion in itself. A little different from what you're saying, but I think the sentiment in your title could be harmful to those people who have that OCD theme. Here's a video on the subject! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4NJGtvCAUY",0 "Yes. ""Okay, but like why"" is my response to pretty much every instruction. Reactions range anywhere from surprise to rage. But yes I need more context. I need to know how it works so I can make sure I am doing my part correctly.",1 "Does anyone ever get frustrated to think how good their grades would be if they didn't have ADHD? Like, I'm graduating a year early from college with a good GPA, what GPA would I have had if I were able to not procrastinate and actually pay attention in all my classes?",1 This right here. I can fucking relate to this haha.,0 Why you attacking me this morning with that title....,1 "Same here. I taught myself to read when I was 2 through a wheel of Fortune game. I have quite a laudable lexicon and my ability to express myself through written word can be remarkable at times. So much so that when I was in school, I wrote a paper so well, that my professor refused to believe I wrote it and was ready to fail me for plagiarism even though she ran it through software that showed my content was original. She had no evidence of plagiarism plus I had been excelling in the class prior to that. In her defense though, when I read it back to myself even I was stunned slightly. When I write I tend to do so in a random stream of consciousness that I later organize. NOW SPEAKING.... sometimes I feel like I'm borderline incoherent 😂. Not even medication helps with this. Also when I taught myself to read I did so phonetically so I had a tendency to mispronunce a ton of words but only ever so slightly.",1 "One thing I like to do is verbally say things out loud, that helps me remember. This helps in a lot of scenarios... I've even gotten to the point where I say ""clear"" to myself as I look each direction before I cross the road.",1 You get some sleep? My ocd follows me into my dreams!,0 "Cool. Mine is named Steve. Shut the fuck up, Steve.",0 Dont forget the one where you literally stare qt the water for 5 minutes making sure its actually turned off,0 "this feels like a mental compulsion to me 😐 edit: replacing a “bad thought” with a “clean thought” to be clear",0 Yes!!!! I always asked this in school and teachers would get so pissed!!! Its fucking school!,1 Dude. I literally stopped in the middle of a sentence during a serious conversation with my husband && walked away because I got distracted & forgot I was talking. It was insane. Luckily he knows me well enough to know it wasn't on purpose but ooph that is what pushed me to get meds.,1 Why is this specifically posted on the OCD sub-reddit? Is it a thing that typically happens for it? Sorry just a genuine question cause this happens to me VERY often as well.,0 100% but I also think once I achieve a macro understanding I have an advantage over normies.,1 "Oh shit, thanks for thr reminder. Gonna go brush now.",1 "I tend to perform incredibly well when I can WRITE what it is I wish to express, especially regarding knowledge of specific subjects. If I have a reasonable amount of time to prepare, and ""rehearse"" what it is I need to verbalize I can do so with relative confidence. Put me on the spot and I'm a fucking disaster",1 i had no idea other people have this problem. thanks for making me feel a little bit less isolated.,1 "Same thing I upvote a post or save a video thinking that I would watch it over again, but instead I forget the video or post exists",1 "I’m a 22 year old. Can definitely relate to this. The article tiles of “if your child...” or any pertaining to children is upsetting. I know that ADHD can be diagnosed early in childhood, I was! But, there has got to be more resources for adults with the condition. It honestly feels like once we stop being children we’re neglected for having ADHD.",1 "Why come you don't have a tattoo? But seriously, without people like us, Idiocracy would be here a lot sooner. Nobody knows why anymore.",1 "Has anyone seen those memes going around that are like "" if im talking to you and you tell me a story about your life, were no longer friends because you made it about you. It doesnt make you relatable etc it just makes you an asshole"" I fucking hate those.",1 "I was high functioning and high achieving all through my primary education, struggled a bit but got through my secondary education. Entered the corporate workforce at 28 as a legal assistant and promptly had my ass kicked. Lost my first law firm job as a result of not being able to take care of the boring admin tasks of my job. It’s gotten better since diagnosis 5 years ago, but I still struggle with the less-glamorous aspects of my job. Currently staring at a pile of billings I need to do and just have no interest in it.",1 "The amounts of times I've literally said ""NO, I DIDN'T SAY THAT, YOU DID!"" to my OCD ""voice"" over the years is insane. She be saying some fucked up shit trying to convince me it's my opinion or desire 🙄",0 I’m feeling a little called out. Do you know me irl? Were you my masters thesis advisor? Or my English teacher? Or are you my dad?,1 "Wow! It’s perfect! I can feel the cold well portrayed in that gray sky. Perfect shades on trees as well. Well do e for walking away. I am proud of you!",0 "I'm in jrotc and have adhd, we were learning something that I had trouble with early on, I was a let 3, and a let 1(first year doing jrotc) was having trouble. The topic is one i relate to closely, your left and rights. Other people trying to teach tried to give them stuff to put into their right hand. I already know that doesn't work. She said she just can't, I broke it down into steps and she slowly learned the movement, later I asked them if they had adhd as that set off my ""one of us"" sense, and they said yes. I do not want to be the guy who puts people in stressful situations, especially ones I can relate to.",1 "Imagine saying this to a diabetic: ""dont worry just produce your own insulin!"". Same logic to me. So dumb.",1 "I've seen a lot of people in this thread recommend lists. It probably works for them but it isn't what I do. For me it feels like arguing against a brink wall. I had a whole system for reminding myself of the successes I've had on a particular day. However my brain would always jump onto, ""why didn't you do the other thing?"" It felt like no matter what, I would still feel like I wasn't productive. I could have actually been productive, remember being productive, but feel unproductive. It doesn't matter, no amount of productivity will make the thought go away, so it actually doesn't mean anything. ADHD brains come up with stupid nonsensical thoughts all the time, this one isn't any different because it says a certain thing. Despite this, the thought still exists, and you clearly want to deal with it better. A good experiment would be determine *why* it exists, instead of making it go away. Often I misunderstand what my thoughts really mean. In this case, it's interesting that the thought happens every evening. That doesn't make sense, if you were actually unproductive you know at the time, it might be hard to do the thing, but you know. So the thought might not be related to productivity at all. To figure this out I tracked those types of thoughts and whether I was actually productive, and when the thought occurs. I set an alarm for when it occurred and asked myself the question the next day. Turned out for me that the best predicator of when the thought would arise was not how productive I was, but when I took my meds in the morning. It always occurred 10 hours after, when their effects started getting lower. So for me, it occurred due to low dopamine and nothing else, it sometimes makes me sad, but I think that is to help me sleep so I'm okay with that. The best fix for me is to have a coffee because all those types of thoughts are really doing is making you anxious due to low dopamine. What works for me might not work for everyone of course, but trying to figure out why the thoughts exists first, instead of trying to destroy it immediately can help a lot. I also want to add on a quite meta level I got the thought writing this and will now get a coffee.",1 ME right now. Honestly I've been crying a lot lately at even the smallest criticism. I'm not trying to mess up :'(,1 "yeah isnt this how erp works, just ""agreeing "" with your intrusive thoughts so they shut up",0 Prozac 20mg but I'm 5 weeks in and this shit seems to have stopped working,0 "not lying that I have chills..truly thank you for your candor & care..xo",1 3 is my number. I usually have to do things three times but sometimes I get anxious that I didn't do something enough times to correlate with the amount of people in my family so the number can change.,0 "This explains so much and explains why I would literally get ER-level sick by the end of each academic term. I would go to my doctors and they would be able to see actual inflammation on the MRI scan! However, it was a mystery to a lot of doctors until one speculated that it might be due to the adrenaline-rush wearing off by the end of each semester and that I had just not realized that the inflammation kept getting worse and worse :0",1 I am not a slow poke!!! Says angry 33 year old me to my gr 1 teacher.,1 "Congrats! I’m in a similar spot. Terrible habits until I started keeping a calendar on the bathroom wall and checking off days that I brushed. Since roommates and guests can see it, I now have sufficient “motivation” to remember!",1 "Why is it that every time you are by yourself, you can identity and can remember the symptoms. But the moment you have to describe what’s happening, they disappear? (This happens to me, not sure if it happens to others)",0 "Heyo. I like your beard. To me, reality is relative- and honestly what I'm experiencing is real enough. Pain, Happiness, Apathy- emotions that remind me that I am here, and I am existing, and I will continue to exist.",0 It doesn't work if you're not allowed to use electronic devices normally in class if the teacher didn't book school ipads for e learning that day,1 Every day. I wonder when I'll be relieved from the pain? Forgiving myself... It's a challenge.,0 "i am probably the messiest person i know aha, everyone thinks i’d be really neat and organised because i have ocd but then they see my room and think ‘wow’ lol",0 It's like if somebody was always inside your head and that person was the worst fault-finding asshole you've ever met,0 Haha I needed this message right now. My toddler has been waking up (ear infection) and it’s late... I should be trying to sleep.,1 I have a cleaner but I still haven't managed to convince my wife I need a gardener too...she thinks our garden is too small to justify it but I just can't maintain the damn thing!,1 Hahaha. So. True. I hyperfixated on Bad Guy and You Should See Me in a Crown by Billie Eilish and I mean I don't hate Billie Eilish but I much prefer alt rock like muse or perfect circle.,1 "Yeah, which ends up with a horrible coping mechanism where I just freeze...and don't move.",1 "I'll be in the middle of something and go, ""it can't be that hard to remember to do that after I'm done with this particular task"" and then never ever think about it again",1 "Bio-Chem student here. I had to drop out because O-chem *ruined* me. Was also taking anatomy and physiology when I found out I was OCD. I agree. Chemistry is the worst. Also, your smile is wonderful :)",0 "I'm glad I'm not the only one. A lot of family and friends around me have been saying ""They're so OCD now"" or ""if they weren't OCD before they are now"" and it drives me insane and it's all about hand washing and organizing like they're the only things related to OCD. Like they're actual compulsions and boy have I seen some people on this subreddit actually suffering their compulsions to hand-wash worse now lately and it infuriates me that people throw the term around like its cute. I've only known 2 other people with OCD in my life and both had hair plucking compulsions.",0 "I LOVE this! Very occulty vibes ✌️😇 curious, do you find the process of building repeating patterns into larger shapes particularly soothing? I ask because I have a similar habit - when bored or anxious, I really enjoy drawing this way, 'mandala' style where larger things grow together organically from many smaller things. I feel it's inherently meditative and immensely beneficial. And, you get this sick ass piece at the end! Can't wait to see more 😎",0 "Yup, I always ruled out ADHD as what was wrong with me, I was never the loud kid in class and did well in school (I just didn't study or do homework so I was always a B/C student). Just never felt like I could hit my potential. Honestly, just knowing is making a huge positive difference in my life. Being open and honest with my wife and co-workers is also making a HUGE difference in my life. Highly recommend and if they don't support you, it's your sign that you're just not where you belong yet.",1 "I can relate so much to this. The more I read posts from this community, the more I start to notice that Ive been struggling with ADHD all my goddamn life.",1 That fucking inner monologue just doesnt know when to shut the hell up.,1 It's good to have a community you can relate to but just remember that seeking reassurance is in itself a compulsion,0 "Wow, this post makes me feel so validated. Seriously. I schedule my therapy appts as early as I possibly can for the same reasons you mentioned! Hell, I had a 1:30pm optometrist appt today, and I was basically stuck 1) getting ready and 2) watching TV before it was time to leave! Didn't want to play a video game or start my laundry, didn't want to stop somewhere on the way - could only fixate on the appointment.",1 100% did this as a kid - I was convinced that if I don’t say my please keep everyone alive prayers before falling asleep some serious shit will go down...,0 "Have you tried just ""doing the thing""? It works every time!",1 "Haha. Yep. I’m currently in the process of trying to educate my partner about what ADHD is — we’ve been dating for over 2 years, he still hadn’t even googled it until I confronted him about it about two months ago :) But all I can find online are articles about “So you think your partner might have ADHD.” “Are they constantly putting off chores? Unable to meet deadlines or follow-up on commitments? Can’t keep track of their obligations or appointments?” “Do you have to treat them like a child?” “If so, they might just have ADHD. You should encourage them to seek professional help, and work with them to feel like equal partners again :-)” Like sorry bro, I’M stuck in the parent role of this relationship, I’M the one doing the research, I’M the one that’s been receiving professional help for years, AND I’m the one with ADHD. Not all adults with ADHD act like children, so if someone could just write a decent fucking article explaining ADHD for an adult partner of an adult ADHDer without making a lot of baseless assumptions, that would be great. You don’t have to be neurotypical to fucking PERCEIVE relationships or ADHD. jfc.",1 "Careful guys, this reads like reassurance to me. I used to compulsively ""check"" that I still cared to prove that I wasn't an evil person. This led to compulsions like throwing up in response to thoughts because it ""proved"" that I cared about them.",0 Yeah I have a morbid sense of humor about it as well. I usually tell people that know I have hit/run OCD that I ran over x amount of invisible people when I drive somewhere. THEY JUST KEEP JUMPING INTO MY CAR!!! WHY CAN NO ONE ELSE SEE THEM?! :D \*panic intensifies\*,0 "I agree that it can be seen as a cool connection to his own personal struggles with ADHD, but Jim Carrey just acted in these movies and didnt write or direct them. Since they were made by different people, it's unlikely that they are deliberately intended to mirror ADHD.",1 "lol yes! Going through them is fun, ""Why the fuck did I take a picture of a receipt for $2 at the hardware store!?!""",1 Yah me explaining to my mom I’m not in a loop then realizing an hour later I’m in a loop,0 "I'm 29. If someone would've told me 10 years ago, even 5 years ago, about what my life is like now, I would've laughed them off the face of the planet. I have changed so much, learned so many things, met so many wonderful people. I was plagued with anxiety and depression my whole life - my anxiety is nearly gone and depression holds a small presence now. Even if it wasn't, I've learned to love myself the way I am. So much can change in just a few years, whether it's external or internal, so hang in there. Despite how we feel about it, people with ADHD are incredibly resilient and determined. We are hard working, not lazy, and we keep going every day despite facing immense challenges. We all are uniquely accustomed to overcoming hardships. We can do this.",1 I usually worry about me going insane and stabbing people. I fucking hate OCD. ,0 "That’s the worst. It sends me into a doubt rumination. “Am I wrong?” “Did I overreact?” “ is there any other way to interpret this?” “I must be wrong. She didn’t reassure me.” “I’m terrible. I will never feel better” blah blah blah...",0 "I get you, I hate people saying that, there are people who are suffering with OCD, like me, I get intrusive thoughts almost all day, every day, I can't look at a cactus without thinking what it would feel like to grab it with my bare hand, its something terrible, even though there are some people with ocd of being clean, if you're clean, it doesn't mean you have OCD.",0 Been trying to do something similar with a fish tank. Trying to just not let myself stress out that much about it,0 "At 39 I still deal with this problem. However, it's *not as bad* as it used to be. Part of it is practice. Part is likely due to an air of respect I produce. I listen to others, I do my *damnedest* to relate, and follow up with more listening. It's hard, but brief silence *on your part* will help you get your thoughts more in alignment while also showing respect to others. It will never be what you want it to be, and that's also okay. Owning up to mistakes ASAP, especially verbal slips, will help you immensely. Because one of the reasons you and everyone else has this issue, is people not listening to *you*. We grow into this behavior as a child, because we're kids and people generally don't care what kids have to say. But our brain at that time in our lives in firing on all cylinders and we're flying past the point of the conversation. It takes years of practice to overcome that impulsive behavior we learned as a kid. When we slow down, others will pay attention. But it's also uncomfortable, because it feels like a *fucking slog*. But, again, practice...and time. Additionally, certain conversational tricks can help you keep interject without it being a slight onto another, like simply asking to be allowed to interject! It's surprising what people will let you do if you ask. Or if you already have a solid relationship with the other conversationalist. Might as well add. We have an emotional dysregulation issue in our brains. So when we are emotionally aroused, we will often lose whatever filter we've established and let loose, often to embarrassment or some other undesirable outcome. Again, taking responsibility will help *other* people respect you more, and down the line they will listen to what you have to say, even if there's more words than necessary.",1 ADHD folk cracking jokes about ADHD symptoms is grade A facetiousness also how did I get here,1 Only one thing was missing for me.... being too distracted to pee,1 Can someone explain to me why do you get angry when someone simply doesn't have the right understanding about a particular thing? Like I know this disorder is absolute hell because I go through it every second of every day but I couldn't care less about what other people that don't have it think it is like.,0 "I am literally taking a break as I type this right now from writing my Masters dissertation. Often, people ask me what it’s on. And I go into some kind of tangent trying to explain it because even though it makes sense to me, I know people will be confused. It’s *annoying* to say the least...",1 "Here is a VERY BIG KEY. You need to get the dopamine rolling. Do one task. Any task at all. It can be as simple as finally taking that empty glass from last months middle of the night water quest back to the kitchen and put it in the sink. Then you MUST acknowledge your success. Man, these feels like a gaming tutorial 😂 Achievement Unlocked: Slightly Less of a Slob! 100 pts! Then while you have the glass at the sink and your brain gets a little kick of “yay me!” - When you think “I should wash it while I am here.” Then do it. Again, you need to self acknowledge the success. And you should do it in a positive manner. “Hey, I brought here AND I washed it!? 200 pts me!” — You might notice that the momentum will build a little — Don’t let yourself get into “then I’ll do this, and this and this” - Because that’s when the fucking train derails, but since you washed the cup, you might as well wash that bowl and plate before it gets fuzzy. [Edit to add: You need to force yourself to focus on NOW. Only NOW. No future, no past… and if your squirrel brain pops up, reign it in. You CAN. It just takes practice] Take a couple of dishes out of the dishwasher and put them away [if you want to do all after that, feel free… if not, so what - you got a couple done]. If your brain goes “Oh! I’m on a roll… I should do that thing that I have been meaning to do but couldn’t!” - Follow it. And when you’re done, and I mean you’ve had enough of that for now… you’re done. But acknowledging and praising your own success REALLY helps. For me, Adderall makes all of this about 1000x easier — I must complete a task 30-45 min after taking my pill, and reap the benefits of the dopamine upswing… Accomplishment all day! And oddly, fall asleep at 9:30-10 within 5 minutes of my head hitting the pillow. If I start my day playing a lazy sandbox Xbox game where there is no accomplishment and ignore my morning tasks… No amount of Adderall will pick me out of the “naaaarrrr - Can’t do anything but what I’m doing”. ADHD Zombie Mode.",1 The ammount of time a day I think by time im 50 I will have enough brain power to think of a new color,0 "I haven't had a diagnosis yet simply because I never believed that I could have ADD because I have very good focus. But ADHD and ADD runs in both sides of my family, so I thought to myself why not try half a pill of my sister's medicine. Most people in my family are telling me that I should try, because even though I'm a determined person, I'm a huge procrastinator. Surprisingly, I finally got to live a day of my life without getting overly motivated about something, and then in the end not pulling through with it. A day without finding something else to do and completely forgetting to do the task at hand because I haven't reminded myself of why I'm doing it in the first place. I just did the stuff that I knew I needed to do, like a neuro-normal person would. I'm getting my fucking diagnosis.",1 Me with locks and the stove. Have to check the stove several times or most times turn off the breaker or else my brain convinces me i left it on and my cats and everyone in the apartment building are going to burn to death.,0 Lockdown is absolutely horrible and we dont even know when its going to end.,0 "I always have a project going, but at the same time I’m starting my next one. Hours and hours and hours of researching methods, learning what supplies or tools to buy, finding ways to buy those supplies, watching tutorials and reading forum, but then spending more hours searching for the best prices on supplies. (As if I actually need pro materials for every new project ugh.) Then I get everything, I’m all set to start, and the thrill is over. I still do the project but lose interest before I ever actually fully complete it. I am an *almost* expert in so many things it’s ridiculous.",1 The problem is a lot of us also have bad memory due to the adhd. So even though we can pay attention to everything good luck getting any details out of us.,1 My husband says I'm doing my JD from Scrubs face because I always have a blank stare that is sometimes horrified,0 But I don’t have OCD. Yet I’m all of these things by definition,0 Hey I did everything today thank you very much! No really thank you! I appreciate it!,1 Right now I may have to retake a class because I didn’t realize we had a meeting due the same day as the assignments and we were required to set it up two weeks in advance of the date everything for the course is due. For some reason. I just never bothered to even look at the course before today because things aren’t due for 5 more days.,1 Lucky you didn't need a hyphen for rereading. It's a weird one that,0 "Did this all the time growing up. When I would call my friend asking if they could ""play"" they said they could come over in 2 hours. I was physically incapable of doing anything but wait until then",1 I can’t even play pranks or tell white lies without feeling sick with guilt ;-; I feel that. I feel guilty for saying “hi” *ever so slightly* weirdly for days. Best of luck to both of us for the future!,0 "That's a good quote to remember. I have problems making decisions and then it makes me anxious. One thing that helps me is not to dither over anything that is unimportant. So what to wear, what to eat, shall I dust, shall I shop now or later. With all those things I don't negotiate with myself I just do the first decision I think of and stick to it no matter what. More important decisions, I don't think about at the time and tell myself I will sleep on it and decide the next day. Sometimes this works and I wake up knowing what the right decision is for these bigger more important things. Another quote that helps me with really important decisions is this, ""If in doubt do nothing."" This way maybe it will resolve on it's own without any action from me. And anyway it leaves me the choice to do 'something' later.",0 "Its a huge miracle I still have both airpods after two years!! I am sad now. I think I just jinxed it.",1 I went into Burlington for the first time days ago and I still don't understand why I was so scared/nervous the whole time 😭😭,0 It’s the worst when you’re doing it because your brain has tricked you into thinking of it as “self care” or a “break”....... smh,1 "Yeah my OCD causes fights between me and my partner. I care a whole lot about him. My therapist is not helpful at all. However i haven't got into fights with my partner lately because he is very patient with me, and recognises when my OCD anxiety flares up.",0 There is nothing worse than having your brain stuck in neutral when there is something that needs to be done.,1 "Being bothered by that pie cutting has nothing to do with OCD. For many reasons. But first and foremost, who WOULDNT be bothered by that atrocity?",0 "The huge amount you consume informs what you produce. So you could make a case that what you produce is quality rather than quantity, as a selling point. That's one way of making it work.",1 Is this an OCD thing???? What the fuck I'm learning so much about myself.,0 "I feel more confident that I am understood by someone who can empathize and not just sympathize. I've heard ""we need more people with mental illness in psychology/psychiatry/therapy/etc."" and the general idea makes sense to me. I can think of a few caveats, but I don't want to build a wall-o-text >.>;;; Regardless, I'd bet it is overall worth seeing if it is helpful. ​ And yea, seeing so many resources mostly be for children (well, their parents) is SO demoralizing. I haven't been officially diagnosed but I am all but sure this is ADHD. I'm relying on my support network and few discord servers for the morale boost/accountability I need right now. It would have been nicer to have been diagnosed as a kid or at least for me to be able to find resources for myself as an adult. grumble grumble",1 "ADHD is named for the symptoms that annoy neurotypical people, not the ones that actually make life difficult for us. It's a very bad name. Edit: Yes, poorly-worded comment. I didn't mean to dismiss the effects of hyperactivity and attention dysregulation; what I meant is that they're the most visible symptoms and people often reduce ADHD to just that when there's so much more, like executive dysfunction and emotional dysregulation.",1 I always end up panicking about becoming a drug addict whenever I smoke weed to mitigate my OCD. It's very hard to win one sometimes.,0 At this point I jump between numb and having a breakdown its exhausting,0 "God bless Sarah, and can she have a chat with my spouse?",1 top 0.5% of Frank Ocean listeners but i swear to god i listened to Harry Styles ONLY for like months. honestly went out of my way to listen to frank only 2 of 3 times this year. i have over 131k minutes tho bc i just play music all the time. i dont think it counted by podcast time in that either bc that was 41k minutes and my music time is always high.,1 "This is why subtitles are a must. Even when you KNOW exactly what they said, but you just need to make sure lmao",0 ...thank you lmao. I was putting off going to sleep! I have to get up so early tomorrow. Closing Reddit now.,1 "I remember being in grade school and having these horrible and embarrassing thoughts. Like, darker than any 8 year old should ever have. I was super afraid, because I thought if I told someone about them, they'd get rid of me (a threat often used by my family). I was in 5th or 6th grade, and I finally told my mom that something just seemed wrong with me. During this time, she was in university and studying about mental health, I thought she'd get it. She didn't. She flipped out and yelled at me, said my mind was disgusting and that I should be ashamed of myself. She also said that she, ""Didn't raise me to be like this."" I felt deep guilt and embarrassment and it took me nearly 15 years before I finally was able to start getting the help I needed, but I kept it a secret for another few years. When I finally told my friends and family, they laughed and pointed out the fact that my room was always messy and therefore I'm ""a hypochondriac looking for attention."" I have been very vocal ever since, trying to spread awareness. I just want people to understand. There is so much more to this than the media portrays and I hate the media for giving us this reputation.",0 "Yeah. But, honestly, who cares if you’re good at it, right? Making art is just part of being human. It’s good to scratch that itch and just go through the process of making things for the sake of it. Even if you never show anyone. Even if it turns out stupid or ugly. Birds build nests, dogs dig holes and humans make art. It’s really sad that the idea of being “good at art” has been so commodified by capitalism that doing a basic human activity isn’t seen as a productive use of time unless you can get, well, a product out of it.",1 i feel like i could have written this. i can't offer you much advice but i just want you to know that i am right there with you and this made me feel less alone as well.,1 Not to be that vegan but I’m curious to why you guys wouldn’t go plant based?,0 "Jesus, you guys too? I thought it was just my depression.",1 "I don’t think I’ve ever related to a post more than this lol. I lose everything. Just this morning my husband wakes me up at like 5am while he’s getting ready for work cause he can’t find his belt. I did same thing as you. He gave up and starts getting ready to leave. I go check the bathroom. He says it’s definitely not in there, he got changed downstairs and he already looked. I look in bathroom and for some reason it fell behind the linen tower thing. I felt the same way. Something I’m good at",1 "People might open it, or grab it for inspection then put it back. In this case you are justified.",0 And here I was feeling silly for worrying about all of that and not the pandemic. Hang in there y'all.,0 "I'm raging. I got a major haircut, shaved my beard, and felt handsome for the first time in months. I had also just gotten a good paying job after being unemployed. Then lockdown happened.",1 "I’m in the process of getting diagnosed at the minute. A big part of why I never thought I could possibly have ADHD was because I did so well in school. But, now I’ve been out of school and working for about a year in a job that, thankfully, allows to have music or videos playing in the background to keep me working at a decent pace. However, I know I want to move up into more difficult, higher paid work pretty soon where I wouldn’t be able to use these coping mechanisms, and that really worries me.",1 THANK YOU!! I was wondering why a top 5 was an artist I listened to for 2 weeks out of the year,1 OOF this was me last night. Kept YouTube on in the background because Bad Thoughts TM.,0 Everytime I have a dumbass thought like that my mind instantly thinks of the joe Biden “will you shut up man?” Meme,0 "I have a similar thing happen to me but it only happens when being out on the spot or having to explain my thought process (Also fuck people asking me to explain my thought process) behind certain actions. This really bites me in the ass when I am being asked to explain something at work or my partner puts me on the spot because I can explain a thought process that I already forgot... Most of the time I am a wizard with words, just can't explain how I got to an answer. I am loving this group so far because I had not thought what was happening to me was a symptom of my adhd but as I real more I am learning more and more about this and how it affects me and others.",1 It's 113 degrees where I live today. I ain't taking my meds today and I ain't doing shit today. Thanks though.,1 "If you can even make it a few moments, I applaud you. Takes me about 2 seconds to start questioning myself.",0 "For me after I get over I guess the obsession, or things get better, I panic that things will get bad again and that good things don’t last...",0 "Frustration fuels me to do things but if i'm in a genuinely comfortable headspace(Eg I already started an assignment or I am close to my goal weight/body), I start putting things off. To work on them, I try to motivate myself by thinking about how I will feel when I actually complete what needs to be done. Easier said than done of course. I try to guilt trip myself a little as well e.g. I tell myself ""you are already struggling to keep your grades where you want them to be at. Do you want to be a failure? Do you want to feel rejected? Do you want to feel like you could have done better when you clearly chose not to?"" And lol after that whole cycle, I kinda grumpily get to it hahaha.",1 I have a poetry series called Intrusion. The poems are composed entirely out of unedited intrusive thoughts with no narrative to them.,0 "I definitely relate. I have spent years trying to overcome some of the more embarrassing traits but there are so many that are just me. Life is difficult when you have so many obstacles that you don't know how to fix. But as someone who is 2 or 3 times older than you I am proof that you can do it.",1 "My ADHD friend and I have this conversation a lot. I think there's something about ADHD folk that enhances the feeling of ""this person is being positive solely to put on a shit eating grin and help their own attitude, not mine"". I see no reason to be fake about your levels of motivation especially when dealing with an executive function disorder. Being honest about my current attitudes is a way more satisfying way to live, imo. Being fake helps nothing and promotes delusion. Maybe I'm too glass half empty, idk.",1 "And I giggle as I have just gone to my feshly made bed the sheets of which were washed in sanitiser, after scrubbing every wall and touchable surface in my house.",0 I always kid myself that I could perjure myself in court even when 100% innocent. That's how much of an issue my memory is for me.,1 "Sometimes but I also turned on closed captions, so I read those and find I like having them on so i HAVE to focus.",1 You entered workforce? Im stuck in between school and working atm lol,1 Oh wow. That really explains the hardest thing for me.,1 Relatable. I wonder what causes thought downward spiral. ,0 After dealing with what I thought was just anxiety (I always thought something was wrong more wrong then others but my ocd made me constantly doubt myself and think I was being dramatic) I have finally gotten into therapy just when I was about to deny needing help again. I got diagnosed with ocd and depression after the first session and I am overwhelmed with how much of my life has been taken from this but also so excited to maybe stop this vicious cycle I’ve been in from age of grade 5 to now as a 20 year old. Also realizing it’s not my fault and that voice in my head isn’t true is a huge relief,0 "Totally. It's the only way for me to see my way to completion of something. I need to know the ins and outs. Some bosses like it, others hate it, lol.",1 " Last night I was so fed up of feeling the same way that out of desperation I decided to make my breakfast the night before (bowl of cut fruit, peanut butter, weetabix) and put it in the fridge. Somehow knowing all I had to do was pour milk got me out of bed this morning and straight down to the kitchen to eat. My day went so much better as a result and I even took a walk before work! Ok I’ve stayed up too late but I’m going to make my breakfast again now before I go to bed. Posting in case this helps anyone else.",1 "Thank you for this 💖 definitely going to try them all. I feel awful on med holidays, I’ll try skipping them.",1 Oh man the gay and trans OCD is real. I’m straight and a cis gendered female but I’ve been all around the rainbow due to my OCD.,0 "I don’t even take breaks from meds on weekends bc it makes me feel EXTRA useless and reminds me how bad I am at life without it. Productive weekends, productive workdays, productive life.",1 Exactly! Whenever I’m trying to enjoy something my ocd gets triggered so i have to pause whatever i’m doing to clear my mind and it’s so frustrating.,0 "This is very true. Knowing why also helps me recognize what to look out for in case the situation changes, rather than being a mindless drone that’s not trained to adapt. How else do people expect a job to be done well if the person doing it doesn’t even fully understand what’s going on?",1 I may regret this but I liked this so much I shared this on my Facebook. ,0 And then it all just builds up and up and gets worse. Why is this too true,0 The only thing this does is further promote stigma that ocd is all about order. This doesn’t help us.,0 I have a similar issue. I had my partner fill out [this](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1601064934/ref=dp_iou_view_product?ie=UTF8&th=1) little book. I keep it in my purse. I have only looked a couple of the pages so far. I save it for when I really need it. Just knowing it there is usually enough.,1 "Like when you try to explain that you could bring that bottle of water with all your physical power lmao, but the fear of losing control is more prevalent in that moment.",0 "for browser tabs: I use vivaldi (the internet browser) and you can stack tabs. So it'll look like I only have 4 tabs open but when I mouse over them I get a preview of all the links in it. So if I'm working on a project I stack tabs related to that. If I get distracted and want to look up how to take care of my plants, I open a tab and start stacking plant ones. Then when I flip flop on them it's not so hellish. Also with vivaldi you can x out or shut down your computer and it'll still save your workspace. ​ for photos: honestly need to take a full day to do this or pay a trusted friend",1 "I'm literally doing that right now... it sucks so hard. For weeks I've spent almost all my time in this void of anxiety, stress, and nothingness. Can't enjoy my weekdays, can't enjoy my weekends, can't enjoy anything - I'm just in a constant state of ""getting ready"" to do what I have to do. I hate it.",1 Just started this medicine been spending too much time trying to manage this myself without help.,0 "Like honestly my whole life i knew that ADHD exists but i thought it's on for the hyperactive kids and only a year ago or so i found out that its not only the hyperactive kids being affected by this. It should be renamed because for a lot of people like me, they wouldn't even think about it affecting them.",1 "I remember asking for a day off because I had a doctor appointment, and my boss asked me ""your appointment is 7 hours long? You can work at 4 pm."" I had to invent that I the appointment was a medical procedure so he won’t make me work, but in reality, it was just a simple doctor appointment. For me if I’m working in the afternoon, I can’t do anything before that.",1 "Once when I was visiting my dad, immediately upon walking in the door he said he hasn't seem his wallet in three weeks. Right next to the front door is a tall hutch, I reached up and grabbed his wallet and handed it to him. ""How did you known it was there?"" His mind was blown. I told him years of practice.",1 Oh my god this was me when I was a child that’d never even kissed anyone 😂 full panic like ???,0 "Me, everytime something good happens: ""you are a piece of shit. You don't deserve this""",0 "I would like to share a good moment but these days have been extra hard. I feel like crying when I feel these thoughts in my brain. I'm a university student and I still live with my parents and my siblings. My family is wonderful, I had a great childhood. I am a content person. But I also have a aunt with severe depression and OCD. I stayed with my aunt and my late grandmother after school because my parents were both working full time. Me and my brother developed at the age of 7-8 some forms of OCD and I think that being in contact with someone who already had this type of disorder influenced greatly our behavior. I don't like being touched by people, I get anxious, even angry if they do, or touch my clothes or things. I also hate when my mom does my laundry and I have to rewash my underwear because I feel like it's dirty for being in the same pile of clean clothes of the other people in my family. I hate when people touch my bed or any of the furniture in my bedroom. I don't touch door knobs with my bare hands before going to bed and I use my foot to close doors. I don't like touching the light switches in my house too.",0 I used to do this until I was about 13 years old and then I was able to suppress it. About 2 years ago I adopted a cat and I’m right back to it. It’s been rough. I find myself checking for “dangerous” things in my apartment multiple times before I leave in the morning... is the oven off? Toaster unplugged? Windows locked? It never ends.,0 Congrats! You look awesome. I know about how things like this can impact how we view ourselves and hope that you are able to be happier now :),0 "Nope, I'll just get paralyzed and spend the next several hours not knowing what to do until I inevitably leave while hating myself for reasons I dont understand.",0 "Yeah, I totally understand this. Not only do I have to deal with a swirling blizzard of incomplete thought fragments, but you also start to feel like a caged animal and the cage is your own mind. Everybody else is outside that cage looking in, you try to talk to them but all they hear is some sort of random bleating that makes no sense to them, so they just shrug their shoulders and move on. It's not their fault for not understanding, nor is it yours for having your condition, it just really sucks, because you believe deep down that no one (not even your Therapist), will truly understand you. I read posts on here and I find that I often get envious of others because of being able to articulate what's going on, it's a gift that gets taken for granted.",1 This actually gives me anxiety. Just have them all assorted in a bag like they normally are.,0 "I relate to this allot. It’s kind of like my brain is always tired, until it’s WIRED. and it’s rlly on wired at weird times and for special interests. Other than that it’s like there’s a constant fog.",1 I have tons of screenshots too...screenshot to remember something..never to look at again 🤣,1 "In my experience, Siberian rhodiola helps when we try to resist ocd thoughts. Without rhodiola ignoring ocd thoughts is very challenging. Caffeine multiplies ocd thoughts and anxiety.",0 """cheer up"" has to be one of the most rage-inducing ""positive"" thing you can say to someone. I feel like everyone here has had that same type of ignorant, half-assed ""caring"" given to them growing up. ADHD isn't something a non-ADHD person can accurately simulate. So there's an empathy gap there that can't really be bridged. It's also a ""trendy"" disorder that's often misappropriated to explain regular human behavior. When you treat a legitimate disorder as a social/learning qualifier, non-afflicted people won't take it seriously. Austism probably has that same reaction in people. Although, I'd say because of the debilitating levels of autism as compared to those with ADHD, those who aren't as (for lack of a better word) afflicted by it, it's easier to dismiss their real issues. We just put up with a lot of ignorance about things that directly affected us as individuals, so we don't give it back to each other because we know what each other is going through. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised of there's a link between autism and ADHD.",1 Depending on where you are you can seek services through an emergency room. If you are in the US they can put you in contact w/ no cost services. Even urgent care can do this. Mental health services tend to prioritize those with severe mental illness. I hope everyone receives the help they need.,0 "Autistic person or parent of autistic child: seeks out any shred of support The world: YOU HATE AUTISTIC PERSONS",1 "This gives me the warm fuzzies just knowing others have felt this way too and that none of us are alone. That’s my internal experience too, a longing feeling of if only people took the time to see people better and realize that for some people, it’s just not a straightforward trajectory from feeling to thought to action.",1 "My most absurd obsession was to drink only water for ~year because I was afraid ""possiblity"" of getting cancer, if I drink somethig else. Before or after this obsession I have very similar — I used to drink only apple juice. I was a few years old then. Currently i don't have such strong obsessions.",0 When someone says “dude just stop washing your hands”,0 "New to reddit and I’m so glad I joined this sub!!!!Needed to see this, I’ve been scrolling Reddit to put off going to sleep :)",1 "I’m honestly having the hardest time believing this. My HOCD feels way too genuine and too real. I don’t have attraction to women anymore and my attraction to men feels exactly like how the attraction to women used to feel. For me this spiral started when I imagined the attraction towards women switch with the fake attraction towards men. It started as an intrusive thought but then became curiosity, making me think “hmmm... this is cool, I can switch this it’ll probs go back to normal anyway” but it didn’t.. it’s been 7 months",0 """Haha you have a nice things in your life? Here, lemme show you how you could fuck it all up.""",0 "&!&$@%#¥ you caught me. Consider myself logged off. Thank you, dear mister.",1 "Yeah, I Hate to point out the obvious and I get the message but OCD / germophobia are different in that they deduct significant amounts of time and hinder productivity. It is a good idea during a pandemic to wash your hands more often, however being ""OCD"" about it where you're spending 80% of your time doing that is probably not great either.",0 "This hits too close to home. [I made my own version of this meme.](https://i.imgur.com/zf1s4hq.png)",0 "Yea I do stuff on this level and it spooks me sometimes. A few minutes ago I needed to walk about 6 steps to put a pen back in a drawer. By the time I got there, my mind was somewhere else and my autopilot just started opening and closing every drawer in reach and not even knowing what I was searching for. Then I snapped out of it and was like ""what am I doing?"" Because I know exactly where the pen goes - in the top drawer.",1 The term “OCD about...” fucking pisses me off and sets off *MY* OCD. These people need to shut the fuck up and go educate themselves on the topic.,0 "Holy shit. This is happening in one of my classes between me and the professor. I’m trying to get a time extension on the quizzes and tests and prof keeps refusing. So I went through our disability resource center and guess what she does? Shortens the quiz for the whole class to 1/3 of the original time and gives me 1.5x time, effectively cutting the time I used to have in HALF! Arghsjkxjei I wish I could just send her this.",1 I made myself a dermatologist appointment for a skin exam. I have to get in the habit of getting a skin exam since I'm very pale and a redhead (which is a risk factor by itself apparently). My moles are on areas of my body where they're hard for me to observe so I need a third party lmao,1 "Yep. I can't do anything except sleep and be miserable the whole day, then my thoughts start to race with everything I should have done and have ever done at night so I can't sleep. And the cycle continues until I'm a sleep-deprived zombie... It sucks when I realize that'll be my whole life, so I try not to think about it.",1 "I get the same reaction as you. Literally just yesterday my mom called MHMR cause I was beating myself and the lady said that if I wanted my mom to talk to the doctor that “I was an adult” (sarcastic voice). At the time I was in my room alone and my mom was in their with me on the phone with the lady and she said if me going out to be with everybody would help and (I know you don’t FEEL like going out there but if I could just do it despite the way I was feeling (sarcastic voice). Instantly I got angry, upset and shut down.",1 "Obviously we're just using it wrong. I mean, I use it to write stuff on I have to do but I never tried grinding it to a powder and snorting it. Or smoking it, or injections??? Hopefully unnecessary /s",1 I never had a cool life with cute girls fighting over something silly. Why was my youth so boring?,0 "I think my favorite response was what someone said to me. A girl with OCD that I was hanging out with was cleaning the lip of her water bottle every time she drank from it and I (totally blanking that other people have compulsions) asked what she was doing. She just flatly said, ""It's called OCD."" And I was just like, ""oh, crap, duh, I have it too."" But now I just think if someone makes a comment about my compulsions or obsessions, I'll just deadpan and very flatly say, ""It's called OCD, \[name\].""",0 "... wait, is this a typical trait of people with OCD?",0 No tf it isn't. I've dealt with suicidal depression before and I'd still take that over the sheer agony OCD has caused me,0 Yeeeeaaahhh I literally apologized to my therapist because I felt bad taking up so much time talking during our session. I knew it was a ridiculous thing to do but I couldn’t help myself,0 "Right? It feels so infantilising. There's an app that helps me a lot, but it's marketed for ""kids, and people with ADHD"". I honestly think I'd feel better about it if they just listed it the other way round...",1 This is a wonderful post! Thanks everyone for such inspiring messages!,0 "Even if this post gets just two upvotes, I want you to know it helped me so much just now. I was on the verge of losing my shit before having read this.",0 "It’s hard, I’ve been with my wife since we were 16, and we’ve now been married for a decade and together for 15 years total. I still don’t know how to tactfully explain it’s not that I don’t care, I just am physically unable to handle conversation at the moment.",1 Or the way when I was younger I had to make a square using my eyes or I was going to go to hell.,0 "I save them knowing one day ill be curious to know about the posts I saved. When that day comes again, ill be very happy :)",1 I've been thinking about getting a tattoo with some kind of cycle or circle to represent my battle with OCD. It's sometimes hard to remember when you're knee-deep in an obsession.,0 "Damn, this hits home big time. For me it's 6AM-9AM.",1 "I love the way it looks, with the bit of shakiness in the lines. It looks like that’s actually the style, and it’s a lot more interesting than it would be if the lines were all perfectly straight. Nice work :)",0 Forced myself to read them all right now so I don’t do the “Ill read it later” dance and never come back out of shame! Now I can come back and hyper focus without issue. Thank you OP!!,1 Every time lol I am going to try to stop doing this one,0 "Holy SHIT, this is incredible! And also such a good idea!",0 iPhones only let you open 500 tabs in the safari 😬 I’m so ashamed I know,1 "My friend and I “babysit” each other doing school assignments and getting projects done. It’s amazing how much I can get done when they say something like, “in five minutes you need to get in the shower, I’ll call you in 20 and you better be out”, and continue that way throughout a day where I’m not functioning in my own. ",1 I feel this and it's compounded by the fact that I'm a late diagnosis and was diagnosed during the pandemic. What if it's just because of the pandemic? Isn't everyone struggling? Things like that.,1 "Yes. I am my worst critic. I have even slapped myself. Scratched myself. Shook my head. (I have a chronic ear issue that pops and cracks at times and makes OCD worse. Cussed myself. Degraded myself verbally. Not all the time. Just when I ""Jump in the air and get stuck"". Stuck on a check.Random as well. Maybe a light switch one day. May be something else the next.Pill bottle are the worst. Along with my Fridge magnets.",0 "Just ordered the book on Amazon (thank god for 1-day shipping), thanks for the recommendation!",1 "I’ve recently came to the conclusion that when I have no active rumination or anxiety, I feel very vulnerable and about to be attacked with something I forgot",0 "Also, holes in shirts, checking to make sure the door is locked, random thoughts or images making you want to die because they repeat over and over, THE VOICES AT NIGHT",0 "Thank you for the reminder! I have so many tabs open.... When the tab icons are too small to properly navigate, I'll minimize my window, open a new window, tell myself \*this window\* won't be tab hell, annnnd repeat until my computer crashes. [Tabs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n241TvVUe4Y) <-- This song makes me feel so understood. Lol",1 LOL emotional emails to an ex... read and write so many times I don't even end up se doing anything. Prolly a good thing tho,0 This happens to me so often. Just last week this happened to me and after my depressive episode my ocd was so bad and it’s a horrible cycle to be in,0 "There’s another spectrum for people with mental illnesses, it’s mental fortitude. When people have it it seems like they can’t fathom other people not having it. What I mean by mental fortitude is how one can persist through those mental challenges, and getting over them. I think this fortitude discrepancy could cause that toxic positivity you spoke. I’m mostly speculating here but I think that the mentality is like “since I can overcome it so can you and everyone else”. I think this effect compounds with the fact the people are mortified of others even feeling a resemblance of sadness, with mental health problems. But the fact is a majority of mental health problems inherently lead to sadness. I think it’s better to realize the sadness, and not overdosing on copium.",1 "Felt this one. Just a week ago my mom said the ""reason I have OCD"" is because I'm not christian. It really hurts to have your experiences and issues belittled like this. You don't need Jesus, you need support. I hope someone gives it to you, if not your mom. Keep your head up",0 Can't I clap instead? I don't like this version of the song.,0 "Yes to all of them! I would add mood swings, poor impulse control and hyperfixations",1 Mine was always a troll that constantly yelling in my head. I like yours though. You’re a great artist! :),0 My dumb brain read “erectile dysfunction” so I was very curious as to how doing chores around the house is difficult 😂,1 this literally happened to me last night and i cried for 4 hours 😎,0 Holy cow this happened so much in high school. I'd be walking through the halls and I had to dedicate at least half the passing period to checking myself for if I said something that played in my head so vividly.,0 "I’ve seen you in body mods, cool to see you are a fellow OCD-sufferer! (Well not cool but you know what I mean..)",0 Ocd makes me think im a brain dead moron for making a simple mistake.,0 "What sucks is, if I think of something ""negative"" when i wake up, before anything else, the day is tainted and I cant do anything. I have to be sure to run through my.""positive"" thoughts the second my eyes open or my day is ruined",0 "Yep, this has been me for the last week or so. It originally started with me getting worried about having headaches pretty regularly (literally half of my family has a history of sinus headaches/migraines), which I took to mean I had a brain tumor. Just as I was getting over that, I had an eye exam where the doctor “saw a spot” on my retina and wants a second opinion - now I have eye cancer/will lose my eye for good. At this point, I’m noticing little things about my body and having to talk myself out of Googling shit.",0 This is a great way to stand up to that bully in your head!,0 "Reminds me of when I first went to therapy. I knew I had some level of OCD (along with anxiety and panic attacks), but it really clicked when she asked about family issues. I said ""yeah, my grandmother is a hypochondriac"" and as soon as I said it I realized. Had quite a few obsessive thoughts around mental disorders. Mostly the OCD talking. When I feel like one might apply, I tell my therapist about it and why and let her figure out if I need anything different. It helps me to mentally move on. She likes to say. ""If the treatment is the same, it doesn't really matter""",0 I have this exact compulsion... personally attacked.,0 "TPBH I've suspected ol' JP to be one of us since his story about apple juice inducing a month of nightmares and anxiety. It was definitely the sulphides though. /S",0 Had to dropout of my PG pharm.chem due to OCD. Keep on smiling,0 "I'm really late to the party here but OP please don't delete this. I've added it to my saved posts, because this is something I've been wanting to do myself for ages. I think a lot of people in this post are in a similar way and this is a post that's really helpful. Thank you for sharing!",1 "It really doesn’t. I got the “you need to be more organized” lecture from my mother for the thousandth time yesterday. It made me feel awful when I was younger, and it completely defeats me now. What works for my mother won’t work for me. Why is that so hard for people to understand?",1 I feel this. I used to have a compulsion that I couldn't go to therapy or take medication aha,0 "Bahahhaha I love this I had a horrible manager named carl so this will be extra therapeutic",0 "What has helped me is giving myself real mental breaks. No technology. Examples: going for a walk with no music, and sitting on the bus and looking at people/out the window. So even while studying I get up and go for a short walk around the library sometimes to clear my mind.",1 "I am freaking out. A university an hour away from mine cancelled and another \~3 hours away is about to as well. I don't do well with learning on my computer and I'm scared my grades are gonna tank. I also don't know what I'm going to do with being stuck in the house, I used to walk to class and I'm on a team at my college but now??? I also heard that pharmacies might not be reliable soon, and how am I going to get my meds? I feel you man I hope we can all adjust.",1 This was my first symptom as a kid. I remember my brothers would always ask me why I’d do it and I never understood until late 20s.,0 I never realized what an ocd central episode this was XD,0 "I have an (unpaid) internship going on and I am working remotely from home due to covid, I’ve been given a few things to do, but all I did yesterday was scroll my Reddit feed and play LoL... Today I woke up late and here I am, doing the same and I should be sending in the work I’ve done to my supervisor in three hours....",1 "I’m a business administrator grad and all we did was planning and talk to people and get them to work together to finish the job. Turns out it’s perfect for me with ADHD because it’s a lot of planning and helping. Productive procrastinating, I guess.",1 "Wow! This is a perfect analogy imo. Bravo! I've been struggling with how to explain to other people what's going on in my head lately. This is perfect timing, and I'm going to use this analogy for the rest of my life",0 "While I have not been able to go through the whole thing but I will for sure check it out later. Thank you for doing this and helping others. I wish you good fortune and all good things, kind stranger. One thing that I would recommend to add if rules do not say otherwise: since I see a lot of people forgetting their login information that they end up using the same password for almost everything which is not secure in the world we live in today, I would recommend using a tool for that. Most browsers now have such feature, Apple Safari, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox at least, and there are more dedicated services that come in both free and paid versions and are highly encrypted and they are available on different platforms so you can use it on your phone to get the info you need if you are not using your computer at the time. A simple web search can show up a variety of such apps. I have been using LastPass for I don't know how long, maybe 7 years or something and while I forgot my master password often, I recommend using something that you can remember, a date with a name that you associate it with, maybe use a part of the date as special letters that correspond with the numbers on the keyboard, so it would be both secure and memorable (at least after a few trials you would get it right).",1 "I’m feeling this type of thing right now and also never realized it’s my ocd. I’ve been thinking and dreaming nonstop about a conversation I had with an old friend that didn’t end well and neither of us even did anything wrong, it just ended amicably. I can’t stop thinking about texting him to apologize and clear the air though and it’s so insanely horrible because I don’t want to but I feel like I might literally die if I don’t. I had a panic attack 2 nights in a row because of it. Im not going to text him because I don’t want to give in. But I’m going to his parents house later (he lives alone) to babysit his younger siblings and I think that’s why I can’t quit thinking about it. All a long way of saying thank you for posting this because it gives me a lot of peace to know it’s just my ocd!",0 Best of luck to you. I was in essentially the exact same situation a decade ago. I was 22 and noticed a lump and shrugged it off for awhile until eventually I was losing my mind over it and kept me from sleeping. It was 13 months from when I got diagnosed to when I was in full remission and the best advice I can give is surround yourself with supportive people. It's a tough ride but trust your doctor and have faith in the progress we've made in medicine.,1 "MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD like for real. i am at a point where i am close to just give up on things i want to do because i allready know that it will end with me failing and just having a rough time filled with anxiety again xD",0 "If I'm not interested in something, this happens every time.",1 Seriously. I’m keeping up on my teeth mostly because dental work is expensive but my sleep schedule is completely shot. I’m sleeping in four hour intervals around the clock.,1 "Yup. If I tell myself, “I will watch my favorite show after I’m done with this task,” I can’t focus on the task because I’m too preoccupied thinking about the show. What works better for me is, “I will watch one episode of my favorite show before work, to put myself in a good mood and to feel like I’ve had my share of fun already. Then I will do my work. Then when the work is done I will watch another episode or two of that show.” But I 100% agree with you. It’s much better to use intrinsic motivation to do a task rather than extrinsic",1 Has anyone here suffered from insomnia being on stimulants?? I’m on straterra which is a non-stimulant but I’ve also been on concerta and they both make it impossible for me to sleep.. not sure what to do,1 Does anyone deal with false memory ocd from childhood?,0 "As a 32 year old who has only now become aware that I probably have ADHD despite it affecting me I think my whole life (well actually realised months ago but only just seeing a doctor about it today) I absolutely agree with you. It also makes it really difficult to discuss with anyone (""how can you be ADHD when you're rarely hyper and you pay attention to things all the time, just never what you're supposed to!"" - my wife) and (""if you had ADHD I would have known but you always did alright in school, ADHD kids don't"" - my now retired 'special educational needs' head teacher mother). I'm just glad I found this reddit and hope the doctor is more clued up than your average Joe. (and admittedly scared that I'm wrong and just looking for an excuse for being lazy and failing at life or something)",1 "I don't know much about the chemicals, but your examples have explained exactly what works for me in terms of being productive/completing school work. Setting a cozy temperature, my weighted blanket, chill, relaxing music and coffee. I also leave my phone downstairs. For me, another big one is taking the time to organize my thoughts. Writing out a simple step by step guide or organizing the ideas I want to convey in an essay and connecting them together before writing. It makes actually writing much less frustrating and actually can be rewarding as I get into the flow of what I'm doing - which I can't do without the environment and removing the frustration elements. Well said. Thanks for bringing this up, I hadn't really thought about it this way before.",1 "The first one is very accurate, I've always described it as loosing the floor from beneath you and it's replaced by a type rope, you are always aware that you are very close to falling and need to watch where you're walking so you don't fall into the abyss, the type rope is always shifting and you always feel like you're going to fall. Meanwhile, you see regular people walking on solid ground around you. You're trapped in an unstable stasis where the threat of imminent crashing is always there. You feel very unstable.",0 "i get this everyday and it hurts so bad, but when i don’t wash my hands i can like physically feel dirt on them",0 "Complete opposite has happened to me. I've been waaaay more on schedule with those things now, lol",1 "Jesus, lmao it’s crazy how much I can relate. I didn’t even think this was an ADHD thing, its reassuring that it is.",1 I wish I knew what it was like to not think like this anymore.,0 "Is this a sign of ADHD? Genuine question, I do this every day",1 "Oh my god it is an ADHD thing?? Last Saturday, I had my bf’s mom’s bday party and offered help to set up. I got anxious about it when I work up that I was physically sick. Throwing up, stomach started to cramp. I used to love planned things, but I would get so much anxiety now just having to wait! Told my bf that I literally don’t care if he’s earlier at family for a BBQ, just please let me come earlier cuz of my anxiety! 🥲🥲",1 "I hate this shit so much. As if OCD is as trivial as being neat and tidy. If it was, then not only would my house be a lot nicer but I wouldn't have been suicidal over my obsessive fears and endless compulsions.",0 "I dealt with the void today, eventually gave up and did the fun thing which was play Pokemon Shield and catch like 60 new Pokemon, but I feel good getting that out of my system and will probably turbo work tomorrow.",1 Is it like rinsing off one hand and leaving the other dry. Yet after doing that now the other hand feels dirty and needs to be washed.,0 My ocd says my school bully will win lottery if i dont wash my hands 5 times in a row. Lol,0 "That’s me with my whole life lol. When my boss talks to me, talking to my girlfriend , class lectures, podcasts 😂😂",1 "I don't like how y'all are living the same life as me holy hell /s it's kinda nice to know I'm not the only one but that won't finish my pending assignment now would it",1 Frozen fruits and veggies save me. Honestly. Great for snacking and mixing in things too :),1 "This is me every weekend. I bought a Udemy course for learning Mandarin so I can make better conversation with my family but also with a woman I have a crush on, who are all Chinese natives. It's been months since I bought that course with barely any progress made on it, and every weekend I literally just do nothing and feel dead inside because of it.",1 😂 my wife just shared this post to me...because I didn't listen to her (again) after she said it's time to go the fuck to sleep. So relatable.,1 "Me: You gotta do the thing. ADHD: But not right now. Me: Okay, but when do I do it? ADHD: Later. Me: But when later? ADHD: Never. Me: But... ADHD: Shhhh....shhhhh...here's an article on the expansion of the universe. Build your self-esteem around being smart instead of actually accomplishing anything. Me: Ehh.....well..okay.",1 "aw lol. mines just a fucking little demon gremlin. i should draw a character for ocd too, thanks!",0 I hit my head or scratch up and down my arms till it hurts 🥺,0 "Me: but nows not a good time OCD: do i look like i give a damn",0 Yeah it's happened but not during sex. I've forgotten what I was doing halfway through welding a four foot pass on a water tank but not while taking my wife to pound town,1 "My Alexa told me to ""plank and treadmill fat ass"" every day at 8pm for like 2 or 3 weeks before I dismissed it. No, i didn't plank or treadmill.",1 I don’t think you know how many people you’ve reassured with this.. 😌🖤,0 "Literally me in the car today. Checked it about 25 times (No i wasn't driving)",0 "Yes, yes, yes! That's me, all the time! Thank goodness-- I had thought it was just ME.",1 I did this too when I lived alone in Korea. I wish I had one for college too.,1 "I do this every night, 2:30am last night scrolling through reddit > youtube > reddit > youtube ... dont know what I'm searching for but I was on a forum about a band I like and then fell asleep listening to a new song of theirs",1 "If there is a God, this was his message to me today. I just found out that I didn’t get that job that I thought, for sure, I did. I’m wallowing in massive self-pity wondering where do I go from here. I’m trying, so hard, trying, to help it get better but it’s just so hard. I’m so sorry for your loss OP. I will take your message to heart, today and tomorrow.",1 "I like it the way it is. If you feel that you need to change it, start another masterpiece.",0 "My mom finally accepted it as a real condition. I just slowly started sending her articles from places like webmd, (sometimes the site were not allowed to say that sounds like attitude), etc. A lot of it about how teenagers with untreated adhd have anger issues, get in trouble, kids getting hurt a lot, losing stuff... y'know, the stuff we always got in trouble for. 9 months later, I have her conpiliy a symptom list from my childhood (because I don't remember really). Now I really I've had ticks since childhood, have been forgetful since the beginning, always been a motormouth, etc etc. Sometimes, the first step is learning how much of your behavior and regrets are due to something out of your control, accepting it, and learning to face it head on. THEN, and only then, did I include my mother. (Didn't bother with Dad). You have to know what you're talking about and be able to show the difference before you're gonna convince anyone else that you're giving them the real truth. I know this sounds like some normies advice, but....have patience. We may not have it easy in that regard, but it's a necessary evil for situations like this . They'll come around eventually. If they don't? All you can do is gently remind them, and try to understand that they won't understand. My girlfriend has a master's in mental health, and she still didn't really get it until about a year in. Also, there's a great book we've been reading to help with personal relationships. It's called ""is it you, me, or adult add"" Tl:dr: send some articles that explain your childhood behavior, and how symptoms manifest in your life now. Be patient, it takes time for people to understand. Try reading ""is it you, me, or adult add"". It's $20 on amazon.",1 "Literally used to happen way too frequently for me. I switched to showering at night and I also started setting an alarm at night to plan out my routine on paper for the next day. If I don't write down every single thing, step by step, it's like I never planned anything at all.",1 "I tend to hyperfocus a lot, and in some jobs that has been really helpful. Once I get the general feel for my workflow (after the inevitable speedbumps), I LOVE going 1000 mph while getting things done. It makes me feel so accomplished at whatever it is I’m doing. Unfortunately, 95% of all bosses I’ve had tend to read that as “this is great, lets give him more tasks!” Fast forward a few weeks, and I’m completely burnt out. I’ll put up with the mistreatment for a while, but after I’ve become disenchanted the hyperfocus fades too. I’ll never forget quitting Safeway. I came in for a shift to cut fruit (for those little grab-n-go packs). While I spent my whole shift working, 3 of my coworkers played foot hockey with an avocado pit, a fourth was vaping in the freezer, and my supervisor was crushing a pack of cigs out back. Clocked out and never came back.",1 Sometimes I just imagine gunning down my OCD and it helps for a bit.,0 "This is that weird combination of funny, depressing, and empowering, because I think we’ve all been there regardless of how severe our OCD is. I’m currently going through a month-and-a-half long relapse after seven clean years, but this really made me smile and find the humor in it. OCD really is just a persistent, petty little shit isn’t it!",0 Screenshotting this- should be on my desk at work. Thanks!,0 That’s why you turn around and bash them with the cattle prod,0 Yupp then i think “i was faking it this whole time”,0 "I do this all the time, then sometimes half ass the last tiny thing and make mistakes. Makes the act of finishing it MUCH less rewarding",1 "I had a 2pm work meeting today and feel this hard. I forgot to eat all day and got almost nothing accomplished with work aside from attending said meeting, which itself went great and now is making me feel shitty for fixating on it so much today. I work for a UK based NGO so I tend to have a lot of morning meetings, which actually usually works well for me since I don't have time to panic about them beforehand, but today was just a constant stream of anxiety and inability to do anything that wasn't ""preparing"" for this meeting - which had very little to prepare for. Thanks for the post, it was very validating in this moment to see I wasn't alone in this.",1 """I'm so OCD"" I always cringe when someone says that... Some people can actually be pretty dirty and filthy with OCD.",0 I typically have over 100 tabs open for this reason :(,1 I don’t know if this helps but the car doesn’t let you turn it off if it’s not in park.,0 "This is me, unless I’m on vacation then I try to stuff a bunch of stuff in for the day. Dont get me wrong, it’s extremely planned, but I think it’s because I don’t procrastinate on stuff that is actually fun and entertaining to me.",1 "I feel abnormal in the way that I am not very worried about this. And that worries me because Im thinking Im abnormal for not freaking out over it like everyone else is... this is my struggle right now and it definitely feels like no one else is having this worry... I am keeping myself in check but that’s only for the consideration of others around me. Otherwise I wouldn’t be worried.",0 "Or I give an answer but have to follow up with ""but I'm not fully sure"" and start doubting it myself",1 "I’m messy as hell. I just constantly obsess over thoughts, patterns and people :/",0 "No im the opposite it distracts me. The other day I was told to put red peppers on the shopping list then they asked what others want to eat and I heard someone joke lobster so my brain went red lobster to put on shopping list instead. Any discussion is a distraction to me",1 "I love responding in a hyper exaggerated way when people say shit like that. **A NOTE??!? YOU DON’T SAY! HOLEEE SHIT! I CANT BELIEVE I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT BEFORE!?** Ditto for: Write it down, set an alarm, use post-its, put it on your calendar, and my absolute favorite…**Just don’t forget**. I swear sometimes I think my eyes are going to roll so far back they stay that way.",1 "yeah, because picking at your skin until you bleed, not being to eat certain foods cause of smell/texture, and having to pee anytime you feel even the slightest indicator that your bladder isn’t empty is a blessing,, she can have all of that if she thinks so highly of it 🙄",0 Gotta say bye to my birb a few times and hear him respond a few times.. it doesnt bother me that much tho,0 I love this acc so much!! I’ve been following her for a few months now and she’s absolutely fantastic :),0 I don’t do multiples. I just wash my hands until I feel like they’re properly clean which can range from 1 minute to 10 minutes,0 Holy shit I didn't know he was one of us lol. I loved his movies,1 "My dad had (undiagnosed but extremely prevalent) adhd w comorbid depression and it literally took a crisis before my family even found out he had cancer (we didn’t live w him) because he never went to the doctor about his problems. Definitely left me w some hypochondriac-tendencies/anxieties, so I’m getting genetic cancer screening right now as a teen 😅",1 I check the receipt from a store i shopped at like 4 xs yesterday just to make sure i rang everything up at the self checkout last night. I had to find the receipt twice it was awful. So i can relate to this.,0 I have an Element and very similar OCD and IM PROUD OF YOU,0 "I used to use the rule that I had to get to 20 points. Washing any item was 1 point, drying an item was 0.5 points and putting it away was 0.25 points. I just had to wash until I got to 20 then I could do something else for a bit. This was pre-diagnosis. I now have a dishwasher, a wife and a prescription so it is much less of a problem.",1 "once someone pointed this out to me, i haven't put my camera down. it really does make a world of difference, especially when reflecting on old pictures and how much you've changed since then",1 OCPD and ADHD means I make lists upon lists. This unless I write everything down.,0 When I went to go get diagnosed for ADHD the doctor told me that depression and anxiety usually comes along with it,1 "I've definitely been like this forever, and both my physical and digital organization is an absolute nightmare. I shudder thinking about my Adobe Lightroom library. However, I will say that I also think it's a bit of a coping mechanism for terrible memory and lessened ability to plan for the future. It sucks going through piles and piles of old papers, but when it turns out I *do* need that form I ""should"" have thrown away three years ago, I have it. It's just a matter of digging through my disorganized stack of crap until I find it. Coincidentally, I feel like that's also a bit how my mind works. No index for lookup or instantaneous recall. Just a pile of mostly useless crap with a few useful things buried in there somewhere, which I might be able to find if I rummage through it all long enough.",1 "I have BPD, ASD and ADHD. I can’t even begin describing my daily struggles, but I’m in therapy and hopefully I’ll improve so I can have some sort of life",1 wow i thought i was special why do we all have the same experiences,0 "I kind of have a sideways version of this. I can't answer for the life of me if someone asks me to do so verbally. But if the questions are *written*, then I have a much easier time. Easier still if I can write my answer.",1 "IM SO PROUD OF YOU!! I know I’m just a random stranger on the internet but this post actually made my day a little better. I’m currently struggling in online school after being one of those “gifted kids” for most of my life. So, seeing someone else accomplish something is nice :)",1 "You probably already know this. I have found reading Driven To Distraction is a good back for adult ADHD. Helped me understand me, anyway.",1 "This is why I have random pictures of stoves, outlets, and other stuff in my gallery- so I can look at it and then be sure it’s off/unplugged. That is, until I start thinking about how it might’ve somehow turned on after I took the picture",0 "If you have a Windows laptop / computer try the game bar. It records your screen, which is everything to me since my classes aren't being recorded.",1 "Can I downvote for getting my hopes up :( after I just struggled to get a paper finished today, ran in mental circles for multiple hours. Cried for about an hour about how hopeless and unresponsive my brain was being. Basically shit out an essay in the last hour with garbage citations and no structure to the essay. Submitted it at literally the last minute possible. Somehow got an A level paper which turned into a C- with late mark deductions. FML. I was hoping for a magical tip.",1 same thing happened to me. I wrote three pages without getting distracted for the first time in years. instantly cried happy tears.,1 "Omg. This just explained why I feel full of warm fuzzies anytime my fiance sends me a picture of us when I'm having a crappy day. I'm sure he doesn't realize *why* it's so helpful for me when he does this, but it is a small thing that makes me feel so known. Just him saying ""hey don't forget"" and sending a screenshot of his phone background (a picture of he and I) when I'm struggling with something or when we're arguing can turn my entire mood around. OP, great tip, and I can confirm this really, really helps.",1 "FUCK this hit me hard. Like, people seem really excited about me at first and say these incredible things, tell me how great I am blah blah (not an egotist, I swear XD) .. then after 2 months have very little interest till they plain ghost me. :(",1 Yep. I'm literally having conversations with myself trying to get this damn disorder to shut up,0 I went to school with someone who has schizophrenia and she was more than dirt broke didn’t have 2 pickles to rub together (got pregnant-even tho she HAS NO MONEY) comes from a broken white trash family) and so she of course didn’t have the money to get it under control and she made my life a living hell! High school is hell enough on its own she was one of the girls that made me very suicidal! (When I was in school) and because she was special Ed too we were in a few classes together I had to have my English teacher be my body guard (previous to teaching she taught in prison) because this girl wanted to fight me as well,0 "The key is to hit snooze instead of turning it off, so it keeps bugging you until you go, ""FINE I'LL FUCKING DO IT DAMMIT"".",1 "I just recently got diagnosed and joined this sub. I feel like every other post makes me go, ""Oh shit, is that why I'm like this?"" It's been revelation after revelation. Particularly because I didn't know how to articulate any of these experiences. I saw this and mentioned it to my partner because we met at work and he trained me for the position. He remembered me being annoyed sometimes, when the why didn't matter, but it did matter to most of the work, so he didn't think much of it, until now. God, getting a diagnosis as an adult is a fucking trip. Especially since it didn't occur to me that I might have ADHD until the last year or so.",1 "This is never going to help you get better, don’t sit there and anxiously wait think of yourself as cured instead and don’t let the intrusive thoughts become obsessions. It’s easy to get over OCD when you don’t have any current ongoing obsessions because just like regular thoughts intrusive thoughts can easily disappear and be ignored just as fast as they appeared. Keep your head up and move on with life👌",0 "Yes! Why is this? Or like, (right) my mental health after the 6 months waiting list to see a therapist (left) my mental health 2 weeks after our last session.",0 I went to a hockey game a couple months ago and the metal detector went off on me because of my belt. I literally just broke down into a panic attack trying to figure out what I could have accidentally done.,0 "What a brilliant idea! Good job for getting over that ingrained shame. Taking care of a household is a lot of work and there should be no shame in asking for help, especially if you're paying for it!",1 "Paging OP /u/deliciousraspberry ... I’d like to know, as a classic habituator that eats healthy routines for breakfast, does this still work? Do you still do it? Are there any adjustments you would make if you were starting now? How do you avoid really “knowing” that you aren’t actually in need of the reinforcement?",1 my fourth grade english teacher told me i was “comma crazy” and i think about it every single time i write any sentence!!!!!! i feel so seen rn,1 "Lol I laughed more than necessary. This is totally accurate, but it's part of the process.",0 Yeah... i was on a bus and suddenly i started to wonder what if a mass shooter was seated behind me???,0 "Me: *opens up to someone about having OCD* “BuT YoUr rOoM Is So MeSsY” 🤦‍♀️",0 "You are definitely not alone! I just missed open enrollment on insurance by 15 days due to conflicting and confusing messages...now I'll be paying almost $100/month more for less coverage, and we won't even talk about med prices increases due to the change. #hiddencosts",1 This is literally me with every task I don’t want to do. I will literally drive to the store 5 times to avoid doing that one task I know I must do,1 "I refuse to put up with anyone's BS this year, and that should include my own BS lol. My problem is, how do I do that",0 "Medication doesn’t work. At least, the 12-15 meds I tried didn’t work for me. None of the programs and help I’ve sought (including three day programs I attended, totalling 34 weeks of classes) offered any real OCD help either",0 "I don't know whether that is an ADHD thing, but whenever I enter a new social environment, I am extremely popular, everybody wants to befriend me and it's just so nice. Thing is when they get to know me better, I get to become the other extreme. I am not likable anymore. Cycle returns whenever I meet new people. The problem isn't making friends. For me it's the easiest thing in the world but when it's about keeping them. It's pulling me down and I fail miserably... Even Vyvanse couldn't improve that",1 "500 tabs on Iohone. Haven’t react the maximum on Chrome on laptop yet but it’s lags now. Inching close to 4K + something on YT, now I know.",1 I’m really considering deleting social media for good this time. It’s getting to the point where my agoraphobia has gotten so bad I just want to stay asleep and not experience reality anymore.,1 aAAaaaaAaAa this hits too close home!!! The struggle is real,0 ".my mom is actually nice, she can see that instead of a messy room, it's more like a hoarding problem.",0 "Didn't come here to read the comments but this is my whole life in a nutshell, that's the emotional state I find myself in, always. This quote from a book describes it perfect. ""I was my own unhappy prisoner, unable to live in such a state yet powerless to escape from it."" -Augustine",1 "Yes yes yes! I use the hell out of commas, dashes, semicolons, the whole shebang. I just write the way I think. I didn't think about it being an ADHD thing!",1 "I had this thought literally today so, your not alone brother ✊",1 "I was diagnosed 2 months ago at the age of 36. I work for a large company and around 85% of my colleagues think all I do is slack off because they seldom see me doing anything but the remainder see me as the most valuable asset here. It's always been this way. Even in school. I once overheard two teachers arguing about me. One wanted to recommend me for some sort of gifted program and the other literally laughed and said I was ""barely a notch about the special ed kids"". My whole life has been so confusing. Only now with (if I'm lucky) about half of my life left to go are things making any sort of sense.",1 The wait is finally over! We’ve found the elixir! Blessed be all!,1 Wait do not adhd people remember that much more of what they learned though? I’m trying to figure out what the actual gap is here. I feel like someone without adhd remembering details has to do more with focus and repetition than our long term memory being that off. I kind of live on the idea that if I revisit something enough I learn it as well as anyone would.,1 "I can't sleep, I'm too anxious after getting my head slammed on the ground",1 "Thanks for this. I've been diagnosed with OCD a couple months ago, false memory, real event, relationship, all of these. Sometimes the guilt is overwhelming, it's a crushing weight on my shoulders, but recently I'm in the mid way to self acceptance and recovery. I stopped seeking reassurance, it helped me. I've come to terms that maybe i'm an awful person, maybe not, people can make huge mistakes and can continue with their lives, something that my 1-year-ago-person can't comprehend. But today things are a lot different.",0 "Haha wtf, my OCD be like: open the doors with awkward elbow moves, or wash hands immediately if elbow technique fails and door must be opened normally.",0 "Try reframing it as 15 minutes of work, then an hour break. When I give myself I tiny window to work, I seem to work really fast. If I'm watching a series or youtube videos, I give myself 15 minutes between each one. I get everything done easily because the reward is so near. Most of the time, I can do everything within 30 minutes of actual work. Sometimes I get enthusiastic about what I'm doing and work longer than 15 minutes, sometimes the productivity can run for hours. If I'm putting off a big task, I pretend I'm going to do a worse one, like clearing out a cupboard. I take the cleaning stuff out, open the cupboard, and before you know it, I've diverted my attention away to a lesser task, the one I was actually supposed to be doing in the first place. These are my methods, they might work for you, or you might need to tweek them to make them work, or you might need to create your own ways to trick your brain into working. There's also times when you might be high functioning and times when you might be low functioning. Go easy on yourself when nothing works, and when it does, do as much as you can. If nothing works, I take a day off to do NOTHING, and usually I get bored and find stuff to do the next day. I treat it like I've got a cold or a sickness and eat comfort food and watch whatever I want for a day.",1 "It literally is, the fact that you are asking reassurance just proves it even more. Read this article from the Pure O expert https://www.ocdonline.com/rethinking-the-unthinkable",0 "I admit, there are a lot of things that I save to read later. Including that one video in my YouTube “Watch Later” category that says, “How to stop Procrastinating”. Not proud of myself my friend, not proud.",1 I don't know what kind of is just watching my thoughts,0 "I would like to add that although some sufferers may find it easy to process and see light in the card, OCD is a personal condition that impacts us all in a different way. -Perhaps if that card had come from a source acknowledging OCD charity/mental health then some would find it more light hearted but the fact is that it has come from a big ol mainstream industry who is trying to profit from sales",0 Gosh this is a perfect description of an OCD experience,0 "For real this hits home I can't even enjoy videogames anymore mine has gotten so bad after 20 minutes all I hear in my head is ""you could be doing something more worth your time"" fuck brain can I at least get a lunch break from you",1 I hate jokes like this. They’re so corny. As if my brain is going to make you or your messy ass house a priority when my brain is telling me I’m an awful person for something 3 years ago that I’ve grown from,0 "You just made me realize that the only things I’ve ever done well in have been with people or leaders who were super encouraging and loving. My piano teacher was over the top with positivity and praise, and I was able to stick with piano many years, way way longer than most hobbies. And all the many extracurriculars I did as a kid, all the ones I dropped had more “tough love” type of teachers. Now I’m wondering what kind of things I would’ve been into had I had different teachers.",1 "In my 30's, it does get better. You'll go through a lot of coping strategies, but you'll find one that works. Buutttt, I forgot to call my mom on her birthday this year (bad... but I had spent the entire previous Saturday with her celebrating it and spaced on the day of because 2020 /groundhog day effect). And now since missing that ONE birthday, she's ""helping"" me by giving reminders about all family birthdays. Thanks mom.",1 Most definitely. OCD and Depression can coexist and depression makes it difficult to keep up with stuff like cleaning. Also my compulsions take up so much of my time theres not much left for cleaning.,0 Omg finally someone whose OCD also took that way too literally.,0 "This is absolutely true. For the longest time I’ve felt this way and was never able to explain it without sounding odd. It came out in therapy 3 years ago right before I was diagnosed. Something has always felt wrong with me, like I’m a burden to my friends and family, a pest to everyone around me. No matter what achievements I made, I always felt slow and stupid compared to others. I shut in all my feelings, held back from sharing ideas at work and constantly felt embarrassed and ashamed of who I am. This subreddit has helped me realize that I’m not alone, therapy helped me realize that I’m not broken, we’re not broken, just unique.",1 "Please. You wouldn’t want to be “ocd” about washing your hands. It’s hell. It’s one of my many issues, it can take me up to 2-3 hours sometimes.",0 "Just wait until the next DSM is released, they will probably change the heading again",1 "The more you realize how much of this is just innate and how our brain functions, the easier it is to be forgiving to ourselves. We live in a society (no pun intended) that values ""hard work"" and laboring for hours, always ""on the grind"". These things are simply not in our systems, so we feel shameful that the tasks we need to do to fulfill ourselves and our health are so mentally tasking. This is nothing we can change, but with practice, we can make our living more comfortable and easing the pressure/impostor syndrome tendencies can greatly improve the frustration that ADHD brings.",1 Thank you for posting this. I frequently doubt my ADHD and constantly wonder if I’m just lazy. I beat myself up about it quite often.,1 "I’m a teacher. Not one teacher spotted it. Funnily enough every student I have taught did 😂. I said I wish you could have told me. ADHD is a teaching super power. As there is always a quicker way to do things. Logical. Students like having a class where they have no idea what’s going to happen. As all their other teachers are so linear. If it bores me. It’s going to bore them. It’s that simple. School should be a blast. And I’ve never ever spoken to a child like the way I was spoken to at school. Belittled and had some vicious things said to me by trained professionals. No one should be made to feel they are anything less than unique.",1 Make what you need to do as visible (and real) as possible. Get those large sheets of paper (one for each class) and write in a large marker what is due and when.,1 "It gets better OP. Trust me. These horrible struggles in the later teen years were pretty tough but having stuff to look forward too was the best thing that could happen to me with severe OCD. You are so tough and strong and your willpower is greater than you think. We OCD people have to deal with a lot but the mental resilience we build will put Navy SEALs to shame. My OCD was peak at your age so just hang in there. Big note of advice on the chronophobia (and my fellow OCD redditors: Having a night journal to write down things that you have accomplished that day (even if you think you didn't do anything) before bedtime can help consolidate a lot of anxiety and help with memory retention and help ease the feeling of time passing too fast. For OP: It will help you realize that you are still extremely young and that you are not wasting your life away. I put stuff in mine like ""brushed teeth"" or ""ate pizza with parents"" but I still accomplished something! Here's to better days!",0 I love it. It perfectly..... Whatever it was I was thinking about,1 "The worst is when you might look guilty, and you look way more guilty because your devils advocate is saying ""Dude, don't look like you might have done it cuz if you do then they're gonna think you did do it"" lol. Then you look guilty as fuck.",0 Oooooh honey honey. This could be any of us. I’m sure you’re reeling. Let us know if we can help you through this in any way. Get some rest & please take care. ❤️,1 This is me every time I think of something stupid and embarrassing that I did fifteen to twenty years ago that nobody else remembers but still haunts me on a regular basis,0 "It all makes so much more sense now. I feel that I always have to be doing something and I I don't have something to focus on, my hands will naturally come together and I will start twiddling my fingers. When I am working, if I am not typing or using my mouse, I have a pair of dice on my desk that I will always reach for to rotate in my left hand. I finally have more people's experience to add to my own as I continue to explain ADHD to my wife. She is slowly putting the pieces together and making the connections but I still haven't found a good way to communicate to her that sudden loud criticism makes me shut down.",1 THANK YOU! I’m getting assessed for both autism and adhd soon and I feel the exact same way about the autism subreddits.,1 god i feel this. I didn’t work until 4pm today and felt like my entire day was revolved around it 🙃,1 "I must be a master manilpulator even though everyone immediately knows what I'm thinking by looking at my eyebrows ........",0 Right when I got notified this a Twitch streamer I was watching said “that’s a big ol fucking yikes”… take that as you will,0 "for me, those 3 hours are between 8pm and 10 pm and 2:15 to 3:15",1 I rarely see Clone High memes. Clone high was so funny but so short lived.,0 "I love this. For anyone else in CBT, it could also work with Theory B holding the gun",0 "It's known that adults learners perform best when they understand the ""why"" of a new skill as well as what is expected of them.",1 "holy shit, thanks for that, sometimes i just feel lazy, and i know that i am really lazy in a lot of aspects in my life, i don't know if your statement is true, but it really toke off some weight of my chest, thank you very much.",1 even some of those scares could kill me so I have to avoid some,0 "I feel the same way! This has been an awful awful year but, somehow, I’m doing better in my academic life. It’s a new day and I’m so happy I’m trying harder than ever before",1 I can't watch movies for this type of reason. Then my husband asks me if I just watched this cool scene that happened and I say no and he acts like he is surprised. We just watched jaws. The whole time I am thinking about how I can't swim.,1 This is why mindfulness meditation is so helpful for those of us with ADHD - It teaches to focus on the things that matter and filter out the rest.,1 The meta thought here is that thinking of this meme in the future will help me relax about my oc and not feel the need to do it as much. Thanks friend,0 Ocd is one of the most painful disorders ever. Before I was diagnosed I wanted to die. It’s lonely,0 I can't even get an appointment with a therapist that I really need. I had one set up but they had to reschedule and told me to call them to set up an appointment. It's been a week now,1 My therapist literally just tells me to not do the compulsions. LIKE BRO IF I COULD CONTROL IT I WOULDNT BE TALKING TO YOU,0 "This also happens to me. It’s like I get an obsessive thought about not being able to sleep if I haven’t peed enough, it’s annoying",0 I just started keeping my cable unplugged for reassurance lmao,0 "Wow, this is just like what I go through when I'm reminded of hurtful incidents my husband has put me through. No wonder I can't let the past go....(that and the fact he hasn't really ever apologized)",1 "“I’m tired of walking on the sidewalk of my own life.” Holy shit. You have just described how I have felt my entire life. Seriously. This just changed my life. And I don’t mean to sound dramatic.",1 "All jokes aside, the Apple ecosystem has been a God-send for me. Everything is all tied together via the cloud. I can set reminders on my phone, write things in my notes on my laptop, and set calendar events on my iPad while being able to reference everything on whatever device I am using. I write everything down and can revisit it later.... when I remember to look at the apps....",1 "My mum was with me to get my diagnosis recently so for 3h we literally talked about the issues. And a few days later she was like 'how can you never be in time just set an alarm when you have to leave'....... Do you think in over 20 years livetime I didn't try everything goddamn possible to manage my time better???",1 "Very well, then I choose Anxiety, OCD and Depression. I’ll stick with what I know.",0 More like: remembering that my mediocre genes are not worth passing on XD,0 "Its easy to misunderstand ocd, not only us, but our love ones hurt too, these are not standards alone, there immense pain. I would want someone with me who is laughing and enjoying my suffering.",0 I may have contamination ocd but just because I’m “clean” doesn’t make me neat. I’m not “dirty” just disorganized.,0 Thank you. I really gotta start actually sleeping at night,1 I basically just buy frozen veg and freeze everything I’m not cooking that day. It might be weeks before I make the meal I got the ingredients for.,1 my 3 hour long positive affirmations “song” i use to sleep is not a good representation of my music taste 😭,1 "Set alarms. Follow them like you would your normal routine. Go somewhere else if you can’t work from home well. I’ve used a local library for my online classes. You focus on your assignments while you’re there. Write a physical checklist of everything you need to do for the class for that week and check it off as you complete it. I did this throughout my college courses for my online and hybrid classes and it worked well enough that I at least passed them all. It’s temporary, it’s manageable. You’ve got this.",1 I didn't have a huge problem with this until one time I was at the mall with my then boyfriend and his mom and we were leaving Barnes and Nobles and the thing went off. We all looked confused and walked back in and it went off again. Then we left one by one and it was just me. The cashier said sometimes certain types of clothing or just too many people going through at once can confuse it but ever since then I'm extremely paranoid that they'll go off for me and I'll get in trouble because someone will think I'm stealing.,0 if i don’t unplug everything that’s mine from the walls except my phone charger at night then my house will burn down,0 My dad was kinda like this when I was younger. But now he understands and is extremely supportive,1 "The thing is that not everyone with ADHD has actually a Problem with execution or emotional regulation....I personally don't have problems with regulating my emotions. I also have more problems with starting than with finishing. For now ADHD is only a correlation of symptoms and not something really specific.... We definitely don't know enough about the disorder.",1 "Yeah, I've missed huge chunks of my life because of it.",1 Great Job! Keep in mind that other people see art differently. They're not seeing the negative thoughts you have in the pieces you make.,0 Sorry but that is the funniest shit lol. I forget I’m having sex *while* I’m having sex haha. Thankfully my partner doesn’t take it personally!,1 "God, yeah. I can relate so much. I remember having lots of dreams and ambitions and wanting to \*do\* so many things. It's hard to know sometimes whether that was even genuine or just copying the people I admired. I want to get back to that place someday, but right now I just don't want to do anything and everything seems so pointless. Talking to people is excruciating sometimes because nothing interests me.",1 "Hmm, I don't remember writing this post. Oh wait. I didn't. But could have. Because SAME",1 Sometimes I get a random thought that what if I have cancer and my day is totally ruined because of it 😂,0 it can be like “2 sets of 2” or “3 sets of 3” sometimes? I don’t know how to describe it 🤷🏼‍♀️,0 "me too!! it sometimes follows me in my dreams too; i just can't win with it. i sleep to my escape my intrusive thoughts, but they follow me! like thanks brain but i'd love to end my subscription please",0 "I love this. I think it’s amazing. Especially with 2 kids and 3 pets and living on a farm I feel like I’m always giving up one thing for the other and usually sadly it’s my kids that suffer, especially my oldest daughter. We’ve had a really hard time the older she gets and her brother is extremely needy. Husband works 12+ hours 7 days a week so it’s just me with everything and she always gets the last bits of me which isn’t very much. Today we had the best day we’ve had in a long time. She got in trouble and was told to go study the states ( she’s not good at learning in boring regular settings) so I put brother down and told her let’s make this fun. She said “that’s impossible this is not fun” needless to say she has a blast did most of the work learned so much and we just did us and I let everything else go. Self care no matter what way you receive it is the best care.",1 I’ve stopped speaking my mind when it bit me in the ass one time. Since then I’ve just assumed that every opinion I’ve had is wrong.,0 This subreddit is one of the best things ever to have happened to me and I carefully thought about this before posting,1 This really helps a lot. I was just struggling with intrusive thoughts from pocd and this immediately soothed me. Thank you.,0 "I hate when it happens. It happens sometimes when someone talks to be and I end up not reacting to what the person said because I just got an intrusive thought in my head. It's very frustrating. And people look at me with a weird look on their face. Like please-",0 So true I have adhd and I don’t really see it as a downside yet but I totally understand people who do and I don’t understand what you would hope to accomplish by telling someone you arnt really insert whatever because you are negative about it,1 *has 5 huge open wounds for months with tons of scarring But continues to peel skin as I tell myself not to bc “I have to make it all smooth.”,0 I really like the memes based on my repetitive behaviors like checking the outlets 😭😭,0 "Non-ADHD: ""Just drink more water, tee hee!"" ADHD: compute the precise amount of water (mixed with elecrolytes) you need stay hydrated and curb the stim-drymouth without drinking too much, cause that makes you pee more, and each time you get back your brain is totally derailed.",1 "Me af today! Woke up at 8am and planned to finish my work project today so i decided to go for coffee. Needed groceries so i went to Safeway with a Starbucks inside. After i got home, i realized i wanted to organize my pantry and fridge so then i left to go to tj maxx to get a bunch of unnecessary items. It’s not 3pm, still haven’t started on my project but at least my bed has extra pillows and my room smells amazing from my new candles. Sigh.",1 "Man, I just wanted to look at memes while I poop, don't make me cry on the toilet...",1 Ivy felt this before. My mom lost her phone with a wallet case while we were out shopping. She was panicking and I was able to stay calm and help her find it. Ended up being in the car on the passenger side but my calm in the face of crisis was great. Also important to note that years prior my mom had lost her car keys in the corn husks at this store and had to have the car towed home because the spare key my dad had only worked to open the doors not start the ignition.,1 "I don’t have OCD but I agree, they need to represent mental illness better or maybe cast people with the actual mental illness when it comes to television and entertainment",0 "And in the meantime, everyone is like,""Why are you telling?""",1 I buy frozen veggies unless I'm going to cook them THAT DAY. It's saved me so much money in the long run.,1 Woah. I can relate to 96% of all of this. Add forgetting your microwaved oatmeal (meals in general) in the microwave and you got me 200%.,1 "When I was still unmedicated, I kept my guitar close at all times so I could randomly grab it and noodle whenever my brain wanted entertainment, same with having a lil notepad to doodle on. Noodle and doodle is the way. On a side note, once you’re actually creating consistently, you face the Final Boss of being an ADHD creative: Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria. Now instead of not making the art, I’m not releasing and promoting it properly 🙃",1 Oh yeah for sure. ADHD + OCD + Twitter = lethal mix man,0 "My therapist wants me to try replacing my ""what if""s with ""so what""s. Easier said than done ... starting baby step targeted ERP for the next 4 days for something I never even considered was a compulsion and I'm ready to give up before I even start. Physically sick over the thought of even trying. 😥 And its something that literally everyone else on this planet could do with ease.",0 CONGRATS!!! i had a similar situation in exposure therapy and i'm so proud of you!!!,0 "> **Waking up in the morning**: If you struggle to wake up in the morning like many of us taking stimulant meds take your morning dose one hour before you actually have to wake up. Then, just go back to sleep for another hour (have 2 alarms). But... what if you can't wake up one hour before you actually have to wake up? :(",1 You have to ask before you just use my portrayal like this lol,1 "Alright, anyone here has these symmetry (things/ticks?) where you have to touch something with both hands and in the same way so you don't completely loose it?",0 "Ooof, thanks for calling me out on that. So strange how at work or other structured environments its so much easier to get stuff done but when left to my own devices...",1 "I was in the 99th percentile for every standardized test throughout my school years. I almost never turned in homework on time. The principal at my highschool even told my mom during an IEP meeting that he referred to me as ""The Philadelphia Lawyer"". But they didn't think I actually needed an IEP because I was ""smart"". Fast-forward to college and guess who dropped out within 6 months once there was nobody there to pressure or push?",1 "I had a conversation with my boss about this yesterday. He said he thought all college students should prepare themselves to be able to take online classes anyways, as only lab classes really need in-person classes. I told him that it is impossible for me to take online classes and he couldn't understand. I basically was told I just needed to learn how to do it. I explained to him that I've failed nearly every online course I'd ever taken, and until I found a school that worked for me, my college transcripts were full of two grades, A's and F's, depending on whether the class worked for me. He didn't understand, and treated it like some kind of moral failing on my part and on the part of those like me. I understand why he can't understand. He's normally a fairly sympathetic guy. But the idea that some people out there are categorically different in subtle ways is hard to get people to understand. I myself didn't believe in ADHD as an incurable condition 12-months ago. But I'm still uneasy about speaking frankly about it and attempting to help people understand.",1 "I think this is why a few years ago when i came to this subreddit, i found it immensely healing. It was the one place where i didn’t have toxic positivty or outright denial of adhd from those who haven’t had the insight. In fact it made me realize i did have merit in my struggle to do what my ex thought i should be able to do after a grueling day at work.",1 "Whoa I have found my kin people lol. I once cried as a kid because my grandad cooked with a potato that I liked. He killed it and I felt so sorry for it. Since then I’ve had horrible attachments to soft toys and I feel like I neglect them. I recently went through a break up and all the soft toys that are related to my relationship I have had to put on the floor so I don’t hurt myself by looking at them all the time but I constantly find myself going over to them and apologising. My ex still has one of my toys and my brain has been preoccupied for a month now that he has thrown it away and I feel guilty I can’t “rescue” it and give it a good home. I would often make sure the toy wouldn’t be lonely but as long as it was with another toy friend it’d be OK. I often pick out the ugly item if there’s several in a shop because I feel guilty and no one else will buy it so I have to rescue it. Let’s say a teddy bear has a loose thread, I’d buy that one. A plastic cup has a smiley face on which has been printed slightly askew, I’ll get that one. I feel sympathy to inanimate things I feel are faulty but need my love instead. Idk if this is OCD but it severely contributes to my hoarding compulsions!",0 My boyfriend and I have been doing this for 6 months now and it made our relationship better! I think you‘ll be able to do it forever. ,1 "Not so much, just because I don’t watch movies casually. Listening to music, though? All the freaking time.",1 I had to go to an appointment but then I saw a squirrel,1 I have accepted that mornings will be done on autopilot and I need extra time to do everything as a sleepy zombie.,1 That is amazing! I'm so glad you posted this. Congratulations and feel that pride deep and true!,0 "Yeah, lots of people see ADHD as ""just a psychological condition"" (whatever the hell that means) rather than that it's a combination of both psychological and neurological factors (which is the case for most ""disorders""). Also, just wanted to say that this was a really well written and well though out post. Uncharacteristically, I actually read the whole thing and you really managed to touch on so many of the key factors of ADHD.",1 "I have decided that situations like this, similar to when you hear someone say they’re “so OCD”, are a great opportunity to extend patience and grace towards someone who is ignorant about the reality of this illness. You can’t educate everyone, but you *can* choose to not let these comments affect you.",0 "Thank you brother (or sister). We OCD fighters should all lift each other up; we face the same daily battle. There are days where I have felt I could no longer keep going. Thankfully it’s been a long time since I’ve felt that way. It can get better!",0 "I'm 38 and going undiagnosed has given me crippling, life ruining issues. Because I'm not hyperactive and I'm academically successful and inclined, no one ever suspected for a second that this could be a thing for me. Now I drink too much and cannot get ANYWHERE ON TIME. AT ALL. You've nailed it.",1 "I broke my car door handle by doing something similar. I feel like I have to pull really hard to make sure it's locked. I still do it because I'm paranoid about forgetting one day and having someone break into my car. But now I have a zip tie on the door where the handle should be, and I still managed to break half of the zip tie by pulling on it.",0 "You guys know you can use to elbow? Do any of you do that? I geuss it’s harder it’s it’s a pull...",0 This is so valid! I never thought of it like that! Thanks!,1 "Trust me when I say the person who gave me this info was my angel. Please watch this and if you find it of benefit share it - https://youtu.be/0jcEME1-5gQ Completely healing your anxiety and ocd is possible with the right information and guidance - I’ve been there and have come out the other side - if you don’t want to watch the vid just google Dr.Claire Weekes - trust you won’t be disappointed 😊💯",0 The field of view depth is stunning. You are being WAY to hard on yourself,0 "Good job buddy, keep it up :) I am proud of you <3",1 "Same in some ways... I can remember but it’s as if recall is contextual. If I’m researching something and obsessed with it, then I’m telling people about what I know whether or not they care. Once I move on though I will have trouble remembering unless someone else cues the knowledge with basic information. Not sure this is specifically adhd but I’m diagnosed so I bet it is.",1 "That very low key sounds like an abusive parent, ngl.",0 Thanks school starts in 3 minutes I’m going to be late fuck,1 "All the time, I feel like I have to get on with it, no time to re-collect and adjust yourself. One of major flag for ADHD is we’re often restless feeling on the go but doctors be like nope you don’t have ADHD because you have a degree. I’m sorry?!",1 "Damn I’m lucky that I only obsess over one thing at once, it changes every few days usually but I’ve had one that lasted for 2 months before",0 "Thank you so much! I am doing my first market stall end of the month and I have so much to plan out! Good bless you",1 "Thank you. Like most disorders, there is no real advantage to it, evolutionary speaking. But you know what? Fuck that. We don’t need a advantage in prehistoric times to be ok now. We likely were the first people walking on the plains, with the rest shaking their head about how dangerous it is to step out of the trees. The odd man out until the Renaissance (where you could actually do All the Things :tm: !) and we’ll always be that, but it’s alright and it’s enough and it’s worth it. If only bc there are so many snacks you’d miss out of if ya quit it, and adorable animals and brilliant sorts of candies as yet undiscovered and people. People whose lives you touch and enrich, people who enrich your life, people who tell stories, people whose stories need to be told and all sorts of them. They are out there. You just need to find them.",1 "Do you ever have this problem with good things too? Like. ""Oh, I found a new hobby I like, let's buy tons of supplies for it and be hyperfocused on it for a few weeks""? Or is that a separate issue that I have? xD",0 I know they can read our thoughts.. *stares in conspiracy*,0 "Feel free to completely skip this unsolicited advice, obviously, but from one extremely creative and artistic ADHDer to another, here are my two biggest tips: 1. Make the thing as TINY as possible. Painting? Use a 2 inch canvas. Sketching? Cut some paper into the size of a sticky note. Sewing? Doll scale. It will feel good to finish and it will feel finished if you literally run out of space and/or have a fraction of the distance to go. 2. Use shortcuts. I don't mean ""make it shitty"" I mean make it *fast*. Can you glue instead of sew? Can you use acrylics, which dry fast, instead of a medium that dries slowly or needs many layers? Can you allow yourself to use a pattern, tutorial, reference, that gives you every step? I'm inclined to try to force myself to imagine the steps because it feels faster (it isn't) or feels like I should be able to Intuit it because everyone else does (they don't). So when I say ""shortcut"" I really mean ""instructions"" and ""ADHD-friendly materials"" but it sounds like I'm hacking the system and that's a lot more fun.",1 "Yeah so my OCD consists of an irrational fear of the number “6”, and this post had 666 upvotes when i saw it..... thanks satan",0 What a lovely post. Your girlfriend sounds like a thoughtful and caring soul.,1 7th person lining up to say THANK YOU. Great post. <3,0 "Ahaha reminds me of getting so frustrated at homework that I burst into tears, screaming, and stabbed it multiple times with a pencil at age 7. Left marks in the table that never let me forget that moment. Homework was the bane of my existence and if I didn't understand it, the panic, frustration, and inability to start until the literal last minute were 100x worse.",1 "I'm not sure exactly what I want to ask. I have CPTSD with OCD and anxiety. Obviously the latter two are symptoms of the former. But I am seeing a therapist for EMDR and he has declined to do any work relating to OCD unless it basically overshadows the rest of my symptoms, what he is willing to consider trauma and based more on the criteria for PTSD. I have a few BFRBs which can cause issues. Some days my other OCD thoughts are worse than others. The thoughts are actually the worst part for me. Anyway, I was wondering what your input is on not treating it specifically in this instance?",0 "I’m the messiest person alive, I struggle with self hygiene but I wash my hands so much.",0 "God this is me. I’ve been getting trained for a new position at work, and the person training is withholding information and the silo-ing drives me crazy. I don’t even have the benefit of working with my teammates and being able to absorb knowledge peripherally. It totally sucks and makes me feel like I’m stupid.",1 "I completely relate and feel for your frustration! I have absolutely TORTURED myself for the past two years for not getting my taxes done. I finally managed to do them this week. It took 30 minutes... So. Freaking. Frustrating.",1 "I wash like 35x a day and this has caused my anxiety and fear to skyrocket. If I didnt have emulsifying lotion my hands would be so fucked rn. I laid away in bed with a perpetual anxiety attack for 3 hours last night. I'm getting to a point where I cant resist washing 2x a wash, and I'm gonna run outta soap. This whole thing is a nightmare for me. I spent 28 years desperately wanting to stop the planet and get off it, and then I finally start being okay with being here, only for this to happen. It feels ironic and unfair.",0 "This may be the perfect time for exposure and response prevention. Unfortunately for me, I have both the primarily obsessional OCD (with mental compulsions), and the sensorimotor OCD involving bodily compulsions concerning involuntary processes. This disease bring me no fear. I've been through the worst already.",0 "I don’t get it, is this a meme for ppl who are undiagnosed but hang around here anyway?",0 "my dishes and trash has been so so bad lately, i dont stop beating myself up about it either!!!! when will it end",0 "Yup! This is me. I literally put all the knives side until everything else is clean. Then I have to mentally prepare to clean the knives. If someone else is in the room I’m terrified of stabbing them, even if they’re 10 feet away.",0 "I'm not sure if I should be grateful that my OCD is relatively logical, if exaggerated or not. It never makes any leaps like this, but the grounding in reality makes it seem so much more persuasive.",0 "I have 20,000 photos on my phone, 6,500 of which are screenshots 😭 Remembering when I thought having 4000 photos was a lot. Also, my friend always gives me a hard time about all my laptop tabs saying it’s going to slow my computer. I think it’s part ADHD but part hoarder because sometimes I’m worried I’ll want to find a meme again or something.",1 So.......How much Ritalin or Adderall did you take before writing this post ?,1 It’s really very simple if you don’t want to have cancer just stop having uncontrolled cell division. Duh.,1 "YEEESSSSSSS!!!!!!!!! And I only realised this was the cause with the help of my study advisor/counsellor. Exam time, a HUGE amount of work to get done and I am sleeping all day. I would take a 5min break from studying, go to sit on my bed to scroll through my phone and fall asleep for 5hrs. I feel lucky to know now that procrastination/anxiety is the cause of the fatigue. Also have been absolutely plagued with debilitating fatigue for my entire life and never ever ever linked it to ADHD (although I only began to suspect I have ADHD last year, suddenly all these things make so much sense. Many a frustrated and tearful doctor visit to get help for this fatigue and finally I have the answer).",1 "I got that part under control since last autumn. For me the combo was: \- downtime function on the iPhone (locks you out of all your apps) \- agressive dimming on my iPhone (something called ""white point"". Screen remains legible, but it takes effort) \- aggressive shut down of my PC (a script turns it off at 22h00 no matter what. I programmed it so that it is very hard to turn off) \- audiobooks on a sleeping headphone headband (I like horror short fiction, so instant gratification does not get interrupted when I actually go to bed). Found that no matter how much splatter, I get to sleep. The main thing is to be in bed at that right time. \- waking up at 07:00 every single day no matter what; \- no tossing and turning. I try to sleep during 15 min max and if it doesn't work, then I get up again and do something productive. This took a lot of effort, I've had a few setbacks and maybe it will lose its magic in time. And in my case good sleep <> no fatigue. But for the time being, it is awesome.",1 "You had me at destiny, I was known for the exact same thing when rating before I went completely blind. Not only was I good at explaining it, I was always trusted to do my role even though I had a visual impairment. Not once did I even try to run the sword in crota because I knew I wouldn’t be able to do it perfectly, being bubble titan? That I can do every fucking time.",1 Anyone else have hypothetical conversations with their therapist in your head? Like I don't see them for another six days but I'm still gonna imagine I'm telling him how messed up this day is,0 And of cause on the next day: tieredness makes achiving satisfaction harder😁,1 "I love this idea, and think I'm going to save it and look into it myself... Thanks!",1 "My ass got kicked in college because the whole not submitting assignments thing. And then again in work. Fortunately I've landed at a job now that has me doing a wide range of thinking, where thinking fast works out well. But yeah, definitely a rough transition from the format of high school to college and then from college to work.",1 I saw this 3 times! If that’s not a sign I dunno what is,1 "i feel that, even just going from two different brands of water bottles",0 "Amazing sketch! I love seeing pictures that you have to interpret by yourself, especially ones about mental illnesses. 10/10 would love to see another drawing!",0 Yuppp exactly the same with music. 'do this before the song gets to this point' ughhbbbbbfjfjdhhd,0 "Water. You just reminded me that I'm still a human. A living creature. Water is necessity. Sleep, too, but I'll leave that one. Can't win 'em all. Thanks, man.",1 I forgot a lot of things too and now more with marihuana,1 Other tip I have to remind myself is to drink plenty of water and stay hydrated because the meds kill your thirst,1 "I'll take ""Things that will drive me further into hermit mode around people"" for 100 Alex. Yup.",1 "I know a lot of people in the MH industry find ‘diagnosis’ controversial but honestly, getting my diagnosis after 8 years of not knowing what the fuck was wrong with me and obsessing that I was ‘insane’, was the best damn moment of my life. I just remember feeling that wave of “omg, it has a name. I’m not crazy (heh maybe a lil), I’m not alone”. It changed my life. Even finding this sub and reaching out to the community, I just feel so much less alone.",0 "Now send this to your close loved ones that you know just don't get it, wait a day then ask them if they read it...",1 I think If We had adderall to take everyday We wouldn’t be like this. Or something like that. I need to get diagnosed ASAP,1 "I've found it helpful to say that my OCD has an ""internal logic"" as I explain my compulsions.",0 "Yep, i do. My mom completely shuts me down if i do ask “why” though :(",1 "For me, reading the ADHD alien comics was so overwhelmingly relatable I was in TEARS. Just seeing that I wasn't the only one who functioned in such a complicated way.... Dude. I'm telling you",1 OCD feels like your head and heart is heavy and about to explode at any minute,0 "I hear you 100%. My best friend and I were recently both diagnosed and another good friend pulled this. What was interesting was despite the fact that she said that to my BF in person, when I told her she said “Well, I can see it for him but you don’t strike me that way”. On the omega-3s though, Dr Edward Hallowell who has written a ton of books on ADHD and has it himself talks about how they can be very helpful. From my perspective, there is no downside or negative side effects of at least adding some flax seeds to my yogurt. He also had someone on his podcast talking about how specific balance exercises could help actually grow the brain matter where we need it. For me, this was a good push to try to get back into yoga. Again yoga is a “no regrets” type of treatment - the worst that happens is I get in better shape! Same with exercise as a treatment. It’s a good lesson in reflecting on how we respond to other people’s news or sharing with us - we all know how frustrating it can be!",1 "Saved, liked, sent as an email and copied to text. Thank you OP, I need to read this kinda thing now and again!",1 "For me, I have intrusive thoughts that everything I say or even write could became false. Like if something happened before and I talk about it or type about it would somehow ""undo"" and people would be ""like what are you talking about?"" and treat me like I'm completely insane. And it doesn't matter whether it happened 2 weeks ago or 50 years ago. People engaging in 20^(th) century historical revisionism for political proposes drives me crazy because it makes me think I completely irrational for believing in facts and my intrusive thoughts say that reality could change to their inaccurate perceptive if I think about it too much. Anything before the 20^(th) century doesn't bother me. I guess it's because it feels so distant. I hate how my brain makes intrusive thoughts that makes reality seem is like sand moving with around rather than a floor or concrete or firm ground.",0 "This will never happen. The DSM-V is written by insurance companies and hospitals for the exclusive purpose of providing billing codes for treatments and diagnoses of mental health conditions. It also has a stupidly high bar for consensus, and is completely incapable of incorporating the reality that the experts in psychology will often wildly disagree with one another, proposing incompatible ideas, which happen to all sometimes work. Nope. The only thing that can be included is stuff that literally everybody, even the non-experts in ADHD, agrees on. Which ends up being not much at all.",1 "Something that worked really well for me to get out of this habit was when I had something to work on I would tell myself that I am only going to work on it for 5 minutes. This would make me feel less pressure to start bc it would only be five minutes and if I wanted to stop I could. The thing is, I almost always worked on it for way longer. I just needed to get started.",1 Hah thats funny because i just cleaned my room \^\^ ...........,0 "I procrastinated getting my lymph node checked for an entire year and it was cancer as well. Stay well my friend. Edit: I was 22 and I’m now I’m 26, thriving, and cancer free",1 """You have dry bleeding hands from washing your hands so much? Gross.""",0 "The really annoying thing is how rational it all seems, how your mind utterly latches onto those few moments that seemingly prove the worries.",0 "Damn you are talented. Looks very much like my OCD when all hope has been lost and the OCD is in the worst phase, but I would add that at least for me, there’s usually a singular focus on one thing or concept at a time. Sort of like The Scream by Edvard Munch. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream",0 I think Jordan Peele being disappointed in me constantly checking shit will help me curb some of that lol,0 "Can't stop crying, I am so sorry for your loss. I love what you wrote, thank you so much!",1 "I’d recommend a comic called The Nao of Brown. It deals mostly with with intrusive thoughts and seeking reassurance. It was a refreshing take on OCD and it’s pretty far from the typical stereotypes found in media. It really resonated with me. Swallow me whole, by Nate Powell’s was an interesting take as well",0 "I think the absolute worst one is when you're expecting a call some time that day, but they didn't tell you exactly when they were going to call you.",1 I hope you celebrated the heck out of the day! So happy to read/see this!,0 "ouch. Eternal Sunshine is one of my favourite movies even though I've seen it only once. The reason is that I somehow am afraid of watching it again. I saw it long before my diagnosis. Somehow that makes sense now, both, that I like it and that I didn't watch it again. I am tearing up as I write this.",1 "Holy fuck, this was me at 29, finally hitting a wall with my career and being depressed at why I just *couldn’t* anymore. Finally went to see a doctor and whaddya know, it was ADHD all along.",1 "Your right, being clean and obsessive with organizing is not OCD. It’s mostly likely OCPD… Good for correcting them.",0 "Aaaaaamen. Last night I had the most graphically violent dream in recent memory. Fucked me up good today, lol. But I feel like I'm healing still, by accepting it. The urge to judge myself is strong, but feels so bad that I know it's not consistent with who I truly am. You are blessed and precious and worthy and good, and all the raging of these thoughts & against them is only more proof of this. Stay steady, friend ❤️🕯️",0 "The memes that everyone shares on this sub about OCD make me feel less alone. 😂 It sort of makes me feel better to know that there are other people out there going through the same thing as me, and that they can make some hilarious jokes about it along with me. ",0 "I have a very considerate friend, and in conversation last night I told him I booked the initial stages of my ADHD assessment. He was not aware of my struggles and so I had to for the first time breakdown my issues. I could sense a lot of hesitation on his part, although he kept listening and offering insightful references that helped him in the past. 2 hours in I found myself trying to make a case for why I believe ADHD is one of potentially many mental dysfunctions I deal with on a daily basis. The fact that even the most considerate and compassionate people in our lives need convincing shows that; 1. ADHD has a strong negative connotation, 2. people still believe to a smaller extend that it's an excuse, and 3. maybe, just maybe it doesn't really control ones life decisions. It's as if people really believe we're not serious, and instead want to lazy around and make excuses for ourselves.",1 "My lunch alarm, just about every day. If I didn’t have it at all I would likely not eat anything between breakfast (which I eat as soon as I get up) and dinner (which either someone else makes or tells me to make, if we don’t just go out). Goes off at noon every day but Sunday, but it will still take a while for me to actually go and eat. Sometimes it’s only a few minutes, other times a few hours. Depends on how invested I am in what I’m doing.",1 I’ve always struggled with this. My dentist is so disappointed when I come in. I spend more money on fixing things that I do on preventing them. I’m very proud of you. Keep up the good work!!,1 "No lie tho, not having the gym is killing me. I train in powerlifting and had been on a roll. Bench up to 405, deadlift at 495, squats at 405 (baby numbers in powerlifting but good for me) and I love it. It’s more important to me than my medication.... haven’t been able to really get after it since they shut my gym down two weeks back. I hate it man. I’m dying yo. FADE ME FAM. AND WHATS WORSE: every where I’ve looked for gym gear..... is sold out. BRUH. RIP GAINS",1 I feel this SO hard. I try really hard to believe it will get better. My thoughts are with you❤️,0 "Nah. That’s the only thing I respond to, remotely. I don’t care about praise.",1 "oh my gosh the puppet part is so accurate I've thought many a time that I'm OCD's prisoner",0 Jake Gyllenhaal plays a good ocd detective in Prisoners,0 Ahh congrats. Im lucky to turn in a paper 2 months after its due lol,1 "ADHD is more like “OMG I know how cure world hunger! I can start tomorrow!” Tomorrow: what was I going to do? Five minutes later: world hunger! Two minutes later: starts Netflix. ::Watches two minutes of a movie:: oh wait! My project! One minute later: changes movie / sees another one I’ve been wanting to see, etc .. Meanwhile husband comes in : did you take your XR? (Focalin) Me: shit! Not yet. ::stands up to take it, gets distracted:: finally takes it an hour later. Forgets about “world hunger project” until bed time. Gets excited to start working on it in the morning. Repeat for the rest of eternity",1 "Hello, my childhood. I just scrolled all the comments and feel so met in so many of them. Does anyone else feel like they can barely remember their childhood - that you just remember getting yelled at all the time?? I haven’t been diagnosed with ADHD but man I feel so, so seen. I still can’t remember so much but have learned to cope (calendars, phone reminders, lists, etc). God I wish my mom had gotten me diagnosed. Reading about all you parents who try to set your kiddos up for success just really give me the feels. You’re doing it right. Thank you. Thank you for not needlessly screaming at your kid. It truly fucked me up and I currently don’t have much of a relationship with my mom at least partially because of it.",1 "Cleaning things that you were looking at, thinking about, or ""thinking in the direction of"" while thinking bad thoughts",0 Yes 100%. When I feel like this I like to listen to I Want the World to Stop by Belle and Sebastian,1 "this is honestly so beautiful, also really accurate",0 "Procrastinated for several years with my health. Ignored an addiction that got worse and worse until i was homeless and couldnt really be bothered about my health unless it was somehow stopping me from enjoying my drug. Teeth started falling out, hair, etc. I honestly don't know what or how got me to stop",1 "I burnt my bacon because I had to wash the chopping board and then my hands 3 different times in the exact same way. The bacon had to wait... I wonder how many of these people who are ""so OCD"" burn their bacon Because they are washing their hands! For me going and taking the bacon off the heat wasnt an option, it could have set on fire and I still couldn't attend to it until I had finished my hands ( how my mind works) . It's crazy . Just one example, maybe not a good one but it's an example of things that affect me hourly if not more often. My room is also a shit tip but my cutlery draw is exactly how it needs to be so we don't all die. ! Sorry for the sarcasm, I get just as wound up as the rest of you about the generalisation, I agree also that people band around depression and anxiety too much . especially posting on FB their meds etc. Winds me up so much.",0 "We should all start a community where we work together, have good communication, have tons of good things going to help one another understand life, and use our abilities the best way possible. I’d definitely start saving to buy a plot of land and become self sustainable, to bring meaning to ourselves and one another.",1 "When I want to plan something, like an activity or a timetable what I do is say it before I go to sleep and the next day I do it without any problem.",1 "Mostly, it feels like your mind isn’t your home. The constant struggle to be in control of yourself and your brain.",0 "okay this is dope!! but I could never do it because I’d have the urge to X it out,,",0 "I can agree with everything that everyone is saying here. I failed 3 classes while in elementary school and was diagnosed as having ADHD, but because my mother thought I wasn't ADHD, and I quote from her ""you could sit there for hours, not move ba muscle while watching cartoons."". I've felt like a loser for all of my college career. I have failed so many classes that it's sad. I go Thursday to get an official diagnosis from an expert. Once I get the medication, I know I'll be able to study for classes. I'm glad I joined this group!",1 "That is my mom AND dad too... I can't get a new therapist and I have been pretending I'm ok... Fuck this.... I just want to move out and get proper help. I have ocd, extreme anxiety and depersonalization disorder. I'm so sorry for your troubles... I hope you find help soon",0 "Ugh, what I would give for some peace and quiet in my own mind.",0 Same lol. It gets really weird and idk how to explain it. Glad to know theres other people like me!,0 "My OCD is that it trys to make me think I'm a werewolf with people out out to steak my soul and torture my soul. I have severe magical thinking ocd Ironically wolves like watermelon lol",0 "Oh, really? One of my first compulsions was to mentally recite a prayer over and over. I still do it sometimes, and I'm not even religious anymore.",0 "I think having neurotypical folks (those who don't suffer from any mental ilnesses/disorders) being in charge of all these media representations is an issue, more often than not. It's the reason that all mental illness representation we have is either severely watered-down or expressed as some sort of dramatic fantasy compared to what it's like in real life. Or completely riddled with stereotype.",0 "Yea this sub fucking rules. One of the few online spaces that I feel like people will give the benefit of the doubt and assume I'm not trying to be an asshole, so I can be myself without constantly double checking how I'm saying things. Thanks to mods and all the great users. ADHD can really suck and it's not a superpower to me, but I like us.",1 Found my car keys at the bottom of the rubbish in a similar way recently,1 I had a talk with a friend yesterday about having a “clean” hand and a “dirty” hand. It’s been my default for a long time. She and her husband also do it and don’t think it’s too weird but my therapist says it’s an OCD thing or sometimes a cultural thing.,0 I've been meaning to find a uni course I'm interested in but kept putting things off... missed the first deadline and the second so it's clearing for me now (basically the left over spots on a course).,1 "I mean, that's also good leadership. If you're a leader, your team will perform better if they know why they're doing what they're doing, they can problem solve better, and can have better judgment when acting independently. So awesome job!",1 "If this speaks to you, you should check out The Motivation Breakthrough by Richard Lavoie.",1 "As an ADHD-diagnosed parent with ADHD kids (most likely - they’re young but these genes run strong), I want to say I feel you. RSD intensifies all my emotions so I flip out all too easy on the kiddos, they take it hard and I take it hard because I beat myself up for getting angry so quickly.",1 "This part of it is one of the (many) reasons I find myself in a depressive slump. I will never be able to vocalize properly beyond what I've trained myself into for my customer service job because the path connecting my brain to my mouth is just broken. I can make it work on meds, but it still makes me come off as either robotic, or overly blunt/direct. Put me in front of a computer or a texting app though, and I'm fine. If I tell you I communicate better over text, it's not because I'm some edgy keyboard warrior who's afraid of being face to face. It's because I will literally not be able to properly form sentences if I try to speak to you verbally. I am also a quiet person, not because I don't want to talk, but because the effort of forming words into proper normal-person sentences is too much for me a lot of the time. By the time I've figured out how to respond to what you said, the conversation's already blown past.",1 Not only that but I also feel guilt over thoughts I had years ago. Anyone have any advice on how to move on and forgive myself?,0 "I am not clinically depressed as far as I know but I frequently suffer from what I call ""ADHD-induced depression"", which is depression as a result of the lack of control and inability to focus that is caused by/exacerbated by my ADHD.",1 "Omg as I sit here trying to will myself to do something that I have plenty of time today to do, and everything I need to do it. So true.",1 literally the dialogue between myself and I on a regular basis,0 "WTF I've done this all my life. Never considered it to be OCD, just a symptom of anxiety. .... Makes a lot of sense.",0 """yeah but after that I'll be good"" —My brain, knowing it's lying",0 Yep! I’m constantly asking my boss if I’m getting fired and she’s cool about it and always tells me I’m being ridiculous. But I can’t help but worry myself into a state of “I’m getting fired TODAY”,0 "My heavy intrusive thoughts always appear at dusk - you know, when it gets dark. They go away after an hour or two, but return after midnight, and last until morning. I thought I could at least control them by not entertaining the little thoughts, but sometimes when they come, I feel so depressed and powerless.",0 "I think this person had a good intention meaning feeling like you have control over your mind/ habits can alleviate symptoms related to these disorders but it was worded terribly 🤦‍♀️ should’ve been: how you respond to ocd is a choice, how you respond to eating disorders is a choice, etc.",0 i believe my mom is autistic (for countless reasons) and she doesn't know when to stop talking. it is non-stop. it physically pains me.,1 "Checking in to say hello, 3:55am for me. Thanks for telling me to log off because I wasn’t listening to myself for the past 5 hours. But yeah. You hit the nail on the head, damn. Gonna go cry out my frustration maybe I’ll get tired enough to sleep.",1 Ok that's just redicilous. (I know if i tell you my OCD thoughts you'd say the same) :D,0 Everything is dusty in my place.. but at least it’s neat and organized 😅😅😂,0 Thank you a million times over. This is so helpful!!!! I feel like I don’t have to sift through the mountain of saved links now :) thank you!!!!!,1 "What is object/emotional impermanence and what does it have to do with ADHD? No, I am not expecting an answer, just repeating what others asked or thought of.",1 Saying “fuck it” and standing up is usually my first step in doing anything.,1 When i lose something i get paralyzedwhere the only thi g on my mind is finding it. I will spend hours or days until i find it.,1 "None of this is really news to me - I knew this was true intuitively. The ""extreme panic"" is overstating it for me (and I expect most people). Highly agitated fits better. I was an honors student and have a STEM degree (which took forever). I wasn't diagnosed until 31. These words echo in my head ""The due date is usually the do date."" I can't count how many hours I spent sitting in a library alone (hating every errant noise) pulling on my hair to stay focused on my homework. When I wanted to sit still, I told myself I was lazy, even while working part time abd school full time. I also thought I must be a bit stupid, which led to an IQ test (not stupid by a long shot) and then an ADHD diagnosis.",1 Hell yeah man proud of you! I cant wail till all of us defeat OCD for good!,0 I was going to write a longer comment but ocd (I think) was telling me to discard it. I got too scared and gave in.,0 "Even though I was struggling terribly, I postponed going to the psychiatrist for 2 years, just because. I feel this so much. Despite being on medications right now, I still have the same problem. It's causing so much stress in my life.",1 "Yep, I got an alarm to play violin everyday at 5 and I just keep pressing snooze. If I turn off the alarm then I completely forget about violin",1 "Now that I'm getting the help I need, it's amazing how much _easier_ things are. Self control, exercise, diet, responsibilities? It's not _easy_ but eas_ier_. Which is infuriating because it means I could have gotten so much further in life if my parents had just fucking tried to get me help when I was younger. I know things were difficult growing up, but fuck. They found ways to help themselves and my sisters. They found ways to help my brother on the rare occasions he needed it. But I always got shit when _I_ needed it. Now they act surprised that I have trouble seeking out the help I need. Because I didn't know what I needed, how to get it, that I _could_ get it, and I can only get it now because I've been underperforming for so long that I qualify for help. Also, I need to keep reminding myself that things must be even worse than we realize for a lot of people, otherwise I'm gonna grow resentful. The number of people who leave messes for others, who take more than their fair share, who shame others for trying to better themselves, who just refuse to pull their weight... Either there's a bigger issue at at hand or people are just _fucking assholes._",1 "I like using this to battle sleeping issues: when I wake up at night and can't fall asleep, I think: ""Either I continue sleeping or I get up to do task XYZ"". Most of the time I start feeling sleepy again 😃",1 Today I learned there was an r/OCDmemes page and I love that,0 I tend to focus on things until completion. Not just switching to something else halfway through.,1 "Just hit enter when you feel like putting a comma And now its automatically a poem",1 "Anyone else have a really dumb reason for not starting anything? Or stopping because you don't have a perfect plan for how to execute? Literally my reason for not starting studying for certifications is because my handwriting isn't nice enough for notes that I want to reread. Not that I'm working on my handwriting in the meantime. It's been about a year now I've procrastinated over this. I do *want* to. But I also want it to be perfect or else. :/",1 I can't say I've experienced this but I'll definitely be on the lookout for this phenomena,1 "I'm pretty much in a permanent, seemingly non-ending and ongoing one... for years already... My thoughts keep me stuck which also leads to actions that often hurt me physically and it comes with the complete inability to remain calm or enjoy a moment... Which basically keeps me from living as it prevents literally _anything_ from being doable with peace. I can't even watch movies anymore with a relaxed mind, let alone study (which I really have to...). I doubt I'll make it. I ask myself how to even live with that...? I'm afraid I won't be able to enjoy life at all and I'm only 21 yet. Where I live, it takes 2-3 years until you can get a psychologist that is paid by health insurance - time that I don't have. Being with friends/other people weakens it much and relieves me, but that's not possible the whole time and I don't have many friends..... I end up staying at home, finding a non-productive way to distract myself and just skip time, which leads to it just becoming even stronger... and my severe depression (diagnosed) and overthinking doesn't help at all, for sure... vicious cycle. I had already made myself fully aware of the fact that the following is the worst idea ever and the most stupid thing you can possibly do, but...these days, the thought of just quitting, just ending it all, actually crosses my mind again and again...",0 "But, I just opened Reddit.... This was the first post. What the heck?",1 Raiding with the guild in 1 min and have this exact issue. Luckily no one can smell me over voice chat,1 Literally said this to one of my friends earlier 😂😂,0 "This is me with my OCD and health anxiety. Has a fear of injuring myself or getting sick, also binge watches medical TV shows like 24 hours in a&e and hospital",0 "I've met people and swapped routines with them also. it makes me feel less like a freak knowing that someone else goes through similar stuff. one of mine is counting, and what I've found interesting is a lot of the people I've shared my ""magic"" numbers with have a lot of the same ones.",0 Shoot yea. I've always just kinda been like yea whatever that's just the way I am but wow. I don't know if I have it yet but I'm in the process of being tested so I can say for sure but I definitely relate to that feeling.,1 "Try adding anxiety into this mix and you get me-a guy who lost most of his teenage years and just about all of his twenties due to burnout, suicidal depression, and anxiety, on top of the adhd. I feel robbed out of a lot of life.",1 This how I feel most days. Struggling with my brain,0 jesus christ this post and entire thread are so relatable it's depressing,1 "Check the fridge door, check the stove, check the locks, scan the floor, etc. multiply times 3 everytime I want to leave the house",0 This drawing captures the feeling of obsessive thoughts really well. Great job.,0 "Lmao when I was ~~18 I wanted to get a referral to see a Psych for my adhd (was diagnosed as a child, went to see a therapist for a few weeks, never medicated) I wanted to get medicated because honestly I’d had enough, I was barely scraping by at university (GPA of 1.7). Doctor my mother took me to was our ‘family’ doctor who sees pretty much everyone in our family, he proceeded to tell me ADHD was “made up” and that I’m just lazy and need to just WRITE THINGS DOWN so I don’t forget. Deadset I rolled my eyes so hard I must’ve pissed him off cos he billed us for a 30 minute session when I was in there for under 10 minutes (billed $150 to be told to just write things down if I have problems remembering things and keeping a routine) and look honestly doing these things /does/ somewhat help but fuck me it was like telling someone with depression to just draw smiley faces and be happy.",1 I am struggling every day. And yeah it takes a lot of time and that’s something I don’t like. I’m going to try and thanks ig this might be helpful.,0 You’ve experienced depersonalization with your OCP too? It this common?,0 Did your birthday party get visited by a cut Don't Hug Me I'm Scared character?? I'm terrified but also crying laughing.,0 My favorite is the day killing headaches I get from forgetting to drink water,1 "Oh man, this hits me hard. I had a story idea that I really want to create, but I have to learn how to draw in order to make it, and I know once I start, I'll loose the drive.",1 that's literally not how fucking OCD works. Same as saying oH juST iGNoRe iT,0 "I find that this is the absolute hardest aspect to explain to people that don't have ADHD. If I were lazy, I'd actually be able to at least enjoy myself while doing this shit. Anything with the slightest amount of responsibility associated with it feels like this to me. I had an exam this week, did I want to study for it? Yes. Did I study for it? No. Turned out it was actually last week because I really hate, I mean **HATE** checking my school schedule. ​ You're not alone, friend. But by god, I wish there was an easy answer to all this shit. Or at least an easy way to explain to those who don't understand",1 "All my life, and a fear of not being able to defend myself, not knowing the right words to say.",0 "I think people often forget the “love” part. Tough Love is fine coming from close family members. I’m not interested in hearing it from a supervisor or some asshole at the bar. Be gentle or be blunt, but don’t pretend love has anything to do with it.",1 I'm with you. Except for the odd association between ADHD and a deficiency in intelligence.,1 I once made a post asking the sub about this too. i do this as well and i have since i was young. Any time im even slightly anxious or uncomfortable. I dont know why. But if you learn to bladder train again you should be able to get over it eventually. Im sorry ypure dealing with this!,0 "A planner has helped me immensely at times. But maintaining proper use of it is pretty damn hard, and one slip up in my habits makes it all go to shit.",1 "Great job ! And i still recommend exposure therapy, this time it took you 8 hours cause it was your first time, but if you expose yourself to your triggers for hundreds of times, you won't get nervous for even a few seconds. I have tried it myself and it works. Still the best way to do it is with a therapist",0 Anxiety up is bad but it's not as sinister as it's unnerving cousin. ,0 """Thoughts aren't the same as actions."" ... what if they are in my case?",0 That is SO true. Thanks for posting. It kind of helps,0 "Duuuuuuuude! I’m 42, and yep, I’ll remember disrespect from YEARS ago. And the disrespect was somehow related to my ADHD. Like they comment on my personality or something. I’m much more mindful of it happening now. I notice it. And I shut it the fuck down. I own my ADHD now, and they can kiss my ass. If someone “catches” me (6’0”, 240lbs, bearded) being excited about something, I’ll likely be clapping and bouncing on the balls of my feet. (Which I adopted from a Sims game long ago. When you moved them into a new house, they’d wander from room to room, checking out the decor. If they liked something, like a cool couch, they’d clap and say “yay!” Adorable.)",1 "Oh god yes. It's immediate. It debilitating. It happens in meetings, classes, and in work conversations I don't want to be a part of. It happened a lot with studying, reading dry text, or doing sit-down tasks... it's immediate, like I've got narcolepsy. Instant ""must-sleep"" in my brain. Then I'll get up and am immediately fine. With Adderall I'm not like that at all I have noticed. Today I took an off day because I didn't particularly need it but I had three 20min parent-teacher conferences via zoom with my kids' teachers. Instant off switch. So tired. Then I got up and cooked dinner and cleaned it up and did dishes. Now it's midnight and I'm wide awake. Just the boring tasks, meetings specifically, and I was involuntarily zonked.",1 "THANK YOU. My mom takes her sweet time when telling a story and refuses to get to the point before describing at length several, essentially irrelevant details. It is maddening. My only way to cope that doesn't involve snapping at her is to intentionally distance myself mentally until she gets to the point and not hyper-focus on each annoying pause, needlessly long description, and the effect it's having on me. So instead of feeling like a prisoner whose only option is to snap (internally, externally, or both), I create an escape route by seizing on those annoying moments to indulge in what my ADHD-addled brain wants to do anyway: Think about random things. And the good thing is that no one knows you're doing it as long as you can feign engagement and superficially keep track of the story so you know when it's reached its point, or, ideally, its end. A big part of the frustration during overstimulation stems from a lack of control over what's happening to me, so anything I can find that gives me a semblance of control over even a small detail, can help. Not always easy or an option, but it's my only socially acceptable way to cope.",1 "Congrats! How do you even recover from this? Even when I use my good lotion and get my hands moisturized again, I still have a lot of redness and the overall dry look.",0 "Now this is the kind of content I can relate too. I hope you are ok op, but objectively... this is kind of funny.",0 "Sometimes I feel better, which is why I want to do them so badly ><",0 "Wish I could figure out how to stop trying to control my parents. They’re both taking this thing really casually, and one of them who has severe health issues and would surely die if he caught it thinks it’s still just hype and won’t take any precautions. Luckily he doesn’t leave home often, but his wife does (not my mom), and she’s already super unsanitary. I’m afraid she’ll bring it to him. But every time I try to convince him about it, he goes into his political conspiracies about it and we end up fighting.",0 I was once vocally ticcing due to my Tourette's when I realized my mic was unmuted in a Zoom class where only one person knew I had Tourette's. That sucked.,0 "Me: I'm brilliant! I can do anything :D Job: Please do these mundane tasks for 8 hours. Me: I'm...kinda smart! I can do most things :D Life: Pay taxes and bills and register your car and auto insurance and health insurance and buy food on a regular basis and make food on a regular basis and fix things that break and watch out for your health as you get older and don't forget about social time but also watch out for current events and economic changes and public health hazards and more economic changes and... Me: :( I'm just gonna do these few things and that's it. Also I'm dumb now.",1 "That’s disgusting. I’m done with the stigma Why can’t people understand it’s a disorder...I have contamination OCD with hand washing compulsions and this is just triggering and incorrect. It’s not like ""haha I love being clean <3"" nah. I freak out whenever I touch anything outside of my house and break down",0 Thanks bro that’s exactly the energy ppl with adhd need,1 " I would finally be fine about a certain situation and then my brain would go ""let's check if it stresses you out if I do this:"" and shows me the thought which is obviously stressful. Sometimes I feel that it's just me getting attached to those specific thought, when logically I know it can't be.",0 "Ahh Adderall... This is kinda off topic but I became a homeless Meth head for 3 years because of getting addicted to amphetamines starting with prescribed Adderall. So many rehabs... I advise everyone with adhd to be really mindful and careful with that shit even when it's prescribed because having ADHD is a huge risk factor for addiction to amphetamines because it can sooth the symptoms of ADHD, not to mention the extreme euphoria It's sad because the first time I did Meth it was the first time I felt completely in control and focused and ""actually felt like myself for the first time"" it felt like. Trust me, you do NOT wanna be stuck in rehabs with adhd... They take your phone and every single way of entertaining yourself and they make you sit for 10 hours a day learning about God and all kinds of nonsense. Rehab is 10% real medical information and 90% religious brainwashing. I bailed on many rehabs because I couldn't not fucking stand sitting there without any of my distractions like video games or ANTHING other than reading the Bible.",1 "I have absolutely been there. One way to help, if you want it (otherwise, feel free to ignore): Tell yourself you will wash one dish. Maybe just like, one fork. And then you can stop. You might end up keep going because you realize it's the pressure to clean that's putting you off, rather than the cleaning itself, or, you might be every bit exhausted as you think, and stop after the one dish. It's a win-win, because your living space is cleaner, even if it is just one dish, it's progress. And make sure you keep your promise to yourself, and actually allow yourself to stop after one dish, or it will be harder to use this trick on yourself in the future. Also: *not eating will hurt your mental health even more*. And I totally get not having the energy to cook/eat (especially when the kitchen is as messy as it is), but you can buy those Ensure shakes for kids to make sure you're at least getting some protein. I hope this helps at least a little.",0 "I feel like it's either that or sinking into depression. No matter what I do, I will never be able to accomplish as much as someone identical without ADHD. So what's the point. At least at the core of the self-loathing there's a belief that I can do everything I want to do, I'm just being a stupid terrible garbage person and that's why it's not happening.",1 Looks amazing. Just got done playing Skyrim the other day and this really reminds me of the atmosphere.,0 "Ikr. We can't be ""normal"" and ""chill"" and do nothing all day without feeling guilty about it... What takes an NT 1 hour probably takes us >1.5 hours because we'll spend half an hour thinking about that pumpking cheesecake ice cream we had 2 years ago or how we left the laundry in the machine yesterday and forgot to clear it out or some song will be playing on repeat in our heads.",1 was in two separate meetings at the same time yesterday and felt the need to bite someone the whole time.,1 "Yes, but to a fault. I was just NOT understanding why we did a certain step in my college math class and I couldn't move forward until I figured it out. My instructor told me something that changed everything for me. ""just push the believe button and move on."" How absurd, right? Wrong. A few lessons later I started to understand why we need that step. If I didn't ""push the believe button"" and get through it, I would never have move forward.",1 "I could cry seeing how many people relate! I was so completely embarrassed when I got my Spotify wrapped results. I got hyper focused on a pop artist for a few weeks, so now that’s my top artist. I then got sick of music for a few weeks/months and started listening to podcasts. My Spotify wrapped didn’t reflect my music taste at all.",1 When COVID first started I washed my hands so many times,0 "Hahaha yeah. Hahahah fuck is wrong with me. I can do all those things for work but at home I'm literally a rag doll. I can run 13 kilometres but I can't clean my room. Fuck is wrong with me Good god my next psych appointment is the 19th next Fri hopefully I get ADHD meds as my hypomania has receded. I want to cry and laugh but I can't. Or well that'll make me seem more insane and well, currently I like the routine mindless work that I've implemented. I don't feel overly emotional anymore to the point it hurts my chest which is amazing. I'm afraid I'll feel it again at one point but so far so good haha",1 "I used to get it where it was like I suddenly became hyper aware that I was finally not feeling anxious and then that hyper awareness became the obsession, causing me anxiety. Then THAT would cause me to argue with myself over whether or not it was my fault. It’s terrible lol",0 Wait forgetting shit is part of ocd? Is this why i dont remember some conversations I had?,0 "lmao thx rememeberd now that i have saved alot of stuff because of this post sry for typo have dyslexia",1 Sometimes ocd is clean but if you can walk away when its messy without thinking about it all day and having to do some rituals to fix it for fear of something dire happening then you might just like things neat.,0 "Happens all the time. I almost stopped listening to my favourite bands, because the great experience that is listening to them could be ruined",0 "I'm curious for those who have both: Do you feel that you are normally feeling good but occasionally you have big drops in mood and emotional range? Or do you feel more like you rarely have big drops, but you also almost never feel ""good."" I found out about dysthymia (the second one described above) last year, and I wonder if it's common among ADHDers, or if most have major depression (the first one).",1 "This is honestly the worst part of my experience with ADHD. Literally YEARS of wasted time whilst delivering sub-par work and having barely any fun. I try not to regret aspects of my life. But it is so so difficult",1 "In the book “Brain Lock”, the author talks about how OCD will always beat you if you try to fight it (and the intrusions) head on each time. But, if you let it “win” without fighting it, it will just go away because it is being ignored.",0 How can such a beautiful piece of art have such a dark meaning..,0 You made my day with that cute dog pic!🙂 Stay strong!,0 "I'm sorry that your dad is such an ignorant asshat. The next time he tells you to 'just stop thinking and get it done', tell him it's not as easy for you to 'just stop thinking' as it apparently is for him.",1 Fuck man i was actually thinking if it was me pretending bruh i might start having self harm ocd if its really not me,0 "Sometimes our ADHD mode of thinking seems illogical or crazy until it works. I used it to pull our fridge out of an extremely tight space using 2 people, one at the middle, one on the bottom, with rope around it and pulling at the same time. Husband wrote me off initially and then relented. We got the fridge out because of my crazy idea.",1 Yes. I’m more of a ouch I accidentally stubbed my toe? Ok now I have to stub the other one. Now I have to stub then together.,0 "So true. I am properly diagnosed with OCD by my now-psychiatrist. I always had OCD tendencies but this time around, it got so bad till the point that I got severe panic attacks and insomnia. At present, I get slightly pissed whenever someone just randomly throws out the phrases, ""I'm so OCD"" or ""I'm so depressed"" because they got a lot of homework.",0 "Oh my gosh I’m so glad I found this. I was officially diagnosed today at 23 after being told I was fine, just lazy and airheaded, then misdiagnosed not once, but twice. I’m not depressed, I have ADHD. Now that I know, all the symptoms I was displaying that I *thought* were due to depression (executive dysfunction, anxiety about the future, hopelessness, etc.) were actually the effects of living with untreated ADHD all along. I’m getting sidetracked (surprise, surprise). The initial excitement of finally having an answer is starting to wear off and it’s now being replaced with anxiety. I keep feeling like now that I *know*, I have to start whipping myself into shape. I had no clue how to do that. No clue where to even begin. But now I’m going to take one tip from each of these sections and try to incorporate them into my day-to-day life. Slowly, of course; I know very well the effects of putting too much on my plate at the start. It’s okay to go back for seconds, or thirds, or however many plates it takes.",1 As one famous specialist said (Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz-who I worked with personally)-- 'If it feels like OCD- it probably is'.,0 "Oh man that's so freaking true... I don't even remember the full plot of my favorite pieces of media, I feel like I forget so many things or they just get mixed together in my constant brain fog... That's such an hard life, to feel like you can't learn anything",1 "This is very encouraging. Congrats to you on the fantastic achievement. Some of my compulsions are literally habitual and sometimes I'll catch myself doing them without even thinking (there is no anxiety that triggers it, either). But then of course, others are compulsions (checking each room for lights to be off, fully closing all doors, walking around in the same pattern, visiting the same sites on my PC, etc.). Any tips you have for me (and others of course) would be greatly appreciated because this is a huge step. I don't even remember the last time I went a full day without doing something repetitive.",0 "I love teaching raids in D1/2 actually haha, whenever I bring along 5 people who havnt done it I always make sure they understand we’re gonna be there for a few hours and to come in a friendly mindset. It helps us good off and not get mad at wiping a bunch, but I always go into detail for every encounter, and even explain things that they don’t need to worry about, and making sure they get all secrets included :) it’s fun “studying” up to the day it happens so I can refresh my memory since I don’t do them much after I’ve gotten the loot",1 Oh god this is me. I have such a hard time getting motivated to even do the simplest tasks. I’m glad I’m not the only one,1 "FROZEN VEGETABLES EVERYONE!!! I've been in a habit lately of buying bags of frozen green beans, and then throwing them in a pan with a little butter and salt, and boom! Greens with your meal!",1 This is my primary frustration in my entire life. I WANT to do things.,1 "Usually the highest dose of Prozac given only goes up to 60mg, that’s supposed to be the limit",0 "Nope because I know once I get my shit together, I’ll be miles ahead of everyone else.",1 I had no idea me being convinced I'm schizophrenic was because of my OCD. I am that convinced,0 "I love this! But I must say, I’ve been in therapy for years and had always refused medication. After I had my son, I reluctantly accepted the help from medication because I was struggling with both PPD and OCD. I can honestly say that I am seeing drastic changes now that I am medication and wish I had started earlier. Sometimes medication can be essential in OCD treatment! Love this post!",0 There's something so morbidly funny about when you reach that stage in your life where your intrusive thoughts are more annoying than disgusting.,0 I was just thinking about this before I saw the post. Got lost in the sauce thinking about how different life could be without this dysfunction,1 I love how you also refer to your ocd as a separate entity. I always thought I was the only one.,0 "O. Oh i would cry if i wasn’t cried out. My most significant heartbreak came before i was diagnosed. Undiagnosed and trying so hard, much like your girlfriend but without the understanding. Instead, my ex and i spent a whole couples counselling session on dishes. On how i “stacked them wrong”. The therapist was able to say to my ex “at least they did the dishes?” But my ex did not see it that way. Amongst many other things, the dishes story has always stood out to me as a metaphor for everything. You are so sweet to see the effort. To feel the intention. I am so glad that you two have this.",1 Yup!! It's been kind of annoying when I'm new at a job but incredibly helpful as my career progresses. It sometimes takes me a little longer to ramp up but I become an expert and stay at the top when I get there.,1 Its like brain saying to me Error404 not found and all i can see is loading image visual.,1 "Thanks for putting my feelings to words! Why can’t I just use more of the hours?!",1 "> I can also confirm that I am perfectly capable of sleeping another 3 hours after taking my meds if I don’t set an alarm lol I’m not sure doctors emphasize this enough, that this is perfectly normal. It’s the whole point! Unlike someone taking it to stay awake and study, it’s supposed to have the opposite effect. It can be a confirmation of the diagnosis, too. Talk about self-medicating? I did a lot of drugs in my youth. Some people went out and partied, I stayed home and cleaned and took care of business. I still forget it happens, lol, and I’ll be ready to start my day and it’s like, “Oh crap, nope, I’m going back to sleep.” I can’t sleep right now so I made a cup of coffee and I’m going to doze off in a sec.",1 I was a fan before they became famous... Phe! Posers!,0 "I feel this, especially this year. Sometimes too much poetry, storytelling, and music that gets stuck in my head as I am walking around, but never makes on paper. And when I get things in order and written, draw blanks or get distracted. Had been getting my one artistic outlet by playing jazz drums around my local community (had signed up for local adult learning jazz group), after having put away drums for a long time because I felt I need to focus on academics/professional career. Jazz drumming is a good fit for my ADHD, because it is exciting enough and there is enough movement involved that it cuts through my normal inattentiveness. I actually often get complements for being a good listener... which is not the case in any other aspect of life. But that's all pretty much dried because of the pandemic. Found out earlier this year, when seeing him on television, that a good friend from high school has had an amazing career as a musician and all around artist, and is having sort of a breakout year. Which has kicked that feeling of ""I haven't 'done' anything creative"" feeling into overdrive. Looked up in chat history the last time we spoke over a decade ago... where he was asking me to come to a show and possibly start playing drums with him; I wasn't able to go because of the mess my life was at the time due to ADHD derailing academics/career. Lost touch after that, partly because ADHD means I never remember to reach out to friends, and in this case was a little embarrassed that I flaked and couldn't make his shows. Ended up, somehow, having a long term and stable career doing software development. Which is OK, but wanted to be doing something more artistically creative! And it is tough seeing that I was closer within reach than I thought I was to a music career and doing something that fits someone with ADHD, rather than feeling like I'm fighting against it all the time. Been focusing on a few things to channel that feeling of a need to do something artistic. \- Converted the jazz ensemble (since it can't meet anymore) to online synth/MIDI lessons. \- Said yes to a friend who is also looking into getting into composing music about setting up a regular time share notes. \- Reaching out to an ADHD coach to help make sure I'm making time for creating. Still working on: \- l want to be in a place where I can be helping set up structure with my kids for them to do fun creative projects. \- Still need to get on getting the poetry/storytelling down and recorded.",1 "Whenever I watch a video or movie with my girlfriend, she gets annoyed because if she wants to pause it, and I happen to see the “pause/resume” icon, I have to pause and resume until I see the icon 6 times. For that same reason, she can’t ask me to pause the video/movie, because if I feel the button with my finger I have to do it many more times",0 "Amazing, you're such an inspiration! I've also been drawing my ocd and how it makes me feel. I usually don't show my art to anyone, but you made me inspired to post my art here on reddit and it got such a positive response. Thank you <3",0 "The ""I'm just trying to remember what I touched at 2:12pm last Thursday but I'll get back to the conversation as soon as I remember"" stare.",0 "sent this to my boyfriend and I think it's helped him understand me a little better, so thank you.",1 It’s so nice when one can empathize with another. My husband has bipolar 1 and I’ve had severe adhd forever. Needless to say whoever said we can “grow out” of our adhd was dead wrong. Some days patience and understanding is all we can do for one another. 💕,1 Awesome! I recently got a cat which has been helping me fight hand washing as well. Keep it up 👌,0 "This is the most ADHD thing I’ve ever read. Except I don’t even bother to hit “watch later,” I just hope it pops up in suggested again when I’m in the mood to watch it",1 "I'm currently volunteering as a research assistant, and I have to read a *ton* of neuroscience papers. I have self studied a lot, but the only area I'm truly comfortable in is computers. Every week, I meet with the professor I'm assisting, and he asks me ""so what's going on in this paper?"" Every week, I give the worst possible description of something that I fully understood at the time of reading.",1 "I gave up on becoming a nurse literally earlier today because my stupid little brain can't retain a single thing that it reads out of a book, so the classes are kicking my ass. If it isn't witnessed in person, it will not stick. This is some damn good timing, my dude. I dunno if it changes my mind about...my mind, but it's still good timing to have something to think about",1 It’s as if a horrifying monsters is perpetually breathing this savage uncertainty down my back.,0 ">(Paragraphs are titled because everyone reading this has ADHD lol) I love how this isn't just a sub *for* people with ADHD, but it's also *tailored* to people with ADHD. We know what we need lmao.",1 "I had a knife last night and I was cutting some pumpkin pie near my husband. Brain says ""go stab your husband"" Ok brain. Good idea.",0 Ah shiiiii and I didn’t listen to my parents when they told me to do just that. Little did I know that was the holy grail.,1 One of the HARDEST things was when I had to go under anesthesia for ACL surgery. I worried I would say all the weird thoughts that I can usually suppress and that was definitely one of them.,0 "I feel this so much. I make sure to try to do positive self talk when I accomplish something even if it’s something really small. My boyfriend is amazing at it and when I tell him I accomplished something as small as brushing my teeth or showering he is so happy for me and lets me know he’s proud of me. My parents on the other hand like to not consider something even started unless it’s been followed through with, which can be difficult. Then they like to mention the next undone thing when I mention something I’ve completed; it is extremely draining and demotivating. I once asked my mom to notice when I do small things and she told me she’s not the kind of person to do that, so that was the end of that conversation.",1 "I just responded to a Reddit post with a 2 page long diatribe about work-life conflict rather than working on my capstone...about work-life conflict...help us executive functions, you are our only hope...",1 "From their website: >""The OCD Candy Company is NOT a joke company and we do not make a joke product. Our goal is to make candy eating fun for everyone. A portion of each sale is donated to a foundation for children with Autism as many Autistic children have OCD tendencies. These funds help with research and family support."" > >""Our goal is to be fun for everyone and make things easier for people that like to eat their candy in a specific way. The OCD Candy Company was not created as a joke product nor is it our intention to make fun of individuals that suffer from OCD or other anxiety disorders."" IMO this is a ridiculously clumsy way of supporting anyone. Shit, it's not even about supporting people with OCD, but people with ASD that have ""OCD tendencies""! God. Who thinks it correct to label autistic children's rigid sense of how to do things (like eat candy, apparently???) obsessive-compulsive? (And what's more, try to push a product on that premise?) They're separate disorders entirely. Regardless of any perceived overlap. This usage waters down OCD, making it into a pseudo-disorder/quirk that people feel free to label themselves and others with. It serves no purpose; they strip away the meaning. Sick of this shit.",0 "Hey, that's my compulsion! I once convinced myself I had cancer and then promptly had a panic attack. Fun times.",0 "They don't understand how exhausting it is but rather see you as the lazy/stupid one despite you confessing to them. At least to you they noticed that you are different than before. To me they went so far as to say I was even better. As if they had their eyes mounted backwards. Since I have this disorder I'm always irritable, I don't do anything all day long, I'm much slower to understand basic concepts (even the ones I already knew) and I've improved?! Really out of my mind. Trust me, you did well",0 That's amazing!!!! I never ever thought of looming at my morbid obsessions with humor so thanks for the different approach.,0 "I just want some peace in my noggin, how is it an option for everyone else?",0 "Someone at work this week said something to the effect of ""If someone with OCD wants to organize this.."". She doesn't know I actually have OCD, but still. Stop using it as a fucking stereotype. I don't care if things are out of order. I obsessively worry about things I've done or didn't do, to the point of where I can't think about anything else. I compulsively buy things I don't need, especially if it's completing a collection. I will obsess over buying an item and scour the internet until I find it, spending hours looking for it. But yeah, I don't care if everything is organized.",0 One of these days we will string it all together lmao,1 I mostly do it because my mother tongie is german^^,1 "This is however, an extension of a stoic practice (to my knowledge), of visualizing tragic or unfortunate events beforehand, so that the emotions are deslth with, and do not disrupt your day to day life. A sort of hardening or deirrationalization. There is some practicality in this.",0 "This reminds me of "" When I have a song stuck in my mind I just hear to it and it goes away""... I don't know if that magic works for those people, but I'm sure they don't know what an ""Earworm"" is.",0 "Seriously, thank *you*. This is something we really struggle with balancing, and there are a whole lot of people out there who harass and attack us (I've even been doxxed!) for taking the approach we do. Posts like this, and everyone's comments, really takes a weight off our shoulders and reminds us that there are people who appreciate and benefit from the way we do things.",1 "I feel personally attacked. Lol. That's my everyday schedule.",1 "Me 4/5 times at least, sometimes almost nothing comes out. 😤 Infact at night i try to drink as little as i can.",0 "For us, there's a stark difference between knowing something on an intellectual level and having it sink in on an emotional level. CBT can help bridge that gap.",0 Spent a great deal of time telling my brain to ‘shut up’ while mowing the lawn yesterday.,0 and the thing that makes me feel even worse is when people say im just lazy.,1 """Make sure to put your phone away while working, so you can focus"" Yeah, no, that's not how it works",1 All you gotta do is let them pass you. So what if they’re there? You’re there to run your race and forget about them if they wanna mess with you. You’re doing good and it doesn’t need to be an all-or-morning thing.,0 "Your prose is most fabulous, my friend. I attempted suicide at the age of 24 when I quit an easy job with a pleasant coworker for another that paid a little better, and then realized that the new job was too stressful for me. I almost died because I was too embarrassed to admit I'd made the wrong choice. Fortunately my sense of self-preservation reasserted itself before it was too late. I'm 60 now, and while it hasn't been all roses and sunshine, I will take the good with the bad.",1 "I’m proud of you. I am a part of this particular fight as well. You are doing great. Seriously, GREAT",0 Mood. Like part of the fury I feel towards my ADHD is this gulf between my desires and values and the way I'm actually able to act.,1 "If you have the means, try to collaborate as much as possible. I'm in academia and always have ideas for research projects or articles to write, but I will never, ever, do them on my own. Luckily, I have a couple colleagues I collaborate with. That works well because having someone else to set deadlines with and hold you to them will force you to do things.",1 "UGH PREACH! You’re not alone! I’m a designer and I can’t start anything. I love creating, painting, drawing and just working with my hands but without a deadline, nothing gets done.",1 "Seems like a lot of psychiatrist don't understand what inattentive type is or even that it exists. Raise your have if you've heard ""Most people grow out of it.""",1 My mom made my dad get his looked at and now he's okay. Treatments have come a long way. Make sure to tell all of your doctors about your ADHD procrastination and just have their front staff call you more than they typically would.,1 "I completely understand and it's so nice to see it written into words the hell we go through, especially with all three. Added to it, is how people think there's an age threshold for mental illness of this kind, like you're just supposed to switch it off once you reach a certain age, and that's garbage. It doesn't work like that at all. I wish the best to you all! 💙",1 "Sometimes. I definitely am like “Well damn this is different.” Sometimes I like it, sometimes I don’t.",1 "they get me, too. and then i get major heart palpitations. this happens to me almost every night before i go to bed and almost every morning when i wake up ",0 I have to talk to myself in a different accent. Like I don't trust myself to stop myself thinking so I have to take on the role of someone else. Usually some crazy overdramatic american who tells me like it is.,0 "Love it, good shit. My aunt called it (translated) ‘Mr Power’, which showed me how eager OCD is for power in my life, but this one is also really nice!! 👍",0 "i’ll misplace the planner within the first week. if i dont, i’ll have to get another planner to pre plan my plans anyway",1 I think about this a lot. This meme made me feel less alone in thinking that way and took away some of the seeming validity of those thoughts. Thank you.,0 I have saved so many post and comments on useless stuff that I probably will never look at again is far more than I am willing to admit or want to think about,1 Wow! It looks so beautiful and healthy! So proud of you!,0 the struggle of having ocd and doing tics as a compulsion as well,0 "[I got your marketing material right here](https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/c_scale,f_auto,fl_progressive,pg_1,q_80,w_800/ardjnadn1msck8fpe6qd.jpg)",1 "Are you me?? Especially the cycle of shame/guilt/anger.... For example, there was this guy I was sorta acquainted with through D&D. He was rambling on about something, and told me being gay was a choice. I'm gay. It just kinda rolled over my head bc I was already thinking about the other absolutely absurd things he was saying... 6 months later I'm like HEY WHAT THE FUCK I should have punched him in the face?!?! Argh. I hate myself a lot for being a stepping mat bc my brain is going 1000mph already and it's like I don't have time to really process these insults, backhanded compliments etc. The world always feels too fast or too slow for me.",1 "It's hard, it really is. For me the one of the worst things is explaining yourself cause others tend to see it all as excuses. Also constantly hearing comebacks such as ""Yeah, so? Everybody has ADHD"" or ""I also have ADHD"" in an attempt to devalue you and your struggles. And for fucks sake, don't ever tell someone you're on medication. ""Ah, imagine relying on stimulants, you're only making things worse for yourself cause once you're in it you can't function without it"". One time I even heard someone say ""Omg you're so hyper and all over the place with your ADHD medicine, it was the same for me when I was misdiagnosed, the medicine gives you the adhd symptoms you didn't have"". Little do they know that without them I can't get out of bed - I become socially introvert, grumpy, pissed, irritable, unmotivated and isolated; all I want to do is sleep. The stimulants gives me a chance and a kick in the ass. Being all over the place and easily distracted is something I will always be. But during those few hours a day I'm interested in things, I'm starting projects, I talk with people, I give things time and patience and then when the meds wear out I become a mess again. Like, I always keep on thinking ""why didn't I do this or that when my medicine kicked in"" cause when they lose effect I just can't. I see no point in doing anything, I become self defeating and feel like shit is meaningless, useless. I feel like no one cares anyways. ""Why should I even do my makeup?"" for example. ""Who gives a shit about that anyways"" and even though I love doing my makeup, I'm like ""So what? Who cares about what I like. I waste my time on nothing"" Whatever, I'll stop rambling. I have a few other mental disorders as well so all of it might not be because of ADHD, but a lot of it is. It really sucks and I've started to realise I will never be like everyone else regardless of what I do and it kind of kills me cause all I ever wanted was to fit in.",1 I just flip out. Honestly I think I might be a little bit autistic. Too much noise and I’m literally a rabid dog.,1 Let's see people who are people actually having a chance to express themselves without fear. Seriously! How often are we typecast to some stereotype from someone who has no idea what they are talking about.,0 i feel immensely guilty walking into my heated house when it’s cold outside. ocd? catholic guilt for comfort? who knows!,0 I am so thankful I don't have contamination OCD but my heart goes out to all of you and your poor hands in these trying times <3,0 So what were you supposed to be doing when you compiled this list?,1 "Thanks, I've been obsessing over something stupid from a few years ago. It's been 3 days and I can hardly think of anything else",0 [The empire wants YOU to get off reddit](https://imgur.com/a/xXYcver),1 This honestly made me feel so much better. I’ve been really struggling with this hard the last couple weeks especially.,1 "Did you know that all you have to do is..... (Wait for it) .... *meditate?*",1 I’m super disorganized and messy lol these types of posts make me insane,0 It may not do the dishes but damn does it get a lot done anyway,1 I have the uncanny ability to find lost items in weird places; it’s the objects that are in front of my face that are invisible to me.,1 "Or seething rage at yourself for never asking the cute girl you chatted to at the vinyl store in 2018 for her number because you obviously would have been in a perfect relationship now and forever after. Or when the theme song to a cartoon you haven’t watched in 19 years randomly starts to play in your head as you’re having an important conversation with your boss I don’t know if these are exclusive to adhd but certainly they don’t seem to be “normal”",1 "I got myself into the habit of shutting my computer down at the end of every day so that I end up forcing myself to go through the tabs i have open. I also close tabs i have open on my phone, but only because i notice that it's running slower when i hit 15, which makes it harder to use. As for saved reddit posts, well, I don't want to touch that back log with a 10 foot pole. Since there's nothing I've found yet that makes it an obstacle to something else I'd need to do, they just sit there. At least for me, making something I need to do an obstacle for something I do out of habit is the only way I can get it done 80% of the time.",1 "My therapist says this is dissociation. It ruined my first year of university. Very high grades when I got stuff done, but I would just get so tired as soon as I opened my books that my head would be bobbing due to trying so hard to stay awake and productive. I felt so defeated. My profs always said such great things about my work and abilities, but I just couldn’t get shit done. 😞",1 "Kids at school would call me a ""little OCD"" all the time because I liked things a certain way or because I had to wash my hands after touching anything or how I wrote my notes. I would argue with them I was not. And I'm not. I have been diagnosed with many other illnesses but not OCD. I never really knew what OCD was like until living with my husband. He would lock the door, go to the car and run back to the door 7 times. He would call at work freaking out if the fan was on because he was sure it would set fire. He would have intrusive thoughts and feel the compulsion to get angry. He worries about things that are out of our control. I feel for him. I wish I could take it away for him. I just hope one day he can find healthy ways to cope.",0 "This is amazing, congratulations!!! I hope to get better with my teeth as well I’ve lost one so far with my poor oral health. Bad gag reflexes are horrid and I fully get that shit, your story has inspired me to take better care of mine and that it is possible",1 "I also really struggle with the sensitivity part. Sometimes something genuinely sad will happen in the family and I will be numb to it, but the tiniest every day things set me off. Its really hard. You aren’t alone and you aren’t doing anything wrong. Just keep trying your best.",1 "Hahaha ugh, I’ve been both of these people with my OCD.",0 "Another tip on the 7day pill organizer, if you don’t have one. After you take your meds just flip over the bottle",1 "We had a kitchen table with one of those wrap around benches. Bench just became a clutter magnet. The short side hadn’t been clear since Christmas. Every day I look at it want to start and find anything else. Last week I bought a new smaller table so now I had to just to switch them. Fortunately we had been meaning to make this switch but I’m still annoyed I needed to do that to clear some damn clutter.",1 oh i do the sticky note thing. i did not even realize,0 "I have OCD in ways I couldn't even imagine. I slowly realized that and did the work without ""correcting it"" and within a week or two I was able to control it. But dayumm 8 hours stretch!! Way to go.",0 "Always. And then do you go into your sent emails and make sure you sent it. Especially if I didn’t receive a response. I’ll worry that I said something stupid and go back a reread it more just to try to figure out why they haven’t written back.",0 "For me, it’s about the things that seem like common sense to most people, but not to me. Often people give instructions that are way more vague than they realize, and just assume you can fill in the gaps with “common sense.” When you understand the reason why the instructions are the way they are, it’s a lot easier to fill in the gaps in their instructions.",1 This is why I procrasinate rn... Why I'm on reddit... I'm too tired to learn (it's 2:30 pm),1 "good job, keep up the progress. you are doing great.",0 "This made me chuckle. Less anxiety, less compulsions. Fricken bless you.",0 "I have a small print out of this at my wall at work. It’s so upsetting when you find the courage to open up about your ocd to someone, but they just think of it as a weakness or lack of self control, not an actual disorder. I find this image validating and a good simple explanation without having to actually address it with someone. I’d they see it, maybe it gives them a little insight.",0 "Yep, tons of saved posts that ring so true. So important, need to save for later, yet later will never come. But I don't mind. Sometimes I actually do feel nostalgic and go browse old conversations and saved posts. It shows me how far I've come. How many things I learned, its amazing.",1 It's definitely a reflection of the stigma of mental illness when we all only found out today and none of us ever doubted it.,1 "Got out of bed, let the dogs out, made my boyfriend’s coffee and lunch for today, made myself breakfast and tea, and fed the cats. Now I’m logged in to work for the day. Thanks for the encouragement! It helped this morning.",1 I feel personally attacked. By your knife. Stop stabbing me.,0 My kid's only 6 right now but I've been looking for something useful for him to do! haha,1 "You get distracted by the fact that you're speaking. Omg yes! Such a simple thing like that awareness can make me trip on my words and lose track of what I was saying! Especially when someone's actually listening to my words. It's like, omg they're actually listening choose your words carefully... And then I get nervous and mess up whatever I'm saying...or forget. Gah this post is so relatable and I'm getting emotional lol.",1 I love clicking on an article for ADHD advice only to find a giant text wall with no bullet points or sub-headers.,1 "Since being diagnosed with ADHD, I’ve been really open about it and I’m discovering it’s a huge conversation stopper that seems to make a lot of people uncomfortable. Maybe I’m over sharing but it’s usually relevant to the topic of conversation we’re discussing. The only time it seems to not stop the conversation is when the other person also has ADHD and is like “me tooo!”",1 "The biggest thing I have done to help me with mine is learning as much about it as I can and fighting it that way. Dopamine plays a big part in a lot of our symptoms being better or worse so find what makes you happiest, find what makes you feel the worst and cling to the good and ditch the bad. Mental health has to be top priority for us.",1 Sooo when I'm grumpy for no specific reason and I wanna be left alone it's overstimulation??,1 "HOW??? That was the first thing that came to my head after reading your post. Then, I imagined myself saying the same and immediately thought: THIS SOUNDS LIKE A MIRACLE!! Like: Seriously! it is possible then, but HOW?? Still... A HUGE WELL DONE to you! I will be like that when I grow up! Ps; I'm 38 ;-P",1 "Yup! This. I have coworkers who also say they’re “so OCD” because they’re organized. I’m not a very organized person (my OCD actually can make it hard for me to focus enough to be organized), and I actually had a coworker ask me if my doctor “was sure” I had OCD because I’m not organized. I quite literally lost my shit. The media portrays OCD as Monica Gellar (which, I get it, some people with OCD have obsessions about cleaning. My mom does. It’s totally a valid and real form of OCD), but people don’t realize that OCD obsessions and compulsions can be about anything. It’s also frustrating when you see someone who has not so “quirky” obsessions (for example, POCD) get berated and shunned for their OCD. OCD isn’t quirky or cute, and it manifests differently in everyone. I agree with you 100% OP. Quick note because I have anxiety: again, I’m not at ALL saying that OCD can’t have obsessions and compulsions surrounding order or being clean. My mom has OCD and her compulsions and obsessions are actually about cleaning. I’m just saying the public stereotypes “being clean” as having OCD, and it’s frustrating because many of us (such as myself) have compulsions and obsessions that have nothing to do with organization. Another edit: when I say “quirky”, I’m talking about how society/the media portrays OCD and views some obsessions (IE: being super organized). I have OCD too, and I know it isn’t fun or quirky!",0 "Oh god, yes. I'm early in my dog training business, so I'll usually have like one appointment a day, generally somewhere after 4pm. I had one at 11:30 and one at 6:30 today. I was supposed to also be revamping my website today and updating what I offer. But my husband isn't home, so absolutely nothing got done today save those two appointments.",1 "Ten minutes into driving somone asks me, did you lock the front door and close the garage? I do a u turn and say idk. Start driving back to location in question. They ask, well, do you remember locking it and closing it. I say, it doesn’t matter, we would only be relying on my memory...and now I’m questioning...after you questioned me brain...and now all I know for certain, is I’m gonna go back there. Open it, probably check for ninjas right quick just in case. Close it again, lock it. Pull the handle hard as fudge a few times to make sure the lock and frame are without any defects. And watch the pissed of faces as I walk back to the car.... but the good thing is, I get questioned much less...it’s such a weird reaction when they know they just asked me and instantly I start making the u turn. They’re like shit! I forgot never to ask him those questions. Triple recheck sequence activated. Sometimes they get half the sentence out and stop themselves from finishing and just put their hands in their head, then ask me to go grab some shit outta the house they forgot, cause they know we’re going back. I heard the question coming. We gotta go back now....had to go and ask him.",0 "and ""mental recitations"" sounds like you're trying to summon a demon or something",0 And then I start getting pissed off when people breathe or walk too loudly near me lol,0 "Brings back terrible memories from my childhood, when I tried hard to learn but I couldn’t sit through a page. Parents and teachers called me lazy.",1 "1. What if I’m worse than Hitler and am suppressing all my memories of hurting people? 2. That car stopped on the side of the road has a man with a gun, duck! (feat. unsafe driving thoughts) 3. Your boob hurts, it’s cancer 4. What if a mass shooter showed up, like, right now? 5. Top 5 pics from when your parents die in a car accident tomorrow! ETA: [META] What if my top 5 aren’t OCD enough for the OCD sub?",0 "word. The hard part is we're honestly pretty good at middle-management if you can somehow manage to get there with any shred of self-confidence left intact.",1 "I totally relate to this! I have imaginary arguments with people who might disagree with me because that’s how I grew up. Lately tho i’ve been thinking more stuff that made me giggle once( in my 30 year life) and i seem to relive it or process it, however you wanna put it, then i start giggling irl. It really confuses my partner. He seems to think so hard what is going on with me. But i dont even know whats going on with me.. Living with adhd is hard, loving with adhd is harder..",1 "this speaks to me on another level. seriously, thank you for this.",0 "yeah I'm like afraid of cleaning tbh. sounds stupid but it's true, cleaning gives me a lot of anxiety",0 Just ignore them. Subscription beggars just need to learn how to earn things,0 "Oh boy do I ever feel this. It helps to be medicated but, generally speaking, it's still hard because while medication allows us to Just Do It, we never really learned how because we couldn't. On top of that, shame over this has been taught to us (via traditional schooling if not schooling plus family plus friends plus We Live In A Society/capitalism) which destroys self confidence and further hampers the ability to self-motivate even when we're medicated. It's like being born without legs and then getting a sick robo-suit/prosthetic but no manual, no physiotherapy, no nothing so sure, now I have an aid...but how the fuck do I USE it? In other words, it's balls. I've been ""procrastinating"" on an entire list of portraits and other such art commissions for years. And years. And years. My bestie and grandmother have been waiting five years. Certain other people I've lost touch with have been waiting over 10. I'm blessed that my friends and family simultaneously have lots of love for me and VERY low expectations of me so they don't get angry or mean over it usually but it hurts me to confirm it. The guilt and stress I feel over this is probably at least 70% of the reason why they haven't been done yet. I'm medicated so you'd think I'd be able to kick my ass into gear and Shia LaBeouf it but noooooooooooo. I'm just a cringy 30-something with no self-starting ability and zero follow through. It hurts. Right now that's probably my biggest self-esteem killer. I wanna cry just thinking about it LOL I'm going into counselling in hopes for some tricks. I've been in counselling before but this will be my first time after my ADHD diagnosis so maybe now we'll be able to snipe it more accurately. First appointment next week. If anything works or sounds reasonable I'll throw it in here. Sorry for the long post. I think my hormones are making me even more symptomatic than usual UHG.",1 "It’s honestly kinda hilarious in a very dark way. Like it’s seriously ridiculous. It honestly helps me to see these memes and laugh at my own OCD. When I first came here I was a bit confused as to why there were so many memes. Now that I understand my condition better, I totally get it.",0 "Yeah, same for me. It really can be overwhelming. Sometimes I'm feeling really happy or in a good mood and instantly think ""god, why am I feeling like this if I have OCD"". And then it's back to square one. Sometimes I even get high anxiety for not having anxiety about anything in particular. It messes u up really bad sometimes.",0 "I feel like I use parentheses way more than normal people. I always seem to have a related thought that I think is important but not exactly on topic but I need to insert anyway because it won't fit or make sense anywhere else and if it doesn't go there it won't go anywhere. Which is pretty close to how I am in real life conversations.",1 "This definitely helped me, too. I didn't go to therapy but Dr. Fred provided me some tools and self-help material, I did those regularly for like 2 months, it helped me a lot, I have HOCD and some what ROCD, manifesting to anxiety – honestly, I have been thinking of therapy for anxiety for a while now, but I can live with it for now, if it worsens, I'll visit a therapy. After some time, I realized how I could develop CBT for my depression/insecurities – nowadays I put myself in as uncomfortable situation as possible, regardless, when ever I get bad or intrusive thoughts, I tell to myself, it's something beyond my control if it's to happen there's nothing I can do, me worrying about the consequences won't change the outcome. At times, the OCD tried to throw me off making saying, ""Oh, nice try, you are trying to say this to control your OCD."" To which I used to say, ""Yeah, maybe, but it's the truth, OCD or no OCD, I cannot control anything."" The battle between the OCD voice and myself went for a while, but I always tried to keep myself busy. OCD never disappears, I get those thoughts everyday, each different from before. Usually, I get comments (from friends) saying I'm too serious, but the truth is I just have to use all my positivity for myself, and have little to offer on the outside. The last part might come handy. Good luck to you, kind sir. :D",0 I used to sleep with a rosary under my pillow because I thought I would become possessed by demons after watching horror films🙂,0 "The first time I took medication it’s like everything was more calm, I had energy etc. but my psychiatrist from the clinic is referring me outward so I can be put on adderall he thinks it would be better for me that way. We will see soon. But it’s nice to see other people’s reactions and how it’s actually helping them.",1 Damn it's nice knowing there's more people out there like this.,0 Once I'm back on campus I'm going to be going to the rooms of my original classes at the allotted time whether the administration likes it or not. Doing my work in those rooms for the hours when I would've been having class *is* my new class schedule.,1 "This is kinda true for me, esp I do researchs or readings. It's not that I can't concentrate on a task, but that I can pay attention to so many things at a times while doing that task. In my case, I like to read and dig information, so I can read and take in a lot of info (usually get sidetracked on the way tho). However, my brain can't process the big amount of data with the same speed and then it takes me ages to do anything and makes me feel like i'm procrastinating cause i'm not making any process.",1 Trying to work out if I wrote this post as it is a word for word description of how I do things 😂😂,1 Is anyone else frustrated with the lack of progress in Research and treatments,0 "I believed this was real advice and was physically agitated haha! Like ""okay like I never thought about writing stuff down before""... The problem is remembering to write it down.. and if you get that far the next problem is remembering that you've done it, or where you put the damn planner ""for safe keeping"". I currently have 3 whiteboards (none in use) that I refuse to throw away because maybe one day planning will work.",1 Many schools have adopted zoom so you may still have to get up and be present for your classes - hope this helps,1 "Oh my god, so I listen to LoFi as background noise when I'm studying or doing schoolwork, so literally 90% of my wrapped is LoFi hahaha ​ Also, in the summer I played this one band literally on frigging repeat, so my wrapped this year is literally just: 1. LoFi 2. Young the giant 3. Young the giant 4. Dizzy 5. Young the giant",1 Honestly not bad at all once you get past the first 3-4 weeks. At the beginning you are EXTREMELY tired all day but you just have to get past that and its such a relief. Normal situations id be stuck or have to confess just blows right by,0 "I finally started taking care of myself when I couldn't take care of ky kids on my own most days. I got used to being in pain and just kept putting things off...for years. I had a fire lit under my butt and had over 65 Dr. appointments and Physical therapy appointments and had dozens of vials of blood takes/2 MRIs/3 Xrays/1 CT scan in the last year. Turns out I was ignoring an Autoimmune disease, nerve damaged elbows that now need surgery, among other stuff. It's overwhelming and I wish I hadn't put things off so long. Ugh.",1 "Can someone help clarify for me? I’m a little confused. Are the thoughts on the right the OCD thoughts or is it how we are behaving because of OCD? Like, am I actually being narcissistic and emotionally dumping on my friends, or is it OCD that’s causing me to believe I am doing this? Thanks!",0 I always convince myself that doctors will diagnose people with anything and I really just need to stop being a bitch.,0 "This is absolutely me! Always asking ""why"" because if I don't know the why, my brain will not remember to do the task! I feel like things that are important, have a reason, so if there is no reason, my brain files it as irrelevant and purges 🗑️ I've always been baffled by people who blindly follow instructions with no explanation?! 🤯",1 "To me doing the house chores is no biggie, I use cleaning as a means of procrastination. But paying bills? Logging work expenses? No, absolutely will not do those. I've lost plenty of money because of this behavior but my ability to execute these kinds of tasks is nonexistent. One day I'll go back through months of unpaid and unlogged stuff and do it all, probably after taking ritalin, and will feel like superman.",1 Hi everyone I thought I'd share this documentary you may find helpful as we look to overcome our OCD: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XN5FGJrQgo&fbclid=IwAR10sX68-n\_gAlJ\_9iIpEt5yVGexX82FG0OSEKHeoi-gPQvLXB4SAbiC4QU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XN5FGJrQgo&fbclid=IwAR10sX68-n_gAlJ_9iIpEt5yVGexX82FG0OSEKHeoi-gPQvLXB4SAbiC4QU),0 "I can clean for hours without taking a break or eating anything, but if I smoke a bowl and sit down I can relax and consciously decide to ignore chores so I can do normal human things again lol.",0 holy shit. i feel like im a ghost screaming at toddler who wont listen to me. its the worst,1 "ADHD'rs will often be able to help others more than themselves :) It is because we need outside stimulation/rewards rather than internal ones. helping others is a stimulation and completing the task is a reward.",1 I do this! What helps me is the wallflowers from bath and body works; I put one in every room of the house with my favorite scent and make my house smell like a spa. That plus cold brew coffee I make at home... heaven,1 I mean I wish said shithead thoughts would pay rent at least.,0 "THIS!!! I'VE BLAMED MYSELF MY WHOLE LIFE NOW I'M PAST 20 AND AM CLOSER TO GETTING DIAGNOSED AAAAAAAAA",1 "I’d take the circle that says “Coffee” and ask for a free Starbucks drink, lol. But jokes aside, I think it is a really nice initiative!",0 A days ago I wrote here for help and nobody wrote me back. I feel exactly the opposite.,0 "Before OCD: Wtf is ball face talking about... After OCD: Yeah thats some hardcore shit..",0 Whenever I have intrusive thoughts my brain only captures the top half,0 thought your were serious for a minute I was so psyched,1 "Amen. Finally have some time off work and my mind is torturing me again. Fuck, meds don't work, therapy is fucking useless, I don't even know what to do anymore. I can only distract myself by blasting music until my ears bleed.",0 Same. I instantly feel hopeless. I'm much more likely to persevere through support and love than tough love.,1 this exact scenario happened to me. she said i was a polite person and i’m like “it’s all an act! but i won’t want to tell her that...”,0 "I was trying to articulate my feelings to myself right as I read this, and that is exactly it! I've been really feeling this way for the past while. I do actually get things done, but I feel like I'll never meet my own standards. Like, when I cook a meal, I do the dishes after within an hour and I keep my space moderately tidy, but I still feel like no matter what I do, I haven't done enough. I just want to relax and actually enjoy my leisure, but even when I am relaxing I feel like I need to be DOING all the tasks I can think of instead. I have a list of all these tasks on my notes and I keep tacking more things on there and feeling like a failure for not completing them all or being able to enjoy downtime.",1 Also I love rocketbook because I can erase stuff instead of having a million pages in a notebook mostly taken up with random words and doodles before finding the page I actually need.,1 Ah yes I love my tidy house *glances at my 6 molding dishes and all the shit scattered on my floor*,0 It's my hell because I just want to talk to everyone when I'm overstimulated. I get nothing done and cone across like a right weirdo that says anything on my mind.,1 "I HATE brushing my teeth. I think it’s a sensory thing, but i dread it every night. Not so much in the morning because I do in the shower.",1 im literally the messiest person. i cant keep my room clean by any means,0 I can't wait to start reading this. You absolute legend. Thank you so much,1 "This is so sweet, thank you for sharing it with us. And if her ADHD ever feels too overwhelming and hard, please show her this! It's really beautiful.",1 This almost worked but then I started scrolling through the comments on this post lol,1 "Currently happening to me. I stop and then my mind goes ""but what if you're a bad person and it's all your fault"". And then I start doing it again... It's so hard for this to keep happening and not seek reassurance. OCD is a monster of a health condition.",0 Honestly🤣i be checking each burner and oven dial at least 5 times but i literally do not believe my own damn eyes like i can see they are not on but WHAT IF MY EYES ARE LYING?,0 The thought i well the anxiety is only anxiety and tomorrow I am going to just deal with it till I'm normal..... tomorrow never shows up.,0 "You are just incredible! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!! <3",1 " Right?! Like I did not want pretty rave girl as my 3rd top song. 😤 like sure, I listened to it every day during midterms week, but it doesn’t mean it’s my favorite 😭",1 "Dam I’m sorry you got cancer. I feel this on deep level. I’m 33 and still struggle to get my self to the doctor/dentist. I finally made a dentist appointment after a like 4 year hiatus and in my 20s I ignored what I later learned was a stuck kidney stone for about a year. Two years ago I had brain swelling and my one of my eyes stopped working, I ignored it for a week before I went to the ER. For me, making the appointment is where I struggle. I just can’t do it. I have learned that if I block of like 3 hours one day where my only goal is to make that call and get that appointment, I can usually do it. It helps to not be so hard on my self too and actually feel proud when I do finally make the call. Knowing is always better than not knowing. Feel free to reach out if you need to talk or really whatever. Always happy to help out a fellow adhd blood.",1 And then I pretend to be okay about not being reassured when I was clearly fishing for it 🥴,0 "Yeah I struggle with this too. All my life people have said ""You tried your best, that's what mattets"". But.... did I?",1 I have lost a family member suddenly and in front of me and now it's a constant fear/anxiety that I have.,0 "I love this! Thank you for sharing, I'm gonna keep this in mind from now on. <3",0 "This is the funniest thing I’ve seen today, thank you 😊",0 My top song is one I listened to on repeat until I drained all the dopamine out of it then never listened to again,1 "This is so sad, it reminds me of my younger self :( wish I could tell her to get help",0 "“It is not strange.” You don’t have to insult us by lying lol.",0 "Congratulations on your grades and for overcoming your H-OCD! I just wanna say that I'm proud of you and your accomplishments and that I hope your success can help those going through H-OCD and give them hope. And you are right, fuck OCD -- fuck this terrible mental illness!!!",0 "11 pm : [CHECKS BEHIND ALL DOORS AND KICKS THE WAll] ME : I AM SAFE ! But just to be safe....IDK....Damn it 11.15pm : [Checks the water bucket, checks the kitchen, the cooking implements for poisoners] ME : I CAN FINALLY GO TO SLEEP ! BUT.... Later at 2 am : [SLEEPY AND NEARLY ON THE VERGE OF GOING INSANE] Just once more.....Lemme check the windows.... 5 am : Just.....once......More....zzzzzzzzzzzzz.ZZZZZzzz",0 "I am training someone on my project who just graduated from college. I haven't realized how hard it is for me to explain until now teaching them. I say one thing and when they don't understand, I usually have to show them what I mean. If anything though this has been helping me learn how to communicate better with people who do not see the same way I do.",1 "Every. Single. Day. They also get skewed or heightened. Example: A while ago, my parents bought me strawberries when I went to visit them and my dad was really excited because they looked super fresh. I forgot about them and they went bad. Reality: My parents were just like ""oh you dummy you forgot your strawberries!"" In my head: ""This is the worst thing I've ever done. They spent money and I let them down. I'm the worst son ever. I can never ask for strawberries again. I can never eat strawberries again. I can't believe I did this.""",0 "I’m not in college but for work we’re no longer going to the office. Hours of unsupervised time, deadlines... I feel your pain",1 "Ah yes, the ADHD Tax. Some of my personal classics are: • The new gaming system I bought because I thought that for sure would fix my boredom(it did not) • The yarn and other shit from hobbies I picked up for a week, then lost interest for • Replacing the various things I’ve lost only to find them a couple of days later after I’ve already gotten the thing • Replacing the various things I’ve lost that have seemed to no clip out of reality never to be found again • Those times when I open Amazon when I’m bored and order needlessly useless things just for the joy of purchased games a new item • Spending an extra 9-12$ on fast shipping because yes I want my package tomorrow even though it’s probably something I can wait a couple more days for • (And my personal favorite) All of the shitloads of DoorDash delivery orders because I can’t bring myself to make food but I’m starving and IHOP makes better pancakes than I ever could anyways.",1 "I understand how you feel. It's horrible. I hope it gets better for you soon.",1 I just smiled so big with a regret feeling of heaviness in my stomach.,1 "oh god this resonates so hard. I also have a 3pm therapy appointment today, lol",1 "Really good job. As someone who struggles to do self-care/personal hygiene things like brushing my teeth, showering, wearing clean clothes, etc. and is frequently embarrassed by my inability to do these things that seem so easy for other people, it's really encouraging to see the success you're having. Don't sell yourself short, this is a difficult and important accomplishment. Good job and thanks for sharing!",1 "I’ll take Zoloft for 200, Alex. (Also this reminds me I’m out of my meds. Oops.)",0 I need to hear the story about your iPhone STAYING on the top of your car for 2 days!,1 "Totally. I have been this way my whole life, it wasn't until my kids got diagnosed and I started reading about all the weird things ADHD brings that the light bulb went on. I've been on Wellbutrin off and on for a year and a half and when I am regularly taking them, I get so much more shit done, so much more effortlessly. It's insane.",1 "I just want to comment here for whoever reads this, if you’re feeling like the wold is all gloom and light will never shine again, let me assure you that it will. It may not be today, maybe not tomorrow, or this week, maybe not even next month or the one after that or after that one, it may not even be this year or the one after it, it may not be suddenly and it may not be immediately... but I can promise you that just like there’s rain in the dryest places, and like there is sunshine in antarctica, there will come a day when you smile a “*real*” smile, when you feel true happiness and joy, and when things are, just fine, and you’re perfectly happy and at peace. I can promise you, that if you stick around long enough, that day will come and you will find yourself happy. It may not be easy, but it will probably be worth it. I can also promise you that if you quit now, you will be denying yourself of better days. You deserve better days, give yourself the chance and stick around to live and enjoy them. I’m sorry for your loss, OP.",1 "If you have an appointment at 3, set an alarm for 2! Or whenever you need to start getting ready. It eases my mind to know that I wont have to worry about remembering my schedule and stops it from looming over my head all day",1 "That’s awesome!!! Good for you! Super proud of you, you may think it’s a little thing but it’s not, it’s a big deal. Getting us to stick to a habit is tough and you did it 👍🏻",1 I swear this is what makes OCD a nightmere cause while it's happening it can be so hard to differentiate from OCD thinking and reality.,0 I am so sorry...I will remember what you said and not wait in future,1 "These give me stress too. Not as much as they used to, but in my teenage years I’d be up all night terrified that something was gonna come attack me because of the stupid chainmail “send to 10 people or else”.",0 "The first ever dose of adderall was like that. I finally could ignore background noises. But it was literally that one time feeling and it never has done that again, and the two other stimulants I’ve taken since then never once had “that” feeling either.",1 Yeah some of my friends have seen me doing my hand washing thing and they think I have germophobia.,0 I'm seeing a doctor for this soon. Apparently compulsively using a whole bottle of hand sanitizer a day til my hands bleed isn't normal. I'm glad you are making good progress <:,0 "Fucking hell im living with the schizophrenia, gay obsessions right now..",0 "Preach!! People I know make it into a joke about wanting to have commas or periods put in a sentence, like other grammar.",0 How the fuck. Did you do anything in specific or was anything different?,0 "I completely identify with feeling like a ghost (why I picked my user name). I hope you can experience a better day soon, a day where you feel even slightly better. I just went through several months of my OCD being intensified to the worst it's ever been and I thought it meant I was getting ""sicker"", but I realized that it was a periodic episode of depression enhancing my new ""protective mechanism"" of ruminating and compulsions. Things are slowly getting better, a happy moment here, a good conversation there, small wins, surprising myself by getting lost in a peaceful flow once in awhile doing something I enjoy, all those things gaining momentum together I'm feeling hopeful and more peaceful, less detached and derealized. Now I feel like I can be more open to the idea that OCD isn't ""who I am"", more like something I am familiar with. Will it get worse again? Maybe, maybe not! However painful it is to experience, I hope in that state I can remember all the happy and easier times not as something lost, but as something that is part of me, and believe that i will feel joy and relief again, even if my brain is telling me no. My brain has misled me enough already in trying to ""help"" me, it means well but it thinks it can solve everything by trying to control every situation and making wild proclamations. Every time I can teach it that letting go and having faith serves me better, it's a win to be loved, no matter how small.",0 OMG! My intrusive thoughts... they’re gone. My anxiety... they’re gone. My suicidal thoughts... they’re gone. Thank you so much!!,0 "I used to take pregnancy tests all the time, even if I were on my period. I convinced myself last week too and bought tests. All negative 😂",0 "The unexplainable time skip got me. I wish I could write how it feels like this, but it's hard to explain it in words.",1 "So happy for you! 😊 🤗 I took mine for the first time yesterday and I was so calm and collected. I actually felt accomplished, that I was so composed and my kids and husband were super excited for me. I finally did the most simple of things, in a linear fashion, I did laundry, dishes, and cooked without leaving to do other things. I took my next dose this morning, and I sat down for a minute to write in my journal, and track my mood. I also started bawling. They were also tears of joy! 😭 I didn’t know I had been living with a disorder for this long, and it was the problem in my life. The reason I had low self esteem and became depressed, and stressed out. The reason I couldn’t drive, didn’t finish school. I now have hope for my future.✨ My mind finally slowdown enough for me to sleep, even. I feel happy. 😀",1 "Watching Ozark, and they just said “In our business, there’s no room for mental illness” 🙃 I feel DIs",0 I was recently diagnosed with OCD and I am 60 years old! I have suffered my entire life with this and finally I have an answer as to why I have suffered the way I do. This meme explains how I am exactly!,0 "Yes. I often worry about finding my husband when I come home or when I wake up. We're young and in mostly fine health, but I still dwell on it. I think of vivid, graphic incidents that could happen. Sometimes I just burst out in tears thinking about it. But uhh... real talk. Did you say your parents played music at breakfast? What kind of magical hippie shit is that?! I'm honestly jealous. Haha",0 My grandfather had OCD. My mother has OCD. I have OCD. My daughter has OCD. I feel like this needs to stop.,0 LMAO I NEVER KNEW LOFI BEATS BEING MY TOP MUSIC PLAYED COULD BE AN ADHD THING,1 "Me, thinking I was finally getting over my obsessions and compulsions: *starts getting groinal responses*",0 You are 100% correct. The theme is irrelevant but OCD makes it seem so relevant that it’s hard for us to let it go and sit with the feeling. Good post!,0 "My dog just died in my arms. He was four years old and my very best friend. The vet said it must have been a clot. But I can't stop blaming myself for little things I did that day, thinking I must have caused this. I just can't do this without him.",0 "Yes. I was constantly yelled at by teachers and my parents growing up. I rarely finished my homework. I was a terrible student but undiagnosed. My diagnosis was at 35 years old. I figured out I had ADHD when I was 26 after I typed in my symptoms on Google. I asked my parents for help but they didn't believe me and said I was just lazy. When I got officially diagnosed by a psychologist, they just kept silent and refused to talk about it. I had already lost my career and bankrupted myself by this point....",1 "I live in assisted living, and they do most of the things I need them to do; cooking, cleaning, and other stuff. I understand your situation. I am here because of my ADHD and schizophrenia. I am also in school and don't have time to do everything for myself. They can do it for me. I appreciate them. :) Congratulations on your choice.",1 i’ve already taken some online classes bc i love the idea of not having to show up to school for a class but i’m a little concerned about all 6 of my classes suddenly being online. i’m afraid we might have more work just to make sure that we’re still there and paying attention to the class since attendance won’t be a thing. i’m awful at paying attention in classes anyways so i end up teaching myself a lot but i just hope it won’t be too hard. my plan is to wake up early and try to get everything done before i’d normally get home from class so afterwards it feels like i have no homework lol. but i don’t know how that will work. i just hope all of my classes keep their same schedule and don’t start assigning things on random days that we don’t normally have class,1 My OCD's become so bad that it often triggers my long lasting panic attacks when someone keeps distracting me while I'm doing a ritual...,0 "Wow, I haven't looked in..... I've never looked at it. Thanks.",1 You have no idea how many planners I’ve bought and only used once or twice lol,1 "Shit , I have this exacccctttttt same feeeeling , I’m bloody relieved now. I love you for posting this. This thought haunts the crap out of me",0 "6 years of a consistent gym routine. Six years...i have very limited equipment at home and can’t seem to make myself use it. Anyway thanks for the reminder. Gonna go brush my teeth now.",1 "I feel so bad for you guys! I believe in you but I myself, have no advice.",1 Yes. Even quicker than you do. I have to watch a math lecture and I'll be tired as all heck 15 minutes in. I fell asleep countless times during them. The amount of sleep I got before doesn't matter. Anything that doesn't interest me will make me tired within minutes. And then I'll have energy back as soon as it's over. What even.,1 People often tell me that I'm the dumbest smart person they know,1 A lot of us do this on our phones to make sure we didn't accidentally text our boss something we shouldn't have.,0 also i feel like people are starting to do this with “trauma.” like “omg trauma! i’m so traumatized!” like no there’s people who struggle with that shit,0 "Soo TRUE! Suppose you are about to go to bed and you turn the light off,you might have an undesirable thought and you turn it on and off time and again just to get it ""right"",no matter if switch becomes free! If you are sleeping in bed inside your cozy and warm quilt,suddenly you get the feeling that if you do not touch the feet,something inauspicious will happen and you have to touch the cold floor with your feet and no option but to disturb your sleep!",0 "Yep for sure. adhd = no dopamine. no dopamine: tasks are exhausting . Truly. I had a fight with wanting to draw earlier. Get up: grab sketchpad *intense exhaustion and aversion* so I’d go put it back down. Then I’d lay in bed fully awake. Repeat about 3 times. I didn’t have anything I wanted to draw, it was just for practice. So I didn’t want to do it. It was exhausting. ADHD finds “extra energy” for fun things because ur brain is seeking a -MINIMAL- level of stimulation to function. It’s not finding the extra energy for fun things, it’s finding fun things to have ENERGY. People without adhd have no need to do stimulating or fun things constantly because they don’t get exhausted with tasks- because they have a normal level of dopamine in the brain. What’s worked? Candy while studying. A lot. Videos while studying. Getting up and exercising every 15 minutes or so. Annnnd my prescription adhd medicine. Basically anything that you can do to make your brain stimulated while doing something you don’t want to do. EDIT!!: if you’re interested look up “why stimulants help ADHD” on YouTube and the first couple vids do a good job explaining how we clinically don’t have dopamine and how that affects us. It’s interesting and very affirming to know this is very very real.",1 "I literally feel this in my bones. I have horrible death OCD regarding my grandma on my moms side specifically. The recent passing of my dad only amplified that anyone can drop dead at any time, so it’s been fun!",0 I have adhd but I’m not sure this is just an adhd thing. The “forgotten subscription” is an actual business model that companies like gyms and phone apps grow their bottom line on.,1 "Filthy casuals.. I've lost count on my phone, have a few hundred stored or open across multiple browsers on my laptop.. and in brave my onetab plugin has precisely 1562 i am definitely going to get around to reading soon.... Tbh i thought this was an anxiety thing. Like severe fomo.",0 "I’ve recently been diagnosed with ADHD so I’m still learning: I experience this exact feeling you’re talking about. I don’t understand how it relates to ADHD though, can anyone explain more in depth? I assumed this experience was related to my anxiety disorder, although I know my anxiety disorder is closely tied to my ADHD.",1 "THIS IS SO TRUE OMG i’m so scared that later i’m gonna feel straight and i came out for nothing and everyone will think it was a cry for attention, but obv that’s not true i’ve been attracted to girls since the first grade lol",0 Makes me wince. OCD is like nails on a chalkboard except you're the chalkboard lol,0 "YES, THANK YOU! I feel this exactly. It's always about trying to help someone else with ADHD as if the person with ADHD is brain-dead or something and can't look it up for themselves!",1 "I can’t do 6, 11, 16 idk typing them sort of fucks me up but I know the context makes it ok.",0 "Well that makes sense. We lack Norepinephrine. So it's harder for us to even feel any reward even when we worked really hard for something. The last thing we need is for someone to give us even less of a reason to complete anything. This also reminds me of something I seen in Reddit recently.Where a Husband and Wife have a credit system.If she asks him to do something when he was already going to do it, or rags on him to do something, It takes his credit for getting the work done. I'd say the same concept applies. Tough love takes all credibility away from us accomplishing whatever the task was. So not only do we naturally lack the feeling of reward after hard work, Socially it's been stripped from us anyways. This makes me really upset when it happens to me and others. Its rude and honestly not really productive on any front.",1 "This might be a personal affect of my version of having this quality, but I’ve realized that I’m fairly weary against using “tough love” myself too. 9/10 times when thinking on how to respond to something, my instinct skips past where I might consider “tough love” and I’m already trying to figure out some kind of active action to take. Like if the tough love was in just “stepping back and letting someone fail because of their choices,” I’d have to have tried at least a few other things and have them fail before I even see that possibility. Maybe because I don’t think it works towards me, my brain doesn’t consider it a valid solution.",1 "This is fantastic!! The biggest loop hole for me is I love doing other people’s laundry or doing *their* house chores while never finding the energy or motivation to do *mine*. So, I need a chore buddy apparently lol",1 "This is super eye-opening. It explains why I can spend three hours building army lists for my tabletop war game, and then when the time comes to play the game, I’m terrible at it. My brain goes “But I spent three hours on it, it must be good”",1 This is a brilliant idea and it’s awesome that you saw you needed help and did something to help yourself!,1 "Yeah, this basically sums of my life. I think it probably has more to do with the fact that you're more receptive to the thoughts when you're relaxed or enjoying yourself. I notice what I'm thinking a lot more playing video games than I do when I'm writing a paper for instance. I also think importance plays a role as well. An example is something that has a permanence about it will bother me. Using my previous example, writing a paper isn't nearly as taxing as actually having to turn it in because you can't undo a turn in.",0 "Most people will not understand just how great this achievement is for us ADHD folk. Well done, stranger!! Super happy for you!",1 Fuck nothing makes me more mad than people thinking ocd is cute,0 "Yup — this is exactly my feelings and thoughts and my experiences with ADHD. You're not alone, normalize this!",1 How funny I stumble upon this first thing this morning. I’m exhausted from staying up too late because I couldn’t end the day without feeling something.,1 "This was the best post I’ve ever read about ADHD, thank you OP. I came back to it 3 times to make sure I read it all. I really appreciate all the knowledge you have gained and that you shared it here 😄",1 "God this is me but with picking my skin. I'm like ""oh my skin isn't smooth right here, let me pick at it until my skin will literally never be smooth again in my entire life. That'll fix it."" OCD is just Beating a Dead Horse: The Illness",0 "False memory was the scariest part of OCD for me. I had it about 13 years ago, well before I was diagnosed.",0 "Just reading this and comments makes me wanna cry, I don't think I'll ever be able to have that feeling and how it's so hard to deal with ""just fucking do it"" from everyone",1 Even if it is tocd and it actually feels like gender dysphoria though? I am so scared it feels so real I NEVER had any gender issues before this theme started I was 22 years old at the time,0 This sounds like something I would do I’m so sorry this happened to you lmfao,1 "Yes. I do it with everything, not just instructions. Like, if management calls me into the office to discuss a problem I’ll always ask a bunch of clarifying questions to make sure I absolutely understand. Literally every manager I’ve ever had has accused me of being “combative” just for asking clarifying questions. Like, it’s great that everyone else knows and understands what you’re saying right off the bat, but that’s not how my mind works. Fuck me for trying to avoid future mistakes I guess.",1 "Sooo true. I'm a high functioning stoner. A lot of my smoking is ritual/compulsion, so an OCD-fueled addiction (and maybe also a chemical one tbh). The weird thing is, weed helps me control certain compulsions way better, while simultaneously making others worse.",0 "I don’t think I’m on my throwaway yet I’m not afraid to add to this. I have recently come into a relationship completely not knowing what to expect, and my boyfriend has completely turned any whole world around. I diligently explained everything about how OCD takes up my energy and time most of the day, and that I’m still a loving + loveable person, and he’s done nothing but let me make my own choices on handling my ocd, and balances being there for me very well with not coddling me. I’ve never told him, but just understanding me and taking the time to do so instead of being scared off by the morning panic attack or the compulsions has actually eased a lot of my most irrational fears. Such a supportive partner is warding off my fears and eases my intrusive thoughts. I feel a lot more at ease because he goes out of his way to make sure I know he will always be there, and it specifically helps the fact my OCD stems from neglectful parents and I’ve been working on a healthier attachment style - I don’t say bye twice anymore! That’s progress for me. :) he also knows ocd isn’t curable and there’s no way to change some of my obsessions but I can absolutely change my compulsions. I’ve had partners who are indifferent to OCD and a partner who was very mean about it, and this relationship takes the (hopefully wedding) cake. The BIGGEST thing to it all is remembering he isn’t there to fix it, make it better, or actually purposefully help me with any problems. He’s just there. And he’s not going anywhere, except a night jog while I sit on reddit before my own workout. I don’t know how I got this lucky, like at all. But once I realized the world doesn’t happen for me or work with me, it just works around me, I realized I had the power to take OCD along with me. I hope anyone reading this realizes their emotional stability and security can come from themselves, and it’s nice to have a partner who also provides those things, but you can’t rely on that. I couldn’t have dated my boyfriend right now if I tried at any time in my life before the point where I realized I was done watching OCD make a fool of me. 100% putting that on my grandparents’ graves.",0 And when none of those work its an antipsychotic... I think they work better for me because it blocks dopamine rush i get from self medicating.... Just dont come off it and go back to self meicating because it will get you way higher than before because there are more dopamine receptors available AFAIK.,0 "I have been struggling with this for many years. I don't really know why it started but it never stopped. I have good and bad days. Sometimes I can sit on the toilet for hours just squeezing as much pee out as possible only seconds later for more to trickle out. Others I can be there for just a of couple minutes. I have to sit there and coach myself. I try to tell myself this is the last one and then I'll get off but it very rarely is. I keep going until I find the strength to get off. It's a nightmare. Day in, Day out just stuck on the toilet.This is one of my biggest problems aside for my crippling fear of filth and germs. I just sit there sometimes begging for it to stop. It's recently gotten worse because it's summer where I live and I'm drinking more. I try my best not to drink much an hour or so before bed so I don't pee as much. Going to the toilet is the last thing I do at night and when I get into bed I try to fall aslerp as quickly as possible because if I sit there and think about it I just have to go again.",0 "Such a pain right! One thing that's actually helped me a lot with this kind of thing is highlighting/writing 4 or 5 tasks on my to-do list (not all, so it's not overwhelming) - setting a kitchen timer for 20 minutes - (not phone because the ticking sound can help you hurry yourself up and stay focused on the tasks) - and seeing if you can complete the list of tasks in that 20 mins. I'll even add extremely easy stuff like ""put shoes back in porch"" - instead of ""clean room"", to keep myself going and on a roll with the tasks, and making it easier to complete the ""game"" of getting it all done within the time limit. Then once I get everything done, not matter how easy some of the tasks are, I get that dopamine hit of feeling good about having actually done stuff, and winning the challenge. Then, you do it again and again, then you'll notice you've completed your whole to-do list in a day! I think game-ifying life can really help our ADHD brains",1 "This was a huge problem for ke when I worked graveyard shifts. Id wake up around 2pm, and could not do anything because I worked at 11pm",1 "I just decided I’m happier single, and that when I’m in a relationship I’m miserable, but that’s because I have poor taste in men due to an abusive upbringing. If a special person ever does come along, I’ll definitely keep this in mind.",1 ONE HUNDRED PERCENT! I got so much relief. I’m like. Wow. Okay. There are people who have this. I’m not alone. There is a path to treatment. I don’t have to go through this alone anymore. But then my OCD says “but what if you are just faking it?”,0 Imagine being in constant anxiety and dealing with intrusive thoughts and people act like it’s a quirky personality trait,0 "Thank you for posting this! I relate - OCD can be completely awful and feed into depressive thoughts. I'm generally a tidy person but I wouldn't say I have I have any organizational or contamination obsessions and it's annoying when people think it is only that. When I'm going through a depressive episode my place looks like this too.",0 ... “Decides not to take your pills since you’re faking”... “have a breakdown those days.”,0 bruh..one of friends' bloodline be cursed AF. As well as me :(,0 "I love it. The composition is perfect, the exposure is just right.",0 I have this weird ass ritual before I go to sleep. And it's so frickin damn long. God this speaks on so many levels.,0 That's exactly what I have been doing for some time. That intrusive thoughts are boggarts became quite clear to me as they started morphing themselves according to fears and trust me understating and bringing out their ridiculousness is one of strategies that have seemed to work for me.,0 "Did anyone ever have this washing your shoes? Like one comes perfect and the another don't, but you can't get them to be the same 🥵",0 "I feel personally attacked If only there were a way to suddenly make my parents reasonable and get them to understand this...",1 "Its the opposite for me tbh Everytime its get bad I somehow pick myself up and try to get back to pace with life and a few days later its the same story all over again. I am so tired of this shit that I am loosing the little hope I have.",0 I once had to watch a 15 minute interview 3 times in a row because my brain kept wandering off and I'd miss the answer to the questions.,1 "Why is that by the way? Why can I concentrate better, when I do more stuff at the same time? Logically it should distract me, but flipping a pen / broom whatever calms me and makes me able to listen better",1 I got over that shit when I got angry at counting so much.,0 "This is so cool! I'm celebrating your win!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a huge mountain to climb",0 I guess that has to do with you getting a clear problem statement/goal and the drive to help and see the dopamine reward after solving someone else's problem. That is the thing that drives us because we crave that satisfaction more than others.,1 Really? That is very unfortunate. I was able to get help immediately on the east coast. Your primary doctor should have multiple resources of counselors accepting new patients.,0 "> "". . . and they equate the time spent drawing it up with time spent carrying it out."" It might be more accurate to say, ""they equate the time spent drawing it up with [initiating the work itself]."" Believe me, I am all too aware of the fact that *planning* something is not the same as *doing* something (aside from doing planning, of course).",1 "Now, next step in overcoming fear of trash. Hug me.",0 "Reminds me of this comment someone shared with me from a few years ago: https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/a1g78b/rejection_sensitive_dysphoria_is_one_of_the_worst/eaq6a57/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf&context=3 But yes, I think a lot of my mental health issues stem from how my mother reacted to my forgetfulness. How every time something goes wrong I wonder if it’s something I didn’t do. What did I miss? And all the wonderful spiraling thoughts as I realize again how much better I should be, but for reasons that is my brain, can’t be.",1 ">7:25–8:00 unexplainable time skip??? I laughed. Too true.",1 This is when you do compulsion it might seem better and safer but It’s not,0 "Spending the whole day thinking about how much you actually should be doing right now, can be really paralyzing",0 This is some really helpful tips and I relate to going through these a lot. I think these tips could help others on r/therapytips so they know how to treat children with ADHD,1 "thanks for 1k guys, can’t wait to tell my therapist about this lmao",0 "Or when you’re in a group and two people are talking to you at once, and there’s people talking in the background as well and it all just sounds like the adults in Charley brown",1 "Yes I did, I had to train myself to sit with the uncomfortableness of my bladder being only slightly full. I believe you can google it, it’s called bladder training. Edited to add: suggest this after you ruled out a UTI, and/or any other potential physical problems.",0 Clothes in the suitcase from the trip several months ago. Oh man can I relate.,1 Did I write this and forget that I did? Nope.. because I hardly ever finish anything.,1 "Yeah I,saw it on r/aaaaaaa but sorry I forgot how many A’s are in the subreddit name sorry",0 "Yes! However know that this is one of OCD’s horrible tricks as well. Please check out Ali Greymond’s video on this, it’s really helpful. Here’s the link: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe3_T-N__sM",0 "100% what I suffer through every day when I'm not on my meds. Even if I'm on my meds, it still happens, but not as bad.",1 "Not for me...I have magical thinking OCD, so I am always very aware that my thoughts are completely ridiculous. Doesn't make them any harder to refrain from the compulsions though :(",0 "mm mm we do love trading those contamination intrusives for sexual intrusives >!it never fucking ends!<",0 "This one person was like, “its okay! It’ll go away!” Naw bro its life long. You just learn to coexist with the shitty lmao. Like my brain still decides killing myself is the best response to a minor inconvenience. I’m just like “thank you kanye, very cool!” And move on usually. But my point is that its there. Its how my brain does and always will work. I obviously thank them and say I can only hope, because they mean well, and being a dick doesn’t help anyone lmao",0 "This. The mainstream understate OCD as if it is defined exclusively for someone who has characteristics of “perfectionism” or “afraid of germs”. That’s a cute stigma. But once someone is identified as someone that’s “questioning every aspect reality” or “performing consistent religious rituals” their quickly labeled as not OCD but psychotic. There is little to no awareness of how crippling OCD can really be. It’s not just a linear spectrum of a couple of compulsions, but a broad array of issues that’s similar of walking on hot coals in hell.",0 "I bet they'd stop thinking it's funny once they started having visions and images of murder, self harm, perverted shit, pedophilia, and other insanely fucked up and taboo things multiple times a day. ""Omg I'm so OCD I have to stir my coffee 56 times exactly or I'll have to kill my family, rape my cat and then off myself with a hammer!""",0 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyEBeHvNJvE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyEBeHvNJvE),0 "[me, googling symptoms and trying to find reassurance while not descending into full confirmation bias](https://i.makeagif.com/media/7-19-2015/jGqyTU.gif)",0 and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and scrolling and,0 "So I'm new to understanding this issue that I've had pretty much my whole life. And as I'm also new to medicine, we haven't gotten a prescription that works for me yet. Does medicine not help this issue? I was hoping I could get a better handle on this",1 "Omg y a y Can’t believe I was just choosing this all along🤪",0 Had someone ask me if I was Bout to have a seizure at work one day after doing this... Sigh,0 "When I first started to get intrusive thoughts I started to pray to make the thoughts go away and believed I had to be a good person for ""God"". I had to give up religion completely but it's hard to tell your parents why you can't do religious things anymore",0 "I do this with almost every post. I save a lot of pictures from reddit to look at when I have no service, but once reddit started trashing the gifs when you downloaded them I started saving them, now I save a ton of stuff. A couple months ago I got over 10,000 photos and gifs saved from Reddit.",1 Pretty accurate. I’ve been suffering for so long and I’m back on Luvox. Waiting for it to kick in.,0 "I Just opened reddit, dammit !! But now I'm going to sleep and say to myself that I will get shit done as soon as I wake up",1 "My picture of OCD is being trapped in a car speeding down a highway, while people are telling you ""well just get out of the car!"" While that would solve one problem, flying out of a car going 85 mph isnt ideal",0 "Wow that looks amazing!! You’re so talented It looks like something out of one of those adult coloring books and I’m 1000% here for it",0 Holy fuck this is me. I’ve talked to my non adhd friends and they don’t have this. But they support my artistic dreams they know I have no intention of ever following thru as unique and worthwhile,1 "First rule of ADHD club, stop fk caring what other people think of u. They don’t like u? Fuck them! People telling u to calm/sit down or chill out? Fuck them. Just be yourself. Never change bc ur an inconvenience for some one else. Aslong u dont go over the limit, u can get away with a lot of shit.",1 "I hear ya bro. Am in the same boat. But for having a family that depends on me, am not sure I'd even leave my bed every morning. Obese too, but lost about 20 kgs (40 lbs?) this year so small wins, one day at a time is what it is all about.",1 "It happens so often it's infuriating! Ò\_Ó Sometimes I think that I have a hard time really paying attention to reality, so I let *a lot* of things slide... and then, 2 years later, while I'm procrastinating, daydreaming and ruminating about past events, it suddenly hits me! ""OMG, how didn't I realize that this person was insulting me?! Am I *that* dumb?"" or ""Jesus, why didn't I say something?! I'm such a doormat!"". And then I end up avoiding the person I started to resent (with a two-year delay!), and they have no idea wtf is going on, and I most certainly don't want to explain it (especially because I'm very conflict-averse and don't want to sound crazy for bringing up an event that the person may not even remember anymore). So, yeah, I too want to ""travel back in time to hit people"", including myself. \*sigh\*",1 Like everyone said you’re amazing and a kind person and also an awesome friend. Thank you for this,1 "yes, i always thought it was just me, but i end up not grieving when their dead, or not grieving at all.",0 "Impulse control is a challenge for us. I had to teach myself to rely on routines to keep things from being chaotic. I make a game to keep it interesting—how much I can accomplish in 5 minutes or how well I can perform something and I reward myself for getting stuff done. I generally try to do things that I have to do first thing so that I can do what I want to do. I try to “out smart myself “ by telling myself five minutes doing what needs to be done will reward me for what I want to do. When I am in a pressure crunch (I have to get something done in a certain time) I put away distractions (put my phone in my bedroom for an example) and get it done. I am way better at this than I was when I was younger. Things now have become automatic because of routine. If I get up to use the bathroom I bus the area around me and out what I bus away before I go to the bathroom (I generally wait almost to the last minute to use the bathroom so I’m in a hurry!) Executive Functions are learned behaviors and the better we get at them the easier life gets. I really wish I could go back in time to my late teens and early 20’s and learn executive functions then! I probably could have been governor of my state by 30!",1 "Oh my gosh, is this an OCD trait? I’ve always been like this and only recently been diagnosed with OCD. I’m learning so much about it but it’s mind blowing realising that things you’ve always done/thought about are a mental illness you didn’t realise you had. I saw a post on here a while ago about being hypersensitive and sympathising with inanimate objects like stuffed animals. I feel so understood here!",0 You know you're depressed when you're happy MORE time has passed than you thought.,1 "Just know that no matter how you're feeling and what is happening in your life and the world, you will always have a safe place with your fellow ADHD'ers. You never have to feel like a waste of space with us. Or that you're wasting our time. We get you.",1 "I actually took LSD in college and remember looking at a parking garage wondering, “what if I’m actually standing on top of the parking garage about to jump off, but I think I’m walking”. Overall, it was still a fun trip.",0 "I recently reached out to my therapist about something very similar. I have various compulsions that I can only describe as instantaneous and involuntary 'tics', that come up the moment the intrusive thought sets in, like a wall. I've been having them in public lately, and let me tell you, it is not a fun time. Due to the fact I can't actually control them or see them coming, my therapist suggested I'd try to train myself on minimizing them as much as I can. For example, if I let out a tiny scream I have to try to get myself to hum a song instead. If I shake my arms, I have to try to do something less noticeable, like closing and opening my hand. Basically shape them and keeping them in some sort of control. As a matter of fact this last tic was a product of just that! It used to be a ""scratching-face"" sort of tic, but I've been able to reduce it on just ""arm-shaking"", with a bit of time and lots of good will. Idk if this may help you or that it's what you're experiencing. Just wanted to share with people that might do.",0 Hahahha I literally cannot sleep without TV on or something,0 For me it is “you have to do it again because the first one didn’t feel right”,0 "I ALWAYS assume the worst. Which than triggers my anxiety. The ONLY cure I have ever found for my anxiety is valium. Xanax or klonopin does nothing which is weird, but diazepam fully just kills my anxiety and gives me no euphoria. It truly is a life saver, just really hard to get prescribed it depending on your situation.",0 What type of activities does it have? I have a thirteen year old niece that just got diagnosed.,0 "Congratulations!! I'm happy for you! Also, I admire you for sharing your apartment. I'd have too much anxiety to do that. Congratulations again! Your post will, inspire change in countless numbers of people who see your post.",0 "No clue if there's any science to back this up, but I think this is a pretty cool thought. I am definitely one of those people who writes a sentence, puts way too many commas in it, and then goes back and edits them properly. I'd vouch for my anecdotal experience to support this.",1 Ugh this hit...I spiralled for the last few weeks to the point where I’ve gotten in trouble at work. But recovery is a roller coaster!,0 "ADD victim here. Good luck. It will NOT work. It will not last. If it sounds like you have not given it too much time. And best, your brain chemistry is changing so that your serotonin and dopamine are temporarily balanced. While in the process of one becoming less of too much. It may become not enough. And while the other is becoming less of not enough. It may become too much. Stay on your meds.",1 Lol. He should also give advice to physically disabled people to just grow their limbs back and ‘get it done’,1 3 or multiples of 3. Have to check the door 3 times. Have click the lock on my car 3 times. Have to count the floor tiles like ‘1. 2. 3. 1. 2. 3.’,0 "Yeah, but i tell myself my twisted thoughts are not the same as reality presents myself.",0 Thanks for reminding to go clean my cats' litter box,1 Source : [Instagram](https://instagram.com/sillvi_illustrations?igshid=bbp8oe43mpct),0 "I don’t anymore, but it has been a gradual process. A big breakthrough is when you realize that a lot of the stuff you thought you have to be able to do in order to do life correctly is actually not necessary. We also tend to have a lot of coping mechanisms around avoiding disappointing others, so it can be an incredible feeling when you finally tell someone no to something that you used to say yes to. My family often ask me to commit to some plan on the fly, when I don’t have my calendar with me, or at the end of the day when I’m tired and shouldn’t be making any decisions. They’d want an answer right away, and I used to think my hesitancy was me being wishy washy or deficient somehow. Nope, I need time to think about things and look at my calendar, just like any other person does. If I know I’m going to forget to get back to them on something (which is honestly almost all the time) I tell them to text me the information. I got pushback the first couple of times, and I’ve had to be firm that if they want me to answer them, they’re going to have to text me. It’s just a fact of my brain. Basically, my whole life, people have been able to brow beat me into snap decisions to commit to things that I actually didn’t want to do. The result usually meant me beating myself up to actually meet those commitments because I “promised” when I should have had the chance to think about it first. Saying no or saying I’m not going remember this conversation if you don’t text me has led to some awkward moments - but the payoff is huge. People stop browbeating you, because it doesn’t work, and you suddenly feel like someone with their own opinions instead of someone failing at living up to expectations.",1 "So I tried calling but couldn't get a hold of anyone useful, and after 20 min of being tossed around, [I found a new path](https://imgur.com/a/M7eb2FF). I eventually had to shorten the message and who knows if it'll actually be published, but I'm chalking this up as a win for making my voice heard 🙂 Edit: I also realized this might actually violate FTC advertising regulations so I went ahead and filed a report with [reportfraud.ftc.gov](https://reportfraud.ftc.gov) because it sure seems to me like Target is trying tell me that this product will alleviate my OCD symptoms during travel..",0 I used to install a bunch of apps but never use them,1 "I don't think I'm an asshole, but I do sometimes worry I'm doing it for attention. I also obsess over the idea that it's not OCD and is actually autism or APD. Which it isn't. Believe me I've checked...way too much.",0 The worst part is I’m never mentally awake enough to stabilize myself.,0 This approach is what freed me from the trap. It was made even more obvious when my theme changed yet I felt just as crappy. The theme doesn’t matter. It’s a distraction. A red herring.,0 "Oh my god I've never been so happy to be out of college and unemployed (which is unstructured, self-starting and completely miserable) as right now. Missed this whole nightmare by a year, will have to try and help my sister through it; she was visiting home on spring break, it was just extended by a week or two and looks like it'll be more soon. Yeesh.",1 "I swear to god half of the “I wish I had OCD” are the people who are mental health advocates but when they see people who are mentally ill they dismiss their struggles because actual mental illness isn’t aesthetic, actual mental illnesses can be horrifying, gross, actual mental illness is not being able to do normal shit because you think you or the people you love will get killed if you do, it’s thinking people are plotting to r*pe, k*dnap or even k*ll you it’s not showering for days weeks because you just can’t or showering every day or multiple times a day because you feel dirty, think you will get others sick, it’s thoughts that tell you, you will die if you don’t do this, kill yourself or your family will die, you’re a criminal or even a killer you’re just in denial, you’re a bad person 24/7. The other half are like; ohhh boh hoh you’re scared of going out of your house just calm down like yes Karen I haven’t thought of that yet you’re a genius, btw I really love your OCD Obsessive Christmas Disorder shirt. I wish they would get mentally ill they wouldn’t last a day in any of our shoes.",0 "I love this. As someone who has been dealing with adhd for 24 years, this is the sweetest thing and I hope you showed them! Validating and comforting.",1 "I’ve had it since I was a kid so I don’t know, at least now I know exactly what it is and it doesn’t send me into a state of panic like it did when I was younger",0 "Wow so nice, maybe I will try it to distract myself from my thoughts. :)",0 "me compulsively not, hoping i die cause of my shitty immune system",0 "What the heck this is too relatable!! So, I very often suspect that I’m a narcissist without even realizing it. And when I’m being emotional or venting or talking about my problems, I doubt myself and think that I’m only doing it to manipulate my partner or my friend or whoever I’m talking to. I asked my partner if that’s true and he said no, but part of me feels like I manipulated him into feeling like he can’t actually talk to me about my narcissism. I mean, no one has ever told me I was narcissistic or even selfish or manipulative or anything but I still feel like a selfish narcissistic bad person. Is this a common type of thing to deal with for people with ocd? My symptoms, I thought, were really only focused around my intrusive imagery problems.",0 Bruh the nail biting and hair picking was OCD all along? 😨,0 "Seriously, My mom spams me with “how-to’s” on any subject I ever bring up. Her intention is to help but she never listens when I’ve told her so many times...that’s not the problem. It makes me feel like she isn’t really actually listening. I don’t even pretend to read them anymore 🤷🏻‍♀️ or even respond anymore",1 At the moment I'm having trouble reading because of this. I can cope on Reddit but I can't read any of my books.,0 "I hope it works out okay for you in the end. I was diagnosed with cancer at 26 as well, and I'm still here ten years later. Sending all the positive energy and I hope you'll be able to say the same ten years from now.",1 I'm screaming in agreement and bursting with laughter.,1 "Wow did this hit home for me.. I just dealt with the exact same thing. My mom had to force me to make an appointment about swollen lymph nodes under my jaw. I had an X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan where I learned I may be allergic to iodine (fun stuff), and finally a biopsy. I was ready to get the call of them saying it was malignant and I guess I got lucky. I am also 26 and health and active . I understand and have felt those feelings on the sleepless nights. This whole process is actually what prompted me to stop procrastinating and start seeing a therapist (mental health is also important!). I wish you all the luck and I’m sending good vibes your way on your journey to recovery ❤️‍🩹",1 "Yeah and for me if I don’t feel like I was productive enough in those hours, I’ll have a small panic attack about going to bed.",1 Wow this fits me perfectly... I google my symptoms for reassurance I don't have the disease/virus not that I have It.,0 "I do this with everything, even when I'm reading a book or playing video games",1 I developed a writing style years ago years ago which includes a lot of commas. Hit the nail on the head!,1 This is a hard call out on my last week of work. I finished 80% the first two days. Still haven’t fonished the rest,1 It looks great! I do the same thing with embroidery :),0 ERP is magic after just one month of therapy I resisted two weeks without doing compulsions! Good job I’m proud of you 🥳🌚,0 "I really, really like this. May I ask how you started on such a project? I feel it would help my MDD and GAD a lot.",0 I'm confused. Is this not the normal way to wash dishes?,1 "I’m in high school, but im a senior, and already know where I’m going to college(San Diego State, a great school!!) so my work ethic is already gone. I find when I have days that are wide open and I have stuff I need to do but it’s hard to concentrate, I turn off my phone, and work on something. Just, something. That little bit of dopamine I get after completing a small task like making my bed, finishing up some homework, leads into a great wave of productivity. Taking breaks, snacking, exercising, or watching a bit of tv to relax in between works wonders.",1 I have never felt more validated in regards to my ocd,0 "My girlfriend loves notes. And I honestly forget. So I set an alarm for 7am before I leave for work. It says “write babe a love note, big or small” some days it’s long, some days it’s just “have a good day babe I love you.” And it makes her day. I used to always forget and now it’s a part of my daily routine. Still have the alarm tho for when I’m anxious about my day and forget (which is more frequent than I would like to admit) Good ole ADHD.",1 I do this too my brains like 'it could be spiked with heroine then you'll become an addict and you'll die' 😂,0 "Literally everything I do... when my girlfriend is talking to me, when my boss is talking to me, when I'm eating things I shouldn't eat, when I'm trying to type this... the worst is when I'm trying to read a book. It isn't happening.",1 Have you tried meditation. Guided meditations on YouTube help me out with intrusive thoughts when I just need to reset.,0 "This is my fucking life m8. Always freakin checking. Every night before bed I'll check each door in the house and make sure it's locked. Probably related to anxiety aswell but still, rly annoying",0 "Bojack horseman is one of my favorite TV shows for this reason. This is a good erp one, I'm saving this one. Thank you. I may even post it on my wall 🤣🤣🤣",0 This right here! I can’t say it enough is so true. With family and your everyday work life,1 "I wouldn’t say it was inner monologue, but sometimes the words that I hear make no sense. It’s English, alright, but the words just wash over me. The worst is when I back up several times and still can not comprehend.",1 "Yay!! I on the other hand woke up with a start at 1am thinking my 5-8page reflection assignments was due in the morning - thank goodness I have 2 more weeks!",1 "Cool. Now that you have OCD, can you tell the world what it's like to Google symptoms of 98 different diseases in a week because you're convinced you have each one? What about embarrassingly confessing transgressions and impulses because if you don't, well, your kid will die? Umm.. Did you fuck up at work (by that, I mean, you put a Post-It in the shredder... You don't put post-its in the shredder. You compulsively like to flush bits of post-its)? Well, obviously, YOU MUST DIE. Can you post about all that now? AND how after you wash your hands you have to blow on them to make them 100% dry? No? Then EFF YOU.",0 Wow really impressive! Good on you for fighting your fear. ,0 well done!! Some physical evidence for your progress,0 "Wow, what an awesome way to expose yourself. Great job!",0 "That's crazy, but I do it too! It makes so much sense to partition thoughts up in sentences.",1 Honestly I feel like this might not be only an ADHD thing mainly because how busy people lives get now a days and how quickly time goes by I mean I can hardly believe it has been almost 2 entire years since Avengers Endgame released in theaters life is just crazy,1 Thank you! I needed this. I actually feel as though I'm not alone reading this. I'm almost in tears over it... Lame I know. But.. I think I'm a bad person often. I'm getting better at it. The intrusive thoughts but. Thank you for making me see my progress random op. I'm proud of myself.,0 I can relate to this a lot. I do have the hyperactivity too though,1 I am sorry you are going through this feeling so alone. This feels like a particularly tailored OCD hell. I wanted to shout out a resource that’s been helpful to me - the NOCD app is offering $50 sessions with OCD specialists in many states in the US. Way cheaper than seeing one in person!,0 Couldn't sleep last night because of the Covid19. First 6 cases in my country. Just calculating everything I have to do in case I get sick. I kept swallowing trying to see if my throat was sore. I seriously contemplated to start wearing a burqa and I am an atheist.,0 "Haha I think this constantly, the second most common though is: “wait why don’t I do that what’s wrong with me”",0 "Whoa your art is seriously unique and actually great. It reminds me of the movie annihilation, but with less biological/science vibes and more abstraction and mental dynamics.",0 "For me personally it helped when I got diagnosed and realized that all these years, I had a disorder that I could not help. It made sense of everything.",0 If I don't post this comment something/nothing bad/good will happen,0 I named my ocd Bob and he like to make rules about how things have to feel right/be even on both sides of my body. Among other rules.,0 "This was my biggest problem in math courses. We got to the parts where we had to memorize formulas and teachers could not explain any practical applications for them or why the formulas worked it was just ""you have to know this"". I only ever found one teacher who could actually explain what we were learning in a way that let my brain remember it and I did so well in that course. Proved to me that I wasn't actually bad at math, just most teachers had no idea how to teach for my way of learning",1 Thanks dude I've been on the toilet for 30mins just noticed my legs are asleep.,1 Any number that has 3 9 or 9 is a bad number for me,0 "here's my story; yesterday got called by the army and I was waiting for this call so they told me I have to go through a 6 months trial without my pills to evaluate me and that wasn't in my plan. Later that day my girl called me and told me that the pain she had during this week could possibly be a kidney stone( she's on antiobiotics) can't tell you how many tears I've cried this day but it felt good, it felt like a was a human for once, that I actually had feelings and expressions.",1 "yes, i have a life long aversion to the number two in most instances of life and find safety in numbers 3 and 7 and certain multiples of those numbers.... ow my head hurts",0 "All. The. Time. Especially after I finish a conversation with someone and I keep repeating it in my head. Did I say anything wrong? Did something I did that was awkward mean they hate me, keep thinking about how much of an idiot I am...",0 "I AM SO PROUD OF YOU!!! This is something I could never accomplish. I’m currently starting a paper that’s due in 5 hours:)",1 I just get distracted by the TV or just staring at the wall until 11:00 at night and then panic and do my 20 worksheets right before the midnight due date. Fun times.,1 And handwashing! I do it so much that my hands are scaly and cracked. I’d like to see a character like that.,0 "This is the best definition of how this feels. By the way, is ""internalizing other peoples sentiments"" a side effect of adhd? Cuz I have a lot of that and always wondered.",1 "I finished last year, but I think I understand your torment! For me, I would've taken online classes over in-person classes any day just because I'm not forced to sit in one place for 1 hour. At the same time though, not having a set schedule for anything also really sucks!",1 "Been in this spot countless times before. Keep your head up, a hill follows the dips. Once I find the courage to take action and get things together again I feel very comfortable, hope the same comes to you. Feel free to dm if u need to talk",0 This is so true! My OCD centers around electronics and minor gltiches in windows explorer or video games drive me up the wall! I just want to play Star Wars Squadrons in peace! It's a unique kind of torture.,0 "YES, constantly!! I'm so glad someone else gets this, this is one of the most upsetting things I go thrugh every day. I wish I could legitimately just enjoy their time here, but it's CONSTANT. Try to treat these thoughts the same way you would intrusive thoughts honestly, and go from there. That's what I've been finding helps. You have to tools to do this, even though it sucks. OCD is a monster.",0 "I’ve weirdly slipped from solidly combination to PI I think. Depression and incorrect medication and environmental stress and shame did it I think. I’m still technically combination but my... energetic side comes out much less. It’s sad honestly, because it’s my fun sparkly side that left me and the passion went out like a light.",1 "This is fantastic! I legit was thinking this in different words a second before reading this, which damn well helps confirm it! Thankyaaa!",0 Took me getting hit by a truck and receiving further damage to my memory for my family to get sympathetic instead of yell-y. Useful but don't know if I'd call it worth it.,1 "Me with washing my hands. ""Scrub each finger individually."" ""I did."" ""Did you REALLY?""",0 Yep. In your mind you’re obsessively productive in thousands of different thought patterns and movements but the actual output is very short bursts of productivity.,1 Hey I attend school PT online to begin with. Just make sure you form some kind of schedule even if it’s to schedule the fun with the homework. You can do this!,1 "Ah yes, this is why I managed so well as an consultant. Just make sure to change assignments ever six month or year. I start great and then peter out.",1 So I can't decide on what we should change our sub name to. I'm trying to choose between r/rantaboutpeopleusingocdincorrectly or r/thatsnotocdcirclejerk. What do you guys think?,0 "I often take a big and deep breath whenever my OCD kicks in, people keep calling me a person complaining all the time because they thought i was sighing lol",0 I’m so happy I’m not the only one dealing with this😢,0 "6,3,7,13 Are the numbers I hate seeing, the numbers I enjoy seeing are 1,11,8,4,5",0 then when you don’t go through the compulsion of checking you have a thousand intrusive thoughts about what might happen to your house while you’re gone because the door was unlocked the whole time,0 "> ADHD demands stimulation in order for you to function, and depression takes away the feeling of stimulation, leading to perpetual nothingness. Perpetual nothingness that causes a lot of stress, due to inner restlessness. Although that may be mostly because of my inattentive type. I was diagnosed with dysthymia combined with my ADD. The feeling that you're always performing sub-par, even on your best days and that there is no resolution can be crippling. Ive spend days if not weeks as you say, blankly watching one youtube video after another, while contemplating on all the things I should have done, should do, want to do, but never did or never will do. And even then I sometimes ended up completely overstimulated, just by my own ever rolling thought train. Took quite a lot of therapy to get beyond that point and even now I still need help every now and then, to keep my life on track. But trust me, it is possible to get through it. Funny enough, my meds did help a lot. Not just because of what they do, but also because of what they *demand.* I take dexamphetamine (don't know English/American names) and since one pill only works for a few hours, I take them at regular intervals. It takes quite some effort, but that and that alone brought a certain rythm in my life, that really helps me to keep up my better habits. And yeah, therapy.",1 "Yes but did anything bad happen because the door was unlocked? Take that, OCD!",0 "I have this, but I also think so much about meeting someone or when I do my mind goes crazy thinking about future possibilities that I feel like I jinx myself and those good things now won’t happen because I thought about them too much.",0 "Thank you:) I have a high stakes final paper due in about 50 minutes and submitted it, and OCD started questioning if I should have included more in one section, if the professor will recognize the lack of info there or care, what the rubric is, and on and on. I decided to say ""so what?,"" knowing full well that regardless of the answers to these questions, the paper is my best effort for the time I have left and for my sanity. So, so what if I left some stuff out? So what if the professor wanted to see more? I'm even going to tell myself that the paper is NOT good enough, and that I'm happy with it anyway. So there. Lol. That feels good in a way. Like giving my thoughts the bird. Someone should call ERP the fine art of becoming unbothered.",0 "That’s really not true. Once you stop getting intrusive thoughts (which you WILL) you will eventually even forget what it felt like to have them. Just take it easy on yourself, don’t take them too seriously and do not try to push them away, just be welcome to them, but do not give them much attention. I’m sure you will get over it. I believe in you :)",0 "Love it, very helpful. Similar to “your ocd is lying to you” but more specific to what I needed to hear, and just as accurate.",0 "I've had to periodically check my saved posts because after your account goes over 1000 saved posts, Reddit actually starts removing them without telling you, with no way to get them back aside from looking for them and saving them all over again. I learned this the hard way with tons of my saved NoSleep story posts disappearing and me not even remembering what they were!",1 "That’s awesome!! As someone with autism I usually just lurk this sub since there are some symptoms that both occur in ADHD and autism. This made me feel super validated in a decision I made a little while back. I paid someone to clean the inside of my car. Previously I’d been in the mindset of “it’s something you CAN do, so paying someone to do it instead isn’t right” But damn the amount of stress it took off of me was so worth the cost. Not to mention he did a far better job then I ever could have. Helped me realize it’s okay to get help. Why did I put that rule on myself that said I must be the one who cleans my car? Good post OP. I’m glad you were able to find someone who helps make your life more manageable!",1 Hey fam I’m a 26 (gonna be 27 next month) female and I have high OCD,0 "I stayed up till 5 am because i got stuck on a tik tok account of a dog groomer, i need help",1 "this here looks like me omfg can i use it als a profil pic, Maybe you want to write your name FIRST AHHH!!! Or let me post your insta or something!",0 "Exactly why I rarely ever do anything I actually enjoy... or even why I never claim to ""enjoy"" something as such anymore",0 Oh my goodness yes. This is the absolute #1 worst part for me.,1 "Gosh I just cancelled my ACT after first session because I was afraid. I'm too paranoid, maybe I'll have a therapy with an English psychologist by skype, because where I live I don't trust anyone.",0 "Thank you for phrasing it so beautifully. You have turned your loss into wholesome healing words that serve as a gentle reminder of the good things to stick it out for. All the best wishes.",1 "I relate so hard. Years ago, I was trying to do my taxes. Logged in, but there was an error. So i call the CRA. I'm on hold for pretty much 6 hours. And get hung up on, after all that waiting. So I put off doing my taxes. For four years. So much anxiety was hanging over my head because of that. Was really bringing me down, but for some reason I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Until one day I did it. All four years took less than an hour to do. And so much relief was gained. Such a weight off my shoulders",1 "I,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, agree!",1 "I use a LOT of em dashes. Like, A LOT. I talk in what I call asides—like Shakespeare—and so I ended up writing for school in the same way. I'm a writer now and I've sort of just adapted it and adopted it into an actual conversational writing style. When I was a Freshman in college I became friends with my Philosophy class TA and she told me that being friends with me helped her read my papers because once she had my voice in her head, everything flowed very smoothly. That was a turning point for me in a lifetime of teachers trying to force that habit out of me and I started learning how to make it better and more clear without having to know me personally.",1 "“There is nothing new under the sun.” Very true quote, someone at some point has to have had or will have the same obsession as you.",0 I almost cried sitting around my neighbors reading this,0 My dad thinks its just attention deficit. He said “That happens to ppl when theyre little kids.” Yeah im fucked,1 I struggle to clean because I tend more toward hoarding because WHAT IF YOU NEED THIS SMALL SCRAP OF PAPER EVENTUALLY...I literally almost have panic attacks when forced to clean.,0 I'm so glad this isn't real! I was afraid you actually had all this stuff! Glad you're with us for the long ride friend!,0 "I used to go to work out classes to create routine and also we all know what it’s like trying to decided or create a worn out routine and sticking to it. Now , dumbells and barbells and work out stuff sold out, I have smaller dumbells and resistant bands. My sleep started to suffer when I slacked a bit and lower energy levels, if there is one thing I’m going to stick to is work out everyday , morning afternoon or early evening. I’ve forgotten to brush my teeth , also forgot to shower on another day and only realised following day, I’m also forgetting to take vitamins so I set alarm for 3pm to do this and reward myself with a snack as I hate vitamins. I also am taking my stimulants a bit later than normal , I take Vyvanse it takes 2 hours to kick in, so if I slack till 20am it means Vyvanse starts working middday (omg). I’ve also written my daily targets In terms of work and study on a white board so I never forget . As of this week, I’ve set an alarm at 7am purely just to pop Vyvanse in my mouth while I’m in bed. That means it kicks in at 9am. Life is tough. I had build a solid schedule and I was kicking 2020’s ass then corona came ! Omg",1 "When I floundered my first time through college (meaning nearly flunked out), I told my dad I needed to take some time away. I meant at least a semester off to reset. He told me to take a 3 day weekend and go camping. That should fix it. I spent 3 years off. Then flunked out again after 1 semester back. Funny thing is, I can see clearly that I got my ADHD from him. And yet he does not understand at all.",1 He turns anxiety into bodyfat and panic into treats.,0 "Huh, I don’t remember posting this?? Ha ha ha Also i would prob not have the patience to read what follows but that wont stop me from continuing Since I seem to have been born with a perception of time so gravely handicapped it might just be that i forgot it on my way into this world: I’ve recently come to the conclusion that my brain suffers from delusions in the sense that it believes itself to be in control of time and therefore - while enjoying hyperfocusing on my toenails or whatever other nonsense along those lines - time has either stopped or adjusted itself so that I always can do what i enjoy at the moment. Very convenient. Yet for all the times I’ve glanced at the clock and discovered that time has moved forward an hour, it still doesn’t seem to understand the fact that time in no way exists for the sole purpose of serving my brain’s enjoyment. And if that’s the case, no alarm has any power over me unless my brain finds the idea of following my plans more stimulating than whatever it’s currently doing. I will not proof read this and i will not care if it makes zero sense cuz im tired of spending 50+ minutes on a reddit post, time for improvements Also i really want to read everyone else’s reply here but because im slightly manic at the moment i think ill go barf words elsewhere on this subreddit, guess ill set a reminder to go back here haha..",1 "The ADHD association in my country just sent out yet another newsletter on events and activities over the summer. Guess how many are targeted adults? That's right, none. All of them are geared towards kids and their parents",1 "Ahahahahahahahaha, this was the most necessary post ever. Going to do this right now. 😂",1 Have this problem. Was an issue in school too. I could easily pick up the equation or whatever but by the time I walked out of class it would be gone. Always did my homework in class because of this.,1 "> Even worse, my mom is super talkative and spends ages pretty much just saying the same thing over and over just in different ways. I see we both have the same mom. And yet despite me inheriting severe ADHD from her she doesn't see it in herself.",1 Been working 2p-2a 5 days a week and an occasional Saturday. Been trying to focus 20 minutes a day on a Web Development project and an hour a day for exercise. I failed to exercise today. Damn...,1 "OMG I DID THIS TOO. Sort of similar situation. My gf lost her Apple Watch, we turned the whole room apart, couch, bed, behind the TV's, bookshelves, bins, animals beds! We eventually gave up, then I lost MY Samsung Watch. Looked I all the same places, then I checked the couch for my watch. Lo and behold, I find her watch then and there. Then my watch turns up in the couch lmao. My watch ended up in my draw or something lol",1 """You're not an attentive friend"" Jeez why not just come here and punch me directly in the face?? This is how all my friendships end. I can only sustain friendships in person. Once we're not interacting regularly, I disappear. I can't keep up with my own life how the hell am I supposed to keep up with yours?? Out of sight, out of mind. Plus I hate texting, I hate talking on the phone, and I hate social media, so I get no friends.",1 I can't watch my favourite movies any more because pre medicated me watched them too much for stimulation.,1 I’m happy to know someone else thinks the exact same thoughts as me 😓but it’s also saddening. I hope it gets better for you.,0 "Oh wow i've never thought of this as an adhd thing. I relate to the writing. And when I've thought about what i want to say for some time i can say it, if it's short at least. But when i'm attending a meeting at work and out of nowhere someone asksmy view on the matter... first of all i was probably not following the whole conversation and then i just need to find the correct words. I always feel dumb at those moments because i often end up saying something way too simple or something they cannot understand",1 "I am 100% planning on hiring a housekeeper/cleaner when my husband and I are making enough. Maybe not for all cleaning, but just enough so that I don’t have to spend every weekend cleaning (like I did this weekend…)",1 "Yep, I'm in the same boat. Always been smarter than average, not genius or anything but smart. But it's just so hard to focus on anything. It feels like a curse. Being in the age of the internet and smartphones doesn't help either.",1 "I'm thankfully done school now but honestly godspeed to all my fellow adhd's. I've had to do online classes, it's literal hell.",1 "Interesting to see you don't seem to be washing up your wrists/arms, just the hands? That's what I do/did.",0 "Oddly this pandemic has made me more at ease and comfortable than I've been in years! Now I can clean my hands with alcohol all the time in public with impunity, sanitizers are available everywhere I have to touch money, or even anything at all. It's like a dream come true for a contamination sufferer.",0 Haha this is so accurate. And then they think it’s funny and keep doing it. 🙄,0 "I fell you. It's hard to do anything when you have so much noise in your head. I just show someone some hardcore death metal tracks & tell them ""that's what it's like inside my head...that's why I can't do anything""",1 "With my ADHD, my version of this creature would have a hundred more eyes all looking in different directions.",0 "This was actually my first obsession! I was 12 and couldn’t stop thinking about what about when my loved ones die and I’m all alone and also if life was worth it if I was just going to die alone. Fucking sucks. Tbh that one I dealt with by my mom forcing me to go to the gym and go hiking with her a ton plus busying myself with social hobbies (choir and youth theater). Weirdly, later on I got into morbid art and death culture stuff and it helps me settle my mind to see death as art/part of human culture and experience.",0 "I used to feel deeply guilty about myself being unproductive when I feel this way in the past. Then I realized that my coping mechanism is engrossing myself in fiction i.e. binge-watching/reading series. I used to feel super lazy when I have periods where I turn to these activities, but as an adult now, I give myself more leeway to do this. Turns out, it helps my anxiety calm down, cheer my depression up, and grounds/silences my ADHD brain altogether. A few generous days of these and I seem to get back up better right after. Allow yourself to do what feels right, OP. It will work out for us.",1 "Scizophrenic candy company, every candy has it's own personality",0 "Doesn't everybody do the dishes like that? I do everything like that. Have been for 40 years. One difference is that now I don't beat myself up over it. I even run my successful business like that. I am fortunate that my skills allow me to make a good living in under 20 hours a week. A sensible approach would be two ten hour days and five days off. But I work maybe a hour at a time here and there, so I am working almost every day. And I get the donuts. Because thats how it is. I now love my life. Shouldn't have waited so long. By the way I married a woman mildly autistic and very OCD. We embrace who each of us truly is. No promises to ""reform"" or try harder. Our life slogan is ""It Just Is"" Our license plate reminds us ""Just Iz""",1 "Yes. 100 times yes! I thought this was a normal feeling but it seems other people can handle what comes at them in a methodical way.",1 I had one set for every day. I always ignored it. I finally just turned it off because it was no use to me.,1 "I feel that struggle lol. its hard to just get up and do it. I think it’s a sensory thing, cuz brushing teeth is uncomfortable. baths are difficult to get to too, but I bathe almost every day because I work out and get itchy afterwards.",1 I feel like I’m unraveling lately and my grip on reality is slipping. My symptoms get much worse when I’m in a stressful time period. I have blinking tics and have to touch things the “right way” or else the thing I’m worried about happening will happen. I can’t even think clearly enough to try and unpack it and convince myself it’s in my head. ,0 Dr. Russell Barkley has been trying to get it changed for years.,1 I don't know how I ended up in this subreddit but reading this was like looking in a mirror. Maybe I should go see a doctor.,1 Think that’s a pretty standard thing for everything including non adhd’ers lol,1 Waaay too relatable...! Very cute and very sad at the same time lol,0 My god. Jokes are jokes. These are things you have to deal with in a FREE society.,0 Whoa yes you took thoughts I wanted to say ..but yet didn’t know how to explain them. This is actually such an intriguing thought if ur like me and get deep thinking about the brain lol. Good luck pal,0 Same! Add anxiety and ocd in and you got a lot of confusion,1 My husband and I moved in together 3 months after meeting. We've been married two years now - I wonder if us living together so quickly has helped me with that.,1 "Wow, did I learn that the hard way. I also learned to stay in bad situations far longer than I should because it triggers me to become 'frozen' I think because there are so many situations in which you have no other choice---like when you're in elementary school and you're being verbally mistreated and disrespected by your teacher, and gym class where you can't leave and everybody tells you you deserve to be abused. Then when I am in a situation where I can just 'walk out' I just stay because I'm triggered. I resigned from a job four years ago after six months because my boss was verbally abusive and disrespectful in general. I even gave two weeks notice, for which she decided not to pay me because she said that I had inadequate documentation for various charts during my six months employed there. Then she harassed me to fix everything even thugh I had resigned and was withholding my pay. I finally told her via email to keep the money and stop harassing me. But it was too late the damage was done. I should have left that job after the first month, without notice. I've since learned, when someone is being abusive, just get out the situation that minute or you just become more and more of a victim. When you see yourself as a victim, you end up victimizing yourself",1 "Thank you, downloaded it. I hope to remember checking this photo in the future...",0 "I can totally relate. It’s one of my biggest triggers, the fear of not knowing enough. After not doing too well in college, it scares me how little I knew even though I thought I knew enough. This has lead to me easily working and studying from 8am till 10pm all day every day, and then still stressing. It’s a tough one.",0 "I can’t stop laughing because all the comments are LITERALLY my life and I can’t believe how much of my actions have been related to ADHD holy shit.... It’s 11pm I should really be doing homework right now but I feel like I’m home with my friends in this thread! Love you all! <3",1 Yes curling hands into a fist and cursing under breath,0 This sounds familiar. It’s not fun interacting with people bc then I have to come home and rethink everything I said.,0 Thank you! I just went back through and found some posts from 82 days ago that I saved and completely forgot about,1 "If it did I would turn it off, then on again, then off and back on until it felt right",0 "Hey friend! Literally, this is my mom when she created me. She wanted to have the ultimately mentally ill child lol",0 "Everyone: you don’t have OCD you’re a bit messy Me: *looking at them while I scrub my knives 20 times each and freaking out if it’s over or under because if I don’t my boyfriend is gonna get hit by a car and die*",0 I do this even more when writing reports. We have to gather social media data and you comb through so much. So all those little details are the cherry on the top.,0 YES YES F*CKING YES!! But we are not alone. The only people who can actually understand are the ones who can actually relate.,0 "beautiful tattoo! keep fighting the good fight. you got this!",0 "That’s amazing!!! Congrats!!! Seriously, such an impressive achievement",0 Literally me rn bc I’m worried the past is repeating and he’s gonna dump me but I don’t wanna ask for reassurance,0 "Literally just got a surge of motivation to start writing a book I’ve been putting off for years. Only to end up distracting myself with Reddit and having this be the first post I see... It’s nice knowing I’m not alone at least.",1 I think it's because we are so forgetfull. Because of this we focus so hard on this appointment because we dont want to be late or forget it.,1 "I've had OCD my whole life, mostly pure O with a few compulsions. This year has been terrible. I have to constantly distract my brain to keep it at bay. Currently just looking for a therapist, hoping I'll be given meds, and praying for help.",0 I always envisioned my OCD as a giant grey arachnoid parasite lodged on the back of my skull or a just a cage. Giving it a cuddly persona was the furthest thing from my mind.,0 "NICE! I know the struggle. Last month I used up all my floss and I was so incredibly proud that I flossed every day to the point that I RAN OUT. but since christmas vacation my routine has totally shit the bed and i haven't flossed since. oh well.",1 "How it feels when my therapist recommends meditation and I have to tell them that’s not what I do, but I am autistic and don’t know how to say that without losing all my self-esteem because I may think it would be mean.",0 This was actually an obsession/ compulsion of mine. I had to pray before meals or the food would poison me. I’m so glad to not have that any more. It was getting awkward around my atheist family.,0 "Wow I love the way you organized the paragraphs, thank you so much for doing that",1 "TIL that Jim Carrey is my spirit animal. I’m a lady so I was in denial but details schmetails, I’m the same person. Just less talented lol.",1 Weed makes me think I'm going psycho and gives me panic attacks. It feels like I'm actually experiencing psychosis when I smoke. It's awful.,0 "I just remembered a time that I was doing my thing (stepping only on the red bricks on the floor) on the street, and a guy started to follow me, and kept asking if that was ocd, and flirt with me, saying that, that was amazing and he always wanted to know someone with ocd, stepping on n front of me and putting his face really close to mine, I was so uncomfortable that a had to enter a store and the security guard there stopped the guy from entering after me",0 "My poor husband hates it when I play the what if game (that’s what he calls it lol). My therapist hates it too. I have a what if for everything in life lol.",0 "And everything becomes boring! In your mind you have really high expectations about made awesome rockets! Then after a while your realise that it's actually pretty boring and nothing like you imagine... So you forget about it, and start searching a new thing",1 "I sit wrong and my brain freaks out like... apparently my breath getting too fast leads to the racing thoughts and anxiety brain bullshit and it's like uhm...... really, I can't even slouch on my own couch anymore? Take a few deep breaths, still feel like my brain is in threat mode and not soothe mode and...... yeah. It's balogna lol. On the plus side gut breathing feels more natural again.",1 "As someone who’s mom would sooner believe I was a hypochondriac than that I had ADHD, this hit hard. “All you have to do is try harder to focus. If you keep thinking that you can’t focus, then of course you won’t!” 😑😑😑",1 "Well, in the end; do I like my thoughts? No. Then why won't they stop repeating? Because OCD is a bastard.",0 "Thanks man, but nobody will ever know the internal hell I've gone through in the past 15 years, unless there's a god, which I doubt.",0 This has been happening to me for years and I just got diagnosed omgg. I literally thought I was INSANE with this and checking gas. Like I’d walk miles back/ turn around halfway into my journey,0 "I blow air out, shake my head, or run filler words through my head that sound like danger words but are just different enough to please the compulsion but clear out danger.",0 "YES. I have to waver between believing in God and relying on him to help me out - and then not believing in God and having the watchful eye of God disappear. The two perspectives keep me balanced when one gets too heavy, which they always seem to do. It’s my healthy version, pitting the two OCD issues against each other. I think I did grow up with faith, genuine faith, before my OCD became really bad, so I think deep down I believe in God, but I worry about the details. It’s my *version* of God, not the real God. OTOH, I think that everyone has their own version of God, because we all think and feel differently, have different life experiences, etc., and have different perspectives from everyone else. I also think whatever you grew up with is your deep-down comfort zone, dor better or for worse. So if you grew up with a faith, it gives you comfort, and if you grew up with humanism or no deity faith, that gives you comfort. It’s whatever works for you, and only you. The problem with OCD is we’re always comparing ourselves and our thoughts with what we’re supposed to be and think. But no one can dictate what we ourselves have to be, because no one has a template to follow... everyone’s lives play out in real time with no template to follow and fit into. Sorry for the ramble. Hope I’ve said something that gives you some hope. ❤️",0 "I don't really care about bands/singer, so when they told me my 5 favorite songs (they probably got it pretty spot on) I couldn't recognise 2 of the artists. No idea what song that is but yeah. I would instantly know if I listened to the song but my point is just, who are these bands I listen to? No idea I just like the song and never cared enough to even know the artist (or title)",1 Can’t feel happy if you force yourself not too so your ocd doesn’t ruin it :(,0 "I enjoy having a framework to counteract the thoughts that I assumed were inexplicably a reflection of my personality despite being antithetical to my actual beliefs. You should also probably consider posting stuff like this in an OCD sub, because I've had anxiety that I'm faking identity stuff for attention, rather that genuinely looking into stuff that pertains to my behavior, and I'd rather not see posts suggesting a lack of misery = I'm faking.",0 "I've had a diagnosis pretty much my entire life, it lead to me associating my ADHD with just being the reason I was ""stupid and lazy"". And it has taken/is taking a lot of mental reconditioning to change that ingrained perception of myself.",1 I'm so sorry to hear that I'm the same way and it does fucking suck,1 "lol it said that I was one of the earliest listeners to ""Sweet Dreams are Made of This Medieval Version"" I forgot I went through a week long bardcore phase",1 "Glad to hear you're doing well! Figured well wishes would be in order whether it was a problem or not ☺️. Yeah and sometimes the obsessions can become so overwhelming and the nature of the condition (at least from my experience) can make the fears FEEL so real that it can make it a truly disorienting experience so what you described can actually be often found with other stories that I'm sure you can be found on this forum with people *almost believing their thoughts. Congratulations though on getting well and hope ya stay healthy for the long hall. ",0 "I don’t understand why you stopped brushing your teeth, I really don’t. It seems that other people are having the same issue. Not brushing your teeth is just nasty, how can it not bother you? It bothers me just thinking about slimy teeth.",1 Similar to explaining DSPD(S) in detail as a neurological disorder vs just telling people you function better staying up late and starting your day later than 8am.,1 "Ahhh happened to me yesterday. Still learning the ins & outs of my newest obsession and the types of thoughts it brings. Gotta keep in mind: This too shall pass, my friends.",0 "Okay - wow my friend, that is amazing. Holy shit. 8 hours. Like dud, that is amazing. You sparked a thought in me: I'm wondering if my OCD, not just generalized anxiety, is triggering my fatigue. Because I am constantly feeling the urge - an urge - to sleep, all day long. It just keeps hitting me, until I give in, then it starts going away...but then....it comes back, as soon as I wake up. It is a vicious cycle. My psychiatrist said it was depression and anxiety but I wonder if OCD/basically a part of anxiety is the main culprit. What do you guys think?",0 "Oh god these kinds of posts really piss me off Or they’ll be like “these images will make your ocd go crazy!!” It’s so effing disrespectful I can’t deal",0 This is so true! Great work getting it out. I would agree its one of the most frustrating,1 "This is why I like the stock market. I have recently become obsessed with it. I haven't made much as of yet. But I feel like I am a research machine or a monkey either way. The research that I make is loosely tied to each other, because there is no objective but to find a stock that is most optimal for me. As I'm researching I can feel adrenaline building up until I find something that is promising. Edit\* I mention adrenaline because I then dont have to take as much medication as I normally have to compared to what my normal life was. From a Jungian perspective I believe I continue this route my shadow personality is becoming fully integrated with the light. idk. Anyway BTC is blowing if anyone cares.",1 "Gay guy but yeah, I've gotten those ""what if you're just straight dude looking for attention"" and those ""what you're just bi but in denial?"" coupled with ""what if you're actually a straight trans girl in denial"" feels.",0 "Id feel like trash if i was with someone who did this to me. Hope you made it excruciatingly clear it wasn't his fault.",1 Just happened to see this while falling asleep at my desk... at 1 am.,1 "Thanks, I was reading a research article for school and somehow ended up here 🙃",1 "I keep reminding myself that covid is airborne, and allow myself to wash my hands twice. Sometimes it is hard, though.. When my hands get very dry, I use gloves (which I can wash multiple times, when I feel they are contaminated). Stay strong!",0 "Been there. In all honesty for me it turned I was getting headaches cause I needed glasses. Plus I was worried so long I eventually hit a point where ai was like ""I would have died by now"".",0 "My supervisor has to help me get caught up every 2 months or so. I work in finance doing very tedious accounting stuff...a job I did not (and would never have) specify being skilled at. I have a hard time keeping up with jobs I AM good at, and now I'm in charge of balancing 10s of thousands of payments each week....no pressure, right? Needless to say, I ride the struggle bus in and out of work each day. However - it pays more than I have ever made and I can work remotely though so I'm totally stuck between a rock and a hard place. I am very hopefully that I will be getting treatment soon! *knocks on wood* I am very lucky to have such an understanding supervisor, to say the least. I have expressed to her my concerns about being more of a burden than an asset...and while she says I do help her out, she knows that I would be better suited to a job with in my skill set.",1 "some phrases, no matter what type, stick to me like glue. actually, my current intrusive thoughts are due to a phrase i heard in a song",0 "This is so gd spot on. And I love that they ended with this dagger: “But hey, at least I didn’t get those terrible drugs, right? That might have had nasty side effects.” mic. fucking. drop.",1 "I feel this on such a deep level. All I can say is keep trying new things. Its the novelty that keeps me going. It doesn't always help as it seems like some days/months/years are nothing but a series of downward spirals at times, but the hope that something new might spark some joy always keeps me searching.",1 "My OCD tells me that I can't actually understand something I'm trying to learn properly if I don't have all the context, which I of course don't. Or, if I can't totally trust the source, which again is a pretty tall order. So that results in me largely avoiding reading or trying to learn anything new.",0 u don’t realize how messed up ur childhood was until u see memes about it in ur 20s...can’t tell u how many sleepless nights i had over constantly praying to fall asleep/make sure ppl were good,0 "I relate to this so much. After struggling with this while attempting musical instruments and drawing, I've found my best outlets are creating something that has functionality or something I can share with family or as a gift. For exat, building/maintaining bicycles and hiking and doing landscape photography while I'm out there. Neither are the cheapest hobbies, but if you find something that really works, you can (I, on occasion can, but am still working hard at this) cut out other spending to compensate.",1 This happens me a lot. I cannot remember or doubt that i have taken my meds.,0 "So fucking stupid, ""Fix your problem by not having it in the first place"" like ""Oh good point I've never thought of it like that before! I'm gonna cure my insomnia by deciding to sleep enough""",1 "First time poster, joined because of this thread. I'm still on a waiting list for my evaluation so I don't have the diagnosis, but this thread has struck a chord. I've never been able to read more than max 30 % of the curriculum, 15 minutes into sitting down in the study hall to read I just wanted to pull out my hair strands one by one, felt like a fox in a cage. Still managed to be top 5% of my field for my master's, by writing senseless amounts of notes during lectures so I could focus. And discussing. And having a great memory. Feel like a fraud that doesn't deserve the grades, like those grades should go to people who do it ""properly"". Lecturers wanted me to continue to a PhD but I knew that would destroy me. How can I not be able to read a curriculum when I can munch an entire 300 page novel in one evening? That makes no sense. I'm so capable when I am in a flow, very efficient and create super quality stuff. Also very rapidly learn new stuff so I always have a flying start at new jobs. And then after some months the novelty wears off, I get exhausted of keeping that high standard, and I'm stuck cycling between energy bursts and trying to hide the fact that I spend more time playing games than doing actual work... at work! What am I, 13 year old? (Actually I'm a 39 year old project manager). I simultaneously feel that I'm i) not having adhd because I can't relate to everyone in this thread, and I always did well in school as a child. Never any ""if only you applied yourself more"", I floated great in school until I was about 17 when we started having to read so much more. It's probably not adhd, just my c-PTSD (which I do have). ii) probably have adhd because my husband constantly needs to rein me in from stray thought sentence number 3 to make me ""pleeease finish the first sentence"" (poor guy, lol). If I need to go somewhere I either go there 2 hours later than my initial plan, or I need to have zero slack in my schedule so I'm forced to stay on a very tight track with not one minute available for sidetracking. When my energy is low I have zero self constraint and play mobile games until the middle of the night even though I'm tired iii) terrified of having adhd because then I feel like I'm doomed iv) terrified of not having adhd because that would mean it's just me being an idiot adult with the behavior of a not particularly well behaved child. Phew. Lol.",1 I'm still struggling to do this 3 months into clomipramine. :c,0 "This hit me like a tonne of bricks. Every day even if it’s not said to my face, I feel this way about myself.",1 "Does anyone that's single after a date or a while find something about the person that you don't like (but may or may not be a big deal), go into this whole ""why did I ever bother with them I'm terrible etc."" Or go through this ""they have to be perfect no flaws"" but then look for something even if it's small then label it a flaw?",0 "Meds aren't an easy way out. I started taking paroxetine in 2018. My OCD wasn't that bad at that moment, but after taking the Meds it was completely gone. I was taking them for 6 months, always felt great, than slowly tapered off under the supervision of my doctor. Guess what? After I quit, went through literal living hell. Withdrawal syndrome was terryfying and lasted for three mkonths instead of two weeks, and I lost like 70 percent of my normal functioning - I couldn't go to work, I developed insane agoraphobia, I was terrified of getting up from the bed, I developed stomach problems and lost 30kg of weight. Than I finally considered doing normal therapy. And I am speaking honestly - ERP was one of the most scary and difficult things I went through, but it was 100% worth it. So while meds are useful, if you feel you can overcome this without them, it is worth to at least try only therapy first. But if you are completely overwhelmed or even suicidal, please tell a professional and if prescribed, **take your meds**.",0 the pain of an entire lifetime is contained into one post,1 My memory is so bad. I even forget things I'm interested in. My brain does not retain info.,1 Meanwhile I swallow my strattera every day and feel no difference,1 I’ve been trying to sleep for the past 2 hours. It 2 am.,1 Anyone else make sure to take a certain amount of steps in between the lines of is that just me,0 "Oh yeah, watch hoarders. They can't let go of anything because EVERYTHING has value to it and EVERYTHING will be sad if it is thrown out. My husband got sad today because he gently squished the beard and hurt the bread. I had to remind him to remind his OCD that the bread doesn't have feelings and it usually gets squished in my lunchbox.",0 "I have 37 get back to fitness/get jacked before summer/pre-wedding cut/weight loss journey/get in shape spreadsheets in my Google Docs. Each one has elaborate calculators that show things like % lost this week, total, pounds lost, PRs for each exercise, etc. They're mapped out for up to 12 months of tracking, yet only one of them made it past one month of activity, one even has only two entries /facepalm",1 I mean... ADHD *is* executive dysfunction. So ADHD just sucks. Lol,1 "Replace 7 with 4 and 6 with 3 and you've got me Also multiples of 4 are nice, especially when they're squares of a smaller multiple of 4",0 "My gf and I both have ADHD and sometimes we'll just... forget to keep going? Also no background entertainment or it will never work lol. Fortunately we both understand and that makes it easy. Feel reassured op that it's normal and that you made a bunch of people crack up",1 I have constant intrusive thoughts about everything from self harm to running my to do list obsessively through my head.,0 I think we should ignore this kind of people and shut the door in their face. Always there will be people who do not understand OCD and make fun of it or think is just a tidyness thing.Save yourself of the pain and ignore them.,0 "Yep, I just said to my boss I’m switching medication because I fit the signs of ADHD. “I wouldn’t of picked that, you don’t run around like a mad man”. I never understood what ADHD waa either until just recently when I watched a professor describe it for my wife’s University degree. It’s almost like an ad campaign needs to go out and tell the world what ADHD actually is, not just crazy kids who can’t sit still…",1 "I am really bad with this. I downloaded the Simple Habit Tracker app and it actually seems to kinda work for me. I’ve tried a bunch of other apps that don’t seem to stick, and I’m not perfect with it, but I’m able to keep up a lot more when I use it. I’m not sure why this one works better for me than others, but I’m pretty sure it was free! And it doesn’t decide to stop giving me reminders if I don’t click then like some apps haha.",1 "It's never been aptly named tbh. In the 60s and 70s it was called ""Partial brain damage"" like literally. No matter the name people still seem to misunderstand the meaning, at this point I just say I have emotional and focus issues lol",1 I honestly just forget to do it. Every morning I end up my stomach is super sensitive and I gag easy too... I'll start a routine and force myself but best I get is a few days and I go back to forgetting...,1 "I‘m somehow glad I’m not the only one having those issues. I’m studying and feel worthless all the time because I know I could do maths and stuff, I’m not dumb, but I’m procrastinating all the time, then I’m in a bad mood and because I’m in a bad mood I don’t do anything at all, it’s a really dumb repetition. And if I force myself to do things, reading my scripts, then my brain just dreams its way to other things and I’m not productive again. It’s so depressing.",1 "I know exactly what you mean! What helps me is forcing myself to perform or show my work to other people. That's how I learned guitar, got better at making beats and am starting to learn how to program robot stuff. Me telling people I'll show them motivates me to really go for it because I don't want to emberass myself (trust me, shame is a great motivator)! I still don't really master anything because then I lose focus, but I'm pretty good at a couple things now :) This takes some courage but it's better than hating yourself over a lack of skills.",1 but would anything of changed if they didn't interfere,1 I’m so annoyed with myself I had a good routine going before this pandemic hit and now I’ve been furloughed from work and have to take online classes and can’t leave my house or see my friends. My life is literally crumbling bc I have no routine I fucking hate this.,1 "All of my usable hours are when im sleeping or about to sleep, i always think ""yeah i can do this and this and that tomorrow no problem"" and then tomorrow i dont do it but at night the same thing happens",1 "I feel this, I clean vacation rentals for a living which does help alleviate the stress of my house being slightly dirty, but it can often exacerbate my OCD symptoms and I'll be up until 3 AM deep cleaning my apartment. It doesn't help that my roommate, used to be one of my closest friends (that changes when you live with your friends), is a huge slob and is super lazy. She literally wont unload the dishwasher even if the sign on it says clean. She only doesnt clean up because she knows I have terrible OCD and if she doesnt do it then I eventually will. I can barely ever use the stove because theres always trash in the burners and it smells like burning plastic so then instead if making dinner I spend three hours cleaning the kitchen and scrubbing out the burners and then I'm too tired to make food.",0 "I keep my house fairly minimalist and tidy - my friends often attribute that to my OCD because that's what Hollywood has taught them OCD is. Disorder definitely DOES stress me out, but it's not in the same way my health anxiety/OCD does. It's not repetitive and I AM able to walk away from it and just deal with it later without ruminating if necessary. I think I use the order and minimalism as a way to control my surroundings when my insides feel so out of control. I'm very specific about never having duplicates of any food items, not having unnecessary utensils, and I like to space things so they're aligned so you can see everything in the cupboard. But that's about reducing clutter, not ritualistic. All of this is simply because, for me, an uncluttered space doesnt add additional stress to a cluttered mind. So, I don't think it's OCD, but maybe a bit of a coping mechanism.",0 "Urgh yes! I hate how only cleaning OCD is ever publicized (no offense to people with that type!), and then how people who like to be somewhat organized are like ""I am sooo OCD."" Like...... -\_-. There are so many different types of OCD out there, and it is so much worse than these people can possibly imagine.",0 Why was your phone in the same room as you when studying for an exam?,1 "Oh man I had ROCD a few years back... Thought that I was losing my mind. Edit for spelling.",0 "Hi guys!! I am ADHD and I am taking two online classes this semester. I have some advice. 1. Keep a sleep schedule. Don’t just do materials for the class at 1 am because you can. It’s cool at first, but it gets old fast. 2. Set an area aside that you will do ONLY do work. Usually for me, this is the library. I understand the reason we are all staying gone and classes are canceled is because of corona, so I recommend clearing out a space at home. Let people you live with know that when you are in this space that you are working. Do not pick your bed because you’ll just end up getting sleepy while studying. 3. For every thirty minutes of study, take a five minute break that doesn’t use screens. Relax on the couch. Get a glass of water or a healthy snack. Draw a quick picture. It really helps me retain my focus for a lot longer, even on days I do not take my add meds. Hope this helps some! I go to therapy for ADHD and other things, and this is how I cope. I’m open to any questions.",1 "I especially hate this because I do have psychotic symptoms sometimes, and have been diagnosed as schizoaffective before, so I'm now way over-vigilant about it even when I haven't actually had those symptoms in at least a year.",0 "I went through an acute phase of serious depression and suicidal ideation a couple of years ago, and it was a complete nightmare in tandem with my ADHD. All I did was watch The Office, weep, and steadily lose weight for two months before I called my mom in a heap and asked her to take me to the hospital. Was immediately medicated with an SSRI (have since weaned off), and still have ADHD, but no longer want to die. I don't want to oversimplify, because the road to recovery can be long and my particular case was acute, rather than chronic—but if you literally can't get out of bed, get help. Medication can work wonders.",1 "Any advice that begins with ""Just"" is always going to be some dismissive bullshit that exposes how completely uninformed the one giving the advice truly is",1 "Yeah, I know exactly how that is I used to do this, and I had an accident a year ago where I almost died, 9 days in hospital and out of work for 6 months, and everything changed. My adhd is twice as bad, possibly as a result, but I was given a second chance in life, it struck gratuity into me, and I don’t have time for people that don’t have time for me. Life’s become a lot more simpler",1 "So, I'm unemployed but my husband is still working. Which means my job is looking for a job and keeping the house clean and stuff since I'm not bringing in any money. I have a pretty decent routine down. But I swear, like twice a week I'll be going through the breakfast part of my routine and I'll get a bunch of facebook messages/texts from like four people. And one of those people breaks up their sentences into several texts, so each part of their sentence is a new fucking notification. Meanwhile, another of those people messaging me is sending me paragraphs of social discourse that take a lot of focus and will power to read. And then another person messaging me is probably my mom and she'll end up calling me if I don't respond. And then the fourth person is usually... I don't know, a friend trying to make online gaming plans for the weekend while asking me how I'm doing. Like, I'm just trying to get through breakfast and all these texts are causing me to spend my morning anxious, on edge, and now angry and annoyed because I'm so fucking overstimulated. And I could ignore the texts but I don't need my mom calling me because there goes two hours of my day and I'll have to repeatedly remind myself to respond to the other messages so I don't forget which means I'd be making myself anxious by not answering them. All that to say, I have no solution. Just commiserating.",1 I used to have a part time job that would start at 1 or 2pm. I got used to it but oh man never again,1 UGH I feel this SO MUCH. I absolutely hate it. You’re not alone.,1 "For me it's an old, bitchy, stuck up Karen who was an insane and strict matron, now turned subarbian housewive. (not that's there's anything wrong with housewives obviously.) She doesn't let me sleep unless the house is spotless. She often gets me up in the middle of the night to hoover. If my wonderful partner does the dishes, she makes me re do them again. If it's not done under her watch, it isn't done right. And when she notices the tiniest spot on my face, she makes me pop it. If it doesn't come out with squeezing, she makes me cut it. She won't let me have a shower without bringing anti bac spray in with me to clean the bath and shower as I clean myself.",0 "A great outlet for this for me has been improv and sketch comedy. Maybe not the best outlet in current times but working with a team of people all trying to reach the same goal with the low stakes of independent local comedy really helped motivate me. I get to try my hand at writing, making props, recording, and collaborating with others. It's helped me explore all sorts of interests while never having the pressure of having to be good at any of them. Sure, sometimes you bomb publicly but when it hits, it's so good. I highly suggest looking into improv classes even if over zoom isn't the most ideal condition to start under. It's helped me a lot in dropping the expectation of being immediately good at something and helped me learn to work at it. Again, this isn't something that works for everyone but it worked for me.",1 "I feel like I can relate to this, but I can’t think of any time I have done this.",0 "Well, many of my obsessive thoughts are degrading, so when I realize I have no ""reason"" to be anxious it starts the self berating train and a meltdown can often be on the tail of that if it's bad enough.",0 Me and another person with ocd go to the same class and we always make ocd references and jokes only the two of us understand:’),0 "Hi /u/FoofMan and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 Same. It’s why I hate doing closing shifts at work. I had a job once where I was up by 4am to get there on time and even tho the job itself sucked I loved going into work immediately after waking up and being able to do things after. If I go into work at 2pm then my entire day is ruined because I don’t feel like I can safely do anything before work (even if I wake up at a reasonable 6-7am). I frequently destroy my sleep schedule and stay awake until say 4am so that I can sleep straight through to 11 or 12 and go through my routine and leave for work. It’s very stressing to wake up early and have to sit around thinking about work all day and not getting anything else done,1 "Or, shoe on the other foot, what if I’m tripping in a Walmart right now but I’m actually at home",0 Well guess what! I have 4 planners and a calendar white board. Problem is I've lost 3 of my planners :( and I keep forgetting to write in my white board,1 "heck yah!!! this is what they mean by exposure therapy, you got this!",0 How do you identify something as an obsessive thought?,0 I say to myself as I begin ruminating on the fact that I was ruminating ,0 "> You have the freedom to be yourself, your true self, here and now, and nothing can stand in your way. Don't let anyone else stop you from being you. From feeling what you're feeling or expressing it the way you want it. You're free to verbalize it, or not. You're free to cry, or not. Just know that there are tons of us around that are here to listen, help, and share. Whatever we can do to help out. Did I say I love this sub? I love this sub.",1 Mine was ruined by my kids... my top 5 were all Frozen 2 songs :'),1 "YES and it made every single one of my college professors so angry. Except my psych teacher. Bless her heart",1 Correct. Same thing goes for the stupid intrusive thoughts that get me really pissed off.,0 And I'm failing all my classes because my stupidass brain just refuses to cooperate and get to work on my assignments.,1 "Yes but I don’t really see it as a bad thing. I like to know the reasoning as to why things work so I can fully understand why I need to do something. I would think people would want you to have a more well rounded knowledge of whatever it is, not think it’s strange for asking more in depth questions.",1 Saw this and immediately started laughing out loud. Funny things are always true.,1 "Please go ahead, take my OCD for yourself I would be very glad",0 "Apparently I discovered *893* new songs (or artists, I can’t remember which tbh) and my top track for 2020 was listened to a grand total of 8 times, which should give you a pretty accurate idea of my attention span",1 You can't really blame people for not understanding. Until you've had it you couldn't possibly understand; I've even said myself until I knew what it was.,0 "I see many people talking about harm OCD or compulsions, germs, order, but pure O is also such a living hell. The thoughts are excruciating. I am so happy to read these words of hope. I hope I can be in recovery. It’s had the potential of ruining intimacy, ruining time with my family, and making me shrink as a human.",0 Covid is introducing me to the fun hobby if obsessive cleanliness!! Haha yay I thought I avoided that one :)),0 "My mom: I don't understand how you can have OCD yet your room look so messy. She doesn't realize the amount of energy and motivation required to clean my room",0 I made it to doctoral studies only to get a friend who's also a medical doctor (but not psych) tell me I can't have adhd. I feel you,1 "What a wonderful accomplishment, you totally deserve it! Congratulations!!",0 Bless u angel! Going to start on my 100 page reading 🙃,1 "Needed to make a call I've been putting off for like a week. Didn't really make a difference as I was checking the status of something and they had no new answers, but hey! at least I did it. I was planning on putting it off again until Monday lol. Thanks for the encouragement.",1 Mine is “stab yourself in the neck and bleed all over him”,0 "Similarly I found this year that I can focus better on my lectures whilst working out. I also quickly ran into the 2 limitations of this: 1. I can only do it in classes where I don't have to take many notes 2. My exercise tolerance is not high enough to last through 6 hours of lectures",1 I’ve heard of this phenomenon but wow this makes me realize I rly was experiencing TOCD I had convinced myself I was trans I didn’t realize it was false gender dysphoria or envy,0 "I am pretty sure my psychiatrist/therapist thinks nothing is wrong with me, because I practice the session in my head days before.",0 I have been trying to buy a carpet for a year now. And by trying I mean feeling bad because I can't get it done.,1 "I'm in a similar boat: coasted through school, wasn't diagnosed until my 30s. Now I work a very production-focused job in a Bureaucracy Factory, so can relate to this very well. Processing speed means I can usually meet my quota, but the degree to which I'm bored can sometimes be overwhelming. I can definitely relate, meanwhile, to the idea of being ""caught up in my head"" for my whole life.",1 "Yeah, I agree that when ocd is bad the urge to do compulsions is so strong. The thing is though, you always have a choice on how your respond. It can be difficult to change behavior and limit compulsions but it is possible.",0 "Hey, just wanted to say that you’re truly inspirational. Your words, always, reach into me with the frequency that’s just right. And then they expand, explode, and become so bright, lighting up every corner of my heart. On second thought, it’s not just words, it’s everything about you. Your glimpse, your smile, your touch… you are every detail of a dream coming true. You are an angel. You are my angel.",1 "Idk why this post made me think of Samuel L. Jackson narration of that book by Adam Mansbach ""Go the fuck to Sleep"". 🤣",1 "Ughh I know. Honestly, I can't sleep unless I'm fighting to keep my eyes open. :/ It's a vicious cycle and it sucks   Edit: Judging by the replies, I'm definitely not alone. Hang in there my fellow snooze sufferers! 💙",1 "i decided i was this a while ago and completely gave up on even trying to be competent. if they call me lazy, i will be lazy. if they say i talk too much, i will talk as much as i want. i don't really care anymore, and i will gladly be the embodiment of all the terrible things people can say about me.",1 this took a lot of courage and self awareness and i’m really proud of and inspired by you! may we all have as much confidence and self love. great job bestie,1 "##r/funny --------------------------------------------- ^(For mobile and non-RES users) ^| [^(More info)](https://np.reddit.com/r/botwatch/comments/6xrrvh/clickablelinkbot_info/) ^| ^(-1 to Remove) ^| [^(Ignore Sub)](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClickableLinkBot/comments/bor133/ignore_list/)",0 "I promise this is totally normal. This is called “meta OCD”, in which the lack of anxiety creates a new layer of anxiety. OCD has a sinister way of pulling you back into your worries. I’m still in a relapse of my OCD, but I can say that you’re not alone in feeling this way.",0 "Oh my lawd, I haven't been diagnosed but been suspecting and I've had this sort of thing too where I prefer knowing the ""whys"" in order to better ""process"" and remember shit. Otherwise it bugs the hell out of me.",1 "Omg are you me?! Me: I don’t have OCD, my self cleaning habits have just ramped up over time because it’s self care! I only check the freezer constantly because things could thaw and spoil! I only obsess over terrible outcomes to perfectly normal everyday events because I care about my family! To be honest my diagnosis came as a shock too. I assumed ADHD because my brain constantly jumps from one thing to the next. It’s now obvious that I jump from one *obsession* to the next. Soo",0 "Add some bipolarity and you get such a delusional life that I can’t even remember half of it. A positive episode with the hyperactivity of ADHD gives you the rush of a 5-year old that just downed a coke with a couple of pixie sticks. Nobody can stand you, people think you’re an infantile and you’re hell in class (worst part is, you realise it) But after it’s done and the depression creeps up all your energy and endorphins are completely drained so you just slob around in misery. And you catch yourself having a mental breakdown in front of random people because you simply can’t control it",1 "Yeah but what if someone asks you to do them a favor and by saying no without a good reason you look like just a random ass and a bad friend. I just had a situation where I was invited to a party, and the person who’s hosting it asked me to reach out to another friend and beg them to come and offer to give them a ride as an incentive. I haven’t talked to this other person in over a year and don’t have a really close relationship with them. I don’t even have their phone number. But since they live close to me, the host thought that it would be a good way to convince them. I’m kind of shy and I don’t want these people to know that because I’m trying to make more close friends. I didn’t want to be the jerk who said no. But I felt really uncomfortable coercing somebody to come to a party they clearly didn’t want to go to, much less someone I don’t even talk to. And then what if they said yes and I had to have this awkward long car ride with them. But I tell myself, the reason I don’t have friends is because I don’t go with the flow, don’t say yes, and I don’t open myself up to more opportunities to connect with people. Basically, if I said no to everything I was uncomfortable with, I probably would never grow or have any friends.",0 "And when you actually start, its nothing like you imagined. For example (this is me rn) : Oh im going to build this awesome build on minecraft on my realm, you start to plan, you think its going to be cool as fuck, and then you start, and lose the fucking motivation after placing 10 fucking blocks. Fuck ADHD.",1 "Needed some cute stuff today, I think it's great to put this kind of stuff in this sub, thank you very much",0 "Oh my gosh I thought this was just me!!! I have to get to the entrance of my apartment before a car drives by, be on the raised parts of the sidewalk whenever one drives by. It feels a little more comforting knowing im not insane haha! :D",0 This has been me for so long. I am struggling to fix it but I don't know how.,1 "I tell myself that it's fine to stay awake, but if it's past 2am it's gotta be an audiobook. You still get to do ""something"" at least, not just lie in bed in boredom, but chances are you'll be sleeping after half an hour anyways.",1 "As an alcoholic and an addict I have a lot of regrets and never like ruminating on them never mind having other people be aware of them. The thing is that I did those things and I have to live with that. In the age of technology, information is more accessible, which also means that some people have records of their stupidity and mistakes. It might come out, the best that you can do is own those mistakes and handle them in the most level and understanding way possible. If an employer or anyone becomes aware of my past then I would explain that I was that person, but I’ve been through hell and back to grow and become better than that. The best that we can do is become a person who would never do anything like the things that we’ve done. How other people handle that is their right and we just need to accept that, just like we need to accept our pasts. There’s no easy answer for the anxiety that you’re expressing here and I don’t know exactly what you’re scared of surfacing, but coming to a place where you can face it if it does is the healthiest way of dealing with that potential situation. What people are calling “cancel culture” is a really valuable step in developing a culture of accountability in a country where individualism has the nasty effect of exacerbating and excusing abuses towards marginalized people. Some people are getting burned, but on a larger scale it’s not the average Joe getting canceled, it’s the people who are true predators and carry ideologies that oppress classes of people. When it comes down to it, we have to live with the consequences of our actions. The best that we can do is become better versions of ourselves and offer our best to the world.",0 "Wonderful! What a great idea! Yes, it’s like those stupid distracting ads online. Not real and just - delete, delete, delete!",0 "Not only have I done this with jobs...I do it with raids in d2! I thought I was just weird. ""Kill the gatekeeper as soon as he appears"" with no reason why bugged me, but finding out that he blocks the portals from being used until you killed him helped me remember. People get annoyed at my questions but like you, I've been complimented on my explanations of raid encounters.",1 "It really helped when early on the doctor suggested maybe I don't have ADHD, she's confirmed I do but it didn't help",1 "Hey, I don't know how ocd works or how bad it is, but I'm all for learning and be more mindful about it. Do you by any chance know about acessible ressources I could use for that?",0 "Never really put much thought into it but this might explain why I’m amazing at training new associates. My last job had me as the primary trainer for new hires. Or why I ended up taking on a project that was taking my coworker 5+ days to do that I did in 3 days once I came in to help. ",1 This would work if they sold specific colors so ppl could avoid the bad colors,0 "When I feel a bit ambitious and think about doing an art project, I put the etch-a-sketch or collage materials on the table where I spend a lot of time, but usually these things remain on the table for months. I just brought out the collage materials, and I have them sitting next to me. I've been working on/off on this thing for over a year now. I stopped using the etch-a-sketch for about 6 years, and weekly I would think that I should draw something, even if it's small. This past summer, I finally etched the logo of a local restaurant. The owner asked for it about 4 years ago. I told her I hadn't done one in a while, but it'd be the next one I did. Well, I didn't lie, but it took 4 years.",1 "YEP. I had a very frustrating visit with a therapist yesterday, I voiced my truth in that I cannot get myself to do the things I need to do. It is a daily fight to remember and execute the most basic things. His response? Basically, just “keep yourself accountable and stick to it. Try tai chi.” At a certain point I stopped talking, as it felt like I was talking to a wall.",1 "I usually say ""an executive function disorder"" when complaining about my mental health in public.",1 "I have a recurring obsession that I am somehow a shapeshifter and that's why people give me weird looks, even though they're not actually looking at me but I'm not sure what they're looking at so I start to panic and then have to look in a mirror to make sure I'm not an alien. How are you guys doing?",0 "Lol I have the trifecta and I can agree- it’s SUCKS ass. My room is a depression den right now, but yknow what? We’ll see through it! We got this- and I believe in you!",1 I think this is also a factor as to why I was so vulnerable to ending up in an emotionally abusive relationship for so many years. Getting out was when I finally decided to seriously look into ADHD. I wonder how many other people have had a similar experience?,1 "this is amazing, thank you so much!! saved, and plan on printing this out and hanging it up!",1 Good job! Huge accomplishment and the effort will be worth it,0 "I bought a Ring doorbell. Now if my kids are afraid they didn't lock the door, they can watch the video of themselves locking it.",0 The year the Greatest Showman was released Hugh Jackman was my top artist and I am still embarrassed. The hyperfixation was real y'all.,1 "Im just now starting to read about ocd bc of other fears and stuff. I have that urge to scream or say something wierd in a lot of Meetings, but i always thought that was normal?",0 "Whenever I watch this detective/any shows I always figure out the plot/twist within the first 5-10 minutes because I'm always watching every detail of every show. Once a pattern is established, the endings are always the same. The gf has stopped showing me her favorite movies because I'm not shocked at the old ones and I spoil the new ones (because she talks and asks a lot during a show)",1 I am so OCD about people casually self-diagnosing...,0 Funny because there’s a park that I go to sometimes but never use the bathrooms because there are sometimes GIANT SPIDERS CHILLING IN THE TOILET. They’re literally all over the bathroom,0 "Lol this is an attack, literally hopped onto Reddit for a few min after completing half of a major assignment that’s due in a few days... you’re very right, I gotta get back to it!!",1 "Reading that honestly sent chills through my body, im so proud of you for being able to do that!!! I hope to be as strong as you one day! <3",0 That really hit me where I live. Thank God for the edit button.,0 "I’ve been struggling with not being able to rid thoughts out of my brain that I felt like didn’t actually come from my brain. I feel insanely guilty about things I’ve said and done in the past. I’m obsessing over a situation that my brain thinks was wrong but was not at all. I’ve been through a palaver the last few days being in touch with mental health organisations and my gp to finally get medication to what I thought was anxiety. Finding this page was the biggest emotional relief I have felt in so long that I am crying with happiness. I finally don’t feel like I’m alone and my brain is torturing me. I know now! I won’t diagnose myself just yet but I am so so so grateful I found this page. I don’t even bloody use Reddit.",0 i’m sure this is a very uplifting and inspirational quote but i have no clue what its saying,0 I hire a housekeeper for $20/hr once a month or so and it is fucking life changing,1 "I didn't apply for a job once because there was a verbal stress lie detector test and I didn't know if I could pass it because what if I DID have 7 bodies in my basement and I just forgot about it. Meanwhile, ""I like it when my bills are faced the same way, I'm so OCD"" jerkoff Jared gets the job.",0 "I'm in the process of starting therapy and whatnot. I've been diagnosed with depression and anxiety but not ADHD but I have talked to my doctor about it. Anyways, mom is the exact same! Ugh! I love her but she's a stubborn one.. I feel stupid, crazy and lazy. I'd give anything to hear her agree with me or at least acknowledge there might be something that isn't right. I feel this too hard l:",1 "This is my career to a T.... I interview amazingly, my first few months I'm eager and very highly regarded. Then the doldrums set in. I can't get anything done. Easy tasks take me forrrever.",1 and then eventually whatever makes your car beep will break and then it locks but no longer beeps and then one day you spend 2 hours looking for your car in an airport parking garage,0 I also HATE being bad at things because I feel like I'll be judged for it. Ideal.,1 "When I get to that point it seems like I'm always saying ""is that weird?"" After everything I say. I know some insecure people do that kind of thing but with me it's different. I'm not insecure or shy about what I have to say at all I'm actually kind of a bold loudmouth who gets in trouble with saying too much. But when I start to feel The Crazy™ come on... It seems like I do a lot of 'checking' to make sure that what I'm thinking/saying is 'ok'.",0 " I'm starting to realize the state of my room to how I'm generally feeling. My room is always wreck whenever I'm stressed. I am so lost in obsessions and anxiety, I literally do not notice the mess. And when I do notice, I'm usually too tired and stressed to do anything about it.",0 "Nostalgia used to be my #1 cure, but sadly, most of my happy memories lie in my job in child care, and the main thing that's been taking over my life at the moment is my pOCD. Literally can't feel nostalgia anymore because of this stupid disorder, hopefully this year will help me take my life back. Good luck to everybody in this sub, you're all the strongest people I've ever encountered.",0 "Yeah. I have obsessions about mistakes I've made that could have had really bad consequences. But somehow I got lucky and they didn't happen. But I still fear that they did. And despite everyone telling me that those things didn't happen (professionals, friends, family, etc.), I still can't believe that and I obsess over the consequences I don't have. Anyone else?",0 "I completely agree, and neurologists who specialize in the disorder also agree, and apparently the big main reason that it can’t be re-named is on account of risking nullification of protective legislation.",1 "Just keep watching the video all the way through, vsauce should explain the rest.",0 "“It doesn’t matter if I believe the monsters to be real or fake, I will walk through anyway” - that way of thinking about my condition helped me a great deal. Just a side note to this awesome post, thanks for sharing OP! :)",0 "i've looked at this three times today and it's worked, i'm gonna go tidy up my desk now. bless you",1 "Good advice for me lately as all o can think about is my Baby on the way. But generally for us people, yes bad advice lmfao",0 "Fuck the other jobs. Commit tomorrow. I'm just kidding of course, I think there's a tag off a teeshirt that's been there for at least six months outside my bedroom",1 "Consider this meme officially stolen (Also unrelated but Shaggy looks fuckin baked lmao)",0 "Yup just got fired from my first job. The thing is I’ve gotten extremely good at managing appearances, bullshitting, saying the right thing, and doing the bare minimum so I was able to somehow last 2.5 years but man. I realize the shit I’ve pulled my entire life isn’t gonna cut it anymore and if I don’t figure it out I’m fucked.",1 "From a Christian perspective, this is not comforting. People who are 'born again' should not have these type of thoughts, but rather they should be filled with love and compassion for everyone else.",0 I didn’t know what “Space Recognition” was and I went down quite the rabbit hole until I finally remembered what I was doing and learned that it’s “Spaced Repetition”...that was a rollercoaster.,1 "Ok now I wish I could find a Facebook post in a Shipt (grocery delivery service i picked up while being unemployed over covid) forum that I saw a while ago. Went something like ""What is an item you've gotten for customers that you consider a waste of money?"" And the amount of people saying ""Pre-chopped fruit and veggies! They're so easy to cut and taste better when you do it yourself!"" And of course a lot of people added the caveat, ""I mean I understand if you're elderly or physically disabled, but if you're not then it's just plain lazy!"" I fought back the urge to go on a rant cause YES, I am VERY aware that I can surely buy the whole fruits and veggies and save a few bucks, but especially after reading ur post OP, I realize I end up wasting so much more money doing so because remembering and staying motivated to chop those whole fruits and veggies is fleeting.... leaving them to inevitably ROT🙃 It is just so wild to me that indulging in any kind of convenience to aid in mental health without any significant cause from your physical health is still deemed as lazy and weak-minded in 2021. Also, it is ironic to me that they really think someone who will spend the money on delivery should draw the line at cutting fruits and veggies... I have days where I agonize about going to the store (the usual ""so many options! I can make a list but im not great at sticking to it! So many options, AHHH"" where I spend way more time and money than I can afford) and I realized that I shouldn't feel guilty if I treat myself to delivery or curbside pickup sometimes, cause I can sit here and agonize and refuse myself of such ""luxury"" but I will still be hungry and feel even more terrible and unmotivated OR I can just push the BS stigma aside and still get my sustenance, there is definitely an often too overlooked value in allowing myself to outsource at least one or two tasks that I agonize over if it means I'll have more energy and willpower leftover to carry out a smaller and less daunting to do list.",1 It's funny because my house used to be trashed but once I got a handle on my OCD I cleaned it up real nice.,0 Kinda unrelated but this one time when I was a child I went to class a day that was festive and felt very dumb and betrayed. Because of that and OCD I check the date and time minimum 5 times everyday before stepping outside my house or I'll feel imminent panic,0 "I have saved this, I will aim to finish reading this in 3 months...",1 I didn't see what subreddit this was at first and I was about to go off in the comments section lol,0 "This is me everyday, and honestly sometimes it’s better or worse than other days. I still haven’t totally figured out what works, so I feel you. Sometimes I can sleep for only 3 hours the night before and have the best day of my week. Other times I’ll get a full 8 hours, wake up early, and still manage to absolutely fuck over the rest of the day. I found that just being grateful for the things I do get done, even if it’s one small “meaningless” task, helped a lot. And forgiving myself and just making a point to accept it, and try again the next day. Writing everything down has helped a bit, even the things I’m sure I will remember (I won’t). It just helps me get my head straight, especially when I’m going through an especially dysfunctional week. Even if I do nothing and waste the whole day, it makes me feel a little bit better. This probably isn’t at all helpful, but all I can say is that you’re not alone.",1 "Sometimes I wonder if we even have ""ADHD"" or if we're just meant to be working outside",1 "I’ll do very detailed business plans that will include what a projection of what every employee will do/spend/earn for a 12 months. When I am in this mode it very much feels like all of these actions truly happened. It’s wild.",1 Bipolar 2 with inattentive ADD. Life has just been fantastic.,1 "Truthfully, I’m having a horrible time with attendance, but I also have avoided taking online classes because I know it will be worse for me. I’m in my 40s going back to school, didn’t know when I first dropped out I had adhd. The way college is structured has me bumping up against the worst of my adhd, time management, sticking to schedules, punctuality, sleep, (intentional) task switching. I’ve also had a son of a bitch of life throwing a crapton of garbage at me AND I have a physical disability that the accommodations office at my university has been slow to get accommodations for. But I’ve not handled well either. So I’m feeling like I’m fucked no matter what. I so badly need structure and routine- and in the working world I got by because I had essentially 1 place to get to on time and think about. Also I was still late but it wasn’t bad rolling in late at most jobs and just working late. Everything about college seems to be set up to NOT work with someone with adhd. I have been racking my brain for how to manage and I don’t know. Also? My distracted brain has been completely focused on coronavirus for the past 5 or 6 days instead of school because I can’t seem to turn the distraction off and my brain wants to move to the exciting, novel thing, not the boring (but important) drudge work.",1 "that’s great haha. yes, he’s equal parts angry/ abusive and cowardly/flakey",0 "I have OCD myself, but don’t have checking as a compulsion. Out of curiosity about this compulsion: Does it alleviate the stress at all if you lock and then immediately after, manually try opening one of the doors to feel that it won’t open? (I know trying to disprove anxieties isn’t as sustainable as learning to give them their space, was just wondering.)",0 "Oh no, I just checked and I have 1500 screenshots. And this is AFTER trying to purge my entire (10k+) photo gallery on my phone..... I actually upgraded my icloud storage just so I could keep hoarding stuff on my phone, but maybe it’s time to try deleting stuff again. :(",1 "​ ""Commander, the kaiju is too powerful! We need to find a weak spot!"" ""Just blast the hell out of it till it dies!! That's an order!!""",1 "Oh that scrupulosity-focused OCD. I know it well. Many years after giving up super-conservative religion that guilt is still hanging in the background. Therapy definitely gave me the tools to keep it in check, though!",0 Still have an alarm titled to email someone a list of books. That was almost a year ago now. And I keep telling myself I’m going to retitle it. But last time this happened it lasted 3 years. Ugh. I feel your pain.,1 "I don't know who to tell but after fighting through hell, depression, anxiety, ADHD, EDS and then a BPD diagnosis I felt so lost and dark. I wanted to take my life, but I decided to take my life back into my own hands. So, without telling anyone I bought a trailer to turn into a tiny home and I'm moving to my home province while the border is open. I'm so scared and excited. I feel like I am going to sob, throw up and laugh all at the same time.",1 "Dude same. I read once that your “best” changes from day to day. What was your best yesterday might not be your best today. I had a great day on Monday. Yesterday and today have been a struggle. It’s a mindfuck when I can remember myself being so productive just a couple days ago. I feel like a failure today. But today I just have a different set of obstacles to overcome.",1 "As soon as someone TELLS me to do something it's not gonna happen. Unfortunately this, along with my HUGE problem with authority, has led to the occasional harmful (to me) interaction with LEO's. Ask me nicely and I have no issues....",1 Probably one of my most common fears. Thanks for helping me feel less alone lol,0 When your ancestors fucked around with evolution and now you have to wash your hands for 5 minutes straight again and again in order not to catch bubonic plague because WHAT IF,0 What i want to say to everyone is we cant always control our future..so let it be..ive understood one thing..whatever things we fear about is things that have not happend. Once it happens we dont fear that..fear is basically something thats not happend. Only thing is we are suffering our own imagination and intelligence to control anything and everything!,0 "Me too, I try to get better but I always end up taking that exit.",0 "1000%. I have a family member who’s like this, and they’re the only family that know about my diagnoses. They‘ve always been the “tough love” type and are actively trying to adjust their approach when I’m not doing so hot because we’ve had multiple instances where they get frustrated with me and say things which make me feel like an absolute piece of shit. I do appreciate them noticing taking my words seriously though and while it’s not perfect, it’s getting better. Still, me already lowkey hating myself for the way I lack self regulation + rejection sensitive dyphoria + a thousand “you’re just lazy just do the thing” was the worst possible combination for my self esteem because it’s only been a couple months since I’ve started trying to convince myself that I’m not a useless waste of space ¯\_(ツ)_/¯",1 "Bruh the other day I was driving and some kid passed near me in his bike, after he passed me by I started thinking ""hmmm did i just run over him? Did i do it and dont remember it? Did i do it?"" And I drove back and asked the kid if he was ok, lmaooo",0 "Is it bad that I suffer from thoughts like this, but am laughing? 😂 ",0 ">Attention is nothing more than the combination of motivation + memory Wow",1 Oh my fucking god...I just recently realized I had OCD (I thought everyone was like us😂) and man this hits home...having to “remember” why I’m so nervous...,0 My number is 4 and it’s multiples so 20 seconds works for me too.,0 "I enjoy daydreams and fandoms that I feel are morally wrong. It could be OCD saying that, or a genuinie conscience thing. Or a tangled messy mix of both. But stoping almost all of those things made me have a breakdown. So, I guess if my sanity depends on not cutting this stuff out completly, I choose sanity.",0 "My friends tell me I have a hearing problem. If they only knew. Well, if they only believed me when I said, ""My only problem is that I hear everything so it's really difficult to pick what you're saying out of all the background noise.""",1 "Self diagnosed from this sub, not yet seeking therapy. If you want any Guinea pigs for trials or testing, happy to partake",0 Same thing happened to me with my night guard. A cleaning lady had thrown it out thinking it was trash.,1 "No I'm permanently trapped in this loop. Although once a week I sometimes manage to get an extra thing done, last week I cleaned my car out because my cat got sick and I had to take it to the vet.",1 "I set a custom one that tells me to find and read my ebook every time I open reddit. Yup my phone always has a nice little book icon in the notifications tray :D",1 "Even if you're raised to be frugal, ""time is money"" still applies :)",1 "I’m at a stage in my life when I know right away when my OCD has me doing something ridiculous, but I’m still going to keep doing it until the scratch has been itched because I will go crazy if I don’t",0 Your intrusive thoughts seem so harmless compared to mine.,0 "I love OCD memes. Always relatable, always funny and somehow makes it easier to cope",0 ">Set your phone clock 10-15 mins fast on purpose Don't do this. It can mess with time based MFA code generation, theoretically it could mess with SSL, and other things I'm sure I'm not thinking of that rely on time.",1 Thank you. I'm listening to a lecture . . . While scrolling reddit 🤦,1 "My Spotify is decent into madness. You have traditional Kabuki, Bach corals, Gregorian chants, death metal, math rock, EDM, Daft Punk, glitch hop, electro swing, Irish folk music, the league of legendsKDA album, Micheal BuBle, Acapella, Blue Grass and Nerdcore rap. Also some Icelandic rock. Like writing this all out makes me feel nuts.",1 "Go ahead, everyone, “start being OCD” we’ll see how long you last being stuck in your own thoughts, unable to shake them, making everyday hard to live through. Good fucking luck.",0 "are there any exact opposites of this? As long as I have something to do with my hands I'll be perfectly fine during a lecture BUT the second we get assigned reading I just read the first few lines and my brain is done, no more reading for me. Im much better with audio stuff",1 "I sometimes use scary movies/haunted houses as an analogy for ERP challenges. If you go through the house or watch the movie a million times, the monsters still pop out, but you've gone through so many times you know where they are and they don't activate you as much.",0 I honestly dunno the best way to describe it. I can’t do life properly syndrome ?,1 "I understand you so well, one day i want to become software engineer, 1 week later i feel discouragead because it's too hard '-\_- ​ But i learned two things: 1) learn like a baby. Babies have no skill, but in the end, they all learn to walk and talk. it take years, and they fall a lot, but they always keep doing until they reach their goal. Everything is too hard or boring, sometimes. but just keep doing. Sometimes you'll be tired of it, take a break, it's ok. then keep doing it ! ​ 2) others are better than you at maybe because they worked more, but you did not see the time and efforts they put to gain that skill . ​ ​ You deserve to become good at something, or at least decent. You probably won't be the best rocket scientist in the world, but maybe it's not a requirement to be happy.",1 "Dude same for me, on the weekend I have japanese lessons at 4pm, and it’s so stressful I just wanna be sitting on my ass all day until it’s time for it",1 It's crazy how we can laugh at our own agony. This was a good meme lol,0 "I do this too. Constantly. I've kinda stopped worrying about my skill level or whether I finish the project. I just start and see where it goes. I will always have a life of a million unfinished projects, but ghats okay, because eventually, I do end up gaining enough skill and practice just by messing around, that I do finish a few, and often they come out really well. I'm certainly no van gogh, but a whole school career of mindless doodling and some intense periods of hyperfixation on painting and drawing actually have made me a halfway decent artist. Adhd people grab the ""how to"" book off the shelf and start in the middle, and then read every page out of order. That's fine, it just takes longer until you've filled in enough of the gaps to know the skill functionally. Often this ends in a better understanding of the subject by the end, because you had to figure a lot of it out on your own, and you understand it in practice, not just in theory.",1 finally made an appointment to get back in with a psychiatrist. thank you homie,1 "The only thing that has ever helped me is thinking ""Yeah, maybe"" and then just allowing whatever intrusive thought I have to be a possibility. it takes a long time to actually do but compulsions don't eat up nearly as much of my day",0 This hits hard. I have inattentive ADHD and I’ve spent way too many years as a ghost,1 "> for books, for daydreams, for penguins This. Always. But I am sorry for your loss too. And yes, it really gets better, even if a lot isn't figured out yet.",1 "That would drive me nuts. The combination of ADHD and Autism can be absolute HELL. I left my car with creaked windows open in a coastal town for almost six months. The combination of executive function struggles, sensory issues, and emotional disregulation that culminated in me needing so spend $800 to get it cleaned (and they didn't even get the mold in the padding under the carpeting so it'll be another $600 to fix that)... That's not fucking fun. It's not a super power. Even accepting that the shame I feel for it may be over-exaggerated and I need to practice simply feeling neutral towards it and the fact that it happened and I can fix it now is a constant emotional struggle that will likely follow me around for years, if not decades (as other gross and awful consequences to mismanagement of executive functioning and emotional regulation and inability to contain violent reactions to sensory hell have continued to contribute to the shame I carry with me over the years). (Note: not violent to other people. Just like gagging or crying or other reactions like that.) Fighting back against the stigma is important. Learning to have compassion for yourself and forgive yourself for your failings, especially if you weren't diagnosed until later in life, is important. There are some times when I feel proud of a trait I have that is an autistic or ADHD trait - sure. I cherish those moments. They help. But the things that suck fucking suck and we should be allowed to acknowledge that and feel and express the associated negative emotions without being shamed for it. We're shamed for enough already jesus christ. .../rant But yeah, thanks for sharing. It is very validating to come across this kind of content.",1 It will stick eventually. Intimate knowledge of a subject builds upon itself through repetition and related content.,1 I remember in 5th grade we learned about the parts of the brain (including the memory part) and all I could think about was “what if the memory part of my brain is defective??”😂😂,0 "If you’re like me, the depression is caused by my ADD. My inability to control my attention and my actions leaves me feeling so helpless. I feel like I would be ok if I could just control my behavior, but... oh, I wonder what’s on FB?!",1 "I don't have OCD. I definitely absolutely totally don't. Right? * spends three hours researching symptoms obsessively * rereads the same OCD websites for the nth time * gets four hours of sleep because of this",0 This is literally me in every sense. But I never knew this. Thank you.,1 "What the hell, man. How long did you worked on this? You're a hero.",1 Me right now trying to find a shirt that feels right to sleep in so I can go to bed...,0 "I’m not sure laziness exists. Whether it’s ADHD or not, isn’t there always an explanation? [https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01](https://humanparts.medium.com/laziness-does-not-exist-3af27e312d01)",1 This is actually why I barely use social media. I have been doing it for a year now and my mental health has improved dramatically. It’s amazing how freeing it is to cut something/limiting contact with something that causes negative emotions.,0 "I’m 21 and it’s taken until JUST THIS YEAR for my parents to stop using negative reinforcement. I live with them during the summer and help out, so when I was booted out of the dorms I landed back home again. Parents treated quarantine like it was no different and expected me to help more on top of doing my coursework. They were constantly asking me EVERY DAY to do the same thing, and I’d have to tell them no bc I was working on HW (which was hard enough as is being online). They’d get angrier and angrier every time I told them no, because right after HW they’d see me de stress thru video games. Their anger activated the worst executive dysfunction I’d ever seen in myself, I was just feeling shame and feeing overwhelmed at the thought of getting up in the morning Eventually I broke down, and told them i needed them to help me by leaving me alone for a week. Instead of listening, they told me they were taking away all electronics and limiting my screen time like I was a child. No TV, no computer, no phone, no games, etc. it was ridiculous I tried to tell them “no, that’s not what I need, I’m telling you what I need”, but they insisted on treating me like a kid. I was so angry and raw and my dad and I just ended up screaming our heads off at each other. It ended up with me going to my sisters and crying more. She ended up helping me with what I needed to do, and I was able to get my parents off my back. Later on I talked with my dad, and he said he fully intended on taking things away as punishment. I told him all it did was make me feel shame, and it finally broke through to him that *hey, maybe that’s not what I do when my daughter is sobbing and asking for help* I still think he did *something* good, because I still got what I needed to do done, so I’m not completely satisfied, but I feel that they respect my autonomy a little bit more and are starting to understand that I function differently",1 You halved your habit :) I'd say that's a pretty big deal. Someday hopefully you can halve your new number too. Good luck to you :),0 "Ughhh me with TV and online shopping and reddit, ugh",1 "Well if this isn’t life single-handedly smacking you, I don’t know what is",0 I got diagnosed late in life and I didn't realize what was happening to me. I used to go to large social gatherings where I hadn't seen people in a while and my eyes and brain would hurt from seeing too many people I needed to talk to. It got so overwhelming I usually just left without talking to people because I couldn't handle it.,1 "I feel the stress, anxiety, and shame too. But somewhere in the back of my mind, a little voice whispers...I know that my brain will produce its best material at the last possible second, when everything seems to click into place and the fog clears. Clarity arrives in a race against the clock. So unhealthy but so hard to break.",1 "You have no idea how accurately you've described my teen years. And even after that. I came close to ending it when I was 18 and again at 22. I somehow convinced myself to keep going both times. I never told a single soul. You're not alone man.",1 Does it work for zoom/video lectures playing on the same computer?,1 "My most hated response is, “Oh, I think everyone does that sometimes!” There’s a difference between picking a scab occasionally and dermatillomania, Karen.",0 So accurate... I always worry I may have done something out of character and then have forgotten everything except that mental image from intrusive thought...,0 "I know this is old, but I have to say one time I went through airport security, and I forgot my pocket knife was in my pocket. They were surprisingly chill. I was putting my stuff in the container by the metal detector and was like “oh fuck” and raised my hand like a school kid. The security person was like, “what’s up?” “Uhh... yeah, so like... I forgot I had a knife in my pocket...” and they were like, “oh yeah, I’ll just throw it in your bag for ya.” So lucky.",0 "Completely, 100% yes. Recently I reached a breaking point of being overwhelmed, and had to take a month of disability away from work because of mental health. It helped so much being able to have full days to do nothing, and then to do chores I never felt capable of doing while working full time too. Being able to reset was extremely vital to me. Was very luckily in a position to get my full salary during it.",1 "This is what my mom does with vacations. I am not like this, planning is almost exhausting. And when I say almost I do mean exhausting. Researching is more me. But it never goes into plans",1 i’m being told by my brain 24/7 to get it right. get it right. get it right. get it right. get it right. i don’t know if saying the opposite of this instead will help. 😅,0 "I used to have pregnancy obsessions alllll the time when I was a virgin. Ironically, it stopped when I actually started having sex. lol",0 "This touches on such a weird aspect of ADHD. Lots of folks think it's just bouncing between a few tasks (that's just ""busy""). Some might even have the awareness that ADHD can often be like having dozens of windows, each with dozens of tabs open (five of which are playing music), but that still doesn't fully capture the whole ""spastic thoughts"" idea. Being scatter-brained isn't just about a scattering of thoughts and emotions *about that specific moment*. The scattering effect applies to our sense of time as well. Randomly getting angry over something from X months ago? Yup. Getting upset about six out of the seventeen different possible reactions you're expecting from a difficult conversation that might happen soon or never or the year 2077? Yup. Sudden embarrassment over the same thing you've had sudden embarrassment from despite how many times this has happened and also it was like 15 years ago? Yup. We're not just juggling whatever pops up in our head. We're juggling whatever pops up in our head from whatever *whenever* we happen to be at for that nanosecond in time.",1 "If you have a smart phone your in luck. 1. Download an app for notes. -personally I like the ones that can write with a stylus. I have a motorola stylus and it allows me to add pictures to recall better. 2. Download trello from atlaissan and confirm your notes can be sent to the site. 3. Create different dashboards depending on your needs and life domains. ie school, work, health, family, home, car, dreams and general Todo list. Within each board, organize from: easy, medium, hard, later, roadblock urgent. 4. remember to run through your browser history or youtube history for any interests that you like to progress with. Chrome can send notes to trello too. 5. If you have a chrome cast you can extend an additional screen from your desktop/laptop/pc and you can have everything displayed on your television. As technology progresses, I have recognized that we aren't the only ones being left behind. So its up to everyone with or without adhd to take advantage of what you have available as a resources. As your days progress make sure to train yourself open up your note maker obsessively. With triage and some time management you can control what you need to do. This is not the only system you can develop, but I have found this to be one of the most dynamic ways to keep track of things. There's possibly a way you migrate the information to excel, in case you want to start over, but don't want to delete all the information. Another cool thing is that you can share it with people who you want to contribute in your life like family. Warning: Make sure set up everything as private, because there have been unwanted leaks through the website. To me it doesn't make sense why everything is out in the open public, but there are ways to go about encrypting documents and placing them in there as a precaution. Perhaps this has been fixed, but you never know.",1 "The Zeigarnik effect! If something we need to is left undone, it will drain our energy. Good thing to remember for some on-the-spot motivation.",1 "The sheer ignorance and delusion some people live with is just astonishing to me. I don’t wish OCD on my worst enemy, but let them undergo a single hour of OCD and they will probably go insane.",0 real bad time to have germ related ocd am i right my dudes,0 "Reading all the comments in this subreddit helps me *loads* better, like I’m not alone in my struggle.",1 "If a person has serious OCD, I can almost guarantee that they would do anything to make it stop. It’s a disorder that is, at it’s core, irrational. It is isolating, scary, and confusing.",0 "I am very lucky I have the money to hire somebody to come clean my kitchen/living room and bathroom once a week. Sometimes it just gets overwhelming and having him come takes some of that stress. If you have the means to do so, don't feel bad about hiring help. On a side note if you have people you love that are struggling, this is a great gift.",1 "The only time ""tough love"" works on me, is during exercise. Other than that, I wanna cry",1 Damn I never find videos I'm interested in watching... Good luck with your exam OP. This sucks.,1 "Had the same reaction the first time I took Adderall. I wanted to clean my study room, took the pills and didn’t expect much. In about 30 minutes, I got done more than I had ever previously done if I’d have spent several hours cleaning.   I also felt so calm, didn’t have a million different thoughts pulling me in different directions/to do different things. My thoughts were clear and flowed like very linear, as opposed to when I normally think which is a mash of images and words popping in and out. After I looked at my watch I just sat on the floor and cried my eyes out. Also felt a little resentful that I’d had to live 30 years thinking the way I felt was just normal and everyone else somehow just made life magically work for them while I couldn’t. I was happy-sad when I watched a movie on meds for the first time too. I finally understood how someone could like watching movies lol.",1 "I think learning that I have OCD was more of a relief than a burden. It explained a bunch of odd thoughts and behaviors I've had for a long time but always grouped into one of my other diagnoses. First I had Anxiety. Then it was Anxiety+ADHD, Then I quit drinking and figured out I have comorbid bipolar + ADHD. ...so as you can imagine I wasn't thrilled about adding OCD to that. It makes sense though. They're spectrum disorders. Anyway, knowing that I have OCD has also been helpful because I now know better how to handle the repetitive/upsetting thoughts and body repetitive stuff. I totally have doubts about my diagnoses all the time. Like, what if they got it all wrong and I'm messing my brain up more with all these Rx's. But I guess if that were true I would feel worse...",0 Omg its 1:05 right now. Welp I know a sign when I see one thank you OP.,1 Yeah I always think wasn't there something I was supposed to be anxious about?,0 My OCD reading this post: idk maybe they’re onto something,0 Honestly Pornhub is amazing. The people there actually give a shit lmao. Love how a porn company gives more shit and respect than Disney.,0 I feel like I've got a similar problem except my diagnosed mental disorders are all in a shooting line and I have to figure out which one had the bullet.,0 The text not being aligned properly is messing with my OCD! ^^/s,0 "fuck it, imma take this advice for once, night dudes, sleep well <3",0 Love it! SSRIs don't seem to work for me at personally but I've seen them help a lot of people,0 "Honestly I've probably lost multiple jobs because of this, and I feel it plays into the whole stereotyping of ADHD people from a young age as oppositional/defiance types. Strangely once I was studying for an audio engineering degree, and later in a problem-solving job, where knowing the ""why"" of things was important - it became an advantage in many situations. At work and in education though I found it really rubbed up against the kind of linear-thinking people who frequently ended up in positions of authority. Had some mates who were ex-military and because of that kind of indoctrination into strict heirarchies of either doing as you're told, or telling people what to do, I really struggled when they got super-angry at like a basic disagreement. There's also a manager at my work who I think for years just assumed I was disagreeing for the sake of it and seemed surprised when I'd agree with a good idea or he'd finally explain something and I'd be like ""oh OK yeah that makes sense now"". Personally I don't think it's our problem - people need to learn to explain themselves and I've frequently found later that those people who don't want to explain themselves either have shit reasons for doing things, haven't thought their actions through, or simply have no inclination to improve anything.",1 "I haven’t cried since 2016. Jk, I haven’t cried since I finished reading this post. These are some of the most beautiful, heartfelt, and inspirational words I never thought I’d read. I know myself, along with the 1M+ others in this subreddit needed to read this, internalize this, and apply this. So thank you.",1 Any help on intrusive thoughts.i feel like a monster and deep down I know I'm a good person,0 "I got diagnosed when I was nearly 31 whole going back to school. My dad said ""I don't think you have ADHD you are just like everyone else blah blah"". Was rough. I didn't engage, because it's just hard to understand if you aren't feeling the same. No two people are the same. I would try to not take it personally - my dad is very supportive other than this one comment. Keep your head up and try to manage your own symptoms. If you can't find support within your family, look for it outside your family such as on this sub.",1 "There is no end to this with my checking, especially when stressed or in a hurry. I accidentally developed a compulsion where I sing a lyric in my head but change the end of it to random numbers or words. Then I still have this 'unique code' fresh in my head when my doubt kicks in. It's probably not helpful for recovery, but a dirty quick fix when I need it. It's usually enough to keep me from checking again.",0 100% agree! I have good days where I feel I am in control of my ADHD but I also have bad days where I feel pretty hopeless. It’s great to have a space where both are okay.,1 Thank you so much for this post. I have an appointment with a psychiatrist next month and I’m hoping to get started on medication so this eased a lot of my stress!,1 I've been trying to clean my room for 6 months now..,0 "Me and my partner have a ‘bank’ system. We do nice things for each other all the time but forget ‘important’ things (neither of us remembered our anniversary for instance) so we just take one out the bank. We are currently away for the night as he booked a B&B because I’d been bored all week. He’ll probably forget some important occasion, but he’s got this one in the bank 🙂🙂",1 "It's the ground hog bit ,and repeative shit ,hard habit to kick ,but I guess if it was easy ,it would not be a thing ,",0 "I was afraid I would lose every single friend and be damned alone forever if I didn't have an exact number of friends / check up with them regularly. Now I can spend days without texting if I feel like I need time for myself and never worry about how many friends I have. This changed my life SO much.",0 "Hey. Number one thing is that YOU REALIZED that it was silly for you to spend so much time precursing the event when you couldve just started it. We've all been there. Biggest thing I like to do is simply start the task, REGARDLESS of my emotions or how I feel (When I was in college a few months ago, if it was a paper, id simply start typing the abstract or title page, and pull up some resources, and eventually, I tricked my brain into just being into the paper and getting engrossed in it) I wasnt perfect, I def procrastinated, but I learned over time how to start SOONER than last minute. Its about being better than last time :)",1 "Oh I DESPISE micromanagement but EVERY FREAKIN job LOVES this shit. ""You were late twice this week"" ""By maybe 5 min tops"" ""We NEED you on time"" ""And what about the 4 times I stayed late to help?"" ""Doesn't count"" ""And one of those days you called me to come in and cover"" ""Doesn't count"" ""How about me telling you to go fuck yourself and I hope you get into a horrific car accident on the way home you giant bag of dicks? Does that count?"" Seriously, I have ZERO patiences for arbitrary, pedantics corp bullshit. These are the same useless assholes who are whining and complaining about ""nO oNe WaNtS tO wOrK""... maybe because y'all are terrible fucking people? But I'm just guessing. Yea, NO ONE cares for quality in a worker, just mediocre toe liners at best.",1 It’s so good to hear stuff like this ! I’m so happy for you !,0 "Exactly. And especially now when so many of us have to stay home alone all day, we lose idea of what the world is actually like, so the things that seem illogical to other people are totally normal to us because all we have is the news and the internet where those things are shown",0 "Every fucking day it’s me checking my temperature 10 times a day, freaking out if my breathing feels weird, even though I know it only feels weird because I’m focusing on it.",0 "I am at a break point in my life. My relationships are actually failing in front of my eyes and even though I just realized my problematic actions and what I need to do go stop/improve them, I do not know how to execute. I am a second year medical student and survived so far. But I need serious advice and suggestions about how and where I can go for help to be able I do daily tasks like cooking a d cleaning and estimating time appropriately. Plz help if you can.",1 "Mine is 13, 49,58,67,85,94.anything that adss up to 13 basically.",0 I need to spend time looking at pleasant pictures of cute girls on my phone afterwards to cleanse my visual palette,0 "I would love to buy a print of this for my room. As someone who suffers as well, I find this piece beautiful visually and metaphorically. Let me know if you want to make a sale ❤️ P.S. thank you for the inspiration to make art as well. This is such a beautiful way to fight through compulsions. I’m proud of you!",0 "Yep. I was using an app that would remind me to do stuff, or keep track of how long to do something, and every. Single. Time. I turned it off and went “I’ll do this in a little bit.” And I always forgot",1 "I have two little girls and I watch their every move. I’m probably scarring them in some way, but I just want to make sure they’re brains are healthier than mine",0 "wait thats my ocd? i thought it was the bpd, or the depression maybe",0 I feel a strong (non OCD) urge to make this my wallpaper,0 You got this my dude. Punch those compulsions back to hell!!!,0 "I have to be completely honest, everyone suffers from this, not just us people with ADHD. Except most people don’t even get the great first impression in. They just get an OK impression. At least us people with ADHD get a head start! Wh",1 "I mean, that's about all you can do in conjunction with medication. Just sit with the anxiety and try not to form new compulsions about not doing compulsions, creating some sort of bizarre compulsion feedback loop. OCD: Do the ritual or something bad will happen. Me: No. Absolutely not. OCD: Do it. Me: No. OCD: Oh, I see, something bad will happen IF you do the ritual. Me: Wait. OCD: Don't do the ritual! Me: I'm not listening to you! OCD: So you ARE going to do the ritual?",0 If I had a dollar for each pregnancy test I bought due to OCD.... I think I would have enough to stash into savings for a while.... ffs,0 "Yep. From my experience it mostly about let your worries go away instead of thinking about it. Medication just help make it easier to do. And it took quite a long time and lot of therapy session to find what does work and what not, my therapist had changed my medication multiple times. Also Maybe some medication took a long to see the effect that why you didn't notice the change",0 "It is usually any unusual body ache for me... that one is met with more of a ""oh that is definitely cancer - I'm probably going to die""",0 "...I, just...holy CRAP dude. You just blew my mind wide open. This is why I have anxiety, and why I can’t do shit until like 2 hours before the deadline - I can only fucking function properly in fight or flight mode. Holy shit. Thank you so much for this!!",1 "Hey! Everyone’s mind is different, and what some may love about themselves, others may not. I can’t speak to autism, but for my ADHD there are things I like about myself that I can credit to my ADHD, and things about my ADHD that only make my life harder. Sometimes you just post on Reddit looking for validation- just to hear some people say “I’m struggling with that too, it’s really hard”. With ADHD, I think it can be really challenging for people who don’t have it to understand it. I hate toxic positivity and I see it all the time. I agree that this sub has been- in my experience- a really welcoming place with no toxicity!",1 I'm amazed at your phone being on the roof for days. And no one took it.,1 OCD likes to trick us into thinking we are a bad person.,0 "100% yes. I low key just want the world to stop for a week so I can get caught up on cleaning, laundry, budgeting, figuring my life out, all that jazz. I want a moment to just breathe.",1 Did u lightly traced over the meme and colored it yourself? Sorry if u haven't traced it,0 honestly I often feel too depressed to bother with my appearance.. :(,0 "My friend...I don't know you, but you literally described me. I believe that I have OCD since quite a while, but I haven't been diagnosed yet. The ruminating happened yesterday, and came to today. I have to stop fr. But hey, it can only get better, right? Peace. God bless. ​ P.S. Thank you🙂",0 all i need to do was read the title and it sent shivers down my spine,1 "me: it doesn’t matter if i don’t flick the lights three times, my family won’t die that’s stupid! brain: what if they die tho it’ll be your fault",0 That one thought stuck in your brain forever is the worst.,0 This song just articulates everything wonderfully doesn't it?,0 "This makes sense, and I appreciate the perspective! I got mine on my hand as a reminder, not as a tool for compulsions(though, I’m not as prone to developing strong compulsions as some are…so I can see where this could become an issue for those who are more prone to it) But also, I have ADHD and so I’m very “out of sight, out of mind” so it’s amazing to have a reminder right on my hand!! Sometimes, I’ll be sitting neck deep in intrusive thoughts for a while without even realizing and to see my little “X” is a nice self check! :)",0 "Me too. And it so effing awful cause its the same brain that wont shut up and leave me alone either. There's a voice that goes , ""you just wanna be special but you're so boring and useless. You might as well kill yourself."" Its like, ""MAKE UP YOUR MIND, MIND!"" Fucking hate this ocd thing man. You're always going, theres no rest!",0 "I'm a competitive shooter, and constantly paranoid that I somehow left ammo in my pockets or something when going to school, even if I never put ammo in my pockets",0 My signature move is setting my alarm back 20-30 minutes when it goes off the first time in the morning.,1 12 year old me searching “do I have ocd buzzfeed quiz” bc I didn’t know how else to get reassurance that something was wrong with me😂😂,0 "Me: the doors must be completely open or completely closed, they can't be in the middle Brother: why? Me: because they have to Brother: but, why? Me: dude, they have to, just leave it like that",0 "Lol I can relate. Sometimes when I distract myself from doing a compulsion like checking and testing, I get worried and think “You didn’t do a compulsion, which means you don’t actually have OCD” and then I ultimately end up doing the compulsion to prove to myself that I do have OCD.",0 "the only posts I save are for ""research"" purposes..... comments however are interesting links i always forget i ever saved.",1 "Thank you for this, please give Gunner lots of pets ❤️",0 "Yep, I get sad when my GF does my washing. I WAS going to do it at some point. Thankfully she understands me and really appreciates it when I do remember",1 "From a college professor, I will also add this: if you have a professor that will not allow you to bring laptops or whatever to class, you can seek accommodations through the student disability center (or your campus' equivalent for creating those types of accommodations) to allow you to bring a computer for that purpose. I have received accommodation letters that have literally said to allow students to bring computers to take notes or to audio record or to take dictation like that.",1 Damn I always thought this was just that I had gad too not a common symptom of ocd,0 But at the same time I have more time to focus on improving,0 How does it feel knowing you made at least 50% of us go check out that French album? 😂,1 Im just starting therapy and kinda freaking out because I’m starting to realize how much of my mind I don’t understand and how many thoughts I can’t even identify or organize,0 "I never feel anything anymore even if I'm in hyperfocus. I just kind of have to do things that make me miserable or anxious all day, I feel it man I hope it gets better.",1 "ARGH now THIS is a ""so OCD"" meme I can actually recognise!",0 One day I will be able to do the same with all my check later and reading list bookmarks. One day but not today.,1 I feel this a lot. Especially when I can see the contrast in myself for when I’m not anxious and have a clear head and when I’m stuck in a loop or in a bad mental place. I can do the same kind of thing perfectly fine when I’m relaxed but when I’m trapped in an OCD spiral I could just collapse,0 "Ah hahah hahaha I got a job I love at the end of last year and since then: * Started my Steam collection, spending over 3000 euros so far * Bought 3 new headphones (but the last purchase is the only one I'm using because it ticks all boxes) and a headphone amplifier * Spent an average of around 150-200 euros a month on takeout (working from home due to corona) * A wasted gym membership at the beginning of the year, now I started working out seriously in October and am not going to waste this one! * I don't really need this iPhone 11 Pro Max but I really like it * Bought another fucking MIDI controller * I probably don't need this JetBrains subscription but I'll be damned if I don't love Rider and CLion * A Spotify subscription would probably be more value oriented than just buying FLACs from labels * Substance abuse cost me around 400 eur a month On the bright side I got my video game consumerism under control, quit substance abuse which pretty much saves half of my salary every month",1 "Started on 10 mg Lexapro, then went down to 5 mg, then went back up to 10 mg for several years (then got diagnosed with OCD), then tried 20 mg went down to 15 mg and then switched to 20 mg Prozac and now am at 30 mg.",0 "The problem is that its hard to convey these things through media and to people that have no idea what its like. To most people the answer would be ""just don't do that lol"", and they wouldn't get it.",0 "It absolutely does, and you absolutely will stop feeling guilty. The guilt is part of what feeds the monster to start with, and once you start to get more control over it, you'll notice that you're more at peace to just let the intrusive thoughts roll off your back, and the more you find yourself letting the thoughts slide by, the more you realise that they were always ""just thoughts"" and weren't ever making you a bad person. Guilt is what happens when we set a standard for our personal conduct, morals, and ethics, and fail to reach that standard. Intrusive thoughts aren't something you can control and by seeking help and getting up every day to fight again, you ARE meeting your standard.",0 Hey! I'm new so I don't know if it's triggering to ask but how do lakes affect your ocd? I'm wondering because there's thalassaphobia where you are afraid of deep bodies of sea and I was wondering if that and intrusive thoughts about deep bodies of water were related...,0 "Hey, that's my doctor! Changed my life. He practices in Manhattan Beach, CA for anyone interested in working with him",1 "Sleeping, eating, exercise are more powerful allies than most of us will admit. Try to balance those as much as you can. I think we've all been here before. You got this.",1 "It’s true. Sometimes you will have your ups and downs, but please don’t get discouraged.",0 "Parentheses and slashes are a HUGE problem for me, like not only for texts, but like even in essays, my parentheses / slashes end up showing up in so many of my sentences (it just looks so much more organized this way), but it leads to Rubin sentences and just rambling hahaha. All of my texts are always one sentence no matter what the length",1 "Agreed. I’m mid-30s and found out recently that I have it. According to the current DSM, I frequently/daily struggle with about 11 of the 18 criteria across the two types. Tried Adderall and felt like my brain calmed down for the first time in my life. Being on Adderall is like going from trying to have a serious conversation in a crowded Chuck E Cheese to having a serious conversation in the corner booth of an empty restaurant. I never thought of it because I associated ADHD with the kids who couldn’t sit still. Meanwhile my dumb ass can’t figure out how to adult and be consistently productive even though I listen to productivity podcasts nonstop and read all the self-help books in the world.",1 "Hello , reading your post it is as if I wrote it describing myself ,my Dr. prescribed for me ""Propranolol"" , I started taking it daily , the number of pills i take everyday vary depending on the severity of the attacks but no more the 80 mg/ per day . for the first time in a very long time I am Happy good luck",0 "Damn you're master, I'm only half way through then with 2,500 vids. However, unlike you I watch EVERY video before removing them from 'watch later' playlist. So I guess I'm not that far away xP",1 Everyone wants to think of themselves as a sociopath!,0 "> “I now see that I spent most of my life in doing neither what I ought nor what I liked” — C.S. Lewis, *The Screwtape Letters*",1 "Father here.... My son is 6 and has ADHD. I was diagnosed with ADD as a kid and now my son has it. My parenting type is tough love but willing to open and try new styles. It's been real hard for my wife and I having 2 other boys. To top it off, Covid-19 has really put a halt on learning for our kids. My 6yo is behind on reading and other common skills and would like some advice on how to get through to him. Any advice is appreciated.",1 "Not enough time is really failing to plan things out. I have to do lots of lesson planning and slide making and the cognitive load is crazy. Sometimes I do zone out for hours (or half a day) when I should be doing things, but I’ve gotten better with checklists at doing things in pieces along the way before they need to be finished.",1 "I've noticed and have been struggling to get a handle on my adhd for the entirety of my current relationship (3 years). I've been hearing these things for what feels like every day from my partner. As much as I try to be attentive I feel like I'm just stuck in place dealing with week-long conflicts that make me feel like I can't change. I'm not happy by any means that any of y'all deal with this, but it makes me feel a little better to know I'm not alone",1 Oh shit.... yeah.... that’s the problem with this disorder. It becomes more real than real life.,0 Welcome. I suffer from strange obsession. They say its sensory disorder too. Im hyperaware of my teeth. My life is hell on earth. If someone could help me. I would give anything to be normal again :(,0 "Jesus this hits close to home. I have been having swollen lymph nodes pop up all over my body for years. Apparently they are harmless and biopsy shows no cancer. Medical system in my area is the biggest joke I've ever seen in my life. Literally. If I ever find out there's seriously something wrong with me, I'm moving out of the US.",1 im struggling with harm ocd and it’s always me thinking about murdering ppl :/,0 "I really don't want to call them out because that would ""out me"" in a way that is way to obvious. But also you don't have to take it personally because if you step back from it and calm down a little, they just don't know - their intent isn't malliscous or directed at you. They're using the wrong word, it's just that. nothing more, they're not mocking you. I certainly do not tell people, partly because in my fantasy I'm nixxing this bs in a few weeks you know..almost there guys, just another five thosuand weeks left",0 Yep. You’re not alone in that. The worst is irl convo’s. Yonks,1 "I'd like to add, that once I'm in the shower, I love it and take a long one. What the hell. Why do I avoid showers then LOVE it when I'm in. It happens EVERY time.",1 I needed to read this today. I am back in college for a second time at 33 and my OCD is so much worse than when I was younger. Congratulations! You’re an inspiration!,0 me realizing these things as I’m talking to my therapist during sessions lol,0 "As a full time nanny, a lot of my job is helping the mother keep her life together. Running a home is a difficult job and getting help is nothing to be ashamed of! She personally calls me her ""Home Manager"". I know a lot of other people don't want to hire help because they feel they should be able to do it themselves. That's not the truth! With my help she's able to spend more time with her kids and focus on her career. At the same time!",1 "Because i can relate, this actually made me snicker. The faces just do it for me 😆",0 "Yeah, I experience this. I perceive it to be mostly a sensory thing, namely a hypersensitivity in my interoception. I associate this more with my autism than my OCD, but the two overlap so much for me that it's hard to tell many facets apart. I kinda suspect sensory issues and hypersensitivities might be kinda common in people with OCD too.",0 Yep. Same with books. I’ll read a whole chapter and realize I didn’t pay attention to what I was reading at all,1 "I recommend googling Dr. Fred Penzel. He explains in an easy, coherent manner why this is the worst thing an OCD sufferer can do. Staying away from germs is the compulsion. Thinking that germs are harmful is the obsession. In order to clear this particular obsession you must accept the compulsion as irrational. Touch those dirty (or what your OCD mind is telling you that they are dirty and can harm you, they can't) surfaces! Do it over and over again. Your mind will eventually adapt to the anxiety and you will have rewired your brain through this behhavior. The key is stick with the anxiety! Take the feeling. It always passes. Each time less and less. It's hard work, but I have conquered many compulsions this way. There is no way to fight OCD. You must let the OCD think that it is winning. Then you win by taking your life back.",0 "Not sure this is related to ADHD. I’ve seen people without ADHD who need to know why. I’m also the type to need to know why. But I’ve learned to accept lack of understanding as it is a very important skill. However, it is very difficult sometimes. People have different cognitive mechanisms to retain information, relational/causation (I’m making this up) is just one way just like some people rely on visual, auditory, mémorisation to retain information, some have relied on understanding. The more you rely and use a system the more you depend on it and the more your ability to use your other mechanisms shrink. This is all speculatory and from self-analyzing I’m no expert. Please do your research and read books on cognition.",1 "Yes. Exactly this. I did zero homework at school and very little admin in my corporate job. Even if I wanted to do it, I - literally - couldn't. But I can hyper-focus on creative tasks. So I became a freelance sales copywriter and mainly do stuff that I really enjoy.",1 I thought your friend was now laying in a bathtub with pink salt. Had to read that like three times 😂😑,1 "Imma quote Marvel’s Daredevil “They can't give you that. Maybe you'll walk again. I hope so. But maybe you won't. But your ability to get through it... as this gets harder, that is a hundred times more powerful than slapping a smile on your face and pretending like everything is just fine. Do you understand?” You can get through whatever’s going on bud. My ADHD was severe, still is. I’m now in my second year of college and I could cry because of how far I’ve come. It wasn’t easy. But I had to earn the right to be where I am today. I struggle with talking as well, and it’s currently the issue I’m working on",1 "Haha I remember in high school I would have to memorize my script word for word to prevent verbal vomit and actually be considered a presentation. I was actually known as “one of the good ones” for presentations cause I would practice the hell out of them; time every paragraph, mark down every pause point, highlight sections that need more enthusiasm, etc. It seemed quite excessive from the outside but it was so I didn’t embarrass myself in front of the class by losing my train of thought and turning as red as a tomato while the timer still ran. My friend convinced me that it’s easy to improv presentations if you know the content and as the easily convinced person I am, I did it. And I fucking failed it. So yeah if something works for you, STICK TO IT. IF IT AINT BROKE DONT OVERHAUL AND FIX IT",1 "😯i’ve recently (within the last few years) come to this conclusion on my own.... i just joined this subreddit and this being the first thing i see/read brings me elated relief.... i’ve met people who block everything out when they’re focused on anything (i.e. phones) and have come to the conclusion that i’d rather have ADHD and constant awareness of my surroundings. In conclusion, for the first time ever.... am glad i have ADHD...😊☺️",1 Actually watching the lecture when they have to post it online. Now I’m just watching in a panic before the exams.,1 "I've felt the same before and probably will again at some point. You definitely deserve a spot on earth and in society. Think of People who are responsible for oil spills, pollution, war,etc They have made mistakes and caused so much damage. If all you did as a person was pick up one piece of trash and dispose of it, just once. Than you made the world a better place and you have definitely done more than just that. One of the things that make me feel better when I'm like this is volunteering. I'll walk the dogs at animal shelters or play with the kittens. I hope you feel better soon.",1 Story of my life. Only thing that helped was microdosing mushrooms,0 "Believe it or not, my GP thinks this way too! I asked to restart my Prozac because of my OCD, and she said, 'oh, like obsessive cleaning and organizing'? I said, no, it's more like obsessive shopping, borderline hoarding, ear worms, skin picking, and double checking things, which are debilitating to me. I belong to a HMO, and its mental health system is notoriously lacking. There's no longterm counseling available, only acute.",0 This explains so much. Like how my anxiety goes through the roof when I’m faced with a task that’s hard for me because Deep down I’m afraid of the suffering I’m about to go through because I don’t know if I’ll be able to learn it. I have to go lie down now..,1 "Fuck yeah, tell your brother's girlfriend she deservedly won my free award.",1 "So wait, all people with ADHD feel like they are a bad person and they hurt the people around them? Or am I reading that wrong",1 pleasee lmfao it’s like when you think of a celebrity and then the celebrity dies like 5 months later and you’re like “I’m somehow responsible for this”,0 "You always are doing the best you can. If you could have done better then you would have. All this bullshit about “oh they just aren’t trying hard enough” “lazy” is all trash language to try and blame the individual for a lack of tools, environment, or ability.",1 Yes. Gaslit and traumatized. Society has failed me. Especially the education system.,1 "Woah, this is amazing! I’m totally gonna do this with my HOCD thoughts!",0 "yeah. all the time. always. this helped me a bit getting it more under control, when i am not too depressed. [https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html](https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/10/why-procrastinators-procrastinate.html) and part 2 [https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.html](https://waitbutwhy.com/2013/11/how-to-beat-procrastination.html) it gave me words to talk about it, and i showed it to some of my friends, so we could discuss, and it helped. right now, i am coming out of a pretty bad depression stretch, so i cannot really relate to this specific problem, i just thought, you might like this resource :)",1 "Hahahahaha!! I love it!! Shut the fuck up Carl. 😂",0 "My OCD tells me that I would harm a child even though I love children. I wanted to die when I had these thoughts. Now I know I would never harm a child but am afraid that I will talk to people about it and people would hate me. I'm not my thoughts and I will get through this. It's just so facking hard. I panic during conversations with people I love because I get the thought in my head that I have to tell them about my awfull thoughts and they would hate me. I will get through this. I'm not my thoughts, but sometimes the mind can be such a cruel master. Sending love to everyone struggling with intrusive thoughts ❤️",0 "Setting alarms helps like people have said. Removing stuff that's distracting from the area that you're studying is good also. I do better in online classes because in person lectures do nothing for me tbh. If I could never take a class in person again I'd do it in a second.",1 "OP maybe I'm too dumb to understand, but could you explain it to me, please?",0 "LITERALLY, the complete mental block is exhausting. The stress starts to build up and I’ll just distract myself from it. It’s a vicious cycle that I wish I could break out of too.",1 "This. I am definitely a to-do checklist maker. But am I any good at checking off anything of those things? NoOoOooOOo lol. Ugh. The struggle is real.",1 I hope it works well. Heck I'm in my 30s and even I kinda want to buy it now :x,0 I just checked it out on Amazon and it looks really relevant to the things I'm experiencing. I can't imagine that the audiobook would be worthwhile though.,0 Nice! I wear gloves when I’m in public I can’t stand doorknobs. If I absolutely have to I will but otherwise gloves or nothing,0 "Thanks for describing me. But mostly thanks for reminding me that I haven't eaten today. Now, to decide WHAT to eat.",1 "OCD: “But what if it does exist?” Me: “Nah mate doesn’t” “OCD: “You sure?” Me: “Fuck”",0 "I was just talking to my Dad about this sort of thing...we were talking about how we've seen movies that have deeply moved us, they were very profound and had a big impact on us at the time we watched them. But beyond that, they're forgotten. Like I *know* that I love the movies Drive, Interstellar, Nocturnal Animals (etc.)..but I hardly have the capacity to tell anyone what they are actually *about*. It makes me feel so stupid sometimes.",1 "Wow.. the entire thing.. I see my self in all of it. The Neurotic overly organized yet still jumping from task to task. Pacing cause I would forget what i was gonna do. It would take me all day but it go done. (before the toddler 😩). I can’t now with her, it’s too much for my brain. But I definitely was that.. running on high anxiety cause I didn’t want my SO to find out the mess I was lol I always say that I feel soooo deeply. Especially the negative emotions, those are no good for my health . They have gotten me into trouble. Self esteem and all that anxiety worried the mistakes I’m gonna make . Great post! Thanks for sharing.",1 "i get the most results (diminishing anxiety round an intrusive thought) when i just like refuse to interact with it. it’s unpleasant, especially when your compulsions are mental but stay with it. distract yourself. remember recovery isn’t linear and the thoughts don’t reflect your true nature",0 "I like to think of it as Giles Corey saying ""More Weight?""",1 "This makes me angry too but it makes me more angry that ADHD in children is treated like ""How can YOU suffer less because of your child"" and that homework is the only thing they talk about, like it's not important that your child learns how to deal with these things but how can your child be more efficient and a working part of society. Because you and your issues only matter in relation to how productive you are. If you perform well in school or work then it's ""not that bad"" This really pisses me off..",1 "Learning about rumination really helped me with ERP. Wished I would have known about it years ago! https://drmichaeljgreenberg.com/how-to-stop-ruminating/ These podcasts really helped too: https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-michael-greenberg-269/ https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-michael-greenberg-rumination-is-a-compulsion-252/ https://theocdstories.com/episode/dr-phillipson-brain-voice-gatekeeper-voice-275/",0 My hands look like this too!! And they’re so dry especially now that it’s winter. I wash my hands and lotion them. Only to wash them 2 minutes later. Never ending cycle.,0 "What’s really helped me accept my perceived competence is holding the things I love to do close to my heart, and knowing that we are meant to apply ourselves to very particular things but we can be the best at them",1 "The worst part for me is that when I put a plan into action, it can never be just the one task. Starting one task requires effort into another task, which leads to another task, and another, and another. This most recently happened a week ago when I went on my computer to do one thing. 2 hours and 9 tabs later, I wanted to smash my head against the wall when I not only realized I hadn't gotten anything done, but I wasn't sidetracked by entertainment of any kind. It was literally just a rabbit hole of tasks required to do what I needed to do — *the way I needed to do it* — and was so deeply frustrating, I quit and still haven't done it.",1 "This is the best post I have seen yet on this sub. Good for you!! I am saving this post so that when I have more income in the future, I can consider doing this for myself. :)",1 "I also use comma a lot, I’ve never realized it until now",1 "Livescribe smartpen is a good tool too if you find yourself doodling or zoning out. it associates audio with handwritten notes. You u just tap on the notes to hear what was said at the time. https://us.livescribe.com/",1 "It gets better, trust me. I thought I was gonna kill myself last spike but it's finally getting better. Hang in there friend, this too shall pass",0 I’ve been asked why I can’t obsess over important things like school or cleaning 😑😑,0 Why do all the techniques I used as a teen to stop myself from spiraling are on this sub I always thought it was just anxiety but could it have been OCD this whole time? I only got my first trigger for a themed OCD about 7 months ago...,0 Literally 30 times a day including basics like brushing my teeth or taking out trash 🙄,1 "I’m going through a huge spike in OCD, and my psychologist (who is specifically trained to treat OCD patients) reminded me that this distinction between “real” fear and “ocd” fear is meaningless. He told me an example of a psychotic patient who was was watching another psychotic patient in the hospital with him hallucinate that monsters were attacking him; and said that “his monsters were fake, but the dragons that were attacking me were real.” Ultimately, it doesn’t matter if our fear is corroborated by the “real” world — the anxiety is all the same, and if we are perceiving it in our minds, it is real.",0 IM SO GLAD I’M NOT ALONE IN THIS LOL—i have definitely fully convinced myself of that in the dead of night and it is so distressing,0 Huge deal! I’m battling not brushing my teeth myself. It’s terrible. I also need to schedule a dentist appointment for the consequences.,1 "If it's a comment from a random person, it might be their OCD making them feel they need to post it. Whatever the case, this seems like a good candidate for exposure & response prevention stuff.",0 "Pest as in like ants or roaches? If there is roaches in your residence, then you have every single right to act out of anxiety.",0 "Top songs: 1. If i don’t touch every item i have 3 times in a row a demon is going to kill me in my sleep 2. Stressing with some extra stress on the side 3. I hate living so much (producer. Brain) 4. Are you mad at me? 5. I hate humans",0 "Yeah but then you have to think about not thinking about it, which makes you fear thinking about the original thought more, which weakens your false sense of control over the OCD thoughts....and r-e-p-e-a-t 😵🥺😨😰😭😫😖😣",0 "All the time, every time really unless its animated or I'm medicated.",1 Yes!!!! I used to get weird looks when they would ask me to do something and I’d ask how do you want me to do it? In my head I had 50 variations of ways that resulted in slightly different outcomes or reasons they may want it done that way. A lot of the time they would just say “what is wrong with you just do it”.,1 "Yeah without meds I can't plan when I'm gonna e working. Maybe I can write two sentences in two hours or a whole text in three. Maybe i can't focus at all or maybe I could study for 6 hours. With meds it's more like the latter it makes life so much easier because I don't spend all my willpower trying to focus anymore",1 "Self medicated my OCD and depression most of my teenage years, after finally getting sober at 18, I experienced the worse intrusive thoughts of my life for weeks on end and couldn’t sleep until I checked into outpatient, happy to say i’m 3 years sober now. I still have the OCD of course but i’ve learned how to handle it without the drugs :)",0 Boyfriend is hyper focused on buying us a house. Two nights in a row he has stayed up past 5am looking at finances and looking at houses. He left my place at 2am last night to make sure he got some sleep. I just want to spend time with him in the sunlight.,1 "> OCD: "" What if you're a \_\_\_\_\_\_\_ ?"" . No I'm not, fuck you. I'm also like ""Just because it's that butthead OCD saying it, it's extra likely to be fake anyways"" Totally epic to hear that you're sticking it to the OCD 👊 👊 👊 👊",0 "omg same. i think everyone remembers the moment they discovered what ocd is. but then again, i feel like if i had known what ocd is sooner, i would've told myself that i'm faking the symptoms. now it's much clearer to see what it was without knowing about the disorder or symptom criteria",0 I totally do this! Because the first one is “contaminated” of course!,0 "Tfw you wake up feeling just awful anxiety and depression-wise, then you take your meds and they start working, but instead of feeling motivated to get up I realize I just want to stay in bed and sleep some more because now I can sleep soundly without being bothered by those feelings.",1 "I’m DEEPLY stuck in this mode, especially since it’s like life is happening again with vaccines the pressure to DO is getting much heavier and I just CANT!!! BAHHHHHHHH.",1 "Pretty good advice, after i deleted my twitter account my mental health got better. I'm actually considering asking the mods of som subreddits to ban me, ones with endless politicing. I know I can't keep myself from interacting with it.",0 I'm afraid of harsh chemicals and certain smells out of fear of panic attacks. Also I've been scared of the psych meds. I'm so proud of you!! I'm glad its helping.,0 "I love this. My therapist is big on being present and mindfulness. However, it is THE hardest thing to do for someone with obsessive thoughts. Or so it seems 😂",0 Keep it up! Proof is right here that it's worth it.,0 The worst is when it's one of those people who take forever to tell a story and keep going on tangents that are pointless to the story (or is that just my ADHD brain that can't keep up?),1 "Ugh YES!!! I was diagnosed and still have issues believing that it’s not laziness, stubbornness, or stupidity. I’ve been told my whole life “You’re just lazy, you don’t try hard enough, you’re stupid” etc. Hard to go against what your parents drilled into you from birth I guess.",1 I feel like it could be said about most mental illnesses. People have been a little more careful around Depression and Anxiety the more common ones but the more obscure ones are still the butt of a lot of jokes IRL and in the media ,0 "Yeah, I've done that. Luckily it wasn't anything like that, I just had to get 3 root canals, a tooth removed, and several fillings.",1 "(God I hope my GF or friends don’t find this) I usually finish first, which means, I keep going for her, not for myself. So I get bored quite quickly. One time, I got so lost in thought while I was at it, prompting my girlfriend to ask, if something was wrong. To which I instinctively responded honestly. I was thinking about laundry, so I ask her : „which compartment in the washing machine does the detergent go into again?“ XD",1 "Don't worry, you'll make good use of everything when you get the brain chip in a few years.",1 "I've done this once where i just end up walking back and forth indecisively, unable to decide whether to keep on going on my way or to drop everything and go back home and check the door.",0 That is incredible!!! I suffer from this too so I am beyond proud of you!!!!! Keep it up thats such a tough one!!!,0 Does anyone know any apps that would vibrate your phone or give a little ping every 30 mins like suggested above?,1 "Shit like this bothers me so much. I constantly question if my OCD is real, or bad enough, or if I've even had any OCD symptoms lately. Then I wonder if I faked everything for attention somehow and I just am a really selfish person.",0 "It depends on exactly what that entails. I went through an entire training for this for my ADHD daughter. Strict consistent rules with a light punishment like timeout are very effective at shutting down explosions. Threats, fighting, yelling, screaming do not. The greatest tool they taught me was labeled praise. Find something good and point it out. Good listening, good eating, good sharing etc.",1 "> stop avoiding going to bed How bout you stop calling me out huh",1 Me today with my fucking midterm. I’m so glad I found this community. It makes me feel like I’m not crazy.,1 Yeah its really hard to be consistently conscientious eh. Something i’m constantly working on (albiet in fits and starts...),1 "I don’t know, for me I feel like I’m always running and running and running to get away from myself and my spiraling thoughts, but there you are, trapped.",0 "I'm a fan of putting ""wake up"" first on my to-do list. If I wake up I can probably eat breakfast. Maybe even make my bed.",1 I didn’t realize this was one of my biggest obsessions.,0 "I believe I agree with you. But when I was a kid and my mom yelled at me dude, I just did whatever it was so she wouldn't come and beat my ass. And truth be told I miss it cause she got me to do things ;-; I shouldn't want it but I do.",1 "Pro tip: If you misplace your retainer, it’s in the trash wrapped up in a napkin.",1 Its still hard to recall research during a convo no matter my interest. Its so annoying.,1 "just remember this, odc is not something you fight against, its something you let go of. your brain is like a muscle, and when it tenses and locks up like this the more you focus on it and agitate it the worse it will get. you dont need to be thinking about any of this, at all, and you probably know this, it doesnt help you or anyone, and yet youre so stuck on this stuff and you are the only one thinking about it or causing this problem to happen. the only reason the intrusive thought bothers you is because you take it seriously, and consider it and give it so much power. when the truth is, theres a reason everyone has their ocd and honestly, when you stop fighting it youll start to learn what that is, and then youll start to realize that you dont need to do any of this and you can start to let go. but you dont have ocd because any of these thoughts youre having actually matter, they dont, its just all in your head. and also dont worry about what anyone else thinks of you, it will hold u back and slow you down too much. its much better to like yourself first and be okay with who you are. then u dont have to worry about what anyone else thinks. ur only having those thoughts cuz u obsess over having them, they dont even have any relation to who you are or what you are about, or if you are a good person.",0 "I’m doing that this morning. I need to go to the bank to see about a home improvement loan, then go to the antique store. Instead I’m laying in bed...ugh.",1 "Oh god, you nailed it. My English teachers were constantly picking at my “over-use” of commas! I also use a lot of dashes in my sentences. *A lot.*",1 "I went through this entire process while I was learning how to drive a car. I was signed up for it by my parents without discussing it first. I did the theory part fairly easily, wasn't a big deal. Then I started the actual driving part. In my country you have, from the day of your successful theory exam, two years to complete your practice and have a successful exam. Most people do it within half a year. I did it two weeks before my valid theory exam expired. I spent one year with a driving teacher who was verbally abusive and degraded me for the slightest mistakes. Then I switched instructors, the new one was much cooler and we spent a considerable amount of time just trying to undo the damages the previous one did. Almost two years of constant stress, doing something I didn't sign up for, something I hated, something I never wanted, and something I still hate doing to this very day. I hate driving and I avoid it whenever I can, but people keep telling me that if I could take the exam then I should just drive more and learn to love it. I failed my practice exam 4 times. I literally got sick from the stress multiple times. I talked to my parents about this, they didn't care. Sure, I learned how to drive a car, but I also developed immense hate for it. Don't force your kids to do something that makes them physically sick.",1 "This is so damn true and exactly why I get overwhelmed so easily and get nothing done in the end, *sigh*",1 I always get anxious because of how far fetched a lot of the shit I’ve been through is,0 Oh my God I haven’t checked mine in months like since maybe October,1 "Dang! That’s a really good drawing, and you depicted _exactly_ how it feels. That’s insane, props to you",0 "OMG, I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE? I was literally scared of the number 6 or sometimes 3, but mostly six, any number that has 6 in it is making me really uncomfortable and anxious, for example 26 or 61 ahaha, i get SUPER ANXIOUS Maybe its because i grew up in some bible study, and mostly they teach the numbers from the mark of the beast (the three 6) it made me scared shitless, uugh i hate it. Btw that bible study cause alot of my intrusive thoughts lmao",0 Literally I was supposed to shower after I came home and i got hooked scrolling through reddit. Thanks,1 "Ouch this hurts my professional life a lot. At first I’m all gung ho, like let’s do this!!!! Then... I never follow up, or my interest and participation wanes after a while. I get overwhelmed with everything. I drop it. Then I either beg for forgiveness or never contact them again (:",1 "Fuck it UP Michael! Had soemthing similar. 22 now, but like I had planned on killing myself for so long so idk what to do w my life now",0 "Procrastinating taking my meds (and making the rest of the list that much easier, brb!",1 "Years of living with ADD has conditioned me to make a mental map of things in the house, because having to search for things means entering a terrifying minefield of distraction rabbit holes. My wife does not understand how I can remember that the tube of tomato paste is on the top shelf of the cabinet to the left of the stove, in front of the bread tins, to the right of the empty water bottles, with the red cap of the tube facing the stove. Also, I know OP’s search process well - except I usually don’t stop searching until the important thing is found, which can take hours...",1 It makes me become super contrarian and I just shut them out,1 "Next step (at least what I've been through) ""feeling like you're glamorizing OCD and that you don't have it despite being diagnosed""",0 Good job dude! Just keep doing that as often as possible and one day it will be a LOT better!,0 "And I just saved this page, to probably almost never read it in the future! Thank you for your hard work, I do appreciate it, even if I can't deal with this right now and may never get to return to it! Cheers!",1 "Thank you, I desperately needed this. After months of self-improvement, socialising and meditation, I have finally began to feel joy in my interests. For years, I would not be able to watch movies, play games, or even go out because of my intrusive thoughts. Now, I am finally going out with friends, watching movies & shows, and I am making progress with my university studies. At this point, I just accepted my OCD as a part of who I am. Therapy didn't do anything to help, and medications only made the symptoms more tolerable, but came with other nasty side effects. It's a never-ending fight with myself that pushes away others around me, and if I had the option, I would like to see myself without it. However, I will keep trying to find happiness despite what my OCD tries to tell me. Good luck to everyone who is also leading that fight!",0 "I feel the exact same way. ""Tough love"" just makes me feel miserable and anxious. I don't think it is an ADHD thing though. I think ""tough love"" is a horrible method of motivating anyone to do anything. It is more an excuse to dismiss problems that you can't understand or won't do anything to fix than a real attempt to improve the situation.",1 "I have a really hard time with this. If I'm not my thoughts, then what and who am I? They cause me so much turmoil, but what else do I have?",0 "Man, so many people throughout my life have and still do get frustrated with all my questions. It definitely is because the more i know and understand something, the more i will remember it. Plus it produces a clear image in my mind of the topic.",1 "I wish I could.. I'm sitting in the hospital parking lot waiting for my wife to be admitted to the hospital who likely is in labor.. once she's admitted I'll be able to go in but it's been over an hour now.. Due date wasn't supposed to be for another 3 weeks.. my daughter is totally grounded for interrupting a Saturday night of gaming 😂",1 Thank you for giving words to something I've been trying to articulate,1 "I sometimes use the Reddit saving option as a super upvote. I rarely check my saved stuff. I started to use the remindme bot now for stuff. You can summon him simply like this: !remindme 2 days Instead of 2 days you can also put X Hours or even X weeks or Years.",1 "Absolute madlad. Very well done! Having an understanding partner is very very important. Everyone: seek someone like this. It's a real life changer, I witnessed it first hand",1 "What if you get hurt? But I didn't But what if you did? Me: god dammit every time",0 "Fuuuuck so true, If I find something I'm interested in I'll research for hundreds of hours to the point I'm practically an expert on it, But then won't talk to anyone about it because I literally can't recall any information during a conversation In general this happens though, someone could ask me 'whats the craziest thing that's ever happened to you?' then I go 'ummm idk', then hours later I'll suddenly remember the time i nearly got eaten by a bear (didn't happen just an example)",1 Does OCD ever go away? I wish I had Xanax. Like geez.,0 "And then you see these ""OCD = Obsessive Christmas Disorder"" christmas cards in a post view days ago...made me puke so hard that companies just joking around with it",0 "Yeeeep me for sure. Everything must be either a 5, a 10 or a multiple of 5 or 10. Volume levels are where this hits me most.",0 "I freaking love this example, nothing has encapsulated the feeling of having the same thing roll up in there for so many hours without even the tiniest desire to have it in there",0 "Meds saved my life, there should be 0 guilt/shame in taking them. It’s a lifelong struggle and you should use all resources available to help you achieve happiness.",0 "Lol in college I had a coach that would sit down with me and try to plan my week using this planner that had time blocks for each day 😅 She meant well and she tried her best but it was a bunch of “you feel like you can do that during that time?” and me “I..I don’t know. Yeah maybe. Actually yes definitely!!...wait idk”",1 "The questionnaire I had to fill out every cbt session asked if I obsessively have to keep checking forms I’ve filled in or keep going over work to make sure I’ve done it right and this right here is the same kind of behaviour to my mind. The kind of second guessing that tries to convince you that you didn’t do it right or check it properly the first time (or the second, or third, or fourth...) Before I did cbt I had no idea this was part of my ocd.",0 "This is a great post on so many levels. Aside from it being an awesome idea and suggestion, I really appreciate how you laid out the information and the specific steps, examples, and suggestions that you gave. Thank you!",1 "I both agree and disagree. On one hand there are people that like to use illness as the next “fad” or something that makes them unique etc. On another hand there are some people that go into (mild) remission from OCD whether that be from medications or therapies and they’re either trying to convince themselves that it was never a problem and just a “quirk”, or they’re disgusted they ever had it (they still have it, but remission) that their way of coping with the self loathing and their way of owning it is romanticising it. The latter usually have a flare up during exceedingly stressful times or when their medications need adjustment and then they remember the extent all of this can get to and it distresses them once again. I’ve been the latter. I also have bipolar II and when I get hypomanic my anxiety shoots through the roof which prompts OCD. This usually can happen during literally any stressful event (there’s been tonnes lately) or when I do something that messes up my medication (I had a single drink about a week and a half ago and it has seriously fuuuckked me). When I’m feeling well I still have a certain amount of OCD but for the most part I’m like “Oh look, maybe this’ll be the time it doesn’t come back! I’m fine! What was I worried about? Silly me.” It’s like I self-invalidate because it feels like a far distant memory when in remission. It’s perfectly ok to be pissy at those that romanticise OCD but I think it’s important to remember some sufferers try to deal with it in humour and romanticism because they’ve temporarily forgotten. Yet it comes back. That bastard always comes back.",0 "Yes! OMG thank you for this explanation. I have felt so dysfunctional lately but all the things I'm too ""lazy"" to do are things that I must do and no on else can do - like fill out paperwork and clean my bathroom. I don't have an assistant and there's not gonna be a surprise housekeeper showing up anytime soon so I'm the one who is standing in the way of getting it done.",1 "Feels like a never ending roller coaster doesn’t it, stay strong though, don’t give up hope!",0 Same here. I’ve literally had a nightmare where I was afraid I had stolen something but had not.,0 I feel this. I had no idea that there are different types of OCD because all I've ever heard about it are sterotypes. I'm currently waiting to see a psychiatrist to talk about my symptoms. I am fully confident I have Sensorimotor OCD. I've been dealing with it all my life and I just thought that what I've been experiencing is normal for everyone.,0 "I found a counselor who specializes in adult ADHD. One of the tips he gave me for these situations is to make a list of 5 reasons why I should do The Thing right now. I've found it effective when I actually do sit down and make the list. (Usually numbers 3-5 are ""so I don't have to think about it anymore."")",1 "well I kinda just gave in so yeah,everyday is one of those days",0 "Lol! I will rub my hands raw with hand sanitizer and soap, but my room and car and bathroom (etc.) are all a dump. I can’t explain the reasoning 🤷🏼‍♀️",0 "I count in time step. I danced and was in choirs for a few years, so everything I count is an 8 count. And sometimes I'll start 5-6-7-8 so I can always end on 8.",0 God I’ve felt so alone and crazy when I’m stuck in this mode. So glad I’m not alone!,1 "Its crazy how many doctors do not understand ADHD also. I had a doctor who mentioned that I might have adhd because both my sons have it. When I asked him about it he said that it was possible that I had it but, just not that bad. Since I have a job that ive worked at for years. This guy has adhd himself. It wasnt until about 6yrs later that I got diagnosed.",1 "Wow I like it ALOT. I'm also an artist and also want to try and make art that reflects my OCD, my vision is totally different to yours, yours is so creative and interesting.",0 "Thissa mood. Is the only way to fix it to keep taking medicine and trying our best? like deadass, is there anything else we can do? :( Any ADHD buds hacked this yet hah??? (p.s. to all buds in this sub:❤️)",1 I have a lot of ruminations like this damn. Another one is what I would do to my haters if I got rich and powerful lol,0 "When I was on vyvanse , I had a lot more usable hours. It still wasnt perfect , but it was doable. Then I developed chronic pain which is exhausting to deal with. It's 10 am and I haven't slept yet. I'm trying to move pain management doctors to hopefully one a little more motivated and not 250 miles one way (which driving 5 miles is hell with arachnoiditis)...and it's been terrible. For weeks now I've been trying to get my attorney , workers comp, old doctor , new doctor , someone to call me back or do something to get this change done with no luck. Now I'm out of pain meds and in withdrawal. I barely get 45 mins of usable time on a normal day. The only saving grace is that the adhd meds help a little with this type of pain and neuropathy but it's still fucking ridiculous the hoops you have to jump through for workers comp that ruined your life....and then cherry on top of ADHD. I just need the the things like these appointments and normal schedule meds to be simple so I can keep my head up and make the most of my usable time and make a plan for when workers comp is gone. My state changed the law 6 months before my wreck. They don't have to cover anything much longer and I don't know what I'm going to do since I'm not functional enough to work ...or live at all really ...but I do know I can't do what I need to do to figure it out until the routine I can control is fixed. How two spine surgeries , severe nerve damage that causes my legs to collapse and 24/7 radiating pain, and arachnoiditis isn't catastrophic legally I'll never know.",1 "My parents I believe knew as a child I had ADHD. But since I got good grades they didn't want to medicate me. Which honestly I don't blame them. But as I got older and went to college it became much harder because when I couldn't just get an A or B without trying I needed to be able to study. At least at the time I was able to get the medication myself. But it took me doing research and explainng to them that I don't just procrastinate. It's part of my ADHD. When I get overwhelmed I just have to ignore things. That was a hard one at first for them to understand. But I must say they might not get it entirely, but I'm grateful they at least are supportive. I did stop my medication for a few years because ofy anxiety. But it does suck when people say 'well if you didn't procrastinate , you would have had it done a long time ago"". Unfortunately there are just so many different symptoms and every person is different that it's hard for people to understand. Even I didn't understand half of the things about my own ADHD until I was an adult.",1 I recently realized I've been living with anxiety and depression for most of my life. And one thing that has been amazing was from when we started dating 16 years ago my wife would leave me notes when she would leave after a long weekend or each holiday card. I kept them all for the past 16 years. And I tell you reading through those when I was feeling down was an amazing way to cheer me up.,1 "i go to art school so we have no clue how we're supposed to conduct studio courses online....as if the unstructured time wasn't bad enough i'm also going home indefinitely and there's a three hour time difference, definitely not keen to sitting through a 4 hour studio at 6 AM my time. trying to gear up for the hell that's to come.",1 "or, and maybe worse, you can’t look away cause for some weird reason you feel like nOW is the time to trigger yourself",0 Talk to your disability advisors ASAP. And let your professors know as well. You have a condition that makes independent online learning nearly impossible and you’ll need extra support for the remainder of term.,1 I have ASD in addition and I easily get irritated by things I don't want to listen or focus on.,1 "I think a lot of those positively toxic people haven't come to term with their own disability yet, ans then they lash out because your post showed them exactly that, and they aren't ready to accept that fact.",1 YEEESSS. To this day I think about something my dad said to me like 5 years ago and Everytime it comes Into my head I convince myself that he hates me,0 "This is my main symptom, 10+ years of it. It’s completely wrecked my social life and turned me into an introvert. Wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemy.",0 "Same with university. I saw a steady decline in my grades/working ability the further I got. 8 Grade A's at GCSE (high school), three C's at A-level (college), and then proceeded to fail my first year of university entirely... seems that the more freedom they give you the more the ADHD comes out to break your kneecaps...",1 "life with ocd: 'ahh, feel the breeze, today is a good day to get screwed'",0 same for IG. I have even sorted in categories but never looked at them again,1 "The worst is when your taps drip normally so you can never really be totally sure they aren't actually on, because when you hold your hand under them to check that they're off your hand gets wet.",0 Lol this is me. I just bust OJ all over myself laughing. Time to get cleaning and wondering if I’ll go to hell for laughing.,0 "It's like when people say that they have anti-social disorder. They don't know what they're talking about probably... but I don't want to argue with them :D ​ Seriously though, I mentioned in a comment (off the ocd boards) that my OCD was kicking in and someone jumped all over me for the comment. I tried to explain that I seriously meant my ocd was kicking in and it wasn't just some casual comment but they were already too mad at me and I was downvoted into oblivion.",0 I read condiments instead of commitments and was so on board until I realized you didn’t actually hate mustard. ADHD is really great.,1 ">her presence unlocks my paralysis Thats a big thing for me too. I can do shit. Just don't make me do it by myself. I used to have a friend that lived near me who had ADHD too. It was fantastic because we could body double each other for shitty projects we didn't want to do around each others houses. And we would work out together at the gym too, because that's the only way I actually would keep my plans to go. And no judgment because we're both the same way. She has since moved away, sadly. I would love to figure out a way to start like an ADHD support group where I live. So I could make friends with other ADHD people, just to do shitty jobs together. Like you come over my house this week and help me decorate for my kids birthday, and I'll come over your place next week to help you organize that closet. Then when we finish, we'll celebrate by going to get smoothies at the place we both like. Its a perfect set up. Plus, I'll frantically start cleaning my house 30 minutes before you comes over, so its not a total reck. But then I end up getting so much more cleaning done, because you'll ended up being a half hour late.",1 "Thank you so much, brought tears to my eyes. Right back at you!",0 I need to get into the shower in 3 minutes so I don't have to stress to work... Thanks!,1 Like how I set an alarm to remind myself to do a task but then I’m busy doing something else when the alarm goes off and I can’t do it so I to it it off and forget to the task and get mad 3 days later for forgetting about it.,1 "Habitica is a good idea in theory, but there's not much incentive to outfit a character if you can't really use the character for anything except putting stupid costumes on it.",1 I HATE that word “sloppy.” my ex used to call me that all the time and never put 2 and 2 together to realize that I didn’t process thoughts or function like him. he was mind blown when I disclosed my diagnosis upon discovery.,1 Did she bring in the chamomile and lavender essential oil?,1 "You have no idea how hard I’m trying to fight this right now. I have my marketing degree and I’m trying to self-learn ux design. It’s like a battle within myself to just do it and because I’m not exceptionally good at it yet, I’m losing momentum 😩",1 "At this point even my therapist agrees I know more about mental health than she does because of my obsessive researching. I quote studies to her, talk about anecdotal evidence. But I still don't have breakthroughs in my treatment. I may have an encyclopedia in my head but that means nothing when it comes to putting skills into practice and actually bettering my life...",0 "I've seen this called 'waiting' mode, and it is *absolutely* a thing for me, too. I agree with the person who related it to time blindness. I am the person who will either not show up, or show up an hour early, innards vibrating with anxiety as I try to manage myself until it's **finally** time. Never having to be places at specific times forms part of my idea of paradise.",1 "Literally me right now. I ended up emailing a few ADHD coaches/therapists because I'm sick and tired of stressing myself for doing absolutely nothing. Even though I technically should be doing a lot of very important yet boring things, like finishing my assignments...that are overdue.",1 HOLY FUCK THATS ACCURATE also i have a thing today that i just remembered abt :(,1 "My other favorite is when I finish the assigned task for work, send the email that is it done, but forget to actually attach the document I finished. Every. Single. Time. At least Outlook has my back because now every time I write the word ""attached"" in an email and don't attach any documents, I get a pop-up asking if I really intend to send this email with nothing attached. 99% of the time my eyes move right past that pop-up and the email gets sent without the attachment anyway. Hey, at least I tried lol",1 "We never learn our lessons. Like never. I'm looking at my messy place right now for the 1 billionth time! If you are medicated, do the following. Try the following that my therapist suggested. If you're medicated. If you need to get stuff/something done, take your medication when you start it. Like sit down in front of the computer, open up the email and wait. If it's cleaning, take you're medication, start off by holding a broom or something that needs to get put away and wait. When it kicks in, it'll built in you the motivation to actually do it and finish it. Well, it works for me, half the time. Try it.",1 "you have no idea on what level I relate to this post. it crushes me knowing it's why. literally all my problems are related to this disorder. Like I am this person who constantly read and learn about new and diverse topics but I can't recall anything. I just blurt out random stuff, but not very specific or accurate :/ so when people are like ""source?"" ""are these the exact numbers?"" ""are u sure?"" I want to tell them to fuck off lol cause I can't give u that sorry",1 "I totally feel this - I am in a couple of support groups for something unrelated and there are constantly posts with the sentiment of, ""Are there any groups out there that are HAPPY about this situation? Because I am and obviously I'm way better than all you as a result."" Like damn ya'll - sometimes people need to vent!",1 "Hey Bud. Im also in the same boat. Havnt been able to leave the house cos of this bs and its like every single bit of progress from my contamination OCD journey is slowly going downhill considering every person is staying away from everybody and you have to literally wash your hands 100 times an hour. You know how exposure is the best therapy? Well now we cant do exposure. Its such a stressful time and it somehow is siding with the mental illness. With you bud, swing me a message anytime.",0 "I’ve had depression, depersonalization, GAD, I’ve abused alcohol - ocd was the absolute worst of all of these",0 -Anakin Skywalker voice- is it possible to learn this power?,0 Mannnn. This is so horribly accurate. I would HATE to see the amount of money I’ve spent on trials I forgot to cancel or late-night impulsive eBook downloads I’ve never read.,1 "Thinking about getting pet rats for the same reason. I loved them when I studied with lab rats for honours. I love spending time with my pet dog at my parents house, but she lives outside. Is it the bodily fluids that scare you, or the germ/disease? Or something else?",0 "oh my god IM GONNA DO THIS. i have multiple mental illnesses but like i’m choosing one name. i pick aaron. FOR FUCK SAKE, GIVE IT A REST AARON!!!!",0 "I mean, I'm not NOT lazy, but ADHD is a huge part of the reason why.",1 "I remember when my hands used to look like this. My doctor and parents thought I had eczema and couldn't figure out why the lotion wasn't helping, but they never asked about my hand washing lol. idk if ur looking for advise I used a LOT of A+D ointment, it should come in a kind of orangey tube. Putting this on at night and wearing plastic gloves over my hands as I slept really helped, though it's weird to go to bed with sticky gloves on :pp",0 "This is an ocd thing? I didn't know. Daw get an unbearable feeling that results in a physical reaction to these? Like there's so much shame attached to what ever memory is there that you're compelled to move? IE: Kick legs, hit steering wheel etc?",0 "All the time!! I roll with the punches in the moment and then a week later, it finally hits me how messed up something actually was. But by then I feel like it's too late to bring it up to the people who did the thing...",1 9 years of saved posts and comments that I’ve never taken a look at 😅,1 "Except I read it before saving it in case I want to go back to it in the future, which I almost never do.",1 "The first book on ADHD that I read was recommended to me by a friend/co-worker who suspected I might have ADHD. It's a classic: Driven to Distraction by Edward Hallowell, MD. It was eye-opening at the time. I still refer back to it. Thanks for the recommendation - I'm reading about The Disorganized Mind now and checking to see if it's at my library.",1 "Sometimes, my brain convinces me every small unexpected sensory input is BUGS crawling on me. Every goddamn month is spooky month.",0 "this shit is real and this post hits close to home, been thinking about getting back on medication to help with this. But i want to try therapy first",1 "This! 100 times this. It’s why I hated maths so much in school. Telling me that steps 1-5 result in the answer, and to memorize the steps, does not help. I need to know why those steps work. I can’t memorize the steps if they don’t make sense to me.",1 "Oh god, the amount of times my dad has told me to just buckle down and focus... I AM BUCKLED ALL THE WAY DOWN AND I CANNOT FOCUS",1 "False. What you are describing is schizophrenia, which is at the other side of the spectrum.",1 "Wow. Ok, so I’m a freshman in high school and I’m friends with a lot of juniors because of theatre, so I have them read most of my essays to check that they’re good, since they know what the teachers expect and stuff? When I first showed my junior friend an essay, he sighed a huge sigh of relief and hugged me, and I was so confused. He smiled and said, “thank god, you know how to use commas correctly.” So now I’m his favorite freshman because I can use commas correctly (I use the Oxford comma and all that). It’s not even a conscious thing, that’s just how I always write.",1 "You are so amazing for posting this. I didn’t realize I’ve been sitting here procrastinating for so long! The thing I’ve been trying to get up and do is to go to the pharmacy and pick up my Adderall. 😂 That’s it, I’m getting up, getting dressed, and getting my productivity pills! Seriously, thank you so much, you beautiful soul, you.",1 "my brain be like "" u act good cuz ya want to be liked don't ya"" i hate it",0 Me with my eight alarms reminding me to do school work or eat or workout so I don’t spend all day on my phone 🤡,1 Who is he? Is he accepting new patients?! Does he accept United Healthcare?!,0 "Im also good at typing out my thoughts, instead of speaking in real time, otherwise I'll stutter and mispronounce. It feels nice to know that I'm not the only one suffering with this problem...",1 "I can relate too, I always feel scolded whenever ""tough love"" happens. Things like ""man up"" ""grow a pair"", ""you just don't want to work"" makes me feel miserable. And it hits stupidly hard after I was being functional and doing my truly best. It makes me loathe myself and dread my own existence, to the point where I think that nobody would truly care if I died. At least that feeling goes away quite easily... Just to haunt me away when I'm spacing out later that day....",1 "i don't know if it's a similar mechanism but I cannot do something or focus on something untli some other pleasant thing, I am waiting for happens. So if it's tuesday. And I have a date on friday - the working week just basically ended for me. I don't know if it's waiting for or expecting a dopamine rush.",1 "thank u for this. i often feel like i have the weirdest form of OCD bc even ppl with OCD share common themes, it feels like nobody else but me has these fucked up disgusting thoughts. but it is just another one of a million thoughts that gets stuck.",0 Doing it right now. I feel like I need help or at the very least someone to talk to so I'm not constantly worried this bad every week.,0 I'm not sure whether I want to be an asshole or whether it's OCD.,0 I DO THIS TOO!!! Feels good knowing I’m not alone 😂,0 "I once came back after walking for two blocks. While you are locking it, not sure of the word, but do it with focus. Most of the time, we just lock it without much thought.",0 "When you've been mostly out of that loop for a week now and feeling good, then get sucked into another loop for the next several days",0 I drank a bit too much and this great day was turning into something somber but this post just shot me right back up! Lmao thank you so much xD,1 "I agree, too many people using Psy language ever say. I like to discuss this topic with anyone that is willing. I'm a mental health advocate, podcaster and caregiver to an adult daughter with severe ocd.",0 Wait!! Is this not normal? Is this considered intrusive?? I’ve always had thoughts like this!!! Or just leaning over a cliff to think well what if.....,0 "The thing with the attention for me at least is not a lack of motivation, either memory. I realized I get lost in my thoughts not because I am not paying attention BUT because I am paying way too much attention to every single detail and its context and implications, my mind is constantly on fire which makes it very hard to keep up with a linear flow of conversation, a story or watch a movie without getting bored by the middle",1 "of course. My compulsive hand washing and intense fear of germs is putting shit back where it goes,yes,totally right Karen.",0 "You see, these are just some of the many who misinterpret their obsession with organization, cleaning, whatever, for actual OCD. You cross the OCD line when you loose control over your obsessions/compulsions and they take over many important parts of your life. No one enjoys loosing control of things or loosing important parts of life. Yes you can make peace with it, learn how to live with it, learn something from it and lots of other not-so-negative things. But no one that actually has OCD would ever use this combination of words (""enjoy having it"").",0 Would it be cool if I made this into a tiny comic? I'm an artist w ocd and I think this analogy is spot on and I want to visualize this :),0 "I've had severe OCD with various themes for over 10 years, crippling anxiety and panic attacks started in early childhood, and depression of varying severity, sometimes extreme, for at least 10 years. I've tried literally dozens of medications of different kinds from SSRIs to antipsychotics, though I've never really had psychosis, except maybe once for a little while when I started college and thought the janitor might be trying to kill me for no reason at all. Also, I had about 13 ECT treatments where you're under anesthesia and they zap your brain to induce a seizure. All that really got me was short term memory loss where big chunks of time are missing, especially around the month of treatments. I think it also caused me to have some hallucinations and really bizarre thoughts like that my cats were actually robots and the people on TV weren't real. It's all kinda blurry. Now I take adderall just to have even a small amount of energy for a few hours to go to the grocery store or something. But yeah I really can't remember or imagine what it's like to not have OCD or anxiety or understand how anyone is content or even enjoys life, especially when they spend most of their waking lives at jobs they hate just to keep living to keep working most of the time. Idk how they do it. I've never been able to keep a job more than a year. I just start to go absolutely insane and completely stop giving a shit about it even if I liked it at first. I have no idea how anyone has the energy or motivation to do that shit day after day, year after year. That's why I'll probably never have kids. Way too much work. Plus I kinda think it's wrong to create another sentient life that has to deal with existence, especially since a lot of this psychological shit is genetic.",0 "So this was linked to r/movies, and a ton of morons came out of the woodworks with things like ""ADHD is only an attention disorder"" and ""the majority of us probably have ADHD"". So nice to know extreme ignorance is still alive and well I guess.",1 "Monotasking is the only solution. The issue is I can't check out to not get bored by a boring task and I can't multitask without getting distracted. ADHD is a jerk. It gets better but it takes a long time to do so. I'm 31 and I am finally functioning to the level of a 20 year old.",1 "Thanks, I was nervous about asking my doc about upping my dosage but now I know I might as well try",1 "Especially since some of my closest friends are like ""mental disorders are nothing to be ashamed of"". Then you share some of your OCD stuff and they are like ""yeah, we all have some of that - but you shouldn't focus on it.. it gives it power."". Oh. Thank you for your wise words. I will just chose not to give my obsessions power anymore. You definitely know what it is like since you ""have some of that"". Then the next time they bring something up that fits a theme and I just sit there doing exactly this meme.",0 Congratulations! I really struggle with this too. This gave me hope that I can overcome my urges to wash my hands/check expiration dates/throw perfectly good food away due to my fears of getting sick. OCD will not rule our lives!!,0 "Here's the thing, though..I really am not enough. I hurt the people I love the most with my impulsivity and my lack of self control. And I'm getting really sick of it. I can't seem to figure out how to fix it and I just lost the second love of my life because if it.",1 It’s never really bothered me when people use it as an adjective I don’t care. It’s not hurting anyone,0 It’s like you found my journal from my childhood... which is funny cause I never wrote one.,1 Time to fight these intrusive thoughts. But damn do they know how to throw hands,0 Is obsessive thoughts about negative improbable scenarios and negative childhood experiences OCD? This is me to a T - I do that all day lol. Tryna figure out how to stop it.,0 "Just want to join in with a “Hell, yeah!” School is built for highly intelligent ADHD kids to succeed (though at an emotional cost, in my experience) and the work force is the fuckin’ Wild West.",1 "I have the same problem honestly. Considering you havent reviewed most of the screenshots you've taken, personally, I would think that they arent as important as you thought at the time (because you haven't frantically searched for them) or you really aren't that interested in the topic. As far as organization goes, there are definitely techniques and systems out there that can help you improve your organizational skills. Unfortunately, for most of us it requires a lot of dedication and follow through to implement these changes. Have someone other than yourself hold you accountable for these changes and it might help your motivation to learn.",1 "Me: I don’t really wear makeup anymore, just on my eyebrows Mom: Really? Me: yeah cause i pull the hairs out Mom: Oh. That’s..... weird Me: oh shit ur right it is",0 Lol anyone who says your hair looks better is lying. It's not better it's great!,0 Yeah i have this. But after some time i finally lose and do the thing i like,1 "I'm always stressed about work because of this very reason. I don't present my work-in-progress well because my steps to get a final result won't align with a 'typical' process. I'm also not good at explaining it so it seems like I have the 'wrong idea' or like I'm jumping around. My manager will check in, tell me I'm heading down the wrong direction so I shift my focus to exactly what they wanted, get a different result, then end up doing my original process anyways which gets the correct results in the end.",1 "But if I won't watch this one Youtube video or tutorial, I will feel like I have wasted my day.",1 "I wish I could take medication... I feel my life slipping away and I can’t do anything about it :( Also, congratulations to you for the success my friend! :D",1 "Oh me, for sure! I have a checking compulsion. Cleanness/being tidy does not intersect with my condition. Thus, I am a slob.",0 "This makes so much more sense in my live now, never realised it was an ADHD thing",1 I use...... this process...... until I'm done with...... my idea. That way people know I'm still on the same thing ..... just expanding on the idea. Then I put a period when I move on to another topic. I also use a lot of (....) to explain my sentence within my sentence.,1 "The theme can change, the illness still with us. But know that is just your OCD help. When you reconigze that is OCD is hard. When you can't reconigze is a hell.",0 This has been the absolute worst for me lately. I can’t even imagine having a future because I can only think about the past.,0 "Hahaha..That's so me! I usually take 5-6 hours if my sink is full. I've recently started to do the dishes just after using them, it's easier that way.",1 Is it wrong to laugh at the comments for most of these threads? They're so relatable. Makes me feel less like an idiot lol.,1 I’ve never related so much to something in my life. I’m so glad other people experience this (but it also sucks).,0 Now THIS is the kind of wholesome content I want to see! So proud of you!!!,0 I do this everyday all the time for everything. It sucks and nobody gets how difficult it is to just get the stuff done. I'm sorry it's like this for you,1 "So much respect for M.J. Fox for all that he's done to bring attention to the ""reality"" of mental illnesses. Him being so open about his Parkinson's Disease has touched me so much and given me so much hope I can't even put it into words.",0 "“But what if while you were checking the door was locked, you accidentally unlocked the door?” 🙄",0 "When that happens, I usually say out loud ""Well that's fake"", turn it off, and go back to whatever I was doing.",1 "Aight, into my pile of saved posts that I never open again you’ll go. On a serious note, this was super informative and hella helpful! I’ll def set a reminder for myself to read this again! Thanks so much for going thru so many posts! You’re a hero!",1 Fuck. This is depressing as well as a wtf moment because word for word I could have written this post.,1 "I absolutely love and hate this. I love how accurate it portrays intrusive thoughts and I also hate how accurate it portrays intrusive thoughts 😂😭 Amazing piece of work, please tell me if you sell prints",0 Wow! I have some swollen lymph nodes and some weird stuff on my white blood count but my doc tells me it must be a virus or infection…I’ll go again cause now a new lymph node has popped up. Good luck my friend!,1 Wowwwwwwwww. As someone who experiences OCD and paranoia... I am always scared that I have some kind of psychosis !!,0 I was at a movie theater and ate my whole popcorn while day dreaming then annoyed my self because I ate it all,1 I can still taste the familial torment and bile that it has produced.,1 "I do this with the volume on my computer aswell! I know that I'm not even gonna watch anything with sound, but I still check the volume several times, just in case...",0 "Find your affinity. Once you unlock a passion in yourself chances are you’ll be able to do it for longer and better than most. To me the addition of natural passion can get me to sit down at the computer for 16 hours an create an intricate song. Not much else pulls this kind of productivity out of me.",1 "This is my biggest struggle, and it plays a huge part into my social anxiety. Most of the time I shy away from entering conversation because I can't keep it going. When I do get into one my mind will just go blank, and I give short answers for everything because I can't think of a proper response fast enough, or remember anything relevant that I can add. I feel like I come off as uninterested and rude, or just some idiot, and it's super frustrating. Reading this post and the replies was comforting, now I know there are some people out there that can relate to this feeling.",1 "Absolutely. I remember once when I was like 12, we were at a doctor's. I have broken my finger two and he has given me a splint to hold its shape so it can heal. Two weeks later, we went for a check up, to see of it healed (it was really benign) and if I can stop wearing the thing. He was writing the report and was saying it out loud; like doctors do so you can intervene if they get something wrong. He wrote ""1 week"" and I corrected him; he said it doesn't matter but corrected himself. My dad, who was with me, snickered and made a little joke. I, off course, felt like shit, and did the automatic thing of shutting the fuck up, as I thought myself to so I could avoid embarrassment. The doctor said: ""Hey, it's ok, they didn't know if that was important."" AND HE WAS RIGHT. THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME I REALIZED THAT I DON'T HAVE TO TAKE SHIT LIKE THIS. I, of course, take shit like this on a weekly basis. I am better at realizing it tho, it only takes me about a week. TW: sexual assault >!Although, I only recently realized that I was sexually assaulted a year and a half ago; only now I realized that *I could have said no*. It didn't even cross my mind that I can refuse.!< >!It was ""only"" an attempt, but the realization still scarred me really badly. How can I even have sex if I don't know if I like it? How can I tell if I like this??? Can I say no? Will he hate me? Will my scattering bring me to the point of being a victim of something worse? I really don't know, and I am really scared.!<",1 "Pretty solid, only 1 is kinda sus but not too much👍",0 "Pretty good video on this topic actually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uo08uS904Rg",1 "Well, my wife regularly melts down plastic spatulas by leaving them in the frying pan so they become all crooked and ruin my ability to make perfect pancakes which is the only kitchen task I really enjoy. All my daughters seem to have acquired the same habit. Of course, just the fact that they are willing to cook should not be discounted. I intend to buy a lot of spatulas :-)",1 I wish the posts were saved subreddit wise. That would encourage me to actually go back and retrieve.,1 "Nah, I just don't remember what ""shitupstrsmomwienr"" is supposed to remind me of",1 "As someone with ADHD, I have also been just as mean to family members that also have it. But their main issue is they deny they have it and refuse treatment. So they have all the symptoms and don't even realize there's an issue. Like with not listening. I've just given up and don't try to have conversations with them. You're likely in your head because you're trying to get control of the vehicle (your body). Thats progress. There's nothing worse than an ADHD person that has never went inside their head and is oblivious to the dysfunction. But I agree, the goal is to eventually get back outside.of your head. You go in there to fix things but don't get stuck. Eventually use the knowledge gained to change the physical world.",1 I wish all of my past therapists understood this.....And I wish I understood more about myself when I was in college!!! Getting stuff done before a mid-day class? what's that?,1 "So I’m not bad for not being non binary enough, am not evil in general, don’t have epilepsy, am allowed to have political and moral beliefs, don’t have intestinal parasites, don’t have to open store doors by putting my hands several feet above the handle, don’t have to use my feet to push all the water off the shower floor before getting out of the shower, didn’t have to take my dads fence down bc the posts were of uneven lengths, don’t have to use qtips and toothpicks to clean every crevasse of my car, don’t have to open store doors by placing my hands two feet above where I think anyone ever touched them, my transmission won’t go bad during my next doordash, I wasn’t the cause of my parents bad marriage, I’m allowed to use my engineering degree and might not make a critical error which would jeopardize ppl, Am a person, and I don’t have to be absolutely certain of outcomes or of being approved of before I try things??? Damn",0 "Yes! Can I offer some advice? It helps me. It might help you. I live in a city where I can pretty much walk everywhere. It might take 3-4 hours, but I can still make it happen. Instead of sitting around and “preparing” for the appointment, I’ll just set off on a little adventure and make my way there. After an hour of walking, my brain fog clears up, I can think better about anything I want, and it turns a little appointment that ruins my day into a big adventure that makes it.",1 I'd love it if we could re-name ADHD to something like Executive Function Impairment Syndrome (I think Dr. Barkley suggested this or something similar.) More accurate and people might begin to take it seriously.,1 "definitely..listen to this physics professor advice, I think it’s appalling to give this type of advice as an educator https://youtu.be/Hkd-1zc_Gn4",1 "No one cares about your shortcomings, or at least no one should. It's a question of what you can provide this world, not what you fail to provide. You don't yell at an engineer for being terrible at graphic design, and you don't yell at a graphic designer for being bad at engineering. In much the same way, I don't yell at you -- or myself -- for being an aspiring psychologist who cant pay attention. I can't yell at you for being a clearly loving person who struggles with attention. You provide so much, and that's what matters. So stop yelling at yourself, you deserve better than that.",1 That moment when your OCD causes you to click on ads just to check to see what's behind them...,0 "When there’s a thought that pisses me off or just makes me sad, I try to distract myself with other things. I play sudoku, clean my room, watch funny TikToks or something on YouTube. It’s the only thing that works for me. OR I say aloud “Goodbye, you only cause trouble and make me unhappy.”",0 "That's so adorable though. Like I 100% have been in your girlfriends shoes, but she's so damn cute though! B+ for effort! And you're so cute for being so understanding and sweet about it though!",1 "I'm laughing my head off, I'm so glad I know it's not just me. Thank you for posting this you just made my day. 😂😂",0 "Works on my business oriented neurotypical sister, for me it made me feel like anything I’d accomplish was pointless before I even tried because it would never be good enough despite the efforts I’d made. Yay anxiety and never feeling comfortable with anything I try or accomplish. In general don’t punish behavior you want to see.",1 I feel for you. I hope you get to a point with family where they understand that this is a disability and take that seriously.,1 WOAH!!! You are AMAZING!! Seriously I am like.....woooooooow!!!! Oh it can really happen!!! As I sit here scrolling reddit trying to get a hit of dopamine so I can start my paper NOW instead of tonight right before it is due....,1 "Yeah taking a shower, doing laundry, dick sometimes brushing my teeth, are hard to consistently get done. And it literally takes a few mins and directly impacts my health",1 "A big part of the imposter syndrome for me personally is that I feel like I was diagnosed too easily. I’ve been suspecting ADHD for over two years, but only brought it up to my psychiatrist in January this year and she sort of just... added it to my chart after one conversation. My therapist has reassured me that she’s a psychiatrist and knows what she’s doing, but hearing about how difficult it is to get a diagnosis from other people makes me feel like I somehow just said the right thing and she didn’t care to look into other options. It’s probably silly to complain about it, but I feel like I just tried to find an excuse for my “laziness” (I don’t really believe that anyone actually is, I think it all relates to mental health in some way) and it worked out too well for me, so cue imposter syndrome!!",1 "There are some small hacks that sometimes work. Play motivational music to alter your mental state. Commit to studying for 1-5mins and worry about keeping going afterwards. Commit to only the very first task e.g. laying out your study materials. Burn off the excess anxiety with 10mibs cardio. Some of these work some of the time for me, see how you go!",1 "This really hits home. Thanks for sharing. Sometimes we do these things and we have no clue others do the same. Thank goodness I’m not completely insane",0 Wow you just spoke for me. And my son. I appreciate that. I’m medicated and it helps but you nailed it.,1 This is why large discord servers really bug me. Dx,1 "I'm always floored by these posts. Partly because it explains so much of my feelings, but mostly because I don't know how, as an adult, to share this with my superiors in an actual work environment? How do I undo 20 something years of conditioning?",1 I hate stuff like that. I had to stop using my 2020 calender cause it had ‚inspirational quotes‘ like this and it triggered me so much.,0 Now this is the attitude I like to see. I use this type of thinking for anxiety too or anything I’m insecure about. Pretend to be more confident about the situation then I really am,0 "If it's not causing a disruption to your life, you probably don't have OCD. I mean that's a good rule of thumb for most disorders. If sometimes you get a little sad, but you can handle it and it doesn't inhibit your functioning at all, you probably don't have depression. If you feel extremely hopeless and sad and it prevents you from being productive a solid amount of the time, you probably have depression.",0 "Or you could say you helped her retain her retainer! Ba dum tss! OK, I'll let myself out...",1 but if those 3 hours hit at the right moment you get as much done as others in 24 hours,1 "This. This is such a phenomenal idea. I think this may very well help me in the future. Thank you so much for sharing this with us, and please never delete the post!",1 The weird thing is that I'm not particularly lazy at work or something but at home....,1 "I thought i was the only one! what works best for me is getting in some kind of intense physical activity, like push ups or jumping jacks.",1 This was really comforting for me. Knowing you're not the only one can really make a difference.,0 "I also have been going through a tough time in which I have stopped taking care of myself with seemingly simple tasks like regularly brushing my teeth, showering, doing laundry, etc. I decided I needed to buy a wall calendar that I could hang up between the mirrors in my bathroom, and now I write down each of those activities and others like them whenever I accomplished them on a given day. It has been keeping me accountable and on track, because without it, the days were just blurring together so much. If you think it could help, I recommend trying it! Just keep a few pens nearby (even tie them to the calendar if you have to). We can get through this, keep up the great work! :)",1 I'm very proud of you it's a hard thing to struggle with and to get where you on now. Can I ask you how much sertraline you are taking?,0 "this. a few months ago, I got this position in an organization I really liked. I was picked from multiple ppl and made a really good first impression. Then I forgot to respond to one of the emails and got so much anxiety that I refused to respond to anything for next few months and procrastinated answering bc I was scared. Just last week I got an email that said I got kicked off. I hate myself",1 I’ve been having intrusive nostalgia to before the inside times and it’s telling me that happiness/contentment will never return to the level I once had. Real fun stuff.,0 "Sounds like my dad. ""You just gotta buckle down and focus and get it done. You need to *try*.""",1 Can OCD latch on to something you would have never questioned and make you doubt? a few months ago I saw a video of of a baby with the heart visible outside the body and I all of a sudden got hit with this uncontrollable anxiety since then questioning why do I have a heart and even feeling like I can’t accept I have a heart that constantly beats inside me even tho know the answer to why I have one? and the doubt comes in when I start to think. Back and ask my self did I not know my heart was beating? Why have I all of a sudden become hyper aware and conscious of it baring in mind I’ve always had a fear of heart attacks prior to this triggered experience can anyone give an opinion thank you it would be much appreciated. It’s like I feel Uncomfortable in my body it doesn’t make sense because it feels so real if that makes sense,0 "im not an adult and even then i feel the same way. yes we do mature a bit slower but that does not mean we are problematic pets, we use the interent too, stop making it like we are all 5 and at the age of 6-8 it just goes poof",1 My OCD didn’t like the way you said /probably/ there ,0 "Me after getting a formal diagnosis from a medical doctor, receiving a prescription, registering as a student with a disability at my university and receiving learning accommodations: wow great, look how much of a manipulator I am that I lied to everyone to cover up my laziness and incompetence! Also me after hearing of anyone with ADHD’s personal difficulties: sweet angel you are perfect and it’s the worlds failure that they can’t understand your brilliance",1 This is me every day. I hate it. I am really struggling and I need help. I don’t know what to do.,1 "You have to reinforce coping mechanisms..I was diagnosed at 40. Many years of not knowing what's wrong with me. I HAD to set time aside to figure ways around my ""failures"". Its gonna hurt and will still be stressful.",1 "I do literally everything in fours. My very first compulsion was step counting, and it’s by far my worst compulsion. Whenever I walk or touch stuff, I count, and when I don’t have anything to count I count my breaths",0 "Thx for reminding me to start my netflix episode, almost forgot",1 Glad to scroll past this on popular. I just found out BanPitbulls is a subreddit and the folks on there are extreme to say the least. Thanks for the eyebleach!,0 "Thank you for taking the time to outline this , this is great!",1 oh yeah \^\^ 100% i am close to the point where i am so exhausted that i stop giving a fuck.... you know what? maybe i really should stop giving a fuck.... then i just have to sit through my anxiety for a while and then it should be fine.... i mean thats erp right? xD,0 "I dunno if it would help, but I make a webcomic about adult ADHD and there's a subreddit. Community is empowering or something... r/ADHDVoltron",1 "Gotta create your own place you're expected. It sucks. I'd normally say go to the library or somewhere similar, but if the virus keeps progressing you ain't gon wanna go outside at all.",1 These memes are so cathartic. I start laughing so hard I could cry but it's such a release. Appreciate you meme makers. Keep it up.,0 "So true and soo Sad. The way I see it optimistically of course, is that You (We) Must look out for ourselves and never be discouraged just keep learning and try new things because relying on help just isn’t cutting it!",0 I thought I was going crazy! I needed to see this.. I didn’t know others have thought this before.,0 "Is having to touch all the buttons in your car until it feels right considered numbers ocd? I think sometimes I count it, but usually it’s just until it feels right. When it never feels right and feels like I can’t stop, counting it to a safe number helps create a stopping point.",0 Always the winter. My hands get super dry in the winter so my knuckles especially get torn up even more.,0 Congratulations! Much admiration for fighting the good fight.,0 "Being a tuba player with ocd, knowing the absolute power this instrument takes... This is correct, now I imagine someone make a ship sound like the Queen Mary coming into port and it's about to crash so the horn is going hoooonnnnnnnk hoooonnnnkkkk... That's the tuba making noise",0 Oml this literally just happened to me and I'm still feeling the leftover sensations that there's just 'something wrong' but I don't know what,0 Where you believe someone is harassing you in some way or you think you're hearing voices or sounds that don't exist that leads you to start believing you're a schizophrenic but it just turns out to be OCD.,0 "Routines are the only way forward. For me every morning without fail, 30 seconds after my feet hit the floor, I'm in the shower. Otherwise as my past shows, I might not reach the shower till quite late.",1 I do this constantly. A movie/show has to be insanely good for me to watch every second of it.,1 People like that are toxic. They contribute to the stigma.,0 "That's almost as bad as telling a depressed person to ""just be happy, it's all in your head""",1 "Yeah the anxiety goes, the thoughts are reduced..... but do they ever go away completely ? I believe at the right time at the right moment , intrusive thoughts can be overwritten and forgotten about. Via healthy string emotions, like finding love again... new excitement in life. I went through an episode when I was 18 and it was severe for two months before it went away completely and I totally forgot about it until I had a second episode at 24, this time it’s lasted over a year. Due to lockdown there literally has been no distractions so hopefully as things go back to normal I can keep myself ultra busy until I have no space left in the old noggin to keep attention to the thoughts",0 ">I just wish I could do nothing all day I would be happy just doing that i feel this so hard. i actually have mentioned more than once recently that it would be really nice if we could just pause time for a week",1 "No need to be sorry, the yelling is entirely justified.",1 "Just burst into tears at 4:30 am reading this. You’re wonderful, amazing, and loved, and the world is better for it — for your presence. My deepest condolences for your loss, but I hope that the love sent back at you here helps in some way. 💕",1 I managed to do my entire Masters via online. I believe in you!!,1 Its wild that this is such a common theme for us all,0 make her a little more angry and you summed it up pretty well,0 "when I get comments like that I want to scream ""that's literally the part that's physically broken"" the just do button is broke, like chemically",1 Oh my god you worded it perfectly. This is exactly my ocd type,0 "Im 20 old M I have sever Urination OCD, by the beginning of the pandamic when I’m going for short trip, i should take a leak before i went out even for a short trip, anxiety was killing me when i think that at the beginning of the semester I should go to my college twice a week, my trip to the college takes about 25 minutes, i thought its impossible to take it without stopping for a Pee💔 By the time i finished the semester (now), its totally fine for me to take a trip to the college without any lille bit of Anxiety even though I’m still fighting my OCD with baby steps ❤️❤️ I hope that my english is fine 🙊",0 "Whenever I play video games I automatically try to min-max things and become so obsessed with perfection that it ruins it for me. I’m so fucking tired of it, it feels like everything I try to love I ruin....",0 You basically summarised all of my symptoms / habits,1 "My therapist said this, it was then that I realized she didn’t understand OCD at all",0 People say OCD in a passing way all the time. I don't think they're being genuine... Or are you referring to something specific?,0 "No matter how many time I'm told this, I still feel like there is something wrong with me.",1 Managed to get mine down to around 250 during the COVID lockdown. It's at 740 now.,1 "When I was 13 I found one that said ""repost this within [x amount of time] or your parents will die within 5 years."" My mother's cancer had just come back. I sat there bawling. She died 2 years later. My dad's still alive, but is high-risk for COVID and works in a hospital, so seeing one of these in the wild would probably make me bawl again given the current situation.",0 "God, the past 2 days have been unbearable after a long period (2 months?) of doing okay. This feels very accurate. Calming down now, but man, it sucks sometimes! Done with meds for my ocd at this point in my life, but idk, might get back on them soon.",0 "i used to drive my doctor nuts thinking i was pregnant all the time, and the worst part was the stress i was causing myself was affecting my periods so they would be late, making me think i was pregnant even more. It got to the point where i would finally get tested, it would come back negative, and my period would start within a few hours. It was weird! This was back when you couldnt buy tests at the dollar store and i couldnt afford them at the pharmacy so there was no way for me to check without my doctor being involved. Tgat poor doctor, man she was a champ for sure",0 "I have this bullshit mixed with depression, so I either have no energy to to anything, forget about it, or don't completely finish it.",1 Yep! I used to seriously struggle with this. It’s gone away in favor of other compulsions. I wish I had some advice for you!,0 "Im guessing its a lymphoma then. Hodgkin or non-Hodgkin? Got diagnosed with a Hodgkin at 17 but was lucky it was at the earliest stage possible. Wish you luck, it will be ok",1 It’s that time of year Spotify judges me for my obsessive and contradictory life choices,1 "I do this with ""setting up"" my dream. I'm like I'll just look at few more things to think about in my dream scenario when I go lie down. Then I get distracted, so I'm like now I need to repeat the process",1 It happened to me. I wanted to empty my bladder before we start. and I ended up browsing my phone and watching videos on Facebook. I went to the kitchen after and got caught grabbing some bites. I panicked when I remembered and just said that I needed to eat something for some extra energy. i'm pretty sure he was weirded out with the what I said but nah. sex is sex. I think he forgot about it.,1 "I have a pie in the sky idea that i will eventually go back compile all the info I've saved into a massive ADHD handbook that will touch on every aspect of living with ADHD. Different perspectives of the same issues , and the like , coping strategies you name it. CMONNNNN HYPERFOCUS RNG!!!! DO THE THING!",1 Buy a cheap stopwatch/timer and set it for 10 mins and do the task. This helps me so much.,1 "> Terrible short-term memory Oh, it makes sense now. That's it. Huh.",1 "I've been thinking about this post since I read it. I talked about it with my husband (we're both diagnosed lol) and he got very excited by the idea. I've never heard of this idea before. If I asked my nanny to wash my dishes, fold & put away laundry, and help me make phone calls (they stress me out so i put them off until they become even more stressful lol), does that still seem within the $15/hr range to you? You said she helps you get through a list of tasks, could you please give a couple concrete examples of what some of those random tasks are? (If you're comfortable sharing, I just wanted to understand what types of tasks they usually are)",1 "This is incredibly hard for me too. I want to keep doing it, but it’s so difficult. And even when I do think of doing it, it’s like my mind is putting up walls against it and it feels like such a hurdle to get over just to take the 2-3min to brush",1 Lose weight by eating less. Get fit by moving. Prevent sun damage with sunscreen. Stay hydrated with water. YOU ARE WELCOME!,1 I feel like I’m both of these depending on the day? Is the common for anyone else or does anyone else relate. Because I’ll be in school talking to much in class and trying to fit in the come home and wanna just be alone or play video games. Or maybe I the next day I’ll sit in the back of class and put my hood up trying to avoid contact with anyone.,1 "Remind yourself that you are a human being living with a complex disorder that not even well meaning people will always understand. I used to lose a lot of things and have decided that very important things need a place. Which leaves my sunglasses to fall through the crack of that rule as they are not really important but expensive (typically they are $300-400). I have gone through about 3 sunglasses per year. After the second time Asking if anyone has seen them I usually get the “you lost them AGAIN?!” or the “you are so irresponsible” look. It’s so disheartening and in the past those comments would send me into a depressive spiral. Luckily, now it’s just a momentary setback where I question if I deserve nice things or if I’m a good person, then I question the validity of those questions. I can usually convince myself that they’re not true relatively quickly and get back to searching for whatever I lost.",1 "Yes I used to suffer from this, it wasn't as bad as yours but it became one of my themes for a period of time. I don't suffer from it anymore. I used to have a need to get up and use the toilet multiple times, I'd sometimes come back and still feel this intrusive urge that felt like I really needed to pee, it was very repetitive and annoying. Basically the way I got rid of it was I sat with the uncertainty of not peeing and all the feelings that brought up, like feeling like I was extremely desperate, that I would have an accident, that I couldn't tolerate the feelings and urges of needing the toilet and would be distracted by it. This immediately made the symptoms less and less until they stopped bothering me. I suggested to someone who found it really really intense and hard to stop that they should set themselves a timer on their urge, for example, tell themselves ""I'm not allowed to use the toilet for at least 30 minutes no matter how bad I feel"" then after they manage that stretch it to one hour, etc. Try and test your boundaries and push them and eventually you won't be bothered by the urge anymore, at least in my experience. I hope this helps.",0 "Yes. Absolutely yes, i feel this. It is irrational, and you shouldn't let it effect your quality of life. That said, if you want to feel....understood in this respect, I'd suggest you read ""The Slow Regard of Silent Things"". If you'd like I can lend out the audiobook via audible you can dm me the relevant info. Regardless, no, you are absolutely not alone in this.",0 I have to listen to audio books multiple times to retain any information at all 😐,1 "I’ll never forget the day my college tutor told me I “knew what I was getting into” by joining the course and that I had to fight through my depression. In that moment I heard a noise from above, a beam of almost blinding light engulfed me and I was lifted from my chair by an invisible force. I felt a calming presence in the room, and I looked up to see the eyes of God, it was Danny devito, he put his hand on my shoulder and said “child. You no longer have depression. Be free” and from that day forward, I never struggled with mental health again <3. Oh and I still pray to Danny devito daily ofc I love my lord and saviour",1 "me even when i buy something. ""will they think the phone in my pocket is something i stole?""",0 "So what is the best way to work with someone who has ADHD and help them accomplish important goals? Ex.) filing taxes (my (28F) fiancé (31M) is a contracted worker so GETTING TAXES DONE IS IMPORTANT! getting on his own insurance (parents still pay) Getting on his own phone plan (parents still pay) I’m at a loss on how to approach the situations to encourage him to take action. We have a child together, and I feel that sometimes, a lot gets put on my plate when I already feel like my plate is overfilled. Any advice is appreciated thanks! *edit for spelling Sorry for layout I’m on mobile",1 "Yep. This is me. The one game I can play right now is animal crossing... I think bc it’s so slow paced and some of the sounds are ASMR to me, so it helps a little. And you can build and terraform stuff so it gives me objectives to finish. Sometimes I can’t play tho bc OCD... but whatever helps a little, right?",0 "When the client or job says “no rush”, pfft, I love those words, but I feel it’s also a trick lol",1 "zoloft 200.. ​ ​ with like 20 other meds",0 CVS and degrees won’t be the things I’m worried about when it comes to the end and I’ve realized that. So I’m into figuring out how to enjoy my own life and the time I’ve been given and I’m so glad I’ve accurately been diagnosed now because I didn’t always feel that way,1 "Over-stimulated is when you feel that light headed-like feeling where you can't think and do anything even if you wanted too right? If thats the case then yes I know the feeling but it usually happens with me whenever I am doing a chore or homework, and my family memebrs will just keep going on and on about what else I need to do, ""Did you throw out the trash??"" (Immediately after that), ""i told you to clean the floor"", ""what did the teacher say about your grade?"" Over again. And I know how they feel in that degree but at the same time I can only manage to stay calm and not snap for so long but the moment I do its all "" don't you yell at me!"" ""Watch what your mouth"" and then we go at it.",1 "I feel this sooo much. Like you, I wasn't fond of passing assignments/projects up, and if I ever do, it's either I do it on the day I need to pass it and/or I'm interested at the topic at hand. I managed to survive school with getting higher-than-average grades (at least until high school). Once I started work, though? I even got fired at my first job, and it doesn't help that I wasn't interested at all on what I majored in back in college (which is accounting). The second job wasn't any better, and while my current job is a bit better, I still get a below average performance rating from my boss for the past three years, which basically wrecked my morale. And it doesn't help at all that you're constantly compared to your outputs, like what you've said. And as someone who only has been recently diagnosed, I have been too hard on myself for years as I was unable to make sense of a lot of things.",1 "I’m a rewriter too, I have to buy about 3-4 cards at least if I’m going to give one to someone. Also, on lined paper, I gave to fit an even amount of words on each line when it’s flaring up which can get really, really awkward.",0 I thought I was just evil and weird when I had my thoughts from OCD,0 ive reached the limit 2 years ago lol I have a playlist titled watch later 2 that ive never watched later that is at ~400,1 "My big problem is I often have ""what if"" intrusive thoughts. I'll just be going about my day, then suddenly I'll think, ""What if I walked up to that guy and kicked him in the nuts?"" I made this one up to illustrate my point because most of the intrusive thoughts I actually have are too dark or gross for me to feel comfortable sharing with even my best of friends. I can honestly say I would never actually do any of these things, and they seem equally as disgusting and repulsive to me as any non-OCD person, but I know if I ever described it to anyone I'd just end up sounding like a massive pervert at best and a killer-in-waiting at worst.",0 Ya I had to quit my sales job cuz i would send around 60 emails a day some days and it was pure agony,0 Took me a loooooong time to admit my thoughts. Took a long time to get a diagnosis tbh. I have alphabet soup when it comes to diagnoses. But these days if you don’t have a mental illness there’s something wrong with you LOL ,0 I get urges to start pounding on my chest like an ape in public places or to start randomly screaming. OCD is fucking wild.,0 "One of the things that cracks me up about this is the frequency in which one must be reminded to hydrate. I have a friend who always makes me drink water, and I’m always like why. And she’ll be like because we’ve been hanging out all day, and I haven’t seen you drink any water. If I was in the wild, I’d probably die of any number of things, including dehydration from stupidity.",1 "I beat ocd with psilocybin, look at my post for more info",0 "Living with contamination OCD during a pandemic while having a newborn (and not being medicated like I was pre-pregnancy) has been a challenging kind of hell, because how much of my thoughts are adequate, legitimate fears about Covid and how much is the disorder? Like, at least some of that is logical precautions, but I feel the OVD anxiety around everything. The condition of my hands right now is horrendous.",0 It’s been months since I have changed my sheets and it makes me want to cry from embarrassment but my brain just refuses to do the steps. I hate doing it but I wish I could just hate doing it while I do it. Not hate doing it when I am not. Causing me to not do it. Ugh.,1 "Thank you I needed this. I feel so hopeless sometimes, been struggling with the same intrusive thought for over a month. Every minute of the day. I feel so scared that it will never go away and that it might ruin my relationship. I just need to stay strong, I’m starting ERP but I’m afraid it won’t work for me because I don’t really have compulsions just thoughts.",0 "Yay! My husband and I joke that I’ve got the most useless magical talent ever. I touch stuff and it disappears. Usually he’s the one who finds it, sometimes it’s gone for good.",1 "26 years of avoiding cracks. My mom's back? Never better. For every crack I avoid, her back only becomes more resilient.",0 "You're doing so well and you should feel so proud, keep up the good progress!",0 Ok but what are you doing that is disappointing and you can’t keep up? Let’s talk this out,1 I cant tell if this is satire or they were actually being serious...,0 "Gotta love ocd Edit: this is 1000% sarcasm and now I’m not sure if that comes across.",0 It looks so full and healthy now! I hope you love your new hair! 💇,0 I literally do this when my alarm goes off to take my meds For ADHD,1 "Literally any pain in chest area or lightheadedness of any sort My body: iS tHiS a HeArT AtTaCk?",0 "This is THE one thing I struggle with most in my daily life. If anybody has found any suggestions for remediating this, I would try them immediately.",1 This sub helps me so much. No one understands. Today I got all excited and worked up and made so many plans and after running an errand I got so overwhelmed I wanted to scrap the day. I just gave myself 15 minutes and was better and motivated to keep going. Normally I just convince myself to push it off and don’t revisit it for another day. I love you all.,1 I am fully aware that I have this problem. Somebody let me know when you find a solution!!!,1 """The restaurant is going to explode"" and ""I'm not going to... (do that again)"" is actually so relatable.",0 Good job 👍 I was in recovery after intense ERP and now I feel back to square one after covid. So it good to hear other folks doing like yourself doing well.,0 I have Tourette’s and I have to count by 3s so this doesn’t happen,0 I've avoided this issue by being so anxious that I've convinced myself that everyone secretly hates me and just keeps me around out of pity,0 "You described everyday for me. I've been working remotely for a year now and it's gotten so bad. I don't even bother staring at my laptop. I get up and do something, anything to make me feel part of the world. 8 years ago I worked from home for almost 10 years and never had this problem. But I had a kid and that kept me busy and engaged. That and my psychiatrist at the time had me on a great cocktail which after I moved I just can't get again.",1 "That's also how to cure depression, simply by stopping being depressed.",1 "I'm pushing 34, and it's nice to know I'm not alone in this. For years, I thought I was stupid, or dumb, or lazy, they slapped a label on me as a kid, fed me the pills, and told me I'd be fine. I'm struggling to do things I want to be, have I accomplished a lot? oh yeah, I work 40 hours a week, I have a decent job, a car, and a roof over my head. But for me my aspirations are high, I worry sometimes that I'll never reach them due to my inability to concentrate",1 "Same, sometimes I worry that I don’t actually have mental illness and I’m just faking it for attention.",0 "Maybe try planning out your day in a micromanaged way. You might not estimate how long things take you at first but the more you do things according to a daily plan the better idea you'll have of how long you need to devote to doing something. Then when it's 6 and you have to go to bed at 8 you know you can get a few small tasks done or put some work into one big task, my G",1 "Happened to me last week haha smh. Was doing good ignoring intrusive thoughts until the damn thing started trying to convince me that maybe I like my thoughts :/ Anyways happy new year to all of you, and here’s to continuing to fight against this beast in 2021! Best of luck to all of you!",0 "Yep. I find I get about 8 months max before the shine wears off. It's the apathy that hurts the most. No anger, no fights, nothing like that. They just decide they don't care. And leave.",1 It’s annoying that Hollywood has put this stock image in peoples minds about what OCD looks like. I’ve had people without it tell me I don’t have it because I don’t act exactly like Mr. Monk,0 "Does anyone have an issue with starting a hobby and going overboard with it? Like I started growing my nails out and wanted to practice nail art but I ended up buying like 60 bottles of nail polish, and couldn’t keep my nails one color more than a day...all in the span of like 2 months so I just had to stop.",0 Literally the *first* post I saw when I opened reddit to avoid studying for a quiz,1 "OCD is the „least“ desirable because you never get peace of mind. Even distractions that could give short term happinessn to e.g. depressed, anxious people like watching a movie, don‘t bring silence. Still- comparing illnesses is stupid",0 "This person should go fuck themselves. As if OCD is some small time joke, and people enjoy the cleaning",0 honestly i like that society sees it like that. i'd prefer they think i'm quirky than they think i'm scary,0 "OCD: Are you trans? Me: No, I would actively feel uncomfortable interacting in the world as and being called a woman, and I’m comfortable as a male OCD: You’re a trans woman",0 "Thank you for joining. I think having you on this sub will be very helpful for you and the people that suffer from OCD. I’m my area, people that specialize in OCD are hard to come by. Welcome!!!",0 "Great thanks, I just moved on like you said, and don't have ocd anymore",0 But I like weeds though? Dandelion is one of the prettiest flowers out there!,0 "I don’t even have OCD, but I relate to this too much.",0 "ur response was amazing and well written, props to you!",0 "I have been diagnosed with both OCD and ADHD. I’ve also been told that the two illnesses can’t coexist, but I can’t come up with any other Illnesses that fit my symptoms. So, what’s incorrect? My diagnosis or the others?",0 "A sad reality I just realized. ""Trying your best"" is not the same as ""Doing your best"". You can try your best, but when your brain refuses to cooperate, it may not amount to much. But when you're able to do your best (like when you're suddenly under a deadline crunch, or when you have medication), there's a much different result.",1 this is why i have to drug the hell out of myself to get any sleep lol,0 "This happened to me 2 days ago. My (f35) nephew (37 not a typo, my family is weird) was going on and on about his roommates’ kid and mansplaining being a parent (which I actually am). My mom and I would say something jokingly and he would take a piece and continue his rant. He had had a lot of wine and I haven’t been drinking. I should have just walked away, but I was like, “You’re in a place where you want to lecture, but we’re just trying to have a lighthearted conversation. I... need a break.” He just stared at me, mouth agape. Thankfully, we dropped it and by the time dinner was ready, things weren’t too awkward.",1 "I’m about to cry because of how validating this post is. I feel like such an idiot in my class discussions because my brain just blanks, but in my classes where I’m practicing my micro skills and role playing (currently in a grad program to become a Marriage and Family Therapist) I do very well. I can perform based on what I’ve learned without issue, but ask me a question on how’d I’d handle a situation from a case study and my brain shuts the fuck down.",1 \*feels the need to clean my room only and specifically on a Friday but every week i have no motivation so i need to wait 7 days before it becomes a cycle.\*and thats how mines a mess :),0 "This is way too accurate!! I use so many commas in my writing, even just with shorter messages to friends, now this all makes sense 😂",1 I don’t necessarily get tired (depends on what it is) but usually I get just get stuck between do I do it or not then I lose motivation to do anything and then the cycle gets worse and continues,1 "This is exactly what I need today thanks a lot for share it",0 "That's an interesting theory. More anecdotal evidence--I am ADHD, and I use many commas (as well as hyphens and semicolons lol).",1 "I feel this omg I feel this to my bones Thank you for sharing, we're all in the same boat fam I'M PROUD OF YOU, KEEP IT UP!!!",1 "Me and my wife have a running joke that when I forget my meds I am the silly laughing forgetful child who makes messes and eats all the snacks. (I also forget all the bills, and forget to clean or do anything other than sporadic bursts of interest in whatever) Me without meds if amusing for an hour or two. But she wouldn’t want to live with me.",1 "The irony of them treating us like little children or liars because of ADHD is that for them to Understand, WE have to explain them as if they were little kids smh... 🤔😂",1 "I get this so much. My 8 year old talks and talks and talks and talks and talks and talks. I want to listen, I want to be engaged. But I am also sitting the edge of a nuclear apocalypse because he won't shut up especially if I've had to go into the office that day and deal with people in person I'm already done with human beings by the time I get home and I feel terrible that I'm not there for him without being on the edge of duct taping his mouth shut.",1 My mom says Im manic sometimes idk what to think. I do act like aggressivly happy for weeks at a time but I’m good at hiding it so whenever I tell a therapist they say I’m not bipolar. I LITERALLY HAVE NO IDEA AND AM SO CONFUSED.,0 "Sometimes this worries me, but despite having a severe case of the disorder, I don't see it as 100% ""bad""... it's just a different way of being. Yeah, brain is a bit bad at discarding unnecessary thoughts, but that can be rewired with therapy. Some people have terrible memory and aren't scared of passing it on to their kids. I guess I just see OCD as a part of who I am, and learning how to deal with it has made me strong in many ways. It can also be a blessing in very rare occasions, or at least I'm excessively optimistic.",0 "Let me guess. I have ROCD so it's like you don't like her, don't talk with her, and other things, and if I decide to I say that I'm using her. Are you telling me to say, no fuck you, and do it all anyway, even if OCD makes it feel wrong. Cause if so, I'm not complaining.",0 Omg yes thank you for this!! I didn’t realize what I had was OCD until a couple years ago. I used to think I was a freak or something was very wrong with me until I finally figured it out. Then a lot of other moments in my life made so much more sense. I hope they all figure it out/get help soon ❤️,0 "have you ever tried visualizing what you’re reading while you read it? it tends to help, for me at least (:",1 "i’m currently doing this (or at least something similar) with my therapist, so much i didn’t realize was my ocd!",0 "LMAOOO SEE THIS IS WHY WE""RE LITERALLY SUPERIOR, WE MANAGE TO STILL BE ALIVE WHEN WE HAVE THIS LITTLE TIME TO FOCUS",1 "I just assume they're like me and trying to hide a legitimate illness with badly placed ""humor""... I sometimes ask if ppl are legit ocd when they say things like that... sometimes it opens real convo",0 I also have trifecta. :/ i only recemtly found out about the adhd.,1 Wait... sensory overload is part of this bullshit package..? I thought I was just sensitive..!,0 Oh gosh I do the same thing! I’ve recently been doing this. I turned 45 not too long ago and it has hit me hard. Dealing with how fast life goes by gives me thoughts like this. More so at night. I like to listen to soft relaxing music when I go to bed but there’s one I simply can’t listen to because it makes me feel like I’ve lost my loved ones already and I think about all the memories we have. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who does this. I thought I was being overly sensitive.,0 "As a former gifted child, I still have cool piano playing skills. I’m nice, I know how to listen vs speak, I work hard. Then they realize that I haven’t upped my playing since I was thirteen, that my “niceness” is really just another form of doormat in the wrong situation, that I’m not actually listening as much as it seems like I am, and no matter how hard I work, I can’t work fast enough for anyone. Anything I’m good at is paid low, because it’s generally considered easy enough that anyone could do. I’d enjoy being a factory worker- can do the same shit over and over and over and over while I space out. Don’t get bored with it. But I seem like I’m smart and organized to do what I like. People cannot understand how I (or any of us) can be both smart and mentally disabled at the same time...",1 This is really cool! Love the contrast between your internal struggle and the words of everyone else outside your head,0 "One of the tricks I've learned is, I can follow any system I create myself. If I am in charge of where every item in the kitchen goes, I will always use that system and it will work beautifully. If someone else designs that system, I will have to ask them where the forks are 99 times out of 100. Thanks for all of these tips, it's really great!",1 "I know it sounds stupid, but i would change my current intrusive thought against another type.",0 "I was JUST trying to explain this to someone the other day. I'm trying a Udemy course after being out of school for years and re-encountering all the problems I used to have understanding complex lessons. I really crave the context of what I'm learning, and if I don't get it, it just feels like pouring information down a hole in my head. It's almost like that new info needs a container to be poured into. It needs somewhere to go. I used to believe that complicated subjects like math and science just weren't for me, even though I've been interested in them since I was a little kid. Now I'm starting to believe that I just need a little more time to take the ""long way around,"" so to speak, and approach them from a different angle.",1 that hasn't happened at my uni yet but I'm terrified. I've tried online courses in the past. I straight up can't.,1 "I just started Wellbutrin a few weeks ago (in addition the Concerta I've been on for years). It's been a gamechanger. I didn't realize how blah I was until the doctor went through the questions ""how often do you have trouble sleeping"", ""how often do you feel hopeless"" ""do you not enjoy the things you used to"", etc... Hopefully this feeling lasts",1 What if I'm lying and mocking people with ocd by saying I have it?,0 "Lmao, i have multiple playlists of different stuff, bc i want to watch it sometime later, i have never watched any of them lol",1 at least I'm not the only one that does this sort of thing.. last time I went on vacation I nearly had a complete breakdown while packing.. .,0 "Honestly, when I hear other people's obsessions a lot of the time I'm like holy shit that's stupid. But I know that if any of those people heard about my obsession, they would say the exact same thing, yet it convinces me.",0 Ohhhh my Gawd yessss! Then I berate myself for not realizing I was being insulted. And that the person throwing the barbs just reveled in the fact that I was either too oblivious to notice or too slow to come back with any decent response. I fucking hate it!,1 "This is me. One thing I’ve started doing is emailing myself links instead of bookmarking them. This way I can attach a title/body and it’s easier to find by searching later on if I do actually need it.",1 "I feel you. I was diagnosed when I was 29, while completing a master degree after having completed two bachelor degrees, multiples scholarship, successful career, etc. I always felt something was off. I always felt like I didn't belong. Anyway, my neuropsychologist mentionned that being smart may have ""saved"" me from many difficulties... .... But still, sometimes, I misspell my name. -.-",1 "YOU DID AWESOME! As someone who would wash my hands 5-6 times after doing that for a long time, you nailed it. I totally get it. Keep at it, CBT!",0 "This has become so normal for me that i forget that neurotypical people DON'T operate this way lol. One time i tried to explain how frustrating this can get sometimes and a friend said ""well a bunch of half done things is good at least right??"" Sometimes it's better than nothing. But mostly for me it's havoc",1 "What do we say to death? Not this day! (GoT reference)",0 Thanks u reminded me I gotta do my exposure shit I'm glad that it do b workin,0 "we're twins !! ((just kidding, i have an actual twin))",0 I remember my grandparents kept telling my mom that she’s just too soft with me. They would just take me for a week and there wouldn’t be any problems anymore. Yeah... no.,1 Dude... That can't be good for your teeth.thats 648 hours of brushing non stop. Let alone the fact you haven't slept in that time,1 I love it when I get the “jump out of your car while driving so you’re leg doesn’t break tomorrow” compulsions because I can actually ignore it I can’t fight off the rest though,0 "They don't get the fact that I have a planner. No, I have FIVE planners, and a shitton of sticky notes, and a chalkboard. But I forgot to write in them. Then I lost all of them. But hey you can always set up an alarm on your phone, huh? Yeah, but first you need to find the phone because of course it's lost now, and as I'm looking for it I'm noticing a planner that I haven't seen in past two months so I open it and see that I was supposed to do something in January but I forgot about it because I've lost my planner. Now I probably need to write something down but I can't because I don't have the exact same pen that I used then and using another shade of blue ink or any other ink will mess wirh my aesthetics and just fuck no. Fuck that planner. I have my phone. Yeah shit I was looking for it. Ok ok found it. I was supposed to set an alarm for something but I forgot what for.",1 This is a really interesting insight and a great strategy! I wonder if the same strategy could work for couples who both have ADHD. I imagine the success of it has a lot to do with healthy relationship dynamics and trust.,1 "Buy her a tomato timer and tell her to set it for 15 and go to town on those dishes, or whatever chore she has to do. It's like ripping off a bandaid, you just have to go for it and white knuckle it out until it's done. Also, point her to the FlyLady, she's a little nutty but her 15 minutes at a time brand of cleaning up is key for us ADHD folks. I also highly recommend her crisis cleaning tips. Oh lord, if I hadn't learned those I'd have a heart attack anytime my mom calls and says she's going to pop by in half an hour. One last tip cuz I'm a little OCD, tell her to clean house/cat boxes then shower. Shudder. 😂",1 "Books, shows, movies, conversations, God even at work. Its a pain lol",1 Or there is a creep down there who is going to rape me...,0 "The more angry and full or rage you are cause OCD the more your brain will classify these thoughts like important. The trick here is to not give a single fuck. Your brain make you feel that if you don't blink 38 times ur family will die cause of you ? Ye, ye...sure, whatever I'll keep doin my shit see ya. Once you keep not giving fuck (the first times you will notice that the anxiety will rise since you don't compulse) you will experience less and less anxiety. You have to do that for a long period of time and eventually your brain will be like: ""oh wtf he doesn't care at all so that means it is not important"". OCD is treatable bro, we're with you here, let's fuck it up :)",0 What is the show that this is from? I'm trying to think of it but idk it and its bothering me cause I wanna watch it llol,0 "Bruhh stop lying for attention is wat my brain says all day every day",0 "Thank you for posting this. Have been putting off checking a mole that’s giving red flags but because I saw this I just made my dermatologist appointment. 26. Fuck man. I hope it’s treatable and wish you the best 🤞",1 I am in the same boat!!! It’s such a struggle and honestly people don’t understand they always see us as lazy but we just don’t function the way other people do. What has started working for me is a checklist but I call it a mission list because it does feel like a mission lol. I put down everything that needs to get done for the week. If I don’t get it done then I move the task to the next day. But each day atleast one thing has to get done. That’s the only way I can manage it. It’s still very hard but just don’t beat yourself up about it you’re doing the best you can 🙏🏾🙏🏾,1 "Wow, almost all of these. The lists one was the most important. I thought the fact that I made lists to remember everything was why I DIDN’T have ADHD, because how could someone with ADHD make lists? Turns out I need it because I can’t remember anything I’m supposed to do without them, even if I just thought of what to do 5 minutes before.",1 "I've given up on my ""watch later"" list and just made a new one. It was at around 200 videos last night and now it has under 10 cause I removed videos I've watched or I watched a few or I just wasn't interested anymore.",1 "Of course I haven't read what anybody else wrote but my girlfriend and I have started doing that. I'm a psychologist and I have no idea what the psychological term for shame about not getting your driver's license renewed because you ran into a roadblock, laziness in general, but it doesn't matter what it is. This recommendation works. Thank you for sharing",1 "Me: *Park car in driveway, look at floorboard* Me: ""Oh yeah I really need to take this bag of garbage out."" Me:",1 "Sorry to be a Debbie downer. But that’s is quite common side effect of stimulant first use. That feel will go. The euphoric high is usually just for the first week as your body gets use to it. Sorry! ( from my personal experience)",1 Not the only one! I don’t do quite the same thing but on IG I occasionally go deep into the app to make sure I didn’t accidentally like someone’s photo even though I’m 99% sure I didn’t,0 You know Ethan dealing where you do something with on limb and then you want to do the same thing with the other and then keep doing it untell it is an even amount or someone yells at you to stop,0 "Wow, I do this all the time and didn't realize how many people do it too. Mine is usually accompanied by saying ""no"" or ""stop"". It's very strange.",0 "You look smart... What medications are you on? If any",0 "I've been struggling with it since two years, it has got a little better, but I just want it to go away, and return me my happiness, I'm just 19 and my life is already a mess",0 Good to know I’m not alone! I love my clean apartment:),0 "Google is the devil. Every time I Google symptoms, I walk away thinking I am having a heart attack along with every known form of cancer. I guess that's how I get my 6 month health exam done.",0 "Yup, too much for new people and not enough for your friends. I feel like that a lot.",1 "It's easier to derive from fundamentals instead of memorizing (which is difficult to say the least because of getting distracted, etc.). Same thing applies to subjects in school like math, etc.",1 "God the part about getting good sleep. Like can anyone actually sleep with adhd? Stressing me out about it isn’t going to help.",1 I been though this too. But hey find or order something to eat. For me OCD is harder to handle when starving 😂 .,0 This happened to me today after hanging out with a friend. On the ride home she kept going on and on about the same thing and I just wanted her to shut up.,1 "Pfft, tell that to the door handles at public restrooms.",0 "*cries dramatically* “See? Now I’m just manipulating you like the stupid selfish bitch I am!”",0 This is me and it's debilitating. Idk how many times I'd be late for something . 😑,0 "You had me until 23. GOTTA BE A MULTIPLE OF THREE, DUDE. ALWAYS. But for real, this is too relatable lol.",0 "Yes absolutely. For me it happens when I wake up before like, 10am. I recently moved out of a basement, and I have windows and daylight pouring in my room pretty early. I'll still sleep-in, but it's helped me get on a more consistent day-time schedule... It's so mindblowing. I'll get sucked into something, and then finally uproot myself to go make food or whatever and will be AFRAID of looking at the time, cause I expect I just wasted four hours and it's now 2PM. Most of the time, lately, it'll have barely been an hour.",1 Newly diagnosed. Signed up for a Reddit account just to respond to this post because I've never felt so seen.,1 "When i and my dad went to a ENT dr and I related to this doctor that i am seeing ocd on my dad which makes me think he has ocd (still undiagnosed bec dad isnt open abot mental health issues) bec i have ocd and ocd has a genetic predesposition, my dad's dr said that having ocd is actually good and makes us ppl with ocd achieve high standards.. i was kindaaaa disappointed that time hearing that from a doctor.. :(",0 "God, OCD sucks. Some People think it's just about cleaning. I pretty much live in the 4th pic.",0 Yes yes yes lollol cant believe theres others 😂😂 this makes me feel way better.,0 Somebody tell me this isn’t just an ADHD thing cause I consistently ignore my alarms for chores/bedtime but I also adamantly REFUSE to turn them off!,1 "Oh god its really hard to calm when my intrusive thoughts attacks me, especially at the wrong time",0 "Try spending a day in nature and compare it with a day inside or in the city. Most likely there will be quite a difference. Read up on the evolutionary theories around adhd, it points in the direction of being born a hunter that needs constant stimulation on the form of more dopamine than the average person. If you had a hunting dog how would the dog be if you didn’t take it out hunting... totally miserable and no energy for much. You take it out in the woods and it will wake up and be teeming with energy.",1 I want to understand this. Who is the guy/character?,0 Thank you. I'll be fine if we're the devil's legion with commanders like this.,1 "This will be interesting to a lot of you as I got diagnosed at 40yo as I was concerned about my memory. I ended being referred to a memory clinic where I got a battery of tests. My short term memory was average-poor, my problem solving was excellent/top percentile. The specialist (see, can't remember her title!) told me I'm just not absorbing information, but my brain was fine. She suspected ADHD straight away. Unfortunately as you get older I think memory gets worse. Meds have sorted anxiety and concentration as now I can do my job without getting super distracted. Haven't really sorted memory although my psychiatrist days I can increase my dose, and I will, I just happen to be pregnant and want to wait. I absolutely hate the memory lapses. I get super upset when people remember events in pristine detail, and I'm looking dumb not even knowing who was there or who I talked to. I feel like I'm living my life on spectator mode whilst playing with my phone.",1 "I have not mastered this skill yet, but my SO did help me find my glasses last night (!!!!). I hadn’t seen them since November.",1 I've been practicing stoicism for a while now and it really helps. I like to keep a journal and every night I answer the questions in my notebook. Questions such as 'Did you act according to your values today?' and 'Do you think you could have acted differently today?' really help reflect on my emotions and worries.,0 Omg that is me. When I have no service I go delete them to clean up my phone.,1 When you complete your night time routine/ritual and someone unexpectedly asks something of you,0 "I've saved posts on tumblr to my drafts so I can read them later since 2010 - in that whole decade there's probably only been like 3 times that I actually looked at my drafts. I dread to think of how many thousands of posts I've saved... And there's probably some amazing stuff in there, including posts about ADHD! There's just no chance I'll ever properly look through it lmao. And yet I will still continue saving things to drafts, because there's a part of me that hates the idea of losing something forever - I like to think I can always reconnect with things I've connected to in the past. It just never actually happens in reality!",1 Ever since I was a child I would feel terrible for machine running for a very long time. Like if a fan was on for 5 hours I would want to give it a “break”. I always ask people if they ever felt that and none of them have! Is this really an OCD thing? ,0 "Therapist: Do you feel you're being abused? Me: Yes Therapist: By who?? Me: Their name is OCD",0 This actually made me start laughing. So painfully accurate that it's actually funny. Thanks for the post!,0 "Rule of my house: when veggies come in, they must be (= should be) washed, chopped, and frozen (if possible) that day! Otherwise they sit and go bad. Just lost over $100 of clothes I was returning - I got it labeled, and boxed, and left them on the bus on my way to work where I was going to mail them. Aaaaahhhhh. This is seriously part of why I wish I had a boyfriend- I need somebody else involved in my life to help me remember stuff and get stuff done.",1 i’m feeling pretty good today and I am just waiting for this to happen,0 "Sometimes I see content that triggers my OCD, I'll think ""Okay, I should look at this for exposure"" then I think ""But what if I actually wanted to see it the entire time?"" And don't look at it.",0 Joe mama !! You don’t know him he’s from sitcom show the sawcon,0 Number three gives me anxiety lol idk I can stand up to that bitch,0 "can you have intrusive thoughts like this without having OCD? i feel like these come up a lot and obviously i hate it and it’s like my eyes a burning lol but i don’t think any of my symptoms are enough to be considered as OCD. it runs in my family and I have a lot of quirks which are probably considered as OCD for example I have to recheck things like my car door all the time but it’s not like i live every day in pain because of this, it’s just a minor inconvenience. i guess what i’m asking is does anyone know if you can have ocd but to the point where you’re life is hardly effected by it and a diagnosis would be pretty unnecessary.",0 Thanks alot a psychology background helps. I sold some psychatropic medications as a pharmaceutical rep . One for Schizophrenia plus my sister being a Pschiatric RN Helps. I have 2 cousins suffering from OCD plus my son so it definitely runs in the families genetically.I live in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and have been unable to find a psychiatrist for my son and he is in denial and lives with us at age 38 who specializes in OCD . Plus my son was diagnosed with oppositional defiance complicating it more and always wants to argue on everything and suffering from anorexia also so a triple edged sword.,0 "Dude this literally happened to me an hour ago! My classmate asked me why I got a week extension for a presentation and for the first time I decided to dance around it. What I realized was pretty confronting. As I was describing my condition truthfully (without assigning the label) I saw their reactions were totally different than if I had just plainly stated it was ADHD. The facts I stated were: \- I have a neurological condition \- It makes it harder for me to focus and my memory is shit to the point where I forget what I'm doing as I walk through the house, and I have to try harder to understand things. \- I have trouble speaking and expressing myself and I stumble over words and it is annoying. Her reaction was like omg, wow that sucks so much. She described it as Alzheimer's and I thought from my experience that's pretty much on the money. She didn't enquire any further because it was just a casual conversation, and I didn't elaborate. Even now when I read these words back I go holy shit having ADHD IS TERRIBLE. But that's the weird thing is this strange sense of dissociation you get from your symptoms when you frame it as ADHD *even to yourself*. When I say it like that, I and everyone else think of naughty, dumb children or slow adults that need to be pitied or not respected. It inadvertently minimizes the real lived experience that is just so damn painful and yet so INVISIBLE. Unfortunately that's just general vibe that has been cultivated in today's society. And to be clear, it's not like I'm trying to compete in the suffering Olympics by comparing my condition to others with ~~real~~ disabilities (see I caught that thought just now, but I needed to leave this in to show exactly how hard it is to shake this mindset) but the symptoms are still objectively on their own absolutely terrible! So the sympathy for them are real! It's so strange how telling the truth in a certain way elicits a completely different reaction.",1 I think I watched an entire movie yesterday like that. No idea what it was about but eventually the noises were too annoying to keep it on so I tried to find something else to watch and while I was looking for 30 minutes the first movie was over.,1 My ocd says this is fake and a lie for pity but it’s not but it says it is and I’m torn in half on this and ahhh,0 "First time on meds I thought “okay I’m gonna sit down and finish this” and then… I did it!!! It was awesome! If I don’t have clarity on exactly what I need to do, I procrastinate a lot with or without meds, but with meds, once I know what to do… I just sit down and do it. Amazing",1 Exactly me right now ! I am waiting for my psy online ! 🤣🤣🤣,0 "I have adhd too and I know how hard it can be, but sometimes that approach is useful. Tons of stuff I don’t want to do that I “just start” and then become easier after a few minutes. Bottom line, meds make things easier but don’t underestimate the power of mental discipline.",1 you really captured it with this piece. major props!,0 I usually do this when reading its fucken annoying because I have to go back a few pages and start again,1 "This is a daily struggle for me, I always fear that I'm somehow evil or will become evil and do everything I can to mitigate that.. And even when I'm being kind and fine, I'll get a thought out of nowhere along the lines of, ""You're trying because you're evil and know you have to put effort into it!"" Awful. I want to be pure and whole and good.",0 "Most of ADHD folks are in this limbo where we’re too much and not enough. For some reason who we are is just wrong in so many ways. I realized not a long time ago that’s why some of us have a hard time with people. And when we encounter people who actually accept us and find who were are awesome, just feels so unreal and we are just waiting for that moment when they see us as everybody else.",1 I believe that the ocd won't let me clean it up because then I will have to maintain it. The upkeep is terrifying. I know I can't do all the things all the time so I prioritize. Sweeping and mopping my floors are very low priority.,0 "Me now, after being sick gor a month. I just... its getting hard.",1 "It took me so much time and effort to be able to say to my husband and kids ""I'm feeling really overwhelmed right now, I'm going to finish this task and then go upstairs for a bit until my head feels better."" Usually it's after dinner, when I've worked all day, parented, made dinner, and the kids are going on monologues about Minecraft. My oldest is also ADHD so his thought process jumps around in ways that make sense to him, but I can't quite follow. Usually when I'm done working if I'm at home, I'll take the dog for a walk and listen to music to sort myself out, but my husband will want to come and talk about his work day and I've learned to say ""I just need to get some time alone"".",1 I went from thinking 5 was a safe number to thinking 7 was a safe number,0 "I just tried this after reading it. OMG, life changer lol. Thank you!",1 "I’m currently in med school. Every time I tell ppl I don’t remember anything and feel like I slept through 2 years of uni, they all say “same” but then get confused when I say “idk” for things we learned or studied. I felt and still feel like an imposter or that I don’t belong",1 "“I can’t get up until I remember the exact time and date of that day, who was there, what happened, how I felt, etc, etc.....”",0 "I used to do that a lot, and relatively recently I realized I can reframe my GOAL in the new hobby: When you start, your first project should always be an **EDUCATIONAL TEST PROJECT.** Identify some small, achievable thing that is related to your obsession, that you will be able to learn and DO in 1 night. Something that uses relevant skills, but you don't actually care how good the final piece is, because the goal is to *learn from making it* \- not actually to have the thing. \--- Recently for me, it was 'Oh shit I want to make a fully animatronic robot monster mask, that can pull expressions and snarl and flick its ears!' - but to do that, first I had to know how to create a circuit, and how those little motors worked. My 'goal of the night' was to UNDERSTAND, if not necessarily make that night, how other animatronics did expressions, and how to build a circuit. I now have a bunch of 'Electrical Engineering for dummies' books, and a small pile of soldering and circuitry tools. I made a light bulb turn on, and connected it to a dimmer switch! I felt entirely successful, and I'm a few inches closer to that robot mask dream. PLUS, with the practical experience of electronics now under my belt, future project obsessions are a little more achievable. Now that I understand those circuits, when I decided I wanted to make a lamp, I literally just built it myself. \--- Since I KNOW that my obsessions are explosive and short-lived, I use that passion to do very small and short-term educational projects. In woodworking class, the point wasn't to *Have A Birdhouse* when you built birdhouses together - the point was to LEARN how to measure, cut, fit, sand, and drill - all the little essential skills of woodworking. They only made furniture and shelves and tables AFTER the little educational test projects. **Start with educational test-projects.** Don't start learning to woodwork by trying to build a whole house. Only buy the supplies necessary for that test project. Starting with a small project also tests your obsession - Is this something that will last more than a few days?",1 "Usually increments of 5 and 10 for me. Numbers like 14 and 16 can be okay sometimes. I can't stand numbers like 59 or 201, ones and nines in general",0 "You forgot the overindulgence of finding a new hobby and buying everything for it. Then forgetting all about it and all the money spent on it.",1 Sometimes I actually scream inside my head to block out the thoughts lol,0 Like seriously. I would love to be cured! I hate having to get up in the night to make sure no one put silverware away wrong. I feel like a crazy person fixing spoons and forks at 3am. It's not fun.,0 Absolutely. I even go as far as making conversations in my head to prove myself innocent or ways I can prove I didn’t do something. You’re not alone and thank you for getting this out there. I now know I’m not alone either.,0 "what do people get prescribed for ocd? Wondering as I’m not uhh legally medicated but I find certain things help, wondering if there the same things people r prescribed",0 "Yea, almost every day it happens. I've gotten myself into the habit that when it happens I just say ""Eff off ocd!"" to myself to make it go away.",0 """I learned it by watching you, dad! I learned it from you!""",1 "I think about this a lot. Having ADHD sucks, but I do enjoy my hyperfocus when I’m able to keep it in check, now that I’m fairly successfully medicated. Does that mean it’s a superpower? No. Really when it comes down to it, ADHD is definitionally a disorder. When I hyperfixate or hyperfocus on the wrong thing, when I forget my meds and can’t read or do anything, when I experience RSD, that’s ADHD. When I hyperfocus on a project I’m enjoying and get excited about it and talk about it with someone who loves me, that’s definitionally not ADHD because it’s not disordered.",1 "This is a wholesome post. Love to see it! I'm about to cry because I've always believed (and still do) that many ADHD people need people like you that are understanding, patient and willing to work with us despite our flaws, limitations, struggles, etc. Patience is definitely key here. Your girlfriend sounds awesome and the world needs more people like you!",1 "Speaking of pens, I cried for an hour because I lost my purple pen that I use for one of my journals. Like completely lost my shit over this pen because it was the only one I ever used in the journal and I honestly contemplated throwing the journal away so I wouldn’t have to use another pen with it. Long story short, after searching for 2 days I found my pen and now all is right in the world. That is OCD.",0 "Ive not yet heard of pocd, whats it abbreviated for?",0 "the problem is that the older I get, the harder it is to fake a great first impression.",1 That's so not me... I don't plan anything... It feels like torture to me!,1 "Which is why I have a revolving door of acquaintances. Either people get bore of me, or I get bored of them. I'm in awe of people who are able to maintain long-term friendships and relationships in spite of spending so much time together. I usually end up running out of things to talk about and drift away. There are a hand full people who've I've maintained contact with for a long time, but our rendezvous are intermittent.",1 "What works for me is micro-goals! Have a lot of stuff that seems daunting? Break it into tiny little steps. Steps that are so ridiculously small that you can't justify not doing them right then. \-Pick up that sock on the floor \-Do 1 ab crunch \-Brush your hair for 2 minutes \-Read 3 sentences in that textbook and so on. If you do these tiny goals, congrats! You checked off your to-do list! Now you can enjoy your time guilt-free! And maybe tomorrow do a couple more tiny goals! If it stays just at the bare minimum, that's fine! However, a lot of times, once you just start the task, it's easier to keep going. So you pick up that sock, and oh look! There's another sock over there. Well, okay, might as well pick that one up too, right? And there you have it, you've doubled your accomplishments. Well done! It seems silly and ridiculous, I know! But for me, just even starting a task is what I procrastinate and seems mentally tiring, because I make it seem like a bigger chore in my mind than it really is. I hope maybe this method works for you! At least this way, you won't feel bad about ""no time to do anything."" You can at least find time to pick up that one sock, right?",1 "I never actually studied in high school, or any schooling really. I couldn’t. I didn’t know how. It wasn’t working for me. I was obtaining any information. Which is why I cheated a lot in high school. I have no shame in that though, as school nowadays is based on grades and not about your actual ability to learn and understand what you’re being taught. Which is really sad honestly. Because they’re just unconsciously teaching kids that numbers are more valuable then your personal understanding of what has been taught. Which is basically creating a generation of [not fully] uneducated kids. Or on the flip side, you’re making kids study to the point of it affecting their mental health because their grades aren’t “good enough”. It’s all just crazy. But yeah, it’s sucks, especially when having a debate with someone because you just forget all the facts.",1 "Wow!! I couldn't imagine how hard that must be, major props!!",0 Literally what it’s like trying to find a psychiatrist,0 "1. But what if I’m trans and I’m just repressing feat. sudden discomfort with breasts 2. Do you have BPD? Here are a million reasons why yes! Ignore all the signs that you’re not! 3. In the schizophrenic prodrome feat. google internal voice vs internal auditory hallucination 4. No sleep. Only google. 5. Let’s sit down and compare every serial killers childhood to yours and live in fear that one day you’ll commit an atrocity like they did.",0 This is awesome. A success story! I hate my medication :( the side effects just cause depression.,0 "Man, I really needed to see this today. Spent like 15 bucks on a mini compost bin months ago because of all of the food waste (I’m also extremely frugal having grown up poor). Even that isn’t being utilized properly because of the energy I would need to put in setting up another receptacle for all of the compost I’m making, so I’ve just got a full bin and am throwing new food waste away. It’s SO helpful to have this group and to be able to outsource the mental labor needed to live the way we do. Cheers to you, OP, and to everyone else here!",1 I'm slowly working towards this. I feel like I'm on the brink of achieving it. This is great inspiration. Congratulations!,0 obsessive compulsive disorder is so painful. We have the courage to unplug from the obsessions :),0 Took me years to realise that the health anxiety I have was rooted in OCD....,0 "More like Me: (Does a thing) Brain: You did _a thing._ Things, statistically, cause other things to be done. Me: So...? Brain: We're going to __DIE__ ! ! ! Me: #AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA",0 "Everytime I get a letter from my lads school, I have to give it someone else to read. There's so much bollocks contained in the letters my brain won't engage them at all.",1 "Congrats man !!! And i commented here eventhough my comment was the 13th comment, so its a success for me too :)",0 "The rule is that 90% of the work takes 90% of the time, and the other 10% of the work takes the other 90%.",1 Optional last panel: cleansing your house with fire 🔥,0 I tell that person my most horrifying intrusive thought I had that day. Give em a little taste.,0 Ohhhh.....it hurts me in my heart....I can relate so hard. 😣😫😵,0 "Yes, you are absolutely correct. We all have thoughts that are weird, inappropriate, off the wall, horrific, whatever you want to call them, its when our brain loops them into such importance that it becomes obsessive and life consuming. It sure doesn't matter what kind of obsessions one has, it is a life consuming disorder.",0 "Hahaha I feel attacked but YES, thousands of saved posts",1 @ trying to talk about compulsive palilalia without letting the palilalia come out.,0 I’m going to save this for bad days. Such a good thing to scroll across. Perspective.,0 "My problem is preparing for a disagreement and wanting a loophole in case someone disagrees and then 9 can be like, ""Well, I didn't use an absolute"". But I'm starting to move to if someone wants to disagree with me, let them. Maybe I should just say what I want and we can work it from there.",1 "OCD has ruined my life, and I don't know how to begin to explain that I have OCD that has nothing to do with contamination/organization. I agree that it's a very misunderstood disorder.",0 I get this occasionally with cleanliness. One time I used a really dirty bathroom and then couldn’t stop feeling like I needed to wash my hands/feet/shoes...everything. I had a panic attack and had to tell my parents to stop me if they saw me trying to wash my hands or clean my shoes again. Fun times lmao. 🙃🙃,0 I totally get this. It’s both funny and extremely stressful to the person who happens to think this disturbing thought. :/,0 I always thought my ocd symptoms started when I was 8 (that’s when my physical compulsions started) but looking back I think about things from when i was like 4 that were def ocd related,0 "Rejection sensitivity. This guy tells me he likes me and even wants to maybe take things past friendship but leaves me on read constantly and I always have to reach out and remind him I exist to get a response. He has ADHD too, but last time he left me on read was yesterday and I can see on his instagram story today where he's out doing everything but responding to me. I figured if he really liked me he'd wonder why we haven't spoken all day and look at our conversation. I just got up from crying on the floor time and wondering how neurotypical women cope with this.",1 Oh gods. This. Thanks for sharing. It helps to know I'm just one of many,1 So... what about when everyone reaaally figures out?,0 "SAME HERE. This whole pandemic I've been *trying* to organize all my folders and bookmarks and photos, but haven't managed to do it 🙃",1 "My mom had severe and crippling depression and GAD . And I have OCD, PTSD and GAD. I feel this hard. I say I don't want kids for a few reasons but this is the main one forsure. I just don't say it.",0 I feel like I took the wrong flight and landed at the wrong airport,0 "I.... feel like I'm the imposter. Like I faked it all, either for attention or as an excuse or to present myself a certain way. I was diagnosed on Wednesday but my brain is trying so hard to convince me that I just manipulated them. I thought getting a diagnosis would make me feel less like an imposter but it's done the opposite so far. I know that this is probably also just my brain lying to me? But I spent so much time today and yesterday and Wednesday thinking about this. I hate my brain.",0 "I always say that I need a butler to my family. They laugh but no, no I am not joking 😂 I’m showing them this post",1 I have adhd and i think i am starting to have speech impairment issues. I literally phase out amid conversation like an old pc this is really annoying,1 "I have the same exact problem, and I’m so glad I found people I could relate to! I’m actually procrastinating on my homework right now, I hope it get it done before 6pm, which will be close to 8pm, which would be too late to do anything :’)",1 "I feel every part of this. TLDR: Own the absent-minded-professor schtick. One thing that has helped in my career is to be super humble about 'being smart' and be quick to take your mistakes in stride with self-deprecating humor. People will appreciate that and they will be quick to forgive and enjoy working with you. Typical Behavior of most people: Afraid to 'look dumb' in front of others, embarrassed by mistakes, put up kind of a shell to protect themselves from ridicule. So do the opposite and that whole dynamic is flipped. There aren't many people who have enough self-confidence to say 'oh silly me I screwed that up' at work. This disarms people and makes them feel 'safe' around you because you aren't part of the pervasive 'false confidence' club. The more perfect you try to act the more others will instinctively look for flaws to ridicule. So do the opposite and you will notice that people tend to look out for you instead of ridicule. People are going to know you are intelligent if they interact with you. They'll notice flashes of brilliance along with obvious lapses in attention. Demonstrating that your intelligence comes with severe shortcomings makes people feel good about themselves which makes them feel good about you.",1 been told literally all of those (except the symptoms one bc im self dx but i tell myself it enough to make up for it lmao),1 Been there. Doesn't matter if it's real. Enjoy it! ,0 "I remember my ex was suppose to come pick me up at an airport in Arizona, and our shitty RV broke down on the way. He was stuck on the side of the highway and told me he was in a ""super sketchy"" position. I got it in my head that he was for sure going to get hit by another car and die. And then I started thinking that because I *thought* that, that my thoughts would then cause it to happen. Which then begins an endless cycle of thinking about it, thinking I'm causing it by thinking about it, and thus thinking about it more. He figured it out and did not get hurt at all",0 "This is absolutely brilliant and I love an analogy that helps to explain how it works, not just for myself but also to use in explanation to others who want to learn more. Thank you for sharing!",0 "YEOOOOWWW well done mate! How good is that surge of motivation and execution. Stoked for you, keep it up ❤️",1 "Another awesome thing is when you know the answers to the questions but they don’t come to mind at the moment. Later you have all the answers floating around in your head when you don’t need them. Same effect, you look like you don’t know what you’re talking about.",1 "Oh my goodness, thank you so much for all of the support and kind words!! And a silver! I couldn’t imagine myself being where I am a year ago, but I still have a long way to go. Community makes such a huge difference in recovery and I’m so glad that all of you wonderful strangers can be part of my community. I hope each and every one of you also finds the strength tho fight this and live your lives again",0 "I need this to come up after every post because I need a constant reminder :/ UPDATE: I put this on my phone lock wallpaper and it is helpful!",0 "I made a list nearly similar to this prior to my psych appointment this morning, so I had it fresh in my head about things I'm finding out about myself and why I felt I had ADHD. I didn't even have to get through a quarter of my list before my psychiatrist agreed I had ADHD. It was a relief to finally get a diagnosis.",1 "You know what also helps, my mom told me to to just “change my mindset”. Now I’m living adhd free!",1 This is why I hate to get called. It’s never a good time.,1 "Timezones exist, you know 😅 Congrats on your achievement! Lmao I wonder what neurotypicals would think coming to this sub and seeing the kind of stuff we celebrate 😂",1 "Dr Russel Barkley talk about this in a video, it is wrongly named. https://youtu.be/AIj22vhKxQQ",1 here's a list i'll save and never read but holy shit this is awesome,1 "Through my psychologist’s office, i found an ocd support group in my city and it made sooooo much of a difference for me. I think it really does help to just meet with others who have ocd regardless of if their ‘type’ of ocd is the same as yours. It’s actually super interesting to hear abt the different symptoms people have from the same disorder, but ofc it can be sad when u hear how others are suffering in the same way you have been. That’s another great reason to try to go to things like a support group tho, so u can be there for each other and offer some support and encouragement, share ur accomplishments in treatment with each other, no matter how small they are. Just being able to relate to others like that is such a relief sometimes. There’s also the International Ocd Foundation (IOCDF) that holds a huge conference every year in the US (the location changes yearly), where top psychologists, doctors, therapists and OCD researchers come to share their findings, speak on panels, hold seminars, etc. But it’s for everyone, especially just regular people who have OCD and would like to learn more and further their treatment. I went a year ago, it was held at a super nice hotel and was such a fun positive experience. I would highly reccommend it to anyone who has a couple days to spare and can afford a small trip",0 I imagine mine as a middle school boy that I have to kindly reprimand for peeing on the walls,0 "unrealistically high intolerance to uncertainty,anyone?",0 "This is an OCD thing? I do this and have OCD, but I didn't know it was related",0 "Call me OCD, but it sounds like you’re “being OCD” about the acronym of OCD. Welcome to the club!",0 YES! I got so bored today trying to do homework and then kept getting distracted so instead I spent hours researching into what my health insurance coverage details were. SO much more work and reading than the original hw but for some reason it's what my brain preferred to do.,1 "I have the opposite problem. I know I need to sit down and plan and prep so when I actually go to do the task it's easier to complete, and that I make sure I'm doing the most urgent task, etc. But after getting the schedule or list or whatever together I'm exhausted. As soon as I find out what I need to do and how to do it, I feel like I've already done a big task and I'm back to 0% motivation and lethargy :(",1 I feel so seen. Or when your doc is a few minutes late for your zoom appointment and you’re sure you have the wrong time.,0 This is literally me when my intrusive thoughts start branching out into more intrusive thoughts right before my eyes,0 "late marriage? if i get married before i’m 25, kill me",0 I know this post is a month old but the words you said made me feel way better rn and I think you should know that,0 "I have had a twice daily mindfulness practice reminder for about 6 months now and guess how many times I’ve actually done it. That’s right, none times.",1 "Listen, I get you're trying to be helpful and I'm always interested to hear about other's experiences, but a lot of this is just way too subjective. When I was still on stimulant meds, my doctor recommended I dose according to many factors, including what had to be done that day. She recommended this so I wouldn't build up a tolerance. She was right. When I took the same amount every day, that dosage would be less effective for me within a couple of weeks. I eventually started taking my full dose, every day, due to a new job. Not only did I *very quickly* build up a tolerance, I also started experiencing terrible side effects that I'd never had before. To the point that I felt sick almost constantly, and was seeing specialists to try and figure out what was wrong. I stopped taking my stimulant meds after suspecting they were the culprit (I tried eliminating almost everything else, to no avail) and whaddaya know, I'm not having any of the same symptoms anymore. The worst I get when I go off my meds is cranky and tired for a few days. The non-stimulant meds don't work as well, but they're worth it. I guess my point is that everyone is different and needs to talk to *their* doctor about *their* experience. Presenting this as expert advice from your ADHD doctor gives it a level of veracity that it doesn't deserve. His experience is going to be different just like everyone else's, and he shouldn't be using it as a basis for treatment. If it's just advice, fine, but he (and you) should be careful with his words. Lots of people come here looking for answers and falling into a fixed mindset is very easy to do when you're frustrated or desperate. You don't want to be the reason someone doesn't pursue a different method of treatment that'll work better for them.",1 "What an awesome personification. Mine is Alex Jones - conspiratorial, irrational, loud, and impossible to argue with.",0 "Finding the right planner along with like 15 other factors coming together made my life great for about a year and a half. Now though that planner that I filled for a year straight is just dead weight and I’m looking to optimize my current situation in other ways. Anytime before that planners never got used and I wouldn’t have Tried the one I did use if it wasn’t free from my work.",1 "Yes. Huge huge huge barrier for me when learning math back in high school. Have to understand it backwards and forwards. “Plug and chug” formulas too. Because they *swear* it just works and then *magically* on tests there’s an exception to the formula’s usual machinations or the way they present it slightly differs. Drove me insane. I’d be crushing homework and practice tests, BAM! 60 on the test.",1 "Holy crap that is ridiculously good, it’s beautiful. It’s also great that you were able to resist your compulsions even tho it can be so distressing. That’s improvement :D",0 "I still have a task to ""resume Brave New World 89:24"" that's been on my task list since 2/18/2019. I've gone through at least 50 audiobooks since.",1 "I literally just zoned out amd played with slime for two hours. Stretch, twist, glop, squish, repeat. Nothing else on, no one here but my cats who judged me for not paying attention to them. Slime is just so gloopy, I like to let it melt on my hands and stick. Also I meant to made dinner and eat it and do something else I forget. Wait am I on topic I forgot what this thread was about....",1 "Haha it's so true. When I notice I get carried away with commas, I sprinkle in some punctuation for extra flavour; down with the grammar Nazis! Personal favourite, this squiggly badboy: ~",1 And then the cycle continues the next day with increasing anxiety because you think about how you wasted the day before (: (: (:,0 "Lol for real tho, I’m so obsessed with having ocd it makes me think I am a psychopath.",0 "My brain five seconds later: if I locked it twice accidentally, that means I unlocked it. If I locked it three times but didn’t really, who knows?",0 "I always suggest that we can have early morning meetings. 730, 8 lets do it. Or else I'm just meandering through the workday.",1 Yes.. I love going to the gym. Now with Covid. I’m afraid.. and I don’t take public transportation. Or go into large supermarkets.’,0 "20mg is an insane amount to start, let alone twice a day.",1 "Can we all meet in person? Y’know, leave 30 min after we’re supposed to, forget our keys, get lost on the way there, apologize a million times, drink more than we should, have a dozen random conversations going at the same time, spend more money than we should impulsively and then just hyperventilate in the bathroom and ponder wtf is my life?",1 I’ve been trying to convince myself it’s not a simulation since I was a child 😅,0 OMG yes! I’ll avoid it or just lose the desire to do the activity altogether because I don’t want it to be tainted by the darkness. If i do then every time Ill want to enjoy whatever that activity is it’ll only be a reminder of the hell that was ever present at the time. The only thing that OCD can’t contaminate is sleep. Once im asleep im free. A moment to enjoy some peace and quiet probably just for a moment though.,0 Never thought of the connection with this meme! I should probably use it as my lock screen for my phone.........to stop me googling or something :’),0 not sure if my compulsive hand washing is good or bad rn,0 Good on you!! You should be incredibly proud of yourself!! Progress is progress!!,0 "yeah. mostly i just lie there and think about how little i want to be alive. im supposed to be trying to sell my trailer to get back some of the thousands of dollars im out but i open my email and see how many new msgs there are and close it again. i deleted all my friends from steam and discord when i bother to do anything i just play destiny. i dont even like it that much but it scratches an itch",1 "Well done!! I’m so happy for you! Any tips on how you managed to do that? My hands look like the first pic lol",0 "I understand where you are coming from. My public library has small isolated quiet rooms. But a library has a lot less people to worry about. I can see why colleges are doing this, thousands of people (depending on the college) are moving throughout. It’s just a thought.",1 That's happened to me a million times. My MIL just messaged me reminding me to add my husband's motorcycle to the car insurance. We've owned that motorcycle since September. I still haven't done it.,1 "Sadly, I know that feeling bro. Obsessions are much worse than compulsions. At least for me.",0 "I've been so messed up by OCD I've got dishes and laundry piling up and floors that need mopping ✨✨✨""OCDers are clean"" my ass.",0 "Thats a good opening strategy in my opinion, thats what I did at first but believe it or not it'll come back with more intense and its tiring to your part if you'll stick in this method. Intrusive thoughts or trapping thoughts should be accept passively without engaging to it from there you'll effectively handle it.",0 "So...that means I have to get up by 2:58pm to join the call and use a deep I-didn’t-just-get-up voice? I have a mostly non-existent natural rhythm, so my first meeting is often what I wake up for...",1 "I know I tend to use a lot of brackets when I write, to separate when I sort of go off topic or feel the need to explain. A lot of which could be replaced by commas. So I agree that we write like we think and talk.",1 ">**you sit in a void of doing nothing for hours?** Try years.",1 "In a similar vein, having suicide OCD and having to call to setup an appointment with someone like a psychiatrist or a general physician and they ask you if you have thoughts of suicide.",0 "This is brilliant! Hire your own “executive functioning assistant” (EFA). And it creates a new job category too. Brain for hire.",1 most of the time i realize in the moment too. just can’t process it because it’s usually followed with more disrespect/bullshit that takes priority in brain. ugh 🤦🏽‍♂️,1 "I went through something similar where I realized a year after being on meds that my longest friends treated me like shit, manipulated me, talked shit about me and didn’t respect me. I put up with it because I honestly didn’t notice until I was more stable it’s like I would get angry about things in the moment but then move on because I never really processed it. I’m mostly fine and over it now but reading this thread has been like “damn... it was my adhd that didn’t make me realize not that I’m a pushover or naive” lol",1 Didn't know the planner would wash my clothes. That is a huge lifehack!,1 Yesterday I spent 3 hours starring at the wall ruminating about something my boyfriend said 5 years ago. So far today I’ve only spent 1 hour but it’s only morning. Seriously this quarantine is hell on earth.,0 It scares me when people talk about not doing their rituals because what if the bad things actually happen to us then. Just by coincidence.,0 Probably the 5th time this gets posted here but its spot on so i always upvote,0 It’s like getting the flu and running a high temperature. Have you tried just going home and acting like you don’t have a fever?,1 You should be so proud! Congrats and what an amazing message!,0 Getting off my bed and starting my morning. Thank you!,1 Dude! This happened literally yesterday. I’m relieved I’m not alone with that.,0 "YOOO this is so accurate i feel so validated but attacked at the same time aHAHAHS?? for example: i tend to overuse commas in every single situation in placed in, no matter how simple of a question i’m asked to answer, or how short of a story i’m attempting to convey. i’ve been using dashes, commas, semicolons, regular colons, parentheses, brackets INSIDE the parentheses (extra points if i find myself adding even more commas and dashes and semicolons inside of those parentheses [double extra points for brackets]) the whole nine yards- since like second grade?? the only reason being: i could fit endless amounts of info in there; these tools create absolute loopholes upon black holes and vortexes and lions and tigers and bears (oh my!) of diction- and i love it. it was so reinforced into my mind and my way of writing because all my teachers went ape over that typa stuff.. when i was young at least(a third grader using commas AND parentheses AND semicolons?? hell yea. [but an 11th grader?? bOring PLUS they’re used incorrectly smh]) and every now and then i’ll get a teacher who’s really into being thorough (last year my AP bio teacher said he wanted us to work 24/7 now bc then in two years when we get into UCLA and ivys they’ll be a piece of cake - like sir that’s not how .. education works .. but anyways my ADHD ramped up so bad cause id just spend all freakin night adding random info to my projects and he’d eat that shiz up,, and he liked to humiliate kids by asking hardly related questions so it only added incentive for me to keep going down every rabbit hole lmaoaoaod plus ofc i was already super into bio - but now i know everything there is to know about nanobiotechnology, monarch butterflies, chimpanzees [i think i read every single case study ever written about chimps and their innate or group behaviors like holy]and so much more)! there’s no way anyone read this whole thing lmaoaoa but moral of the story is that ADHD brains are powerful as hell edit: i also didn’t proofread this so u already know it’s gonna be a train wreck",1 "I would give my dog a small task like rolling over and sitting, the usual stuff everyday before work. That and like 20 bellyrubs.",0 "As others have mentioned, could be a pelvic floor dysfunction ! I saw a physio therapist for this who helped release pressure points for me. If you can’t afford a physiotherapist look into getting a crystal pelvic wand and find some tutorials to release the pressure points on your own!",0 "Great, now I can't stop thinking about that cringe thing I said back in 2013 And 2012, and 2011, and 2010...",0 I have been thinking about this a lot and now I’m going to really look into it,1 "I just made a post on this sub about the same thing, I have so much time and yet I can’t do anything.",1 i know exactly what you mean my ocd is 90% intrusive/obsessive thoughts and repetitive actions and i am one of the messiest people there’s always so much clutter around me,0 Nice job! It would be cool if these were in the subreddit wiki; cooler if we had a bot post one daily.,1 This helps so much! I named my anxiety and OCD and honestly being about to yell at 'someone' when i am upset helps a lot,0 "Are you me? I'm naturally pretty extroverted, but I got into a lot of shit as a kid being really impulsive. Years later, I'm still having to unlearn all the safety mechanisms I put in place. It can take me a while to get to the point. I stumble on my words a lot. I say shit I regret. Guess I'll have to live with it *shrug*",1 Add one for the time spent being productive in ways that don't matter because your impulse control doesn't care about your priorities.,1 I still haven't figured out how to make a good first impression...,1 "No, because none of them are illogical or things that didn't happen.",0 "Mine is basically all Enya- look, she’s the only artist that gets me to focus during work. Also orinoco flow is a BANGER ✊🏼",1 Like that in Canada too. The waits are insane. If you want to pay then the wait is shorter (4-6 months) but if you want the free help offered by our health care insurance then the wait can go for up to 2 years...,0 "I check the door, the oven, and the ashtray. Obsessively. Over and over. I even count.",0 I have six alarm clocks to get up in the morning and still ignore them all (I don't even remeber turning them off) and miss my classes in college.,1 "*Me: naming everyone in my family, friends, pets by name in my nightly prayer to be safe*",0 I just like shake my head like I’m saying no for a second and say “Go away go away go away” in my head,0 This is why I subscribe to nothing. And have auto pay. And use a measuring tape before clicking buy while online shopping. Don't read books just get the audio version.,1 "I... I feel... I feel sorry for the OCD in the last panel he look like he a cute boi. Oh shit, I tried to escape with memes and they’re getting too real.",0 "Same. I'm really anxious. I've done online classes before, but like only one at a time and only during summer and winter. I've got like hard classes right now too 😩",1 "Yup, this is pretty much the exact face I make when someone notices my body-focused repetitive behaviors, like skin picking. My husband and I got a laugh, thank for sharing the meme!",0 I get a good nights sleep like every 3 days. The exhaustion of not sleeping for 2 days usually hits me by the end of day 3. A viscous cycle I’ve chosen to accept 😂,1 Ive never seen a picture so accurately portray all my unwanted thoughts and images...,0 "Just started lurking on this sub. I am a bipolar bpd ptsd ocd unicorn. I was raised with ocd clean gene but I have intrusive thoughts like a mf’er Grew up with bad trich but never even knew it was a thing just assumed I was weird. I lose my things constantly and it’s my biggest fear. So that’s really something I have to work on- being more mindful of what I’m doing. I multi task and my mind stays in 5th gear unless I can exercise to make it calm down. It suckkkksssssssssss",0 "As a history major myself, I relate work this far too much. I did this two nights ago finishing a midterm. It’s exhausting but the only way ah I know how",1 "This is me!! For me its doing things in 3s or until its uncomfortable???!!! It drives me crazy. My OCD causes me to fear contamination and I have the fear of not being clean. So, I brush teeth and tongue 3 times, scrub certain areas 3 times, wiping, check things for contamination 3 times. My brain: if I do things in 3s/until uncomfortable, then I am fine. I am clean and comfortable and things won't go wrong because i did my rituals. Smh. This can be exhausting and time consuming. Everyone that knows me KNOWS that the bathroom is MINE. 🤣",0 "Heeey, so did we! Jkjk, you're doing the lords squirrel",1 "Oh damn, that's so relateble, even the ghost thing. I can *f e e l* it.",0 "i always stare right where i think the light is, preparing myself for them to go off",0 "The biggest surprise to me is when I’m helping someone find something they lost and I always ask when the last moment was the remember it being in their hand. I always hear, “if I knew that I’d know where it was!!” And I’m always like, “Not the last place it actually was in your hand, where was the last place you REMEMBER it in your hand?” Then they tell me yesterday when they were using it in the kitchen, thinking that’s not helpful information! We trace their steps from the kitchen to wherever the item is.",1 I used to be obsessed with germs and cleaning when I was younger then came depression and it made me such a slob ;-;,0 I feel this. Do you know if she was referring to specifically Hyperactive ADHD? Or Inattentive ADHD as well?,1 "This has to be the most relatable post I've seen on reddit, ever. I feel the exact same way, except I still want stimulation at night so instead of racing thoughts, I just stay up on my phone when I should be sleeping. It doesn't even help.",1 "Me!! Holding my dog helped, showing me that if I can carry a little squirming demon biting me and trying to jump, maybe I wont accidentally kill a baby. Lol.",0 "With fruit and veggies, buying a nutribullet was a game changer for me. I wouldn't be motivated to eat the fruit/veggies before it goes bad.... But I'd be motivated to stick it in the freezer (especially when the local supermarket tempts me w the 4 boxes of strawberries for price of 2 or 3 thing). And frozen fruit and vege get turned into smoothies. ""Green"" smoothies isn't just kale, I've used frozen four-leaf salad mix, capsicum, baby spinach, probably broccoli would work too. Extremely elegant system, solves ""what do I do w all these produce I don't wanna eat"" as well as ""I've just woke up and can't think of what to eat until I eat"". Highly recommend.",1 "4:45am here. Have done the whole ""just lay down and get sleep"" like 5 times and then when I try my mind starts racing all over again and think of different things. Why am I like this :( My sleep is like in reverse ATM.",1 I have a new one that makes me hold my phone out the window of a moving car whenever I'm a passenger.,0 "Or when i have a cart full and half way through the store the one in the cart doesnt feel ""right"" anymore so I have to go back and get another one but make sure that other one is is also in the middle, if there is only 3 items of that kind then they simple aren't being bought that day. Shopping is exhausting! Especially since I must go every day because having food in the house isnt allowed because it will get contaminated in the house but not at the store 😒",0 "It always surprises me when someone admits to also thinking this way, even anonymously. ",0 "This reminded me that I need to eat, and brush my teeth. Thank you",1 I ran to my parents to show them this video!! I cant believe how accurate this is,0 "I thought you were serious for a sec and now I'm sad, I'm sorry:(",1 all of mine are mostly r/gonewild pics I masterbate to.,1 every damn daaaaaay ✊🏼 peace and love! time heals all.,0 "The first time I took my adhd meds I called it Felix felicis, the lucky potion from Harry Potter lol",1 Okay but THATS AMAZING!!! I'm so proud of you!!! That is literally one of the hardest things ever when you have ADHD but you did it!!! :D,1 "**Sees automatic windows or ajar car windows.** ""Throw your smallest most valuable object out!!"" Excuse me what now? 😰😳 Darn anxiety.",0 All my years of responding to people that casually claim they have OCD and only 1 actually had it. We’re good friends now :),0 "I did this but not for hours, for my life. I kept telling myself that I had to get my medical license or else all the hard work for med school would be on vain. I graduated 5 years ago, and since studying for that exam was such a challenge with ADHD, I still haven't tackled it. And I didn't do anything else either and just lived feeling incapable and ashamed But after starting therapy and really trying to accept my diagnosis instead of ""fix"" it, I'm trying to live life. I'm open to starting a family, and I'm looking into piano and belly dance classes. I'm trying to eat well and work out and I'm giving myself permission to enjoy cooking as a ""thing"", not just as a way to fill a hungry belly. Life is a bit better. I haven't given up on the exam, I'm just trying to live balanced and not punish myself for having adhd.",1 "For one of my top 5 artists, I literally only know one song of theirs. And listen to it over and over...",1 "Why can't I follow through on hobbies and projects? Is it because I have a mental illness that specifically blocks me from stuff like that? No, it's because I'm lazy and can't commit to things.",1 "So it's 11pm, I'm sitting on the floor in my underwear whispering to myself that things are going to be okay, and I just need to breathe and that time will keep marching forward at the same pace as always, and it's a slow pace at that. I guess all I'm asking is, can someone point me to where to buy bottled reassurance? ",0 "I was just about to write a post about this the other day, no way dude! x)",0 I had this thought for the first time when I was 12. I told a friend and she told my school counselor I was suicidal and I got in huge trouble. No one figured out it was OCD for over two decades after that.,0 Yeah I got very unlucky here. I have had OCD symptoms since before age 6 and depression symptoms since before the age of 12. I didn't get help because I wasn't old enough to know what was happening to me.,0 Me for the past 5 days home alone so actually having the ability to be productive in peace and quiet. WASTED.,1 " >**Medication holidays**: Don't bother. He's been on Adderall for over 2 decades now and it still works at the right dose. He also says that taking med holidays can even set you up for anxiety and depression because of the withdrawal and recovery ​ >**Tolerance building**: There is a limit to how much tolerance you can build. It's OK to increase your dose if you need to. Eventually you will no longer need to increase it ​ Thank you. I post the same things until I'm blue in the face. People are scared to death that taking medication for which they have the condition for which it was created is going to make them immune to it overnight. I've also taken the same dose (no increases) of generic Adderall every day for 8 years, and it's still effective.",1 I’ve stopped trying. I’ve accepted the fact that the only people who understand what it’s like to have my OCD brain are my therapist and some people in this sub 😂,0 "I've come to realize the same thing over the past couple of years. I call it the ""Opportunity Costs"" of ADHD. What you've highlighted is exactly why I do grocery delivery from Good Food (Canadian, not sure it's in the US). It's more expensive than shopping, but it makes cooking food super easy. I'll also opt to drive to get somewhere faster - I know that if i ""tough it out"" and walk the distance, I'll feel too mentally drained to want do other things on my to-do list later in the day.",1 Sometimes I’ll get migraines so bad that I throw up and I think the same thing when I’m like “why do I feel like shit,1 "I was just thinking this morning about how it feels like everyone else gets 24 hours, but im lucky if a day is 8 or 12 hours long.",1 I do the... All the time... I think it's because I'm changing thoughts so fast and this is my way of representing that change...,1 "You totally deserve a household helper! I advocate for responsible outsourcing of home work and childcare, it can be really helpful, give you space to feel on top of your life for once, and enrich your family’s wellbeing because of less stress. You sound like you won’t fall into my moms trap of passive aggressive non communication with her housekeeper; she’s always resentful of missed cobwebs, but won’t address the fact that she keeps forgetting the cobwebs... When I have the income, I’m hiring a professional organizer and then a cleaner like once every few months if I’m rich enough lol (low expectations on my future earning potential being able to afford weekly cleaning...). But I’m also ok with a fair amount of grime so long as there aren’t dust bunnies and spiders. I could see myself getting grocery delivery too. And meal prep delivery for sure, that makes sense for me financially frankly. If anyone needs help navigating finding childcare/household assistant, I’ve been a nanny (stopped recently but I’ve nannied as both an supplemental income and as my main source of income/full time job) and I am happy to walk anyone through the process. I’ve helped my former nanny families find new nannies when I’ve left and found a lot of jobs online before I switched to using an agency (the paybump was significant, rich families wanted someone else to vet the future nanny and make sure she wasn’t a psychopath)",1 "I avoided this post ALL DAY just “knowing” it was rubbish. Needless to say, I’m glad that I finally clicked on it. I’ve been cured 🤧",1 Wow I was just thinking that on my run. Not that I’m not strong enough but that I don’t belong. Check out this video. It might help you https://youtu.be/hFL6qRIJZ_Y,1 "For me, we gotta add in some \~spicy\~ but bothersome intrusive images of holy figures that leave you feeling sacrilegious.",0 "Seriously. I just learned that I actually have some OCD issues. I used to always just make that joke that I was excessive with some things. I feel like I have become worse as I get older. Other than seeing my doctor, what can I do to help? I cannot stand it.",0 "It's really hard feeling like a fish being asked to climb a tree 😭 I constantly feel like I'm failing because of the way my ADHD brain works. I fail constantly in the eyes of others because I forget things, lose track, can't express myself properly, sleep in because I forgot to set alarms, etc. The working world feels unforgivable to my ADHD 😞",1 i have a big preoccupation with my studies and grades and it’s horrible:( i think im going to fail every time but im doing so well.. how can i focus on what’s real?,0 "The graveyards of things I’ll “come back to.” Screenshots, saves on FB, bookmarks on safari, bookmarks on Twitter, saved insta posts, pictures of recipes in magazines, old magazines themselves full of recipes, every text I’ve ever received on this phone and then some, scraps of paper with notes of things I’ve been recommended, aaand the holy grail...the entirety of my Pinterest boards.",1 "We absolutely should. I was like that...I always felt like there was something wrong with me but didn’t know why until my symptoms got out of hands, about 7 months ago...I would be much more anxious than the people around me, have many intrusive thoughts and do compulsions but just thought it was how I was. And my therapist told me that most people usually get diagnosed around 8 years after first showing OCD symptoms, when the disorder gets worse. That’s just awful...",0 "This hits way too hard especially when you think you complete something, but you're one step short and it just isnt enough. This happened the other day where I actually remembered to tidy up a bit and I put some items in a pull out bin from under a table. It didnt occur to me to push it fully back under and while my boyfriend was grateful for the tidying up, even he mentioned it was just one step short. From his and everyone else point of view, it looks like I dont care enough about the task when in reality, it didnt even occur to me there was another step.",1 I like to do my days in small bursts. Idk what kinda goals you got but starting with small tasks can help build momentum. I like to do dishes or generally just tidy my area and that sometimes helps me roll into other tasks. A clean area helps alleviate my anxieties about the day and even if I don't do anything big at least I did some small shit. Helps me feel okay about my existence,1 Every time I upvote something it’s so that I can go back and look at it later... I even have a reminder that gets ignored to go and do that. Seems very adhd like...,1 "Hi, my mom is an ICU nurse. You need to put lotion on. The cracks/blisters on your dry skin can actually cause bigger problems (it allows more germs in). It's counter productive. I dont want to give you more anxiety but please consider hand-sani + lotion while you work through with your therapist. The hand sani is just as effective as washing. Simply put a squirt on, and rub until dry. Then put on lotion after. You'll be okay.",0 Ocd intrusive thoughts are the worst. I hate having ocd. It is very tiring. Luckily i think with a professionals help it can be improved upon. Hpefully one day we are all in a better place.,0 "One time I got stopped by a very worried looking airport security because the 3 ring binder full of trading cards in my suitcase looked like a briefcase bomb on the x-ray. They showed it to me afterwards and it looked exactly like what I would think an explosive would like like on an x-ray. Once they realized I was a harmless nerd they let me on my way, thankfully.",0 "Dude, stop picking up the rocks I’m hiding under. Geez. Seriously though, your list reads like a ‘greatest’ hits of my life. :/",1 OP here: I did not expect this one to blow up. Thanks for all the awards! I hope everyone got a laugh.,0 "Who is your father, who are so wise in the ways of science?",1 "This is me when, a few minutes after washing my hands, my brain goes out of its way to convince me I didn't actually do it and therefore need to do it again.",0 "It’s both comforting and sad to meet someone like that, comforting because you aren’t alone but sad because someone else is suffering the same curse",0 If only I was brave enough to actually tell people I suffer each and every day with this bullshit. I cant even read a book without some form of process taking place either in my head or physically.,0 "This is so true. I have to flush two times and always, ALWAYS, is like ""Okay, first flush."" I go to wash my hands and I think ""meh, it doesn't hurt a second time"". And then I'm like ""Why did I do that... Again""",0 awwww<333333 im so glad im part of this community. thank you for looking out for all of us♡,0 I spent so long just making sure every animal on the right was actually part of the animal on the left...,0 "Oh my god. Me wondering if I could’ve somehow pressed the unlock button while I was putting it in my pocket, so I have to pull it out, lock it again, then intensely watch my keys go into my pocket",0 My parents deadass were like you don’t face ocd cause your room isn’t clean,0 I use to be like this now I need to do everything twice.,0 "You know for once, there isn't something I HAVE to do.",1 yeah im aware of my love-hate relationship with my brain which usually goes to hate and thats okay,1 "Some want just to see that last second of breath, the vision blurring, the heart stopping slowly and it’s the end. For some and all of us.",1 "Nah fam. For once, today, I finally did all my ‘to do’s’ and I am thoroughly enjoying being a lazy ass.",1 "I really like this. And we have multiple forms of compulsions just like we have multiple ways of closing pop-ups (alt+f4, ctrl+w, manually clicking the X). Some take more effort than others and can be more tiresome/damaging after repeated use.",0 I’ll probably just end up washing my hands until they bleed in this person’s bathroom.,0 I am the office manager for an outpatient mental health practice. We have a waitlist of about 3 months right now and I hate it but unfortunately we can’t afford to hire more therapists right now(we do a lot of low cost and pro Bono sessions in our community). I help provide referrals and find people services. Often referrals from your PCP or insurance company suck. They just look at a list and send it to you without any idea of what you need specifically. If anyone ever needs help looking for care and is comfortable sharing their state or approx location I would be more than happy to help place you with a therapist. I know how nerve racking it can be to call but since it’s literally my job I’m happy to do it to help fellow OCD sufferers. ❤️,0 "My dad says stuff like this to me all the time. Tragically he has undiagnosed and (obviously) unmediated ADHD, but he grew up in rural Australia very poor and with an abusive father. In the end, just “getting it done” was exactly what he had to do. His life hasn’t been without its struggles but he’s in a position now where he can almost entirely circumvent his executive dysfunction just by force of will. He’s the strongest and most accomplished man I know, and I wish I could just do shit like he does.",1 "yup, i need to get up off the couch and do schoolwork too.. heres hoping we all see this post and get motivated. its going to get better.",1 My symptoms came out at a really young age too. For me it was as early as kindergarten and I'm 28 now. It's been a wild 23 years :/,0 "Jokes aside, I find that for me to do anything, I need to not think. I need to react. In a sense, it is like a very minor flight or fight response. But if gets me to do things, sometimes, so I'll take it...",1 "*glances at nearly done pile of homework* There is no need to get personal.",1 Me rn in the bathroom at work. I stared at that damn lock for 10 minutes before I convinced myself it was actually locked.,0 "This is brilliant, i used "" issues with my short term memory"" when i lose track in a conversation, people never question that, and it stops them from just assuming I'm stupid. But a ""neurological disorder"", goddamn! Love it, oh yeah, that's gonna shut up any rude comment, could even save you from getting fired.",1 DM me if u need want. I am struggling a lot too. have also texted the the crisis lines but am finding chatting with ppl helps a little. so dm if u need an ear,0 "Just commit to changing, recovery, and improving your mental health.",0 I am now a home owner so my new one is: Did I leave the water running? Will my home flood and leave me broke? Yay me!!,0 Not all of them though... and I can’t tell the difference.,0 A large part of my OCD is the fear that I’ve done something that I’ve don’t remember. I literally can’t focus until I remember what that thing is.,0 "For bills, make sure to set up preauthorized payments so that they automatically come out of your bank account!",1 I wanna see a therapist but I just can’t imagine their methods like these making any difference for me.. Maybe I’m just too much of a pessimist..,0 "It depends, sometimes it's clever, but most of the time it's bored hacky bullshit.",0 "That's like saying I don't want my cancer to be cured because I like watching movies. ""But that doesn't have any correlation?"" Exactly.",0 "In the presence of other people, even close friends, weed tended to make me, at best, uncomfortably self aware, and at worst, horribly paranoid. These feelings tended to kill whatever buzz I had, unless we were watching a movie or something else that required little conversation. I eventually came to the conclusion that weed was great for many people, but it was not my friend, and probably not a good friend to anyone with intense anxiety issues.",0 "ok what.... i had no idea this was an OCD thing. ocd runs in my family genetics, and ive always wondered if i had some variation of it",0 "Yes, because otherwise I completely forget. It has no purpose to me without the why, so my brain files it as ""uneeded info."" The why is just as important because sometimes it can help you solve a problem without needing the supervisor or make an educated decision. Why absolutely matters.",1 "Unfortunately I know all too well how terrible coexisting Tourettes and OCD can be. There’s a strange correlation between the two, as OCD causes me to be a control freak, but my tics are the one thing I can not control, which then causes horrific anxiety. Fuckin sucks:(",0 what questions do people ask their therapists?? I asked 'do i seem crazy?' and then regretted it immediately because it sounded so dumb,0 I just made another watch later playlist and am halfway to filling that one too.,1 "My mind in blown, and i'm so impressed with this. I feel like all your descriptions of his movies are like the many facets of my personality.",1 "I wish I had done that. I know my marriage ended because it was my wife’s choice—but I definitely needed her validation often, and I ran that well dry.",1 "This made me smile. You don't want to know how many people would see this negatively and judge us for not ""just doing it"" instead of seeing how much we try :)",1 "Yes but I also have always used sleep as a coping mechanism. Like when I used to go to my abusive dads house for a weekend I would spend the whole time sleeping so that it would go by quicker. Since then I’ve always napped to avoid things. I never really thought about it being an ADHD thing.",1 "Could someone summarize this or give a few more examples? I’ve read it twice and I’m just a little confused for whatever reason. I have many compulsions, facial ticks being one of them. They’re not “involuntary” per se, I conscious do them, but I definitely wish I could just not do them. Is this post saying that the facial ticks are the theme? And I’ve tried not to do them but I just have to, even with medications (I’ve tried plenty) that do actually help with some of my symptoms, nothing works on the facial ticks",0 So who else would get severe panic attacks and dissociation feelings with this?,0 "Feeling this so hard, hang in there we're with you!",1 "This is frustrating and also extra annoying because of the uncertainty and COVID at the moment. It’s tough but pull through, I feel like this everyday but just remember your moments of peace will come, you’ll find little moments of silence and bliss throughout the day.",1 it would be nice if it was named in a way that benefited people with ADHD. only problem is there's something call Executive Function dysphoria which comes with ADHD. sadly we couldn't have the name that would work best :((,1 "Routine is everything, I've been diagnosed since I was in grade school and one of the big things that helped me get things done was have a specific, scheduled daily routine. For example, when I wake up I immediately shower to wake myself up. Then I look at my calendar and to-do list (which I normally make the night before), and get them all done and out of the way so at night I can wind down and relax with a sense of pride. It's hard to start and you should take it one step at a time. At first I gave myself too many things to do or too many things for a routine that it was hard to keep up or committed so I never did regularly. I then started small by having at least one thing to do every day, then two things.. and so on. I'm currently in this process still of trying to maintain a routine after having other unrelated issues, so right now i'm trying to get back on track. It's all about baby steps. You can't make any change overnight, you start slow and gradually make your way up there.",1 I'd rather die than to check it 23 times lol. 9 more would do the trick tho,0 "Why not? Makes perfect sense. To me this is self-care, no different than budgeting some $ for a gym pass or a personal trainer. Basically a smart life hack.",1 "I have been in a mood all morning and even just seeing the title and then seeing the post, you captured how i feel completely. great work",0 "Omg this is sooo true. I hate it all. It’s worse when it’s my bi polar depression because then I’ll get giant manic bursts and be a whirlwind of chaos and everything is right and good and fun and then boom crash now I can’t do anything. Been up for two days like a maniac and regretting everything that I just did because I was a tornado of impulse and desire and now I’m bored, miserable, tired, hating myself and unable to get up and do anything about it and frustrated at my lack of control and now I have repair relationships and fix fucking bullshit I started in my unthinking tornado. All the weight of the world crushed at the behest of my own hands and I was unaware of it at the time. Hmmnnn. Meh. Smh",1 I really like this too. I think doing something similar would be helpful for my GAD and agoraphobia. Thanks for sharing!,0 I hate when I know I’m being irrational but can’t stop,0 "when you stim into the abyss, the abyss stims back.",1 "I understand and relate to everything you've said, and I couldn't be more proud of you. One month will hopefully turn into two and keep going from there :)",1 """JUst clear your MIND!"" ""But I-"" ""You need to RELAX!"" ""LOok I try an-"" ""Not hard enough!"" ""THE BAD STUFF I SEE IS WORSE WHEN I TRY TO SLOW DOWN OK STOP IT."" ""...oh. WHY DIDNT U SAY SO!"" ​ ugh",0 "Thank you!! I always feel this weird sense of shame about my Wrapped because half of it is random goofy songs I hyperfixated on for one week, and the other half is the playlist I force myself to wake up or study to. Every year I'm like ""No... No you don't understand...""",1 "One of my goals was to... organize my screenshots and photos into their appropriate groups, then use a print company online where I can have them printed into real books. Basically, photo journals. For txts, keep the images rather small so I can get a lot mashed into one page/book. For regular photos it might still be cheaper just to print them individually at Sam's club/walmart/Walgreens etc and put in an traditional album. But the prices to print color, softback books on demand like that have fallen dramatically over the years. The one area I'm good at are bookmarks. I keep that pretty well organized, but there are some that are redundant, could be combined, or aren't pertinent anymore.",1 I like it and it shows what dealing with it is like,0 So nice to see in not alone in this. Thoughts that are so hard to explain to others😣 I didn't know these kind of thoughts were also my OCD😣,0 "Ah this! I work as a programmer, I can type and do stuff on my own, but as soon as someone asks me about it or to explain, it just doesn't work. I'm sure people think i'm stupid or don't know what I'm doing because of this. Not just work either, but that's where I find this happening the most.",1 “Have you tried not being a cunt?” as a response has virtually stopped these comments at least for me from most people... lmao,0 "Oh shit, never thought of that! Just....don't have it and you won't! /s For real though, I'm sorry you had to deal with that. I've had similar stuff thrown my way. Depressed? Just be positive! Ugh!",1 "Every now and again my brain likes to replay past embarrassing / hurtful moments. It often chooses the one where my daughter's paternal grandmother (ex in-law) says that my ex's new girlfriend is good at 'keeping house'. It doesn't matter that she was *not* trying to insult me (We'd been split for about 7 years - it was more of a comment on an interim girlfriend than myself), but that didn't matter. I know I suck at keeping things clean. I know how, but frequently just can't. Even when I can - I know that doing the work will leave me zero energy for anything else for the next 2-3 days and sometimes - I just don't have time for that.",1 "I have pure O and I recently discovered I have it too, the first dead give away to me that I was positive I had it was the sexual and sexually violent intrusive thoughts I've had since grade 2. It was really comforting finding out that it was not me creating them but the illness that was. It has given me so much relief figuring it out. I really thought I was just that disgusting and ""typical of me""",0 "Alright, alright, I’ll get up! Time to start everything! See you in a few minutes ...",1 "I start screaming when I get sexual intrusive thoughts, it sucks big time",0 "This sounds really like the plot of a romantic comedy movie. Anyways, good on you! Hope it helps you, we all need help, some more than others, and that is ok.",1 "I got a degree in chemical engineering on this basis, rinse, and repeat. Use it!",1 "I like that new label, gonna roll with it. ""Yes, I'm right-ADHDed""",1 Just got diagnosed 3 days ago... THANK YOU FOR DOING GOD’S WORK! I’m printing this.,1 "i HATE when people say this. ya, they may not understand OCD as well as specialists and people that have it, you can’t tell someone to “stop thinking” we wish it worked that way, but it doesn’t. our thoughts come into our head, but furniture and live there, and sometimes you forget, and sometimes you remember the tiniest things for 6 years ago.",0 Ocd comes in sooooo many forms. Unfortunately it’s a pretty common stereotype to think that all people with ocd are crazy organized. There are many types of ocd that don’t relate to being clean at all.,0 The only way out is through. Just keep moving. Good luck all. Hope you find some relief in 2020.,0 "Dude, I’m stuck on an incident from 15 years ago that totally went unprocessed until about a year later. It pops back into my head every so often and I get so pissed that it took me so long to understand how that situation actually went down and that it was with a stranger so I’ll just never get closure. I forgot my kids parent teacher interviews tonight that i booked yesterday but god dammit I remember being disrespected by some random dude in a grocery store YEARS ago.",1 "Absolutely relate... If there's something I don't want to do, all I can think about is how much I don't want to do that thing all day until it's over. Whatever that thing is always turns out to not be so bad, but that doesn't stop it from ruining my entire day beforehand. >.<",1 "I don't know if this applies to anyone else, but I've realized my ADHD really fatigues. When I have a later appointment or work in the afternoon, I can't do anything else because I end up being tired and more unfocused if I do. I used to not understand why I was like this because it was unconscious. Realizing how much fatigue played into it was really helpful for me",1 "Thank you 💖 I can relate with the ""you don't care enough"", ""you don't pay attention to me enough"", ""you're not involved enough"" I heard this continuously during my 3 years of marriage... and then she divorced. I was devastated. This divorce triggered something extraordinary in me: it led me to seek ADHD help and thanks to medication and psychotherapy, I arose from the ashes, stronger and amazing. 2 months later I became a TV star and she texted me asking for money. I didn't even respond because I truly didn't care anymore.",1 "I need to fool myself into sleeping. At bedtime I (eventually) play an interesting but not exciting podcast or audiobook. I’m not going to sleep, I’m just in bed in the dark, still being entertained! But actually I’m asleep within half an hour. Tricked you, brain!",1 "A compulsion I can never fully kick. Well done OP, it's a significant achievement!",0 "omg yes and then I feel so annoying to myself. I’m like why do I keep thinking about me having OCD, and I just doing this for attention/sympathy? Cue spiral",0 Saw this post and did the thing. Saw the post again hours later and remembered to comment that you helped me! Thanks.,1 "The people saying the same things over and over again but rewording it... I got better about that when I figured out WHY people do that. They have impulses to do things just like us... but to them they are subtle. So while we have a drill instructor of an impulse telling us to GO GO GO do this then that want a thingy! They have a low background hum that they sort of learned to follow around and they generally get satisfaction. So if your mother asks you to take out the trash, but it's your sibling's turn and they are not home... she may hang around and talk about the trash not being out for the next 15 minutes. The impulse,for her, is ""the trash stinks it should go out. So things like it not being your task are less important and the low murmur (reptile brain) still wants it gone so it keeps whispering. She feels no satisfaction (a very uncomfortable and alien feeling to a neurotypical) and thus your rebuff of being told to take the trash out shifted her from actively asking to an unintentional passive asking. All that she wants is that impulse to be satisfied. So you can speak up over the murmur and probably be called rude (despite the fact you have for the last 15 minutes been ignored about how it isn't your problem ahe is just making it your problem) or you can redirect her. Mention and play up the sibling... the reptile brain isn't very bright so if you say something like ""Yeah where is that lazy sibling, they should have taken the trash out before they left!"" that might dislodge them or you can shift it back to mother via wording ""Boy the sibling-o-matic is gone, how are you going to solve the trash problem?!"" and subtly shift the problem needing solved right back on them. Being ADHD makes you introspective... sometimes by force. Use that on other people and try to guide them into a more bearable existence for yourself.",1 This particular thought I'm happy to easily loose interest in.,1 This really shows that she is willing to learn about ADHD and understand how she can help him best way possible.,1 Ditto. World feels a little less scary knowing I’m not alone.,0 "I actually did good yesterday. Finished things, and felt good about it. Now its today and that feeling is gone and there's just nothing. I wish it lasted longer. I wish I could enjoy that feeling instead of just going to bed but what choice do I have?",1 Loving the little trans and rainbow flags. Being trans and having OCD is such a rough combination for me and this illustration represents my feels so well,0 omg it's so true though. Like as a graduate student if i tell my professors I have something along the lines as above they're like omg we'll work with you and make good things happen.... if i tell them it's ADHD they just look at me like they're wondering how someone with the brain processing of a 12 year old managed to get into a phd program... and then proceed to treat me as previously mentioned 12 yr old.,1 "Same with ADHD. ‘Oh I have problems concentrating too haha’ It’s so fucking frustrating",0 Imagine how ridiculous I looked during mass trying to sneakily do more signs of the cross because I did not do it perfectly 3 times in a row the first time,0 It’s also giving up on trying to make sure everything is in its right place after tragedy in the family and so you lay in bed for 6 months only showering once a month.,0 "I was literally reading this last night, it’s great!!!",0 "I’m literally at a coffee shop right now desperately trying to write this paper by 11:59 — and instead of doing that I’m using Reddit because I’m distracted by my 3 pm appointment that’s 3 hours from now, 10 minutes long, & over zoom :) Story of my life once a month so I can get my prescription that’s supposed to make me not function like this refilled <3",1 "My wife actually does this for me. She takes the kids out for a couple hours on the weekend and I get a chance for the thoughts and craziness to catch up and compose myself. It just gives the house pure quiet and I can breath for a moment.",1 "Love it! My Tourettes/OCD tattoo is a remarkably similar concept! Got it in October [Fixed Link](https://m.imgur.com/gallery/2PySrhe) Edit: fixed the link",0 "One of the biggest parts of my personal struggle is that I *don't* know if it's irrational. My cat's chemo pills, as well as her waste, are toxic and dangerous to people. No matter how careful I try to be, I fuck up and touch something that I wanted to avoid. In the past I've called poison control, my doctor, and/or the vets, depending on the situation, and general answer seems to be that the risk is ""minimal"" with extra cleanup occasionally required, but that's different than if I weren't so fucking stupid that I kept making mistakes in the first place.",0 the way i do this but then others get confused😔 i can think rationally about it and others are like “whew shes fine” but then thoughts get too overwhelming and i go through with compulsions anyways and everyone’s like “wtf”,0 "Yeah happens to me so often, and then I'll yell at them or speak in a frustrated tone, and they'll get mad or upset and I don't want to be like this, so I'll feel guilty.",1 "Don't know about you, but these exact advice do more bad than good when you have pure o. You start worrying 'Am I doing this right?', 'What if I start obsessing again and it won't help?' and it becomes and obsession in its own right. What really helped is determining the real rules for myself via experimenting, though it is very hard thing to do.",0 thank you! i took a bunch of screenshots of the tips i liked and saved the post... i hope i will remember to read them again ><,1 "It has come to my *attention* that my iPhone is the most advanced planner that I have access to. Therefore, I shall *only* pay attention to my iPhone and all my *problems* shall be solved.",1 Lol when my mom says my OCD is just my battle with the devil and that I can pray it away 😍😍,0 "I get this thing where I need to save every little thing when I'm browsing, even if I don't find it interesting. I get so worried about the idea of forgetting something I read no matter how much the thing matters to me, or remembering it later vaguely and never being able to find it ever again. It makes going on reddit kinda annoying for me",0 "this is literally what i see, this is not even an analogy at this point. I swear to god i see this when i check to see if my door is locked",0 "I build reddit into my productive schedule. Work a little, reddit a little. Nap. More reddit and gradually longer and longer periods of work. And no nagging internal voice berating me for it anymore. This works better for me. Took 15 years to figure that out.",1 "So true, it’s so embarrassing.. people that know me know I have speech difficulties but when you’re just getting to know people they might think I’m an air head. Imagine me when I played pictograph for the first time... LOL so humbling. I also when I speak I speak in pauses, for example I’ll say “Well it could had been irrelevant but in the midst of things, I also wasnt the person to be inter—-Ested.” Or words that end with “ly” or “ing”... I speak slowly... so I won’t trip my words. I also mix them. So I’ll say did you plant the waters.. when I really want to say did you water the plants. Big smh...",1 Thank god it’s not just me who’s had this despite literally being a virgin. I was starting to think my ocd was sliding into delusion territory. It’s so weird when you know very well it’s impossible but your brain won’t shut up about it.,0 Just now realizing this is exactly what I did when I first got to college,0 "This is me with client work!!!! I recently told another freelancing friend that I tend to get 80% of the work done. You know, the hard parts. Before then just STRUGGLING to finish. Or if I am done. I move into the next clients task before delivering. Then forget vital info that doesn't seem that big at the time... Cause you know, sending the email right after you finish is some how a bad idea... They looked at me like I had four heads basicly. Yup. And sorry to say it doesn't get better.",1 "Right! Like you're ""rewarding"" yourself after the hard work of having to have continuously have faced all of that ""Resistance!!!"" SMFH! lol. I know that feeling! But hey... when we allow ourselves that... it is really self-love..... right??? lol coming to terms with our own acceptance... this is something else I might have to return to and re-evaluate on my personal blog entries and youtube channel...!!!! All these posts have me feelings exceptionally inspired this morning!!!! (okay... 12:03 pm now... but you get the point!!!!) <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 :) :) :) :) :) :)",0 Thanks for the tips! The tolerance ones really relieved me a lot!,1 "You may have just changed my whole view on shopping lol I’m 20 and still just figuring out how to adult in this world, the one year I lived alone I barely fed myself at all. I wasted so many vegetables, fruits, and made a few other useless purchases. I always feel guilty about getting the more expensive things but it might actually make a difference for me",1 "These are so accurate. OCD is basically reaching towards all the things you want to do while a part of your brain only looks at the intrusive thoughts and pulls you away from the things you want to do with compulsions. His interpretation of ADHD and PTSD are also surprisingly well understood. His art depicts them to the T.",0 Lmaoooooo currently convincing my brain that I'm not one,0 "Yes and since I didn't see anyone comment calling it this yet, it's called intrusive sleep! The theory is when an ADHD brain loses interest in something, it disengages interest and searches for something else to do, and sometimes that disengagement can be so abrupt the brain starts falling asleep and the person becomes sleepy or even falls asleep. So essentially, when ADHD people get bored they can get sleepy to the point of falling asleep, until something else engages the brain and wakes it back up. It's a condition that's hard to study because the conditions are hard to replicate in a lab envorinment and it's often misdiagnosed as EEG negative narcolepsy (seems like narcolepsy but all tests are negative). I always thought I got so sleepy in classrooms because the oxygen level got low at the end, turns out my brain was just so bored I started getting tired!",1 "Speaking as a senior medical student, but also someone with ADHD-PI, I’m so frustrated that isn’t common knowledge for clinicians! Why isn’t this taught!! I have tried to raise awareness among other medical students (usually without revealing that my diagnosis), and even with my own therapists, and I feel like I can never properly explain this well enough. It is so defeating to hear people say “Sounds like depression. Or anxiety.”",1 "Oh my gosh I relate to this. I’ll be on my iPad and a voice in my head is going “DUDE! You have things to do! DUDE! DUUUUUUDE!!!“ But I’m on level 1045 of Homescapes and need to keep mindlessly sliding tiles. On the outside I probably look lazy, but on the inside all kinds of alarms are going off. It sucks. Anyway, I feel ya!!",1 "Nice! When my wife loses something and we're looking for something, I start looking in the unlikely places after double-checking the expected places. She always says ""I wouldn't have left it there"" and I always respond with ""If you had left it in a place you expected to leave it, we would have found it by now."" Then, as you might expect, we find it somewhere odd. ​ “Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” - Sherlock Homes",1 "This translates to adulthood so much. Even when we can articulate why a task is too difficult or hard, sometimes it doesn’t come out so we look like idiots who can ‘do it after all’. We have to stop expecting everyone to fit into this small box society has determined is right.",1 "Every time I get the urge to practice making music, playing guitar, etc. I just end up listening to music and fantasizing about having created it. Likewise for various business ideas I have. I spend more time fantasizing than doing.",1 "I get certain phrases or songs stuck in my head sometimes, ALL night. Every time I wake up, there it is lol. I just go with the flow. It goes away when I wake up and start my day. ",0 "Wow so it’s confirmed, i do have ocd because that’s literally my brain’s favorite pastime",0 "For me it’s an energy thing. I don’t want to expend all of my mental and physical energy early that day not have energy left for that afternoon appointment, especially if it involves driving a distance.",1 "You should check out ""How to ADHD"" It's a nice channel. [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nPM1\_kSZf91ZGkcgy\_95Q](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-nPM1_kSZf91ZGkcgy_95Q)",1 This happened to me last night. I work third shift so I end up staying up until 1pm or 2pm knowing I need to get up at 7:30pm to get ready for work at 9pm. Usually I can force myself in bed by 1 but tend to stay up until at least 1:30. Last night I stayed up until almost 2:30pm and got maybe four hours of sleep because of noisy kids in the neighborhood. Now I need to go to bed again and I'm still up. Why can't I stop this?!,1 "Ugh... As a new mom almost 12 years ago now I got a load of theese kinds of thoughts, about stabbing my baby. Horrible. I even hid the knives from myself. Didnt dare to tell anyone cause I thought social services would take my baby (was young and single on top of it). This was before I was diagnosed with OCD. I was so relived when I learned that this is pretty common...",0 "There’s a hyper specific sub that I forget the name of but it’s an acronym of something similar to “music French people might listen to at a party of just while hanging out”. I subscribed years ago when I fixated on it and now it pops up in my feed occasionally to remind me my brain wanders hard. Found it https://www.reddit.com/r/MFPMPPJWFA/",1 "One thing that helps me is giving my OCD a name and talking to it. (I know it sounds like I'm tripping, but hear me out. ) If I get an intrusive thought I'd say: ""Now, [name] I know you're trying to help, but this is not helping and it's making it worse because [insert logic of why the intrusive thought isn't helpful]. If I need you, I'll let you know, but for now I've got it. "" I did this for the first time today, full on talking out loud to myself alone. It helped tremendously and most of my OCD thoughts have dissipated greatly! Try it sometime! I promise you, it is worth the try.",0 I feel attacked but also seen. I... might need to read this book.,1 "Because of this whole issue, I've felt more comfortable with saying things like: ""I have memory problems"", ""I have time distortion problems"", ""I have trouble with executive function"", ""My attention span is shorter than most but very very intense, so I need more breaks"". People really listen and understand to the individual problems. It's not my job to argue/teach anyone about ADHD.",1 Your so right!! I used to think I needed it . I always felt helpless not being able to focus and lack of motivation but now realize it was only because I doubted that I couldn’t do it . We all deal with this in our life in different extremes but honestly it just helps you because you have the control . When you accept yourself then things start changing . I always thought I had to have it . But only temporary,1 I don't think therapy will rob anyone of anything. 300mg of wellbutrin and some effexor almost robbed me of my life. YMMV,0 "OMG right?! In waiting mode right now and it’s driving me nuts! New client was supposed to call at 10am; I pinged him @ 10:10; 10:12 he replies saying he’s running late and will call in 15. THAT WAS THIRTY TWO MINUTES AGO and although I have knocked out a few minor tasks in the meanwhile, I can’t get started on my very big todo list because getting *back* on task once the call inevitably interrupts me will be just ughhhhhh. Twelve more minutes and I’m booting it to tomorrow. *sigh*",1 "😡😡 what the actual fuck... this is why serious and real OCD (and mental health in general- lets be real) isn’t taken seriously. So much fun to joke about yayyyy 😠🙄",0 "You guys are being so dramatic. I use a planner every day, it's not hard. I keep it on my coffee table and use it as a coaster.",1 "Just an FYI but for anyone looking for help like this, you could also use the “housekeeping”, “errands”, or even “special needs” categories on care.com if you feel uncomfortable using the nanny category.",1 I actually thought you were going somewhere with that for a sec lmao,1 I've been told you cant have (my personality disorder) and ocd god I fucking wish,0 "I see some people asking for the full questionnaire, and after a bit of searching it looks like this may be it: https://ocdla.com/pure-obsessional-ocd-test",0 "Haha yeah ocd is so cute. I love when it drives me insane and traps me in repeating thoughts and actions until I feel powerless and empty. So adorable when trying to avoid my triggers or being triggered leads to ridicule from others. Oh and disturbing intrusive thoughts are just so heartwarming. /s Thank you for calling that comment out.",0 "If I had a dollar for every time a well meaning friend, family member, or coworker suggested 'just set an alarm'...I.could buy a phone for them so they could read this thread.",1 This is my new favorite meme of all time... Thank you for the laugh!!,0 Im going to save this and show this to my therapist. Literally all I think about while I compulse 😭,0 "I'm glad everyone enjoyed this meme, for anyone going through this it's ok we are not perfect. Just take care of yourself",0 Thanks I was having a bad day same to you friend we are in this together the least we can do is support each other ❤️,0 "What we need are smart glasses that measure our attentiveness and suitably adjust the speed of video content automatically Edit:example you start paying less attention so video starts playing at .8x then .5x gradually decreasing until your attention is returned to the video During hyper focus it could slightly speed the video up",1 oh boy more “haha you know this mental disorder that ruins lives and alienates friendships? haha cleaning lol funny”,0 "Allegra Kastens (@obsessivelyeverafter on insta) is a great resource, and she sells “ocd is not an adjective”[merch](https://alegrakastens.com/product/ocd-is-not-an-adjective-sticker/). Stumbled across her by accident and so many of her posts resonated with me.",0 "Dang. Oh, how I relate. I hope you find a way through that, my friend. What's helped me is learning about what's happening in my brain from an ADHD angle and a depression angle. It doesn't really make DOING things easier, but it's been helping me reduce the shame and discouragement to some degree, which can inadvertently give me the willpower to do SOMETHING, even if it's a half-assed something.",1 "One of OCD's most clever attacks is going after the meta-uncertainty that you may or may not have OCD. This is why it should never be used as reassurance, because that'll never work. An example, ""Okay, that thought of me murdering that random person standing next to me at the bus stop is just my OCD, no big deal. ....But what if I don't actually have OCD...? That must mean I'm a violent psychopath!"" Vicious cycle.",0 On YouTube check out motivational videos. I find that those tend to help me stay focused and productive. There's also an app https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.CalmSleepSounds that I use most night to help when I have an episode.,1 My brain has done the same thing but I’ve never seen it articulated like this. Wow 😯,0 "I am already in a strictly online university, so I can relate, but I can't sympathize. But, I have been in enforced quarantine by my boss and have had to work from home for the past two weeks. (I say had to, but I've had the flu and I'm fucking lucky my job allows me to do that. And my boss and my *boss's* boss keep expressing gratitude for me for doing so, which I am like...its the least I could do. I took 3 days off and I was climbing the walls. FFS, they need to quit thanking me because hello impostor syndrome!) Thankfully, most of my job is the same except the location and communication methods. My boss still manages to loom over my shoulder even from 6 miles away. But, boy let me tell you. I have a bone to pick with the IT guy. I can't access my company's internal network, even with a VPN and that's a huge problem. Someone has to physically be there to send me reports and files and so on. I have spent a lot of time shopping on Amazon for exactly the right wicker basket to use as an indoor recycling bin (cuz plastic bins are ugly, and also run counter to the whole purpose), waiting, just waiting for the person to email me the thing. Wow. I have some feelings about this.",1 Holy shit good job thats legendary status for us 😂keep that shit up!!!!,1 "People are gonna be stupid always, about a number of things, why get mad about it? It helps neither you or them.",0 I’m sorry you’re going through that if you or anyone else needs any help my pms are open,0 "I know not everyone is understanding, but I try to tell my family when I am overstimulated. My younger sister and I (both ADHD) call it ""brain bees"". I had a really short fuse before my diagnosis, so they give me space or text things to me so I can respond when I feel better.",1 "I get it. You are not alone. It is hard!!! But forgive yourself. I just wanted to coin for the friend part to definetly find some friends with adhd. For some reason me and my friends click so well and we don't have high expectations and are forgiving of each other when we forget or kind of dissapear for a bit. They all got diagnosed with adhd and add. So when we discuss or go out it matches the same energy. Not saying that all adhd people are automatically a match but perhaps joining the adhd discord and having fun discussions? Also nice to vent. It's never nice to feel guilty all the time and you shouldn't have to. The only one suffering is you. Try to forgive yourself, i know i repeat yourself but it sounds like you need some love. The shoulda woulda coulda is exhausting. I've just started to have some accountability as i was paralyzed because of my own household chores and school. I met a great teacher who just sat down with me and made a schedule with Hugs and love, if you want to vent or talk i am available. Also can talk over discord if you'd like.",1 "Me: at security gate to board my flight Me: but WHAT IF I accidentally put a BOMB or a GUN in my bag oh my GOD",0 I have had adhd since I was little my mom has it and at least two of my brothers have it so I’m lucky that my parents understand it,1 I often feel what feels like swollen lymph nodes under my jawline but never thought of getting it checked out.. Should I?,1 "My pretentious opinion: Great use of medium, completely new 10/10 Great use of color, absolutely adore the palette, 10/10 Form, don't know what I'm looking at. 3/10",0 This stuff isn't just for people with OCD. Intrusive thoughts happen to everyone. The difference is how much time we spend fixating on them.,0 I highly suggest YouTubing “How to ADHD Wall of Awful” it tackles *exactly* what you’re describing.,1 Lmao I’ve been on the cancer train this week hard. Watching YouTube vids of people’s cancer stories etc.,0 Chuunibyou was a cover for OCD the entire time? Love it.,0 "Looks like a repost. I've seen this image 2 times. First seen [Here](https://redd.it/izgcfq) on 2020-09-25 87.5% match. Last seen [Here](https://redd.it/izgcox) on 2020-09-25 87.5% match **Searched Images:** 155,422,786 | **Indexed Posts:** 606,063,102 | **Search Time:** Nones *Feedback? Hate? Visit r/repostsleuthbot - I'm not perfect, but you can help. Report [ [False Positive](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RepostSleuthBot&subject=False%20Positive&message={""post_id"": ""izme8e"", ""meme_template"": null}) ]*",0 I’ve realized in the last year that my self-esteem issues come from people constantly making me feel like I am incompetent or bad for having adhd.,1 "I really needed to hear this today. OCD seems to be latching on to so many different problems lately. I just closed google and stopped some compulsions thanks to your post. I'm sending you love and happy that you decided to start working on it, keep it up!",0 "you have to figure out what the thought wants, either wants control, security, approval, and once you realize the thought is an illusion you’ll stop resisting the thought and it fades. Non resistance is really the key.",0 Yeah mine also comes and goes. I have very thin boney hands so often the skin will crack and bleed and get red rashes around the knuckles between the fingers. I have a very mild skin allergy to pickle juice and I work in McDonald’s so I often have to touch pickle juice and my hands rash less from the pickle juice than they do after a week of bad washing lol,0 "SHUT UP MOM!!!! Jk jk you right you right. Time to prep for work, I am starting my first official teaching position this Wednesday! AHHHHH. Thank you for the reminder. Seriously!!!!",1 "i call it crippling anxiety, ridiculous compulsions, and crying on the kitchen floor at two am because i can't get a stain off the stovetop. nicknames are so much fun.",0 Oh boy I actually got lucky on my recent trade. I hade this horrrrible intrusive thought lingering for like a month,0 I'm going to send this to my mom so she stops calling me lazy :/,1 ">... and if someone else ends up doing it, I feel awful about it. OMG this! That's the worst part of it. I constantly feel like shit because this happens so much. Also, executive dysfunction keeps me from doing even the things I love. I'm a history student, and I thrive in the academic environment. However, when it comes down to actually doing research, which I'm passionate about, it takes me forever to get started. It just makes me so sad, because I could be doing so much more.",1 "This guy is a good example of the next generation and evolution https://youtu.be/cXAf8JLKpIg Peace",1 "So simmilar thing happened to me when i was having History oral examination and we have to know every word of our textbooks and as I was answering one of my teachers questions, my brain was like:""what would happen if you stop talking about it and just stare at her?"" and it made me worryed and I started to forget all of the things I knew few moments ago...",0 "well, if you go down that path your ocd will be happy as it will have something new to obsess about",0 OMG ME TOOOO! Wow. Never thought of this being an ADHD thing. ADHD creeps into everything.,1 "I'm crying right now, I need an alarm to do everything, even feed the dogs. The sad part is, when an alarm goes off I'm always in the middle of doing something (usually what I didn't have time for to begin with, or just daydreaming) and quickly turn off the annoying alarm, and then a few hours/days later realize I didn't do what needed to be done and so begins the cycle again",1 "I got lucky (sort of). Went into IT when you could work your way up from support. I was pretty good at a little of everything and my work eventually evolved into doing a little of everything. If I got bored, I'd do whatever was interesting at the time. If they suddenly needed something taken care of, the excitement usually was enough to get me leaping in to hyoerficus the heck out of it. Sure, I don't seem to understand calendars and an randomly useless, but they could almost always count on me when something needed special attention, and overall I was just crushing it. Lots of people didn't really know where I worked in the company because I was in loads of random meetings. It wasnt always great, and depression and anxiety mixed in made it downright rough at times, but I can't imagine not having jobs like that. But I was lucky too... Great bosses except one.",1 "I fucking HATE when people are like, “my husband lines stuff up with all the labels facing out and in size order, he’s sooo OCD.” It’s not a fucking adjective!!!! It is a disorder.",0 When I'm playing DnD I doodle. I have to say it helps me pay attention better. I know it looks like I'm distracted but I'm more distracted when I'm staring at someone and nodding.,1 Happy birthday!!!!! 🎉🎉 you are stronger than you're ocd. You did it. And in a pandemic. 👏🏻,0 I don’t think I’ve ever related to a post as much as I do to this one. Thank you for sharing!,1 Loud repetition is what my family is all about and I despise being around them for long periods of time.,1 "I used to constantly roll my tongue back as far as I possibly could, gagging myself, as well as sticking my finger down my throat. I never actually threw up from those things, but I’d have to do them an even number of times. I was constantly thinking about dying from touching my uvula, because I heard that would happen in school. The uvula is actually supposed to help avert choking, which is the opposite of it being fatal to touch, right? I also clenched my teeth as hard as possible (never broke any teeth). I’ve had obsessions of biting my tongue (but can’t because I don’t actually want to, and the body naturally prevents you from doing so) I had different, ticks, at different times, throughout my life. Worst I USUALLY have now is repeating voices/audio on my head, and counting syllables. But each syllable counted as a number must only have one syllable itself. For example, seven is “sev” and eleven is “lev”. I also have to keep playing back the audio until I can hear it correctly. It’s very distressing and exhausting, but I can’t shut it off. It usually pushes through and my brain accepts that it’s been processed. Sometimes I’m distracted enough to give up and it fades away. I know OCD ain’t the only thing wrong with me, but it’s the most known....",0 Bruhhh I wish I knew that I should of gotten diagnosed and help before depression hit,0 "Wow. I’ve been thinking I’m just a really, really bad student but ADHD is a much better explanation. Wow.",1 "As a follow up to this post, does anyone know of any good resources like the book mentioned? I looked that one up and several people feel it is a bit outdated.",1 I’ve been in “remission” for a while now and honestly the realization of how strong I’ve had to be in the past helps me a lot. I often imagine badass me beating up edgelord ocd and it helps a ton. Also Prozac; Prozac is bae.,0 Like for my medication? I have it on daily repeat and still forget my meds.,1 "Ah yes, I too am bi with OCD. It's a tough ride I'll tell ya",0 Fuck why didn't I think of that? If I did I'd have been done with college about now.,1 "Yaaaaaaaas!!!! This is why I hate cooking and baking!!! Just the other day I was trying to make dinner rolls. I heated up the milk too hot but didn’t think anything of it. Apparently, it messes with the yeast but the instructions say nothing about why you should do it a certain way.",1 I’ve screwed my self over so many times by doing this crap.,1 "I'm on my third day of meds myself, it's crazy how night and day difference Adderall make. My mind was quiet, I did things in an hour that normally take me a few days. I wanted to cry from happiness. :D",1 This post made me feel so much better about my OCD. I finally decided to comment on one of these threads because I won't let my perfectionistic OCD prevent me due to worries about grammar and coherence! Fuck you OCD!,0 Yes and I absolutely hate it. It makes me think I’m really stupid.,1 "What makes it so much worse is sometimes when I frantically check to see if the sink is running, it actually is because it sticks! So even though it isn’t running 9/10 I still remember that it does occasionally stick so I always think it is.",0 "Me (*I don‘t even have ocd, I joined this sub because I can learn about it. Though a bunch of posts here are just too real for me*)",0 "Manning up is total bullshit. I mean absolute fucking nonsense. The idea is that ""real men"" bury their feelings instead of dealing with them. All the ""real men"" I know that do that aren't happy people. They hide their hurt to avoid being judged. They're prone to lashes of anger and pettiness. I would call ""manning up"" *cowardice*, and I would call you seeking help, as you're beginning to do now by posting, the intelligent and brave thing to do. I've dealt with depression for many years. Something everyone with depression needs to understand is that it's a mental disorder that warps your understanding of things around you, and your perception of yourself. When your mind tells you that you're a mistake, that you're less valuable than everyone else, that nobody *really* cares about you, etc; you need to recognize that those aren't rational, true thoughts. They're the way your brain is making you feel, and you need to stay aware of the fact that those feelings aren't true. Depression doesn't care if you have a good home life. It doesn't require bad circumstances. If humans ever create a social utopia, there will still be depression. Don't be hard on yourself for it. Instead practice some self care and work on seeing yourself fairly. You aren't any less valuable than everyone else. The unique challenges we deal with don't make us inferior. Just like how people that have physical impairments need medical help and tools to go about their day, people with ADHD need memorization tools, accountability, and oftentimes medicine. Struggling in a NT world doesn't make you less of a person, it means you, like millions of others, need some help with certain things.",1 "I tried planners, they didn't work for me :( Then I of course tried yoga - not sure why I hadn't done that before - but it wasn't until I added meditation that suddenly it all came together. I've tried just the meditation, but no such luck - you really need the *synergy* of the yoga and the meditation to be symptom-free, at least I do. I also cut out caffeine, stopped procrastinating completely, and eat nothing but whole plant-based home-cooked meals, and WHOA! I stg I'm fucking superhuman now. I'm simultaneously finishing med school and a PhD in astrophysics. I don't get why ADHD is even a problem for people :/ It was so easy for me to get over.",1 "This is 1,000% me. It can be 1pm on a Friday at work and I'll have a project due at 530. And yet I find myself completely unable to do the project because it's dull, uninteresting work. I'll tell myself ""Ok start on this project"" AS I SIT ON MY PHONE FOR ANOTHER 5 MINUTES. Even though I've scrolled through reddit 5 times in the past 2 hours I still find my complete inability to start something I just don't want to do so goddamn frustrating.",1 """You won't ever listen to the voice of reason"" - hey, that sounds like my mum...",0 Yeah. I just reread something unfinished that I wrote in 2017 that's been spooking around my head these past few years and was surprised that it was actually good. But I still can't get myself to take it back up right now.,1 "For me I have to do my mornings the same way every time. No exceptions. I can't exercise 4 mornings a week. It has to be 7. I get up. Stumble into my clothes I've laid on the floor next to the bed, use the bathroom and take my medicine, go in the kitchen and make my drink, walk downstairs and immediately start, finish my exercises in one hour no matter wether I'm done or not, feed and let dogs out. Walk upstairs and take shower and get dressed. No phone at any time. Walk out the door if I'm working or start on whatever project I need to do on Saturday, Sunday go to church. If any aspect changes or any interruptions happen then I'm screwed",1 Oh my. People repeating the same thing or continuing to explain when I’ve made clear I understand makes me absolutely crazy. To the point I have to intervene...even if they are higher in the office hierarchy than me.,1 [I don't remember asking you a goddamn thing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B34DmsMxUlA),0 Creating a new space is hard but it can be done with practice!💖💖💖 Never give up hope!💖💖💖,0 "Kind a relatable. Ive been watching/listening to ASMR lately. Some people consider it kinda weird, but its actually proven to be effective for a lot of ppl! Maybe you could try that too",1 "Thanks dood ❤👍 I wish you all in advance a happy new decade. Set goals for the next few years and make something out of your lives people, time is valuable and you can't take it back. Here and there may be some people that have hit rock bottom in life, please feel free to share anything with me. I'm not anyone special nor am I the best to take advice from, but I'd also share my stories with you which would hopefully help and encourage you to fight for something in life. If you're thinking of taking your life, it is **not** worth it. There are people that are specialized to help people like you. 1-800-273-8255 Please call this suicide prevention number if you feel suicidal or have any suicidal thoughts.",0 Me when I’m trying to sleep but going on hour long tangents in my head about actual nonsense,0 Congrats bro! Wish you all the best for your future,0 "Okay but since when are people with OCD automatically these things lol Like how does having OCD make you some of the 'most creative' warriors that she knows. I like the rest of this though this is cute.",0 "I feel like this ability is the reason why I'm a good driver--always monitoring everything at once, identifying potential risks.",1 Ouch ouch this sub triggers me in a way that hurts so good 😂,0 "Honestly, this is just pretty normal. I know several stay-at-home moms who still have someone come in one a week to help with cleaning, laundry, etc.. You didn’t need to make it a big ADHD thing.",1 Wait I might have to try this! And there’s a free version? My school has Office 365 but I didn’t know there was a free version.,1 I didn't know I wasn't the only person migrating my compulsions to the cloud,0 "I had a big break through when I got the flu after doing rituals like crazy, realized it isn’t protecting me and I got so mad... my counselor walked me thru it and honestly feel like I made a major break thru now that I don’t listen to it",0 "I do this with sleep. Well it’s 4 am and have to wake up at 9 because if I wake up any later it was a waste of a day. But if I got to sleep now my alarm will never wake me me up on time. So instead I’ll pass out at 8:30am wake up at 5 pm eat dinner with my mom and come upstairs to suffer all over again.",1 Is there a word for this?? It’s like purposely having short term memory loss,0 Every damn time. This happened to me two nights ago. It was literally this.,0 I haven’t painted in almost a year because I refuse to let myself make a mess by doing so in my mess of a guest room I’m converting into a studio,1 Even if classes are cancelled/online can you meet with classmates to work on homework together in small groups?,1 "i always count when I'm in the car, like the trees passing by the window or something. and then it turns to only being able to blink when there's a tree next to my window",0 "I use ellipses...a lot...and any time I answer something long winded it just runs forever because everytime I change my thought a little bit, I dot-dot-dot it up",1 This subreddit always makes me feel better about my adhd,1 "Omg, I love this, I can't believe that we all of the same brain functionality",1 "Just remember, it doesn't make a difference if this is real or not. I know your pain, stay strong, bud!",0 "Have you ever considered just ghosting everyone and then starting a new life? Sounds like the logical choice here. I kid, but yeah I get that sometimes. Thankfully I have family who loves me. Consider talking to an ADHD coach if you need help.",1 "I deal with an eating disorder as well, so I stopped taking the medicine because I fully convinced myself that it was making me fat.",0 "Here's what I do. It actually kinda works: I have a little ""home"" in my mind where when I close my eyes, I imagine myself and the other imaginary occupants who live there. I go about my business, tell them about my day, talk about my problems... It's a good way to transition away from my phone and still keep my mind engaged. The mental exertion alone makes my brain tired, and I find myself drifting off pretty soon.",1 Literally me right now. I’ve also convinced myself I’m in liver failure.,0 "Me too. I’m so sick of this. I can’t enjoy anything, i feel as though im marked and ‘different’ and i can’t be like the normal people enjoying their lives with no guilt.",0 "Just straight up impulsively buying things, as well .. so much wasted on impulsive buying.",1 "thank you for sharing, this isn't dumb at all! so happy for you",0 "But it makes my hair wet, and its cold getting out, and something about being both wet and naked upsets me.",1 "It makes the actual disorder seem like a joke, and when you try to explain the actual seriousness and awfulness of it, people don’t take it seriously and they see it as something good to have. It needs to stop. I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s good to laugh at yourself every once in a while, I can take a joke - but most of the people that hold this perspective about OCD truly do believe that it’s only a matter of cleanliness and organization, and nothing more. They disregard and sometimes don’t even believe the very real and very crippling aspect of this disorder. In reality, it’s a mess - a mess in our heads that no matter how many times we ruminate and “reassure” ourselves with self-destructive ritualistic behaviour, it will never fix it - it only makes things worse. It’s nothing to be proud of or looked up to. It’s surely a mental disorder, and we need to be taken seriously more than we need to be joked about.",0 Hmm.. I suppose I should brush my teeth before I get too comfy. And I really wanna play animal crossing. Y’all ever had executive dysfunction so bad you put off shit you WANT to do?,1 "Just like with OCD, there are a lot of unfair stereotypes about Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia can be managed with medication and CBT, and support of people that understand and don't demonize! I realise this is 'just' a compulsion, but sometimes for me finding out the 'worst case scenario' actually isn't so bad can be helpful. Instead of indugling the compulsion, trying to think 'well if that is true I can't do anything about it, and it isn't so bad as X, Y and Z would be my actions' might help. ",0 This is the most accurate depiction of the thought process I’ve ever seen. Especially the “begging my mind to stop!” part. And “just go outside.” I torture myself for not leaving the house.,0 "Ohh man. My tactic (my very inconsistent but effective when I actually do it tactic), is to just sit down and write a list of everything that I need to get done big or small. Then I just start doing the things that I feel inspired to do until I forget and lose the list. But at least I got some things done!",1 "Did anyone ever try the amino acid called Tryptophan ? It’s a natural way of boosting the serotonin levels in your brain. It’s not very expensive, and you can get it from any health food store and some drugstores. I think it’s worth a try. It’s better than doing nothing, and when you have OCD really severe, you’re usually willing to try anything that will help.",0 Yep. This is the reason someone telling me “Just focus!” has me burst into tears of frustration,1 Question: Am I the only one who hates classes? Like I find them so boring so I zone out and I just study the material at home anyways so I never go to class cause I feel like it's a waste of my time. Anyone else like this?,1 "Oh man. My husband and I both have ADHD. We also have two year old twins. I’ll be trying to deal with the kids and my husband walks in and starts talking to me about the video game he’s currently playing. He’s so excited that he doesn’t notice me starting to blink and twitch as I try to process everything. And I don’t notice I’m going over the edge of over stimulation till I start to crack. It’s a fun game we play every day! /s",1 "Ditto. I’ve always felt that way. I respond much better to the carrot than the stick. I have a boss that praises almost everything I do. She’s constantly telling me that I keep impressing her and yet I still feel like I’m not good enough for the job. I find something I her praise to worry about. It’s insane.",1 "Oh... Yup. Plenty familiar with this line of thinking.",0 "YES! I just started a new job that requires me to be on zoom meetings all damn day...then my mom calls to see how things went...and goes off on her own tangent about my kids, my nieces and nephews and all I want to do is sit in peace and quiet for a few freaking minutes! GEEZ.",1 Congratulations!! I can't wait to be where you are now :) You've given me some hope!,0 "“Yeah haha lolol I’m so weird like it’s bad like, they have to be in color order lol” Bish if I don’t do it the world will end or I’ll get into a car accident",0 "dude exactly why do i always feel like im pretending, or my minds playing tricks?",0 Wow. This artwork is amazing. Very thought provoking and speaks volumes.,0 I can freaking relate. Just as I've calmed down and convinced myself my urges are ridiculous and I need to move on from the thought just THERE IT IS AGAIN,0 "It would be nice to have some kind of psychology subject in school to learn about disorders and to have some info about how to deal with anxiety, depression, etc.",0 "Actually I do, in fact, have a lot of homework that I procrastinated on, so thank you.",1 This has been my life for 2.5 years. It’s as bad as you think. My life is a wasteland.,1 "This has been my thought all last week. Podcasts have been helping me. I listen to ones that are about ocd & self love! Also remember self forgiveness is important, your mistakes do not define you. You are a better person now, you learn & grow from lessons. It’s time to take control over your ocd, instead of it controlling you! Don’t be afraid to get help, a lot of people go through this. You are not alone.",0 "When someone mentions they’re like, so OCD, I ask what has their psychiatrist said about it.",0 "I mean, I'd argue that Monica does exhibit tendencies that absolutely can be OCD. So I wouldn't rule that out. I'm not saying those are the only symptoms of OCD but excessive cleaning, fear of contamination or a need for perfection and order can definitely be valid OCD symptoms.",0 I feel like wherever I go im like a tornado and somehow accumulate so much stuff everywhere.,1 This makes me a tiny bit emotional and I’m never emotional. I’m just so happy with you and for you that you finally get to feel like this. I remember my first doses and feeling free and like I wasn’t walking through molasses every day just trying to do normal shit. So proud of you! Sounds like you have a good partner too!,1 glad im not the only one with ocd tourette and anxiety its hell of a trio lol,0 "You’re not alone, this has been a struggle for me my whole life. At first I just thought I had a guilt complex but then through talking with my therapist I realized it was more. My strategy is usually telling a close friend or someone that’s comfortable with me and then doing my very best to move on. Also, this is gonna sound obvious and stupid but I just tried to avoid doing things that made me feel guilty. For example, I felt so guilty and got awful stomachaches every time I told a lie to make myself sound more interesting, so I just stopped doing that. In your case, intrusive thoughts aren’t at all in your control. When I get awful ones that I feel terrible about and want to confess, I just write them down and then crumple it up or burn it if I’m feeling dangerous. But again, not alone. You’re very strong and I believe you can power through this.",0 "Almost my whole life, if you asked me what ADHD meant to me, I wouldn't have *dreamed* of connecting it with my constant crying, forgetfulness and daydreaming (among others). I can safely say that that was strongly aided by the representation of ADHD in the world around me, which is in turn linked to the misleading name.",1 "I love when we get to share the positives here. She might not have gotten the dishes done, but look at all the other things she did while she was trying to make herself. If I can avoid something like Reddit or my phone or napping, I can do all sorts of little stuff I would never put on my to-do list. *My husband: What did you do on your day off?* *Me: Oh all sorts of things! I got this done, and this, and I made this, and look how many socks I matched! Oh, and did you notice how straight all the pictures on the wall are? You should check the mail and see how clean the mailbox is.* *My husband: Nice. Are those your PJs? Have you even showered?* *Me: Well, I mean...I was gonna shower before I picked up the ki--Oh shit! The kids!*",1 "Asking ""Why?"" used to get me in so much trouble when I was a kid, especially in school. I wanted to understand the practical reason for things and I was told ""do as I say"" which of course, meant plenty of time in detention.",1 "I would highly recommend talking to a priest. I suffer from scrupulosity and anxiety as well as OCD and talking to my pastor always helps, as well as relying on the Rosary.",0 "I guess this is why I’ve always somewhat liked his movies while everyone I know seems to just shit on them, that deep relatability that I probably didn’t realise but heck I do now.",1 "Hello OCD therapist, A very warm welcome to you! I really appreciate your thoughtfulness. I don’t think there are many OCD therapists who go the extra mile or even do reasonably enough to improve their understanding of OCD and their professional competence in helping their clients. Way too many times I have been let down by incompetent therapists to be able to sustain my hope of recovering ever. We need more people like you in this world! Thank you!",0 "***Tips to get rid of intrusive thoughts****:* 1. **Don’t suppress the thought** For many people, the first reaction they have when faced with an intrusive thought is to try to forget it about it. Unfortunately, this method results in the exact opposite effect – you end up thinking about the intrusive thought even more. Instead of consciously suppressing your thought, try to divert your attention away from it with an engaging activity. For example, try completing a crossword puzzle or reading a book. Make sure you aren’t switching between a bunch of tasks. Fully immerse yourself in a single activity, and make sure it can’t be linked back to the intrusive thought in any way. For example, if you’re having intrusive thoughts related to death, it wouldn’t make sense to divert your attention by reading a book about murder. 2. **Recognize the difference between thought and reality** A big concern for many people with intrusive thoughts is the fear they may act out on a dark intrusive thought, such as harming someone they love. They want to understand the meaning behind these thoughts and seek reassurance that they won’t commit them. However, intrusive thoughts are what they suggest – just thoughts. These thoughts are not a sign of what’s to come, and there is no intent to act on them, no matter what your OCD or anxiety wants you to believe. With that in mind, accept these thoughts as mere thoughts when they arise. Let them pass freely through your mind – recognizing them, but not allowing them to consume you. By accepting intrusive thoughts as just another thought, you’ll become less likely to worry about them over time. 3. **Identify the triggers** Often, your thoughts are not entirely random, and your day-to-day interactions may influence them. Keeping a journal of your intrusive thoughts can help you understand patterns over time. In addition to listing out your thoughts, keep a record of your overall mood, and notes about your day. As you start to notice similar thoughts appearing over time, refer back to those notes, and see if you can identify any patterns. Maybe these thoughts were happening when you had a lot of free time, or perhaps they were occurring after you watched a violent movie. By tracking these patterns, you may be able to pin down the root cause and fix the underlying issue. 4. **Implement a positive change into your daily routine** If you infuse your life with more positive vibes, you’re less likely to have space for negative ones. So why not integrate a lifestyle change that’s proven to make you feel good and develop it into a consistent habit? Some examples of changes you could make in your daily routine include: * Developing healthier eating habits * Practicing meditation * Taking walks outside If you notice yourself having intrusive thoughts more commonly in the morning, implement these activities as soon as you wake up. A shift in your mindset could do wonders in shaking off intrusive thoughts. 5. **Talk it out and don’t rule out therapy** Many people feel ashamed to admit they’re having intrusive thoughts or even experience feelings of guilt related to them. They attempt to deal with their thoughts on their own and keep them hidden from others. However, talking through your feelings with someone you trust can be extremely beneficial. By being open and vulnerable about how you’re feeling and what you’re experiencing, you may develop a whole new perspective on your situation. For some people, talking to a stranger can be easier than talking to someone you know. In this scenario, therapy can be a good option. There are many types of therapy available – both in individual and group settings. Do your research and take time to evaluate all of your options. Intrusive thoughts happen to us all from time to time. With a little bit of focus and commitment, you can overcome your intrusive thoughts. Your success depends on your ability to fight the urge to worry and obsess over them.",0 This was really good! Definitely pretty close to how I feel on the daily haha,0 "Wow, nice! I've always hated those trash cans you have to touch to open. I then have to wash my hands immidiately. Recently i just straight up ate with my hands after touching it!",0 "Do you mind if I ask how you first noticed your autism ? Or how you were first diagnosed? And since you also have adhd did that affect your diagnostic process at all? I don’t mean to pester and if you do not want to discuss it I won’t be offended. I’ve just always wondered how much more difficult it is to diagnose autism when it’s paired with adhd. Since adhd is looked down upon by an older generation as kids who just can’t sit still instead of being seen as the mental disorder it is. So color me curious. And I’ve also always been a bit nervous to ask the questions about myself honestly.",1 "my dad is the same. his most revolutionary piece of wisdom: ""God, you just worry so much about so many different things. It's just unnecessary!""",1 "I can vouch for what OP is saying. It definitely does get better. A year ago, a little over a year now actually, I was completely debilitated. Now I’m back in school and I finally have hope for the first time in years. Stay strong guys I promise it’s worth it, I didn’t think it would be but now I see how much it was.",0 "Digitally limiting the internet, streaming services and video games is \*immensely\* helpful for me, even with meds. I still can't convince myself to do it, because life is harder everywhere else, but also because I 'should' be able to manage my behaviour my self.",1 "I did this all my life, I hope I never had ADHD and other things it sucks",1 "This is amazing. I have not lived alone in my life before (parents, roommates, live in boyfriend, etc.) And have always had someone's help to keep me on track doing things. But I'm about to end up on my own and this has been stressing me out to the max. But your idea of a nanny makes so much sense. I'll be trying this for sure once I'm on my own. I just need help caring for myself. Love it.",1 Every time someone says oh that’s so ocd I just kind of look at them flashback to ocd ruining my life and just be like yea k,0 Happy Birthday! And congratulations! Keep on keeping on!,0 Reasons I’m afraid of even applying to grad school: this,0 "Making a conscious effort to engrave in my mind, that I am in fact locking the door helps. I also read from someone here that recording the act of locking the door helped them. But maybe that's just one compulsion changed to another.",0 "Damn this is accurate. Now that I know about OCD, my past relationships make more sense. Particularly my first one. I was always afraid she would break up with me. The OCD just made me afraid to lose the thing I cared about. Wish I could have known more about this shit at the time.",0 "Yes, and ""because it's your job"" only works for so long before I no longer work there.",1 "I remember when I reached my breaking point. I didn’t want to die, I just wanted the OCD to stop. Going to a psychiatrist was the second *absolute* best decision I’ve ever made in my entire life. If my past self could see me now. I’m crying just thinking about it",0 "But I reward myself for making the right choice, not the universe.",0 GENETICALLY MODIFIED SEEDLESS WATERMELLON?!?!??!!! OH MY GOD I THINK IM CURED,0 This hit a nerve. My country doesn't really care about mental health and my life as I know it is basically over now. I've failed at everything :(,1 This is me! I know all about it but can’t explain jack shit about it,1 "The night before an appointment: makes a mental list of things I need to discuss At the appointment: thinks of maybe 2 of them....",0 My brain is too tired to read all of this but from the comments it seems like a really good post. Anyone here want to remind me about it in a few days? Lol,1 "Over time I learned to ""make the moment better"" and youre right it is very helpful. It seems silly to try and force tasks when you could simply make your environment better and then the task feels better 😊",1 He’s so cute!!! I’m glad he’s there for your comfort :)),0 "I fucking hate this so much!!! I have three of those, and it makes me so mad! That being said, I swear that everyone is in the autistic spectrum, but some are more than others? Idk, that’s just what I heard.",0 "I thought I had made up the term productive procrastination haha. All of this is me to a T... Will look up this book, sounds like a terrifyingly interesting read.",1 This post just made me remember I forgot to put the sausage in the fucking fridge this morning before work.,1 "There's a youtube of someone trying to destigmatize mental health by saying why their mental health issue is a super power. While I think that mental health shouldn't be stigmatized I feel like this is saying someone with crones has the superpower of weightloss. Mental health is hard. If meds help deal, get fucking meds from a doctor. Fighting your brain makes you a super hero, letting your brain rule because you won't sleep until everything is scrubbed is not healthy or a super power.",0 "I have pretty mild aspergers related OCD, but I can still relate to this one.",0 "You are like my husband, bless your heart! We've made it to 30 yrs!",1 is this actually the most accurate picture ever created by humans,0 "Gina Pera, a journalist who studies adult ADHD, said in her book “Is It You, Me, Or Adult ADHD” that a more accurate practical description would be “Intention Inhibition Disorder”, and I love that so much. It encompasses the full experience much better. Inattention and hyperactivity are symptoms, but all the symptoms of ADHD stem from a persistent, involuntary and unexplained disconnect between a person’s intentions and their actions.",1 "Is there a list of apps/products to go along with the tips? Loving the suggestions, but it’d be great to also have vetted products/apps suggestions to go along with it.",1 But HOWWWWW.Please gimme the secret I'm so close to failing,1 "Yes the key is its not what you want. It's a thought with people, events that you are familiar with. It's things that happen that you are familiar with. It's intrusive because we think because it happened in our minds I must be thinking about it. No it happens because you are familiar to these things happening. So they pop up from inherent fears.",0 """I don't let things bother me. I just do them."" A nice little chunk of wisdom from my partner who doesn't understand ADHD and thinks all people are the same.",1 watching this while pulling my eyelashes and grinding my teeth... oof,0 "That's the most effective analogy I've ever heard. If you ask me, too many people treat bad memories and thoughts like something to be erased or annihilated, if you will. Like we need to get rid of them completely. The truth is that life is full of bad things, including our own minds, and we have to live the best that we can while enduring them, sadly.",0 "I just ordered the book, I can't wait untill it arrives. Thanks for the recommendation OP! :)",0 "I have never thought about this before! But yes - I use a LOT of punctuation things (commas and hyphens and brackets, see this very paragraph as I type it!!), more than the average person, AND long long sentences are hard to read. Quite the insight!",1 "Oof I had this experience after sexual assault. I wasn’t sure if he had used a condom and I was freaking out. He was also drunk and could have put it on wrong or something. I started obsessively googling. I bought every pregnancy test brand at the store and they were all negative but I wasn’t convinced. Google says people can have false negatives for a long time. Then I got my period, still not convinced. Google says some women still get their period. Months go by and I am still getting negative tests and my period and yet still obsessively googling this and thinking about it constantly. I read every “I didn’t know I was pregnant” story (there are some wild ones) and panic. I just knew I was pregnant, I could feel it, and was going to miss my abortion window and have to have a baby. I considered getting a blood test but didn’t have insurance at the time. Of course I wasn’t pregnant lol. But the intersection of PTSD and OCD is a scary place. :/",0 "Oof. This was beautiful, thank you for this. I’m really sorry about your loss. Unaddressed ADHD can be absolutely soul crushing in every avenue of our lives. I appreciate your vulnerability with this sub. Someone reached out for help on another sub, I asked him to look at r/ADHD to see if there was anything that related to him. There wasn’t enough to convince him that ADHD was the catalyst for his issues, however we’ve kept in touch in our PMs and we talk all the time. I try to coach him through intimacy issues, finding value, and understanding himself. We don’t know each other at all, but I feel served when I can be there for him. Internet culture has become the wholesale destruction of everything truly valuable in our existence, but when we explore the internet to the depths that truly bring us together, it reminds me how important we are to one another. You’re super awesome, I hope you bring smiles and peace to everyone around you. You seem like that’s the energy you give off. Appreciate ya",1 "Theres a Filthy Frank song chorus that I think i can relate to and you can too. Its ""I live in a constant state of fear and misery""",1 "I have a question for anyone that takes adderall for your meds. I started on it a while ago and I can definitely feel the productivity and energy increase, which is amazing. However, is that all there is to it? Obviously it's not gonna solve everything, but there's still a lot of issues like emotions and etc that don't get solved by taking Adderall and I was wondering if I should switch to something else?",1 You deserve more recognition for this. Please post on the platinum subreddit let them know why you got it and more will be fortunate to have this information.,1 These are things I am currently denying that I'd ever forget because I've never been faced with these problems and yet I came to the realisation that deep down inside me I'll actually forget if I was in your shoes,1 "A month and a half ago I was doing 1.5 hours of excercise every second day, drinking 2 lts of water a day, eating at least 50gr. of protein while keeping my calories below 2000 a day, and taking my meds every day at the same time each day. I also had an 8 hour sleep schedule I followed religiously. Life was good. Now I'm a mess who eats once a day, who knows how many cals, who knows how much protein, sometimes I drink water and am skipping my meds every second day, and the last 2 weeks I slept 5 hours a day, waking up 2 or 3 times each night, until i had to illegally take benzos i shouldn't be taking. Life isn't good anymore.",1 "I feel this a lot recently. I didn’t go to class today because I was tired of being late. I don’t even want to be late, but it’s like the universe doesn’t want me to be on time. Or if I remember one thing, I completely forget another. How do you deal with this without feeling bad about yourself?",1 "I would totally wear “Devil’s ADHD Legion” shirts with everyone in this subreddit. <3 Thank you for sharing.",1 Preconceived notations will overrule just about any information you can give a person if they’re unwilling to change their minds.,1 "It's boring because you aren't getting an adequate amount of dopamine out of it. It's overwhelming because you are doing something that won't make you feel accomplished. There you go. Eating chocolate and buying sugary drinks is just your addiction. You're like a drug addict. Which is easy for us ADHD because of our dopamine problems so you need to learn to be able to not cave in to those cravings. Learn to not let the outside control you're inside so much and be at peace with the present moment. Also if you're forgetful, then get your phone to remind you on the daily to brush teeth or whatever.",1 "hahah great meme! makes me feel better about letting out my “jingle bells, batman smells, robin laid an egg!” while at the store yesterday (:",0 I could have written this myself...I’m 40 and have felt this way my entire life,1 "Majorly so! Examples of numbers I like to 100; 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 18, 25, 29, 31, 35, 37, 38, 41, 43, 47, 48, 52, 57, 59, 61, 65, 74, 79, 81, 89, 92, 95, 98 The rest I don’t like, try to avoid",0 """who cares that there's no gas left in the tank? Just start up the car and drive!""",1 """But maybe a real sociopath would even be able to hide it from a test...""",0 I've been trying to warranty return a broke set of headphones for two months now.,1 Unrelated- but we look really similar! Weird. I’m happy you’re confronting your compulsions :) ,0 Me reading this thread for solutions while the thing I need to work on is literally in front of me,1 "This is the dream! I've given up on the thoughts going away, but those rare moments where they come and I can just set them aside are like pure bliss!",0 "I apologise to people I meet for being annoying.it’s almost like a protection thing ‘if I say it first you can’t say it about me’. I just started a new job and spend most of it apologising and watching others to see how to fit in. Of course all it does is reinforce my feelings of being annoying. I need to stop doing it.",1 I can't wait to show them the doodles scheduled for 3pm!,1 "I'm drunk enough that I held down the ""upvote"" button to switch to the ""heart emoji"". It didn't work! But I am so proud of you! My anexity held me back for college but I graduated with a 3.7! You got this!!",0 "Geometrical distributions of three. And you better be exhaling on the last touch, or else we’re doin the whole shit over again, and then again, left handed. Standing southpaw. Then right handed, standing southpaw. And then left handed again, standing orthodox. Then one more time, the opposite of how you started. And don’t look at it on the last touch yo, or else we’ll be there for 45 minutes n shit...it’s gotta be crisp mofo. Crisp.",0 "Yea, im saving this. Right now I'm just more angry than tired, so there's the fire that burns in my heart right now. But if there somes a point that my heart gets cold, i'll keep this around to warm up.",1 "I wish they would stop with this coronavirus stuff. The death rate is 2% in China and even lower in the US. Ultimately, what the news companies are doing is just making it harder for folks who have OCD and the like",0 "It's even worse when the article says, ""Most children will get over it"" or something along that line..",1 "I have suffered from OCD basically my whole life and yes it is debilitating but I just don't take offense when people make OCD jokes. I mean, how do you know the person making the joke doesn't suffer from OCD themselves and you just aren't aware of it. I make jokes about 'My OCD' all the time - sometimes to people who do know I have OCD but often to people who don't know (which I find great fun as it's a sort of 'hidden in plane sight' joke I have with myself at the expense of people who I feel don't get mental health issues). The other thing is every aspect of human psychology is a spectrum really isn't it. To those of us who suffer the worst on that spectrum really own the rights to the language around it exclusively? ",0 "Image is from the YouTube channel [ContraPoints](https://www.youtube.com/user/ContraPoints), for anyone interested.",0 So fucking relatable. I have bad contamination OCD (drugs not germs) so I wipe down everything every night. Showering is something I do like 5-6 times a day. When the depression hits hard (like now) I shower twice and don’t wipe things down nearly as much.,0 I feel this. And moving across the country to a place where I know nobody and have had major moving complications has not helped. You are not alone. ADHD Depression Anxiety combo sucks,1 "People that annoy me are those who think it’s fashionable to have OCD. “Oh. I have a little OCD.” “I’m a little OCD about *blank*” “I have OCD tendencies.” If you knew anything about the hell that OCD is, you wouldn’t be saying stupid nonsense like that. You wouldn’t want to have any association with it at all, and you certainly wouldn’t use so flippantly as an adjective for normal, anal retentive behavior. ",0 Guilt and doubt are cornerstones and even triggers for OCD. You may feel guilty for no reason at all yet FEEL like you should be. I’d watch that you don’t take the bait and let the compulsive urges pass,0 "I didn’t realize that this was a product of my OCD until right now, I do this EVERY time I pass through those sensors.",0 yuppers! i think organized and clean are definitely two different things. i just need to know where everything is and i’ll be fine. lol.,0 I can’t step on the cracks on the sidewalk because then the world will end... or something like that.,0 Sometimes I unironically get OCD themes of Islamic terrorism,0 "You're right, it's been a few minutes since I checked Facebook.",1 "Good luck on your classes! It makes me so happy when I see people like you who deal with OCD, like I do, and can live their lives how they want despite what they’re going through. I hope you have a wonderful time at college!",0 I just had to think about the money I used to spent on all the umbrellas and nail files I lost.. 🤦🏻‍♀️,1 "Yeah, tell me about it. I've got a playlist with sounds of running water, showers, rain on plastic roofs and similar white noise tracks to help me cancel out the internal noise that keeps me awake at the night. Of course, having these half dozen tracks on repeat for 6-12 hours per night for a few years now, Spotify thinks I just want to listen to splosh splish splash noises all the time. That, and those 2 artists I binged for 4 months straight earlier this year.",1 "This is something I would love to help change...I’m writing a book rn about REAL ocd (pure o to be exact) and I’m hoping that even if it doesn’t become popular, it starts SOME kind of conversation about what ocd really is.",0 I went to a café kind of place and they had ‘obsessive cake disorder’ sign. I left a fair review (the staff was nice and it’s not their fault) but in the place relevant to how comfortable you felt in there I gave 1 star and said the sign tainted my whole experience. They replied and said they had taken the sign down so that was pretty cool,0 It sucks that people don’t understand. Like I try to explain and they say like “oh yeah I do that too” or something like that. They can relate cause they were just lazy and when I go into the worse stuff they are so confused.,1 I have been married now for 1 year and 9 months and I finally ordered (and received) our marriage certificate… at first I just forgot about it but then I played out every horrible scenario in my mind (including what if our marriage ceremony wasn’t real etc etc) it took me 5 minutes total to order it online and it arrived in like 4 days..,1 OMG WERE ALL CURED! Thank you all knowing mother of OP,1 "Oh wow, she sure Is lucky to have someone In her life to actually /see/ that. I really hope you show her this.",1 "But some germ exposure has been proven to be good for your immune system, so being overly hygienic can be damaging and seems to increase the risk of certain diseases like allergies and asthma. Of course, there's COVID these days and that's not good for anyone's health...",0 "Me aged 13: don't step on the cracks or you'll break your mother back! Me aged 23: don't step on the cracks or you will die.",0 TW TALK OF ABUSE. yea. my birth father when he had custody of me would like make me say i did something just so he could beat me for it,0 "Thanks. I just quit THC which I self medicated with for years and really needed to hear this. I feel all my symptoms again, oy vey",0 "Congrats!!! That’s a huge deal for us. I honestly can’t say I have brushed my teeth for that many consecutive days. I’m trying but sometimes my brain just refuses for absolutely no reason. The weird thing is, my teeth are actually pretty nice looking. I have no idea how they look this good when I have issues brushing my teeth.",1 "I’m usually just a lurker on reddit but I just wanted to say how impactful this is for me at this moment. I only got officially diagnosed with ADHD and autism spectrum a few months back, and have been medicated for about a month. I have a really hard time with emotion-well, communicating any of my feelings really-and because of that, haven’t cried in a good two years or so since I moved away from home. Yesterday something with my family happened that opened the floodgates for all this pent up childhood trauma I have, and I just cried and cried for hours. Ever since I was young, I looked at su*cide as an inevitability for me...and last night I started feeling like it would be soon. But then I came across this, and you helped remind me that I am not my emotions and I’m not my disabilities. I don’t know what would’ve happened but I’d like to think you may have saved at least one life today, so I want to thank you for that.",1 They won't let us mass delete them! Mine is at a solid 4960 and it keeps filling up...,1 Literally this is why I hate when people tell me to “just set alarms on your phone!” or “just get a day planner!” Like no. That’s not going to magically fix my issues. It has absolutely no effect on my productivity and memory.,1 "This is my Pure O, especially with religious concerns.",0 This is such a great way of looking at it. Now if only I had a pop-up blocker because right now it’s feeling like a old Microsoft computer riddled with viruses because the whole screens covered in pop-ups :/,0 "So damn accurate 😭 if I didn’t laugh, I’d cry hahah",0 "I don't have OCD that I know of yet but... If you don't step out of the bathroom by the time the toilet finished flushing, everyone's gonna die.",0 "Sorry, I can’t remember what you just said 15 seconds in, could you repeat 1/2 of what you said, only to be interrupted by me finishing the other half of what you said?",1 "i had a psychologist who told me i should ""practice extending my concentration"" by ""focusing in only one task for increasing periods of time"" because i told him i even paused tv shows or had to rewind them. like having less distractions or things going on would somehow stop my mental checkouts and continuous daydreaming lmao needless to say i never saw him again",1 The number 13 used to wig me out but I'm kind of okay with it now. Submersion therapy I guess,0 "I'll get a brief period of dazed calmness when I first awake and then the OCD and depression be like ""bonjour""",0 "oh 100%. sometimes, mid-compulsion, I'll be like ""wtf am I doing? what is this? im just saying words over and over and they dont mean anything""",0 "Dang, it's weird to see an OCD joke about real symptoms.",0 "Wow. This looks like what I saw in my ketamine treatments! Ps. It did NOT help my OCD. You’re so talented!",0 "Totally! I'm 33yo and now I trying to learn piano, and my girlfriend just doesn't get when I need to understand WHY, about some rules on chords or anything of musical theory, but, when I really discover details to understand this (and don't just play the same) is much more easy to fix and learn deeply",1 Still so jealous of your progress! Keep up the good work :),0 @mods can this be pinned or archived at the top of the subreddit,1 "I feel you. I had a 4.10 gpa in high school before I even considered the possibility of having adhd. In college I have struggled horribly to get passing grades. Even after diagnosis, I arguably got worse with strattera since it made me less anxious whereas before I used immense stress, pressure, and procrastination-induced adrenaline to get work done at the last minute. I’ve added adderall to the equation and seem to be doing better, but this semester is going to be the true first test.",1 I feel you. I’ve made peace with the idea that a lot of what I want to do is not gonna get done.,1 literally all day every day ESPECIALLY when i'm trying to fall asleep,0 Gorgeous! I do the same thing. When I was in school I would practice my signature over and over and over again. It’s perfect now :) today I was writing out my entire week and I have to use my fine tip sharpe pen thing and so I had to rip out the entire page and start over when I got to the end because I didn’t count correctly. We win some and lose some! You got thiiiiiiiis.,0 I started showing symptoms myself that exact year (just after *Contagion* was released to rent on DVD). Almost the same age as well - eleven.,0 "I have sorta the opposite problem. You ask me about a topic, and that entire topic comes out- but its way too fast and horribly explained to be useful. I also have basically no working memory (its as bad as forgetting how I started my sentence) so its a mess...",1 I was supposed to start last week but couldn’t get myself to go through with it. Gotta force myself to try again this week. It’s hard!,0 "This is like stepping on a crack, and breaking your mother's back! I never do step on cracks. :( It makes me stressed enough because my poor mother has a bad back.",0 "I use a lot of commas, because I have ADHD *and* on top of that I'm also German...",1 "It’s almost like you wake up without ocd , till it hits",0 I don't know how many lighters I have at home. About 35?,1 My mom talks like she's still a substitute teacher talking to a big room full of students when she's 3 feet in front of me. She gets offended when I ask her to talk quieter 🙄,1 "probably true, used to wright esays whithout comas or points (only now the word in french)",1 "I finally got diagnosed when I told the psychiatrist that I had two highly competent assistants at work, a full time nanny/ housekeeper at home, a several cups of coffee and pack a day habit- and when covid/ moving took away all those things but the coffee, I was losing my mind. That's when she realized that I wasn't actually coping on my own without meds- I was self medicating and paying others to do my executive functioning.",1 "I’m not sure if this is an adhd thing. I’ve heard of people learning much more easily when the *why* is accompanied with the *how.* Not really much of a revelation imo. I’m kinda surprised this post is getting this much traction on an adhd subreddit.",1 "Aren’t you worried that the medication is pointing a gun at you? (Ignoring the fact that they don’t work in space)",0 Seriously if my healthy insurance covered counselors?...,0 My job started working from home this week… have I done a single thing yet? Nope,1 "Thank you, made me tear up....sometimes it feels like nobody actually understands how tough it is to do anything with this bully living in my head.",0 "Well stated. Many underestimate the importance of mental health in overall health, the role it plays is huge. A bunch of conditions can be worsened by worry, stress be and panic. Some are even caused exclusively by these.",0 "Except it's - locks/gas switch/geyser switch/ac switch for me Gets exponentially worse if i'm leaving home for longer duration.",0 Try to make your job fun or find something engaging for work! It helps a lot :),1 "Them: I’m so OCD Me: Oh, you were diagnosed with it? Them: No, but it drives me crazy when things aren’t just right. Me: Oh, I was actually diagnosed with it, I have constant fears and visions of my entire family and people I love the most dying in some horrific way unless I do everything just right to prevent it from happening. Them: …oh…I’m sorry.",0 "so who decides what its named? I figure if enough people start ignoring the name ADHD and voclizing it s EFD or something, someone with power might take notice. Right?",1 More like “get ready to flight” and I’m like where?? And it’s like “IDK”,0 good progress! i remember i couldnt touch my hair unless it was right after a shower. I would also be in bed around midnight because it would take forever to get ready for bed. Your progress is not pathetic. We all have different compultions and levels of compultion. Keep up the good work.,0 "I had a therapist once tell me basically to put away external distractions (which was sort of exhausting in itself, like wow Carol I never thought about the fact that My Phone Has An Off Button!) and I replied “okay but then what do I do when I get distracted by the thoughts inside my own head” like there’s no off button or lockbox for my fucking brain",1 "I finally hired a housekeeper this year, and it’s one of the best things I’ve ever done to take care of myself. Some weeks it can be a pinch, but having a clean floor and no clutter before every weekend is priceless. Treat yo self",1 I SUBSCRIBE AND UNSUBACRIBE IMMEDIATELY JSFBSKDNS. IF I DONT I FEEL LIKE THATWOULD HAPPEN. DNSND FRICK U YOUTUBERS-,0 "Thank you OP. I had to do an online authorisation. It took 20 seconds, but it would have complicated things if I'd forgotten. Back to scrolling!",1 then when you have adhd and ocd and forget things all the time 😀,0 "I relate to this so hard. I always try to explain to my wife that it's like there's a complete disconnect between my attention and my actions. I can want with every fiber of my being to do something yet cannot force my body to actually perform the action. When it's bad I sometimes sit there crying from guilt and frustration while completely unable to act.",1 "I totally understand how you feel. in my experience the best way to deal with OCD is ignore it, each time you do it, it becomes stronger. If you can't completely ignore it, just say you'll do it later, when some time passes you wont feel as strongly about it and ignoring it becomes easier. Just remember that all these thoughts are just in your head and have no meaning in real life, and remember that you are not alone, we all have those feelings and we should help each other deal with them.",0 Me literally right now questioning my actions from 5 minutes ago.,0 I like to add a few levels to this by having multiple chronic illnesses as well. Really mixes life up.,1 Mines been full for the better part of a year. I am procrastinating procrastinating. You’re not the only one.,1 "Having woken up at 5:30 am today and having an unreasonable panic attack because of taxes, I can relate.",0 "Awesome!!! This was me when my husband lost his entire wallet 🤣 bank card, drivers license, everything. Meanwhile I've misplaced my phone or keys so many times I was unphased lol",1 "You put into words exactly how I feel. It sounds like executive dysfunction and it's one of the hardest things about having ADHD, and neurotypicals just do not understand it.",1 Haha mood and I'm just gonna pretend this is at all funny to relate to bc I use humor as a coping mechanism,1 "Haha so true, I have a probation appointment that is normally at around 4pm once a month- i always just write the whole day off because I'll be sitting over the phone for what is always a 5 minute call",1 "Worst thing is, the activity you do, you make it 3 times longer. It's like you only have one activity a day to do.",1 "I honestly wonder if half the things i do were because of OCD and i’m not even diagnosed, such as randomly checking the stove while in the kitchen, making sure the sink isn’t dripping after turning it off, things of this nature",0 🙊 all of them🤦🏽‍♀️ Really thought I was going to be better than that too.,1 "It definitely can be frustrating hearing someone misuse the term, but I want to add for everyone who reads this: Before you lecture/criticize someone, make sure that they don't actually have OCD! Many people will joke about or make light of their condition in casual conversation as a coping mechanism when they don't have any better coping skills yet. Feeling like you are being attacked and spotlighted as a faker when you actually suffer from the disorder, SUCKS, especially when the disorder makes anxiety and guilt a huge issue to begin with. Absolutely educate people who need educating, but don't accidentally catch real sufferers in the crossfire.",0 "Im not tidy at all but celar room feels nice. I do place my phone or glass centrain way, usuallly parallel with my table or mousepad. And thoughts, these are bad.",0 "I love the whole "" I gotta little OCD too"" thing Good for them. OCD is at 100%......100% of the time. Mine is anyways.",0 "Ngl this almost made me cry cause if described how i feel a lot of the time. One thing I’ve tried really hard to do to combat the boredness is getting out of the house at least once a day if you can. I started playing Pokémon Go with a friend and just walking/driving to places to play it is very refreshing to my day and keeps me motivated to do things when i get home as i enjoy the active part of it and want to continue on that wave. You can have it be other things as well, like going to the grocery store or getting a haircut, etc",1 Yeah ngl im so scared because this is similar to my school's contingency plan that they're running through with us in class,1 "Fuck dude, I’ve been trying to do my homework for half an hour now. Gonna attempt that again, see ya /)",1 Yes! I started doing this and the more you do it the better you get at it and less power they have over you. I’m just like “hey it’s an intrusive thought. Cool” and just try to carry on. Whenever an intrusive thought gives me trouble I try to call out its flaws. Other times I just accept them and do my best to focus on what I’m doing in the present. It’s a skill and takes practice,0 96% of this is actually me. I've never related to something so hard.,1 "Partway through the act, my mind was wandering and I *asked my partner out loud* what we should have for dinner that night. He gave me this incredulous look and said, ""Seriously?"" I knew I'd messed up and felt terrible.",1 Wait this relates to me! *saves it and never goes back to read it again* ffs,1 "Ok, as a friend to be your ""teacher"" make him call you at the time you are supposed to be up etc, for me it's my roommate so its easy",1 "omg congrats OP!! it’s understandable that you’re anxious, but i’m sure you’ll do a good job.",0 I can completely relate. This disease messes with you and it really does some twisted crap when it makes you feel powerless like you have to do everything just right but also makes you feel like you are responsible for everything.,0 Last “night” I went bed at 8am. Today I woke up at 10pm. RIP diurnal human behavior,1 "I hate sleeping... I hate the long wait before I get tired, the staring at my ceiling, the computer I eventually turn on after an hour of no success. What sucks is the inability to function properly the next day and day after. it can be so painful like all my neurons are screaming at me; half telling me to go to sleep and half trying to figure out the tune I had stuck in my head three days ago. The fight is real!",1 "it’s weird, my experience was the opposite — once i got my diagnosis and started talking about it, i learned that not 1, not 2, but *three* of my peers also had OCD. i think it’s in part my age — OP i’m inferring your age from your profile, and while i’m 19 and only a handful of years younger, i think my generation has only got more receptive to mental health talk in the recent years. especially being an artist, i’m friends with open and empathetic types who talk about their issues and feelings a lot so it wasn’t long before two of my friends said “oh yeah, i have OCD too” nonchalantly. the third peer was a former classmate who overshares a tad on social media (as most people my age do) and so i found out that way. i reached out and we talked about it, and we both seemed relieved to know another person. i’m glad that mental illness overall is becoming a less taboo subject. of course, OCD is one of the more ‘complicated’ ones to explain and understand, but baby steps are still steps!",0 Not quite in the same scale but I've broken off from writing an email to someone to write the same email to the same person.,1 "I completely understand where you are coming from. I just process the issue differently. I could be wrong so please don’t take any offense-this is how I deal with this. First I don’t think I have any problem with memory because I can remember details of some very in-depth things-all of which I am very interested in. I don’t do well remembering little things like what was the day Lincoln gave the Gettysburg address or what is the name of the medication I take every day 🤦🏼‍♀️ but I have tools I use to handle those weaker aspect of my functioning. Next if it is necessary for me to learn something that is boring af I have a process I use to do so. I break it down into steps and try to use associations to make the recall quicker. For an example auto mechanics can make my eyes roll into the back of my head and cause me to suffer from narcolepsy. But if I have to remember something I will associate the steps to a song like the hokey pokey. I have all the steps to changing my oil down to the tune of here we go again (whitesnake) When I was in college I went to a liberal school and I am very conservative. I don’t have a problem with liberals I just don’t agree with that mindset. One professor picked up quickly that I was conservative and called me out all the time. It was very annoying and the class she taught was very difficult-so I took the old DOS game King Kong and changed King Kong to my professor and I broke my class responsibilities into little steps—every time I completed a step I got to throw bananas at my professor as a reward. I aced the class. I have never met anyone with ADHD who wasn’t capable of learning-we just need to find ways to motivate ourselves and make it enjoyable. Yes we have strengths and weaknesses as does anyone but we are smart enough to find compensations for our weaknesses if we are motivated.",1 "My current status. Sometimes it really is nice to remember that I'm not alone.",1 "I'm so sorry for your loss. Beautiful post. Keep being on fire!",1 I used to be scared of using my electric kettle to boil water for coffee/tea and I still have similar problems from time to time. Hell yeah that cup of coffee is victory! ✨Congrats,0 the classic game that's fun for the whole family! Every winner takes home a lifetime of crippling anxiety~,0 "Just got the email to day and the argument of 'ooo wow more free time vs no, still school actually' is in full swing already",1 intrusive thoughts are just thoughts that are scary to us. minus the scary and they’re just thoughts! compulsion and rumination will not eliminate the fear behind the thought.,0 Fucking mood. I always think this cuz I feel like my experience isn’t as bad as others therefore I must have something else or am invalid or both,0 "I just opened up reddit chasing that last drop of dopamine, and this was the first post on my feed. Thankfully where I am it's only 11:40 pm, but I do think I will go to bed now.",1 OMG so happy for you-should I try the same too and get celebrated? Damn I want that!!,1 This is the best example of hyper focusing and I love it. THANK YOU,1 This triggered my POCD lmao. I dont know why. Im so fucked.,0 Thank you for this. My brain has been doing 115 in a 55 all day.,0 "I can relate to this, but I wasn't punished or scolded. I think as far back as I can remember as a child I was sensitive. So when I said I had a lot of trouble with something and my mom encouraged me I'd feel bad if I didn't try harder and that I was letting her down. I think I was a really needy kid and sought validation in making others happy around me. Anyway it's only been recently as an adult I realize how much I induce a stress response to get things done. I've pretty much figured out how to shoot adrenaline through my body at will, but it destroys my emotional and physical health in the long run.",1 "Oh my, 2 months? No compulsions? This is crazy good!!! I’m so happy for you!!",0 "Here’s something I’m working on that has been helping a lot, but it’s still hard: Find some way to fixate on your future self and the associated feelings of accomplishment, such that you can start forming reward pathways to the present.. Start by noticing, really noticing, how it feels when you accomplish something when it’s *done* (not the feeling of doing it). Write down how it feels or do anything to remember the good feeling of accomplishment and the associated benefits. You can keep a journal of completed accomplishments and their benefits. For me this has been more beneficial than a list of shit I need to do (still need those, obviously). So, it’s backwards— those things happened in the past but the idea is to get the brain to start feeling the impending reward before a necessary task is started. This can be done even with showering or eating or getting to bed on time. They don’t have to be big accomplishments, just write them down, remember how they felt, and reread your accomplishment journal when you don’t feel motivated to do anything.",1 "pro tip, they dont recognise bar codes, only those big grey things.",0 "I gave up trying to read most articles. Check out ""How to ADHD"" on YouTube. She's very insightful to the issues adults have with ADHD and her TED talk is great too. https://youtube.com/c/HowtoADHD",1 I'm currently living with my mother-in-law who is physically incapable of NOT talking incessantly to me if I enter the living room where she is working. I feel this in my soul.,1 I feel ya. I get the same frustration when I look for adult autistic resources and it's all about children or Autism Speaks.,1 "Been there done that brother, just know you’re not the only one.",1 "This clicked for me when the 4 hour work week talked about ""real work"" vs ""work for work""; the later being about doing things that feel like work but don't actually deliver the results that get you places. Like organizing emails instead or replying to them :) I stopped a lot of work for work and accepted workable chaos. Like.. I don't organise mails anymore, even tho it felt very satisfying, I use gmail and it's epic search. ​ And as an extra.. I got into a job where I can organise stuff for others but don't have to actually execute it :D Rich insight.",1 "Lol my husband has been working from home for the last year and I’m furloughed so I’m home all day, and his job requires him to make long phone calls in our living room (the office). We live in a tiny apartment. When he gets on especially long/repetitive calls, I feel my soul leaving my body. also I’m a bartender (during normal times) and getting stuck with an extra chatty patron during busy/already overstimulating periods is MY GODDAMN NIGHTMARE",1 "I've always thought medication holidays felt like people who were chasing the Adderall ""high"". I cannot function a day without meds. Even if I am not FEELING them as strong some days, I can easily tell when it's not there anymore lol Awesome advice though. I do my vyvanse up on waking and then hit the gym which seems to give the all systems go and make the medication more effective.",1 "my ocd actually completely started as hocd, without physical compulsions or obsessions. at the time it was purely mental and i was 100% i was gay and going to hell or something lmfao. i grew out of that and ive never had symptoms of it since, which is so weird because i remember the feelings so drastically from back then so to feel so sure of my sexuality now is very odd. id do anything to go back to it though, because now i suffer with health ocd. i can convince myself im not going to hurt someone or a kid, even if temporarily, and i can convince myself of my sexuality, but i can not under any circumstances convince myself that every action i take doesn't determine whether i will end up developing a chronic debilitating illness in that very second. intrusive thoughts of suffering through horrible pain at different parts of my body and like everything else. ugh😞😞😞😞",0 I’m pretty sure I have more screenshots than actual photos lol,1 "That's why I have deleted all social media accounts/apps besides reddit and tik tok. I delete and then come back for tiny periods of time. Otherwise I will spend hours in a spiral of seeing things that upset me and then replying to a bunch of people. I also compare myself to people and start to have obessions over my identity. Then after it all, I feel guilty and worn out. I just know for myself personally, I can never be healthy on social media. My goal is to not use it at all.",0 "As messed up as this disorder is, we are somehow lucky to know what we have. Not knowing and worse, having not so understanding family members can really make it unbearable. Glad we were born in this decade.",0 Then they hit you with the “calm down”. I’ll calm down when you leave!,1 "This is me to a tee - definitely show her this, it's wonderful that you can recognize the effort it takes for her, and all the things she does in the middle.",1 I feel like this is what I'd do if I accidentally took an extra dose of medication in the morning.,1 "This actually reminds me of my dream last night where I turned into a broom and panicked because I couldn’t talk and say “I’d like to be human again,” then I woke up to my OCD trying to convince me I was going to turn into an inanimate object forever and my family was going to be really sad about it, but thankfully I was able to think “wtf, that’s physically impossible.”",0 "I actually save in order to reference eloquent ways people describe and explain how their own brain is fighting them in order to also communicate that back to my partner and friends while discussing it. I struggle to make my ADHD understood because I’ve only recently been diagnosed at 34 and had no idea I was just white-knuckling my way through it all my life. I’ve only just begun to build the vocabulary to identify and explain wtf is happening to me every millisecond of every day. These saved posts are really useful, even if they’re just a sign post in my brain that I can remember I have in the middle of a conversation and then look up.",1 "Describes me 100%. But I’m in this subreddit for info regarding my son’s ADHD. Maybe he gets it from me. I felt that way when I read Driven to Distraction, too.",1 "I really keep feeling like nothing is going to get better and things will be like this forever. It’s making my other OCD things so much worse too. I almost had a panic attack at work tuesday because I hadn’t lost the weight from the weekend yet and seriously considered clocking out and driving home to get a laxative. The contamination stuff isn’t what’s bothering me, but the massive changes in day to day life (me being an “essential” grocery store employee and seeing everyone in the masks and everything plus doing school online plus having my boyfriend home all day long, etc) are really freaking me out. And it’s almost worse if I get used to them because I’ll have to get used to regular life again when (if) it ends",0 I swear to God if this also turns out to be an intrusive thought too...,0 Sometimes I think people think I witnessed a murder cause I look terrified,0 "Wait, THATS WHY I FEEL THIS WAY? Like I dont want to do anything before my work, at 3 pm(funny enough), even when its things I enjoy and love, like going swimming or getting food.",1 "Don't stop! Even if you never revisit the information, the act of ""saving it"" helps your brain ""save it"" too! I have the same with note taking. I literally never review my note book, but I don't really need to. Just writing shit down, photographing whiteboards, screenshotting conversations helps me a lot with memory retention. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/12/141210080740.htm ""The simple act of saving something, such as a file on a computer, may improve our memory for the information we encounter next, according to new research. The research suggests that the act of saving helps to free up cognitive resources that can be used to remember new information.""",1 "Thank you. I pay the no-roi ADHD tax on veges often. I’m working on planning my meals before going to the supermarket because that is one solution (I’m not great with object permanece and I tend to forget the veggies even if they’re in transparent drawers). I will see if the ADHD tax on precut vegs pays off. So far I’ve learned that I willingly never make a salad, but it’s worth getting them for takeout because it’s almost sure ill eat them then (I hate making them and don’t like them that much, but I don’t hate them and will eat them if they are ready to just put in mouth and monch).",1 "this thought cycle is soooo annoying because it’s so meta and feels so pointless, and really reared it’s ugly house once i went to the doctor for help which is the last thing you need",0 This is an actual thing??? (The can-do-anything-if-it's-for-someone-else thing)?? I thought it was just me! ,1 I really just come here for the top notch OCD memes,0 "I do this all the time, I even turn the alarms off without realising it sometimes. Alarms really don't work for me that often.",1 "A major frustration of mine is that outside motivations are all but required for me to maintain a smooth and functional life. I am driven to work very hard when I'm at my places of employment as long as I'm seeing results and am passionate about the goals. But at home I am on a constant rollercoaster of blissfully tidy, yet shortlived moments and long stretches of my apartment looking like a disaster. Only doing the minimum while being in a constant state of anxiety about what needs done. I overplan my productivity and become majorly dejected and ashamed when I don't meet the unrealistic goals within the short stretch of time available. When I have roommates who keep things even remotely tidy, I tend to just do more. I am motivated enough by the thought of their discomfort and disappointment that I am able to just function relatively normally and keep things in order. Same when it comes to ever helping another person with a household task. I can just get it done like I would if I were getting paid. I love working and I love helping people. I just wish it were easier to help myself in the same ways. I recently thought ""people should treat others as they would like others to treat them and I need to treat my space the way I would treat the space of somebody else"". Anyhow, trying to find ways to make things happen. Medication is a last resort for me.",1 "First, this is an excellent meme. Incredibly relatable. Second, this episode was absolutely fantastic and easily one of the best in my opinion. Also, interestingly enough I recently gave up trying to do this recently while talking frantically to my partner and just said, “I know it doesn’t make sense, and it probably never will, but it’s what’s happening so, uhh, yeah. God, I’m stressed and also relieved, but back at the beginning of it again.” My partner paused for a moment before saying, “That fucking sucks.” which was arguably the best thing she could have said in that moment.",0 "Yeah, but I’m trying not to do that lately because it makes it worse.",0 "This is why I eventually turned off my ""GO TO BED"" alarm, because I would always just cancel it and then...not go to bed...",1 "I can’t tell you how mad I was making myself before I found out about intrusive thoughts. It was like a huge weight was lifted from my shoulders.",0 "I defeated that compulsion AND improved my memory by simply refusing to double check. Now, knowing that, I just need to do it again.",0 "If I may make a suggestion, I would direct you to check out r/ynab. I’ve been using it for 6-7 months now and it’s been absolutely life-changing. I recommend it for everyone tbh but *especially* folks with ADHD. I have two good friends who also have ADHD and they are also obsessed (we all found out about it independently of one another, too). Seeing all your money and expenses laid out is a game changer, and it’s made catching all those forgotten subscriptions and annual fees way more manageable. If you (or anyone else here for that matter) decide to give it a go, the r/ynab subreddit community is incredibly supportive, but also feel free to hmu if I can be of any help. I’ve spent a long, long time working to get my financial situation in check, and now that I’m in a decent spot I’ve actually decided to go back to school to become a personal financial planner… largely because having ADHD has shown me how hard this stuff is for so many people, and made me realize jus how valuable help in that area would be for so many folks.",1 if anyone has a link to the video with sound could i get a link?,0 As well when your obsessions wake you up at night 😬😬😬,0 thank you for reminding me why anxiety is so often co-morbid with ADHD,1 "I honestly do better with online classes, but my methods aren't the best for everyone with ADHD obviously. I took a fully online semester once, and all of my assignments were due on Sunday at midnight, so Sunday at like 5pm I'd start doing all of the work for the entire week for every class, and since I work so well in panic mode I'd get everything done. The only time I got straight As in my life!",1 "I wish there was way to make ""normal"" people understand this. It feels like there is no phrasing that accurately conveys the like, genuine struggle and actual pain I am in trying to do things that require attention. People always just think I'm lazy, making excuses, or say, ""Well you just need to do it."" That is precisely the problem dude!! ADHD isn't just ""can't sit still disorder"" and it's not just a minor inconvenience to overcome. It really sucks and impacts my basic functioning.",1 "Not on a work type of level but when I did boxing for couple years I had it easier to remember the steps and the combination and the bigger picture if I understood the “why”. It seemed more logical for me and made it more clear.",1 "I did a lot of ""mini tasks"" like this one recently. Needed to organize myself the day before, telling me that i will do them the next morning. This works. But it is hard to maintain such a ""doer, positive mindset"" that set you up for the entiere week especially when you need to sleep because of course the next tomorrow you will have forgotten your goal. Maybe that's a routine to develop",1 I skipped class on Monday due to my lovely inconsistent sleep schedule & just opened reddit after finally looking over the PowerPoints & taking notes on them. I have had a semi productive day which is really nice since this whole semester has been ... bad.,1 "Lots of good answers here. I find that the best thing I can do is nothing. I tell myself “fine, I won’t do the thing.“ Then I do nothing at all. My head keeps spinning around hunting for distractions for a while. Some days it takes hours, but most of the time just a few minutes. After a while the dopamine monkey calms down enough to let me focus on the thing. It’s not easy by any means but at least it’s possible.",1 "Thank you so much for this! I so appreciate all the time you took to compile this - YOU'RE AWESOME /u/beatadhd For general knowledge: On a nutrition note - **Vitamin D, calcium, AND magnesium are all helpful for ADHD brains.** (Even zinc, iron, Bs, and C are helpful, but that's for another day) **ADHD - our reuptake of Norepinephrine (alertness) and Dopamine (motivation, reward) is faster than NTs** (basically means we can't hold onto them to stay engaged, alert with stuff that bores us, etc - which is why we need coping mechanisms). **INTERESTINGLY - studies have demonstrated a higher exposure to solar incidence (hi vitamin D = less severe ADHD symptoms).** *Literature has also demonstrated that those with* *ADHDers have an increased tendency towards low(er) levels of Vitamin D.* Adding onto this - * **exacerbated by low vitamin D levels, combined with our very rapid re-uptake of norepinephrine, can make us more sluggish or laggy than a NT.** Further, Norepinephrine plays a role in depression (it's not just serotonin) . ADHDers can have co-morbidities, like depression and anxiety. **Vitamin D has been shown to improve symptoms of depression (a frequent co-morbidity of ADHD)** * I find I need magnesium because my medication can have a side effect of anxiety (whaddya know, **magnesium is actually needed to process Vitamin D**\*) * *Magnesium has been linked to less severe ADHD symptoms in kids + a whole host of benefits)* * **vitamin D has a role in dopamine circuit regulation** (basically helps us hold on to our precious dopamine). * **Note: Vitamin D....is crucial for calcium absorption.** ***\*Why is calcium important?*** Part of the psychological process for our neurotransmitters to be released includes the opening of voltage-gated calcium channels. **Low calcium = compromised ability to retain those precious neurotransmitter**s (we want to do this bc it gives us sustained focus, ability to not give into instant gratification). **Low Vitamin D & low calcium** = **brain not operating at what it could be. On the plus side** \- calcium is usually fortified with Vitamin D Sources: * Trinko, Joseph R et al. “Vitamin D3: A Role in Dopamine Circuit Regulation, Diet-Induced Obesity, and Drug Consumption.” *eNeuro* vol. 3,2 ENEURO.0122-15.2016. 19 May. 2016, doi:10.1523/ENEURO.0122-15.2016\_ [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875352/](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4875352/) * Moret C, Briley M. The importance of norepinephrine in depression. *Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat*. 2011;7(Suppl 1):9-13. doi:10.2147/NDT.S19619 * Uwitonze AM, Razzaque MS. Role of Magnesium in Vitamin D Activation and Function. *J Am Osteopath Assoc* 2018;118(3):181–189. doi: [https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2018.037](https://doi.org/10.7556/jaoa.2018.037). * Khoshbakht Y, Bidaki R, Salehi-Abargouei A. Vitamin D Status and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. *Adv Nutr*. 2018;9(1):9-20. doi:10.1093/advances/nmx002",1 I wish I could believe that. I wish I could believe anything good about myself.,0 I loved this video makes me wanna do my own version lol,0 That’s actually a great idea. I would totally go and I do think you could build a great business with this startup. But I think it would only work if there were regular follow up workshops,1 "Oh nice! Keep at it! I’m going on my 19th year of brushing every day and my 3rd year of flossing every day. I’ve hated every single time, especially flossing, and especially with my attention span... Just gotta do it. I had horrible dental hygiene as a kid/teen, and started to pay for it. Gotta take care of them chompers.",1 "Ah, the normies and their not at all hurtful and useless advice Edit: Thanks for the award, kind stranger! 2nd Edit: AwardS! multiple! Look at you, increasing the dopamine levels of a reddit newbie with reckless abandon!",1 "I personally don't get it, but I think its really cool you came up with such an interesting visual interpretation. I bet if all OCD sufferers could artistically portray their minds like you did it would lead to some interesting stuff!",0 "Mine today is my math professor forgetting to tell the whole class that we were meeting on webcam instead of in-person. Wasn't just me, in fact most of my class showed up. We have a test on Friday. I'll be damned if I'm gonna fail this test. I refuse to fail. A couple nights ago, my furnace died. Was on borrowed time, but we got unlucky with it breaking on the only two hot days this week. My whole week has been so unproductive since, medication or not medication. I'm focusing on trying not to melt. I've honestly had such a bad week. Hopefully I'll remember to get my dog's trazodone the day before her appointment so that she doesn't have a total meltdown like she usually does.",1 Just googling .... perfectly ... normal ...symptoms,0 "I just started therapy, and this is every session and every homework assignment.",1 "My best friends and I hired a nanny to watch our two kids on the days all 4 of of us are working (it’s two couples, each of the couple has one kid around the same age) but due to schedule changes I often and home for part of the day when she’s scheduled to be working. It’s great because just having someone in the house when I’m there means I start compulsively cleaning. 😅",1 "I'm gonna follow your post cause, yes, you're not alone with this kind of thinking. When I had my first depressive episode at age 15, some 37 years ago, that thought of losing my parents was grueling. It's got to have something to do with anxiety. Do you also have a fear of what the future will bring? I feel ya! I just don't understand how other people don't have our same fear. It must be that our brains overthink things.",0 Nah I was responsible and showered :) I’m always proud of myself,1 "That's probably the simplest explanation I have seen for it, thank you!",1 "I have so many things saved to read later, I'm waiting for reddit to start charging me for storage space.",1 Hasnt happened during sex. But an ex got pretty annoyed with me for getting distracted when we were supposed to be making out.,1 "I have found that when I want to complete a project, the best way for me to go about it is to make drawn out plans for it because I don’t usually finish it on time and instead of forgetting where I was in the process, I can just pick right back up where I left off. My biggest problem that continues to persist and always will is that I can’t translate what my brain wants into real life. I have some very creative things that I want to do but don’t know how to properly explain them or put them on paper so I just say fuck it.",1 "Nope, and if I’m being honest, I can’t do things till I want to do things. I try but it becomes counter productive to fight it.",1 "Not to mention of new ""lifechanging-interest/hobbies"" that last about two weeks and I believe I need a specific top of the line tools to master but it is just another dust collecter.",1 "I only laugh out of recognition and damn it was a laugh I needed. OP, I’m glad you have a place you can vent to and thanks for doing so. There’s an old Mad Tv sketch where a psyc says “stop it” over and over. It’s a favorite sketch of mine, bob newhart is a gem. Just saying “stop it” is comedy, and hell, might as well laugh when we can.",1 "I'm seeing a lot of people being angry at you for being 100% right. I'm one of them. Thank you",1 Exactly! I would always eat 2 or leave 2 and not one because it “always needs a friend”,0 "Yes, I would “activate” some of my students with sensory activities! I took that one home and used it on myself. My executive distinction and brain fog has taken control? Sometimes jogging in place, sitting on a bumpy seat, or giving myself joint compressions, or a weighted blanket in my lap will help me be able to focus.",1 Wtf why is this subreddit literally me. Literally every fucking post. Who’s targeting me!!! Lololol,0 "Almost every time I come onto this sub, I find a post like this and realize something I’ve been doing for years was just another symptom lol.",0 "Professional artist here, massive ADHD. I don't finish the majority of my personal projects and that sucks, but I've accepted that if I follow my whim eventually one or two will reach the and end I feel a huge amount of pride in the work I do complete. I've accepted that sometimes I work on something for a couple of months, burn out and need a break, come back to it months later and finish it. It's okay, if that's how I have to work to realise my ambitions despite my ADHD I accept that about myself. I really suggest the ""follow your whim"" approach; - don't work on things that make you feel like you're spinning your wheels - start as many new projects as you like (assuming it's not costing you money) feel free to walk away and come back to things at a later date. - project hop until something sticks - Love yourself no matter what",1 Ye but when you ignore it thinking it’s ok and then you go to school and throughout the 7.5 hours all you can think about is that one thing on top of all the other compulsions,0 "For me, I can and do get all the little things done that I don’t want to, but at the expense of major spoons. I have anxiety the whole time, mostly either a) because I know I am time blind and that makes me anxious and unable to relax and/or b) because I am afraid of my inattentiveness, thinking I will miss something and screw up (which happens A LOT, especially in my hobby of sewing. It’s EXHAUSTING.).. it’s become like Panic Attack Disorder, where one panics at the thought of having panic attacks. Well, I get anxious over my anxiety about being inattentive and then end up so hyperfocused on my anxiety I miss important details. So like… motivation for me is not a problem, I can will myself to do a lot, it makes me feel good about myself, but the actual process of doing a lot of things is *[existential terror sounds]* Chin up champ! Have you tried just not having ADHD?! 🤦🏻‍♀️",1 I went camping for 2 days at the beginning of April and had to skip my daily tasks. Its been a hard daily spiral since then. I was reading a book every few days and I haven't read in almost 2 weeks now. I had to drink one cup of q specific kind of tea every day and im like 6 days behind. All my work is falling apart,0 "Sometimes my dad (who also has adhd) will call me to apologize for something he said a couple months ago and I usually don't remember by then. Also, on a worse note, I've spent a lot of time processing my whole first 20 years of life and getting madder and madder at my mother.",1 This is why going to bed is no longer an enjoyable experience.,0 so one can have both at the same time? depression and ocd ?,0 "I forget where I heard this, but someone said that anything worth doing is worth doing badly. Which basically means that you can take the pressure off, and if you love doing something, you can still do it even if you are at the lowest most amateurish level. It’s better than not doing it at all.",1 Me when my mom is still alive even after I heard a loud noise,0 "Thank you. Best wishes and energy your way as well",0 "I’ve been teased my whole life by my own parents. My favorite is when they’ve used my diagnosis as a joke. For example- “You should come over to my house, I don ‘t feel like cleaning. Use that OCD of yours!” Okay.",0 "I'm really impressed. As another exhausted person with OCD, this is very well said and thought out. Love to you",0 So basically you can have your microphone pick up the lecture and it'll write everything down for you?? That's fucking genius!,1 "Just goes to show how ridiculous OCD is, but its hard for us to see that when its at its worst.",0 I’ve screenshot this to send to my wife. Once she has calmed down of course,1 "I'm so glad you made this post because I feel the exact same way! I have been lurking this subreddit for a few weeks since its been suspected I have ADHD. Watching a movie is THE most boring activity to me, because unless it captures my attention within the first five minutes (which is very rarely) I just zone out until its over & entertain myself with the playground in my head lol.",1 "How do you do it, how do you accept uncertainty and stop seeking reassurance? It’s unimaginable to me. I know I need to go to therapy but I can’t afford it.",0 I have OCD and I’m one of the most disorganized slobs on the planet. My OCD has to do with checking not cleanliness.,0 This is LITERALLY me and I get so annoyed/upset sometimes because I love helping people but when I’m in “the productive zone” like I need to get my work done or else it’s not getting done but then when people reach out while I’m in that zone it’s hard to say no :/,1 "Yeah definitely! My parents are both teachers and they are very used to saying everything 5 times but in different ways, meanwhile I'm just sitting there boiling in frustration waiting until they finally finish saying the thing I already understood 3 sentences ago. It""s honestly terrible..",1 I feel like I can't care about things enough to do them unless I understand why I'm doing them. And the why that matters to me may not be the why that makes sense to everybody else either.,1 "I constantly have to remind myself that other people aren’t like this, at the best times and the worst. I really have trouble relating to people who aren’t passionate about the things I am, I just picture them wasting their life just sitting there doing absolutely nothing.",1 Everybody has done embarassing or bad things in the past. But I think it is a pretty normal obsession. Seek out help from a professional and try to accept the anxiety generated by the thought instead of trying to mitigate it with compulsions.,0 "Slow down. Swallow. Take a breath. And think of these actions while doing them, and NOT how you'll answer the question. Give your mind time to process the question. Start with an easy concept in the answer. And talk to it as if you're teaching them the answer. Your brain is going to come along in this journey just fine and will supply the proper words. Don't look at the person questioning you if this causes anxiety. Concentrate on your speech patterns. Concentrate on forming your sounds correctly. In my wheelhouse I don't have problems talking about things that interest me. I have problems NOT talking about them. So to me it sounds a lot like anxiety. That being said, you also may be learning things superficially by book and not by doing. Learning be book is tenuous and won't retain unless you practice it. For example you can shout all the pchem you want at me but when I can see it in practice, using a LC, and defining how the substrate around it affects it, and changing knobs to see its dipriotic effects... then I know it. This is a poorly simplified overly complex example but it is taking theory into practice. That's what makes my ADHD brain happy. That's what makes me able to do what I do. Taking a book and trying to spout back it's info is like removing a HDD from one computer and putting it in another and breaking all the links and pointers.",1 "Oh yeah. Wiping my ass 100 times until it’s raw is soo desirable. /s",0 Shit. I should have brought this list to my doctor instead of the chaotic infodumping mess of thoughts I brought,1 Definitely. I did some stupid shit off drugs a few years ago and I literally saw some people record me. Never knew what happened to those videos but I figure it’s only a matter of time.,0 "I have this form I need to fill out to give to my psych for my adhd assessment- have I done it ? No, it’s just sitting there looking at me and I keep telling myself to do it but look at that, still there whoops I forgot about it again",1 Amazing!! That's a huge accomplishment. I have the same issue and I'm working real hard to make things feel slightly more normal again. Proud of you!,0 "I struggle wondering if I'm schizophrenic everyday lol, especially because of my magical thinking OCD. And struggle with the ideal that I'm going to be locked up in a mental institution for the rest of my life.",0 "ADHD IS executive dysfunction. All the elements of it come from there. And considering the executive function is the core of being a functional adult, how we manage to actually function enough to survive is worthy of praise",1 [What it actually looks like](https://images.app.goo.gl/1swCs94XFNPyGrk8A),0 "Hitler:I struggle with it too, I think you are a good guy Me: You wouldn't say that if you knew the real me Hitler: It do be like that sometimes.",0 100% here. I’m sure a lot of it also has to do with “imposter syndrome” I also struggle with.,0 im the same way. ive recently began to suspect im on the autism spectrum yet i cannot bring myself to seek out a diagnosis because ive already convinced myself im faking it for attention (even though i havent told anyone other than my close friends),0 "I feel this so much. I developed a speaking habit where I say uhhh longer than most people normally do, in places in a sentence you wouldnt expect, like before the last word in a sentence",1 "100% agree. I definitely use commas a ton, its my favorite function mark.",1 "Would it be as ""adorable"" if it were spoofing autism? Or cancer?",0 "Oh. My. God. I didn't know there was a difference! I used to wonder why rewards after tasks I hate never worked for me. I have always known that I need to make the task feel good to me in order for me to want to do it.",1 "I remember the first time one of my friends w ADHD told me he also always had songs stuck in his head - I was like, “Wait what?? It’s not just me?? That’s an ADHD thing?”",1 "This was me this morning, was in such a good mood, then it all came crashing down 😣",0 "Me and my SO have heard this so many times it's become and inside joke 😂 ""Hey, honey, and if you're having a rough time today, just stop worrying, mmmmkay?.""",1 "The Google Recorder app also transcribes whatever it records, it's been a lifesaver for me last year when I had no idea what was going on in one of my classes!",1 "I was telling my old violin teacher how i'm more forgetful due to ADD and how i might not always be able to pay attention. She said ""i forget things too, just write them down."" Wonderful person but really didn't understand those sorts of things",1 Didn’t realize where my mind was and this helped me so much today. Thank you very much for this reminder ♥️,0 "I don't know if you mean like literally plucking your eyebrows for cosmetic purposes, but I pull out my eyebrows with my fingers when I get stressed or nervous/anxious and I thought that it was just some random thing that only I did because I'm already balding like a loser and don't want to pull out my remaining 10 hairs. Anyway, I read that and was like ""dang I finally met someone else who does that"" but then I realized that you're probably just someone who actually cares about looking decent whereas I'm out here with a full eyebrow on one side and half of one on the other lmao",1 "Been dealing with intrusive thoughts like this since i was in middle school. With an additional obsession of me being irrationally scared that people can read my mind and thus know i accidentally imagined them naked or in a sexual way x.x it sucks so much Only now, 10ish years later am i even making progress in realizing these are just thoughts and im not hurting anyone by accidentally having these thoughts. Blahh. seeing this meme and the comments comforts me and makes me not feel alone in this weird struggle ..!",0 "Congratulations! No worries if you don't want to talk about it, but may I ask what sort of therapy you endured?",0 "OCD candy company “If you live it you probably hate us.”",0 this could really literally have been written by me,1 "Do a test of heavy metals, if there is something there you can remove it by chelations.",0 Oh my God I haven’t checked mine in months like since maybe October,1 "So, I have colours for my ocd thoughts. It they are red, I let them pass without holding on to them.",0 Oh no I did this once with my first girlfriend. Straight up got distracted for a few seconds by something and then just fell asleep. She woke me up eventually and asked if I was ok 🤦,1 "It does level out, but when it does you're still gonna be doing way better on average than you were before. It raises your baseline. And since your average is so much higher, your GOOD days on meds are gonna be way better than you good days without them were. I've been on meds for \~2 decades and I still acutely feel how much they are helping me on a pretty regular basis. P.S. I'm gonna give you exactly one tip I wish I had figured out much earlier: since you are prescribed multiple pills a day, that makes it very easy for you to occasionally take a partial dose on days when you were just gonna sit around watching TV anyways, so you can bank a few extra's as a buffer to use when there's a delay in getting your script refilled (which is common with controlled substances like these). Since you're new to this you might accidentally forget to take a pill at some point anyways. Whenever you skip a dose, intentionally or not, move one pill into a separate container so you remember to get your refill on time still, otherwise you won't actually build up a buffer.",1 "Literally the one and only thing I have been able to concentrate and keep up with as a ‘hobby’ is Animal Crossing New Horizons lol, anything else it’s a pain in the ass because I lose interest hella fast",1 "I have an ex-girlfriend, whom I was in a relationship with for 3 years, that I spent the next year feeling guilty about because things I had done: typical ADHD things like telling white lies that piled up, just straight up not giving gifts because, you know, ADHD. Plenty of other shit, I mean I'm flawed AND have ADHD so please understand I am not claiming any sort of innocence here. We went Splitsville in August 2019, and it was maybe November 2020 that I was smacked in the face with all the times I had been emotionally manipulated by her, gaslighted into thinking she was an innocent victim and I was a monster. She never once said sorry to me for any disagreement. It's quite rare that one party is innocent during any serious couples' fight. I would have to overapologize and just feel such shame and guilt, than a year later she would bring it up, out of the blue. ""I can't believe you said XYZ, you really hurt me"". And I would just feel like this fucking monster who really had to ""get my act together"" to make up for it. All that to say that even now, a thought like that will hit me and I'll just start up this argument with hypothetical her in my head and ruminate all day on it. I guess it's better for me to call her a c*nt in my head than in real life, but I'd like to get to a point where I don't call her that at all.",1 The fact that the dude in the drawing is also looking super done with himself just increases the accuracy,0 Otter.ai costs money but is so much better. Try it for free for a handful of hours though,1 I feel this so much! I do most of this and other similar things as well.,1 "This morning I woke up with sore muscles. I thought ""oh I save covid now"" and panicked. I went to the gym for the first time in years yesterday. Still tryinvg to convince my brain that Im just sore.",0 omg yes!!! not just washing ur hand and being “perfect”,0 I get worried that I'll fall into something interesting and four hours will go by like ten minutes and I'll be late for work or whatever,1 "As a someone in his 30’s, the hardest thing for me to learn in regards to my OCD, anxiety, and depression was changing my thoughts. I used to always think “You are so weak. You can’t even go outside without having a panic attack.” One day after talking with some acquaintances about problems they were having, I realized had overcome some real mental health and emotional issues to get to where I was. I finished my degree by reminding myself that I just have to finish, no one says you can’t struggle through it. I try to apply this logic with any goals I set for myself. Anyways, I don’t post often but I will when I see posts like this. I still struggle with a lot of things but I’ve learned to accept how strong I am. How many of us fight our minds everyday and yet we still keep trying. That’s real strength. Hope for everyone out there suffering the same, you recognize your strength as well. Good luck to everyone out there, always remember how far you’ve come when everything inside you just wants to stop.",0 One of my friends was identified about this by someone else on fb and now I'm kinda wondering if he has ocd too or if this was just joking,0 "My moms says something similar saying ""it's all in my head"" yet I'm an emotional and physical mess, yet the moment I got help for my ADHD for some reason I'm doing much better than I was before. She must have been right, and me getting help must of been just a strange coincidence. I should have known better that it was ""all in my head"", stupid me :))",1 "Get a pen and paper, make a list and have someone hold you accountable! Keep phones, tv, music , anything that can distract you out of sight! Best of luck!",1 "These memes are so relatable lol. Keep posting them, I was having fairly terrible day for intrusive thoughts and this made my day just a little bit better. Thank you",0 "People think OCD is only about cleaning, like when I’ve told certain friends I have ocd sometimes they’ll look around my house and I KNOW they’re like “doesn’t look like you do”. Bitch that’s not always what OCD is!!!!",0 I appreciate the advice but it's killing me that it's sideways. Kinda ironic xD,0 This is good to know... see as how I have ADHD and my son does too. And I try to give him tough love all the time. I would say that tough love does work for me to some extent though.,1 "Big hugs. I've had to really resist the urge to check Wikipedia mid foreplay. Luckily my partners know about my raging squirrel brain, and that while I may get distracted, they then get the fun of distracting me from the distraction. (post nookie cuddles are absolutely where I start looking up trivia about random conversation points. Having a smart speaker also helps for things like 'when did that movie come out again?'",1 Wow yes thank you for saying this. I was really believing it to be honest,0 I used to hit myself and scratch at my skin like a maniac,0 That's not a very funny joke at a time when there are actual people in actual concentration camps.,1 "But what if I am pooping? We all reddit and poop, right?",1 "I think it's worth remembering that the goal isn't to be perfect - it's to learn to cope. Trying to never do any compulsion ever, no matter how benign, is bound to fail. If a tattoo gives someone the strength to get through the day, then I think that's great.",0 "I think this is an everyone thing, not just an OCD thing.",0 Yeah. I just sent an email asking for a raise to the owners of the restaurant I work for. Now I'm worried they'll scoff at the request and find ways to undermine my value.,0 "WAAAAHHHH I LOVE THISSSS, I'M JUST IMAGINING THE JOY ID FEEL IF I WERE IN YOUR SHOES. GOOD JOB",1 This is one of the things I really hate about myself. I have good memory and I can remember things from a long time ago and I can give details about those things. And I always have intrusive thoughts about these things that put me down. I also have OCD so that really doesn’t help my case.,0 My family says I learned reading at 3 years old completely on my own and could count to 1000 when I was 2. Little did they know their child has ADHD...,1 "Oh good, that adds more to Batman Forever as well, with his take on Riddler as an untreated Gifted ADHDer, picks up hyperfixations at the drop of a hat, loves shiny things, has poor volume control, prone to excited stream-of-consciousness rambling, and of course the emotional lability/dysregulation including a tendency to lash out instead of in when the RSD hits. (Of course, as a villain, I'm not saying he's *positive* rep. Also inb4 hate, let me go on record as saying I don't think Forever was *good,* but I do think it was *fun.)*",1 Me trying to replace a disturbing intrusive thought with a slightly better but still disturbing intrusive thought and failing,0 "Oh yea, i have that too. Makes dealing with insults, negative emotions and bullying even worse",1 Congratulations to you! You will shine. Well done you. Massive achievements 👍👍 All the best,0 "I wish I could block it the same way I can just delete conspiracies from my feed. Instead, these conspiracies are actually freaking me out, and I can't even pause them...",0 "Oh goodness, when I was younger and pressured to have unprotected sex with my first partner I'd spend grueling hours analyzing every single sensation my body felt for weeks. I'd seriously spend sleepless nights with my brain basically torturing me with intrusive thoughts. Fun times!",0 "i feel like this is largely due to the fact that in this subreddit we are all eternally frustrated and painfully aware of it so since no else will listen to us, we listen to each other lmao all jokes aside, I'm glad this subreddit makes you feel welcome after all it's what it's here for, and I'm sure many of us can relate.",1 [POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT](https://youtu.be/B72Ry9MO1fM),1 Congratulations. Hand washing/germs isn’t one of my compulsions but I’ve felt so much empathy for those of us dealing with it heightened even more during this pandemic. Awesome news and thanks for sharing the positive.,0 And you look back at the old one and think “perhaps I judged you too harshly”,0 "You've inspired me slightly to say this: Knowing is NOT half the battle. Most folks who know of their ADHD, or even suspect that they have it, become a wealth of information about it. But this KNOWing doesn't make one bit of difference to the situation. We KNOW the drawbacks and limitations, the likely cause, the treatment methods, we KNOW so much, but our train of thought still rides on a track made of glass and is easily shattered by the slightest disturbance.",1 "Definitely not alone. I decided to pursue medical school years ago back when I was still in high school and didn’t know I had ADHD. I didn’t know that I had skated by school without much struggle where being frequently distracted combined with last-minute massive cramming wasn’t too bad of an issue until I went for that premed life and am now in med school. While I am on Adderall, it’s a combination of years of terrible work ethic and typical ADHD symptoms that have made the time in med school absolutely miserable. But I’m too deep in depth to turn around and I honestly do love helping patients. So my only choice is to keep trekking this uphill battle with the hopes that it will all work out in the end. I’m terrified that my horrible habits and traits put me at a learning disadvantage and I don’t want to put patients at risk just because I can’t stay fully committed and focused on a task for an extended period of time. Instead I’ve got to try to work with my ADHD to learn and know my shit. If it means I have to pace around, or switch between topics, or use a timer, or use a reward system all just to get myself engaged in studying, then so be it. You are definitely not alone. Recently, I have felt so burnt out that I wished so dearly I had learned about my ADHD much sooner and had chosen a career that involved much more hands-on training and that did not have such a large life-or-death responsibility. But I can’t turn back time and I don’t want this to be the end either. So I have to accept that my ADHD may make becoming a physician so much harder than it already is, but I want to be strong because patients deserve someone who’s good at their shit and that’s enough reason for me to keep pushing. This disorder sucks. It sucks to lose control of yourself and your attention and have time and money go down the drain. But we’re not alone. People who don’t have ADHD have their own struggles, too. I think everyone’s life has some sort of challenge. Having ADHD isn’t easy at all. And I feel like I have to push myself to try so much that it’s exhausting and feels incredibly unnatural, but I don’t want to give up and I don’t want to let myself or others down. So I have to remind myself to really remember why I’m doing this and let that motivation seep in deep. I have to try to maximize the time when I’m not distracted and to be a little more forgiving when I do get distracted. Really thankful you shared this post. Sorry for rambling! I too feel better that I’m not the only one. Makes me feel less like a failure because knowing that other ppl feel this way kind of normalizes a disorder that I didn’t choose to have but that is very much a part of me.",1 I just acknowledge that my intrusive thoughts are just intrusive thoughts and they don’t mean anything,0 I heard someone call it Attention Allocation Disorder and I really like that.,1 "I read a whole ass book today! The first time I have ever read more than 200 pages in one 3 hour sitting! I'm proud of you!",1 "I got a chuckle out of this meme. SOCD used to torment me starting from the time I was 8. From that point on I did nothing but study the Bible, pray and feel guilty and damned for years. When I turned 17, I cracked. I left religion, and felt immediately relieved. But then came all the other forms of ""pure O."" Can't get away from it for too long.",0 "I literally can't find any fucking one to prescribe my meds. I would be hard-pressed to find an actual psychiatrist, and NPs can't prescribe Sched II drugs.",1 "Me: ’some of the intrusive thoughts i get are so stupid i dont even believe them’ OCD: ‘are you sure about that’",0 "bookmarking this so i can remind myself. thank you for this. missed out on 3 years of treatment that i instead spent suffering alone and frusterated bc i thought my case was ""too different"" than what i'd read about to be a ""actual mental illness"" aka ocd",0 "My kid with ADHD can be watching a show, having a full on conversation while reading a book. And know exactly what’s happening (often quoting the book or TV show) when prompted. It’s amazing to watch. We often read boos together and she will ask what page I am on. No matter WHAT the page is, she can tell me in exact detail what’s on it just by me listing the page number. Again. Amazing to watch. Although ADHD certainly comes with its own issues, it has made my kiddo the most amazing person.",1 "Yup. I have a meeting today at 2:30pm. Sorry, can't do anything but look at the clock until 1:30 when I have to start getting ready.",1 "....I actually prefer online. I wasnt listening to the last 10 minutes? No biggie. I'll rewind the lecture and set the playback speed to 1.25x to make it a little easier. Its impossible to lose handouts - theyre all there for me to pull up however many times I need! I cant lost track of assignment due dates because they're all so explicitly written down right in front of my eyea. Maybe its because Im more visual than auditory, but I *love* online formats. I work ahead on good days to account for the bad days.",1 Mine is my inhaler is downstairs and I need it. But I got woken up that my brother in law passed away. Panicked had to be told not to make a cake or bake 4 pizzas at 12 am (I'm a cook) and after that emotion spike cant move. Had to ring work and call out after swapping because I was sick last Saturday and feel bad for that. Essentially I'm fucked. Sorry for rambling.,1 "> Liar Liar - The pathological lying that comes as a result of trying to always say the right thing becoming so deeply ingrained that you become incapable of functioning honestly? > Yes Man - The constant overthinking, anxiety and cynicism thwarting your life from moving forward, so you compulsively begin doing things you don't even want to do because you're afraid of regretting on missing out on not doing it, leading you to feeling overwhelmed and strained, but unable to say no due to ominous dread that saying no will make bad shit happen and cause you to fall back to square one? These two were the first that came to mind for me! In hindsight it seemed like he was physically acting out what goes on in our ADHD heads",1 When I was younger I hated brushing my teeth so those emotions currently keep me from brushing my teeth and I’m 17 now,1 "This hit me hard, in a good way. I have been struggling with sleep deprivation with a 7 month old the last few weeks and it recently has been really bad. I've been getting very... murder-y thoughts and images and it's been making me weepy and anxious. I have been annoying my husband by telling him I don't want to ever put our kid in daycare in case something horrible happens (I'm about to finish my PhD), or even take her out in public in case she's abducted. I was getting so worried I said to him, ""do you ever wish we didn't have her so nothing could happen to her?"" Talk about closing down life and possibilities! I don't want to live my life like that. I don't want her to suffer me closing down her life with my anxieties. Edited to add... OCD sucks so bad, but on this theme, this always makes me laugh. If you can't laugh, then we just cry, right? [YOLO song](https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwjEgfTQ9bXnAhWFGs0KHf0PCCkQyCkwAHoECAoQBQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dz5Otla5157c&usg=AOvVaw1jAuSZ_hQHzU3ccxEjdB81)",0 Haha my phone screen and glasses are going through torture right now with how often I'm scrubbing them,0 "This is very good. More crossover Marvel/OCD memes would be good too.",0 [“Clinton Calls For National Week Off To Get National Shit Together”](https://www.theonion.com/clinton-calls-for-national-week-off-to-get-national-shi-1819564367/amp),1 Yep and I have an adhd child and I suspect mum is adhd so it’s fucked,1 "Wow. This is relatable. There is a tiled floor outside of my bathroom in my parents house. Growing up I used to play this ""game"" where I had to jump on a certain tile far away before the bathroom door shut or something bad would happen. If I messed up I would actually feel bad about it and beat myself up mentally or I would just feel yucky inside for a couple of minutes. Sometimes it wouldn't bother me and sometimes it would. I have OCD and I had no idea that was linked to it. I just thought it was some weird thing I did and I thought that other people probably did similar things. Sounds like most people on here didn't know it wasn't ""normal"" either.",0 "Wow, just wow. That's scary man, but you did it! Screw OCD",0 "Ooo yes to the being myself = being annoying. I will constantly replay social encounters after they happen and wonder how I could have been less annoying or more empathetic, etc. it’s a tiring mindset. I never feel good enough. Hugs to you",0 "You know what’s even more fun? Having a moment of clarity where you feel amazed that you don’t care about your obsessions and getting overcome with excitement that you might escape the hell cycles, so you get cocky and confident and look up an obsession that “started” all this stuff in the hopes that it’s so removed from the trauma it would finally be defeated too even though you haven’t thought of it directly in 12 years. Didn’t work. Now my past obsession is overpowering the current one, and my OCD jumped from a 3/10 to a 27/10. Ugh",0 Ooooh that’s for reminding me to take my mirtazapine.,0 Great post. The guilt you feel is only perpetuated by the rumination on the past event. Cut out the rumination and the guilt will soften.,0 "I have the opposite problem, I can never remember if I have eaten so I am always eating. I use my stomach pain as a gage of if I should eat more or not.",1 "Awesome post, very well written and so true. I hope that we all can end up fixing our broken brains somehow 🤍.",0 "I went and took a shit I wanted to do that like an hour ago ahahah thx mate.",1 "Not to be pedantic, and let me preface by saying that could only dream of making art this amazing, but this isn't Dali's style. He's well known for surrealism and distorted shaped. This looks like that famous image from Buñuel's movie Un Chien Andalou (as someone else already posted) that Dali did write the screenplay for",0 This is amazing and is a fantastic idea. Anyone who has ADHD knows how hard it is to do simple tasks. Our brains have a disorder like you said. These things come so easy for someone who’s brain works normally. I see nothing wrong with you recognizing you need help and doing something about it!,1 I accidentally spill a drink food or any sticky substance.,0 "I don’t even drive, but I still get these thoughts. You have my sympathy, OP",0 I was diagnosed about 9 years ago so honestly OCD jokes hardly bother me anymore because I’m just so used to them. Only reaction I have is mild annoyance,0 "Facts, then I get bored and start to feel like my room is cluttered so I clean it and rearrange it.",0 Things like this make me feel sick because it’s so true..,0 "Damn.... For me this is most keen with manipulation or slighted, when I realize I've been after the fact and it just builds and festers and I get consumed by it. Now that I think about it, I almost NEVER experience appropriate emotions *at the time,* I'm CONSTANTLY playing catch-up over the days after, so its really hard for me to make any kind of emotional decisions in the moment. I know that this can be improved, and I've improved about it, but even when I think I've done a good job of handling a scenario, and saying the things that I want to say, I still ruminate over it and realize that I missed so much. I feel like I need to be presented with all emotional content in writing so I can respond in kind after I have time to process it. I recently felt like my boss didn't follow through on a promise (not in writing of course) he made related to a company merger that happened by surprise and over the course of the next week I got progressively more and more mad about it, I bitched to everyone about it and concocted ways of fucking him over by quitting at the most inopportune time, and then kind of as quick as it came, it was gone. The sucky thing is I am right to be mad, just not that mad and I need to be able to USE that anger but it just bangs around in my head until it loses energy. Is this [RSD](https://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria) or related to it?",1 "That's not tough love, that's just shaming. Tough love is where a parental figure lets natural consequences teach a lesson. For example, not bailing a child out of jail after they do stupid shit and get arrested.",1 Holy shit this is such a relief bc I just watched perks of being a wallflower and it made me think way too hard and how way more weird intrusive thoughts I thought I was like ill,0 "Every night I'm like ""I'll do that thing I said I'd do today, tomororrow"" **...for the past week** turns out that thing is pretty important and there's a deadline coming up for it (the second deadline that is)",1 "when i was a christian I used to pray at night I forgot/didnt have the energy for a few nights. My gran died a few days later of course now i know it was just a coincidence, but you can imagine what it did to me so yeah, thats why i hate religion, and ocd of course",0 I completely understand and am in a very similar position / state of mind. I wish I had some deep and prolific advice I could offer but I don’t know what to do either. Best of luck.,0 "Reminds me of earlier when I was (literally) crying about ""how ugly my hair is"" I said i""m just going to have to accept that no matter what I do i will never truly be satisfied....with anything",0 "This. All the time. That's why I don't want to interact with others, so I don't have to experience this",0 "Yeah its weird, like they asume you feel or have to feel the exact same way as them. As far as I remember ADHD and ASD are both specrum disorders. So how they think you have to feel the same way about it already doesent make sense. My ADHD is so impairing lately that I (if it would be possible) would maybe take the cure pill. The positives that ADHD CAN have, like creativity might be enough for some people to feel better about their disorder. They might actually get a slight benifit in sertain circumstances compared to others and thats awesome for them. For me, every other ADHD symptom activly stops me from persuing something creative. Im stuck in a non creative job, all my remaining freetime is spend either Trying to get on top of my dishes and other household stuff or trying to relax and calm down from all the stress and anxiety I feel on a daily basis. Even the thought of ""I have to get groceries tomorrow bc if not I order take out again, then I feel shitty about myself bc I eat like crap again, spend unnescesairy money and break my routine"" is stressing me tf out. Im basicly at the max of my abilities just by being an adult and doing adult stuff. Instead of spreading toxic positivity because they cant entertain the idea that some people actually are disabled in certain areas because of a disability, they should either try to give you advice that the think could work bc it maybe worked for them or dont say anything at all",1 "Only eases the memory of having performed ritruals, so OCD becomes OCCCCCCCCCCC...D",0 "Damn right. It's like being trapped inside a fucking human shaped meat bag watching yourself go on autopilot. Or worse. Standby mode. Just sitting there on idle. It's the waiting that's the fucking worse. It never ends. It never fucking ends, man.",1 They're putting chemicals in the water to turn the frickin frogs gay!,0 "I completely get what you mean omg, but the funny thing is I always ask to meet in the afternoon cuz I'm scared I'm going to miss it if I oversleep (which is almost everyday). And then I procrastinate or do things really slowly until then and my whole day is gone just like that rip",1 "It sucks when you know EXACTLY what you should be doing. You give it to someone else, it helps them, but because it’s from your dysfunctional self, then it somehow doesn’t mean jack shit to yourself",0 I'm worried that the medication will make me feel dumb. Is that something I need to worry about?,0 "I avoid that stuff by adding ""adult"" and/or -children -child to Google searches. Obviously there are plenty of people who think that only children can have ADHD, and that is a problem. But it makes sense that the top search results and a lot of the info online would be geared towards adults caring for children with ADHD since there would presumably be more people searching for it (parents, other family members, babysitters, teachers, etc.) than for info on adult ADHD (maybe as little as one person per case of ADHD -- the adult who has it). Maybe it's a good sign, too. Like the more people who are diagnosed in childhood or adolescence, the higher the demand for info about kids with ADHD.",1 "I grew up watching my dad and all of the things he did because of his ocd (checking everything multiple times, not letting my mom use the oven/stove, making me take my curling iron with me if we left the house, etc. ) and ever since I can remember I've had symptoms but have never been diagnosed. The earliest thing I can remember, but certain not the only thing, is having intrusive thoughts and thinking I was a terrible person for having them. I never told anyone about them until this year and I am 24.",0 "I 100% relate to that. Also, I feel like knowing the why makes it easier to apply that knowledge to other situations later. It allows our creative thinking to run wild and think up new things. Without a why, you might as well he a robot, which is like a death sentence to someone with ADHD. Lol. Well, for me, anyway. If I'm expected to perform the same action over and over with no explanation or room to think up new ways, I'll 100% daydream and miss doing the thing I'm supposed to. Lol",1 I'm in the midst of one right now in which I have to keep closing and reopening several tabs in a specific order.,0 "Ok wait you really just solved one of my actual life mysteries and I don’t even know how to react lol. I’ve had migraines and headaches since I was about 8 years old. My mom took me to a million doctors and they ran every test under the sun to try and find the cause. I had an EEG that showed slow brain waves in the frontal cortex and no one could figure out why. It stayed the same with the same slower waves every time they repeated the test over the span of years so they just said huh that’s your normal I guess. I also had a very random seizure in my early 20s with no known cause, and the scans then all showed the same slow waves. The neurologists all just said huh that’s weird. When I looked it up just now the slow adhd waves can also be related to seizure activity. I wasn’t diagnosed with adhd until I was around 25 and the older I get the more I realize most if not all of my issues as a kid were related to undiagnosed adhd. The headaches I find to be mostly hormonal now but maybe there is an adhd link too who knows. -insert Charlie connecting the dots gif here- Anyway THANK YOU FOR THIS and now I’m off down the rabbit hole so I can tell my mom about this lol!!!",1 Great artwork. You're so talented! It's been a tough year for me too. We got this!,0 Yes! I keep telling my daughters that it’s okay not to be productive during this. It’s important to just try to take care of yourself. Now if I could convince myself of the same.,0 "I have pure O and my therapist told me that a fear of never recovering from OCD was a blossoming new obsession. Sometimes finding the right exposure can take a long time, but giving up is not an option.",0 "I almost never got help because of this stigma. I went to my mother telling her my concerns that I may have OCD, and she assumed I was being paranoid because I’m not “clean and organized”. It makes me really sad that people are still using OCD like this. It’s more harmful than people think it is.",0 Omg yes!!! I get so irritated and feel like a total jerk when I snap at people but I can’t help it. I just am so overwhelmed sometimes and it’s just that one extra thing that pushes me over the edge.,1 "My friend... I came here because I was going to make a similar post. Feeling at my wit's end again. 30 years old. Decent enough life. Could be way worse and I have my health and blessings. But Jesus Christ. It's like living in Bizarro World ALL THE TIME. How the fuck are all these normies just OKAY with.... Everything. The way it IS. Oh my god. No. No you are not alone. We are not alone. Our time is coming. We just need to get there and build what we can in the meantime. Don't give up friend. Don't go Hollow. We will be okay.",1 I also have a comma problem haha. A professor once noted that I need to rein in my “creative use of punctuation” lol.,1 I never knew this was an OCD thing until I came on this subreddit.,0 "I recently went down the - gotta be a tool to solve this wormhole. Due for iPhone kinda stuck though. The Siri integration and reminders that won’t quit bugging you. Also this weird time planning app called rubato plus. And I’m entering day 3 of using colored beads that represent various personal self care activities that I move from one bowl into an “active” bowl if drinking bottle Two of water now and into the third bowl when done. Will see if it sticks tho. Now that I understand that adhd is not a problem with motivation (we want to do the thing), it’s a problem with working memory (we forget what the thing is and that we had anything to remember in the first place), I’m re-inspired to find a way to externalize my motivation so I can remember I have it.",1 "My favorite is the insomnia research. I know damn well I should be sleeping and I won't remember a fraction of what I'm learning, but it's too interesting to stop!",1 Sometimes I hit my head or say stop or no. But then I just keep having to do it if it gets too bad :(,0 “Remember that cringy thing plus like two hundred other things you did? Think about all of them at the same time. Goodnight😘”,0 "As a big fan of the office, I love this analogy. Thanks for this post, I will definitely try this.",0 My son makes a fist and flicks his hand...as if he is flicking the thought away.,0 "I’m pretty sure I’ve got a warrant out for unpaid tickets because I couldn’t get my shit together and get a new registration for my car two years ago. Funny thing is, I don’t even *have* that car anymore.",1 "My obsession is bipolar and anything related to “Dopamine.” Too much, too little. It’s making me obsess over my medications and I REALLY hate it.",0 OMG YES i started medication and that still happens to me. Apart from that I can give no advice since I could not fix it either :((,1 Being on time for your 3pm appointment and finding out it was at 2pm,1 "I actually came up with a similar analogy a few months ago, except I compared OCD to a faulty antivirus program that won’t stop alerting you of all the “dangers” around.",0 "Looks like the body horror in Annihilation, and I mean that as a big compliment.",0 "Seriously! I’ve learned traditional budgets can’t apply to me when I need to maintain a larger margin of error for my discrepancies to absolutely every single thing you’ve mentioned. I am still in undergrad +2 years and the amount of money I have determined I’ve actually put into this degree from dropping classes, paying for more to make up credit hours, withdrawing and owning, collections—the whole cycle you’ve named. I’m paying $112 this month for my $90 storage unit I’ve forgotten to cancel since I finished moving four months ago and got hit with the late fee on because I didn’t prepare to pay it because I thought I would’ve cancelled lol... and there goes any purchases outside of bills for the month. I’m learning to prepare for it better and by understanding it I can be mindful to preventing this all, but wow yeah. The comments too.",1 we're having a 3 PM panic attack rn ahahahaha someone kill me,0 Oh god you just described my whole day. RIP Tuesday. You were good to me and I just couldn't return the favor.,1 You just described me in perfect detail. I have never been able to put into words what exactly having this disorder is like but you just did it wonderfully.,1 "Seriously. I think everyone here probably suffers from a lot of negative self talk because of how we were treated growing up. It sucks. My therapist helped me out with this earlier this year and I'll pass on some general advice: Practice meditation. It is hard. Especially with ADHD. Try to carve out 10 minutes every day. ([calm.com](https://calm.com) used to have 7 days free beginners) But meditation is all about calming the mind. As you get better at meditating you can take those techniques into your day to day life. Now whenever I'm working on something and I start to be hard on myself, I take a few deep breaths to calm my mind and kind of do a soft reset. And just practice forgiving yourself. Sometimes I even say it out loud ""It's ok, it's not your fault, just move forward""",1 this . i usually dont try this but i tried it a few months ago and now i feel like theyve become part of my everyday thinking :( with each passing day my brains like well i guess this is who you are. but i dont want to be. i dont dont want to be. its mostly pocd and race(?) ocd and the last time they were bad i started thinking that offing myself would be better for humanity. i hate it here.,0 Great job! Any tips since this school year started I’ve only turned about 5 assignments in on time,1 "They made some app called pocket, I think it is called. It saves internet items in it so you can go back to read them later. It’s been a while since I used it but I think this is what you need.",1 "Me. So much anxiety & dread & obsession over death & grief. I lose so much sleep over it. :(",0 Man I thought this was the CBD subreddit for a second. I was like DAMN THAT WENT 100 QUCK!,0 "This is part of how I knew my husband was ""the one."" He doesn't feed my reassurance addiction, but supports me and makes me feel strong and capable of working through the tough times.",0 Yes but can I actually inject the water directly into my mind and just cleanse all of the bad thoughts? Give that big wrinkle a good ol' rinse and repeat,0 My OCD: “What if I’m just making up that I have OCD as an excuse to cover up and refuse to take responsibility for the fact that I’m an abuser??? Better avoid people so I don’t accidentally end up abusing anyone.”,0 Is there a state crisis line you can call for support? Usually all States have these if you are in the u.s. that are answered by crisis workers or therapists.,0 "OMG - You are not alone. Personal hygiene is one of my favorite tasks to skip because ""oops, I ran out of time for this"". It is a major deal to do anything you don't particularly care to do with ADHD. I consider it a success when I brush my teeth and wash my face on the weekend.",1 "For me, cuz I will also read a bunch of stuff about something, but when someone asks about that thing I know the thing but I can’t explain the thing. Like I KNOW it, I know all about it but I can’t put it into words and describe the thing You know?",1 YES thank u for including tics. They actually thought I had Tourette’s before I got my ocd diagnosis,0 "This is so perfect!! Especially the () and the I was just, always afraid to offend someone or come off demanding. Then after being too accommodating for so long then I get sick of it and overcompensate and just come off as a raging B$tc& and send a nasty email. I started on add and while it has NOT helped my executive function and I probably need to change meds, it has seemed to help me edit what I send out. Less overanalyzing it and comes out easier. I think less worried about what others will think.",1 People that post shit like “repost or bad thing happen” are really inconsiderate of people with ocd,0 "I've never really thought about it (probably because I've felt that since I can remember and it's such an usual feeling for me) but now that you said it, yep, it does happen with me a lot. I don't remember having panic attacks or crying about these things, but I do know that when I have to give up on my laptop and buy a new one, I feel really bad about it because I feel like it helped me so much throughout the years and now I'm replacing it like that. I even remember patting the printer after using it because of its ""good job"". LOL. I feel so pathetic, I don't know why I never thought about this. I just assumed it was because I'm very empathetic. I always feel like there's so many things in my personality that I just take for normal, but they're probably related to OCD. Anyway, I think that's kinda cute, unless it makes you feel REALLY bad. ",0 "Wait, other people do that too? Good to know I’m not alone",0 Um... this actually IS huge. You decreased it by more than half. CONGRATS! Keep it up!,0 My favorite is avoiding caffeine as if I don’t take an adderall to go to sleep,1 "I think something that also plays into this is that coping in everyday life with ADHD is mentally exhausting, mental exhaustion, unlike physical exhaustion isn't always obvious and can be brought on by a lot of different factors, including sensory overload, stress, overwhelming emotions, normal everyday living and so on, it's like telling someone to run a 100m sprint after running a marathon, you could technically do it, but not right now. On top of that mental exhaustion doesn't always translate into being able to sleep, when your physically exhausted but your mind is still overly active falling asleep is also hard, so sleeping while your body's energy level is still high would also be hard Also this is reason #713 why ADHD is exhausting",1 Mine is so bad I can’t even watch the news without getting triggered,0 "Don't shower in the morning or use deoderant. Those things cause the problem that they supposedly solve. Assuming you do not have a medical condition, you will smell fine as long as you wear clean clothes, keep your bedding clean, and rinse yourself off after getting sweaty/dirty. Also, get some floss picks to keep around the house and in your car. Flossing regularly is easy when they are on hand and is way more important for your dental health than brushing.",1 "The worst thing is my ADHD a** is so stubborn that I was like “YEAH you’re right, I’m gonna do it!” But then I was like “Wait no, no one tells me what to do.” Lol",1 "Laundry tip: I got one of those laundry sorter things with three different bags hanging on them (they make versions with more 4 or 5 bags too). I used a label-maker to label the bar in front of each bag with what goes in it (dark knits, whites, pants & socks). As I get undressed at night, I toss the dirty clothes into the appropriate bag. Voila - laundry is pre-sorted. And it's easy to see how full the bags are. When a bag gets full I know it's time to do a load of laundry. Makes life much easier than having to sort one big pile every week.",1 "Does it have a name? I named my OCD monster Kevin, like the big bird from Up.",0 Browsing popular and came actoss this randomly! Good job!,0 Great job!!!! As someone who is also in school unmedicated for the first time in a decade I understand the struggle and how hard it is. This is a really awesome accomplishment.,1 "Yes, I won't be able to sleep unless I go and it's to the point where sometimes I'll end up spending an hour or two in the bathroom. This is also something that happens when I randomly wake up throughout the night and each time I have to go to the bathroom before I can go back to sleep. It honestly sucks because sometimes my family will get mad at me for spending so long in the bathroom and I just don't know how to explain it. Also have this weird thing where if I drink water or anything before I try to go to sleep even if I just went to the bathroom, I feel like I need to go again.",0 "Wow... I joined this subreddit because I‘ve been recently questioning whether I have ADHD or an adjacent mental illness. I’m somewhat against self-diagnosing, but this behavior is eerily familiar....",1 Try having sex with them! I can’t tell you how many people my meds have caused me to bone while I was dreaming!,0 "I have chronic fatigue syndrome,anxiety and depression as well as adhd ADHD makes me want to do everything and the other three stop. me from doing any of it. I overthink everything because I need to know exactly how far I'll need to walk and how long it will take me so I can prepare so I don't crash(make symptoms worse for a while)",1 "Lmaooo I thought this was just the kind of thing I did I always say shit like “uuurgh I wish they’d just die!! I mean not really obviously but URGH.”",0 "Great job! We have a special gift, too true 😂 my husband says it’s like I have a spidey sense for where things are which I attribute to years of losing all my belongings/having to track them down",1 "The problem is, I know the bitch who set the alarm, and she can't be trusted. So why should I do what she wants?",1 Literally me lately but my OCD keeps trying to convince me I have depression instead of schizophrenia. Not much better,0 "Love it, perfect. Cures my body dysmorphia, rejection sensitivity, attention problems, and emotional regulation all in one. Just use a planner is the same energy as “everyone has a little adhd”. Not people thinking ADHD is just having a time management issue🙄",1 This is precisely exactly what happens to me oh my god.,0 "Showers are like an indication that morning is over for me because it was one of the last things I did before heading off to school. Lately, my mornings can last up to 3 days.",1 "Congrats!!! Overcoming OCD is unbelievably hard, I’m proud of you!!!",0 "having adhd is like being in hell inside your own head. i feel you man, it's like trying to climb a mountain and being so exhausted you can't go on, but you can't let go.",1 feels like an invisible glass wall in front of me and my potential.,1 "My therapist has never really talked about it, never directly said ""I can't reassure you"" but wow I can see it... And I can see myself wanting that reassurance.",0 "(Ngl I’d love to get lizard gifts lol) but no I genuinely get this, like, genuinely I feel this entirely with my soul.",0 "YEAH! FUCK THAT SHIT. TIRED OF LEADING A CRAMPED EXISTENCE BECAUAE OCD SAYS SO. FUCK YOU CRAMP! I'D RATHER BE ANXIOUS EVERY FUCKING DAY THAN LIVE LIKE A SCARED MOUSE AFRAID TO TRIGGER MY OCD. FUCK THAT. OCD CANT DO ANYTHING TO ME IT ALREADY HASNT. I'D RATHER DIE STANDING THAN LIVE ON MY KNEES! A COWARD DIES A THOUSAND DEATHS, A BRAVE MAN BUT ONE!",0 The other month I had thousands... years and years worth of videos in my watch later list. Managed to clear it down to only a few hundred or so. It only has 288 now lol,1 Then I have to go in my sent messages and read it a million times too,0 "I think it's really great! I love the pencil work you did, and the darkness creeping onto her body. Id say maybe do some practice with references to help get proportions down a bit better, I usually take photos of myself to base poses on, but I wouldn't call it trash at all! It's creative an emotional!",0 I remember planning suicide when I was 11. Probably never would have gone through with it but still,0 I close my eyes for a few seconds. It's involuntary.,0 "No I forget so many parts of my days, weeks, months, years and decades. It all becomes blur of nothingness.",1 "This is so true!! I could be enjoying something and bam anxiety. Maybe I shouldn’t be doing this??? Lol *breathing* 😂",0 Mine feels like hundreds of spiders crawling on the sensitive spots. Like my stomach or spine.,0 "Well, there is a reason I have put 20 hours in t oa video game under 1.5 days :'D",0 My Bf was diagnosed with ADHD when he was young and he is always shocked I don’t get mad when he forgets things. Like I’m undiagnosed ADD or ADHD I will not get mad at you for not remembering something. I don’t even remember what I just said.,1 "I know from a factual perspective that I am smart, but I also think that the evidence shows that I am actually really lazy. I mean shit, my parents have been telling me that for years—because it’s true!",1 "One minor correction. Pay attention to anything else except the topic.",1 "I've seen people with ""obsessive cat disorder"" ornaments in their car -.- hate them",0 "Thank you for this, it’s hard to share these types of feelings but I feel very seen/heard from this post ♥️",1 "I had several family members I was close to pass away when I was between 8-10. I’m 23 now, and I still do this with my loved ones, especially the ones I know I’ll outlive.",0 "I just throw on an audiobook and whatever happens, happens.",1 "This book is great. The second chapter basically lists all the types of intrusive thoughts and honestly, it was so freeing just to see these thoughts on paper. It felt validating to know that they’re just fictions I’ve created - and that other OCD sufferers have too. But initially when I was reading it, I also started feeling really anxious, because all my thoughts were glaring at me at once. But the book said something like “you’re probably feeling really anxious after reading that.” And thats when I knew: “holy shit they get it. They know how someone like me thinks.” Anyway, I’d highly recommend reading it.",0 "The text on picture on the left! Perfect! I wonder how people around me keep things and do things without a train of thoughts and why can I not do that :( Why do I have to find a perfect place for everything. But now I know, I don't my OCD does. 💯 feel what you are saying. I get bothered when people without say someone is so OCD just because they organize or are particular about day to day activities. I will be honest, I wasn't bothered like before 3-4months back when I hadn't yet started my OCD treatment. But after that at least 3-4 times, close friends and acquaintances have casually passed such comments that annoyed me. I haven't gathered enough courage to correct them yet. But someday!! Also it is their ignorance, I know they are not doing on purpose so makes it easier to forgive them.",0 Me at thirty explaining that elevators don't scare me because in old tv shows they just get out through the trap door. My therapist looks confused and points out most elevators don't in fact have them. I simply refuse to process this.,0 I only read the broccoli part and that’s enough for me to know you’re absolutely right. That’s another one where it’s a hard battle of ADHD vs. lazy,1 This is the most awesome thing I’ve seen today. Thank you!!,0 "Le sigh... yeah, this is my life, oh and add mania here and there!",1 I save more money buying stuff premade than I would buying it to make it myself,1 When this happens in class or when you study and you ant concentrate 😢,0 Me trying to stop myself from making lists over and over because I’m wasting hours everyday just obsessively making lists vs me trying to justify to myself that making lists is a great way to stay efficient and organized,0 "i hate it when people make this stigma even worse. like i’ll just drink this and it’ll for sure immediately cure me! no need for any meds or therapy now! thanks target! /s",0 "My #2 song is a bardcore instrumental of ""Single Ladies"" by Beyonce that I used to keep focus. I was genuinely surprised to find that the OST song I bought (first time I ever bought a song from iTunes) to support my kpop group turned out to be my most listened on instead when I almost completely forgot about it after the first 2 weeks when I kept it on repeat.",1 Same here but it's twice and if I don't see the indicators flash then I'm convinced someone will steal and burn it.,0 What is the criteria or test if I may ask! Congrats on your recovery!,0 I have to listen to music to get away from it. And at night Iisten nature sounds thinking of goos things or cry myself to sleep. No in between with OCD,0 I’ve never had an issue with biting my nails but I do have an issue with chewing the skin on the sides of my nails to the point that they bleed. I also have an issue with biting my lips and also making them bleed. I just went through a bad phase with both of them but it has subsided. Probably not for long though.,0 "This has been me this whooole past week, I have a bad case of seasonal allergies and I’m pretty sure I’ve googled my symptoms and come to the conclusion that I actually have heart failure instead about seven times now. lol. doctor google is not your friend!",0 "You scared the heck out of me and broke my heart so quickly! However, I'm super glad you're okay. I definitely had a laugh about this, especially since it was all so relatable. Hang in there OP, we're all in this together; my DM's are always open too bud.",0 "Same, I've had this one idea for, I wanna say a year, haven't made any progress whatsoever.To be fair I was only diagnosed last month so hopefully that will change, doesn't seem like it for now",1 The only way to think about it less it to think about it more! The beauty of exposure. ,0 Ive done this before and had to quit social media for almost a year bc of it,0 Oh man atypical heart attack symptoms in women have ruined my life. Guess what. Like everything could be a heart attack,0 Sarah & Connor? Save you been watching Terminator recently? 😁,1 "So much love for the OCD community and their polite sarcasm, gently directed at this mislead or ignorant OP. 🥰 humour is one of the best ways to deal with insensitivity and misunderstanding.",0 Don't fool yourself. Corporate life sucks for MOST people.,1 "This is me. Thank you for helping me look at what I'm going through a little differently. I need to say, ""hey brain, you're awesome in so many ways, but please stop hurting me so much.""",0 "I see all these comments here about time blindness and could never relate to them because I have an anxiety disorder and it makes me really time sensitive. When I was 13 years old I went to Disney World for Explorer’s Day weekend and later told my mom the days I missed at school and had to make up work for weren’t worth it. *What kind of 13 year old gets angry because they went to Disney World?* But I realized that it was less an issue of “I don’t have enough free time” and more of “I waste all my energy on normal daily activities, even ones that aren’t physical like playing a video game.”",1 "This is exactly why I doubt myself on actually having OCD. ""Oh, I cleaned the toilet and don't want to vomit, I clearly don't have contamination OCD."" But no, I wallow in filth when depressed.",0 "Yep. I struggle with this. For me, it's more internal, though - I'm less worried about the potential effects of being ""cancelled"" (I do still worry about those as a creative - and also about the actual social interactions that would come with such a thing since I'm autisitic and have social anxiety, but those worries are less obsessive somehow) and more about ""what if I really am a bad person?"" It's sort of a metaphysical contamination theme at its core for me. I sometimes explain it as the bad parts of Twitter ""cancel culture"" living in my own head. The way I deal with it is by reminding myself that all I can do is hold myself to my own moral standard: I try my best to be a good person, a good ally and friend, to stand up for my ideals when I can and be true to them, to apologize if I make a mistake. Other than that, I can't control how other people see me or react to things. I can only build a sense of self-faith and self-worth independent of those things - a knowing of my own heart and intentions. (And a knowing that even if I did make some horrible mistake, I could apologize and practice self-forgiveness.) That said, OCD also makes that hard by making me almost overly scrupulous about following my moral ideals and not ""being a hypocrite,"" and by coming up with conspiracy theories about my own thoughts and emotions (e.g. What if I'm secretly an evil person because I enjoy the horror genre?) As someone else said, I also find it helpful to focus on what I can do to have a positive effect on other people rather than what I can do to potentially protect myself from negative effects. It's hard when a lot of those negative effects could potentially come from the ""cancel culture that lives in my head,"" but that's where that sense of self-worth and self-faith and self-forgiveness comes in again - along with an understanding of how OCD works and how this is just another theme. You're not alone. But one other thing that helps me to remember is that OCD tends to attack your actual values. So if you're struggling with this theme, chances are you actually care a lot about being a good person and doing your best not to hurt people, which is a good thing even though OCD distorts it.",0 "this is me with work-related content, i theoretically know and understand my project, but ask me as question and i totally blank",1 I found it a long time ago so made a new list and now ti is almost full. So I make different playlist for different type of videos. So every time I go to youtube playlist section I got confused and didn't watch any thing😥,1 "I get this all. The. Time. Working on a team several people will draw three lines and then one slightly off. ""DoES thIs TriGGeR yoU?""",0 "I did this for AN ENTIRE YEAR one time because I had a project due that didn't have a deadline. I can confidently say that was the worst year of my life. The constant self hatred and stress was awful, but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't actually get myself to do it. People always told me to just sit down and focus for a while to get it done... they clearly don't understand adhd. One of the best descriptions of this feeling I've ever seen was from this sub when someone said ""it's like being forced to sit in a chair and watch yourself in the third person. You see everything that's going on, but can't affect any of it"" The only reason I was able to actually finish that project was because eventually a hard deadline was set. This was all a couple years ago before I even knew I had adhd. I'm curious if it would have been different if I was on meds lol. Anyway, OP: I totally understand what you're feeling, but it's best not to focus on what could have been. Something I learned early on is that focusing only on the negatives or how things could have gone ""if only I didn't have adhd"" will destroy you. Instead of focusing on what you did wrong, focus on how you'll improve for the next time.",1 "Echolalia is a new term, but I finally have a word to describe it. Not just ""Oh, I'm randomly subconsciously repeating words for some reason and I don't know why, sorry.""",1 "I had the same thing when I was younger. Good job stopping it. ✌️",0 "Hey, I'm so sorry, I'm sending infinite hugs your way",1 "Yesssssssss My parents should have realized something was up with me when I required being told that I wasn’t going to die before going to bed every night. 😬",0 "Yes! Our delayed reaction, days later must seem so strange to neurotypicals.",1 Holy crap! I think about this kind of stuff all the damn time!,0 "Omg relatable, I have a compulsion where I have to count my steps in multiples of a certain number (the number used to be 3, it’s changed a few times and it’s 4 now) but anyway I’ve had the compulsion since I was 8 and I used to try to get rid of it by trying to change the number to 1. Needless to say it didn’t work lol. Brain got hands",0 I'm an actual psychologist and OCD out here diagnosing me,0 "apparently the book ""You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!"" is quite useful for adults",1 "Love! There is always a reason to stay in this dimension, even if it's a little thing. For me it's music, friends, family and comedy.",1 "Same with why I’m watching Netflix and browsing Instagram at the same time. The more stuff coming in to my brain, the less attention I can give to everything in my brain",0 "all of them are major cleaning tasks or homework, but i washed the dishes earlier!",1 That’s like me when I would take notes. I’d take notes sometimes... then never look at them again or lose them lmao,1 Yep! Stay strong friend we will get through it all together ,0 "I used to be anti-meds too, I had so many bad experiences. So, I hope if you hate them you hear me out. That being said, finding the right meds was life changing for me. And it only happened when I found a therapist who could do my med management. We adjusted dosage and type according to the work we were doing. Meds can numb you, but that's only a problem if you are working through your ERP or something. Tldr; use all the tools in your toolbox, at the times you need them. Our brains are complicated, allow things to shift.",0 Gonna be honest with you I got distracted in two lines,1 I suffered with depression through most of my teens and adult life. It's tough and I hope you get the support you need with both issues. Feel free to message me I know I'm a stranger but my inbox is always open to anyone who needs help.,1 "It’s like telling people that are depressed to just be happy, it’s a miracle cure.",1 If only my mom saw this last night. It happens almost every week.,1 "Ohh this hits me, if I don't get it do it another time, perfection gives me this feeling that, something just isn't right, and that something bad is about to happen",0 "Sorry, I’m too busy doing my compulsions to deal with the clothes on my floor. How could I possibly clean up if I’m possibly poisoned from lunch?",0 "Thank you for this, it truly has made my day. I'm really sorry for your friend, but I'm sending you lots of virtual hugs. THOSE BITCHES BETTER BE READY TO GET THE FUCKING FIRE EXTINCTORS BECAUSE I'M GOING TO SET THIS SHIT ON FIRE (AND I'LL DEFINETLY FORGET TO GET THE FUCKING FIRE EXTINCTORS)!",1 I don’t even tell people I have OCD. If I have to explain something I’m just vague like “oh I’m having a lot of anxiety.”,0 "mine is all anal cancer and vih related, man, i hate ocd",0 "It's so cute! Not super relatable for me but funny. I was diagnosed in five minutes. I sat as far as possible from the psychiatrist and he had to try and get my attention several times. Do you feel anxious about anything? What? I asked how often you feel anxious, or if you're feeling that way now? No. Can you pay attention? I am paying attention. You're looking at the painting, not me. The painting is crooked. Try to make eye contact. OK that was good, but now you're looking at my desk. You should get a file cabinet. There's papers everywhere. How can you find anything. How do you know that's even my file? YOU HAVE OCD!! I'm supposed to have 3 sessions Do you want 3 sessions? No. Good. Then you have OCD. Are you sure? It's obvious. Leave the papers alone. I can put them in order... Get out of my office. That was... My one appointment 😂",0 "Trying to talk through/evaluate my anxiety with my therapist and she gets confused when my only description is “internal screaming and a general sense of undirected dread” WHY IS THERE STILL SCREAMING EVEN WHEN I DONT HAVE AN ACTIVE OBSESSION!?!!??",0 "I don't really think that feeling for inanimate thing is such unusual thing, if this feeling will interfere with your everyday life (you can't really sleep, eat, be unable to work, think about nothin else in particular), than you should seek therapist, but many humans feel connection with inanimate things in their life",0 I do the blink thing but like I think it’s the body just trying to release some energy so I don’t think repressing bodily movements would actually be helpful,0 "This described me to a T. Honestly, I think subconsciously I do things differently than most because I already know how I am. It's the little life short cuts that mean more than anyone could imagine. I always preferred paying extra to have someone else do my grocery shopping for me and it would be looked at as lazy (before covid) but if I did it myself then I would be in the store for 4 hours still forget half of the things, buy things I didn't need at all and feel anxious about it. The version of myself in my mind is completely different than who I really am.",1 "I find my odc funny. So i have intuitive thoughts but only after i get dirty. So i anticipate what will happen before i hit the trigger. Down side is by completely working before the triggers caused the triggers to activate earlier so now just being in an area will trigger me. ",0 Otter.ai is also a very good option! I don’t know how word works but otter lets you play the audio when you click on a word or sentence just incase the words don’t make sense,1 This is me too :(. Wish the gym would open again it's quite insane how much that helped me !,0 "I can only let myself sleep if I’ve been productive enough to feel worn out. Usually, that requires leaving the house to tire my body out during the day. Guess what I can’t do during a pandemic?",1 "When I was little, age seven to ten, and my OCD compulsions/intrusive thoughts were different, I had a prayer of my own that I memorized. And every night I also included that I hope I die at the age of 108 and in my sleep...",0 "Wow, this is probably the most accurate looking thing ever like just looking at this I automatically think of my OCD, bravo this art is amazing.",0 "Well the one in front has bad vibes because of the shady people who walk in this corner store - the bad vibes from the bad people radiate and contaminate the frontmost items in every shelf. Fuck I hate my OCD brain, just let me buy a thing. 😢",0 "I know this probably won't help much but from a fellow OCD haver, you'll all be fine! Avoid crowds if you're immunocompromised or elderly.",0 You just gave mine another idea to screw with me 🤦‍♀️,0 My intrusive thoughts won't even let me enjoy weed anymore :( lol used to help so much,0 "People in the comments, you seem to be doing a whole lot. I honestly randomly spike and plummet in my productivity at very random and somewhat unpredictable cycles. When I'm down i lose all of myself and can't really do much about it. Many jobs suffered because of this. College too.",1 "[https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/ae4a7y/helpful\_maxims\_for\_ocd/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/ae4a7y/helpful_maxims_for_ocd/) ​ Hopefully my OCD maxims post can help you. I made that post because a lot of these help me when I'm trying not to compulse. Don't do the mental compulsions either if you can help it. It makes all the difference with time. <3",0 "That’s awesome to hear! Good on you. Well done :) May I ask how it felt while doing so, and any tips on how to avoid compulsions while attempting to do ERP?",0 "Joining this page, has made me realise how many sensory issues i have and how bad my adhd has gotten. I use to not brush my teeth for weeks but ive gotten way better. But fuck do i hate the sound and feel of brushing my teeth its the most awful part of my day.",1 "Whoever called this trash is toxic af, cut them out of your life.",0 "The first lawn mowing of the year is the worst for me. (OK, they're all kinda bad, but the first one is really bad) So I hired someone at the start of this season for just the first 3, and I'll be damned if it didn't make me want to mow the lawn a little. Now if it would just stop raining on the day I want to do it :)",1 "On one hand I'm really hungry. On the other hand I'm sitting down and the kitchen is over there. ...",1 I literally listened the same song 347 times. I don’t know if it’s much,1 This is so accurate. I don’t know if I want to laugh or cry.,0 "One of my ex-coworkers said ""I'm so ocd about things being neat"" or some bull like that. And I'm standing there thinking. ""I have ocd and I don't get like that."" Its not cute.",0 "Thank *you*! I feel very much the same. I don't hate myself, but I sure do have plenty of struggles, and when I found r/adhd and discovered it was a place I could share my feelings without being told that I'm ""negative"" or that I need to embrace my ""gift"" ... well, you see where I ended up lmao! I love this place and I love the community here. Thank you for being an important part of it. <3 <3 <3",1 How did you recover from your acne? I’m asking as an acne sufferer,0 My brother tells me im the dumbest smart person he has ever met.,1 "Channel your gift of sensitivity into something that helps others maybe? Spiritually awakening changed my life, and art and music are my go tos. You are made special, and it's a gift. I struggle very very badly with this sensitivity stuff myself, but I am exceptionally empathetic and people trust me and come to me at their lowest because they know that I understand pain and can help them without judgement. My sensitivity means I perceive things others miss and I can connect with almost anyone. Be honest with people about how you feel in real life, and you will not only lift this weight off you, you will help others. People can relate, you would be surprised how powerful a bit of vulnerability can be. It isn't a weakness unless you let it be. Some of our greatest strengths are hidden inside oir greateat weaknesses. You aren't bad or broken, you are special and unique and you just haven't quite come to terms with it yet :)",1 "here are my top songs of 2020: 1. What If I Lose Touch With Reality And Become Schizophrenic? (feat. EARLY WARNING SIGNS) 2. There's A Bug In The Kitchen (feat. Impending Infestation) 3. Apologizing to God (Over And Over, For My Bad Thoughts) 4. Minor Health Issue (feat. I Must Be Dying But If I Go To The Doctor He Will Tell Me I'm Irreparable And I am Scared Of That) 5. GOOGLE IT! (feat. Found 1067 search results in your history for ''How Do I Know if \_\_\_\_\_\_"") hoping to find others who enjoyed this album!! big fan <3",0 "Ugh my old boss was like this! I would already be overwhelmed trying to get all my work done, and then she wanted to call a meeting for every little thing she was too lazy to email. So there were so many interruptions, and do you think she got down to business as soon as everyone sat down for the meeting? Nope. We always had to waste 10 minutes talking about her personal life first. She was the queen of repeating herself. I don’t even think she knew what point she was trying to make most of the time. I think she honestly just loved to hear herself talk. I was so happy when she retired.",1 I swear ive seen this before lemme check u/repostsleuthbot,0 I have this too... it is so frustrating and makes me feel stupid😩,1 "It could be hyper somnolence, I suffer from bad Depression, anxiety and ADD aswell as many other things but i was having extreme difficulties doing anything slightly stressful whether it be anxiety stress or depression stress I’d basically be sedated by my own brain but if I stopped doing or thinking about whatever it was I’d go back to normal I was taken to a sleep specialist and he diagnosed me with mood disorder hyper somnolence. (Sorry for the semi rambling)",1 "For all the people commenting about wishing you could afford this sort of help, it doesn’t need to look exactly like op. Hiring people directly instead of hiring through a service offers a bit of flexibility cost wise, and frequency is something you can decide for yourself based on what you can actually afford. I think most of us would be able to figure some way of getting help out. If this sort of assistance would help, at $30 a week even if you didn’t do every week I can’t imagine it not making a meaningful difference. Or even if you are only able to pay a portion of what op is paying, I think occasional help is better than nothing at all. Once every two week is better than nothing. Once a month is better than nothing. Once a season even. I’m going to start digging for myself and even if I can only swing once a season or once a month, the help would make such a huge difference for my mood and functioning. At this point I’m prepared to do almost whatever I can, even if that means hunting for bottles to turn in for a few cents each if it means I can get help even once a season. Also OP, major thanks 😭 I found this literally within a minute of talking to my partner about wishing I had this exact sort of help, but I had no idea how to even begin searching for something like that. Thank you thank you thank you thank you",1 I just need “I can’t words” in big letters on my forehead.,1 It was impossible for me to read this without singing it. Well done. ,0 you should see the notes on my phone full of plans and supplies for hobbies or projects I never got into or completed,1 "this post makes me realize those of us with mental illnesses might have some days where it beats us down, but it doesn’t mean we aren’t worthy of having a good day the next day or the next hour.",0 "I have both GAD (anxiety) and ADHD, but this sounds like more of an anxiety symptom tbh.",1 Recently got diagnosed and I had just assumed this is what everyone goes through previously,1 "The worst feeling in the world is successfully telling yourself, ""yes I know for sure,"" and resisting only to be wrong later on. I have had existential crises.",0 "Wow reading all these comments has made total sense , I genuinely thought it was just me 😳🤦🏻‍♀️",1 "*When I’m holding a knife* My brain: “come on. Do it. Stab her. Stab her. Do it do it now. No?? Really?!!!”",0 "This was beautiful. It felt like you were speaking to my subconscious, the dark corners of my mind filled with hate that I have tried to push down. Thank you :)",1 I just saw this post today and holy shit the salt; its amazing I love it :D,0 "Thank you for this, I am really struggling lately :'(",0 "I’ve been trying to get into the habit of this over the last few days. I’m pretty lucky to naturally have strong teeth like my dad, I’ve had issues with consistently brushing my teeth for most of my life. It’s great to see that other people are able to improve in this way, well done and keep at it!",1 i’ve been trying to clean my room all week and have been feeling so bad. reading this has made me realise how much i’ve gotten done to whilst getting distracted by the things in my room. this has made me feel so good about myself. thank you!,1 My contamination ocd has been so bad lately so this gave me hope!!! Good job so proud!!,0 "Christ, getting my haircut is one of my worst OCD things. So proud of you for actually getting it cut!",0 "My dad does the whole “you just need to sit and focus” like I have done that and I just sit there for 3 hours and get very little done. He doesn’t seem to understand that I CANT just do the work, or even if I do it takes way longer than it should",1 "I feel personally called out here. On more than one occasion, I've used hand sanitizer / rubbing alcohol / wet wipes on my armpits before applying deodorant.",1 "This is why I suck at math. Through algebra I was fine because that at least had some real world application, but once I got into pre-calc and then calculus, I kept getting tripped up because I had no understanding of why these formulas worked or why we were doing this. And the proofs for why the formulas are true is well above a high schoolers level of understanding, so I quickly came to hate calculus. It was like I couldn’t fully understand the process without knowing the basis for the process.",1 Let's all go leave bad reviews so they take it down.,0 "It’s the OCD superbowl, guys! We’ve been preparing for years!",0 "I know the feeling all too well. Just wishing stuff would shut up so you could focus. Ironically, the more attention you give it the worse it gets :( and OCD is always demanding my attention until theres nothing left I can think about.",0 "Yup. This is why math was such a struggle, I can't remember stuff unless I have the bigger picture. It's like needing the full context. It's like those zoomed in image quizzes, it looks like nothing until you zoom out. I think it also has something to do with how our brains work. I get it a lot with cooking. For example, I was making cinnamon rolls from a kit and it asked to roll it up lengthwise and I had A TIME suddenly struggling to figure out which way they considered lengthwise. Once I thought ahead about what shape it would come out if I did it one way vs the other I was able to figure it out for myself. This is a fairly obvious thing in hindsight but my brain zooms in on the immediate task and I forget where it might be leading. Also I struggle making myself read recipes before starting, if I do it has no meaning to me yet so I don't absorb it.",1 this looks amazing and such an accurate representation of false event and real event ocd.,0 "I remember mine starting at 3 or 5 and being centered around my parents, worrying something bad was going to happen to one of them. Started making little sayings as rituals. Also had a lot of obsessive thoughts about things I was afraid of. I would have intrusive thoughts of bad things happening all the time.",0 "Nah, you're good we understand in a way no other group could. I had a root canal in October and maxed out my dental coverage. I had to wait and see if another bad cavity that I had would be another root canal or crown without the root canal. I did not need the root canal, yay! Now I have to get the crown put in in a week or so, and have four more cavities filled. Dental hygiene has been a struggle my whole life, but I'm working on keeping up with it. The thing that has made the biggest difference is my 3 year old daughter. She is fascinated by dentists and doctors so when I had my root canal and she found out it was because of a big cavity that I didn't take care of for a long time she made me promise to not get cavities. For months she would make me brush and floss while she washed or grill me in the morning and make me show her my teeth. Three year olds are funny like that. Making sure she has the tools and healthy habits I didn't have and wasn't able to maintain has been good for my overall health.",1 All the time which is why I dont often watch something that i haven't seen before.,1 "“If I that person walks through the door on the left side it means Im a sociopath” Laughs and cries 😂😩",0 "You're not alone. I have had a rough few years, but 2020 made me lose touch with reality. I can't remember when or if I did what.",0 "I used to have ADHD too, does having ADHD make you more vulnerable to getting OCD?",0 "Superb way to incentivise yourself Innovative and encouraging.",1 "This has been my curse for ever, but of late I’ve worked hard to establish a night routine. It’s hard because I just love strolling or doing my art (was just painting). But sleep deprivation was/is ruining me. So it sucks, but I’m seeing some improvement.",1 Just keep in mind depending on the laws where you live this may not be legal unless you seek your professors consent first,1 "**Other people during COVID-19:** \*Rediscovering old talents and hobbies and finding new ones\* **My OCD Ass:** \*Rediscovering old worries and compulsions\*",0 "OP, stay strong, you will get through it. It can really happen to anyone and given how complex our bodies are, it's mostly luck and genetic predisposition, even if you take the best care of yourself. For the others here, I lost both my parents to cancer, so I've treated every bump, lump, mole, rash or any abnormality as yeah, this is it, I have cancer and rushed to doctors. But so far, I've beaten cancer about 50 times. Bottomline being that not everything is cancer. In fact, most things are not. Just go to the doctor. (of course, you may have other issues, like insurance etc preventing you from doing that. I meant this only for those who are afraid of going to the doctor because something might be cancer)",1 Mine told to hate it and challenge it. So I just go on verbal abusive mode with myself sometimes.,0 I literally opened the tab with my lecture on and still sat there for 2 hours on Netflix,1 "Have some love from a fellow OCD sufferer in Tempe, AZ too :)",0 "At least with reassurance you feel temporary relief :( Not being able to seek reassurance troubles me even more.",0 "I usually get inspired to do a hobby because I see someone perform at the absolute best level of it and want to emulate it. Then of course I actually get started and realize that it's going to be 10 years before I can even come close and why oh why didn't I feel like doing this when I was 10. The problem is that I was like this even when I was 10. Sometimes I get depressed when I think about hobbies I started 5-10 years ago and how good I'd be by now if I'd managed to stay with it. ""If you'd kept working out like you did 7 years ago you'd be shredded by now."" ""If you'd kept painting for the last 4 years you'd be great by now."" ""If you'd kept playing the harmonica every day like you started to 8 years ago you'd be talented by now."" I think it's just a lack of intrinsic motivation. The process of building a skill gives me absolutely no pleasure or reward (quite the opposite), so the motivation dies quickly when I'm not able to replicate what I see others doing right away.",1 I am! It’s weird. I feel like my house is always a mess. My kitchen table is always covered in stuff. I don’t like to get rid of things but I don’t have much storage space at my house especially in the kitchen so it’s always very cluttered.,0 "I recently had a friend get angry at me for not answering a text about something she needed to know. I apologized and said I had a lot going on, it wasn’t good enough for her and we haven’t spoken since. That’s her issue not mine, you don’t owe anyone an over explanation why you forgot something, if they can’t accept a simply “I’m sorry” and expect more, that is their issue not yours. I’m so sorry you’re struggling so much right now, I know with everything this year my memory/adhd has been more shit than usual too, but that isn’t our fault, we have a medical condition that is being exacerbated by the times we’re living in, be gentle with yourself even when the ones around arent, sending you lots of positive energy ♥️",1 "I can relate to this all too well. Time goes by so fast when I’m hyper focused. And when I’m not focused, the time is grueling, slow. I take forever doing simple tasks or assignments- I feel embarrassed during school if I have a worksheet and I’m still on question one.",1 My daughter in law is extreme OCD and this is so much like her except probably not gay.,0 "The advanced version of this tip is to buy Nuance Dragon! It can also transcribe the recordings that you make in any device. If you have a Pixel phone, you can also use the voice recorder app to get superb transcription of your notes, if you forget your laptop.",1 "Honestly, I find the best cure to be getting far away from people and constantly being in motion doing stuff. Regardless, I tend to go in circles and fidget back and forth a lot and still make progress really slowly, but at least I get past the worst part: getting started.",1 "For starters, being recently diagnosed with ADHD (33M), my favorite movie has been The Mask. I have identified with Jim Carey in many other roles and cannot express how relieved I am to hear he is with us. Wooo!!!",1 This feature actually really helps with my job. I just like plan and gather materials for lawyers so they can go do the lawyer stuff. Sometimes I don’t know what the words mean but they’re damn well organized,1 My. God. Yes! I’ve been with my husband for 10 years now. Still have to talk myself off a ledge of him cheating on me. It’s almost humorous at this point. Thank you. Needed to be reminded that my past is not my present and does not have to be my future.,0 Wait this isn’t a normal thing that everybody does 😭,0 "This happens to me with people. Activities aren’t necessarily ruined, but my ocd flairs a lot when I am somewhere I’ve experienced an intense situation before. For example, every single time I pull out of the apartment parking, the same exact thought pops up immediately when I pull onto the road “hope the door’s locked”. Another example is when I go on a walk at my college’s arboretum, I just can’t get my mind off of the problems I’ve faced months ago regarding my harm ocd and trying to find a place to escape it. I have escaped it, but when I go back, I think of my struggles of the past and it isn’t the same. I feel this when I go home, as that’s where my ocd and harm ocd specifically got worse over time. All because of something that completely changed our family forever. It could’ve been a lot worse, but I started to question myself and it turned into obsessions about whether or not I’m capable of having bad intentions. I’ve been battling harm ocd for years now. And I’ve been battling anxiety since I was a young kid. I have hope though. I am not a severe case. But I feel at times I think about self harm and death more often because my mind wants me to think “if it’s over, no more worrying because you won’t exist”. But I know those thoughts are intrusive thoughts because I don’t think that way on a normal basis, same with every other intrusive thought associated with negativity. I love life. I have goals. Life is just difficult to master. And with OCD, it’s just a higher difficulty on the video game we call life.",0 "Fuck I miss that. But yes the leveled out feeling of stability is badass to. Being normal must be badass",1 "What type of OCD is this called? I do the same with music making, I feel I have nothing to show for, despite making music for almost a decade now because I try to ""fix"" or ""add"" and it ends up never becoming anything. But this? This is a beautiful piece of art. Very proud of your accomplishments I can only dream of!",0 I find myself in this same position. 24. Undiagnosed. Adhd is terrorising me. I relate to everything mentioned here. :(,1 "I feel this a lot. Violent intrusive thoughts were such a part of my normal that I didn’t know what anything else could be. And I thought I just liked having my hands be clean, I didn’t realize that washing them before I met myself make coffee wasn’t normal",0 I’ve come to the depressing realisation that as I get older I put less effort into making friends that don’t click immediately because I already know it’ll be over in a month when I forget to respond to their messages :l,1 This is so beautiful. I see like a tree with people in it… I’m a absolutely mesmerized.,0 "Thank you for reminding me who is in control. I’ve struggled with OCD since I was 6. I am now 30 and there are days where I still don’t feel like I am in control. Resisting compulsions is agonizing. Simple things like brushing your teeth, sending a text message, reading a book becomes a matter of life and death. But saying no is incredibly liberating. Thank you for post. And all my love and support goes to those struggling with OCD.",0 This made me tear up. Thank you. I needed to hear that today.,0 "Yep. Even with my ex girlfriend I had to have an earbud w podcasts on volume 1 when I slept overnight. Silence is deafening. ",0 "Are all of these things OCD? I know I have OCD, I perform rituals and I have checking behaviours, and I’ve been diagnosed and received CBT. But I have a really hard time knowing where my anxiety ends and OCD begins. Most of the things on this graphic, like examining things from every angle or assuming the worst will happen no matter the probability, I’ve always assumed was regular anxiety (which I also have). I think I’m confused about the extent of OCD and what it encompasses. But I also wonder, does it matter whether it’s OCD or anxiety? Are the steps for managing it any different?",0 "It’s exhausting :( remember to take time to do something nice for yourself, although I know it can be really difficult to enjoy anything. Exercise is a good one, or doing some kind of mindfulness / meditation. I used to take super long walks, it felt like I was trying to out-walk my OCD.",0 "I'm a parent of an ADHD adult. I'm pretty sure I'm undiagnosed myself, as ADHD is rampant in my family. This group of people has taught me so many things and although I don't feel good about a lot of what I've learned about myself, it's still a positive step in the right direction.",1 "I have had to learn to be more honest about the goals I set and that works a little better. I used to go to the gym a lot and I really wanted to get into the 10% body fat range. After failing for years I heard someone say maybe it's not as important to you as you think. It was a freeing realization. I didn't need to feel guilty about falling short of this lofty goal again. I could start feeling better about what I was accomplishing versus what I was not. I'm sure we all have some goals that are imprinted on us. Another thing with goals and my medication. Sometimes when I am setting a goal I feel unstoppable, but later when I start on the goal I am feeling very stopped. Then guilt kicks in - ""don't over promise and under deliver""... So my takeaway for that was to set smaller goals. I still have one or two big goals that I may or may not get. The rest are more attainable. It's all baby steps. This stuff took me a very long time to figure out, but I didn't have a support group like this, had not been to a therapist, etc. Even with all of that these are new habits and that stuff takes time. Being patient and kind with yourself makes a difference in how you manage your ADHD too!",1 "Idk if this is OCD related, but I often imagine my own death and how everyone will react in the wake of it (not like the event, just after I die). Happens alllll the time",0 "*locks car* Alright, mental note, I locked the car. *walks a few paces away* Shit, what if I forgot to lock the car. *locks again* Alright, the car is definitely locked. *walks away with sinking feeling that the car was left unlocked, clicks the clicker a few more times just to be safe*",0 Awesome! I have the same issue and I applaud you for doing that! It’s a huge feat 🥳,0 "MAGICAL THINKING. I “should” do it this way. Sometimes I wonder if it’s me making up these rules or my abusive mom and the grownups who tortured me as a child. Any clue?",0 "I can relate too. I keep waiting to find where my ADHD fits into this world. I get fired from jobs due to impulsively, I cannot keep my emotions in like a ""real man"", and I feel like a total failure. It doesn't mean we should just give up on life though. I try to live for the little things.",1 "YES!!! I get lots of paranoid thoughts with my OCD and when it flares up I can rationalize it completely but after the episode is over I’m like “wtf was I thinking, that was absolutely insane.”",0 *Me who has no time to clean because I have to do my compulsions.*,0 whats a reasonable response to this? like how can i explain it to people? its so annoying,0 "I was in remission. Pandemics comes along and the past three months have been an absolute nightmare. I have health anxiety with OCD and I’ll get reassurance from a doctor and then a few days pass and anxiety and body checking full force. Then I’ll remember issues I had three years ago that doctors said was ok, but then days pass and I’m back to square one",0 "Yeah, I was wondering about just that. How are you guys? Do feel vindicated or has this outbreak made things ten times worse?",0 Accurate man literally a prisoner of your own mind.,0 Just read this!!! Loved it :) thanks for spreading the word,0 You're not overwhelmed by having to read the enormous notes?,1 "Okay, okay... I agree with this but I feel like **some** may think it's an excuse to behave shitty due to mental problems. Toxic behavior shouldn't be put up with, abuse ain't good. A partner has every right to make you feel terrible for doing terrible things to them over and over. You doing shitty things even if you are struggling is your problem alone, not theirs. Feel like I gotta state this since r/Nicegirls and r/niceguys exist. Some really be out there being toxic and then blaming others for not putting up with it- I was like that too. My sister struggled with depression+anxiety and did drugs to feel better, and she would use that as a means that I can't be angry at her for insulting me and freaking out on a daily basis. My mom did the same minus the drugs, she would be like ""am i supposed to be happy 24/7??"" when lashing out on me because she had a shitty day. Thing is, her 'shitty days' were constant and she would get physical.",0 "My bf borrowed my phone one time and accidentally left one album playing for several hours straight and it ruined everything, i was irrationally upset when i saw my #1 artist was some artist i dont even like at all, as in i had all their music hidden from being recommended thats how much i dont like it, considering i spend hours every day on spotify and have really specific tastes of electronic music, im so annoyed. :(",1 Dude. Do the dishes for her. It'll take you 10 minutes and save her 5 hours. What a hero!,1 Lol 😂 this actually cheered me up. Gotta put a humorous spin on things sometimes,0 "Oof, yeah I have similar compulsions (or ""mandates"" as my hell brain likes to call them)",0 Dude all of my calc 2 homework is online and nobody ever mentions it I constantly forget,1 At this point I don't feel myself without constant intrusive thoughts,0 “But what if this is the one time my worry is justified?”,0 it's me thinking i could get sick if i touch my window n not washing my hands later even though it is kind of a situation w 0.000000000001% of chances (n more),0 "Congratulations! Keep up the great work. You may have OCD, but it doesn’t have you. ❤️",0 "This is both the best and worst part of life for me. Being kind, hardworking and loving are only good for so long. This world demands results, of which I cannot promise.",1 That's not really helpful. You might turn OCD into Tourette's.,0 Reminds me of how my cat accompanies me when I'm struggling. This is really nice.,0 Ugh this seriously makes me feel relief as sometimes I really question if my intrusive thoughts are really just OCD or not. Thank you! ❤️,0 "Just realized. I'd been out of school for years not having graduated. I did nothing academically challenging throughout that time except once, when my friend asked me for help in the programming part of this assignment he had to do in the weeks before he started his Cambridge masters in physics cause he has his shit together much more than I do. I managed to focus well enough that I gave him some insight into the physics part too. I know it's an anecdote that should belong in /r/iamverysmart but I was really proud because I'd been out of it for so long that I just assumed I was stupid. ",1 So this is what chases me up the stairs when I turn the lights off,0 "As an introverted ADHDer I totally get this. (Sorry this is the length of a novel 😳 even the TL;DR is kinda long!) TL;DR: introversion and ADHD make it hard to put your thoughts into words on the spot, but you can still be a very social person. It’s okay to ask for more time to think before you speak if it’s something important. Don’t beat yourself up over those awkward day to day interactions; we all have them. Just shake ‘em off, you’ll do better next time. A lot of people assume that being introverted means that you’re antisocial. This is NOT the case, and in fact, there are many social introverts that you might mistake as extroverts. Being introverted simply means that after interacting with people for so long, you need some alone time to “recharge”. For extroverts it’s the opposite: being around people is what “recharges” an extrovert. There’s also a large difference in how introverts and extroverts think and communicate. Extroverts are usually quicker to respond when they’ve been asked a question because they do a lot of their thinking “out loud”. Introverts, on the other hand, are usually slower to respond because they have to take the time to internally think through what they want to say and then covert their thoughts into sentences that will make sense to their audience. This can actually be a good thing though, because it means that you really put thought into what you want to say... This is why many introverts are good, albeit slow, writers. And why they’re often better at writing than speaking. It’s just that many people (those darn extroverts!) ask you a question and expect you to have a reply instantly which leaves you scrambling for an answer and trying to speak before you’re ready to. In these situations, I panic because I know I don’t have the time to sort through my thoughts and give the answer I *actually* want to give. That’s when my ADHD brain comes in and pulls some weird, as you say “mindless” answer out of nowhere, and then I’m saying it before I’ve completely processed what the other person was asking of me. I’ve found that in the really important and difficult discussions, the best thing to do is to basically admit that you you don’t have the answer yet because you haven’t thought about it enough. It’s okay to tell people that you need more time to think about your answer. For example, if you have meetings at work where you’re asked for your input on the spot, you might be able to talk with your boss before the next one and ask if it’s possible to know the topics of discussion *before* a meeting so that you have time to prepare answers that are well thought out and are better able to contribute to the conversation. When I’m having one of those “difficult” discussions, I often ask for more time to think and/or to give my reply via text or some other written communication. People might find that odd at first, but giving an answer that isn’t well thought through is probably going to lead to more miscommunication/conflict than asking for more time to give a good answer will. If I’m angry at someone I will even directly tell them “don’t come and talk to me, I’m better at explaining myself through writing” 😂. Also, really reflecting on my emotions and what’s causing them is something that I try to do often but it *does* take a lot of thought and time for me to sort through everything. Sometimes people with ADHD can have a harder time regulating emotions, which also adds to the difficulty of having these “difficult conversations”. Otherwise, for those day to day interactions -the ones that don’t matter as much- I find that I’m better at talking when I’m not nervous. For me, feeling nervous while talking to certain people comes from me feeling like I won’t live up to their expectations of me or that I have to prove that I’m competent or otherwise *not* socially awkward. It helps to remind yourself to calm down. You don’t have to prove anything. You’re confident (even if you’re not, fake it till you make it!) and you have every right to feel comfortable around others rather than insecure! I still say awkward things sometimes, but I’ve decided to just laugh it off and move on. I get stuck in my head too. I think it’s because when I’m under pressure and trying so hard to form perfect, coherent sentences, I’m thinking about every single word I’m saying and I think it leads to that feeling of becoming distracted by the realization that, yes, you’re speaking. It’s also like... You know how some people seem to not have a filter? Like they just say whatever pops into their head? When I’m under pressure, My problem is the exact opposite of not having a filter; I have *too good* of a filter. I get locked in my head because I can’t think of what to say because my “filter” isn’t letting enough through. Only the finest little fragments of what I’m thinking are making it through that filter and they’re not enough to form coherent sentences with. Anyways... idk about that one. Mostly I just try to not filter my thoughts as much and try to take some of the pressure off by reminding myself that I don’t have to prove anything, and that I have every reason to be confident!",1 """Waiting Mode"" it's the worst. I really try to schedule all appts. before noon. But also if there is more than 1 appt in one day I am mental and physically fatigued and utterly useless the rest of the day. One time i had 5 different appts. in one day. I am still recovering.",1 "Please check out acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) That and exercise diet choices has greatly Improved my life. You learn to just accept that the thoughts are there and that your intrusive thought could be true and it could be not. You have to accept that you don’t know and then choose to do things that enhance your life.",0 "Hi, I'm going to have a swollen lymph node on my neck checked out tomorrow. I've had that there for at least 10 years without checking since a dermatologist gave it a quick look once and said it was nothing. Hope you get through it, wishing you the best.",1 Laughing at Family guy show makes me feel like a monster but it's so hilarious I keep coming back.,0 "i have i never related more, i literally have a diagnosis yet I convince myself I don't have it. Something helpful for me is doing those online tests, I end up just laughing because it reminds me of everything i experience daily XD",0 "EXACTLY. She was like ""are you just half assing those numbers"" No, I turn my media volume up exactly 22 times, then 47 times, down twice, swipe up, then left to right 3 times, then check my tabs on my phone 4 times. Every time before I get in bed, normally multiple times after, where I have to get out of bed to do it, even though my phone is right next to me",0 "Gaming with OCD sucks, especially if it's a buggy game (was recently doing a 10th anniversary replay of Fallout: New Vegas) that has to be saved often. I've also never done an ""evil"" playthrough in any RPG because I fear being corrupted by it and becoming evil in real life.",0 "Fuck...I'm glad I finally decided to look into how I'm feeling, and join this subreddit, I've never been diagnosed with ADHD but just this year I've been thinking about how my brain works a lot and discovering just how adhd I am after a first glance at some of the posts on this sub (And looking back on past experiences), I am overwhelmed with the relatability of these posts...this one included. I'm glad I found this and I'm terribly sorry and wish you the best of luck with these issues as I am currently struggling with them myself, maybe it's weird but I truly love all of you here, and everyone else struggling and trying to better themselves, My prayers and love to you and everyone else.",1 I was always to busy with my other crippling ocd to think about relationship ocd. I think I’ll investigate relationship ocd. It definitely fits with some of my experiences,0 "Pov: you’re an ADHDer reading this post, saying “aww that’s so sweet” and scrolling",1 This is amazing! I am moved by this. And I relate to it so much. Thank you for sharing!,0 "It's always a constant struggle to be able to function normaly in a soceity that is built around NTs. Whenever I've been far deep in the abyss of a bad cycle the very first step is to acknowledge it. You have done that, congratz!! Because I know that how difficult that is and I am proud of your acomplishment. In reality, this sums up the practical progress of it. I'll explain it more after this side track. Whenever we try to function in a way that we aren't designed for, things won't work out as well as it could. Eventually we fail. We fail when we postpone things because for us it's ""all or nothing"". We subconciously imagine us doing everything at once, which is simply not possible to do, but that's the way we were brought up, so it's deeply sawn in, so we keep trying and keep failing. Eventually the whole house is a mess and we are paralyzed by our own mindset of comparing ourselves to others. But it's a neuropsychiatric disorder. It's not psychological. Huge difference. We simply can't do things we have learned throughout life because we get stuck and feel gulity about it when it's far from our own fault. Back on track. The worst mind set to have is ""all or nothing"" but it's really hard to not. Thoughts flying all over etc. However, don't tell yourself ""I shouldn't do everything"" because you are still putting thoughts into that if you do! The way to credit yourself for every small step you do and keeping it simple. As simple as possible. It's not silly, don't compare yosuelf to others. Others do things by soceity rules on easy mode, our is on hard so we can't use the methods that work on easy. My personal method is built on self manipulation, positive reenforcement and banning the word ""time"". Everything has to be in time all the TIME and it stresses me out. Instead of saying ""I should go out or do dishes"" I say ""I want to go out"". Because I allready tell myself ""should"" all the time. I also use a timer which I call ""significant other"" (until I have to swap the name..), and that leads me to another thing. My difficulties are working memory, overthinking and start motor so therefor I use extern tools for that. And I always had a problem connecting my difficulties with that kind of tools because of unawareness. But it sunk in. That's another important thing to keep in mind (or rather write down). Since noone has taught us ""How to adhd"" and soceity only really knows ""How to NT"" you have to ask yourself what works for you. Or ask yourself why something didnt work for you, while NOT comparing yourself to others. Another thing I do is writing down my thoughts in my notebook on the phone. It's an extern working memory, that's how I like to think about it. Basically mapping out anything I think about into small small parts relieves me so much anxiety and pressure. I also use a white board. My whiteboard has magnetic different colored notes the size of post it's. The notes colors, position and rotation ALL are significant and has a reason. I've figured it out myself because if I used it in a way I've been taught it would't work. That's my point again. Summary: - Don't compare yourself to others or your ""potential"" and other versions of yourself. - Analyze and observe your own functions and triggers. - Positive reenforcement after every little success, don't punish yourself. - Use extern tools, for me it took a long time to get used to. - Map out your thoughts, use a ""significant other"", whiteboard and notes. - Use ""want"" not ""should"" - Don't do all at once. Don't do two things at once. Do ONE SMALL thing and it's hard it's really hard and when you did what you wanted to do, you make sure to write yourself a positive note about what you did good! Closing words: This helps me and I hope at least something possible could help someone. A Youtube channel called HealthyGamer (don't mind the name) is something I highly recommend. I am not kdding when I say that, it's really really high quality stuff that is being taught because of his dharma, which he also explains what it is. Basically ""his personal moral duty"", not financial, which is why it's among the best channels there is. His videos helped me back in 2019 after I hit the wall in 2018 and every day was terrorized by crippling anxiety and stress.",1 Yeah it’s like the OCD makes you gaslight your self,0 "I completely understand this. I literally only had to fold like two loads of laundry and do dishes. Both take no more then 10-15 minutes and I dragged it on all day long. And it’s a never ending cycle. I will have the same mindset in a couple days when I have to do it again. Trust me, I hate it also. I’m sorry.",1 "hii I’m so sorry for ur loss. i was suicidal some weeks ago, i know what it feels like. i don’t have friends whom i can talk about my emotions and mental health. And with ADHD, emotional dysregulation is the hardest part for me. During this pandemic, I’ve been failing college, failing relationships, failing life. sorry for the rant, i hope y’all are having a good day :))",1 "Just how I have like a bunch of tabs on my browser for things I wanted to google, but never actually read. Then I get anxious because it’s too many tabs so I start to delete them to make myself feel better, but then I feel worse for not committing to reading what I googled.",1 Did I write this post?!!! This is totally me. I’m scared to google my name because what if a shit post from fb went viral on Reddit. I’m actually horrified by this.,0 ">I never know what to do so I don't do anything I feel ya. i fantasize about having a remote to Pause the whole world while I catch up on chores or whatever.",1 "Been ever so slowly increasing my dose from 5mg XR to 15mg over three months and about to try 20mg next, which I have had good experiences with when I was self-medicating here and there with non-prescribed generics. I stopped noticing useful effects each month a few days in and less ability to focus. I'm hoping it's just a dosage issue and not a matter of being on the wrong meds. I've been taking mini med vacations because of it and it hasn't been great. Fingers crossed!",1 "This is absolutely a big deal! I get psyched if I keep a streak of tooth brushing or face washing before bed for more than 3 or 4 days too, and 27 days is awesome!!",1 "Now that I've been in treatment, except it starts over if you engage with the ad. If you just let it play and let it be, it stops.",0 "The girlfriend is a gem, but both the mom and the ball bouncer are out of line. Mom should discuss this directly with her son, and should never stick the girlfriend in the middle. You do not get to distract those around you so that you can concentrate. Ball bouncer needs to realize that he is expecting everyone else to pay the price for his concentration.",1 “Because I have a memory of doing it” is soooo accurate. Then my brain tells me it’s actually a memory of a different time so I better go back and check.,0 "Wow I have never realised that these things were linked to ADHD, I always say that ADHD is more than just not being able to focus and limited attention, so little is known about ADHD and that causes people to misunderstand it. (To be honest at the start I also though it was just the inability to focus and limited attention, it just needs a little bit of research and talking to others with ADHD to understand it) It is either they think it’s nothing or they over think it (from my experience this is less common, I don’t know why but I can’t give an example of how they would over think it because at this point I forgot what my point is and what I am talking about, although I will just continue and get the the damn question I am trying to ask). I have you to thank for expanding my knowledge of ADHD even more, I can admit that I don’t think I have everything on this list but I definitely have at least half! One of the big ones for me is probably executive dysfunction, it really pains me and it’s stopping me from doing things that I want to do and even very useful things, but I don’t know how to deal with it. Strategies don’t work for me I have tried, I am fairly new to medication and I am n out really educated with the medication part of ADHD yet, nothing has affected me yet, I guess the medication process is a slow but painful process. I really hope executive dysfunction gets treated with medication. I thank you a lot for sharing this list, it gives me more insight and give me more information and helps me to get to know myself a bit better. I love how I could make absolutely no sense on this sun Reddit and everyone still understands me and doesn’t think I am weird or anything, feels good. I know this will probably be painful to read, but I do appreciate your time to read this comment.",1 "I love this!!! Please post other sketches :) You're not alone, OCD does the same thing to me. Keep drawing <3",0 "Yep. A lot of the time it's a detail from what im watching that sparks a train of thought that sends me down a rabbit hole. It could be a line of dialogue, clothes, objects, places, philosophies or ideas or thoughts of alternate events if something was changed slightly, or a million other things. It's so hard to start something new even if I'm really interested.",1 "But if what if God’s also OCD and he can’t decide whether he wants to let you in, send you to hell, place you in purgatory, or wash his hands four times in a row?🤔",0 "Everyone is sharing (some of) their story. So here’s a bit from mine. I started developing OCD-like behaviour, and subsequently the condition itself at around age 9. It was disruptive, but just a part of my life all throughout my childhood and teenage years. There are many examples of this, but the most recent I can remember is that while doing my 2 years of University, I would struggle to submit my assignments without it being the ‘right’ time on the clock. It wasn’t until I finished up with Uni and then started a job which I quit after 3 months (due to moral issues with the work) that I had nothing to do for the first time ever, and had my first proper Mental Breakdown. OCD can be bubbling under the surface for a lot of people, they might not realise even themselves until it’s all they have to think about. Edit: Thanks for the reminder that it’s MentalHealthAwarenessMonth, I wasn’t aware.",0 "Someone asked me what a traditional dish was from my country, and I couldn't remember a single one, I felt so ashamed lol",1 Scrubs has a really good scene where Michael j fox enters a room and re enters it like 6 more times,0 "Remember to use the words ""intrusive thoughts"" . ""I have intrusive thoughts of jumping out of a car."" It makes a big difference .",0 "I guess ERP would be ""OK, thought, you're squatting here, but I'm shutting off your utilities because you're an inconsiderate asshole""",0 And then there are those of us with both PhDs and a diagnosis. We have both research and personal experience to offer! :),1 I have it when I eat shrooms. 20 hours = 1 hour on mashrooms.,1 "My self-awareness won't let me say those things lol. But I aim to be better!!",0 "I have a theory as to why (input being welcome!): In my expirience, my episodic and semantic memory is shit, as I’m sure is the case for most people here. And I think as a natural coping mechanism to that, we (not necessarily the subreddit/ADHD community as a whole, just we as in those who can relate) have learned to rely on procedural memory more than the next (which I also think is where many of the ‘benefits‘ of ADHD come in to play. Natural coping mechanisms that cause us to excel in non deficient areas, that anyone could technically excel at, they just have no reason to rely on and strengthen those cognitive/behavioral mechanisms, particularly for the life long length of time we do). So when the why is unknown, you’re remembering only the steps as opposed to the system (i.e. procedure) as a whole. EDIT: To make more sense of that, for those unaware, we (humans) seems to have three basic, somewhat separate, forms of long term memory: episodic (explicit memory of specific events), semantic (dates, names, etc.), and procedural (how to do something; walking, dancing, math, etc.).",1 "I'm so happy I've found this subreddit now. I experienced this constantly in school, and when I tried explaining it to my friends, they just that it was stupid. I just, THATS THE WHOLE PROBLEM! I KNOW It's stupid! And I still can't do anything about it.",1 OCD is basically a pop up ad with virus inside that you click on.,0 "bruh XD I hate that. Sometimes you know you should be panicking about something but you forgot what it was and now you're panicking about forgetting what you were worried about in the first place.",0 "“Now if you’ll excuse me kid, I need to go wash my hands I touched my car.”",0 "Also, going through intersections with speeding cameras are the worst for me. I literally will know I was going the speed limit or usually under while passing, but I have to replay the scenario over and over till it feels right. I have to mentally picture myself driving up to the intersection, knowing I'm going under the speed limit, going through the intersection, then drive past the camera while simultaniously seeing my speedometor in my head. (I think its a speddometer.) ​ I'll stop posting now.",0 I never got people who liked the number 7. It's an odd number.,0 "You can try looking up the channel “how to ADHD” on YouTube. It’s for adults and is also run by someone with ADHD. She has been a life saver for me when I couldn’t afford medicines or proper therapy. A very wholesome and helpful person overall.",1 "Seriously - I feel the same damn way. My wife's 30th is coming up, and we talked about her birthday like two years. At the time, of course, i said - yes lets have the best party ever! FF to a few weeks before the big day, I haven't done shit and she's had to do 99% of it herself. She asked me to contact a couple bands a week ago, totally forgot about it. I was reminded of my mistake last night and beyond feeling bad for letting her down, again, I just really felt sadder because I knew it was important and externally it just seems like I don't give a flying fuck. I want to care, I just... can't....figure it out.",1 "I have 6 Alarms for getting out of bed, all 5 minutes from each other, and 3 Alarms to take my sleeping pills for chronic insomnia. I still only manage either around 2/3 of the time.",1 i try to do this but instead i say “shut the fuck up brain” and try to move on with my day,0 "Reading this, I just started screaming around my house 😎",1 "This is my life in a nutshell for sure. And what makes it worse is that it hurts my relationship, the one thing in the world that I really truly care about like no other.",1 Not in the way you describe but I often talk myself out of certain hikes or outdoor outings because I start having intrusive thoughts of animals I might encounter or maybe today is the day that serial killer will finally get me.,0 "Oof. You have to love how we all relate to it though.",0 "I concur, I hate myself. I'm introverted, have social anxiety and ADD, it's an awful storm of isolation. My appendix ruptured when I was 5ish and I made it into surgery before the toxins spread too much. I genuinely feel that that was the universe trying to get rid of me and I probably should have just died that day. I haven't experienced much that changes my perception that it wouldn't have mattered either way in the end. Yes, I'm on antidepressants.",1 The other day I saw an ad that apparently is an ad that will drive your ocd crazy. And it was some game about sorting items or something. I hate when people say they have ocd or day they know all about it when they don’t. It’s just bothersome people think ocd is washing your hands over and over again and only that.,0 "Look at that! A hyperfocus in the wild :D I know what you mean. Im about to be a proper teacher and I know if I told anyone right now it’d be looked at weirdly. Even though I’m in a room with like 1-5 kids with the same problem all the time. Btw that’s also the reason I can’t get diagnosed- bc I might not get the job I’d like. WHY? I just want to teach those kids the skills I had to painstakingly find for myself, without help. I might be a bit scatterbrained and I might be bad with working on big projects *cough*writing my thesis*cough* but so far my enthusiasm has made every lesson a joy. Or at least relaxed. I can see when kids need a break, when they’re overwhelmed, I don’t mind finding new strategies and testing them. Not even talking about history being my special interest and literally never getting tired of reading and talking about it. But sure, focus on my bad memory and my inability to focus, because I have 4 trains of thoughts simultaneously.",1 I feel this. And even worse I lash out on my parents or sister when they do this and then I feel horrible but I can't help that anger is my immediate response when I'm overstimulated.,1 "Doesn't everyone feel like this? I'm serious, lol. I can't imagine *not* feeling that way.",1 "I'm an absolute slob. For me, my OCD manifests more in thoughts than in physical rituals.",0 i showed this thread to my friend and she called us cats,1 "Actually this helps explain why I struggle to follow recipes, if I don't know the why, I'm liable to skip steps and mess it up",1 OMG. Every time I see something posted here (I just joined last week) I’m like wow I didn’t realize that was a symptom of my OCD. Honestly I’m starting to feel a lot less crazy know I’m not the only oneeeee!!,0 My ROCD would be conspiracy theories about my boyfriend. lol,0 "I just had one yesterday and I thought I'm going crazy, it's like the OCD controls my body.",0 "Yup. All of that here too. It's comforting to see this here an know that others experience the same sort of symptoms. In real life, it's been very lonely. Since I live in a remote small town, there just isn't that much support here like that. Right now I am once again in decision paralysis, laying on the sofa with a ton to do and no will to actually start. It's tougher that most people can know.",1 "yesss also for some reason i always make little lip smacking or like popping noises with my mouth and blinking a bunch and little ""pew pew"" noises idk why but i can't stop it",0 "I slept in until 5pm today, then got up, tidied, showered, cleaned my window and sat at my desk. Feels like I half wasted the day, but i was also way more productive than usual. Odd one for me! Happy Sunday guys :)",1 When I was young I have experienced that like... A lot. Overall teachers were only aware of my deficits and hoping that it gets better by my therapy (did not get med treatment as child). I got a long. But it sometimes was very exhausting. Wish people would get some psychological education.,1 "Haha yeah every time I get a stomachache recently I’m like “my organs are shutting down, it’s liver failure 100%”",0 "Yeah I do that, I clean the house and chores instead of doing my assignments when I was in college.",1 "Guys, I flunked out of college in 2017 so I'm not personally affected but I'm rooting for you all. :,( I took a hybrid class by accident once. It was basically 75% online and 25% in class. I barely got a D in it. I feel the pain. Try to find an ADHD-free classmate and partner up? Non-ADHDers help motivate me a lot...",1 "aw man I overcame my religious intrusive thoughts by going full black metal, so maybe I should overcome the contamination ones by wallowing around in filth like a hog for a couple years",0 I didn't realize this was an OCD symptom. I thought it was just anxiety. I'm dealing with a break up and anytime mutual friends don't respond immediately to texts I assume they hate me and that I've done something to make them hate me. Even when they reassure me any gap in time where we don't talk just leads me to thinking that they hate me.,0 "Very much so, make it as early or late as possible please, or it'll destroy a day",1 "I grew up with my mom telling me how smart I was and that I could be whatever I wanted. Had some teachers (the ones I didn’t annoy into submission) that said that too. Meanwhile, NO ONE taught me how to study and work hard. So I was “smart” without any ability to direct it. Eventually I got so defensive about my intelligence to protect my self image that I preemptively failed my classes so that I didn’t fail after actually trying.",1 So my reassurance seeking that I am indeed real and solipsism is a stupid philosophical view is a compulsion. Great. :D,0 "That's actually really sweet. Your girlfriend sounds really nice, as do you :)",1 "Hi Emma_Green_Eyes Deeply sorry you lost your friend. But what a wonderful testament to them and you. Also...if you don't already write for a living, you should. You express yourself quite beautifully.",1 “If this crumpled piece of paper doesn’t go into the trash can - I will be poor forever.”,0 "similarly friend: why do you always ask me that? me: I can’t help it. friend: but you don’t need to.",0 "I had over a thousand different artists I listened to this year apparently, so I’m the opposite of this post 😂",1 Oh my god!! I’m the one on the right?! I love my husband and I ((know)) I am attracted to men only.... but ... what if? Uhhhgghgggggghhhh!!!!,0 "Eh, that description does not match my experience with ADHD. People can talk sometimes to me and I literally won’t hear them or even register that they’re talking to me if I’m focused on something else. I’m definitely not paying attention to everything. There are quite a few things I’m not paying attention to quite often.",1 "I was having a conversation with my therapist (while I was still in therapy) and I expressed that I was having a bad day and she asked me why. I explained that a snippet of a song was stuck in my head and I couldn't get it out. I didn't know the name of the song and I didn't know the artist. I didn't even know if it was real or something that I made up. Needless to say, the fact that it was ruining my day was one of the markers for my OCD diagnosis.",0 Yep. But mostly it happens when I'm posting an image somewhere. I have to check a few times that the image is actually the one I meant to send,0 "This happened to me three times today, and my wife randomly called to just talk twice.",1 "Yes. All the time. Anyways so how do I explain this to people who say, ""Just set an alarm to help you keep up with the things on your schedule!"" ?? :) Like, pal, I don't even have a schedule to begin with, I just kinda, wait till everything is an emergency. That little ringing sound absolutely does not, in any universe, replace **that adhd emergency feel**. Please keep your unsolicited advise to yourself",1 "I needed to see this, thank you. I just started ERP last week and it has really thrown a wrench in the way I live my life. It’s been hard to say the least, but there is the light at the end of the tunnel. And now I can tell myself “It gets easier.” Thank you.",0 "Maaaaaan I know EXACTLY how this feels. I usually try to break it into smaller, more digestible pieces that my brain can handle. Try that and hopefully that’ll help!",1 This is an ADHD thing?? Fuuuuuck that's me on a daily basis with my mom who takes an hour to say what could be said in a sentence!!,1 "Oh yes my mom is the same, and then gets angry when i wanna end the convo",1 You're right. I want to be playing Xenoblade instead.,1 I’m glad to see my fellow humans have the same worry!!!,0 This is pure gold. This should be a diagnosing factor 😂,0 Well theres a lot of information on the internet. More info than you can ever consume in your entire life. It's pretty normal to feel overwhelmed and using tools like bookmarks for the future if you want to. I dont see anything out of the ordinary here that non adhd dont have issues with.,1 I spend lots of time reorganizing my room and tweaking my knickknacks until they’re just right. There is no “oh that’s fine” It has to be perfect or it will make my skin crawl >_<,0 "I noticed some guilt there, dont feel guilty please actually a lot of doctors when they find swollen lymph nodes they don't get alarmed because most of the time are not dangerous, even though you had it checked this could have have the same outcome. For example I dont know if I could have cancer, I've had 1 swollen lymph node since 2019 and doctor assumed that it was because of an infection, after treatment the lymph node is still there they did an ultrasound of it, and even though it looked ok sometimes an ultrasound can't show whether is benign or not, you need to take a sample of it and that is pretty pricey, so some doctors don't even ask you to do it until you have other symptoms. So 1 year after I'm okay lymph is there, I was sent home telling me sometimes they just stay there, I'm just trusting the docs. This could have been you, a lot of people don't realize they have cancer even if they do everything as they should, dont feel guilty please. We do the best we can.",1 "Me sadly watching from the corner because I have sorting/ordering type and need things to be in exact places and symmetrical, and even some in the OCD community don't accept me even though I was diagnosed in elementary school",0 "I feel like my OCD is even more irrational. Sometimes I feel like I'll die if I flick a light switch with my middle finger instead of my pointer finger, or if I choose to use one synonym over another in a sentence.",0 What is this from? I can picture the scene in my mind but cannot remember the name of the movie!,0 I said the other night it's like having someone else's brain inside your head. And not a very nice one.,0 "Reminds me of the fibromyalgia treatment advice my wife recently received from a ""friend""... essential oils and Jesus. We're not Christians so I guess that's why she's got fibro and me ADHD.",1 "Thank you for posting this.It made me so sad,but at the same time it lets me know I am not alone.",1 "Thank you! I have been putting off getting an MRI for ages because it seemed like a low priority task. I’m really sorry this happened to you, good luck, be kind to yourself ❤️ Please keep us updated if you feel okay to do so x",1 "The fat kid on the Cleveland Show said it and it's stuck with me: ""I know rhat intellectually, but phobia isn't always rational."" So yeah, it's not phobia, but I always remember that when I'm worried about crazy things",0 I fed literally everyone in my family three meals today and somehow I’ve only eaten one pancake and ten cookies.,1 "AMEN!!!!! I preach this all the time IRL. If I catch someone say that I ask them about their rituals and/or intrusive thoughts and usually get a ""Huh?"" that's what I thought - fuck outta here with that shit.",0 "Can only speak for myself but for me it really goes back to childhood ostracism from peers and scolding and even bullying from unsympathetic authorities, really miserable adults, so much so where you go from a happy little child who believes that being yourself and being kind is good enough to a seven year old who is suicidal. All because you think and act a little different. I didn’t get help in any capacity until I was 14. Doing much better now but honestly I can never shake that feeling of being bad or a burden or unlovable.",1 "Tooooo real lol, this was me for at least a month in high school",0 "Wtf r/OCD, are my memes that relatable! Thanks a bunch. Because this post made it into hot, I would like to use this opportunity to say : Whatever you're going through, know that we're here for you! It's okay to vent once in a while when things get hard :). DM me anytime, I have every single theme at the same time so I'm sure I'd be able to help lol. That's all, thank you.",0 "My ocd's persona is named Janine. Ever since I've started thinking of ocd as a person instead of a thing, it's helped to not do compulsions so much. I don't even listen to everything my parents say, and they have my best interest in mind so why should I listen to everything Janine is saying when she doesn't have my best interest in mind. :)",0 "Honestly, I have no idea how ""high-performing"" ADHDers get around. I mean I was failing school/college so hard, my family kicked me out. I was homeless for 10 months. I was only tested for ADHD after I started failing at work too. I tried to get tested earlier but psychiatrists just told me I have depression. I can't even imagine if I was ""high-performing"". Would I still be untested and undiagnosed? Sorry this turned in a tangent about myself, I guess I've been in a similar place. I wish best of luck to anyone. Honestly, wish people and psychiatrist believe that ADHD is real, my own family still don't.",1 Started learning python instead of studying one time.,1 "Don’t have OCD, but know enough to be annoyed by this.",0 "Lol. I have had bouts of very severe depression. It came to a head a few years ago, and I had to get some serious help. I remember different family members calling me and giving me pep talks. My step dad told me to “just be happy. Get out and try to not be so depressed”. If only I had thought of that earlier. These are all lovely people, but they just don’t understand my brain. Hell, Even I don’t.",1 "I find that if I’m having a bad day, the only thing that makes the thoughts any better is the recommended OCD cure which is dismissing the thoughts. But if I’m having a moderate/good day with it then weed is awesome. I actually find that it can *help* in dismissing the intrusive thoughts because I will be far too involved in the music I’m listening to or my writing or painting or whatever it is. Because my focus can be terrible when I’m high, it really keeps the mind flowing, instead of getting stuck like it usually does with the thoughts. Even if I have a bad thought that gives me a zap of anxiety, I’m more likely to just be like “not today Satan” and keep rollin’. Now of course there’s the classic OCD sufferer move where because you’re so scared of the thoughts getting worse and intruding even more, you almost worry it into happening. But that doesn’t happen very much anymore. The more I recover the more balanced things become.",0 It always hurts in all honesty. I feel like my illness is not being taken seriously,0 "What made you be able to do that? 40min shower would be huge win for me, because i take 2 hours now days, and i'm completely exhausted after that. Congrats anyways!",0 here goes r/OCD forgetting that contamination and organizational OCD actually exists again.,0 I'm saving this thread to come back to later to read the comments. Who knows when or if I'll be back..,1 „What if something of an aisle just accidentally slipped into my pocket while walking by?“,0 Me after taking 15 minutes to walk from the bathroom to my room only to to start getting paranoid that I took a massive shit in the toilet and didn’t flush it and then having to go back to check,0 Christ. I honestly wouldn't wish OCD on my worst enemy its that bad. This person doesn't know what they're saying,0 "I wish I could have a OCD-less childhood, been dealing with this shit since I was like 8",0 "This was like reading a journal entry, my friend. You are not alone and I guess I'm not either.",1 "This reminds me of my 5 year old daughter. I have adhd but to be honest I just got diagnosed at 30, so it’s all new to me. She’s very different from my other daughter and I’m always suspecting that maybe she has adhd too, because everything is so difficult for her. For example, every morning it’s a struggle getting her to brush, I’ve tried everything. She constantly says she needs to take her time and to not rush her. I stopped rushing but she still stands there and can’t get started, and if she does, she can’t finish. I made her a chart telling her what she needs to brush in which order but she still can’t. Today I kept being like go brush and then eventually I was like do u want me to brush your teeth and she said yeah sure. I’m just not sure what to do at this point, any tips???",1 "My brain makes me think that everyone thinks I want to sleep with any man I’m talking to. Let it be my brother, family friend, brother in law, anyone. It always makes me feel like I’m making it obvious that I think they think this way about me. Even tho there’s nothing justifying it at all",0 I am so fucking glad someone finally said something about this... I’ve been so afraid that all my intrusive thoughts are gonna come true ever since this whole manifest thing started,0 "I am the poster of this tweet and covered my name for privacy but also added “I could go on with this list and so I will. Let’s see reassurance seeking, let’s see guilt complexes, let’s see hoarding, let’s see somatic, let’s see real event, let’s see hair pulling, let’s see magical thinking.”",0 "Trust me it's not just you, one time I forgot whilst still actually doing it and almost fell asleep, don't ask me how it's possible because I don't know but I was so embarrassed",1 "Totally a compulsion. Zoning out when I get anxious around a friend, then having to make myself stop and be present with this friend or else I just look at the floor ignoring everything around me",0 Praying even if any family member just went to the store,0 "Ugh, way too relatable. Edit: Also include ""slept like shit"" and ""inability to not sleep like shit""",1 "I don't think this is an ADHD thing, I think this is just a sign that you have a desire to learn and are passionate about knowing all the ins and outs. I'm the same way. A lot of people are, with or without ADHD.",1 I pushed off submitting a bunch of work for my automotives class senior year so this year. I did all the work all the graphs everything. This would determine me getting an A and ending with straight A’s or a C in the class. I kept pushing it off. Deadline to turn in late stuff passed. Never turned it in.,1 "Haha! Brilliant! I was thinking this morning, 'man I write long sentences, are all these commas and semi-colons confusing people?' Great insight!",1 On top of all this OCD made me feel like I was gonna die very soon because of the sheer amount of stress it was putting me under. Like I was so acutely anxious I was worried I was gonna give myself a heart attack lol,0 "I’ll shake my head, shudder, squeeze my eyes shut, or say “stop it stop it stop it” to myself. I get a lot of intrusive thoughts about things happening to my eyes so that’s usually when I squeeze my eyes shut, as if to protect them",0 "I’ve had severe obsessive compulsive disorder since as far back as I can remember with that being said, good luck.",0 "God this is me, and I’m pregnant now and off medication and fucking up way too much around the house and my work. I’m actually on reddit now to procrastinate GOING TO SLEEP. I love sleep. Why do I do this god",1 "The best listening I ever did in college was while destroying some Tetris. The other option was taking obsessively perfect notes but absorbing nothing. I opted for notes always bc I could go home and teach myself under pressure for hw or test studying. However the 1 class I chose for Tetris I had a friend taking notes, but I didn't need them bc for the first time IN MY LIFE I was the one remembering every damn thing the teacher said. That's one of the few classes where I still remember the things we learned almost like they were yesterday.",1 "This is why timers and things never caught on for me. Tried to use an egg timer to regulate break time. I just ignored the timer, and eventually I dismantled it just cuz I was curious.",1 "Fuck, I laughed because I have literally been there 😂",0 "I totally get this.. I get all the materials focus in from a week to the longest being a few months, then I just start losing interest",1 Yes you got high for the first time on amphetamine’s congrats!,1 "Have you seen the show Monk? I find he is more accurate. Not really to my symptoms, but more to the dsm-5. Dude refuses to drink anything other than a specific bottle of water, not even filtered water. If it is not available he won’t drink anything else cuz he’ll get super sick or something. He drops off his mail at the time it is picked up and open and closes it three times and won’t leave until it is picked up, then asks the mail man if his letter is in there numerous times and if he’s sure, and asks if it will get lost. Onetime he discovered a bomb because in a hotel room everytime he walks in he has to check under paintings for bombs, and straightens everything, and notices when it’s altered at all, and gets super anxious. He is a germaphobe, paranoid that he’ll get sick. He is a pain in the ass, but a genius, and a good person. THAT my friends, is OCD. Monk’s “quirkiness” is textbook OCD and it’s to the point where he irritates other people but genuinely can’t help it, he HAS to do it. He can’t not do it, or something awful will happen.",0 "I literally just had this exact mental meltdown last night/ this morning. Sometimes I wish I could just be outside of myself to make myself do the thing. Started meds but really don't notice any differences yet. *sigh* it's exhausting that I wake up everyday feeling like ""no, I can do better today because (insert some random reason)"" only to end the day in the same place.",1 This is so well written. I needed to read this. Thank you. I legit teared up a little.,1 "“B B B BUT IT’S #REEEEEEAL!!!!” Ok brain, it was “real” yesterday and the day before and last month too.",0 "I read that there are more people on disability for ocd than schizophrenia. Just look at Howard Hughes for example. A multi billionaire and died all alone weighing seven stone, with needles embedded in his body. The Aviator is really good to show how disabling it can be.",0 "Relatable!! Except not just my kitchen, my whole house. I have an awful habit that everything must be cleaned and comfortable before I’m able to enjoy anything- gifts, art, books, clothes, anything I’ve purchased. It’s all piled into a room with the door closed because I never allow myself to enjoy those things because the rest of my house is in disarray and I don’t know where to begin. I get overwhelmed and shut down. I’ve started making progress (slowly) and as far as the kitchen goes, I hung a small shelf above my sink so that I can watch YouTube or documentaries or listen to podcasts while I clean the kitchen and wash the dishes. It has helped tremendously to give me the boost to get up and start somewhere. It’s a very heavy thing to feel, and a constant every day battle. Just know you’re not alone in this and that it’s okay to not be okay. Rome wasn’t built in a day (something I remind myself of multiple times, daily). Try to find something you love that you can listen to or watch while you do whatever it is you want to do. I’ve learned how much it helps to have my mind stimulated elsewhere so my thoughts aren’t focused on the overwhelming stuff. True Crime (YouTube, podcasts, shows), general documentaries, and history stuff are some of my favs. If you enjoy any of those, I can recommend some stuff! Stay tough 💪🏻",0 "For me, I realize it's my OCD, but I also think that there's a good reason I have OCD and I should be thinking this way.",0 "I will never touch those, also max number of liked videos is 5000 as well",1 "Omg I've never resonated with a post as much as this. I feel you man. It's like, what other people aren't constantly uncomfortable and aware of every piece of fabric touching their body, and every single hair that's out of place or moving differently than the rest? What? How do people do it? For the first time ever I brushed my teeth 5 days in a row and its great until I remember something else I forgot. Also sort of related does anyone else elhave to sort of ""twitch"" any of your muscles or body parts? For some reason I constantly have to move my eyebrows or tense my shoulder/rib muscles every few seconds and it makes me so sore and mad!",1 "This and also have long hair and it's fucking cold rn. Thankfully, I work graveyards at a halfway house so I can lowkey dress like a slob but my hair gets so greasy 😫",1 Wow you have summarised my life! Ironic that I needed someone else to put it in words for me to make sense of what I feel. Do you mind if I use your words in my YouTube video as a monologue? I will give credit of course!,1 "Wait...is this really related to adhd? Damn, here I thought it was just me being salty AF",1 Phone pics too. I take pics to compensate for losing what I write down because paper is harder to track and words mean nothing to me without context.,1 "I feel you way too hard here!! I was in an auto accident where my car was totaled a few months back and lemme tell you dealing with all that paperwork and phone calls and emails and letters for months is HELL I already struggle with this issue and adding this extra layer has been absolutely destroying me lately. I’m here wallowing in self annoyance with you OP. I wish I had some sort of tips or advice for you but I haven’t been able to kick this habit yet either but you’re not alone in this struggle that’s for sure, I hear your frustration and totally get it we gotta kick its ass<3",1 whenever I get caught completely off guard by the realization I feel completely fine I usually get a pang of anxiety/guilt of some sort.,0 i feel awful cause i feel awful is my 24/7 state. not a lot of people get this.,1 "I do this. I feel so uncomfortable right now. (In other words, right at home. ) I’m sorry.",0 "Idk if this is your original meme, but if so it was featured in one it PewDiePie’s newest videos! Also can relate so much to this haha",0 "Ahhh! I didn't know how to describe it but that is it exactly!! I feel like I'm going to literally combust. I can come off so rude so I'm just like darting my eyes around, trying to look as uninterested as possible so they'll stop. I never understood people who didn't get these specific social cues. I don't want to talk. Don't take it personally. Thank you for clearing up something I've been wondering for years. Just another checkbox on my adhd diagnoses",1 this puts what i wish i could explain to ppl into words. i can never figure out a good way to explain(usually bc i end up overthinking it and giving up) and i just sent this to someone to try and give them a better idea of what my head is like bc my anxiety has gotten really bad and working up the courage to ask for a therapist is harder the more courageous i get. i’m definitely overthinking that rn but thats not what this post is ab it. really thank you you did this better than i ever could,0 "I'm so sorry you feel this way and you're not a failure. Just look at all those upvotes--tons of us feel the same way, and we're not all failures. We have ADHD. I procrastinate, go off on tangents, and get distracted a lot too but what helps me is scheduling out my day hour by hour the night before even if I don't follow the schedule perfectly. I find I thrive with at least some structure.",1 Oh my. Tangentially related - last night I had some personal epiphanies about some life shit I've been going through and been mulling some stuff over regarding that. I started taking a bunch of notes and writing thoughts down and ideas for some readings and research. I realized this is what I do when I get hypo-manic and I felt like I couldn't trust myself to discern if this is a legitimate healthy breakthrough or if I'm starting to go off the rails. I reached out to a friend to let them know just in case.. The epiphany was regarding handling some loneliness I've found myself facing.. My friend still hasn't replied.,0 "Happy Birthday. Yeah, sometimes I think that if I do nothing else in life but die of natural causes, it will be a victory.",0 When i see threats like this on the internet I can’t stop stressing even if it is obviously fake,0 "Don't be such wimps... Jesus, let the normies joke. There's no reason for getting resentful when people talk about it only because you connot open up about your ocd. Why should it be a taboo? Why should it be treated with severity? Even if some mental disorder is crippling you, it'd be better for people not to be scared ot treat it as if it was such a big thing. Then they might actually help you. You'll only make them try to avoid an elephant in the room that could be dealt with otherwise. You either let them use the term casually, or let them fearmonger about mental disorders. Chose one",0 Finally I have filed my taxes. Due next Monday. I actually considered filing for an extension. 🙄,1 "It targets your fears, so the more i get afraid regarding something, the more obsessive thoughts intensifies",0 "I've turned to narrating my actions as I leave the house. Idk, but it somehow helps reassure me that I turned off/locked everything by saying it",0 I got a scribble notepad at work. I write down everything I need to do today to help me keep track. It's helpful.,1 "Yup. I have very few of the comorbid issues. I'm highly intelligent, good memory, great at small talk, personable, etc. Except unless I'm in a panic or it's interesting, I just can't do the thing I need to do. My life is a mess, I need to clean my room, but it's always a disaster zone. I need to apply for more jobs since being made redundant from covid, but I always put it off until later. My rent is always overdue unless I put it on automatic. My teeth are a mess because I forget to brush them every night. I'm not forgetful, or clumsy, or stupid at all. I do very well in exams, but I can't finish an assignment to save my life. I'm horribly time blind and can't organise when I'm meant to do things at all. If I have work every day, that's fine, I set an alarm, get ready and go. If my friends are relying on me to be somewhere at a particular day and time, then the alarm is set and I'll be fine. But if it's not critical to do it, it doesn't get done. I know how to schedule, plan, organise, and all that, but the part of my brain that goes from thinking to action is literally broken. I need to go get diagnosed, but it's been 5 years and I keep putting it off.",1 I’m on ADHD meds and depression meds. I know exactly what you’re talking about.,1 Yes! Or I set a timer or alarm and it goes off and I can’t remember why.,1 LMAO the only thing that is by far my source of self-worth is overworking myself,1 Maybe that's why I hated this episode so much as a kid lmfao,0 "Advice from someone who teaches and has ADHD. Contact your TAs/professors if you don't have them, or a classmate you trust. Set up deadlines, say you are worried about this and need some extra help. I would bend over backwards in this situation to help a student, even if that meant skype calls once a week/email checkins or whatever may work, assuming I've got the time, and a lot of your TAs and professors will do the same. Heck, go to your disabilities office with your concerns, ok? They're there to make sure you have fair access, and online classes pose a very definitive issue that they'll have more specific (school specific, professor specific) solutions to help with. You've got this, I believe in you.",1 "Try the YouTube channel: how to adhd. The lady was diagnosed as a kid but does discuss its continued effect on her life as well as adult(and less so) ways of coping/coping mechanisms as well as other solutions or even just discussing the issues, making a person feel they’re not alone...",1 "man even brushing my teeth isn’t a habit or routine, nothing i do is habit, it’s all sheer will and spite. my motivation is “think of future you” and most of the time that doesn’t work",1 "I didn’t accept stepping on cracks until I was 16. Whenever I walked on the sidewalk, I’d stare at my feet to make sure that I didn’t step on a crack.",0 "did not expect to be called out like this today, very cool",1 "Was just thinking about the way having habits and momentum can help you to drive through the obsessions but also don't want to rely on doing things automatically because it's easy to get overconfident when you start to feel better and get different obsessions. Still, doing regular chores gives you a sense of achievement and gives you real feedback from the world to show you are effective.",0 "I watch a lot of movies and make short films in my spare time It consistently blows my girlfriend’s mind that I don’t know character names in anything I enjoy My brain, at some point decided to tune out that stuff because I’ve accepted that I will straight up not remember it anyways",1 "4,7,9 are the best and all other numbers stress me out, 5 is by far the worst",0 "Here's a tip: write your email, move your keyboard away from you, and then VERY VERY SLOWLY read each word/sentence, and then try your best to then send. baby steps my ocd friend <3",0 The bathroom is one of the those places for me that never ever feel clean. Like a toilet.,0 "I'm actually on the fence with this lol. While I pay for convenience in other ways, I'd actually rather not with groceries just from a health/economical standpoint, and this has become a point of contention with my friend who is more obviously adhd lol. We have such different views on how we perceive convenience. She wants the quick easy prep stuff; things she doesn't have to defrost, cans she doesn't have to use a can opener for, and pre-mixed flavours (like a spicy tuna that comes in a smaller tin, as opposed to just adding the same spices to regular sized tuna). Given her tendency to be distracted and late in the mornings when she's heading to work, a quick breakfast is also crucial. (Oats are my convenience, who needs to fry anything when microwaves exist?) buuut the things she gravitated to all cost more and of course, since we're splitting the grocery bill, and I don't want us to be starving and broke after one week, this kinda irks me lol. For the longest time, she was reluctant to buy bulk. For example, I want to buy the big bag of frozen vegetables, cause I'd rather pay a little more upfront than worry about food later. she doesn't think we need it. Only her mother could convince her some bulk buys made sense. Similarly, cooking enough to have leftovers. I am lazy and still new to cooking, so I don't have the brainpower to figure out what to cook *everyday* (at one point we were cooking dinner around 8-9pm because that's how long we procrastinated until the starvation set in) but if I make a little extra rice she asks why we need so much. I think it's just not having a good perception of how long something takes to spoil, and how much times of the week we eat/take leftovers to work. Cause in reality, the ""excess"" is finished within two days at best. Again, it took her mother for her to kind of come around to this. Sorry for the vent, I don't know how to compromise sometimes lol.",1 "Good work! You should def feel proud of yourself! Remember that feeling, you got this!",0 "Yes, always wished I had Zack super powe from Saved By The Bell's where he can freeze time.",1 Accurate. What people see is just the tip of the iceberg.,0 "my parents do this to me regularly, it actually happened last night 🤦🏽 i feel so embarrassed thinking about it",0 "Me, who uses a planner religiously and yet still has done things like write down doctors appointments that weren’t actually scheduled, or had my entire life fall apart when the planner got misplaced: :D……",1 "> I just noticed that I wrote inner dialogue... who else am I talking to up there?! 😂 Dude I have inner dialogues all the time! Sometimes arguments. Apparently not all of me is in agreement with myself at a given point in time, lol Also yes, not only do I do this, but my husband (who I suspect may have ADHD as well) and I will start a movie and then end up talking for half an hour instead of watching the thing. One ADHD person is bad enough, 2 is like herding cats...",1 "Same it's usually when I'm having a good mental day. I'll be like ""I'm cured! Why do I always overreact?!"" Then a week later ill have issues and still be like ""I bet everyone really liked me when I was having a good day and they hate me now. Just pretend you're not mentally ill"". Drives me crazy.",0 Omg this made me so happy. I'm convinced my dad so has OCD. He talks about it so much!!,0 "I can relate except everyone thinks I’m nice but my family. They’re the only ones convinced I’m a total douchebag. I can pretend to be nice to the point that everyone thinks I’m nice, and I opened up to my family about this and how it’s all fake. So now I’m labeled as a douchebag for being honest with them and telling them that I don’t care about anyone. It’s a mad world guys",0 "Because of this, rather than telling people I have OCD I tell them I have a disorder that causes me to obsess to the extreme about various topics instead just because I'm scared someone will go ""Oh yeah! I'm a little OCD too!"".",0 Can’t relate enough. It’s AWFUL and with the world in the state that it’s in its a depression shit storm,1 It took me so long of doing this before I realized it could be ADHD instead of me being lazy and stupid...,1 "That edit gave me a giant realisation. My attention has been getting worse as my motivation has been slowly decreasing, and now I find it hard to motivate myself, but when it’s something I’m passionate about, I have all the attention in the world. But memory is a big problem of mine. I might try working on motivation specifically, and hopefully memory might come with it. I’m not taking a stimulant, as they seem to have lots of cons and barely any pros (I’ll get super focused and unfoggy and I’ll remember things and my brain feels like it’s working, but only for about an hour, and then I’ll feel jittery and panicky and really crappy the whole day- I’ve tried different doses and I was taking it for 3 or so years), I’m taking Strattera and it works differently, so I might have to try extra harder.",1 "This actually makes sense my childhood fear/obsession that something was wrong with my body. Thank you for helping me connect the dots 😂 gender dysphoria also didn't help, in my case",0 "I don’t really understand what people mean when they say they fear they are “faking” it? Like do they fear that they don’t actually have OCD and that it’s their actual thoughts? Because I get that, that’s how I feel a lot. But the “faking” it I don’t understand...",0 "I suggest reading Break Free from OCD by Challacombe et. Al. Basically, it teaches you cognitive behavioural therapy wherein you forego the compulsion and assess the situation after the fact . Also one of the important lessons in the book: you have to accept the risk of the obsessions from happening (and take it all in) for you to get rid of OCD. I also read OCD workbook and Brain lock but It didn't work for me. Hope you get well soon.",0 Sometimes it helps to ~~tell~~ fool myself that I'll think about it later and hope that when I remember I don't obsess about it (as much).,0 I relate so much. It's so crushing. So much started and never finished.,1 "Not that I dont want to. I know doing it will lead to a positive outcome both in having the thing done and my own emotions going from stress to relief and other positive changes. Its that I can't. No matter how much I push myself, and in many cases, pushing makes me want to even less, I just cannot get my body to follow orders. Right now, I'm lazed in bed, waiting for the motivation to get out. The impending morning urination ritual making me uncomfortable just laying here, but the soft pillows and gentle cotton wrapped around me, keeping me hostage of my own mind.",1 I have had full half hour conversations that I can't remember a single word of cause I was thinking about something completely trivial and unrelated.,1 "Am I alone in that I suffered from test anxiety? Ask me the questions and I would get them right, make me take a written test and I was screwed. If I didn't do the homework I would have been screwed. Granted it took me probably 5x longer than my peers, but it's what I had to do. But I was in all the excelerated classes so I must have been fine. (Diagnosed 2020 at age 38).",1 "Totally. It makes certain things difficult like when having a disagreement about something with my partner he thinks im trying to incriminate him as wrong by forcing him to explain himself but i just need to be able to understand the underlying motive, the back story, or the logic to get to the root of the disagreement and figure out where the compromise is. I can give so many different examples. Helping my kids with homework and needing to explain the why when all they want is the how. Following a recipe and needing to understand why the baking soda goes in the liquids when it normally goes in the dry bowl. Being a ENFP (mediator): not being able to offer a friend advice without playing devils advocate psychoanalyzing the views of both parties to find the deeper root of the problem.",1 "Yes, I used to much more, but still do. Especially because of the inconsistency of being strict in our culture, and different life philosophies, and my grievances about how men are always considered the ""bad guy"" in the relationship when something goes wrong (I'm a guy). And because of the way the law and people too expect you to say everything perfectly or else they will accuse you. And how people think that just because you are nervous, or deny the alleged crime that they havent even mentioned yet but you know they are wondering if you did it, then you must be guilty. Yes, the fear of being falsely accused, or just accused I guess too, and doing something that ruins my reputation, is a big one. Cause, unfortunately, I have held too closely to my identity, being a good person. Cancel culture might have something to do with a lot of this, but I'm not really 100% sure of that right now. I'm even having OCD about posting this comment now. Might delete it later.",0 "My OCD tells me that I'm a predator and a pedophile because of some really stupid shit I did two years ago, and I feel like reffering to it as just ""stupid shit"" really downplays how bad it is. I've been dealing with real event ocd for about 4 months now, and I've almost killed myself twice. My OCD tells me that the guilt I feel is normal and completely justified, and I'm not sure if that's a lie or not. However, I just recently learned about complusions and how seeking reassurance is bad, and I'm starting to feel somewhat hopeful. But only a little",0 Today i built a computer and i had to unscrew/unplug and re-screw every part like 3-4 times because it didnt *feel right*. I got so angry that i almost smashed the pc,0 "I read somewhere that people with anxiety are often overly sensitive to things going in their body. So when I feel a sudden rush of blood being pumped away from my heart (because that’s normal for someone who’s alive to feel), my anxiety brain thinks “is this death??”. 😂 It kind of made me feel better looking at it that way though, that we’re not “imagining” these phantom pains or feelings, we’re just catastrophising their cause.",0 That’s the opposite of “no big deal” that is a huge deal congratulations!!,0 I look forward to going to sleep because then OCD can’t get to me lol,0 "That could have easily been me at 24. A few years of adult life where I couldn’t seem to figure out how everyone was really accomplished their goals. Suicidal ideation began at 17, I linked it to beginning hormonal birth control... but really I couldn’t understand how everyone else was planning for college. Or why, at 19, I hyper fixated on the details of my first breakup so heavily I couldn’t turn off my thoughts enough for sleep. My first psychiatrist heard there was ADHD in the family but focused on the depression and placed me on SSRI meds that turned me into a zombie. I couldn’t even cry anymore, so I made bad choices that allowed me to feel anything. Depressed myself further to at least have some emotion.... and honestly I was praying for death every single night for years. I’m turning 26 soon, about to finish my bachelors because my ADHD mother pushed me to go back, and as of 5 months ago finally on the correct medication only because I went back to school. If there is one good thing about this pandemic for me, it’s that I finally had the true push necessary to get diagnosed ADHD. Proper medication has saved my life, depression and anxiety are so much better than they used to be. They’re not my actual diagnosis, they’re symptoms of my true diagnosis. And figuring this out... I can’t ever thank my mom enough, she’s a recovering alcoholic (almost 15 years sober!!! My momma is amazing!) and addiction runs deep in her family so I get why she always thought I should avoid amphetamines, yet she has been the most amazing advocate for me getting on proper medication and creating coping mechanisms to get me though. But the biggest realization is that I finally understand her. How her life ended up where it is. How lucky I am that SHE never gave up, because she’s stuck in the tornado brain chemistry that I was but she can’t fix it with meds. She has wanted out so many times yet refuses to give up and cause her children and loved ones pain. She’s the only reason I am still alive, because I could never cause her that pain either. Thanks for this opportunity to write this out, I need to go call my mom again. I’m thankful for her. That’s my happy thing every single day. If she can keep going, I know I can.",1 "Got my master's degree last year and the whole time I was like, ""How the fuck did I trick these people into giving me this degree??"" My husband just says I'm the dumbest smart person he knows.",1 What kind of compulsions do you have to deal with if you don't mind me asking?,0 "Omfg my anxiety (and therefore my OCD) has been out of control with this. I have both counting issues (I have to touch each thing, with each limb, a certain amount of times. Say I touch a doorknob with my right hand twice, I have to mimic it on the left) so I touch a lot of things but then I also have huge germaphobic so then I immediately need to sanitize, but don’t forget to touch the hand sanitizer bottle 4 times never 3 or “your life will fall apart and everyone you love will die and it’ll be your fault” I also feel the need to shower 2-5 times a day. Again, never 3. With the virus, it’s much more now. RIP my water bill. So yeah COVID-19 has been great.",0 I got a result like this last year but decided I was too busy to deal with it at the time... which was a bad idea,0 Best advice I can give is to take breaks from stims on weekends or if you don’t have any plans for the day. It helps keep your tolerance somewhat low,1 "Isn't this the same crap joke that Target put on a shirt, but refused to pull off the market because OCD sufferers were not worth caring about?",0 "Absolutely relate to this. I think it has to do with my confidence in my own perception of time and a history of major time management problems. This has gotten way better since I started meds recently, though.",1 FACTS AS FUCK I HATE WHEN PEOPLE SAY “everyone has a little bit of OCD” LIKE NOOOO THEY DONT 😭,0 Fuck OCD. I fuck with my OCD every fucking stupid night and I take my stupid annoying intrusive thoughts and throw them at the dumbass OCD.,0 I read a lot on this sub about the O in OCD and not as much about the C. What is your compulsion that is acted on when you trigger here?,0 "I try to make filler appointments on focusmate.com beforehand in that case. It fills up the time without risking to lose myself and ""overstay"".",1 "I am this problem. I have put together PowerPoint presentations for conversations with my boss because I don’t want to forget important points when I talk to them. I will even leave stuff out so they will ask questions about it which I then prepare additional slides for. It makes me look extra prepared but really it’s to keep me from getting distracted and keep the relevant information where I can see it. ... I have a graduate degree.",1 "My hands still occasionally bleed in the winter and I still wash them far too much, even takes up half or more of my time in the shower but at the very least I have found a few tips, by bow, to be kinder to my hands. (Don't get me wrong, I know I have improved a fair bit but I do also know there's still a lot of room for improvement) The main ones I have learnt so far, are: Don't use liquid soap. I went through it so quickly my parents had to buy & stock up on multiple jugs of refills, while also making my hands bleed often... until I switched to Dove sensitive skin bar soap. It's like half cream and way less harsh on your skin + lasts longer/makes less squirting messes. It's much easier for me, although it is a little harder to wash off as it can get stuck in your nails and stuff, it is still worth the change imo.",0 "Yes without a doubt. All I got throughout school was tough love and I completely failed. I left school with nothing to show for it other than a C in geography, an anxiety disorder and chronic diarrhoea.",1 That’s why I listen to rain noises when I sleep or am alone. It soothes me and gives my brain something to focus on in the background,0 "Wow. It's scary how accurate this is for me (even though I haven't been diagnosed yet). I've always considered myself a better writer than a speaker and with most of my most emotional and important ""conversations"", I've had to write them out and message them to people or rehearse them beforehand because I *know* I'll screw up an impromptu convo. I used to apologize the same way. I remember stuttering or cutting off my own words when speaking in high school and people telling me to ""just say it"". Now I'm known as the ""quiet, reserved, shy one"" even though I used to be really outgoing and boisterous in elementary school. But then I was told I talk too much, I'm too loud, I'm too social, etc. I struggle with pronunciation (even ones I know how to pronounce) and I feel like I'm never saying *what I actually mean*, so I speak more and end up rambling and making no sense. Even now, I'm not sure if I'm saying things correctly or how I want to say them. Ugh.",1 "This is absolutely a thing for me too. I'm in my 40s now, I haven't beaten it, and probably never will. I have found a couple tricks that helps sometimes though. For example, I find that where my eyes are looking has a big impact on what I am motivated to do. If I'm stuck scrolling in reddit, then I've got no hope if I keep looking at it. Sometimes just forcing myself to turn off the screen and look away for 10 seconds is enough to gain the will to put it down for longer. (I allow myself to turn the screen back on again if the will doesn't materialise so as to make the 10 second rule easy to do, but I'll try again in a few minutes.) Then, I might be able to muster the will to go and look at the thing that I'm supposed to be doing. Just look, no further commitment. By getting the thing in my field of vision, my brain starts to engage with what I need to do and, at best, before I know it I'm doing the task and now can't put _that_ task down. At worst, I end up scrolling reddit again, but this technique helps a lot of the time.",1 Lol this is why I have to “leave” the house 15 minutes before I actually need to leave. Them locks and outlets might need to be checked again.,0 "That's such a good point. With laziness, you might not feel very guilty. With executive dysfunction, there is probably more guilt and shame if things are left undone..... .... and a TONNE of worry as time slips by and things are piling up!",1 "As someone who got medicated in his thirties and is has stuck with his turborocket combustion chamber powered turboshaft engine this far... Yup.",1 "I get you with my soul, I said almost these exact words to a friend years ago, ""I feel like I'm not made for this world, I can't do it"" I can't write more right now but I'll say, I get you so much, it's an awful thing to feel. I know how hard you're fighting and the huge effort you make and I admire you for it. You deserve to be well and I know it can get better, and how hard it is to see that in the dark moments.",1 ....”OCD tendencies” so I’m not sure being totally honest.,0 "My partner was a gifted child and she felt drawn to a talk given by a woman who didn't realize until she was an Adult that she had Autism. My partner went down a research spiral about it ... As one does when it turns out you are Autistic. She learned this at the beginning of last year. During her research, she would ask me questions as a benchmark and I was throwing her off and we didn't know why. So she sought professional diagnosis for her ASD since we live in a society that needs a person who took a 6-week course on Autism tell someone who spent 4 sleepless months studying and learning about it in detail only to be given the same test the found online so that society wouldn't judge them as an exaggerating or ""faking"" it. During that process she also learned about ADHD (which she may also have but feels selfish trying to catch all of the disorders). Now that's not how we actually feel, that's just her anxiety, humor, and that same societal pressure. She then compared with me on ADHD and I scored super high on those tests. Higher than her even. So here I am now months later with an Adult ADHD combined diagnosis. I think communities like this are really important. We all need to talk to people who understand how different it is for folks us to say what society expects us to say instead of saying what you mean. So it's nice these communities aren't toxic because it helps to develop those skills so that together we can destigmatize mental illness and disorders.",1 "this is me waking up at 1pm just now and eating a bag of walkers max and a crunchie bar and looking at reddit instead of getting out of bed i eat so much shit at the weekends when i dont take elvanse lmao and i spend most of saturday and sunday in bed cause im not forced to work, and waking up is so fucking painful every day anyway. when my alarm goes off i feel like someones been beating the shit out of my body all night and my eyes cant stay open so i just hit snooze over and over for about 3 hours or until someone starts annoying me. everything feels like a waste of time despite being so bored i could off myself, i wish i got this magical dopamine hit from having a shower or going outside that most people apparently do",1 "This is the worst advice for people with ocd, I get sensations that all the ocd related theme I get are real, so I don’t trust my gut feeling",0 "Also when you reinterpret past events to frame yourself as a monster. Currently going through this. I have actually had this so bad that I attempted suicide. There's even a documentary about an instance of this type of OCD https://youtu.be/i1qsu3p8ibs",0 "Everyone: DONT TOUCH YOUR FACE BEFORE WASHING YOUR HANDS Me: *Added to my list of compulsions.",0 "Yeah I have a huge problem when it comes to cleaning my room. But for some reason, whenever my GF (ex GFs or current GF) is in the room, I just start cleaning while I talk to them. Like it just happens. And it’s not half-assed cleaning either-I’ll get thorough, even bringing out the Clorox wipes lol",1 "This just jumped off my phone screen and slapped me. I hate it so much. I'm interviewing for a new job right now and I know how it goes. Wow them at the interview then slowly disappoint...maybe this next job will be better. I don't know how to fix it, but you're not alone in your feelings. Hope maybe it helps to know that.",1 OMG I can literally feel the mental illness leaving my body!!! /s,0 "Vyvanse or nicotine, otherwise I can’t get my online homework done",1 "Woof, I feel this. My 6th grade homeroom and English teacher actually had a parent teacher conference to tell my parents that I would basically fail her class, and 6th grade because, even though I did awesome on the tests, I just didn’t turn in homework. Rather than fail me, she suggested I get extra credit work to turn in hand would bring my grade up, which I managed to do, and passed the class.",1 I dont get false memories but i do have a horrible memory and my ocd likes to take advantage of that. that image is very much me when im in an obsessive mood LMAO,0 "I mean, most of the time the tasks I'm putting off are ones nobody else can/will do anyway",1 "I get what you mean, I used to think I was just lazy, i still sit there anxious though.",1 OMG JUST THE OTHER NIGHT I DESCRIBED MY FEELINGS AS STATIC ON A TV,0 "for me it’s 12 times or multiples of 12! but what i’ve found is tapping on the thing in checking on 12 times and saying out loud “i’ve checked this thing at (date time of day? and it’s closed/fine/whatever.” helps me a lot...okay that probably won’t help anybody else flfnkslsnw to be honest i can’t cook except in ovens b/c the stress is too much and then i have to constantly check my cat hasn’t somehow got in",0 What are the best meds for adhd without side effects,1 This is definitely me. Avoiding cleaning up so I don't have to watch my hands...,0 My mum telling me to study n go for a walk when I can’t even get out of bed to eat lmao,1 "Your GF smashed it with all the other stuff though. I personally find that when the kitchen is messy (or in your GFs case, tea shelf) it's hard to even comprehend how to clean through the noise of the visual stimuli, the dread of the scope of the task and the frustration of the limited clean surface area on which to move things around. If she's annoyed at herself that she didn't get the dishes done it might be easier next time for her to consider each part of dishes as a mini task. Unpack the dish washer ✓ > Tea and cat time Repack the dish washer ✓ > Coffee and doughnuts Stack dirty pots and pans ✓ > Put on a podcast/some music Fill sink and scrub the dishes ✓ > Snack Wipe dry dishes and Wip surfaces ✓ > Collapse from exhaustion The difficulty is always resuming the intended task after the break. But sometimes we do really need to manually reward ourselves for completing anything cos our brains are so stingy with the dopamine. Sometimes I will think to myself ""tomorrow I need to clean the house"" but when I wake up in the morning I am unable to comprehend the scope of the task and that causes analysis paralysis. So in those cases Ive started asking my wife ""what are the things that need to be cleaned specifically in order of priority"". That way if I only get a few things done I know they were the right things to do.",1 "It's like, my brain knows what to do but does the body follow? Naaaaah.",1 My dad died when I was seven. Since then I just expect that people will be gone at some point in my life. I think so much about the fact that my friends and family will die. I have always attributed it to the fact that not knowing my dad was sick was so painful. Then him dying recked so much so it seems easier to just expect it with everyone.,0 "And for people with anxiety and panic disorders... ""Everyone has anxiety"".",0 "Being hyper in class then coming home and sleeping 14 hours because of the hyper exhaustion. ​ Thanks ADHD.",1 I've thought about this exact scene so many times when I've done exposures the past few years! What a brilliant piece of art this show is.,0 "Too much of some shit leads to not enough of some other shit, and it's inconsistent too.",1 I thought I had a driving lesson in the morning so i had my day planned around that.. there was no lesson. I ended up chilling (actually overchilling) which somehow wasted the whole day even tho it’s barely 2.30 pm and i go to sleep at midnight (more like 1/2 am but fake it until u make it ya know). I’m so tired of this lmaoo,1 "Exactly the same here. But I have somewhat of a help to you all, something that has worked very good for me. Instead of pushing yourself to “get studying”, or “finish the assignment”, take a different approach. The difficulty for us all is that those tasks are vague, very vague. Finishing the assignment could take 1 hour, it could take three hours, it could take two full days, or you could come to the conclusion you’re already on crash course since there’s no way you’re going to get it done in time. The sheer anxiety of the latter being the case and therefore not facing the reality of the task at hand, is ultimately what destroys us. It’s scared of being unable to do it anyway, so why bother, but not really taking distance from it properly to be able to relax and forget about it. Here’s a trick: right now, as you’re pushing the task forward as we speak, I don’t want you to start working on the task itself, but I want you to go and **check how much work you expect it to be**. What exactly is it that you need to learn? What parts of the assignment do you have trouble with, what has already been done? How long will each paragraph take you, if you’d had to make a guess? Take only as long as you need to know what it is that you need to do. Maybe you can find a study planner and know within three minutes. That’s fine! Do that. Maybe it’s a little more work and you need to spend 15 minutes finding the book and scanning through the paragraphs, that’s also fine. Make sure you’re not spending any longer than 15 minutes on it, that’s the absolute maximum. Do it now! Not knowing how big the task at hand is, is what incapacitates us the most. I don’t mind doing a little now, maybe for 5 minutes, but what if it turns out I need to do a shitload of work? I better not start at all in order to prevent me from stressing out, right? All the while, that exact thought is what is stressing you out. Go to your room, grab that book/laptop/whatever, and go check out how much is left to do. Since if you know what needs to be done, it goes from one massive black cloud, into multiple smaller tasks, some of which may not even turn out to be so bad. And maybe you come to the conclusion that you’re way too late and you cannot possibly finish it all in time, and that sucks, but that’s not a problem! At least you now know you have to drop something in order to allow yourself to still get the rest done.",1 "I've found this to be super commom with autism too-- the conversation seems to revolve entirely around children, as if those kids edon't grow into adults with ADHD/Autism. It made it really hard to understand or relate to my diagnosis really until I discovered people my age talkimg about their experiences. You might have better luck looking on Youtube, since in my experience at least thwres mamy more people who actually belomg to the community talking about their lives.",1 "Wait a minute, is this another thing that’s caused by my OCD?",0 I've got braces and my next check up is coming up this week... but I guess I should worry about not being able to breathe well because I got what feels like the flu for the past 2 weeks. Ha.,1 I have this fear so bad that I’m not able to say other words that sound like the n word. Lmaooo.,0 "OCD is horrible, it drove me to a severe depression. Constantly thinking things that hasn’t happened and you have things wrong with you which you dont. Sending love to anyone suffering from this annoying disorder ❤️",0 Thoughts aren't actions. A person can think they want to rape and murder all thier lives but the cops can't arrest them until they act on those thoughts. It's your actions that make you a bad person not your thoughts. In case you didn't know we ALL have violent thoughts from time to time even totally sane people. They just don't talk about it that's why you feel like you are strange.,0 I woke up at 5:30 on accident and I couldn't believe how much goofing off I was able to do before 9 am.,1 "The ""being clean"" mainstream media narrative rides my nerves so damn much. These people need to experience it first hand and sure as hell they will never again say that they are ""OCD"" because they keep their shit clean.",0 I legitimately made my last boyfriend hide the knives from me when we lived together because i had this intrusive thought continually.,0 "Occasional piece of white chocolate You see that's a problem for me. It's it can't bee occasional and it can't be a piece. This is why I don't have nice things.",1 "I would try not to let it bother you. I know there's kind of a circle jerk on this sub at expressing outrage at people not understanding OCD, but does it really matter? Think about how you were before you developed OCD, chances are you didn't understand it either. I know I didn't. As long as people aren't harassing those with OCD, it really shouldn't affect you if somebody makes a joke about being ""so OCD"". Just laugh it off. I used to be bothered by these types or things, but then I realized it's stupid to let OCD define me. It's a struggle but it's not who I am. I don't need to classify myself and separate myself from the ""neurotypicals"" (bleh I hate that word). All that does is cement my OCD even more and make it harder to fight back against it.",0 "This is true for organizing with adhd! Omg I have to tell people when I help them that you have to organize it to fit your needs, I can help you and give advice but my system won’t work for you because you operate differently that I do. My mom stores things in clear bins so she can easily what’s in it, whereas I hate that I can see the mess in the bin and want opaque. Find what works for you.",1 "I feel you. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 21, I also have bipolar disorder that appeared as depression throughout high school. I was told I was smart through school and I would perform well in tests and exams but I wouldn't even hand up assignments due to not being able to get my shit together. I didn't finish, but I was accepted into uni based on an aptitude test. I do well whenever I am not impacted by major depression, but the feedback in how to pull my grades up from 'pretty good' to 'excellent' is to not make careless mistakes, to actually read over what I've done. Which I struggle to do because of ADHD. I even sat an abbreviated IQ test as part of psychology studying whic confirmed that, yes I'm smarter than average. I'm stuck feeling like I'm holding myself back, and that I've received sympathy grades instead of accepting that maybe I did actually achieve that.",1 "I can relate, it’s shit, I’m sorry, you got this! Well done for managing it in the end",1 "Yeah often. If I throw away a bottle I have to put the lid back on so the lid isnt lonely. I have stuffed toys that I apologise to if I knock them over. Because of this, I struggle to throw anything away and my room looks like storage. ",0 This is true for me. I used to me a self harmer and I’m afraid if I cut myself on accident I’ll just want to keep on cutting again. It’s gotten worse lately again. It’s been a year or two since my last and I don’t wanna do it anymore but it’s almost addictive for me.,0 "Omg I am going to use this for my meetings. It's kind of funny, I'm a writer for a living and record interviews with my sources using an AI transcription app on my phone. Yet, for some reason, I never thought of doing the same damn thing for meetings. The notes I take during meetings might as well be written hieroglyphics by the time I look at them again.",1 "It did stop during the pandemic and lockdowns. 5 weeks of bliss. Still didn't achieve anything",1 "Nice job! My thought is always “ once you have eliminated the places it should be and isn’t, then we are entirely down to places it shouldn’t be, and all bets are off.”",1 "There are definitely better ways to say this, but in essence it is what people with adhd can do to get things done. Stop thinking about what you need to do, put one foot in front of the other and do it. If you are unable to make yourself a todo list have someone else help you with that, and then start crossing things off. We can sympathize, with problems that we ourselves deal with. But at the end of the day the world still spins at the same speed, and it won't slow down for us. Hang in there, it sounds like your dad is still trying to figure out the best way to help. Sending good vibes your way, no journey is without it's ups and downs especially for those of us with ADHD.",1 "You'd really be surprised how far things can fall in the trash. I used to take out my diamond earrings and wash them every time I'd wash my hair. I would do this at the sink and use a paper towel to dry them off. One time, I threw that paper towel right into the trash can, and then several hours later realized my mistake and had to go digging in the trash can at like 1 AM while my roommates were sleeping. I found them though!",1 This is the first meme I've related to on a spiritual level,0 "Thank you for sharing your story and your perspective. This is a wonderful community where I have never felt judged, but at the same time never felt coddled. My son has ADHD and some tendencies that put him on the spectrum (though not enough to warrant a clinical diagnosis according to his doctor). He often is confounded by the unfairness of a situation and can get quite upset about it. It's in these moments where I reassure him that his confusion and anger are justified and normal. Life is often cruel and arbitrary. People can be petty and capricious. Our goal is to take that angry energy and redirect it into something that improves or at least mitigates the situation so that he never puts someone else in that position. If you try to suppress or sugar-coat those emotions you only provide fuel to a much bigger fire later. Well done on keeping a level head!",1 "Yep, I learned this for myself a few years ago too. If I buy the precut, pre assorted fruit and veggie tray-guess who is suddenly eating healthier!? This is convenience that totally pays off in the long run so I’m ALL for it. Great tips, OP!",1 "I, in fact, use a planner. Guess I'm not using it right, cuz I'm still a mess.",1 "I’ve never heard of that feeling of inadequacy being part of ADHD, as in like a common occurrence. Seems odd that it never came up in any psychology courses (and I’ve taken A LOT of them). Anyone know if any peer reviewed research on this topic? I’d love to read it. Could be qualitative or quantitative research.",1 The accuracy of this hurts me right in the everywhere,0 I’m not sure if I have OCD but I do that and sometimes if I don’t in advance I’ll have to read what I sent just to be sure. Maybe not 10 times but for the reasons in this thread.,0 "It's hard to validate myself sometimes, these memes actually really help a lot. So, thanks! :)",0 "Hahaha this is extremely relateable, I think my mom’s *exact* words to me were “Oh, wow. Uh, don’t ever repeat what you just said to me to anyone ever again or they will lock you up”",0 I feel this. My kid gets high temperatures. Every time its screaming crying and getting sick. Every time I feel like I'm not cut out to be a parent and an adult. Sometimes I just feel like walking out. But I keep going because my kid depends on me and I love them.,1 "People must think OCD means Obssesive Cleaning Disorder -.- I hate when ppl pull that ""my desk has to be neat or imma go crazy, its my OCD""",0 Ah damn I’m jealous. Making food is hard for me with contamination OCD. I’m proud of you dude,0 It took me over a year to delete a reminder on my phone that was no longer relevant. It's like I developed the ability to stop hearing and seeing it. It was over 400 days old by the time I deleted. I never did the thing either...,1 "This is brilliant, I'm absolutely going to look into this for myself now! My kitchen being dirty is what triggers my paralysis but it is also the task that takes the most energy for me to start.",1 What if I told you... I lost interest in all my saved posts,1 Amazing! Cheering you on through the internet 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼,0 "Genuinely, that brought a little tear to my eye. I remember the first time I got prescribed my meds - the only way I can describe it to others is like the world came rushing back to me in bright HD technicolour, like I’d been living behind a fog my whole life. My friends instantly saw the change, telling them things without going off topic, or not remembering where I started or the point of what I was telling. So happy for you being happy! Love this!",1 It Just feels so empty the best way i can describe it,0 That's great and thank you reddit I have also had an easy time with my schoolwork.,1 "it's such a meaningful drawing, does the artist mind if i save it and use with credits?",0 "I just dragged this to my desktop so I can refer to it repeatedly, as this is how I feel most of the time. Thank you for bringing some humor into the mix, that makes everything easier.",0 "Lol I just took a bike apart last night in a fit of energy, now the thought of it seems grueling",1 "I've always visualized it in my mind as if my ""internal"" self is trying to reach out and get started but it can't because my actual self is anchoring it down.",1 Omg this was me yesterday. I was at the end of my rope. I was wearing my headphones with rain sounds to down people out. I told them not to talk to me until the headphones came off.,1 Welp heres me at 1am really needing to read this. Thank you.,1 "I feel like I am stuck in an empty salad bowl and I am constantly trying to get out but I keep sliding back down. No matter what direction I take trying to run up the bowl, I slip back down... 🥗",1 Congrats! I’m happy for you! You kicked OCD in the face! Each victory against OCD counts!,0 When I went from pedo ocd to harm ocd it was exactly like this lol,0 "If you like, you can join this telegram chat for people with OCD: . https://telegram.me/ocdeng There are little people in there at the moment.",0 "All you people talking about hiding in closets under tables etc. I used to hide in my closet as a teenager just to get some quiet until my mom would get angry and drag me out. She claimed I was being ""emo"" and trying to hurt myself in there. I just wanted some quiet, damn.",1 Who else was like to- too long- can’t read- need read- help,1 "Wow, this really resonates with me. Thank you for putting this into words.",1 "THIS. I never really knew what ocd was until I started showing symptoms and saw it correctly portrayed in some random YouTube video. I thought I was just a horrible person who had bad thoughts because nobody really talks about the darkness behind ocd. Now everytime anyone says, “they are so ocd” for liking things clean or something similar, I get a bit angry.",0 "That's why doing a three year creative writing course at uni was my godsend. I didn't even question that I was practicing a hobby or craft until my second year, and by that point I was much better at it!",1 "That’s so like me all the time. I will have inner turmoil like that and then have to go on quickly with world to say, ‘yeah, I am just fine.’ I wish I could tell the world the nightmare that goes on inside of me. I want to tell the world how easily dark my world gets even in the best of times.",0 "I closed it and then my cat wanted some attention, it's not my fault!!",1 "I never really registered that ADHD accounted for my tendency to obsessively seek out new stuff because I’m bored of everything I already know, dive headfirst into a new style of music just starting to take off, annoy the shit out of my friends trying to get them to listen to it, and then get tired of it a year before it gets popular and all my friends actually *are* listening to it. So ADHD literally turned me into a hipster douchebag!",1 "Hello, I never knew there were so many kinds. But it really helps understand better. Edit: resources for understanding them all?",0 "not 6. 6 is bad and not 5 or 7 because they're right next to 6. obviously not 12, 18 etc but also no 33 or 24 or 42 etc because the digits add up to 6. I could go on forever.",0 Congratulations!!! That's a huge achievement getting your thesis done battling OCD.,0 "Sometimes I read posts like this and can’t relate. And then I’m like “wait a sec, does that mean I might not have adhd? Is it possible that I’ve somehow accidentally tricked everybody into thinking I have adhd so that I can make excuses for my shortcomings? I’m a fake. That’s gotta be it.” Sometimes my thought spirals are mean.",1 "Thanks for the nudge. A nice 2-in-, I set up an appointment for an ADHD evaluation and they also require a recent Physical so I'll have to go to a Dr. anyway.",1 I am a university instructor. I’m in crisis mode right now :/,1 Wow your post hits too close to home. Back to my chemical engineering assignment! Never mind I feel unable.,1 "My bookmarks are where helpful resources go to die. I’m seeing this post right now, thinking “huh, I should probably do that” and STILL not doing it.",1 "I HAVE TO WRITE AN EMAIL TOO! Literally no downside only benefits, but it's important so i can't. Its been 7 months. Im doing it next week i swear lol.",1 "I just finished an engineering honours degree over 8 years part time, 100% online (apart from a few short practical courses). I can confirm that it was an ADHD NIGHTMARE. Routine is the only way I survived.",1 Oof. Intrusive thoughts are the worst. Stay strong everybody,0 I’m so glad I’m not the only one! I honestly spend more time proofreading emails than I do writing them!!,0 "That's a stupid crazy high starting dose and very irresponsible on behalf of your prescribing doctor. You were high af.",1 "YOOOO AHAHAH poor guy, really got the short end of the stick huh",0 "Every time I leave the house without petting my dog ""one more time"", or don't engage with a thought, I focus on being proud of myself for it and internally cheer myself like I would for a friend. It's been incredibly helpful!",0 "So OP, has this feeling gone away with therapy and medication?",1 "This is the second time I’ve come to this same post on my feed. Okay, no more Reddit for today. But thank you, I appreciate the reminder",1 "ADHD is not a gift, it is a disease. It is this tumor that carries on my brain. It consumes every aspect of my life. When I think I have it licked, it comes back with vengeance. I don't want to manage my ADHD, I want to kill it. I appreciate Hallowell and Macabe that take the positive stance and look at the good things, thank goodness. But the negatives of ADHD will never outweigh the positives.",1 lmaoo fuck this was my life before meds. after i got done with one another one would immediately ramp up until i felt like lobotomizing myself all over again,0 "Sometimes I think that life is one big joke, and I don't get it. - Stuart Smalley",1 "Got up, took my meds, and am going off to do schoolwork! Thank you!!",1 OMG that’s one of my compulsions. I shake my head all the time.,0 "Sounds like OCD with a side of [ADD or ADHD](https://www.reddit.com/r/coolguides/comments/j9cmfr/the_adhd_reality/) [The neurobiological link between OCD and ADHD](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4148591/) I didn't really read the whole thing b/c my ADHD doesn't want to but maybe you will find it useful idk",0 "I’ve found tough love only works when it comes from myself. “I dont wanna do this, well I took my meds and I’m gonna try do it no matter what” but really thats less tough love and more so reassurance in yourself and your capabilities.",1 Congratulations! About a month ago I started some more intensive exposure therapy and the same thing has happened for me! I'm really happy for you. <3,0 "I found this on TikTok. It makes me angry that he calls OCD desirable, and that over 700 people agreed with him. The “if you gotta pick one” comment too 🙄",0 "I graduated as a voice major and started as a theater major. No way in hell I could get legitimately good at an instrument...that requires dedication and focused practice. However, since I was the instrument - and voice is an instrument that can only be played a few hours a day at most - it kind of worked for a while, largely because other people were in charge and pushing me along. That said, I have no interest in making any of those creative talents a career anymore. I still have that ""gut-wrenching longing to create something artistic"", but now I suck at doing the prep work (which was always true), I can't have anyone pushing me along or forcing me to improve like I did in school unless I pay them more than I can afford, and I loathe doing a lot of the work itself. I spent six years completely unable to enjoy even listening to music while I made money singing. I just barely started enjoying music again last year. So, uh, consider voice or acting lessons, just don't ever try to make it a career unless you have a lot of resources or are a masochist.",1 "I think my family understands this, however I can think of a few people who I wish knew this.",1 "I won’t ignore it, but i’ll find a way to get lost in my head or start a new task even though Ive set a one hour and two hour warning. The other day I missed a Zoom meeting with my school counselor because I went for a run after my 1 hr warning timer went off and completely forgot about it 3 seconds later.",1 "Go to fucking sleep. Ooh...its only 10 pm..damn cats at again..I'm thirsty. Hmm where's my water, another one out of the fridge...need to smoke. What was i reading on that post I saved on ADHD its only 1115 then I'll go to bed, shit the load in the washer, crap out of detergent, need a pen, get one out of the junk draw, start a list, pen is dry, start cleaning that out, its 1 a.m., I find the damn nails I've been looking for to hang pictures and go get the hammer which is in my nightstand. NOW I'm starting to look at my prom pictures from the 90's.... Time to make the donuts... **Now...its 1:10 EST!!** I nodded off for 20 min. maybe?? I fucking woke up to my cat slapping my hair that fell into my face!! The other cat was playing with...still is with some *dum dum* suckers I have in my nightstand!! **SERENITY NOW!!!** I have to go check on my child. I have to create some detergent from my previous empty bottles. I'm so fucking tired of stepping on pieces of kitty litter. The really annoying pieces, the sharp pointy ones and I don't want to clean the floor because I'm so pissed off at the kitty litter and floors based on sheer stupidity. Fuck the donuts....my daughter wants orange scones. I hate the corona now I have to wait until 7 til the store opens to get oranges. Fuck the corona. I want a corona. I have 4 waters here. Hmm...I need to put these up....I need to smoke..",1 Mine have been looking the same friend! Sending love and light and strength,0 I always write long sentences with a lot of commas!,1 "OCD kinda feels like ""Anxiety Prime"". It's like normal anxiety but so much more invasive and demanding regular payments. Also encourages compulsive behavior. Except instead of shopping it's rumination and checking and repetitive actions and stuff.",0 Mine is named Carl and he likes to show me awful animations he makes of me doing things like kicking my dog or hurting my SO. Jokes on him tho. His animations are SHIT. The drawings are crappy and he can't animate for the life of him.,0 This was me in High School after watching the special features of The Aviator where they discussed OCD .,0 Fuck my bladder hurts. You right. Ty for helping me avoid a UTI.,1 "But... I *do* have an attention deficit and I *do* have hyperactive times. 😕 Those are my main difficulties, the emotions are a negligible part. Idk how it could be renamed to anything more inclusive of all its facets without turning into alphabetti spaghetti lol.",1 "Oh my god all the time, I’ve been told this happens to everyone, just that it shouldn’t trigger intense feelings of self loathing….",0 "YES! literally every day my parents and friends ask me to repeat stuff. I get so mad at having to repeat the stuff, and it strains on the relationship between me and my parents. I'm fact, I sometimes take a video of myself speaking, because I think I'm speaking clearly. But I hear myself in the video slurring my words. It's very annoying!",1 "Thru the years I now recognize so many different symptoms. Both in me and others. There’s a whole list of add adhd, There’s a really good book I read about the different diagnosis. My worst sympton now is becoming overwhelmed( now I m 66) . Then I just do nothing.",1 "This sub makes me feel less alone. Scrolling these comments, everything in this thread is so relateable",0 Absolutely fuck OCD we’re all going kick it’s ass one day,0 Youtube with it's infinite sidebar recommendations is like Dante's inferno to me...,1 "I don't know why but I've noticed it more and more, but I get extremely anxious and scared even when OCD is mentioned. Like rn I can feel the anxiety in my chest and it feels like I'm about to have a panic attack. I don't know why this happens. I get a Facebook ad every now and again for OCD test trials and it makes me feel awful. I know this isn't related to the post but it'd been hard for me to even think about OCD for this long at once can anybody help idk why I feel like this",0 "Eternal sunshine of the spotless mind is incredible, anytime I’m reminded of that movie I have to go and text or tell my girlfriend how much I love her",1 Well *clearly* this guy never used randonautica. Checkm8 bruv,0 I’m so glad I’m not the only one who thinks about this.,0 "I’m sorry. OCD is the worst. It has cost me thousands of dollars over the years. But you can fight it. I know it’s hard but really push for some ERP here. Forbid yourself to check. Allow the anxiety to be there, bravely not trying to push it away. I promise you that the more you do it... the less you will be bothered by it. It takes months, but take a giant leap. Choose not to manage it. Choose to fight. I was 38/40 ybocs... today I’m functional. Anyone can do it ;)",0 For me ADHD is having a shower for 25 minutes and just standing there having internal dialogues until I begin finishing verbal thoughts out loud.,1 Good for you! You are figuring it out. It just takes some of us longer. Without meds; that’s very impressive. 👍,1 "Sometimes i wonder if the way i look trying to investigate my public ocd , do i look more suspicious while doing it? Damn i need to cover my suspension questions, what life is this?🤣🤣",0 "Who else sorta wants to check their shoulder now for a tiny figure? Also, love how you phrased it. You put OCD on the outside, as a pathetic sort of advisor or devil rather than something that lives inside of you. Very healthy and accurate to the ego-dystonic model too, which basically frames OCD that way - OCD is precisely the things which AREN'T you, which you DON'T want to do and are totally OUTSIDE of your essential self.",0 I shake my head and shrug my shoulder.. just the one shoulder because two would look weird.,0 "Late to the party so this will get lost but I LOVE to plan and organize and can think of the 29647 different amazing ways to prioritize, plan, design. Will. Never. Execute. Or will execute for a day or two then it feels like too much. Last semester towards the end when my initial planning wasn't coming together, I started timing my tasks. 10 min per page = reasonable expectation of time = didn't feel so bad to just get started. I now have post its it's with time reminders all around the house for tasks that seem daunting but are quick. So far this has raised my execution game to at least a level 3/10.",1 "Congratulations! Go out, be proud and make OCD feel like a loser haha",0 Omg bro I've never been able to describe it before but this is so spot on. I grew up in a very religious home and I've basically stopped believing in god because no God would allow some of us to be normal and happy while allowing some of us to be so fucking miserable all the time for no reason at all.,1 "ADHD and dirty dishes are a helluva combo. Before I got diagnosed and medicated, I couldn’t even start the dishes. If I did, I would rush through them and end up with dirty dishes at the end of every of everything. Now, with the right dose, I spend *too* long doing dishes. I kind of enjoy it once I start. I throw on some headphones and wash every dish thoroughly by hand because my dishwasher barely cleans anything.",1 "One thing that really helps me is to not stress about doing the whole task. I'm going to the kitchen anyways I'll bring a couple with me this time. Need to fold the laundry? I'll just do a couple and move on. Usually, once I've started something I hate doing I get sucked in and finish it all but not always. Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly.",1 "I would like to guess that if you are medicated that maybe you Havent eaten enough or are drinking caffeine in some form lol. I only say this as I get erratic and energised when this happens. Full of ideas and gusto but no ability to maintain focus on the task, instead I chase what I am excited by each minute, and new tasks seems more alluring and important than finishing the thing im already doing.",1 "I'm very clean but extremely disorganised. Lots of people don't realise that those of us with cleanliness and contamination obsessions can be messy and disorganised, too. Especially those who are literal perfectionists like me. It's already incomprehensible to many that not everyone with OCD has contamination issues and it's even more incomrehensible to people that someone can have contamination OCD and *still* be messy. After showering for hours on end, I just don't have the energy to put things away to my standard of neatness.",0 "Wow, that is amazing! I'm so happy for you, I can't imagine how great that must feel",0 "In college, I would plan my schedule for the next 4 years rather than actually do the homework for the classes I was already enrolled in...",1 Big mood when I quite literally couldn’t carry out part of my compulsions last night.,0 "Lol part of me thinks I am just addicted to the medications and looking for a way to get them with these symptoms. I know ever since going on it my life has been way better and clearer. But part of me still wonders even though it isn't logical.",1 yes but make it that you wake up 30 minutes before you have to leave with no shower and no time to cover up the fact you didn't shower,1 That's when I say okay and hang up and turn my phone on silent. Not like my mom gets the point but I don't have time for having my time wasted and being put down about my brain chemistry at the same time. I pick my struggles.,1 "That's so cheeky!. You must be keen as! Definitely a huge move to be proud of yourself for :) Congratulations go celebrate! OP tell me what you're gonna do to go feast in your gnarlyness? If nothing, you totally should, big accomplishments deserve some praise (pats head)",0 Literally the core issue of ADHD. If people with ADHD didn't have issues learning (getting info to stick) then it wouldn't be much of a learning disability.,1 I have to get up in two hours but just rolled over and said “where are all the cats” and got out of bed and counted them all. There is zero reason they shouldn’t all be here and safe. *sigh*,0 "It's kinda weird how your own OCD has insecurity of itself. Kinda crazy what the brain can do My life was hell until I learned that thoughts =/= actions. OCD is so weird.",0 "I spray painted something one time, got a stomachache, and convinced myself I was going to die of respiratory issues. Conclusion: My OCD bad.",0 "This is maybe the best part of OCD for me (though let's be clear, it's also very very bad.) I have a wide variety of somewhat useful knowledge because I feel a compulsory need to research things to make sure I'm ""okay"". Recently I've been on a philosophy/theory kick to make sure that my deeply held beliefs are okay -- due to scrupulosity. Really really bad for my anxiety about whether I'm a good person but I look like a cool snob who can bring up Gramsci, Burke, Proudhon etc at parties. ",0 "\> Spend 4+ hours in bed trying to fall asleep despite being tired \> End up getting up late the next day by accident \> Get called lazy and unmotivated It took me years to realise I'm actually really hard working and motivated, and that my getting up late always is because of my **mental health disorder**, not some innate laziness. But maybe this will help someone else realise a bit sooner than I did. :)",0 "Yep and if you want peace and quiet they keep bursting into your room with dumb questions and ""re you depressed?! Talk more. You can't just be quiet!""",1 Between getting ADHD from my mother and potentially Depression from my father I can say this is me most days.,1 "This is me in a nutshell these days - unless it's a new project I'm extremely interested in. (Am male too). Frustratingly, Adderall only seems to help a small amount with this. Strattera seems to make it worse (makes sense - norepinephrine is involved in both anxiety and perseverance in zebra fish, and uses an astroglial signalling mechanism for it). Has anyone found anything that does work reliably for the activation part? I know I have to do a task, but it's only after the deadline is passed or I'm right on top of it that things happen - even if I know what I have to get done, how to do it, and that it's easy.",1 Apparently my favourite track this year was Shake It Off because I played it on repeat on one of my bad days.,1 I would say that it’s not that I can’t understand the instructions per se but when I understand the why I am more likely to internalize them. Otherwise it’s something I do once and am likely to forget.,1 "This is my whole life. My husband loses things all the time but is terrible at finding them. I keep telling him to look literally everywhere - like you said,it doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense, look anyway. Things roll, we have cats, your memory is not reliable. Look, and look again (you might not have really looked the first or second time). Move things around, take everything out, account for every square inch of space. He still hasn't gotten the hang of it but it's ok. I almost always find it eventually.",1 "I will load the bases. Now will someone else please be the clean up batter? No seriously, someone needs to clean up the mess.",1 "this but with articles/youtube videos/websites, sometimes i have a window open with like 50 tabs and then one day im like ahh....yet again and then i close it like all the others before that :--)",1 Thanks! I needed this. Gotta finish de-fleaing the apartment :( cat is never going outside again,1 "This title hit me like a thunderbolt. I do that all the time! I actually *have* this book, but I haven't finished reading it. I'm currently reading her husband's newest book, ""ADHD 2.0"" (Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey). It's pretty good, and brand new. I'll have to go back and read ""The Disorganized Mind"" next. Thanks for reminding me of it!",1 "If you can recognize it in time, JUST DO IT. For me it started with dishes after I was done using them. I'd always think ""Do I wanna do it now, or later? Well I don't wanna do it now, doubt I'll wanna do it later, I'll probably be high later, so I'll do it now"". Since then, I just do shit in the moment cause it's just easier and gonna be less effort in the long run. At the end of the day I wanna be lazy, so if you group everything together, you can stay lazy longer, later.",1 "Trash? I see no trash here... I like how the shadow tendrils look like tree roots, so it's like the disease is digging itself into the person, but they also like blood vessels, so it's like the disease is infecting you or seeping into you or something like that. tomato/tomahtah",0 "Following is my version based on what I feel. Imagine your brain is a computer which has multiple processes running. Like imagine your speech, hearing, doing some action on some trigger all are separate process. These processes requires some amount attention of your brain (CPU time). Now imagine OCD as some virus process that consumes big amount of your memory as well as brain power (CPU power). Because of that other critical processes like mentioned above starve for resources. One examples is, when I speak in English (English not my native language), I really feel frequent interruptions as my OCD process continuously consumes my memory and brain power and doesn't allow my speaking process to get enough brain power when needed. Another example, when I write a code, I need to have a good focus. Consider thinking about some engineer problem and writing a code to solve that as a process that is CPU bound an requires great amount of computation (like Matlab doing some number crunching algorithm). At that time OCD consumes majority if not all of brain power (CPU cycles) and my coding process starves. This is real scenario happens with me all the time. I really struggle to solve tasks assigned to me because of OCD. If you try to kill it (almost impossible task), it executes itself again (or can't be killed virtually). If I install some antivirus (medicines etc), it remains silent for some time and then change itself to resist (typical computer virus polymorphic behavior) that antivirus and I need to install another antivirus after some time. This goes on and on. It has installed itself into the core/kernel of my brain so kernel thinks it is essential process and orders system to assign as much CPU and Memory as it needs.",0 "This is spot on. That need to do it just right so you feel settled, but it never really feels quite right anyway, and feeling angry and frustrated and ashamed and annoyed and sad as hell that you have to do it and spend that time. Solidarity to you all, ritual friends.",0 "As an OCD bi male, I think a lot of the problem comes from our own insecurities and how they interact with the people around us. The fact that we like to put labels on ourselves and others (bi/lesbian/straight) and our tendencies to give them more meaning than they originally come with makes everything more complicated than it needs to be. I like mostly women, but I've dated men in the past before and might continue to do so if things happen that way. Some folks might say I'm bi for attention or to feel included, while others might say I'm too thirsty for just women, but the reality of it is that I do what I do because that's a choice I've made on my own. This is what gives me the most happiness for my buck, so if I find my orientation bothers me or needs labeling, then I'll consult the opinions of others. The freedom to liberate yourselves from social norms should be one that's appreciated personally— it's kinda counterproductive if it creates more labels and forces more conformity. ^^;;",0 "I’m so happy for you! My friend has a bunch of ducks, they are so sweet, I hope it helps you! Xx",0 "Thank you, this is a good reminder to put things in perspective. I've been distressed lately that ""if it's not one theme, it's another"" with my OCD, and it feels endless.",0 That’s 50%-66% less today! That’s such great progress :) super proud of you fellow human,0 Lol I'm bringing up OCD with my psychologist tomorrow 2real,0 Me with every subreddit I’ve join... which is about 15.,1 omg I know! every day has a good hour of debating whether I'm the most horrible human that has ever horribled (accompanied with slideshow visuals of memories of cringe),0 "Wow I feel so validated seeing this post and responses. I literally dropped out of college because I would try and study and just fall asleep. It became a joke with friends because they would find me sleeping in all corners of the campus- library, cafeteria, under a tree, in a hallway. I desperately tried to change my surroundings, stick to a schedule, drink a bunch of water, drink a bunch of caffeine, and nothing ever worked. The only way I ever described it to people- it's like my mind is so under stimulated that it's just like ""okay bye"" and I get narcoleptic. I've been experimenting with medicine for the first time ever the past few months, and the biggest thing I've noticed is that my stimulant makes it so I can actually DO A THING when I get home from work. I don't get that overwhelming exhaustion during a task or during the middle of the day. Crazy stuff truly. If I'd known about my adhd years ago I may have made it through school.",1 "My OCD- helps with math homework. But makes procrastinating heck of a lot worse. “Yeah I’ll do my hw I just gotta make my room perfect first” then two hours later I’m exhausted from all the cleaning, straightening, tidying and organizing",0 "No but like, I had a little bit of a headache last night so I have Cancer... that’s pretty obvious to me. I stg, I cannot cough or swallow hard or be warm or burp or be dehydrated without thinking I’m about to die of some terrible disease. I hate it.",0 "Anyone reading this, please also I’d suggest Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is on Audible as well and the rules are great for ADHD.",1 "\>Wake up at 2 or 3pm \>Eat lunch \>""Too early to sit down on the computer"" \>Go to my backyard and listen for music during 2 hours or so. \>Take a shower \>Sit down on the computer at like 5pm \>""Too early to play any games"" \>Waste like 3 hours or so on Discord \>Either play the guitar or play a game until like 10/11pm \>""Too late to do the other activity I didn't do"" \>Eat dinner at like 12pm/1am \>Spend the next 3 hours doing practically nothing \>Everyone goes to sleep \>Stay up until 7am doing nothing but listening to music, perhaps I'll study for 30 minutes if I feel like it. \>Repeat",1 "Every time I think about what a little dumb ass I must’ve looked like avoiding cracks, I have deep searing cringe",0 "I know everyone hates her but Lele Pons talks about her experience with it in a YouTube special, and I went into it expecting it to be the cutesy stereotype since there have been accusations of her doing strange things to get attention in the past. But it was actually pretty spot on with the real issues people can have with it and it wasn’t just “I’m a perfectionist, teehee.” There were also scenes that got pretty serious with her crying and having panic attacks. (This isn’t my way of saying I’m a fan of her now though. I don’t care for her usual content) Her fanbase is young, which in theory is great cause they’re learning the truth early on. But when I read the comments, I could tell most of these kids didn’t even watch the video cause they just kept asking “what is ocd?” and other kids would give the stereotype answers, or they’d say “Do you ever have bad thoughts sometimes? That’s OCD.” which isn’t the common stereotype but it’s still way too general of an explanation and then kids would start replying with “oh, well then I guess I have ocd.” Hopefully the comments are different now since I only read them back when the video was still new. I know they’re just kids and I wasn’t really angry as much as I was just sad that even when there’s a perfectly good video explaining the truth about ocd, the ignorance of it can still be relentless.",0 "It aggravates me that ocd controls us & makes us do the tiniest, stupidest, most insignificant things. But to us it's a big deal breaking free from them! Congrats dude♡ you will only get better and better",0 "Yup, I work at a high risk job and my hands are terrible. Red and dry and cracking with little blood spots. I’m probably washing 20+ times a day",0 "Thanks, I needed to hang up my new curtains. I should probably do laundry too...",1 "I love this. I haven't been able to get treatment due to lack of insurance, so you have no idea how seeing stuff like this- no matter how goofy or silly,- makes me feel less alone and helps me to reframe my thoughts to a better place, so thank you :) Every time I see memes like this I honestly feel so relieved I am not the only one in this place. And I finally feel like my craziness is not so crazy when I can see that other people deal with it too. Please keep creating!",0 "Oh my god, I genuinely thought I was the only one. I have never and have no desire to say the N word but I am so afraid it's going to slip out one day. For no reason lol.",0 "Yes! I get emotional and have those thoughts too. It's usually things like, ""what if this is the last time I see them?"" or ""what if this our last Thanksgiving together?"" But I do it with everyone and there is no rhyme or reason to who I grieve. Sometimes it's my 90 year old grandparents, other times it's my 7 year old. ​ I obsess a lot about death. Every time I open my garage door I always hold my breath because I am half expecting to see someone hanging from the rafters. My entire life I have had horrible intrusive thoughts in random situations. For example, standing in the kitchen and have family over for dinner. My brain will auto start thinking something like, ""What if I took this knife and stabbed X right now?"" How would everyone react? How would X react? Would they fall over? Die right away? Would there be a lot of blood? What if I stabbed them in this spot instead? How would everyone react to that? How would they react? and on and on with me changing minor details etc. I fucking hate intrusive thoughts- seriously the worst part of any mental illness I have- even worse than wanting to stay in bed all day from depression. They are the one thing I wish I could just get rid of and never have to experience again.",0 "That's my Dad. He'll talk most of the way through an episode or movie when family members are trying to watch, even if we beg him to be quiet, multiple times. When he runs out of stuff to talk about, he'll take out his smartphone and start reading us biographical data from the actors' Wikipedia pages, and when we've all ignored him, he'll finally ask us what's going on in the movie. Rinse and repeat. Every. Evening. Knowing what condition he has doesn't make being around him any easier, unfortunately. I feel horrible, but I've seen my mother cry from frustration too many times.",1 Probably people who think OCD is “so quirky” and is just perfectionism. But I’d gladly give them mine I could.,0 Congratulations!! Sending you a virtual hug ... keep pushing through!,0 Do you think if I say sorry to that person the OCD will vanish?,0 Well this is a personal attack so I’m gonna go lie down in bed for the next 3 days straight and not drink a single sip of water and be upset at myself and then on day 4 I’m gonna get up and wonder why I feel like absolute shit and pretend that I have no idea why I have had the same continuous headache since 2012. Thank you.,1 Why would someone want this??!! Life would be so much easier without it. Just an FYI. Ocd doesn’t necessarily make you a clean freak. I’m actually a rather messy person with severe ocd,0 I absolutely love drawing and I also absolutely love crocheting but I can never do them at the same time. I'll alternate one or the other for about half a year and ill take a break with the one I'm not focused on. It sucks cause I love them both and I hate how long I wait before I get back in the mood.,1 Not me still unable to date at 20 BC I embarrassed myself with a boy at 13 🤩,0 "This is me right this minute. Plus I have several things to do, and I'm not doing any of them because I can't figure out what I should do first, and I keep going back and forth. Ugh...",1 "I actually find this to be beneficial sometimes. I’m writing a book (well, trying) and outlining my chapters has really helped me avoid pacing issues",1 Sucks for me because I work overnights and have to do afternoon appointments. I had an appointment today at 2 and I’m all messed up from it.,1 I just had an ocd dream last night and it fucking terrified me.,0 "Aww, that’s awesome! I’m curious to know how it is with the 2nd pill. I’m on 20mg ER, but it’s not getting me through the day.",1 "Uggggh, so much today! Also, I never read past the title, so sorry if this was a scathing reply.",1 "It’s like your mind imagines something that clearly didn’t happen, but then you question whether it did happen.",0 "I am a force of nature, nothing is impossible for me. I have no limits.",1 I also love the lack of toxic positivity here. Hearing that someone else feels the same negative emotions that I do makes me feel less alone. I want to be able to give that support to the people who come here to vent their frustrations.,1 "Isn't there a ""t"" missing in the beginning? Or am I not understanding something? ??? ""It's"" vs ""I's""",0 "I dated someone with OCD but he and I were undiagnosed at the time. Our cultural backgrounds don’t believe in psychology so after I got my diagnosis I shared it with him. He didn’t believe me. It would have been nice to share my experiences with him, as he used to say we were the same. I wish people understood psychology more.",0 This is fantastic. I hope you don't mind if I use it in my office!,0 "I am sitting and reading this thread, in tears. At 44, I have just been prescribed a dose of Ritalin to try. I am back at school, working on gathering prereqs for a Masters Degree. I have been overwhelmed, unable to focus. Everything I am reading is resonating so much. All the things you've all said to yourselves, I have been saying for quite some time to myself, hating myself for not being able to get it together. I don't remember being like this when I was younger, but I think maybe the fact that I was a musician and my 1st degree was in music really helped me to focus, and I was able to get by without meds? Because it was more of a 'doing' degree? That and my grades were so good, no one called me on my inattentiveness. All I know is that as I've gotten older, I have struggled so much more. I always thought it was my crazy job, or caring for a sick parent making it so I couldn't get organized, couldn't pay my bills on time, couldn't keep track of anything. Those factors are now gone, and I am literally doing NOTHING but taking 2 courses online.... and I can't keep up. And I've been sitting here berating myself for weeks about how hard it's been to focus, to read, to write, and what's wrong with me?? How will I handle a Masters program, if I can't even handle 2 part-time courses? I'm scared to try the meds, but all of your stories are resonating so deeply with me.",1 "This. I ace my interviews, but a few months later....I can’t pretend any longer. This is why I’ve had soooo many jobs.",1 "Yes. All of this. I made a post about this exact concept a while back, but you extrapolated on it even better than I did. It just feels nice to not be alone!",1 I feel this deeply haha. I'm having a hard time concentrating nowadays,0 "Ok so one little thing that helped me with this, is changing the app that I put my chores in. I use Google Tasks because you can actually check them off a list instead of just silencing an alarm. I know this sounds way to simple for it to work/ so stupid that it isn't worth trying, bit just try it for a week. If I'm wrong and it doesn't help you, then you can call me out on it later. There's just something about checking off a task on a list, and then seeing the list get shorter makes me want to keep doing it. I'll even set them up like a videogame, where I'll have a bunch of micro-tasks assigned to a chore. I do this using the sub - task option in the app. I think iphones have something similar, but if you have a Google or Android phone it's pretty easy to use.",1 "Lol how about me waking up with dreams of being raped every night until I was in high school? How about barely being able to function because my anxiety is out of control? How about being isolated for five years because I’m completely broken? I fucking wish I could meet this person at least once and drill them until there blue in the face. This is disgusting",0 "Yeah I know that mechanism. My psychologist told me that AD(H)D brains mostly don't ""hold"" things long enough to really work with them. But emotional work needs to be hold and felt to be worked with (and to be processed fully).",1 "I was only diagnosed in my late twenties. I always thought ADHD was simply just what the hyper kids at school used to have. I thought I was just a lazy piece of garbage. I guess my parents had the same view. I am disappointed that it was never picked up by any of my teachers in school or possibly the neurologist I saw for my frequent childhood migraines. The diagnosis made me feel like I’d found my car keys after searching for 20 years. With medication, I finally feel like I’m living my life and I often wonder how different things would be if I had been diagnosed much earlier. In the past ten years I’ve noticed so much more about mental health in the spotlight which is a huge step in the right direction. I hope ADHD will follow - I only feel that if my parents knew more about it they would’ve been able to see the signs. I don’t blame them at all, but I like to think that if I ever have children I know what to look out for.",1 "I used to count up to 27 and reset, chew evenly on each side, and count words in subtitles- or else I’d lose my family. Now that I opened up about it, my family wants me to NOT do those- or else I’d lose my family. What to do… what to do...",0 I was 100% convinced I had schizophrenia until my psychiatrist told me that OCD can make you have intrusive thoughts.,0 I may or may not have upvoted and scrolled right past this to continue to look at reddit 👀,1 "My husband and I alway say that we need an “Alice” from the Brady bunch. We both have adhd, & so do our 2 boys who bounce around like ping pong balls in the evening, leaving trails of disaster. Although, they’re getting a LITTLE better. I’m 46, and I teach 6 year olds. I need an assistant there too. My grandmother was a teacher and somehow managed to have a maid. Would be amazing. But, we did just hire a professional organizer who came in & conquered our out of control basement & “office” (aka- junk room). SO amazing. Then we had the house deep cleaned. Also amazing. Both pricey, but needed. It’s just all SO much sometimes. Doesn’t help that dinner is usually 2-3 different meals for various reasons. 🙄 OP- so happy for you! Thank for sharing your life-improving move!!",1 "you pretty much summarized what I have been through for a long time; no matter how much effort I put in these thoughts and compulsions, I feel like I'm stuck in square one; I feel like if I refused to solve my thoughts, then I would be a coward or I would be just delaying a relapse and while these thoughts were not solved I couldn't enjoy anything and couldn't focus on anything else;",0 yeah I never understood when people would remark I was smart or thought I was able to think in ways most people can't. if all of that's true why can't I FUNCTION IN DAY TO DAY LIFE,1 "Nope! I’m ready to just lose it all, be a bum, and travel around in a van. Jokes aside, treat all OCD the same!",0 I'm very worried about this being true. I'm going to a therapist soon and I'm so worried that it's just going to be something else,0 """You are what you think, MONSTER"" really hit me. Great art, thank you for sharing",0 "Seriously you are killing it, don’t be too hard on yourself it took a lot of courage to put yourself out there like this :)",0 "Nope, but I've forgotten to do it when I've told myself that I need to do that in a moment when I finish doing whatever I'm doing.",1 "Aw jeez, this hits so close to home. I save so many posts and never once went back to look at them.",1 "Remember , electricity is magic and we have it more then the average person in our brains, albeit painfully resonating lol keep up the good fight....",0 "memory is a big part of my adhd, so i definitely hear what you’re saying. personally i’ve found that physically writing things down on paper helps a lot. now the next step (and imo the true challenge) is remembering that this method works and fighting past the exec dysfunction to actually start taking the notes. also make sure you’re getting enough QUALITY sleep because that’s when your brain sorts short-term memories into long-term storage. you can do it, i believe in you!",1 "SO MUCH THIS! I've been thinking this for the past month and decided my OCD contamination fears might finally be useful for something other than tormenting me. I've been training for this my whole life. Edit: just realized I misread the last sentence. I thought it said ""confident I WON'T get the coronavirus."" Ah well, I suppose it's true we're all probably screwed regardless.",0 Literally just got done bleaching my tub because GF took a shower.,0 "I know this, but I can’t for the life of me remember what it is",1 "I always think to myself that I'm just playing while I'm trying to create something new because I know I'm not going to make it how I thought... But... I don't work... Well I have a decent rock band, if that counts.",1 "This has been me since my dad started working from home since the outbreak. Any little noise made while he’s on the phone, “I just got my own father fired” immediately comes in.",0 Supposed to be moving into my own place today.. I should be excited.. but I'm having trouble getting out of bed .,1 The difference between good and bad thoughts is choice. Always important to remember.,0 "Have legit told my therapist that I feel 'fundamentally broken,' before. Probably made extra spicy by my cPTSD. Heh.",1 "This is completely me when planning everything of school that I have to do, how much time it should take, what I can just ignore... And then, end up never doing it because I keep finding something else to do.",1 "That summed up my current feeling. I also have a horrible doctor who questions my diagnosis because I didn't get diagnosed during childhood. I am literally a student researching ADHD in woman and I know his thinking is due to bias and he obviously isn't keeping up with current research, but I also struggle with confronting authority figures so I just shut down and take it.",1 "I had a really exciting event to attend on Tuesday. Did I prepare for it with enough to time to spare? No! I rushed through shower makeup etc within 30mins and felt flustered, hot and bothered 🤦‍♀️",1 For me it even goes so far as upvoting just upon reading a relatable title and moving on immediately 😭,1 "Congratulations! That's a huge accomplishment! I wish you luck and continued success, you got this!",0 "ADHD messes with your dopamine reward system. Basically, we react to all negativity the same in the moment. The same receptors that provide our motivation are the ones that make us feel good when someone smiles at us. So, motivation reduces when we feel misunderstood or whatever. Luckily, the opposite is also true. We are motivated through encouragement (as long as we don’t trigger our inner shame spiral) more than neurotypical people. Literally, the high of someone being understanding in the moment and saying they have faith in us or whatever can make us feel like we can move mountains.",1 "This has been my entire evening today and yesterday, it has fucking sucked",0 "Hi, I’m glad you found us. This post demonstrates your ability to clearly articulate your thoughts over writing. I hope its success gives you greater confidence in expressing your thoughts verbally. Something that helped me immensely with real-time verbal processing was taking Upright Citizen Brigade’s 101 Improv class in NYC. The structure of improv scenes helped me understand the “proper” flow of conversations. It gave me a space to experiment with expressing myself on the spot, speak without editing, and most helpfully - the safety to spin out with a “lousy” expression without fear of judgment from my peers who might wipeout for their own reasons. I still have moments where I don’t express myself perfectly or succinctly, but I’ve also learned to lower the stakes of conversation and realize others have their own fears and constructs keeping them from feeling their best selves too. Improv taught me to be lighter, to have more fun with words, and to not be a slave to words. Cheers, and good luck to all of you my bright lil ADHD fam.",1 "this is an old post, but I literally just did that and it made me laugh for the first time in a bit lmfao- so thank you",0 Yeah I've been getting this for the past couple of months when trying to sleep. So many deeply covered memories pop out and I just can't sleep because I keep going down the void of these long forgotten negative memories. Some nights I just sit on my bed for like an hour in a trance like state because I get hit with a memory and start ruminating before I even had the chance to lay down.,0 "always. i also have this weird thing for loud sounds, like if i hear them, i feel like someone head just popped and bleed.",0 Folks don’t take this personally! Remember that not everyone including celebrities and social media influencers have never experienced OCD and only know what’s portrayed on TV/Movies!,0 "I feel you. Sometimes, I could be ""regurgitating"" what u researched, and half through explaining my findings, I have a brain fart and forget the rest of the information I obtained. Or I can't go on to further explain my findings. Or I jusy simply forget to relay the rest of the information. It's annoying af. Like why, brain? I'm like: ""so, I did some research on the Hansen's disease colony at Kalaupapa, on the island of Moloka'i, and it turns out that any babies born to Hansen's disease (leprosy) patients at the settlement were forced to relinquish the baby. Apparently, the government at the time was afraid that newborn babies will contract leprosy from being in close contact with their mothers, but that was later proven to not be the case. Or something like that....I don't remember. I think the kingdom of Hawaii/territorial government of Hawaii was afraid of widespread pandemic, or whatever...."" And the other perosn is like: ???? *asks questions regarding what I just said anyway despite being confused*",1 "My brain 24/7: Schizophrenic schizophrenic schizophrenic schizophrenic schizophrenic Psychopath psychopath psychopath psychopath And the good old: ""Fuck you, you're shit"" I'm suicidal at this point, bidding my time. I spend my days giving advice on r/OCD till I find the courage to ...yeah. I just hope I can help others till then!",0 ocd is sadly very misunderstood. people don't get the severity of the illness and how debilitating it can be. :(,0 the world-class squidward painting really makes this post,0 Wow you just described my life for the past couple months feels bad man,1 [https://i.redd.it/ec2tcrvyhci61.jpg](https://i.redd.it/ec2tcrvyhci61.jpg),1 "Is that people don’t understand how severely OCD can impact your life, they just think it makes you clean and organized",0 My mental image of my OCD has always been something like this. Glad to see another understands ❤️,0 "My pharmacy's credit card machine was down when I went to pick up my meds. I watched them give the three people ahead of me their meds and when it came to me .... ""ahh can you come back?"" Lol. Fuck.",1 I may like things a certain way but do you have to have them exactly the same every time or you’ll have a panic attack?,0 Nice to hear I'm not the only one with this exact intrusive thought. 🙌,0 Wow yea I can relate! I finally had a day off today and planned to do so much but didn’t do much because the timing wasn’t “right”. At first I woke up too early but then went back to bed because “it’s my day off I deserve a lie in” so my whole daily routine was thrown off. I’ve got to try again next day lol,1 "Haha even though ocd and anxiety has and is literally ruining my life and every relationship I have,this is still funny as hell.",0 How about disassociation?? This is a bad one for me along with intrusive thoughts.,0 "Idk if this will be helpful for anyone with contamination issues, but try thinking that that more people ARE washing their hands. You don't have to increase, others are increasing. Your normal amount is fine. It's okay. Others are being cleaner right now so we are cleaner as a whole.",0 I can hear my freshman English teacher telling me to stop comma splicing (fancy way of saying too many commas).,1 It’s my lunch break and I’m hiding out in my car eating it— thank you. I need to put this time and energy in looking for a better job.,1 "The worst part is that my OCD’s gotten so bad that I actually look forward to my depressive episodes. I think more clearly and am able to better focus on chores or work during them. It takes less of a toll on me to be completely hopeless than to have horrible thoughts pop into my head as if they’re my own. At least the depression doesn’t make me feel like a monster. :,)",0 "**ME**: I am sure i wont ever harm a child or have sexual fantasies about doing it! :) **POCD be like**: Are you sure about this ? Maybe you can fight against your sexual desire for a bit before you can't be normal anymore. MUAHAHA. ​ *my life is miserable ugh.*",0 "Is no one going to correct it to youre*? Anyone else here get really anxious about grammar?",0 "Best post I’ve seen on ADHD. Thank you, from an underachieving compensator on the internet. I needed to be reminded of all you wrote.",1 "My diagnosis is pretty new to me and I was medicated immediately after so I haven’t had time to obsess over my symptoms and actions. This of course makes me feel like maybe I’m not OCD, since I haven’t connected every single strand of evidence.",0 "This is very relatable. I also hate that it’s seen as unprofessional to ask a lot of questions because it’s like we’re expected to already know how to do our jobs, so if I ask clarifying questions in the name of being conscientious, people think I just suck at my job.",1 "That’s huge! Congratulations, I am proud of you,too!",0 came here for a reaction image to describe my state. thank you.,0 "I lurk here and don't feel I can count myself among as a proper person with genuine ocd because I've never been to the doctors about my anxiety and I don't want to arrogantly diagnose myself, but this is the third post this week that has been very very very relatable :(",0 I’m glad to know I’m not alone. I’m sad to know others suffer with this as well though.,1 "Pretty much all the jobs I quit is because management said I was working too slow and wouldn't compromise on it, this putting me in a spiral of believing that I am just not good enough for the job and I should just quit so they can hire someone better. I haven't had a job for a couple years now because of this thinking because every job I get lasts shorter and shorter.",1 "If this person knew what actually went on in my OCD mind, I'd don't think they'd find me very attractive.",0 "This really hit home. I've got a list of past and put off and wasn't consistent enough to finish projects that honestly could have changed my life for the better if I stuck with them, or made someone else's life better. it's like there's a new thing every couple weeks and the last thing becomes a drag.",1 I love this list but no way I can read it in one sitting,1 Just had me a lovely panic attack thinking of an impossible future.,0 "Yeah. I have a friend who constantly said that he has OCD and then proceeded to talk about how clean his room used to be or whatever. Like, cleaning is definitely a symptom of OCD people get but just cause your neat doesn’t make you have a mental disorder. He’s a good guy but it bothers be a lot, I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if I’m just gatekeeping but I feel like he doesn’t know what all of these mental disorders he says that he has actually mean. I don’t know maybe I’m an asshole but it bothers me Edit: Okay he seems to be self-aware about it at least. He said that it wasn’t a serious diagnosis and that he throws terms around a lot, but it still kind of bothers me",0 This is so amazing and so accurate. Thank you for this ♥️,0 But I just started scrollin cuz homegirls meds n the obvious (adhd) are keepin me up.....,1 "I didn’t know symmetry was an ocd thing until a month or two ago. I thought was crazy for having to feel the same sensation on each side of me. Like if one arm touches something cold, the other arm had to touch it. It blew my mind that it wasn’t just me that had to do this. I’m trying to overcome that one but it’s hard. I did obsessive tongue cleaning for a while and hand washing. I can’t overcome the even number thing, however I have convinced myself that I’m ok with the number three. My husband has to kiss me twice; but if he tries to fuck with me and give me three kisses, I’m now ok with that too.",0 "I think of it as like, an eye of a hurricane, because it feels like such a relief to hit it but then you're just right back into the storm a minute later lmao.",0 Lmao these ocd memes keep me alive and are so validating,0 "Yup, and uh - everybody’s going to figure out one day I’m a big fat *fraud.*",0 I am Native American and this is the Indian Health Service to a T.,0 This reminds me of when my 2yo niece told a penguin to fly because it had wings. LOL,1 I remember my dad taking my art book away because he thought it was possesed with demons,0 Ah yes that equilateral triangle of fun is why I had psychosomatic chest pain for ~3 years,1 "my OCD explaining how, in morbid detail, how horrible a person i am and how everyone will hate me and the world will end if i don’t hang up the dish towels exactly right after dropping them💞😘✨🤞🏾😸",0 "Ooohhh! I've been playing this game! Except I get to add ""because I'm 4 months into my first pregnancy"". So, all of those things plus wild hormones., What exactly does ""normal"" even feel like anymore?",1 "So I don’t “know” if I have ADHD... I haven’t been diagnosed. But I did try to call to psychiatrists about 3 months ago and haven’t heard back nor been able to manage calling any others... after watching this video I’m pretty damn sure I do. In the back of my mind I know I get productive when I get pissed or someone is mad at me, I wonder why I can’t do that when I’m not mad. I’ve also wondered why I can’t always motivate With a time or music... especially with computer work! Looks like I have a wall to climb! Thank you OP so much for posting this!",1 "I went through this exact thing at an employer. As a newly minted tech lead I was expected to write tasks for other devs in the form of Microsoft Team Foundation tickets. Problem is the UI of that program is terrible for an ADHDer. Lots of go here do this click here enter a datum click there enter a datum, crap what was I just doing? It's too tedious to be easy and not hard enough to be interesting. Plus as someone with executive dysfunction it's hard for me to direct myself to do something, now I'm having to prethink and break down tasks for others? I think there was a lot of Peter Principle at play getting promoted into that position. What would happen is that my managers / more senior co-workers would say things like, ""I know you could just sit down and crank out creating all these TFS tasks in a day if you just focused."" And the problem is YES, I could - only on the last day under duress of literally being told I would be fired if I didn't get those done by close of business. After each time that that worked they'd say see that wasn't so bad now why can't you just do that but not at the last minute? I hadn't yet gotten diagnosed at that point, so even I couldn't tell why I was like this. I just knew I was miserable and constantly stressed - 9 out of 10 days from trying to make my brain work and appearing to be doing nothing, and the 10th day from working like a maniac to catch up. When I finally got diagnosed with ADHD and on stimulant meds, it was like when I got glasses for the first time and realized it's not normal for everything to be blurry. You mean normal people can just sit down to do something - and just do it? Without needing a figurative gun to the head? It was the most amazing thing.",1 "Currently sitting in the bathroom of my office, battling the urge to vomit (not sure if I'm sick or stress). Want nothing more than to leave my job in pursuit of something that may make me feel more fulfilled, but knowing I've been unable to put myself in a situation where that's possible without going jobless, knowing Ive fought so many battles to just get to where I am. I really feel for you. I don't have an answer for you, or myself. But I want you to understand I know how you feel, and I find comfort in knowing you understand how I feel. We live to fight another day.",1 And then they all violently hit at once and you want to go in to a shell,0 "Yup! Spot on and it drives you crazy. I've started many new jobs and rock the world of my new employer. After a few years, everyday tasks are ho hum and you start looking for new work. After several years, suddenly your resume has the appearance of a job hopper and employers shy away. In the process of working for multiple employers, your background becomes diversified and rock solid offering a great opportunity for any employer, but the job hopper becomes an anchor around your neck.",1 """The only way for Jim’s school teachers to subdue his rambunctious behaviour was to give him fifteen minutes at the end of the school day to perform a stand up routine in front of his classmates."" I always thought that was an interesting insight into his life.",1 Omfg hearing someone else explain it makes me so mad at myself. Why do I always ruin my favorite things.,0 SO ACCURATE - like looking back on things I used to think I’m like uhhhhh wow symptom not real thing,0 "Yeah, I thought my constant intrusive thoughts were just my over active imagination.",0 Hi! I found out one of my old classmates has ocd the other day and just wanted to hug him soooo bad!!! We were good friends back then and I had no idea (though looking back there were signs),0 Crazy part is: someone with adhd just read the title and the first sentences and actually thought this was the cure,1 "You know what really makes me sad? The fact that I didn’t even know what those with OCD go through, despite it being such a worldwide thing. I had to read the hundreds of stories from those who suffer to truly understand. (My husband has it, not me, but rarely talks about it) and i WANT to understand. But there’s such a stereotype that the only symptoms are cleanliness and having things organized. I’m really happy I’ve learned some of the REAL symptoms from reading these stories from people who actually live with this. It’s really opened my eyes.",0 Cant wait for the day i meet someone i can find comfort in like this!! Oh how lovely it would be to just talk to someone who gets it,0 That sounds frustrating. I wish to you one day you'll look back and be glad you're in a better time. I know you can do this.,1 "I wonder how much the different attitudes relate to the availability of medication. That is, medication makes it feel like ADHD is something that is treatable and therefore as something that can be somewhat externalized as a syndrome that affects us, as opposed to being an inherent quality of us as a person. The lack of corresponding treatment for ASD makes it more difficult to externalize it. Also, I'm so glad you feel welcome and supported here!",1 "I was diagnosed in 3rd grade, but still didn’t understand this particular aspect of ADHD until grad school. I WANTED to do my schoolwork, I loved my grad program, but still had days when I couldn’t get a darn thing done. I’ve come to understand that for me, I can get overwhelmed when there are too many options, or when I have so much to do I don’t know where to start. I was eventually able to come up with strategies, but it was only after I could name the beast and figure out why I was shutting down. I always thought it was because I was a lazy fart face! I’m just saying I’m so glad this place exists, because just understanding what goes on in other brains helps me soooo much! ❤️🤘",1 "That's adorable. lol I imagine my ROCD as a very overprotective and nervous vampire, for some reason. My boyfriend named him Eduardo.",0 "Not exactly the same, but I guess I'll share anyway, as it's come to mind. In high school, for about 4-5 months, I started getting obsessive thoughts about pulling the fire alarms at school. Of course, there were many fire alarms in the school, and I had to walk past them each day no matter where in the building I was. Every time I had to walk past one (I knew where they all were) I was so sure that I would pull the fire alarm, and get in trouble for it being a false alarm, and my brain would send me down the spiral of ""if the fire department comes to the school and it's a false alarm, they won't be able to actually help real emergencies and people will die and it'll be all your fault"". ​ It was a painful time, and I didn't tell anyone, because I thought they would see me as a mischief-maker or crazy or both and that they wouldn't believe that I pulled the alarm due to OCD if I acted on it. It never actually happened because I was able to try to walk down the halls when others were around (logic being that if others were around, I wouldn't pull the alarm because I would get caught right away). ​ Honestly I don't really know how I survived that period of high school.",0 "My OCD evolved over time. My thoughts started out of a fear of death, then hell, now I’m afraid of harming people. It changes every few years",0 "I thought this said erectile dysfunction and I got scared for my future, but we’re good. Peepee still work lmaoo",1 "I'm somewhat different. If I can do my exact routine from getting up till my meeting, fine. So if the meeting's at 6pm, great. If it's at 3 then I'm screwed because after that I won't be able to do anything at all.",1 "So true. And not only that, but I feel like some motivational quotes have gotten so generic that we need to start tacking on little qualifiers like “...unlessssss you’re racist”.",0 "We have to climb the wall of emotional and mental baggage we've piled up when it comes to managing the task How To ADHD calls it the ""wall of awful"" and she does a great job explaining it [https://youtu.be/Uo08uS904Rg](https://youtu.be/Uo08uS904Rg) and later does a great job explaining how to deal with it [https://youtu.be/hlObsAeFNVk](https://youtu.be/hlObsAeFNVk) **edit** Thank you for the silver kind stranger! If these videos could really help anyone to understand themselves even a little bit better then I'm genuinely happy. :)",1 "Tell me about it. I used to just have checking OCD, now I have checking + hygiene OCD. Fuck coronavirus.",0 I have probably thought this exact phrase after messing up a ritual.,0 "This made me laugh cause this is 100% me and I also read this in his voice lmao. Seeking reassurance is a normal response to traumas; we learn to seek peace from external sources cause our inner worlds are so messy and distrusted.",0 "Hey you got up, that's a battle in and of itself somedays",0 "23 is an evil number for me, more like 8,16, 50, 55, 100 for me. It sounds crazy",0 "I hate these memes. I can literally make a generic meme about mental health and get 100000 upvotes. Just do a comic saying ''How does it feel in your head?'' - re: ''It feels like an apocalypse''. And you'd get comments like ''OMG SO RELATABLE, THIS IS RELATABLE CONTENT'' ''tHiS IS hOW I FeEl DAILY'' \- 400-700 Upvotes",0 "Anybody have any more ideas for rewards? I have a hard time thinking of rewards for myself. I tried candy but I’m trying to stay away from that as it’s unhealthy. I could see video games as a reward but I feel like that’s also a terrible habit that I don’t want to start. So I guess any positive rewards out there? I considered “paying myself” by moving cash to a jar I could visually see. But I stopped caring about that because I end up spending money when I want to regardless.",1 Omg same :( thenn u start to wonder if u have it or not.. sometimes i feel so weak that any kind of thought could make me obsessive 😔😔😔,0 I think this is why I have a hard time with retail therapy/impulse buying. It scares me to walk in and out without buying something.,0 "I just stopped taking holidays. I started taking them cause of guilt and all that, and would just quit for the weekend, but I found it made for uselessness on mondays. I think I do need to get a dosage increase though.",1 How bad would it be if I sent this to my therapist? Lmao,0 "I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't think I needed to hear this....but it helped. I don't care if that sounds cliche or anything, but that made me tear-eyed just a little. Thank you for posting this.",1 "Yes !! I have always done this with some things but never considered it was connected to my OCD! One thing that sticks out from childhood is there were these crystal bear things that were very tiny and would hang from your ceiling fan. For some reason , I gave mine to my grandmother (my mother probably pressured me into it.) I remember being at her house and looking up at the ceiling fan and seeing that bear and feeling so sad that I gave it away , like I hurt it by doing that. I cried and asked for it back and my grandmother and mother called me an “Indian giver” (racist, yes. My family is full of it and dysfunction.) I think they bought me a new one but it wasn’t the same and they didn’t understand. I also would feel incredibly sad when I got older and gave some old toys away . I felt sad like I had betrayed them and let them down by growing up . ",0 "I saved one ages ago that linked me to a site where you can check out how devastating a nuclear bomb would be. that was a nice find and an hour of fucking about was educational too, I love stuff like that.",1 "Eeee, I would say it is more like watching a tv with 30 channels (you only see one) and someone has the remote.",1 "I hate brushing my teeth cause I have this compulsion to brush all of them three times. Every time. It takes three times as long and by the end it makes me almost gag, but I HAVE to do it, otherwise I can‘t stop brushin’. Well I would probably hate it too if it wasn’t such a chore for me since I hate everything that I HAVE to do.",1 This is why I have so much anxiety about public bathrooms,0 Subtitles help me keep my focus on the movie. I still miss half of the movie though.,1 "What do I do if I can't afford help from a good doctor? I got diagnosed when I still have good insurance and a decent therapist some years ago. My psychiatrist then was also helpful with figuring out what meds I could take and what dosages worked. Because my insurance is so shitty now, I've only been able to go to very low rated mental health centers. The psychiatrists are very simple minded. I've had three and my last one didn't believe adhd was debilitating for me because I sat in my chair the whole time I was being introduced to him. They're very stingy with meds and I need to make multiple appointments I can't afford before asking for meds again. I've had a therapist for over a year now, but all I've gotten out of her so far is ""Replace negative thoughts with positives, try harder, stop making excuses."" Im starting to think therapy just isn't for me, but I don't want to give up when there's a chance I could be getting some real help. I just don't want to waste time and energy anymore.",1 "It's definantly a pain trying to research it. I didn't get diagnosed till last year, but my friend brought it up when I mentioned that caffeine makes me tired. I never would have even suspected I had ADHD until he said that, because all I knew was ADHD made you hyper and all over the place. I had issues with depression and hard-core anxiety and didn't know that undiagnosed adult ADHD could be the reason. I think back after looking through articles and talking to my therapist and my doctor and there were a lot of signs. I tend to hyperfocus when it comes to school or reading so I never considered it,but I had a huge issue with keeping things clean and organized. I also would lose track of time and had insomnia from a racing brain. None of those things registered to what I had ever heard about ADHD.",1 Literally my exact situation right now :( Wish this bitch would just stay gone!!!,0 "So great! In my case, I wanted ERP to be available and practiced by a very skilled provider to overcome my OCD. Between the severity of my OCD, my comorbid disorders (Bipolar 1 being the biggest comorbid barrier) and insurance difficulties it never came to be. For me, medication (both an SSRI and 2 atypical antipsychotics combined, amongst others) I was finally able to decrease the severity enough to start to do a version of ERP on my own. I have some educational and past occupational experience in mental health, but am in no way qualified to properly practice ERP. In any case, the version of ERP I did on my own, made possible in large part by medications helped tremendously. I spent a decent amount of time when a flare would lure me into 20 hr per day of OCD, and now my severity would be classified as high-mild to (more likely) low moderate. I continue on medications and do a little ERP regularly. It is incredibly brave to be able to face down the terror OCD does its best to fall upon us. It's cool to feel how ""high"" you are on this huge accomplishment! Congratulations.",0 "My friend saw a gross image once from like Reddit 50/50 and they're squeamish so they were very grossed out. Then they told me that they couldn't get it out of their head (it had been 5 minutes) and they thought they had OCD and asked me to diagnose them.",0 OMG it’s absolutely gorgeous! This is freaking awesome I would have to hang this up in my room and then stair into it as I fall asleep at night. Amazing work!,0 "oh my god, when i was very young there was a wwii special on tv and i told my mom i wanted to go to a concentration camp because i wanted to be better at school. only took me 20 more years to get diagnosed!",1 I don't know if I should be relieved or worried at the number of posts in this sub that absolutely nail what I feel & think.,1 "This is super effective! My husband and I both have ADHD, so we usually have to fill in each other's gaps in certain areas, but it's great because it's non-judgemental.",1 Same. Sometimes if I have a really great encounter with someone I just want to leave it at that. It only tends to make men want to follow up with me more. Women seem confused like “what the hell I thought we were vibing “. I’m just trying to save them the energy.,1 "I am literally the untidiest person I know so yeah I'm sorry we're nothing alike which is very fortunate for you, to be frank. 😅",0 Finally someone put this horrible existence into words.,1 "WHERES MY CLOTHES WHERE ARE THEY MOM , they’re on you son , oh thanks",0 Y’all forgot the nervous poops..That really brings it all together.,1 "Thank you , i needed this Since i was diagnosed i havent been able to see a good therapist to help me deal with it. Ive been thinking that im just an aw and im just faking it",0 thank you :) this is why i put a daily time limit of an hour for reddit on my phone lol,1 "100% this! The pre-cut and packaged meal plans? The ones that get delivered to your door and you just assemble them, like ""Meals for Idiots"" (I used HelloFresh but lots are good) - they seem redonkulously pricey, no? I saved so much money using them, and the extra mental energy I had from not having to plan, shop, and then feel totally worthless about not preparing made all the other normal tasks of day-to-day life so much easier. Same with the expensive espresso maker because I no longer waste money or, and this is so much bigger, *time,* racing out for my coffee. I love my morning ritual of making my own coffee, I save a lot of money, and I look forward to getting up because that 15 minutes of alone time with my *perfectly made, personalized* coffee falls into the hyperfocus category for me, so I will move mountains to make it happen Edit: I only do the pre-made and easy-to-assemble meals when I know I'm going to otherwise have a challenging week. It's a treat, but one I learned about when I was going through a lot of loss and needed to keep feeding myself & my son. After 3 months, I shifted it to every 8 to 10 weeks as a built-in break for myself",1 I've heard turtles all the way down is good for this. John green has ocd himself and used his own experiences when writing the book. Haven't read it myself though!,0 "All the stigma around OCD makes me want to SCREAM. it's not all organizing, cleaning, and symmetry. this is why people go around like ""omg your hoodie strings are unevennnn!! my OCD is kicking in!"" like SHUT. UP. also the ""they turned OCD into a game!"" ads... this shit is not a game. it would be the worst game ever created",0 "jesus christ. i’m pretty sure i have rOCD and sOCD (hOCD) and this is MEEEE. i have full blown crushes on women where i fantasize about spending time together and kissing and making them happy — yet the anxiety i feel around actually being with women as a woman is overwhelming. i can’t breathe. and this makes me think i don’t like women romantically! but it’s different than disinterest, i believe. maybe. it’s so confusing, and i’m constantly doing research and asking for validation to alleviate the pain. it eats up ALL of my time. i’m so glad i started therapy this week!!!!!",0 "Yeah, I fucking HATE that shit. I saw a thing the other day that the level of anxiety, anxiety spectrum disorder sufferers experience on a daily basis is what normal people only feel when they experience danger. I love this!!! That makes lot of sense! I did shut up a girl in one of my college classes tho, once. She said something to that effect, and I'm like, 'oh, you chew your fingers till they bleed and constantly have images of your loved ones dying flash through your head, too!!!' She gave me a really weird look, but she never said that shit again. When you confront these people with the actual realities of living with these disorders, the more graphic we can get the better. She was literally just laughing about retyping her notes. I wish people were better educated, but neurotypicals do not get it. They don't understand, they just don't.",0 "Thank you so much for this post! I also have both autism and ADHD, and I have been really discouraged by the rhetoric I've seen from communities relating to autism. People on those subreddits can often act like autism is ""just a different way of thinking"", and there's no need for therapies or research into autism related issues. I've seen many say that the only thing people with autism need is acceptance and that it's not people with autism that need to change, but society. Honestly this perspective itself is pretty ableist in my opinion, because it leaves out the 30% or so people with autism who are nonverbal or have an intellectual disability and need real help. Personally, my autism is very mild, but throughout my life there are still several behaviors I have had to modify not just because they were socially unacceptable but because they were downright creepy! I am very proud of how far I've come over the years, and I don't see my autism as my whole identity, but as a part of my identity that I have had to overcome in order to succeed and to connect with people. That's why personally I prefer person-first language even though it's very unpopular in those subs. Visiting those subreddits made me feel like I was wrong, that I shouldn't be proud of the progress I made, and that not only do I not fit in with those who are neurotypical but I do not fit in with those who have autism either. I've enjoyed following this subreddit since my diagnosis of ADHD-PI, because I actually see people talking about the challenges they face and strategies to help deal with those challenges. Not only that, but I see people being supportive of others, no matter their perspective.",1 Hmm well I never considered the fact I might monetise this miserable disorder on onlyfans. I think OCD earned some money,0 "Gosh, this post and comments make me feel way less alone now! The answer is YES: I start ruminating if I ever did something bad in the past, worry that I just might not remembering it and pick apart every thing I ever posted ( or even that I might post in the future) just in case! And it can go on all day long. It's very tiring! I'm generally ok with the idea of calling out people to let them know they did something wrong and they should apologize, but cancel culture often seems to bring this ultimatum of ""if you did one thing wrong you will always be unredeemable not matter what"" which makes my OCD anxiety level go to the roof",0 Yeah too bad they participate in human trafficking 🙃,0 You're supposed to stop after two minutes! After 28 straight days I'm amazed you have any enamel left at all!,1 "I love this. Usually with other disorders I don’t really understand what it means, but I feel this one. Always here if anyone needs to talk :)",0 "God damn, I wish this was a thing when I went to school!",1 "Didn’t know he was but oh my! Yeah it’s pretty obvious if you had to guess which actors had adhd then he’d be there! Bit like when I had to tell my dentist after him treating me for 20 years before I was diagnosed, he just said sarcastically, “you don’t say”. Love him for that. It seems to me that we share a neuro-type condition of the unique creative cool kids of this world. Well that’s what I tell myself 😎",1 "When I was a kid I made my mom save a sliced peach from a can because I thought it looked ""cute""",0 Yeah I involuntarily stayed at my university's hospital a few years ago because I couldn't promise my brand new doctor that i wouldn't cut myself again. I had many shallow scars on my arm at the time. She seemed to really misunderstand the difference between self harm and suicidal ideation. I learned then that not all doctors get it.,0 "I think I never had ADHD as a kid. Or maybe I did, but it was never riddled with a bad memory or anything, I would have symptoms but never really anything to effect me negatively, I would always make it good or something. Like I was 8 and memories all 600 Pokemon at the time, my memory wasn't bad, and I could get so into something and would improve at it really fast. Now however, my memory had gotten worse, like I can remember the last sentence I say type shit. Does anyone know what I can do to improve it? Or if I had later onset ADHD or something, I'm 16 now btw.",1 Health OCD is really killing the vibe these days 👊😔,0 "Uh, I don’t know how you’re doing this, but please stop spying on me. :P For real though, that’s difficult. I usually take that as an indicator that my “tasks” on my daily task list need to be broken into smaller steps.",1 "Yep online classes have ruined me. My brain can’t register that the people in the screen are real people so who cares if I pay attention or even log in at all. I got diagnosed during covid because I literally could not function at all, when before I was actually starting to self regulate and have a sort of routine I put myself in. Being at home I can’t do anything because I’m stuck in home mode, and it’s so frustrating because I think about how I used to be able to actually sit down and study and eat 3 meals a day. I feel like a huge part of what helped me is having designated places I could go to do things; the library is for studying, the dining hall is for eating, desk is for homework, couch is for relaxing, and bed is for sleeping. Well now I’m always in my bed or on the couch so my brain is telling me relax and sleep instead of study and eat. I just can’t wait until we can go places again, even if my college experience is down the drain I’ll at least be able to form a better routine.",1 "i hate having ocd but also sometimes i have a twisted way of thinking that when i come to a resolution of a thought loop, i know i've checked every crevice of my mind and sometimes that makes me feel better.",0 I’ll obsess over thoughts for hours and even days it’s so difficult. Can anyone give any tips on how to not see so black and white?,0 I have OCD and I'm not too worried about covid or germs. I'm more worried about my loved ones dying from random things if I don't touch things repeatedly,0 "The fact that I literally JUST had a conversation with my mother about something related to this!! She never understood why I was always incapable of getting my work done, and because she has seen me simply put it off so many times (as a manifestation of my ADHD symptoms), she always assumed that I was just taking TOO MANY breaks. I finally talked to her yesterday about how when she sees me not doing work/mindlessly browsing the web on my phone, that these do NOT feel like normal breaks. I had grown accustomed to a horrible cycle where I assumed that I could not do any of the hobbies I enjoyed (because those were “breaks” and I already took “too many” according to her), and thus felt too dejected or depressed to do the work I was actually SUPPOSED to be doing. When you feel like you can’t re-energize yourself through your creative outlets (so you don’t do them), and then don’t have the energy to do your work, you become stuck in a state of paralysis that makes you unable to do anything else. I was never taking breaks; but I *was* filled to the brim with anxiety and/or guilt over even thinking to ASK for some time for myself. It’s a horrible cycle. I can’t tell you how freeing it felt for her to finally say to me “I never knew that you were actually SCARED to take breaks.” She never knew, because I never told her, because I was too scared to. So scared for so long that I put off even bringing it up for YEARS. Here’s to moving forward, though :)",1 I loaded my car with all these things earlier this morning that I need to run to the thrift store... I’ve lost complete motivation to do it.,1 "I hate when this happens! “Oh I like to keep things clean, I’m just OCD about it”. “I like to place things in a presentable manner, it’s just my ocd”. “I’m very ocd about how I do my groceries” I think the best/worst one I heard was: “I love tea! I’m so obsessed with tea! I must have OCD!” Like what?!",0 "I am slowly learning this! Lately I’ve been buying myself veggie trays, jugs of protein drinks, and other easy to assemble snacks. It helps me get enough calories in a day because I struggle to find motivation to eat.",1 "My therapist: ""im gonna tap you on one shoulder and you can't tap the other "" My therapist: *taps me on shoulder* My brain: ""now this is an avengers level threat""",0 I feel this so hard. I woke up at 5 am specifically to get an early start on my homework now it’s 3 pm and I haven’t touched it,1 "As someone still trying to find a psych with a clear schedule to diagnose me officially. This post right here, officer. That's fucking me. The opening the lecture and returning to poke every application in the pc with no remote idea about what I'm even looking for and having no permeability for the sounds coming out is the kind of thing I've been doing since I was less than ten years old(20 atm).",1 "wow, sounds great! i need to do some more research on the dopamine vs. serotonin motivation thing.",1 I feel the same way. A shadow of my former self or even the person I could have been if it wasn't for OCD.,0 "I am really excited to hear this. I didn't realize that other people had this issue as well! IM NOT ALONE!",1 "Literally me right now, 3 pm medication appointment",1 "I just screenshoted the fact that this had 499 upvotes and 49 comments 3 times when coming here. I think mine hit just right before coming here!",0 Man I thought about posting this but I didn’t lol. Missed out on some karma haha too bad nobody cares,0 "The weirdest thing about it is someone else can say “oh yes, I like that subject too..” and once they start talking about it, my brain *knows* everything they’re saying. I suddenly begin to remember it all. But only while I’m hearing it from someone else. Then if I’m lucky and there’s been enough time and space for me to do a slow run up, I’ll remember much more and be able to share back. However, that moment is often 2 hours later.",1 "This! I'm pretty sure my boss has ADHD, so I have to make sure thinks get done, but I can't keep him focused on 1thing at a time, or get complete instructions or complete answers. But the end of the day I'm drained! Does anyone else get so tired that their brain burns? Cuz that's how I feel!",1 My brain doesn't turn on until 4pm so this is perfect for me. Actually I prefer 1pm or 2pm appointments but close enough.,1 I wish there was a second part of that particle that said how to fix this . It just described me,1 Good job! I’m still working on not doing things in 4’s as well so congrats,0 "Oh my god this hit home. I’m good at creative stuff too. I pick it up quick and well, but always so short lived. It hurts because maybe I could’ve been an architect, or a designer. Instead I fell into sales. I hate so much that I can’t master anything.",1 "This also reminds me of when I’m proving my husband wrong on something. (He most likely thinks I am dumb because of ADHD) and I say all these things that shut him up, just to go and trip on nothing and fall over during the last sentence....",1 God this is why it pisses me off when so many people downplay this fucking disordered way of living.,0 "This was me earlier this year— my bedroom window panel fell in my room at my house, and shattered; had to put a temporary cardboard filler to stave off the elements. I had the money to get the pane fixed. But I sat on my hands and would play games/watch movies with a ball of anxiety floating over me as I’d mentally yell at myself through mentally-grit teeth “WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS, DO SOMETHING YOU STUNTED OVERGROWN CHILD”. It took a little over two months for me to just call someone and get it sent out, and like a few days for it to come back in.",1 "She's a keeper, I'm honestly happy to hear that people are actually starting to take it seriously and learn about it. Can't tell you how many times my ex's complained about me not paying attention to them even when they knew I ADHD.",1 Yesssss!!!! Good fucking job! I am so proud of you geti ittttt yes!!!,0 "This is an incredibly accurate meme. Hang in there, we’ll get through this.",0 "its the concept of the ""5th grade teacher"" that i read in some adhd book. The punitive authority figure from your past who told you to be ashamed of your lateness distractedness etc, aka the entire society They aint wrong, we are bad at it. Howeverrrrrrrrrrrrr its not malacious eh. like there are worse things that being a little scattered eh. and it might even be a positive in the right circumstance",1 And this is why I dont trust my own memory anymore.,0 You are so strong! Keep it up beautiful :) you deserve to feel love for yourself.,0 This post actually hit me really hard. This is exactly how my life is in a nutshell. The best thing I can advice is to go for at least 2 walks a day. They can be for only 5 or 10 mins each but it'll help get out of that monotony that lockdown and Covid19 restrictions has placed us in.,1 I have like 5 really amazing medicated hours in the middle of the day around lunch time and then I go back to being a human piece of garbage for the duration of the day. It’s a great way to live.,1 All those saved to go back to laters that I never go back to. Everywhere. I have so many “save for laters”,1 Holy shit that's deep it's so scary to see how somebody can write shit like this for a fucking disorder this says alot I'm glad this subreddit is a thing if it wasn't we wouldn't be here for each other I hope you all are doing ok❤,0 "Oh yeah, ""waiting mode"" is too real. I prefer later appointments because I still sometimes have sleeping issues, but that also means that I sometimes can't do anything for the bigger part of the day. I feel it's even worse if I wait for a parcel, because I don't know (most of the time) when it will be delivered.",1 This hits waaaaay too close to home. I am disappointed in myself and my actions.,0 "hey, do you think you will have prints for sale? I'd love to hang this in my bedroom.",0 "THIS. So beautifully written and so well explained. My psychiatrist was fantastic and stressed the importance of me seeking additional help in other aspects of my life. Right after college, when I was dirt poor, I got myself a very nice lady who came to my house twice a week and did exactly what yours does. Even if all I could afford to eat was ramen that week? I made sure I could afford her. I’m in my late thirties now and the same nice lady comes twice a week. The living space is a lot bigger, the messes are more complex, and she doesn’t move as fast as she used to, so she “visits” and helps me make a plan for the week. She doesn’t take my money anymore so I drop it all in her bank account once a year. She became one of the single most important people in my life as far as being a productive adult and managing my ADHD goes. I lucked out and she also turned into one of the most important people in my life period as time went on. I’m happy for you OP",1 "why not 1. what if i didn't do tho? 2. i just researched this disease, i must have it now! 3. what if i'm a narcissist? 4. it's probably cancer 5. oh yeah gotta love (insert traumatizing memory from three years ago) ​ (i tried, it prob sucks, im sorry)",0 "How do we know mind speaks without permission, sometimes is also gives ideas and great solutions when it speaks without permission",0 "For me what killed it was I wanted to make music but my ex revealed he has Specific Musical Anhedonia, and therefore can't feel emotions from music so at that point I felt like it wouldn't even be worth it. It would be like Rembrandt or Van Gogh tryna paint for someone who lacks the capacity to comprehend visual art. Pointless. I used to make beats. I actually went to school and took classes on how to use the software. I could spend hours upon hours working on Reason and Ableton. But once he told me he can't feel music and that he never even listens to 99 percent of what I would send him I just felt like it would be an empty endeavor.",1 "For me, meds are just a part of how I cope. They certainly don't cure my OCD, and I definitely have to work hard with mindfulness and meditation.",0 My brain caught fire right after work yesterday. So after 8 hours of work I got to spend my off time with my brain on fire. So fun.,0 both my parents and some grandparents have it.... yet i still question myself if i have it even though at this point it’s obvious,0 "Ugh, this is totally me. However I've had some tough love situations in the past that have helped me, but not without a lot of negative feelings on my side. Why can't people teach me about stuff without being harsh about it :'(",1 "Never got that chair feeling. For me it feels like my clothes are wet, a size too small, and on backwards.",0 Am I the only one who sees the irony in an 'OCD reminder'? My like is nothing but reminders!,0 "i have been having a huge issue with this, honestly i would say it’s one of my primary .,, symptoms ??maybe? i have so much built up anxiety and guilt about not being able to face these 30 second tasks that i know will be completely wiped from my mind if i just /did/ them. my main avoidance for the Entire Past Year has been just not at all answering texts from friends. i get it into my head that i am “not mentally prepared” for the length the conversation might be if i text back, or i am just “not ready” to be engaged in a conversation/i need more me time before i get to that, then months pass and i am just drifting away from everyone i know :-( i see this in my dad as well & in all of my life i haven’t seen him hang out with friends more than 5 times ,, idk i am just so worried that will happen to me too if i can’t figure out how to face these issues :’-(",1 can’t do stuff because i’m depressed —> even more depressed because of it —> anxious because i’m not doing stuff —> repeat,1 "me: nah there's no way these thoughts are true my ocd: uhh summa lumma dumma lumma",0 "as a broke student I can't quite relate to that, whatever food I'm buying I'm damn sure gonna eat it (especially since I actually love cooking) and it being cheaper and possibly more environment friendly (like, not wrapped in plastic etc.) is more important to me than getting something convenient. besides I wanna do it myself! unless it's unwashed spinach (the few times i got it I couldn't for the love of gods wash all the dirt off of it) or a recipe needs a lot of nuts or something extremely tedious to prepare like that, then yeah, there's no way I'm gonna crack a bag of nuts myself. i tried. no. then if I need a planner, I ask myself, will I actually use it? if the answer is no, it doesn't matter if it's £5 or £10, I ain't got money for that. if the answer is yes, again - doesn't matter how much it costs, that money can't get wasted (on the other hand if i get something more pricey like art supplies, sketchbooks, extra pretty calendars there's actually a higher chance I won't use them out of fear of ruining or wasting them) and swallowing any sort of pills brings me weird satisfaction so even if I'm forgetful and can't build a habit easily I don't find it difficult to take my vitamins. maybe I'm also partially driven by the fear of nutritional deficiency lol. though I do agree sometimes it's better to get stuff that costs more but is of higher quality than cheap bullshit that's going to be too frustrating to use.",1 "The way I kinda get it over it is I make that realization. Really feel it, wow, I'm not really enjoying myself, just keep doing funs things and maybe later I'll be ready, but then I realize I'm wasting my time and remember it'd be feel good to be accomplished and stress free, then I can have fun. Then I tell myself to stop being a little bitch and turn my inner bitch voice off and start whatever I need to do. I might not keep at it long enough, but it's way better than guilty/apprehension mode.",1 Pick my skin/pores apart but drinking from the same unwashed coffee mug every day for a week is -apparently- fine. Go figure.,0 "Hi yes, my putting my cat in the oven thoughts are really strong rn. Best do it!",0 """What would you do if [purposefully triggers you]?"" I feel that so much my family constantly joke about stuff to whind me up and I just have to through exhausting mental ritual bc if i show my discomfort my ocd tells me I'm bad",0 I got the office theme song I was hyper focused on playing it in the background while I cleaned on repeat,1 Guhh I gotta sleep I have to wake up in like three hours for work but yes thank you let me close this,1 This! What's even worse is when everything is piled up at once so once you DO finish something you can't be proud of yourself. I have 4 assignments due tonight and I've successfully done 3 but that last one has me still feeling like shit. Smh I can't wait to graduate uni,1 "It's because your mind never stops. I think. I don't have ADHD, but I have many symptoms. I can't shut off and I feel this too. People tell me that I over think everything, but TiNe, I'll analyse everything to death. Briefly. I get bored.",1 "I'm so sorry. I'm wishing you the best of luck on your journey! My lymph nodes on my neck have been swollen for almost a year now. When I finally managed to go to the doctor she was really dismissive and I felt like she didn't take me seriously. Also her phone was ringing constantly very loudly. She said that my jaw is tense and the adhd meds probably make it worse so I should just stretch. But now 9 months later they are still swollen. Thank you for posting this, I'll reserve a time for a different doctor.",1 "THANK YOU! I hate this stigma. Even if it rings true for some people with OCD it doesn't mean every single person, or even most people, with OCD has obsessions or compulsions related to organization/cleaning.",0 "3, 4, 7, 8, and ALL even numbers that don’t end in 6, are “good” for me. 1, 2, and 5 are okay. 6 and 9 bother me.",0 "I don't like John Krakinski after reading about how much of an asshole he is to his coworkers on set, but this is pretty sound advice.",0 "It’s so nice to have a place to share these moments we all go through. - I think a lot of healthy people wouldn’t necessarily draw the line between OCD and that extremely down / damn near depressed mood, that is a common symptom of our disorder.",0 I still struggle with anxiety and depression but 16-17 was truly awful. I needed a therapist and I probably should go still but do I say not as I do😅. Try not to turn to any drug or alcohol if you feel that way. I’d say a journal can help too. But even just writing negative vs positive in your life can help (but writing even a small journal daily is probably good for your brain lol). Meditation isn’t a bad idea but you may not like it. I’m really sorry you feel this :/,1 "But not all conspiracy theories are false... ​ Buildings simply do not fall at the velocity or in the manor of 911; a multitude of experts in the civil engineering field are certain it was a controlled demolition.. I've seen UFO's (sighting occurred this past summer) pulsating across the sky without any rhyme or reason to my comprehension of aviation physics. Survivors from the Gulag that travelled south through the Himalayas all saw the Yeti and are incredibly viable/trustworthy witnesses; documented in The Long Walk. The Soviets were marching in Manchuria and about to dethrone the Emperor, Japan was on the brink of surrender, Truman most certainly committed mass murder for political influence with the atom bombs. The list goes on and on.. ​ When there a components of logic to the obsessions; that is when they are the most dangerous!",0 "My therapist gave me some advice on this :0 Write a page full of your intrusive thoughts/ worst fears and repeat them until they lose meaning for you/ you’re numb to them. This may take a few weeks, but eventually, you won’t be as scared.",0 "Starting Schoolwork Early: October 2019-March 2020 Not Letting My Emotions Get the Best of Me: ????-March 2020 (very hard to be calm when living at home with parents who never leave and are starting to notice the first RIP)",1 "Hey thanks, I just turned in 6 months of paperwork that was about to get me fired.",1 YUP. Most ADHD articles for adults are written by ADHD adults which I definitely appreciate and they can definitely help but its so rare to find scientific articles about ADHD are almost always about kids and specifically boys. It’s exhausting.,1 "This is exactly what I'm doing. If I'd just stop and go to hed I'd be out in under five minutes. But I've been stuck in this loop (again) for weeks now. Ugh. I'm 90% sure if I just got a dog this wouldn't be a problem. But then I'd have to take care of a dog, and learn training, and it's a bit much for the space I have and the time I can dedicate. So I am, once again, requesting one last shot of that sweet sweet dopamine before night night. And it just won't come.",1 "Actually woke up at 4:37am and can't go back to sleep. I have trouble settling back to sleep once I wake up, it's now 5:43am.",1 "Yes. It can take time for me to process things, I often don't realize how bad something someone else said made me until hours or months later. Then people tell me I am wrong to ""hold on"" to emotions that long, instead of saying something immediately.",1 "Can you use the Lloyd Christmas Technique for existential ocd? I mean I feel 100% certain my existential thoughts about no Afterlife and eternity are 100% real, and I have always felt like I have some secret knowledge or some sort of insight that others can’t comprehend, and it’s almost like I can totally feel what that’s like, its terror and horror all damn day every day, it spirals me into a darkness and the worst depression; it’s so hard to get out of; if I even had a 20% chance of feeling like I could be just wrong; i feel like I could separate myself from these intrusive thoughts and function a bit better.",0 "Has anyone had success with DBT for OCD? I’ve done CBT with some level of success, like it’s great for challenging the thoughts but I still end up FEELING those thoughts. And I feel like that could be toned down with some emotional regulation.",0 anytime they talk about lining things up im like did you misspell ASD?,0 "Tbh this sounds like a fairly productive day to me! Anyway, back to my programming exercises, and YouTube videos, ^(and dishes)",1 "Thank you for this tip! I have been working on some relationship stuff in therapy. I was telling my therapist that when I was with my partner I was fine, and when it happened been a few days since we saw each other I’m good. But I get a weird emotional hangover the day after we hang out where I am very irrationally concerned they don’t like me anymore. This seems like it could help!",1 "A couple tips I picked up: clean up a couple things whole you're already doing something. Like, brushing your teeth for example. Take everything out of the bathroom that doesnt belong and take it to the correct room. You dont even have to put it away, just getting it to the right vicinity is a start. Or maybe collect all the drink glasses or bottles from the living room or bedroom. Little things like that. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish while brushing your teeth! Also as others have pointed out, once you get started often you just get on a roll with it. Next, just decide to do one thing for 5 minutes. This is just like the wash one dish trick. Choose one task and just give it 5 minutes. Allow yourself to stop after 5 minutes if you want, just as long as you give it 5. Last, I grabbed this app called ""Unfuck You Habitat"" which has been a great assistance. Sometimes it's hard to get shit done because you feel so overwhelmed and just don't know where to start... That's where this app comes in. It will give you a specific task and you can even set a time limit. There are different ranges of difficulty and some very uncouth motivation which is hilarious and it works. Theres a free version I think but I got the paid one for 1$. It was definitely worth it!",0 Is this a common thing? I swear I have to check if my door is locked like 4 times every time I’m in my room. Even though I know it is I still do it.,0 TRUTH!!! The hiding is the worst! Trying to put on a giant brave face when you think you are dying just sucks ass,0 "That is so awesome!! I’m so happy for you and other people in the comments that have been able to find ways of getting help. Right now I live with my parents, but when I have my own house someday with my gf, I’m definitely getting a housekeeper to help with basic upkeep stuff. People like to shit on ppl who use housekeepers bc there is the assumption that everyone is rich and stuck up, but sometimes people just need some help, especially if you have a disability or are just struggling in general",1 "same cocktail bro, just keep fighting and dont be too hard on yourself",1 I love this subreddit cus y’all understand me! Thank u,1 How did you get this picture of the inside of my brain? 🧐,0 "Congratulations! Goodness that’s a huge step, one more punch to OCD right here!",0 "No matter how many times I see “executive dysfunction,” I always immediately read it as “erectile dysfunction.”",1 "That’s amazing! You inspired me to do the same Today with my obsessions",0 People diminish the reality of OCD with statements like this.,0 I'm surprised they're not cracking yet. Or are they?,0 "Commas connect the clauses of a sentence. If you are using too many commas it is a sign you have run-on sentences. Go back and break them apart into smaller full sentences. You can also experiment with using semi-colons or em dashes to partition sentences and clauses from distinct but related clauses -- but use them sparingly.",1 "I saw an interesting talk that showed how a disrupted rewards pathway caused adhd-like symptoms. The researcher suggested calling it a ""motivation deficit disorder"" or something along those lines.",1 "It sounds like your having a really tough time at the moment with OCD, I understand your pain. OCD had been a troubling thing for me my whole life, 22 years old now. I only recently got diagnosed in January so all this other time I did not know what was going on. January started off really well for me, but a week in OCD had fully taken over and I thought that life was over for me. I used to come to this forum during my really tough days (this can also be a compulsion so please, ironically it is actually better to stay away from the forum, unless of course your getting advice for your own post). I study in a university, psychology, and philosophy (philosophy can be very helpful with OCD, check out some videos on stoicism). Since January I had a really tough time with OCD, but progressively I found strategies to help manage it and live a more productive life than I ever have. The amazing thing when you can get it under control is that it can really open yourself up to the things that matter in life. To keep things basic I will give you a list of resources and strategies that are really going to be helpful, and remember that there is never too much you can do to combat OCD, and when you do conquer it (or feel like you have) remember that you have to be consistent, you do not want to end up back where you were at the start! I know you're probably having a tough time and this is already a lot of reading for you, so to make I will make a little list of the things that I personally found really helpful and I think ALL people with OCD would benefit from doing these things, in fact, all people would probably improve their life as well! Remember that OCD is not your choice to have, your choice is to make it the absolute focus of your life until it is managed and then you can start really focusing on school, work, sports, dreams whatever! Nothing takes priority over your mental well-being. In no particular order, these are some great resources. 1. Therapy- This can be tricky as it is expensive and not everyone is covered, or can afford it. While it is always the best to actually have access to a therapist, there are self therapies available as well. The book ""Breaking Free from OCD"" is a fantastic book for treating OCD, and actually, most of what I will put below is mentioned in the book too so I would HIGHLY recommend buying it and putting whatever energy you can into it, even with access to a therapist I find this book an incredibly useful tool. It is on Amazon, and for what it is it is relatively cheap was about 35 Canadian dollars so I would guess about 20 USD? 2. Mindfulness Mediation- I do this 10 mins a day every day (the more the better), there are guided mediation apps, try Oak (apple) or Joy (Android) for example, and follow their mindfulness mediations. Think of it like going to the gym but for the mind, one session in the gym won't make your arms huge just like one mediation session won't make your mind stronger (for lack of a better word). The key is consistency! I also think this is a huge one, definitely, you need to be doing this, even people without OCD would live better lives with this. 3. Medication- Seriously! Talk to your doctor about this, medication can really be extremely useful, but do not mistake it as something that will be the fix for everything! Think of it more as a boost! Work out with a doctor what a good prescription is for you, and remember that this can take time to fully take effect and there are different options available if one isn't working for you or the side effects are too much! If your already taking medication then add all the other strategies here and see what else helps you! 4. Get off Social Media, or limit your time on it and have fewer networks! Social media can be incredibly triggering depending on what your obsessions are and also it can be very negative for your self-esteem, and it is also very fake! 5. Take a look on YouTube on Stoicism (this is a philosophy of life and is very much aligned with the way CBT works, look it up!). A lot of OCD is about things we are afraid of, a lot of OCD is based on our perception of things. Books like, ""The Art of Stoic Joy"" and ""The Obstacle is the Way"" are great reads and rather easy as well! NOTE: This is just something that can help you! 6. Understand OCD- Learning as much as you can about OCD can be really useful to understanding your condition and managing it! This woman is a CBT therapist and she has some fantastic videos on treatment and understanding OCD! Especially if you do not have a therapist, this is a great resource! [https://www.youtube.com/user/23katied](https://www.youtube.com/user/23katied) 7. Be resilient, be positive!- I know how tough it is! Really I do! But trying to find any positives can be helpful in creating a better mindset for yourself! Remember that the feelings you have WON""T last forever there are ways to overcome the obstacles you are facing now with OCD! This is your challenge, your fight, and when you are able to manage it what else can possibly harm you? You are a warrior, OCD is a very tough enemy indeed, but remember you can overcome it! I believe in you! 8. Do not give up! There were so many days where I was just so tired of it and got angry, really upset like there was NO way it would ever get better, but I kept going just like you are now. There is light at the end of the tunnel, so just keep going! Progress is not exactly linear either! You can have ups and downs but if you keep going that's the important thing! I very sincerely wish you the best of luck! Remember this your most important thing right now! Dealing with the OCD! Keep going and I know you will improve greatly at some point! My inbox is open as well, I am not on here all that often but eventually I will get back to anyone that needs anything. :)",0 "I struggled with intrusive thoughts for years, until I just went toe to toe with those motherfuckers and came out with the win during a few months of hiking through Europe. Now when they come back I know they’re a little bitch and I’m in control 💪🏻",0 "This is amazing! I am so proud of you! That takes real strength! Thank you for sharing, as personally this gives me hope. You brightend my day. Keep it up and thank you again!",0 those memes fucked me up as a kid (and still do now). thank u chonky boi 🥺,0 Thanks a lot ! helped me doing my groceries and feeding myself lmao,1 "I’ve never had any sexual desire or inclinations whatsoever, and I’ve always wondered if maybe OCD has something to do with this.",0 "For me what's worse is me hylerfocusing and getting a task done (that I've put off until the last possible moment) only for my SO to interrupt me about some ""mundane"" thing like eating dinner and I go back to procrastinating the last little bit which takes me forever.",1 Im definitely the girl on the right. I literally have those thoughts. Especially the schizophrenia one.,0 "My response to this question was along the lines of ""stuff... about me. Or other people..."" How crap is that?",0 "We as humans are so psychologically wired to the group and society around us. Even if we know something is true, and enough people around say your wrong, eventually you’ll start to question yourself and be gaslighted in to doubting your sanity. This is because belonging is a necessity and gives us meaning. The feeling of not being needed, not making any difference or even a burden is striking right at the core of our instincts and makes us withdrawn, depressed or anxious. It can go as far as becoming hostile to others or oneself. The only defense to this is to never question your self worth. The love for yourself is not measured through other peoples standards, only your own. Our culture is full of messages that were not worth anything unless we achieve this or that, or sell our time and talent for a for a status career, or spend our money to fulfill our desires. Everyone around us believe the same and even our loved ones gaslight us in to thinking we don’t fit, because we don’t serve the purpose. That is why it’s even more important to love yourself so much that your meaning and self worth persists all the underminings from the modern society. It’s actually the only thing that matters, and the only thing that is of worth for the people around you and is an antidote to our disruptive culture. Be in touch with yourself and never let anyone else tell you who or what you are. And also.. life is a concert, don’t live your life to realize you were supposed to dance when it’s all too late. Life becomes so much more enjoyable when you stop judging yourself. Laugh about it, cry about it. We’re all goofy humans anyways. Only crazy people think they have it figured out.",1 "This is the sweetest thing ever! I've noticed that, too, that suddenly I can do things if I need to help someone, and sometimes getting help is so, well... helpful. I have serious anxiety issues along with the ADHD.",1 "I really do feel you the thing that gets to me is when I know I have something to do, specifically when it comes to making phone calls or emailing someone, and I just don’t do it. Idk why I don’t do it like Ik I need to but I just like can’t I freak out or something idk. But then getting yelled at doesn’t help cuz then I don’t do it even more",1 I just did a thought ritual wrong and am struggling to correct it. If I wasn't waiting for my mother to get out of surgery I'd be brave and try your advice.,0 Sometimes the cheapest way to pay for something is with money.,1 "Makes a ton of sense! I have been considering hiring a housekeeper to come 1~2 times a week to do just that, but I generally feel very uncomfortable with people handling my stuff, so I’m still having trouble executing on this idea. Having said that, congrats for doing it!",1 I don't like being called out so explicitly like this.,1 I'm impressed. Can't recall ever being able to do that myself. Good job and keep it up! :),1 "Happy for you. They say medication isn’t magic, but wow I noticed the change after taking focolin.",1 "Same thing happened to me several years ago, but only regarding being clean. I still have “starting over” ocd.",0 Too real. Every time I have to pack for a trip (which is surprisingly hard for me) I immediately feel sleepy.,1 Yep. More than I care to admit. The funny thing is that I woke up today thinking about one of the “incidents.”,1 Yep! Partly because it's happened to me before so I'm also traumatized,0 This is my brain when I see a news article about some heart disease I haven't heard of before and start googling,0 "This is me minus the shopping addiction, echolalia and the caffeine. Gawd. Edit because I only realized I also don't have echolalia after I scrolled back up. I had forgotten the beginning of the list by the time I reached the bottom *facepalm*",1 """I can't remember what happened to (literally any item) that made it dirty, but it's dirty and I can't touch it now."" Every damn time! ",0 i went to the bathroom to brush my teeth but now i am sitting in the floor on reddit,1 "Hey there! I have Not been diagnosed with ocd but I’m still trying to figure it out, do u think you could help me out? ( I’m not looking for reassurance, I am just concerned. Thanks 👍)",0 "About half way through the act, ""Kay but what if your husband is actually raping you? Spousal rape is a real thing"" Thanks brain, thank you so much for that.",0 I start to disassociate because of too much outside input.,1 "What if you think you’re a bad person and you care about being better, but you don’t make any changes to be better? Are you really not a bad person just for wanting to be better, but not doing anything about it?",0 "This. For all my life, I felt I was the only one that felt that way. I felt (he’ll, I still feel) as though I somehow bring the bad in people. I feel like I annoy them to the death. I genuinely thought that maybe ADHD is an excuse I use (even though I’m diagnosed by my psychiatrist) that I use as a cover up for the terrible, annoying, dumb person that I’m inside. Thanks for this post, you beautiful kind human!",1 "It dous sound like the person at the end want's to help you trough your problems so that's a nice thing:). I also found this video (link below) that realy helped me understand why i just can't take jewelry asginment's from people because i just freeze up at some point in the process. So for now im not doing the work i would love to do and working on that problem so someday i may. Hopefully the meds and talks helpXD. But i hope this video can help you with your problem aswell:) their is also a second part but that is easly found, but if you can't find it just send me a message:). https://youtu.be/Uo08uS904Rg",1 I love this so much as im have intrusive thoughts now.,0 I have always thought it's just me. I will be running late and i have to go back upstairs to kiss my dog and tell him i love him.,0 "Hm. I’m in DBT, because I have BPD as well as ocd. I’ve been successful at exposing myself to other fears of mine (smaller stuff like spiders) and completely overcoming them. My intrusive thoughts & ocd in general also revolves around murder/being a bad person. Your response here makes me wonder if I should try that kind of therapy.",0 "When i was a teenager my mom just got tired of it, took all the content of my drawers and wardrobe and throwed it on the ground. I slept for a few days in something that looked like a nuclear disaster because a just couldn't bring myself to tidy up all that mess. ",0 "I’ve had all that chocolate, it’s pretty bitter not gonna lie.",0 "For some reason it’s ok to say, “Omg, I’m so OCD” by that logic it would be socially acceptable to say, “Omg, I’m so Schizophrenia right now” or “Omg, I’m so Clinical Depression”",0 "I love this so much. It took me such a long time to even accept that I can't do simple chores and that it doesn't have to be the most shameful thing. I struggle with clothes piles, dishes, general mopping and cleaning and I beat myself up for years and years. I come off as high functioning to the outer world, but I have never invited someone to my place and always make some excuse for why friends can't use the bathroom at my place. They have no fucking clue how my house looks even when I'm trying my absolute best 😭",1 "My OCD manifests most as contamination (yeah, I know, right now sucks for me since I was making so much progress prior current events, now I have regressed), checking and hoarding OCDs. As long as my environment is clean in the sense of contamination, it can still be messy (if that makes sense).",0 Has anyone been able to get rid of thoughts like these?,0 "This has made me smile so much! I have OCD and I’m blessed with a partner as incredibly patient and supportive as you sound and I know how much this means to him, you and your relationship. These victories are the thing that get me through my bad times and partners like you are so appreciated and loved :)",0 I was doing so good for like 2 months and then came crashing down so bad *insert stonk meme here* 📉,0 "This reminds me of what I do. I can’t get anything done before I set up everything - Storm/rain sounds - Candle (lights off it really sets the atmosphere) - audiobook or some background sound - Water bottle/snack - blanket - cat",1 "I think the ""do want you dread first and the thing you enjoy after"" mentality is unsuited for adhd. Its better to do both at the same time.",1 "😭🤣😭🤣😭🤣🤣🤣 ok ok referring to it as ""edgelord"" jus saved my life",0 tell them to pick the worst possible thing that would bother them and have that in your face 24/7,0 "What I think I'm starting to realize how screwed up my emotions are. Basically I'm really happy with myself if my parents are happy with me, and I hate myself if they aren't. So now I end up lying a lot just so they think better of me. Which, obviously doesn't work forever and it just starts a terrible cycle. What scares me most is just how dependent my self-worth is on my parents.",1 Yup ALL the time. It's a huge fear of mine. I'm constantly refreshing apps or checking my profiles. I hate it.,0 "I’m really afraid of my garage because of pests to the point that when I go there I tip toe to avoid touching the floor as much as possible. I know how you feel and I’m happy for you for telling your OCD to fuck off, I need to do the same",0 Instructions unclear: intrusive thoughts turned into a dementor,0 "Fun w dick & Jane : The scene with the stocks going down is me during presentations. And then all the bills piling up and shit but bc I forgot to pay them. And all the odd jobs I do bc I’m unemployable.",1 I understand I have bipolar depression anxiety borderline personality disorder post traumatic stress so I understand you completely,1 "This was massive for me and was actually a huge motivator for getting an official diagnosis. Seemed to be a big deal to my psychiatrist when I told her that as much as I reaaaaally desperately wanted to practice music, my brain wouldn’t let me and it was affecting my mental health dramatically.",1 "911? Hello? Yes, I would like to report a reddit post, it’s too real and I feel attacked. ",0 "Personally it’s taken a looooot of practice and I still have to remind myself almost everyday, but...ANYTIME GOOD TIME TO DO THING. SO GO DO THING. I hope this helps <3",1 Same man . I too think like this. I am confirmed of my OCD now. Help me,0 Called my therapist this morning to make sure my appointment was this afternoon because having it written in 3 different locations was clearly wrong.,0 Nice.. I mean Mittens are nice- Rachel from Friends,0 "Absolutely. I know advice is hit or miss, but at the IOCDF conference one year a psych gave a really cool talk where she said she encourages people to use “that would suck” or “anything’s possible” to respond to “what if” thoughts. This acknowledges the thought without leading your mind down a rabbit hole of self arguing or information seeking and can help take some of the power from the feelings that come from those thoughts. I’ve found it really helpful for some instances. Just shrugging, looking the thought in the face and saying “Yeah lol that would be pretty fucked up huh.” My brain can’t always think of a rebuttal to keep the toxic cycle going.",0 "I belive I suffer from something but don't believe it to be adhd. I believe its a mixture of autism, anxiety and bipolar. Wont tell anyone though. My mums family had more of a history with Autism then with Adhd and my dads family suffer with Anxiety and depression more.",1 I think folks just need to stop describing people with ADHD in extremes. I believe all things to do with our brains exist on a spectrum so it's not so black and white. I think we should start addressing our individual needs and experiences so we can then learn and grow within our communities.,1 "Oh my gosh I thought this was just me for so long. I feel like it’s hard enough to feel secure when so many people on social media imply that bi girls are just straight and looking for attention, but when you add OCD in as a factor, it just becomes so much worse. I’ve been way more secure in my sexuality ever since I started exposure therapy",0 How can you help some one overcome their ocd/health anxiety,0 "Whenever I told my mom in stressed this week she said ""you should stop being stressed and focus"" She doesn't know i recently went to get the diagnosis. I was gonna tell her but I heard her and my brother talking about adhd, cause someone told my brother that his kid has it but the way they were talking about it made me very uncomfortable and like I'll never be able to bring it up to my family",1 "I have this quote everywhere. It's on my homescreen on my phone. It's on a post-it next to my desk. It's even a page in my bujo. I try to think of it as often as possible. Since I moved, I've had trouble finding a doctor (and when I thought I'd found one it went south before we even had a first appointment). Long story short... I've been trying to do ERP without a doctor and I fail so often. I need this reminder to help me keep trying despite my failures.",0 Is so encouraging to hear you acknowledge your partner’s effort. But please make sure you tell HER this too. It means the world to her.,1 "My personal struggle is with parking tickets at work. Even if i set an alarm and head out to move my car (2 hour parking limit...), I often get distracted between my door and the building door and then forget why I got up in the first place. :(",1 "You're tricking your brain into associating work with rewards, triggering a dopamine release. Nothing to do with serotonin. But hey, if it works it works. I'd be interested to see if you're still doing this in a month or 2 though lol gl",1 "I absolutely hope you beat the shit out of it! Sidenote: Ironically, I'm always thankful for days I'm really sick because it means a break from all the mental ailments.",0 "For me it's factors/multiples of 32. Even numbers in general appeal to me in general, but there's someone specific about 32 I can't entirely put my finger on it. It especially manifests itself with the microwave. Can't put something in for 30 seconds, it has to be 32. Can't be a minute, has to be 64 seconds. 🙃",0 "Lolll this is too good. Unfortunately its all to normal for us, but for others it'd be almost uncomprehensible. ""Just get over it"" they go. It all just makes me depressed in the end.",0 "There is such a lack of understanding when it comes to OCD. I think in the past few years more & more people with platforms have come out & openly talked about their depression so it isn’t quite such a taboo subject anymore. I know Colin Wilson (NHL player) recently came out about having OCD, but I really hope more “famous” people do. I think it could really help the general public understand more.",0 "Such a great example of knowing vs understanding. Even very well-intentioned experts can wind up just offering objectives, because no matter how much they *know* they don't *understand*.",1 "This is exactly how a visualize my depression. An unwanted dark mass literally weighing on my shoulder area, looming over me. In the show Dexter he describes his intense feelings as “my dark passenger” and although he was describing something very different the “dark passenger” part had always really stuck with me.",0 "It's taken me a year and half to really feel like I'm past it. It still comes up now m then and I still have the usual triggers, the key for me was lessening the intense anxiety I felt. I still get the thoughts but now they don't hurt, so long as I don't pick at the scabs.",0 I hate the all consuming aspect of it. I felt disrespected yesterday by a family member that I try incredibly hard to be close to and it filled me with an all consuming rage. My wife just doesn’t understand,1 "Actually the advice might be better than he or you realize. What if you took the advice as “stop worrying about what everyone else needs you to be and figure out what would be a fit for your life.” Go read about the lean startup method and try to set your life up that way. So what’s the smallest practical change you could make, in the smallest practical amount of time to test out how you need to structure your life for yourself? You won’t get anywhere if you continue to try and fit the molds people are expecting of you. But you can be happy if your honest with everyone (including yourself) about what you CAN do, and set your boundaries.",1 "Literally all the time. When I was in college especially, I used to fantasize about the TARDIS being real so I could, like, pop into the Time Vortex to sleep, do my homework, etc., and then pop back out at the same moment having done everything I needed to so I'd still have time for all the stuff I *wanted* to do. (Honestly, the only reason I don't still fantasize about that more regularly is that I'm not really in the Doctor Who fandom anymore.) In some ways the most frustrating part is that it isn't *just* that I wish everything would stop so I could catch up; it's that on some level I *expect* it to, like at some point here we'll get to a point where linear time *stops happening* so we can all just exist and stop having to do constant maintenance on *everything* (work! school, for people still in school! household stuff! trying to take care of our bodies! politics!). When that never happens, my brain feels like it's wrong and unfair, that things *aren't working right*. I honestly get angry about...you know...the linear flow of time, which is literally inescapable.",1 Got recommended this sub.. said “eh... I don’t think my ocd is that bad...” hehehe I fit right in here,0 "This is how I describe myself on meds - they have made things that seem like an impossible, gigantic hurdle just be a kinda normal sized hurdle.",1 Just gave in after a 2 week streak! Sucks because I know the relief isn’t necessary what we should be striving for but also proud of the time I managed to keep under control.,0 Omg the accuracy. This is the best ocd meme I’ve ever seen lol,0 "I didn’t really know this was a big OCD thing until joining this sub, explains a lot lmao",0 "**Me:** \*enjoying time with my boyfriend\* **ROCD brain:** Hey, remember that thing he did that really upset you? Be mad/sad/anxious about it again. **Me:** But he apologized and stopped doing it. **ROCD brain:** I don't care. He shouldn't have done it in the first place. Hate him forever. How can we love someone who's not perfect?! Can I just go back to having health OCD, please? I hate ROCD so much. =(",0 "How did you do it!!? Genuinely asking. No matter how much I plan or want to, I can never hand it in until the last minute. Congrats man!",1 "This actually makes me kinda sad... all this stuff, all these tips to act “normal” is all this stuff NT’s don’t struggle with..?",1 "It's definitely OCD. The simple fact it's bugging you, let alone that you're here asking the question, is a testament to that fact. OCD is known as the doubting or uncertainty disease. What happens is the thought comes in, whether it's in regards to something physical or mental - it doesn't matter..... So the thought comes in.........and then Boom.....Now the feelings associated with that thought.... Whatever those feelings are, it's fear based... it can be incredibly distressful and uncomfortable. It's these uncomfortable feelings (whatever they may be, because emotion is incredibly depth..... but ultimately, the feelings someone with OCD experiences is something they prefer Not to be feeling) that get you to do the Compulsion. What is the Complusion? The compulsion really, is the feeling of the need to have to solve whatever fear based sensation(s) (intellect/emotion together) you are experiencing. That's why when you ""solve"" the problem, and come up with a solution you are happy with, those distressful feelings seem to just go away. Because you figured it out (the uncertainty that was really bothering you), and you're happy with the answer....... And so you move on, until you're hit with the next thought (again either physical or mental)..... and so the cycle continues. The thing about OCD, is it always wants you to ""solve problems"" (things that your mind is perceiving to be a problem(s)) and it ONLY wants you to ""solve problems"" that scare you and/or make you feel like shit. (intrusive thoughts, feelings, urges, sensation, whatever......) Unfortunatley, it's most likely neurological (I without question believe this to be the case).... It's ok. We accept that. But now that we know that, there are thankfully real solutions out there to help with this problem known as OCD. I have it too. It sucks. It can be debilitating - I understand trust me. OCD is fear based Uncertainty, to put it in a nutshell. Learn more about it so you can understand what your mind/brain is doing, and then apply the proven therapy based strategies to help you with this issue. Start now. Don't wait. It's called ERP (Exposure and Response Prevention). It's incredible and can definitely help, along with a better understanding of how OCD works. Its not easy, but damn is it worth it. Alright, best of luck. I truly mean that. Here are quick starters, but very good resources. On youtube look up: Katie D'ath - OCD channel Ali Greymond - OCD channel Ocd and Anxiety - Name of the channel",0 "better yet: ""What if the plane falls out of the sky""",0 why did no this was just me in this category i just ...,0 " This is awesome. I’m going to save this into my files along with my 874 other posts that I still haven’t read through yet.",1 "I think this is why I’ve developed the phrase, “is that a gut thought or a head thought?”",0 "I never remember to brush my teeth, and sometimes when I do remember I’m like eh next time",1 "OMG! SAME! I recently got a job and I work from 4 till 9 and I feel like I can't do anything before 4. Like, if I gotta do chores it's like, ""Oop, I work that day""",1 "No! You're not the boss of me! I'm going to brush my teeth because I want to, not because you tell me to!",1 even liking this post is going against my gut and writing this comment too,0 "OCD: tap this thing X amount of times Me: \*Out of frustration\* Hits harder than usual OCD: NOT LIKE THAT!",0 YES! I always favorite photos and happy memories of me and the significant other and I look at them almost weekly! It grounds me when we fight or I feel lost to have so many reminders of the good times that the bad times seem pale in comparison,1 Good job! I have an awful time trying to get myself to brush before I go to bed so I’ve been working on that with some success. So I get that it just sucks to do stuff like that sometimes,1 "Mama talking to me trying to tell me how to live I don't listen to her cause my head is like a sieve",1 "Hell yes and am i the only one who loves to do the: ,,, XD",1 Could probably go back about 10 more rows. I hate my life,0 "I have an awful memory for everyday things, and honestly I just have to guess if I've done things. I'm not OCD though, I lurk for education and the memes are good.",0 "Thank you for posting this! I was feeling really stuck and frozen today, and reading that really helped me!",0 "A coffee shop used to do this for me - well, if the music and atmosphere was *just right*. Now? Same four walls all day every day all day every day ^all ^day ^every ^^day ^^^all ^^^^day ^^^^^every ^^^^^day ^^^^^^all ^^^^^^^day ^^^^^^^^every ^^^^^^^^^day",1 **Intention Gains Momentum Over Time until It Becomes An Unstoppable Impetus For Change.**,1 this picture is the complete opposite for me. seven makes me sick to my stomach-,0 "Studying for finals right now, and I keep getting that mental paralysis of “I need to study the RIGHT way, and I don’t know how to do that, so I won’t study at all” (even though I know logically there’s no one “right” way). Thank you for the dog, it gave me a laugh and snapped me out of it!",0 "I once read an article which attempted to explain why OCD occurs - I wish I could find it because it was a very cool read. But the long and short of it was that people with OCD tend to have less trust in their senses and doubt their memories more so than people without OCD. I think it kind of explains why a lot of us seek affirmation and reassurance. We don’t trust our own experience enough, so we want to make sure by asking someone else.",0 "Almost dead same for me, save a few things: Executive dysfunction causes me to never even start the hobbies, I just add them on to a list of things to try later that I end up deleting in a few months because I never did anything. I also will have a massive list of things I want to buy online, but it aways gets put off ""for later"" (and with adhd you know later is Never lmao) And a lot of times, instead of forgetting to eat, my stomach will be growling but I don't want to put off whatever I am doing to go do anything else (ie: eat) and this also applies to drinking and using the bathroom. (EDIT: Forgot to mention, sometimes ""whatever I am doing"" entails laying in bed staring at my phone. Or the wall. Whatever catches my interest haha) This ESPECIALLY happens at work. I am a user of the r/antiwork subreddit and yet I almost never use my breaks (even the paid 15 min ones) but stopping without finishing feels like driving 70 on the interstate and then having to slam the brakes cuz a deer jumped out. And then if I take the break and come back to my unfinished task? Honey that ship has sailed. Hyperfocus is gone, that shit aint appealing anymore lmao. Everyone just thinks I am a workaholic but they don't understand the hyperfocus mindset. 😥 Oh, and like someone else said....gotta add giant rambling paragraphs in response to literally anything. Essays were easy AF back in school once I got the rant ball rolling though. 😂 TLDR; Relatable, we are all beautiful messes. 😂😂",1 "I feel you hard on this. The discrepancy between how I speak and how I write is so extreme that I've had many people question whether or not I actually wrote whatever it is they're reading. It's exhausting to constantly feel like you have to prove that you're not an idiot and unfortunately that's often what ADHD does. You mentioned speaking in front of people and being distracted by the awareness that you're speaking- I relate to that so much and I've never been able to put it into words before! It's so distracting that it's like I don't know what I'm even saying, and by the time I walk away from the conversation it feels like a weird dream. It's almost like highway hypnosis, but with speaking.",1 "Wow it looks great! I think I went 8 years without a haircut, the last time I avoided them 🤦‍♀️",0 Damn or when i don't have anxiety anymore from intrusive toughts i mush be a psychopath and finally accepted those touggts or I've been facking OCD the whole time even tho i have mental anxiety in that momement but not physical.,0 "Yes. Ive finished a decent chunk of all my school work. And for the most part am cuaght up on recent things from the past 2 weeks. But. I still have past things, that i havnt finished. But finishing would help with tests, its just not really nessecarilly needed. So. I am stuck waiting for my last class, hating it, cause i suck at math. And only in a specific way can i learn and do it properly enough to get questions right.",1 "So happy for you! Make sure to check in with yourself daily for a while. The first time can feel liberating for sure but once I took them for a few weeks straight it did not feel sustainable. 20mg is a lot for first dose, I usually split mine into 2 10's, buy empty capsules and fill them. This also helps me keep a good amount as an emergency supply. I try not to build a tolerance and not to take them everyday. Everyone is different and this is what works for me.",1 "My window is usually mid morning to early afternoon, including a few breaks and small meals in between. It’s ok, my work involves a lot of research so I do that then rest for the rest of the night.",1 "Yep, that definitely is the same feeling as winning on a scratch ticket. Which reminds me, I still have scratch tickets from last year to go redeem...",1 That is great man!! What exactly did you do or use to help you so well??,0 Actually don’t think I’ve ever seen a more relatable post lmfao,0 "Sometimes doing one random thing, like starting a pot of tea, or getting on the ground and stretching can help. It’s not that you lack focus, it’s how to focus. And sometimes we just need some randomness as being adhd. I feel for you. It’s truly hard to explain",1 Ive been where you are right now and the “normal” brain will always come but through medication and therapy. Just remember it wont always stay this way,0 or that they will ring despite that i stole nothing,0 I actually make time for myself to read and listen to lectures but I still never focus lol,1 "My therapist told me that last week. I was like... but, that's not how this works.",0 "I wonder that if by doing these things, like working to remember a small detail, is really good for our brains? In fact, I wonder if OCD as a whole greatly strengthens our brains. I could argue that it does. It would also make sense that it doesn't.",0 "“Was that arrow really green you just turned on? Are you sure? You probably broke the law just now. What does a green arrow actually look like? Are the green arrows really green or do they mean something else?” Everyday.",0 All I think of is “WHERES THE CATNIP” ala Bat Dad. Did anyone else get angry when Bat Dad did that?,0 ">Don’t interact with your thoughts, watch them. I love this so much.",0 When you finally comment something that turns out perfect so you re-read it more than necessary bc it just feels nice.,0 As a Mom who says completely stupid stuff sometimes: Sorry honey. I don't think before I speak sometimes. I'm working on that. I love you.,1 "I have this with books. My eyes glance over the words and lines, but I need to reread paragraphs many times before I actually *read* them. Unless I'm having a rare moment of focus, I can't finish books :(",1 "Dude, I'm Chinese American, and I thought my parents behavior was ""normal""... This brings some pain to me...",1 "This is not ADHD, you can't blame ADHD for everything cmon lol",1 Checks stuff when leaving the house checks stuff in the car checks stuff again in the car before getting out checks stuff at work and the cycle continues everyday for 11 years 🙃,0 "Ugh, what's even worse yet is when people say OCD isn't a real mental illness. 😡",0 "My dad helps me manage my time, I help him manage his time. Works well. Just can’t make the person feel shitty about getting back on task. It’s almost like a creative game where we both win.",1 "Congrats on the great grades! As someone w/ pretty severe anxiety/OCD all throughout college, just know you aren’t alone out there. I always tell others who face our struggles, we are the strong ones. Our minds attack us and we still go out to face the world. Congrats again!",0 "\-Medicine (I'm fortunate to be on insurance, but, still) \-Therapist visits, which are in network \-Psychiatrist visits, which are out of network since it's the only way I can find an attentive and responsive psychiatrist \-Overdue bills \-Getting my car towed the other day since I lost my apartment complex's parking sticker (and the complex never told me I'd been towed, so it sat in the lot for more than half a week) \-Impulse purchasing too many girl clothes at once after I realized I'm trans \-Multiple days renting a u-haul since I couldn't organize my recent move for shit (and also was moving 100% solo since I feel mega guilty asking people for help) \-Getting fired or having to quit jobs because they are not at all amenable to living a healthy life and having any mental health to speak of ​ Among, probably, many others I'm forgetting atm lol",1 *sees something uneven” “THIS IS TRIGGERING MY OCD”,0 "I swear, no one knows how to search for lost items like us. My ex hardly ever lost anything, and would panic when he did and couldn’t understand why I was always so calm and was just like “we’ll find it”. I *always* found his lost stuff in the places he thought was so silly to look, lmao. Also, I once left my phone on top of my car in high school and drove all the way to my friends house before realizing it when I couldn’t find my phone to text them that I was there. 😂",1 Some days it's this easy! Then some days it's like moving a boulder :(,0 I had NO IDEA this was an ADHD thing. Completely relate.,1 "I totally relate. My wife doesn't understand why I can't have a ""lazy day"". I need to feel like I accomplish something daily. I can't sit down and play a video game or something for too long either for the same reason, even though I LOVE gaming. Some people can sit around all day and watch movies and play games... Not me. Some people can sit around in their pajamas all day. Not me. I at least have to get dressed, cleaned, etc. and feel like a person. Ha.",1 Truly amazing. It's fascinating how we are all using the same word to describe this expressive artwork.,0 for a minute I didn’t think this was satire. I felt exactly how you did when he must of said that to you. The planner guy clearly doesn’t have adhd,1 Excuse me I've just finished work for the day don't tell me to close reddit :(,1 I absolutely despise how online schooling has become. Nothing gets done unless it’s physical and given directly to me. Online work might as well not exist.,1 "I would save so much time in my workday if I didn’t do this and relate to every comment. I feel attacked.",0 You have a talent. Screw perfection. Have fun with it. Enjoy it. Appreciate it.,0 Legit had an ER doctor tell me this after letting me “cry it out” for 90 minutes.,0 "Here, here. I try to explain this so many times. Before I knew I had ADHD, I was so ashamed to admit how I spent my time. I'd say, ""I didn't have enough time to finish the project,"" and they'd go, ""What? You had this entire week, what did you do all that time?"" Literally nothing! I sat at my desk fully intending to work and I ended up scrolling on reddit for five hours!",1 "Well, if I start to feel good, I will fear that something bad is coming my way, it will be twice the amount of pain for the 'good' I will be feeling now. And it does end up being that way, whether it's self inflicted or something not coincidental.",0 Yep. This is me. I've at least solved the breakfast issue by buying several boxes of protein bars from Costco and I have one each morning,1 "I checked out their website. They definitely didn't have any bad intentions, they just don't seem to completely understand what OCD is. From what it sounds like, they seem to believe that OCD is a symptom, rather than a disorder. Their front page talks about how their proceeds go to a foundation for children with autism because many autistic children have OCD tendencies, their words, not mine. Honestly, I'd buy from them, they mean well, they just don't completely get it.",0 "My OCD tells me I'm an imposter among other strong independent men. I just got my own apartment, a part time job, and my car fixed.",0 "I am bipolar and add / adhd. I do this frequently. It is hard for me to let go of a wrong. These things simmer and can emerge much later. I obsess about my mistakes too. It is a burden.",1 "Yes I do and it's generally extremely unhelpful. I am a hostage to my emotions, they come unbidden and people are confused why I get angry or defensive about some issue they think of as trivial. My self esteem is brittle like glass, it does not take much to shatter it and then I waste hours, days, weeks, months mulling the issue. Meanwhile, in reality, nothing has changed. We could take a leaf from the book of stoicism. Abuse must never be tolerated but with practice we can tolerate much more and get on with enjoying our lives. Don't waste your time being angry.",1 I'm pretty sure it's because so many mental illnesses are undiagnosed. People are blaming themselves for things that symptoms of serious neurological diseases. I felt this way too but then I noticed that the struggles I've experienced in life are because of mental illnesses.,1 "I read some news article years ago where some dude got a cut on his leg from a dirty garbage bag and got flesh eating bacteria on his leg. Ever since then when my leg accidentally touches a dirty garbage bag (even with no cut), I have to wash my leg immediately or else I think I’m going to get an infection. Sigh.",0 "I try to keep my grocery receipts on my desk or in my journal, basically as a reminder/to do list for when I'm planning to go shopping again. Now if only I could actually keep a pantry/freezer list without neglecting it after a week...",1 "This is me too. I don't ask enough questions of anybody or anything. I'll go out with friends and engage in the conversations but completely fail to ask questions. After a bit, I turn into that quiet person just sitting there nodding along. When it becomes obvious to me that I'm not asking questions, I'll go into overdrive in my head and clam up. I also don't plan. My STBX wife always made the plans and made the majority of the family decisions, I just went along for the ride like a dutiful drone. She got frustrated and wanted me to take charge and lead the family like a man should... I just never could bc I am woefully underequipped/ underexperienced in major life things. Even now, after separating, it feels like a big win for me if I can manage to plan and do just one small thing.",1 Lol this is so relatable... My hands are always bleeding I wash them so frequently. I tell people who ask that I punched a few squirrels,0 "Seriously that has been the best part of this subreddit. I hate when I go into a space for ADHD and everyone's talking about it as if it is a gift - it's not, this shit fucking sucks, let's talk about how it makes my life harder please.",1 "How do you heal from OCD ? Is like asking an autistic person to heal themselves ?",0 This post was really well-written and ironically you probably wouldn’t be able to say it out loud 😉,1 Literally fell asleep during a work training video yesterday. I got plenty of sleep the night before and I was not tired at all until I got midway. I didnt realize I was falling asleep until my son walked in on me mid snore,1 "Yeah sometimes I’ll shake my hand like there’s no paper towels in the bathroom just to get back to something. Or if I’m daydreaming during a conversation or meeting, start to refocus on what the person is saying.",0 "I mean, it's a dumb joke. If I were to make it, it would be something about how if only I could keep my house as clean as I keep my hands... or something... It would be nice if the general public had a better grasp of what OCD, but I can't expect them to be well-versed in the complexities of the disorder. Hell, that might even make things worse, I've definitely had people in my lives get a little informed and then involve themselves in my obsessions, which made things worse. Eventually I told them to leave it to the professionals. So... all in all, the jokes are just an opportunity for me to practice resilience, and sometimes even educate someone just a smidge.",0 """Oh you don't really care or else you would do something about it."" ",1 "I feel even worse because of both, also because school is starting for me today and that’s putting me under a lot of stress",1 "Same thing.I started studying at the middle of September (my first year of university), but I am already exhausted.If I am having lessons next day, no matter if it is sunday after the weekend or wednesday, or friday, I still procrastinate till the very last moment and in the end I sit and study until it's 6am.And in such moments, I think, whether it was a good idea to even enter the university, though I didn't have much choice.",1 "Never really sat down and thought about it but this is absolutely me. I recently learned took a class to get ProTools certified because I'm an audio engineer and I wanted to become more comfortable with the program that is most commonly used in studios and I annoyed the shit out of my professor with my incessant ""why???"" questions",1 """Listen to your heart"" Your heart: ""Don't look at me."" Your OCD: ""I'll take it from here.""",0 This is how I am when making sure my front door is locked at night. It’s maddening.,0 "You're definitely not the only one. I'm 29/F and have done fuck-all with my life. I barely leave my apartment, partly due to my allergies requiring me to shower and change my clothes the second I get home, which is a hell of a lot to ask of my shitty executive function. So I don't go out unless I have to and can force myself to shower and change clothes after. Which alone hinges on being able to wash clothes frequently, which also requires going outside and showering after I'm done. It's a lot. I avoid going out to avoid the labor required. The pandemic has fuck-all to do with it, little has changed for me since it began. I'm just slightly more isolated, but the margin is tiny. I have no prospects to speak of, no real capability to study or make school a worthwhile endeavor (or at least one that won't end in dropping out for a third time). I have no friends, my social skills are lacking and it hurts too much to even try to make friends at this point. Every tiny thing hurts. I have nothing to really offer a significant other, either. Chronic illness(es) dictate my life, along with my ADHD, OCD, anxiety and depression. Nobody's gonna want to stick around once they realize the stone cold truth of my day-to-day existence. Shit seems hopeless and trying seems hollow most of the time. Maybe it isn't, but I have doubts. Everything hurts, all the same, whether the anguish and pain are worthwhile or not.",1 I feel the “_______ symptoms” very deeply. Today while running I noticed a slight pain in my leg so I spent a good amount of time standing by the side of the track googling “tibial stress fracture” repeatedly. I seriously want to request an MRI from my doctor just to be sure.,0 "Why do I have a feeling that people that think this way also believe women do *not* have a choice in determining whether they have a right to terminate a pregnancy? “You have full control of your body!....*unless you need an abortion...*”",0 Yikes. I should probably study my spanish vocabulary.,1 "OMG, yes. I've been trying to find the words to express this dilemma. One trick is to also schedule something nicer ""around"" it. And *not* as a reward. "" ""Ohhh, hey I'll be at the post office, so i'm gonna stop at the dollar store and maybe get Chipolte for lunch. whooo, let's do this! "" . Go to the dollar store and some other thing first. it's paralyzing to make the funner parts of the outing dependant on the hard part.",1 "100% same. I am soooo receptive to someone who wants to offer constructive criticism and help me work through stuff (when it’s someone in a position to do so, like my boss). But if someone comes at me like they’re pissed off over like a work mistake, it’s like an unsolvable puzzle of what they need me to say to stop them being angry.",1 I never met anyone who also has been diagnosed with OCD. Perhaps because I don't leave the house often lol,0 Thank you this is so sweet and has genuinely made me feel better. Hope you’re doing well too!,0 "The kitchen has been deemed “safe” by my partner for the last week or so but I still usually wait for them to get home before I do much kitchen work. I’m home alone and made coffee. Fuck yea. EDIT: I didn't expect to receive so much encouragement and support and for that I'm truly grateful! No one in my immediate life experiences OCD so I often feel very alone or that I can't share these thoughts with them in a way that they'll understand. Thanks everyone, this sub is awesome.",0 I feel everything you just wrote. You’re not alone mate.,1 I ended up downloading seven phone browsers because I keep maxing out the tab limit on them 😭. I’ll open up an article I find interesting or just search a topic as a “reminder” to get back to but I never do. I’d hate to delete them though because I view them as “important”.,1 "Thanks for all the upvotes guys. BTW I showed this to my neurotypical boyfriend and said, ""Look! I got over 1000 upvotes on the OCD reddit on my meme!"" and he squinted at it and went ""I don't get it"" and I was like HAHAHAH YUP YOU WOULDN'T! Also aw thanks for the silver award :-)",0 "Not only is this beautiful, but it’s also incredibly breathtaking.",0 "This happens to me all the time, it's unreal how lost you get",1 "I find it so hard to talk about myself and my interests in social situations because of this. It's kinda sad but I have to treat social situations like an exam I'm revising for, and I bring ""flash cards"" of things I want to say about myself in my phone notes or details of my interests if they ask further.",1 "Hey, my name is Frank (28) and I have terrible OCD too. I saw your post and just wanted to say that I’m sorry you’re going through so much hell. It’s criminally underrated how much a struggle living with OCD is. I’m proud of you for trying to write it out so you can find some kind of a solution. Seriously. You are amazing. Keep on Rockin’ -Frank IV",0 To help some of you guys: I saw a video from a licensed therapist who said that a trick for thoughts that may work is to put “I’m having the thought” before every single one of those thoughts. E.g. “I’m having the thought that my friends hate me” or “I’m having the thought that my family is going to die”. I’ve never tested this but I can see the thought behind this working. It’s common with anxiety to be told to sit with it instead of fighting it so maybe this will work!,0 "My best friend (I guess used to be best) got almost a blackout lmao. She’s always saying stuff like “I know you, you can’t have a mental illness you’re normal” then once when she insisted I tell her how I was doing (cuz we usually only talk about her) I told her that I was feeling worse and was pretty sure I had OCD, she started sending me articles about having some type of victim complex and I was just like ...???? I was so surprised cuz she really was my best friend and I haven’t gotten over it.",0 These thoughts eat me alive to the point of vomiting sometimes. I wish I could stop them,0 i remember life before this :( I’d kill to have it back,0 This hit me pretty hard. My therapist and I have been working on dealing with my intense perfectionism that ties in strongly with my ADHD. I constantly feel this need to be better and perfect and that my best is never good enough. It’s like whatever I do is never quite enough. I’m a grad student and I’ve been dealing with such massive imposter’s syndrome since I began. It’s nice to know I’m not alone in that.,1 "This is actually a great metaphor. The next time I'm bothered by intrusive thoughts, I'm just going to pretend my OCD is Donkey making annoying noises in the backseat.",0 "Damn... If it's any help I'll tell you my story with cancer. I've been diagnosed with hodgkin's lymphoma at 15 after I noticed a lump above my collarbone when putting on a swimsuit and got scared and my parents took me to the doc immediately. Turns out I was in stage 3 and I was treated with chemo. Idk how worse it could've been if I waited after I noticed it, considering how spread out it was before I saw it. ATM i've been clear of cancer for a few years but unfortunately got pretty depressed and my adhd coping skills went way downhill because I wasn't doing much during that time so I'm still sort of recovering mentally. If you want to know more PM me.",1 There should be a way to pin this at the top of my Reddit feed,1 Huh. This is really interesting!! Who wants to do my taxes?? I’ll shave your legs. 😂 ,1 I’m in no way trying to diagnose anyone but this is OCD/ADD and it def affects ppl with autism. My bf does this as well. He is high functioning,0 .......... This sub is great for personal attacks lol *checks saved*,1 Need to save this and remember to I have all the similar traits when I meet with my doctor to see if I have 80HD,1 My version of this is when my theme that causes self loathing is replaced with a health anxiety fear or fear of contamination. I’d rather think I was gonna die than hurt someone.,0 "When I do that, I get paranoid that the one in front was actually the ""correct"" one. I've definitely tried to discretely get to something on the very back of a shelf only to decide that it doesn't *feel* right and take the third from the back... THEN give into anxiety two aisles over, go back, return the item, and waffle over the decision some more. I'm not even worried about it being contaminated. My brain is just... idk... convinced it's cursed or something.",0 "Yeah, that's what I appreciate about this sub as well. I understand there are people who disagree with the rules but I think the mods are doing a really great job at managing a very difficult thing. The thing is, ADHD really sucks for most of us. That doesn't mean we can't do awesome things, that doesn't mean we are destined to a life of failure and frustration. But a lot of us are intimately familiar with failure and frustration and a lot of it is caused by ADHD. It's so nice to have a place where it is safe to express that, to rant about our asshole brains and to just scream into the void if it gets too much. Without getting toxic positivity, victim blaming and platitudes in return.",1 Even better when you confront someone about using OCD as an adjective/ personality trait and then they double down and pretend they have it.,0 "Does everyone know about ""Private Session"" mode? You can flick it on and it doesn't add to your stats or your listening preferences. It's great for eliminating sleep albums, weird music tastes that you don't want to start infringing on your Discover Weekly selections, and stopping that one dumb song that you're listening to on repeat for half a day from totally dominating your Year in Review statistics haha. Or if one of your friends with shitty music taste is playing music off your Spotify. You find it up in the top right on the computer app, or in your phone app it's under the menu with the cog icon on the home screen. Highly recommend!!",1 I just feel weird there are people NOT LIKE this......,1 "So this is what I've been feeling? My mind is racing and hyperfocusing on one thing and I feel like I'm literally unable to stop and switch my attention to them, but they keep talking and it's a constant noise, sort of like an annoying buzzing fly, and it makes my brain itch if they keep going (I can cope with strangers and friends, but when it's family... EUGH). As a result I usually get extra unpleasant to deal with and snap for seemingly no reason.",1 Good job!! I'm proud of you :) I'm trying my best to brush regularly too after being reminded how shitty my breath is.,1 "Yes! Totally! Especially with the change in sunlight. It gets dark where I am at about 3:30/4pm in the middle of winter. So I'll have been doing something and suddenly it's really dark and I'm like ""Omg! it must be 9pm!"" And i look at the clock and it's only 5/6. Such a win",1 "Funny enough King of the Hill had a really good OCD joke. In the office, everyone is pretending to have a disability to get out of work. One guy says ""sorry. If I get out of this chair Garth Brooks will die"" and I love how ridiculous it is.",0 "Yay, my favorite boy Arin :) also yes, very true. Kinda bad when my car honks that many times but gotta be sure",0 "Me. And imagine I started with sensorimotor OCD, obsessing about my breathing. When I learned there is such a thing, I was shocked. I spent almost a year trying to understand what mysterious disease made me take really deep breaths all the time. Always imagined OCD is just about doing certain rituals. When in fact it can be so much more. Glad I know better now.",0 "I’m a father that got diagnosed with ADD in my mid 30s. Once I got medicated I’ve done more in a years time that I could’ve done in a decade. I get happiness from learning new things. I don’t really care what others think but the most important thing as a person with ADHD/ADD is to understand yourself and how this diagnose affects you and your emotions and be aware of them, also how they affect your surroundings and how the surroundings respond to you. Accepting the cards you’ve been dealt is a good starting point. go and do what you like and follow your passions and try to work with the structure in your day to day life to achieve them. Write things down on a whiteboard, (no not on a piece of paper you’ll probably forget the papers among all the other paper) haha. Go minimalistic and get rid of stuff you don’t need. Clutter in your home is a distraction and works against your well-being. Exercise moderately. Moderation is key with everything. Teach yourself to “grind” on a day to day basis instead (I know it’s not easy, but it can be done) These are the rules I try to follow. And wear sunscreen",1 "When you’ve been conditioned by others close to you to believe you’re an attention seeker, even though most of your suffering is endured alone and in secret.. I feel this post in my bones..",0 "my dude that is a fucking masterpiece. can you link a straighter image of it so i can set it as my PC background? ​ # DON'T TOUCH IT. ITS AMAZING if you change one thing i will slap you. ​ :D ​ EDIT:[it is done. my screen is no longer a black void.](https://imgur.com/a/n3mayVJ)",0 "💯 agree and have had the same thought! Executive Function Emotional Regulation Disorder - EFERD, should totally be a thing.",1 "I do, and it became worst when I exaggerated a memory and 'confessed' to a Twitter friend about it.",0 "So one of my interests is podcasts, horror, ttrpg actual plays, comedy you get the idea. My main method for getting myself to do anything is restricting when I got to listen to a specific podcast. Shopping? You get to listen to that ttrpg actual play. Going for a run? That anthology horror podcast you've been meaning to get into is about the right length. Cleaning? Vacuum while giggling to that comedy quiz show. Having a distinctive benefit to each ""chore"" has made me look forward to doing them plus I get a real sense of how long different things take. A run is not the mammoth undertaking I'd otherwise make it out to be if I know it's only the length of a 20ish minute episode.",1 "The only way I can function is to write every task or step down, and slowly cross them out one by one as I handle it.",1 jesus christ i have bipolar as well so moments of mania literally make me feel so weird because im like was i just sobbing uncontrollably about the miss pronunciation of a singers name or was i fakin it 🤭🥲,0 I really wish this doctor was the majority of healthcare providers but unfortunately it seems 99% of them (American healthcare in general) only care about money.,1 I had a head ache today and yesterday and I think I’ve got brain eating amobi,0 "UH, YES. Every time I have to do something I've been dreading to do (or any work actually), I feel so sleepy. Almost always, I will tell myself that I will just take a nap and then set an alarm. But always, I sleep right through my alarm and will wake up late and find myself rushing through all of the work needed to be done.",1 "Yes, and even more, I end up changing so much of what I initially write down that I end up rewriting almost the entire thing.",0 Lol I remember having severe intrusive thoughts in 5th grade and not knowing why,0 Me: What if a cop pulls me over and there were drugs in my car at one point and the dog smells it and the cop tears my car to find nothing,0 100% yes! I straight up can't understand something if I don't know the why. It just won't stick in my brain.,1 Fantastic! I love that you we’re able to make something positive and creative,0 "Some aspects I still haven’t reached this point, and others I’m perfectly aware I’m thinking mad shit haha. I went to group therapy a while back and was stunned at some of the irrational thoughts some people talked about. Like you let this control your life?! Yet I still absolutely cannot put myself in that category because I’m convinced it’s different",0 "0 to 40mg over night? That's a hard hit. I started on 10mg extended release and while the three months of that felt insufficient in the moment, I'm glad for it. I struggled over-committing to things then. I can only imagine how deep of a hole I would have dug myself then had I started on my current 30mg XR dose. Good luck either way. Glad you found happiness. I suggest you find something worthwhile to pour yourself into. You will be rewarded for your efforts in the long run.",1 "I average 20 min showers, but it's pretty difficult to take quick showers with the trio of OCD, ADHD, and anxiety",0 I feel this so much 💙💙💙 thank you!!! I have been struggling with this procrastination for a long time until I realize this is an actual problem 😅 now I’m trying to minimize the steps I have to take for everything so that I will actually do them 😭,1 "Pandemic not withstanding, it helps if you do these things in the presence of others. Like have an artsy get together with friends. There's more pressure/incentive to finish your drawing/painting/etc if everyone else is working on one too.",1 "It hurts knowing that I'm good at piano but have the potential to be really good if I sat down and practiced an hour a day. Most of the time, the only time I dedicate to it is when I'm procrastinating something I really don't want to do. I've been getting better about practicing, but I still have a long ways to go. Seeing piano as something I wanted to do rather than as a chore really helped. I still end up watching people practice for twice as long as I practice myself, and I'll end up practicing in spurts rather than consistently.",1 I have always done this!! I will have a nagging voice in my head telling me to take a certain way and I’ll purposely drive a different way. It’s uncomfortable at first but so empowering!,0 "Weirdly the pandemic gave me exactly that. I wish it had occurred, like, 6 years ago.",1 "Top it off - looking for a Job with terrible social anxiety I feel my head in the clouds and my heart in hell",1 "You have a friend, awesome person. Funny, exciting, lives life. As your friend grows and time passes, you notice this person getting skinnier. You check up on them and ask if they are okay, are they sick? Do they need to see a doctor? They reassure you they’re fine, maybe under a bit more stress then usual. Ok, fair enough. You both get busy with the usual routines of life and it’s a few months since you have been able to hang out. You’re absolutely shocked the next time you see them. They look sick, pale, bone thin. Their skin is Snow White. So bad in fact you feel like you’re looking at the walking dead. You gasp and start expressing your concern, saying they need to get checked in to a hospital, something must be seriously wrong. They kind of laugh and say they don’t understand what you’re saying, they’re fine, they’re the same as they’ve always been. You explain they are so thin there’s nothing but bone. They start pulling at their skin trying to show you how fat they are. You’re mind can do some F’cked up crap. When someone realizes, they can’t always trust their mind, thoughts, emotions, reactions, it can be helpful to rely on the “average person” standard. How would the average healthy person react/think/feel if they were you in that moment? My husband had OCD and muscular dystrophy, used an electric wheelchair. In the movies one night, someone walking past him in the aisle stumbled. That sent of a whirlwind of mental worries and insecurities that led to an obsession with the Lord’s Prayer. He couldn’t sleep until he got it perfect and quite often it would go on for an hour or more. His therapist fought back with rational thinking. Did he feel his chair move as the person walked be? No. When it hit his foot did it hurt? No. Did he even feel the bump? No. Did he see the person hit the ground? No. Would a healthy, able-bodied person usually die from tripping and falling onto a soft carpeted floor? No. Did an ambulance arrive? No. Did he see the man dead in the floor? No..... but.... Sorry sometimes there just isn’t a but. It’s okay to challenge your thinking. It’s healthy for EVERYONE to logically analyze their thoughts, feelings, intentions and reactions. Just because you think it, doesn’t mean it’s real, just because you feel it doesn’t prove it happened or is going to happen. Even if the worst case happens, doesn’t mean it’s your fault. Your mind, your thoughts your habits, your compulsions, for the majority, don’t have the power to influence life. It’s sounds harsh, but it was one of the best pieces of advice he ever got. You’re just not that important. I know it sounds insulting, but for obsessive thinkers it can be very freeing. It didn’t matter what Eric did, he couldn’t have prevented that guy from tripping. Sorry but some crip in a wheelchair (don’t worry, I am not insulting. When you’re married to some one the need for political correctness is far less necessary) does not have the power to murder someone with their foot. Dude tripped, get over it. Even if the guy fell and injured himself, most likely he’d just need a bandaid for rug burn. Sorry dude, your foot just ain’t that powerful. Certainly, having to repeat the Lord’s Prayer continuously for over an hour, the only life in danger would be his because their wife is gone mad by listening to this for years!!! lol take that light heartily, I never outwardly got mad for his condition, but I did insist he switch therapists. Lastly, for many people, I’d say almost everyone, biggest change, advancing life goals, clearing those massive hurdles universally starts with being able to tackle ones fear. Don’t run from what scares you. Face it, own it, challenge it, conquer it. Never give up. In the end, you won’t regret it. Only you have the power inside of yourself to beat this. Losing is not an option so dig down deep and get it done. Not easy in the slightest, but not impossible.",0 That’s so cool. I always imagine mine as an evil me from another universe who follows me around,0 This was me ALL DAY. Just a continuous cycle of planning out the next hour only to get distracted or procrastinate and then get stressed and beat myself up for it (then repeat).,1 "I've found a way to capitalise on it.. I have been doing a bujo for a while now. Every day i check my list of things i need to do daily and note my bp, that i took my pill in the am. that i fed the cats. and i feel good about it. Unfortunately, then i also review at the end of the day i get to check it again... This means i get to get annoyed at myself with all the shit i didnt do, just before bed, so i have a literal list of things to berate myself over instead of sleeping. and i know this - and yet i dont stop doing it.",1 "Me anytime I say anything to one of my coworkers edit: grammar",0 "Not in University, but am homeschooled and have the same problem. Kinda dug myself into hole this semester.",1 And here's the thing - people don't know what ocd really is.,0 After reading this i: brushed my teeth and washed my face thoroughly. So thanks! Stay safe!,1 "Gotta say, until I met my wife I had no clue and fell victim to the common misconceptions. This sub does a great job educating anyone who takes the time to stop by. Thanks to all of you for being here for each other and helping folks like me learn about what OCD is and what it's like to live with it!",0 Lots of parent teacher conferences hearing “he’s smart he just doesn’t APPLY himself” and “he refuses to pay attention but his work indicates that he understands what’s happening.”,1 "People have been giving those like us shit way too long! # It's time we rise up",1 "3 usable hours during the day, and 6 usable hours at night if you dont sleep. Seriously though I'm sick not getting motivation to be productive until 1 in the morning.",1 "I accidentally opened my apartment door for maintenance people today without a mask. Five people outside my doorway, and then I ran to get my mask. Now I am convinced that I have covid and will die soon or be permanently brain damaged. Great!",0 "Not to mention constantly being told about how much potential you have, or some variant of that.",1 I’m in the top 0.001% of an artist that I discovered in May of this year lmfao,1 What can we do to combat this? It’s so difficult to deal with. Has anyone here gotten over this barrier?,1 I like this. My therapist previously recommended picturing a bright red stop sign and yelling stop to myself. Seems to be a similar tactic.,0 "Personally, I would have drawn some sort of never ending loop in my mind",0 I do this every day. I always just tapped snooze but I am slowly starting to actually do the stuff I am supposed to and getting lesser snoozes every day. Great stuff.,1 "That’s awesome! It’s really cool that she understands that. The way adding stimulus/chaos often helps ADHDers streamline our attention and removing it makes us more distractible is one aspect of ADHD that I find so hard to explain to neurotypicals bc it is just so non-intuitive and backwards relative to how their brains work. It even surprises me sometimes tbh. Like I’ve just recently realized that I have to watch TV while I do my nighttime routine bc otherwise I will spend 3 hours meandering through each little task and getting distracted, so I moved a TV within sight of the sink and now it takes me 10 minutes to get ready for bed. Makes no sense but whatever lol I’m just happy to find a new follow-through hack",1 "Today I went on a hike. I have Pure O about contracting schizophrenia. I have been in remission for many months. I suddenly, while on hike, had the realization that people always go crazy in the woods. I freaked out, tried to turn back, disrupted the group and made a big ordeal...but couldn't tell them why I was freaking out (because then it would happen for real) so I ended up just looking like a dork that was too scared to traverse over some rocks cuz I might roll my ankle. I legit hate my brain sometimes, OCD makin me look bad in front of my friends!",0 i love it! i write songs with my worst thoughts as lyrics,0 "Ooh I am pretty much the same way. Anytime I get told some info, I always question why. It's a good skill and it will help you understand the importance of that info. They are just mad at your questioning because they themselves have not understood the reason. I also tutor kids and make it a point to explain why something is. It helps you remember.",1 "Which planner? I have 17 of them. Do I use the one on my phone or is it better to physically write it down? But then after two days I completely forget I was writing things down in said planner. A week or month later I remember and now I can't find the planner so I have to buy a new one. Rinse. Repeat. Maybe if I get a pretty pen... I'd say this is sarcasm but Il know it isn't. :D",1 "Yeah just when I’m starting to relax lol, It’s hard but I know we can get through this! We are strong, take care everyone!",0 Congratulations on the start of your possible life long addiction to amphetamines :),1 I just fucking screamed 😂. This was so me omg. Thank you for making me feel a bit better and not alone,0 "this is what i needed thank you, ive been so worried i’m faking my love for people lately and it’s been causing lots of distress so thank you",0 "We put a lot of pressure in ourselves mostly based on the media. I often find myself craving doing artistic things and find myself back to my phone again instead. It’s addicting instant gratification. Take a break from it and just feel yourself out. Listen to your needs and don’t belittle them, it’s okay to need :)",1 "My former roommate liked to explain things in a way that my brain just couldn’t hang onto. I’m an End, Beginning, Middle person. He always went in order when he tried to explain something, and questions were met with “I’m getting to that”. Inevitably I would have forgotten most of the steps by the time he got to the end result. Show me the goal. Show me what I have to work with. Then show me how to do it, if I haven’t already concocted a zany way to do it myself. If you clutter up my brain with lots of information about all of these bits and bobs and their ins and outs and how to work them and in what order, by the time I understand why you just told me all of that, the information will have fallen out of my brain. You haven’t given me a mental category, a heading, a purpose, an application, a file label, a context. What am I trying to achieve? Why these particular tasks in this particular order? What happens if I do them out of order? If I do one wrong, do I have to restart the whole chain? How does each task effect the end product? Can I use these tasks or concepts for something else?",1 "This. I joined this subreddit because my best friend has OCD and told me what it was really like a few years ago. I wanted to better my understanding about it to be there for her. Some of the posts on this subreddit piss me off so much because sometimes it's a dumbass ""joke"" like hue I'm so ocd and it's like a picture of pencils or something, which in the beginning was extremely confusing to me. I know that some people do like to joke about their disorder or illnesses to take some of the pressure off, I have done it before. I do wish some of the people who make jokes would elaborate sometimes though, because to people who just stumble upon their picture or joke they might take it and spread it around and think they're actually ocd or etc. It makes me so upset when my coworkers, family and friends say ""hue I'm so OCD!!!"" When my best friend is crippled because of ocd. They think they're being quirky literally because they don't really know anything. My older sister is a smart, wonderful person, who has an education and kids but she even tried to tell me before my friend didn't have ocd and I got so pissed but just calmly told her yes she does, she is on disability. Ocd ruins some people's lives and people who say they're so ocd don't really know what compulsions and rituals are. It's a problem. I have heard a lot about it and it can be so bad I sometimes feel that I barely understand it. Someone suggested to me before that I could have pure O and I felt immediate guilt, like no, I can't have ocd because it's not like what my friend goes through. I know that really I could possibly but it feels wrong to consider because I don't want to turn into one of those people who say they're so ocd. It feels like a slap in the face to my disabled friend to consider I could have ocd because I am functional. End rant",0 I just wish I could erase these thoughts in my mind. The amount of pain these thoughts has caught me is sickening.,0 aaaaaahhhhhh the psychopath one still taunts me all the time,0 yes! this is a huge accomplishment! keep up the good work! im rooting for you!!!,0 "I would get this a lot when I was younger at family gatherings and I had no idea what was happening to me, but would get so overwhelming angry and annoyed, it took every ounce of strength I had to not yell and scream SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP - it was always the step-grandma that couldn’t see how uncomfortable I was, how many times I needed her to let me exit the convo ASAP and she had no clue lol Now as an adult and finally on a waiting list to see a specialist to get officially diagnosed and start treatment, I can’t believe all these things I’m learning that were unsolved mysteries of my life for so long",1 "stereotypes about OCD are why some people (me) think they couldn't possibly have OCD. Additionally, I feel like I can't mention my OCD without getting into because people will assume that I'm joking. I feel like the acronym really distances people from the fact that's a disorder, not a just a personality trait. (I have very similar feelings about ADHD too...)",0 "oh man, I have stumbled upon so many new obsessions just randomly browsing the internet.. not even researching things. it fucking sucks, dude.",0 "As someone with this and ALSO abandonment issues from getting left for talking too much, being annoying, and being too insistent, too highmaintenance, well... IDK what the f to believe anymore",0 "Haha never ask me to tell a story. I simply can't tell one, I just shut down half way through and then get super anxious. I always thought it was just social anxiety. But maybe if my head was clearer I would be able to do it. The irony is I once was trying to tell my friend I wasn't very ""ummm what's the word where you're not good at explaining things"" ""you know when you aren't good at making words up"" ""what's that damn word called it's ummmm.... Oh yeah articulate"" ""I'm not very articulate"". Lmao I proved my point there",1 "Not pathetic! Looking at this list I think you and I might have a lot of rituals in common, so I understand how you feel and my first thought was “holy crap that’s impressive”. Plus progress is progress no matter how small it may feel at first.",0 ">just stop thinking and get it done. The funny thing is, when I actually *do* this (happens randomly sometimes), I not only get stuff done, but *enjoy* doing it too, because I'm not thinking about it! The trouble is, I don't know how to do it on command! My brain is like a fog generator, generating a wall of resistance. All I need to do is take thinking out of the equation! hahaha",1 "My entire Reddit experience comprises saving dozens of posts a day that I never go back to, save for the rare time I actually go back and try one of the recipes I’ve bookmarked. Same for IG and web browsing in general tbh. You should see the number of tabs I have had open for over a year... At this point it’s mostly a force of habit. If Reddit had the option to categorize saved posts, I’m not sure if that would actually be better or worse.",1 "Gonna be honest with you this sounds more like you have comorbid ASD with your ADHD. ADHD doesn't prevent you from understanding why not everyone wants to or can answer your question as to ""why"" a process is done the way it is.",1 "I like this tip. I just got my degree and it was aweful doing these super boring tasks which I still had to focus on. For sure it wasn't the full solution but ""enjoying"" the moment aka finding it okay, really helped me. (snacks were nice like tik taks)",1 " Not worrying? That’s genius. Why didn’t I think of that? I should just tell my therapist and psychiatrist to pack it up and go home cause the answers been in front of me the whole time apparently.",0 "Me: * Spends 2 hours planning the day * “Does research online”",1 In the past your browser would crash after 10 tabs or so but modern computers enable having ridiculous amount of things open,1 That fish mask is less terrifying than my intrusive thoughts.,0 Often waking up in the middle of the night and suddenly having either these type of thoughts or over analyzing things I've said at some point in the recent or distant past and getting super paranoid about how other people might have wrongly interpreted it.,1 Thank you so much for this. Every day there’s something new to hear about; it’s usually pretty devastating. It’s beginning to wear on a lot of people who struggle with mental health issues. So thank you for taking the time out of your day to send good vibes this way. Take care friend,0 ur money & ur helping someone financially so i think it’s a win/win based on our society that was created haha 🌞,1 I’ve wasted so much money on my creative urges over the years. It’s like watching a blank canvas collect dust and all you can do is stare at it.,1 "Sometimes i end up with the TV on a show that i took 30 minutes to choose, then i sit to work on my desk while i watch the show, after some minutes i have to lower the volume of the TV to better listen the YouTube Video i have on a floating window on my computer. of course i end up exhausted, didn't work, didn't watch the TV Show and didn't watch the youtube video.",1 "I'm not a bad person, but there IS something wrong with me.",1 "​ I find what we need to allow ourselves is time. Yeah, that thing we are not very good at managing. For me, when meeting new people, I am on and they think I am so smart and witty, but it is almost impossible to sustain. When starting a new job however, I find it takes me so much longer to pull everything together that people immediately assume i am dumb. Neither is true. I \*am\* smart and witty, but quite capable of being a dumbass. And, while it takes me longer to pull everything together, when I do, I am one of the best, probably because I have had so much trouble putting my brain legos together but have done it in a non linear way. All of this is to say, time is the great leveller, and, believe it or not, it is on our side. And let's not even talk about our superpower of hyperfocusing,",1 "My application form for the psychiatrist is waiting to be put in an envelope for 2 weeks It took me 1 and a half years to fill it out",1 This happened to me the other day and it haunted me.,0 Huh I have both ADHD and OCD I wonder if this is something both have in common?,0 "oh my god, absolutely happened to me but for self-care i was practicing to try and get better. Like huge thanks for making fun of and questioning the actions I have to take to surpress and work around my life-controlling MH.",0 "I’m so sorry, I hope they still caught it early and wish you a speedy recovery how swollen was this node how do you know what to look for? Cancer scares the shit out of me really wish they taught what we should be checking for when younger",1 Yay. 🤟 This is a toast to procrastinators out there.,1 "Mine is also an overly cautious first-time mum. She tells me not to touch, expose myself to, or otherwise disturb the dirt... or people who may have touched the dirt. Bitch.lol",0 "Now my OCD is gonna tell me to eat my AirPods because this post gave it that idea, welp",0 Or a good way to get some kind of UV Light resistant superbug.,0 Corporate America is cruel and unusual punishment for us.,1 "Well shit, I didn't notice which subreddit this was in. I showed this to my daughter. We both laughed because it's her to a tee. Then I laughed even harder when I realized which sub this was but I thought it fit my ADHD as well. (Which is the sub I thought it was in.",0 Omg. Me every time I get out of the car from driving. Do the circles around the car to make sure there is no damage from hitting imaginary people. Hit and Run OCD is a BITCH,0 "Thank you for this post, gave me a hope that someday my life will get better, just like yours.",0 "I’m so grateful for my boyfriend. He is very patient with me and understanding. It helps that he doesn’t have to work outside the home so he is a stay at home cat dad. So he does a majority of the household tasks. He laughs at my forgetfulness and is good at reminding me but also knowing sometimes it doesn’t work when you tell me to do something. My parents were coming to visit this weekend and we have let our shit pile up a lot but he rallied me and we got the house cleaned and did some purging and organizing that will benefit me even after they’re gone! Having empathy is always a good look in a partner but is a very big blessing for us adhd folks. Thanks for being one of the good ones.",1 Even intense anxiety as a result of not listening to this thing is freedom. Proud of you.,0 "This meme is literally it for me too oh my god, I can’t believe how long it took for it to be realised",0 I've said this like 3 times already but holy fuck I just discovered this sub and god damn I can relate too hard had no clue what is was,0 "Hi, Adult ™ here. Your ADHD is real and your problems are valid.",1 "No it doesn't, OCD ia different for everyone and while it's certainly not JUST being ""neat"" how people experience their triggers is different. The whole ""this is hpw real OCD is"" posts are just as harmful as the ""I'm so OCD I like my room clean"".",0 Somebody needed to say this. But unfortunately it needs to be said more than once,0 "i feel this, i’m always looping around and around and rn it’s incredibly bad. i’m pretty sure all of my family hates me but ya know i bet certain people in itactually do",0 She truly loves your brother as she takes the time to understand ADHD and what helps him to cope. Tell your brother she is a keeper!,1 "I've never been diagnosed with OCD but I have some obsessive thoughts some times. The suffering they bring already is something that I wouldn't wish on absolutely anyone. No one deserves it. So I can't even begin to imagine how much suffering you guys all go through. My heart goes out to you all.",0 Wow. I do this all the time. I didn’t know it was actually a thing 🤣,0 He didn’t write them but I’m sure he could bring that vibe to them. Eternal sunshine is a masterpiece .,1 "This is my relationship with my boyfriend!! I never realized we were doing this, thanks for sharing! ",1 This. It drives me absolutely bananas! I've been working on realizing when I'm about to spontaneously combust and trying to have the presence of mind to say something politely before I scream.,1 "I have a lot of hobbies. This year I am not starting any new ones, and if I want to draw I pick up where I left off. Or if I want to paint or make a song or whatever, I am limited to projects I already have started. I also have a few rules, like limit how long I will work on something before I declare it done, and even if something looks bad I still try to feel proud for trying. I don’t know if this could help or not. I just know it seems to help me.",1 I thought I was the only one that tells the therapist I'm OK but I'm not,0 Yeah growing up I literally got a work hard and study more. Keep studying. Didn't know I had adhd growing up. Well add for me. But that also let me have a non medicated child hood. But have confidence and self issues. So pros and cons.,1 Sometimes if my phone is unlocked in my pocket it will go into my Instagram stories or text someone or even send an audio text (I accidentally audio texted my boss one time lol). So from a tech standpoint this can happen with phones... But I’m sure with having OCD that can trigger it badly. I would suggest you delete the social media apps and take a break for a while.,0 "I’ve done the same for a while now and I swear, creating an OCD persona seriously works. Not all the time (impossible when the stress is too high) but often! I belittle my OCD and bully it back every time it ‘talks’ like ‘ok bitch are you done?’, ‘bla bla no one is listeniiiing to you you loser’ etc. and very often that strategy actually makes it possible for me to ignore my intrusive thoughts. I’ve had a hard life so I might as well use those circumstances and aggression to combat my OCD. Others might benefit more from a softer approach/image of their OCD like OP. Find out what works for you!",0 i feel like outside should all me straight and meet lines and in the head it’s skribbles,0 Sometimes I just snooze it and do it 8 minutes later xD,1 "Don't forget to save after you manually saved, in case you didn't actually save and your mind is only telling you did. And then don't forget to save after that too. Maybe save again, who knows. Hey wait, what if you never saved at all? Save *again* just to be sure.",0 "To go a step beyond the ""try not to think"" solution (which works for me up to a point), I have found it immensely helpful to retrain the thought stream that follows when I think about something I want to do (that my gray matter organ will ceaselessly resist). I find it exhausting to constantly be shutting out my own psychological protestations. My internal monologue is just too persistent sometimes. It's easiest to try first with things one regularly does e.g. bathing, exercising, household chores, etc. Pick one task you procrastinate terribly at. Come up with a list of reasons why you WANT to do that thing and literally write them down on something you can fit in a pocket. Doesn't have to be more than a few; I find 2 to 5 a good balance. When it's time to do the thing, and your mind starts resisting like mine does, take out the list and read it to yourself. Then, go do the thing immediately while continuing to think about the list (or even rereading it en route to task). Eventually, with repetition, I find the reasons to do the thing get to the surface faster than reasons not to. The first time it actually works and I don't have to bust out my list of reasons to do something, that moment of realization is AMAZING. Our minds are powerful, but they can still be trained to respond differently to familiar stimuli with consistency. We CAN learn to perceive the favorable reasons first and harness that energy as motivation. For many NTs, this connection is innate and doesn't even reach conscious awareness much of the time. For many of us here (definitely for me), it just isn't. I have to plant it and reinforce it intentionally. It's work, especially at first. But it's worth it IMO.",1 "You won't feel awful forever, friend! You've got this.",1 "There’s a YA book I read a while ago and the girl had intrusive thoughts. It was so accurate (there was a scene where she was cutting rose stems and started to daydream about cutting her friends hair off for no reason). It’s very YA and has intense “quirky girls are better” themes, but I thought the OCD was handled accurately. It’s “Every Last Word” by Tamara Ireland Stone",0 "Sheesh. This is me so hard right now. I just got diagnosed under a week ago. Having a very tough time getting over a breakup that happened 6.5 months ago with a manipulative and toxic person, and still to this day I question myself on if I’m the one that messed it all up. Even though I have confirmation from my therapist, logic doesn’t seem to respond to OCD",0 I literally asked if I could retake the test because I felt I exaggerated for some answers :(:,0 "Yes, this exactly. I have always had anxiety but my OCD; intrusive thoughts/reassurance hit me like a ton of bricks after pregnancy. It’s controlled only with medication and therapy. But, I wonder why it really came alive after my kids were born?",0 "My whole family (husband and two small children) is like ""Mom is being quiet and weird....LETS JUMP ON HER AND COVER HER IN KISSES"" and I either really can't handle it and freak out and run away or manage to tolerate it until they are done and I can just walk away",0 ikr.. I don’t have OCD but I do have obsessive tendencies and washing my hands happens to be one of them. so crazy to see how some people think it’s a joke :|,0 "Yeah, for me, it’s like I don’t feel free to do what I want to do anymore because what if I don’t want to stop something else I start before the appointment or work?! Lol.",1 "Going through this right now lol, messed with the meds schedule, i'll be okay in a day or 2 though",0 Thank you! I needed you to get out of bed this morning.,1 "> I've succeeded this far despite having a debilitating mental development issue The key indicator is not whether you've succeeded. Before treatment, I was succeeding pretty well. But I was always living on a roller coaster of being unable to focus and then hyoerfocusing right before deadlines. I constantly either felt bad for being ""lazy"" or stressed by the deadlines. I almost always met the deadlines, but at a massive cost to my own sanity.",1 This came up as a notification on my phone but holy shit it's relevant,1 ">(She has assured me that she wouldn't mind doing everything, but I want to help and her presence unlocks my paralysis.) Look up body doubling because this is essentially what is happening. I'm glad you found something that works out for you!",1 "Very true and very well said. Current times don’t help with this either, hope all of you are doing relatively well",0 "You won the doctor lottery!! Thank you for that info, gives me more things to talk to my sons doctor. Kiddo just started taking Adderall, we are liking it a lot better than methylphenidate. Good to hear of an MD that takes the same medication he prescribes and can give extremely well informed insights.",1 "Yes, because the one in front is germy from everyone touching it. That’s my reasoning, anyway. Lol",0 "Set reminder for every day at 5pm to do yoga, did it two days in a row then started ignoring the alert:)",1 "I mean it definitely can stop death. Fear saves lives all the time. For example, you see some sketchy guy hanging out in a dark alley so you decide not to walk down that alley. That man was actually murderer and that fear just saved your life. Boom.",0 I’m walking around but I’m trapped. Definitely feels that way sometimes,0 This is amazing! I'd love to see more punch needle art from you,0 "The ""like someone is controlling your body"" is really accurate and I'm glad finally someone else said it. I often feel like I'm being mind controlled while being vaguely conscious of it and it's fucking crazy.",0 "This!!!! Inside my own head I'm actually quite an intelligent and confident person... putting all the thoughts into speech, well that doesn't happen and usually comes out as a jumbled mess. Especially when it comes to arguments. I know what I want to say and what I need to say but it does not translate into coherent speech. The only time I am able to speak properly is when I have lost my temper. This doesn't happen often. When it does, the people who know me, tend to run very fast.",1 "I've had 5-6 jobs in 3 years because of this (only at 2 companies though, lots of team switching). I leave when I get bored and am starting to feel myself slip. I've managed to always leave on good terms with my bosses who are always sad to see me leave so I get good references... I always knew this as being a ""Shooting Star"" with a quick rise and fizzle out. And this is also what happens when I make friends. I went to 2 middle schools and 3 high schools so I never got attached anywhere. So now I'm 26 with no actual friends of my own because I exist in a perpetual state of novelty. NGL, thought this was on r/aftergifted because holy shit the feels are the same...",1 "You said it, I felt my ADHD leave my body like I was transcending time and space, WHY DIDNT I THINK OF THIS BEFORE?!",1 "The worst part is when my dad, who has adhd himself, says these things to me. I don’t know if he’s just projecting his internal thoughts, but it still makes me feel like shit. I’m trying so hard and I wish my parents could understand. I feel so much guilt, sadness, anger.",1 "I'm actually a therapist with adhd, who works with adults with adhd, and I would say this last year, specifically, is where I really learned what a huge problem this is for me. I knew it in theory. But this is the year that I really found big brain awareness of it.",1 "No, there isn't something I should be doing instead. There are at least 12, and I'm crippled by indecision as much as anything. You're just shaming me for not starting.",1 "shut up, you suppose to be on my side - on a good day SHUT THE FUCKING FUCK UP! - on a bad day",0 Yesss my dad does this. He thinks adhd is something I can just change if I work really hard and learn strategies.,1 "I do this with food all the time. I also pay for a yoga membership at a studio because I know if I do free YouTube yoga at home I will always get distracted by other things and not actually do any yoga, even if my mat is out and I’m in down dog already. I’ve definitely spent an entire yoga session reading a book while pretending to go through a flow... much better for my mental and physical health to go to a real class even if it costs a whole lot more. And since I have to sign up for specific classes, it ticks an anxiety box in my brain that says “this is an important appointment you can’t miss or you will bring shame on yourself and your family”, which means I don’t skip it last minute just because I don’t feel like it anymore. Gotta trick the brain sometimes.",1 "yes lol like pausing my favorite song 4 times when it comes on cause its a ""good"" song",0 "I know this is an open ended question. But is there anything, friends/SOs can do to just ease the burden a bit? Like a good morning text specifically saying something like ""I know yesterday was tough for you. I am proud you did X/Y and I see you trying and progressing"" Nothing to bombard the person, but just a little like ""hey you can do this"" Obviously I know everyone and their ADHD is/(are?) different so mileage may vary, but I would be really interested knowing what may help? even someone as simple as GTFO out my way and let me do what I need to do.",1 "Yup. I didn't do well in early school, but thrived in college and university. Now as an adult, I have multiple qualifications in an array of subjects. I finished my degree 5 years ago. I haven't been able to get and keep any kind of gainful employment even remotely related to anything I have qualifications in and can quiet possibly see myself settling back in to either retail or bar work when the would starts turning again as I don't feel remotely able to compete with any of the amazing works I see in anything I'm versed in.",1 """I'm in this picture and I don't like it"" lol. This is totally how I learned to use adrenaline overdrive to power through basically every work day. I'm so exhausted of life now in my mid-30's. Sh%t, this is eye-opening. Thank you.",1 "Hi there! I'm a therapist who treats OCD, and also has OCD. Would love to connect with you some time.",0 "You have to board the SS Anne after already having one of your pokemon know surf then there's a truck the developers put behind the dock, that's where you catch Mew.",0 Took me 17 years to be happy ... or at least I think I’m there lmao anyone in therapy - stick with it! I was in and out of therapy my entire life. After I had my daughter a couple years ago I started feeling like I have a reason to be better. I’m fortunate to have her ✌🏻,0 200 tabs on Mozilla just gone yesterday after my brother installed a “software” which set Bing as my main page. Not the first time though. Sucks.,1 "Me playing intense online video games against hundreds of real people over the course of 12 hours: HELL YEAH LETS GOOOOOO WHOOOO!!! Me when I need to check an email: Mmm, I just need 1 little nappy so tired. So so tired.",1 this is super validating. I thought that these thoughts were a part of my BPD but now I can see how they're more ocd type thoughts.,0 "I can't tell you how many times I have purchased a planner, and then find it a year later with nothing written in it buried under the other things that I forgot about.",1 "Only the person with the talking stick can talk, took me years to get this one rooted in",0 "Honestly what works wonders for me is LITERALLY just eat breakfast when I eventually get out of bed and start planning what I need to get done. As soon as I’m done eat I go outside or hop in my car. Once you get going, you get fucking GOING that’s the nice thing, the hard part is pushing yourself to actually go. Starting with something as small as eating breakfast is the perfect way to get going for me.",1 "I'm not explaining ever again. how can you trust parents about your OCD, when they can't trust you for anything, including a whole host of other mental conditions? no logic there.",0 "That's true actually. Sometimes I read what I've written, just to find the whole thing is just 2 or 3 very long sentences, with a ton of punctuation. It often makes me spend more time trying to rephrase, just so i avoid all this punctuation and make it easier to read",1 I cross myself three times and tap my steering wheel twice every time I get into a car wow,0 Does anybody have this thoughts that ur gay but u still like girls but see i don't get u know hard at girls or porn so I started looking and I found this subredit and I'm scared this thing started due too I was watching a movie and a scene contained gay porn so from there I got this thoughts so pls someone awenser me,0 "Thank you for sharing this. Inspired me to do the same. I named her [Angrboda](https://imgur.com/a/aYPpCmQ). It supposedly means “the one who brings grief” in old Norse. I’m not the best artist at all haha I just drew what I saw in my head to the best of my ability. I picture her to look like some of the [drawings](https://imgur.com/a/YJzdz9p) of the Angrboda from the stories but her true form is what I drew. She’s deceptive that way 😉",0 haha this made me laugh! But I'd have to slap it 5 times.,0 "I have selective OCD, I am not a compulsive cleaner or hand-washer, but there are certain household chores that I need to do because other people do it wrong and it triggers me!",0 "I would have allowed the dishes to be left there unwashed, would have to have done them myself before I left for work !",1 Thank you for sharing your strength. OCD is never going to beat me!,0 "Guitar. I wasn't Jimi Hendrix immediately so... ""Fuck this!""",1 "I'm sort of freaking out. One of my professors wants to have our final through Proctor U, where somebody watches you through the webcam while you test. But I tend to zone out while I am doing a test, I do it all the time! I'm terrified I'm going to get in trouble for cheating for no good reason! Not only that, but it feels like everything has gone out of whack!",1 "When I was eight, I got a ""bad grade"" in math. It was a 7 out of 10, but unusual to me, as the ""perfect pupil"" I wanted to be. I have decided not to tell my parents. This ""little secret"" of mine has haunted me for months. It was an idea that followed me everywhere. I felt like a horrible human being and a bad child. I could not truly enjoy my childhood and felt the burden of this misbehaviour at any waking moment of mine... I don't know if it was OCD already, but pretty close actually. Now I am officially diagnosed with OCD and my obsessions are far worse than that.",0 "Yes! Also if things are too early it stresses me out, but I try to book appointments within a few hours of getting up. In that case I can chill, read for a while beforehand but not have hours to fill and just feel stressed. This really killed me when bartending too, shifts would start at five or six and I literally couldn't do anything until then.",1 "This is the train of thought that led me to becoming a lifelong earplug wearer. It really helped tremendously with this fear. That said, I only find the memory foam ""disposable"" ones to be comfortable. If anyone else is in the same boat, I thought I'd share that you can put them in a pillow case and wash them with the laundry, (let them air dry, though, because memory foam). A couple of packages of them last for about 6 months, for me - I hang a pillow case on my bed post to place them in when I wake.",0 "I think it's important to talk about your feelings, but if you don't have anyone who you can share them with, try keeping a journal. I kept a journal of my feelings through a difficult part of my life and it was really useful. Another thing I've found helpful is meditation. Aiming to practice everyday is key. I've been practising for nine months and I feel like I'm much more comfortable with my emotions. Obviously we have ADHD keeping a habit is tough so don't beat yourself up if you miss a day.",1 This is the opening of my powerpoint I made for my first counseling appointment,0 Man one of my FAVORITE episodes of Scrubs I totally forgot about,0 And then you run into that one post you couldn’t relate to and then find yourself doubting every possibility of ADHD and maybe trying to get a diagnosis was just a silly idea as past you silently ree’s somewhere cause they saved like half of this subreddit so this exact thing doesn’t happen,1 "I am so depressed and when my contamination OCD starts acting up, something else comes up in me that doesn’t let it go too far, as I do not think I could take much more.",0 """if I don't do all the dishes, my husband will yell at/leave me"" (He has NEVER yelled at me for not doing enough dishes 😂😅)",0 And now you’re paranoid that some random person on reddit has been secretly hiding in your closet and watching you all day because this is literally me today.,1 "HELL YES. as a fellow contamination OCD person, I felt this so hard. I am so proud of you.",0 "This is probably one of my oldest ones. Whether it's the seam between them, or a crack, from the time I was pre-k I will not. Even the concrete steps I helped my father pour, no. Wood? That's a different story. Asphalt? Not as long as I can long jump. My husband loves this one, when we walk together I'm super slow, then way too quick, then skipping. He's so tolerant",0 When your have to replace an engine because you forgot to change your oil... True story.,1 thank you this is what ive been trying to learn from my doc but they seem confused when i ask about this stuff.,1 But it's hard! I can't study longer than five minutes at a time :(,1 "I'm so sorry this is happening to you, and thank you for sharing your story of caution with us. I wish you all the best and hope you have many more years ahead of you.",1 EVERY DAY I SAY “there’s not enough hours in a day”. I feel attacked yet understood,1 And then I started saying and doing what makes me a bad person and now people think I’m a bad person not just me,0 "When we try we are doing our best even if our 100% looks like someone else's 50%. When we try we give ourselves a chance to feel successful even if our success looks like someone else's mid-point or failure of effort. When we try even for a few minutes we accomplish more than not trying at all. When we are kind to ourselves our efforts look like efforts and not events or actions of self sabotage. Depression and Anxiety go hand in hand with ADHD very often. The meds will help you focus, therapy will help with self-esteem, self directed anger and anger towards others who don't get it. Coaching can help with goal accomplishment. We get it and we hear you loud and clear.",1 "omg I have OCD related nightmares constantly, it blows",0 I've had several relationships fall apart because I was constantly in doubt my SO actually cared or gave a shit about me. I always figure out how delusional I was after it's too late. Glad you found a solution,1 "Lmfao. I used to get really bad anxiety over my intrusive thoughts (don't get me wrong though, the bloody or immoral ones still get to me) but now I literally just make the face from the picture. If you ever see me start cracking up in public, I probably just saw myself biting off your foot while slithering like an inch worm for no reason at all.",0 "I used to do this all the time with my hearing aid, then they started charging me for it, not lost it since lol",1 Wow that is an amazing achievement well done. I know how it feels. OCD IS A FUCKING BITCH.,0 "Not enough is the story of almost every romantic relationship I've had. Felt like no matter what I did, it was never enough. Even with my current partner that was nearly the case, but thankfully she now hears and sees me better than anyone else has.",1 Riiiight?? How does 2 months of Hamilton wipe out a year of Kpop??,1 "Thank you for this , sometimes a post on this sub will make me dwell on my issues and what you say is very encouraging.",0 That's not how OCD works... It would feel make you worse after a month or two,0 "I thought I could stop constantly mindlessly picking at my fingernails by knitting while watching TV, etc so my hands stayed busy. My god I have no idea how people do it I couldn’t get any of the loops to be the same size and after 10 minutes I lost all interest and gave up. I still have all the supplies sitting on my dresser reminding me of my lack of will to actually learn how to do it",1 And when you explain the compulsion they sigh and roll their eyes,0 Thank you so much for this. I’ve been struggling today,0 I’m a dad to a son with ADHD. I tell him every day that I love him. I am sure there are people in this world that love you too.,1 Lol. Then you try to explain why you didn't do it. And it's like yeah... It sounds fucking ridiculous to me too man,1 "I suffer badly with obsessions and compulsions but nothing at all to do with germs. I am a giant slob that likes things a particular way. When I do clean, I take twice as long because I have to wash dishes in a particular order (big-small plates, forks, spoons and then knives) or create a chart/list on how I have to have things done. It’s either perfection or nothing. I feel for you guys suffering with COVID obsessions in regards to germs, I’m more freaked out about getting it and wiping out my whole family.",0 "I’m not sure what stage you’re at in your journey but remember, all the things you have written are things I know I have or have heard that other people have experienced. I’ve recently had a flare up and I had forgotten how much of a f*cking pain this illness can be - Hang in there, love from the UK",0 I feel most of these. Except for me it’s mostly what if I’m not really lesbian and it’s my OCD? Mix that in with I’m a pedo and you got my brain.,0 "This sounds so much like me it hurts. One thing I can tell you that has helped me is, when I'm feeling like that, I try to find one thing to do to make the situation a little better.... I'm not talking about cleaning the room or doing the laundry or anything like that. I mean things like, if you're going to the bathroom maybe pick up a dirty shirt from the floor and throw it in the hamper on the way. Even though its the tiniest little thing, it will give you a little dopamine hit as a reward. I go in cycles, and when I get really down, nothing seems to help. Doing that one little thing often leads to one more little thing... maybe I'll grab a dirty glass from my nightstand on the way back from the bathroom to put in the sink. Each of those little steps without putting any pressure on myself to complete any big tasks really helps, and the tiny things start to snowball. I've actually reached a point where cleaning, especially laundry, has become somewhat of a coping mechanism for me. It's something I can do without messing up, that my family appreciates, and it helps to make the space around me less cluttered, which makes me feel a little less overwhelmed.",1 Im currently stewing about anger that happened years ago with my toxic mom that got started up a few monthes...man why didn't I realize sooner was my thoughts but not my fault...so yes lol.,1 "OCD is deceiving, always keep that in your mind. It does not define your personality, it is just a temporary state",0 "I love this subreddit because of how often it hits close to home. I feel it helps me understand that I am not alone and that while I am abnormal, I am normal in my abnormality. There there are posts like this, where I feel like the bonkers nature of my brain is put on full display for myself for the first time. (yes Grammarly had to remove a comma from the above) I tell myself to pause in my canter as I speak, and so I put those in my text.",1 "Yeah, OCD isn’t just perfectionism, but general obsessiveness if that’s a good way of describing it. Perfectionism fits into that as well as many other symptoms and I feel like only the perfectionism gets talked about",0 I hate my ocd but i get the feeling I'll miss it if it gets cured somehow,0 "This was SO TRUE for me. 100% could have written it myself. Especially since I spent most of my working life in a career that I didn't care about - so it was impossible to advance beyond a certain point and I spent SO MUCH time and energy covering my own ass for my careless mistakes and procrastination. Then I found a career path that actually worked for me, got certified, got diagnosed, got medicated, got HIRED ... And two years later I am kicking ass so hard at my job that I have former co-workers begging me to come work for them. Because I'm smart as hell, interested in what I do, think fast, and pivot on a dime. With meds, now I can follow through on all of it. Find the job where you get to solve puzzles all day, and get the damn drugs and you can rule.",1 I hate that my OCD response dominates how I feel with little bits of the response that is actually mine,0 "Have you seen the episode where Spongebob is told to forget everything he knows that doesn’t have to do with fine dining? So then the little Spongebobs in his head start burning everything and panicking? That one is relatable, too.",0 "My therapist always says how smart I am because I got so far with my undiagnosed ADD without anyone noticing (and she's right). I have a damn test where it says I'm mathematically gifted but since I threw my math degree thing in college after a year because I didn't understand anything it feels like I'm just dumb. I still think a lot of the times I'm not smart, I don't have ADD, I don't have depression and I don't have anxiety. (Idk what imposter syndrome is but maybe kinda like this?)",1 Been through 4 of those up to max dose. Wonder what'll be next,0 "Me: *wakes up* Brain: *starts giving me a bunch of weird random thoughts* Me: *stays in bed for 10 minutes ruminating on the thought* [later] Me: *realizes I have school* OH SHET GOTTA GO SPED-",0 "This one hits kinda close to home right now lol. I’m not on meds because I’d been managing very well, but about 6 months ago someone must have flipped a switch because my compulsions have become very visible to the people around me.",0 You’re not alone at all. What helps me is mindfulness meditation. I do it every day and it helps tremendously,0 "Yep this is an adhd thing! I can't pull sources at the moment, but I do remember reading that brains scans have shown an 'adhd brain' will actually just start turning off for want of a better phrase when pushed to focus on something it doesn't want to. not enough dopamines in the tank to cash in on something boring, yet not allowed to do anything else - power down time. zzz",1 "I'm trying out a new system where I plan to do those ""NEEDS DOING"" things right before another planned event that I know I will want to do. For example, I need to register for an online class, so I'll plan to do it an hour before I hop online to play d&d with my friends. If I make it a part of the good activity I want to do, hopefully it'll get done. In theory...",1 "I’m sitting in my bed and just to name a few things on my bed I see - stack of sweaters, various tissue paper, box of denture cleaners, box of meds, , purse, vitamins, etc partially spilled out, empty bag of popcorn, empty water bottle, etc etc etc... most of which I actually slept with last night. I feel your pain, my kitchen would get that way too when I live alone",0 "The problem is that I don't usually realize it's lying until it's too late. I don't want to know that it was all in my head after I have already had another sleepless night, afraid of being in contact with anyone that could hurt me, or vice versa. And panicking while I run through every scenario in which it happens and I can't control it.",0 "I don’t believe this is necessarily a bad practice when done after you sit with the thought using possibly a technique such as mindfulness meditation and it still doesn’t go away despite your best efforts. A better technique to tranquilize the mind would be to pay full attention to the uncomfortable though and mentally say “STOP!” It can be helpful, but it should not be done compulsively if it’s not working. It’s really just a way to assert a much more useful and fruitful state of mind upon your own present experience",0 "People call me insane because I have 180 word sentences in my essays, I use so many commas, colons, and semicolons that my professor finds it impressive but my classmates hate to proofread it.",1 "Lol so true. I feel like I can clearly articulate my sentences and thoughts, but when I’m in any other setting than therapy, that train derails so quickly. And explodes into a million pieces and I’m left to pick them up throughout the day, wondering which piece I pick up next will be an intrusive thought or compulsive behavior.",0 Duuuuude. When I'm feeling good it's like my brain is working to find something to worry about until I'm not feeling good anymore. So true but fuck ocd. I will beat it. I'm gonna live my life like I don't have it. Sitting around and worrying about worrying has gotten old.,0 """did you know that if you just try harder, your impaired vision will actually correct itself. who cares that you are almost blind? just stop thinking about it, and just SEE"" thats how stupid what your dad said sounds to me. lol",1 "I’m messy because my mess is contaminated to me, and I can’t touch it",0 "I hear this. What helps me is just be yourself, I've learnt with time and meditation to slow down, just even try speaking slower. You've got to try real hard at the start but once you manage it, it will get easier. Good luck internet stranger",1 "I agree. I’ve had OCD to a very low extent since my childhood. The same for my parents. But last year, it spiraled out of control and as much as I wanted everything clean and neat, every single object appeared filthy to me. I also had unstoppable intrusive thoughts. I was beginning to believe I’m becoming psychotic but around the last 3 months, I started journaling and writing down my thoughts. I also somehow eliminated the stress factor out of my life. And as of lately, I believe I’ve gotten rid of OCD and anxiety. So yeah we should never give up",0 It was such a relief when I DID compulsively steal something and my fear was justified... Thats fucked up man,0 "I really want to add ""and feelings"" to the last one. It's the feelings that cause me the most trouble, if I can manage to not emotionally engage with the thoughts I can normally disengage rather easily but if they hit the emotional buttons then it's a fair bit of back peddling to feeling ok.",0 "This book was the first step in recovery from Harm OCD. At least it made me realise I wasn’t going to do something horrible however still needed a proper therapist, SSRIs and OCD coach to pull myself out of the abyss. The anxiety was just so debilitating. Has been just over three months and getting better and better. All the best in your recovery.",0 Holy crap I thought I was the only one with this. So proud of you!! I’ve been working on the same issue and I’ve been successful lately.,0 "This is kind of nice for me tbh. I oversleep classes a lot and tend to work better at home but we’ll see if I even get the motivation to get started. My college hasn’t made the switch yet but I think after spring break it’ll be a different story Edit: I think it also depends on what your studying. At this point in my classes it’s all practice problems so it doesn’t matter too much to be in person",1 Currently going through a very serious episode - hope it passes soon. These posts help tons. ,0 "Oh shiz, this reminded me that ai need to get ready for work... thanks friend!",1 "Hot damn, this is 100% my house. Even if it is (mostly) done jokingly, still makes the ol' anxiety rev it's engine.",1 "The problem here is motivation, people with adhd have highly decreased hability to motivate themselves, and it's specially shown in long term goals, and by long term, here we are talking about simply something more than days... Dr. Russell talks a lot about it and he explains some tricks, it's really worth looking into it.. Try to motivate yourself with short term goals!",1 "I want to write music (techno and house), but what I actually enjoy doing more is buying and downloading new vst plugins all the time. I might learn what they do (or maybe not) and then moving on to the next plugin. Writing music is less satisfactory than messing around with new software. Weird how that works.",1 """You don't talk enough"" Like, wtf am I supposed to say to that? Same with ""You're too quiet"" Saying that to me just makes me want to talk to you even less.",1 "You know, when put in a meme, it’s so easy to see how ridiculous OCD can be. But when I’m having these thoughts myself, they feel so real and dangerous. It’s crazy honestly",0 It's nothing to do with my ocd but I am struggling with self esteem and friends right now,0 "Who taught you that your emotions aren't valid or worth expressing? Feeling stuff is part of being alive, and your emotions are as valid and important as everyone elses. Life is hard with ADHD. We are not genetically coded for this kind of life, but you're still here. Any step, any accomplishment no matter how small is worth applauding. You're ok, you're valid and you're allowed to feel hurt. Keep on pushing! We are many who share your struggle.",1 "There was a programme in the UK last year about a woman suffering with pure O and intrusive thoughts. It wasn't perfect, but so good to see someone represented with different form of OCD.",0 "Are you sure it’s not the anxiety more than the adhd? I have both, and sometimes it’s the anxiety about struggling with things that causes me to struggle with them, if that makes sense. Anxiety does things to your brain that make not work so well. Maybe if you can calm it down, it’ll work better.",1 I just did EMDR with my therapist via zoom. It worked really well and helping me manage intrusive thoughts.,0 "As soon as I conquer one worry, another one morphs. The endless loop is real.",0 "Fuck toxic ‘positivity’. I’m really glad you feel at home here. This subreddit has been such a blessing for me. I feel at home here, and I literally was holding back tears reading my first post after joining because I felt like someone else understood me. I have ADHD and have gone back and forth of suspecting I’m autistic as well. But I just truly don’t know. My adhd has absolutely caused many many struggles in my life, but I was only diagnosed about 7 or 8 months ago (I’m 27) so I can relate to your post",1 I would love to believe most of my problems stem from ADHD. That would be really comforting.,1 "Congrats!!! I know how hard it can be to keep up with one habit. For me, it was all about f l o s s i n g. Two months earlier, my dentist looked a bit mad (I had BAD gingivitis) and told me that if I continue to not floss, I would loose my teeth because of complications. She said that I HAVE to see her every six months. As a teenager, I was fortunate enough to have braces (thanks mom and dad). As I am 26yo now, I don’t want to loose my teeth. As a poor adult with ADD, I can’t afford any complications (neither the disappointment from my parents considering their « investment » haha). So, I flossed almost every day for two months! There is a post-it written « FLOSS » on my bathroom mirror. We can be proud of ourselves. Bonus : one habit attracts another! (sorry for the grammar, I’m francophone)",1 Hey gotta stick around never know tomorrow everything could change and if not tomorrow maybe the next day.,1 "Push your universities to offer optional on-campus housing and to keep classes live! I am also terrified about this, and it would be far better to be on campus and still operate on the same time schedule (even if classes are on the computer). I also am pushing for this so I still have the access to the accessibility resources at my school (there is no serious threat on my campus since it's in a well-resourced rural area), too, and some schools such as UVA and Emerson have decided to keep their schools open for students who still want to be there.",1 And about an hour later your half finished coffee is now cold,1 You are goals! I cannot stop with my face and it’s very depressing feeling unable to stop. Any tips? X x,0 Yeah. That's why I also end up pausing and replaying at several points in a movie.,1 Thank you! This post should be stickied to the top of my Reddit feed at all times.,1 "The gut has made a decision., given that it is a stupid ass decision, I choose to ignore it",0 "I have a Windows 10, which doesn't come with microsoft word. It does come with something similar called Wordpad and when I looked up if it has the dictate function it said it does so I'm trying to figure that out right now, but in the event that it doesn't work that well do you know if it's possible for me to get regular microsoft word for free? Either way thanks so much for this post, it is very helpful. Update: I got the dictate function of Wordpad to work, but it only works when I'm talking, not when I play a lecture recording. Any tips?",1 It sucks because I have to yell shit every couple seconds,0 "I’ve been avoiding going to sleep because I just think about everything I have to do tomorrow and how overwhelming it will be, like every day is. Thanks for kicking me off Reddit. 🙃",1 Phillips Sonicare holding it down for me! Spend the dough. You won’t regret it.,1 "Holy crap, this is going in my notepad for safe keeping, then I'll lose the file somewhere, then I'll come back here again for another once-over. Your badges/rewards are well earned.",1 "Are you CSI?? I f@#$ing love this hahahaha. ""Containment"", you should go handle crime scenes, you're that forensic tech on TV shows yelling at all the cops not to contaminate shit. Honestly reading this made my morning, you're a legend!",1 Show off. JKJKJK now if you flossed too then THAT would be a show off move LOL. Hell YES. Seriously understand how impressive that is!!!!! I mean-/ I have NOT done it!!! So yes. I’m impressed. And happy for you :),1 "me in fifth grade: *fears the house burning down, feels “unbalanced” when i step over the sidewalk cracks, holds my breath whenever someone coughs* yeah this is how people normally live",0 "This happened to me. My 7th grade Latin teacher (notorious for being kinda a hot head) came over and asked me what was wrong (I was just staring into the void during class work time) and I was like “I’m not getting this and it honestly doesn’t feel worth it to try” and he took me out in the hallway and yelled at me for being lazy, he’d seen me put effort into other things, and I wasn’t gonna do anything valuable in life with that attitude etc. pretty sure I went home and cried.",1 "I think this is a huge problem in general. Children are not taught anything about menal disorders in schools. If we have AIDS awareness, LGBT support etc in schools why they don't implement mental disorders awareness?",0 "God, i havent been diagnosed weather or not i have adhd yet, and ive seen many many similarities with what people suffering from adhd have said online and irl, and relate to them heavily, this is probably going in my top 3s",1 "Kind of a tangent to this, but I hate that any time I try to research the drugs I’m being prescribed all the information I get is about abuse and dependency. It’s so hard to find any real relevant information about these drugs because unfortunately, it is so widely abused. It just makes me feel almost ashamed for actually needing this medication.",1 "I would suggest checking out the Brili app. It was originally developed to help kids build routines. The ADHD community amongst other adults has expressed to the developers how much it helped and they're actually working on a version tailored to adults. You can do a free trial for 14 or 30 days cant remember. The hardest part is setting up a routine and actually starting it lol but there are some premade ones. There are 2 main things that I think make it work. First, each task has an associated time and you set a pre determined end time. This means that when you take a little extra time on one task, don't sweat it because it adjusts the time you have left proportionally to each task. Second, there is the ability to ""skip"" a task. I appreciate this one for when there's that 1 thing you just can't bring yourself to do that morning, so now you can decide to leave it until the end if you have the time AND you will still do it because the app won't let you forget.",1 "Holy shit, I did NOT expect to see a reference to Un Chien Andalou reference, like ever. Fun fact, that effect was so realistic for its time many people thought they had literally cut someone's eye. Anyways, holy shit that is beautiful.",0 "Its horrific Ive been having stomach problems which i think is due to prozac but now the only thing that's running through my minds is that i have cancer and im going to die very soon I hate worrying i just wish i could stop",0 "I can just imagine that stupid dog from Silent Hill 2 is up there in my brain, clicking every goddamn button on the control panel. On a side note, I take 60mg prozac/fluoxetine and I still constantly struggle. All it takes is one thing to trigger me into checking for hours. Is this normal?",0 "u/beatadhd This is so wonderful! I'm late for the tip collection part because I never comment on anything but **here's something that has helped me deal with my execution dysfunction** impacting my organization skills. ""Normal"" people walk into a room to do something, see an object out of place and quickly put the thing back and resume whatever they were doing. I, for one, cannot interrupt my train of thought. When I look at that object out of place, my mind is absolutely blank. No inner trigger to say ""I should put that away"". So that object will stay there for up to a week. **What I've been trying is whenever I enter or leave a room, I mentally count to 10.** Since counting is a skill operated on a side of the brain not linked to the frontal executive/decision-making cortex, it's easier to train yourself to count when X event happens than other types of tasks/habits. **During that moment**, because I break my train of thought and momentarily focus on counting, it acts as a trigger so **I remember ""ah, counting means I should scan the room"", so I check for things that are just sitting there** (a dirty glass in the kitchen, a pair of shoes I left out, empty toilet paper roles in the wc, etc) **and take care of them real quick**. The most important part is to take it easy. **I won't remember to count every time**, on entering and exiting a room, **but every time I do, it's a win!** Hope it helps someone. I left the important parts in bold for... well... obvious reasons.",1 Yep. Everyone's on Thursday night where I am; I'm on Tuesday...2012.,1 "I can feel your sense of accomplishment from my computer. I'm very happy for you, hopefully this translates to other successes, too!",0 "I was overstimulated tonight at my church’s college and career night, and it was game night and every single time it got loud from everyone yelling I didn’t mean to but I’d snap and get super passive aggressive about making everyone shut up. After two or three snaps they started noticing my anxiety and agitation and just pointed it out and made an effort to calm down, and I was grateful. I ended up just having to rock back and forth hugging a pillow for a while before I felt normal enough to engage in conversation again.",1 obligatory repost of [this](https://www.tiktok.com/@nomeatmashers/video/6916319690562211077?lang=en&is_copy_url=1&is_from_webapp=v1) legendary tiktok,0 "I do this so much, it’s such a bad reassurance behaviour. I’m so embarrassed by my history haha 😂",0 Brooo!! Tell me about it! Lol I’m in love with poetry and rap/hip hop. I hate how I can write great lines but I can’t for the life of me record correctly and say things without screwing up the whole flow of it. Practice makes perfect but it doesn’t magically wave away the frustration that come from messing things up.,1 "That's awesome. I'm in a similar boat. When I was a teenager I brushed my teeth once a day a lot of the time. For years and years never flossed. Finally listened to the dentist after a painful visit, now I brush twice a day, floss every, and use mouth wash. I do it religiously even though I never feel like flossing! Take care of your teeth people, you only get one set.",1 Oh my God! You fear that too? This fear made my life hell seriously!! And the more i try to stop weird thoughts the more they come. It was so intense and dumb. I felt like losing my head with pain and suffering. Really felt like my early obsessive compulsive were wayyyy better than this nonsense. What on earth is ocd is!!!! It’s a freaking bully! Hitting our weakest point!!,0 Dude you are a hero. You got my vote if you consider running for president.,1 "Honestly? This whole COVID thing has been rather vindicating for me. Granted, it's made my cleaning supplies a nightmare to get a hold of due to hoarding, and its left me cooped up with my thoughts for way too long... But at least people are starting to act at least a little less disgusting in public places. Actually washing their hands after using the restroom, not going out of their way to handle everything, etc. And on the bright side I didnt really have to change my routine at all, just added a face mask.",0 "i want to say i had no idea he had adhd, but that would be a lie. i’ve loved him and his work for so long... it just makes sense. especially when several of films are among my all time favorites.",1 "247. Task anxiety and avoidance. Which is why staying home to study is a slippery slope, as I’m likely to procrastinate and suddenly feel tired trying convince myself to work. Only to decide I should take a nap as I’m too tired to work.",1 Shout out to your boyfriend for stopping in the middle of his game to check on you. Sounds like a keeper. And super glad the Adderall is working for you!,1 I traded this in for contamination issues and it was worth it,0 "Could it be [Overactive bladder](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/overactive-bladder/symptoms-causes/syc-20355715)? It can be bought around by focusing on the desire to urinate. I went through a stage of this after an episode of pelvic floor issues. I became hyper focused on voiding and the sensation of needing to pee. The good news was I was a able to train myself out of it. Meds that dull the sensation can help aswell.",0 I repeat words a lot ! But I had worse compulsions tho :/,0 My top song isn't by my top 5 artists. Tbh they're probably in the top 10 bc I love them.,1 "Wow this.....is really bad. Op, I'm sorry you had to witness this.",0 "Wow, I never knew it wass so easy! Thankfully we have your dad to tell us all /s",1 I understand this and relate so hard. it makes me feel better and less alone. i always have the OCD/logic voices in my head and i was like am i schizophrenic???,0 I always feel less anxious after acting out my compulsions. is that still valid?,0 "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait, so you’re telling me that object impermanence is a thing other people get? I thought I was the only one-",1 i feel like this works on too many different levels for me to even process all of them without a diagram,0 I can't believe I'm just learning about the emotional regulation part,1 I feel like I was the only one that does exactly that!!,1 "I both love and hate this subreddit. Nice to see so many others like me, but also sad to know we're all suffering this way.",1 I am in this post and I don't like it! (Actually doing exactly that -.-),1 "Honestly i don't think we should get angry at them. They're not doing this to exploit people like us or because they like to see other suffer, for them it's a joke because they're convinced everyone would shrug something like that off because they can't conceive that someone could be hurt by something so irrational. I say this because even i when i see something like this have to struggle to conceive that someone could panick at something like this because to me It was always something i never took seriously, even thought i have another equally irrational type of ocd. So if i struggle to get in the shoes of those that suffer for other types of ocd i can imagine that whoever wrote this comment probably doesn't even know what ocd Is and never even thought he could upset someone with it. Bottom line, i think that instead of getting angry at something done without any maliciousness it would be better to explain what ocd is and why his comment was upsetting",0 I'm afraid all my intrusive songs would get banned on the radio. lol. I like the idea of putting the thoughts to a song though.,0 "I do something similar. Once a fortnight, I have a cleaner come in for an hour or two to take care of my house. With food, I considered meal prep kits, but I have too many dietary requirements for those. Instead I buy jars of sauce, frozen veggies (small stuff like peas and corn which defrost fast, not large stuff like broccoli) and tofu (and cut up chicken pieces, before I went vegetarian). That or I eat out.",1 "Everytime I get yelled at for not doing smt either I end up having a mental breakdown, cause I know I need to do it. I just don’t ? Or can’t get myself to do it and then I end up being called useless or stupid and it just sucks cause nobody at home gets it and either they don’t ask me for help now or when they do ,they flip when I can’t get it done",1 "You could be right! I use a lot (but thought it was more of an old-fashioned style I had), but this makes sense! On the other hand, I'm not really into dwelling on it too much!",1 I was going to down the rabbit hole and suck up hours...,1 """Insane acceleration, too. Jumps to conclusions, minimal logic needed!""",0 Holy crap. I just noticed this with my work emails. Thanks for this input.,1 "Or have ""you are okay"" tattooed on your arm for triggering situations.",0 "I just wanna say the whole not thinking in black and white is SO important . I used to have severe ocd which is now moderate and very controlled . One of the most important things I heard in therapy was just that- not everything is black and white . And realizing your thoughts are real , yet not necessarily true just because you’re having them. I find it easier to push out intrusive thoughts when I realize they are not factual they are just my brain being a bitch. Therapy can really, really help you change your wiring and learn good coping and thinking skills. I know this isn’t true for everyone but I used to be a lot worse then I am now and therapy and antidepressants have really helped. I used to abuse hard drugs when my ocd was at its worse and that forced me to really work hard in therapy.",0 "I'm 3 days in for twice a day... You don't wanna know how it was before.... Hint:the did/did not table looked like the win /loss table of man utd the first season Ferguson retired",1 Intrusive thoughts are really making think I'm actually a piece of shit.,0 it skeeves me out that for a good portion of ppl are only NOW washing their hands bc of the virus like you should do that after the bathroom always wtf 😐,0 I can't believe this. OCD is ruining my life. Day to day living is hell.,0 " Stay strong everyone. I'm a few months into therapy myself for harm ocd",0 I never upvote posts because it feels so damn permanent. I’m scared that it will have a bad effect on me or someone else. I feel bad cause there is some great content but i just can’t bring myself to upvote it. Sorry if this doesn’t make any sense.,0 "I'm finding this really frustrating at the moment. I'm writing my dissertation and I'm overloaded with information about my topic, the holes that I suck myself into which end up not helping whatsoever. Then people asking me about my topic, I suddenly blank and only remember keywords which do not help in explaining simple reasoning to my topic. The same goes for writing out my dissertation, I have an idea but it all seems too muddled and unorganised in my head to write out. I write like a 3 year old but all the information is academic and I can't fit them all together.",1 Omg this is me. When I started therapy my therapist asked me why I stayed in a perpetual state of being “grounded.” She said I disciplined myself by making myself do all the stuff I hate doing before I could allow myself any joy by doing the stuff I loved. It was why hobbies I enjoyed sit gathering dust. I have been working hard to find balance. Not so great at it :(.,1 I do this with making/going to doctors appointments and sometimes even shopping for food...,1 "This sounds bad, but this is the whole reason I don’t take medication for work. My job is so boring and mundane. It never challenges me. So I just want time to fly by, and it does!",1 "This is why I think a lot of people with ADHD also have r/CPTSD and that RSD is just a manifestation of CPTSD triggers from our upringings and trauma. It is very easy to emotionally abuse a child when you're not even aware they are having a legitimate medical issue and a lot of parents and people in general don't even believe the issue exists. It involves a lot of gaslighting, fighting, yelling, punishments, insults, blame, etc. It is very, very bad for a child's psyche to be experiencing all of these overwhelming things when they are literally a child, unable to do anything about it, experiencing a medical issue they have no control over and their parents won't or can't take them to a doctor for. Not to mention all of the other ways ADHD affects your life. Edit: word",1 "Very striking, but elusive at the same time. Hard to pin down exactly what I'm looking at, would you care to take us through it? Or is it best left as abstract? I really like it regardless.",0 I think emotional regulation disorder is a name for BPD,1 "Yeah, I'm newly diagnosed with ADHD/ASD and imposter syndrome is way too strong sometimes! I feel like I faked it for attention sometimes or just as an excuse for shifty behaviour. Some days I don't even feel I am autistic or ADHD, and other days it hits me full force and knocks me over that I am. I often feel bad that I'm 23 and haven't managed to successfully cut ties with my parents, permanently move out, and get a good job and keep working. Some days I despair of getting a good job and moving out ever! I don't want to be a parasite and lazy moocher. I feel very bad for that, even though my parents assure me that it's ok that they're still supporting me and letting me live rent free at home. I do house work and take care of the garden and other chores when I am home though. But that's not the same dignity of being self-supporting. These are things I would just do as part of the family for free. But they got a bonus and paid me part of it for doing house/garden work for them. I want to find my balance of where I am useful and an upstanding member of society but at a healthy level for me. I think I am quite capable of independent living like everyone else. But it's hard to know when to push a bit harder, or when that pushing is harmful for me and I'm being ablist to myself.",1 Omg show her this! It is so important to feel appreciated and understood and what an amazing way of showing it. Way to go!,1 "I get it. Your experience is valid. But two things: one I *promise* things will get better. And two: it might not be OCD, but I do take comfort in knowing that everyone has some... thing. Of course not the same And we can’t compare- but just know you aren’t in this alone. You will change and grow and some of it will be hard. The people around you will change, too- and hopefully you can find people who are supportive.",0 "Well done! Its a bigger achievement than most people realise, but everyone here is happy for you and proud of you.",0 "Yes, I shake my head, sometimes say something like ""no"" or ""I don't mean that"". I probably look nuts. It's not a good habit, and as it reinforces things, but it's so hard not to.",0 Yes! This! I'm one of those too! At some points in my life I was talkative. But now.. I have totally flipped to this side of adhd. I totally feel for ya.,1 "This happens to me often. My brain seems so fatigued from worry that it eventually says “fuck it” and I’m able to live normally for days. The breaks, for me, recharge my batteries... and then ocd comes back. Hoping it’s a one and done for you!",0 Ok. So my mom has this form of ocd (I have contamination ocd). So a serious question here. Do your eyes literally think it sees that it is still on? Can you explain what you think and/or see in real life? Is this video for real what you see visually or what your brain thinks is sees? I’m trying to understand my moms need to constantly check the doors and the oven knobs are the worst. When I ask my mom she says she thinks they move back to the “on position” and I just want to understand this more. However if I turn them off for her she’s fine and has no need to check them. She trusts that I have them off and won’t even look at them. Love the video by the way! Thanks for sharing!,0 ">and do what needs to be done. Thank you, this made me finally realise i had to jerk off, which i will now pursue before going to sleep ;)",1 "Not only not allowed to enter Heaven, but eternal conscious torment in fire awaits. There.... fixed it for you.",0 "Just because you have OCD, doesn’t mean your clean and organized.",0 "Im so proud! I had a problem with over washing my hands to the point of bleeding so i understand the struggle, and im so happy that it gets better for you, im sure that you will be able to only have to do it once soon.",0 "I have the same issues. I also have a lot of physical ailments that people are always telling me are in my head and that I'm a hypochondriac and I'm like I know what my body is telling me and I'm able to distinguish between an OCD thought and a real issue now after close to 13 years of therapy. It feels like everyone will just assume its my OCD instead of actually taking me seriously. Turns out I stress fractured my back a few years ago and I told people and they told me it was just stressed from my OCD and nothing to worry about, fast forward to three years later because my parents wouldn't take me to a doctor and the doctor wouldn't take me seriously for three years I ended up breaking my back because it didn't have time to heal, now I have permanent damage and still cant bend over or stand for long periods of time. Sorry that was a big vent session",0 This is the most accurate use of this meme that I have ever seen. A+,0 "I’ve day dreamed whilst having sex, got bored (RARE) stopped and pulled out, but my sex drive is very high so to forget something that I love is impossible lol",1 "Honestly this made me cry... i am so exhausted Thank you!",0 I’ve got a train to catch in a few hours and I’m bricking it lol,1 This actually helped me get ready for work and get there on time. Thank you OP!!,1 "Definitely hit it on the head one thing that I would add is i feel if its not perfect or I don't have 100% of things needed for a project I just bail and feel shitty later for the lack of creativity, discipline or motivation. And I feel if I can't make it perfect its not worth doing.",1 "I legitimately hate when people use OCD as an adjective. It's so triggering. Today I'm watching tv when I heard my mom on the phone go ""omg yeah I have OCD"" then proceed to laugh. She dosnt btw. I wanted to scream into a pillow.",0 "When you’re on the pill and you use a condom, but you’re still terrified that you’re pregnant OR Worried about various STDs OR You can’t be in the moment because your intrusive thoughts won’t let you OR When you have debilitating performance anxiety The list goes on...",0 So true. All the rules for my rituals I made myself. It's an odd thing isn't it.,0 "what hurts the most is that the few times when i was able to sit down and do work like a normal person and even then that work, where i sat down and tried, was never good enough so it makes me wonder there must be something wrong with me.",1 "This is literally how I explained why I just could not ""get"" algebra to my parents when I was 12. diagnosed at 28. Go figure. I'm an engineer now, which basically means 90% of my job is spent explaining the ""why"" behind everything I do. Trust me, that trait can serve you well if you follow it. The best way to learn something is to teach it to someone else. It shows you all the holes in your own knowledge.",1 "Part of it seems to come from parents not wanting to process how difficult it is for you. A form of denial, if you will. It's simpler for them to say ""just be tidu"" or ""go outside"" than it is to accept that their kid has images and thoughts of some real fucked up shit",0 "In meetings with a professional, I've been told I need to start accepting it to see improvement. Accept and live with. I'm on third week now.",1 "Gosh I didn’t know this was a thing, ADHD tax. Yes. I literally had to throw away my brocoli 2 times in 2 weeks because I wanted to make it right for the first brocoli the second time. 🥦🥦☹️ What bothers me more with pre-cut veggies is the plastic packaging tbh, but anyway it is really good advice, thank you!",1 "I really needed to hear this and I agree fully. It's nice to know that a lot of my internal dialogue, and how I feel about myself, has been affected by these exact things. I got my official ADHD diagnosis today. It was a tough pill to swallow tbh, since the feedback was very extensive and descriptive. I've never felt so horrible about myself I think, finding out I had asperger's was actually easier. I'm happy to have found this sub.",1 "I won’t lie- I feel this way very often. I absolutely understand how crippling it can feel and I have a LOT of sympathy for you. However, your feelings that you’re “wasting our time” sound like you are just hypercritical of yourself. We all actively choose to go on this sub and read your posts. The people in your life choose to listen to you, choose to help you, choose to be there when you need to vent, etc. Don’t ever feel sorry for “being a burden.” There is no need to apologize. Relationships exist for that very reason. If you think that you complain more than your friends/family/coworkers, etc; that’s fine! It makes sense for you to do so, you have a disorder that makes your life more difficult than their lives. It isn’t a contest of who can “man up the most.” You are allowed to feel frustrated when people offend you. And there is no need to ever apologize, especially in this sub. If people respond poorly to your sensitivities, then they probably aren’t people you want to be associating with anyway.",1 "If I wrote that it would be bullet point, but I would probably run out of room and have to start on new piece of paper and then somehow fuck that up (didn’t like the way I wrote one letter) and start over again. If I mess up again I just say “STOP” a rapidly a few times over and just make it work. Gotta love that OCD that creeps in to compensate for the lack of attention and not being able to concentrate.",1 All me but how can stimulants help with that? I’m still trying to find the one for me but I feel like none of those are corrected when I take them.,1 "Or, alternatively, it's when you pay so much attention to something that you can't switch to something else. I am forever explaining to my students' parents that a thing they need to look out for is difficulty changing tasks. A kid may need someone to snap them out of hyperfocus and redirect them to what they should be doing. As an adult, I still need some external stimulus to make me stop doing things.",1 "Oh God, I do this. All. The. Time. I know exactly what I'm doing but trying to put that into words and I just can't even. It annoys me to no end because my just asks me what I'm up to and I just can't word and I know it must drive them mad... I really wish it was easier to find a therapist in this country, or more specifically, a therapist that my insurance will cover, because the American health care system sucks...",1 Well done. Seriously. Take every step forward and pat yourself on the back. This is not easy and I respect the work you put in today. Keep it up.,0 "O didn't realize it was a symptom or manifestation of OCD. I know I struggle with anxiety and depression that stem from PTSD and I have some definite OCD tendencies. My paternal grandmother did too and she sadly took her own life. The first time I had a thought almost exactly like this, I was 14 years old. I remember it so clearly. This was comforting to see, thank you. It helps to remember it's just like the urge to wash my hands too much or clean obsessively. My brain is just all wacky. I have gone to therapy and tried medication but I have crappy memory for the 10 years I was medicated. Life has been better for me without it but so much harsher and benzos are very hard to quit. I have noticed the intrusive thoughts increase after stopping (about 5 years ago) and now they're much less frequent but still amazing to know and remember I'm not alone. *Edit. I wish she could have known that too.",0 "Mine are all cute animals, but it made my day, so, good advice lol.",1 "Less with films, but sometimes. Been doing it all today with youtube vids, though. So easy to have them on in the background whilst doing other stuff. But then the other stuff distracts from actually listening.",1 "the amount of times i've heard this one in my near 40 years of existence is too damn high lol, one of the best i've heard is fruit smoothies are all you need to keep good mental health....",1 "Typing a paragraph, switching to a tab with a reference, noticing my youtube tab I left open, accidental youtube binge, crunch time trying to finish my paper before it's due in an hour.",1 "My mum this weekend: ""You just need to write a to do list."" Thanks mum, writing everything down again for the hundredth time will definitely fix my motivation issues.",1 Fuck yeah!! That’s awesome. I’ve always wanted a tat to represent my own ocd struggles. That’s fucking killer.,0 "Woah, seriously thought I was on a self harm subreddit. But genuinely, when driving near a large drop, just thoughts of 'stear a little to the left', and I can't tell if that's ocd or self harm... Anybody else?",0 I am banned from a public university in my country because I signed up for free online courses three times and I never took them :(.,1 "I wish people took mental health way more seriously than they do and there was never any stigma attached to talking about our feelings and emotions. Today is RUOK day in Australia, promoting mental health awareness and asking those around you “are you okay?” I love it.",0 "Knocking in movies and tv shows fucks me up HARD. I detest the number 4 for absolutely no reason whatsoever and almost every single person in every single show/movie KNOCKS. FOUR. TIMES. When someone knocks my brain goes into autopilot and counts every single one. I watched something recently where someone was knocking really quickly and desperately for someone to let them in and I'm like, ""wow, 18 whole knocks"" before I even realized what was happening. Lol.",0 How did you gain control of your OCD? What steps did you take?,0 "Here I am staying up all night, mind racing. Never feels like my day is over...",0 "OH GOD I HAVE TO LEAVE FOR HOCKEY PRACTICE IN 15 MINUTES AND I'M STILL LAYING IN BED. OH MY GOD I ALMOST DIDN'T GO. I AM THE CAPTAIN. I KINDA NEED TO BE THERE.",1 I’m about to run out of space on Amazon Prime photos. WTH?!?,1 Thank you. Since our fears are mostly irrational or out of our control anyways; an irrational hero which would help us no matter what is exactly what we need. A totem against this plight which mocks what’s constantly mocking us,0 "> Three point check when you close the front door: Phone, wallet, keys \~ 4 point: Mask. The numbers of times I stomped back home for this because it wasn't in my daily routine is mind numbing.",1 "YES oh my god i think ive made a couple posts about this before.. some days ill go pee upwards of ten times in an hour or two trying to sleep. like ill go to the bathroom, a trickle comes out, i go and sit on my bed for one second, then i go back to the bathroom again immediatly.. i have this problem/ritual before i go to bed but also before i eat and before i leave the house to go somewhere. sadly i have no idea how to stop it except taking benadryl before going to bed so i get really sleepy",0 Holy fucking shit me too. Whenever I start a new job I’m super charismatic and sell myself like the worlds best prostitute and then when it comes time to actually work as good as I said I cannot keep up.,1 "don't worry, it will probably come back a few obsessions later",0 "I struggle with this too, now I have a text file on my computer that says ""Pills last taken "" so when I want to take the pills I change this text file so I know. Also helps with my fecked sleeping schedule so I know that 24h passed",0 "Woah! Had the same thing too before and it's a hard one to overcome, so big congrats on the success!!",0 "Just thinking about stuff that happened in your day when watching a movie, and having to rewind time and time again!",1 "Hello! Saw this post in popular and am just curious why your hands look like they do in the left picture? My best friend has ocd and used to wash his hands a lot, is that what it’s from?",0 The burning desire to constantly be on top of everything but deep down you’re exhausted and all you want to do is lie down and stare blankly at nothing but it’s like your mind won’t let you rest,0 "For me anything anxiety related feels like my head is being pulled forward like a speeding care, but also ""checking"" and ""loops"" has a very similar feeling to the depiction in the photo. Nice depiction !",0 "Beautiful job!!! I don't have bathroom OCD and I'm still in here fucking around for at least an hour 😂 Seriously, excellent job.",0 this is amazing af and i could totally imagine it in MOMA or equivalent,0 "Not an obscene amount of times, but I used to go for an obscene length of time, sometimes half an hr or more. I've since gotten better thankfully.",0 "Following your post, I thought it was just me. Sometimes my mind turns them into some type of paranoia about existential dread regarding the universe and dying. You're not alone.",0 If only we could really disappear into a bush when we needed a moment! ,0 I can feel the pain of this pic. Like you I’m much better now after medication and therapy but damn it hurts my heart knowing others have gone through the pain that is obsessive hand washing,0 SSRI's calcify the hypothalumus and are band aids to the issue; your OCD is correct in this case,0 "OCD compulsions are by definition harmful. If they are beneficial they are not compulsions. Be careful not to allow this crisis to justify what could still be considered irrational and harmful. Edit: just to clarify, when I say compulsions are not beneficial I don't mean that that there isn't a benefit in washing hands regularly or social distancing (especially when these are needed). However, for it to become compulsive in an OCD sense I would argue this needs to be excessive and cause more harm than good. If there is more benefit than harm (in an OCD sense), then I would argue this was not part of the OCD cycle.",0 Pretty much. I think about this sometimes and thats probably the best way to put it.,1 Remember all your intrusive thoughts are just in your head and have no value in real life,0 "It makes my hand HURT to not wash them. No matter how much I ignore everything, my compulsions have physical ramifications ",0 "I was diagnosed with OCD after I got myself sterilized, every day I am thankful. I could not imagine raising a child who potentially could have numerous mental illnesses (I got a lot of 'em in my family) while also dealing with my own mental illness. Kudos to the people who do it, those children are in the best of hands as their parents know what to look out for and get early intervention.",0 This is great man no judgement just works and your bonding. Nice,1 "Let me add - things being quiet brings me peace, but it's also too much for to me to anything",1 "best feeling ever, well until u get them back as soon as you realise",0 "I have the same but even with physical compulsions, like I can do physical compulsions and I understand that doing them too much hurts and unhealthy and won’t change anything but still can’t stop doing them until it’s enough for my brain.",0 Wow. I’ve never been able to communicate this problem to other people or my family in a coherent manner. Thanks for sharing!,1 "GREAT JOB!!! Congratulations!! That is seriously so awesome and I may not know you, but I am proud!!",0 "I told my mom that I couldn't control my mind's eye and literally had verbal tics as a kid, and I still wasn't diagnosed by either her or the therapist I went to later. Therapist never even asked me if I had them, so I just assumed that I was either insane or normal.",0 "Hi I need to squeeze my left eye or something bad will happen just like in 2013 I stopped squeezing my left eye and I found bedbugs. The other time I did not squeeze my left eye was when I was snowtubing I had a fall and had a small bruise on my arm. Therefore bad things really do happen when I dont squeeze my left eye or forehead muscles. Its just I dont understand why nothing bad happens when I sleep or when I am distracted, oh maybe its due to REM sleep my eyes are moving and I was squeezing my left eye when I was distracted therefore not violating the conditions and terms of the contract. Guys I need some help here these thoughts are driving me nuts. It happens to a point where when the thought comes in I will automatically squeeze my left eye. Even to simple things like flushing the toilet my brain will tell me I need to squeeze my left eye or else the toilet will clog. The underlying belief is that I may or may not have made a ""contract"" with some being.",0 I have OCD and I'm a person that uses humor as a way to deal with issues problems. And I don't even find this funny.,0 Wow is the first time I am in this subreddit and I feel so identified. How can I go to the doctor to get checked for this?,1 "I’m so glad I found this sub. It’s so cathartic to read these posts cause they all sound like they’re coming out of my own head. Like, all my deepest darkest struggles that I’ve always attributed to personal failings, are actually things that everyone else here knows and deals with too. There’s something so beautiful about that it makes me want to cry. Especially after years of feeling so alone and confused about why my brain just never seemed to work like other peoples’. It’s so hard being completely obsessed with a topic for years but not even having to confidence to be able to answer questions about it without doubting myself. It’s such a huge problem in my life and I couldn’t possibly relate any harder. But it’s so good to know that it’s not all my fault and I’m literally just doing my best, and the same thing goes for everyone here. I really love this community.",1 "Absolute me Ill save this thread for later when i have time for proper reviewing and answering ;)",1 "Not many actually, but my screenshots saved for later go on for infinity.",1 "Funny thing is I know for a fact that my dad also has OCD. He just doesn’t know it himself. He will point out my compulsive behaviors, but doesn’t notice his own.",0 "I usually just sing out loud, and sometimes it happens when people are around me and I can’t really explain it lol",0 "ADHD has a genetic component so I guess you take after your dad, or it skipped generations.",1 "LOL yes! ""The doctor said that lymph node is normal, you're good to go. Stop worrying about it now"" ...... ""What's this lump on my leg?"" I ask as I struggle with the compulsion to poke and panic and google and poke and reassurance seek then poke and poke then google then poke then reassurance then panic. Help XD",0 "I remember seeing this comment and feeling so fucking angry, i would kill a man to not have this disorder but sure go ahead, it's the most desirable",0 "So true. Please forgive me, I’m well stealing this!",0 I just made my first doctor appointment in years because of this post. Thank you!,1 "Me too, if i try and find tips on how to manage parts of my adhd, it's never directed towards someone who has adhd, just a parent or a guardian, even when i search ""my adhd"" and so then im always back at square one because the advice is for someone outside looking in not someone inside looking out",1 "*Mutes mic* *Plugs mic out* ""But what if there is another way people can hear me?""",0 "Posts the title of the book~ ""Oh yea ill def read that"" ~ Looks over at my desk of all my unfinished books~",1 "At what point, if ever, do you decide to stick with the ""devil you know""?",0 "I can't handle anymore sameness. This subreddit is too accurate and I relate to so much it makes me physically uncomfortable. Yes. to answer your question, yes. I'll be sitting there, then random thought. BAM. how DARE they. Then, for the next two days, I'll come up with what I should have said and rehearse over and over again. Like my brain was buffering response this whole time and now I'm ready to go. Fully loaded.",1 "I hate to say it but it’s better than smoking weed and better than getting drunk. But there u go, addiction 101. This is why I take it on a Sunday (learning to code) and stick to coffee the rest of the week (IT). First time I took Adderall, felt like that magic pill from the movie “Limitless” with Bradley Cooper. But it’s because of this that I’m scared to get a dependency from it. But yea I grew up with taking Ritalin & it made me the most depressed I’ve ever been in life from 2nd grade to 10th grade when I finally had enough. Glad Adderall helps others out too",1 "OCD has made my life so hard! At 53 my body and mind are getting tired, I must say my tolerance for people has lessened. I agree with you it irritates me sooooo much when I see these kind of post. If I would get online and make light of ""their"" issues my name would turn to mudd. I really do give up trying to explain ocd to anyone...if you dont have it you will never understand it.",0 "That looks horribly painful. I’ve been there, it’s awful. A&D ointment always helps me a lot when mine got that way. Best of luck to you.",0 "This. When family members do this to me I remind them that I’m trying or doing my best but I struggle with remembering things. I feel like no matter how many times they tell me they understand, that they don’t fully understand the complications I struggle with. And saying that honestly makes me feel shitty. Like, it’s my fault I have ADHD or I could be doing things better but always fall short. I wish to not always feel this way but honestly I just feel like a burden to everyone and I am a running joke sometimes. “We could have Izzarail do it but he’ll forget” or “He’ll do some of it but then he’ll get distracted” and I’m just there smiling as I scream internally Lmfaoooo",1 "This is insane, I thought I was the only one, When I would bump into things as a kid I would feel sorry for them and apologize. I had much more sympathy for inanimate objects than people. It was actually a strong belief of mine that objects were conscious. (To be honest, I still have trouble believing otherwise at times) I had a panic attack months after I remembered that I had thrown away a toy. I remember thinking that it must feel incredibly abandoned, betrayed and isolated. I think I vaguely remember looking into this and also reading that it’s connected to OCD.",0 "Yes, phases like this exist. But one of those phases can last the rest of your life. This could be it. If it isn’t, it’s ok, it’ll come again. Just keep ignoring them, distracting yourself, doing the opposite of what they tell you. Each time you resist it will be easier and easier. You will find it becomes very easy very quickly even though it’s hard in the beginning. I did it, and you will too.",0 A look at the causes and treatment for OCD. How the anterior cingulate gyrus and orbitofrontal cortex can become overstimulated by perceived threats in our environment and trigger a repeated cycle of obsessive compulsive behaviour in response to the perceived threat and how desensitising OCD sufferers to the threat can treat the problem. - https://youtu.be/F9wdIr1_3ZY,0 What if my mic has a thing that records everything i say even if on mute 😳,0 This was the first post I saw when I opened the app. Probably saved me a couple hours!,1 "My daughter is 4 and I can see so many traits in her that I suffered with. Well done on figuring this out, sometimes it's the simple tasks that work the best.",1 "i felt bad when i readed ""for people with mental illnes""",0 yet i feel more alone than ever and so far removed from everyone,0 "Bruhhh, it's like going to music festivals; and when you get there, 20-45 minutes of that day is spent on planning where/when/how we were doing the next one. Planning is a hell of a drug lol RIP music festivals 😭🙏",1 "who else was squinting to see if there was blue, I was lol",0 "My friend who was diagnosed with OCD when he was 15 is one of the most messiest people I know. The last time he came over, I was the one cleaning after him.",0 Beautiful words op. I hope we all find our peace during our visit on this Earth. For the penguins!,1 I learned this early high school. It has helped so much! Even with just being a kinder person,0 I once heard someone with BPD and extremely mild OCD say that BPD is 100 times worse for EVERYONE and that OCD can’t be that bad because she manages with it. Like okay Persephone just because you have mild ocd doesn’t mean everyone else has it that lessened,0 "Mine doesn’t give me as many “what if’s” and instead screams “this is what you are now. Sorry, not up to you!” And that’s the worst part about it.",0 "I'm literally laying in bed, right before going to sleep, and the child inside of me is crying with relief. Thank you, kind person. I've felt like this as long as I can remeber. Growing up wasn't outwardly negative or bad, but it just felt... off putting. Like I was always in someone's else's body or story and I was just making it up as I went. Or playing in a play with a ruined or broken script on papers spread all over the stage, looking underneath tables and chairs in hopes to find the complete script.. and sobbing when I couldn't find it all in order to ""play my part"" in society. That part of growing up.. was probably the worst part. And then having people all around me.. family, teachers, friends, etc. Telling me that I was just being overally dramatic, or it was all in my head, was just icing on the cake. I'm sure they meant well, and they only wanted to help me in some way that made sense to them.. but the biggest problem was helping THEM and not ME. I only recently started feeling like I've been woken up from a deep slumber, and feel like my body is more of mine, but tired from the long slumber. And I didnt start feeling that way until I was diagnosed and was started on medication to help my brain. And then once I met my current partner.. who refuses to allow me to be cruel to myself and never allows me to settle for second best. She's always giving me a push in the right direction and I'll always be forever grateful for her existence in my life. Sometimes I still feel like my existence is more harm than good, especially for her, but I have recently started to accept that isnt the case. That went on longer than expected. I was on a roll. Haha. I hope that resonates with others.",1 It's not done overnight but you can train yourself to minimize them as much as you can. You got a whole lifetime to get good at it.,0 I am so disorganized. My house isn't dirty but nothing has a 'place'. It's weird.,0 there's a good series on Netflix called Pure. features OCD as intrusive thoughts and I felt like it was about me haha,0 That’s only because it is pretty much a Chief Executive Function Disorder,1 "I did this a lot in the past, but my therapist told me that in the long run it was counterproductive. Because this gives the obsessive thoughts more space. At least that's how it was in my case.",0 Oh my god I drove myself nuts as a kid stressing out that I was pregnant— that “i didn’t know i was pregnant” show was the scariest shit to me 😭,0 "So I still use flux to make my screen VERY orange before bed time. It eventually gets really difficult to look at my computer because it's just so orange that my eyes start to get tired and I really want to go to bed. Works perfectly for me, so it might be worth it for you",1 I saw a funny TikTok from a girl with ADHD. Something like ‘when you’re upset and crying and check your phone and forgot what you’re crying about.” I don’t know if that makes sense but I really connected on that one,1 "Thank you all for the wonderful messages and comments :) It really made my miserable and lonesome existence enlightened with a real spark of hope. Thank you.",0 "Wow just READING this advice put $50,000 in my bank account.",1 "This is me right now, I thought I finally had it under control, but it just came back.",0 "that was actually really sweet! not often you get people posting something genuinely kind and caring online out of nowhere. I'm so sorry to hear about your friend, I've been your position and as close as can be to his as well and I understand, at least to a degree, how hard it is. love all round, for everyone",1 i bet the dog is just happy you're paying attention to him :),0 I just now started watching Pure on HBO Max and it’s about a girl who has Sexual OCD. Has touches of Homosexual OCD as well. I’m relating so hard because I suffered through something like it quite recently.,0 I don't waste my time being concerned with what others do.,0 "I either do nothing all day, waiting for it, or I get distracted by something, hyperfocus on it, and completely miss the appointment. No inbetween.",1 "yeah.... i go thru cycles of picking my face/scalp/body and then when i try to stop i just end up biting my nails painfully short instead. and when i try to avoid doing that i bust out the nail trimmers and basically black out and when i snap out of it all my nails are short and stinging and the skin around them is trimmed back and bleeding (the nail trimmers end up doing more severe damage than my teeth can because my teeth are like ""okay im not gonna bite THAT deep"" but with trimmers i can't stop myself and i trim more and more regardless of pain) 🙃 the ONLY way i can keep my nails short without going too far and obsessively biting/trimming to the point of injury is by using a nail file. but then yeah i still manage pick my face/scalp even with my short nails bc it feels too good and like i have to. also i chew my lips and literally nothing can stop me for long because.... i can't just put my teeth away",0 this is so beautiful. i’m so so happy for you!! me and say we’re in our own little bubble too!! safe from the world,0 "Anyone else have weird time ocd ? Like if I see 11:12, 3:34, 5:56, etc I think my worst fears will come true, but if I see 11:11, 4:44, etc, I think good things will come my way.",0 "Excuse me. It's 7 in the morning. That is too early to be called out like this. Now if you've excuse me, I decided to get into carpentry last night and I'm going to have my new house built by end of day.",1 "That’s how I felt when the first lockdown happened. I was so relieved it all just stopped for a while, I know it’s talking from a privileged place but man… my anxiety went so high when it all started moving again so quickly",1 "Like seriously, please please just stop talking. I’m not even listening, I’m expending 110% of my fizzling energy trying not to explode for what will seem like absolutely no reason to you",1 "Alternatively, the story could be “girlfriend checks new tea, gets me surprise donuts when I mention them in passing, cleans the litter, organizes the tea, takes out the trash, empties the dishwasher, brings in the wine...” . My issue is often I get tons done, but have to work to the main thing done. BTW, why is she washing dishes when there is a dishwasher clearly in the home?",1 "I’ve been researching adult ADHD for a final project and I was mad about this same thing! It’s very misunderstood, and there aren’t very many long term studies that have been specifically for us. I hope more studies are being conducted currently and in the future so we can finally know more about adult ADHD.",1 "My ocd doesn’t generally make me superstitious, but those posts drive me insane. I appreciate the pupper",0 "To me it seems like the most considerate and kind people are the ones choosing to not bring another human being in this world. While there are monsters out there with no qualms about the issue having kids left and right. Whatever you choose to do, I want to say that people in this sub are genuinely the most kindest people ive ever seen and you even considering the issue shows it.",0 This is how I feel alot of the time. Great drawing.,0 "That’s so cool!! So happy for you and I’ll definitely keep that in mind for the future it’s an awesome idea! Also thank you for the titles and paragraphs it made it much nicer to read 😁",1 I am once again asking you to turn around so we can check if the garage door was left open,0 "YES! I never could figure it out. Makes a 9-5 impossible for me.",1 I am very unproductive and I keep procrastinating my plans. I feel so useless.,1 "I feel paranoid going out of a store if I didn't buy anything, I feel like the guard will just arrest me or what even if I didn't do anything and didn't stole whatever.",0 "I've felt that before, my OCD is usually nothing more than a minor inconvenience and sometimes when reading people's stories about how they really struggle there's that part of my brain that worries I'm faking.",0 in the first episode of euphoria they touch on rue having counting rituals and getting very upset when she’s interrupted but they never touch upon it in the rest of the season :-/,0 This must have been so time-consuming to put together but really worth the effort. Thank you.,1 a song that i love is One by Sleeping at Last. God requires nothing of us. His grace is sufficient. (just my opinion),0 "I aint really bothered by them but I do get a little bothered when I tell people that I have ocd and they say that i obviously don't have ocd because my room is barely ever clean, or I'm wearing mismatched socks or something",0 Call them out on it if they don’t have ocd don’t let people say it,0 "Realizing fear is one of the two 'lowest' emotions has been immensely helpful to me. Not that it's a bad or negative thing, but that it literally exists in the oldest, lowest part of the brain, the lizard part that runs our fight/flight response. Recognizing this and acknowledging the value of fear (and anger) to our human bodies doesn't stop me feeling fear, but stops me being afraid of *being afraid*. Nothing should be feared, especially fear itself, the saying should go (; now when I feel overwhelmed by anxiety or depression, I sit down, breathe in white light, and push out all the dark of those lesser emotions, sending them back to the light to be cleansed and made new and useful. I still get to feeling helpless a lot, but I always feel rejuvenated after directly acknowledging it and consciously envisioning those feelings being pushed out of me and replaced by the brilliant white light of love.",0 "yeah... my parents think ocd means being clean and organized and mock me with it. ""you are just imagining your mental illness and use it as an excuse for everything"" ""i wish you would have more of that being-clean-and-organised-ocd because then your room and youself wouldnt look like shit"" ""if you wash your hands that often you can clean your room too""......... i start to go insane haha. so thanks media for making ocd look like a joke.... ....i just realized this rant doesnt really fit the post.... but ugh i just read the word media and spreading misinformation and it clicked in my head XD",0 "This issue goes away for me on stimulant medication (Adderall or Vyvanse). Otherwise it's pretty much guaranteed to happen. Even if I'm fairly well-rested beforehand, sleep quickly becomes way too alluring to resist. And then I justify it in the moment because, you know, sleep is good for you.",1 Same. Especially with jewelry or any metal I have on me (i.e. my friggin phone) I get HELLAAAA paranoid,0 Omg yes. I also used it for writtig essys in college. Easier to speak out my thoughts because my hands dont type as fast as my brain thinks. Also helped me stay focus,1 "YAY I AM SO PROUD!!! I have been struggling with this, lowkey have avoided cooking for a while because of it, but this is inspirational. Congratulations, please celebrate these wins when they come",0 My OCD doesn't allow me to touch people I care for without washing my hands later. My OCD tells me that real events were worse than they actually were and punishes me everyday. I can barely sit to study or work or cook or sleep or eat because the anxiety and distress of my intrussive thoughts are killing me,0 "Congratulations to you!! This is absolutely amazing and just so inspiring, it gives me so much hope!! :)",0 I'm even still working m-f and my routine has been shattered since they closed the schools.,1 I literally had this exact thought on a run last week. :(,0 "Thank you for your testimony. I’m not yet diagnosed, but reading the stories here is making me cry. I’ve long thought I was lazy and useless because I have had that same Internal struggle for a loooooooong time! I’m in my late 20s now, but I look forward to getting diagnosed.",1 "Someone NEEDS to make an app where you can plan your week day by day and it sends you notifications for each task. If only we could get past the initial issue, ignoring the notification",1 "This. Exactly this. It didn’t help that I had a “superior” overall I.Q. and “very superior” verbal I.Q. score come in along with the ADHD diagnosis when I was a kid. They were like... “Whelp she has a learning disability, but she’s so smart anyway she’ll be fine. No need to teach her any coping mechanisms, she’ll figure it out.” For the record, they got me tested when the teacher thought I was intellectually disabled because I just sat at the same station tracing maps all day instead of doing different things like other kids.... something clearly wasn’t right. Then they stuck me in a different school and watched me like a hawk and I seemed to do well enough... not that the forced structure or external accountability of school had anything to do with that /s By the time I got to college, I was white knuckling it. I did well grade wise because I figured out how to game the system and take the easiest possible versions of the classes I knew I’d struggle in - and I was somehow able to crank out a killer essay in the last few hours before it was due, under the adrenaline rush of panic, for the other classes. BUT I developed an eating disorder in the process because I wasn’t actually coping, I was just hanging on for dear life. I won’t even get into my disastrous adulthood, but you can imagine. That eating disorder caught up with me and I failed marvelously in two careers and now I’m unemployed living off my parents again. One bright light is that I started working with an ADHD coach to learn actual coping skills and strategies in my fucking 30s - only 24 years or so after I was diagnosed. Yeah, long rant just to say that intelligence only took me so far. ADHD was always there, ready for the gut punch, when my smarts thought they were fooling everyone, even me.",1 "Thank you OP and all of the people commenting. I have so much love for you all. The guilt I feel not wanting to be a burden on people is unreal and takes away my ability to wake up peacefully. Sometimes I work on it and it’s a lot better, other times it’s just inevitable. I feel a lot differently now being 32 and know I am not stupid or bad. I have so much love for my younger self and all that I’ve put her through but the burden feeling i mentioned is so unshakeably debilitating at times. Lucky to have a supportive partner and family to be my guiding light when mine is burnt out. If anyone is stuck and looking desperately for a way out I suggest google inner child healing meditations (yes it sounds cheesy, be open minded!) This has helped me for a year or two to be able to fall asleep peacefully and heal a lot of inner resentment. Which reminds me that I need to start back up with meditating again. When shit hits the fan I know it’s the right thing to do. Sorry for lack of punctuation haven’t taken meds yet 🤪",1 "All of this. I’ve always been rather messy and neither me nor my parents really knew because I had a friend who had it and she was the stereotype but it wasn’t her choice obviously and we saw that she was suffering. We all thought that’s what OCD was. As a child, I absolutely couldn’t have my food touching ever. It gave me anxiety (I had no idea that’s what the feeling was), but my folks chalked it up to being picky. I wouldn’t sleep unless the clock had a certain time on it, that was just me being a kid who didn’t wanna go to bed. We finally realized with the school bus. It had always come to my house at 6:15 on the dot. One day it came at 6:12 and I panicked. I didn’t understand why. I remember going to my therapist and her asking me a lot of questions that made me go “that’s how I feel. I do that.” I was diagnosed finally about 16-17 and have been on medication and therapy since. My compulsions have changed as I’ve gotten older. Things like food touching doesn’t bother me now. But it feels like there’s always new challenges to face. But I’m working thru it. I’m glad that we didn’t stay buying into the media image.",0 "I want to become a writer, and with that I also want to make a character with OCD that ISNT ‘quirky’, but to actually show an accurate representation and how it effects that single person (but they still have their own personality, not going to make them just OCD/it will not be their only trait)",0 "mine likes to let me live in the mundane parts of life but whenever there’s a fun event like after work drinks or something it’s like hi bitch time to worry about something you can’t quite figure out for 4 hours i’ve learnt that that’s just my reality that most of my future happy moments will be clouded by anxious thoughts and ocd. it’s the best i can do with what i’ve got. i’ll probably never be care free and i accept that.",0 "“To be honest? No fucking clue. Just know that if I don’t do it, my heart’s gonna stop.”",0 "I was *lucky*. My first big job was IT for a pretty big school. I ended up working insane hours (uncompensated) but it meant that I was able to get everything done when it needed to be. Working so much was perceived as me just being super dedicated, not that I was unable to get the work done in an 8 hour day because my ADHD had my brain all over the damned place but where it needed to be. It would usually be focused on something IT related that I had an interest in but not what I was supposed to be doing. My current job is better in some ways because I take info on the phone and then it's over. The problem is that my ability to retain what people say is very lacking. Like someone will say their name at the start of the sentence and I don't pick it up at all. I have to ask again despite them just saying it 20 seconds before. Same is true of almost specific info conveyed to me.",1 "I know it is really scary. Know that you are not alone, friend, and we are here for you!!! No matter what!!!!",0 "I make stacks of note cards. I cover less total material but I’ve massively improved the quantity I can recall. I make myself a little stack on each hyperfocus topic and now I occasionally hyperfocus on just going through those stacks to refresh. Big dopamine hits, it’s like... idk hyperfocus aftertaste? I get to relive the joy of a previous focus. Really great for when I feel stuck, between foci and heavy.",1 "> [that's okay] That's okay, folks! Just make sure you START NOW. Go! Go on, start now. Everyone please start washing til your skin starts to shred and bleed. The love she's sending will heal it.",0 "Real talk: I’ve been working from home since March 2020 and have dropped the ball on dental hygiene something serious. Like, I definitely forget to brush my teeth multiple days in a row sometimes. And I feel terrible about it but this post makes me feel a little better that I’m not alone.",1 "I was to anxiety ridden to share this on fb but copy pasta here srsly do not wanna ever hear: u got this. u can do it. you think I ain't tryin to do the damn things. u are dismissing my struggle. you haven't been helpful. just a friendly reminder that your words of encouragement or uplifting can be really irritating if not plain hurtful to a person daily fighting to: ""get their shit together"" ""stay positive"" ""act like they were raised right"" and ""use the brain god gave them"" this is a short list of my favorites and I understand motivation come across differently to different types of people I'm just feeling very misunderstood and rejected right now I'm sorry if this is mean to anyone I know but e experience has taught that 90% of ppl may mean well but 90% of people are also OBLIVIOUS, APETHETIC, OR CRUEL to the anxiety they add to (w best intentions ofc but if you are this type of ""motivator"" like prove me wrong n do better w no sympathy you are definitely without a doubt in one of those three categories if not all)",1 Good Idea! I think I'll read the comments first though,1 "Wishing you all the best, my friend. I was diagnosed with leukemia a long time ago, but I know the road is hard. My inbox is always open. Much love!",1 "This is Relatable asf, even in every situation I’m in, OCD has to find it’s way somehow to mess with my mind and kill my whole vibe",0 "What annoys me the most is that in a split second, my brain creates a whole scenario, false memory, and a strong emotional response to that image as if it ACTUALLY happened. All the more reason ERP is pretty darn effective.",0 "Me: using scissors My brain: why not just cut off all your eyelashes? Anyone else get this one?",0 "Yes. I don’t go near school zones, scared I’ll be framed as a pedo or something. Might not have kids, what if they make up that I touched them in ways I shouldn’t have and nobody believes me ?",0 "I think like others have said it gives us a better sense of the 'importance' of information, but I also think it has to do with being able to reconstruct information if it still gets forgotten- if I understand what I'm trying to accomplish, and how my tools work, I can re-engineer the solution I've forgotten, or even an entirely new solution.",1 "No matter how often I see these kinds of posts, they remain totally accurate and necessary! 😅😂😂",1 Grey's Anatomy and other shows with voiceover narration that's supposed to foreshadow the episode and tie everything together... I don't think I've ever actually paid attention to what they are saying all the way through. I usually realize someone's talking over the music about halfway through.,1 "Now I’m nervous :( Today was the first day of class for me and I swore I’d be organized and prepared a study schedule.",1 I'm fearful avoidant as well. It's awful. I'm just suppressing myself in isolation.,1 "One step at a time is all it takes. Congrats, I’m proud of you!",0 The reset routine bit just helped me right now! Going to adapt my own version but it’s genius!!,1 "All even numbers are basically good. Odd numbers-bad except for multiples of 5, they're ok. Anyone else have dyscalculia?",0 I have never actually related to a meme so hard before.,0 "Fucking facts though. I feel bad for everyone else, because even I annoy myself with it.",0 "Everyone needs to be a member of ADHD. Even if you don't have it, you should be getting your tips on paying attention from the people who's lives revolve around it. If you wanna know the best way to roll a boulder up a hill, you wanna ask greek mythology's Sysiphus, you know?",1 "Since a lot of the time my OCD makes me think I'm making up mental illnesses for attention... yeah. What I try and tell myself is that even if I don't necessarily have OCD, it's still good to talk to someone about the things I'm struggling with. If that makes sense?",0 "Gotta admit, this gave me a laugh because of how true it is 😂😭",0 It does suck but do you have a therapist to talk to?,0 "yea same. i pretty much know wtf i wanna do, and how im supposed to do it. I’m even willing go thru whatever hardships and ordeals to meet my goals. but my damn ADHD brain is one hell of an annoying cuckblocker. the moment i start doing thing, my mind goes fully blank.",1 "I freeze (aka procrastinate) when I don’t know what to do. I call it freezing because I am frozen until I figure it out. Here are my levels of procrastination, ordered by difficulty to overcome. Assuming I want to do the task, for whatever reason: - Easy: I don’t know what to do to start. - Medium: I know how to start, but I am unsure how much time I will need to do it, so I don’t know how much time to ask for, or how to budget my time. Will it take me 3 hours? 8? - Hard: I know I can do the task in 3 hours, but I know it will be too hard for me to focus for that long, so I know I need 8. But, I don’t know how to ask for more time because I feel bad about needing it. - Very Hard: I can’t ask for more time, and I think the task is too hard for me to do in the allotted time. I know the task “should” only take me 3 hours but I know I will take 8. I don’t know how to do it faster than that. - Impossible: I think the task is impossible to do in the allotted time. I know I only have 3 hours to do something but I know I will need 8 even if I am working my fastest. I don’t know if trying is worth it. Does it matter if I do 3 hours of work?",1 Such a cute fit. It reminds me of something Aria off of Pretty Little Liars would wear!,0 """I'm so ocd, i can't stand it when people aren't organized!"" It's so fucking tiring listening to this shit, neurotypicals will never freaking understand the hell we go through, how strong we have to be just to keep on living. It honestly surprises me how ignorant and unsympathetic people like that are that they even make books and tv shows presenting someone with OCD in a comedic and romantic way as if it's a fucking quirk.",0 "The other week my therapy homework was to work on not covering my hand with my shirt to open the bathroom door in my own house. In our most recent appointment I tried to explain to my therapist how I would ""cheat"" by contorting my hand and only using certain parts to turn the handle (so as to avoid contaminating the other parts of my hand that I would then go on to touch other things with). I started laughing halfway through because I could tell she was trying to follow along in her usual empathetic/nonjudgmental way, but she looked.... decidedly confused.",0 I’m vegan and my girlfriend is extremely picky so I don’t get this kind of luxury. Fortunately I don’t get that symptom as much as others,0 Don’t call me out like that ok.. it’s Friday I’m allowed to SLACK a bit... 😂,1 "Wow, the first thing I saw on my reddit. Ugh fine I will go brush my teeth . Is there a way to keep it as my first post every time I come to reddit? I would save so much time.",1 "I did this several years ago when I was in day treatment the first time for my OCD. I have since grown away from the concept mostly, but at the time it was very useful. When I could separate the OCD from me as a person it helped me rationalize (some) that I am not a bad person, that those are not my thoughts/desires/wishes/etc. My wise, above-average matured (aka traumatized) 13 year olds self named my OCD Randal, like from Monsters Inc. That movie has always scared me for several reasons. Probably wasn’t the best thing to watch considering I have always had sleep problems, nightmares, separation anxiety, and was afraid to go into any room/area that was dark. I still have those problems... Anyways, I named it Randal because, like the character, he was sneaky, gross, mean, evil, and a bully. The key aspect of the name is this: Randal was always there, but you couldn’t always see him. He was invisible to other people & would sneak up on me in already difficult moments. I didn’t completely realize how wise that was of me until a while later. I just thought “oh that’s the way I am” and being so emotionally matured (bc of trauma yay) was my normal. My OCD character was painted. It took me a while because I wanted it to be “right” lol *how ironic* but he is a scary little thing. It was an exposure to make him honestly. He was holding scary things & was a huge trigger color of mine. I didn’t even like to look at the painting... Like I mentioned earlier it was helpful at the time. One thing my treatment team specifically suggested was to use the name to refer my OCD in public situations where we wanted to be more subtle. Think of a situation maybe like eating at a restaurant with your family & you become upset so you need to leave or take a break & you could use the name as a code word sort of. For example “Randal is really upsetting me. I need to take a break.” or “Randal is being really loud, can you help me quiet him down?” I didn’t use it that was as often, but maybe someone reading will find it helpful. The reason I grew away from the concept is because it got to a point where my OCD having its own name & “person” sort of gave it more power & a voice that it didn’t need. That was a personal decision influenced by my faith mostly, so it may not click for everyone else. You are all bad-a** warriors!! keep kicking butt & telling your OCD to shut up! remind it that it is indeed a little shit! *also I just want to say yay me! because 2 years ago cussing at all was horrifying & my OCD would make me feel like an absolutely horrible person if a word ever slipped. It was kinda fun (in a strange way) when I got exposures about swear words because ppl would be excited for me which felt weird to me at the time. I wanted to cuss sometimes but the OCD made it so hard. but now I have grown past that mostly & can use swear words without feeling like a terrible person so that’s fun hehe!!",0 "I was really emotional the first couple of days of medication as well, it was a calm I hadn't ever felt. I wasn't on edge the same way, and just let it out. I totally get it",1 Feeling this right now. Feel so undeserving and I’m getting to a point where I hate myself. Never felt like that before.,0 This is me with crying babies. Except in that situation it's not OCD I just really don't like crying babies.,0 "It's a good instinct! A lot of people ask for things for the wrong reasons and they've skimmed over solutions they don'r realise could work much better.",1 "One thing that really helped me with finances early on was automating my payments. Even just the minimum amount. It obviously guy easier when I had more money, but this is the reason I've been able to save and avoid late fees, automate automate automate! You can do this with phone bills and Internet and anything really. Find a system that works for you best and stick with it. I also forced myself with calendar reminders to do bi-weekly money check-ins.",1 "My husband calls me an ""instant expert"" when I'm learning something new. I'm really good at taking in a lot of information and coming to an overall understanding of a topic or process. But ask me to explain it? I have no idea. It just exists as a whole in my brain; I can not break it down for you.",1 "I just woke up this morning with an obsession. I can either get caught up in it or continue with my day, letting the thought stay in my mind. I've done the former thousands of times and lost hours and focus. I've tried to work out what the thought means, if it's true etc. But if I operate from the truth that if it's not this content it'll be something else, this is quite liberating, as I then reattribute the problem to my faulty reactions to my misfiring brain and not to a problem of personal morality etc that needs to be resolved so I feel safe",0 "I've been having a weird idea today too. I was thinking about my HS math classes, and how every day they had 30 questions for HW, which would take a normal person over an hour to complete. Needless to say... i never finished it. Luckily homework was only 20% of the grade. I was thinking that teachers who normally grade big homework assignments for completion could also say ""or you can do these 10, and I'll grade on correctness"" I would have done that. And probably got all them correct too. My math grades would have been 20% higher. A's instead of C's",1 This! Hahahahaha so I created a “watch today” playlist so I could have just an easy to watch list that was only for ya know TODAY. I now have 553 videos in my “watch today” and 303 videos in my watch later. Not including the category playlists I created to help me (hahaha) organize the videos I want to watch…,1 "I do exactly that. I don’t say the words ADHD, never (it’s so stigmatized). I tell the truth, it’s a neurological impairment of my executive brain functions. Otherwise I get ridiculed.",1 "What the fuck is going on in here! It's like the worst birthday party I've ever been to. Evolution doesn't fuck up, that is literally the definition of evolution. The stuff that survives exists. There are a multitude of people from all walks of life that have your back in the comments. Flip the situation, how would you feel telling them that their lives are worthless and that they should give up. You are in good company during bad situations, It will get better, you should get help (do you?), Shame sucks but it's also normal, Crying is neccesary, Frustration is going to happen and if you feel bad you WILL feel better soon. You will learn to manage the symptoms better, you will learn to think better of yourself, you will learn how to accept the failures when they do happen. All of those are true. Talk to us about what help or support you are getting just now.",1 Needed this laugh. Literally came to the sub here because I was getting stuck in that loop and needed a distraction.,0 "Brain: hit juul 8 times Me: what? How about just once or- Brain: eight times or someone you love is going to die",0 "I just give myself all day to watch lecture videos and do assignments and enjoy being able to space out without it being especially detrimental for once I even give myself break time to check into animal crossing this probably isn't helpful or even good advice, but I've just made it as enjoyable as possible for myself I'm also not expecting myself to suddenly by super productive, I'm still doing stuff at the last minute like always, but it's fine as long as it gets done",1 """If you cared, you'd remember"" I do but I can't :/",1 Anyone else feel bad about calling out people on this *because* of your OCD? I always get intrusive thoughts like “they’ll hate you for that” n shit,0 What a great way to put your OCD to work! Beautiful drawing,0 "I have been diagnosed with purely obsessive OCD. It has wrecked my entire life. My husband, who has SEEN FIRST FUCKING HAND, likes to jokingly tell everyone he has OCD bc he likes things to be organized symmetrically. While, that is a form of OCD, I swear to God, he doesn't have it or he would fucking help me clean this God damn house instead of just sitting there telling ME what I'm doing wrong So, yeah, I agree, fuck those who act it's a cute little personal quirk",0 "Get out of my head!!! Ahaha this is exactly how I would write how ADHD effects me, like word for word... If I could get motivated and muster the energy to actually write it down!!",1 "Absolutely! That's why I flourished during quarantine. While the world slowed down I lost weight, my music taste grew, I started writing poetry, watched a lot of movies and shows (something I didn't usually have the patience for with having to study gnawing at the back of my mind). My country opened up a month ago, we started school again and ADHD does not create a problem with studying and finishing any assignments anymore.",1 "I don't know if OCD is about avoiding situations that might potentially trigger one's anxiety. I guess that depends a lot on the specific type of OCD. Like checking is a really big deal and that isn't exactly avoidance. I have POCD and HOCD and constantly look up really unpleasent stuff to assure myself I'm not a psycho. I feel a need to look at really bad cases and feel repulsed to convince myself I'm not like that. But I guess that's sort of the difference between mostly obsessive or compulsive traits. But then again; I have a 3 year old nephew I have never seen because I can be afraid of somehow causing him harm. Not physically or mentally but like I'm not supposed to interfere with his life at all because I don't feel like I'm a good person and constantly afraid I could do or say something that would make my family feel less about me.",0 Does that actually work for them? Like genuinely? Is there a switch they can just turn on to not think about other things?,1 "To be honest, I don't really shake my head, I actually shut my eyes or widen them to get them out😂",0 Dude after a long day of ruminating this fuckin cracked me up,0 " Yeah this really hit me much harder than anything else I’ve read here. I have so many half finished songs, stories, lyrics, projects... and the rare case where I do finish them I have to force myself and it becomes tedious and unenjoyable. I also have to finish stuff in one or two sessions or I’ll never return to it. It is like torture because I have so much I want to express yet I cannot and have almost nothing to show for it",1 The amount of times I feel that I have to say it's medically diagnosed or clinical (idk if that's the right term but oh well) OCD is crazy. If I just say OCD people think I just like things neat ,0 "I'm glad i'm fun to be around cause people really don't have another reason to hang out with me, doesn't really work that well when it comes to work though.",1 I’m this way. I think it’s because it’s so easy for us to forget stuff and get side tracked an afternoon appointment is like playing with fire. We’re so worried about forgetting that we can’t think about anything else. I’m also really bad at estimating how long it takes me to do things so just to be safe I don’t plan anything else before the appointment.,1 """What I think I should do"" HAHAHAHAHA so fuckin relatable, this is A+ man",0 Could you expand on that attention = motivation + memory bit? Your doctor sounds awesome—really happy for you.,1 Congrats! This is HUGE! Im so glad for you! Dont worry about anything someone will teach you all you need to know!,0 "This is why I hate horror movies so much, subject matter is bad enough but the intrusive thoughts afterwards are way worse.",0 This is funny lol but also not because it’s painful.,0 "I do this a little, but my girlfriend does this all the fucking time it drives me so mad. Every night I tell her we should go to bed. Every night she insists on watching yet another episode of whatever show we're watching and then proceeds falling asleep after five minutes. When I wake her up telling her to go to bed (sometimes after the end of the episode which of course she slept through) she gets pissy at me for suggesting it, saying she still wants to finish watching the episode, before falling asleep again literally seconds after the sentence. I have to literally fight her to get off the sofa and in the bed (I'd carry her but I'm not particularly strong and the corridor to the bedroom is so tight and full of shit I'm afraid I'd bump her somewhere). Once I finally manage to get her to do that, she still refuses to just go to bed but takes her laptop out and starts doing work. Every morning she's exhausted and struggles to wake up, complains about how tired she is all the fucking time. We both have ADHD so it's not like I don't understand how hard it is to do it, it is hard for me too, but having to fight myself and her every night is so damn exhausting. Especially because I, unlike her, need time to fall asleep too, especially after I get hit by screen light, so I end up sleeping on average one hour less than her every day because of this whole tirade.",1 Ugh. Twice in as many weeks. There's gotta be somewhere better than this.,0 "I hate it! And it perpetuates the stereotype that OCD is all about cleanliness and orderliness! I was always invalidated as a kid (diagnosed at 10) when I’d tell classmates who asked me why I was doing something (like putting my notebook in my backpack and taking it out 18 times) because they’d say OCD is to do with being neat and why is my desk a mess. There’s just less awareness about other types, even i didn’t know about certain types of OCD until recently (like religious OCD, pedophilia OCD, etc.) People just don’t understand how exhausting and debilitating OCD is, any type of it including OCD that focuses on cleanliness or germs etc.",0 Funny. You kinda outlined what the author Carol Dweck says In mindset. Some of us are told we are smart from a young age which leads to us failing in post secondary as we learn that smart is what gets us through highschool rather than hardwork. We do so all the time until we fail and it’s opposite for others.,1 "I can’t access mine because my account is attached to my Facebook which has since been deleted... so like, the app still works on my phone, but god forbid I ever get a new device or try to login on a computer, because the login doesn’t exist.",1 "Nope, I'm so low today that this is what I opened my computer to do.",1 You got this!! Been there for sure! I thought COVID-19 would bring it back but it hasn’t. It can be beat!,0 "I HAVE TO WRITE AN EMAIL TOO! Literally no downside only benefits, but it's important so i can't. Its been 7 months. Im doing it next week i swear lol.",1 I didn’t know anybody als had this specific thought wow xD,0 I always turn on the subtitles because my brain is way better at automatic reading than listening.,1 "I've lived undiagnosed for my whole life (I was diagnosed as a child, but untreated). Ive always known, but I had my own (unhealthy) coping methods that got me by just fine(""fine"" means allowed me to mask my symptoms and suffering). My son is 8, and is absolutely clearly non-typical. He doesn't have a diagnosis yet, but will very soon (he lives with his mother most of the year across country, and he just went back after spending the month with me). I can't let him have to figure this out alone like I did. I can't let him get his habits and tendencies beat down like I did. He can't have the face this stigma while I hide like a coward. So I went to the doctor. My doctor has known me for many years, knows about most of my habits, and was incredibly eager to help me with ADHD. He even made a diagnosis on the spot after only about a 20 minute interview, which he said he really didn't even need to conduct to reach that point. I'm not even a week into my diagnosis but day by day is too much to handle. Hour by hour is barely doable. My head is a disaster. Half an hour ago I wasn't doing so hot, so I watched some Dragon Ball Super (I LOVED dragon ball z as a kid, and have found that returning to my childish comforts is able to calm me down). It cheered me up quite a bit. I have since transitioned, and writing this out is the only thing that has calmed me down - I spent the last half hour in the tub sobbing and wishing I could kill myself. Wishing so badly that it was an option. I may have to admit myself into the hospital, but I WILL survive.",1 "I used to get mad, but I've learned it takes time but I'm still annoyed...",1 "Bro. 100% heard that. If i work afternoon, i don’t even shower til afternoon. Unless i start getting anxious and feeling like i need to get ready TOO EARLY. That also happens",1 My mom always yells at me for hitting the glass twice at the table while putting it down. And it’s annoying as fuck.,0 "this, is, so, fucking, true seriously i too noticed that i write comments with huge paragraphs without punctuation, i rather use commas because sentences in my brain are always linked together and im just too fast to build single punctuated sentences out of that stream, but i never thought it could be an ADHD thing, which kinda makes sense now",1 "I feel too called out on this day. Was talking about this with my bsf the other day, I always have a haunting feeling that I’m faking my tics and various mental illnesses and symptoms.",0 "I like med holidays for the sole purpose of building an emergency stash for if I’m ever not able to fill in time and I run out. I need them to function pretty much at all, and my wife definitely notices when I don’t take it (she said it was like pulling teeth to get me to do literally anything the other day lol). I feel like they might work better the next day, but I also feel like thats probably just some sort of placebo effect",1 "So true. You could also replace OCD with depression, and it would still work.",0 "You forgot the age old question: How long has it been since I slept?",1 "Love this OP! Thank you for sharing!! He has always been one of my favorite actors. I recently started sharing his movies with my 11 yr old who also has ADHD, and he was instantly hooked! I never made the ADHD connection though!",1 "Woah these are things I worried made me a narcissist but they're actually adhd, that's nice",1 Sometimes I even feel like an evil pervert for even having sex my boyfriend. It's hard :\,0 "Where was this when I was struggling with these obsessions??????? Literally one of my biggest ones. I called so many doctors, almost paid out of pocket for an ultrasound because I was convinced it wasn’t showing up on the many pregnancy tests I had taken. My god. Almost stabbed myself in the stomach once because I just knew I was pregnant and couldn’t deal with it at 18. To this day I still can’t fully believe I’m not, but I can rationalize with myself and consciously understand that there is no baby. Even if monkey brain says there is.",0 "Anytime my work schedule or location has changed I make a point of getting up much earlier than I need to on the first day, so I can figure out how much time I actually need for getting ready before leaving for work. If I discover that I need to wake up 2 hours before leaving the house, that's what I do for the entire time I'm on that schedule. And I change nothing! I do everything in the same order, even make the same breakfast each day. I have less anxiety about how much time I have to do stuff this way. And my clocks are 5 minutes ahead for some extra insurance because I still have a tendency to still forget shit and need to run back into the house. lol",1 " Wow! I never knew I had ocd. Damn this sucks.. At least I have a place to post about how hard it is for me to keep my dresser arranged and need to clean so often. Btw, have you tried my new peer support group for ocd. I made itfor people like you.",0 This is so me XD. I think it's just because it's hard to distinguish the difference between my thoughts and OCD thoughts,0 It’s really scary how deeply rooted this shit is. OCD is like the vengeful ghost of an evil twin that you accidentally absorbed in your mother’s womb.,0 well done you :) if I had done that I'd still be in the shower so this is really impressive to me!,0 "This feels like you have a camera in my house....",1 I looked over to the clock and realized it was 12:45am and I've been exhausted since 8pm... Are you a wizard?!,1 "Also, what grinds my gears are the assumptions some of these ADHD life hack writers make about people's life circumstances. Like ""ask a family member for help,"" or ""hire a cleaning service"" - hello, I am single without kids or siblings or parents. I have been poor most of my adult life due to the anxiety and ADHD screwing up countless jobs. I look at the credentials of the writer of such articles to see if they are professionals or just freelance writers who churn out clickbait level material.",1 "Im so glad i cured my depression, and that i have my anxiety medicated and the option to medicate my ADHD when i need to. Stay strong bro",1 "I needed this today. As someone who suffers from OCD and Non-Epileptic Seizures, I have actually been told by some terrible doctors in the past that I need to 'stop faking for attention' even though I have two brain injuries, have been electrocuted, and often have seizures when I'm alone. The words play in my head sometimes and make me feel like I'm going crazy. I feel like a bad person half the time. Even after a violent seizure or a bad obsessive fit where I clean and clean for hours at a time without stopping to rest or eat, I still question myself. Thank you so much. This is such a fantastic reminder.",0 My mind is blown. Also the grocery thing? I thought that was just me. I have ambitiously bought soooo many vegetables only to see them die a sad death.,1 "Yep, every day is a fight if you're living with OCD. Amazing tattoo!",0 "It can drive you crazy thinking about it. I recently started following musicians on Twitter, but i knew i was leaving off a bunch of people I wanted to follow. It's driving me crazy not following everybody i should.",0 "My OCD tells me if I actually feel happy and content with my life, a piano will fall on my head and kill me. It's always telling me I'm going to die a stupid, tragic way that people will laugh about on the internet, and it's always *because* I feel happy. I guess by that logic, if I'm miserable I live forever?",0 What a win! Best advice I get is to celebrate every victory! Congrats!,1 "YES! I am exactly the same way. It's infuriating. And I go through so much toilet paper!! I also have to pinch myself every time before I pee to make sure I'm not actually asleep and dreaming... It's like I'm perpetually terrified of wetting the bed, even though it's something I've never done before!",0 This whole this is my worst nightmare but at times I'm weirdly calm. I guess it's because I've been preparing my whole life.,0 I too need a time travel machine for punching assholes in the face,1 This is amazing. I would hang this up on my bedroom wall.,0 ">How are my fellow university peeps coping with this very abrupt transition? poorly I'm pulling an ""out of sight, out of mind"" bit unintentionally and it's not working.",1 Obsessions evolve in a Darwinian fashion. The ones that make you think about and do them the most last while weaker ones fade,0 "Sounds like Are you homeless ? Just buy a house !",1 "Aw, you just put into words what I've never been able to. For me this is probably the root of my social anxiety from over the years.",1 "People don't realize that a lot of people with OCD don't have the cleaning/organizing type. I have OCD and my room is a mess. I have to touch the corners of random objects 12 times, check my locks and stove 12 times, squeeze random objects, etc. Nothing cleaning related at all. And it also sucks ass",0 I'm genuinely so happy for you!!! i wanna stop doing all those compulsions but i have exams (for university) in 2 month and if i start fighting ocd now im afraid that I won't pass the exams. Probably I'll try at least one day without compulsions.,0 "I’ve recently graduated to a new level, “You’re already dead. This is just hell,” like cool thanks wtf",0 "And that is why my appointments are first thing in the morning. And I set my reminders an hour before. Bc after missing a fuckton of physical therapy appointments this last time around I now understand I simply cannot be relied to remember the difference between 930 and 1015.",1 "The fact that this meme keeps getting reposted in this sub is very, VERY appropriate",0 Irony that I just settled down to do the thing and then got distracted by Reddit notification saying this 😬,1 omg I THOUGHT I WAS CRAZY COR FEELIKG OIKE THERES SO MUCH MORE I COULD DO IF I PUSHED OFF MY SLEEP OR ID FEEL SO MUCH BETTER BUT OMG U PUT IT INTO WORDS,1 *Stab everyone and everything and then stab yourself,0 "when I was at the kindergarten, I was talking to some girls who told me they are going to another kindergarten, and I have no idea why but I said that I swear that I will be in their kindergarten too. then I was so scared that God will be mad at me or kill me... in my religion, you can't swear to god for nothing. and I did everything so my parents will send me to that kindergarten, and it's not because I wanted to go there, I was that scared",0 "This is SO accurate I am laughing (and relieved it’s not just me!) although I would add 8:31 anxiety sweats about being late kick in 8:50 any makeup I managed to slap on is now sweated off",1 "Yes, having a doc on your side is imperative. Took me 15 years to find one. He’s BP2, so he’s personally invested in mental health for himself, and his patients ❤️❤️❤️",1 "I don't really mind at all that other people say they have OCD, but what does bother me is that because everyone thinks they know what OCD is, when I say I have it, they think that means I either count things or like things to be neat. So it's not that I mind that undiagnosed people say that they have it, buy more that they don't know what it means but think they do.",0 "Wow you literally put exactly what I’m feeling into words Nice to know I’m not alone 😊",0 Mine says I’m in the top 0.005% of the band I’ve started liking in 2019 lmao,1 "I’m super messy, all my OCD does is make me rip my skin off :(",0 "I saw this in r/all and this happens to me. I imagine these situations where I get hurt or I hurt someone. Like my brain says ""Push your friend and get them killed in a car accident!"" or ""Jump in front of the subway!""",0 This is part of the reason my masters degree took 4 years,1 Omg yesss. This. Every damn time. Being on meds has helped this.,1 "That's me everyday. Wake up feeling like shit, try to distract myself playing videogames but I get bored and need even more distraction, so I put a podcast or something in my cell phone as I play. And I'm not paying attention to either of those. I'm just there, waiting for night to come so I can rest from this agony.",1 Hi I love you thanks for hyper focusing on this project AND for completing and sharing it wow!,1 "I had a recording / streaming box in my old house 1200mm x 1200mm X 2000mm lined with sound foam, it's honestly the most calming and focusing feeling :) have one at your camp as an office idea ;)",1 "Oof why do I feel guilty every time a conversation ends? The person I'd been talking too leaves and I immsdiately start to think I said a lot of wrong things. Most often, I feel guilty for talking about myself and stuff that interest me in a ""bigger proportion"" than the other person got to talk about themselves.",0 "That’s so great of her! My husband knows when I’m doing something while he’s talking I really am listening. Where as my supervisors, colleagues, and family don’t understand that. But my work doesn’t know, and doesn’t need to know, about my ADHD.",1 "I struggled so much finding a therapist, and I still do. It’s difficult with how it’s setup with some insurances and doctor’s offices. I ended up going with better help.com and it’s about the same price as in person therapy. I’ve gone thru a couple therapists; as with any office it’s like dating almost trying to find the one that you click with,and who gets you. I have OCD, mine is harm obsession. I have to say finding this forum on here has helped me in the past few days when my obsessions were getting out of control. I’m grateful thank you! I’ve also got depression, anxiety, and the big one of High Functioning Autism. I was turned away from a few places for autism, because the waitlist was too long or I wasn’t a child, they didn’t want to help. The OCD part as well is difficult as there are some Freudians out there that want to convince you that your obsessions are what you want and it’s all subconscious bull crap *gone through two loonies like this, and it was the most soul crushing suicidal thought inducing moments I’ve ever had.* I’m still looking for someone in person who doesn’t think that way, or treats me like I’m less than a human being. I hope all of us dealing with this can find help we need. I’m so sorry to all of you suffering, and that with this forum we can help each other thru these. You’re not alone!",0 "There was an episode of Scrubs I remember. It was about a surgeon with contamination ocd. He was washing his hands constantly throughout the episode and I believe had a mental breakdown at some point of the episode. It resonated with me pretty hard, I wasn’t even diagnosed back then and I wasn’t even aware it was OCD. I always just assumed it was normal up until like, my sophomore year of high school. Just goes to show you how powerful media is. Weird that I actually had OCD, was unaware that it was, and therefore, did not take OCD seriously. I’m glad I’m more informed, and glad I know how to recover. Thanks Scrubs!",0 "Lets call a spade a spade. Its when the effort wall hits. Its when the easy progress stop coming, and despite making massive, possibly wild progress in learning this we manage to convince ourselves we suck at it. So when the next hot new thing calls to us, we make a promise to ourselves, this time will be different. Sure.",1 It’s an accurate description. I have ocd and schizophrenia. Combine it with anxiety and it’s difficult to think straight. Focus. Retain memories. Etc. it’s a lot like how you described. We’re a captive audience. Hostage to it,0 "Wow. This is such an awesome accomplishment! You should absolutely be proud. I also have ADHD, and I can’t keep to anything long enough for it to become a habit no matter how hard I try. Great job!!!",1 "Wow, thank you. I have always experienced this but I didn't know how to express it. You just described my entire college experience there.",1 The “negative memories from childhood” spoke to me lol,0 "Lol yes, because your mind tricks you into thinking each new obsession is more ""real"" than the last one. It's always, well, last time I was being ridiculous because of X but this is real this time because of Y",0 "This is me. Remedied with amphetamines and exercise, I have been trying to meditate on the idea that my life (both day to day, and long term) just moves slower, and that’s ok. I purposely only enrolled in half the amount of classes that NT’s would be taking. I have accepted that my education goals will take twice (or more) as long as NT’s to accomplish. I understand assignments will take me twice (or more) as long for me to accomplish. My whole day- to- day goes SLOWER. I feel like a Galapagos giant turtle. Or like I am trying to walk through water. I try to remember: what’s the damn rush? If I want to do a certain job or retire or buy a house (which in this day and age is a joke) I’ll eventually get there. I do my best to meet the deadlines I must, but being exhausted fighting myself, living every day hating the way I am wired, I eventually just surrendered to the time- drag that my brain exists in and try to focus on the quality instead of the quantity of my experiences. Wouldn’t it be trippy if someday researchers find that we do really experience, like, quantum spacetime fields differently and the root of our struggles is that we are being unfairly subjected to the wrong time constructs",1 Me every single day in high school when it got bad 😬,0 "I haven't done anything I should do today, but I did crochet a hat shaped like a Christmas tree, with lights and everything. I'm going to consider this a good day.",1 "Gosh, you summed up all of my feelings today. I developed self-harm fears and OCD after seeing it too much in the news in the beginning of the pandemic and in my personal life. It traumatized me and the thoughts of ""what if I do that"" completely stuck in my mind. I have days that are better than others, but today... my mind is a hamster wheel. And I wonder if I'll ever be the same again.",0 "[In case anyone would like to read more. ](https://www.brownadhdclinic.com/the-brown-model-of-add-adhd). Or, yknow, read the first paragraph, skim the second, then scroll to the bottom hoping to catch the big words as you go.",1 Always thought it’s natural and everybody is doing it.,0 "-has appointment in 7 hours- ~literally cant do anything for the entire day. Just. Sit. And count the precise amount of seconds until you can leave. Sit on the bed and do not move. Until appointment time. In 7 hours~",0 "I absolutely need the why to understand what I'm doing and how to fix it if I or somebody else screws it up. As a data analyst parsing grocery supply chain related data, a lot of the why part got filled in from dispatching for the same company 10 steps away from my new desk lol. I've been super lucky in that my career advancement through transportation related positions have fed into each other fairly well to provide at least part of the why as to what I'm doing on a daily basis. It's definitely helped me perform better to have worked up through the industry in the way I did.",1 "Just be thankful you don't have to live with Chronic pain for life in a medical system that hate opioids. I have adhd and cannot even take stims anymore as i have chronic muscle spasms of the pelvis.. which causes nerve pain that would seriously make you want to die!!! If all you have is mental negativity, then trust me, it CAN get way worse in life... find stuff you enjoy... i used to love to snowboard, but now I'm physically unable... Dont be ""too aware"" of the shit going on in life out there, that in itself will destroy you as well. As selfish as this sounds, make life all about YOU for right now, and fix that.. Good luck!",1 Thank you so much for this. Sometimes reading it from someone else can make you get out of your head,0 "Are you me rn? Gosh I think about this so often... And I take the lyfts and am still late sometimes lol! Hang in there!",1 "My watch later playlist on youtube has thousands of videos in it, and I always have atleast 10 tabs open on my computer because I don’t want to miss the opportunity to read or watch something. I barely watch the videos but it’s comforting to know that they’re there.",0 Oh boy I can’t wait to save this post to read later!,1 "Oh man I never thought about it like that but it makes so much sense. I used to get into a lot of trouble with my friends because it was excruciating to do group work with me. I would always wait until the last minute to get my part of the project done and by that point someone else would have noticed and would just do it for me. I understood why they were angry but I could never quite articulate why I was angry as well, because I meant to do it! It felt like they were angry for something I never intended to, but I could never quite explain why and I'm sure from their perspective it just looked like I was waiting for someone else to give in and do my work. Hah actually, when I think about it ADHD explains a lot of why I was always terrible at group work. Nearly destroyed a lot of my relationships because everyone assumed I was a slacker when I actually spent three days trying to make myself do the work until I finally went online the night it was due and saw that someone else did it already.",1 This is a beautiful illustration. I really felt it.,0 "This is very beautiful, it reminds me a lot of Frida Kahlo",0 OMG dude I'm laughing sorry but this partially cured my health anxiety attack,0 "I save my games then go to click ""exit game."" A prompt appears asking to ""save and exit"" which I do anyways because you never know if that save game actually happened 5 seconds before.",0 "What's the point of the ""potentially triggering"" tag? Literally anything could be a potential trigger for someone with OCD. I feel like the warning is counterproductive. Edit: My question isn't directed at OP- just in general.",0 Oh my gosh I thought I was the only one ;-; I stomp my foot like an angry rabbit sometimes or just say no to myself over and over again :/,0 "Step on a crack and break your mamas back Brain: this may be just a stupid children’s poem but now that you know about it, IF YOU ACTUALLY DO IT, IT MEANS YOU WANT TO BREAK YOUR MAMAS BACK. Do you secretly want to break your mama’s back? Oh, I think you do.",0 Ok that's a cute dog but they're not supposed to get that heavy,0 "Me: Time to sleep! My brain: The CUrtAins ARenT EveN! Me: So...? Brain: So fix it or we can't sleep- \*evens out curtains.\* Me: Fine. They're even now. Happy? Brain: Make them uneven; they're TOO even now... Me: But you just- Brain: MAKE THEM UNEVEN Me: I know you'll be upset either way so why should I change it again? Brain: Do you want to sleep tonight or not? \*proceed to fix curtains several times\* Me: See, brain, I told you you wouldn't be happy if I made the curtains even again. You are just anxious about something unrelated and projecting it onto a meaningless and petty thing like the curtains- you don't need me to change the curtains again, you need to lie down and take a deep breath- Brain: THE CURTAINS ARE TOO EVEN, WE CANNOT SLEEP.",0 Hello congrats I burst into tears reading this. Thank you for sharing this wisdom.,1 That's incredible and this stranger is proud of you!,0 I’m on therapy right now and am struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s so great to hear that it’s possible to make it! So proud of you!,0 the art style reminds me of the Fran Bow video game 👍🏽,0 Bruh my pure o is quaking rn I zone out for like several minutes at a time and sometimes have to like sit or lay down to think more clearly 😑,0 "I can deal with 3pm appointments. For me it's when I know I have to wake up early. If I have to be up before 7am for some reason, I better fall asleep before 1am or I'm not sleeping. The worry about whether or not any of my 10 alarms will be able to wake me up if I fall asleep keeps me up all night. However, if I take some Ritalin when that worry happens, I can fall asleep. Simulants = sleeping pills. Go figure.",1 "Too late, if I had gotten help sooner and people taken me more seriously maybe I would not end up like this..",0 Am I the only one who starts to read books or articles and then just get lost in my thoughts while simultaneously continuing to read said article or book without actually interpreting the words that I’m reading?,1 "I have this problem a lot with my buddies during call of duty game chat. *ya bro I heard you talking but sorry couldn't hear you over the sound of my own thoughts""",1 My caveman mech e brain saw that equation of the true cost of the purchase being money + will + energy (getting and using) and had one of those ooooooooooooh moments and think this is gonna be such a useful tool! Thank you!,1 Sometimes I take a video of me doing something I know I will want to check several times. It doesn't totally solve the problem but it does allow me to get on with my day a little faster. ,0 "completely unrelated to the content, but this is the first typographical design ive seen in ages that i actually like",0 "The act of ""doing your best"" simply doesn't make sense in the case if ADHD. Doing ""your best"" is quasi-defined by your ability to do things, which is compromised in our case.",1 "Aaaa fuck this is exactly what’s happening to me right now. I need to clean my room because I’m moving in a couple days. I need to do this ASAP but I’ve been laying in bed all day doing nothing. Haven’t played any video games, haven’t made much progress on the room (took the trash out, picked up a little, then sat down and did nothing again). Just nothing.",1 An ace with ocd here too! Glad there's someone else :),0 "My ADHD partner did the same thing. For years I'd been telling him he should see the doc for a checkup - despite looking super healthy on the outside. 20 years go by and he finally goes - turns out his blood sugar is over 500 and he's had type 2 diabetes for a few years. Not overweight, works out every day so it never even crossed his mind. Hes lucky he never went into a diabetic coma.",1 "Although still somewhat clichéd, I'd point you to Michael J. Fox's portrayal of Dr. Kevin Casey in Scrubs. He displays some of the more stereotypical compulsions, like entering a room with a certain foot, hand washing or repeating certain words, in a lighthearted way, but there's a specific scene in which he really conveys the suffering, frustration and pointlessness of this disease.",0 Same thing for me. I'm also really bad at turning thoughts into words so that also affects my ability to share my knowledge even when I can recall it.,1 "Working from home, can’t clean my home office.. so I’ll hyperfidget with my webcam and webcam software to zoom and angle so it looks clean (and jay virtual backgrounds)",1 This is my life story in one picture. I so wish I knew how to fix it.,0 Mine is still 300 because I cleared it out a few days ago,1 "Alright, locked the door, got my keys... Wait, wonder if that Spectre that always seems to haunt me unlocked the door.... Better go check just to be sure.",0 "I was prescribed ritalin, and omg! For the first time in my life I could follow a conversation! Absolutely insane.",1 Lol that’s what I’m literally doing now—work open in front of me and thinking about continuing my show while on my phone scrolling through reddit.,1 "This is great! The only reason I was able to read the whole thing is because it is bulleted, so thanks for that. lol :D",1 "Same. Kills me because the people who actually are unremorseful bad people don’t even suffer this much. Their heads are quiet even with all their crimes. But we do one bad thing or have a bad thought and think about it forever bc ocd",0 "Omg thank you... I get so lividly angry when people think it's cute to have ""OCD"". Everyone has it these days. If something trivial bothers you- OCD. If you do a little ritual before a test- OCD. Like no, if these people actually had OCD they wouldn't think it was so cute... It's actually horrible and scary and traumatic. It destroys so much if you don't learn how to control it. It's not fun. ",0 "Ugh, I look at /r/OCD because some things seem pretty relatable but man, maybe I do have OCD. This is too real...",0 "I feel like this now :/ I work from home and have nothing to do for work and only had a meeting at 3pm. So I spent whole morning making breakfast and going back to bed just to wake up before my meeting. Meeting is done and now I feel bored and shit in bed.",1 "It's hard for me to accept that someone has accepted my apology. I apologize like 20 times but still feel like I didn't apologize enough. My boyfriend HATES it but I can't help it. Also, I can't go a day without telling my boyfriend I love him. I'm afraid that if he died and I didn't tell him I loved him that he wouldn't know for sure that I loved him. Which is crazy. It used to be really bad and any fight we would have made me breakdown because I was so scared to let our thoughts linger and take time away from eachother to cool down because I was terrified he would die mad at me.",0 It can be like a nightmare. Images just conjure more meaning.,0 "I can relate. I had hoped that once I started taking adderall, my symptoms of depression would would be mitigated. If anything, the meds just make me more aware of how depressed I am. It’s really an unfortunate cycle.",1 "My previous boss once described me as being consistently inconsistent. Always made mistakes but usually never the same one twice.",1 When I check my phone and it’s like 6:46 i don’t like it. I think something bad is going to happen or that is a bad number. Then after that I start seeing 6 everywhere and 9 then I have to take a step back and realize that means nothing. But brain freaks out 😂😂,0 "Yeah, but remember that one time I made it 2 weeks without one? 🙃",0 "There’s some great advice already on this thread- I would add that you fell this way because you are judging yourself on what you do or don’t do. Of course there’s are things you need to do to get by in life- the essentials- but after that try seeing if you can accept yourself as you are and do the things you feel like doing without judgement. Don’t do things because you think you “should”, only because you want to or you feel like it. Don’t ascribe actions or activities as good or bad, just do them with acceptance. Then see how you feel and where it takes you. You’re doing an awesome job, but judgement isn’t letting you see it for yourself.",1 “Doctors hate him: the miracle cure for ADHD is a Nike slogan. Just do it.” Tomorrow’s headline for sure,1 "Just wanna say... this is me too. AND, this year is particularly heinous. It’s a good time to get some extra practice being gentle on yourself.",1 "Just read this post... I’m struggling so bad right now. Crying in my room after breaking down because my mom kept reminding me of all the tasks I haven’t done. I feel like complete shit because I want to help her and I don’t want her to have to do all the work around the house. I feel like a complete failure, but it is just so much with grad school and everything else. I really just want to be a good person..",1 I had 32k photos like a couple of months ago (95% screenshots).. who knows how many they are rn..,1 "Ah, nothing beats thinking you're having a heart attack/legit feeling like dying at the wee hours of the morning for HOURS. Fuck that ""I feel anxious for a few minutes"" no no no, we have the joy of hours of intense feeling like dying and your body legit doesn't work right.",0 "I also organize by the saved file name. This makes it really easy to sort. Start the name with the main topic, then sub topic, etc.",1 "i needed this. my mom got upset with me & told me “idk what you’re gonna get, but it’s coming because you’ve obsessed over it” and that just put me in a bad place",0 "😂😂 Are you my fiancé? Jk I know he’s not on Reddit. This is an accurate description of me cleaning. I’ve been getting better though. At least she did some cleaning, even though it wasn’t probably in immediate need of being done like the dishes. Edit: let her know you are thankful that she tried. It gets discouraging when we don’t have positive reinforcement for the work we do put it and it may exacerbate procrastination.",1 "Thank you. I didn't close my phone when I put it down. I was editing my school report and an ad flashed on reddit. I picked up my phone and started scrolling... for like 2 minutes before I hit this post. Once again, thank you.",1 "As someone who's at the tail-end of a \~2-month-long episode involving several past events (meds in conjunction with seeing my therapist is finally doing its thing), I look back on how my worries about the past have made me fearful of the future. Specifically, I've felt like in the grand scheme of things, these obsessions of real things that happened are perhaps evidence of ""near-misses"" in terms of ethics or morality, like I've dodged so many bullets of being a bad person, or hurting someone. I've thus felt like I would continue to have to dodge these bullets in the future, and that one of these days, I may well get hit and seriously harm someone. And that's how my OCD has manifested since I was little: it has made me doubt my intentions during past events, and consider and reconsider and rereconsider the worst possible outcome, that I am in fact a bad person. Anyone who is currently struggling with this, know that CBT in conjunction with meds WILL EVENTUALLY HELP. I say this as someone who, in late November of this past year, spent 4-5 days with chronic stomach contractions, who had to force myself to eat, whose only solace was sleep, and who felt utterly hopeless, and that my life was not worth living anymore, that I didn't deserve happiness. As someone who was worrying about having done things that are objectively some of the worst possible, who spent hours each day researching, checking, mentally reviewing the past to try to convince myself otherwise, I'm saying that you should also know that you are very likely not an exception. What I mean is, you're OCD is causing you doubt, and you are not thinking rationally; if you were, you wouldn't be performing these compulsions, bc ""insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result."" I don't care how bad you think the things you've done are, you owe it to yourself to at least give yourself the opportunity to go on medication, and work with a therapist to identify how your anxiety is manifesting.",0 Thankyou so much for this post absolutely everything you said is what I’ve been wanting to try and explain to people in my life who don’t fully understand how hard it is for me to get my thoughts and emotions into words,1 I've found that it's also like 99% for autism plus adhd when searching... Its so frustrating.,1 "More like years and years. I try to reason that they have their own perspective for why they think that and it doesn't necessarily line up with the truth or if it does, then perhaps you are not that person anymore if it was a while ago. Everyone lives in their own head and sees things from their own perspective, influenced by whatever has gone on in their personal life.",0 "The only reason I was able to successfully play music was because I immersed myself in guided studies and practices with *other people*. I knew growing up I could never hold myself accountable to self-study (what children are actually capable of self-study anyway? I now know why it was harder for me than anyone else to practice though). I could literally never bring myself to practice no matter how many times my teachers would ""chastise"" me (for lack of a better word lol). I studied music in college and *still* didn't practice. My high school teacher didn't think I would be capable of studying music performance because of my habits, but I didn't let that stop me. I just played in as many groups as I could, played all the time as often as I could. Every single day I would probably play for at least 1-3 hours, none of which would be considered ""practice."" Playing with other people was so much fun no matter what type of music I was playing, so I could always get into it without fail. The best creative moments and ideas in music almost ALWAYS come through collaboration and communication with other people. Now that I'm an ""adult"" in ""society"" I don't know what to do anymore. I can never bring myself to practice because it isn't the same, but I don't have anyone to play with and life keeps getting in the way. fuck I miss playing music 😢",1 "Sometimes when I can’t stop thinking horrible things I watch YouTube or the office to distract myself. I watch it as long as I can to the point where I’m completely exhausted and I just pass out. It doesn’t always work though, and either way I wake up tired in the morning :(",0 I’ve had ocd in some form from my earliest memories. Do people really get offended by stuff like this? I’m just so tired of everything being offensive.,0 Learning to overcome is such a rubber band. More like those athletic bands that are really difficult to stretch 🙃,0 "Alternatively deciding to become a rocket scientist at night, and auditioning for the ballet in the morning.",1 I’ve been trying to get up and take a shower for two hours. Thank you,1 "that quote makes me want to cry, its so painfully accurate and applies to soooooooo much of my daily tasks. uhhh dgnsdj lknvcsdjklnvsl;",1 "And you’re still here to tell the tale... Congrats man, that’s a big deal. You’ll remember this feeling for a long time.",0 Congrats! I'm a forks then spoons then knives kind of girl,0 "Looks very cute ❤ I'm single AF so I just imagine someone who does that to me 😅😢",0 It's so frustrating cause it feels like I know the answer but I just can't seem to put it into words. It's like I get some of the retained knowledge but can't express it without loads of time to work out how to explain what I learnt,1 I feel the same exact way. One of my parents even has an autoimmune disorder and I’ve been uneasy and unable to do my classwork properly. I’m not a therapist or expert by any means but feel free to PM me :),0 Happy birthday! Least you have gorgeous surroundings. ,0 "The way I put it to myself and others is, ""if you've already looked where it *would* be and it wasn't there, then now it's time to look where it *wouldn't* be"".",1 "I hate that it’s like it doesn’t matter , it still is bad but to them ADHD is just one of those faked neurological disorders and it’s just the sad truth of it. (This is coming from someone who has severe untreated ADHD)",1 "No way you’re too late dude!! Lookin awesome, and kicking OCD’s ass!!! ",0 "I used to do that excessively, but now I started hitting my head instead, and I don't know why.",0 Omg same my top song is one I listened to for only about a week or two but I listened to it some many times (187 apparently) I actually dislike the song now and so disappointed that it’s my top one :(,1 I was just about to make a post to see if anyone related to this!,0 "I actually think I managed to get my shit together now, at the other side of 30y old. Not sure what exactly was the trigger, unfortunately, but I'm currently doing things I thought I couldn't get my act together for. Took me about a year anyways. Just went all-in on externalizing everything",1 "As someone who just picked up their sketchbook for the first time in months due to the same reason, I commend you. Hugs and love. ",0 "Sometimes I feel my reaction to them is also part of my OCD. Like if I don’t react how I “think” I should, I feel I’m a bad person :( it’s a hard road, but labelling it as OCD and using it for ERP is super helpful and there is a light at the end of the tunnel!",0 "The term ADHD also really screws over women and girls, who are often not even considered for testing due to lack of hyperactivity expressed.",1 "Wow, that's amazing news! I'm so happy you are feeling better and that your hands are well now! <3",0 "I daydream about being able to stop time often but I'd probably just pause time and still not take care of my responsibilities",1 "...Thanks, man. I understand what you're going through, and I've gone through the same. In fact, I've thought about doing it myself... There's no way I can really able to talk to people about it, because I just get the ""man up you cunt"" sort of treatment. Once again, thanks, dude. ❤",1 Exactly the case for me! I don't even know why i'm burdened by so much anxiety most of the time and realize I have so many mental compulsions my brain wants me to deal with.,0 Omg so true. Similar to when police are driving behind me and I’m sure I’m accidentally breaking the law.,0 "Damn this is the core of my existence whenever I'm driving and hit a small pothole or bump. ""But are you sure that wasn't an old lady or a mother and her child in the stroller?? You have to go back and check!""",0 "My symptoms started around 5. I remember doing the same motion for hours, and if I didn’t do it right, I would have to start again. I used to have to step on the sidewalk 17 times, because, as I said, it was the ""rules""",0 "I wish someone had told me this years ago, it would have pushed me to get a diagnosis. I was always fed the same trip of ADHD kids are x, y, z and that wasn’t me so I must not be ADHD! I got my diagnosis “on accident”, and it changed my life. I went in for treatment for my bipolar because the kid focused ADHD doctor near me took my copay and was willing to take me as a special case after a Q&A. The biggest reason is that it was close to work at the time. The receptionist was on auto pilot and chucked me in the testing room to do the space bar/letter test and I failed miserably. The LPRNPHP (probably wrong acronyms sorry Mr. A) sat me down, looked at my survey and said “you’re not here for ADHD are you?” And I said “not really” and he said, in a more professional manner I don’t really remember “girl you hella adhd”. Then I got meds and oh my sweet frick was it a whole new world. I was always told my ‘bad habits’ were because I was lazy. I went 27 years with no one recognizing my symptoms because I wasn’t a stereotypical cliche of an ADHD boy. Managing my ADHD has helped my other mental health issues and I’m so thankful for my doctors. ADHD problem #12748201- oversharing online, lol. I love this little community y’all make me feel better. Big hugs OP, you have a lot of similar ‘symptoms’ and I feel you so much.",1 "I started with a measly 5mg dose and even that was enough to solidify that this condition was very real. Suddenly having my brain slow down, and more importantly, become.... linear? It felt surreal. That's when I finally go ""Oh ok, how my brain functioned *wasn't* normal. And ya, I finally had the capacity to actually relax. Even in my most ""chill"" state externally, I was never really at ease unless I was actually just sleeping.",1 I got through cleaning before I had to stop because I remembered the laundry I put in the dryer last night.,1 "I just read this as my sister is blasting my fucking ears off, I fucking hate her bipolar it is so anti adhd, it makes me so damn angry. Edit: I just messaged my sister about this telling her it’s mainly just the noise and she understood and if she wants to blast my ear off she will do it via messages instead and it’s made me calm down a lot more, thanks OP.",1 "For some reason, this post caused me to feel overstimulated over literally nothing and now I'm listening to music over headphones in a dark room. It's like my brain was like ""Oh, yeah, I forgot about that."" *overstimulating mode activated*",1 "This is clever. I’ve just bundled my OCD, Anxiety, Depression, suicidality and everything else into the title of “my brain” so I can differentiate between things that I think and things that my brain says. My therapist always looks at me weird when I say “my brain is being a real asshole today” though. Might consider a better name.",0 Can we just upvote this post every couple days? Just saved me from procrastinating an English assignment,1 Today has been tough but it has gotten better.. went for a 30min walk has seemed to help. But could be me starting zoloft too lol,0 "My therapist suggested I don’t take medication for my ADHD due to my anxiety, but I also feel like the talks we have are always centered around other things going on and I’m not able to talk through my symptoms. It feels like I’m not getting help with this and I don’t necessarily want to take medicine, but I have no idea how to manage ADHD symptoms, and it’s worse now that school is online.",1 "I’ve been coming to the realization that this is how I function best to. Now , if only one of my friends was trying to get an anthropology degree, I’d be sailing!! ",1 "The opposite of what my doctor told me when I sought a diagnosis initially. He said that I was just autistic and the difference is that people with ADHD struggle focussing attention because they keep jumping from one thing to another, whereas autistic people struggle focussing attention because they take in everything at once. He insisted I was the second one, whereas I insisted I was more the first. Plus sometimes it’s like my brain just unplugs and it’s like for that period I actually can’t pay attention to anything. Then my brain slowly reconnects (my brain “disconnects” way less when I take my ADHD meds). So anyway, I’m now diagnosed with inattentive ADHD in addition to being autistic, which I definitely am as well. ADHD is a spectrum. I think someone mentioned to me once the reason my experiences are often the opposite of others on this sub with ADHD is because I have the inattentive type and the sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) traits, whereas most people here have combined or hyperactive/impulsive type so different experiences from me.",1 That’s why I turn on movies. Then me and I can have a proper conversation with minimal interruptions. We pause for explosions and nudity.,1 "I have to go to sleep, guess I'll close reddit and go to sleep now lol Thank you for this",1 I’d choose anxiety cuz I’m also diagnosed with GAD and manage it pretty well. The OCD hurts more.,0 "ERP. Lock it once, check it once, walk away, accept the anxiety (this could suck), it will dissipate soon after and then eventually altogether over time. That's my understanding but keep in mind this is merely what I've read to do...I haven't put it into practice yet, but I've tried.",0 " The thoughts are racing and unstoppable – something awful might happen. What would I do? What could I do? What can I do? ... What if? Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) involves long-lasting exaggerated and unrealistic worry, mainly over things pertaining to the health and personal safety of our self and family members. It is often accompanied by general feelings of apprehension and being 'on-edge' for much of the time. Having GAD is like being in a constant state of 'what if...?' We experience increased, persistent anxiety (seemingly for no apparent reason) and so live in a constant state of apprehension and fear over something bad happening.",0 "Oh boy I’m undiagnosed ADHD preparing to enter the workforce…",1 "you’re definitely not a bad person, if you have remorse afterwards, don’t worry bro it’s just OCD homie",0 "I don't know what I'm gonna do when I have to go back to in-person school, when every time I have an intrusive thought I shake my head like a god damn etch a sketch to clear that shit lmao",0 I can’t stress enough how that’s accurate. Are you reading my mind ?,1 "I hate it when people ask me ""did you do your best? It's what matters"" because I always feel as if I didn't do my best because I always feel I could have done more, because even though I genuinely want to do more I... don't. I know I have to, I really want to, sometimes I even sit at my desk and even open a book but I'm just re-reading the same sentence over and over and I feel that this is useless because I can't focus and so I scroll on my phone because it's easier and I don't have to think and I end up achieving nothing !",1 YUP felt this. Do y’all ever leave wicked early to get to your appointments?,1 "Negative reinforcement doesn’t work on rats either, why would it work on us?",1 "I'm still really salty about the one time I actually completed my homework on time, but I was the only person who did, so the teacher put back the due date by a week. I was SO UPSET. Congratulations!!!! It's really hard to do things unmedicated but I believe in you! :D",1 "That’s amazing! Those seem like some intense exposures, so congratulations on getting them done:)",0 "Same, but I also like to think of it less like therapy brownie points and more just the fact you made someone else smile and laugh, even for a moment, it's a small and good victory, plus an easy way to connect.",0 For me it’s writing my name/important information for something and then immediately worrying I wrote it wrong/put something offensive instead.,0 "I had it in the past, it was really hard. I mean, when I was walking in the street and seeing a child I was panicking and my feet always go in his direction (kind of a strange reflex) I was always looking elsewhere but everyone was thinking I had a problem with child. Like ""he is a pedophile"". Guys it was rough because I was paranoiac about people wanting to agress for being a pedo. Also at a certain point I was sure I was a P. But I'm not, today sometimes I panic around child but it is much better. Much much better and the foot things is gone. Now I have to move out of my appartement because some guys think I'm still a P. Sadly it lasted for like 4 years. How it came ? Simply I was 19 watching American dad in a really difficult moment of my life, and a guys said ""P. loves hazelnut odoring testicule and have an hazelnut odoring thing between legs"". Fact : I like this odor. So at this moment, the stuff developped and snowballed to pOCD. It's not a joke, yeah it look really stupid but I promise it really hurt me that way even if it's just a cartoon... BTW I had OCD before and I was high on weed during the moment I watched the cartoon.",0 Feel this so so heavily and been there for so many times. Nowadays I can legit have that thought and not be plagued with the vicious cycle for days. It’s so good. We all have hope! I can’t believe I am where I am.,0 "depression, social anxiety, and ocd! all working together to make me life more difficult! thanks mental illness love ya",0 I just googled it and they have changed their description to ‘Germaphobe’ on the one I read. Still offensive but slightly less so.,0 "I for sure do. I usually go back and change half of them to periods. Highlight and drag things so they are grouped with relevant thoughts. Get rid of a lot of repetition. And then reread it 3 times for those half thoughts that got left behind, and if its anything super important, turn on some text to speech to see what else I missed.",1 "Also subscription boxes can be a lifesaver. I use Dollar Shave Club to keep myself in deodorant, razors, shampoo, etc every other month and it’s so worth it to never worry about running out of things.",1 I don’t remember posting this so I must have a long lost twin.,1 "What is the best course of action? Ignore it? Asking for a family member. I know s/he has OCD, I just wish I knew how I could better support, if that’s even possible.",0 "Well, I would find it inconvenient to come back several hours from now, so I’ll just comment now that I’m putting off going to bed and I’ll be going now! Good night ADHD Reddit!",1 I have been doing the deed with my gf (knows I hav adhd) and gotten up to get a towel or get a condom and looked at my phone. Next thing I know twenty minutes later she comes in my room asking what the hell ive been doing while the object is just chillin next to me on my bed (we frequently do it on the couch),1 "When I go back to my cubicle I'm getting: a lava lamp, fairy lights, dayglo fish tank",1 "Im freaking out inside. I'm glad I'm not the only one. Im setting up a mtg with the disability services office to come up with a game plan. I also don't think it's right that we still have to pay full tuition because of this bullshit. At this point I feel like I would learn more watching YouTube videos or scrolling through reddit....",1 It doesn't sound like I'm pronouncing things right therefore I will repeat them until I believe I did it...or at least til I'm completely out of breath and mentally and physically exhausted,0 that's amazing- congratulations!! i'm so proud of you!,0 "Some of our rituals can be physical movements too. Right foot, Double take 3Xs- sounds like something we can be stuck doing. And some of our stuff is hard to explain to outsiders. I know one of mine is very hard for a lot of people to get even if I explain.",0 When I lost my virginity I got distracted cause I didn’t like the music and reached over to my phone and started looking through spotify and he (balls deep) had to ask me to put it down lol,1 "I feel targeted haha. I appreciate this post, though",1 "Over the last year or so, I've come to appreciate how ADHD is just as much an emotional dysregulation disorder as it is an executive function disorder. I visualize this as follows: 1. Reduced mental equipment inventory 2. Emotional wrecking ball We have the ability to function, but our mental ""desk"" is much smaller than normal, which means we get overwhelmed more easily, which translates out to things like possibility paralysis. This means we simply need to use a two-brain system: 1. **Physical brain:** Use our minds for getting ideas & doing work 2. **Digital brain:** Use this off-your-brain written system for managing lists of work, checklists for how to do the work, reminder alarms, and timer The ""emotional wrecking ball"" is a giant, 10-foot-tall concrete wrecking ball that weighs 10,000 pounds. As you're walking down the path towards your goal, it manifests in several ways: 1. In front of you, blocking your path, which is when you feel you just can't get over it 2. Behind you, pushing you along, like when you've waited until the last minute to write the 10-page essay due tomorrow & now you feel the last-minute panic of the wrecking ball pushing you down your path 3. Hitting you sideways, when you either get distracted or something happens to knock you off your path to your goal & whammo! You're out of the game 4. Dropping on your head from the top & just killing all forward progress, which are those times when you just ""can't even"" & you're 100% *done* 5. Sitting on top of the wrecking ball, far above your path, which is those times when you've just got so much stuff spinning around your head that you just pinball around life, lighting touching on different tasks, but never being able to really dive into doing any one thing in particular, because you're just up in the air & not really in contact with anything & can't seem to get yourself down My key word of the month is: * Surmountable My ability to surmount stuff, i.e. to wrap my intentionality around actually *doing* something, is a **flow**, sort of a like a faucet to a hose, where you can turn the knob higher or lower. It waxes & wanes, depending on a variety of things like how prepared I am, how personally interested I am, how much energy I have, how distracted I'm feeling, etc. Sometimes, things just seem insurmountable. My core definition of ADHD is as follows: * Simple things are hard For most people, simple things like ""just doing the dishes"" is not only easy, but a no-brainer. Sure, it may feel like a chore, but that chore is a molehill compared to the Everest that we have to scale to do simple things at times. Which is why my ability to feel that things are surmountable is a flow...sometimes it gets a kink in the hose & I'll just stare at the dishes for awhile & then avoid them because it's just too big & too insurmountable in the moment. And that's why I've come to appreciate the emotional dysregulation aspect to it: when I feel that even simple things are too big & too hard, it paralyzes my ability to do 2 things: 1. Think through the work required 2. Take action on the work required Particularly when I've got a lot on my mind & I'm feeling like Atlas holding up the world & feeling all of that pressure. So combining global pressure with the insurmountability of the task at hand is why I encounter that ""paralysis of will"" & have intermittent activation problems, and why things are so fickle: 1. It depends on the **global weight** (sometimes I have a hurricane of everything in the universe swirling around my head, and other times I have ""responsibility amnesia"" where my mind is 100% clear & free of everything I'm on the hook for, so sometimes I feel super pressured & sometimes I'm as free as a bird!) 2. It depends on the **local weight** (the surmountability I feel of the task at hand) The combination of those two things are driven by multiple factors (energy, interest, distractions, etc.), which is why I go up & down. It's pretty lame.",1 "YES. i am so bad at texting because i tell myself ill get back to it, and then remember days or hours later and feel like a horrible friend. it is also a nightmare for me trying to take my birth control at the same time everyday 😂luckily, i just use it for acne. if anyone has any tips on this lmk haha",1 "ADHD, Depression and Anxiety here. Maybe I just needed to spice things up so now I have little episodes of sheer panic for no real good reason. Now it's like I'm scared to get up out of bed, the longer I'm there the worse it gets till I run crying into the living room to get a hug from my spouse. It hurts so damn bad ALL the time.",1 I sort of thought that everyone got distracted during sex...,1 "ugh i so feel that xD allthough.... which is weird to me about myself... i to have obsessive handwashing as a compulsion to a lot of thoughts... and i havent gotten meds so far... or proper therapy so the washing never really stopped but with time the bloody patches went away and now my hands just ""endure it (?)"" i guess.... they aint pretty but at least they stop tearing open all the time",0 We should have a scheduled reminder post for all the things that we forget to do,1 Oh yes. My room always looks like a tornado hit it and my car is trashed too...but I have washed my hands excessively for years. Doesn't make sense lol,0 "This is some fucking big deal shit right here. I know because I've recently begun a new regimen, floss (with actual floss rather than waterpik, which I discovered when I started using real floss just isn't a substitute after all) , antiseptic rinse, brush, and then half an hour later fluoride rinse. Began maybe 3 and a half weeks ago. I missed one evening when my head was a mess, but I've also been midday brushing immediately after eating too, and it feels so good! I am super proud of you!",1 My dad also had some form of OCD so I’m always looking for it in my nephew. I’m seeing some small signs honestly.,0 lol i have internal dialogue with everything. that's why it's so hard to meditate in the present but worth it.,1 "For me sometimes I get overstimulated and have this rush of euphoria then it crashes into annoyance, I do snap at people but never have I gotten physically agressive",1 You’re missing the next part of the flow chart that’s is —->but what if...,0 Just started Zoloft and feeling quite a bit better. I had so many intrusive thoughts about my dogs dying. So many :(,0 "I hate you for calling me out whilst also applauding you because I literally thought this as I kept scrolling and then came across this. Well, back to work I go.",1 "... You did this while you where supposed to write and essay, didn't you?",1 "Tonight of all nights this is exactly what I needed to hear, thank you so much.",1 "Ahh, so it’s not just my depression making me feel that way. I have DOUBLE lack of motivation and energy. Right on",1 Not a movie but that happens every time I’m watching the Big Bang theory,1 "I either have to set my appointments first thing in the morning, or right after work so i dont even have time to go home first. gotta keep the momentum going or else ill get stuck at home doing something or nothing",1 I get massive hits of dopamine by writing in my journal and planning my day/week/year. I get caught up in daydreams and end up with a sense of satisfaction like I’d actually done something. Finally Focused & Dirty Genes are great books.,1 "Aw that’s sweet. Starting to wonder if this is why both my gran’s (both worriers!) did cross-stitch 🧐 Felting is also quite therapeutic for that nice popping feeling with the needle",0 "Alarm: do the dishes now or you'll be late going to bed!! Me: *presses snooze*",1 "I seriously doubt ANY therapist would say that but IF any of you have one like this, GET A NEW ONE!",0 Yup. A lot of us are in the same boat. Glad this place is good for ya.,1 "Right back at you! Every time I come to this sub I read about someone having an almost identical day to mine. “Phew, not just me... fuck, not just me!” But ultimately I feel more hopeful and understood than I did before I knew about here. Even just a few years back I would have never thought I’d be able to talk about any of this. So thank you too.",0 "I did this today during a literal monsoon gigantic rain storm. It was night time and I thought ""what if I didnt roll my car windows all the way up"" so I went back outside and got absolutely drenched just because it was causing me so much anxiety not knowing if my windows were shut completely even tho I hadn't opened them. I hate myself.",0 This is so much what it feels like! It's utterly exhausting,0 "I feel bad at times, but if medicating and seeking treatment stops me from going for 3/4 walks a day while at work (using 10 minutes of my break each time) just for me to focus, then I can't feel bad.",1 "Oh man, totally relate. Broke the lock on my high school locker checking it a million times...",0 "movie, tv show, youtube video, podcast.... all of the above. the silver lining is that i get to watch things anew several times until i've paid attention to all of it.",1 Holy shit this is the absolute most relatable post ive ever read.,1 Thank you so much....lost focus tryna read the original thread! Saved this post over here too!!,1 "Yes. This is very much an autistic thing, but I suppose it could be ADHD as well. I’m autistic and always prefer to know “why” about nearly everything.",1 MOST RELATABLE POST IVE EVER FUCKING SEEN HOLY FUCKING SHIT,0 "Yep, this brings back a LOT of fucking traumatic memories. I thought I was over it but I guess I'm not.",1 "I literally JUST did this. I had my room clean for a week, all I needed to do was vacuum. I even had the vacuum in my room and finally did it today. Took about three minutes 🤦‍♀️",1 I wasn’t expecting to be tagged in a picture so soon!,0 "Forgetting this executive dysfunction is like forgetting how to ride a bike.. or maybe even forgetting how to breathe... Somewhere at a very low level, our OS or the hardware is busted - maybe it's just a corrupt function or maybe there's a hardware watchdog timer that just won't trigger... But whatever it is, forgetting it, fixing it, would be take concentration and discipline and focus. Lol",1 "Not only did I dislike reading growing numbers up because I had to reread paragraphs over and over again, but even when I was done and able to comprehend everything, I knew that info would be gone. This bothers me so much since I love gaining knowledge and the people around me are people who I’d like to randomly share info with, as they do for me. But when it comes time for me to access the information I already learned, it’s always completely gone when I would like to use it",1 I've always felt like this or at the very least damaged on the inside,1 Carl is such a fucking douche! We know Carl—STFU you tool! No one cares!,0 "> I don't hate you and I don't mean to be rude, but please leave me alone or I might actually spontaneously combust. Oh god, Ihatethissomuch",1 "That’s because it is giving you euphoria, you won’t be happy on it forever though, I get the same feeling when I take breaks from coffee",1 "Last Sunday was the first time I worked a shift by myself before having the next two days off. I left work Sunday absolutely convinced that I had fucked up something big time and was going to get yelled at today. Came in to work today. Nothing. I did everything I was supposed to.",0 Well it seems in Schizophrenia your mind tries to convince you with evidence. From my personal experience.,0 OCD makes me falsely stab other people by running at them with a knife then stopping mid-attack before it reaches them... Help,0 "Same with ASD. I'm fairly intelligent but the moment I tel people I have ASD, they start to treat me like I am totally incapable of everything...",1 It’s like my gut has been getting fake news from my brain for 20 years,0 "Im not. I don’t relate to contamination obsessions for that reason cause Im not germaphobic to a fault. But I can understand how people with contamination ocd feel in this crisis , I think all of us with ocd can but we just have it about different things. In fact Im having obsessions because of this situation but not because of germs or fear of getting it. Im more pure o than anything so it’s different. But yeah you’re not alone. I am not one of those clean/neat people with ocd lol",0 I’ve literally made this joke before. The most accurate!!,0 "Sigh, I used to think that a lot. I'd rather trust someone and get my heart broken than worry about it being true all the time, and miss out on every happy moment I get, saying ""Yeah they don't really like me.""",0 I’m always amazed! Usually I lose time so having more is def like winning a mini lottery!,1 "(•﹏•๑) (๑•﹏•) I usually stare straight or to the ground.",0 Sending this thread to parents. Hope they read it!!,1 Omg yes.... this is me. Sending this to my husband so maybe he can understand me a little bit better,1 "OCD is fucking terrible. It eats my life. I'd give anything to think like a ""normal"" person.",0 Omg this is literally me I have therapy at half 10 on a Friday and start work at 2pm😂,1 "The 6 and 7 obsession has a deep religious root. I'm an atheist, but love religious narratives, and both catholicism and kabbalah have led me to hate 6 and 7.",0 "Its like saying ""everyone has a little schizophrenia"" ya stfu dumb bitch",0 "Or because I forgot to do something important that I can no longer do until tomorrow business hours and now it's eating at me. ... maybe that just fits into ""brain in general"".",1 Dude I made a post once asking if people would be interested in a collection of tips from all of us on different topics. I never actually did anything with it (true ADHD style) but you actually did it almost exactly how I imagined it. OP I love you and if I had money I'd give you all the awards,1 "Just do it when you think about it..I swear adhd is just hyper anxiety. do some breathing exercies, work slower and as you think of things..act on it. Reminder: fold your laundry!",1 "I pissed off my Domino's GM like that. He eventually came around to it, but he really hated how I'd always ask ""why"" or ""why not this?"" Very real",1 "Holy shit This is so relevant to me ahahah I'm pretty sure I'm bi but always worried I'm not really and worried I'm only doing it for attention from my gay friends and also worried what if I come out and I'm.NOT really bi and then have to go back to being straight and people think I lied",0 "Going to the hairdresser is extremely hard for me, developed OCD having lice as a kid so I’m always a little convinced that I still have it and the hairdresser is gonna get mad at me. I went to the hairdresser a week ago without my sister (who ALWAYS goes with me). Definitely some exposure therapy for me 😭 Congrats on the (great) new do!",0 I lost in when you said in the fridge! Bc it makes so much sense to us non normies,1 "Sitting in front of my computer with my homework up, but reddit",1 "All. The. Time. Wow, I didn’t even realize this was a thing others did or thought about. Once again, this subreddit is making me feel normal.",1 "The only live class I have rn is Spanish so idk what anyone is saying, ever, anyway, lol. But I’m definitely gonna start using this at our monthly meetings at work since my boss won’t let me record out meetings. Idk why *Im* the designated note-taker at these meetings when I can barely hold what was just said in my mind long enough to note it down lmao.",1 This is the one my therapist told me to get as well!,0 congratulations! that is such a big achievement :) wishing you the best friend!,0 "In years, this is my favorite post on Reddit. You care - it shows. You have a way with words that cuts to the soul. I think everyone who reads this will feel better.",1 "Someone put my thoughts into words! I've only been very recently diagnosed with ADHD (18f) and the reason being that although I suspected myself for a very long time, I was not the fidgety type so I did not bother to get help until my doctor realized that my complaints of being unable to think clearly was still there even when my depression meds managed to curb my depressive mood. For all the renamed illnesses out there, I'm surprised ADHD has not changed yet. Frankly enough, I still have an inkling of doubt regarding my diagnosis.",1 What If I've forgotten what it was I was supposed to do??,1 "Thank you for thinking about us, i needed this PUSH to make an appointment I was putting off for months already. One of them but one at the time. Thank you and take care of your body, of your mind, take all the help you want and is offered, i hope this journey wont be too bumpy, and you will quickly be done with it and in full health ❤️",1 Lol I think its a bad translation of Descartes « je pense donc je suis »,0 Absolutely. Not knowing why makes it harder and helps me figure out follow up questions myself. The not knowing why is too distracting.,1 "WTF? THIS LOOKS SO GOOD!! LIKE WTF??? I LOVE THIS, DO YOU HAVE AN INSATGRAM ART ACCOUNT?",0 "Relate 100%!! It's so good seeing that I'm not only the only one who thinks this way, but that there are so many of us who also do. I wish more of the world was interested in not just the who what when and where, but the WHY",1 "This is one of the most comforting things I've ever read. If I weren't at work, I would cry. My entire theme of OCD is hurting and killing my son. I was afraid that I was a monster. For a very long time (over 15 years) I have kept my secret so no one would take my son away from me. Now he is almost 18, so the intrusive thoughts have lessened, but it has been, without a doubt, the worst thing I have ever gone through. So, thank you. Thank you for reminding me that I am not a monster. This wasn't my choice.",0 I was in the exact same boat. I started antidepressants about 2 months ago and ADHD meds about a week ago and can definitely say I’m a lot happier way more productive and no longer falling straight into my old comfort zone of unproductive routine. The insomnia is starting to get to me though.,1 It never ends. It is a lifelong journey. Manage expectations.,0 "That reminds me, I have a huge tumor on my shoulder blade (serious) I need to get removed...",1 The worst of it is when you feel like you can't live up to the stereotype. Flipping half of this is trying to live up to the cute image of what the rest of them want us to be and I hate it.,0 I’ll read all of this. How much impact you gained my life is you can’t imagine. Thank you so much.,1 "God I've never was so fucking like ""aww"" made feel like I'm done working out and enter that hot shower",0 "To me the worst thing ever was when a friend of mine after i opened up to him that i have ocd, laughed at me and said ""bro trust me you dont have ocd"" he basically thought i was one of the ppl who just say it flippantly. I said no, like ive legit been diagnosed by multiple therapists and a psycologist, ive struggled with it my whole life, it tortures me every day and every moment. He laughed and said you can't get diagnosed for that shit man. In my head I was like what?? I was incredibly shook and offended. He said i would know if i have ocd, and i said i hide it really well. He said there you go, if you can hide it you dont have it. Yet another infuriatingly ignorant statement. He then told me that he knows a guy with real ocd that has to adjust the knobs in his car a certain way. And ended it up by saying i just need to eat less sugar.",0 "I commented below but wanted to float this: Anyone think they're this way because it denies them access to flow state/hyperfocus where you don't care and lose track of time? That's how it is for me, I think. Can't do shit because I'm having to audit my attention constantly or risk being too deep for the ""get ready"" ritual that takes 60 mins but I will attempt to pull off in 45 no matter what I do. I can't enjoy anything because it's like being on the verge of falling asleep but I can't. Play a game... OOp, it's 1pm, gotta leave at 3pm. Oooh this is fun WAIT WHAT TIME IS IT? 1:15, ok cool. Anyway, wheeeeeee WAIT WHAT TIME IS IT?! 1:17... Hmm, should I get lunch WAIT WHAT TIME IS IT?! 1:20. Etc forever. I absolutely HATE that dopamine edging but it's the state I'm in all day until my commitments are done.",1 "Yesss I’ve been there countless times and it happens to me after every therapy session as well. I worry that one day my therapist will change her mind and report my OCD themes to the authorities because she suddenly thinks I’m dangerous. I also worry about things from my childhood, teenage, and current situations. I panic that someone has filmed me (eg: guys putting cameras in their rooms when I went over) and it’s been sold online. It’s all OCD thoughts but it’s so so so hard. Yes I also think that what’s the point if I’ll get cancelled one day. I also worry that what’s the point if life will one day end. I’ve kind of adapted by being like “ok cool when it happens I’ll deal with it”. Like there are people out there who this has happened to, and they dealt with it and so will I. Pfffft no big deal. Hahahaha I hate this disorder stay strong fellow sufferer :)",0 I sometimes create so many prerequisite roadblocks that I'll spend days preparing for a short task and never actually do the task. Working from home has made it much harder for me.,1 "I tried to read something but so far I haven't picked up much info. It's been a couple months since I first started. I shall try again, as you request.",1 "I kind of hate this take. We don't *believe* we've taken the action. That kind of phrasing makes it sound like we're delusional as best or manipulative at worst and opens us up to bad faith criticisms from people who already refuse to understand us. Rather, the reward pathways in our brain activate as a result of the planning. It's not something we have control over. It's not something that happens intentionally.",1 i feel you. i’m trying to tidy my room and my guardian just burst in and started yelling “is it really that hard to clean your room?” etc. i’ve been putting it off for so long because i hate being bothered with how everything is supposed to be and it takes double the time for me to clean than anyone else,0 "Yes, this has plagues me my entire life. I've literally been dreading my parent's deaths since I was maybe 5. The advice I have is, more than anything, to try mindfulness meditation. Or any form of mediation, there are many. I won't say more than that but I promise you it will help your life. Blessed be & good luck!",0 "My hands look the same. They are really red and discolored as well. Like you mentioned in another comment, I ,too, did not constantly wash my hands until this pandemic. I was more of a ""checker"" before this. Always had to check gas knobs, car doors, front door etc. I hope we both can get over this after this pandemic. I really do believe once I get that vaccine, I am (hopefully) going to stop washing my hands raw. Best of luck. Stay safe!",0 "Am I the only one who HATES the smell of bleach? I can’t stand it, I’ll use any other kind of disinfectant unless the situation absolutely requires me to use bleach.",0 "Great advice, EXCEPT I think people **need to check the news at least once a day** because things are changing so quickly and many of the changes are important to know about.",0 "BTW, pre-chopped and cleaned bags of broccoli (12 ounces usually) last for about a week or two before going bad (it’s one of the heartier vegetables) and take 4 minutes to cook. As a guy with ADD, brocolli is one of the few fresh vegetables that I know I will use before they go bad. Microwave em and then chop em up in a bowl with 2 Tbs pre-grated parmesan cheese (or any low-fat high-flavor cheese). That’s how I get full and my daily veggies.",1 I honestly believe I could rule the world without an executive function disorder.,1 I feel that. Today is one of those days. Woke up and just want to sleep all day. Got homework to do and don’t want to do it. Headache. I don’t even feel like staring at my phone much today either. Have therapy today and don’t even feel like doing that. Ugh.,1 "The first one is so accurate... holy hell. I have contamination OCD mainly. I literally live in fear of just being... alive. My bed is my safe place. When I need to get out of bed, my heart immediately starts beating fast because I know it means interacting with all the dirty things...",0 "Me: “I’m fine, just overthinking it like always. The chances are very slim anything serious is wrong.” Me: “But what if I’m not fine and I’m dying right now, people die daily so why not me”",0 "I’m so happy for you! Always take your medicated dose, it is really easy to accidentally become addicted to stimulants!",1 "Pretty much verbatim the list I gave the psychiatrist, plus the bad coping mechanisms like substance abuse and self harm, and luckily he was great. I’ll never forget what he said- “You’ve made it this far on your own without help up to this point. That’s something, and you need to pay yourself on the back for that.” I started sobbing on the phone because like.. holy shit we need to hear that. ADHD fucking sucks but this sub makes it bearable sometimes",1 just fill up my benzo prescription and i'll be on my way Doc,0 No matter how long the sentence like structure I don't use any punctuation except maybe the occasional exclamation mark when I'm writing on my phone,1 "I'm sorry for your loss, I hope that they are in a better place and that you are healing Thank you for your words, I'm definitely tearing up a little right now",1 Getting a job in the first place also feels like a bitch sometimes.,1 I have forgotten how to use Punctuation properly probably why I failed English so often,1 That therapy sounds hellish. Is that evidence based? I'm glad you have such a supportive partner.,0 "I know that feel. A lot of the time support from my wife makes a big difference, but there are still plenty of problems. The schedule planning thing I've started helps, but only because my wife can help me do it.",1 I'm eating a giant bowl of fruity pebbles right now. Relevant.,1 "Go and build your own business. I can confirm that when these people know you make five figures a month while relaxing on a beach and displaying all your ADHD tendencies, it REALLY pisses them off. All the things that made me a shitty employee (constantly getting bored doing the same thing and being obsessed with creating my own systems) make me a much better entrepreneur. Most great entrepreneurs are shitty employees. There is a long list of people who gave me a hard time growing up, because of my ADHD traits. I have now out-earned all of them. More importantly, I have a lot more free time and fun. I assure you, this feels good.",1 "I “listened to” a song 100+ times on the day it came out and it’s because I turned it on in the morning to listen to it, it was the only song on the album, had the album repeat on . . . and then forgot about it until it was bed time",1 "So f*cking relatable. When will this be over? Just ler me be happy, damn it!",0 "Ok so first, sidenote: I've read the first line of your title probably 12 times since this has been up and my inner monologue voice reads it in the voice of the broken bones fish in the chocolate episode of sponge bob..""Every morning I break my legs, and every afternoon I break my arms"" lolllll I'm sorry I had to let that out idk if that makes sense to anyone else but probably a great example of the many useless things my brain gets preoccupied with. Not laughing at you because I 1000000% feel the same way. These last 3 or 4 weeks have been the day you just described on repeat. For me I realized that getting into the habit of doing something out of your house on a daily basis breaks up that wasted day feeling. Also research is my speciality but not in a productive Phd way, more like me looking up random crap on the internet and getting restless when I don't have anything interesting to endlessly read about lol.",1 "I had to sit on my hands, cover all text but the line I was reading, re read the same page over and over just to study to get through final exams in high school. Now I have a different type of adhd where it's like if there's a sequence of six steps, I forget where I'm at. I'm looking at you, FACEBOOK all I wanna do is list something for sale on marketplace and I get distracted. And I forget words sometimes and that's fun!",1 "I absolutely agree. Medications helps only with symptoms, they won't heal your soul. You can achieve the best only working hard on yourself with therapeutic and pharmacological help if neeeded.",0 “Don’t negotiate with it.” If only it were that easy…,0 "And if you have anything resembling a “healthy routine” (I.e. exercise), that shit also takes valuable hours.",1 "Yep, my thoughts make me say shit out loud a lot, it’s gotten worse and I say it during conversation, I’ve said stuff like end your life, fuck off and many more luckily I don’t think people hear that much.",0 "Let's try to solve the problem. That'll work, right?",0 Anyone else trying to over-correct their ADHD ways so HARD that they are now having anxiety/borderline OCD because they’re trying to prove to the world how functional/successful they are/how ‘far they’ve come since being a ‘fuck-up’?’,1 On your skin like a Faraday’s cage and is then grounded. Damn man you an electrical engineer?,0 "Just focus? Okay why don’t I don’t just climb into my focus rocket, and blast myself to the focus planet, where executive functioning grows on trees and we’re all neurotypical there. Foh...",1 "My OCD tells me men like male doctors, retail store staff, or bosses, colleagues wouldn't help me if I didn't sleep with 'em.",0 "Same boat, up in Pittsburgh. I’m dreading it. I’ve done one online class in college, and I ended up doing none of the work until the last two days of the semester. No one holding me accountable, no structured time- I’m terrified. This is my final semester of my undergrad. I’ve come this far...",1 OCD lead to some anxiety and depression for me. I struggle to do simple things and there’s a voice in my head that’s constantly bullying me.,0 "I say this to myself every time a habit comes back (such as blinking hard, only breathing with big breaths etc)",0 """Promise me you didn't touch it! Promise me! No, you have to say that you promise you didn't touch it. Do you promise? Okay, that's good. Are you sure though, 100% sure? Promise me again! Ahhh, nevermind, i can't trust that you didn't touch it because i wasn't watching, let's just throw it out it's been dirtied now"" story of my fucking life",0 chowing down on some hefty rumination for breakfast LOL!,0 "First off awesome formatting! Lol. That's so cool!!!! I just woke up after spending time in a hotel to see my house is cluttered and miss the clean hotel. I could easily spare $30 a week and probably wouldn't need them but 4 times a month. $60 a month would be great! I use to have my friend do this but they were real judgmental. They also only did a mediocre job. I stopped having them do it but wanted something again. Awesome idea! Thanks!",1 Always happens at night for me... I have flashbacks to things in the past and then I end up with palpations. Anyone else here on citalopram? It has helped but still get the intrusive thoughts at night.,0 This is common with ADHD. My therapist says that a symptom is a difficulty processing complex information.,1 "Wow, there are soo many of these. I’m not sure which ones to start with hehe. EDITED TO ADD: Does anyone have any tips on even just picking a few to start with? There are so many it's a bit overwhelming, though they're really great.",1 Sounds like my life. Very well put. I’m going start using those three hours wisely.,1 "Sitting thirsty in my room begging myself to fill up my water - yup attention deficit and hyperactivity, sure. Someone Help I Tried disorder. Or SHIT disorder for short :)",1 I was watching infinity train s3 yesterday and I had this exact problem. Couldn’t follow the plot and all the big moments didn’t hit as hard as they should’ve 😪,1 Lol same. I accuse myself of being dramatic or faking for attention or to manipulate others while at the same time I'm completely alone and doing my best not to let others know I'm struggling and no one will ever see or know about those moments and yet still I doubt it.,0 Yes!!! COVID fear is what made me finally get diagnosed!,0 "This actually really helps me, because I constantly worry about my own art (especially inking). But hearing you say that you’re nervous about your art and that your lines are messy, when I can only see how great you are at art, gives me so much comfort in that I’m not alone.",0 "The “why” helps to connect the dots together. It takes a bunch of disjointed individual objects and makes them into a more cohesive understandable thing to work with. Crappy analogy but it’s the skewer that connects the individual meats and vegetables and turns them into a shish kebab.",1 god dammit why is this so rEAL its a meme so i should laugh but my brain lookin at this like “wheres the bit”,0 I have no executive functioning. Adderall doesn’t help. Still can’t force myself to do anything hardly. It’s completely debilitating.,1 "I feel you man...I used to believe that ADHD only affects how I study and my restlessness and nothing else. So everytime something happens in my life that I don't have an explanation for, I used to blame myself. And it's quite hard too. You don't know how or why you messed up and everyone gives you the stink eye everytime you'd try to fix that. It made me feel so bad about myself that I hated myself for being me. Only recently did I know how much adhd affects your life and suddenly, everything I did has an explanation. Even then, you can't supress the loathing you feel about yourself everytime you mess up. I still unconsciously think ""I hate myself"" atleast thrice a day. It would take a while to just convince yourself that it's not you and it's not your fault, but most of the time, it's just difficult to accept that",1 "It's why I avoid social media stuff on mental health. Atleast here people are more realistic with their goals, expectations and advice.",1 "I can't stop laughing... XD Omg... That is so true... My parents are Like this.",0 "For me I think it's accepting there is no rigid good or bad, there is a spectrum of good and bad behavior. The only way I can be a good person is to try every day to be a little bit better. I know this could just go back into compulsions to ""prove"" you are good, but it has been helpful for me. Accepting I cannot change the past, that I can just try to work on my current behavior, and to accept I will make mistakes and have made mistakes.",0 "I totally get this! I work long days. 10+ hours, 5:30am-5:15pm. By the time I get home, I only have about 2.5 hours to eat, take a shower, and do whatever else I need to before I have to go to bed so I don’t oversleep the next morning! 2.5 hours is not enough time!",1 "I hate how funny this makes us sometimes. The title of this post could literally make it through the panel in a comedy show. Jeff Fisher could be saying this. I mean, I share the belief that it's momentous and should be seen as an accomplishment. But everyone's not in the know, you know? And it's hard not to try and see their perspective, considering how we're so damaged by what people say to us and how they perceive us.",1 "I'm like agressively not organized, the idea of trying to clean sometimes causes me stress, I have a bit of hoarding OCD, and things like my handwriting are really bad for some reason because my hand is shaky and uneven, sort of like the rest of me lol",0 As someone studying aerospace engineering and barely scraping through classes because of ADHD/Aspergers... yes.,1 Yep. But I keep spending mental resources everyday reminding myself I should go read it... so that counts as reading it right?,1 "Oh my god, you just made me realize I too have bathroom OCD...",0 "Omg I feel this “I was so productive today!! I made up a whole bedtime and morning routine written out on a colour coded schedule with notes and everything!” *proceeds to stay up 3 hours later than I’m supposed to, eat junk food in bed with the TV blasting, and snooze my alarm 10 times the next morning*",1 Saving stuff just helps me to stop ruminating about it. It's like putting it into a drawer so i can walk away.,1 Does your mom have ADHD? I have it and so does my mom who is a chatter box. She was only diagnosed years after I was as an adult. Now that we know it's ADHD is so much easier to say please stop... And we laugh about it. But before diagnoses she would be pissed!,1 Sexual obsessions are the worst. Coming from a dude currently dealing with hocd. I hope things go back to normal for you and that you keep what is close to your heart.,0 Did you know that your oral health offers clues about your overall health — or that problems in your mouth can affect the rest of your body? Protect yourself by learning more about the connection between your oral health and overall health.,1 "I always have to wonder who the hell does this and why. Do some people actually find it funny that they're upsetting a bunch of strangers on the Internet that they'll never meet or even know about? Is this some kind of coping mechanism where you really want to be a bully, but nobody wants to be around you in real life, so you have to resort to posting ""do X or ur mom will die lol"" and imagining the reactions of anxious people when they see it? It just doesn't make sense to me on any level.",0 "Lol 4 hours? I still have one wall left to paint in a room that I started painting six years ago....hahahaha...haha....*sigh*",1 Y’all seriously have got to stop reading my mind and posting it on Reddit I can’t take it anymore it’s like I’m looking in the mirror.,1 "I've struggled w this my whole life so far. I make music and I have the tendency to start a song and then forget about it. Meds have helped Me value completion over perfection with it which I am very happy about. Also I realized trash art is better than non existent art.",1 """To make sure my family doesn't die"" I fucking laughed out loud",0 Throwback to trying to research anxiety with ocd-like symptoms because I didn't realize it was an anxiety disorder lol,0 Im pregnant and constantly worry about this. Someone reassure me please 😔,0 "me: watching tiktok me: (remembers pressing responsibilities) me: watching tiktok ~anxiously~",1 "Cons: basically everything Pros: Rewatching a movie as if it’s the first time because you’ve forgotten 90% of it",1 "Weirdest ones I have had are: - Studying hard or applying myself hard at anything in life will cause me to break out - Trying or practicing or preparing for something will cause me to actually fail or make it worse - Anything I will touch will spoil and become worse after an initial honeymoon The girl feeds all kinds of weird content against me, man. Then you have the Doctor saying the content doesn’t matter: https://youtu.be/rTEuWub563c",0 "I second the ""stick with your original schedule"" post. Try to get things done that you would normally get done in that time (lecture, classwork, homework) and don't forget self care! Just because you aren't leaving, doesn't mean showers aren't important!",1 This but also remember this is only one version of ocd. There are so many different types.,0 "education science major here! according to information processing theory, being able to make meaningful connections with new information increases the chance of being able to retrieve the new information from long-term memory at a later time. i’m not sure if there’s any particular link with ADHD, but this is something everyone experiences. I think ADHD has more to do with working memory and the sensory register and in most cases doesn’t have a huge affect on retrieval from long-term memory. either way, great insight! this is helpful info that everyone should be aware of!",1 "Oh my god, im so proud of you, and honestly you're an inspiration",1 "Me from ages 5~15: licking my hands is equatable to me obsessively using lotion; not wearing certain fabrics bc of the “sound” they make when I wear them; doing homework before bathing bc I wanted to avoid touching my papers with dry skin; eating different parts of a meal with different utensils (3 items = 3 forks); counting my steps and avoiding cracks; obsessively praying to avoid damnation or harm to my family; anger when someone touches me without washing their hands; etc, etc. I don’t have a couple oof these compulsions, but still have most. And some have morphed into different but related compulsions. I think often about how neurotic I was as a child with absolutely no help or guidance from my caregivers lol",0 That's actually pretty nice wow. I shall go read it...,0 I have a similar thing. before going to bed i must check and then touch the door lock to make sure it's locked,0 "Spot on depictions of the id, superego, ego, and conscious! The ego looking so zombie-like is really relatable >.<",0 Rewind a bit.... help me understand this meme and why this isn’t disassociative anxiety?,0 oh yes i sometimes ask my friends to check if i posted something too,0 "I had 40 jobs in 3 years. Fired from most of them. Then I got into creative arts and if I do a job now, it's because I want to. I'm being a watercolour painter this week. Never done it before, it'll be gun to learn. If I'm shit, ah well. I can't even watch The Office because I feel so constrained by offices.",1 "For so many years I thought I was a pervert, I’m glad it was just a mental disorder that will haunt me for years",0 "I'm at an utter loss for words. That really cuts to your core.",1 People don’t understand that! Mine is Hamilton (obviously listened to it over & over) and All Time Low (bc I listened to the new album over and over). Can’t say I’m surprised.,1 Thank you so much. I would have been diagnosed years ago of the stereotypes on ocd were not so strong.,0 "110% And it sounds so weird if you phrase it with other medical ailments. “I have an X-ray showing my leg is broken but I know the reason I can’t walk is because I’m a fucking idiot. I’ve seen X-rays of other people’s broken legs and I know they getting a cast and physical therapy. And I tell them to be easy on their leg. But me? Nah.”",1 "I’m sitting here thinking about how much I loathe the taste of blood while still destroying my mouth by biting my lips and cheeks. It’s moments like that where I feel like a slave to OCD. Or when I can’t kiss my fiancé or eat because my mouth hurts so much. I feel like I have literally zero control when I count out little things like my ice cubes and have to do everything in odd numbers, but then if I tap the counter three times I start to panic because I need the same feeling on both of my hands. Thank you for saying this! I needed it today, and I’m sure a lot of other people did too :)",0 Sorry you’re going through that. I hope you’re able to do exposure and response prevention with an ocd specialist or support group. The podcast ocd stories is also very helpful.,0 "I have fallen asleep without remembering to turn off my music so many nights that because of this I have accidentally listened to 2249 artists and 559 new genres this year, none of which I was awake to remember",1 "I hate that I’m legit mad about reading this. I have to go visit my husband in the hospital. He was supposed to be there for 5 days. He’s been there for two weeks, with no end in sight. It *sucks* to realize I’m putting off visiting my husband. But I’m dealing with caring for our 5-year-old, taking care of the house, and being the source of information and comfort for everyone in our family. My mom took the kid and all I want to do right now is *NOTHING.* I want to sit on the couch and turn my brain off and do absolutely fucking nothing.",1 Yes. I can’t even explain how much this frustrates me to the point that I cry sometimes. There is nothing I hate more than this because it’s exhausting. I’m glad I’m not alone but I also hate that other people suffer from this,0 "I've been telling myself for weeks I have to finish reading a book for my English class before reading one I bought that looks really good, but every time I go to read the one i know is for a class I end up just sitting there staring at a page for ages. Similar things happen when I sit down to do homework; I'll have it all out on my desk ready and I'll end up staring at a wall or some shit 😂",1 I used to do this until my family gifted me remote start. Now clicking 3 times starts my engine. It helped me curb the excessive clicking. Now I just pull on the driver door handle consistently...,0 "This rings so completely true to my experience of life that I'd never even considered examining just how contradictory and weird it really is until reading you describe my own experiences back to me hahaha Right off the bat, two things jump out at me about this part of the experience: >I've always been told I'm smart by people who get to know me. I never claimed that title but whatever, I'll take their word for it at this point. I think this is just a reflection of how differently we experience the world, with broadly 2 stand-out components: 1. ADHD gets 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘵 of information into our heads by pure virtue of the novelty-seeking nature of our attention. We're maybe not good at independently focusing our attention and the wealth of our knowledge, but when someone else churns up that memory of something we read in an article in a magazine in a doctors office 20 years ago, hooo boy do we look 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵. An important piece of this is how people perceive ""being smart"". As in, we 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 that ""being smart"" is more than ""knowing facts"", but so much of our fundamental education structure is based around the memorization of facts and formulas, that even when we're well past that stage of life, we still conflate the two. Like, our internal 2nd Grader goes, ""Wowwwww, the longest word in an English dictionary is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis? And it's a name for silicosis caused by the inhalation of ultra-fine silica particles found in and around volcanoes? Neat! 𝘠𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘵!"" (fun fact I just learned while double-checking my spelling: the president of some nerd club specifically coined this term for the sake of it being so long. It literally exists for the express purpose of enabling nerds in the 1930s to circle-jerk about 'knowing the longest word') ANYWAY. 2. It's not uncommon for us to have unorthodox, novel, creative solutions to problems. I think it's an ADHD tendency that can be explained in a plethora of ways. Maybe a lifetime of experience of trying to use an ADHD brain to navigate the world predisposes us to the creative solutions we've always had to use to come up with our own coping mechanisms. Maybe a history of being contrarian, unruly little jerks makes us stubborn enough to work on a problem until we figure it out. Maybe we just like getting caught up in the raw euphoria of hyperfocus problem-solving. Whatever it is, people see us come up with a solution by using a process that seems, to us, to be... just the way we think, but to them seems opaque and impressively clever. And these come together to make people go ""Huh, that was really smart"" So our life is made up of all these moments of us doing things that seem really smart, but then also doing other things that people have been conditioned to perceive as stupid or lazy. Super Smart, with Imposter Syndrome.",1 "/r/WowThanksImCured (I don't reccomend subbing to this subreddit it. Just go to it occasionally. I was sub to it for a while and I got to feeling pretty angry and toxic toward neutrotypical people in general.)",1 "Ex girlfriend (who I’m still friendly with) jokingly said to my wife: “I don’t know how you deal with him”. Wife: “I let him just be him, I didn’t try to change a thing”.",1 "Oh boy. Being smart + ADHD is the reason I have LOADS of just random facts. It's from all those moments where I remember that time I was at the store and someone told me something that made me think of something else and now I have to know why something is the way it is. Now, my friends will all be hanging out and when a new topic pops up I usually have a fun fact about it.",1 "I have the opposite effect. When I sit down to do something I don't want to do, I suddenly feel this urge to pace around in my house.",1 "The problem is that you are looking for a feeling before doing the activity. That's not how it works. For good feelings or bad feelings. The normal order is that you do something/something happens THEN you feel good. What you are doing is trying to ""prepare yourself"" for a good feeling before the pleasurable activity happens. How can you feel good before something good happens? How can you expect to gain joy when nothing has happened to create it? You're preoccupying yourself with how you should be feeling and that ruins the entire thing. Sure you can feel excited about something good about to happen but you're replacing that excitement with fear that you won't in the right mindset to properly enjoy the moment. There is no mindset to enjoy the moment. You don't have to be or feel or think a certain thing to enjoy the moment. Experiment with giving feelings to something instead of expecting feelings to come to you. You know it's a type of gratitude. Like try feeling genuinely appreciative of how awesome it will be to ride a bike. Your brain is trying it's best man but you need to step in and make the decisions here bro. Good luck :)",0 "Sometimes I do it when I don't have the time to process am intrusive thought, like in the middle of a work meeting or something",0 "Same number of bites on both sides of the mouth If colors are involved, same number of each color If odd number of a color, split it in half ...Skittles are a curse",0 "Yes to all of this! I’m also a fan of frozen chicken breasts & fish filets - sometimes they come wrapped in an unholy amount of plastic, but I can take out what I need and reseal the bag. Once in a blue moon I have enough presence of mind to buy a large pack of chicken and wrap up/freeze the individual pieces, but that’s not often. A lot of the frozen stuff has quick thaw instructions on the bag, so I don’t have to think ahead about defrosting.",1 No but I sometimes shout or groan. Probably should just sit with the thought but if I did that 24/7 it would be hell.,0 "I'm not even truly religious, but I repeat a prayer/mantra of sorts to myself every night, and it almost always starts off with: ""Please keep my family, friends, pets, and house safe; please keep my extended family/relatives, *their* friends, and *their* pets safe; please keep my friends, *their* family, and *their* pets safe"" and I *cannot* sleep without saying it. There's no passion in these prayers - it's literally just these deadpan mantras I hastily whisper, as if I'm casting my daily safety spell on everyone I know. Of course, I then worry I'm ""displeasing"" God/the spirits/etc. by rushing it. I'm worried that I'm jinxing it by typing it out now, but I guess this is a good start.",0 "For me is more like ""I like you... I'd so stab you!""",0 OCD is a strange disorder because it follows the same pattern for everyone but can be about totally different things. I mean I leave my car unlocked all the time and don't give a shit because I'm just like fuck it what are the odds anyone will break into it and even if they did there's nothing really valuable in there and I have insurance if the car itself is stolen. But then I obsess about shit that other people with OCD don't care or think about at all. If only we could trade obsessions.,0 Haha! I was like.. For someone with OCD that's bad advice.. Then I see that it's posted in the OCD subreddit. Perfect! Haha,0 "Ah the days of thinking you yelled out a racial slur in the middle of class or raped the person sitting next to you. Good times, good times.",0 "Should be said that the whole damn page describes me lmao. Yeah I'm pretty sure she's gonna go from *thinking* I have OCD to *knowing* it reeeeaaaally soon.",0 "I'm feeling this way. I'd gone back to the gym recently, and had really started enjoying it. Was noticing the changes slowly happening to my body, and was getting into a great routine. Now suddenly, gyms closed. I've got some basic equipment at home, but it's been so much harder to motivate myself. Going to the gym is so helpful, to focus on the exercise. At home it's *soooo* much fucking easier to get distracted.",1 "yeah, thing is, i've been able to do this before. my OCD gets bad in waves. sometimes i have no compulsions, other times i have many. no matter how many times i've been able to stop, it always comes back in times of distress.",0 "It was this decade when I realized my 8th grade teacher probably called me ""Ed"" for an impolite reason. This would've been in the 90s.",1 "I've trained myself into writing small sentences. And then splitting them up. It helps with brevity But also to avoid deleting a paragraphs worth of draft. So much time wasted deleting stuff",1 Holy shit dude. You just explained something I had no explanation for.,1 Ugh it was really bad for me before I was diagnosed. I had an undercover fake friend who was causing hell for me any time I talked about my symptoms of various mental illnesses and I got in actual trouble basically for just being a hypochondriac. So when I finally was able to get diagnosed it was nice to finally have that lifted,0 My hands look exactly the same right now! 😭 OCD really sucks. Best of luck to you!!,0 "Great answer. I don’t think the other person totally grasps what they are talking about. I have OCPD and very rigid, they wouldn’t last a day with me and my supposed cute firm way of doing things. They need a dose of reality.",0 "Aaaaaaa this is so good, this should be in r/clevercombacks or r/murderedbywords",1 Agreed!! I’ve heard “attention regulation disorder” and honestly that works for me,1 For me it seems like my brain goes up and down with focusing. If I'm listening to someone talk it will fade out and I can see them but they are blurry and I don't hear a thing they are saying. I hear my thoughts or all of a sudden something else that is going on near us. Then I fade back to them talking and I have no idea what they just said. I feel like I'm more aware of my environment than the average person because I can bounce around like that. If I sit in a room I will notice all the imperfections in the drywall or how the doors or hung or whatever. But reading a book. I will read the same paragraph over and over again. My mind says the word but I wasn't even paying attention to myself. Getting started on things I really don't want to do is impossible. I can't control this. I force myself to focus on something until it's finished and I can't do it.,1 Happy New Year to all my OCD peeps. May all of your collection reduce in size. We're purgering some of our things.,0 "While the why and how are valuable info, I take a long time to process everything so I would first need the exact instruction written down and THEN get to the details. I drown in all the background details but if I have the list to turn back to it helps me more.",1 "Don’t fall for that feeling each time. That’s the addicting part of it called “The honeymoon effect”. I personally had to stop after 2 years because it became a chase for dopamine. It ended up making me psychotic and delusional. After taking a year break, I now use it as a tool to get shit done! Whatever that may be.. Not trying to discourage you because it’s done wonders for my future self. Just a subtle warning about adderall.",1 "I have to get better about ""breaks."". Sometimes it's honestly necessary for me to not take a break (or just do something very small and strict like set a timer and stare out the window for three minutes or use the bathroom, absolutely nothing with technology) and just continue with the next assignment. Breaking the flow of work and focus can derail everything. I go from working at a decent rate to taking a ""break"" that turns into a YouTube rabbit hole or stress eating because now I'm stressed because I know I'm procrastinating. I don't know why I always think I can watch ""just one video"" or listen to ""just one song."". I just have to force myself to keep going. It comes down to just having no self control, I guess, but snapping myself out of the productive flow means starting from square one. Of course this is extra fun because everything is online for me rn and I can't just not use my computer for school. I always have to face impulsive temptations. It sounds so dumb and simple when I write it out but this is a constant struggle for me. Especially when these bad habits are really ingrained in me.",1 Deadass never know which mental illness is yelling at me in my head,0 "Omg THIS My partner does this and I’ve repeatedly said if he writes it down or sends it to me in a message it will get done and then he gets mad that he’s mentioned or asked something sixteen thousand times but yet he won’t freaking write a list ! Or a note ! It’s a cycle it’s so frustrating",1 "Hey, that’s my intrusive thought coping mechanism too! I’m in no way saying it’s healthy way to cope, I’m saying if it’s not healthy, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.",0 "I don’t really know if changing the name of the executive function would be of any help. I think education is best and attention must be explained for what it is ( cause it’s a tricky but easy to grasp concept) Atttention is better understood if you think of it as a hand lamp, it has a certain power/intensity of light. This is what is understood as attention for most people, but it is just one characteristic of it. This wattage/ light brightness, is almost the same for all people, if not, if it fluctuates or even decreases, you are not ADHD, you are walking into a comma,since it is the first step in neurological deterioration. But let’s return to the light produced by the lamp, it has other characteristics, it can be directed voluntarily toward some object, it can be maintained on that object for some time, and it can also be concentrated on some point, with the associated loss of peripheric lighting power as in a stage light in a theatre. Is on this 3 later properties of the lamp/attention where the deficit lies, and I remark deficit, since it is not a lack of these properties. It’s like the lamp is pinned to something but has a very loose pin. It can be directed , oh yeah, but it also reacts to minor stimulus and tend to change position, something that a more tightly held lamp would not do, and thus tends to distract its light to any interesting sight, and not keep in something that might became a little bit boring, unless the stimuli is so interesting that no other is greater. That’s why non/ ADHD people are puzzled by someone who sometimes function perfectly and others in such disfunction even a dog is quicker to do his job, they interpret it as “ I know he/she/them can put attention, as did in the beginning ( new stimuli) or the fast paced project he/she/them was so excited of (personal interest), don’t understand why he/she/them can’t be on time, or can’t do this very silly work ( classifying papers) as quick as the others. Even a monkey can do that...” Few people will grasp the concept if it is not explained. but is fairly simple to do so. It may be the easiest executive function to explain. So, changing the name does not change things from the root, prejudice and misconceptions soon take the new term as a flag. As it can be showed in the manic-depressive name shift towards bipolar, and the use by common people to describe emotional disregulation, lability or inestabilidad , proper of many personality disorders, but not of bipolar disorder. Hope it might be of help. Sorry if this post is not well written. English is not my first language and I had the typical night of an ADHD , where you can shut your brain off and keep thinking on all sort of matters. This Free Short Course from King’s College London ( Ranked world 2nd in psychiatry) on ADHD with a historical and educational focus, directed to non mental health professionals might be of interest [ADHD KCL free course](https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/understanding-adhd)l",1 I will never forgive mainstream culture for making Kardashians happen.,0 "I've had psychiatrists tell me people get over ADHD when they reach adulthood, and that stimulants were just for children. Many of them still seem to think ADHD == hyperactivity. As I'm sure most of us know, there are two types of ADHD, hyperactive type and inattentive type. Hyperactive type, yes, maybe it usually goes away with adulthood, or at least the symptoms aren't as evident. Inattentive type, the one I suspect most of here have, I don't think ever goes away. There's no cure, just management. I did once have a psychiatrist tell me that if it was caught in childhood and medication started right away, the brain chemistry could be changed, but I don't know if he was talking out his ass. At any rate, they didn't even know what ADHD was when I was a kid, they just knew I was a shitty student.",1 "Mine was forgetting to study 4 hours before a test and instead of using that time to actually study, researching a way to set up reminders to remind me of the next test",1 And also of depression and anxiety. Now pit those 3 together,1 "OCD is broader than we make it seem. It includes different types that have different symptoms. Checking, contamination, symmetry, intrusive thoughts, and hoarding can all be types of OCD even though they don't seem all that similar at first glance. I'm OCD but mostly Pure O, which means my OCD doesn't manifest in physical habits or compulsions nearly as much as obsessive thoughts and mental rituals. My neatness is actually a result of my ADHD and realizing that I can't function if things aren't predictable. Being neat means I can predict where something is, and that takes a bit of the mental weight off. It is SUPER weird to think about all these things as part of the same category, but it really just means anything you obsess over to an in healthy degree or compulsions you don't feel you can control.",0 weird how i have washed my hands a minimum of 50 times a day and the only time my hands ever look like this is if they get cold and chapped. did people just not wash their hands before COVID??,0 "me: has ADHD and is scrolling through reddit at 5:42AM after getting sleepy while doing a difficult task and laying down two hours ago me: LOL",1 "Wow, I totally feel this. But in the way my thoughts happen faster than my words can come out so I end up talking too fast and it comes out all jarbled. Which I imagine has led to social anxiety and lowered self-esteem. Some friends are great and can see when I want to say something and give me a chance to slow it down. I don’t know if I’m alone in this, always thought I was but I know it’s not true.",1 I snapshot everything. Camera roll is as untidy as my mind 😭,1 "Me: *Is casually driving on my way home and sees a seemingly nice lady getting her mail.* My brain: “Run over her.”",0 I get flashbacks to cringy stuff all the time. I still constantly remember this one time that I made a really cringy joke to my middle school/high school crush and I want to die every time I remember it.,0 Oof court anxiety. I forgot to get my inspection for a whole year. Forgot to appeal the citation after I did.,1 I’ve done this so neurotically since my senior year of high school when I accidentally left my car running on the day of my graduation for 40 minutes. One of my teachers came in as parents/family/ friends were getting there and was like “who’s car is this? It’s running” and that tells you all you need to know about me and why I check to see if I locked my car 12 times in a row.,0 or that i’m making it up for attention… when i don’t ever tell anyone what’s going on lmfao,0 "And the situation: not bad enough to get treatment, not good enough to fit in/live easy",1 Vibe? Forget about it im as capable of doing that as a blind man is at seeing,0 Getting distracted for a minute and then the crash of reality and feeling of impending doom.,0 "Hey now, I just realized I was kinda hungry and wanted sweets because I wanted ice cream but it was too late so now I am eating three mandarin oranges and my reddit front page has new things to look at and also I need to remember I wanted to get two new work shirts online and also like a new cat fountain for my cats and maybe see what chocolate is on sale too and then maybe treat myself to a string of rock beads or a bag of tumbled stones even though I just spent $40 on three handmade masks for work because ypu have to help support people and I have a steady job, and I tried to dry my wet mask in the microwave in short intervals but I had like 2 mins before I was supposed to clock in and I set it for 30 seconds and forgot about it and it started on fire and I forgot there was a metal nose thing inside And im really pissed because it was a dinosaur mask and I went to the same etsy shop but she doesnt have that print anymore and I know those fit and are comfy so I dont wamt to order from another shop. I want my mask back. Fucking microwaves, this is why I dont own one. (It was the work microwave that killed my mask)",1 This community is more wholesome than r/wholesome itself,1 Thos has got to be one of the most relatablr posts i’ve ever seen. I was just thinking about how my s/o always tells me that I act like a baby/chikd and he means that he finds my cuteness attractive but when am I gonna stop being cute? A part of ADHD is that it’s only all so well known in childreb that the adults with ADHD don’t know wtf to do like there is no blueprint for us! All the advice we’ll ever get from the internet will br for those around us and not us and like??? Are theu gonna br able to solve our probelms tho?? :(,1 you gotta apply for it online or in person at the RMV,0 Currently taking five classes this semester (online) and working FT. I start all my work about 8pm on Sunday (during midnight) and let the procrastination pressure and stress guide my ADHD focus to a [barely] passing grade. All that matters is you pass. 🤷‍♀️,1 "Wait a minute.. I’m really starting to think I have ADHD along with my combat PTSD and depression. Maybe the ADHD is the root cause. How do I truly find out??? I’ve never even thought about it and the many psychs I’ve talked to have never mentioned it. This op is literally me daily. DAILY. I’m starting lamictal in 2 days for my depression, BEFORE SSRI, cause I’m terrified of them. Dr was hesitant to give but I insisted after my own research and knowing gabapentin helps my anxiety, I feel my gaba system is the root cause. How do I find out if I have ADHD... now I’m wondering everyday.",1 "Is it really so bad to take the so called ""easy way out""? Why do I deserve to suffer? What did I do? If medication helps me? Why the hell shouldn't I use it? I'm tired of feeling shamed for using medication and a little therapy instead of the other way around or just therapy. I didn't ask to have ocd. The time before I was diagnosed and what I still go through now, though much less awful and frequent, is enough. (I'm assuming you didn't mean this post like that, I'm just getting this off my chest)",0 "Danggg look at you! Congratulations! Don’t be nervous just have fun with it, you’re gonna be great!",0 You don't have diabeetus! Stop raising your blood sugar.,1 "It took me a long time, but I've started talking to my therapist about my intrusive thoughts. I've had problems with this for as long as a can remember and somehow kept it to myself in fear all these years. I've been terrified of myself so long. And just by talking with her about it made the thoughts less scary. I was certain she would consider me 100% crazy and in need to be hospitalised (which I really don't want) but instead she calmed me down with logical facts about how I've never hurt anyone and that I don't need to be scared about getting a psycosis with no warning and such. I hope to learn more about how to handle this. It's just scary to live with.",0 "Thanks to ERP I managed to train my brain to realize the fire underwater isn’t real. Just my brain’s shitty broken fire alarm. There’s still a tiny fire but it’s manageable and I can throw logic water at it. Holy shit I’ve gone on with this metaphor too long. tl;dr great meme OP",0 "you just described my morning ​ idk how to fix myself",1 "It’s not just me? Seriously....this means a lot, OP.",1 "I find it hard to communicate instructions to people. It is nothing related to anxiety. Its hard to articulate precise things. I don't find it hard to do instructions. I tend to describe processes in general, but get mangled on the steps to it.",1 I had depression early in life (age 12) the frustration of not being able to control my ADHD and it affecting my social life rocked my adolescence. I'm only getting it together now in my mid 20s.,1 I wish I could go back in time and just start over. I wouldn't let OCD take over my life the way it did.,0 "Eyyy OCD and depression gang 😎👉👉 Edit: oh shit I forgot I also have ADHD, and possibly other unconfirmed things. The OCD and depression overshadow everything else",0 "The Office is my favourite show And Stress Relief is my favourite episode (both parts) And in it Michael says: ""If we come across somebody with no arms or legs, do we bother resuscitating them? I mean, what quality of life do we have there?"" I think about that a lot, why should I bother with anything, what quality of life do I have right now Don't have any advice for you pal, but I can say you're not alone",1 "Yea this really grinds my gears. I see it more so in women than men. ""I am ocd about my hygiene."" Being really conscious of cleaniness is not always ocd. Ocd is really disabling. I basically live alone and dont interact with anyone because of it.",0 "As someone with inattentive adhd, I’m never “too much.” People always perceive me as quiet or spacy.",1 it just measured how long my fixations were. my “light vibe” music phase won. third place was my corpse music binge last month. rest of it was car background music,1 i wish my intrusive thoughts where mostly about firmly grasping birds ,0 "Hear hear! The thing that's shitting me, is how much sleep affects this. I have sleep apnea, if the mask is being shit and my sleep self is a dickhead, I get terrible sleep and that window drops from 3 hours to 30 minutes.",1 "Yeah I dropped my classes immediately after they confirmed this Guess my life is just on pause",1 Yes! I struggled with OCD for awhile before being diagnosed. My ocd is the worst its ever been. I have to just sit with the anxiety which is horrible. I wish i knew how to defeat my ocd.,0 "Thank you for this!! I had the same thought process when I first saw the tattoo - oh, that's really cool, but isn't it going against some of the basic principles of treatment? But I love the pop up metaphor, and I've been wanting to get a tattoo to represent my OCD journey for a while now. I was excited about this idea and simple design, so I went for it and got the tattoo yesterday! Side note, everyone has totally valid points, *and* it's definitely been a little hard posting my new tattoo and then reading a bunch of critical comments on the idea, so I'm probably gonna turn notifications about this off 🙃 but I love that we're having the discussion, and am excited about symbols to help us feel together as a community! ❤",0 This is me today and I fucking hate it and I fucking hate myself for it.,0 "I think for me. When this happens is if i don’t understand why, then my brain won’t allow me to care. It’ll seek the answer out on its own or toss the whole project. Like “screw this seems pointless lets do this instead.” I also hate the reverse effect. When i am telling someone something about the day or how something works. And they aren’t understanding what I am saying, maybe theres a miscommunication. Then I’ll explain how it would help me to understand and they’ll reply “oh…. Next time don’t say all the extra stuff and just say whats needed this and this?” My brain literally fries and I feel like there is no way I could ever communicate with this person again lol",1 "Just recently moved out of a toxic person's home and I still feel like I'm stuck. The guilt, shame, and the feeling that I have to defend myself just doesn't leave me alone.",0 "Omg!! I do the same. Went to an Asian grocery store the other day. Saw an exotic new veggie. Got distracted, fascinated by it, and ofcourse bought it:) Saw it in my fridge daily, and I’d say to myself....ok how do I cook it? Do I boil it? Bake it? Omg it’s too complicated.... and then I’d shut the fridge door. Three days later....like all my other adventures impulsive grocery trips...it went bad. Rip exotic veggie :) And they say healthy people should shop at the periphery of a store...away from the lure of junk food.",1 "definitely not trash! the emotion this piece conveys is very powerful and relatable (which takes a LOT of skill to accomplish, so great job!)",0 "I've been told to self isolate for a week due to a very small cold. Not corona, but still gotta be safe apparently. Ive been in bed so far doing absolutely nothing but binge watching shows. Really, really already fallen so far behind. I have a lot to do. But that added pressure makes me want to do it less. I have multiple extensions, but I'm failing miserably. I actually started to go in and work well, preparing presentations etc. But now I have fallen back into my hole. Fucking coronavirus.",1 Thank you for the way you formatted this post. The bold and spacing helped me read all of it. A nanny is an awesome idea :),1 "It's definitely a thing, for some reason something for someone else is always easier than something for you. The other day I spent four hours cleaning the yard, not for me of course, I just live here... ​ 'runs in families' being that it's genetic, umm yeah... LOL",1 "I have the exact opposite problem. I go to take my meds and my OCD is like ""What if you already took them? What if you already took them multiple times and now you're overdosing? You'd better count every pill in the bottle 3 times to make sure""",0 That’s awesome! Were you drawing anything in particular?,0 I’m not a doctor nor do I play one on TV but isn’t that like telling someone to not have a heart-attack even though they have severe cardiovascular blockage?,1 i hate how OCD is made to seem like a joke or some quirky personality trait because it isnt. they really need to stop making stuff like this because its not funny and undermines the severity of the disorder,0 This post hits deep. I’m proud of you. This is the best news I’ve read during 2020. Keep on Rockin’.,0 Washing a big knife that's already been washed because you're 100% sure it's been contaminated because someone else washed it and their hands are probably contaminated and it's also been in the drawer which is contaminated,0 Omg yeah you feel it coming on and freak out because you don’t want it so you try to think your way out of it and end up back in the dark abyss. The best.,0 I want to do that later when my finances stabilize.,1 My intrusive thoughts have been off the charts during this entire thing.,0 "So I haven't EXACTLY done this, but I did something similar once. After finishing up the deed, I (as the bottom) went to clean up first, and while in there realized my teeth needed brushing, then I saw a stray extra-long hair I needed to deal with, then before I knew it my SO was knocking on the door asking what was taking so long because they still needed to clean up too -.-;;",1 Fucking same. I’m sorry to hear that I’m not alone because this is fucking awful,0 "I think it is this very problem that is the root of all my bad mental health/depression. despite being medicated, I will loose the will one day to keep up with my responsibilities and they just pile up and it's impossible to catch up. I'm just laying in my bed scrolling on my phone and the thought of how much I have to do rolling on in my subconscious stresses me out and makes me feel stupid and lazy and yet I'm just paralyzed doing useless shit to avoid my boring responsibilities that I don't care about",1 "repeatedly sanitizing my hands at the gas station: _hahaha I just look diligent now_",0 "Since trying weed last year in February (edibles), I've been able to cope with my OCD and its been so nice having that break. I never thought I would get one again. It's been so long, but finally.",0 "There are few things that can make me absolutely lose my shit, but this is definitely one of them. Spontaneous combustion really describes how I feel inside when that's going on. My husband is one of those TV-or-music-always-on kind of people, whereas I'm very happy in absolute silence, especially if I'm concentrating on something. So there are times when he's trying to talk to me, and maybe I just got home from a 45 minute drive after a long day at work, and the dogs want my attention, and I haven't even gotten out of my work clothes yet, and the TV is this constant noise in the background.... WANT TO EXPLODE He also very likely has ADHD, but it presents a bit differently from mine and he doesn't get overstimulated the same way. Definitely gets the whole sensitivity to rejection symptom though, as do I, and I love him to bits and don't want to hurt any feelings. So it's always a bit of a careful ballet to navigate those situations without any damage.",1 "*Glances at my ""other bookmarks"" tab with 50+ things bookmarked* What? Me? I could never. I have no idea what you're talking about. I have exactly one organized thing in my life and it's my Google Drive. Things are organized by year, quarter, and class and shared between all of my accounts. Literally nothing else in my life is that organized lol",1 I really love it!!! Maybe I’ll keep that one in mind for a future tattoo ;D,0 "idk if this is quite the same, but I'll have a dream/nightmare about me doing something and then convince myself it was real and I'm just trying to repress it because I don't want to face the fact that I'm a terrible person who does awful things. This is the worst to deal with.",0 That almost never happens. I dont think that ever happened in fact.,1 "i do this when i haven’t worn a certain shirt in a while, or when someone spends a lot of time putting work into something only to have it not be appreciated and just thrown out.",0 "I've had so much trouble with this exact issue! The thing that's helped me the most is getting a really good instant-read digital thermometer so I can test different places and make sure the meat has reached a safe temperature throughout~ Food-related panic is so frustrating and difficult Congrats to your husband on his progress!!",0 "Heh, which is why I've switched to my new mode: just be disappointing from the beginning so you never feel like a fraud.",1 "I hate when I try and leave 30 minutes to an hour early and then inner city traffic makes it so I’m late I’m like “I DID EVERYTHING RIGHT AND IT STILL GOES WRONG! WHAT’S THE FICKIN POINT?!”",1 "With me personally, I guess it because its an easy way or holding a thought in writing, if that makes sense? Lol",1 "Thanks, you got me to go to bed on time last night 🙌👍👌",1 "Lol yeah, its one of the reasons I like anime/shows in another language. I have to read the subtitles and that keeps me focused on what is going on",1 "Don't ""remember to eat a healthy meal."" Eat any meal that isn't a candy bar from a convenience store because it's 11pm and you forgot to eat and buy groceries for the second week in a row",1 Had some traumatic intrusions today. Used my Calm-I-Go and Anxiety notebook and quickly moved on to enjoying my day. 🙂,0 "Woah, this is so easy! I think I'll try it too! And while I'm at it, I might as well just *not be sad* as a cure for my depression! Thanks random internet stranger's mum!",1 It’s not just about being clean. It’s a trait some of us have. The mental games I have in my head all day ... misunderstood illness.,0 I really wish I would have known more about adhd when I was younger. All of these comments really hit close to home and it just sorta sucks.,1 "I’ll gladly give you mine!! Matter of act I’ll give you everything I have, all my money, all my possessions, you can even have my left arm! I’ll give anything to get rid of this damn disorder. Still though, would I even want to give it away to someone? No one deserves this shit",0 If you have ocd make this your wallpaper to remind you every day,0 Or the whole world will end or something bad will happen,0 THIS IS ME. HOW DO I FIX IT. This doesn’t just apply to productive tasks but it also affects my down time immensely. I just want to enjoy some of the fucking things I use to. But I can’t ever get there and once I’m actually in a place of relaxation or enjoyment times over and you gotta get back to the daily grind.,1 Me trying to get reassurance I'm not suffering from 7 different diseases,0 "Yes. Another poster on a recent thread made a comment about her brain ""throwing a tantrum"" and attributed her struggles to her ""toddler brain"". This resonated so strongly with me except it feels like having the parent AND the toddler in there together. A lot of stalemates.",1 Had this moment last week. Try listening to music friend. Like it's a whole experience. Enjoy the happiness it takes some getting used to. Take it easy and let your body adjust. Big hugs 🤗,1 Seconding the poster suggesting telehealth. It's how I'm meeting with my therapist during quarantine too!,0 this is incredible!! Thanks for sharing. SO HAPPY for you :),0 "I’ve been told that and I feel like I know it, but it still doesn’t help me see who I really am. I am too stubborn to accept that I am not as bad as I think",1 "I thought I didn't have OCD bc I thought OCD stood for Obsessive Cleaning Disorder bc that was what I was told my entire life, but then I did actual research and realized I had OCD years later when I started to show more symptoms ;-;",0 "Yeah me too, avoid outside because it could be a waste when u go out & get bombarded by your thoughts, so u come back feeling worse then u was before u left so to avoid it, I just stay in..",0 "I here you my dude, this thing nearly killed me once or twice. One time I even went to brake razor blades out of a disposable razor to do..., well you know what. The only reason I didn't was while doing so I slipped and cut trough my finger, Looked like I peeled bananas. That shock kind of made me forget about the other thing. There's been other examples of such exhaustion of the entire OCD experience, the only way out was to say no. Easier said then done and hell if I don't still struggle but it really really is just about saying no again and again to the bull. Like working out, or practicing a video game. ​ Good luck my dude, I'm with you.",0 "Props for the writing of this story. Especially “the name problem” as i like to call it, that so many people on reddit have was solved very graceful.",1 "Lol, I used to be told this by my psychiatrist years ago, but then my OCD tried to make a loophole for when I know that to be the case and can move on. That since it doesn't worry me anymore, I Must be bad..",0 My brain skipped right to the quotation and felt queasy. I went forward and back and now feel better… I think,1 "ADHD, PTSD, OCD, GAD, 2 chronic medical conditions but no depression. My default is happy and I think life is amazing! I had a horrific childhood and when I was 18 a million years ago, I felt like I finally entered a different dimension and life keeps getting better into middle age.",0 that’s awesome! huge congratulations to your husband!,0 Congratulations!!! That is incredible! I hope to be able to reach that point someday!,0 This is funny cuz this is me right now only...I have a headache. Must be brain cancer.,0 I can only watch tv or listen to the radio if the volume is set to an even number. Especially if it’s the car radio — not trying to crash!,0 "Did she say that on the show? Also, yeah, comments like that are frustrating. I've cried at least 5 times today because of an obsession. Definitely not a blessing.",0 So true. The only treatment I got was scolding and look where it got me. Nowhere.,1 I swear ocd memes are the funniest shit. Feels like inside jokes haha,0 "I would not be surprised. Grammarly (and my English professor) are constantly fussing at me for comma splices. I also tend to use a lot of em dashes, semi-colons, and brackets. I'm also a sucker for using *italics*. I'm a writer and tend to have to go back in editing and take out some of them because I use so many. Part is my ADHD... part is my need to go back to class for grammar.",1 I once zoned out during and was thinking about my car then I zoned back in like 2 min later and was like oh this is happening ok,1 Damn ...I am a 90's kid wish it existed during my school life,1 Omg .. I really needed to see this. I have this exact thought process right now! But I strive to be a good person everyday 😭,0 "I do the same. you have a wealth of hoarded information and content. 🤠 nothjng to be ashamed of! you dont have to dig through it now, but definitely dont get rid of it!",1 "Poorly! My semester was already 100% online, and was really looking forward to the late start classes on campus to help anchor me. My “Pivot then Spiral” strategy of starting with the least engaging material first, then pivoting to the next least engaging task when I hit a wall strategy has a breath limit. When I reset each time after a break, esp the three times a day after meds, it starts out OK, but the amount of time I spend on the least engaging tasks gets shorter in Block 2, and even shorter in Block 3. My initial courseload was all CS/programming or maths, which is a nice clustering of similar cognitive tasks, and subject matter, so that I can sometimes circle back to the original task in Block 1 or 2 by downshifting for awhile. But bringing in other subjects, like screenwriting or social science, with different methods of instruction and assessment, like dreaded discussion posts with Internet strangers or reading & watching videos, there is zero human interaction to catalyze my writing process or keep me engaged. Our college is trying to move to more fully online credit classes in general, without investing in remote support services or humans to provide necessary engagement, so this COVID-19 situation is just accelerating an existing trend. :/ As a mature student at a community college to save money before transferring to a university for a career change, I’m not excited at the prospect of further delaying doing research and eventually resuming work. And drop courses bc of Access issues will hit my financial aid. All around not a great situation.",1 "The worse ones I get are during sex with my fiancé. Other people might pop into my head and I feel so guilty and disgusted with myself. It totally puts me off. I didn't have an orgasm until I was 24 because of this. I wonder how common this is with people who have OCD. However I know now that it's completely normal for things to pop in your head during sex. I've been doing mindfulness which really helps me now. Would definitely recommend to other people. I'm also on Citalopram and have high intensity CBT though which probably helped too.",0 "So... I made the mistake of enrolling in online school before getting my ADHD diagnosis. I'm making it through, but barely. I have to make my own schedule. So I recommend you try to do the same, even if you have to live by your alarm clock. But you can be a little more... flexible with it in a way. In person I remember having a 2 hour gap between classes, and I'd often be late to that class. At home, I try to wake up at 8, take meds at 9 and sit down, boot up my computer, and around 930 I log into classes and work until 430. I get if you can't do 7 hours a day, and I often do get distracted doing so, hence the living by an alarm clock. I've got alarms set for 8, 9, 930, 1130 (break) 12 (back to work) 2( break) 230 (back to work) 430 (end of day). It get annoying, but the alternative is trying to crunch everything out at end of term, so, i'm used to the alarm sounds xD.",1 Were you spying on me...?! This was exactly my weekend....,1 "This is amazing. I was just thinking the other day I wish I just had a personal assistant to help me do everything every day, remembering things for me, keeping me on track…",1 Even the fact that it is called Attention “Deficit”... has always irked me. If anything I have a surplus of attention and I am constantly looking for places to put it.,1 "Honestly this is when we need our meds the most. Set up the structure, open up your work shit, try to start getting work done without the meds and then just take the damn things to get you to start executing. Personally I’m good at setting up project plans and tasks for myself, organizing to do lists, etc but once it gets to the point where i need to actually start doing the assignments, my brain completely rebels and refuses to do anything.",1 "just got screamed at and called ""inconsiderate"" the other day for being so miserable all the time, like I choose the adhd/asd/ptsd/dysphoria/depression etc. etc........",1 "If you’re wondering how much sanitizing is enough, and how much is too much, here is some ancient Chinese folk wisdom for you: ... Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity. TTC, Ch. 9, Stephen Mitchell",0 Holy crap! This was literally my first OCD breakdown. I BEGGED to be put in some sort of institution where I couldn’t hurt anybody.,0 Oh WOW this was helpful. I get so caught up in the “you are what you think” or “what you think you can attract”. Wow it is so much calming to just see it all as nonsense my brain plays up that really has no actual bearing on anything.,0 "I received reports for this post, however, I am approving it. While on the surface it looks like it breaks rule 3, I think it's important in the context of being critical of a company, and people have the right to be upset about it! So, please no further reports.♡",0 "Probs overthinking this, but I hope my meme doesn't cause people who see it to start thinking about these things!! If that's the case I'll take it down",0 "This so much. So much so that I’ve stopped going out and socialising as I just think I bring everyone down and I’m a horrible person. It doesn’t matter how much people say I’m nice I can’t hear it and I just instantly think negatively about myself. I’ve tried doing positive things, positive affirmations, bullet journaling, looking in the mirror and saying 3 things I like about myself.... but there isn’t anything. Thank you for sharing and I realise what it is now and why. I’m still waiting for assessment, but my god believes I have ADJD as well as ASD and every time I read someone else’s experiences I relate on some out of world level. So thank you.",1 "Once my mom asked me to fold my dad's clothes and I said no. She got so fucking pissed and I did end up doing it. I'm terrified to say no to her. I don't get a choice, I get a question with a right and wrong answer.",1 I’m definitely an asshole. If I didn’t also had health anxiety I’d be a pretty content asshole at that. Lol.,0 "Thank you. This helped a lot. I might not be diagnosed or even know for sure if I even have it, but I really appreciate this.",1 "Currently reading this at 3:21AM waiting for the edible to kick in, munching on Cheezits",1 live a day like an OCD sufferer and she'll learn her place,0 This is what I’m doing rn LOL IM SUPPOSED TO be doing french homework.,1 "I ""ask my hands"" where I touched it last. That usually finds it. Often in a place I totally forgot.",1 I've been diagnosed since I was 17 but no one told me what it was. After finding this sub I feel better about the diagnosis and not just making everything up.,0 My OCD brought me an existential crisis and an optimistic nihilistic outlook,0 "I’m 34F. I agree lol. Believe me, this sh*t does not go away with age nor “coping mechanisms” lmao. 10mg adderall xr or bust for me at least. And deplin and active b12 are my go-to. You can use mindfulness and bullet notes all day but that won’t magically make the necessary amount of dopamine just appear. It is just science.",1 YES!!! Omg if I could have any super power I would want to be able to stop time and still move around so I could just catch up on.... e v e r y t h i n g.... and actually have time to enjoy life a little.,1 "Example article. I literally was reading this after my post to check if I should try another medication and it mentions children in the first paragraph and loads more after that. [https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/treatment-overview](https://www.healthline.com/health/adhd/treatment-overview)",1 "lol i wish. for now i gatta stick to alcohol, which probably isn't that healthy ig haha",0 "F*ck me that’s exactly it. Like every morning the second you wake up with a clear mind and then it starts auto-tuning, looking for the next available frequency. Also: it’s an annoying feeling not be able to let go of those topics. Even when they’re obviously not important but you feel like you just cant go about your day without having “figured it out” or thought it a certain way",0 "I call this ‘lightning in a bottle’. An almost sure fire way for me to do something is for me to watch a specific thing or look at a specific book or set up a specific atmosphere and boom drawing hand go brrrr Of course I have chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia which is a very nasty combo with ADHD so I won’t do anything when I’m tired and can’t keep my eyes open but any other time this method works. Can’t keep lists to do everyday because I forget they are there. I can’t do a list of tasks because I can’t keep on task and by the time I circle back to the original task I’m too tired to complete it and thus feel like a failure. With the lighting in a bottle method I can get completely wrapped up in what I am doing even something as mundane as vacuuming the floors because I don’t my brain is very inspired and excited and wants to do that and literally nothing else therefore I won’t branch off into other tasks unlike with the dopamine method.",1 I felt this in my stomach. The worst is being worried about everyone figuring out that you aren’t a good person.,0 "> the lord is testing me sooo...more ""magical thinking""? It's important to challenge these ""crazy"" thoughts that might seem logical in a moment of crisis. No one is testing anyone, shit just happens. *You're sooo important that we had an entire PANDEMIC just to test you, Your Majesty.*",0 "For me, I find that the opposite tends to happen more often—I feel regret or remorse from overreacting to things that people said to me months or even years ago when what they were trying to say had a perfectly benign interpretation that I'd missed at the time.",1 "Hey, whoever called it trash doesn't know what they're talking about because that right there is amazing, my friend 👌👌👌",0 When you’re anxious and/or excited about something for the next day good fucking luck LOL especially if it’s like a status update I’ll check that shit 50 times till 6 am and I’m just drop dead knowing damn well it’s won’t be updated till 9 am+ the next morning,1 "Happened to me, never realized until I went to therapy for other reasons and my therapist explained to me the real symptoms of OCD",0 "Yes, the mental health disorder that currently has my husband on short-term disability because it is pure hell is “desirable”.",0 Same for liked videos. I currently have about 400 watch later videos.,1 "I wish I got medication :( I really need it but they won’t give it to me and I can’t handle it anymore",1 "Between the ages of like 4-10 I could barely go to friends houses. The only way I could go is if I knew someone other then my parents would be dropping me back off at home, I didn’t want my parents to come pick me up because if they didn’t get there exactly on time I would instantly go into panic mode thinking something bad happened to them. When they would go out on dates and I would have a babysitter, if they weren’t home exactly when they said they would be, I would start spamming them with calls and freaking out. Luckily they got me a therapist who helped me out a lot, but before that help, I would go through endless thought loops of everything that could have happened to them. I never even was diagnosed with OCD until a few years ago, once I was able to accurately describe how my thoughts worked and why I started to get anxious.",0 "This is a big reason I never played any sports. I mean I also hate sweating and being outside. But the way coaches seem to just yell at you until you do the thing does not motivate me at all. Like if you yell at me when I didn’t actually do something to deserve it, it’s over. I will hate you until the day I die. As an adult tho, I’m starting to realize that the anger was sort of a distraction to keep myself from bursting into tears.",1 Shiit yes. Thats a add/adhd thing? Thanks god in not alone with that.,1 "I love this person. But they don’t understand how a 30 min story is just unbearable and when they get upset that i start multi tasking, oh my lord. They also have issues with me watching a movie with them while using my phone They just don’t yndeyavdcsay I’m not listening...but when i tell them every fact that just happened they are baffled",1 "Ahh, I sympathise with you, my hands are all cracked and sooo dry right now as well.. does anyone else have like a sudden urge to pee *right* after you put lotion on your hands (even if you peed like 3 mins ago), so you have to wash them again? Wtf brain, please stop making me wash my damn hands so much!",0 yeah lol gotta make sure i didn’t confess to a murder i didn’t do,0 "Bruh. I work in a truck for a living and we drive for hours. And Jesus Christ, it’s so hard for me. The talking and talking... I just need a break.. please for the love of god stop talking.",1 "Adhd brains don’t have memories filed in order, like in a library.. ready to be referenced at any time. We have piles of unorganized papers. Everywhere.",1 Yeah I started doing the productive procrastination a bit and it’s weird. I was putting off doing assignments hat were due that night and that I didn’t want to do by doing programming assignments that weren’t due for a few days. I kinda fell out of the habit tho so now I’m back to normal procrastination :l,1 "This is one of the truest things I have ever read. Also raised to be frugal so it feelsbadman but, it is definitely cheaper in the long run and I stand by it!",1 Your doctor started you off on 40mgs per day?! That's a a lot. Side note: people love to come on this sub and post about their first day or first week on medication.,1 "I feeeeellllll this. I constantly feel guilty that I have people that love and care for me?? Like I feel like I don’t deserve the friends that I have and I tend to isolate because I feel like if they could really see me, the way I see me, they’d realize they hate me too. I know it’s illogical but it’s so hard stop my brain from thinking this way.",1 "*upvotes meme* *immediate intrusive thought less than half a second later* *begins compulsion in head immediately* I hate it so much.",0 "* shakes the handle 40 times, unlocks and locks it 15 more times just to be “sure”",0 "100%. I need the 'why' BEFORE the 'how' or I can't even begin to focus on how to get there. Additionally, if you're not forthcoming with the 'why' i'll just never do the thing. Period. ADHD demands I be interested in the thing. If you can't relay why I need to be interested then go do it yourself lol.",1 I got literally no words other than 'mood'. This sucks so bad and I'm sorry,1 You’re art is awesome and a great idea as an outlet. I also letter and might need to try this!,0 "Hey! That’s just 364,96 days of the year! You can do better ;)",0 "its interesting how when the flowers bloom, the person gets this ocd ''demon'' and when it goes away , the flowers are gone too. i love this artwork :)",0 I love/hate this. Thank you. I'll go clean up dinner now.,1 Omg. Get out of my head. Ridiculous how much I relate to some of these posts.,1 Holy shit 😭 thank your mom for me my ADHD is now cured,1 "ADHD leading to secondary depression is bad enough, add in major depression on top of the understimulation-fed depression and existence itself becomes intolerable. Compound executive dysfunction out the wazoo. I'm in the same boat. Coming off another antidepressant that didn't work the third time around, like the first two tries with the same pill.",1 "From the moment my daughter was diagnosed at 6 I’ve told her that she’s perfect, just as she is. She isn’t broken, she isn’t deficient, she is intelligent, creative and just the type of “out of the box” person this world needs. The same is true for all of you here. I’m sorry if anyone has ever told you anything different.",1 "Man, this hits hard. I wonder if I'll ever have a stable mood in my life ever?",0 Nothing like Getting diagnosed with ADHD at 19 and realizing that everything you got punished for growing up wasnt really your fault,1 I have always felt self conscious of how many commas I use when writing... glad to know other people feel aware of their own over use. :'),1 "Yes. This started about a year ago for me. It randomly came about. At first I thought I had a UTI, went to the doctors, didn’t have one. And then I realized it was just anxiety/ocd related lol. It was bad for a bit last year. Literally got up every two minutes for like 3 hours while trying to go to bed. Eventually just sticking through it regardless. Now it’s more like I have to get up about 3-5 times (yes that amount exactly) before I can fall asleep. Sometimes I even tell myself “oh I’m just taking a nap,” to trick my mind because if I’m lying in bed or napping I don’t have this compulsion. Needless to say, I hate it! Slowly getting better but far from it. Lol.",0 I'm not doing well at all. I feel like I will break down any day and like.. freak out. I'm Scared and I have a sense of dread that will not leave,0 Wait...this is an OCD symptom? I thought it was a depressive one? Or is it both? Pls help,0 "My first OCD experience was with scrupulously at the age of 13. I grew up religious, and in many ways still am, but I spent the next 17 years believing I was going to hell. I was scared to death of my intrusive thoughts. I spent three straight thinking the word “no” because I was trying to avoid thinking anything that would surly condemn me. I was even “exercised” in an attempt to get the demons out of my head... It’s tough, but you got this!!!",0 "I'm really struggling with focusing on my studies, any tips? Congrats btw",0 "i just see it as intrusive and shout a muttered ""NAH"" aloud",0 Lmao thanks for making my morning 😂 TIL my early morning intrusive thoughts sound like Trump,0 "Me and my wife... She's way worse but medication and repetition is helping. I can power through it generally for the big ticket stuff but a lot doesn't get done like it should. The laundry is my arch nemesis... My biggest issue with it is even stuff I enjoy often I just don't start because it takes effort. If I can force myself to start I'm good and I'll go ham on it. I guess I'm like starting a very cold car with a weak battery...",1 "Genuinely went through the same thing yesterday. It helped to explain my logical thinking process to someone else, a friend —- pm me if you’d like another ear to blow off steam!",1 You could be stupid and lazy maybe that will help? Whatever helps you get up and being a productive member of society. I personally would now use that new status as an excuse to continue being lazy,1 "its gotten to the point where my mom is annoyed with me, everytime she comes home I ask her to watch her hands and watch her touch everything she touches before washing them, and if she doesnt do it within a minute I keep asking and I know its annoying but the feeling is just hrrggg 😔",0 This happens to me too but OCD gets mad and comes back with new tricks. But congrats :),0 "I've become a master of researching because of my OCD. I guess that's a silver lining. It took away so many hours of my life though. If anyone asks me anything though, I can find out real easy if I don't already know it. So yeah. ",0 Brushing teeth yoy do before bed and once you wake uo. No need to change that. All the rest lol yea. Goodbye xd,1 "F ing hell that hit too close to home... Can I do something with it or is it for life? I’ve been diagnosed with ADD at 17 y.o, 4 years ago. I think I’m starting to get ocd from it. I can’t leave my apartment without searching every room several times in order to find things I could’ve forgotten. Makes me anxious, with social phobia it’s a “be on time” killer. My flat’s been a mess for a month now, I really want to do it. I somehow manage to forget it when I’m about to start, usually end up on my pc. At least I’ve got an appointment with a psychiatrist in less than a week. Psychotherapy didn’t help much. Well, it wasn’t centered around ADD... Does cognitive behavioral therapy work for ADD? I would like to try some center for ADD treatment’n stuff. I’m too pusillanimous to make an appointment... Does therapy in those centers actually work or is it BS?",1 "I hate you for karma farming! But also.. Love you too <3",0 I feel this and am bothered by this at the same time!,0 "I completely agree, my brother in law had severe ocd where it would affect his movements and would get ""stuck"" doing certain repetitive movements sometimes for hours, I also have OCD and it's like fighting the devil everyday",0 "Our ability is capped by both skill and motivation. While most people have a constant state of motivation, we have it fluctuating a lot. But others’ expectation does not account for motivation part of it, and focus purely on our skill.",1 Well I can tell no one comforted your dad or gave him a shoulder to cry on lol,1 "Ok so I noticed something. I remember reading a post aaaages ago about a guy who, first thing in the morning remembered and then obsessed over the word “tofurkey” and I found it funny. I let it go and time went by. It came to me later how I’d wake up in the middle of the night for a pee and wonder “where is it?” About a feeling I got that, funny enough, used to keep me up all night. I used to dream and yearn for the day I didn’t have that feeling anymore and it clicked. I woke up and habitually - “compulsively” search for the feeling. This is stuff YOU look for. You can’t try not to find it because the desire to not find it will eventually lead to you thinking about it. It’s like if I say “don’t think of a pink elephant”. There’s something in that. There’s some part of you that holds onto the “what if” Letting go. Learn what it is. It’s unlearning. There’s no knack to letting go there’s just....",0 "Funny you should mention this, I was just watching Eternal Sunshine last night and thinking how I related to his character. My favorite movies like this one and Memento (not sure if Nolan has ADHD as well but I suspect he might with how so many of his themes resonate with me) involve living in the moment or playing with the aspect of time in storytelling. (Eternal Sunshine spoiler) I love how when his final memory of Clementine is collapsing around him he resigns to “just enjoy it.” Then when they find out what they did to each other there is a beautiful acceptance by the two of them to enjoy the journey even knowing the destination. Living in the moment is the blessing and the curse of ADHD. We may know where these tendencies may lead but what else can we do but enjoy the ride?",1 "I kind of do, but I think it was replaced by action. I know I did bad things in my past, I said things I shouldn't have. I just own up to it. Most of the time, that's all people ask for. A true genuine apology about past mistakes and some sort of education and action that shows you have tried your best at changing, as that is all we can do.",0 "One time I mentioned something I thought was just a quirky thing about me, and I got asked if I did it cause of my OCD. Which sent my OCD overanalysis into overdrive.",0 "Does anyone have something similar to this that they do? Bouncing a ball might even annoy me as we have hardwood floors and I'd like to do this at work without raising awareness of it. Really cool that his girlfriend understands this.",1 "This is why structuring your life can provide you with so much relief! Instead of a mindset, doing the things you need to do is built into your foundation, and then you can use your free time to take care of your wellbeing. It’s helpful when creating your foundation/structure to break it down. I like the categories: duties, weekly/ daily maintenance tasks, work, reflection, and morning and night routines. Then I make a rule that all free time that I have in between this must have no purpose; can’t be productive (which our culture makes us feel really bad about); must be play—so you actually feel more rejuvenated (and can be more productive when it’s that time!)",1 "is it just me or are a lot of brains (stealing from How to ADHD) here struggling even more because of the pandemic? Like we've all lost the external structure of school/work/whatever thing outside of ourselves forced us to have routine. Everything sucks now.",1 "RIGHT, like wtf, completion was supposed to cure it, not make it WORSE",0 OMAGAHHHH. I know right? I CANNOT get my brain to not view as just forcing me out of my comfortzone and it being useless in the endddd.,0 "I'll sometimes have this issue when cleaning my cat's litter boxes. I freeze and will put it off for days cuz I can't make that conscious decision to clean the litter boxes. I can occasionally get around that by not thinking of it as something I NEED to do but that the kittehs CAN'T do for themselves. It can take me a bit to finish but I can if I think of it that way. Like glitching my brain into flipping that 'Mom override' switch I've seen elsewhere.",1 "ITS SO I CAN CRAM TWO THOUGHTS INTO EVERY SENTENCE, IT HELPS ME COMMUNICATE AT A LESS FRUSTRATING RATE TO PEOPLES WHOSE BRAINS DONT RUN AT SIX THOUSAND MILES AN HOUR.",1 "I think people tend to paint me as some mysterious, outrageous, and cool social butterfly due to my unorthodox ways of socializing and crazy unembellished stories I tell about my life. But after they find out I'm mostly a boring dude who very periodically does outrageous stuff and my day-to-day life is quite mundane, they start to drift away. It doesn't help that I'm bipolar and people tend to be drawn to my hypomanic side while disliking my depressive side.",1 "Not only do I have to know why, I will over analyze it and try to figure out ways to make it better or more efficient",1 so helpful. I was just obsessing over: how do I know if a few rips rational or irrational. lol. great timing xx,0 "Not gonna lie, the title had me thinking this was going in a completely different direction.",1 DUDE. My mom will literally want to talk for HOURS on the phone. I can do 1:45 max and after that I can’t. Then she gets mad but it’s like...you know I’m like this. I feel bad but it’s just how it’s alwYs been,1 I am stressed men. I am freshman and I am procrastinating again and again . And OCD is making it worse. Due to OCD I feel I should bath every time after I go to pee or to wash my bum. Because my butts have become dirty after touching toilet seat. Which wastes my time in taking bath multiple times. I do not put my foot on floor because they can became dirty . If I put I wear socks so that I do not make my bed dirty due to my feets. I repeat words multiple times to get satisfied. I wash hands multiple times which has lead to dermatitis .,0 "I can't function without a planner - never could. And even with one sometimes I forget. Like in university when I just totally forgot that I had a class one evening despite having a planner, calendar, alarms, etc...",1 I’m writing a story where the main character is a 14 year old boy with OCD harm intrusives!,0 Try ASMR there is something for everybody with so many channels on YouTube that make such unique experiences. I find it helps me get to sleep if I'm really struggling to.,1 So sorry to hear that. I'm in my late 40s now but I lost some teeth in my early 20s because I didn't go to the dentist. Health matters!,1 Black Coffee as in the DJ? Because he’s helped me with my focus issues as of late.,1 "Sensorimotor OCD: \*Goes away\* Religious OCD: It's *showtime*...",0 I definitely get this. I’ve had my dishes sitting in my sink for over a month. Unable to force myself to wash them. I literally just eat food that doesn’t need to be put in a dish and use plastic spoons to eat everything. It’s pathetic.,1 Omg I get angry with the hateful speech from ignorant people on the internet too. I have zero tolerance.,1 "Mood. I keep sitting here with so many ideas that I could no doubt do amazingly at actually writing, if only I ever actually did write. Every time I try to learn a new task I always give up too soon. I sewed a hood onto a blanket cut into essentially a giant scarf and that took like two whole days. I barely even play video games or do things that are entertaining, much less anything productive. I fucking hate it.",1 "Congrats!! That’s something that, now that I think about it, I don’t think I’ve ever done. I’m at a point where my OCD has kind of taken the backseat so my symptoms affect me in a more subtle way but I’m always doing little compulsions and I don’t have the energy to fight them and they happen too quickly for that anyway. It’s kind of a reflex. I don’t think about it much and I let it happen. (I have done multiple just typing this). That said I don’t do them because of any anxiety, just a feeling that I have to do them. My obsessions and compulsions affect me independently of each other. So it must be even more of a struggle for you because you DO have an anxiety tied to them. It’s not easy to overcome anxiety like that and I’m glad you’re recognizing your accomplishments. That’s a really big feat. I’m proud of you !!",0 "And the brain just replies with ""haha, who said you could give me orders?""",0 "For me, the hardest part is the last 10% and calling it ""done"". ""It isn't perfect, so it isn't done yet... right?""",1 "Wait until they find out how OCD, in my case Pure O, ruins every aspect of your life. People really gotta stop romanticizing OCD because it’s an awful nightmare.",0 "It's an Obsessive behavior with certain things, thinking about the same thing and can't stop or doing same thing bc if you don't it, you will feel anxious. I have OCD about many things not just about cleaning.",0 I literally expect to start having auditory hallucinations every time I’m alone,0 I feel you on that... I’ve realized that the only times I actually cook is when I’m thawing mice for my snakes (who eat once a week). Stay strong!,0 "OP I was already screaming 'YES"" in my head the second I finished the title",1 Wouldn’t make a similar joke about depression or anxiety,0 Goodness ocd sucks this happems alot i have to remember that i cant control my thoughts but i can control how i react to them,0 So true. I've explained the feeling similarly to this before. Exhausting is an understatement.,0 This post depresses me. OCD sucks man. It makes good people think they are evil.,0 "I feel this. Automating everything as much as possible has saved me a ton. Even still, I sometimes need to set 1-2 dozen reminders so I can remember to do something.",1 Omygod so this is what I exactly look like in the perspective of d ghosts in our house,0 "Constant shame & embarrassment from past things plagues my mind to no end. I'm too afraid to even see a therapist, because they may make me face them when I've spent 2 decades trying every little thing to forget. I thought it would get better with age & it's gotten 100x worse. Even something as small as calling a friend handsome makes me feel ashamed of myself for months after. I'm at a loss as to what to do anymore. I want to believe what you're saying, but it's so difficult.",0 "This. I have struggled with this my entire life. During the day, I'm fine. I can pee and get it done with. Before bed, I have to do my routine, and then pee, and get in bed as fast as possible. Any little thing can set me off to make me need to pee again. Ill have to do it a dozen times before my body will let me sleep some nights.",0 This is great advice and comports with my experience. Huge THANkS for posting. There is some good key information in here which people with ADHD should know.,1 "Not only he will cure thee, he will also turn you into fishes and bread. You are a tuna sandwich, my beloved child.",0 "I do the same...its frustrating 😐 ETA: I always considered this an OCD thing however never ever imagined this many people must be struggling with the same issue. I can't emphasise enough how frustrating it is.",0 "I'm very happy for you and Ive experienced very similar things with Adderall. Please be cautious about future dosage increases, they can be safe up to a point, but I've had family members lose themselves to Adderall addiction.",1 "oh my god. i had no idea my intrusive thoughts were part of my ocd. (i'm undiagnosed, but i've had people telling me i had it, and even though i denied and denied, i've come to terms knowing that they're probably right) i have rituals and things that i have to do, but i had no idea that the thoughts were part of it. i hate this so much.",0 "Me: 'Boy, I'm sure looking forward to masturbating right now!' Brain: 'Yeah but what if you think about your parents in the middle, does that mean you want to fuck them? Or your grandmother, does that mean you want to fuck her? Or your sister, does that mean you want to fuck her? Or your best friend, does that mean you want to fuck him? Or your cat, does that mean you want to fuck her? Or a child, does that mean...?'",0 "I big relate, but at the same time you're a nice person just for choosing to say nice things. We all have negative thoughts, even the people you may see as much kinder than yourself are judging everyone silently. It's your actions that define who you are, and I think you're pretty great just the way you are. Self-love stonks",0 I struggled with this a lot now only when i/they visit. no matter what i fucking do it just won't go away,0 "Someone please explain to me how I’ve developed this over the past couple months of quarantine... It’s become non stop every day. I keep telling myself I’ll just ignore them and NOT do what my brain tells me but I just keep doing it..",0 We need more of these memes. They really make me feel better knowing I’m not alone.,0 Lol but really though. I feel like such a prisoner in my own brain lately.,1 "This will be my new phone background so I always see it. Thank you so much, this is very grounding.",0 "Yep, especially having a husband that was basically emotionally abusive because of it.",1 Haha yeah I have so many films I've just watched half of and never returned looooool,1 "I strongly dislike girls this this. I have OCD and I’m not obsessing over cleanliness at all. I am however constantly reorganizing the house, because “things don’t look right”. Mid shift I have to get up and reorganize my room or I can’t focus.",0 "Ah, yes, the call of the void. Or just simply intrusive thoughts.",0 "Oh goodness I've had extremely similar thoughts, I didn't know anyone else experienced them.",0 I have the inattentive variety of ADHD (but with major sensory issues/suspected autism) and my wife is the hyperactive type who tells the long meandering stories with tons of extra details and unnecessary additions and it is definitely a struggle with us! I have to close my eyes to listen to her a lot and she's finally not taking it super personally.... it just hurts! Listening hurts!!!,1 "Yep all time. Some high school buddies started a watch party tradition with me when quarantine started because they found out I’ve never watched the Pirates of the Caribbean series, little do they know that despite us being on movie 4, I’m not much better on the plot than movie 1 because I get bored and pick up my phone 20 minutes in",1 "This is my experience of life, hardwired from childhood. As an adult I am still trying to unlearn the idea that complete panic is how you are expected to perform simple everyday tasks. It’s fucked up my system of expressing my emotions completely because I was shown early on that my emotions were meaningless and had to be forced deep down so that I could do what was expected of me. I also have a difficulty accepting other people’s reservations about doing things, because I’ve had to be forced, so I am disgusted with other people for having limitations...however reasonable, because I see them the way others saw me as a child...I see them as needing to go through the extreme discomfort I did, and I can’t have any respect for them deliberately giving up. This is all because I wasn’t allowed to have my own limits, so I have trouble respecting other people’s limitations. In this way, it’s harder to grow up with MORE ability than others...because you have even less acceptance of them for seemingly imposing limitations on themselves. I’m always having to find a way to accept other people setting boundaries for themselves that seem pathetically low. I still honestly don’t know how to accept it in myself or others.",1 "Yeah, me too. And my perception of time is so messed up sometimes that I’ll feel like things I did 5+ years I did just yesterday or something.",0 "Once instead of thinking ""stop, this is disgusting"" I thought ""stop, this is weird"" and shit went down..",0 Literally. Age 29 & still watching the cracks when I walk like 👀,0 L m a o every day. I just snooze it every 10 Minuten until it’s like 22;00 and then I’m like ehh I will do it tomorrow,1 This makes me think about having a bunch open tabs in my head but never closing them. Just letting them sit and fester til the point of eruption.,0 "This is literally why I had to take geometry twice (God bless Catholic school for having options like that and hiding them from colleges.) But once I could see it easily, I’ll collect",1 This honestly. Before my medication my rituals and compulsions would leave me physically exhausted. Painfully so because I simply couldn't stop.,0 "I started playing fucking Skyrim again this week which is an enormous time sink. I thought I’d beat the system and set an alarm for exactly one hour of game time while I waited for my meds to kick in. NOPE: I hyperfocused, turned off my alarm and spent the next 8 hours at my desk enjoying the adventures of Yatug Gra Gashok: Orcish Dragonborn and Tamriel’s worst bard.",1 "I didn't this was a thing until now, i get it every 2-3 days and it always seemed strange to me, because i completely change my behaviour when i'm like this, didn't knew it was a condition",0 Do people with POCD see babies in adult faces? If I'm reading this right.,0 Maybe not sex specifically (maybe cause horny guy and it’s on hyper focus???) but that’s very typical for me in other domains. The other day I put one shoe on and then got distracted by some books that were scattered on ground. I walked around putting a few things away with one shoe on. Why do I insist on doing things in funny orders? I leave a trail of things around the house in funny places because I put something down as I jump to another task and forget about the last. Internal dialogue is even a worse version of this.,1 "Didn’t she call one of her products “KhlOCD”? I seem to remember a previous OCD related fuck up from a Kardashian. Tell me how #blessed you are when you’re too frightened to remove your own child from the car because of the intrusive thoughts telling you that you’ll drop him or poke his eyes out with a tree branch.",0 "The funny part is they are actually refering to OCPD, a serious personality disorder but they don't realize that it exists. OCPD is often associated with perfectionism and cleanliness. Its best to reply with ""oh wow I didn't know you had a chronic personality disorder? What was being diagnosed like?"" and watch them back-track.",0 "Lol I sometimes say ""yeah it's cause of my OCD"" and I've had people lecture me on why I shouldn't use that term. I let them go on, before I tell them I mean actual clinical OCD, because I think it's kinda nice that they'd call someone out for it",0 I go through the tabs and fucking bookmark them lmao,0 "OCD APPROVED omgg “if you have ocd, you’ll love this cleaning kit 🤪🤪” stfu 🙄 I struggle with even the idea of having to get up to take a shower",0 "😂 Yes! Sometimes at the start, sometimes in the middle... Especially during long drawn out action scenes... My mind completely disengages and goes wandering off on its own. Lol",1 "Absolutely. I think it's sort of also a perfectionist thing? Like sometimes I also get stressed because I look around and nothing looks right and I just spiral because I want everything to be perfect or complete. I want my brain to be full of all of the information, I want to have read every book on my bookshelf, I want absolute order in a naturally chaotic world.",0 Found this excellent video! Thanks for inspiring me to look for it! https://youtu.be/IoJx9sXeP34,1 Yup. In school when my dad would punish me for not getting good grades he’d take things away from me and I’d just get even more frustrated and disheartened with myself. My parents never thought to have me tested for adhd and instead made me think I was just being lazy.,1 "What if this happens? Thats stupidly specific and not even slight likely. But what if it happens? . . . fuck",0 "Wow! This is so pretty! You did a great job, keep doing what you’re doing. ♥️",0 "Unfortunately, I have OCD but I am also an asshole. It makes for a lot of guilt and self-hatred.",0 Have you had any luck looking into getting medication?,1 "Wait, is this normal? This has been happening to be forever?",0 Try googling Asperger's. It's like the idea of therapy or any kind of aid for adults with Asperger's hasn't even been invented yet...,1 Wait so my desire to to tasks when in fight or flight mode is becsenof this???,1 Fuck it. There are some days that I will cry and cry because of this illness. I hate it. I want it to go away.,0 "when you ask god for a cocktail he has a ton of combinations. OCD, BPD, ADHD, Tourettes, crippling anxiety and sweet depression \*sigh\*",0 "Jesus christ why the hell do you guys resonate with me so much. its like you guys are in my head. Dammit. I interview great but I can't be consistent my self because I'm always messing up all I can say is I'm sorry and try not to do it again only to get dicked over by another thing I don't remember doing but it probably was me anyway so I suck it up and take the disappointment and I can't defend my self because I can't even rely on myself to do be consistent. Constantly watching the people I trained surpass me, its fucking embarrassing. OP not gonna lie this hurt me to read only because it honestly felt you were taking thoughts out of my mind. But I completely understand how you feel /rant",1 You're awesome. this is actually really inspiring. thankks,0 "The funny thing is that’s actually how ERP and ACT works. You force yourself not to ruminate (try to solve the problem) and leave the thought there, and not react to the stick your mind throws like a dog. The more you react to the stick the more your mind throws them. Of course in doing so at first you have HELLA anxiety but that truly is the only way to overcome OCD. Do the exact opposite of what you want to do, as the compulsive behaviors (rumination in this case) reinforce the occurrences of the thoughts until you have it all the time. If you want your mind to stop throwing thoughts at you, stop trying to get rid of them.",0 "The quarantine is actually the reason why I have any of these things right now. I have to make my own food instead of just going out and getting fast food, one of my wisdom teeth got fucked up the other day so I need to brush consistently to prevent excruciating pain, and my sleep schedule just kinda... fixed it's self. Dunno why. I've been playing a bunch of VR in my free time, so the exercise might be helping.",1 "Thank you, there's not enough info on this side of adhd. I am undiagnosed but convinced that my developing bpd was because of having something else. I have never been enough, hearing that too often in childhood and not having a talent has meant.. I fear I've given up. I keep trying to be better, but end up walking around in circles or drawing a blank with thoughts.",1 "This is gold, so I gilded it. Accurate description of what OCD feels like.",0 "I wish I could still eat more. I can barely manage a couple meals a day anymore with often I forget to eat and how hard it is to get myself to cook. I don’t want to think about how much money I throw away at DoorDash. I regularly feel like I’ll be a failure in the eyes of my peers and my family. But my SO helps keep me grounded and reminds me that I’m allowed to live a life of no meaning, so long as I try and enjoy myself. It’s advice That I hope helps even one of you who might feels worthless, especially after this past year. Love you all and glad to have this community.",1 It’s ok. I have harm ocd and it is the worst. Stop the googling it makes it worse. All this contributes to the condition,0 Holy crap! I thought the faded imaginary switch was just me!....,0 "And people are always like: well, the key with ADHD is to *reward* yourself after finally finishing a task but I don't have money to do that so it winds up being reward myself with food (unhealthy, if I'm even hungry) or something like a shower (not even really a reward just another chore). And it's like even if I have a means of rewarding myself, at heart I don't think I deserve it because like you said, the to do list is so full that I feel like I deserve punishment instead. So, I'm just perpetually taking forever to do stuff, hating myself, hating myself, finally finishing a certain task, hating myself more, and then repeating it over and over. I'm in the least mentally healthy part of my life right now and well, sometimes I think knowing what's wrong doesn't even help.",1 yes i am totally walking back and forth because i can’t remember if i got something not because if i don’t it’ll somehow cause cancer,0 An I the only one who thought this was phrased strangely?,0 Sleep used to be an escape for me nowadays I can't even have that because its coming in my dreams too.,0 And at 1 am...let me change the world in the next 1 hour I have left for the night,1 "No need to pay for Microsoft products. Google docs has this feature already, and you can use it on both phone and PC.",1 "Ah yes, I love being controlled by entirely irrational rules and obsessions that have made it impossible to live any semblance of a normal life. The best part is that I'm aware it's irrational but my brain will never stop, so it feels akin to constant psychological torture. But yeah we can pretend I have an organized room <3",0 can you please send the empty version of this to me i have some ideas,0 And half of those hours are spent waiting for things to open.,1 "That's what happens in an ADHD brain. it used to dog me daily, cause me loads of shit, it made me cry, gave me sleepless nights. felt suicidal the whole lot. I couldn't do fuck all and I was so fed up and frustrated, I told my counciller if I didn't get on medication I was going to end it all cause I couldn't fuction some days and it was just one thing after another. Everything was a mess and it was just getting worse. I'd have good days and bad days, the good days I was able to at least function and do the bare minimum but the bad days I couldn't function at all. I feel your pain man, really feel it. Then I got on medication and it just stopped overnight and all my issues just suddenly disappered. but i hate it when they wear off though its a pain in the arse but thankfully they last all day so I only have to put up with it later on at night.",1 "Gonna go off on a little tangent here, mildly related i guess I went through what felt like a depressive episode before, I don't know if the cause was actually even adhd related, but the constant barrage of bullets which I get from everyone in my life because of adhd related stuff really didn't help. It made it so much easier to give up on myself, I was already seemingly failing at everything, and everyone seems to agree with that, so what is there left to save? Let's just say it wasn't great, and well, now that I'm out of that period of time, I can see how this narrative was flawed and completely untrue, yet at that point of time, it was almost as if things were aligned for me to hate myself and gave me some severe 'loser' mentality(that i sill struggle with tdy), which was also partially due to a toxic friendship but that's too much to talk abt Once you give up on yourself, there's almost no returning to what once was, it's possible, but please trust me, it's so much better to avoid the cycle altogether. You are worth it, so please don't give up on yourself, and if you have already felt like you've given up on yourself, there is still hope, and it is worth it to get back to what once was, I wish you all the strength I can possibly give",1 "I'm really skeptical about the tolerance/holidays thing. The last time I was on adhd medication, I took it daily, upped my dose to the highest dose, and completely built a tolerance to it. It was like taking a sugar pill. All my symptoms returned. This was Concerta, I'm on Adderall now but moderate my intake greatly. I need to rely on it certain days.",1 "Thank you so much. This is helping a lot. Will need to make it a habit.",0 "the /r/aspergers sub seems to be relatively mixed/balanced from my perspective. The groups/pages I've seen on facebook, though, uuuuuuugh.",1 I can completely relate to this. I actually wish they were about 28 hours in a day so I could sleep a couple extra and get my thoughts together for a couple extra.,1 "Yea agreed. You hear people say they are ocd about their hygiene and so on. I have been hospitalized twice with ocd and cannot work at all mainly because of me ocd. It is horrible.",0 "Yeah my girlfriend also procrastinates on doing the dishes. Then she's like ""oooooohhh I'm so sorry I haven't finished them yet 🥺🥺🥺"" I don't mind that you didn't do them, but stop commenting on the fact that you forgot or didn't do it or you feel so bad. It's just ... Awkward",1 "My parents are really great. I fuck up all day long and they sometimes get a little annoyed, but I haven't been yelled at in probably 12 years and I totally deserved it. I on the other hand am absolutely fucking brutal every time I fuck up. I know it doesn't help anything to be so harsh on myself but I really hate just how terrible I am at everything.",1 " * Laziness is a choice. * Executive function is not. * It's that simple.",1 "For me being listened and at least try to be understood matters. This is a process and it takes time. Even thought i follow my therapist guides, do exercise, meditation, medication etc. ❤️",0 I got up and signed the contract of my new place :) due tomorrow! Thank you,1 Or when you’re in a argument with someone and they just talking in circles,1 "I resist all the time, yet here I am. In a panic, scared and shakey. An intense fear of even having a sandwich for some reason. I feel weird and off like “something is going to happen so you better just sit still in your room and avoid contact with anything and everyone”.",0 Don't forget to also touch the wall in a very specific interval before you go to sleep otherwise you will die,0 Had to hold a knife on my therapists wrist last session as an exposure,0 "I did this for house cleaning. I have a group of 4 with the same issue, so every week we all go to one house and clean. The resident watches the kids and gets a clean house. We just rotate weekly, so we each get our house cleaned once a month. See, we can do this for other people, but not for ourselves. It's been great.",1 ABSOLUTELY. it makes me want to end myself right there and then omg it just makes me so miserable and then i start doubting everything i've ever done and/or accomplished in my life,1 omg I’m so glad I found this post I thought I was stupid for doing this!! relieved to know I’m not alone haha,0 "I feel like the phrase I utter the most is ""what's the word I'm thinking of?!"" Also, people who don't make fun of my gobbledygook word salad are my favourite people.",1 "Yes, I sometimes also hit my head when they won't stop.",0 "I don’t usually get that far, I stay in the ball of flames until I start seeking reassurance.",0 Omg you have no idea how helpful this is to me today. Thank you so much,0 This successfully got me to go make and eat breakfast thank you!,1 "As someone whose life was completely consumed by pure OCD at the beginning of 2020 (to the point that I could barely eat and would sleep in my car on lunch breaks at work just to avoid my thoughts) and as someone who was once experiencing all of this but has since come out the other side (exposure therapy completely changed my life), it WILL be okay. You are a wonderful, beautiful, kind, loved, gentle soul and the whole reason OCD is plaguing your life is because you are so genuinely good and caring that you feel the need to eliminate any and all intrusive thoughts from your mind (which is humanly impossible no matter who you are!). This whole community is here for you, we care about you so much, and you are never alone <3",0 "Every day for me, unfortunately. I'm just carrying on with the acceptance approach, and the effect isn't as bad as it used to be.",0 "It wasn't specifically for ADHD but I listened to the NPR Lifekit ep on journaling and it said something like ""just write whenever you have time"". Like ohhh you definitely do not have executive dysfunction or a brain with so many thoughts in it that it feels like you can't possibly get them down on paper, huh?",1 Literally part of my to do list today is to complete the 20 minutes of writing I left undone from my hour of writing on Wednesday. I hear ya.,1 "Unfortunately mine has been ""I want to die"" or some variation for a while and I'm really trying to change this.",0 "Yep, this ""idgaf anymore"" mood strikes me sometimes when dealing with contamination based OCD. This meme conveys that exact feeling of not caring anymore, and me just trying to let things be.",0 "As someone who had his desk moved into the hall, but graduated with 80%; I feel this so hard. I went part-time in senior year of HS. This wasn't technically allowed, but my test scores kept me in the 80% range. They tried to expel me twice for not having enough scheduled classes and missing too many assignments. Always nailed my tests, though. I could stay motivated because I could retain the info and I always knew the end was near. This does not serve me well in the working world. There is no end; just a daily slog until I die.",1 Any sudden health problem or weird mark and all of a sudden I'm sure I'm dying,0 "I’m sorry but you are your thoughts, literally lol. Without your thoughts, you wouldn’t be anything.",0 Oh yeah I'm having my o levels now I keep getting distracted by my gadgets and can't seem to study enough. Guess I've to put them away for a while,1 "They'd be disappointed if I came over, because the only thing I'd do there is walk through every doorway four times, obsess over whether or not I'm a serial killer, and then leave.",0 "My OCD rituals have to be done or I have a fear something horrible will happen, the scary part is every time I ditch my rituals something bad does happen. Once I crashed my car , another time my boyfriend told me he was cheating . Another time I lost my job. How is this possible, isn’t it in my head !?",0 "This is so sweet, thank you! Yesterday I was at a point where I thought - damn. I got so much better, my mental health improved so much and still one intrusive thought has the power to completely rip me out of the current situation and pull me back into my own head again (sorry for weird description, don't know the right English expression for that). I was so terrified that this will never change and I will always have to feel and live this way. But the truth is, at least for me, that while the intrusive thoughts might never go away, and I might always have this terrible feeling as my first reaction to it, the second reaction to it will be better and better. The time to recover from the terrible thought will get shorter. While I am emotionally involved at first it will get easier and easier to distance myself from the thought and realize: This is OCD. You don't need to react to it any further. Hope this makes sense at all. Thank you for reminding me that there is hope. I wish you also a great day or night! ❤️",0 "What?? I never knew this! I’ve just been staying in my head all day long. Damn, I’ll have to try this amazing advice! /s",1 "Yep. This is pretty much my life constantly. I have to send over my proof of accommodation letter from one school to another, and I've yet to do it. I've flagged the email several times already and I still haven't done it. My brain keeps thinking ""you only need that for just before the final exam, so no rush!""",1 "HALT! Hungry? Angry? Lonely? Tired/Thirsty? I did a therapy sesh recently and was given this task to remember. Your post reminded me :)",1 Congrats! You can be real proud of yourself. I am still working on it but it's already a lot better than before. We can do this! 💪,1 Damnnn no joke :// I often have problems with people since I always ask them to repeat things twice or give me some time to analize things. Lol. Everyone thinks its just u being lazy or smth,1 "Actual tip: listen to music. Especially if you're trying to do brain work or study. Shut it off if your focus shifts to the music, and turn it on if you start getting distracted. It's not perfect, but carefully managing my music has done really good things for me in the past!",1 I'm ADHD/ASD too and I hear you. I made a comment on one of the other subreddits about walking on eggshells for fear of upsetting someone and was accused of not having researched the subject before joining! Personally the way I feel about my ADHD and my autism varies on a daily basis - sometimes it feels like a superpower and sometimes it feels like the greatest evolutionary fart joke of all time. :),1 "I was diagnosed in my mid-to-late 20s, and my mom was far more dismissive than I expected. And then I gave her a copy of Driven To Distraction. Which, to my surprise, she read! She was far more understanding of what life is like for me, and even identified some things in her own life. This plan won’t work for everyone, but giving people information is generally a good idea.",1 Being honest was the best decision I made. I thought I was crazy but the psych was able to diagnose me with mild OCD because of my thoughts. Best decision I ever made. ,0 "Me. I have a really hard time cleaning and keeping things neat, partially due to OCD and partially due to depression. I hate the clutter and I hate mess but I can’t manage to clean it. It’s also hard for me to bring myself to shower bcs showers are one of my biggest germaphobia triggers. It seems ridiculous and counter-intuitive, and it is. Brushing my teeth and cleaning my face and overall daily is also really difficult bcs I hate sinks and just overall lack of energy due to being constantly drained from depression and OCD.",0 "The comment I DESPISE is when I tell someone “I am clinically diagnosed with OCD by a psychiatrist” they respond with “omg!! I’m SOooOoOo OCD!! I can’t stand when my clothes aren’t arranged by color!”. I have to tell people I’m “clinically diagnosed by a psychiatrist” because otherwise they don’t take it seriously. Then I get this comment. It honestly hurts. Bitch, I WISH I could find the mental capacity to arrange my clothes by color. But instead, I lie around with thoughts racing through my head of what I should be doing but I can’t make myself do it. I am such a perfectionist that I give up on everything. Because I would rather have a messy house than have a house that is half-ass cleaned. If I can’t do it perfectly, why try? So, no. OCD is not an adjective used to describe your neatness preferences. It’s a mental disorder I live with and battle with every day of my life. If you want to join the club, go see a psychiatrist. Thanks for coming to my TED talk. (None of this was aimed at OP or anyone specifically. Just to people who make such comments.)",0 I am so glad I found this sub. I feel so damn validated. This is me right now. I was doing so well and now I’ve had to up my meds because I wasn’t coping at all. Thank you all for sharing your experiences and helping me not feel alone and feel like I’m crazy and it’s all in my head.,0 Or people that hate me that I have no reason to believe they'd hate me other than having OCD that makes me think they hate me,0 "From around age 10 I knew that there was something *wrong* with me. I spent the next 10+ years trying to figure out what it is. It's the reason for my hyperfixation on mental illness starting at that age. As a teen and adult no matter what proof otherwise I've always thought I was a bad person. That no matter how hard I try I will always hurt the people around me.",1 "Oh god, that fourth & fifth one had me unable to shower for months before, I'm ashamed to say... Got hospitalized after that though, and have been back from that around a year and a half now, after that one month of being inpatient. It was definitely very terrifying but even though showers still stress me and I need to do stupid compulsions before & during (let's just say I wash my hands like a third of the 30 mins it takes me or so, probably :'>) but I definitely am better at that now. Still feel most of these except the last, but then again I'm technically in my parents' house as a teenager/minor so. Good luck to all of you guys. I gotta say, this is one of the most accurate memes I've seen here too.",0 "Well done friend!!!!!!!! This is huge and absolutely magnificent, I've come along way in my journey, going from 90minutes on average down to 15ish minutes now, it is possible to get better:-)",0 I’m avoid doing a chore right now because the compulsions that come along with it are horrible,0 Jesus - this really gave me a much needed laugh. 😳😂,0 "RELATE 100%. I know everyone is sick with hearing about the coronavirus but seriously, it staking a toll on my mental health :( Main problem is my insomnia. I panic because I start feeling sick and then ruminate that I have the Virus and I panic more because I can’t sleep in order to build immune system to fight the virus but the fact that I’m panicking that I can’t sleep is making me not sleep. Which lowers my immune system more which makes me panic more because I need my immune system to fight the virus. sorry for the word vomit but yeah. you're not alone! stay strong :)",0 "This doesn't happen with intense movies (horror movies, etc.), but this definitely can happen with other genres. This definitely happens when reading though, particularly things I'm not very eager to read and merely reading because I have to or feel I should.",1 I just need sleep and I can’t sleep because brain is gey,1 "Holy shit yes. I had to set down everything I owned gently. I apologized to everything I owned. I laid awake at night empathizing for Tom & Jerry, Roadrunner and Wil E. Coyote. It never really bothered me and it went away before I got out of elementary school though. Suppose I’m lucky.",0 "I wish I didn’t see this because my blood is boiling lmao. One of my biggest pet peeves are the fake OCD shit or pretending to have it to be quirky, ETC.! 😐😐",0 You know if you ever are like distracted and you don’t do a ritual (like I count before I pick things up and putting them down) because your brain is focused on something else I’m suddenly convinced I’ve been faking everything because I want to have a ‘special quirk’,0 "This was me last night. I was playing Minecraft with my friends and I didn’t want to stop because I was having a lot of fun. Around 1 am I said in the in game chat how I thought I should go to bed soon. I didn’t go to sleep until 5 in the morning.",1 "Wow this post makes me feel so safe. I have struggled with this for so long. I’m not diagnosed with ADHD but reading stuff like this makes me wonder, and also makes me more comfortable with the idea that maybe I do have ADHD. Regardless, thank you for sharing this.",1 "I wonder if there will be anyone for me, lying in pink salt bath, thinking of me",1 "I used to take (and fail) online classes. I start my MFA in 10 days... and I’m scared that they’re going to pull the plug and do it all online (they do have the structure to do it...) I’m sure that I’ll be able to adjust fine, but I still rather have it in person. Just dedicate the time you’d have spent in class working on the class work, and don’t just try and wing it at your own pace. That’s what I’ll do at least... force myself into a structure rather than wing it.",1 "As someone who suffers from OCD, I do think we can't be that angry at people for misunderstanding OCD. It's a very complex disorder and even we often don't understand it ourselves. So people who don't suffer from it obviously have no idea what's happening at all.",0 I already worked my last hour of work remotely after trying to remotely teach my 2 ADHD little grandchildren today at my home. I deserve this break!!!,1 "My advice is to remember that NT people self-sabotage too, they just vent it on subreddits that you don't look at. For us it shows up in obvious ways like the 5 minutes task we refuse to do (until a day before the deadline.) For NT people it shows up in the relationship they refuse to end but is obvs doomed. ADHD has a tendency to keep the realm of stupid shit relegated to stupid. Tts a gift and a curse. I'm drunk rn so if I worded badly plz be gentle.",1 "Doctor. Evaluation. Meds. Your brain is malfunctioning, your check engine light is on.",1 This. This is me. I wonder why it goes hard against the things I enjoy doing and things that make me happy. I love my job. Two months into a new job now and it’s been a battle. I just push my way through it and try to get stuff done despite how hard it can be to maintain focus. I hope it gets better cos the thought of losing my job over this is terrifying.,0 "Add ""because im stressed from procrastinating months of important work/chores/errands/personal projects made worse from fear of failure and perfectionism plus pushing it off bc not important RIGHT NOW""",1 "Oof...never did that, but there are times when I am having sex with my wife, my mind wanders toward other things. Suddenly, I find myself ruminating on the anti-microbial properties of brass door knobs while taking my wife to pound town.",1 "Yo that, Ritalin, and moving away from miserable people has been a game changer",1 That's adhd for ya. Usually I just forget there are dishes.,1 "If I see something that looks weird in my food it makes me worry and I feel the need to take it out or not eat it anymore. Unfortunately when I do this my friends get mad at me for having this issue and I try to explain to them why I feel the need to take care of the trivial matter or odd looking thing in my food and they just act like it doesn't make sense, because it is an irrational fear and compulsion. Very annoying trying to explain why instead of what I have, I've never been able to be open about my OCD to my friends. I've always been afraid to make it seem like a big deal or something they should treat me differently for, which I don't want them to do. I'm afraid they will treat me differently or look at me differently so I don't express that stuff.",0 THIS LITERALLY HAPPENED WHEN I CALLED MY BROTHER OUT FOR SAYING HE WAS “OCD” FOR JUST WANTING THE CABINET CLOSED,0 "I see a lot of people having the same experience - and I'm one of them, but I don't see a lot of starting points on this 'problem' (if you will). I'm not through this, but here's where I'm at: I am, in general, able to remember things if I work towards it, but this seems not to apply to everything I do equally. Some things I take seriously and I do them fairly successfully and other projects I invest hundreds of hours and still can't give you a clear overview. So for me, the point lies within the project. A very important point was to realize what drives me towards those fun projects. They are fun, but that's not why I spend time on them. * Learning about my mental problems and how to tackle them (theoretically) is fun and all... * All those fun creative projects I know alot of stuff about, but never really finished to a point I'm happy with... * Learing things I think might help me in the future... * ... If I'm honest with myself I initially didn't start all these things because they were fun, I did it to compensate something else: to not do something else, to feed perfectionism, to stimulate my brain, ... Solution would be, to resist the craving and don't throw another hundred hours into it. Because if I view this behaivor clearly, I don't get anything out of it else than a short happy chemicals boost for my brain - but nothing long term. This is what my eperience is and maybe someone can get something out of it. Have a great day internet!",1 "Yeah, I'm fight there with ya buddy. As covid has dragged on it has slowly dawned on me that the last 20 years of work I have put into being a top flight rock 'N roll crew guy are not going to be worth much of anything for a couple of years. I've gotta find a way to provide for my family, but I don't even know where to start. 🥴",1 "My dad was like this with me growing up. From the age of ten he would force me to work with him on construction sites to teach me 'good work ethic' and consisted of full summers of me doing little more than carrying things, organizing waste into organized piles, and sweeping floors floor hours on end when I had nothing better to do. It would have been one thing if maybe I went out there to learn how to do some of the more technically challenging stuff, but being a gopher who maybe gets to cut a piece of wood or two occasionally was absolutely horrible for me. I hated every single day. Imagine growing up knowing all your friends were out at summer camps and hanging out together but you were working with your impatient dad everyday instead.",1 "Yes. I used to be the loud, talkative kid, but that was when I was like 5-7. I was criticized and mocked and punished so much that I completely shut down. Try not to be noticed. Don't get too excited about interests. Don't try to make friends because people think you're weird. Just avoid the rejection. 20 years later I'm the awkward quiet anxious person who overshares and gets overly emotional sometimes and hardly remembers her interests. I feel like I basically became nothing to fit in and now I can't fit in because I'm nothing people are looking for.",1 "This is fantastic. When my son was in kinder we were trying to memorize sight words. I tried to make him sit still and pay attention bc you know, that's the norm. I quickly discovered he couldn't answer sitting still but bouncing on his bottom on the couch he could. Sometimes it's hard how much he moves but I know it's necessary for him. I'm glad your brother has a girlfriend who is not only understanding but encouraging and loving :)",1 "Honestly for me, this is self fulfilling prophecy. People say I’m interesting and fun and different, and then I self sabotage by thinking I’m not keeping them entertained and slowly pull back and lose touch because I don’t think I’m living up to the hype I created by simply being myself in the first place. But like, why do I have to keep them entertained? Why do I place that obligation on myself? It’s highly possible I’ve run out of things to say because I’m the only one talking. Maybe I’m actually bored by them because it turns out they don’t have a lot going on in their life and I’m what makes it exciting. Relationships, whether family, friends, or romantic partners, are a two way street. Even with how distracted I get, I know who I want to share things with at the end of the day and it’s usually the people who haven’t given up on me after periods of silence. Know your worth, friends. It’s not you it’s them.",1 "You wash your broccoli? In all seriousness, I've become so terrible at taking care of myself I can't even imagine washing vegetables. I guess I'm lucky enough to have a good immune system.",1 I saw that on Amazon! It looked like a good starting point.,0 I feel like I've never related to anything so hard in my life.,1 God honestly these posts just depress me. I haven’t found that silver lining where I’m able to laugh at my ocd at all. (Not judging anyone just sharing),0 Why is the question none of our obsessions/compulsions can answer.,0 "Yes it’s so weird. This and many other things but yes, totally. I do my best to not say anything about it when I have a new friend because there is ALWAYS that turning point where it’s mentioned. Even with people who exhibit obvious traits themselves. That one was really fascinating for me. Couple of them seem like they know and either become patronizing or defensive or both. One person who kept loudly talking at me whilst I was trying to troubleshoot her computer started going off about how she can “do do something while someone is asking questions hahaha why can’t you?” I’m just.. Next type is constantly asking “oh, is this annoying to you/oh is this distracting to you?” This last one I was surprised by because he is a good friend and we usually get along pretty well. He constantly interrupts me which I have compassion for. Instead of getting flustered or angry I just calmly ask if I can finish my point or in some cases wait for him to stop blurting out wrong answers/assumptions but it’s gotten really weird lately like every interaction he treats me like I’m disabled or something.",1 This is what it means to be human!!!! I been letting ppl down hard my whole life 💪,1 "I once was heading back home from a friend's who lived a couple hours away. I passed a random car, got a glimpse of its license plate number, and felt like I just had to memorize it. 10 minutes later when I couldn't, I felt like shit about myself. Guess this explains it.",0 "I never created a persona for the disorder itself, but instead for my intrusive thoughts. I call it “Randall” after the character in Monsters Inc because he always appears out of fucking nowhere.",0 "For me it all gets messed up because there's like, one playlist I listen to a year because I have such a random assortment of songs I like. None of what I like makes any sense at all whatsoever.",1 Lost me at finishing an essay in a few hours. Took me 3 days and multiple self congratulatory breaks to write 1000 words,1 "I relate to this so much, the overwhelming monotony of life just makes me want to cry sometimes. I feel like there is so much interesting stuff I could be doing but it takes an insanely long amount of time and energy for me to just do the everyday things that people have to do to go about their day like emptying the dish washer, brushing my teeth, etc. that by the time I finish I can only muster up the energy to watch TV, I don't even have the energy to something like play video games, I just constantly feel like I want to sleep and it SUCKS to say the least",1 or they think they have ocd because they do something you do... ok but do you do it out of fear that something bad will happen? or just cause?,0 "Ugh so true. I mean, I’m glad that we’re talking about mental illness in an open manner and trying to destigmatize it (I wouldn’t want to live in my parents generation), but it also seems like a lot of people comment ‘I’m so OCD, I hate this video’ or ‘this gives me anxiety’ because it’s the ‘thing’ to comment atm. Like they’re doing a disservice to those who actually have it.",0 "Focus Locus? Focation Location? (maybe not, sounds like taking a vacation from focus rather than the opposite.) Attention Detention? ""Executive function retreat"" ""ADHD pile (let's face it, we're not organized enough to call it a gathering)"" ""The organization organization""",1 "I’ve got a traditionally christian family, so hearing that I need to take medication set them off. Bad. I’ve had a diagnosis for 3 years and it even with multiple psychs saying I have what I have (they aren’t sure if I’m autistic or ADHD, I’m pretty sure it’s ADHD), meds seem to be farther down on the list of things I need. It’s always the same call for prayers. I ran out of the belief of needing that when they decided to say “oh you don’t need meds, life is a choice.” I felt wrong. I felt like an abomination of God’s creation. I felt like maybe I could’ve made the choice to not be.... this. Maybe I could have been better. The only one who would even think to care is my girlfriend. Tbh, I still don’t know what to do with myself. Edit: when I say I don’t know what to do with myself, I mean I dropped out of college from a major I loved because of how heavy things were getting and the pressure everyone was putting one me. I’m scared of even leaving my room, but I’m even more scared of sitting in one place.",1 "I thought this was just a me problem until this post, does anyone have any tips on how to work past it and be able to have more productive therapy?",0 "Yes. And it drives me mad that my therapist recommends I do this, like come on girl, you should know better.",1 "id just paint a gun to my head to represent ocd ngl, but i cant draw sooooo",0 "At least you can make a great first impression! I generally feel like people give me no credit and I’ve got to earn it from them. But then, I’m a woman. Case in point: boss at my former company desperately needed someone to edit an important document he’d be needing to submit as part of an MBA application. My manager asked me to help. I did it. He later remarked to her that he was stunned by the high quality of the work, “I didn’t know she could do that!” He apparently said. Instead of feeling as though I’d been complimented, I took that to mean that I must seem like I’m not that sharp. Suffice to say, it’s a hang up of mine that I don’t give people the sense that I have a high level of competency. Making a good first impression is a really great thing to be able to do. It’s so much harder and stressful to fight for credibility when it’s not given automatically. I really hope I don’t sound angry here, I’m not angry at all. But I’m curious to know why you think this is—about how people trust you so much off the bat? I could really use some pointers, lol.",1 that’s a really great idea! i guess kind of like saying a word over and over again until it loses its meaning... that’s neat!,0 For anyone suffering from ADHD like myself. Who read the whole thing? Seriously?,1 Almost cried a few times after taking my first dose just due to the feelings of calm I felt.,1 "A word of warning: when she reaches the age of 75 or so, it will get much, much worse.",1 "I also feel this. This very thing is what kept me unmotivated to even read for fun anymore because I knew I wouldn’t be able to remember it all anyway. I barely remember anything from my bachelors or masters degrees. It really took a toll on my self-esteem because it’s hard to have a conversation with someone if you can’t remember anything about anything. There are less points of connection between you and another person. It’s a very painful thing to experience something so invisible to others....no one can see how much we struggle just to stay level with everyone else (and memory is something so many people take for granted). But I’m kind of a spiritual/religious person and I think about it like this: it’s crazy that humans even have all the amazing capabilities that we have...like, the brain and body are so complex that it seems like a miracle that any of it works the way it does to give us “intelligence”. We are so lucky and should be humbled. It’s not of our own doing that we have the capability as a species for such an ability. Kind of morbid but in the end, no one lives forever, and to me what matters most is that I was a good person, tried my best, and was kind. So big picture, it really sucks not to remember anything, but in the end it doesn’t really matter. That’s kind of how I cope lol",1 "I used to blink a couple times or look up when I had a particularly unpleasant thought. Your therapist is right, it’s a type of ritual we use to relieve stress, and only makes things worse over the long term. It also is a pretty clear indicator to others that you have some type of mental illness. You see a lot of homeless people with tics like gumming, blinking, head shaking, etc. People are very sensitive to these types of behaviors; I realized this early on and stopped doing it for that reason.",0 "lol me to my boss “I got up at 7am and left for work at 8am but somehow dumbass drivers make me late for my 9am start!” thank god he’s dealt with me for 5 years 😂",1 "Lmao relatable, i started using earphones when listening to music as a distraction from the thoughts, and also a distraction from the place around me because everywhere in this place, there is something that triggers the thought But now, even using earphones, im getting intrusive thoughts about it.... Fuck",0 "I was diagnosed with OCD about 2 years ago. I have been consumed with the question why? To all almost everything which then turned into being fearing that I am suicidal or could hurt someone because my brain asks why don't I do that or why do you care and stuff like that. I often wonder what makes something good and what makes something bad and how we determined all that and it makes everything seem so pointless. I don't really know how to convey it over this but basically I feel like I don't truly enjoy anything and always question the things I do and the things I enjoy with the question why? Seems contradictory at that point. I don't really know how to move forward or why I even I want to move forward. I just overthink everything into oblivion because my brain has just made everything too subjective. This sucks but I know I'll get better, its just right now I don't see the light but I know its there.",0 "I have always had this, I think it might be some form of hoarding.",0 lol my parents say I just need to pray and I’ll stop being sad,0 "Hodgkin's Lymphoma survivor here. Did the exact same thing. If it makes you feel any better I have been in remission for 13 years now. Chemo sucks, but just remember to take care of yourself and keep friends and family close and you should come out the other end on top of it. Good luck",1 "Me finally not afraid of my fear of getting cancer. My OCD in “fear of psychosis” clothes: hello ;)",0 I’m literally seeing my therapist at 3:30 today and it’s going to fuck my entire day.,1 You are living my life. Just stop it. I personally hold the patent on this!!,1 I have taken so many screenshots of posts to save for later 😂😂😂,1 "This is me right now but a bit different. Instead of not doing anything, I wander aimlessly around my empty house to keep my mind doing something. If I do find stimulus (guitar, listening to music, games) it's usually for an hour or less before I go right back to my depression. My mind growing up used to over exaggerate positive possible futures when things would happen and it got really depressing when nothing or negative things would happen instead. I've learned ways to calm my hyperactive mind and focus but it's like my mind has done a complete 180 now because I now over exaggerate negatives now. (Maybe I should leave, no one loves me, what's the point, ETC.) tbh, I came to this subreddit because I wanted to find ways to communicate and be closer to someone else but I'm finding way to many similar things about myself right now and it feels weird",1 I suffer from contam ocd too. Got myself a dog and am loving it. I feel way less depressed and am doing much better. Glad these little guys will help you along.,0 "every day i wake up with the goal of being productive. but its so hard waking up early, and if i do, it's so hard making stuff so early. even tho i know this is a mistake, i always wait to get ""in the mood"" but sometimes the mood begins so late, and then is so late to do things. it's ridiculous",1 I was also suicidal last year and did a stint in the mental hospital. Never thought about it as winning a battle. Thank you for that. Glad you are doing better as well.,0 Yeah its the worst possible thing to tell us and yet they think it will help??? Like no fuck you this is real,1 "I've given up on so many things this way. Playing instruments, learning languages, drawing, photography etc",1 "so that's why I can write my entire essay in 2 hours instead of the usual 2 weeks yo this hurts",1 I have the same fear but not of my parents doing it.,0 "This was SO frustrating for me. It almost feels like I physically cannot take the time to do it. I made some checklists for my family and me. Morning/Evening routines and cleaning routines. I still feel mentally incapable of performing some tasks but setting a time for these routines and following the checklist has really helped. I used cardstock, sheet protectors, dry erase markers and a binder to keep all of the lists in. If you are able to, share the workload with your household. **Side note:** I realized I was also *TOO* anal about how stuff *SHOULD* be done, so I've tried to let a lot of that go if it means someone else is getting it done.",1 Back in the day I was happy when intrusive thoughts could wait until breakfast time,0 "I’ve been cheated on twice and I’m certain that my current relationship will end because he will suddenly find someone else just like it always happened/happens. It’s been only a month and I’m already crying about him cheating on me.",0 Well you're a much better writer than I'll ever be but I think we're both on the same page. Thank you so much for posting this!,1 "Sometimes I will actually feel a literal throbbing pain in the top of my skull, if I ignore my compulsions. It feels like someone cracks me over the head with a bat or something.",0 "When I was about 12, my parents let me buy my first paintball gun. We had money for a specific model but I couldn’t choose between the green one or the blue one. I bought the green one and as soon as we got home I felt bad for the blue one that I had arbitrarily chosen the green one over it. I felt so bad for the blue paintball gun sitting by itself at the store. And I took away his green friend. That was 14 years ago and I still think about that blue paintball gun. ",0 "I agree we are not enjoying doing this rituals, this a doubting syndrome there is nothing fun in this i am actually a little bit jealous of people who don't have such decease",0 "Me: “If I eat this piece of toast my whole day is ruined, someone I care about is going to get hurt and life will get worse” So I don’t touch the toast. That just one of many many many many OCD of mines.",0 "Yeah, I think most people with OCD know it can make you less clean/unorganized than vice versa because it’s a high anxiety disorder that causes a lot of stress and that can equal a lot more meds. Definitely a myth when it comes to people with OCD always being clean.",0 "Hello, OCD therapist. OCD crazy person here. Welcome to our wonderful world. May I interest you in a crippling neurosis?",0 Congrats! I graduated at 27. (And I did almost fail out my last year omg...) I know this struggle. You more than beat the deadline!! (What will you do with all that free time?!? )You can do it. You will!,1 "I should try this out for my social anxiety and clinical depression. It’ll be nice to find people who are willing to help out and not judge me. Like a person who is kind, passionate, and outgoing to get me out of the house. I would definitely understand and learn new traits while enjoying life as I was meant to.",1 "Overall it is a negative, but it can be good in ways. I am so safe when driving. I am really conscientious. So the ocd helps me in that regard. I am probably too safe though.",0 "This gives my strong Junji Ito vibes, amazing! Also an amazing way to fight your compulsions!",0 "I work in a tech position and have for awhile before finally getting my diagnosis. My doctor was hesitant at first about evaluating me because of my occupation, she had the notion that because of the required attention to detail to work in my field that it would be unlikely I could have ADHD. I explained that a big problem can be caused by one small factor that could be located in a hundred places. I am good at corrective maintenance because while most people would mentally explore one cause at a time, my mind would explore many possible causes at once and I would find the issue sooner. Meanwhile, I was horrible at planned scheduled maintenance because those processes include doing the same boring procedure dozens of times for hours on end. I would forget the small steps constantly (either by forgetting to do them or forgetting that I had done it at all) and have to double back.",1 Yes but you go to sleep with the intention and deep rooted belief tomorrow will be different.,1 Wait... THATS OCD?! THIS EXPERIENCE IS OCD?!?!? i thought i was just overreacting to everything. this post is literally my brain,0 I suffer from contamination OCD too and wanted to get a cat. Unfortunately my mom doesn't want to get a cat,0 "I am lucky to have a therapist who has ADHD herself. I have autism, but treating the ADHD stuff goes a long away to fix the issues with autism.",1 "Truth. As someone once said to me “if you know you’re doing something crazy you’re not crazy & you should just stop”. Oh ok, didn’t think of that. It doesn’t matter if I know it’s not real! That’s really the whole gist of this disorder, we’re not really delusional we just can’t stop thinking & doing what we’re thinking & doing.",0 "My wife and I have strategies for this. If I am rambling on, she says “train”, which instantly causes me to stop and reflect. If I am overwhelmed while she’s rambling, I say “fragmented”. Which tells her that I’m overwhelmed, and have lost my ability to use language effectively to explain what’s happening.",1 "Until I start having a panic attack over impending hand cancer from the UV exposure. :Thinking:",0 "This was me when 4 hours in, I fucked up toward the end of my 30 minute-long thought mantra for the umpteenth time and had to start over before I could move from my spot. Fun times.",0 "First step is to stop doing the compulsions, everytime you don't do your compulsion the easier it gets next time, and if you do it, it gets worse",0 [THIS](https://www.reddit.com/r/awfuleverything/comments/erzy2m/that_cant_be_healthy/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) is when I post to reddit,0 "You mean take your dose one hour before you have to get up, correct? It love reading stuff that affirms my methods. I started doing this about a year ago. But I also have a hard time falling asleep at a specific time. So what I did was take a sleep aid an hour before I wanted to go to bed, basically the same thing as taking you meds before you have to wake up. Eventually you won’t have to take the sleep aid because you’ll just be naturally exhausted. The trick it to take control of the situation away for yourself. The meds wake you up whether you like it or not. The sleep aid puts your ass to sleep whether you like it or not.",1 "No classes cancelled here yet, but I've done online units before. Clear yourself a good study space at home or the library if that's an option. Easier said than done, but try and schedule yourself in blocks of study time like you otherwise would have. If keeping to what would have been your class schedule works then great. Look through what you need to get done for the next two weeks or would usually do in those classes and allocate those tasks to your study blocks. Setting yourself small managable deadlines.",1 "Oh? You have unrelated, violent intrusive thoughts of murdering your own brother too?",0 "YES. THIS EXACTLY. I’ve had a fixation on numbers for as long as I can remember. 7 is definitely an idea one for me. 3 is also ideal, but I think it’s because I relate 3 to my family, since there’s 3 of us. My mind has turned it into some sick game of not ever being able to look at anything less than 3, because that means I’d lose one of them. It’s like every time I look at a damn clock or crosswalk count-down I have the fate of my family on my shoulders. It’s exhausting and one of my OCD things I’ve never been able to shake. 3 is like the magic number (as well as multiples of 3). 7 is the exception though lol. It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one with number issues. Lol",0 This is amazing!!! Congrats on resisting the urge to “fix” it!! It looks great 🤍🤍,0 "Yes, but one thing I’ve consistently done for the past two weeks of trying to pay attention and be better is starting with making my bed up. Everything else has kind of jumbled around because of life, but since I’ve been consistent on one thing, I have a strong feeling other tasks that require everyday attention will eventually fall into a habit as well.",1 Sometimes I can't even tell that it's irrational. Those are the absolute worst. Usually happens when I'm in a poor insight moment and am absolutely convinced my fears are real and that I desperately need to find some counterexample.,0 "I did this for SO many days in a row lately that when I took the day off to go to the dentist, I ended up sleeping the entire rest of the day due to sheer mental fatigue. It was just a cleaning and I thought I'd get caught up on the house. Wrong. Now it's 9:30 pm and I'm hoping to sleep through the night.",1 "I’m am so proud of you and you look absolutely stunning (though I’m sure you did even with acne) Keep it up! :)",0 I had never used Spotify until my therapist suggested a podcast that she thought I would like. I talked to her today and she asked if I had gotten a chance to listen to it yet and I had to admit that I downloaded Spotify and in my search for the person she told me about I got distracted and ended up listening to true crime podcast and one hit wonders from the 80's and 90's for the past 3 weeks.,1 "I don’t have contamination OCD, but I’ve still made it to frame 6...how do you contamination folk make it through the day?! I would break. 😫",0 omg the fact that i saw this at 1:01am and this is exactly what i’m doing... 😳,1 All the time and I can end up pausing everything from podcasts to movies because I have an internal conversation and realize that I did it about 30 minutes later because I got lost in my own head,1 How do you know that you only might be faking it? I feel pretty damn sure whenever I have these worries. I feel like I *know* that I am faking it.,0 "I could understand the instructions, I just couldn't remember them. If the system doesn't make sense, I can't figure out the next step from what I've just done and have to rely on my memory which has about the same retention prowess as a sock.",1 I've come very close many times to hoping in my car and driving to the edge of the city just to scream,0 "> The constant overthinking, anxiety and cynicism thwarting your life from moving forward, so you compulsively begin doing things you don't even want to do because you're afraid of regretting on missing out on not doing it, leading you to feeling overwhelmed and strained, but unable to say no due to ominous dread that saying no will make bad shit happen and cause you to fall back to square one? **OH MY GOD, IS THAT WHAT THAT IS?! HOLY FUCKING SHIT!**",1 "Yes, I have to know why something is done a certain way or why I’m telling others to do something. Thankfully if someone can’t answer my why, I have written resources at my fingertips (Code of Federal Regulations). I do my own research and I can answer my own questions and provide answers to others as well. I do sometimes hyper focus on stuff I’m trying to figure out though which pulls me away from tasks I should be working on.",1 "I hate having this illness… but there are times where my mind questions whether I like it or not. And that’s when I feel crazy. I know I hate this endless cycle, but at times it can convince you of stuff that makes no sense",0 "I just screen shotted this and sent to my family who are possible ADHD too. So true. As others have said sometimes that’s in five minute chunks. Other times it’s contiguous, but at 9pm and inconvenient. I usually say I’ve got one task in me per day. Doesn’t matter if it takes five minutes or two hours. I do that and then I run out of “go”.",1 Oh my god you've articulated what I've been trying to for most of my life.,1 "I should screenshot this and make it my lock screen wallpaper. I won't, but I should.",1 "R.i.p The Morning Run followed The Gym 2019-2020 You were good moods and good mental health friend BUT A ROUND OF APPLAUSE FOR DOING SOME UNI WORK FINALLY!",1 "The second one I relate to way too much. OCD sucks man.",0 "Thank you for this. It makes a lot of sense and I think I understand the reasoning behind it. I stumbled on the ""med 1 hour before waking up"" tip on my own a while ago so I feel a little proud after reading this. I can say it makes my mornings more productive. I've had medication holidays inadvertently (I'm a traveling physician so I didn't take my medications when I wasn't working) and can say it sucks. Now I know why. Next time you see your doctor, you can tell him/her that he has greatly helped a colleague, as well as helping you. Godspeed.",1 "Mine: 1. Taking multiple online assessments to see if I have the mental illnesses I've been diagnosed with, because what if I'm faking?? 2. Oh, that's an embarrassing thought. Let's go over how it could become true, and what to do in that situation! 3. I can't touch that. I will die or be disgraced. 4. Does that make me a bad person worthy of death? Let's discuss. 5. Researching one topic for an absurd amount of time such as: Collagen health, deep-sea fish, serial-killers, gender studies, other WIKIPEDIA RABBIT HOLES",0 "A key thing to learn is to redirect your negative thoughts. I completely understand feeling like your body is full of sand and it taking a lot of effort even to scratch your own head, but you have the power to control your thoughts with little effort. If you haven't done it before, it will seem stupid and take conscious effort, but it become more and more natural the longer you do it. Two things: If you would say something to someone you care very very much about, then you should be telling yourself it. You wouldn't tell you best friend that they are a piece of shit and that they should kill themselves would you? No, so you shouldn't tell yourself that shit. You are the most important person to you, so you should act like it. When ever you start having a negative thought, acknowledge it, initially verbally to better train your brain to pay attention to what it's thinking about. Starting to feel like you're lazy because you feel too tired? ""Hello negative thought. Thanks for checking in on me, but I don't need you right now so goodbye!"" Take care of yourself",1 "The only thing that could cure ADHD is a genetically engineered patch of skin cells. These cells would excrete an amphetamine like substance based on “X” chemical in the blood. This patch would be grafted on a host, usually for life.",1 "I’ve said this before on here, if I hear the word “ just “ in a piece of advice, my standard answer is “ if it would be that easy to “ just” do it, they would have done it long ago.”",1 Could easily be changed to “my mum wondering why I’m running about the house checking every door is locked numerous times and then going to bed just to think “what if I only thought it was locked” then repeating the whole process”. Me: you wouldn’t get it,0 "but then the person taking the one on the front will suffer if they take it, so i put that one all the way back",0 But it just so happens that it doesn't show up on a PET scan?,0 "God, I hate that. Thinking the blood from the cracks is dirty and needing to wash more.",0 "Cute dog, but using this to feel better is just reassurance that feeds the OCD.",0 The pandemic was the world stop I needed to catch up in life,1 "So a few days ago my dose was increased, im still new to meds. So i was working out today and suddenly i almost threw up but didnt, this happened a few times. Could it be that its not a good idea to do a workout like 15 min after taking meds? (Sry if this is a bit unrelated)",1 "My husband doesn’t often understand it, but moments like that are such a win! (And so so hard!)",0 my ocd strikes even during therapy - thoughts about insulting my therapist are terrible,0 Just commenting on #3... PLEASE get a weekly pill holder with days of the week so you remember when you take your medication/vitamins,1 "being introverted with ADHD ""Tough Love"" and social interaction for too long drains me and I just make a excuse to leave because I cant stand that feeling of disapproval and heaviness in the air. Us with ADHD have exaggerated emotions or when we feel a emotion it hits harder than it would someone without ADHD. So I get sad and linger on it for a long time while someone without it has already forgotten about what he said to me. ​ This honestly hit the nail on the head",1 But at least your screaming lines are nice and symmetrical haha,0 "Thissss I routinely get stuck on one song and listen to on repeat for days, sometimes even weeks. I might just sit and stim and sing along for hours, it's so soothing. This is also why I know so many songs by heart: at some point I have absorbed every fiber of the song's being and know all the instrumental and lyrical moments.",1 "I feel similar sometimes. Its like at random times the weight of the world comes crashing down. It is ok to cry. the world is a hard place sometimes and sometimes it takes everything we have to just stay afloat and thats ok.",1 "I need a new psychologist and therapist. Finally working again, so that's helped keep me busy.",0 You can find even more like minded people on a free app called NOCD. It is like a chat forum specifically for ocd but has q&a with therapists and peer support specialists that have ocd themselves.,0 "Thank you. You're a kind of person. I'm really sorry for your loss, I wish things hadn't come to that. Let's keep working and fighting to find happiness in this world, because everyone deserves it c:",1 Yesterday I hit a bump in the road and kept driving but I couldn’t stop thinking about it so eventually had to turn around me drive back and then get out of the car and study the road and nearby area to make sure i hadn’t hit an animal,0 My mentality is so different after a child. After 6 is my free time where I don't have to function... if only I could sleep when I need to,1 "Thanks for sharing that advice from your therapist, that's a great way of looking at it.",0 "Yeah someone told me I was “actually pretty smart I just didn’t show it at first” which simultaneously crushed me, and gave me an enormous ego boost",1 "I’m a nurse and now I think I have everything wrong with me lmao I try to ignore it, but sometimes I can spend hours freaking out",0 I’ve screwed my self over so many times by doing this crap. I’m,1 I feel ya. Sometimes I feel so angry at myself for being like this. Sometimes I am a lil forgiving. The struggle is painful.,1 So just to be clear... the full on overwhelming breakdown is normal?,0 Fr. I finally found a trick that works and its still rearing its ugly ass head from time to time,0 "yeah Deppresion suck whit adhd. personally people domt seem to belived me when i say im depressed. Since im hyperactive adhd so it almost like im manic all the time.. recentally i got slap bpd on top my adhd. That been a fun time lol.....",1 "We don’t use park in England as we have manual cars, but I constantly check to make sure it’s in neutral and the handbrake is on so it doesn’t roll lol. Like 20 times before I can leave my car",0 "This list describes me in a way I cannot express properly. It’s weird that I’m not some unique case - I am the response to a wave of repeated external stimuli. That calmness in fire fights at work when everything is losing their minds, my brain switching on when I ride motorcycles, never saying no. This is me.",1 I have combined type so I get both depending on the day. Hah. I hate it,1 "Wow... reading this then all of the comments makes me feel half-normal. I share many of the coping mechanisms mentioned, and I can’t wait to try some of the others. Could probably put together a good book from some of this.",1 Me waiting for this fucking vaccine so I can go back to having regular obsessions,0 Wow this is amazing! And good job on your progress!,0 congrats! I would really like to be able to do this as well!!,0 "This sub: my mental illness should be a part of popculture Also this post: my ocd is a fairytale",0 "Exactly, this is me right now at my work. I wouldn't say that I have depression, we have a pandemic going on, so, I guess everybody is feeling this weird. I've just watch russell Barkley video on behavioral modification, and this is something that I just noticed, I tend to ""forget"" that I have ADHD, only when I feel like I've hit the bottom, I remember that I have this ""condition""",1 "Dude, I’m in the sammmmeeee boat. This post hits me right in the core.",1 "Who says we are too much? I've surrounded myself with people that love my too much-ness and see my ADHD as an amazing asset. So now, I too veiw it as such! 😊",1 "Yo for real apparently a good way to overcome this is to take pictures of the things you have to go back and check. E.g. take a pic of you locking the door, so when you feel you need to go back, you can check the picture instead. Saves time.",0 I can relate to the point that at the end I felt relief. As if I was the one venting. Hugs,1 Wtf?! Obvs someone who has no idea what it actually is. 😑🙄,0 "I definitely do this. When I was learning to drive, I kept asking this and that because I needed to know the mechanics of it to understand what I need to do. Like why do I need to step on the clutch before putting in gear etc. My instructor was really unhappy about it. The way they taught was just ""do this and then do that"".",1 "When someone does that to me, I ask them when they were diagnosed. Usually shuts them up. When it doesn’t, I tell them in the most sincere voice I can muster “if your preoccupation with keeping your care clean* is really causing you that much anxiety and infuriating your daily life, you should see your doctor. The therapies are tough and the meds are brutal but they are so much better than the symptoms”. The key is to so it with a completely straight face an act as thought they just told you that they self harm or have an eating disorder. Every single time I’ve done this, the other person realised how stupid and insulting they are being.",0 "Yeah, no. OCD destroys lives. I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy.",0 "So relatable. When I was diagnosed the doctor said and I quote “I observe an extreme intelligence which has been masking a significant learning difficulty for quite some time”. (Was aged 29) I was like I feel dumb, but sure, I’ll take a diagnoses of extremely intelligent forms doc...! The two things absolutely fight each other both subconsciously and consciously like nothing else.",1 "I'm still undiagnosed but am now *slowly* accepting that I am *obviously* not lazy since I try so bloody hard. If I could focus at will, I'd be doing things I enjoy now, I'd have passed my driving test 2 years ago, passed my A-levels and would probably have an undergraduate degree by now... But no, people still call me lazy... For some reason people are ignorant enough to think I purposefully fuck my own life up... I mean, that's not laziness, that's beyond laziness... Who would do that? I'm 26 and my life is a mess. But with acceptance seems to come *slight* improvements. Still barely functional as an adult though.",1 "I wish people understood that if i fidget or have something else in doing (ie drawing, shuffling, playing games, even listening to music, etc) that im just doing it to focus. it grounds me and makes my mind not go into coo-coo land and drift off mid convo. Unlike y'all, i gotta have stems to be here and present. Had someone at work get onto me for not focusing doing the lights (i work at a church and run the stage lights) because i was on my phone. like bish, i am, i just gotta have something else otherwise i miss the cues. i aint like ur boomer butt.",1 "I either hyper focus and my entire day revolves around the appointment, like I can’t do anything else, or get sidetracked and forget about it until moments before Scheduling anything in the mid afternoon is horrible, it gives me all day to worry about it or all day to find other things to distract me with",1 "I recall my mother dumping a bucket of water on me while I was sitting and reading something because I put off taking a shower one too many times for her liking. Not recommended, didn't make me want to shower any more.",1 "Holy. I Loved him and Robin Williams growing up. My friends used to say I was like them. I found out I had/have ADHD at age 30. It all makes so much sense it still blows my mind no one could put two and two together and get the help I needed in school. But I'm so glad I had Jim and Robin as ADHD role models. Even if I didn't know they were at the time",1 """You can do this if you do that first, come on it's easy just do it then we can chill the rest of the night"" *does nothing but sit and stare at phone and watch YouTube videos I don't give a shit about* eurgh.",1 "Yes. I can’t go to sleep without doing it , and then sometimes I have to check again :/",0 Yall can just clear your mind? Only time mine is clear is when I meditate tbh,0 "I just posted this on IG yesterday. How funny. It ended up with a lot of likes, I wonder if we’re friends there? Anyway this art helped me immensely yesterday and I loved it. @crazyheadcomics is great",0 "This dude is wrong, obviously... ... but sometimes I wonder if I could even be considered the same person if I didn't have ocd. This way of thinking (scrupulosity, exagerated perfectionism, many, many fears and phobias) made me, me, in a way, throughout my childhood. Obviously it isn't good to feel guilty all the time over nothing or to have horrible intrusive thoughts. But sometimes I feel that I would be an entirely different person if I didn't have it. Idk if that makes sense. I hope you guys don't think I'm a poser or smth",0 "Depends on who is giving me tough love. If it's someone who does not understand, I get angry and often do the task, but find a way to subvert them. My motivation is returning the ""tough love"" somehow. Yikes, maybe I have some oppositional within me... If its someone who genuinely cares about me and understands, it is a little different. I get angry at myself and then get motivated because I want to not disappoint them, want to help them, or not make life harder for those I love. In that situation, it matters.",1 Thank you for these words. Well said. It is a fight for life.,0 “I would like to begin my ten-part apology by first saying that I think you’re a wonderful human being with many admirable qualities…”,1 One person told said on reddit that they bought a snail sticker chart made for kindergarteners and they would put a sticker whenever they finished an assignment. And that was how they got through their year in college lol I’m trying it next year by the way.,1 Sometimes I therapist memes because I’m shit at expressing myself and have social anxiety with speaking. Using this as my next loosen up thing. ,0 "I have inattentive ADHD so I’m in my head a lot, so this doesn’t really apply to me because it’s hard to pay attention to anything outside of my mind sometimes 😔",1 "Same here, one of my favorite things is Alice in Wonderland, but like, what year was the book published? I dunno, 1850-something. What year did the Disney movie come out? 1950-something. I feel like an idiot all the time.",1 I just came out of the shower and this reminded me that I forgot to brush my teeth,1 No need to feel bad about it. Part of who you are. What has been helping me is learning to prioritize giving structure to the parts of my life where it is absolutely necessary(like work). Otherwise I just follow my instincts and have fun. Trying to be organized in general about a lot of things can get exhausting and frustrating,1 "What if I genuinely try and work hard and then I break out or something bad happens. Bad things only happen when I try. It only hurts when I care. Might as well just lie in bed forever.",0 "So you bringing up societal pressure got my head spinning with a ton of thoughts. (One of my hyper focus things is human society, culture, and the loads of hypocrisy and irony that exists within it.) You getting a Nanny to help you around the house is labeled as weird by society. But the rich and elite have maids, gardeners, nannies and private tutors for their children, etc. and NOBODY labels them weird. It just makes sense, even on an economy level that when you are really good at a thing, you should be paid for a service. If you really suck at a thing, you should pay for it do he done right. There is a very good reason why you will never see me working on my car. I am not good at car stuff so I get a mechanic. If you suck at managing your home life, getting someone to help you is the completely logical solution! Well done on your bravery and, in a big way, fighting the status quo that keeps a lot of people from living otherwise “normal” and happy lives!",1 "I was actually really relieved when I read the last bit. Good news is, at least this is all BS that OCD is making up.",0 "Yes! A lot of my compulsions have formed by trying not to do the original compulsion. Also, if for whatever reason I am not able to do a compulsion, I save them in my minds compulsion bank and do them altogether when I’m able to. For instance, I tap my head with all 5 fingers of one hand. Usually in multiples of 3, 3 times over. It has to be all 5 fingers. If it doesn’t feel right I need to do it till it feels right. This can get tricky or embarrassing at work as it’s very noticeable and time consuming, so I ignore the compulsion but as soon as I’m at home I can tap for the times I didn’t at work as well as the taps I need to do for missing the taps. Exhausting.",0 i can relate a lot. i bought a lot of bottles of spray paints and canvas and now everything is just sitting in a corner gathering dust. I've lost all motivation i had once and what makes the feeling worse is that i feel like shit for wasting my dad's money as we are quite broke.,1 I'm nervous about this happening now that I'm truly fighting this for the first time in my life. But I think it's because it's been such a part of our normal state of mind for so long that there's an ass backwards sense of comfort we have with it because it's familiar. People are naturally experts at staying in bad situations just because familiarity is so important to us. And I have no doubt that's the same case here.,0 "I've noticed that in the new world of technology, people are becoming less materialistic in ways - they don't want a million nice things, just the newest tech for the most part. This has led to less physical hoarding from what I've seen. Most people who had hoarder parents are typically extremely clean anyways (somewhat personal experience, my mom kept way too many things). However, people still feel the need to hoard things that they perceive as having future value, which comes out in the form of digital hoarding. I too, have thousands of pictures and screenshots that I don't even remember what they are for. I have so many saved tiktoks, youtube videos, reddit posts, that I haven't looked at since I saved them. The ironic thing is in the world of technology, most of this info is readily available in a 5 second google search. Pictures of friends/family don't count, that genuinely has sentimental value. I'm strictly talking screenshots/saved pictures from social media, memes, etc seriously, I only started saving memes to my phone because my friends all did it. then I never look at them. I just deleted over 700 memes alone from my phone recently, only looked at like 1% of them more than the one time. Ultimately, there are a few things you can do to help manage said digital hoarding: 1. Use specific folders/albums. Whenever I save a pic to my phone, I always designate it to a folder outside of ""screenshots"" or ""saved from (appname)"" like using ""Memes"" and ""Cooking"" and ""Ideas"" for example. I'm not perfect at this, and I still don't frequently review these folders, but it does help keep track of what, and makes it easier to clear out unwanted/unneeded shit. 2. Realize that your ADHD will ultimately dictate if it's worth keeping inside your brain. If you didn't just hyperfocus on the thing you're saving, chances are your brain doesn't want to remember it lol. Pick your battles, decide if you can remember without the picture, or if it's interesting enough to come back to within 24 hours. 3. ""Spring cleaning"" for your devices. Every few months I try to go through ALL my tech and wipe out anything I don't use anymore. I have a few flash drives that I'm going to start transferring some info onto that I feel is worth keeping, but not needed anytime soon. Get a 64gb flashdrive from Amazon or Best Buy (best places to find them from my experience), then make folders inside the flashdrive like ""Receipts,"" ""Pictures,"" ""Paperwork,"" ""Important"" etc. Then DESIGNATE A SPOT FOR THE USB THAT YOU WONT FORGET. Frame that mf on the wall if you need to, but obviously you don't want to lose that. I strictly use the inner right corner of my desk drawer, so as soon as I open it, the flashdrive is staring right at me. 4. Try to set aside an education time like once a week, where you just go through all of those saved items and learn them, review them, etc. The purpose of saving it is to have the knowledge for later, right? So why not just learn the info now, then you can delete it and not worry about why it's there and why it's important to you. To be fair, I don't do this one, but I do think it's a good idea that I should probably try to start doing. Best of luck with all of your useless info lol, I know the struggle.",1 We have an iPod at work we use to do inventory counts and such. I would routinely leave it in the freezers 🙄,1 "My wife also misplaced her clear mouth guard she uses every night to keep her from clenching her teeth in her sleep. We spent a few hours tearing apart the bedroom when we were supposed to go to bed, no luck. We wake up and go through more things, even ask the trashes, still no luck. So we put a moritorium on taking out any trash. We didn't have luck finding it for a few days and her jaw really started to hurt each night and so she asked me to go through all the trashes piece by piece as it was the only thing we didn't go through 100%. She never takes her mouth guard out of the bedroom and even though we scoured the whole house, she knew it must've gotten wrapped up in a tissue (to not get spit on the dresser where she placed it) and thrown away with other napkins and tissues when I was cleaning up the bedroom. I have about 4 different trashes to go through and so I pick the small ones from our bedroom and bathroom. The trash is about 80% wadded up tissues (my wife cries a lot) so I check every. single. tissue. I unravel each individually and squish it with my gloved hands. I get to the second small trash and I'm almost done with it and I squish a tissue wad and it's hard. Paydirt! I calmly walk back downstairs and show her what I found and she's elated. I then proceed to take about 7 small/normal sized trash bags out and 5 bags worth of recycle out to the large bins...",1 Wait this isn’t a photograph?? This is amazing I love the atmosphere it creates!,0 "I’m amazed at how accurate this artwork is. Like the old adage goes, “[a] picture [really] is worth a thousand words.” Thank you for posting this.",0 "your not born a gifted storyteller, practice! adhd isn’t so bad",1 "We're all in this together lil' bud and we're doing our best to keep it together. I always come here from time to time to read you guy's submissions and feel a little better about myself and my life. i get some relief knowing i'm not alone in this battle and i then go about my day. Thank you!",0 "AHAHHAHA I'm actually just trying to play a video game but having trouble switching tasks. Luckily, my body telling me i need the loo so I am forced to switch. thought this was rather ironic that I cant even do the thing I enjoy looool",1 "I myself currently struggle on doing this. It really is a challenge. Just yesterday, i saw your post and felt about moving on but a panic attack brought me close to ruminating again but now it is close of being over.",0 "My first session with my therapist she asked me “what are you good at?” and I literally burst into tears! I was constantly comparing myself to others... the Pinterest moms and PTO moms, my sisters that have talents and skills that I am lacking, etc. I’m happy to report that after seeing my therapist regularly, my attitude has shifted and I now accept me for me and I celebrate my strengths and don’t beat myself up for my weaknesses. Am I still struggling to be organized, stay focused, and get motivated? Absolutely but I no longer feel bad about it and I keep trying without feeling guilt or shame about it.",1 "ME. The save feature on Instagram makes it so I save a lot of posts and even organize them, but I’ve only ever looked back on them a couple times lol. I do the screenshot thing too, and have a lot of open browsers that I haven’t gotten to. I do go through my screenshots sometimes though, as I tend to head to my camera roll for comfort when I’m uncomfortable or bored in public lol. That’s not to say I actually do the thing the screenshot is about though, it’s more just “oh yeah I should do that!” and then not doing it or doing it last minute",1 Does your therapist have any advice on what to do to fight this feeling?,1 "I had an entire month off with not a single commitment and didn't even manage to pay a bill I had been putting off - then paid it in a few minutes when I realised I was in imminent danger of having my utilities cut off. More time would just mean more procrastination",1 I honest to god would rather have stage 4 cancer than this peice of shit disorder ruining my life.,0 Yes lol. Every time. That’s why I basically haven’t turned my TV on in weeks.,1 You’re six hours too late. I got off work last night determined to accomplish a bunch of chores and do some gaming but ended up scrolling the same four apps for three hours. I will be saving this post for next time though!,1 "Tiktok videos saved so I can go back and make a recipe or project, but never do any 🥴",1 "*reads title* is this adhd? *checks sub* yep. This is adhd. It’s staaaaarted working for me, but it’s still not 100%.",1 I take it up a notch and do a two-step minimum between each line.,0 "I went through a phase after my diagnosis of being obsessed with my thoughts being ""normal"" as a way to prove to myself i didn't have OCD. My therapist called them OCD backdoors,a person w/o OCD wouldn't obsessively monitor their thoughts like that. i think there's a slide on it if you look up mental rituals ocd slide on Google, if you're interested and can't find it i can dig it up!",0 "OCD is like visiting a site without the adblocker on, pure hell. Thank god this sub exists.",0 I’m very proud of you! Congratulations on this achievement. I hope your struggle gets easier.,0 "It feels like I'm both too much and not enough at the same time. I'm way harder on myself than I need to be, and I know that, but it's hard not to be when society's the way it is and it feels like it's always somehow your fault",1 "I am for the most part, always thinking about something or more recently someone else than the task at hand and it is very frustrating when I hear people in my family say things like “just focus”😅",1 That is me at work. Since now I work from home i set alarms for all my breaks. But I often snooze the alarm to finish what I'm doing. 3 hours later I'm hungry and i realised i haven't had lunch. On the plus side my work week goes by fast.,1 Ha i already forgot what i head to do until you reminded me but it was a school project and now it’s late so imma put it off even more.,1 ">If you have OCD, you are WONDERFUL Finally, I have a good quality! Take *that*, every ex-boyfriend, former boss, former coworker, former housemate, neighbour, student, professor, supervisor, random person I've ever offended with my presence who thinks I suck. I'm *wonderful*!",0 I spend so much time doing random stuff to satisfy the OCD that I really can't be arsed to do the things I need to anymore.,0 "Used to do it all the time, but I don't do it anymore because I never ever ever start by doing something I'm dreading! I always have something on my to do list that's extremely doable but necessary (like, check email, respond to a text, feed the cat, eat lunch, etc) and once I do that, I usually feel ready to do the thing! If I don't, I take my time, I do other easy things, or sometimes I recognize I need a hecking break and I just chill. Today I had to clean my room and do laundry, but I woke up knowing that was just not gonna happen right away. Very low energy and grumpy. So I napped, and ate, and read, and played with my cat. Eventually around 3 I was done resting and became way more productive than I would have been if I had tried to force myself early on in the day. Basically, I recommend doing the leisure activity first if that's what you feel like, and recognizing that sometimes you just gotta have time for yourself. A lot of times it doesn't actually matter which you do first if both things get to happen. It feels guilty at first bc that's drilled into us, but when you see how effective it is it feels great. Sorry for the long post I don't want to sound preachy but it's just something I super relate to and all of what I've said is stuff I wish someone had told me years ago. I'm already so much more relaxed and productive. Obviously this may not work for everyone, but I'm sharing in hopes it will help *someone*.",1 "Thanks for posting, I literally just now wanted to ignore a reminder for a team meeting but luckily I stumbled over your post and participated anyway. Thanks for the nudge!",1 I have found that mindfulness practices helps to 'ground' me and defend against those dissociative moments. There are videos on YouTube that you could follow. I have found these practices to be innately helpful in being in the present moment and to channel my thoughts and resist the pitfalls of dissociative despair.,0 These thoughts are seriously crippling me. I can't watch anything beside YouTube,0 I think about driving away from everything in my life so I can get out of this whirlwind of things going on around me.,1 "If it feels like OCD, it is. Deep down you know the truth.",0 "Yeah, can confirm, it's purely destructive. My parents would yell at me and call me ironic names as a kid for being so forgetful and ""half-there"" and it's basically given me the heaviest impostor syndrome. Anything I do cannot be good in my mind. Anything that comes out of me is stupid and idiotic and I have no idea how anyone can think otherwise. I just power through it and have still accomplished a happy life for myself but I am exhausted each day from pretending to believe what I say and do.",1 "B-b..b-but i don't care about germs. I barely wash hands.... Maybe im not pcd",0 "Honestly like, I’m thinking of quitting my job because no matter how many times I write shit down, I forget to write the next few tasks, or I write the task but forget to look back in the notebook for previous tasks!!! I’ve made so many mistakes that could have cost a lot of money and I’m afraid of making more of those until I make an actual mistake and I just don’t want to be there when that day comes. I’d rather my boss have someone non-ADHD who isn’t gonna get him down and make bIG mistakes. Organization is really not my forte.",1 "It's so weird. I wonder what this is called. My brain also 'snapped' into obsessing. All in a matter of seconds, I became disabled for 5 months then on.",0 "I literally was afraid that I had some sort of early-onset dementia before I learned that adhd causes memory problems. It was a huge relief. Of course that doesn't change the fact that I still struggle with it, but as they say ""knowing is half the battle"" and I am aware enough now to write things down or give myself other kinds of reminders when I have a feeling I'm going to forget something... This doesn't help much for retaining complex information, but it at least helps in my day to day life (how do I do this thing at work again? Oh yeah, I wrote it down, I can look in my notes!)",1 "My parents, who have three children with adhd, still dont understand this, especially my dad. I cry so often because of this, I need to go do something else now...YOUTUBE HERE I COME",1 I once did this 2 nights in a row and had to call off work because i was too tired to drive/function. Nobody wants the person putting their drugs together to be lethargic 🥴,0 "I’m not sure if you have them where you are, but in Australia you can hire Mental Health Support workers who do essentially this. It can be subsidised by the Disability Department too if you’re eligible, which I’m pretty sure ADHD is covered.",1 "As an amateur artist and writer, ADHD has created lots of trouble for me. For example, I desire to write a book some day but I can not write past 800 words about a subject or more than two/three chapters of a story. I can't imagine myself writing 300 pages united. My solution for this is I focus on short stories, poems and essays and I think about accumulating them in a book (maybe adding some of my artworks in it, too, it would be interesting). So it will be a book with multiple topics. Also, as an artist I can not work on the same drawing more than one or two hours, that's why I'm clumsy with details so I can not envision myself like the artists who spend months on the same artwork to make it perfect. I focus on ideas and how can I convey these ideas through my artworks rather than making it look perfect. Additionally, I'm on the surrealistic and abstract side of art.",1 "Hahahsh inlove this sub, seeing shit like this makes me goo... yeaaaaah. Watever i do it's 100%",0 "I play guitar, do I'm really protective of my fingers, I have a wire cutter for my strings, and I can't even look at it without my head filling with thoughts of cutting my fingers off. I recently got a new pair of wire cutters that couldn't possibly fit my fingers so I don't think that, but they can't cut bass strings, so I'll need to get the old one out eventually. At one point the original pair was just lying on the floor, and I looked at it and just later back in bed crying because I was so sick of getting those thoughts every day.",0 "This would be a dream come true! Maybe kind of awkward while I still have a roommate. But if/when I live alone I think it would flow better. I love the idea of doing tasks together with a nanny helping me get through it!!",1 "I was going to workout and had bought all my equipments out. Then I thought let's check my phone for any notifications first. There was one from Reddit about a post in r/wholesomememe. Then I kept scrolling and a post reminded me of r/adhd so I ended up here. Needless to say, when I check the clock again, 45 minutes had passed and I'm still sitting on the floor with all my gym equipments laid out in front of me while I'm in shorts in absolutely chilly weather. And I still wrote this comment first before getting my ass up and working out.",1 IVE BEEN DEALING WITH THESE THOUGHTS FOR WEEKS AND THOUGHT I WAS JUST CRAZY,0 "It's okay Adolf, take your time, you don't do an omelette without breaking a few eggs.",1 "i’m about to quit softball because of anxiety and intrusive thoughts. :(. It sucks. I’m an outfielder and I can never pay attention because I have to step on leaves, count my fingers, replay moments in my head, do stupid finger movements etc. It’s mostly because of my low self confidence but intrusive thoughts have made it so hard for me to play",0 "I recently have had dreams that I was molested,both by female family members I am also a female. I know for a fact none of this ever happened so when I woke up I just had to do my best to forget about it. Still wonder why I had such fucked up dreams though",0 This is me to a T. I then get overwhelmed by anxiety and feel like a loser because I cant finish what I start. I even begin to hate the house I live in after a while because it starts to accumulate reminders of all my failed projects. I haven't been diagnosed yet but I have identified with every single diagnostic criteria. Im 30 and I have only just realised how much ADHD has affected my life.,1 Sounds like the little voice In people's head that I don't have,1 "My OCD is currently ruining my life. I've been consumed by pornography for at least a week now. I haven't eaten, slept, or gone outside. Going to speak to my therapist about it tomorrow. I've waited far too long. Don't be afraid to tell them exactly how you feel.",0 "wow this is amazing! really motivating and hopeful for me. i’m awful and giving into my obsessive thoughts and then going to compulsively google about them and about all the worrying and scary stuff my brain comes up with just to make sure it’s normal or that even if i wanted to i couldn’t access anything super messed up on google. i have this weird anxiety over finding awful things on the internet that my ocd makes me have the need to google them just to make sure. i have tried to sit with those obsessive thoughts but then i get that itchy urge feeling to just click on a new tab and google it. writing in a journal app has somewhat helped, but it doesn’t replace the sense of relief i get when i google and read into stuff. i always get scared that i’ll feel that itchy needy feeling forever if i don’t give in and check google. i hope i can get to this level too and just keep focused and accept these feelings and accept that googling won’t help me and only makes me more stressed and susceptible to finding scary stuff.",0 Worse thing is that you would never see her as a normal person ever again,0 "Reddit has a 1000 saved posts limit, old posts start getting unsaved if you reach that limit. I save posts in Pocket, that way I don't have a 1000 post limit, and I can search the posts' title or search the subreddit and see my saved posts from that subreddit. I can also tag them and if it is a text post, see them offline. It's quite fast too, just tap share, then pocket, tag if you want to.",1 Fuck ADHD. Unbelievable. Can’t believe I’ve cursed with this bullshit,1 "Yay! After 4 years of OCD, this article has stopped it in its tracks!",0 "Yesterday I broke down in the shower because I suddenly had a flashback to some major bullying that happened 30 years earlier, so. Yeah.",1 This is probably the best art I've ever seen. This describes OCD for me perfectly.,0 "Fuck yes, put the world on pause for like a year so I can get my shit straight and I’d be GOOOOD",1 "This actually made me tear up. I'm so happy for you. Reading this is so helpful and inspiring for me, as I've been working on accepting myself more and accepting the fact that I need help and am simply not able to function on the level of a NT. Anyway, what an absolutely brilliant idea. God bless you and thanks for posting about this! <3",1 "I keep making a mental note to do this, because I have a great saved collection! But this is actually motivating me to. Thanks!’",1 "We get it, but everyone's solution has to be different. I wish you luck in figuring things out because I'm still on the struggle bus myself. I'm discovering that subscription services like Stitch Fix for clothes and HelloFresh for meals are very useful because it automates an essential part of your life that can be put off because it's tedious. I'm even considering subscribing to an air filter service that sends you a new filter for your furnace every 3 months so you don't forget to change it.",1 Does anyone know how to fix this? I have never related so strongly to a post before but my momentary feeling of belonging is overshadowed by the week-late paper I have yet to write.,1 "I’m going to get tested for ADHD in a few months. I’ve always had this characteristic ever since school. If I can’t understand the “why is this important” or “what is the intuition behind this” then it makes it so much harder to absorb instructions. I used to get told off in school for over-complicating things rather than just accept the answer as given. I’m now doing a PhD and sometimes my supervisor will suggest a specific way of doing something, but it really affects my ability to click with it if I can’t see his complete thought process that led him to the idea to try it.",1 I’m sorry if this has been done before idk I just thought of it while doing schoolwork 🥺,0 is this like a common thing for ocd people? Having good obsessions too? Bc I have the bad ones but also I have a tendency to become really fixated on anime/music/movies/etc that I like ... is that an ocd thing???,0 "Ah yes, I remember when my father cured me of my eating disorder by telling me it was all in my head.",1 OMFG SAME. I love to read and research but calling specific facts I’ve read is absolutely shit in my brain.,1 "I also have this problem. I thought I had a rare disease and it almost killed me...not the disease, the OCD.",0 "College courses. All the coughing, sighing, yawning, sniffling. Thinking about all the sickness waffling around in the air. I started skipping class by my 3rd year on purpose because I got so overwhelmed when I did go I was too burnt out to do work at home. Not going to class meant keeping my drive. Got better grades when I skipped because of that.",0 I don't even wash my hands that often and they bleed. Let's trade!,0 "OMG, THIS IS SOO TRUE!!! My mom always gets mad at me for not being able to do small tasks like making my bed and putting away laundry and she thinks I want *her* to do it, when in reality even though, I am kind of glad I don't have to do it anymore, I wanted to do it myself, *my way,* it's just that I couldn't because I was stuck thinking or doing something else.",1 "I was so sure this was gonna be the pic of Charlie smoking in the mailroom. I have to say, the episode where Mac is staying at Charlies and his Mom comes in to flip the lightswitch 3 times ""so Charlie doesnt die"" is a pretty spot on depiction of OCD for a TV show.",0 Been making a YouTube video for about 6 months now and I can't stop doubting myself and changing things to the point it feel endless.,1 "I think it's totally valid to use it that way. Honestly, if this offends you it is probably because you want to feel offended.",0 Went to check my watch later on youtube... half of the videos are now private or deleted and i dont remember what the videos were about,1 "Also “and did I take my meds this morning? No?? Ohh, there it is....”",1 "Thank you for this. I am on a rumination train, I knew it was related to OCD but seeing this really helped.",0 Something my doctor highly recommends is fish oil it helps make the medication be more effective in your system,1 pretty safe to say we all feel like walking talking contradictions,1 Especially when I’ve always been paranoid everybody can read minds except me,0 "hi, is your swollen lymph nodes hurt before you get checked for cancer? please reply im scared if i have cancer or not",1 "lol I sometimes feel like I caused things that happened even before I was born. Like, I'll be reading about the plague and be like ""oh no, I'm sorry..."" it's irrational in every sense but still",0 Lol this is one of if not the best meme I've seen on this sub. Way to go!,0 "This is awesome!!!! The amount of energy this kind of thing would take, the masive effort that you put into this is really incredible! Great job!",1 "Luckily for me, I've been scattering online classes throughout my time in college. It's a tough adjustment at first, but once you learn how to manage your time, it's not so bad. My recommendations: \- **Check your class assignments daily.** * Set a time every day for you to check what needs to be done. I would recommend this be the hour or so you have your classes to stick to that routine. \- **Know your deadlines.** * Probably the most important thing. If you can't manage your time well, know when something needs to be done and turned in so you don't miss it. \- **Give yourself regular breaks** * Don't stress yourself out if you're having trouble with something, take a break if necessary. Just don't get distracted too long by what you were doing, you most likely paid for that class and dammit you better get the most out of it!",1 I really like this idea :) it's hard for me to remove the idea of OCD from myself but I think maybe I will try,0 And that's how I slept through all of my school years :'),1 I swear this is posted here every time I have an intrusive thought,0 mine is in the process of doing the same thing. i’m kind of freaking out but i’m just going to force myself to learn and study when class would typically be occurring,1 "Tho I love the energy of this post, I think it's more about embracing life than fighting for it. We are all alive, none of our life was wasted by OCD. Even if we're not proud of our history with OCD, it's still a very valid experience. I definitely hear you tho, I am constantly fighting OCD... but maybe we shouldn't argue with it, just let it speak and do whatever you're trying to do. It's scary but that's when you break the pattern, when you do what you want the way you want without over perfectionist thoughts. Hard agree on the never give up part tho 💖",0 "Me wondering if I am just making stuff up to make my obsessive self feel better while receiving positive feedback from my therapist about my journey. Also me, she’s lying!",0 "Thanks, i threw some stuff away that had been on my computer desk for...a while",1 "I created a Google sheets doc where I export my links and write short notes about what they are so I can find them later. Or can post screen shots to save for later. It’s two extra clicks but I HAVE actually gone back to find them and it has saved me HOURS. My tagging and naming convention isn’t perfect but seeing it in a table visualization helps. Also put your browser on incognito. After two or three days if you don’t go back to the page it disappears forever... if it wasn’t worth putting in the table you can probably easily search it again or it was the distractible brain guiding you and you never neeeeded to internalize it ☺️",1 My mom could take a lesson from this. My mom always says she sees me do hard things and such not therfore I could do this eeeasy,1 Yeaaaaah I usually have at least 6 open. Sometimes using 2 browsers on some tabs because I'm scared to lose it,0 "This is awesome. It's funny that this is sort of how my brother and I (both ADHD) work. I say I want to build a PC, but I've never gotten around to picking parts since it's so overwhelming. He asks me what my budget is and what I want to do. A day later, he's got a parts list and is like ""let's go."" ",1 Man I just found this sub and I hadnt thought of my ADD since I decided to stop taking concerta in high school and now Im 27 and just looking at every single post dumbfounded at how much I relate to all of this...... fuck.,1 Wait this is related to OCD(just to clarify I’ve been becoming like this recently and I’ve been doing it a lot),0 This post made me happy because you're happy! I'm proud of you❤️,0 "My kiddo has severe OCD and depression. I seem to have passed on the worst genes. Don’t blame anyone at all anymore for fearing having children. The first 10 years were solid, at least. 😞",0 Congrats. It’s amazing to see the progress you’ve made.,0 me randomly making sure i touch the left side of my face twice after touching the right,0 "SO. TRUE. Wish I could stop gaslighting myself lmao....and then I ask others for their opinion (reassurance) and that's how I get gaslit by others, because I can't trust myself and then I'm a target for other people's toxic BS",0 "Trick answer. Its because I forgot ablit a homework assignment that I have to do tonight because its due in the middle of the work day tomorrow. Also, water. Water is almost always the extra answer.",1 "Nice, awesome GF. Very relateable. Only reason why I succeeded in high school was because of the fact that I can listen very carefully if I'm drawing at the same time.",1 "I opened reddit while I was peeing. I swear it was only supposed to be for a quick pee break. But you're right I need to stop! I'm in the middle of cooking and laundry and this could have potentially ended in disaster. Thank you!",1 "Yes! I straight up had to get one of those daily pill boxes because I kept not taking them out of fear I had already taken them. 100% recommend. I've had no problems since, I simply look over and if ""today's"" day is empty I know I took them.",0 "Ugh ""everyone has OCD about something"" PISSES ME OFF SO MUCH.",0 What a huge step! Ya hair looks great by the way! Congratulations! 🎈,0 "Fun fact, i got pulled over by the TSA because of a suspicious item i had in my bag that set off their heat sensors. They checked my bag and it was the burrito i bought right before going to the airport. I almost got arrested over a goddamn burrito",0 That’s incredible. I LOVE seeing everyone’s art on this sub!,0 "And this situation causes trauma, further exacerbating the problems, causing more damage and so on and so forth.",1 "Hi there. I have rOCD and I can tell you, it gets better. I know, I know, it’s hard to believe and you can’t see the light. I’d be lying if some days weren’t pitch black compared to others. However, I promise it gets better!! Things that helped me; 1. The FearCast Podcast. My favorite podcast EVER. I don’t listen to music anymore because it was very triggering when I first got diagnosed, and now I just get bored of it. I listen to a looooot of podcasts. And this is by far, one of the best ones for ocd and anxiety. 2. CBT and EMDR therapy: i have ptsd as well, and shifting my mind through therapy helped SO MUCH. 3. I take zoloft which took me from a 10 on my anxiety scale to a stable 3-4. 4. SELF COMPASSION. as soon as I started telling myself; lt is okay that I have these thoughts, it is okay, I am okay, I am safe — EVERYTHING changed. Be compassionate with yourself. 5. You. Are. Not. Your. Thoughts. Whewwww was this one hard to grasp (still is!) you are not your thoughts!!!! You are the observer and reactant of those thoughts. 6. If you didn’t care about your relationship, you wouldn’t have OCD surrounding it. OCD attacks what you care the most about. Hope this helps ❤️",0 Me trying to resist the urge of count all the “A’s”,0 When I was in 5th grade I found out we had asbestos in our house (it was built in the 60s so we were lucky it was only in our basement lol) and I came downstairs with a scarf wrapped around my face,0 Never suspected OCD because I assumed a person with OCD was meticulously clean. Glad I know better now,0 "There's also so many different types of OCD and it manifests in so many different ways, and people with no experience or knowledge have no idea what that's like. They don't understand that OCD in some forms can implant unspeakably horrible feelings of shame and self-loathing (e.g. POCD), severely affect relationships (e.g. ROCD), and lead people to live in fear that they are going to do something horrible to those they love (e.g. HOCD). I suffer ROCD and it is *nothing* like the stereotypical views of OCD. What I can tell you is that it's mental torment, and I would choose my anorexia or severe anxiety or panic disorder or even BPD, a thousand times over being relentlessly, ruthlessly attacked by my own thoughts planting disturbing, upsetting, distressing, vivid scenarios in my head that I know never existed. Some days I can't have a normal conversation with my boyfriend because my OCD globs onto any possible trigger, even if it takes 30 steps to get from the trigger to the thought. My ROCD gets to the point where in really bad episodes I'll literally be crying for it to stop and to leave my head, where hours are wasted on my reassurance-seeking compulsion, where in the past I would self-harm in response because it made my OCD just a little bit less loud. People who throw around the term OCD when they enjoy oddly satisfying GIFs have *no idea* what we actually go through. I'm positive I'm not alone in this community who, whatever your form of OCD is, experience literal mental torment as a byproduct of this disorder.",0 "I should love to stop and think of the future of my decisions, were it only in my wheelhouse to do so... alas...",1 "Like a lot of people here, I both agree and disagree. I was only diagnosed with OCD recently, but I've had typical OCD behaviors for much of my life. There were some, like my perfectionism, which were never criticized and sometimes lauded, which led me to see them as ""good."" I didn't see my perfectionism for what it was - rigidity and fixation - but rather for what I was told it represented: good work ethic, determination, ambition. In my society/culture, these are all good things. There are definite down sides; perfectionism is exhausting, and if you have OCD, nothing is ever ""perfect"". You're never satisfied with yourself, and you feel anxious, constantly chasing that impossible goal. Then there are the other ugly sides of OCD. For me, its fixation on money (I have financial trauma, which makes things worse), on body image (I have always hated my body), on social situations. There are the weird and absurd intrusive thoughts. It's horrible, and I feel like since my diagnosis, the bad stuff has just gotten worse. But to say that there's ""nothing good"" about OCD... I don't know if I'd say that's true. My perfectionism has helped me set high standards for myself, professionally, and th4 intensity with which I fixate on things helps me be good at my job and helps me be more financially astute. While I would much prefer life without OCD, I try to see what good has come of having it, since I have to live with it anyways.",0 "This is an excellent post. Long, for sure, especially for us ADHD people, but otherwise it’s spot on. One thing I’d like to add is the frustration felt when students are put on meds and given accommodations, such as separate testing rooms or extra testing time, they’re sometimes told that they’re being given an advantage over other students. It’s not understood that these accommodations are only leveling the playing field. What’s unfair is the struggle ADHDers go through while feeling very misunderstood.",1 "I usually change sheets right before going to bed. The only roadblock is starting, primary because of the blanket.",1 Is that part of OCD? I thought it was part of my depression,0 "I turn 37 this year. I've been in therapy since November and it's wild how finally talking about it has reminded me of all the weird things I HAD to do. Kicked a rock with one foot? Kick it with the other. Even if it meant running back twenty feet. Wrong side of street sign? Come back around. Having to leave my TV on a specific channel etc. So much shit I went through without knowing why until the panic attacks got to be too much and I finally decided to get help last year.",0 I feel attacked. My colleagues always laugh at me for my heavy punctuation use. Genuinely never considered that it might be ADHD related but it makes total sense.,1 "Yeah everything from performance to socializing, it really affects everything",1 This meme is everything LMAO! I feel like I _have_ to read a bunch of triggering replies to ensure the situation at hand couldn’t apply to me / is “worse” than me (harm / responsibility ocd with a smidge of misremembered real event). It’s hell.,0 "I also have found that, as a compensatory mechanism, I become quiet and (seemingly) reserved, disengaged from what's going on around me, because I'm ""too much"" when I let myself engage fully. This often leads to the ""rich inner life"" another user mentioned, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Sometimes I feel the rich inner life comes at the expense of a rich *outer* life.",1 Funniest thing is my roommates don’t understand this part : “Unexplainable time skip???” And start to think i waste time and then rush into things rather than completing chores first and then relaxing!,1 I literally just got on Reddit mid-lecture recording to look up an obscure subreddit only to see this at the top of my feed. Never before have I been so called out.,1 I swear to god this is the most accurate thing 😂😂 this is why I follow this sub,0 I feel like I just get passed from one person to the next. It’s a joke,0 "congrats on the job! from one former bagger to another: you’re probably going to be running around a lot so wear good shoes. it’s easy to learn but if you mess up you can get away with saying “sorry it’s my first day” for like a week. people are usually super understanding! make sure you start your bags with heavier stuff like cans and then top it off with lighter stuff and keep the cold stuff together they’ll appreciate that!! you’ll do great!! edit: typos",0 "I’m very successful in my career. I always ride a fine line of either constantly being promoted or almost fired. I never want to be fired. I just can’t hold back if something isn’t right or if there’s a better way. I literally. Can. Not. Stay. Quiet. I tell myself to just care less about the problems. Like everyone else. I can’t. I fixate on them. It’s what helps me solve them. People hate deep solutions because it usually means solving problems in ways that seem simple. People don’t like seeing simple solutions for problems they themselves couldn’t solve. I feel like a failure. Even after big wins I get this dread that quickly seeps in and it’s like nothing was won at all. It’s starting over at the next problem. People thinking slowly annoys me. Especially if they are above me. They shouldn’t be so senior. I rarely have leaders I respect. They happen, but rarely. I love them and love learning from them. They are my favorite people and many of my former bosses are my long term friends. I found if I listen to slow, depressing classical music I can get a lot done. Especially rushed creative projects like making presentations that simplify complex content in a easily consumable ways. I like helping people. I like letting my peers know we can accomplish things that seem hard. Even when inside I just want to give up and run away from the chaos. People confuse this for leadership. It takes a lot of effort to be a good boss. I get annoyed when people don’t think deeply enough about problems. I care about their growth but sometimes I have a short fuse when I’m annoyed and have to keep myself in check when I’m feeling flustered. I wish I wasn’t successful. Sometimes I wish I did some job that was creative and simple. That I didn’t have a big mortgage and family to take care of. That I could walk away from it all. But I don’t feel like I can. So every day I go to work feeling as though I’m suffocating and on the verge of everything falling apart, while being told by everyone at work that “I’m killing it” when every day kills me.",1 "This low level reminds me of an episode of Quantum Leap where the lead character, Sam, leapt into the body of Jimmy, a young man with Down Syndrome. To make a PHD physicist that time travels seem handicapped he was clumsy and absent-minded. So Sam was frustrated because he himself knew better but he was almost trapped in Jimmy's body. It is perhaps one of the best episodes that show ever made. Now I am not comparing ADHD with Down Syndrome, but the observation of the frustration that you know better but for some reason you just can't do what you know is best, and from the characters in the show who also have displays levels of ignorance and frustration with him. EDIT: Season 2, Episode 8",1 "I’m so sorry for your loss. You seem like such a caring and compassionate person. I’ve been struggling with motivation recently and have been living on 4-5 hours of sleep and one meal a day for an upsetting amount of time recently. Last night was the first time I got almost seven hours of sleep in idk how long. So I’m feeling better today and I think this post is that final push I needed to finish what has to get done today and maybe eat three meals. Sending lots of love your direction, because care should be symbiotic <3",1 God this is it. I sometimes actively avoid my mom's phone calls (I'll text her can't talk right now) because she just likes to talk. I always felt that I was such a bad son for not wanting to talk to her about things because I'm away in college and I know she missed me but like ... I can only take so much idle chit chat before I snap. I know it comes off as rude so I feel bad. 😔 I just get really irritable at times.,1 Go back to when you were an embryo and rewire your whole brain.,0 "All the time. I sometimes fantasize about what I would do. I recall reading a scifi book (reading is one of my favorite things to hyperfocus on) and there were these places that were ""out of time"" so time didn't pass there, and when you wanted to leave you could just go back to normal, and I remember thinking ""Dang I wish that was a thing.""",1 Or because you need something to blame something on?,1 "I also wish I could say the right thing. I've been there and continue to be there,, though the combination of getting sober, getting on the right meds, and talk therapy have helped immensely. I'm on Lexapro for depression/OCD, Buspar for anxiety, and have Valium as needed for panic attacks. I've seen a massive improvement since getting sober and going heavily into AA. Five months as of today. The only advice I can give is take action. OCD is a form of mental illness, and there is help out there. If you can't afford traditional health care or are self-employed like I am, there are free clinics and most states have low income health plans. Doing nothing will absolutely end in disaster, you will drive yourself insane. I can speak from 30 years of experience that talk therapy and meds DO work. They won't fix it magically, but it will improve. Another thing to remember (trust me I know this is all cliche but it's the only thing I know how to say) is that OCD is NOT YOU. When you know deep in your gut it's not you, you KNOW. You say to yourself ""it's not me, it's my OCD"". I've been saying that for 25+ years now. The other method that worked, simple as it is, started when I was 12. I was taught by my child psychologist to picture a stop sign whenever I had an intrusive thought or obsession, and immediately replace it with something positive. My psychologist actually had me recite the movie ""Ace Ventura"" which I basically had memorized. She typed my exact dictation, and whenever I had one of those thoughts, I pulled out the script and read a part that made me laugh. Simple as it is, it really helped. Just hang in there, stay active in places like this, and get help if you can. There IS help out there.",0 "He really played the character, like you can see yourself in him",0 "Here, have a panic attack! You're in a social situation with a lot of people you don't know. You have to make small talk for an hour with strangers. Then it's time for dinner. You sit down in an uncomfortable chair at a table of strangers. Your spouse gets deeply involved in work talk with someone else. You try and fail to make small talk with others, but it's loud in the room and shouting at strangers about what you do for a living is not engaging for either party. The room gets uncomfortably warm. It's too small a room for the number of people in it, and you're soon washed in an incessant sea of loud but unintelligible conversation. People ask you questions so you smile and fake laugh but you didn't hear a fucking word. The only respite is the bathroom, but if you spend more than 30 seconds in there you worry someone will think something's wrong. Your spouse asks if something's wrong when you come back from the bathroom, and you say no, because you don't want to ruin their good time. Alcohol helps, so you drink. But that makes you hotter, and everyone else is drinking too, so it's getting louder. All conversation is impossible - your brain can't pick out one person shouting from another. You're alone in a clenching mass of unbelievably loud people, unable to understand or speak to any of them, as you continue to get hotter and more uncomfortable. ... Just me?",1 "I probably sound stupid but I’m new to this and was only diagnosed rather recently. Are intrusive thoughts like thoughts about our compulsions? Like if I’m sitting watching tv and then all of a sudden I need to go see if the door is locked, or start tracing patterns on my lips again, is that an intrusive thought?",0 Omg is this OCD??? Right this second I feel sympathy for objects. I arrange the stuffed animals on my bed in a certain way so that they won’t be upset even though I know they aren’t real and aren’t alive. I feel this all the time and I thought it was over empathy?,0 "YES! Sometimes when I can't fall asleep, I tell myself if I don't fall asleep in the next 5 min, I will get up and work on the thing. Just thinking about doing the thing makes me instantly sleepy!",1 "I'm feeling that. As a senior with ADHD, my motivation was already in the garbage and being able to go to the library on campus to study is the only thing that works for me right now. My university hasn't announced anything yet, but I feel like it's going to happen in some fashion.",1 Does this manifest with hoarding? Because I hold onto the dumbest shit sometimes. Like papers with scores from a game I played with my husband a few years ago. Like keeping the score is like holding onto that game a little bit. Does this make sense?,0 I get out of bed several times a night to check the stove and make sure I locked all of the doors. I hate it.,0 "I remember i tried convincing my therapist i was a sociopath after she told me i was 100% not a sociopath, got love OCD",0 "Lately I've been feeling awful because I quit trazadone cold turkey 4.5 weeks ago. But now my mind is in a neverending loop as to whether or not I should still feel crappy this long after quitting it, if it's allergies, if I'm not sleeping enough... oye...",1 "Oh I truly feel this suffering, lots of hugs my friend",1 "I think everyone who wants to recover from OCD (any mental illness) knows what they need to do but they lose the motivation when they relapse. I think it’s so important that you give yourself the acceptance and space and TIME and PATIENCE to heal your wounds.",0 My OCD tends to make me do things in three (example: scoop 3 scoops of food) yet it doesn’t like odd numbers so whatever I don’t like doing in 3 I do it in multiples of 2s. Don’t make sense,0 "My family will never understand why this is ADHD and cannot control it. Even lost a friend recently because she couldn't understand why I'm still like this. She's known me forever, but chose to believe I should be able to get up and do something and couldn't get it in her head that I just can't do that. It really hurts when people can't get the idea of ADHD in their head. Like they get it but don't fully understand the idea of it. I try to get them to understand, but something just doesn't take and drives me nuts.",1 i pick the sides of my fingers so much it’s just raw flesh at this point but i can’t stop and my fingers are so gross looking :(,0 Am i the only one that doesn't take meds because i'm poor?,1 one of my top albums was c14... the minecraft soundtrack,1 This is extremely accurate. Especially the perpetual nothingness.,1 It's funny actually. I have OCD and I'm literally the opposite of a perfectionist.,0 "I have started ~5 books this year that I am still interested in writing, but I just always forgot/stop writing after 3-7 chapters",1 This is literally how I've been for a loooooonnng time and I've been unable to explain it and this Wario meme sums it up perfectly omg,0 "As someone with ADD I ADORE working from home. I get very easily overwhelmed and being in a comfortable environment away from people and noise helps me a lot. I still wake up at my normal time, eat breakfast, get ready, etc but then I force myself to sit at my kitchen table instead of my couch to make me feel like I'm in the office. You can do it, it just takes discipline. I find that taking a break to exercise is really helpful since I start getting fidgety and losing focus after a few hours.",1 Love to see the stuff this subreddit draws up. This is no exception. In fact its one of the best drawings I've seen so far. Was the isolation vibe intentional?,0 "This happens to me all the time. It gives me the very real urge to cry out of sheer exasperation, anxiety, and feeling overwhelmed.",1 "OMG I've never gotten an award!!! Thank you so much u/frogspop , u/blue-jayne , u/hellooutheregoodbye , u/rrsb , u/jasstheotaku , u/chinchillapups , u/big-axolotl , u/Yngvild89 , u/Owenman99 , u/frapastique , u/little-miss-fairy , u/Kivar8 , u/Zimrahin u/rareworm , u/Technical_Wealth8905 and also the anonymus redditor! All of you guys are the best, a huge virtual group hug for everybody! I really didn't expect this many people upvoting my post ... Thanks for all the support!",1 Thank you and same to you. I'm glad I'm not alone even though often times feel that I am.,0 You put into words exactly how it is. Better thank I could ever explain.,1 "I just start mocking it. Like I get intrusive thoughts of “something is coming for you” over and over again (it’s not psychosis because I know it’s not real, just anxiety inducing) but I’ve gotten over it by just being like “alright if he’s gonna attack me show up already throw that ass back” lmao",0 "Good job man congrats. I gotta take a, leaf from your book and get some studying in",1 26 year old here with swollen nodes and I have been trying to get myself to book an appointment for months.... Monday for sure,1 Me whenever I think about climate change. It’s already happening.,0 OCD struck me the other day while I was shopping for a holiday gift card,0 "My ADHD motto rn is “better to half ass it then not start.” In my book If I put the effort to start in, and got something done I succeeded. I do agree it’s tricky at work/ school when someone asks if you’re done or did your best because the doubt sets in, but just jumping into the deep end on tasks works 7/10 times for me",1 This definitely could be a doctorate thesis for somebody. “Recognizing signs of ADHD in written language” or something similar. I write huge paragraphs and link the sentences together with commas and hyphens and semicolons like its a fooking freight train. The period only comes 4-5 times a page,1 "GFDI why is something so tiny enough for me to actually go and Do The Thing, how is that so effecti-",1 i do love the idea but my brain is dumb and has the need to read up the spam before deciding to click out.,0 "Yes! I was lucky to have 2 great college English professors who helped me recognize that. Learning to communicate with less words was a challenge, but it did help me organize my thoughts better. I still have to edit, simplify, rewrite. “Track changes” on a one page final draft often is 12-15 pages for me haha",1 "Yes ! Can confirm ERP works, I'm doing it on my own too, even though ofcourse doing it with a therapist is better",0 "I was diagnosed as a baby but my mom didn't put me on medication till I was 10. Worked for a while but still didn't develop all the skills I probably should have and am now struggling to catch up. Now I'm off the medication and trying to find coping mechanisms for the bipolar I now have. But with study time (literally procrastinating right now) i still struggle massively. I just want to succeed but don't know how and I feel like such a loser for asking for help I SHOULD be able to do this on my own Why can't I function like everyone else Why am I like this Why do I struggle Literally the worst but sometimes I'm numb to it. I've been like this for so long its just normal for me to feel like I can't.",1 "In general if you want people to sympathize with you instead of just saying “Ya, I probably have that too”. Challenge them if they say that btw. Say something in the realm of, I have a neurological disorder which causes a shortage of dopamine in my brain. I was diagnosed by a Psychologist. It causes a lot of side affects but the worst few being: Irregular sleep patterns, difficulty learning, difficulty feeling pleasure and I also have irrational frustration over small objectives.",1 "Well fuck my ass this is the exact relationship I had with my mom growing up. I remember nearly every day after school thinking to myself, “Well time to go home and listen to my Mom yell at me for ‘being lazy’ again.”",1 "Damn thats fucking amazing My ocd is cured now, yes my 7 years of fighting OCD was fruitless, but this single post has forever freed me from my suffering, I thank you, stranger.",0 I actually went undiagnosed with OCD until I was 22 because I WASN’t super clean and organized. I hate that stigma bc it really does prevent people from getting the help they need. Nothing but hella intrusive thoughts over here baby.,0 My Mom once told me I couldn't get off the piano bench until I practiced my scales. I fell asleep on the piano bench. I waited what felt like hours and then finally just did the scales so I could get up. 😳🙈,1 "Ohmygod did you read my mind? My mom is literally the same way! Everytime I talk to her it's like listening to a long-winded broken record and I get so much anxiety from listening to her 20 minute rants. I know all that sounds harsh, and I love my mom dearly but a lot of the time when I talk to her I feel like I'm going to explode. It's hard enough not zoning out, but actively listening is literally painful.",1 "Anybody wake up and the very first thought you have is the intrusive disturbing images you've already head 784,848,493,948,484,838 times already? OCD is such a strange illness and it just weighs on you...makes you feel as though your mind is not your own. I get so much hope though from hearing other people's stories on here. I know I'm not alone with my problems and there are other people fighting the same battles. Never give up or lose hope!",0 "I saw this post a few days back and thought, well I'm not _that_ ADHD. Well it turns out, I _am_, as I found this out by myself when I couldn't add any more videos to the playlist. My ADHD ass.",1 "Yes! I have 'gotten over it' various times, but it returns when I am stressed. I used to also obsessively pee before eating for the same reason. It was a fear that I would not sleep properly/eat properly unless but from experience, you can improve this! Rationalise the thoughts: I know I /want/ to go to the toilet again, but I know I don't /need/ to go to the toilet again.",0 "Yes!! Lead to a massive fear of public speaking. 🥳 I hate it so so much , because I’m so good at writing yet trying to explain things is so difficult. Like I see it in my head but I can’t say it. Why is this though??? I’ve always wondered",1 this is like the main thing i deal with and have been dealing with for more than a year now,0 "I'm sorry that's super rough. I have experienced the same thing. It sounds like unintentional reverse psychology to me. I was diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder as a child resulting in most disagreements turning into fights. As an adult I have it managed mostly through mindfulness by using my negative feelings as an emotional trigger to take a step back and apply stoicism so I can remove the negative and look at it objectively. That along with focusing on diet, sleep, and exercise and meditation made a huge difference for me. There's no silver bullet for me but each creates about a 10% improvement. It doesn't always work but with continued effort it gets better. I know this might not be perfect or the right fit for you but I hope things turn out for you and hope this helps. I'm rooting for ya. 🤞",1 "My favorite thing to do is set an alarm 20 minutes before I plan to wake up, take my medication right there and go back to sleep. I'll just wake up naturally shortly after and feel refreshed, alert, focused.. Something I severely missed out on when waking up for the last 20 years.",1 I’d like to be able to watch a movie or show without having to repeat interesting/funny lines I hear fifteen+ times.,0 "Holy crap, is this an ADHD thing too?!! It’s like my ENTIRE LIFE has been an endless series of confusing factors that suddenly can be explained virtually 100% by one simple fact of my life, and that fact is ADHD!! I have had this exact problem in every relationship and every friendship, and when I make great friends who STAY as excited about knowing me as when I first met them, sadly I find that the impression I gave wasn’t really me (as we all know) and so the friend I met isn’t really who I want to be friends with!! So then I find I have friends I don’t want, who love me, and friends I want to have badly, but who are disappointed in me!! There has to be a way to find the middle ground!!",1 Don't forget never even making the appointment in the first place,1 "I just got back from a 3 hour beach fashion shoot, it's 18:05 in the UK, I'm exhausted and i have another 9 hours ahead of me where I'm organising the shoot into looks and generating contact sheets to send the model, preferably before 01:00",1 So is that a symptom of ADHD? cause I think a lot of people forget to close tabs as well,1 ".....are you me? Seriously, if there's a way out of this cycle I want to know too. I've tried multiple alarms, leaving my alarm across the room/in the bathroom, but that just annoys my poor partner, who puts up with enough crap from me already...",1 "oh yeah... 100%, i also get really agitated and anxious",1 "I haven’t been in college in years but never was successful with online classes. These announcements have triggered me haha. I’d fail the semester immediately! Maybe set up study sessions with your friends to keep you accountable? Good luck!!",1 "On the flip side I cry when I get my Spotify wrapped because I’m a maladaptive day dreamer and listen to music/pace around 6+ hours a day. My top 100 is a playlist that will always work for my day dreaming even if my adhd brain can’t pick music it likes. I remember each song fixated on throughout the year and where I was, what I felt, what daydream I was thinking on. It’s so personal and important to me",1 "I will... just after this 3rd or 4th or maybe 80000th time... \[insert intrusive/impulsive behavior here...\] actually is what will truly ""suffice."" lmao smfh...",0 Every morning at work when it comes to the one thing I need to do.. I do it right before I have to leave that evening haha.,1 I’m going through this right now at this exact moment. I’m literally beating myself up for being upset about something that happened in early December and wondering wtf is wrong with me when I clicked on reddit to distract myself and saw this post. Crazy! Thank you. I needed to read this now maybe I can sleep since the mystery is solved.,1 "I updated! It's a picture of one of the activities in the book, a table where you compare habits and compulsions.",0 "I do this because I absolutely refuse to give that much of my life to my job. I work 8:30-5:30, kids go to bed at 7:30, they usually stop fucking about around 9 then the wife's ready for bed at about 10. I want some of MY life back.",1 The other one for me is “bang the other elbow or you’ll have bad luck”,0 "No cap, even if they don't say that I can see them thinking it 😂",0 "This made me laugh so hard. Mine would be more like: ​ YOUNG MAN, punch that man in the face I said, YOUNG MAN, then quick, get out of this place I said, YOUNG MAN, you will surely be chased ​ *But* *How* *Would* *It* *Feel* *To* *Punch* *Some-* *one*",0 This makes me so beyond angry. They think it’s just being clean and organized 🤦‍♀️,0 "Great job resisting the urge to keep painting. It looks stunning. I just wish I knew how to paint like that. You're really talented! 😄",0 I think most of us (at least those of us diagnosed later in life) have cried when we felt calm and able to relax the first time we used our prescribed brain pills.,1 "Unfortunately my girlfriend does this a lot, and then gets annoyed with me. I am polite and try to listen to her, but me rubbing my head and the pained expression on my face as I try to concentrate on what she is saying so as to try to sift the wheat from the chaff makes it clear that I'm struggling.",1 "Honestly I'm really struggling right now and this made me smile, it's very relatable, however I don't think the medication is working completely if you're still getting thoughts like that.",0 "Playing civ 6 rn, I told myself I was going to bed at 12, I hate myself",1 Was just thinking this! I am a grad student and most productive at my desk in my on campus office and in person classes really are better for me!,1 "I’m constantly torn between the two. I’ll put everything to the side and procrastinate but as soon as someone does the work for me I get super anxious because I almost feel like I’m being put on the spot to do work that I don’t want to do, for someone else. And when I don’t do it, I just feel 10x worse. Finding my own motivation is what I want the most, so I feel accomplished, but finding it is also the hardest thing I’ll ever do. ",1 It's posts like this that make me think I *really* need to go see the doc about a proper diagnosis.,1 "This has been happening to me for the last 18 years, and my parents still run this shit after I have provided research and explanation time and time again. And they wonder why I decided to move out.",1 "Weed allows to keep me anxious free, every day. Panic attacks are often too. But relief comes with a bit of pain. LDS / Shrooms: at least 3-4 times a year. Good for long therm struggles. I love how my mind can get calm and at the same time realize many many many things I couldn’t if I wasn’t on LSD OR WEED. I don’t like to use any other substances, alcohol sometimes.",0 people literally have no clue what it’s like. especially when you know it’ll always be a part of your life.,0 they always say “i am ocd/adhd” too and not “i have ocd/adhd”,0 "i know you’re not looking for compliments or whatever but this is actually incredible, i never ever comment on stuff but i just had to tell you this, never stop drawing ",0 I feel seen but also personally attacked by this post,0 "That's one fine pork roast of a leg on the right Cool tat, too",0 "This is the most wholesome sub I've ever encountered on Reddit, man. I love you guys, thanks for being awesome.",1 "I just get huge sensory overload at work and don't want to have stupid conversations with the kitchen staff JEFF. Stop flagging me down every time I pass by the kitchen all way, I have shit to do!",0 "bagged veggies are my hill to die on! it seems like every day someone is like ""omg late capitalism someone bagged veggies why can't you just chop them and save plastic won't somebody think of the planet"" without realising that some people actually need it that way. beyond the adhd i also have orthopedic issues with my wrists/grip that makes chopping veg painful, like to the point i can't type at work the next day if i chop three carrots. i love the bagged packets for stir fry with all kinds of mixed veg, i would never ever buy and prepare all of the ingredients separately because i physically can't prepare a diverse amount of fresh veg.",1 "I thought I was the only one that does this😂 I'm always like ""omg can you just leave me for just 1 second I'm tryna watch a show dumb*ss""",0 Well this was a WHOLE MEDITATION. I went back and re-read it again. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼,0 "I read the meme before the post, I was ready for a fight coming into this comment section lol",0 "I've found it at least makes me feel a *little* better if I can do something useful with stuff I can't use--obviously it only applies to a couple things on this list, but if I run out of time to return something I don't need, I'll be less mad at myself about it if I donate the thing somewhere I think it's likely to be used. Food I know I won't use but that I haven't opened yet can go to the food bank--or if I have opened it, I can leave it on the break-room table at work for someone else to take. Clothes that are brand-new but don't fit me could go to a homeless shelter or something similar (depending on what type of clothes they are). Lots of places like donations of gift-type items right now, which is handy for situations where maybe you bought someone a gift but discovered it was the wrong size or something they already had and forgot to return it in time. At least that way I don't beat myself up about it quite so much, because I can reasonably assume *somebody* is benefiting from my fuckup.",1 Executive dysfunction is the root cause for ADHD related problems. Not being able to prioritize presents as concentration problems. Being unable to access information on how to handle difficult situations presents as impulsivity.,1 hard to find anything positive If your ocd will instandly Spin the reason why you find it positive,0 Yes absolutely all the time. It’s like your mind wants to find reasons not to do shit sometimes,1 "I do need that context for the information to ""click"" and register a slot in my brain. We have such a hard time with information recall that we need as much context as possible to be able to find the information again later. What sucks is that some people get offended when I ask ""why"", as if I'm questioning their instructions/information and they turn it into being seen as incompetent by me or I'm undermining their authority. Just one reason workplaces are such a struggle.",1 Your day is a metaphor for my entire life! Is there any hope?,1 "oh my god this. i talked to my mom about my ocd and, my moms words: theres a little bit of ocd in everyone! :)",0 "Anyone remember those chain-mail curse things? ""If you don't send this to 10 people by blablabla something thing (bad thing)."" Those were so fucking cruel to people with OCD.",0 "Whoever needs someone to talk to, feel free to message me.",0 What if I’ll say some pornographic descriptions out loud right now ?,0 I used to and still avoid any imperfection in the pavement,0 "having adhd has incredible benefits but equally incredible disadvantages. truly a blessing & a curse.",1 "Here's one from the other side of your ""favorite teacher"" story. One of my students looked at my egregiously messy desk and said ""You know, it's a good thing you don't have OCD."" I just laughed because I literally do. I didn't get the compulsive organization, but I sure can't start a staircase with my right foot or blink while I'm reading unless it's at punctuation. Or get tapped on one shoulder without immediately tapping myself 3 more times. Or...",0 “And I think I think too much” - Crackerman by Stone Temple Pilots.,0 "Reported, reason : I’m in this video and I don’t like it",0 "Congrats!! I’m so proud of you, that’s a huge deal!! Keep up the good work, you can do it :) we all believe in you",0 "Thank you for sharing, I really really needed to hear this. Stay strong 💕",0 So are we more hyperactive or less? I'm a bit confused,0 "Extremely relatable. I know it's tough but thank you for sharing. None of us are alone in what we go through, even if it may feel that way at times",0 "Sometimes turning it into a comedic act works! Adding fairies, dragons unicorns to the background of violent intrusive thoughts gets me through the initial moment if panic ..at least sometimes!",0 "Oh my GOD i love this sub. i began to really dislike myself for some of my actions, like shower skipping then making it look like i've had a shower by having a sink wash and the other stuff you mentioned This makes me feel SO much better about myself! i found showers one of the worst. the cold at the end, all of it. urghhrg. i can spend a day putting off just having a shower",1 "Lmao. True. My dad is always like make sure you lock your car up good... (he has ocd) and I’m like dad, I literally lock my car 5 times before I walk away from it. So he tells me things OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Lol and I’m like chill dad I already have a system to not let that happen. It’s a never ending cycle with us. Got the ocd from his dad and him.",0 This could be a form of existential OCD. I have it; reach out if you’d like to talk. :),0 Goddamn i needed this. I deleting this app and throwing my phone out the window!!,1 But it’s essentially right. What is ERP? It’s ignoring the anxiety as best you can.,0 "Sorry to hear that, but I hope all goes well for you. I need to get myself to the doctors, it's been three years since my last visit due to having a mental breakdown at work. But I need to go; one, to find out if I actually have adhd (no idea if I do, but I've never related to a sub more than this one) and two, keep getting awful chest pains that shut me down for several minutes before going away.",1 "For me it’s, wow, it’s only 10pm, which gives me like 4 hours until I usually go to bed, which will give me maximum 4 hours of sleep, which isn’t good, but I only got that much yesterday and I feel totally fine, could probably push it even later.",1 "Man these reviews are pretty rough on the book. Pardon the question, but is this one of your first books on ADHD or have you read others, and this still has interesting insights? Several reviewers have criticisms about the author being a bit of self promoter.",1 Yea that pisses me off.. I'm sure they mean well but it just goes to show how far out we are from fully understanding this disorder.,0 What an amazing success. Congratulations. Successes like yours help me get better,0 That's so sweet of you ! I hope you told her that too! I'm 21 and my mom nags me about this habit. It's reassuring that there are people out there which appreciate the effort :D,1 this morning my mom told me she doesnt think i have ocd cause my room isnt clean :/ i just wish she could understand she thinks im faking it and lying to her,0 Am I the only one that doubts what their therapist says? Mine will tell me good things about myself and I’ll start to come up with reasons why it’s wrong etc.,0 ARTIST: the artist is Shawn Coss! I’ve been a fan for a long time. Just google his name and loads of his artwork comes up. He has an entire series on mental illness :) lots of people have been stealing his art so be careful.,0 Do you guys also have episodes that you doubt your own OCD ?,0 "Holy shit the exact same thing happened to me 11 years ago with lypmhoma. In my situation it was probably between 8-12 months I waited. All I needed was chemo and it worked. My only regret is that I spent years feeling sorry for myself during and after treatment instead of doing something worthwhile with the time. I hope everything works out for you and will always respond to any messages if you pm me. Take care of yourself.",1 "*Looks at clock where it says 1 am* ... I feel attacked XD",1 Legit the reason my mom doesn’t believe I have ocd even tho Ive been diagnosed with it by 3 different therapist and psychiatrist. Like my room isn’t a mess but it’s not my moms level of clean,0 That's actually a very good way to deal with obsessions in general. I'm glad you found something that works for you!,0 "Oh yeah, I binge watched a show until 6am then slept until 5pm 🥰🥳",1 "Plot twist: that was a test, and your brother's girlfriend passed it.",1 I constantly ruminate on past mistakes and question my right to continued existence. I feel like this world has become more judgemental. Especially the Internet is so full of vitriol and hate. It is hard not to internalize it and turn it against yourself,0 "This is def one of the ""obsessive cleaning disorder"" type of folks",0 "Literally reading this as I lay in bed, and have been in bed for past 3 hours just cruising thru reddit...",1 "Wow, OP, this is an incredible hypothesis and it so clearly explains part of why I love Jim Carrey's movies when I didn't even notice the connection! Very cool. Thanks for posting!",1 There is actually some push inside the field of psychiatry to rename it to attention regulation disorder or something to that effect.,1 just gotta accept some things are out of your control. what if so and so wants to kill me? then if its my time to go its time to go.,0 "OOF,, I had an entire panic attack once because I thought I ran someone over",0 i need motivation to do this my ocd is driving me to suicide...,0 "Hey homie I struggle with the same thing; earlier in life when I had time and no obligations it was amazing to have all this drive and all these ideas! But during college and especially now post grad with a job and a life, those sudden bursts of I NEED TO LEARN/DO THIS THING hit in waves during my work day and by time I get home, Im down a completely different rabbit hole. I recently tried to pick up skateboarding again, figured hey Ill be great at this since I longboard! Tried to learn to ollie behind my house, made okay progress in a couple days but got so frustrated that I couldn't immediately do one after the one week mark that I threw my board and quit, haven't tried to ollie again since. Like, full blown tantrum at 24 years old. I found that if I try to pick up a new hobby or skill, it helps to practice with friends! Alone I get upset and frustrated, but with pals it keeps my temper in check and having patient friends makes it a fun learning activity rather than a frustrating endeavor. It's so crappy! But meds and therapy have made a good dent in helping me think more realistically and acting less impulsively. Good luck :~)",1 "For an OCD person, when things are going fine, he feels; ""Something is wrong here"".",0 "Even numbers for me. I’m in physical therapy and they want me to do reps of 15, but I always go for 16. I don’t even do it consciously most of the time.",0 "This made me tear up, because I'm going through a ver difficult time and it feels like no over around me could understand why every simple task is so hard to accomplish. I also started studying something that is way out of my mental capabilities and I'm having the toughest time thinking whether I should keep trying even if I fail my exams and spend money I don't really have, or if I should just quit and find something else to do even when my family says I should ""just try harder"" because somehow that solves things. Sometimes it's so hard to talk about the things that pains us. I've tried thousands of times to write something in this subreddit and I always find myself deleting and thinking that nobody would care to read what I have to say. I guess this post gives me the opposite feeling, so thank you for giving people a space to feel comfortable talking. I'm so sorry for your loss, I can only imagine how hard it must be. From what I learn by reading your words, you are an amazing human being. I hope I can someday be my own reason.",1 I've realised just how bad I am at this since I started my podcast. Several times ever episode I will be unable to pick out a word that I know and use often. Or my mind will drift off half way through what I'm saying and I won't remember what I was originally talking about. I'm hoping my listeners find it funny and not annoying.,1 "My pantry is a mess, but if my blanket turns 90° it's ruined and must be washed.",0 "I need to know why so I can care about the thing. Otherwise, it’s worthless information that I don’t need to spend energy processing.",1 "I save probably between 2 and 10 Reddit posts a day. I went through my saved posts once, looking for something specific, about 2 years ago. That was the only time to date. I couldn’t find it.",1 Funny thing is I take medication and it doesn't even help,0 "Heheh I have a playlist called ""new watch later cos fuck YouTube"", for that exact reason lol",1 "I’ve always felt this way. Now I can stop worrying that I’m some sort of one-of-a-kind freak! 😂 Thank you so much for this!",1 "Anyone else fall into episodes where you start speculating that you’re a sociopath or psychopath? Or worse? I had to obsessively research to find out if i possessed any traits. It kind of caused a domino effect. I may not be any of those things, instead, I’m hyper vigilant and start speculating some people around are.",0 "I used to struggle to watch Jim Carrey movies as a kid because they made me anxious and I felt like it hit too close to home. I know they were meant to be humourous but they always made me a bit sad. Despite this, I’d reference them ALL THE TIME in relation to my ADHD. It all makes total sense now.",1 "Most people know it takes light around 8 minutes to get to Earth from the Sun. A less known thing is that it can take up to a million years for a photon to go from the center of the Sun, to escape into space at the edge. This doesn't mean it takes *every* photon this long...it's just random depending on how they get absorbed and re-emitted along the way. If this isn't the perfect description of the ADHD brain I don't know what is.",1 Most of my problems come when I forget to take my medication (not adhd meds).,1 Most of mine are internal but that’s also so bad like it fucks up your concentration and makes social anxiety even worse,0 "I hear it all the time at work. It drives me nuts. No you don’t have OCD Karen, you are just organized.",0 "It looks superficially funny, I’m sure, and it’s fun to have a laugh of course about our mental health woes, but I just think how incredibly distressing something so seemingly stupid is!",0 "In answering ""did you try your best"" I always appeal to determinism. If there's only one potential outcome for the future, then no matter what you tried your best. When you fail, try to do better in the future but accept that what happened was meant to be",1 I’d didn’t even read what it said at first. My first thought was. “Wow the letters are very uneven” and then I read it. Smh,0 I did it! I fed my cat and cleaned my plate. Thanks for the motivation.,1 "This is what I'm doing right now. I have assignments to turn in but I can't get myself to do it. Instead, I'm scrolling through my Pinterest and Reddit feed.",1 "I feel this so hard. I wasn't diagnosed until my early 30s. I have been struggling so. damn. hard. I'm realizing I need a career that puts things into concrete, near-term deliverables with lots of variety and social interaction.",1 "Wanna start this comment saying thank you and I’m proud of you to anyone who has ever brought this up, to anyone who makes it a point to correct this major error, and to anyone on this community who really knows what this life is like to live. For the past 25 years I’ve been exhausted by the number of times I’ve had to explain, “No, you aren’t OCD. 1. You can’t *be* OCD because you can’t *be obsessive compulsive disorder. A person cannot **be** a disorder. And 2. If you really had OCD, and understood the hell of it firsthand, you wouldn’t be making such an inane statement about something that’s really just a preference you perceive as ~omg so quirky~. I’m in my 30s and have been reciting a version of the script since I was a child, when I first was diagnosed and able to understand the concept (and aware enough to get royally pissed off at anyone who downplays this disorder for the sake of ~quirky~. Until a handful of years ago, I was the only one I knew who got so angry and corrected others, and I thought I was alone. My family started doing it once I did, both to support me and because they get it to a degree–we have a genetic predisposition to OCD on both sides, but thankfully everyone else’s has been pretty manageable–but other than that, I knew no one else who truly “got it.” So glad to have this subreddit and similar online communities where we can discuss this with others who DO get it, and who also have likely felt the same way before–like they’re the only ones who get it and understand why it’s so infuriating, invalidating, dismissive, and just WRONG. So thank you, lovely people. I’m so sorry you understand this hell firsthand, I’m sorry we all do, and I wish I could make it disappear, but since none of us can do that, I’m glad we can at least find solace here, in an online community where we “get it” when others just...don’t. Thank you for helping me finally realize it’s not just been me correcting/educating people with something similar to my above script for 25 years, but rather something we ALL understand and actions we all take (even if it’s only mentally at times, because we don’t want to point it out and make a fuss in public). On the same note, you’re not alone.💛",0 "As an amateur chaos magician with OCD I feel this is a secret power. Difference being, the 'magical thinking' of OCD is anxiety driven and perpetuated by doubt, whereas 'magickal thinking' is desire driven and perpetuated by curiosity. When nothing is true, it may seem there is no ground beneath our feet, and we scramble for purchase; but without absolute truth, everything is permitted, meaning we need only to spread our wings and fly.",0 "if I'm not medicated then I'm extremely tired until midnight, then it's go time until 8am lol",1 "God I feel your pain. Also I have the same grill, so that’s cool.",0 "Regardless of what happens in your future, know that you probably saved at least one life with your words. Thank you for sharing in your time of fear. Internet hugs.",1 "When I told my mom I was coming to terms with having OCD and how it terrified me, she said, “everyone has OCD. Some people just have crippling OCD.” I was literally just about to say how I wasn’t looking forward to hearing stuff like that from people. Ugh.",0 "Ugh this is so my life right now. It only became apparent in the last two or three years that I have ADHD (don't know how we didn't catch it sooner, what with two of my siblings and my dad having it) and everytime I think about starting a new crafting project or putting in more work on some stagnant writing project or just reading a book, I just sit there and don't actually get started. I've been a little better about just getting stuff done lately, but depression/ADHD is very hard to claw your way out of.",1 "Gosh, I really needed to read this ♡ Thank you dearly, and as someone who has also had a loved one quit earth, I really admire your optimism in the face of devastation. It's genuinely very inspiring.",1 I feel this heavily. When the obsessions kick in all I can do I just chill out under a weighted blanket until they pass.... eventually.....,0 "I feel this. On Wednesdays and Fridays my Fiancé works so she can’t get me out of bed and BOOM - that’s 3 hours more or less gone from my day because my personal time (and I do so love my personal time) happens in the 6 hours I have before work at 7pm. So then I have to crunch 6 hours of day (chores, leisure, getting ready for work, eating) into half that which is just not possible to do in a relaxed manner",1 "It feels like a prison. I know I'm smart and creative and I have so many ideas, but my stupid brain prevents me from executing them. And even when I do, it just seems slower than anyone else",1 Thank you for this. In intensive therapy for my POCD and am currently freaking out at work thinking an intrusive thought is a suppressed memory. I feel like I’m going insane. This helped. Thank you.,0 NOOOO I'm literally waiting for a 3 pm appt ahahahagag,1 "It's obnoxious, but I honestly think this subreddit invests too much energy into this kind of thing tbh. If the worst thing about OCD was stupid stuff like this, then it would be a much easier thing to deal with.",0 i couldn't read all of this but im sure it was good,1 "​ >I think it’s at the root of some of my greatest anxieties in life, and is something that I dwell upon every single day. In any spoken interaction, I know that all it takes is a single moment where my mouth moves before I can ‘review’ my own words. And then it’s too late. Hit the nail on the head with this one, if not the entire post. Well fucking said.",1 "Yeah man this is me too. In every area of my life. At least I've been diagnosed now (at 51) so I can start to address things. And not feel like a failure any more. There must be an up-side to this?!",1 I’m going through a two day spiral of this. All of them. It’s been a long time since I let the thoughts take control. I needed to read all these and realize I’m not alone.,0 "Seeing as I plan on getting a contraceptive implant, This certainly will increase anxiety despite me being on meds",0 "i feel your pain. i’m currently a freshman with severe ADHD and starting high school and all is an absolute pain in the ass. it’s a helpless feeling, i inherited anxiety from my father, and that just makes things even worse with the depression and ADHD. you become the master of procrastination and nothing seems to make you happy anymore, i don’t really remember the last time i was genuinely happy or stimulated. i was prescribed ritalin but i switched over to vyvanse as i find the side effects are less harsh, however with most people it’s the contrary. i’ve been abusing my vyvanse just to feel relaxed for that period of time. it’s shitty and you’re scared that you’re gonna feel this way for the rest of your life.",1 Chunk out your plans. Do one small productive thing like make your bed. Have others hold you accountable. Carry around a list and look at it all the time.,1 I've got an issue with cutting my hair too. Last time I had a hair cut was the third grade and that wasn't by my own volition.,0 I had this. I was even scared to hold hands with my boyfriend because I thought he somehow has sperm on his hands and it could somehow slip from his to my hands and then to my vagina.,0 "These are among the same things my ADHD physician told me. He's an ADHD specialist whose practice only deals with people who have ADD/ADHD, definitely agree on them all. I'll also add that his method for finding the correct dose is to start at a low dose, keep upping the dose until the side effects either increase too much (or begin to present themselves) and no additional cognitive effects are seen, and then backing down to the optimal balance of the two. The reasoning for this is because ADHD patients have no measuring stick by which to compare their unmedicated cognitive state to their optimal state - so while you might see improvements at dose X, at dose Y you may see even greater effects. That's why it's important to try every dose of every new medication. You may be doing ""fine"" on Adderall XR, when Concerta may give you an even better level of improvement.",1 Got me in the first half and almost in the last half till the last sentence.,1 Why can’t every door just have a step n’ pull? Our shoes are already filthy.,0 Mine was mostly show tunes and pop-rock. I.e. Hamilton and Panic at the Disco. sounds bout right,1 Show this to your gf. It would've made me happy if someone said that they appreciate my effort.,1 "Yeeesssss I can completely relate. I learn so much about a topic and make opinions I know are backed up well, but if I'm asked to back them up later I can't remember the evidence! Its like my brain, once it uses the information to make the opinions decided it doesn't need the information anymore and deletes it from my memory to conserve storage lol",1 "I hear that!! For 13 years I worked in treatment centers ,Group homes, halfway houses, hospitals for teens at risk hundreds of times 80 HD was the “” moniker. Honestly granted this was 10 years ago but nobody had A clue how to handle adults with ADHD.It was just a new badge to throw some meds at.",1 I thought this was just me! I didn't know it was another symptom of OCD.,0 "Same with thinking myself into a panic attack. Why does this happen, I just want sleep...",0 Haha! I think the funniest one for me was when I listened to 26 podcast episodes in a row. A murder podcast. I was also in the top 1% for Lady Gaga's new album.,1 Spectacular. This is exactly how my mind feels like everyday. Plagued by the toxic gas of intrusive thoughts. Well that’s just my observation. Amazing painting.,0 "Yes, but also, this is why I watch everything with subtitles. And at this point, I'm used to rewinding and rewatching segments of shows multiple times. 🤣",1 "I'm also triggered by kitchens, but only because of my harm obsession (there are usually knives and flames, etc.) I'm so proud of you for doing this and I hope that you enjoy!",0 I'm taking multiple research classes for college this semester and I'm writing my final research proposal on adult adhd. It's been enlightening to dig into peer reviewed studies and articles about adhd. There's so much more information than I thought about adult adhd. Check out google scholar if you're interested in learning more beyond the first page of generic answer google spits out.,1 I recommend the 5 second rule. Set your alarm and when it goes off count 5-4-3-2-1 and do it.,1 "Every day since discovering this sub, I am blown away by how amazing y'all are, and the support is something I never thought I'd ever really find. Thank you.",1 "my dad & his family history of depression and ocd, @ my mom & *her* family history of anxiety: dammnnnnn shawtyyyyyyy!",0 "All the time, unless I'm watching with someone. Then I talk over the movie and make sure they miss plot points too. Gee I sure do love myself",1 "I feel your pain almost to the T. Can do every day stuff (altho I’m self conscious of things like talking too loud, losing my train of thought, over sharing, interrupting all that Adhd shit) but watch me try to convey something serious or remotely intellectual and it’s like I just cannot convey my thoughts and logic. I’ve been self conscious of it lately as I’d been feeling like maybe I’m just not that smart as I think I am in my head LOL but since realising this is a trait of adhd I feel a bit better but still lost and clueless as to how change it so I can convey my real thoughts rather than a jumbled, badly said version. I can tell a lot of times people think I’m dumber than I am which is annoying. I even get self conscious of it on social media even though usually I’m better at conveying my thoughts by writing as you said... i still seem to realise later I could have said it different or that it came across wrong etc etc. Ugh it’s so irritating! I’ve found it’s worse lately too. Like last week I said “tooken” instead of took/taken TWICE in separate convos and I was like wtf is wrong with my brain. I seem to forget words more and just generally be more unable to even convey what I’m trying to say in normal convo - constantly searching for words or losing track more than I used to. It puts me off talking to people! Sometimes I can even see the people who are very chill and supportive about my adhd etc, laughing a little and I know it means nothing but it still gets to me how scatty I must sound. Can’t wait to see how meds affects this ...",1 That would be so much simpler than dealing with OCD. Gah I wish that was my only worry throughout the day,0 "I can really recommend the book ""Smart But Stuck"" by Thomas E. Brown. It's exactly about what you describe. The frustration that comes from the discrepancy between intelligence and also having ADHD/ADD.",1 "Wait! It’s all OCD! (Constant blinking or else, flexing jaw every 10 seconds or else, mind constantly thinking about the worst possible outcome for everything, compulsive sexual thoughts since youth) *cocks gun* always has been",0 "Yeah I hate it so much. I always try and tell myself to just let those thoughts be thoughts but after a while, I can’t take it anymore and have to talk back and reassure myself. The worst is when I haven’t been thinking about my obsessions for a while and my brain will all of a sudden be like “why aren’t you thinking about [insert obsessive thought]” It gets to exhausting. Most days I can manage but there are some days where I’m so mentally drained I look forward to sleep.",0 "UGH! My last dr appointment for meds was at 4:30!!! At the end of the appointment I may sure to ask for a morning appointment next time. It was like I was pacing around all day thinking about it...",1 "Man this strip went out of hand fast, I guess I’ll just triple check the locks then 🤷🏻‍♂️",0 me trying to resist bashing my shoulder into my ear,0 "This sounds like me, except with the laundry. And now that I have a 6 month old baby I’ve gotten even worse with my “laundry process”. Multiple hampers of clothes throughout house, some clean, some dirty (I know which are which though 😂🧺).",1 "At this point, I’ve seen so many of these that they barely register with me. Like, “oh look, here’s another asshole who thinks that OCD is cleanliness. Yay.” I’m not sure if it’s an achievement or a tragedy that I’ve reached that level of numbness.",0 Overthinking your overthinking is actually a way to stop overthinking. Hope that sentence made sense.,0 Ha I feel exactly like this! Blasted by noise and can't see LOL!,0 "Asexual here. Many a time i have tried to convince myself that ""I'm not a real asexual"" because ""real asexuals"" dont experience any attraction",0 "I thought I was reading a post about me for a second. Thanks for sharing! I at times make a protein with a little bit of fruit smoothie in the morning to keep me going. The enrichment part really hit me; I'm the same way I do everything that doesn't contribute to the better good of my well-being. It depresses me whenever I haven't done anything that will mentally fulfill me. Good thing; it's mommy making you feel like that; whenever my boyfriend rants on about something, my brain starts to hurt as if a baby is crying across the room. I love him; I just can't sometimes.",1 "I have been looking and wishing for something exactly like this for a while. THANK YOU KIND PERSON! And... thank you to good old hyper focus for probably helping you complete this task. Amen.",1 "Just found this sub and I'm already crying. ​",0 "This is me with cars lmfao. I know wayyy too much about hybrid vehicles and how their transmissions work to give you what is functionally a CVT transmission. But if I tried to explain it I would make no sense and forget the names of all the parts that make it possible 🙃",1 "And when I'm feeling suicidal I (un)intentionally sabotage my relationship with people I care the most, yay..",0 This is me in debate class after studying the topic for months,1 "I see you, and you are doing amazingly! The struggle is very real, but you are clearly managing pretty damn well, and I'm proud of you.",1 "Oh god, yes. The other day I sat on the sofa, my arms wrapped around my legs, my eyes closed because I couldn't stand it anymore but my dad kept on talking, repeating the same point over and over again. I'm really glad I didn't snap but I was seconds away.",1 Wow it never ceases to amaze me how much ADHD brains can do when hyperfocused 🤯🤯🤯,1 The void calls me everyday. I pretend I’m deaf and can’t hear,0 "3 and 5 suck. 42 makes me happy. So does 2, 30, 17, and 18.",0 "I prefer multiples of 2 now. Except 6, I can't do that number. Especially not last year. I'm ok with 5s though. Better then multiples of a specific other number (the one mentioned above)....",0 "This reads like a Suicidal Tendencies song haha. I feel everything you wrote, thanks for your post.",1 "Not only do I feel like using adrenaline to complete tasks is expected and normal, I both knowingly and unknowingly set myself up to be “under the gun” to get things done. Procrastination: EXTREME! What’s crazy is it actually works. If I’m having company over and my house is a disgusting mess I’ll wait until the day they arrive, wake up really early and my hyper focus just carries me through everything I need to do. My brain is working on overdrive. I’m so organized, so in the zone that I actually enjoy what I’m doing. But if I were to try to clean just one room right now it would be the opposite. Trying to organize and clean when I’m not under stress feels like trying to run through a pool filled with jello. And the end result is never as good. I’ve always been really good at things like public speaking, interviews and auditions because stress and adrenaline just does something magical to my brain.",1 I cured mine by just trying harder. As soon as I realised I could try harder my ADHD was gone.,1 My life in a nutshell. POCD has me fucked up a lot of the time.,0 "Stuff like this gives me anxiety. I was diagnosed with OCD when I was younger, but I know mine is pretty mild. Is it weird to have imposter syndrome over a mental disorder?",0 "This is SO important and I never thought of using this logic in all areas of my life! Me and my mom are both very crafty and frugal (and both have adhd 😅) and she would always say not to waste money on some things because we could make it ourselves WAY cheaper- true but I rarely ended up with all the things I needed to complete it or too much time would pass and I just didn't even want to expend the energy. I still think that about a lot of things now but I know my limits better. So now it's easier just to pay more for the convenience and me not having to get all the supplies and wait to actually trying to recreate something. This has made me reevaluate how I grocery shop! Thank you for posting this!!!",1 "I'm the same way! I wish more people that raid in Destiny were like you. I absolutely hate being told to go do something without the why. Then when I go in with a different group, I find it harder to remember what I'm even supposed to be doing since I don't know why I'm doing anything.",1 Very very happy for you! The efforts we have to make to do these kind of things while dealing with OCD is unreal!,0 "Happened to me post-coitally once. Wanted to grab drinks but then saw some dishes in the sink, felt like having a sandwich, repainting the fucking kitchen. Some 15 minutes later she stood in the kitchen doorway asking if I was still up to cuddle. I'm *always* up to cuddle!",1 "This is beautiful! Thank you. I’m not crying, you’re crying. 🥺😭",1 "This summarizes how I have felt, its quite depressing but its accurate. Novelty, great first impression though, it's me, my intentions are honest, my personality is me and my feelings are valid. First impressions matter and gets me in the door. Honesty about my struggles and lack of follow through and asking for help is where its at:)",1 i can’t help but wonder what makes this so common? i feel like compulsions are usually different for each person but this one is straight up starter pack material.,0 I really don't agree with this. I even read the disclaimer on the site. Catering to people's obsessions is not good for their OCD.,0 I love this. It's comical yet woke. Thanks for the laugh,0 "Great recommendations here. I would also say getting a charging phone case has helped me a ton since I got it. For me, worth the tax of paying a little more upfront.",1 Every time I read this thread I have another “other people get that feeling too!” Moment. Great hack,1 "This happened to me, 16 years ago last night. CRAZY time of my life.",0 "Anyone else just REALLY forgetful because their executive dysfunction? Like you get taught something but as soon as you’re suppose to apply it, it just *poof* disappears?",1 "I ALMOST washed my Sheets today but I fooled them I didn’t and NOW I’M SLEEPING ON SHEETS STILL 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼",1 "**“The hellish side of handwashing: how coronavirus is affecting people with OCD”** https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/mar/13/why-regular-handwashing-can-be-bad-advice-for-patients?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other&fbclid=IwAR3Q8B5fG9rCsL1qFj7VAeRM7gnDrArUMSYNsblEcMROU9U2wntMcyVGs_o",0 I just like to pretend that I can see bits of the infinite universes tangential to our own. Makes me feel better about subjects like time and death.,0 "I get motivated by people not beliving in me, I once lost 10 kg just to spite someone (in a healthy way), I am on my masters now, even though many people would never belive I could finish a bachelor. I have finished several trips to the mountan just because my father dide't belive I could finish it. I like showing people how wong they are.",1 "Put ur MF hands down y’all you’re not stupid, we just don’t operate in a way that “works” for a lot of societal constructs. Just learn how you learn, learn how you can use your different perspective to your advantage, and enjoy yourself it’s really difficult but it’s even harder just feeling stupid and out of place",1 "I learnt about this not long ago its called being high functioning, I've had adhd, depression and anxiety since I was 14, yet bar school councillors and the alternate school I went to where my class was like 6 kids tops, everything looks pretty normal from the out side infact I've had people comment how come I'm not in manager/higher paid positions. Well that's because in my head it's the total opposite, constant anxiety , while simultaneously not having the energy mental or physical to actually act on and fix what's causing said anxiety. A healthy dose of short attention span thrown in and I've never got past a weekend supervisor role in jobs. Until I had my own business but the wrong choice of brewery contract and covid funked all that up as well. I'm 32 next month and pretty sure it's all catching up on me now, can't seem to find motivation to do anything beyond just existing, and because I've always been high functioning and been pushed to be that way by parents who want one of there kids to not be a fuck up, not a single person has noticed how far downhill I've gone let alone that I'm my head I'm not planning on making it past age 45.",1 I know it won’t do anything but I just raged on Twitter at them. 🙃 made me feel some what better …,0 Must be the time of year. Mine resurfaced a few days ago after 1-2 months of relative quiet.,0 "It's extremely irritating. I've gone through school, career and business into financial freedom but I still feel like total hack topped off with an addiction for substance abuse. Then I hide my true self in shame from everyone else and end up with shallow relationships and friendships. It's like being a psychopath with feelings.",1 "I have an assistant at work for exactly this reason. I'm pretty good at what I do, but can't organize myself. She can tell when I'm looking for things to avoid work and reminds me of something that needs to be done.",1 "LOL, planned to do this then forgot. Better save this to remind me... Also a post it",1 "Lol, quite funny. I had some scares in the past with bleach fumes... they can cause chemical burns in lungs. Scary... but bleach is so useful.",0 I’ve never had another way to think. Every morning I wake up and think “I hate myself”. I brush my teeth and think “you will hurt someone today”. I shower and think “my family needs me to leave so they can be ok”.,1 "I’m sensitive and have extremely low self esteem from trauma so when people think tough love works, it actually has me spiral into deep self loathing and depression. Yes, it DOES hurt that criticism as an adult hurts me. It DOES suck to be 20+ and still embarrassed to hear what I can do better. Compassion and understanding helps me succeed more than tough love believe it or not",1 but it’s the fact that they won’t just give me a second-,0 "Asking for help in school was not an option for me, exactly for those reasons. Later in high school things got better but the threshold for asking was high. It resulted in me not being able to spell correctly, but somehow I managed to go through highschool without it being a problem. When I was writing my thesis for my bachelor, I got called out on the huge amount of spelling errors. That was such a shock for me, I was embarrassed. But luckily the teacher delt with it quite nice and I dove into the Dutch spelling rules to make sure my thesis was perfect. That was the moment, 10 years after highschool, I actually learned how to spell.",1 "Imagine being someone who can ""get back to sleep""... The only time i can nao is when i am approachingg exhastion and naps help but on meds they are more half awake. The only time i can get back to sleep in morning is when i woke up 3 or 4 hours too soon. Also anyone else on meds wake uo like 5-6h in to stay awake for like 2h and falling asleeo for another 2-3h, beeb like a regular clusterfuck for me lately. Something to do with noght terror, kr recurring fear of menacing spiders some huge some small, but since i have lucid dreams where i can control myself and world, the soiders dont seem to scare me, but onece in a while a fucker big enough to be a threat to humanity just lunges at me and there is nothing i can do about it 😢",1 "Gunner doesn't know me. Gunner doesn't believe in shit. Gunner's a dog.",0 Bruh. They don't even know what's OCD/ADHD they olny know the letters.,0 "Something about tomatoes... Or clocks? I'm not sure, but I think those are a cure too. I wasn't paying attention.",1 "I think I relate with 90 to 95% of these. Unbelievable lol. I feel kind of good about the few things I manage to have under control though.",1 If I'm lucky I manage to resort to painfully accurate analogies. People typically ignore the point and ridicule them however.,1 "I totally agree with this, but I just want to make sure I’m getting this right. Is it saying that even though you don’t agree with those statements you still feel like you do?",0 I’m down to one counseling session a month. I’ll be back to weekly when this is all over.,0 "I get it, man. I have been trying to clean out my car and my room for 3 months now.",1 Knitting is super easy to learn and also helpful too,0 "I tend to use ""fuck off"" or ""not right now"" a lot with small head and shoulder shake.",0 "@godsteethillustration on ig and godsteethillustration.bigcartel.com Just a heads up I’m not the OG artist",0 "Amen to all of these. Idk if any of your online subscriptions are through apple, but if they are, you can cancel them as soon as you subscribe through the App Store and still have access to the full duration of the trial.",1 "Through the practice of mindfulness we try to reinforce the notion that our thoughts are not us, they are simply passing apparitions which do not necessarily indicate anything about our nature, identity, or the world around us. However, OCD convinces us time and time again this is not the case. It convinces us that we must resolve the causes and implications of each thought and moment of our lives. It can be defeated through several moments of heightened clarity, for our fears are often not real at all, and they are absolutely not our identities.",0 "All the time, it's frustrating being stuck in this seemingly endless void and get nothing done.",1 "For me, OCD is more like ""I bet one of these matches either already set my house on fire or will soon set my house on fire.""",0 "Why don't you like this post? ⚪This breaks the rules of r/OCD ⚪This is spam 🔘I'm in this picture and I don't like it ⚪Other Issues",0 Say shut the fuck up for a certain number of times to make it work,0 lmaoooo it's sooo annoying!! Exposure therapy feels so pointless sometimes.,0 OMG THANK YOU. I don't drive as much as possible specifically because I would pull into 5+ spots if I did.,0 "With work, the semester never ends. You never get a new teacher or prof., and there is no summer break. One slow slog that grinds you down.",1 "Yea I'm already drowning in what day is what, when things are due, what lectures I need to watch and actually following through, etc. This is actually hell.",1 I've gotten to the point that I ask them to write a synopsis for my next therapist because it is so exhausting retelling it over again. Highly recommend it.,0 "I feel this so much. Tonight it was ""Put your hands in the fryer,"" while I was cooking.",0 Bawled my eyes out. Thank you. Thank you for this. ❤️,1 Yes I need constant stimulation otherwise I will get sleepy but not actually sleepy enough to sleep because as soon as I get up and do anything else I’m not sleepy anymore. Lol it’s pretty frustrating i feel like I can’t do “normal” things,1 Meanwhile everyone around you is wondering why you’re concentrating so hard on nothing,0 "My OCD does make me want to be neat and tidy, but it’s not a cute or fun thing. It’s like being under some kind of spell or frenzy, and I can spend hours arranging and rearranging and driving myself crazy, but I just can’t stop. Even when the house is clean.",0 "That's a great way of channeling your OCD. It is very beautiful, congratulations!",0 "What a sweetie! ""Every girl crazy 'bout a Sharp Dressed Dog!"" Makes me feel a little better too, thanks! 😘🖖",0 "This is very beautifully written and you know what actually really needed this today. I am very sorry for your loss.",1 Thank you for the post. I actually find going off Adderall XR on the weekends helpful. I understand others may feel differently.,1 "My STBXW would get so mad at me because I couldn't just say it. Just tell her what I want. Just communicate. Don't yell noises at me, use words. Look lady, our 2 year old is trying to off herself in some creative way and my stupid brain can't connect words, so the only way to get your attention was an unintelligible ""ahhhhhh"" while pointing, OK? I'm not being rude, just disabled.",1 "Wow I had lately been feeling the same thing but didn't know how to voice it. Like of course I hate anti-vaxxers and Autism speaks and that whole nasty lot who want to ""cure"" or ""prevent"" autism, but I'm ***not*** grateful for or happy about having something that makes my life more difficult and isolated. Its our social and economic systems that make ADHD/ASD life so difficult, and I resent those systems, but I also should be allowed to just... dislike having ADHD/being on the spectrum. I would still dislike being socially oblivious, impulsive, and extremely forgetful even if I didn't have to navigate the modern workplace. Just because I hate dealing with it doesn't mean I hate myself or look down on others in the community. I understand why people might make that assumption but its still wrong. It reminds me of when you say something like, ""I don't like crunchy french fries"" and people get personally offended by it as if you are saying people who like crunchy fries are morally inferior. No, I just don't like crunchy fries, you are free to enjoy your crunchy fries but I don't want to have to eat them! Not a perfect analogy obviously because ADHD and ASD are a lot more personal than fry preference, but hopefully it helps elucidate my point.",1 "With my degree we can't even do online classes, they have to be in person lol. No idea what we would do if the school decided to move everything to online..",1 Suddenly I forget every bad thought I've ever had in my life.,0 "My OCD makes me feel like I’ll hurt a child. I got to visit my best friends baby niece for the first time and I held her feeling so happy. I knew right then I would never hurt anyone. I felt peace for once.",0 "I wonder if that means your strength is making phone calls and his is doing internet searches. Just possibly a theory I'm thinking about. Do you find it hard to make calls yourself too and does he find it hard to do internet searches for something important normally? If not though, that's a really cool hack. Too bad I don't have anyone in my life who could/ would do that for me. ",1 "Same! The first week or two the euphoria that can come during the initial acclimation, combined with the sharp relief definitely had me in happy tears several times. Just be aware that initial euphoria will fade, so don’t be too disappointed when it doesn’t keep up, and it won’t fix everything. I started on adderall about 3 months ago (after just being diagnosed) and I’m still a) wrapping my head around what I’m dealing with that is caused or exacerbated by ADHD, and b) identifying what’s changed so I can recalibrate some of my coping mechanisms. Things like I’m more forgetful… I got to make sure to set myself up for success with things like setting my adderall out wherever I’ll be for lunch that day (or fill my keychain pill case if I’ll be out of the house), and I *have* to set timers or not walk away if I leave water on or flowing into a container that might overflow. I’ve been really good about making sure the aquariums don’t overflow while I’m filling them… but I’ve overflowed the waste water buckets on several occasions when I didn’t realize the pump wasn’t keeping up with the water coming out of the vacuum. And I’ve lost track of the times I’ve set a sprinkler and didn’t set a timer, thinking I’ll be able to keep track of it like I used to… Nope! It’s often the next day when I see it was left running. My ability to keep track of multiple things has gone out the window, but I get a lot more done on what is in front of me. It’s a net gain because I used to waste so much time and energy trying to keep track of so much stuff off the top of my head.",1 "I really don't think we all have that. Not all people with ADHD fuck things up for themselves or for others. Some are just extremely active and end up doing incredibly well in life as a result, though I can imagine that might wear a person down.",1 "ditto, though I became nocturnal and was waking at 9/10pm. What course are you studying with essays?",1 My mom told me I can't have OCD because my room was always a mess...I have tried to explain that I obsess over mistakes I have made and feel compelled to always confess things I have done wrong (even if they aren't wrong).,0 """what i think i should do"" oH NO, needing to apologize for everything is extremely relatable",0 my newest really helpful trick: stop trying to solve the problem. stop thinking analytically. it’s hard and hurts for a sec but if u push yourself hard enough you might just get a little while of clarity. it will get easier trust in yourself before anyone else,0 Just the fact that you're so concerned about this is evidence that you're aware enough of yourself that you would be able to recognize if you were ACTUALLY romanticizing.,0 Thank you for this post. This inspired me to make some calls on Monday to try and get therapy lol.,0 Religion OCD is what hit me the hardest. I'm agnostic. 🤦‍♀️,0 It's great and you know specifically because of covid I was washing my hands more than before to the point soap had a bad effect on my hand then I gradually reduced the numbers,0 "Now I’ve been around a minute and this is the best way I’ve heard mental shit, esp OCD, described. Nice!",0 "I also use a lot of hyphens and exclamation marks. When appropriately used, punctuation helps with reader comprehension and avoids ambiguity. Lots of subjectively ""good"" authors use a ton of punctuation for that reason. It may seem like an odd practice, but that's partly because discourse on the internet is full of run-on sentences, poor grammar, and generally terrible writing. If you go to a book store and read decent literature with a professional editor, it's chock-full of commas.",1 "This is so true! Sometimes it feels like I'm not ""allowed"" to like anything.",0 "I have cleaning/washing OCD, and I just lie so naturally now. “Why were you taking so long in the toilet?” “Oh, there was a queue.”; “I was tidying my hair” etc Actually, I just washed my hand thrice, and maybe a fourth time cause my wrist actually brushed the side of the sink on the last wash (this so annoying). Little lies like this just saves all the explanation to ppl who don’t truly want to understand, but only want to somehow “reprimand” you into the doing the “right” thing. Well, I like to wash my hand thrice and I have no shame about it. I just can’t be bothered to explain myself.",0 "Ouch. This is why I ended up failing out of college almost a year ago. I had tried online summer classes and couldn't do *anything*. By the time I can get back in, it's going to be... online summer classes again! I'm really thankful for all the helpful suggestions in this thread! Hopefully I can apply these to myself next semester. I certainly need to.",1 "This cutie thing makes it really hard. My ocd gives me so many sexual thoughts about it, I don’t like it and I try to avoid it. I will not watch it no matter what ocd says.",0 "Thanks! Studying for the bar exam! EDIT: I PASSED THE BAR EXAM!",1 "Would anyone recommend any good supplements that help ? Or if people are on medication which ones they use and are considered the best, thank you.",0 "I have ADHD but I’m not currently in school Still I came to offer my coping mechanisms. I currently use these at work and through school... It may help to flip your schedule. I am a night owl and work really well at those late hours but have convinced myself I have to get up at 7 am and have a certain amount of work done by noon and beat myself up if I don’t. I tried this this summer with working from home. Work 6pm-1 am go to bed by 2-3am wake up at 10am-11am. Do everything else you need and want to before 6pm. It gave me time to take care of myself and in turn I had very little excuses or distractions when it came time to sit down and work. Some quotes and things I’ve posted around me to help remind me how to adult: 1. Your brain will automatically always take the path of least resistance. (This quote forces me to challenge myself. I always want to do the laziest thing first and struggle with anything else, but if I do the hardest thing first. It starts a snowball affect of feeling rewarded and encouraged as compared to being bored and ignoring it with a cheap fix.) 2. Not only is it ok to half ass something, don’t beat yourself over quarter,eight, or sixteenth assing something. We’re all pushed into adulthood with this idea that we have to be machines that churn out quality stuff 24/7. Have a daunting sink full of dishes? Wash one spoon. Next time you go in, wash one plate. Next time a cup. Clear one square foot of a cluttered room or one corner of a cluttered table. Set a timer and work on that project for 5 minutes. Not up for a full excise? Walk up and down the block or circle your house. Stand in the yard or on the stoop for 5 minutes. It’s enough for today. Don’t spend time beating yourself up over not being able to do everything at once because it will keep you from doing anything at all. ( This is from a fellow unknown reddit’er. My SO sent a screen shot and I’ve since posted it on my wall) 3.A. Schedule half an hour a day to deal with email. This means answering, responding, deleting and filing not just scrolling through and reading about all the things you need to do later. 3.B. Create a list of things you won’t do this week. Our minds are cluttered with things we don’t want to forget. Get them out of your head and keep them in a safe place so you don’t have to keep remembering them. Review the list every week and see if there’s anything you want to put on this weeks list. Continue to add new items. ( I rewrite mine almost weekly too because it changes and the checked boxes although they are rewarding mentally they’re distracting and cause me to miss things.) 3.C. Create a place for random notes. Random notes often get written on the back of whatever piece of paper you have handy. Instead create a place to keep these temporary notes. (I have a notebook with tabs, long term, short term, and a daily tabs. The daily project tab is also where all my random notes go.) (this came from a Pryor “get organized class”) Hope this helps my fellow ADHD’rs and good luck with your studies! Edit: correcting autocorrect",1 Ugh yes so much!!! And in my area you have to remember to call in every month to the doctor to get your prescription refilled and then make sure it was actually refilled. And then the every few months check up to make sure you aren’t abusing it! THE MAKING AND KEEPING OF APPOINTMENTS IS PART OF THE PROBLEM!!,1 "Get some gloves and put cream on your hands over night. I feel like you won't be able to stop compulsively washing as yeah we're in a pandemic but at least overnight will allow your hands to heal from the ""day trauma"".",0 "Oh, please show her this, or express this to her. Having someone both understand what we go through and appreciate our attempts (even if they aren't quite as successful as we'd hope) means the world.",1 Or you pull of the headphones to see if people can hear what you are hearing,0 "8000+ tabs in duck duck go, 4million photos on the cloud, 1000 tabs in safari including incognito (it gets around the 500 tab limit, but I had to switch to DDG after that), and 100+ notes in my notes app filled with lists of stuff I want to remember. I am a virtual hoarder and I 100% guarantee you I am going to screenshot this very comment, the post itself, and several comments after and then I will never look at them. OCD is also a factor in this though so I’ve probably got it worse than with just ADHD alone lol. Also yes I have bricked several phones this way and need to keep buying extra storage.",1 This is beautiful!! Thank you so much for these words!! 🤍🤍,1 "i got this tiny tiny cut on my arm two days ago & i was terrified that if i didn’t clean it and cover it up then it would get infected & i’d die. this less than a centimetre in length wound, i covered it up for two days lmao",0 "That's great to hear, OP! It truly is a huge shock when the meds kick in for the first time and you get that sense of stability. Everything is finally *quiet* for a change! I'm so glad it's working out for you, and I hope it continues to do so!",1 This is such awesome news! Congrats on your incredible progress,0 "20mg is pretty high for a first dose. If you ended the day with heavy brain fog, it's probably too much to start with. If not, cool, cool. 😎",1 "I’m always in favor of an Accountability Buddy. Tell someone that you need to write this email and to bug you about it, that’s how I get myself to do menial tasks like that.",1 Yep! I have to rewind 50x so it takes me like 6 hours to watch a 90 min movie. I like subtitles too for some reason... I’m not a good listener,1 I’m obsessed with the number pattern 1231212123. Very hard to come across naturally but when I do it’s like ecstasy. Also I’ll come up with songs or finger games that match the pattern and sing/do them over and over if I’m upset,0 For me the problem is not denying or accepting them.. how do you do neither?,0 Me when I’m waiting for my next class to see if I’m really at the right place,0 I’m loving this wave of memes that are being posted 😂,0 Mate I do this with spoons too. Every time I pick one up I imagine gutting myself. My brain be doing everything to try and get me to kill myself smh,0 my brain scavenging for evidence for my delusions so i feel validated.,0 """Disappointing people when I can't keep it up."" Title of my autobiography.",1 "I suffer from mainly Harm OCD, but I've recently told a few of my close friends about it and i've recieved tons of support! I'm hanging in there and I hope you guys are too :))) To Humanizing OCD!",0 Plz. This hmjust reminded me of the laundry I started an hour ago,1 "Congrats! Something that really helped me with things like this is an app called Habitica that gives you experience for completing tasks you set. Getting XP for daily things like brushing my teeth or habits like drinking a glass of water always felt good",1 My room looks like a whore but I made sure 10 times the fridge is closed.,0 I hate those stupid item scanners at the door. I'm always afraid they'll go off,0 Thanks for reminding me to look at my saved posts! I'm busy right now but I'm sure I'll still remember later...,1 I will always advocate getting a prescription for meds. It seriously changed my life: went from barely holding down a job to now excelling in medical school.,1 Reminds me of the time my brother thought he is a pregnant goat.,0 """You're not trying."", ""He's not reaching his potential."", etc. I was called ""devious"" by my 4th grade teacher in the psych eval that got me diagnosed with ADHD.",1 "The advice feels better when you give it to yourself. I have witnessed myself begin tasks (because I will myself to do it, and it feels like some weird secondary choice) but once I start, muscle memory kicks in and I just do the thing.",1 Lost another job today. Got on here to look for answers..anything…I found this..you aren’t alone!,1 "Constantly, I use TSheets for work and it really sucks, constantly messaging the office, “please fix my time, sorry” gets super old",1 "Hey, I'm not diagnosed and sometimes wonder if I'm unconsciously exaggerating or faking systems, but this post is *quite literally* me every time I have to do an essay down to a T. This post called me out so fucking hard and it's kind of vindicating tbh. But doesn't it fucking suck??? Like oh all I've gotta do is add footnotes! I can do that later. \>wakes up at 3 AM \>THE FOOTNOTES",1 "So true. Some times I don't feel like there is a me, just a collection of compulsions being acted on.",0 "I feel bad that my brother had to deal with all my nonsense when my ROCD was spiking this year. lol I didn't think I was going crazy, but the rest applies.",0 "Man. Y'all i was successful in school. I finished graduate school. I've never been categorized as unintelligent. I STILL have always felt like something was titally wrong with me. I've been wildly unsiccessful in work, or only successful in jobs that make me feel awful because i can't actually support myself with them and forever have to beg for help.",1 OCD is a monster already any way nice drawing though,0 "Ugh I can completely empathise☹️ ADHD and the modern way of living don’t work together at all!! Maybe you need a break away from it all? Do something for you, workaway.info has good options, or charity work where you could meet interesting people? Do something a bit different for a bit?😊 I’ve been finding when I get in a rut I need a drastic change for a bit to change my outlook on things. I mean I’m only 24, tried to take my own life because I felt in a similar way and what I needed was a time out to get some different more fun experiences. 💚 Doesn’t help we’re in a bloody pandemic and life is super difficult at the moment in general!",1 "I've always felt this way too. Once I got my diagnosis and started taking meds, it improved. However, it's been back with a vengeance lately. I'm working on finding a therapist now because people around me are starting to see the bad in me too, and it's really getting to me. I hope I can find one as good as yours.",1 "oh the comments of ""you just need to sit down and do it"" about uni / school work, and i did sit through painfully long hours of 'just dealing with it' I would go home and cry for at least 30 mins and I was miserable. And you know what it did? Made me even more avoidant of work because Ive ducking traumatised myself doing that. I goddamn hate lists and planners and every organisation tool, my friends have said im the most organised person they know yet i'm still late, forgetful and called lazy. USe A pLanNEr!!",1 Thank you for being real - I saw this and I didn’t know what sub it was on right away and I was like oh here we go again... but whew.,0 "I swear I search up weird shit constantly, I’m trying to cut down on it",0 "Exactly! People seem to forget that the D in OCD stands for ""disorder"". Not everyone who likes things neat has OCD, and if you don't have it and don't understand it, you shouldn't be able to get away with trivializing it. I was already seeing a therapist, and I still didn't know that my intrusive thoughts were OCD-related until I actually brought them up with the therapist. People only really talk about the external signs of OCD (hand-washing, etc.), but rarely does anyone bring up the internal struggles that OCD patients go through. It sucks because it feels like nobody knows what we're going through.",0 "I wash my hands constantly and afraid to touch anything outside my home before the virus because I’m immunocompromised. I now wear latex gloves, long sleeves and a face mask when leaving the house because of the flu season and corona virus. For ONCE I don’t get looked at weird!",0 "I can relate completely. If it's a day I have a therapy/doctor's appointment, or something else, that's it--that's my entire day. My day today is just going to Walgreen's and going grocery shopping, my day tomorrow is just a doctor's appointment. Really annoying, for sure.",1 "Me: *leaves knife on desk ten feet away from my bed* Ocd: But what if you get up in the middle of the night and trip and fall on your desk and accidentally stab yourself and die",0 "I just ran across this 3 months later... I can't even express how much regret I feel having just graduated college a year ago. This would have helped me *immensely.* Instead I made things twice as hard for myself by recording lectures and then listening back to them (often pausing and rewinding multiple times), then cross-referencing with my notes and writing down important parts. I made things so much harder on myself... And now here I am mourning all the time I lost on multiple all nighters, sometimes more than one consecutively. Finding out about ADHD has been so bittersweet... I understand myself so much better now, but damn do I resent how long it took me to figure it out and get support.",1 "I done this loads with entering shipping info; not fun typing, reading, re-reading, then deleting and rewritting your own name two dozen times until it looks right.",0 I have tried many many many lotions of all different kinds. [This](https://www.amazon.com/NIVEA-Intense-Healing-Body-Lotion/dp/B00DG8EZKO) is the only one that’s worked well for me. it smells really good and doesn’t feel thick/sticky!,0 "My school threatened to kick me out, it made me care even less",1 "I very much appreciate reading everyone's perspective for this. I've been struggling to be patient with my partner who has ADHD. He is so generous and really does what he can to take care of me... but he struggles to do the things I ask him to do (messy dishes or a dirty house can give me significant anxiety). He really does try though. The thing is.. he has never told me, ""hey this task is incredibly difficult for me because of this condition."" Given he is the most intelligent person I know, it never made sense to me how someone so smart could ignore (what I perceive as) a simple request. But reading this has been helpful and given me good insight. So I appreciate the perspective.",1 "Yep! Seven is my go to! I can’t do anything in multiples or factors of 6. You know, because that’s the Devil’s number and if I did, everyone would be damned to eternal hell fire. Makes perfect sense in my brain.",0 "I cried my first time taking adhd meds too. It’s crazy, how I didn’t even realize just how bad I was affected by it. I ran outside when my dad got home from work and was so excited but crying and he was like “what is happening” lol",1 I like the work I just don't quite understand the picture :/,0 Do you have any advice for an 18 year old with adhd? I’d hate to live in a constant imposter syndrome,1 "Me: Slightly Sneezes. My Brain : iS thIS cOvId???????",0 "Big congrats! So awesome to see a triumph over intrusive thoughts and compulsions. This is surely the first of many triumphs, best wishes on the rest of your journey 😊",0 Can someone please explain what an intrusive thought is? I'm not sure what it actually means.,0 """what if i'm not overthinking and this is actually a concern""",0 Lol sometimes my mind is so fragile I feel like I start crossing into every sub type available. Earlier my neighbors car was parked unevenly and I felt a sudden pang of panic and considered asking them to straighten it out. I rarely have thoughts pertaining to perfectionism specifically and I’ve being doing ok so I was able to let it go but also wtf ????,0 "I had the same thing happen to me! I starting SOBBING and my boyfriend was overjoyed and said that he’s never seen me genuinely LOOK happy, like a fog over my eyes or some sappy shit. It’s funny how some people abuse the one thing that helps us function and we suffer for it :(",1 Wonderful. I’ve always wanted to depict ocd as an art but couldn’t,0 "Sometimes intrusive thoughts are ridiculous and, therefore, funny. The other ones are scary :(",0 My mom knows I have it but completely disregards it and makes me feel like shit and I hate it,1 Oh my gosh. This is how I think and exist every time my brain gets the chance.,0 "100%. I have a memory bank of almost every negative thing my partner has said or every single fight we’ve had. Even the stuff that was nothing at all and my OCD interpreted the wrong way. I can’t remember what I ate yesterday, but do you need something he said 1.5 years ago because I’ll remember where we were, and how I felt and my OCD will spike right away from it",0 That......makes so much sense. OCD do be feeling like everything in your brain is firing at once,0 Im applying to uni. The deadline for submission was on Friday.......,1 "I SEE YOU!!! Look at you go! Very proud of your efforts!!!!!!",1 "Omg. I feel this. Like, I *know* I'm smart. People tell me that all the time. But even just agreeing with them just feels like I belong on r/ iamverysmart. It doesn't help that every job, or hobby I pick up I excel at, get bored with it, then dump it like a hot potato otherwise I become miserable. This wiring in my head is great at learning, noticing things, picking up new skill fast, but fuck me if I even remotely attempt being dedicated or focused enough to maintain any of that on one topic to master. Yeah, right. Guess I'll just be a jack of all trades my whole life. Good at lots, master of none. Lol",1 "My JOB, which is generally STRICTLY office work only, is having me test working from home tomorrow to see how our systems work. We may have to work from home if the virus spreads more in our city. I am frankly terrified.",1 "I would recommend Atomic Habits. Take your pills every day, and start building new good habits so you can get rid of the bad habits. The problem is not the goals we want, but the process we follow in order to achieve them.",1 It's especially annoying when you only did it so that they wouldn't die the next time they saw the number 6,0 This is why I'll never be able to speak a foreign language,1 I’m sorry but I think your business is doomed. I would bookmark your webpage and then forget to book the trip.,1 "I actually don't have the type of ocd that it bothers me if things are not in order like that. I have the type,like most others that I need to check the doors 30 times even though I already did it because if I don't then something bad might happen but I cannot say what the bad thing is,out of fear of it happening.",0 I love this so much. It’s funny and I can relate :D,0 what does this mean? can i have an example cause im like SAME and then wait is it what i think it is haha,0 How do I make myself believe that though? That I am enough? I say it to myself a thousand times a day but...without conviction,1 "Wow! Thanks so much for this. Thanks to starting ADHD meds yesterday, I was able to read every word of it. :) I thought I was depressed and asked my doctor about getting an SSRI or something, but after he asked me a few questions he said it sounded more like ADHD and asked if I would like to try medication. He explained what Adderall is and how it works. I had concerns because of Alcoholism/Addiction (in total remission \~3 years now), and he said ADHD could have been the egg for that chicken. He advised me to carefully record doses taken and evaluate the effects over the next month or so. I started with 10 mg yesterday afternoon, then 20 mg this morning and I'm already noticing a vast improvement in comprehension and focus. You couldn't be more right about the associated stigma and shame involved though. In fact, I kind of held the same myth-based opinions before yesterday. I want to enlist the support of my (very supportive) wife, but I'm afraid she is of the same opinion as I was. I need to let her know without her hearing, ""Guess what honey. You're married to a meth head now."" I'm not experiencing anything I'd call ""euphoria"", but I do feel better. I sometimes think the existence of addictive disorders has made the medical/psychiatric profession totally opposed to doing anything that might make people feel good. :) Again, thanks for putting all that together. As a newly diagnosed ADHD sufferer being treated for the first time, my head is still a bucket of cats, but your post gives me hope.",1 Literally could not stop thinking about this this morning on my walk... I bet I looked pretty funny taking either really big or baby steps to avoid cracks!,0 "Hmm, I think it actually can go the other way too!About people who say they’re “like so OCD!”, like no, you just like putting shit back where they belong and be tidy, you don’t have OCD because of that.",0 This is so relatable hahaha when I had a roommate I used to have to lock up all my knives/scissors etc before I could go to bed and I still used to worry in case I ended up strangling her or something. I have such a fear of sleepwalking!,0 "Once a girl said this to me in an innocuous way, but I felt bitchy so I responded with “so am I. It’s ruined my life and everyday is torture. But hopefully things will improve.” She shut the fuck up so fast it was hilarious.",0 Thank you for this. I needed to read that right at that moment haha 😊♥️,0 Can be a good distraction forcing you to focus on the present instead of being stuck in the useless loop!,0 Lol fuck. It’s a love hate relationship with this sub and Google. I do find I’m better when I don’t look into it,0 My ocd would say to lock 3 times or somethjng bad af will happen.,0 "I can definitely relate. I think I’m pretty good at writing, I always got top grades for my essays when I was in university and I’ve joined civil online debate groups on various issues before where people (from both sides of the debate) complimented my ability to get my point across but in real life? I feel like a babbling mess if I try to talk about an issue, even one I’m very confident about and familiar with because my brain just feels like it’s flooded with information I don’t know how to put into words in real time. It’s very frustrating.",1 "Damn, this was definitely me two days ago all day. Gotta love those OCD plagued anxiety days.",0 "I did the same thing, I cried while doing dishes. It was emotional",1 me every. stinking. day. of quarantine at this point,0 Everyday! Every hour. I hate comparing myself but i see friend and family all doing so well getting degrees for great paying jobs. And I keep jumping from job to job. Anyway yes im on slow-mo,1 "I have a habit of like, shaking my head a little bit like it’s an etch-a-sketch when this happens, and now it’s to the point that I’ll do it without thinking or panic if I’m somewhere where I can’t do. It’s like the only way I can shake intrusive thoughts",0 Thanks for the tip..... It is just so right on... You hit the nail with a hammer that's got Coult...... You are a for real... Bad day for me.... But this post makes it Better...... Much love out to all,0 "Lately my sinc has been this game called Ancestors. It doesn't hold your hand at all. You have to keep your ape family alive and progress them through different generations & evolutionary stages. Named my line after Mary Leakey... it's honestly a frustrating game, but that keeps me focused. And I helps to keep my mind centered on the paleontology and fossil hunting books I've read... although I'm growing increasingly paranoid with the way big cats seem to spawn right in front of me. So maybe it is starting to do more harm than good?",0 HOLY FUUUUUCK I HAVE NEVER FOUND ANYONE WHO OBSESSED OVER HAVING BIPOLAR LIKE MEEEE I LOVE YOUUUU,0 "I think it can matter if you have Tourettic OCD or Pure O, just because they work a bit differently, but for most yeah this is true!",0 "Holy shit exactly this!!! I'm so afraid to get into a hospital if I might be infected badly (I'm 25 I will survive zu virus but the police bullets will kill me when I have a melt down and start to throw with corona bottles and toilet paper out of acusticly overstimulation combined with lack of action.) Also I already got my quarantine partner I'm gonna met everyday. And need to run around in town. The virus is harmless for me but the surrounding will get crazy.",1 "Its actually funny, If I am not trying I soak up information like a sponge, but if I am trying it is impossible to remember. And don't put me on the stand cause then I become the biggest dummy in the class.",1 "Like many here, I love this. I feel it encapsulates the chaotic energy of ocd that people w/o it don't understand. In a way we live in our own little worlds. I'm a very newb artist but I've been trying to do similar things with abstract digital oil paintings. I am not near your level of skill and it will be awhile before I post anything here XD. But excellent job! :D",0 I pick scabs all the time and am covered in scars of all kinds. It's terrible and i spent so long not knowing it was bc of my ocd,0 "all the time. but tbh as each year passes, I think cancel culture is getting less and less tolerated.",0 😂 called out - but so glad I was. Nice little reminder,0 "Mine is always, ""What if i drop this knife and it stabs my foot or kills my dog?"". I HATE putting away the clean silverware....",0 "I was so immediatly impressed by the work you've done at a glance, that within 4 seconds of clicking this post, I upvoted it, saved it, and went on to do something else while proudly deluding myself that I would come back to this gold mine later.",1 "I resonate deeply with posts like these. I can’t fucking stand it when I see posts like “ADHD is a superpower”. ADHD has been a curse on my entire life. It robbed me of my potential to be extraordinary,it put me constantly behind the curve and at 27 yearsa old, I’m still struggling to carve out my own indepedent existence. I wouldn’t wish this upon my worst enemy.",1 "The tweet: [https://twitter.com/justarandomdani/status/1415029015358943234](https://twitter.com/justarandomdani/status/1415029015358943234) Already seeing people repost like it's theirs, tsk.",1 "I was treated for postpartum depression/anxiety and was diagnosed with ADHD around that time. My psychiatrist knew how overwhelmed and stressed out I was to raise 2 young kids with next to no money even if my husband was working a lot. So, to help lower my expectations and still feel validated as a sleep deprived mother, she suggested I make everything separately. So instead of cooking a full meal, just cook frozen veggies, rice and a protein. Break down the meals and if it looks like a cold finger food platter, it's no big deal as long as you and the kids eat well. Keep in mind, I was breastfeeding a newborn around the clock and running after a 2 yo with next to no help for the chores. That piece of advice stuck with me and whenever I don't feel like it, I buy baby cucumbers, baby tomatoes that I can wash easily and don't have to prepare, I boil eggs and make egg sandwishes or just give them buttered bread with boiled eggs and veggies. Keep it simple and screw what other people think about your cooking as long as it is healthy!",1 "Aww I'm so happy for you ❤❤ I used to have difficulty eating because I was scared of aspirating the food and developing pneumonia. It can be very challenging and scary when your obsessions relate with such a prominent aspect of basic human existence. You are on a very difficult but necessary journey and you deserve to feel incredibly proud of yourself for letting yourself embark. You owe it to yourself to keep going and even if you cut all your hair off again and relapse at least you have the knowledge that you CAN make this work and YOU are powerful enough to do so I hope for many more milestones like this in your future 💖",0 Something tells me when If the world stopped for 100 years I’d still never get stuff done.,1 "its not a haunted house that I go, the haunted house follows me everywhere",0 People look at me crazy when I tell them I barely watch movies and have only ever finished one TV show from start to finish. My brain was not wired to follow linear narratives. I read a lot but only non-fiction.,1 "Top 10 songs of 2020 1) shut the fuck up brain feat (intrusive thoughts) 2) brain tryna convince me that I am what my brain is saying (intrusive thought) 3) racially shit whenever I’m outside 4) feeling suffocated whenever I’m outside around ppl & can’t be still",0 "Yesterday is history... Tomorrow is mystery... Only the present is the reality... Well oftentimes I do swing like a pendulum between the past and future... I try to be here and now as quickly as I get aware...",0 wrote a very short email! now i have to write a longer email explaining why i've been such a disappointment. lmao :(,1 Ugh. Fucking... thanks. Literally popped up at the top of my recommended and gonna start now. .,1 This graph makes me realize all of my mental health problems are my OCD,0 "Not during sex, but lots of other times. ""yeah, lemme just pee and I'll heal for you in-game"" (went pee, got a water, and then had to get a snack, sat down at the glow box and was zoned out again. hour and a half later I sent a msg that i was sorry), ""yeah, gonna pee then flip the food on the stove""(get up, zone out in washroom, smell the cooking & yell for my SO to flip if for me), ""yeah, gonna pee"" (goes off to pet the cat on the bed between me & the washroom. You're not alone, def communicate with this guy (and any future partners) that if you don't come back right away that they should call you back.",1 I never can focus on what's important because I want to cover everything,0 The sub and the mod team is fantastic. I love that we as a community acknowledge that mental issues are difficult to handle and are not superpowers.,1 This is my whole life with basically everything in life,1 "Going through a hard night. This is so helpful, thank you!",0 "If anything meds helped me be more creative. Before, I would sit for hours trying to create something. Any time I wrote a sentence or drew a line my OCD would scream that it wasn't perfect and I would compulsively delete it right away. But now, I can actually finish something. And I can actually feel proud of myself!",0 I developed OCD in response to trauma. I suffered in silence for years before I sought help. I didn't have any idea that it was possible to develop OCD in early middle age.,0 "My dorm room has a squeaky floor and It gives me too much anxiety to walk that much to actually clean my room, so I end up in a loop.",0 "That’s impressive My hands used to get red and crack during wintertime, when I was a kid. It was painful",0 I usually have no less than 40 tabs on Chrome on my phone and my friend always points it out in the top corner whenever i send him a screenshot,0 "Congratulations! I am currently in college and everyday this past semester was hell... I know what its like. Proud of you! By the way, you are super cute haha",0 Omg. This is what I'm going to send people when they ask what it's like NOT performing my rituals.,0 "Please don't call me out, I don't do it that much,do I? If asking my PbP D&D group is any indication,I do",1 "As someone currently in am Intensive Outpatient Program for severe OCD, I cannot agree more.",0 "That is exactly how i felt after my first time taking adderall. I broke down at work once it kicked in because I finally ""felt like myself"" which i hadn't in a very long time. So happy for you. Just dont forget that adderall isnt magic and is merely a tool in the toolbelt on tackling any issues. ​ \*hugs",1 "thanks for the giggle, it was a nice break from an overall stressful day",0 So compulsive lying could be considered OCD? Genuinely asking.,0 "For a while I would lock my cats in the bathroom of my apartment before leaving because I was terrified my landlord would come in while I was gone and let them out. OR, I was convinced my cats would knock the AC out and escape. I live on the third floor... They had food and water and comfy stuff, and it was never for more than 2 hours, but I eventually realized that my cats are FINE when I am gone. It took a lot of persuading myself, but now they get to run free. I just check the lock like 5 times (sometimes running back up) because if unlocked my cat can open it (shitty door). I also REFUSE to leave before I see BOTH cats, that they are okay, and that they are nowhere near the door to ""sneak out"" before I leave.",0 "Things I have forgotten I was in the middle of doing: putting up leftovers, cooking food, pre-heating the oven, driving to the dentist (I went into grocery store autopilot), making myself a cocktail, masturbating (""what's that buzzing noise coming from the bedroo... OH""), and talking on the phone *just to name a few*. You're in good company, lol.",1 "Oh my god… this is my ADHD? I’ve always had this and thought it was just from neglect and abandonment issues, but I never thought it could be impacted by my ADHD as well. Shit. Thank you. I’m absolutely going to do this now.",1 r/OCD is NOT the place to get insights about treatment. Forums like this are full of reassurance-seeking and rumination lol.,0 Oh my god hasn't this been established by now? Does every individual person in this sub have to post it in their own words? Seriously at this point I'm more annoyed by people with OCD bitching about neurotypicals doing this.,0 First time hearing about existential OCD. But yeah as far as I know I'm real and so are you my friend. Wish you the best,0 "I don't ""shake"" my head, but I do physically cringe when I have an intrusive thought (which for me is usually an embarrassing memory or something else I consider a social faux pas on my part). I screw my face up and clench my hands into a fist, or I hold my breath and scream through it, if that makes any sense.",0 "Thank you for putting this into words, I feel like I just read my own thoughts but organized, thank you for posting this, I fell less alone in the world now :)",1 I’ll give them FOC. Without hesitance. Take it. JUST FUCKING TAKE IT!,0 "are you me, too 😭 this is a LOT to see all written out phew… but thank you for sharing",1 "It actually makes me angry TBH. Like obviously I would like to do better, can't you see how frustrating this is for me?",1 "Yesss.. just slide your finger down that sharp edge.. do iittt NO!",0 "how cute you are !!!! congrats on getting into college, I'm struggling with the same issue about going to class... you inspire me",0 Congratulations! Super proud of you! Thoughts and prayers are with you and yours! 💕,0 Me when I got diagnosed: oh so you're telling me that thinking something terrible will happen if I don't check the windows over and over again or having very gross intrusive thoughts that can only be calmed when I count endlessly or start shaking my arms and legs at a certain rythm isn't normal and does NOT happen to everyone?????????,0 "True, loving the Bipolar/ADHD/PTSD triple threat challenge",1 "As someone who found a few somewhat useful coping mechanisms for these issues, please allow me to share. (An aside: I don't mean this as a know-it-all jerk. I genuinely find these solutions helpful and wanted to share): --for food: add a whiteboard list on your fridge of what's inside when you add it. Use different colors so quickly spoiling food is quickly recognizable --auto renewals: if you don't want it, log in and see if you can cancel it ahead of the deadline. If you can't, use a phone calendar to set multiple reminders with direct links to where you need to go to cancel. That way, you don't get distracted by the amazing Internet, which happens to all of us lol --paying bills: consolidate them into automatic payments on a credit card. You avoid overdraft charges and can gain points to use for something else. If this isn't possible, pull out your calendar and set recurring reminders for bill due dates. --meals: make them the night before when possible. Make it something easy, so if you forget to make it, you have everything mostly together and can do it in a couple of minutes. (Ex: peanut butter and banana sandwich with baby carrots, fruit, and a container of tea or water. It was my staple for years and helped compensate for times I had unhealthy quick food.) TLDR: Lists in visible places and constant phone reminders help. Update things immediately. When you can't do it right away, set reminders you can't ignore for later times. Most importantly, forgive yourself when you fail. This is the hardest part for me. It's gotten a little easier after being diagnosed with ADHD, taking meds, and going to cognitive behavioral therapy. Remember, permanent change happens a little at a time. What matters is getting up, brushing yourself off, and doing it again and again until you succeed.",1 This is because ADHD? I thought this was a personal trait 🤣,1 "This took me right back to my childhood. Nowadays my symptoms are fairly mild. ADHD has destroyed my life. I'm pretty certain I'd have a much better successful life if I didn't have this fucking condition.",1 "100%! I am the exact same. If I get told a task, I can do it, but if I understand how that task plays into the whole scenario then I can see the whole picture and understand exactly how to do it correctly, and also other ways I can contribute. Such as in the workplace, I can easily pack a box full of clothes, but if I understand the whole process of how the workplace runs and where that packed box comes into it, then I know exactly how to pack in the best way and then what I can do to help right after. It also helps me to pick up on any issues that could pop up and of course, remember how to do it best in the long run.",1 "I have also not been the best at remembering to brush my teeth and needed to form healthy habits. My idea was to try forming one new habit each month so it’s not overwhelming. 12 habits for the year. I started in December w/ the first one: making my bed every morning. So far, it’s stuck and now I make my bed almost every morning. My healthy habit for January was to brush my teeth every night before bed. I’ve been doing pretty well so far (like 80% consistent). Kudos to you for making it 27 days!! It’s inspiring to me and I think it is a big deal.",1 "This is all true. But in my defense, part of the reason I believe the worst possible thing will happen is because the worst possible thing always happens.",0 "What a great phrase and tattoo, inspiring reminder of how much you can do & what you've already done!",0 "I’m totally giving an unpopular opinion here but, I feel like a lot of us have the power to decide *not* to be offended by someone’s off-color joke. I mean, we do actually have the ability to choose to ignore it right? And that’s what beating and coping with OCD is about, having control of yourself in every capacity. That said, I totally get that’s a lot easier said than done. Everyone has had their own struggle, battle, and I’m not dismissing that. But I don’t care if someone without OCD doesn’t have it, I think I would be happy that they don’t have to suffer like I did for 30 years before I got help. I got help, that’s all I really wanted anyway. Anyway that’s just my opinion, quarantine has so much time for self reflection. Ive learned that we can stop perpetuating stereotypes, and we can choose not to care if we wanted to.",0 "I could spend time with literally anyone and I'll ask myself if I'm somehow cheating on my partner and whether or not this means I'm some sort of sexual predator, it's great.",0 I feel personally attacked... haha but you’re right thanks for the reminder!,1 "I feel you. The crash from my meds takes me from super useful functional human to emotional clusterfuck. I need the day to end about 4 hours earlier. Of course being a single dad with a 5 year old every other week during a global pandemic is helping. I'm so damn lucky that my work is forgiving. (and that I can work from home)",1 "Wow. That is spot on. What sucks is that statement is accurate, we know the problem, but doesn't change the emotional response to the life. I'm exhausted.",1 "If I can write something down...I'll blow everyone away with what I got. My vocabulary is huge as long as I'm not on the spot. I end up repeating what I say too, basically to summarize. I'm sure it makes me sound really stupid.",1 "I really don’t understand what stigma we’re talking about here nor can I think of any reason to hide OCD..I really do not think any stigma exists..My OCD dominates my life at times and it’s taken many forms, but I feel zero shame about it. Maybe this is just me but, I really can’t think of why anyone would feel inclined to hide it like a dirty secret",0 Only if people think I'm dump.... Everything else dose not bother me at all... I have no idea why,1 "Wow thank you! I know that must of been difficult, but it means the world to me (and I’m sure many others) that you advocated for people living with OCD!",0 Wow...never realized this was a symptom of my disorder. Thank you for sharing.,0 I tend to call it “chaos brain” whenever I don’t want to mention the term ADHD (because of all the stigma surrounded by it) and/or when I can’t be bothered explaining in more detail what ADHD means for me. “Chaos brain” covers it quite well for me.,1 How many people felt that DUN DUN in their head after the first sentence lmao.,0 "Well if exercise can completely cure my depression, I don't see why a planner can't cure my ADHD!",1 "Basically me, I’ve had OCD symptoms since I was a kid but never know that’s what it was until recently, now so much more makes sense and me being so messy has a lot to do with my semi-hoarding tendencies that I have because of the OCD.",0 "Yes. And then the world slowed down to my pace, and so many things were solved. Most of that was related to my other disability, fibromyalgia, but some was related to ADHD. Not having to get ready for work before being at work was a godsend. I shower later, after I've taken my meds. I eat breakfast at home after I've woken up, not garbage from the work vending machine. I sleep regularly because I'm not pulled in 50,000 different directions every day. The pandemic was honestly a net positive in my life. I know millions of people have died, and the impact on billions of people is awful, but omg I am better.",1 "My therapist told me today that I may have ADHD. So I researched a bit and that eventually led me here. This was the first post I saw, and I'm doing this as I write this. Can't play video games until I sing, but I know I don't really want to play games cause I'm addicted and that I should sing but I'm afraid so I put it off and here we are. Smoking a bowl, on reddit, trying to validate my choice of ""research"" Fuck",1 Ha! I knew 'productive procrastination' was a thing!,1 Omg same!! I have an email to reply to and it's been a month and a half 🙈 why can't I just sit down and compose it?! I'll give you a 10000 reasons why now isn't the right time 😭,1 "Me three! I find them hard to get passed. Sometimes I reply them so that I become desensitized to them, but other times I catch myself and ask 'when has the desensitization method ever really worked for you?' At this point I just distract myself until the shame passes. It's all I can do.",0 "Remember that this is a phenomenon most people experience but intrusive thoughts are the step above this phenomenon, which is where it becomes problematic. Sure, I've thought about jumping down a bridge whenever I look down, but not as much as I think about murdering people I see on the bus in gruesome fashion or if I locked my damn door properly just in case the lock somehow unlocked itself.",0 not to be rude and thankyou for the quote but them spaces tho,0 Thank you so much for sharing this. I’ve always felt the same way. I’m on the path to get onto health insurance and back on my meds and night time is the worse because I just spiral down into thinking I’m better off dead or alone living with a dog or two. Thankfully I know the suicidal thoughts are just that. Thoughts. They come and go. And ending it would leave no chance of things getting better.,1 And sometimes when you don't feel anxiety you start stressing yourself out because of that.,0 This is exactly how I want to look like when I will be 50. Happy birthday.,0 Omg ... THIS! I have been so mired in the tiredness and nothingness. There is no joy.,1 yes me. im failing about 3 classes. i just missed my midterm. i woke up at 1:44 am knowing that I should prolly study but no. I just went back to sleep.,1 "They seem to always occur when you're really trying to focus on something important, too. So frustrating.",0 "“Is there evidence it happened?” No. “Is there evidence it likely didn’t happen?” Yeah. Helps for a good 5 mins or so.",0 Waiting for my roommate to finish washing the dishes so that I can stop concentrating on the noises and shift my focus back to studies...,1 "Is this an OCD thing? I mean it’s definitely a me thing, but I didn’t realise this was caused by OCD too.",0 "Sometimes medicated me will set goals and schedules for myself for my days off thats are so detailed I figure theres no WAY I could get off track... ...well...",1 "Last night I took my adderall too late. I laid down, closed my eyes and finally started to calm my heart rate down, when a random thought would pop in my head sending my heart rate back up. Eventually I gave in and pulled out my phone. What a miserable night.",1 "When you google stuff about adhd, type a minus sign at the start of the word you don't want to be included in the search - so ""adhd -child -children"" and then it'll show you only things which don't include the words child or children.",1 "Anyone ever have the urge to check again when they are already in a car, bus or train? The number of appointments I was late for in college 🙄",0 Currently struggling with the same thing right now. Diagnosed over a year ago. ,0 Describes the last 12 years of my life. Just on a more frustrated level,0 As someone who was raised in a VERY Christian home and made to go to a VERY Christian church for MANY years of my life. I totally understand this. Hopefully your mom will come around eventually... I know mine have gotten a lot more understanding and realistic about things over the years once they left their old church.,0 "Yep. I had to put on my application that I have OCD. She asked about it and I told her how it effects me and how I try to keep it at bay. About 2 months later she was ripping into me for something and said I “blamed all my problems on my OCD.” At that point the only time I’d mentioned it was in my interview. It’s been a year and I still obsess over what she said every time I see her. She’s retiring soon so that helps",0 Also story is a powerful memory tool. When you’re told why it’s often in the form of because ann tried it the other way and then.... or you actually visualise a story in your head even when the why is a very dry description. This visualised story is stored differently in memory.,1 "i was having such a nice weekend, the great youtube algorith triggered my ocd, just now on saturday, thanks ""do you like to watch a video about the topic your ocd uses against you every sigle day""",0 I feel this... My front door handle is starting to break. I don't think my boyfriend realises it's because I aggressively check it when I leave the house. I have to yank it really hard so it burns my hand so I know its locked. Then as I walk away I feel the burn so I don't run back and check it.,0 "Welp at least in the country I live in, I need high paying jobs in order to hire a maid. And in order to land high paying job, I gotta graduate which is actually where my ADHD tackle me the most.",1 "Horrible!! I already have a hybrid class which is half online and half in person, it takes me so long to do because of inability to process reading and putting together thought, I vowed to never do it again!! Now it's all going to be online!! I am internally screeching.",1 I have a test in an hour and look what I'm doing now...,1 "Speaking to the duplicate bit of your post, I collect books. Years ago, I developed this weird habit of purchasing multiple copies of valuable books and storing them away/preserving them. I do this so that I basically have a 'working' copy of a given book and a reserve. I only recently was diagnosed with ADHD, and I kind of wonder if this habit of mine is a related to my condition. I live out this weird neurosis, concerned with losing access to the information contained with a book due to forgetfulness, recklessness, et cetera. It's really like a weird coping mechanism or something. I feel like I must've lost a lot of important stuff as a child, hence this coping mechanism, but I don't remember my childhood well enough to know for sure. > And at the end of the month I'm like ""Man, where did all of my money go?""",1 Hyperfocus blew my mind when I learned about it. I would become obsessed with certain subjects or interests and infodump at any convenience or inconvenience lol. Then it would fade and something else would catch my attention and it's off to the races again.,1 "My life saver has been Kiehls ultimate hand salve!! It's the only thing that touches the dryness on my hands, nothing else I've tried has come close",0 Oh that's really cool! I'll definitely try this. Love the tattoo :),0 It took me 3 days to finish laundry. I don't even beat myself for it anymore I've just accepted it.,1 "OMG THIS IS SO RELATABLE! This is literally how I switch themes....on minute I am worried I’m a serial killer and the next minute I’m worried about being gay",0 Thank you so much for posting this. I can’t stop laughing at the irony of our situation.,0 Oh my god... Literally what I’m going through right now.,0 This is disappointing :( just making more people think it's okay to self-diagnose or label their actions as OCD without actually taking the time to understand,0 "I can't go to the store, I have to work in 6 hours. So happy to no longer be a server. Now, I start work at 8, sometimes 7am. Much better to have the rest of the day to myself and get the working hours out of the way. Occasionally I have late night meetings with offices from wildly different time zones. It fucks up my entire mindset.",1 "I keep hitting 5000😭 I will LITERALLY scroll down my suggested adding 10+ videos at a time to my “watch later” playlist, just to forget they exist🥴",1 I have this thing I’ve been doing for the last couple of months when I’m alone where I just let out a short scream every time I think about something bad or cringey I did in the past.,0 Shit. My husband is the ADHD one and I’m the one always finding things because he panics.,1 "My parents have both shifted their position to “Well, we couldn’t have known different at the time, so there’s nothing we can do about it now.” Instead of apologizing. Now I’m completely desensitized and emotionless at best, meds help with the ADHD symptoms, but not with spending a majority of my child and teen life grounded and constantly screamed at for everything I did.",1 "I remember I once went to urgent care for a matter completely unrelated to my mental illness. I may have suggested that I was dealing with suicidal ideation (my thoughts are passive; I've never had an actively suicidal thought in my life), and the doctor whom I was discussing this with basically forced me to check myself into the local hospital. Otherwise, she would've sent the police to my house. Anyway, my mom and I basically wasted an evening in the hospital; I was discharged hours after we had gotten there. ",0 "Dude I'm in the exact same situation as you. Lost my job because I can't work in close proximity with people during any sort of outbreak. Granted I never would have been diagnosed with ADHD and started meds. Obviously that helped. My routine now is so messed up that I ended up settling into non work mode and I'm not sure how I can even flip that switch on again.",1 3 does work sometimes. I’ve gotten pissed and done just that. 🤣 However if I mentally fuck up one ritual I’ve gotta fuck up another to balance things out.,0 "GOD, I’m the exact same. I was an absolute shithead in my early teens. I said words I didn’t have the right to say, I did things I shouldn’t have done, just overall was a very bad, bad person. I’ve moved on and grown as a person but even still I’m scared that things I said in the past will come back to bite me. The thought doesn’t come often but when it does it’s so hard to get it the fuck out of my head. You’re not alone.",0 "I’d rather have any other disease than OCD. Anyone who has OCD doesn’t like anything about their OCD. What’s appealing about a life filled with anxiety, obsession, compulsions, and often times loneliness.?",0 "In my early years of having it (before I got proper help) used to shut my eyes whenever I entered and left a room, stood up and sat down, got in and out of bed, etc because pretty much everything triggered my impulsive thoughts and y’know nothing can trigger you if you can’t see anything, or at least that’s how I rationalized it. It made perfect sense to me at the time but the amount of doorframes and poles I ran into because my frickin eyes were closed say otherwise 😂",0 "Longtime lurker, and this inspired me to write my first comment EVER. I’m so sorry for your loss. I’m in awe of how you were able to turn tragedy into such an uplifting message of hope. I’m lucky enough to have a fairly good support system, but there are still days where I need to retreat to this community to feel less alone, and it’s because of courageous people like you. Thank you for this post.",1 "When you’re at work and babies are crying and customers are streaming around you on all sides and workers are trying to get by with floor cleaners and an alarm is going off somewhere and managers are on the intercom and work is piling up and a co-worker comes up to you with their phone out and says “you gotta see this home video of my cousin’s kid’s birthday party!” Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",0 I’m not going to say what numbers but there were some that haunted me and still do to this day. I see them everywhere throughout the day.,0 "I’m agreeing (I’m on the spectrum myself) that the words “savant” and “superpower” should be discarded. As much as I find the word “savant” archaic, I still think it shouldn’t be used. It’s just more labels that aren’t needed, such as “savant”and “superpower” (sorry if this sounds redundant)",1 "Mine frequently likes to say ""Brain's aren't fact factories"" similar idea, cool tattoo :)",0 "Ahh the abandoned fresh healthy choices we buy. If I let a certain item in my fridge expire/rot twice, I don't allow myself to buy it again unless I will use it in my next meal.",1 Medication fixed this for me because I slowed down and stopped skim reading so much.,1 Omg yes! I feel the same way! Always with the great first impressions but sooner or later you feel like you can't live up to it ☹️,1 "i have ocd and am psychotic as well. ironically when i was experiencing ocd about schizophrenia, the stuff i was worried about wasn’t actually that related to my psychosis. the way ocd tricks us is ridiculous :ppp",0 It’s 1pm and I’m in bed. Overall I think it’s going well.,1 "I don't have this problem, my brain just tells me I'm the latter.",0 so true!! Every time I get an intrusive thought (which is often!) I just say stop!! In my head and I feel like that makes it worse but idk what else to do because thinking them through feels worse /: bc they’re not actually what I want to happen!,0 "Yessss! I feel this!! Whenever I compliment my fiancé on his hard work he says “thanks, I tried”. That always catches me off guard because I’ve honestly never felt like I’ve tried. I always wonder what I could achieve if I tried but it’s exhausting just thinking about the level of focus that would take.",1 "This is too relatable. I swear as soon as I like something about myself, (for example, I like the outfit that I picked out), my OCD will be like, ""But what about those ugly pimples on your nose."" And my parents wonder why I never come out of my room...",0 "I started noticing this more after I found a med that worked. I'd be playing video games and really enjoying it, then I'd look at the clock with dread thinking I'd already eaten up most of the day...and holy magical rainbows... It had only been an hour! I feel like I can actually enjoy the things I enjoy doing even more now, I still get lost in what I'm doing, but not so much that I get exhausted or burnt out on it. Noticing time ""naturally,"" without all sorts of timers and things, feels super weird though.",1 "Yep. No go on that stuff for me cause it's like, ""You're never going to tough-love me harder than I already do myself. Thanks for being another voice reaffirming what I'm already incapable of executing."" Don't baby me, by any means..... but kind of. I guess just pretend like you're teaching me how to overcome this obstacle.... you know, be SUPPORTIVE! If I were able to be bullied into doing xyz, I'd have already gotten it done.",1 Beautiful work of the living nightmare we might all share at times.,0 "Not I. I have no homework or anything, plus it’s Labor Day weekend. I don’t have classes on fridays so I’ve gotten a 4 day weekend and it’s been *great*",1 Oh man! I don’t have ADHD but I’m a school psychologist and sometimes give these kinds of tips. Is there anything I can say to my students that would be actually helpful? What would you all recommend?,1 Nice. Does it come with the constant annoyance that you closed a door wrong and waste 34 minutes of your day? This shit is so stupid.,0 Are you me ? Is this an add thing? I thought this was just my thing?,1 "I think it’s a spectrum. When I was young I was hyperactive, had impulse control issues and poor executive functions. But luckily I had a mother who was a cement foundation for me. She taught me order. She taught me that I can pay attention to anything I wanted to. She taught me order and routine. My dad who is adhd at 80 taught me to learn to pay attention even if I didn’t want to. I had my butt beat enough times to think about what was before me. My motivation became what do I need to do not to get my butt beat? Luckily my mom taught me order. 😂 I don’t advocate beating kids but I am thankful that I learned these skills.",1 I have 15 thousand photos and videos in my camera roll. That’s it. That’s the post. I don’t even leave the house often.,1 This is incredible! I’ve struggled with the same thing and it is HARD. Great job! ,0 Yeah I’m perfectly fine with that picture in fact I prefer it because guess who gets more pie 😁. But it drives me crazy when people say that is OCD or when they are like I like my house clean I’m ocd. No Karen you have good hygiene a lot of people have that.,0 "I had this exact conversation with my therapist and he said the exact same thing. It is one of the WORST things you could say to someone with OCD. Firstly it acknowledges that the OCD thought is “real” in the first place. We all know that it is irrational. Secondly, as someone with OCD my mind has now convinced me that I must feel intense amounts of shame and guilt regarding every single possible transgression in order for me to be good. That letting anything go, moving forward, not caring so much, etc. Is something only bad people do.",0 "I want to cry. This is me, I thought I was just a shit person but damn. I could have written this myself. I’ve struggled my entire fucking life.",1 "Guys.. relax.. hell is for children, don't you know? :p",0 "This just melted my brain. My word, could this be any more accurate?",0 I'm constantly seeking reassurance on things I'm mostly sure I didn't even do. Reassurance is my drug.,0 "Can relate. It’s especially bad with podcasts, it usually takes me over an hour to get through a 30ish minute podcast hahaha.",1 "I save things on Reddit constantly and never really go back, this thread made me go look. It’s like geology but for my hyper-focused obsessions in the last. Just like geologists can see different historical events by different striations in a soil sample my saved Reddit posts goes through my wood working period, my computer programming period, my obsession with dog training and everything else. It’s very weird.",1 Thank you gunner ❤️ ily and you deserve all the treats,0 I have been diagnosed for nearly 25 years and it does help to know that I have ocd but I still find that I struggle with it and with accepting the thoughts I have are ocd driven.,0 "Preach! This is why i can't take project's from other people:/. Im a goldsmith but every project others have given me i can't seem to finish... Sometimes i even struggle finishing my own idea's. Like right now i want to make some rune stones from wood and deer antler, but i also want to make wrist bands to sell and some more face masks for myself. But if i want to do that i need to figure out my sewing machine and see if i can tread it the correct way. I can go on for a while but you get the picture. Right now im waiting to start cgt and i hope it will help. For now i try to take it one day at a time.",1 Had a merry night of twitching to intrusive thoughts. Gonna be fun at the therapist tomorrow.,0 "Am I allowed to think this is funny because I have it? I completely respect not thinking it’s funny, but like—as a sufferer, can I buy the OCD Christmas sweater?",0 It did. When Covid happened. I still did nothing and now I feel even worse.,1 "I’ve struggled trying to explain this exact thing to people! I used to be chronically late when I was younger, got punished for it regularly esp. at school, and “waiting mode” (now I know a name for it haha) was a coping mechanism I must have developed to avoid the guilt and consequences. So now I don’t show up late to things, but any outing that isn’t part of my daily routine schedule (thanks to the pandemic, that means any outing…) ends up being the ONE THING I do that day and it’s exhausting. It’s one of those “quirks” that sounds silly to people who don’t realize how debilitating it can be to overall mental health, especially when it’s a constant thing. There was a period a few years back, during my unmedicated era, where the latent stress that built up (constantly being in ‘wait mode’) mentally broke me. I was working a part time job with an erratic schedule, and while I liked working opening shifts, most of the time I had an afternoon shift, and I felt like I could never get involved in anything beyond putting on old TV shows, cleaning my living space, and browsing the web on my phone from like 6am til 2pm. I had a watch with ample gentle reminders/alarms, but that was mostly so I wouldn’t have to actively panic about being late for work if I couldn’t find my keys or w/e. It was so bad that I sometimes didn’t have food to eat because I “didn’t have enough time” to go grocery shopping, even though technically I should have had lots of time. And on my days off when I was expecting friends to come over, I rarely knew exactly when they were coming and would deal with the same issue. To make things worse they would sometimes cancel after I had been waiting for X number of hours and it would absolutely *ruin* my day. I could never properly convey how badly that messed with me. 6 months of this combined with a traumatic event and worsening physical health and I had a full breakdown, quit my job and became a social hermit for a long while until I was finally able to get ADHD treatment. I still have problems with “waiting mode” when I have the odd appointment or errand later in the day. I work independently at home now and set my own hours (and therefore days off) which is nice, and I can bring my work or entertainment w/me wherever I go, which is great for appointments where I’m mostly sitting and waiting, but I still get way less done than I normally would. But even with medication, I don’t think I could hold another part time job with random hours like before… I can happily work 60 hours a week but 30 hours of afternoon shift could turn me into an inpatient.",1 "I get it, my ocd can be triggered by cleaning. I feel like when I do clean it’s not “normal” cleaning, if that makes sense.",0 "Ah shit that just reminded me I haven’t brushed them since yesterday, thanks for the reminder!",1 "When I write a paragraph, I then go back and change things to flesh it out and make it good. Can't do that when speaking.",1 I’m actually caring less about what people think I’m doing since I often do these rituals in public and if I catch someone looking at me weird I look angry at them 😂😅,0 "I get this... Which is my present issue with anxiety. Getting yelled at by an authority figure, causes me much issues. It doesn't help me at all! Thankfully my family and friends understand but I always had shit bosses",1 "I break this cycle by allowing myself to do nothing for a while. Take the day/afternoon/sometime off and forget there was anything to do in the first place, then go back on the next day/when your alarm goes off.",1 The description feels accurate... if only we knew what to do about it.,1 If I had a nickel for every time I heard one of these....,0 "IM TRIGGERED PLEASE HELP MEEEEE I MADE A POST EARLIER ABOUT BEING CONCERNED ABOUT BEING A PEDO OR A M.O.P AND THIS PERSON TOLD ME “TOO BAD. YOU DONT GET TO CHOOSE WHO YOUR ATTRACTED TO” AND NOW IM HELLA TRIGGERED!!!!!! SOMEONE HELP ME PLEAZE I DONT WANT TO BE A DISGUSTING MOP OR A FUCKING PEDO!!!!! FUUUUCCCCCKKKKK THIS WAS THE POST I MADE EARLIER BUT RIGHT NOW IM SO FUCKING TRIGGERED POCD shit I used to have a crush on various anime girls while growing up. They were 16-18 at the time, and I was a minor so I was happy I had crushes on them. Now that Im 19, it’s like the fact I had crushes on them are getting to me bad. It’s like I get intrusive thoughts of them constantly and I can’t stop. I DONT WANT TO BE A PEDO IN DENIAL. I ONLY WANT TO BE ATTRACTED TO GIRLS MY AGE AND NOT BE ATTRACTED TO THEM ANYMORE.",0 "||||||||||2018-2020||||||||||| |||||||||| |||||||||| Here Lies |||||||||| |||||||||| |||||||||| |||||||||| Daily Meditation Walks; Therefore, |||||||||| |||||||||| My Sanity, |||||||||| |||||||||| Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh Hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh",1 my pride/shame and general privateness won't allow it.,1 "I think the problem comes from trying to express yourself exactly as you think it, which doesn't always make sense for other people beside yourself.",1 "My personal favorite is ""if you have something you really need to remember, leave it on top of your shoes so you won't forget."" ​ Bold of you to assume my shoes are in a reasonable place and there isn't *already* some random junk on top of them. I've gotten so used to having to move whatever got dropped on top of them.",1 "I've just got in my first appointment with a psychologist, they arent a ADHD specialist but their clinic was recommended by the ADHD specialist that is booked solid for two years and not taking names ;_; It was wonderful they communicated with me mostly by email so didnt have to deal with ""THE CALL"". Just once to take some identity information. Well that was until the day my name came up and I missed their call on a Friday (closed weekends). They emailed me as well though and I responded there saying ""yes i am still interested, ill try to call Monday!' I forgot.. of course.. but they called me again :D So yeah like I did have to reach out to clinics before getting anywhere but 90% of my first contact with clinics was by email. Made it easy to just copy paste my story/needs to several people and wait for a response.",1 And I’m over here with both bipolar w/ psychotic features and ocd (and a couple other mental illnesses). Life can be messy,0 Lol doing things in 3 sets of 3 was literally one of my first compulsions.,0 She has clearly never seen me zone out to another dimension.,1 we aren’t our thoughts though right?? sorry i just get worried if these thoughts are coming from me or not (i have harm ocd),0 "Yes. I and my brother have ADHD, and he has a different type than me. I used to tell him he’s lazy and irritating, and I feel really guilty for it because I didn’t understand. He handles his adhd differently than me, and I didn’t get that.",1 True . Stay busy find a hobby that you can not put down. Or get a motorcycle.,1 Is it actually accurate? Last time I messed around with voice to text (a few years ago) it was very inaccurate and it bothered me.,1 "Axiety: ""That car behind has been on your tail for atleast 4 turns now, your being followed"" Me: ""No Im not, why would they follow me??"" Axiety: ""Your getting closer to your apartment, you should miss the turn so they don't know where you live"" Me: ""Thats redicu-"" Axiety: ""KEEP DRIVING, THEIR STILL BEHIND YOU"" Me: *Intentionally misses my turn into my apartment complex while the car behind me drives off on the next turn like nothing happened* Axiety: ""That was a close one"" Me: ""..................""",0 "I have a psychiatrist with adhd and shes not really that great. For me though as long as my prescription continues to work I dont really care, but I have considered looking for a new doctor. God fobid something comes up and I have to ask for changes to be made because she's difficult to talk too. Like i set an appointment to talk about accommodations for work and that didn't happen, however I did get sucked into a rant about covid and oil pipelines that took up most of the appointment. Im completely with you on the whole thing about adhd information revolving around kids with adhd and parents of kids with adhd. As a Childfree, Antinatalist the salt in that wound is extra salty.",1 My top five songs are all from the same sleep playlist I made - soothing soundtracks from the newer star trek movies. I hope Michael Giacchino appreciates me listening to Thank Your Lucky Stardate about 185 times lol,1 "Why is everything on this sub about obsessively cleaning. Yeah...I had a bit of that, but mostly it is other stuff. Are 99% of people with OCD just obsessive cleaners? I don't think so. Does anyone else have problems with numbers, like I hate threes, thirteens, thirty threes, sixty threes, ninety threes, any number where the digits (three excluded) add up to any of those numbers, especially thirteen, as it is the easiest to add up. Basically, youtube is hard to watch. I have to continuously tap until the timeline gets to an acceptable time (preferable are times like 17, 18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 47, 48). Also if I see a clock and the time is any of the numbers I hate or adds up to any of them, I have to wait a minute (sometimes even two with the way my two conditions work and may be right next to each other).",0 "YES. Also I tend to try to explain my motivations — or other people’s motivations — for doing a thing even if I don’t intend that to be a justification, because I find knowing why something happened can sometimes be instructive in it not happening again…but often others see this as me defending an action. (I mean, I like to explain and know why things happen in general, but if it’s not about a problem, no one cares.)",1 "I feel this. Compared to my closest friends, I've spent so much more time studying certain subjects like Philosophy, Psychology, Economics. I'm in University, they've been in the workforce full time for years, chasing careers and yet they have the bandwidth to retain and repeat information they casually look at, one night on Wikipedia. Oh the pain. What has helped me retain information is understanding memory consolidation and retrieval. The best practices for me have been the following: 1. Make the information important, BEYOND the purpose of what you're looking at it for. Don't just try and remember the words/numbers on their own. Attaching meaning through metaphors, rhymes, real-life applications; attaching emotions and images particularly helps memory consolidation, something professional card-counters use. Think of a memory like a fish you want to catch from your subconscious, and each source of meaning like a hook, more hooks make remembering easier. 2. Practice remembering. ADHD problem right here, we learn something and immediately move onto one or eight new things. The science on spaced repetition is strong, read something, close your book and try to remember it, if you do then try to remember it again in 2-3 days. The forgetting curve shows that a few sessions actively recalling information 2 days after, 5-7 days after, with the odd session ever so often increases the ""stickiness of a memory"". It takes extra time but that time pays off when you don't have to recheck your notes; it's also less frustrating in the long run. I memorized a list of 8 steps to read and remember anything you read (the irony). The first few times I was good for 4-5 of the steps, and usually in the wrong order. I would really try, and then recheck the list if stumped. I'm proud to say that I've memorized a list of 8 steps to remembering. I still forget most of what I read, but I'm getting better (I think). Also, don't compare your memory to others if you can. In my experience, most people latch onto one or two points that jump out at them and rely on those same points in conversation. The same friends who show understanding in subjects they glance at usually tap out if the conversation leaves their comfort zone. True understanding takes effort but it is possible, and it's definitely rewarding.",1 "literally went through mine yesterday and I was like... no please, I actually want to share this with friends and family lmao. Don't do me dirty like this",1 For me my brain knows it won’t get satisfaction doing a simple mundane task and if there’s no consequence I won’t do it. I want to but just can’t. I write it in my to do list and even have a notification nag me. By the time I do finally complete it I feel amazing like I’ve run a marathon. I love tricking my brain 😂,1 "Lol, of course this is the first thing I see right after I just got done spraying the shit out of everything with rubbing alcohol, washing my hands 5+ times, and still not feeling clean because my foot accidentally touched a bag that I moved while cleaning and my slipper may have touched the bottom of my 3/4 length pajama pants while I was walking down the stairs. Currently working on trying to sit normally and telling myself that my legs are *not* contaminated with microscopic traces of Hep C that I may have unknowingly picked up from the hospital I work at.",0 "I always feel like a hypocrite because of this. I'll blab or write walls of text and I know I'm to much for other people, and then I'll be completely drained and don't want to even be looked at.",1 "I feel this when someone has to make a noise, any noise they can think of, to fill whatever sweet silence has managed to settle in the room. Humming, “la la lash foo foo dooo-ing”, repeating the last thing they said in different voices (my least favorite as the voices go from exaggerated voice actor to anime squeak and every regional accent in between) whatever it takes to fill that silence. I get that they are as uncomfortable with that quiet as I am with the constant manic noise. But when they are also your dinner guest it is a bridge too far for me. I have found that my AirPods are miraculous at dulling the edges of that kind of noise. I try to discretely pop them in before heading to the table, and if I know I won’t have to contribute much to the conversation (maybe I steer them to a topic they and others are very enthusiastic and knowledgeable about) I can retreat and possibly put an asmr meditation at a low volume to get by. The AirPods are a godsend for places like Costco and Target too, I highly recommend them, or any other discreet noise canceling in-ear device.",1 ">**for the first time in my entire academic career, I’ve turned a paper in a whole day early.** Wait a minute. Turning things in early... this is a thing?",1 "Hi /u/thtsveryinteresting and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 this is awesome! i can always tell how bad my anxiety is by looking at my hands. excessive hand washing is ass and super painful in the winter. i’m proud of you!!,0 "I remember when I got a new doctor and I told him about my OCD and he said ""oh you have real OCD not the crap people say cause they organize their skittles"" it made me pretty happy",0 "I just came to this subreddit after over year to see how things were going and saw this thread. My OCD is 99.9% gone and I honestly forgot about this place. Porn is something that will make your OCD much worse and not watching it will help with recovery immensely. There is not a lot of science on it and it is definitely not understood by therapists, but it must do something to a persons brain chemistry. For me, not watching porn was instrumental in me making an almost complete recovery. For example, when I stopped watching porn I stopped biting my nails. I did not try to stop, it just happened. My anxiety levels were cut in half within a week. It’s been over a year now and my life has never been better. Not watching porn helped pull me out of 5+ years of OCD hell. My life is completely normal now and I love it. There are other things that helped as well, but not watching porn was very important.",0 This was me on my first three days being on medication shortly after being diagnosed lol,1 "No im not gonna sit down, you sat there without taking a bath after you went out so it's contaminated now and the sunlight hasnt touched that area for 3 hours to clean it",0 "I used to daydream about having the ability to pause time whenever I wanted to. But knowing how my adhd works now, that would be hell. I find it very difficult to begin tasks unless time is of the essence. So if time was never of the essence, then I’d never get anything done!",1 """just use a planner"" My reaction : https://youtu.be/R8IxOGvduG4",1 "This happened to me a lot as a young child. It got to the point that I refused to attempt anything out of fear of failure/being reprimanded. I fell behind developmentally. Had to goto occupational therapy when I was 4. They thought I had severe autism and first... after less than a year of occupational therapy they changed it to just sensory processing disorder and “highly gifted”. Started 1st grade with all the normal kids and no para. Parents still refused to put me on any sort of medication (docs wanted me on Ritalin) or give me any special treatment for SPD. They just expected the best of the best when it games to my grades and behavior and chores and anything really... because I was so “smart” in their minds it meant I should magically know how to do everything without even being taught. Life was hard to bear until my dog came along when I was 9. Be nice to your kids people. Don’t crush their tiny spirits.",1 "Incoming hugs! You did amazing, so happy for you :)",0 "i say “Hi Room, it’s so nice to see you!” to my room if I haven’t been in it for a while.",0 "Oh god, I've been meaning to clean mine out and now that I know this I'm sure I'll have to soon. I really wish once you watched something it took itself out of watch later. I put stuff in watch later to ensure I get recommended it later. Otherwise I'd never see it, especially since you have to scroll down through the thousands of videos you may or may not have that you haven't and will never watch in Watch later.",1 Oh look it’s me 😂 Even rearranged the tea cupboard the other day too hahahahah,1 Last weekend I did some edibles. And then I realized that that lowers the effectiveness of my meds and makes my intrusive thoughts so much worse. I’ve been struggling with them more than usual for the past week,0 "During the day too, like waiting for an appointment or something.",0 "Well second one worked for me. I still have OCD, but now learned to live with it.",0 get a new psychologist! you deserve better than that,0 Thank you. I really needed this today. I also never thought about it like that so it really helped me,0 "I don't even want to admit to myself that I ruined a tap by twisting it too many times, to make sure it's off :(",0 "I uh....save cute cat videos and pictures, mostly. 😅 On occasion I'll have something useful and worth returning to, but it's mostly cats being derpy little maniacs and adorable meowy floofs.",1 "My OCD doesn’t have to do with cleaning whatsoever. It’s a very common misconception when I tell people I have OCD. I can be very disorganized, and then obsessive about just certain things like my papers at work just right and my kids toys have to be up a certain way. Most of mine is checking.",0 "Yeah the dishes aren't done. But you had tea, some donuts and the cat was petted. All in all I would say that's a pretty productive day",1 Lol I have a problem with long showers too but not for the same reason as you. Anyway congratulations that’s really great! I hope to be able to do that too!,0 This and many posts on this sub: someone reaches into my brain and posts what I do! Lol feeling really seen,1 I reset my phone every time I get off a video call with anyone for the fear that my phone didn’t truly disconnect and they’re seeing everything I’m doing 🥴,0 So....its my ocd telling me I have breast cancer? I have cried some serious tears thinking the worst.,0 "This is awesome! My trick to decrease loss (usually phoneand keys) is to have a designated place to put things down in each room, and try to never deviate.",1 Harry Potter-related content should not make me cry,0 it's so crazy looking back and realizing that starting from the age of 6 when I would wash dishes I would have those thoughts..... haha...¿,0 "I run a neurodiversity club, and there's definitely 3 tiers of advice: People who don't have ADHD: ""visualise the our success, make bold statements, believe in yourself"" Insanely upbeat ADHD YouTubers: ""Make yourself this elaborate reminder book with markers and glitter paints"" Actual people with ADHD: ""If you think you can feel the executive disfunction demon approaching, lie perfectly still on the floor and hold your breath. Sometimes the demon will pass right by you, sometimes not.""",1 "Rounding out the end of junior college. Online hasn't been pushed for us yet, but theres rumors kicking about that we may not come back from spring break, which starts on Monday. I'm regimented enough that I don't have a huge problem with online accountability. It's more difficult, but I've worked at it enough to make it through. I'm totally down for a pandemic ADHD discord.",1 "Venting is GOOD especially to people who can relate. I think keeping all the negative emotions inside isn't healthy. We have to talk about it and process it to eventually feel better. I used to keep it all to myself and never complaint. You know what that made me? *Severely depressed* Venting isn't complaining or hating other people, it's a way to process how we feel. And it's not always easy to live with adhd or autism. Yes sometimes it has its perks, and I do enjoy some of it, but it's more of a ""well it won't change so might as well enjoy the ride"" than a ""wow it's sooo coool to have adhd""",1 "Interesting connection. I have been an English teacher and a pretty good writer most of my life. I have definitely noticed that I habitually overuse commas when I’m first writing my thoughts, but I edit them away after the first draft.",1 "May I ask how you studied to become an OCD therapist? Did you find a specalisation with pure OCD after becoming a psychologist, or did you do a specialisation of something similar and then choosing to work further with OCD? I recon the studies are different were u live but here we do 5 years psychology and then u can specialise for like 5 years. Btw do you think it would matter if someone with OCD becomes a psychologist and partly works with patients who have OCD?",0 The cure is in the melon y’all... I’m honestly concerned about someone who would say this,0 "Alright, first on the agenda 1: Remember to use my planner. 2: Remember to bring it with me. 3: Give up because I have no idea where it is now 4: Find it six months later under the seat of my car.",1 For the people reporting this.Op is being sarcastic(i think).,0 "I feel for you, my first OCD symptoms that I can clearly recall happened when I was 10",0 I love the idea but I can’t shake off the fact that it isn’t perfectly straight and symmetrical 😬,0 "I've deadass explained it just like this in my comedy before. Now I'm gonna be paranoid about us having the same idea, lol. Nah, but it's a coincidence.",0 "I love/hate with OCD is we can all agree on how irrational our thoughts are. But we *still* somehow believe those thoughts. “Yes my thoughts are irrational and they are outrageous but they feel real to me.” Shit sucks.",0 "Well fuck me, guess this is as clear of a sign as I’m going to get to get off of my phone and go tf to bed",1 But the younglings... I murdered the younglings in the Jedi temple....,0 "THANK YOU. I agree completely. I absolutely despise my problems with anxiety and adhd, and I don't want to be told to appreciate it or love it. I want it gone, not to celebrate it like some gift",1 This happens to me more often than the overthinking. I always feel like nobody in this world other than me have felt this way before and that nobody can help me and that Im alone in this. It creates even more anxiety.,0 literally me getting off the phone with my boyfriend and wondering if i talked too much,0 IVE DONE THE SAME THING and then i dont even watxh the videos in my watch later 🥲,1 "mental Illness isn't a choice honestly, if really were a choice there simply would be no sufferers in world right now, as people don't actually like to be in mental illness they can choose to not suffer, but sadly that's not the case, it just happens and we gotta take care of it",0 "I think I've compensated for this my whole life by making mental notes of any random thing I see in the room. My family is constantly looking for things and once they ask me, I know right where it is. Even if I don't, I can almost always find it quickly.",1 "How high can you levitate?🤣🤣 Yeah... Those ""just"" people... No idea whatsoever.",1 "I think of my intrusive thoughts as some edgy 13 year old boy. “Lol imagine fucking your whole family.” “That’s disgusting, Timmy. Isn’t it past your bedtime?”",0 Yeah and the intense fear of what ritual you might forgot to do in order to not become ill/deaf/broken etc.,0 I didn't realize this was a thing for others. Too real haha,0 Cheering for you and your upcoming treatment! [hugs],1 You caught me. It’s updating my resume. Challenge accepted.,1 "Does anyone know why this happens, though? I can't seem to find anything",1 "only if u pray realllyyyy really really hard!! my mom would probably say the same thing, hang in there 💜",0 I never do dishes. My husband knows that if I cook - it looks like an explosion in the kitchen afterwards and he has to clean it up. He loves doing dishes though (I made him say it). Perfect arrangement.,1 "7pm: being able to tell myself I don’t need to do all the things that I know are reassurance seeking. 11pm: convinced myself its ok to do it once and I won’t do it again.",0 This is atrocious. I had no idea places sold offensive ocd stuff!,0 "I get into the ""I woke up late. I need to finish more work before going to bed. I go to bed late, so I wake up late (repeat)"" cycle. It's a really tough habit to break, even with meds.",1 "reading this following quote somewhere really helped me: ""We are so much more than the electrical storm of thoughts running through our heads""",0 "Omg this either that ir i open 50 tabs of just youtube videos and watch them all instead of sleeping or i say ill watch it later then realize a week later i still have 50 tabs open in the background and just close them all Edit: checked mine, 532 videos so far time to delete",1 "Putting your hands in filthy Walmart shit to make a meme, so you can pretend to have a mental illness for internet clout...",0 I am really grateful for this post. My OCD makes me feel like the biggest fake :(,0 My favorit feature as well is the read aloud button in the review panel. Whenever I Write any paper and I need to review it. The read back feature makes it so much easier to catch any errors.. saved me countless times,1 for me its the stripes on the zebra crossing. i can only step on white,0 "I’m so sorry to hear about your friend, and thank you so much for posting this. One of the biggest preventions we can use for suicide is just letting people know they have unconditional support, we don’t need to know each other to support each other. It reminds me of that Kimya Dawson lyric from loose lips “And if you want to burn yourself - remember that I love you, and if you want to cut yourself - remember that I love you, and if you want to kill yourself - remember that I love you, call me up before you’re dead we can make some plans instead, send me an IM I’ll be your friend” ❤️",1 I feel this. I need my appointments to be early in the day on a day off OR immediately after work. I always end up showing up early to my appointment time because leaving on time always turns into actually being late. I’m always afraid if I do anything else before my appointments I’ll lose track of time and screw myself.,1 "Thank you ***so*** much for this! I actually ***really*** needed to hear that today. Yesterday was a milestone birthday for me, my 25th, and as a gift my OCD said “here”, and handed me a bag full insecurities, inadequacies, and all different types anxiety and depression, then they had the nerve to not include a gift receipt!!! So yeah, as stated above, I really did need hear your kind words, they are truly appreciated. And I’d like to add that my chat and messages are also **ALWAYS** open for anyone who wants or needs to talk to someone who’s also dealing with ocd. ❤️",0 I don’t really get it tbh (the if you give me a second part),0 I’m so grateful for my therapist- he’s very very experienced with OCD and is so good at disengaging from my questions that I don’t even notice he’s done it half the time.,0 Fucking bravo. Well said and will use some points of this for sure!,1 Won’t help I’m the long term......but it would help with the spread of cold/flu virus.,0 "This is exactly what I go through. It's because I have a particular kind of contamination OCD, where the fear isn't that I'll get some kind of disease but that contamination is a moral failure and I should feel guilty for being disgusting. So I can't exactly wait around for the consequences to not happen like I could if I was only afraid of getting sick. And waiting around for the bad thoughts to stop doesn't work, either, because they come from a core self-hatred that won't go away just because I wait a while.",0 "I can relate big time. Used to do this for years, and still do sometimes. One important insight for me was realizing that being angry at myself/being disappointed isn't going to help. As humans we tend to shame ourselves and think it will make us work harder the next day. But this is counterproductive. Try to forgive yourself for your 'mistakes' and look at yourself with grace. I know this might sound like something you shouldn't do (""won't it make me more 'lazy'?"", used to be my response), but give it a try. If you want to learn more about this, I suggest watching Kristin Neff's Ted talk about selfcompassion. I know this might not sound like a big fix to your problem, but it has helped me, and I thought, maybe it will help you and others too. I am trying to incorporate selfcompassion into my life more. It's hard though. We ADHD-ers tend to be disappointed in ourselves, and hard on ourselves. A thing that's hard to unlearn. I'm wondering if we will ever unlearn. Good luck on your journey",1 How much does this differ with dexmethylphenidate/focalin?,1 "I hate them so much. The compulsion can disappear, but the thoughts stay.",0 "Nice! This was a big step for me on my OCD journey, too.",0 Happens ...fellow sufferer here ..strong warriors face tough situation . Hope we all overcome this ...happy March !,0 "Me too. Even though I had a 4.0 in high school I graduated nearly a year late because I studied abroad my senior year and had to take a couple required classes at my sending school online... which of course I just didn’t do and kept getting extensions for. Now I’m already falling behind in college and worrying whether I’ll even make it through this semester, and then this happens.",1 Is your hair colored or is this your natural hair color? Looks beautiful though,0 " I’m a little jealous. My doc is ok, but I had to loop in my therapist to convince her that I needed more medication coverage. Thankfully that did the trick and convinced her to go through the hoops to get Mydayis approved for me (and once she finally went through the hoops, she even got them to knock the co-pay down!). It makes a huge difference to my quality of life to have a medication where I actually get a full 12 hours of *good* coverage, with several more hours of “Ok, my meds are wearing off”. And I’m even on a lower dose now. And of course, I finally get things sorted with her, and we’re due to move this summer. I need to start researching psychs in that area so that I can hopefully time things to avoid a giant gap in care.",1 Is this pretty common? It's kind of making me sad how few memories I have and how often I forget everything. I feel like I'm a creature of the present with vague feelings of what I kind of remember.,1 "[I think it starts early.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IO6zqIm88s) I'm certain it's been posted hundreds of times. I'm a 37M and I still can't watch it without, well... :( Yeah, I knew immediately because that was me.",1 "I do not want to be one to romanticize OCD in any way, but I do find that I am good at analyzing situations and thinking creatively because my mind thinks so vividly in pictures. Perhaps that is why I believe the thoughts so often, because they are so vivid, which I am sure most of you have vivid imaginations too. Definitely not worth the pain and internal screaming constantly going on, but it is a benefit that could be related. I think however, OCD is not the cause of being able to think vividly, rather, those who can think vividly, may experience OCD more likely. This is not medical advice.",0 "this is me rn, i’m so exhausted i’m just giving up and laying in bed",0 I have never related to something so hard in my entire life.,0 "100%. I needed this to understand the different rules for CPR, like when you call first vs. when you check first. I have to understand the why or it won't stick.",1 "I keep looking at set design, costumes, camera work, lighting etc I’m so visually driven and find dialogue hard to follow.",1 "That's why my constant mantra is ""limit your exposure"", don't let them know the real you.",1 "Same. (Not a cringe flex, just wondering how different my life could have been should I have been diagnosed before 27) I moved to a private school aged 14 or so, as my parents thought it would find me some work discipline. At the time - I was in the top class for most subjects but not delivering on homework or preliminary exams. This didn’t last that long, of course. During one school year, we were put through a bank of “cognitive aptitude tests”. I was called to the principles office thinking I was in trouble, but I was called in because; “your CAT test is a bit confusing. You’ve scored as well as the top students in the top sets in the CAT, but your effort grades, coursework and exam results thus far are poor”. My year group at school was the best performing year in the country, and I had been up there with the best in every metric of cognitive aptitude. I did “okay” in exams despite failing to study at all, and then went to university and did “okay” despite failing to study at all. Now I’m in a professional job where I was doing “fine” whilst struggling with professional exams. My life isn’t bad by any means, but I can’t help but wonder what my life would have been like if my head teacher were to have made the connection and suggested I consult with a doctor. I started on Elvanse on Tuesday. Wish me luck.",1 "Last year, I had to write a ten page essay on the history of entertainment from 10000 BCE to 1450 AD. It was a blast. Now, I have to write a five page essay on traffic intersections. It was due two months ago, and I only have a page done.",1 "It's hell, I did nothing useful today. When I have classes, even just one, I can structure my whole day around it.",1 I did things 4 times then if I get an intrusive thought it goes to 8 then again to 12 then 24.,0 "Yeeeeup. ""I'm diagnosed, I have proper treatment, I have a therapist, I have strategies. That means I don't have any excuses anymore and anything I can't do is just because I'm lazy!"" It's not true and I don't hold anyone else to that kind of absurd standard, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to believe it to my core 'til the day I die.",1 "This is why I shower 2-3 x a week, mostly at night lol",1 "Great to hear, congratulations! OCD can be incredibly tough and exhausting.",0 "Not to the degree you do, but yes I can sometimes (M/34)",0 That’s awesome! Keep fighting! Don’t ever let OCD win.,0 "The office is my favorite show and this is exactly how I manage my OCD, to be fair the two were completely unrelated, but you just put them together for me.",0 "My favorite thing is you gotta call your mom and tell her. As a mom of 2 young adhd kids I would be so touched if they want to share their excitement with me!! Also: yay!!!! Great job!!!",1 "For me even worse are the articles that are titled something like ""How to live with a person that has ADHD"" and none of the advice are about how to help the person that has ADHD. It makes me so angry",1 "So… that is 100% me. To a T. Been considering whether I have ADHD (female in my 40s), looks like I do. Thank you for sharing!",1 "I was on a cruise once, and was minding my own business enjoying the top deck, when suddenly “Hurl yourself over the railing into the middle of the ocean”",0 Now when you say swollen nodes are they visibly swollen like you can see it?,1 "My whole family (6 extra people) was at my 900 sq ft apartment on Sunday. Thank goodness my child entertained them for a while because I was at peak overstimulation. My family is super loud, too. Christmas is always a challenge.",1 "This makes everything I'm feeling so clear now! Thank you for this list, I write as I'm distracted by this list during class",1 "True story. My psychiatrist told me that all this time I was living and relying only on my intelligence, so it wasn't easy for me. Because of this, I doubted my ADHD and felt like a faker, but at the same time I can't realize my potential at all, and it sucks",1 "Somewhat similar but I really struggle when someone says ""just memorize this"". Was a big problem in school when I needed to have a backlog of a dozen different formulas in my head and be able to recite them at a moment's notice...",1 "I also get one contiguous window. I'm like a freight train with hair trigger brakes. It takes me a while to spin up, but once I have momentum I just go go go until I have pump the brakes for any reason and then all my momentum brick walls and my window is over",1 "I love planning so much that I have lost countless hundreds buying planners or paying for planner subscription services on my iPad just to end up in a rut a few days to sometimes even weeks after I have successfully used my planner and even successfully completed tasks I set out to do. One example: I bought a beautiful planner and sketched on it and made it personal, added washi tape and beautiful stickers, laid out a plan to tackle everything on my to do list. Gel pens and color pencils were put to full use. I was doing well and my house was spotless then I fell off the wagon a few weeks later. My house fell apart within days of not sticking to my planner. And I’ve done this before. I have told myself that I was just too lazy or there weren’t enough short breaks or rewards included so “this time will be different” but it’s completely untrue. It’d never different. I put in rewards, I put in breaks, I make it shiny so I want to look at it (perhaps I’m a stereotype) I even have done photos of before and after. These are all supposed to keep me on task but nope. I suck. I just got my dx so I’m sort of half heartedly hoping therapy and meds can help me improve because deep down I want normalcy and to be better. But I don’t wish to waste another dollar on planners until after I know I can be consistent and learn the skills to stop....doing this. Cycles suck.",1 Something about this just warms my heart 😊 thank you guys for making me feel ok with myself,0 I’m bad about saying I’m going to do something and then my brain likes to think that’s as good as getting it done.,1 "It´s actually a great way to see intrusive thoughts, just treat these as someone that bothers you and you just agree instead of arguing. ""Yeah right, you´re right""",0 "This is awesome, reading about neuroscience and mindfulness helped me a lot to orient my mind to do the erp much easier. Again I reduced my anxiety/stress/ inflammation through other factors like exercise, multivitamins, fish oil and diet. So now even if the thoughts occur i either am able to get out of them really fast because I understand how my mind works or they just stop because I say no to myself.",0 This annoys me because I work retail and they're supposed to me messed up. Someone will have to spend time messing them back up again.,0 "we are based on tangible experiences for pleasure, so i’ve realized curating a sort of aestheticism (whether in playing vinyls or sitting with a cup of tea calmly) is the best reward system",1 "EXCEPT ITS NOT A VOICE ITS AN UNCONTROLLABLE IMPULSE- which is even better, because then you get to just sit back and watch yourself become somebody else as your life is ruined. SMFH! lol thank God I have found relief and been recovering!!! I don't know how I lived like that so long! Actual hell! lol! forreal!!! actual hell!!!!",0 "I honestly don't want to be normal again. I'm going to live with my problem and turn it into something that can actually help people. Lots of times you can turn your problems into something helpful. Treat it like a gift, not a curse. A gift from God, or whoever you believe in, whether you even believe in anything or not. Remember, the people who aren't normal are always the ones who did something useful in this world. Gandhi, Muhammad Ali, John Lennon, Martin Luther King, and many more people out there. Watch this btw: [https://youtu.be/-z4NS2zdrZc](https://youtu.be/-z4NS2zdrZc)",0 Thank you for sharing this. I hope you will be alright and remember it's not your fault! Do you have friends and family to be there for you?,1 "I feel “I’m an imposter” so hard right now. Ocd constantly makes me feel like I’m lying and my intrusive sexual thoughts are something I actually like. Even typing this, it’s saying that. It’s so painful and unfair",0 "Doing homework and notes consistently: 2010-2020 (don't worry it'll revive) Writing regularly: 2018-2020 (also going to revive).",1 "Just got a mini panic attack after reading this, this is me.",1 "Absolutely! When I recovered and got my life back from the chains of OCD, my first thought was to move onto the next chapter of my life and forget my dark past. I didn't want to talk about the dark chapters of my life where I was performing stupid compulsions over and over again and lost all my friends and boyfriends to this disease. But my recovery is not for me. I have a duty to go back to this community and lend support and instill hope in them. I'm glad you share the same perspective!",0 KFNMSKGKD ocd be like “this medicine that will cure your ocd is actually poisoning you”,0 "I think this happens because the brain only registers the passage of time when we're not hyperfocused or distracted, and because of ADHD, we're nearly always hyperfocused or distracted. Unlike neurotypical people, we have to force our brains to ""come back to reality"" every once in a while. Otherwise, you are training your brain to think that 1 hour and 4 hours are exactly the same amount of time, because when you're distracted or hyperfocused, they are. A useful trick can be to just sit around and do nothing every once in a while. Literally nothing. Try not to even get lost in thought. Stay present in the room for like 20 minutes and suddenly 20 minutes will seem like an eternity.",1 "omg man i’m really thinking lately i actually have ADHD 😂😭😭but also OCD , not as a joke",1 Wow. Probably one of the most relatable ones I've seen on here.,0 "I use an extension called OneTab to turn open tabs into links to review later, but I hardly ever do.",1 Has she shared this breakthrough with the medical community yet?,1 "I cried when my parents exchanged one of their cars for a new one once. I was a teenager, it was embarrassing but I couldn’t help it. ",0 "She claims to be “OCD” about hand washing and she clearly is not. I don’t ever want to assume things about people, but if you have cracked and bleeding hands like a lot of us, you wouldn’t use it as an adjective or tell anyone to “be OCD”",0 "Omg I was the exact same way about 6 and 7 for YEARS. For real, ever since I was a kid (I was diagnosed very young because I had a list of very bad compulsions and my anxiety was vert high. In short I was NOT high functioning with it) I couldn’t even write it for math, or even type it in 6 in a calculator at school, if I did I’d have to type or write 7 seven times to balance it out. It literally sent me into panic attacks before. I could also never pause anything on the sixth minute or second, would have to wait, and couldn’t unlock my phone on the 6th minute either. It took me a very long time to work through it, and that wasn’t even my biggest ocd problem, but the fact that I can even type it in this comment speaks volumes for how much years of therapy has done for me. Lol sometimes I still get uncomfortable with the number though, still can’t pause anything on the 6th second.",0 Is it bad that I still want to see the pictures though?,0 Do any ADHDer dare drive a motorcycle? I'm afraid I'd daydream right off the side of the road,1 This served its purpose on me! But now I'm commenting on a reddit post soooooooo...,1 "Common conversation with my husband: ""What was the beginning of that sentence?"" [starts repeating the last sentence] ""No, the one before that."" ¯\\_\_(ツ)_\_/¯",1 This [song helps me](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_y_6a5DG4I) when I'm feeling this way.,0 "So how would you suggest we teach little kids that they aren't purposely doing this stuff without falling into the ""you have adhd, so this is excused"" line of thinking. I have A LOT of issues with self esteem and wasnt even diagnosed until 29. Now I am able to work through the ""eh, i cant focus now ill set a time later"" without feeling like a bag of shit but in grade school i distinctly remember feeling shitty and not understanding why i COULDN'T do stuff.",1 "SAME HERE SAME HERE SAME HERE I still need to get diagnosed officially for ADHD but 99.99% sure I have it. AND THE SONG I WAS STUCK ON WAS ""Canopée"" by them too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's so funny to see they're artists someone else with adhd got stuck on aaaaaah!! I'm always disappointed with my Spotify wrapped. I remember 2019 it was The Arctic Monkeys as my top artist and this year it was Grimes... I don't like any of both *that* much but since I obsessed on particular songs by them they just thought they're my faves....",1 I’ve been in a downward spiral recently due to all of these things and i just... it’s rough out here,1 "Yup, got so bad both my doctor and psychologist told me to go to emergency (because my psychiatrist wasn’t available). Got there, told them what was happening and I couldn’t cope much longer. They gave me an unknown amount of Lorazepam (they didn’t actually tell me what it was, but I’ve been prescribed it again since and I’m fairly certain) before talking to me, then said there’s nothing they were willing to do and sent me away...by myself...after giving me a high dose of Lorazepam. Anything could have happened after they sent me away. Luckily I was able to get an uber home and didn’t live too far away, and have an amazing partner who got home not too long after to look after me. It could have been a very different experience though because I was totally out of it.",0 "OMG I'm kind of buzzed and just saw this. I'm dying. Oh no. I'm in a really serious conversation. Shit. I'm typing so I don't laugh. I'm laughing. There was a death in the family. I mean she was my great aunt. She was like 96. Oh no. Why memes why",0 oh maaahh god Im soo happy for you!!!! Never ever fall back in to that hole!! Im soo soo happy to read this because I can imagine the feeling of having a clear mind finally with no what if or anxiety. ❤️❤️❤️❤️Congratulations!!,0 "I've done a lot of emotional work to make my peace with this. The reality that I've come to is: *The alternative is I never start or never finish*. How I get things done doesn't need to look the way anyone else gets things done, so long as it's finished, I did a good job, and I didn't cause anyone else problems. What has helped me a ton is to set a timer for my break. Instead of just ""I'm gonna take a break"" and leave it up to my brain to realize the break should be over, it's ""I'm gonna take a 15 minute break."" Start believing that you are somebody worth keeping promises to. When that timer goes off, you have a choice. If you take a second to see the choice, you have the chance to say, ""I choose to honor my promise to myself that the break was 15 minutes and now I'm going back to the task."" It doesn't feel that cool in the moment, but it feels GREAT at the end of the day when you're not working all night and you finish up feeling good about your work and actually ENJOY your reward time.",1 "Also: how I feel when I do the meditation, yoga, exercise and other bullshit everyone is telling me to do. Yeahhhh... intrusive thoughts are still here, guys...",0 "I enjoy pointing it out... like when you’re making friends at a bar & you’re like that’s not an adjective it’s a disease. Then they sputter & get awkward & apologize and you’ve got an IN ;)... I mean it’ll probably just be a one time thing because they’ll see your pile of sticks in the morning, sobered. Then you have to explain how you can’t pass by a perfect stick on the ground anywhere without taking it home. Then that’s the end of that.",0 "Jokes on you... I'm not on my phone! Ha! But I do need to go check a game on my phone, so hopefully I'll browse reddit afterwards and see this post. lol Also, I didn't take my meds today, so nothing productive will be happening until tomorrow.",1 One time I got one that said someone died in a manhole and their ghosts would come for me... But I don't get then anymore,0 I usually stop because i am stuck. Most of the time i was stuck because i miss the little details of the process of doing something.,1 "I am sobbing, I literally needed to hear these exact words. My OCD has latched onto a blurry event I don't remember well and I've been stuck in this loop of guilt and compulsive confessions of things I don't even know if I did. Thank you so much.",0 YESSSS. My English profs always tell me to calm down with the commas and I don’t even notice I use them,1 "I feel you. It is really exhausting, however, it is not unbeatable. If you really put in the work you can kick this thing's ass. Trust me. So, this is what I did to get better: -Meditation twice a day. -Diving deep into philosophy. (It is actually really fun) -Psychedelics. (I have a lot of respect towards these medicines, it is always important to say that these are NOT for everyone) You must do a lot of preparation. -Studying Buddhism and staying very open minded. (I had a very closed mentality towards ""religion"") I am not a Buddhist. I just think that Buddhism gives you another perspective, which can be very helpful. If you give this practices a shot you will soon see yourself starting to follow a path. The journey will of course be filled with doubts and fearful thoughts, but you must believe that living a peaceful life is possible. This was my experience with Pure O. Very subjective. I still suffer from occasional mins attacks, nevertheless, i feel stronger. There is a lot of beauty on the other side of our experience. -",0 "Hell yeah! My roommate (who also has ADHD) bitches about the cleanliness of the house, especially the kitchen. And I’ve tried so many times to convince him to split the cost of a maid but he refuses to have a random come into the house to clean. It’s super annoying cause I know it would benefit us both as I hate cleaning and am generally forgetful about it, and he does sometimes but gives up when it’s just him doing it. (Our other roommate is just a slob) It makes complete sense to get help with the things you have a hard time with. Nobody questions if somebody decides to get a tutor, why should housework be any different?",1 "if yall need a band to hyperfixate on check out Haken, they're like dream theater without your grandma singing, and more creative imo. their songs are like 13 mins long (yet my number one on wrapped) and they have 4 concept albums and theres a reddit theory that the lyrics all tie into one concept of all the albums, have fun",1 Really love this art... I saw jagged thoughts causing pain and suffering...,0 "Would someone mind explaining what the difference between Serotonin and dopamine is? All the pomodoro stuff never works for me either, but when I sat down at my desk next to a lamp with some lofi playing last night, I was able to study for 2 hours. 😅🤷🏼‍♀️",1 "Yep yep, I reminded a friend of this the other day.",0 The constant question of OCD. “Why did it have to be me”,0 "Actually, it's called ""Revenge bedtime procrastination"". Here's a post on it I found https://www.reddit.com/r/todayilearned/comments/l2afmj/til_of_a_term_revenge_bedtime_procrastination/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share",1 Explains why I was super social in college but fail to contact my friends now that I can't see them every day. And especially after leaving social media.,1 I feel this but replace the last panel with “moving into a hotel” because my brain feels like my parents house is the most contaminated,0 Got up and walked in to the kitchen to do some dishes. Got distracted for a few minutes. Came back to reddit and saw this again. Off to attempt some dishes again!,1 "I'm not even close. I'm aware of my feelings but still very much terrified of them. I evade, avoid, and deny, and avoid situations and need things a certain way and I've hit a brick wall.",0 "I stand on my tip toes and stretch my legs while i pray everynight. It turned into a counting ritual. Last night i spent so long on my toes that i had bad cramps the rest of the night. I am so amazed that our brain forces us to do things that are very cleary not good or healthy in any way. When i pray, i touch something very specific. I have to touch it 5 times in 5 sets, 3 times a night. So i will touch it 5 times and thats one set. I do that 5 times. But lately my brain loves this ""one more for the road"" concept so we're up fo 7 or 8 times bur the extras past number 5 are ""unofficial, back up touches"". This has to be done 3 times a night minimum at 2 different locations in my house. Let me tell you, i am so miserable because i am afraid to do anyrhing new for fear that it must become part or my compulsion routine. It gets so frustrating when you have to battle your own brain. You arent even safe in your own head.",0 Awesome that is a big step. You should feel proud of yourself.,0 Ik man it’s a bad thing to have your brain is practically against you hopefully you’ll get better ,0 "I'm pretty sure perfectionism is definitely a personality trait in some forms of OCD, at least that's true for me.",0 \*Raises glass in solidarity as my brain gives up 5 days before my quals are due. \*cheers\*,1 Before I was diagnosed I used to try to explain that I was trying to try and it was draining but still never enough,1 "My OCD is more like ""it will never be just right no matter hie much i try""",0 Self-gaslighting is a symptom of OCD I never expected to have but here we are,0 The first time I felt that I thought it must be like what color blind people feel when they get those color correcting glasses for the first time. It is life-changing for sure.,1 I have this book. The strategies for overcoming intrusive thoughts are extremely effective and I use them everyday. Excellent read.,0 "Sleeping outside tonight, let the intrusive thoughts flow.",0 "It is a wonderful feeling. One of the first times I took a very low dose of Vyvanse It just felt beautiful. So often my brain feels cluttered with thoughts that I can’t even put into words. It is like a loud roar where nothing is intelligible. As soon as I took the meds within minutes my brain was utterly silent. I was fully in control and then took a nap 😂",1 """Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless – like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash. Be water, my friend."" • Bruce Lee",0 "Prozac made me hypomanic, know whenever I’m doing good I convince myself I’m manic",0 Great idea - but this could also turn into a compulsion in and of itself. Checking and reassuring that “oh this is just an OCD thought.”,0 Totally do the whole body shake it off and grimace face.,0 "Wow. This is amazing! Very happy for you. I too have existential OCD. I hope to one day say that I have overcome this monster, as you have. I’m wondering what your main compulsions were?",0 "Thank you. It’s often those of us who “aren’t enough,” that go undiagnosed for too long. ADHD seems to be one of those things that is only really diagnosed when a child is considered a problem for everybody else.",1 I’ma 6’s kinda guy but other than that I can relate.,0 "It's kind. Personally, I've admitted everyone's bad instead of trying to convince me I'm not a bad person. This way, I'm like other. A bad person, nothing wrong, just human.",0 I always get anxious that someone will sneak a bag of drugs in my backpack and only feel relieved when i get through the line,0 Having battled OCD/intrusive thoughts for 20+ years now it is so awesome to find this group. People have tried to understand but until you go through it you just can't understand it.,0 I'm going through this right now. Spent literally all day in bed yesterday sleeping or staring at my ceiling,1 Fuck man this hit right in my heart. Can’t say shit really but you’re not alone,1 Thought I was the only one who got anxious from these things. I hate them sooo much. Also those things that are in the beginning of some YT videos that are like “Like this video in 5 seconds or you will have bad luck for the next 10 years.”,0 "This made me teary, good to know I'm not the only one who feels this way.. doubting disease they say..",0 "Oh my god. Can we repost this every day? Or somehow have it appear daily in our feed, with a bot we can follow or something",1 "YES. And I'll tell you there are a whole lot of people who reeeeeeaallly like their procedures and honestly don't want to question anything. This is the job, this is what you do, then you get paid. That's it, that's all, and we'd rather not improve anything thankyouverymuch. I find that while the upper echelon management appreciate seeing improvements to processes and such, **supervisors** generally do not.",1 "I don’t know about anyone else, but I find that every time I go for a physical I completely forget about every little anxiety-inducing lump, spot, or symptom that I had noticed over the prior year. By the time I remember, I don’t want to go back and pay for another appointment. So I’ve started keeping a list on my phone of things to ask my doctor about when I see them, and set an alarm for the day of the appointment so I remember the list itself exists.",1 "I’m super proud of you, wow!!!♥️♥️ your hair looks amazing and I couldn’t be happier for ur progress! much love💖💗💗💗💗💗",0 Every day i feel like me being here is a mistake and wrong.,1 "That scream. Can relate so damn hard. I fricking love this show. And I am glad how accurate they had shown the anxiety that's triggered by OCD and how crippling can it be once you have an attack. In most portrayals, OCD is shown like it is just a little comical nuisance, even sth cool in case of super genius scientists or villains! (Well, in this case Fox is also a perfect surgeon but... you know what I mean :D)",0 This is solid advice. I feel so lazy and it’s a waste of money to pay for the prepped food but it just goes bad in the fridge if it’s not prepped for me so. Adhd tax it is.,1 "Me in a nutshell. I am tormented by my mistakes from ten/twenty years ago. I just wish i could build a time machine and go back and live all alone and not make mistakes. Tormented as well by the thought of becoming dirt famous and having my whole life played out in the media.",0 "A lot of the common sense strategies work, you just need a lot of executive function to implement them and create habits that stick... It's possible to subtitude executive function for a good therapist and learn certain habits that way, but they may never be as deeply rooted in your daily life then they would be if you had the executive function in the first place So yeah: ""use more executive function to overcome your executive dysfunction""",1 Lol I'm too scared of bathroom germs and could never do something like deep clean it. I have to wear a pair of goddamn gloves to even touch the doorknob. It SUCKS,0 "Yes, 100%. Sometimes it feels unbelievable that everyone else isn't as scared as I am.",0 Yes absolutely. I’ve had this since the “Me Too” movement came around (a movement that I support). I feared I would have done something to someone in my past that I didn’t think was a big deal and it would come around to blow up in my face and ruin my life. It’s just OCD for the most part.,0 "I've been procrastinating getting my cervical smear booked. I'm going to do it today, so thank you for the foot up the ass I needed, and im so damn sorry. Please keep up posted on how you're doing, you've got this ✊🏻",1 "Sending you love, thanks for thinking of others after learning something like that. You got this.",1 How do you feel about Monk? I rewatched it after my diagnosis and honestly thought they did a phenomenal job. I also noticed a really great moment in the most recent episode of The Boys.,0 I'm just scared i walked though the wrong one and my OCD make me go back to go though the correct one,0 "Can I save this? I’m having a super tough time with OCD the past few days, and this really speaks to me. Hope you’re okay friend. E: the more I look at it, the more I feel and I started crying. “Stop being lazy” “why can’t I hold a job” etc are too damn accurate. 26 and I achieved nothing. Does it bother me? Partly. Because I know I can’t do otherwise. The only reason why it bothers me is because even though I achieved nothing, it’s the OCD itself that’s eating me alive. Everything I do & touch is getting poisoned by this shit. I don’t care that I don’t earn any money, I’m poor as shit, lost all my friends and basically am a huge fuck up. Just, please. Don’t take those little things away from me, OCD. Sitting all alone in my room playing a game was all I had. Now it’s starting to rot away, too.",0 "Me rn and has been the major overarching theme that my man various fears seem to come from. Going through a lapse rn that is really draining me at the moment. Seems like those of us that deal with these fears being a person with inadequate morals to put it simply. Obviously there’s some nuance and complexity to each individual but that’s what I see, and from what I’ve read and heard it’s pretty common with those of us with OCD. You are not alone OP, hang in there we got this :)",0 "i have major depression. this usually affects my energy from the moment i wake up to the moment i go back to sleep. near constant fatigue to the point that small things become hard to do. my room is currently a tornado mess. this is because my depression counter-acts my o.c.d. and leaves me obsessing over a room i have no energy to clean. imagine you wake up feeling like you just ran a marathon every morning and you look around your messy, dirty room and you just are unable to do anything about it. it’s not that simple. it’s never just a simple ‘clean things up if they bother you’ or ‘ocd makes life better because you clean things’. the obsessions (which can be life-ruining and debilitating in and of themselves) often bring about other debilitating mental illnesses alongside them and make it extremely hard to act on any of them, even while still having them buzzing in your head. this post just makes me sad. i hope that people understand that this isn’t what it’s like for a lot of seriously ill people.",0 "Just be careful about it becoming a form of reassurance seeking! I agree it is a uniquely validating feeling as someone with OCD to stumble upon a space like this where people articulate things that hit so close to home, in a way nothing else really does. But it's also easy to chase that feeling and find yourself using the sub to ""remind yourself you really have OCD."" I know I have and still catch myself doing it, and others express the same.",0 "I recommend reading Russell Barkley, one of the foremost authorities on ADHD, both youth and adult. Check his upcoming book! https://www.guilford.com/books/Taking-Charge-of-Adult-ADHD/Russell-Barkley/9781462546855",1 "this is an absolutely amazing! I might be an internet stranger, but i am heckin proud.",0 This is me. Completely. I’ve been in a full blown depressive episode for two weeks now and I am struggling so much.,1 "I found that finding a consistent peaceful thing helps me every day. Meditation, making a special food, taking a short walk if you can, or in my case, I watch a streamer named Vinny. He’s pleasant and his voice is soothing. I’ll be honest my OCD causes me to obsess and want to take and do drugs which is a problem I’ve struggled with for years. However, there are times where watching this streamer actually helped me break my fucking addictions and bad habits because I helped make a routine that involves watching his streams instead of being destructive. Maybe I would suggest the same; to try to find a positive outlet that you can use when you feel your OCD get incredibly bad. I understand, though. Before I got on meds recently, I was a mess but this tactic helped me out a lot.",0 "Yes totally but I thought needing a reason was my PDA autism, I especially need a reason if you are going to get me to do something. Or it simply isn’t happening.",1 We're so proud of you! OCD has limited my life so much. We know how big an accomplishment it is!,0 This post is relatable but also I love Eric Andre. Lol Wish I could double upvote.,0 "Save twice. Found a new item! Save. Defeated a boss. Save then save again after that. Passed a difficult obstacle, save twice or even three times. Wash, rinse, and repeat until game is beat.",0 "All I can do is try my best, not in general, but to try my best to counteract the impact of ADHD. So even if I end up getting a little done, if I tried my best to not get distracted or whatever that’s fine by me. Trying your best IMHO isn’t about an output or “yes I was able to concentrate” it’s just about your effort to move forward",1 "This popped up right when I needed to hear it, thank you. I’v never thought about it that way before but it’s really true. After a depressive episode last week (and still going, but I feel like it’s gonna end soon, hopefully) I had a horrible relapse of intrusive thoughts that I’d thought I had put behind me, and as I finally felt they were starting to go away, I was triggered by the title of a YouTube conspiracy-theory video (I have pure-o/existential OCD mainly, which likes to attack my most precious beliefs [since I am also highly spiritual as well]) and spent 5 straight hours compulsively reassuring, googling for reassurance, etc. This got way off topic, but anyway, thanks for sharing, it actually helped to read that! Gonna try to remind myself of that next time I catch myself reassuring/arguing with my intrusive thoughts.",0 "YES! I also sometimes wave my arms in front of my face the way one does if there’s a dust cloud or a bad smell around your head? It’s like I’m trying to swat the thoughts away? This usually happens with the visceral ones (sex, violence). When it’s more of a moral issue (what if I’m a sociopath, etc…) or a safety issue (did I lock the door, etc…) it doesn’t tend to happen as much.",0 "I can relate, and after washing my head make sure the tap is closed like 15 times.",0 I’ve always wondered whether I’m the smartest dumb person I know or the dumbest smart person. I still don’t have the answer.,1 "Honestly, going to classes is a bore and you can’t rewind your professor when you inevitably space out",1 "I might recommend seeing a pelvic floor therapist. It can help strengthen your muscles, so you have more confidence that nothing will spill out. In the meantime: Don't drink too much (makes you go a lot) or too little (lots of irritants in your bladder) water. Also, you can avoid bladder irritants. Some are coffee, tea and carbonated drinks, even without caffeine, alcohol, certain acidic fruits — oranges, grapefruits, lemons and limes — and fruit juices, spicy foods, tomato-based products, or chocolate. You could eliminate all of these for a week or so and bring them back one at a time.",0 "Using two alarms for waking up with taking meds (specifically Adderall) on the first alarm: it has worked well for me. However, I went from 45 minutes between alarms, to 30 minutes, and now just 10 minutes. In fact I don't even take it on the first alarm, as I'm usually awake enough. I started doing this because I haven't been able to fall back asleep on the first alarm",1 "Yeah same here super unorganized at home, It’s like my energy is so drained at the end of a normal day so by the time I get home I have no energy to care about cleaning until I have to basically",0 LOL I can hear it in Ralphs voice and everything. Spot on.,0 "I’m in the opposite boat. I literally don’t tell people about my OCD obsessions aside from my therapist. As much as I don’t wish anyone to have OCD, I wish I had one that was easier to build a support network around, like germ contamination or even a more mild sensorimotor obsession. Depression is much easier to talk about, even if people get sick of me talking about it.",0 "Well, this might be the antithesis of what you are saying, but I enjoy those podcasts done by comedians, so I'll just dim my laptop and play clips of Bill Burr, Tim Dillon, Opie & Anthony, etc and it really helps me fall asleep. One of the most frustrating things about this disorder is the lengths to which we (or at least I) will go to avoid something that ""bores"" us, including sleep. Fuck, it is such a battle to remember even to brush my teeth every day.",1 Are you ADHD jesus? Can you walk on dysfunctional water?,1 "This is exactly me! I invested in many super productive apps, I spent hours and days on testing them (hyper focus), I promised myself to be more productive this time and....nothing helped and every alarm only annoyed me. Now I’ve got bullet journal but obviously I don’t use it every day because I am too lazy to open it or find it. I don’t take any medications however I decided to take fish oil and stoped after few days. So I would miss medications as well.",1 Ugh same. And I finally told my ex why I have been obsessing for the past year over the relationship. It was closure. But it hurt because I’m like “what if we could have been friends? I should have been nicer” etc. Spiraling. So now I’m like what do I obsess about next? Lol,0 "Wait... That's an ADHD thing, too? I keep stumbling across people mentioning ADHD traits that I have but have spent the last 33 years just attributing to my general personality.",1 "God, I'm having such a hard time today. I had a total mental breakdown in front of my family that gathered for the holidays. I confessed that I'm having intense and disturbing thoughts. Fuuuuuck. It's too much.",0 I literally remembered that when i was younger i would smile into my room mirror multiple times and i would have to do it perfectly in order for me to feel “allowed” to go to bed. This went on for years in childhood and now im like😳,0 "Cant speak for everyone but exercise kills ADHD in my experience, if you can try it out",1 THIS.. thank you. I need this like tattoo'd on my body,0 "Broke: Drink tea and avoid sugar to calm yourself down so you can focus. Woke: Drink all the caffine! You'll be able to feel your blood vibrate but you'll have lazer focus!!!!",1 My top song was hide and seek by imogen heap. Somebody left it on to fall asleep one too many times.,1 "Huge problem for me as well. I am working on just focusing on one task at a time - I KNOW something like doing the dishes won't take 2 hours so I will just focus on completing that task. Sometimes I have to organize the sink, then take a break, then get back to it later so it is not always successful but I am finding the less I focus on the time and just look at one task it is getting a little easier to accomplish something. Somedays that momentum will keep going for multiple tasks and other days I don't complete the one task. Perseverance is how we try to get the other side of these off-putting feelings. AND don't beat yourself up if you are not successful. If I didn't complete a task I just try again tomorrow. But I definitely understand how friggen frustrating this feeling is! Ugh!",1 Literally though! I feel like everyone knows my regular life now hahaha,0 "It's like telling him to dunk a basketball. ""But son, i can only jump 6"" and I'm only 5'6"" tall. The rim is 10', I cant even get within a foot of the rim!"" ""Ok Dad, just put that out of your mind and dunk it!"" Dad...🤔",1 "haha the moments where I cringed into myself being like; ""THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN A GREAT COMEBACK, DAMMNIT""",1 YESSSSS!!!!!!!!!! I’m so happy for you ☺️❤️❤️❤️ you’re gonna so great. Fuck OCD it can stay away,0 "My mom gave me very similar advice. I was trying to figure out a way to trick my brain into getting stuff done, and thought I found something that would work. I told her about it and she said: ""I think you need to stop procrastinating by thinking of ways to do your work and just sit down and do it."" Why didn't I think of that? It was honestly life-changing advice, I'm so thankful for that insight.",1 Are... are you part of the Dopamine Vending Machine Collective? These posts remind me of that FB group and it’s awesome (the DopaMom has been running low on spoons so the group is just now regaining some steam).,1 "I deal with a lot of contamination fears and health anxiety (i suffered from different obsessions when I was younger) and I will often refuse to clean something for days/weeks if I’m too worried about it. However, dirty spaces cause me incredible anxiety, so I keep things pretty clean for the most part. I’m also horribly disorganized though.",0 "Thank you ! This is a very important reminder. I really wish you get better 💖you got this",1 "I'm also constantly worrying about forgetting stuff I need to take with me or stuff I need to prepare. On the rare occasion that I manage NOT to worry, without fail I WILL forget something, like looking up on Google Maps where I even need to go.",1 "I'm the same age and also a massive procrastinator, so thank you for sharing! I hope you'll get better soon!",1 "I felt this way until I found the account “how to adhd” on YouTube which taught me so much about how my brain works and the feelings that come with. I’ve learned that as awful and frustrating my struggles are I do belong somewhere, and it’s with the How to ADHD family. Please google it and watch the videos. It did wonders for me",1 So glad you have such a good boy keeping you company in such an anguishing time. Hopefully your older dog will keep you company when Buster is gone!,0 This! How does it know? Does it know things? (Let’s find out!),0 It's 100% on point. The worst part is the guilt that eats you alive. You are never not letting someone down. It is a miserable existence. All I want to do is spend time with my son and be a hard worker for my family. Its the first thought I have and the last. Every night I swear it will be different to myself. Every morning I wake up my own worst enemy.,1 this is so awesome because i struggle with the same issues <3 really inspiring to see. go you buddy!,1 "Of course I don't think what your dad said is right or even remotely considerate but when someone says something like this to me I try to approach it differently. I'll try to explain. Even after educating myself and making changes to my life after my diagnosis I still get caught up in ADHD episodes if you will and a small phrase like what your dad said can ground me again and remind me to be more conscious etc. So far it works because if I'm talking about my ADHD nowadays it's when I'm struggling with it so the dumb reductionist phrases come at the perfect time.",1 "Omg yes!! The ""why"" is soooooo important to me. You can tell me what to do and how to do it and I don't get it, but as soon as you tell me why it just clicks and I understand completely",1 "Watching, reading, listening to something, working. I’m always on the lost highway of my thoughts.",1 "I've gotten so much criticism and stress for not being ""clean enough"". Housekeeping of any sort just instantly overwhelms me. No one ( until my current partner) has ever understood, let alone accepted it. Being disliked because I don't dust and vacuum has been the norm; and I just feel sorry for those that only see that part of me.",1 Sooooo accurate. I love leaning that I am not alone in this,0 My husband and I do this! I can’t make my own appointments but his are easy to make. Then we switch it. ,1 "Many of us feel that way. I feel that way most days.",1 I'm glad you could overcome that thought. You look gorgeous!,0 I feel ya.wish people would understand. My boyfriend gets fustrated all the time.,1 I literally told my trainer this at my first day of my job! Please just don’t show me what to do. I also need to know WHY I’m doing it.,1 Or when you shut down your computer and get in bed only to open your phone and start all over again. Or even just setting your phone down to be done but then 7 seconds later you pick it back up,1 Can I grab it? I'll just post it and I'll give you credit,0 "Tip for subscriptions- if you cancel them immediately after setting up a trial, the trial usually still lasts for the remainder of the period! Which remind me I need to cancel hbo lol thanks for this post",1 "Ya know, with OCD or idk if that part of it or if its just me. But I have a very hard time believing people and trusting their word because of my lack of good judgment in most thing and maybe a twist on how I perceive reality. But kudos to this guy for feeling so certain on someone's word. Trust and faith are hard things to go on.",0 "It’s like when somebody ask questions pertaining to what interests you or the desires of your heart, you wonder what they are looking for, then you tell them. It’s almost like they get off on knowing that their reaction that may seem not as wholeheartedly meant to mean anything really does come out as demeaning to whoever they are saying that to. Did you really want to know? Like why even bother? I was perfectly fine staying in my lane.",1 Or it never gets done and you feel crippling anxiety and depression since you know you just need to do the thing but you can't,1 "A Planner!!! Thank you! I have now fixed mine! ​ Also, if you have recently lost a loved one ""just get over it"" works really well!",1 "If anyone is looking for a simpler planner alternative i have had intermittent success with a magnetic fridge calendar. It helps that i dont have to seek it out, ill be looking at it at least several times a day and as i leave home(my fridge is near my front door). I take a picture of it at the end of the month just in case i need to reference previous months' activities or notes",1 "I think you could extend this sentence by about 5x fold. Lol",0 "There was a movie called clock stoppers (or similar). Basically the dude had a watch that could pause time (no more details to prevent spoilers ha). I want one of those.... Alarm going off too early? Pause time and sleep in.... Having a super productive session? Pause time and keep it going... Procrastinated too much on your homework? Pause and get it done. I wanna pause on my own time not on anyone else's lol.",1 "Same here, I have stuff from Instagram to my browser to “reading list” all the way to the saves on Reddit. I currently passed 10k on my camera roll. But the more I don’t do something about it, the more it will overwhelm me in the future so it’s best to start decluttering. Maybe ask r/organization for some tips.",1 "Thank you for sharing. I would love to go but I have accepted that whatever is wrong with me, I'll die from it. I cannot afford anything beyond 150 dollar primary care visit. I have already looked into. I know it's irresponsible, but there's literally nothing I can do other than hope that I get a good job with benefits soon- the government says I'm an animal for not taking a job at Mcdonalds. .",1 "It is sad to say but there is still something of a stigma for almost all mental health issues and possibly as bad is the way they are portrayed in popular culture. While they may not be able to really understand or relate, we and the world can help them to feel empathy and practice acceptance.",0 "BYE ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT ME BEING PASSIONATE ABOUT MUSIC AND WANTING TO LEARN PIANO FOR 5 YEARS AND NOT MANAGING TO ACHIEVE IT AND MY PIANO TEACHER DROPPING ME BECAUSE I COULDNT PRACTICE BECAUSE THERE WAS LIKE A WALL IN MY BRAIN STOPPING ME PROCRASTINATING AND THE ENDLESS FRUSTRATION AND LOWKEY SHAME BECAUSE I LACK THE FOCUS TO SUCCEED IN WHAT I LONG TO BE GOOD AT? Sorry for the caps I just feel understood",1 "I had my first true ""fog clearing"" experience with Concerta last month. It lasted for about a week and a half. For the first time in my life I felt like I embodied the person I always knew I could be. I wasn't buzzing with energy like or running around like a meth head like some people claim these drugs do. I was simply calm and focused. No anxiety, just patience and awareness. I was crushing it in my job too. Then it just fell off for me. Either my body started processing faster or I just got used to it but the feeling of thinking clearly without quickly becoming overwhelmed faded away in a couple days. It's been a struggle since and bumping up to a higher dosage with an instant release bonus hasn't given me the same feeling. It's been a long month and emotionally taxing. I just want to feel normal and process things smoothly so I can get shit done.",1 "Yeah. It’s a miracle we are able to do anything. I used to hate on myself for not being super successful and now I’m like, DAMN BINCH IM JUST GLAD YOU ARE MAKING IT THRU THE DAY",0 "My son put each individual episode of gumball in his favorites list on hbomax. He could have favorited the whole series and took up 1 slot. But he chose to do individually",1 "YEAH MAN I always gotta remind myself that a shizophrenic isn't self aware about these things, because my OCD bullies me about that. Trying to convince me that I'm psychotic and then a hypochondriac for thinking I'm psychotic.",0 "Teehee, its 8am for me rn and im on reddit, im a degen and im not gonna be able to sleep till like 8:30 at the earliest... im a scuffed Individual",1 "Its like Cigarretes and Cocacola. The fact that is legal, doesnt mean its good, Specially for people with OCD, OCD/ADHD",0 This is such a mood… I’m trying my best to fix it but everything just…. Falls through the cracks.,1 "Always. Whenever my mind finally stops racing around with things and is finally calm, the intrusive thoughts come and then I die inside",0 "Thank you so much for writing this post. I’m glad that you haven’t given up living yet, because through this post, I learnt that I was not alone. All of us learnt that we are not alone. I thought I was the only person who got this sensitive over pretty much literally nothing. But we’re not alone. You helped us find a community (sure it already existed, but, like, over this specific thing that I thought that even people with ADHD didn’t experience).",1 "Holy shit, that really caught me by surprise. Seriously though I hope this isn't a case of the boy who cried wolf because someone with OCD might actually be dealing with these diseases.",0 "Eating vegetables every week? You meant day right? You are gonna end up going blind, eat some vegetables.",1 Haha I get that I’m a teacher and have to be good on the spot. I now just say to my students let think a sec on this as it looks like I’m deep in though but in reality I have the answer just need to arrange it to be said. They think I’m taking their question super serious and I give them a better answer so what you call a win/win,1 I was about to downvote the crap out of this bc I skimmed it and skipped the ending part. Then reread it 😂,1 "BRO it's so frustrating because at work when I make mistakes and I'm in monthly one on ones with my bosses, they see the mistakes I make and then tell me how not to make them. Bwoah if it were SO SIMPLE. Obviously my bosses don't know about my ADHD so I have to skirt the situation very carefully and just pad the meeting with buzzwords that sound like I know what to do. ""I just have to compartmentalize, make checklists, take mental steps blah blah blah"" when I KNOW my ADHD will allow me to hyperfocus on making a checklist and then forget about it OR I'll make one and use it like 3 times, and then come the 4th day where my time blindness gets the better of me so now I have to rush this thing and don't have time to use a damn checklist. It's the uphill mental battle I play",1 Congratulations!! I know how hard not being able to focus can make things and as such know that I am very proud of you for overcoming that obstacle!,1 "Thank you so much!! My biggest fear in making this book was that others with OCD would read it and think, ""That's not what it's like at all. He probably doesn't even have OCD."" This, of course, is a meta-compulsive thought. ​ Anyway, feeling like part of a community has been essential to managing this stuff for me. I'm proud to belong to this creative brain club, and I owe so much to other folks with OCD who have been through so much and offered their own experience and advice. I wanted to give something to this community. Hi, all <3",0 man i fucked up my midterms and now I have double the online classes to deal with...,1 "I have so many saved posts here and on FB haha! Every few years I remember to go in and check on them to see what nuggets of wisdom I saved, and so much of it is like ""these great deals are coming up on black friday in 2015, don't miss it!"" or ""things to know before graduating in 2010"". So far from relatable years later lol",1 "Unclean? No, I can’t handle feeling unclean. Disorganized or not neat? Absolutely — I have never been either of those things.",0 "I love you. This is fackin gold. Sign me up! ...I think",1 I would just sit there listening to voices in my head.,0 I like the way these characters look. They look like they're happy to be abstract and ambiguous.,0 "yeah all the time. a good friend bought me persona this morning and the moment i booted the game up i knew my ocd would ruin it... and yep intrusive thoughts everywhere. same for when i am excited for something... OCD flares up, i spend hours doing rituals and then everything still gets contaminated and ruined. though.... i guess all we can do is trying to not give a damn and just try to enjoy it till it looses the anxiety and starts to be fun for real. my therapist said that my obsession with wanting to enjoy things without intrusive thoughts is what brings even more intrusive thoughts... it doesnt have to be an untainted perfect moment to be a good moment... i still havent figured it out myself honestly but eh... i hope to someday be able to look back, start the game again and say: huh yeah i remember my intrusive thoughts... that was stupid... back to fun xD",0 It's like if you don't have anxiety your brain will search for a reason to feel anxious and it WILL NOT STOP until it finds it.,0 I am so sorry. I have some tips that have helped me in recovery if you want to message me (anyone reading this too I love to help others) :),0 "This is how I take my notes haha, I use a nice USB microphone and I can even sit in the back of the room and get notes still",1 "Solidarity, my friend. Since way before I was diagnosed my answer for what superpower I’d want has been the ability to pause time! To freaking catch up… and honestly just so I can do absolutely nothing for wayy longer, way more often. Oof.",1 "Wow. I never had any idea. I just read everyone's msg's. I finally get it, I think or maybe not get it but rather I don't know. See I have ocd but my family just laughs and says that there must be a missing link cause I can't keep up with my house.",0 "Everyday in this group I discover more terms and things I thought were just weird abnormalities in my life that set me apart from others, when there is in fact a name for my excessive skin picking I had never known about or how to start that convo with my therapist. It's amazing that you have overcome this and I hope to follow suit ❤️ some days are easier than others",0 "This was honestly one of the reasons as to why I didn’t think I had OCD for years, because I was the least organized person you could meet",0 "We are with you in this dont give up ( i need to tell this to myself more) We will work through this trifecta and get out of its cycle no matter how many times it gets us because we are resilient",1 "I live in Belgium, made first contact with a hospital on Christmas Day, I’ve had my intake consultation last week and I have CBT in late April.. It shouldn’t take 9 months.. that sucks",0 "That is brilliant. I also tried the whole fake reward system, but it's like... I could just eat the candy. Habatica became work, etc. I feel like I naturally want to do what you do. Pre-covid, I would go to a coffee shop to work because I found it more comfortable and easier to focus, like an atmospheric treat.",1 Right?? I looked at mine last night and it was entirely 1) the album i hyper focused on for a month back in September and 2) random instrumental music I play while I read/study to try and keep my brain occupied enough to be even slightly productive. It represented exactly none of my actual musical taste,1 "Weirdly enough, this just reminded me... I was in hospital last year and struggling to pay attention/keep my hyperactivity at bay. A nurse randomly brought me a tennis ball. I was able to have conversations and actually take in what they were saying while I threw and caught it. I'm in the process of being diagnosed atm but never really thought about this. I do focus better when I have something to fiddle with!",1 "I have this all the time. It feels like I'm sugar-coating everything, even though I'm not lol",0 "Omg, yes!!! They don't happen often, but when they do I feel like I have time on my side 😂",1 "Good luck. Hope you can assume control, you are stronger ;)",0 "Ugh. Too familiar. Y'know, this reminds me of my swim teacher when I was a kid. (no, really) Teacher: “To pass the class you need to float on your back for 30 seconds.” Me: [scrawny 30 kg of skin, bones, lean muscle, and about 3 grams of fat] Other kids: [not so scrawny] Teacher: [reasonably athletic teenage female with average fat:muscle ratio] Teacher: ""Just get onto your back and relax. Trust the water to hold you up. Like this..."" *floats* Other kids: *float* Me: *“float” on back by waving hands and feet, keeping my nose just high enough above the water not to drown.* Teacher: “No!!! You're just swimming in place! Don't be so scared. Just relax and float!” Me: *Glare at teacher. Take a gulp of air, hold my breath, stop moving, and relax. Sink feet down until I reach equilibrium. Bob gently with my hair line at the waterline. Know by experience that my lungs full of air are the only thing keeping me from sinking to the bottom.* Teacher: *shakes head* “Let’s not hold up the class. You’ll need to work on this between classes. Just relax and you’ll float without burning all that energy.” **TLDR: Want to be buoyant? Just float! Want to speak French? Just wear a béret! Want to be neurotypical? Just focus!**",1 "This is me right now I’ve somehow managed to convince myself they hate me and are ghosting me on purpose because they think I’m The Worst.....despite us talking last week just fine",0 "I turn twenty in a month and I don’t have a driver license, ID, bank account, doctor, dentist office. I’m trying to treat my adhd right now so I can get some of the other stuff done. Like a lot of you I have a job that I’m really good at but outside of it I struggle greatly!",1 Reading this made me cray and let a bit of shame go. Thank you ❤️,1 "A solid 15 minutes worry free, that’s my favorite track",0 This is why I like movie theaters. The screen is gigantic and loud and the room is dark and quiet so it’s the only thing I can focus on. The internal monologue still comes but nowhere near as bad as at home watching a movie,1 "I’m seeing these thoughts that you have and I’m afraid that I’ll immediately start thinking them too, is this a feature of ocd as well?",0 "I'm with you too, I know everyone is different and there is not one simple "" fix it all"" that works. I find forcing myself into a routine ( and I mean literally forcing myself ) helps a little. Regardless, there are still days I wonder why we exist at all. At the end of the day routine, structure and socializing in whatever manner you can, are helpful starts. But realistically, its about working on yourself mentally until you create your ""stronger"" identity, that you can fall back on when everything seems empty. Its not easy, its not guaranteed, but at the end of the day its about how you view yourself, that has worked for me. The biggest thing to realize it is is completely ok to feel this way, youre not alone and that its okay to have good days and bad months. Eventually things will line up and you'll realize what works for you, but you do have to try. "" Everything will be okay in the end, if its not okay, its not the end"". Hope some of that helped.",1 My two worst compulsions are decontaminating and picking at my face. F,0 "I love this! Sometimes though, I feel empty without my obsessions/anxiety. It sounds silly because I always wish it would just go away, then when it does, I feel weird!",0 "Just get out of your wheelchair and do what you need to do. Who cares about the spine damage bullshit, just stop sitting there and get it done.",1 Have you lowered your caffeine intake since then? I drink a lot of caffeine on the daily basis. I’m taking my first adhd med tomorrow and I’m worried about whether I should avoid caffeine or not.,1 "Uh, it's called lotion. A regimen of O'Keefe's and Gold Bond healing works wonders.",0 You sound like a wonderfully supportive couple. All the best to you both,0 “I’m just making this up for attention even though I haven’t told anybody”,0 On a serious note you shouls never say 'its just my ocd' its reassurance and it will only sow further doubt.,0 "7 months ago this subreddit helped me seek medical help. Today, I'm medicated, and for the first time in my life I'm out of the tunnel. You CAN recover, guys. Much love.",0 "My SO is unbearable about certain things. His anxiety goes through the roof and he just becomes awful. It is so painful to watch and be around. It's nothing like a person who's just tidy. No comparison.",0 "You know what's funny? I've been a lot better off since I became a supervisor than a standard drone. Having people depending on you and feeling like you actually make a difference with what you do helps \*enormously\* with getting through the hum drum. Corporate life tends to uncouple how hard you are working with the results, and that is a death knell for ADHD.",1 "I do this, but always thought it was my UTI acting up again. So odd.",0 What if I don’t actually have OCD and I’ve just been manifesting a mental illness to use as an excuse to struggle in school when in reality I’m just lazy?,0 The saddest part is that we watch a lot of videos that we don't want/need to see but the most wanted goes to the list,1 "(Tw-might be triggering to ppl with compulsions related to family safety) I’ve always had a compulsion with telling my parents I love them every night before I go to bed (has to be the last thing I say even if I have to repeat it) and I know logically that it has no correlation but the one night I didn’t tell my mom I loved her before I went to bed, she fucking died lmfao",0 "Jesus Christ. This was the first thing on my feed when I opened reddit and it is absolutely 10,000% accurate. Thanks little light dragon :) [[immediately scrolls down to read ALL TEH comments instead of closing reddit and doing the afore mentioned thing]]",1 "man i could be doing something that's supposed to only take 5 minutes and somehow stretch it into 20 to an hour like sometimes when i'm doing something like washing dishes, i could be spaced out and then just think ""...this is not normal speed""",1 Oh my god! I've never thought about that before. I'll be sure to try it out :),1 lol mine is all sleep music and the Witcher 3 OST. It doesn't take into account anything I've listened to on repeat during active hours.,1 I can’t even force myself to do things I like and want to do. That’s the worst for me.,1 Can you upvote a post more than once because god damn this hits harder than any other post on this website,0 "And then you tell yourself you’ll take a short break and end up watching a movie or playing video games and then go on another tangent... Yeah. Me everyday.",1 Holy fuck my dopamine levels are increasing normal after reading this,1 Thanks!! I saved so much things on social medias that I always forget to check on… Now I know what I’m gonna do for the next couple hours,1 "So thanks to ‘How to ADHD’ I’ve learned **this is called body doubling!** https://youtu.be/ni9biXNDZe0 When I was a kid and I had chores to do, I used to desperately ask my mum to come with me when I was cleaning. She thought I was just being lazy and trying to get her to do it. I used to tell her I couldn’t do it without her, but couldn’t rationalise it further than that. I just needed her there to keep me company and as an adult I still recognise that feeling, and it really helps with accountability and motivation. Thanks to Reddit I also discovered a new app last week that has really been helping keep me on track, but is mostly helpful because I’ve been using it with my SO. It’s called Sweepy and turns housework into a game / competition which has helped keep me accountable. I’m so glad you’ve found something that works so well for you, and she sounds so lovely!",1 I'm in the same boat. You want to do something so bad but you can'tt and you're just stuck in agonizing boredom.,1 "I saw this artwork long time ago, I came upon it in my gallery every now and then and still it but me each time. I love it. I just love the dark and melancholic feel of it. I love how real it is. I love how hauntingly beautiful it has illustrated the struggle.",0 "So accurate! Why haven’t I mastered any hobby yet? Maybe because I have 5,000 different hobbies. Fiancé is annoyed with how many supplies I have accumulated for all of my hobbies. He’s always like “you haven’t woodworked in a year!” Yeah... but I really want to again.",1 Every time I think I've convinced myself I probably don't have OCD somebody post something like this. Which is probably good for me but I still hate it :(,0 omg so about a month ago i went and bought differin gel and the box was kinda beat up. opened it up and looked inside to make sure what was on there. I put it back and grabbed a not so beat up box in the back. yet didn't open it to see if it was ok because i figured it was fine. I got home....nothing in the box.......had to go back to walmart at 8:30 pm....,0 "My mom: hasn't it crossed your mind to clean yet?!? Me, irl: I was going to clean today..... Me, in my mind: no, it was the last thing on my mind, drowned out by the fictional dilemmas, existential crises and misplaced guilt! If only you knew my mind you would understand that a clean room is nothing compared to these life or death situations. TLDR I have misplaced priorities",0 I am so proud of you! Sending you all the strength for your therapy! You're going to be great!,0 "Totally random but you have beautiful handwriting ✏️ 📝 ❤️ are you a teacher? Looks like a teacher’s writing :) the cursive, that is.",0 "Sometimes the meds just give you that little break that you really need and deserve .it's a not for ever gig ,just in the words of john lennon ""what eva gets you through the night ,,,it's alright it's alright,",0 "Link to french pop lo-fi album? E: And yes, it usually what's on my workout list. Everything else is across *checks notes* 591 genres.",1 "Years later even, and then can never let go of the thought.",1 "ADHD is a really bad name for the issue. I find I pay attention to so many details that I end up fawning.",1 Man if only I had known it was that easy to cure for the past 10 years.. god it pisses me off when idiots think ocd is quirky.. as if it wasn’t constant suffering,0 "For the last two nights, I've convinced myself I'm dying, just as I lay down for bed. This morning I woke up with a lip twitch, most likely caused by stress, but my OCD says it's fatal. Wow it sounds so silly when I type it out.",0 "Yes, but yesterday I didn't have the thought that I've had the thought about this specific thing, so it *must* be different now.",0 Read Kafka - The Trial - it is exactly about that :) One of the weirdest books I have ever read. Maybe you will recognize yourself.,0 "I conquered my contamination OCD as well, i think half way thru! I always have to rewash my face and redo my skin care step all over again when i already got everything done (IF I ACCIDENTALLY CONTAMINATED MY FACE LOL). I dont do that anymore. “F*CL YOU OCD”",0 I got a scan of my brain once because I thought I had brain cancer but it turned the results showed my brain was extremely anxious lol. Fuck ocd and anxiety it’s horrible to live with,0 "Hahaha haha and there I was thinking it was just me, during my worst HOCD days, any intrusive gay thought I immediately shook it out and got anxious",0 I’m doing ok about the actual illness because I know I will be fine but everything changing and getting cancelled and the stores being sold out of things is making my brain crazy,0 "Really weird story. I had a video consultation with my therapist today. He asked me, ""How does OCD make you feel?"" I said, I'll answer later. After 2 hours, I sent him a video of me throwing and hitting shit. He laughed. He's a good therapist! edit That was me 6 years ago, when I was 8.",0 "my top songs: 1. If You dont Use the Thing on the Left Side you Die a Painful Death 2. Touch it Four Times or Else your Family Will Die. 3. Your Feelings are Not Valid and Never Will Be 4. Hey, See that Bridge? Jump off It❤️ 5. Please Shut the Fuck Up, Brain (ft. Intrusive Thot$)",0 Congratulations! I know it’s hard but I’m proud of you for fighting back. My hands used to rupture like that too and it hurt a lot. I used a Cetaphyl lotion to help ease the discomfort and to remoisturize my skin. I know it can come back again so I would recommend having a lotion like Cetaphyl or any other brand without perfume in hand whenever your hands start to hurt again.,0 "Oh my fucking god, why didn't I think of this earlier?! I could've saved myself hours of therapy and the prozac!",0 "Also, the maximum videos you can have, that it will count- if you watch any further it will remove the first ones,- in the queue function, is 201 videos",1 I’m 45 and I still just hear the Charlie Brown noise “Wa-Wa-wawawawa” Having no comprehension of the words and sentences just put before me!!!,1 I have schizophrenia and am now courious does ocd include struggling with your internal monologue an issue for you guys too?,0 "Oh no. I relate so hard to this. I don't have friends, but that's literally the biggest thing that makes my girlfriend feel insecure about our relationship. She takes it really personally.",0 "Yes!! I'm always the one asking why at the end of a conversation or plan because my reasoning or logic doesn't connect the dots fast enough. Because in my head, there are an infinite number of reasons why that choice could have been made. That's why I always lack in understanding inferences. :(",1 "I start a serie, 10 seconds later I am already on my phone googling some unrelated potential and interesting hobby or research",1 "Working from home now, I've been forcing myself to shower every single morning. Even if it's a 3o second get my body and hair wet rinse, it's something that's helped me keep the rest of my chaotic routine in check.",1 Wait.. it’s normal to procrastinate watching YT? I thought that was just me,1 "Hi /u/umyshawty and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) - we will remove your post if it breaks one - and also check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, it is likely to be removed; if you think this might happen you can delete your post here and resubmit it there instead. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 "Hah this 'disclaimer' is in grey on white at the bottom of their website "" >Our goal is to be fun for everyone and make things easier for people that like to eat their candy in a specific way. > >The OCD Candy Company was not created as a joke product nor is it our intention to make fun of individuals that suffer from OCD or other anxiety disorders. They *know* their entire brand identity is shitty and offensive.",0 Love the post. Just finished washing the dishes and dying for a smoke...,1 "Therapist: hi how’s it going? Me, nearly suicidal from all the depression & anxiety over the 3 months it took to get an appointment: Good!! :)",0 "As a Man with ADHD and a world that crumbled a while ago to STILL sort out in places, I never knew that my worst, and most painful experience of my life could be described so scientifically and factually. I’ve been so unkind to myself because of feeling like I’m struggling differently from what felt like even most of my peers with ADHD, and at times others have had a hard time being kind too, but maybe it’s me, maybe it's maybelline or maybe it’s the apocalypse cause fuck it, dog. 2020 ain’t done yet it’s only September. Anyway. I wish others weren’t also experiencing Paralysis of the will, but I’m so grateful for this post to learn it exists and that at least not by myself with what this can feel like at times, which at least means someone somewhere has ideas for how to manage it. It’s hideous and for me much like having SLEEP paralysis, but while also sleep walking, living my life as a grown ass-man and also somehow making sure I’m doing the right thing when I’m able or my dad will be sad. It can feel like having a nightmare while wide awake when the stars align, and I never want them to do that again. Thank you for this though, sincerely",1 "This is not how you defeat OCD, you will drive yourself crazy if you attempt this approach trust me I've tried it. I think the answer lies somewhere between psychedelic's and not opposing OCD just being mindful of it in a Buddhist type of way",0 "This happened to my mom. Always put off Dr appointments. Turns out, if she went in earlier they would have caught her cancer as stage 1, instead of stage 3.",1 Amazing progress!!! Great luck for the future!!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜,0 "I read the phrase ""Go the fuck to sleep"" in Samuel L. Jackson's voice from the book of the same name haha. Maybe we should all say that to ourselves in our head for external motivation... Edit: then I actually read the rest of your post referencing the book. Smh my short impulsive attention span...",1 "I have a childhood memory that haunts me for this reason. My ex-friend had the hyperactive strain of ADHD, and she turned round to me one day and said “hey maybe YOU have ADHD too!” Bc of the way I was acting or something, and my mum went “oh don’t be so silly you don’t have ADHD”. Here I am age 21 diagnosed with severe ADHD just over a year ago. Not noticed by parents bc they either didn’t give a fuck or they didn’t think I had it bc I’m not hyperactive I have purely concentration issues.",1 "Yes and no. It's by no means fun or quirky, and it doesn't make you special. It can be frustrating, hellish at times, and complex. But I'm also not going to spend my life ashamed of it. It IS part of who I am. I refuse to live my life hating a part of myself I will never get rid of.",0 "I am now realizing I need to self-disclose to a few professors or contact disability services in some way. I never have because I think deep down I’m scared they will think I’m using my ADHD as an excuse, and I can generally get by ok without extra support when I have a set routine at school. However, I’m finding this onslaught of information from a million power points, emails and video chats extremely overwhelming and I am feeling like I’m falling through the cracks. Has anyone ever contacted disability services to talk about accommodations or anything like that in the middle of the semester?",1 "I hate that my parents had multiple light switches, I only have 1 per light now, and they’re all consistent.",0 "My boss once told me ""you just can't focus consciously, stop thinking and start doing. How do you even drive if you can't focus?""",1 "I hate this, I get so concerned that I do sleepwalk and I'm just unaware. Then I start thinking that I've committed crimes while sleepwalking and that all unsolved crimes were actually done by me and one day the police will come and arrest me",0 This happens to me when people are talking. I took a drive with a friend the other day when I realized she had been talking for 15 mins and i had no idea what she was saying. I feel so guilty.,1 "Sports in real life, podcasts, Audiobooks, movies, TV This is probably the most annoying thing of my ADHD, I wish there was a fix. Would love to hear if anyone has anything that helps them so I can give it a go.",1 I actually get some sort of guilt for when I’ve been busy and sudden realise I haven’t done any routines or had those intrusive thoughts.,0 “You have OCD how did you lose it? Aren’t you supposed to be organized”,0 "y e s. I sleep from 3 am to maybe 1 pm, then I take 2 hours to get awake correctly, then executive dysfunction, if I get motivated enough around 3-5 pm I can do stuff, then I have to make food. And everything after that is too late...",1 Who is the ween who actually believes this. I wish it were true 🥺,0 "I’ve been contemplating pulling the trigger on a maid for quite a while now. I’m interested in how you do it though because I don’t hate *all* cleaning, just the really hard, usually necessary to do before everything else, stuff. Or like the stuff that pulls me out of the moment. Like when I’m in the zone piling up bag after bag of trash and recycling, what if someone was just making runs out to the dumpster instead of me stopping and losing focus? Or even better, when I’m filling boxes with crap to go to goodwill, what if someone took it straight there instead of sitting in the middle of my living room for the past 3 months because I don’t feel like schleping up and down the stairs? **GAME CHANGER** I’d rather have a helper than a full on maid. I almost an adult, I swear.",1 "YES! I feel SEEN, thank you for articulating this so well!",1 As a kid I was just *way too into religion*. I now realize why I was so drawn to the ritual of it all.,0 "1) get a planner 2) make the planner very fancy and color coded and organized 3) put your tasks on the planner 4) ignore everything you put in the planner and just stare at a wall for 5 hours 5) oh shit i got stuff to do but it’s too late guess I’ll just do it tomorrow 6) repeat every day",1 "lol i appreciate you being open n honest good on ya",1 "“Sorry i have to clean my desk, I’m so ocd!” Proceeds to smile while dying inside",0 "We already have our hands full in dealing with our problems, we really don't have that extra time or effort to be annoyed by someone else's ignorance.",0 I don’t think I’ve ever experienced this end of the phenomenon LOL,1 "so much like all those shows about hoarding, they never go into the mental state of these people. I didn't know hoarding was a type of OCD. They just treat those people like they are some kind of inhuman thing and focus on ""before/after"" so that is the only mirror I'd ever had to myself",0 "Look, it took me 35 years of my life to make it to a whole year of brushing my teeth everyday. After about six months I only kept doing it to keep my streak. 27 days is nothing to sneeze at. Be proud of yourself! Edit, because of course I didn’t read the whole thing before I posted: flossing too? That’s even more impressive! Legit stoked for you. “They” say it takes 21 days to create a habit, so you already got this!",1 I really like lexapro because I have no side effects with it. I’m on 35mg. When I’ve been put on risperidone I’ve gained 30 pounds and it really sucks but I guess it’s better than being worried to the point of suicide.,0 Yes. The joy of RDS. I thought rejection dysphoria was gone for good; nope. I just restarted guafacine. It helps; but I hate taking it. Ugh.,1 "I try to let them happen, and stay calm enough that I don't begin having a physical reaction such as the nausea/panicking/hyperventilating. It took a while but it's getting easier. I used to beat myself up for reassurance I was a ""good"" person and that by punishing myself by having an extreme emotional reaction was my reassurance that I must not be as ""bad"" as the violent thoughts say I am. Sometimes it gets difficult though, but I'm glad I finally identified it as OCD and got diagnosed since for the longest time I was convinced I was just insane.",0 "I'm not sure why I needed this, but I did. Very beautifully written and moving. Thank you.",1 "I hate them too, but sometimes you can poke holes in them. Like this one, how could your mother have lived for 0 years? That means she (and you!) would never have been born!",0 Congratulations for doing this. Something like this for me would be an accomplishment with meds and you did it without!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!,1 "Or your brain makes you check something in the process of trying to solve the issue, but you know once you open up that app it’s going to make it worse, but you do it anyways. And then you start obsessing on why you’re so fucked up in the head ,that you would do things to make it worse. Now you have two obsessions going on at one time. Sleep is nonexistent",0 "I just started doing some small-scale practicing with ERP and I can already feel a difference. The last five days in a row I’ve felt peace like I used to months ago before all of this started. I’m really happy to see your post, things like this remind me to keep going :)",0 "Reminders or alarms just sit on my phone for months. Honestly, I set alarms or reminders and end up remembering them anyways bc I’m constantly thinking about them that when they are going to go off I already know and have already previously decided to say fuck it to them.",1 "FUCK YOU. Lol ok but I actually have like at least 10 r/ADHD tabs open in my "":D""-number of chrome tabs on my phone... I do give them an occasional read and I do come back but more often than not it just kinda stays there until my phone crashes from the enormous number of open tabs.",1 "yep! same here, i go to a boarding school near boston and we’re about to leave for break. there’s a lot of talk about not coming back for a few extra weeks and doing online stuff, which has been a looming nightmare for me.",1 This thread really hits. I've always been told I'm smart. The doc who did my ADHD testing said I have above-above-average intelligence based on my WAIS-IV. But I struggle with E V E R Y T H I N G and constantly feel like a fuck up.,1 "Relatable af, I have to tap everything I see 7 times with my index finger as I’m leaving the house.",0 "SchizOCD is awful. Its completely fucked my life, but hey, it slowly gets better. Can't say I dont have it anymore, but im way better than I was 6 months ago. And you will be too",0 "At my lowest point, I literally blocked my kitchen off. I couldn’t even stand to be in there. We now refer to it as “the sink massacre of 2018”, but when I finally started to deal with it (thanks to my super supportive boyfriend) I had to throw out almost everything. Now we live together and he handles the kitchen for me. Thank fuck. Good luck!",0 i never realized that i can’t trust my gut.... thank you for this,0 "Therapist: So how are you? Me: Yeahh I'm doing fine, Susan. But how are *you* ? :))) Therapist: That is not how this works.",0 Yep yep yep. Otherwise that information if like *PFF* and gone. Reason I couldn't concentrate during school was mosly because of this.,1 "I think this is what I struggle with the most, was wondering if this is an ocd or adhd thing",0 Wha- welp another post to add to the way too fucking relatable pile but it's probably not actually OCD,0 I seriously made this comment on an ADHD thread just over 3 hours ago,1 now imagine the joy of not even having compulsions and just pure o,0 "And it really sucks when the OCD makes you doubt that the ""right decision"" is actually right. For example you know you shouldn't seek reassurance, but the OCD is like ""What if this time it's actually important that you think about it and figure it out?"" When an alcoholic resists alcohol, it's hard but they at least know that they're doing something good. When a person with OCD resists a compulsion or reassurance-seeking behaviour, the OCD usually makes them doubt whether it's the right decision. I'm not trying to minimize alcoholism or any other addiction at all btw, I'm just pointing out how OCD is a different kind of addiction. Because I do think it's an addiction in a way. We are addicted to reassurance and certainty...and we just can't have that all the time.",0 I think about this a lot! Thanks for putting in the work to share this story,1 I think part of my daily foundation is literally muting reminders for several hours and then just editing them to remind me the same time tomorrow. And repeat,1 It's so hard to go to sleep knowing it'll just fast forward time and you'll wake up at the beginning of a new day doing the same tedious bullshit and probably won't feel anything remotely close to satisfaction at the end of it either. The only thing that happens when I try to go to bed early or at a reasonable hour on nights like that is I'll cry myself to sleep and wake up with a swollen face.,1 "I do with animals, BUT the one thing I do is I pre grieve my OWN death. I usually have long fantasies about my death in great detail and feel a lot of sadness and it's just really odd.",0 "Me too, friend. That's all they're trained to do, is repeat. I was in the Social Service Worker program, we were taught that our job was to get you to help yourself. But OCD needs more than that...",0 "Because when something is boring you're not getting dopamine which makes your brain not able to deal with stuff. It's also challenging to train yourself to understand delayed reaction between work and reward. IE: planning this vacation is hard work and not giving me dopamine but the vacation will. That applies to everyday shit. Finding the TV show that you wanted to watch for years and turning it on and watching through the first 20 minutes where you aren't yet invested might be ""work"" but its going to lead to dopamine but you can't make that mental connection strongly enough.",1 "hey, you got it totally right. it AIN'T a *deficit* of attention, and it's not hyper acTIVity, neither. It's a tremendous *Surplus* of attention, but it's hard to FOCUS. Our brains just work too damn fast for anyone else to, umm, keep up. But...when we CAN focus, watch out, because we become good, better, best, even superior? doing what we do. As if the world's greatest musicians dint **focus** on what they're doing...like any other intelligent person does when they're really into whatever it is they love doing. For instance all those scammers, crooks, thieves all over the world...they are *Focused*. And intelligent. That's why they're so successful. And rich. I think it's actually a form of, and should be recognized as, genius. Not 'savant' level, that's a whole 'nother thing entirely. I'd prefer to call it something like FDS...Focus Distraction Syndrome? And, if I may, I'll recommend the book that explained, wonderfully, what was going on. Driven to Distraction. \[Hallowell M.D., Edward M., Ratey M.D., John J.\] Couldn't put it down, it's intense.",1 "Me decaying in my bed because I'm paralyzed and can't get myself to even do the things I used to love because my brain won't give me dopamine reward and is in fear of doing things wrong and experiencing sever RSD and emotional dysregulation symptoms but yes, my disorder is about being 'hyper'. I hope one day they really change it, it's so deceiving when you try to communicate to people about how you have ADHD.",1 "Tbh I get this from my anxiety/depression too. Any time they correctly predict something they're just like ""See I was rational thought the whole time"" and I have to be like ""No you were right for entirely the wrong reasons fuck directly off""",0 "honestly, to me my OCD makes perfect sense all the time. I have OCD when it comes to food dates, foods being expired, spoiled food, anything to do with food possibly going bad, and germs (my OCD stems from my emetaphobia). i honestly just don’t understand sometimes how everyone doesn’t think the way i do 😂 i hear where your coming from though, it’s a lot like a regular anxiety/panic attack in the sense where while it’s happening it makes the most sense.",0 "So does Google Docs, for anyone without Word. Dictating essays is a game-changer.",1 "Ugh... I hope you are doing fine, OP. How much did the delay of 3 years affect the diagnosis (did it worsen a lot?). This is scary because I myself have some suspicious lumps which I have been ignoring since they are painless...",1 "I'm a huge Coheed and Cambria fan and they're about all I listen to on spotify and for the most part in general. In past years I had 30000min+ every year but since I started working from home I only did like 8500 minutes or so, since I can watch youtube or play games while I work.",1 "True lmao. OCD rules my life now it’s kinda sad, I spend over 70% of my time engaging in compulsions and it just doesn’t get better. Man fuck this disorder",0 I can't stop laughing 😂 this is the best ocd meme ever! It's so true!,0 "I resonate so hard with ""you realize you've been trying to try and never setting out to upset or offend anybody"". Do other people have to work this damn hard? Because I'm finally getting tired of it and ghosting people left right and centre who demand the sun and moon from me but don't give me an ounce of respect.",1 "Every night, chasing that happiness, or numbness that comes with scrolling. Suddenly its 11 or 12pm and I'll get 6 hours sleep max. Hating work the next day from tiredness and then trying to balance the hard day with chasing that happiness/numbness. It's like a circle of self hate which I know is happening but cant stop. I tried leaving my phone in another room when I sleep to stop me scrolling, but it only lasts a week before I'm at it again. It did help though. Plus I'm unlucky enough to sometimes hear a phone charger hum really high pitched when my phones charged. So I sleep better because of that too.",1 "YES!!! I think about this every night. I always wonder if that's just a ""me"" thing or not. I do it every single night without fail. Like several times I'll get up even though I don't have to go. If I go and then lay in bed and think about stuff for awhile or go on my phone or whatever, I'll definitely have to get back up again to go right before I actually go to sleep. It's the last thing I do before going to sleep every single night. Otherwise, I'll just lay there and get more and mroe stressed. And I normally don't actually *have* to go. My mind just convinces me I do.",0 "Thank you for posting this. The way you wrote it, and just being able to open up about these things is so impressive to me. My best friend of nearly 20 years has been “my person”, and vice versa, but she moved 10 hours away for her husband’s job, and I’m realizing how much I need help. Anyway, thank you again!",1 Er.. sorry I wasn't paying attention. What did you say?,1 "I wish my OCD would go away after saying ""fuck you"" 10 years ago. Unfortunately that's now how it works. This sounds cool and may keep you motivated for a day or two but isn't really an effective approach long term. Talking back to OCD only gives it more power and makes you waste more mental energy on it as if it was something actually important. You do have to challenge it, but the right way (ERP, ATC, etc...)",0 "Dang, he’s adorable. I’ve thought about this before too. Mine looks like the demon from Insidious Chapter 3.",0 "STOP FOLLOWING ME AROUND!!! Then posting it to Reddit. Please. LoL Omg I am not the only person who gets far enough in a task to see the endline. Then somehow, seeing the endline prevents me from finishing? I've tried to explain it to people, and they just give me confused looks.",1 "Then 2 seconds later it starts again before you even realize it. Surprisingly though suddenly shaking my head hard sorta works",0 "I so this too. Occasionally, I attempt to organize my screenshots into folders. I currently have over 100 tabs open on my phone.",1 “That’s my secret Cap. I’m always in fight or flight” or something like that,1 CONGRATS! That’s an amazing achievement you should be very proud of!,0 It's honestly refreshing when you find someone venting the same thing you weren't sure how to say yourself. I often screenshot these as reminders I'm not alone.,0 "Hands inside your shirt to cover, then proceed to open door 👍🏻",0 "Good Job :-) When I was younger I used to have issues brushing my teeth, didnt care about it and when I did I start caring motivation was an issue. You know that feeling you get in your mouth when you wake up after a night of not brushing your teeth? Yea that was causing me to have nightmares. Nightly nightmares took care of that motivational issue!",1 It’s weird tho because I watch A LOT of tv and docs and YouTube etc but movies? Too long,1 This is such a good idea and your ocd is strangely adorable ??,0 "I knock on the wall after I check. For some reason, it creates a stronger memory of having already checked, and my brain seems to trust it more. Like I know I wouldn't have knocked on the wall if I wasn't positive it was off. Not fool proof, but seems to help.",0 Yeah same for me like I got kanye west in my top 5 because I listened to a few songs from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy on repeat for a couple weeks and I spend 90% of my time listening to 4 bands so someone had to be in the 5th spot why not a failed presidential candidate,1 My first impulse after reading this was to be super hard on myself for not completing simple tasks. I curiously scrolled through the comments and it was kind of reassuring to realize other's struggle just as much.,1 I literally have mini breakdowns because of this :/,0 ' The OCD Candy Company was not created as a joke product nor is it our intention to make fun o individuals that suffer from OCD or other anxiety disorders.' I don't think they've done very well to convey this through their product,0 "Adore this concept and the imagery helps a ton. Good onya for fighting the good fight. Reminders are important, these ideas help us emulate and remember We are who we are. And not who we’re not.",0 This makes so much sense. These days I feel like I’m going in and out of that cloud,0 "If they'd said ""lesser of two (or whatever) evils"" or ""least awful"" I'd say they were entitled to their opinion. But saying it's ""desirable"" is ignorant as hell.",0 I will ask everything about an instruction before doing it. Also I probably have to repeat what has just been said to me because I just need to process things.,1 i always schedule mine late in the day in case i wake up late but then i don’t wake up late and spend all day doing nothing in anticipation for the appointment 😐,1 "No, it doesn't really bother me because frankly I don't care what other people think of it. I probably did care when I was younger, but at the same time OCD wasn't the social catch-all identifying label for things like being a clean-freak or not liking the Keurig hopper left open. What I do care about is when no one bothers to have a conversation about OCD features/struggles and instead chooses to simply make an assumption about it. To me that's like voluntary ignorance; I struggle with that myself sometimes, but it is very seldom a positive thing.",0 Holy fuck i feel like my lymph nodes in my neck/under chin are always swollen and have been hurting lately..... and I just got a blood check recently and it shows I have a high count of thyroid-something antibodies (I forget the scientific name for them).... scary....,1 "I like this. It makes sense, to me. Feels real. Maybe I'm just projecting, but I have OCD and after looking at it for a bit it all came together.",0 "I feel this, when I got diagnosed they also tested my IQ, turns out they couldnt even determine an overall IQ because my verbal (117) was so far apart from my performal (89) I feel I have potential but I constantly collide with this limiting roof",1 "I was asked to stop asking ""out of scope"" questions at work. And ask more specific ones instead. This type of stuff is super frustrating because so many people freeze up when they are asked a question. It's ok to say I don't know.so help me understand the system/process, and how to use it to get better results. This type of stuff is super frustrating, because so many people freeze up when they are asked a question. It's ok to say I don't know or that you will look into it.",1 "Oh yeah, mine cycles in phases due to depression. When I’m not depressed, I’m a germophobe. When depressed, I don’t care at all. Kind of wish my depression just went away for all of this!",0 "I have never thought about it this way, and I have to say... this is brilliant.",0 "Omg thank you for this, its helps to think of it like this",0 "I'm in the top 0.1% of a band when I didn't even get a Spotify until more than halfway through the year. Also, what's the French pop lofi album, that sounds somewhat interesting.",1 Idk how I feel about this picture because those people’s brand is the same as mine...,0 "Yeah if we’re going to call everything by its external, most basic stereotype symptoms why don’t we just go with... “Hears-voices-disorder” for Schizophrenia “Obsessive-cleanliness-and-hygiene-disorder” for OCD “Not Hungry Disorder” for Anorexia “Very sad condition” for depression and so on Not very descriptive or encompassing names are they.",1 "omggggggg are you meeeeeeeeee, wtfffffff lmao, i just got out from checking Facebook history to see if i shared or liked or commented on anything, and reentred to check if i posted something in my profile, 3 times, i hate this shit. lmao but it comforting to know it not only me",0 Cultivate your awareness of the here and now. The present moment is always perfect,0 How can I be sure I locked all the doors despite preforming my nightly rituals?,0 "I actually LOVE going to the cinema to watch a movie, because the ritual of it basically makes me concentrate loads better - at home you can pause it for a conversation or talk over it or check your phone, but because all those things are asshole things to do in a movie theatre I just sit quietly watching it and take the whole thing in.",1 "I dont know if this helps, but you could try: 1. Mentally prepare yourself: a few days ahead, Set aside days where you are going to clean ""I'm going to clean this room on these days no matter what."" 2. Make Lists: make a list per room on what needs to be done. 3. Materials: if extra things like disinfectant, gloves, trash bags, etc. are needed, make sure you have them ahead of time. 4. Mild distraction: it doesnt help everyone, but having a podcast, music, or audiobook playing in the background while cleaning can help get your mind off of the task you're doing. 5.Start with the worst: Often, I find myself avoiding cleaning because of a particular gross part. Starting with the worst, helps me get over the biggest hurdle. 6.baby steps: it's okay if not everything is being cleaned quickly. If you need to take little breaks, that's okay as long as you keep at it. It's better to have gotten some things done, rather than nothing. Hope that helps, it's just what I tried and it works well enough for myself.",0 "This has been my life for the past few years. Not getting stuff done, and also not disappearing into recreation. It’s been a weird time, but I’m finally getting myself out of it - hopefully will have a diagnosis and treatment plan in the next couple of months",1 "The strongest of people are the ones who can talk about their emotions. There's no correct path to life.",1 "Also if you reach out and smack them, it's not assault, it's emotional dysregulation!",1 "Man I feel this one to the core. One time I had to deal with a guy from school. Let's call him T, for privacy reasons. T was an unpopular fella, because he was always negative and smug. I am also 90% sure he was a covert narcissist. The guy hated me because, like most people in this sub, I navigated myself pretty authentically through the school. I had high energy and high emotions and often spoke my mind. This created enemies, but also many friends (pretty sure some of you guys can relate to this). The people who didn't like this were the ones who took themselves too seriously, and so did T. One time me and some classmates went to a party, and T decided this was his ultimate moment to belittle me the entire evening because he found out the girl he liked had a crush on me, I believe. He tried to kill my vibe hard by constantly commenting on things I did to make me self-aware. Because I'm quite sensitive to that, it ruined my evening. He knew exactly what buttons to push. In times where that happens I often don't really know what to do because I am too busy controlling my emotions to react to it in any meaningful way. The way he acted towards me was beyond reason and the scary thing about it was that he did it covertly. Just sneakily enough to let it fly over people's heads. On top of that: my stupid head told him he could sleep over at my place before the party. Big mistake. When we cycled back my brain raced as to what to do. In hindsight, I should have left him outside on the streets, because he had been such a douchebag. But years later it suddenly clicked what he was trying to do. He was trying to pull some sort of [double bind](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_bind) on me. This is a psychological trick to drive people to a place of action in where both answers to a situation can be interpreted as negative. *"" (...) the use of confusion makes them difficult both to respond to and to resist.""* If I let him in my house, he would gossip about me in school about how much of a push-over I am. If I didn't let him in my house, he would gossip in school about how much of an asshole I was to him and conveniently leave out the fact that he was extremely mean to me. At that time I didn't give it any second thought and just let him in and bite the bullet. But I should have left him outside and call him out by telling him that I knew what he was trying to do and that I would be keeping my eye on him, and that he cannot fuck with me like that ever again. This entire ordeal might sound very minor, but it's gnawing on me to this very day. It was so mean and so sneaky. I can't believe someone can be like this. But he also made me hyper-aware of narcissist and their tricks, so thanks T. Narcissists are my Cryptonite, man. They make me so self-aware that it's pretty traumatic. I am way too hypersensitive for their shenanigans.",1 I was gonna say your family is so cool for the terminator name references,1 I’ve had so many different appointments where I tell my therapist something and she’s like “yeah that’s also because of your ocd”🤯,0 That’s huge! You’re doing great and you’re doing everything right.,0 "Absofuckinglutely. Me too. The anxiety of being put on the spot, and my shit ability to recall what I want when I want, makes me look stupid.",1 "Yeah, I think so. But also, I got shoved the Oxford comma down my throat a lot soooooooooooooooooooo That might be why too lol",1 Going to my in-law’s house used to make me tired as fuck.,1 "Hey, I *do* have obsessive cat disorder. Cats are the best things that have ever happened to the world. Just look at their little paws! Seriously, have you ever seen a cat paw? Fuck, man. Cutest feet ever.",0 "I try to make it a rule now that if I feel like this I will do my favourite hobby - read a book. At least that way if I’m not doing housework/work but need to do something I can always absorb myself in a novel and silence the inner critic. Works most of the time. Doesn’t have to be a book, just anything that you enjoy doing and that allows you to focus on it",1 Excellent point. You should tighten it up and post it on r/Showerthoughts!,1 Jesus this describes me so well. It’s so hard to have actual fun without worrying. I’m a mess.,0 "This is an example of how ADHD was misnamed; it's not Attention Deficit Disorder, it's *Intention* Deficit Disorder. It doesn't matter if you know what to do; applying that knowledge is what Executive Function (which is severely diminished for ADHD sufferers) allows you to do. [These videos are what made me realize I have ADHD.](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzBixSjmbc8eFl6UX5_wWGP8i0mAs-cvY) Dr. Barkley summarizes and explains it so succinctly that it was a real bolt of lightning moment for me. I hope you can get something out of them as well.",1 "I just asked for more money and attempted to negotiate a job offer. They didn't say no and they didn't say yes. But that we'd reconnect later in the week. Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. It's like they know waiting might make me crack like an egg. I'm alternating between pacing, shaking, and singing at the top of my lungs (socially acceptable form of screaming).",0 "I feel awful because I’m absolutely dog shit at structuring my own studies. I just want someone to make me a study plan and yell at me to follow it, like a teacher... but I’m on my own for the MCAT. First time was a bust. This is marginally my last chance. Wish me luck guys, I need it",1 Omg I hate this so much because I relate to it on a DEEP level,0 "When someone tells me to do something I need to do, it helps lol sadly it includes yelling but meh",1 "It's the only time I'm ever going to say it: This",0 This is spot on. Mine is with even numbers on the radio dial/thermostat and counting in 2s during my drive. I swear if I don’t then I’ll wreck. I tried only once to use an odd number on the radio. I even chose 13! But I was shaking so bad I almost wrecked 😕,0 "Oh, yeah, I guess I kind of do in a way. Man, is *every* weird thing in my head a result of OCD?",0 "I tried waking up early and taking my medication a few times and it worked well once, and then the next time I slept 3 hours like you said. Now I realize it’s probably because I hadn’t set an alarm.",1 "Thank you for this!! I had the best week last week that I’ve had in months (nothing eventful, just had great mental peace) and today my OCD started acting up again. This post helped :))",0 "I do the same thing, little by little... As long as it gets done. 😊",1 "I use a frequency sweep as a wake up alarm. Second i start hearing it i panic and desperately get up before it pierces my ears.",1 there is no need for this sub to be this funny oh my god the pain but also i cant stop laughing,0 "Your brother has found a great partner there! I still struggle to remember this for my step son and wife who both have ADHD, and I have ADHD myself. I still have a lot to learn about my own ADHD being diagnosed recently in my late 30s. It was my son's ADHD that thought me enough to realise I needed to investigate the possibility myself.",1 As a kid my mum thought I stole from my childminder and it took me a few years to get over that one,0 My brain doesn’t even go “what if” it just straight up accuses me of shit I didn’t do,0 I never wanted a tattoo before but this design you've got me thinking about it in my head.,0 "Had a total breakdown when I showed up on the wrong day the one time I decided not to check and re check. W. O. R. S. T.",0 "I started waiting until my Dad complained about something and I would throw the line back at him word for word. In my Dads case he liked to tell me that everything bad that's happened to me is due to my decisions and my decisions only. One day he's giving me shit about not finding a job, he starts going on and on about how he's done time in prison and no one would give him a leg up or help him with a job....""Sounds like you made some pretty bad decisions that put you in that position, those things only happened because of your decisions and your decisions only."" You could cut the tension with a knife.",1 It really does be like that... five or six times. Oh and one more if I see the door on my way to the kitchen/toilet.,0 "I get what you mean, u/redditcem It’s why I enjoy watching this channel on YouTube. She has adhd and makes it for everyone with it, but especially adults https://youtube.com/c/HowtoADHD",1 Me tonight after touching everything in the bathroom though 🥴,0 Left right rightt left left right right left left middle and a blink,0 "Agreed. It makes me mad when you talk to those people that try to challenge how much of a fan you are about something. Like I know so much about the legend of zelda but if you asked me what a specific enemy you fight in the game is called or a certain detail, I see it in my head but idk what it's name is. TV shows I'm in love with, I barely remember half the main characters names unless they made a particular impression with me. But its my favorite show/video game/topic! So people don't really believe you some times. I love film and editing so much! But could I explain how to do it without physically showing you? Absolutely not. If the material is layed out in front of me then it all starts flooding back and I know exactly what I'm working with. But if I can't see it with me eyes and had to relay from memory? Oof. Thats why I had such a hard time in science and math classes too. It's based in so much theories and vocabulary memorization, but the material was so interesting to learn, I just couldn't get the work done properly.",1 "Completely agree. I thought it was just something that would effect me in school. Once I graduated, I stopped taking any medication and never even thought about it really, just let it run its course not thinking it had an effect on every day life. Now I'm realizing how much of my overall life has been effected by it and that it's much more serious then just a not being able to study disorder.",1 "Genius - what an awesome hack. I’d love to do this, just need that adhd buddy.",1 People confuse neuroticism with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. I’ll admit that I was one of them until a reddit user corrected me.,0 "Same goes for YouTube. Just because I'm binging a channel doesn't mean I want to only explore that one subject until the end of time. Non curated feeds are something that I really missed about Google+",1 "This! My sister lives a block away, and I will sometimes ask her to come over, not to clean _for_ me, but clean _with_ me. Last time she talked on the phone for 20 minutes, but her presence kept me focused on cleaning the kitchen instead of sitting down with my phone. I live in a country with an exaggerated sense of equality, so it's rather frowned upon to have hired cleaners etc if you don't have kids. Which is super silly, as it's really just creating jobs, not forcing someone into a lifetime of servitude.",1 "For me, It's: I just spent the last 2 minutes washing my hands. I'm finally done. I turn off the faucet with my foot. I start to think, ""Did I use soap?"" ""Did I touch the faucet or sink?"" then it leads to me washing my hands over and over again thinking ""I'm losing my mind."" So I just stay in my room. Isn't life great?",0 "That is so cool! May I ask how the calmness started? Did it suddenly kick it or at the end of the day, did you just realise you were calm and it happened on its own?",0 Its beautiful <3 Keep making artwork and don't let ocd take you away from it . Great job once again !,0 My morning and evening routine is checking messages and Instagram for this lol,0 "This is so excellent. Well done for keeping such great track of all of this. My adhd recognizes the effort you put in. Kudos. Also thank you for putting this in a list :)",1 Currently wishing I could go back on antidepressants,0 "Spotify says I spent 2,142 minutes listening to podcasts this year. What Spotify doesn't know is listen to 90 percent of my podcasts on YouTube and its whole ass work days 5 days a week I spend listening to podcasts. This year hasn't been a big music year for me.",1 "Holllly shit, one of my biggest triggers are sharp objects pointing at me. A constant belief one will just fly towards me and stab me, then make me magnetic (wtf?) and all other sharp objects will come flying and stab me too. This picture is my hell, but I do like giggling at how silly it sounds after typing it out. :)",0 "not quite true, while readjusting those chemicals will help tremendously you will still need to put in a consistent amount of work to retrain yourself in order to break down your habits and form better coping strategies. OCD will not going away with medicine alone.",0 "Hmm let's see...my top songs... 1. Small Mistakes Are Immoral and I'm A Horrible Person 2. I Can't Practice Singing Because It's Gonna Hurt My Voice 3. I Might Notice My Breathing Forever feat. What About My Blinking 4. Better Read That Again (Might Not Know It Yet) 5. I Might Be A Racist Or An Incel Or... Thankfully 2020 has also brought me ERP therapy...so it's getting better.",0 Yeah there’s one sea shanty/ folk rocky song I played 68 times one week because I was really into it and then dropped it and Spotify thinks I’m in LOVE with it. Mine is kinda an accurate read on my music taste though,1 i just hear the thought and go “hm that was an interesting one” and do a completely different activity,0 "This is way too accurate. Especially this ""You can't kill your family with just your brain!"" Yet my dumbass head still thinks ""yeah, but what if it does? I'll do the compulsion just in case"".",0 "> I don't know how people do so many things and have so many stories. I feel these same thoughts. I would definitely word it the same way. But I'm not sure if we mean the same thing. Do you mean you can't keep track of many plans for things too far in the future, so your social life suffers? Or you can't believe people's ability to retain memories of their crazy times? I am only beginning to look into adult adhd because I definitely experience a lot of the common symptoms,. But i notice that i typically have a good memory. I know some people experience forgetfulness, but this is the one symptom I don't experience",1 "Me last week at a job int to a T ""Can you come back at 11?....great well call you just give me your number....ok great! Call you at 11 :) go get some coffee and walk around outside"" *leaves building* WAS I SUPPOSED TO LEAVE WHAT IF THEY DONT HAVE MY NUMBER ARE THEY CALLING ME TODAY????????",0 "I deeply relate to the little black square in the top left corner for some reason lol. I love love love, so beautiful!",0 "I have a friend and I that do this together weekly. ​",1 "I work in a bakery with large sharp knives, 500 degree ovens and plenty of boiling sugar. All I think about all day long is what I could (my brain says “should”) do to myself with all these tools.",0 "1000% I would way rather work on other people's shit than my own. I think part of it is that when I work on my own work, I get concerned about whether I'm working on the right thing, but when I'm working on someone else's problem, they've already prioritized it, so I'm not distracted by whether this is really the most important thing I could be doing right now. I also think I worry less about whether my solution is optimal, because I know that any work I do for them is a benefit. ",1 "I thought that was depression. After taking meds for a while I don't feel like that anymore. Unless I dont take my meds, meaning its blanket burrito time for the whole day.",1 I also deleted a shit ton of watch later videos today! Now I’m down to 40,1 "In a complicated twist, from someone recovering from compulsions, you COULD potentially do those things once you are more relaxed about their existence, at least for some time. Not tryna discourage people, dont worry, you'll most likely know when you are at that point, cause you'll be recovering and feel good. I guess most likely you will not do the REALLY BAD things you think, just the stuff that you were worried about but arent so bad, like, for example, going 5mph over the speed limit in a 65. Something kind of like that, not the best comment I know, but it is still something. Don't be afraid to recover, though. This post is still very good and it is true, troubling intrusive thoughts don't mean troubling deeds.",0 "Absolute legend. Thank you for this, great content and formatting.",1 I feel personally victimized by ~~Regina George~~ this post.,0 Idk I don't think touching Mason jars and certain plates is gonna make me better,0 I do this all the time. So I only snooze them until it’s finished. If it’s something I really need to make myself do then I make the alarm sound a dial-up modem handshake sound. It’s a terrible noise and I get things done in order to turn it off.,1 "I have that all the time. ""Oh, I'm so OCD this"". My partner always says ""I'm so time OCD"". I'm tired of explain how bad is OCD and that's not even close to be OCD, but it doesn't stop 😒",0 Accepting uncertainty and expecting to get better but then getting depressed and then your depression triggering your ocd and that getting worse and now you are just worse.,0 I'm so happy for you. This post gave me hope for myself,0 "I'm with someone I love enjoying a great conversation, and BAM! an uncomfortable thought and the feeling I had when it first happened, hit me in the gut. I just want to enjoy living. Just for one day.",0 "It would be even more annoying if my ocd didn't actually work this way sometimes but it's still damaging because that's not the purpose behind the tweet, it took a longer than it should have to realize I could have ocd because of the stereotypes even with the search results being right there in my face over and over I just assumed google was out of it because my symptoms had to mean I was crazy or schizophrenic in my mind wtf did ocd have to do with my symptoms.",0 This explains why I was both gifted and stupid at the same time.,1 Yeah and most the time to its not even something meant to upset me. That’s the shit part. Consciously knowing your brain is fucking the bed while trying to assume responsibility for it while not reacting to the illusions it’s giving me. It’s like telling yourself to walk but not moving a foot. In a land of miserable blue balls feeling forever. Most my efforts to counter this problem work for 30-48 hours before it comes back. Then I just like everyone can see through me then I want to fucking kill myself,0 "Thankfully no, but it sounds like something I would do.",1 "“You can take your shoes off here.” My slippery slope down into compulsion and anxiety city.",0 "This is so smart, but I don't know if my parents would go for this (I think my both might have ADHD). I can definitely see this working if you can get together with someone regularly. It's also hard to make up excuses why you shouldn't call and make a drs appointment when you have to justify it to someone else. ",1 I always put ona happy face for my friends and family so they don’t have to worry about me,0 "So much this. It helped me feel motivated to get to work though. So thank you.",1 "I say “ come at me with everything you’ve got, you can’t lay a finger on me” and it helps me to get rid of it 99% of the time",0 "“But you’re just so good a hiding information, what if you didn’t tell him all he needed to know?” POV: me denying my therapist’s diagnosis and thinking I have Schizophrenia.",0 "People pay all kinds of money for those beautiful, effortless curls!!! Keep styling care free, you look great😊",0 "I’m primarily Pure-O, but this post helped me: I’m currently going through a bit of a spike and seeing this, it’s obvious how you got there: By resisting your compulsion! And knowing that just gave me strength. – I’m going to resist my compulsion of seeking reassurance by asking family members certain questions as well and live with the uncertainty. And the anxiety WILL fade away and I’ll be proud that I didn’t give in to my compulsion but rode it out like a champ! Thank you for the inspiring post :) 🤟🏼",0 "Congratulations! Your doing great, keep up the good work! 👍",0 "Ugghh, this is so accurate. I hate, hate, *hate* the stereotypes. My house is a disaster because there are certain parts of certain rooms my brain has decided are ""infected no-go zones"". When I do bite the bullet and clean those areas, I feel so filthy and sick afterwards even after all the handwashing and showering. And then the doubt sets in and I start thinking what if it's not in my head? What if there really is some kind of contamination? What if it's all real? Then 3 hours of spiraling happens culminating in a meltdown and a frustration nap. I *wish* keeping things tidy was the only thing I had to worry about...",0 " I love it!! However, I am not huge fan of using “double negatives”, as your “mind” is focusing on the main important thing. (ie. if I tell you not to think about an elephant, what is the first thing you are going to think about?) Why don’t you try instead: I am a good person. I am free. I am responsible for my own happiness I deserve to be happy I AM okey.",0 "Oh damn I’m close to hitting the limit then EDIT: I’m at 4,822",1 lollllll I've done things pretty similar but never during sex. You're elevating the game.,1 "Not just adhd posts, all of them. But by the time I actually check my saved, I've save so many other things and I'm too lazy to scroll down through it.",1 I put on my jacket to take things to the recycling center an hour ago and yet I've been sitting at my kitchen table with my jacket on for the last hour reading reddit.,1 "a conversation with my psychiatrist: me- cars are the worst fear, my family maybe dying in a car crash, it's not worth it pdoc- but you know chances are your family will be safe me- no, not worth it pdoc- cars are pretty safe me- nope, not worth the risk pdoc- but... me- not a risk i am willing to take pdoc- your kids will want to drive when they get older me- nope, not letting my mind go there pdoc- just keep reminding yourself that it's very unlikely you crash and die me- not worth the risk, it will not ever be worth the risk. Nope. No way. It only takes that one time... pdoc- but... but... but... me- no",0 "Hugs to you, and please don’t beat yourself up. You are so young and otherwise healthy, it’s totally understandable that you’d have no sense of urgency over something like that. I’m hoping for your fast, smooth recovery. Take the time to rest when you need to.",1 "Oh and for god sakes guys. Check your screenshots folder. You have a lot in there you wanted to look at later",1 This one really hit me. I have at least two pictures a day of the damn stove from when I leave for work and then when I go to sleep.,0 "I don't have a OCD diagnosis either, but recently a lot of harm related intrusive thoughts won't stop popping up (that you can be asymptomatic for two weeks and the virus can be lethal to people is really messing with me).",0 "I'm doing both. Therapy is fucking exhausting. It's torture. I am certain I'm going to kill my son and I have to deal with that while exposing myself. Our therapy is literally torture. And its torture for a good cause, for healing. I don't know if my medication is doing much. But. The cognitive exercises and the medication together offer me a much needed reprieve.",0 This really hits home. Slow release Luvox has changed my life. Anyone with true OCD needs to look into it,0 "From someone who's done almost the entirety of high school and almost the entirety of their bachelors online, I have some tips for all the college students who are suddenly online students. * Set aside a time for working on class work. If you can do that during class meeting times or lecture times, even better. * Download a browser extension to block distraction websites. I use [StayFocusd](https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/stayfocusd/laankejkbhbdhmipfmgcngdelahlfoji). * Pomodoro timers! Set a timer for 25 minutes of work, 5 minutes break, or 45 minutes of work and 15 minutes of break. * CHECKLISTS. Either paper or digital. I use both, honestly. [Todoist](https://todoist.com/) is the one I use online which has a mobile and desktop app that both sync up. * Make sure to include deadlines when making your checklists. It's really easy to get due dates mixed up when you just (wrongly) assume that you'll remember them. * Get dressed in whatever stuff you'd wear to class and don't work from bed. It's really easy to just stay in PJs or comfy clothes and lay in bed all day. * Turn your phone on silent or Do Not Disturb while you work. There's nothing more distracting than hearing your phone dinging or buzzing when you're trying to focus on boring tasks.",1 "> Any job I’ve ever started (many because I get bored and tired of them and get adhd paralysis in the morning and get fired) Longest job I've ever held was three years, I always get bored after learning everything to it and just mentally check out until I'm fired or something. Then it's off to a new industry full of adventure and surprise!",1 "I'm actually eating breakfast, it's almost 8am, leave me alone",1 Exactly me. I have so much to do..and it's constantly swirling around and around in my head..but i can't get motivated enough or have enough energy to do it..so i end up doing nothing..and hating myself for doing nothing. Endless cycle. It's so hard..,1 "constantly, my whole life :( even while on my stims sometimes",1 "Mood. My brain has been obsessed with the idea of having schizophrenia lately, it's awful :'c.",0 "I also struggle with this. A LOT. What has been useful is to put alarms. If i don't eat something and 12:00 i get hangry and my head hurts and can't concentrate. So i put an alarm at 12:00, take a break from work and eat something. I also try to have easy and fast foods available, like instant ramen and i just add some spinach, or an oatmeal cocoa shake (chocolaty flavor but with filling oats) or some quesadillas. I'm also addicted to chocolate, so i'll try to eat other foods and add a little chocolate, instead of eating the whole bar, like yoghurt with fruits and chocochips. I also was wasting a lot of time (and patience in social media) so i'm mostly abandoning facebook (only there for swap/sell groups) and in twitter i have lists of the themes i like (fanzines, cinema, etc) so i try to only see that, and not the general drama. I like fanzines a lot, so i made a personal fanzine with my resolutions for this year, as well as the books and movies i want to see. I printed them and every time i don't know what to do, i look and the covers and decide what i want to watch. For me it has been useful to have my watchlist printed physically and not only in my mind / computer, so i have more clarity about how i can use my time in fun activities and to finally see those movies i've been wanting to. Also having a list of hobbies / activities is useful, i try have the materials ready to those activities, so its easy and i don't have to think too much (like i have everything to do watercolor in a box, the watercolors, some paper, brushes, a water container, etc) That way i just grab the box and start drawing. Hope this gives you some ideas for yourself. Take care !",1 How did I not realize it's that easy to fix before!?,1 "No, I have nothing to announce. If I was preggers the would be a Magical Star in the East & three wisemen. TBF the name “Jesus Christ” is invoked daily at Best Buy & Geek Squad!",0 I couldn’t make it through 5 lines of this post🤦🏻‍♀️,1 "I am finally seeking treatment for my OCD after years of mental hospitals and chronic illness as a result of chronic anxiety. Thank you for posting this, when I first saw this scene I thought true this is!!!!",0 "Mmmmmmmm a kernel of dopamine.... :) Not all heroes wear capes. If I had awards to give, I would give you a handful. Thanks buddy!",1 Is there a mega-thread for discussing medications used to treat OCD? This could be a really helpful resource as a lot of them are antidepressants and I find all the relevant medication subreddits focus on the effectiveness against depression and not OCD.,0 I’ve been going through this for the past two years lmao,0 You mean other people don't remember that one time in 1st grade when they moved a chair loudly and the teacher got angry at them?,0 "Brain:What if it isnt OCD? WHAT IF YOU NEVER EVEN HAD OCD AT ALL. Me:aaaaaaaaaaaaa",0 "Well. That’s me and math in a nutshell. Cleaning my room. Filing papers at work. Trying to remember anything. All of that stuff that if I just tried harder and wasn’t worthless, I’d be able to do. I was diagnosed at 28. I wish I would have gone for help years before that.",1 "oh god i feel you dude. I've been homeschooled my entire life and I've been grounded, yelled at, the whole deal for not getting stuff like chores and schoolwork done. it's not your fault. for me, explaining it in a scientific way helps because people like to understand fact better than emotion but it really just depends on the person",1 omg good for you did they hurt a lot??? Also how often did you wash your hands??? Did you use any cream to help with the healing???,0 "I save them for the appointments at my psychiatrist. Cause I can't remember shit when talking to people. If I save them, I can at least articulate myself",1 "So happy for you!! I relate to this so much, I also struggle with contamination OCD. I try and remember everything I’ve touched and where I’ve touched but eventually it just gets so overwhelming. I am working on convincing myself to just take a step back and realize that it isn’t that important. Super difficult sometimes and I give in and clean everything but it is happening less often! It’s the small victories we have to focus on! Good job!",0 In reality i don't even have money to go see a psychiatrist.,1 "Oh this hit home hard. I was just diagnosed last month and I'm taking meds (depression and ADHD) but damn between memories, self doubt and a slight distorted self concept it's been tough. I mean my meds help me a lot to avoid the tangle of my thoughts but I find myself often wondering and worrying. The worst is that I don't get a conclusion, only scattered thoughts and feelings. Sometimes I feel like everything makes sense and I'm at ease with everything going on but others is so so hard to not feel like an imposter or an attention seeker. I've been even doubting if I was totally honest with my psychiatrist and psychologist, despite I know of course I was (we've been working for months even before the ADHD diagnosis) but I cannot shake this awful feelings. I guess I just want to say that I may know how you feel and you're not alone. Sending virtual hugs your way.",1 "Honestly I’m pretty bad at this too, especially with flossing. So congrats it’s a big win.",1 this is me :( the relief is amazing but it always makes it worse in the end,0 "I do this all the time. When there’s videos I have to watch, I literally could cry when I see that the professor has added in captions.",1 "I always find it funny and irritating when people go ""oh yeah I have OCD too... Have to keep my house clean all the time!"" It's like ""No Karen, it's not OCD. It's only OCD if you think that if I don't clean the house everyone in my family will get COVID-19 and die!"" Ugh freaks me out just saying it.",0 "Stuff like this drives me crazy. On the real though, people just aren’t educated. That’s on them. They don’t mean it in a negative way. It’s annoying and hurts but they don’t know how their words impact people who actually have it and suffer and struggle every day. Everyone in this group knows what it’s like. We feel you. Don’t take other people personally. If they don’t take the time to learn then that’s on them. You do you. Don’t worry about the things you can’t control",0 "It’s fun to see what time people are getting your reminder. Time zones- what a trip. Thanks to your reminder- I’m gonna get up and get ready for work. And not go down a rabbit hole learning about time zones. I’ll save that for another day.",1 "Hey, I suffer from asthma and... Well just fucking breathe, pussy!",0 "Every. Damn. Morning. I hate mornings because it takes me either five minutes to get ready or I get to work half an hour late wondering what I did all morning. The best part is there's no way for me to predict what type of morning tomorrow will be. I'm just thankful that my employer is pretty flexible, but I hate being the last one in the office.",1 I’m sorry to hear! I’ve had it pretty rough the past few days. I have a bad habit of getting frustrated with myself but I refuse to buy into acceptance. Maybe that’s not the way to go (i just recently was diagnosed with OCD) but i have decided that i am a human and can grow and change and CHOOSE to make progress. Will i ever have complete control? No. Probably not. But do i have to bury myself everyday and be miserable like this meme? Nope! Both can be true. I can have compulsions that are horrible and awful and follow it by saying ok glad you got that out let’s go do something that makes me happy. Idk. Maybe that doesn’t make sense. I wanna believe that one day i will be happy and not this weighed down by my brain 🤍 We all have to fight the good fight everyday when we wake up but we get to choose our outlook and our relationship with it,0 "Relationship OCD edition: Her: he’s probably thinking about other girls. Him: I’m probably thinking about other girls.",0 "With that attitude, no matter how bad it is, it won't get easier. Try to accept the fact you have OCD and go to therapy",0 OMG I thought I was alone on this! I take music lessons and see a therapist and it always seems to be in that 3-5 window. All I can think about all day!,1 The only person I've ever met who actually understands what it's like to have ADHD other then my mom is my wife(because she has it to but not as bad as I do) everyone else just doesn't get it unless they live with it everyday,1 "Cleanliness has nothing to do with my ocd. Like, I don’t like crooked things but my intrusive thoughts don’t involve cleaning at all.",0 "I've been listening to the Harry Potter audio books on repeat every night for the last ten years. As soon as I finish one, I start the next one. It keeps my mind from wandering to dangerous territories and it's okay if I fall asleep before the end of the chapter because I know it by heart.",0 yeah ): makes ya look funny to others that's for sure.,0 I ruined myself by not doing it a few times because I felt better. Wow did I fuck myself over,0 Omg congrats. That is my Dream. I wish i could end my carrier soon!,0 "Since yesterday, I’m at rock bottom. My OCD about being unfaithful to my boyfriend are so strong that I‘m feeling guilty by just looking at him. I don‘t even think about the intrusive thoughts of cheating, but I have so strong bad conscience just when I look at him or think about him.",0 "Constantly stuck being ""busy"" but actually not doing the thing, just not spending time doing anything meaningful either cause you can't.",1 Thanks so much. It really is uncomfortable and unbearable to experience.,0 "I say I have both a handicap and a superpower. When I'm absent minded or make stupid mistakes I try to be kind to myself and acknowledge it is not me, but my condition. When I hyper focus, think quickly and am very efficient, I know it's the good side of ADHD and am grateful for it. When I didn't know I had ADHD (I was diagnosed at 45) I couldn't decide if I was very smart or an utter failure, which made me very insecure. Now, I know I have some strengths and some weaknesses and I try to navigate them as best I can.",1 My mind goes to : oH whaT iF I’M UsIng oCd aS A jUstifiCatioN foR mE beiNg a bAd pErsOn,0 "I hope you have a good day friend, sending much love",0 "I'm not really afraid of Death I'm rather afraid of what lies beyond death. I am constantly fearing and my therapist has just started using TA on me so I'm after 2 days I'm kinda working that fear out of me but It's really hard. I have separation anxiety, clinical depression and panic disorder on top of my OCD. So It's gonna be a struggle...",0 I needed this. Sometimes it really does feel like your thoughts define you. They're so consuming.,0 "Fun fact, I was aggressively ridiculed by my father as a ten year old, because I had gone to such a camp (divorced parents and my mother sent me) and I unironically, completely oblivious called it a concentration camp when I described it to him :) So that was nice. How interested in war and genocide is your average ten year old, violence-hating girl with ADHD?",1 "I have this with real event OCD or if I really have real event OCD. I talk to my psychiatrist about my obsessions, he tells me it's not possible, I'm reassured and then come the ""what if"".",0 "I’ve always had the imposter feeling. It is draining. Anxiety and low self esteem. Staying awake at night just trying to figure out what is wrong and what to do. I’ve done pretty well too. A good bit of that comes from worry. It seems that when I am not taking the adderall I can’t cut off the feelings with self-talk. When I am taking the adderall it seems that the logical self talk works a ton better. I really like that. I dread it coming back. Is this addiction to my little tiny daily dose of Adderall? Hhhhhh, whatever. It is working.",1 Good for you that your country allows adderal. I live in eastern europe and all we get is xanax or concerta. I wish I would be able to at least try adderall and see if it works better...,1 "Tough love only works when I am on board with it. For example, I have a counsellor lady who calls me and gets all disappointed in me if I didnt do the stuff we set out for me *together.* Really she just waits for me to come up with the idea myself, so in the end its all me. I know that, but I still work harder so as not to disappoint her. The idea is that she is the one I'm letting down and not myself, so I am less inclined to beat myself up because someone has already done that for me sort of. It's only been one week, and I havent had any pebbles taken from my jar (the visual representation of my counsellor's disappointment lol), but yeah only new so we shall see how it goes!",1 Oh God this is too funny. It's like a modern poem 😂😅,0 "I deeply connect with this. I feel like one of the broken ones. Like lemon. A brokem iteration, a defect in the assembly line, never meant for mass production.",1 "I posted on a subreddit a question about therapy in Easter Europe and the second comment I got was telling me that meds are useless and you just need to unplug ""bro"". ""Society is treating as all like rats"". And ARGH :))",1 Oh my goddddd I was wondering why I do this. I thought I was crazy lol nop it’s the ✨ocd✨,0 "Okay, so what were you supposed to be doing when this idea came to you?",1 Did the same thing with anxiety medicine I was taking!,0 "Yes, I can literally feel when my bladder is the slightest bit full. My boyfriend’s sister also has ocd and he said it used to take ages for her to get ready for a car trip because she’d have to go to the toilet so many times before she could leave.",0 My husband still asks why I'm checking the doors AGAIN when I keep getting out of bed at night. I wish I didn't have to.,0 Congrats!!! I haven’t touched the floor in ages so I know how big this is! :),0 "Every single day, happens especially when I’m doing something like reading a book. They can be quite painful when guilt is involved.",0 i do this multiple times a day and then wonder why i have no storage left on my phone,1 "39M, Missouri. I've never fit in or felt like I've belonged anywhere. Family, school, Military, professional career. Always the outsider. I don't understand ""normal"" people, and after everything that's happened in the world, as well as my personal life im not sure I want too.",1 OCD made me feel like I was possessed. Damn you ocd,0 "I’m finding way too much mind space for the state of the whole world at the moment. Things have been a lot better this year during the weeks we’re my focus is on me, myself and I.",1 I have been screenshooting all of these posts to show my Dr when I finally go to get diagnosed.,1 """Just get that book and read what you need to read. Who cares about the impaired vision bullshit, just stop thinking you need glasses and get it done.""",1 "I got the “You’re not X, Y, Z enough” lecture from my boss this week. Thank you for this post, I don’t feel so alone and broken.",1 Download a drink water reminder ap and stick the flip to it!,1 "my dad pretty much told me last night to be ""mentally stronger, and my OCD rituals wouldn't happen."" I love him, and his heart is in the right place, I understand he came from a different time. but damn, don't you think I would just stop if I could? it's obviously exhausting. if it was a switch I could flip to off I would have flipped that sucker by now.",0 "That’s really relatable, last scene was weird tho why spongy stroked his hats like it was something else ? Wtf",0 I genuinely can't even express how desperately I needed this and some of the responses I've read. Seeing it from people who understand and relate in a way no one else can. I'm also playing tug of war with suicidal ideation and no real energy to express much of anything so it's hard to articulate something meaningful right now but. You truly are a gem. I don't know you but I love you and I'm sorry for your loss. I hope something good happens to you today. I was just diagnosed last month with c-PTSD and ADHD at 24 and it's been rough and difficult to find common ground with anyone at all. I'm tired. This is a good post though. Keep it up.,1 "My adhd brain: ""I want to do this thing!"" Rest of my brain: ""Okay, then let's learn how to do that thing."" Adhd brain: ""No! No learn! Only do!""",1 Well done!!! I also have a hamster and I have to wash 3-4 times too. He’s good for my brain because it’s a level of exposure but I understand how huge a step that is to only wash twice. You’re doing amazing!,0 "Hey, I really hear you. Glad you've found solace here :) Subs should be a place people can talk about the good sides and the not so good sides without someone needing to know what that person is like the rest of the day. I think people forget that. We can write formal essays OR we can subscribe to how we're feeling with a slightly balanced approach, but readers should know OPs writing in the mood their in, and have a whole life and range of emotions they've never met...",1 "I haven’t been diagnosed but I do have intrusive thoughts, and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.",0 "Are you on any medications? What you described is how I felt around 90% of the time for about 20 years before getting diagnosed with ADHD. Medication wise it took a while to find the right doctor and dosage, but for the last 18 months I've been able to do a pretty solid ~3-6 genuinely-productive hours per day. It's not been without its hiccups, as I still have to deal with random shutdowns and crashes, but I've been able to overcome those difficult events in weeks rather than the months they used to take. Meds are effective in 80-90% of cases, but I think what matters more is the doctor you see, and how much interest they have in ADHD. My advice to you is to do what I did, and find the best ADHD specialist you can afford...even if you can't really afford it. Getting the best care for your executive function is the most valuable investment you can make in yourself. When I first went to my current doc, I paid the equivalent of about a month's income at the time, which killed me. Now, I can earn that much in one productive day. Paying his fees are a no-brainer now.",1 My wife gives me reassurance and then my brain is like “okay but her tone...” I wish there’s an on/off switch. I try not to reassurance seek as best as I can but if I don’t release SOME of the pressure I’m going to be a wreck.,0 "Thank you! After my brain has been telling me that I'm actually a terrible person for the past hour, I desperately needed to read this.",0 Me too especially because I sleep walk-I repeatedly check my phone to make sure I didn’t call anyone or text anyone embarrassing things lol,0 "I'm glad I'm not the only one. I felt like tests and school were a joke and didn't have to really apply myself or study. Got my butt kicked in college, lost my scholarship, and was told if my grades didn't improve I'd lose all financial aid. Got it together the next semester and did well for the remainder of college. First job out of school was not challenging and I got solid performance reviews, but I was bored and didn't feel like I was growing. Moved to a more challenging job, I really like it, but it has made handling my ADHD more difficult. I feel like there is a constant expectation that I am productive every day. I'm usually much more up and down, do 25% of the work in the first 75% of time allotted, and the last 75% of the work in the remaining 25%. But everything is tracked by project managers and there is an expectation of linear progression.",1 The money in damages to my car from zoning out while driving.,1 "i feel this one a lot lol. often times if it’s something small like i have to call someone on the phone etc, i have to write down what i need to say so that i don’t have to depend on my thoughts. and when i tell stories to people more of the worlds mix together, which on top of already slightly slurring my words makes it hard for even my friends to understand me. writing is slightly better for me but i still struggle with translating my thoughts into actual words because they exist in my head as just concepts that i instantly/ inherently understand so i can never find words for it, which sucks because i have a bunch of ideas and no way to get them out.",1 Congratulations! Very inspiring! Thankyou for your advice!,0 Yesyesyes so many times I just want context and people are fucked at explaining and teaching. Fucking hated some teachers that always did this especially in math,1 Oh definitely. This has been a major problem for me and part of how my psych was able to identify my OCD for what it is. Some days are better than others but it makes me want to just be forgotten by almost everyone I ever met.,0 I don't get why the cross is there. Does OCD lead to Christianity?,0 Gosh literally. There’s no getting rid of them. They’re so consuming that they feel like they are becoming my entire self.,0 Are we just gonna skip the fact you have rooms you haven't been in?,1 "I needed this, it's been on my mind lately I won't lie... but we all push on I guess. It's just hard to find reasons sometimes.",1 OCD gives me wicked insomnia so I get days when I'm too tired to worry about my obsessions,0 "When I found out this was a symptom, it stopped me in my tracks! I’m still undiagnosed but have a family history of it. But I’ve just always felt like there was something missing in me that everyone else had?? Like no matter what I did or how hard I would try, I’d still always be ‘off’ somehow. It’s a very isolating feeling. I wish we didn’t all have to experience it but I’m grateful to know some people do understand",1 Literally reading this before frantically cramming my entire morning routine into the next 10 minutes.,1 Part of me actually thought you were serious and I got excited. Now I just feel like I should have seen this coming...,1 It gets really bad for me when I’m all alone at work and it’s just me and my thoughts.,0 "I used to have this problem so bad, jesus. I've since overcome it, and the best way to describe this process symbolically is this: It felt like I was previously wandering through some dense jungle with this 150 pound backpack strapped to me for years, and then suddenly I stumbled upon a trail with a sign that said ""You don't need the backpack,"" so I dropped it and started walking along the trail",0 Literally the kind of thing the media is saying or strongly implying.,0 "Word searches were the only homework I would ever do for my oldest: he simply could not filter the search words for the filler. Nothing popped out like with other brains. He would have to look at every line forward, backward and still would miss things. Add to the fact that he is a horrible speller and word searches were just a nightmare in elementary school. They didnt add to his spelling or vocabulary abilities so I did them so he could spend his time on other tasks. Summarizing is another struggle because ""everything must be important or why did the author write it?"" He's getting better with that skill (hes in high school now) but word searches can gdiaf.",1 "Oof. That's harsh to hear, kind of a wake up call though. I wish you the best of luck in your fight❤",1 Yep. I got a shiny new one that I read about online... I’m not a fan.,0 i have such bad rOCD when it comes to porn i swear to god i hate the entire industry,0 "Wait, so that's like a symptom of ocd? I always thought it was because of depression.",0 I eventually just started telling people I have Tourette’s cause it’s easier for them to understand,0 "They’re like weeds. They’re in the garden, but you didn’t plant them",0 "I can help you out with the drinks v. water conundrum: single use plastics. Buy a good quality liter bottle, and fill it with ice water. Single use plastics are all kinds of awful. The only reason they continue to exist is to make more money for the greedy overlords of capitalism.",1 "Yeah, I'm really feeling this post right now, but I'm seeing an OCD specialist again and dedicated to really giving ERP my all this time. (And being mostly isolated in my apartment for the past ten months hasn't helped, but I know I'm still fortunate in a lot of ways.)",0 "This is exactly the same day I’m having.. hopefully it gets better for us OP, you’re not alone.",1 "My uncle who most definitely has undiagnosed ADHD was diagnosed with lymphoma 20 years ago. He simply thought he had a hernia that he put off getting treated only to find out he had cancer. Initially they gave him slim odds of survival so he signed up for a phase 2 or 3 trial for an experimental treatment that had him living in the hospital for a month in an isolation chamber no less. They removed marrow to grow his white blood cells that they then reprogrammed to attack the lymphoma. And it worked! He survived and the cancer never came back. So if my uncle's story had a happy ending, yours can too. Good luck, and I'll pray for you.",1 "I remember this started for me in pre-K. There are not a ton of standout memories from this school, but always being pushed to read harder books, spell bigger words, and do more math problems than others because they know I could but struggled to focus. I remember being told that I would be held back from first grade if I didn’t finish a drawing on time because I was daydreaming and looking out the window. I still remember how that felt, and it’s something that feels like it’s been behind all my issues with completing tasks, even to this day.",1 Really?? We’re still doing this. Eyeroll indeed. Advertisers can 1. Be more sensitive and 2. Be more clever.,0 "like someone else said, calling ADHD what it's called is like calling food allergies ""no snacks in class disorder"". It labels the condition based on how it affects those around the actual victim.",1 wait my inability to keep a habit of brushing my teeth is an adhd thing?,1 I was literally just doing this. It's so exhausting,0 "You perfectly incapsulated the way I feel. People usually think of me as someone slow or unintelligent because of this. The feeling of shame after I realise I was disrespected hits very hard and there are times where because of the fear of getting disrespected and not react, I overreact and get offended over things I should not have.",1 "I one took a plastic bottle with me through my entire vacation and used it as my container for water, kept refilling it and took it with me around the house we were staying at and everywhere we went. When I had to leave I couldn’t bring it with me on the plane and my family was telling me I have to get rid of it. It was so hard for me to part with it. A plastic bottle. I saved a picture of him to look back on because I loved it so much. ",0 At work I hear/see people talking amongst each other and I automatically assume it’s about me. I’m like “oh great what did I do? Did I do something wrong? Yesterday I was okay right? Before I was okay right? Wtf are they saying? Is it about me? I’m sure they’re talking about me... it’s definitely about me. Everyone hates me. They don’t like me. Wtf did I do?” And so on... it’s awesome...,0 "Yes! For example, with my health anxiety, I actually routinely tell myself (when I obsess over a new symptom and start checking over and over again) that I do have an illness and disability - but it’s an invisible disability (OCD). I also remind myself 1. When the symptoms start (usually it’s after I Google a disease or see a list of symptoms of a scary disease) and 2. That in the past two years, I have convinced myself I have 4 different neurological conditions, breast cancer, brain cancer, ovarian cancer, melanoma, basal cell carcinoma, a stroke, and plenty other diseases. I always end up leaving with a diagnosis of “anxiety.” I think sometimes it helps to just breathe and remind myself that it’s my anxiety and OCD causing these scary symptoms… Even though my brain always doubts and never will listen to reason, lol.",0 I think its interesting how the detailed oriented comes across as a time saver. OCD is not efficient.,0 "Haha, my boyfriend once tried to break up with me because of this and I just had to shut it down",0 "This is absolutely an aspect of OCD that seems overshadowed by the more overt symptoms. It is important to remember that OCD is a feeling disorder as much as it is a thought disorder- there is a quality to this experience that seems like our brains search out such thoughts to attribute to any possible stress we may be experiencing at the time. I’ve noticed that If I really pay attention- these thoughts don’t just pop up out of no where but are more or less associated to stress I may be experiencing - even good stress. It only seems like they come out of no where. Just like anything else with OCD, our brains go back to these specific thoughts because they work- they cause us pain and distress. The only way to address them is to treat them like any other OCD thought- agree with them. Say “Yes! So and so did hate me 5 years ago and that’s ok!” “Yes these people did reject me and think I’m a horrible person 10 years ago and that’s ok!” And so on. You will still need to deal with the interpersonal issues just as any other human being, but doing this will ensure you adequately address your ocd. It’s important to keep in mind that you need to treat your OCD AND deal with the realities of relationships- you don’t have the luxury of addressing one.",0 "hey congrats!!! ocd can torment people in many ways, so i understand how simple things can be so difficult! congrats again",0 "Before diagnosis (22-27) - average performer, making an ok wage, little upward mobility, at a 10 person small company (fifth company in 6 years) After diagnosis, years (4) of medication calibration, and therapy (27-32) - get accepted to MBA, after a job hop, spent the last year at Facebook/Apple/Google making twice as much as before my grad degree, expecting my first ever in role Promotion after 9 years in the workforce, (in 12 months in role instead of average 18-24). Not stated above, the years of struggle, medication balancing, eventual diagnosis of anxiety, finally fixing it, struggles in school and first post MBA job, despite knowing the problem, to FINALLY clicking it all together at my most prestigious job by a long shot.",1 "I’d like to think the universe knows the difference between an intrusive thought and an actual hope. In my mind, you manifest what actually hope and speak into existence, not what the monster in your brain spouts off about. Suffering from OCD and being comfortably/healthily spiritual is hard, but it is possible 💞",0 This is how I felt when I first joined this sub. I thought I was losing my mind for many years before discovering that I had OCD,0 "Woo-Hoo! You’re awesome! I wish I had an award to give you!",1 This is so true. I only spoke up about it and got help when it starting making me depressed...which was four years after it first began to effect my life... I guess I was too busy doing compulsions to think about speaking up...♥️please reach out to someone,0 "I find Micro$suck to be overkill! ***>>> Even better = get the otter.ai transcription app for your Android or iPhone phone. Built to faithfully transcribe big meetings and as such, identifies each speaker in real time. Priceless!!! They give you a lot of free minutes a month and from there it is CHEAP!!! Insurance may even pay fo it because it is an assistive aid!! If you have an iPhone, use their Web site: otter.ai ALSO, there are a lot of sick and dirty, brain dead simple ""voice to text/notes"" apps out there.",1 "This reminds me, I have some broccoli in my fridge that I need to cook up...",1 i didn’t know this thank you so much. I’ve always been one of those people who put a pause on everything because i hit a rough road or two and it just always ended badly for me so thank you so much for posting this,0 "So true, I am one of the good scorer, but an awful worker. The confidence drop was so fast that it burned going down.",1 "I seriously read that as: If you're ever scared - you're a bad person! Remember that. was so confused and sad haha",0 Yep and it's like just how in the world do I tell my bosses this without looking weird lmao 😭,1 "I actually feel like I wash my hands less now, you know, like when someone tells you to do something you were already planning on doing so now you are like ""well now I'm not doing it""",0 "Lol I've often thought how handy it would be if the day could be like 27 or so hours long. Just a few extra hours you know, that id surely put to good use 🙄",1 I haven't had to experience it yet but will have an update come March 23rd... I'm scared so any tips are greatly appreciated 😅,1 "I’m sorry for your loss. I think it’s great that you share your pain to help others. I do the same. There’s always a reason to keep going. Keep loving people that way. You’re awesome 😎",1 "Yeah I'm fucked. Going to try and not do everything last minute, but it's going to happen.",1 I have skipped out on so many activities because its 7pm and its late. I go to bed at 3am...,1 "The person who started this says she herself has OCD. I'm curious if that's a self-diagnosis or one made by a medical professional. It seems unlikely that someone who truly understands OCD would ever think this was a good idea. For one thing, the way you control OCD is to stop engaging in your compulsions. So, this candy, for anyone whose OCD is focused on organization, only enables the sufferer by helping them perform those compulsions. Ultimately that makes their OCD worse. She is also perpetuating a tired and inaccurate stereotype, which is problematic for the mental health community. I wonder what other brands she'll come up with. Whooping Cough Whoppers? Lock Jaw Licorice? Heart Attack Kit Kat? M& Enemas?",0 This made me feel really emotional because it so perfectly described my experience. Thanks for sharing this.,1 "That's a mood... :( Corporate life is inhumane, I'm so glad I went into ecology. I'm currently a lowly author of school textbooks. There's barely any hours for me so I make fuckall but at least here I just get to be a nerd and people leave me alone. I sincerely believe I would not have survived a corporate career.",1 Your dad is awesome! Got you to do chores for him AND get a job :p,1 "i get the message but the meme isn't used correctly the girl on the left is supposed to be the damaged voice of reason to the woman on the right who is a deranged lunatic",0 "Looking sharp, professional and classy. Good on you!!! I hope you grabbed it! Keep fighting the good fight. You got this. Best wishes.",0 "Thank you for your post, you're literally the first person who's ever shared this same thing I've struggled with myself. It's nice seeing all the comments and knowing I'm not alone! I really struggle with sensory issues too, (not sure if this is helpful for you) but I found using an electric toothbrush MASSIVELY helped! Since I switched, I've always had positive comments from dentists Think it's something about the fact the brush is vibrating, rather than crunching against my teeth🤢, and the small round shape of the bristles rather than a big chunky rectangle, that makes the difference. Anyway, good work - keep it up! And be gentle with yourself if you miss a day...even though it's basic hygiene, it's still hard forming new habits and you're doing great!",1 "I feel this so much. We gotta remind ourselves that not every action we do defines who we are. So what if you “wasted” time? It does not make you a bad person. So what if you weren’t productive? You did the best you could given the circumstances. Its not important in the grand scheme of things because when you’re on your deathbed, you’re not gonna be thinking about how “productive” you were, you’re gonna think about your family, friends, close relationships and memories you’ve made during your life. Its so cliche but its never too late to start fresh. Everyday take baby steps, for example if you have schoolwork you’re putting off, you can do one small thing thats easy to complete and feel really good about it. I know its easier said than done, but try not to dwell on the past so much because you’re ruining the present moment for yourself when you do that. I know you’re probably in an endless loop of hell where you feel unproductive, then you feel bad for being unproductive, then you feel bad for feeling bad for being unproductive etc. Try to break the cycle by focusing on today. Live in the present moment and when you think about the future, try to think more positively like telling yourself “what if everything works out?” and “if I do this one task today, im gonna feel really good about myself tomorrow”. It takes time. Give yourself more credit, you made it this far now keep going!",1 "ID: a meme with the text ""some obnoxious person: you don't have OCD, your room is messy. Me, who has to count everything to make sure there are no multiples of 5 so my family doesn't die:"" Below, there is a picture of a boy wearing a yellow pajama shirt and looking annoyed",0 "This is me with my OCD/Depression/Anxiety ​ Making life hell, but I put on a good face for my kids. Sometimes its torture. Sometimes I can manage. Exercise helps for a bit.",0 "Psh nooo, It’s not an obsession, just an interest...😒...😞",0 Definitely feel like I’m not cut out for this world.,1 Idk if I’m ocd but i love seeing knifes and thinking of stabbing loved ones so quirky and trendy 😜,0 "Hey fucking congrats! You push through that fear and it’s really nothing! Like it’s something, but not really! and you proved that because you fucking DID it!",0 "God I wasn't able to get diagnosis for so long becuase my mom insisted I didn't have ocd because I didn't have ""ritual A B & C"" , specifically the fact I didn't believe something completely random would prevent people from dying.",0 Oh fuck. Thank you for reminding me about this. I almost considered committing to do something important again.,1 Awww sounds like a keeper! It's so nice not having to explain yourself to someone.,1 "OCD and Google don’t mix well. One time I was convinced that I had potato famine. Stay strong!",0 Yeah. Bad news... if they need you bad enough they’ll draft you 😂 they ease up on regulations when they’re desperate lol. It’s the same thing for felons.,0 "As a man, we shouldn’t be looked at as not being masculine for sharing our feelings and expressing how we feel. We’re humans, there’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t know who you are but I’m here to tell you that you are not an evolutionary mistake. I speak from experience when I say it’s difficult sometimes, but keep your head up. If anybody is capable of persevering through this roller coaster we call life, it’s you",1 "I know it’s really hard, but try to think of everything you DO accomplish as opposed to what you don’t. My internal monologue is a bitch sometimes- she tells me “I used to keep the house clean and get out with my son every day and not give him so much screen time, blah blah blah”. But then I have to overpower that bitch and be like “look, we’re in a pandemic and that’s screwed up everyone’s psyche. Today I’ve taken a shower and shaved my legs and fed my kid...I did enough. I could do better but I’m trying.”",1 "Getting diagnosed in my late 20s really didn't help with this. I mean getting diagnosed helps so much, but all of these ingrained ideas about me don't go away overnight.",1 "Not saying you stole that joke, but South Park already did it.",1 "I also foud out a while back and started clearing it but did not know about the remove watched video's. I tried it just now but my list only went from 4652 to 4191....",1 lmao my girlfriend played on my animal crossing island after I fell asleep and when I woke up she told me she moved a flower. I checked my front door for 20 minutes longer than usual and then stayed up until 4 am trying to “fix” my entire island because I was so anxious that it was contaminated.,0 "In therapy, you must try to discern what is causing you to be OCD. What traumas have you experienced? Have you been hurt badly? Is the ocd caused by too much trauma? All of these questions should be addressed, so you can get help or continue it. My OCD was caused by too much lifetime trauma, that I had to let go of. EMDR therapy saved me....good luck!",0 "Yeah lol, I'm part of an ADHD discord and we have a channel just for accountability requests to let other people help us remember to do stuff exactly for reasons like this.",1 "This is really why i had to give up my dream of being an accountant. I just would not be able to turn myself off from work. I would be working 12 hours a day, bringing home work with me, getting up at four in the morning checking things again and again. I have a friend who is an accountant alsoa and when it comes to the mathematics of it, i would be better than him. But he is a better accountant because he does not have ocd.",0 Or just when you lose them. I was never much for that sort of thing but now that I've had to lay my dog to rest I find myself wishing I had more pictures and videos than I do.,1 "Wow. Can’t progress this right now, but saved to come back to. Upon diagnosis, the first thing I asked was about “coaching” of some sort because I knew medication would HELP, but not solve all my problems. Never really got anywhere with that, but this sub and posts like this have helped me so much",1 "I guess it depends on the kind of movie and how ""chaotic"" it feels like. Too many names, fast scene changes, etc make me want to press rewind, but I've noticed I can turn on my hyperfocus when I'm watching classic, introspective movies (if you're into that) with less dialogues. The imagery can be really powerful. I also take maybe 20-30min to get into the story, but then it really works. I'm able to ignore all technology around me.",1 And this is why epistemology philosophy class almost broke me. Because it's my fucking life already. Just sent me into even further hell with a whole class of people and a professor guiding the way. Awesome guy and great classmates but holy shit. Wish I would have known back then.,0 "I can remember spending a weekend in bed because I was convinced I was going to ""turn"" gay if I left the room. I can't even fathom being trans and having OCD.",0 Sometimes I snap at my family when overwelmed with what both my wife and daughter are talking to me at once about. Especially if I'm focused on something else. I hate it.,1 "Go with that anger, that's where I started really getting better. I hope it helps you get to a point where you still hear the OCD voice but you don't care but you aren't angry anymore. It fucking sucks, but it is doable and it gets easier the longer you try to do it. Most of us never get rid of the thoughts, I think, we just get really really good at knowing 1) it ain't us and 2) we don't have to care. Hang in there!",0 Dude this sub Reddit is on a whole new level of relatability,1 "What's all this ""manifestation"" crap? Sounds bizarre",0 "Yup! I love that this sub is like that too, it actually has an automod that posts about it all the time (as you can see in the comments here lol) Everyone has struggles. ADHD people struggle. Autistic people struggle. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows even if you *do* think you’re traits are amazing. Toxic positivity is honestly terrifying, and we’re allowed to struggle and be upset and post about the struggles about how our brains work.",1 This is such a struggle for me too! Trying to give updates/discuss issues on meetings at work is the worst :(,1 "I just want to be able to stick to a hobby for longer than a few months, I want to have a hobby I’m an expert at, I can’t seem to make it happen. I can’t tell if it’s discipline issues or not.",1 "I've forgot while having sex, i can get very lost in thaught.",1 Good job! I can't speak for all of us here but working actually (sometimes) makes my anxiety go away because I'm focused on the things I'm working on so I don't have a lot of time to ruminate/do compulsions.,0 I got magnesium to help me feel tired but I don't want ti take it because Im doing fun stuff,1 "Damn this hurts. My poor childhood... I’m gonna do better by my son who also clearly seems to have it. Fuck.",1 That feeling is so real. The outlet to it is hard to find. I started exercising recently and it has helped me out a bit.,0 "Yeah people always told me that I used run-on sentences too much, and that I should consider putting in more full-stops, but generally I type on the internet like a conversation, and you don't even *fully stop* in conversation until someone else talks, or you're entirely done with what you're saying.",1 "This is the exact reason why we need mental health classes! [SLIGHT RANT COMING UP] I thought OCD meant being bothered by things that didn't line up, damn it! I went 16,5 years suffering, doing things for reasons no one got, getting thoughts that horrified me, etc thinking I was a bad person. Nope. It was ocd all along! Thank you for coming to my Ted talk? Point being! Neurotypical people need to stop spreading ""information"" about ocd?",0 "My heart shattered as I read this....I wish we knew our daughter had ADD as she was growing up. She deals with so much permanent anxiety now as an adult because of how we tried to ""make her"" do her schoolwork. I feel like such a freaking failure as a parent, for this. 😞",1 "I bought in to all that for awhile in my early twenties, now in my late 30s I’m definitely thinking that living without ADHD would be nice. I’ve had some time to reflect and since starting medication I feel like I’ve had a taste of what it might be like to not have to struggle so damn hard and it would be nice if that ease came naturally and not from a bottle.",1 "I'm afraid I don't understand this meme. As a Christian who has OCD, I know that hell is real, and so are evil spirits. Which of the two characters in the meme is you and which is your psychiatrist? Please, clarify the meme for me. Thank you.",0 "Classic Spongebob will always be better than newer Spongebob, and I’m now wondering if it’s because early-years Spongebob is often so freaking relatable to many mental health things. (Not saying that component of the show doesn’t still exist, because it does, I just think the writing back then was seemingly more targeted to also grab the attention of adults who are also anxiety ridden messes, much like SB himself. Which strikes me as a bit odd, because most cartoons increase their adult-targeted punchlines over time). I realize most of this comment is random postulation and stream of consciousness thinking “out loud,” but frick, now I’m contemplating my entire existence and how I interact with the world and how the world must see me when I’m performing compulsions in view of others – all from watching this Spongebob clip. Which is scarily accurate. Solid meme 💯.",0 "*It's not an Attention Deficit but an* ***Intention*** *Deficit.* Dr. Russell Barkley i try to watch this once every week; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_tpB-B8BXk0",1 Brain: 'do the thing.' Me: 'Why?' Brain: 'You gotta'. Me: 'You're right'.,0 "Oh gosh, I wish I was informed about what OCD even was, because that sure didn’t help my depression. I had been getting intrusive thoughts for a while, but I assumed I was just a horrible person. Now, my depression and OCD is worse, depression being pretty debilitating and now for OCD, I don’t only get intrusive thoughts, but compulsions too. Oy, I wish they taught us about OCD in health class because then maybe I would’ve been able to recognize it other than just PeOpLe LiKe OrGaNiZInG tHiNgS a CeRtAiN wAy and actually get the help I needed before it got worse.",0 I've dealt with attention issues and depression since childhood. I can't articulate how much shaming I've been dealt and it affects me to this day.,1 I had this feeling of jumping from high places and it makes me paranoid….like silly places like from stairs and etc….i have never acted but the visualization in my head gives me anxiety….does anyone have this feelings ? It gets better then the thoughts gets stuck again,0 It takes a lot to get used to the strategy but it’s all about acting,0 "yes, i wonder if it counts as a compulsion. i feel like when i say ""whateveerr"" and do the activity anyways it feels mostly better afterwards.",0 "For once I'm scrolling AFTER I did the dishes! Oh god unless there's some other task that I'm putting off so hard it's completely escaped me...",1 "I’m not diagnosed, but this concept perfectly describes why i burned out as a elementary teacher in 2 years. Every day was torture because I’d plan a lesson and then get completely sideways when kids acted like kids. Ugh.",1 Damn this is good... r/arttocope would love this I bet <3,0 "this is great, my sibling does that too lol if we are talking about our day and i say anything remotely negative about my day they will somehow find a meme so specific to whatever i said every. time.",0 This happens to me when I'm driving alone typically. The other day I felt so embarrassed and sad by things I remembered doing that I started sweating a little bit and I could feel my face blushing lol.,0 I don’t think you can really compare symptoms of the disorder against each other especially considering everyone experiences them differently,1 What was my last theme again? I forget. It wasn’t as bad as this one though!,0 "honestly I wish I could remember my obsessions are pretty funny out of context. I have to step a correct way to make it from my room to my SO’s. but like... why? cos I’ll die? are there secret buttons in the floor that if I don’t press them fucking spears will shoot out of the paintings on the walls? lmfao, what the fuck",0 "Holy shit, I feel like I am incredibly stupid sometimes, and I've always explained to my partner that I find it *EXTREMELY* difficult to communicate with words and would much prefer via text for difficult conversations. This hits home in a different way. Everyday I look and I see issues that related to me roughly 80% and I say, ""Oh yeah bud, this sucks I know them feels"". This is completely different. This is my life. This is my life when my meds have worn off in the evening and I want to start doing deep thinking. Jesus christ.",1 "This right here. I try to give myself dopamine rewards—a quick dose of Animal Crossing or one YouTube video—but I get lost and trapped and I never return to what I started, but atmosphere is incredibly important to me. It’s the reason why I painted my room and bought a diffuser and need a cup of green tea in my mushroom mug.",1 hey at least i get a break from harm ocd? my existential ocd still there are fuck tho,0 "yeah when my mom saw my pills she had the fucking nerve to say ""just dont be so nervous and relax"". thanks now i am fucking cured wow so focused. definitely would not rather die than disclose any of my personal life to my parents 🖕. hope your dad stays out of your business from now on 🥺❤.",1 I really relate to almost everything on this list. my god. But i wanna ask. What does Doomscrolling mean? I’ve never heard of that.,1 "This pretty much is it. Really working on the binging stuff parts atm. Also I found something I really really love and it gives me so much besides just the thing itself, like I really start taking care of myself just to be better at it and more, but I'm so afraid something will brake my passion and I inevitably slip in to old and really bad habits. Don't know what to do about it. I try and limit my time a bit spent on the hobby just as to not burnout to quickly and hope it works.",1 "For example my dear OCD makes me, or it actually threatens!!! me to check if the email I sent to my professor was sent with my correct email address and if it was received by emailing myself the actual emailed message 34 times just to make clear it contained the right file and that I added the right address. I don’t know what people would say or think if they saw my inbox contain the same email sent from me to myself 34+ times....”I hope this person are going to therapy because living this persons daily nightmare can’t be easy...??",0 I’m starting to do this with my car door only I have to convince myself that I didn’t leave the door open too,0 Thanks for posting this! It’s been one of my biggest struggles with school is paying attention during lectures. I’ll keep spreading the news about it!!,1 How true. But some days you just have to wait for the next day.,1 Anyone who has OCD and likes Tyler the creator is my friend,0 “What if you don’t have OCD and instead you’re just performing OCD behaviour because you’ve convinced yourself you have it”,0 Is this all related to OCD? My mom has OCD and she is a horrendous person to others. I wasn't sure if it was who she actually is.. or if its OCD. I always considering her personality to be unrelated to OCD. Is this not true?,0 whoa this post really relates with me that I'm gonna save this to read for later.,1 I hate when I'm minding my own business when out in the world and I see someone has uneven socks or a sleeve flipped up. I have to use everything I have not to try and fix it.,0 "Huh. This is one of those memes that sends me into an OCD spiral of making sure I understand the joke. No worries, it wasn’t terrible.",0 this give me 1940's abstract expressionist landscape painting vibes (i love it) its like the landscape of your mind,0 OMG there are people on the footpath up ahead coming towards me. They MUST pass me on my right side. I'll scrape up against a tree if I have to to make it happen.,0 "This is utterly beautiful I just wanted to lyk that it was needed for me today ngl ☺️ never give up and keep living the good parts in our life make up for all the bad, although the effort required is a little more, so are the opportunities wasted and taken I guess 🤷🏻‍♂️🤔😊🤘🏻",1 "I feel the same way with shows too, especially having to wait a week between episodes. At least binging shows I have a better shot remembering at least the overall summary. It just feels bad when others watch and can make references and no matter how much I love the thing, I can barely remember the plot let alone references.",1 "Sometimes when you have to do so you’d rather not, you should think of life as a dream, just pretend, no consequences, just going through the motions etc. It helps, eventually with this technique you will be able to do things you usually wouldn’t, limit anxiety and speak without hesitation.",0 I will literally turn my car around before i get to the stop sign at the end of my street to check my front door. Usually makes me even more late lol,0 "What hellish corner of social media is she in that dhe gets messages like this? Sounds like she shouldn't be on social media at all. At least not posting our engaging.",0 Could you elaborate? Why does it get worse if your first impression is good?,1 "The hit to my credit score from that one credit card that made it impossible to set up automatic payment, years ago.",1 And every new theme is always worst than the last one you have to one up it to get rid of it and It's an endless cycle,0 God can I relate to this. I realized that I’m not really afraid at failing; I am terrified of what my brain will do to me for failing.,0 sometimes im so overwhelmed i just want to hit my head,0 "Lmao yes so much relating to so many of these posts. My “to do list” right now is full of items like “make list for cleaning”... “make list for work tasks” etc etc. In the meantime, I’ll just be paralyzed over here waiting to start anything meaningful until I feel like I have a sufficiently detailed, exhaustive list to tell me what to do😂",1 People be like “have you ever REALLY thought about that?” And I’m like “yes now shut up please”,0 "I CANT, THE KNOCK ON WOOD IS TOO REAL WHY TF DO I KNOCK ON WOOD I CANT EVEN",0 "My sleep is mad fucked. Ugh, turning that boat back on course is fucking brutal, especially when you're trying to avoid caffeine and other stims.",1 "I used to have a huge problem where I would see myself kissing basically everyone around me and it was absolutely awful and confusing. When you start to panic incase your a perv or a pedo or if your gay... Bleh, seem to have passed that one thankfully. The other one was seeing myself stab people in the neck repeatedly so ya know, bamboozled often",0 "It's compulsive sometimes but it's so destructive for our mental health. I'm currently in the process of learning how to stoll read stuff but not giving a hoot about trash opinions. You can't play chess with pigeons because they get mad and throw the board and pieces everywhere as they keep losing. Reasonable people discuss and debate differing issues, others want to argue or shout over you and they aren't worth my emotional energy I'm pretty certain that the dinosaurs got crankier before the meteor appeared to make them extinct. Society is in a constant state of flux, bigotry and deliberate ignorance is getting less and people are becoming more accepting of diversity as the norm that it is. It's slow but it's a definite improving work in progress. What we are seeing is the dying roars of soon to be extinct dinosaurs. They're totally irrelevant.",0 Instructions unclear. Ended up watching etymology TikTok’s instead.,1 "Haha I was wondering who else verbally says ""no"" or ""shut up"" lmao",0 Yes sometimes when I’m thinking something completely absurd or too much I shake my head not as a compulsion but just as a way to “snap myself out of it” because I know I would spiral. But yeah you have to be careful to not let it become a compulsion.,0 "For me 5 is safe. 7 however, well 7 is very dangerous obviously. 🤦🏼‍♀️ My first car didn’t have numbers associated with the volume, it was just ticks that filled a bar, and I’ve convinced myself that the reason I crashed it is because the volume was on 7 or 17 ticks. Even though I have no way of knowing if it was. 6 is also iffy because of close relation to 7.",0 "Not gonna lie, my mouth dropped open when I read the ""for 3 days in a row bit!"" I'm so impressed!! It's the consistency I find hardest so that's an awesome achievement! :D",1 "Wow, such an amazing scene, i never imagined MJ Fox portraying a mental illness like this or acting in drama, tbh he's very good and the show's way of portraying OCD is true",0 "At risk of TMI, I've not been to the lady parts dr in about 15 yrs. :/ I've not been because that means first I'd have to remember, then I'd have to *talk on the phone* (gasp, shudder) then I'd have to remember to actually GO...I mean who likes doing *any* of that? It's nerve-wracking & uncomfortable & awkward...but of course now since I haven't in 15 yrs, I'm entirely too scared to, so I don't. Stupid vicious circle adhd bullshit. I very sincerely hope your diagnosis is a treatable form & that the treatments are not too terrible (& also successful). I'm very grateful for you sharing this, even tho it's terrifying I'm really just playing with fire with my own health, and this is about as stark a reminder as is possible. Plz take good care of yourself. <3",1 I’m glad you posted this because now I don’t feel so alone and knowing that there are more people out there that feel like this. Lately ive felt like this more than not. Just trying to keep my head above water and waiting for some to throw me a life jacket. My job sucks and is only getting harder because of covid and I’ve graduated nursing school a few years back but have been having issues passing the test because I feel so scattered and the testing anxiety is real and I just feel like a constant disappointment.,1 Holy crap is this an ADD thing too?!? Do I actually have a personality or am I just a walking disorder?!?,1 "Same here. I'm an musician, in music we have music theory A, B, C and D. I past all the exams when I was 12 years old. Now I'm 24, starting my bachelor's degree in Music in October and I'm taking extra classes in music theory just because I'm always doubting myself even though I know that the knowledge is there. For me personally, I get upset when I'm not sure on a topic when people may expect that I know everything about it. It makes me feel like I'm an idiot who's just acting like a know it all.",0 i cannot explain just how scarily accurate this is for me AAAAA,0 "My OCD tells me that i must close every backback, every counter, every wardrobe, basically everything that can be opened. It also tells me that i must keep everything symetricall. It's pretty tiring sometimes.",0 Literally me right now. Back left of my head kinda aches.,0 "It can mean being organized. Like unable to stop. Make a list of things to do. Remake it. Remake it. Memorize it. Rewrite it in my head so I can put the pen and paper down. Then rewrite it in my head again like 45 more times. Be afraid I’ll forget what is on the list. So afraid I can’t sleep or do anything but keep the list at the front of my brain. Then on little to no decent sleep rewrite the list the next day and rewrite it again each time I get to cross something off. Add to the list. Rewrite it. Rememorize it. Repeat. Now do that with anything else that’s organized like a calendar or schedule or newsletter layout or grocery list. So like I’m super organized. But it has no logic or healthy stopping point. Other people tell me all the time that they wish they had the ability to be that hyper organized. That they envy my ability not to forget to do things or to schedule my whole life so far out. They truly have no idea how challenging it is.",0 Me right now about health stuff. Thank you for posting.,0 Anyone else have OCD and are a recovered self-injurer? Because I have real visuals to pair with those obsessive “stab yourself” or “slice yourself” thoughts and it can be so hard to get the constant loop of visuals to go away once it starts :( happened this morning on my way to work.,0 "I had this and another freak out. When I was below age 10, my parents went to a church with one of the emotional kinds of preachers. He told the church that god was watching us all the time. I confirmed with him after the service that he meant what he said. My OCD immediately grabbed onto the thought that god was videotaping me constantly. All I could see in my mind was this vast collection of VHS tapes god had with hours and hours of me on it (I was a child of the eighties). My OCD loved that and just ramped up the volume on my rituals. Ugh.",0 I just put off replacing my registration sticker on my truck so long I got pulled over and ticketed. I finally scraped off the old one and adhered the new one. Yeah…a whole 45 seconds and $135.00 later.,1 I've read many relatable things on this sub but this might be one of the most specifically relatable things to me!,1 "I can relate to it on so many levels. This community often makes me feel less alone in this world.",1 I just heard that intrusive thoughts are a sin and I’ll burn in hell for it ... also if I’d pray they would go away... :) .... don’t you just love it when religious people say shit like that..?,0 "Honestly, as much as I use Word, I am wondering how in the hell my brain didn't realize that this was a possible function. This made me realize that many life hacks are right beneath our noses",1 I’ve always been most productive first thing in the morning! Once lunch comes around the day is basically about procrastinating a single task until it’s suitable to leave. I hate busy afternoons,1 Assume your schedule is the same. Treat your days of classes online like you would when you go to class,1 Damn I’ve never thought of it like this but this is sooo real,1 "I feel this. I need to study for the certification for my job, but I’ve got other completely unrelated stuff on my mind, so I’m gonna have to force myself to study at some point before this weekend …",1 "My 30 min is so unbalanced that I can never get anything done. Staying up at night Bc there isn’t enough time in the day pretty much sets off my clumsiness. My brain goes on autopilot after 9pm or so even with meds and as a fashion student with a lot of work, my brain is basically asleep while I’m trying to do work. Doing projects at 3am is interesting, last time I managed to burn myself 12 times with a hot glue gun cuz I kept dazing off in the middle of gluing my project together. But hey my mom just says if I was “more productive”, my work would be done way sooner and I wouldn’t need to stay up so late. Thanks mom🙄I never thought of being more productive",1 "I'm suprised you can grow it that long, having it that long would trigger me.",0 "I’ve found better results just calmly laughing at the ridiculousness. Being hostile irritates most situations, although assertiveness definitely is important. I’ve also been reading into a bit of Jung, and talked to this guy who has studied him more than me & he told me when the shadow (a message from the personal unconscious, tends to be scary) appears, you ask it what it wants, how you can help it, and the big scary monster becomes reduced to a simplified message that’s actually beneficial to you. That’s not to say: “agree with your insecurities” more like, play detective & figure out where they’re coming from.",0 "This is why I can’t do ANY assignment no matter how hard I try, until it’s due the next morning and I’m scraping sources and paragraphs together like a madman for 16 straight hours. And in the end I’m shaking from caffeine overdose but I’ve got an A level 25 page research paper, but I collapse so hard afterward I can’t function at all for the next day. And get depressed as fuck",1 "Amazing, well done. The thing I found when I managed to stop one of my rituals was that it felt like I would be able to stop them all. Hasn’t happened yet but I’m working on it. Well done and I hope you keep going with it!",0 "I have primarily harm and responsibility ocd, but relationship ocd started coming up last week. I found another person attractive and was convinced I was having an emotional affair bc the thoughts were so frequent. Thanks I needed this today. It's so good to know I'm not alone.",0 Blue sky planners that have the week days separated with half being to do lists are the best.,1 "Teenage me: *starts tapping the side of the cooker* Mum: what are you doing? Me: *pulls hand back quickly* nothing!! Inner voice: no-one can find out I'm weird!",0 " >My therapist actually said doing this was bad, and that instead I needed to sit with the uncomfortable feeling and acknowledge that it is just an intrusive thought. Everything in moderation",0 Thank you! Mine is always bad on Fridays. I wish the same to you.,0 "Omg!!! Are you me!?! Edit: adding that you should post this to r/bisexual",0 Keep drawing! I have a degree in fine arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. That right here shows promise... Check this out for inspiration: [https://www.boredpanda.com/drawing-skills-progress-before-after/?utm\_source=google&utm\_medium=organic&utm\_campaign=organic](https://www.boredpanda.com/drawing-skills-progress-before-after/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic),0 "Oh wow. Another ADHD trait? Give me a dictionary and a thesaurus and I can write lots of good big word meaning stuff. Just don't ask me to say it. Thanks for clarifying this.",1 "This happened to me last semester. A lot of major life changes caused me to just break. I went to seek help from the counseling center at school and when they barely did anything for me I just got in my car and went home, and by home I mean home(3 hours away). I still had classes and stuff but I just couldn’t do it anymore. I was honestly losing it and I couldn’t self cope anymore. I have great friends and family but I didn’t wanna burden them either so I just kept it all inside. When my friends found out they were so concerned, one made me promise thy I was going to get help or she was going to force me by taking me. You should really try and reach out to a friend or family meme her because this isn’t some little problem, it’s a big deal! And I’m sure I’d you were to reach out they wouldn’t feel burdened, I wouldn’t! That’s what friends and family are for!",0 I make breakfast for my kids almost every morning. I still find myself standing in the middle of the kitchen trying to walk in 3 directions at once.,1 Oh my God I feel so understood! And when I’m having a bad day I end up telling God like “hey today was kinda rough” and my mind goes ARE YOU MANIPULATING GOD??? DO YOU WANT GOD TO FEEL SORRY FOR YOU SO HE PROTECTS THE ONES YOU LOVE MORE??? THATS CORRUPT INTENTION. Wow. Rollercoaster.,0 "I can promise you this DOESNT Work for us adhders in anyway and atleast you’ve picked up on that, the best way is to keep in contact with others so you can keep yourself accountable",1 My boss likes my ability through adhd that I memorize where is everything on work ... Because somehow I can remember all these things without paying attention to it ... There a just a few times where even I am clueless .... Nice story bro that proofs that adhd is not always a problem,1 "This is very accurate. I feel like one of the worst things you can do to someone with ADHD is take away their stimulation, and that's exactly what depression does. I find if I've been feeling depressed I'll open a game, realise I don't want to play it, and close it before it has even loaded up properly, then open YouTube and click on a video, then realise I have no interest in watching this video or watching YouTube in general, close it within the first 30 seconds of the video, open up a sketch I've been working on, draw 1 line, hate it and undo it, then close it, then I'll open word wanting to continue a story then closing it because my creativity was like ""no."" then just end up going to sleep because there's nothing else I can do. It's sad. It's almost like I'm bored of literally everything I love doing...",1 Literally god bless my boyfriend because most of the things I say are jumbled beyond belief or it takes me 8 years to correctly say what’s in my head,1 "I have to get things absolutely right. If not, I have to do it over, or something bad will happen.",0 My solution is to talk about it out loud to myself. I remember things better if I explain them to someone else right after I read it.,1 "me, a pansexual person who has to deal with OCD: 👁👄👁",0 Who are you and why are you so wise in the ways of my head,0 "Wait, isn't this how everyone else think everyday in their lives?",0 "Unless I'm explaining something, I write the way I talk, so that may be the case for many others when it comes to commas",1 "I had a revelation with one of my OCD hangups that was like ""man whatever, if I rationalize my way out of this I'm just gonna have another obsession to convince me that I'm awful and unlovable."" It was oddly reassuring??",0 "My approach was to ignore anything it told me. What I did not realize was that I had DID in addition to OCD. I wonder if talking would have helped... \-Lauren",0 My shift literally starts at 3pm but only like once a week…..it is the WORST,1 "This is probably gonna sound awful but I kinda wish there was a cure. People tell me to think of the ‘gifts’, being funny, being creative, out of the box thinking. And don’t get me wrong, sometimes I love having adhd. But I also just want to go one day without wanting to throw up from stress. Without losing sleep, or forgetting to eat, or embarrassing myself constantly because of the social impairment. Without feeling like a complete idiot because simple things that others can do are too hard for me. Im just... really tired. And it feels like there’s no corner of my life that remains unscathed.",1 "I strongly dislike you for doing this but will still follow directions. Dang you for being right, you put together human!",1 "Thats good, at least she made progress in more than one thing across the span of the day. That sounds like peak productivity for me at my best, and I hope to be that consistently productive one day. Good Job for her.",1 Amazing; I know that must have been tough. Stay strong!,0 Thanks. I needed to make breakfast so I could get dressed for work.,1 "Sorry, bud. I’m not sure how old you are, but get used to disappointing people. Also get used to realizing other peoples’ opinions on the subject don’t matter. I am 40 years old, and a sophomore in college full-time finally, and I feel exactly what you’re talking about. The coursework is easy, stupid easy, it’s just very very hard to sit still and actually do the work. It is so mundane and boring to type the exact boring thing they wanted me to type. Yes, I understand this principle in math. If I have to fill out a whole worksheet of problems demonstrating that I understand it... I truthfully I’d rather ball the paper up and fail the fucking course. I don’t know where I was going with this and I’m sorry where it ended up. Hang in there.",1 "This is a really cool and helpful article! Lowkey tho, I might also be overthinking tho as well? I have been re-questioning my gender a few years now (what if it was alla lie, I dont have dysphoria, and Im not trans?). But then, what if those feelings were the intrusive thought and how do I know my dysphoria is genuine/not the result of some OCD thing? I was wondering, if you dont mind me asking, how do you know your tocd is ocd and not genuine transness?",0 "So I tend to be good at spoken word.... But I use a lot of non-verbal communication and very much look at what other people are reacting to. I also rephrase myself at least two times and can rephrase it endless ways if needed. I also say ""brain"" a lot as a key for my words aren't matching my thoughts. I have a friend who says ""word salad"" to reset their train of words as well.",1 I was amazed at the first time I was on the right medication that the little energy/motivation barriers that stopped me from doing things was just gone.,1 "One of the psychiatry nurses that helps me meter my medication laughed when I was telling her about my hyper-focus issues. She said, ""Is this even real, I feel like that!"" Honestly, it made me so sad because for so long I doubted my own problems and chalked it up to a discipline issue. Like I should be like ""haha no, it's not real! I take stimulants because I'm just too fucking lazy. Stupid me!"" :|",1 "Good for you! Whenever I lose something I also implement “trash freeze” and go from there. It definitely helps alleviate the loss anxiety, but also has been what has saved me several times!",1 My upvote was 198 good thing it’s an even number. But fuck there’s 3 total numbers in 198 and that’s odd. Also there’s 2 odd numbers. But if you add 1 + 9 + 8 you get 18 which is even. But 1 is also in 18 and is an odd number so I haven’t escaped yet. Maybe I’ll just commit suicide by adding 1 + 8 which equals 9 and realize that it ends with an odd number and I can’t have the even number I want,0 "Recently did just this, set an incredibly loud and annoying alarm. When it went off, there was just no way I was gonna start doing my stuff right then. Shit, so what to do? I told myself ""alright, don't fucking get up then, but you also cannot turn off the fucking alarm! Muahaha"" So i proceeded to lie on my bed for over an hour doing nothing, allthewhile the obnoxious alarm was hurting my ears. Only when I thought of the cat I was able to get up and shut off the alarm for her, because I felt guilty to maybe distress her (she turned out to be sleeping unfazed by the noise). Great stuff.",1 "Ahh, congrats! Those kinds of obsessions can be the worst. Enjoy the coffee; it's well-earned.",0 "Omg does repetition drive everyone else mad?? I can’t bare it. My partner can do this sometimes - saying the same thing in different ways, and it makes me stressed through every part of me",1 "Man, I relate to the shit out of this. Depending on the conversation I'm having, I take a long time to figure out how the fuck how to communicate effectively. This leads to long pauses, which can lead people to think I'm stupid, not paying attention, or uncaring. No, just have difficulty formulating words and putting them in a recognizable order.",1 Holy shit I feel those so much. Like I don't wanna be rude but inside I'm just going insane,1 "“So I had a pretty good da-“ “Your boyfriend hates you and is cheating on you with your best friend.” Rationally, I know he isn’t like that at all, and worships the ground I walk on lmao. My best friend isn’t like that at all either. She also prefers women lmao.",0 I often start laughing during sex. Thankfully my spouse totally gets it and asks to hear the joke my head told me.,1 "People without clear disorders have a hard time skipping these already. If your OCD likes that crap you're screwed.",0 I have about 4-5 habit reminders that pop up every night. 9/10 times I just swipe them all away whether I did it or not.,1 "The book I forgot im the train, and the public transport card😭",1 same. I want to go back to any year but 2020 cause that was the year my 'ocd' came about(havent been diagnosed yet),0 This is so true. Somehow OCD has convinced me of a false memory of making a deal with the devil. I know it's batshit crazy but I can't get it out of my head,0 "Me to my ocd: please leave me alone :( OCD: THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO ME YOU LITTLE SHIT",0 "Who else takes medication daily? I was diagnosed about 4 months ago and haven’t been able to do anything on weekends because of the overwhelming haze that overtakes the day until the caffeine and nicotine cut through it a bit. So I’m stuck inside on weekdays by the necessity of work and school. Then weekends I’m stuck inside because of the medication “vacation”. I’d like to hear about your experiences with daily medication or advice on the topic.",1 "wow lol.... it really is like these were designed specifically to torment us. im sure most of us have probably went hours wondering if we should have liked/reposted one of these 😪 but tbh ... it's kind of ironically funny that their comments are attempts to be outlandish but those are legit thoughts that me or other OCD folks have. so on one hand i absolutely hate these but on another ive done worse to myself",0 "I avoid going outside. I do it unintentionally in a way. I don't want to go out and relax at parks or walk my usual walks because my thoughts. This acts as a double edged sword because then I feel trapped being inside.",0 First it was guilt then it was health then it was religion then it was sex now it is body image! Been fighting OCD for five years now.,0 "I think the other tax is also the amount of work you need to do in order to stay on top of things. Almost everything must be done immediately or a reminder set up with notifications. Otherwise you’ll forget. Pills and discipline help but the time spent is there. 80% of the time your wallet/keys are in the same time. 5% of the time you’re wasting 10-15 minutes looking. 15% of the time it takes you only 2 or three minutes. Lost time is what pisses me off the most.",1 "Haha id say I’m pretty smart (people at least always tells me that) but ADHD makes it so that I can’t push myself to get work done and eventually just stop doing assignment. Hearing people tell me “you’ll grow out of it” “stop using it as an excuse”, needs to fuck off and do some research not just from doctors, but from patients as well.",1 Yea so true. Been in a loop all day about health issues,0 "I've long complained that my ADHD causes a gap between my motivation and my doing the thing. I even joked here once that I felt like that R2 unit in Star Wars: ""Uncle Owen, this R2 unit has a bad motivator. Look!"" It turns out that being able to bridge that gap is called ""activation"". I developed a coping mechanism for my poor activation by immediately doing the thing the moment I had enough energy. What that meant, of course, is that I often left the house for work, errands, or other stuff, without any prepping at all. Shower? No. I! Must! Do! The! Thing! NOW! Because if I paused to prepare all the stuff I need to do the thing properly, then I would wander off and never do the thing. Which in turn caused the thing to divide and replicate and become a herd of unruly things that overwhelmed me.",1 Mostly just /self loathing/self loathing/self loathing,1 Yep. I also have to change all of my alarm ringtone things every few days because I can completely ignore them once I get used to them.,1 "Someone came to my apartment and they know I have OCD, I got up from my dining room chair to fix a through pillow on the couch, my visitor rudely says to me did you take your meds today? Bc i see you fixing the pillows and she laughed.... fucking ignorant people there is nothing funny about suffering from OCD because having that compulsion over things and thoughts it's exhausting and debilitating.",0 "I do this, but it sounds like a stretch to say it's an ADHD thing in my opinion.",1 Can I pay you??? I would love to use this as my wallpaper,0 "Yep, and dealing with brain fog because of it. The longest I have ever stayed up was about 73 hours in a row. Sometimes I realize the replies I make sound funky so I delete them occasionally. It's scary when I start forgetting basic grammar structure and/or how to spell and add/subtract. Fleece blankets and velvet plush pillows along with a heating blanket help make me drowsier and sleep longer.",0 When you’re just chilling in class and you vividly imagine aggressive intercourse with your middle-aged professor.,0 No. Because these are symptoms. We dont call ASD inability to socially function and likely to get overstimulated disorder.,1 Legit almost slammed my head on a table the other day and then because I didn’t do it my anxiety had no outlet and I was in hell lmao,0 "You forgot sleep. So many times I have to ask myself, did I get enough sleep? Errrrmmmmm maybe?",1 I did too but it turns out I got the date wrong due to my inattention to details lol. So it went in early. She gave me some feedback and for the rest of the semester I continually got higher marks from her,1 "Omg. This… will help me so much. If I don’t hear from loved ones I’m pretty sure they hate me and/or forgot about me. Then I get weird and clingy and it’s awful. Wow. Game changer!",1 "Trying to comprehend Dialectical Behavior Therapy, It's a Very Intense read! Anybody understand it?",0 "Thank you!! Wow this is the first post I saw when I got on reddit and it totally caught me! I just finished assigning this month's client blogs to our website team. I'm a content/blog manager at a marketing agency. That was my last time-sensitive task of the day and now I feel so much better. Thank you so much!",1 "i always think i’m doing that, (the right side), but *apparently* i’m actually doing the left side..",0 "this is so important, thank you for sharing! my mom has been telling me since childhood that my thoughts will come true, and as a result I get extra freaked out by my intrusive thoughts. this helps a lot.",0 I managed to convince myself once to be terrified of spirals. It lasted a couple days,0 I actually lol’d at this as soon as I saw the meme! 🤣 So accurate!,0 Thank you! Exactly what I needed to see. Off to practice music!,1 "Because I found this extremely interesting, I was able to hyper focus and get through the whole thing. Thank you for posting! It's so hurtful when you hear others bagging on this disorder.",1 "exactly! idk how many times I've said ""oh yeah, I've got adhd-pi"" and someone is like ""oh wow I wouldve never known, you're so calm"" like *sigh* that's not the only thing it's about",1 I imagine the thought is on the ground and then I start stepping on it,0 "Up until like, 14 I used to keep every single toy I owned on my bed because I would feel bad if some were on the bed and others weren’t. I would give them all names and say goodnight to them every night and give them a little kiss. If one would fall on the floor I would cry because I felt like it would be sad. I was a teenager and doing this but I honestly felt for them. Like I understood they wouldn’t care but I felt like they did at the same time. 🙄 ",0 I often feel like this when i fail in my studies. Like i could have passed a test or something if i had just studied more. Its a horrible feeling.,1 "Thanks a lot for this. You can't imagine how much it meant to me. I'm really sorry for your loss and I hope everything's gonna be good for you",1 “OCD Approved” Wonder where that came from. I hope the mental health awareness movement picks up more traction one day. We need like a celebrity to act as ambassador of the OCD community to take some lead in helping people understand the difficulties we go through. Just sad,0 Ive had my old tell me I'm a pedophile for a while now. Its a big relief to know other peoples ocd does the same thing.,0 "I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/staringocd] [Gut reading (like mindreading(](https://www.reddit.com/r/StaringOCD/comments/gl4t96/gut_reading_like_mindreading/)  *^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*",0 "It’s like they are waiting in line to jump on you. “Oh hey bud you’re done? Don’t mind if I do!”",0 This is the best description I've ever seen for having OCD.,0 "I’m so incredibly sorry. I’ve been there. The things that have helped me are medication and therapy, but I’m just here to say I get you, my friend. A better life on the other side of OCD is possible—I’m living proof. You’re not suffering alone, and you’re never without hope. Sending virtual hugs. ❤️",0 "It's worth restressing that a $250 pair of noise-canceling headphones is 100% worth the investment. The price is obviously high, but it's an investment for the future. Do not get a crappy $20 to $100 pair because the amount of audio distractions a good pair can cancel is worth the extra $150. I cannot stress enough how good of an investment my Sony WH-1000xm3 headphones were to people with distraction problems in general.",1 "This made me think You know when doing something you can end up focusing really well and absolutely nothing distracts and any information learnt just stays sorta like a ""hyper focus"" What is there was a way for people with adhd to do this at any point when we feel like it because that would be the best thing ever.",1 There was a good month where I was convinced that I had rabies. And now with COVID oooh boy 🙃,0 I've been obsessing over a twitch in my abdomen for the past two days. Now I'm thinking it's this.,0 "Does anyone have any advice for dealing with this? I'm disabled by depression and PTSD so I stay at home, unable to work. And it's like... days or weeks go by in a blur, like time is made of a mist and I keep trying to grab it out of the air but I can't capture a moment :(",1 It’s scary to throw things out and takes real effort to o it. This is definitely me.,0 "I use legs to open most doors. Mom was a waiter and taught that, translated nicely to OCD.",0 "Couple of things Food: batch cooking/meal prep. Pain in the ass but worth it if it reduces need to cook to 2/week. Also having a variety of options in the morning is helpful so you can grab whatever you feel like (I select from eggs on toast vs cereal vs toast vs fruit and yogurt). Also maybe try getting a few exotic flavourings to make your food more interesting? Like I have a banana/milk/spinache smoothie on occassion and have started adding nutmeg to kick up the flavor a notch. Mess: identify what behavioural systems contribute to your mess. An example would be, do you have dirty clothes as part of your mess? If so, consider getting a hamper and get good at tossing clothes into from a distance. Social media: android comes with a focus mode that you can set for times of the day. It basically disables apps that you exclude from the focus whitelist. Maybe a checklist would help to help mold a routine? I've seen this little dog feeding trackers https://www.amazon.ca/Did-You-Feed-the-Dog/dp/B01B87Y3BA that, if customizable you could have tasks instead Like brushed teeth yes/no",1 Bookmarking this post to come back and read and maybe comment more when I’m in a safe place to cry.,1 I've been trying to force myself to do things if I have 1 thing scheduled in the middle of the day. My medication helps a lot with that part lol,1 "I love how ""executive dysfunction"" is sticking. It makes so much more sense than ""attention deficiency!""",1 "I'm both pansexual and have OCD, so this was especially sweet!",0 "With my rejection sensitivity disphoria, it definitely doesn't work.",1 "Let me just clarify that I love my Dad and he loves me, but he really has no idea how to deal with somebody like me.",1 "Next person that says something like this in front of me will promptly get punched in the face. No worries, I'll just plead insanity.",0 "I use google calendar for like 1,000 things. However, it's helpful - no cure. LOL. I was so annoyed and also gullibly curious. Ha. I recently started on an SSRI that has almost gotten rid of my anxiety. However, after taking them now I don't feel motivated at all. Has anyone dealt with this? Would love y'alls thoughts.",1 I once stared at my wall for 4 hours straight till 6am on a school night thinking why carrots are orange?,1 """You've met with a terrible fate, haven't you?"" \-Timmy Turner's dad, 2012",0 "Dang, I just gave away an award! I wish I could award you! Anyway, thank you.. made my day better ♥️",0 "Sigh I feel this in my soul. Almost every day, I doubt whether I have ADHD and then come on this sub to have all doubt removed lol.",1 "Hey good for you! I know how hard and anxiety inducing it can be but it's such a huge step in fighting and beating your OCD. Keep at it, you rock!",0 Another thing - If you've been wanting to buy something for a long time and it's finally available in your country or state now... Just buy it. Don't waste time researching which will lead to you buying it in the end anyway.,1 My entire life i have no respect for the alarms i set myself,1 "I really must protest the idea of 'too many teas'. Nonsense. There's no such thing! I just bought [this teabox recently](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0823L58C1?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details) and it's brought such joy to my ADHD brain that wants things organized but sometimes has trouble when even things with a designated spot feels cluttered. Maybe she'd enjoy something like this as well? I like this box in particular because it's good quality for a good price.",1 I emailed all my contacts and spread the word about my podcast I made called blowin the cartridge its a comedy podcast where I roast video games while building up a community of like minded fellows.,1 "My wife refers to my intrusive thoughts as ""grumpy brain."" I really quite like that name for it",0 "600 ish was the maximum on my phone. When I feel like it exhausts me I close my tabs all at once but then I do the same thing all over again 😂 But when I close them it feels like a clean slate and I'm like I'm not going to do this again, you know it's not good for you...But then I think : what if you neeeeed it?",0 " Yea I was worried about this until I started obsessing about something else. That’s typically how it goes for me I obsess about a certain thing until another comes up, I found that focusing on my breathing and trying to meditate made it subside for a while, but I mostly just played games. Now that I am to busy worrying about other obsessions it doesn’t show up. I always think that going through all this torment makes us stronger and better equipped to handle difficulties in the future because we can appreciate how stupid a lot of the stuff we worry about is. I also take comfort in the fact that me worrying about stuff like this doesn’t change the fact that we have responsibilities and that the sun will come up in the morning every day, whether or not I’m dealing with this stuff. It can be hard considering music is a way to deal with the stress but when all you think about is the music stuck in your head you just want to never hear music again. I don’t know if I’m lucky but when I go out and do things my obsessions seem to disappear, but I guess that’s why they say an idle mind is the devils playground because any mental illness loves to show up when we are not occupied. Sorry for the rambling but I had stuff on my mind I guess.",0 "So, I am newly diagnosed, and can this affect one's whole life? The entrenched negative thinking patterns are OCD? I almost ""hope so"" bc no matter what I try, talk therapy included, they just don't let up. Has anyone heard of ""relationship OCD""?",0 "Thank you, this is giving me the encouragement I need to fight this.",0 Yup! I cried when I realized the never ending story running in my brain finally shut up for a few hours haha,1 "Me, myself, and I: we have great conversations all the time!",1 My executive disfunction from my ADHD and lack of motivation from Depression cripple me so much,1 overthinking or rumination is actually a compulsion,0 Makes it worse when you notice how its gone only for it to just come back,0 ">I was shocked when he said this, and my adhd went away as soon as he finished that sentence. I started focusing like crazy. Guys try this out. Yeah, but have you tried *just trying harder?*",1 Every post I upvote I intend on going back to later and then reading the article... I think we all know how many articles I’ve actually read. ...,1 "I have OCD and saw this thread this morning, idk, it didn’t bother me, but then again things that don’t affect my personal day to day blow right past me. My life is so much less stressful when I just can’t be bothered!",0 "I use my planner religiously, but then due to my procrastination I’m afraid to open it",1 "I often get thoughts about me shrinking down and falling into dirty sink hole or toilets, to the point where I am unable to sleep or eat or drink. It's so difficult, I feel so disgusted and uneasy!",0 "Oh, I used to do something like this as a kid. I was scared of dying and people I love dying so I would ask/talk in my head with *just something/someone* and beg they wouldn't die and me either. And some nights I would have that inner conversation while crying. I remember I was around 7. I've never known I could see other people relating to this.",0 "432 tabs on my iPhone, 6 instances of chrome each with at least 20 tabs, most is 80 tabs. I’ll end up just closing it all and starting again. 47’254 unread emails on my iPhone and at least 10’000 screenshots lol",1 "Social media is the bane of my life, like you said, its instant gratification, that's why I get bored so easily. I was addicted to Facebook but come to my senses and manged to get off it and stay off it and I deactivated my account a while ago. Guess whats replaced Facebook? Yep! Reddit. I mean ok, its not like Facebook at all and it doesn't promote individualism.. but reddits still fucking addictive, especially when you find subs such as these that you can relate too. But yeh, rather reddit than facebook anyday.",1 """The next car that drives by is going to pull a gun and fire at you."" ""What?!"" ""Yes you need to duck!! Find cover!"" ""Okay""",0 "Need that Mama Bear sweet spot level of stimulation: too much = brain too overloaded to focus on conversation too little = brain too busy seeking stimulation to focus on conversation",1 "Yeah it’s super hard when this happens. I actually had a really cool chance to educate a friend of mine about OCD after she said, “I’m so OCD!” It was a super chill conversation and she was really interested in hearing how I cope with my illness. One time she said it again on accident and then she was like “Oops! I mean I’m a perfectionist” and then apologized. I just laughed because I thought it was really cool that she took the time to listen and adjust her behavior. ",0 """Think that thought in that pattern with that inflection one more time and then you can relax""",0 I clicked on this because the title made me laugh. I didn't expect the words inside to heal me a little. Thank you.,1 That skeleton at the table looks so done with the other ones shit and it just makes this whole post that much better.,0 I had a friend tell me the same thing. Keep in mind I’ve had a very complicated relationship with religion and I was a devout atheist back then. She also literally told me that ocd is “not bad but not good” like GIRL-,0 "I am so deeply sorry for your loss. You sound like a brilliant human being, you don’t deserve to deal with such a loss. Hope your doing better :,) I tried adhd meds today, they cost so much money it’s ridiculous. It can cost up to 1000$ for 1 refil without insurance. I’ve got insurance but there was a chance they wouldn’t even cover it, which would be around 400$ for 1 fill. That’s disgusting how they make someone pay for help. My insurance covers it mostly thankfully. America is awful, I want to live with my European family. The nhs (European healthcare) would cover this, sadly America sucks and doesn’t :,) Hope you have a wonderful day or night (sorry for formatting errors I’m on mobile)",1 " i’ve had a horrible anxiety and depression period in my life in which i felt like i wasn’t a good person and i wasn’t allowed to be me. it took like 2 years before i realized i am actually a really good person and i shouldn’t worry about. now i don’t struggle with it anymore. but hell, this does hit the right snare!",1 So glad you were able to fight your compulsions—that’s a beautiful piece of art that I wouldn’t t want the world to lose!,0 YAYY!!!! super proud of you!!!! you’ve got this!!! :D,0 Reading these kind of posts make me feel better knowing I’m not the only one,0 "The same goes for finding friends too. Don't hold onto friendships if the so-called ""friend"" doesn't wholly except who you are.",0 *me upvoting this but still probably not checking the saved posts*,1 "If anyone can help, how is this brought up to my doctor? I have an appointment today and the ruminating thought of tell them or don’t. I feel pitiful trying to articulate my compulsive thoughts and actions. It truly has ruined and controlled my life, my haunted house life. Thanks and good luck to everyone today, hopefully it’s one of those *good* days.",0 "Why yes. So many alarms and reminders. But the real question...have you ever completed your task before the alarm and then forgot you did the task when the alarm went off, thus wasting more crucial time trying to figure out if you really did the thing or if your vague memory of doing the thing was you doing the thing yesterday and not today??",1 "I've been doing better lately, getting better, setting up my life for me. Still though, Wednesday was spent in bed doing nothing. I cried in frustration because one phone call at 5 pm and a slightly later night ruined an entire day. Almost a full meltdown over seemingly nothing. ADHD is hard to explain if you haven't experienced it. Coming here, people know, and it feels like someone finally understands. Your post made me cry. It wrote down exactly the pain I feel. I have so many ideas, so many things I can do, yet I struggle each day to even get up and feed myself. Edit for spelling",1 "I actually relate to this so much. I don’t have OCD but I have the sister disorder, GAD. And I have a lot of ocd like symptoms such as having repetitive intrusive thoughts along the lines of the same topic. So yeah, I legit do this exact thing. I need to stop doing it but I do it ",0 "Only thing with this is then it scares me that... what if we break up. And then I have all this stuff with them, and I'm too sentimental and attached to them and the album to let them both go",1 "Personally, quarantine has definitely made this a whole lot worse",0 This is amazing. Really motivating and describes it perfectly.,0 I get more pleasure from the planning than the competition,1 "I am so angry at... well everyone and no one today for the exact same thing. I was trying to put together my portfolio and realized I hadn't really implemented any of the cool stuff or made it really presentable. Everything is 60-80pc finished. It sucks.",1 "Wait, there’s a version of Word you don’t need to subscribe to?! Lol.",1 Aww. Not an OCD thing for me but yeah I wish I could know everything.,0 "She’s a keeper even without the ADHD part of if. One thing I’ll say about my SIL - she would never ever buy into any of my mom’s attempts to get her to commiserate about something negative about my brother. She always had my brother’s back around the family. (And my mom respected her for it)",1 "The most accurate meme in existence. As soon as it’s silent, my brain announces this over the loudspeaker.",0 The only rituals I do are wash my hands for half an hour then cry because I don't think I'm capable of feeling love.,0 "I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/u_sofiahhhhh] [If anyone needs to hear this today, your OCD is lying to you, and you’re okay. Everything will be okay. ❤️](https://www.reddit.com/r/u_sofiahhhhh/comments/c7qgme/if_anyone_needs_to_hear_this_today_your_ocd_is/)  *^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*",0 "OCD is choice!?!?!? you are completely live in Disney world",0 It's always the first place you look but the second time.,1 "YES. I have so much anxiety about this because I'm a white-passing POC and totally get that I should assume everything thinks I'm white until told otherwise. It's hard to talk about your family, see that the other person thinks that you're being insincere and have to explain yourself.",0 "I am 24F and got diagnosed 4 years ago and till that time I thought ADHD was just a word for hyperactive children. I didn’t know it was a real disorder can you imagine?! Thanks to society. So yeah, I fully agree with your post.",1 "There's so much overlap between my autism, tics, and OCD that I can never figure out where one ends and the other starts..",0 "I do this quite often but unfortunately, I actually have quite a few health problems. Looking things up just freaks me out about the illnesses I have been diagnosed with. OCD sucks",0 It’s so hard living with the feeling of life is wasting away.,1 You've done so so well! Hugely proud of you. Ignore the negative posts and go celebrate your victory!,0 "Honestly this is one of the things that medication helped me the most with. Not that I still don't have my moments but God has it ever improved my quality of life in that respect. If you're not on medication I suggest you look into it! Best of luck",1 "So true, seems a lot of us struggling in therapy and/ or recently starting, its fucking shit when they don’t get it!",0 This is a genius analogy and I will use it from now on.,0 "This is great - thank you! Something that helps me with waking up from sleep: Invest in a daylight alarm. I have a Lumie and it's one of the most useful things I've bought, especially in winter when the constant dark makes it impossible for me to get up. Also take Vitamin D supplements in winter, you'll have more energy, sleep better, and not suffer so much with SAD.",1 "Brushing my damn teeth, and another step worse, the fucking dentist",1 "i can lock the door and check it like 5 times, walk half way to the car and then ಠ~ಠ",0 "Tips for managing cancer: Just muscle through that chemo! You’ll feel a lot better for it! Tips for managing depression: Don’t be sad! Think about happy things! Tips for managing OCD: Don’t worry about it! Stop pulling you hair out! Just resist scratching that itch! Tips for managing mental health: Just manage your mental health! It’s easy!",1 "Omg yes! I'm so fortunate to be a musician with ADHD as I'm fairly sure half the musicians I've met have symptoms of ADHD too! I'm not sure how I'd do in a ""normal"" job.. I've lost a few clients from forgetting/ feeling too overwhelmed to answer emails and calls. And this year I BARELY made it to a wedding in time to play the bride in cause they'd changed the time and venue and I hadn't written it down properly! I think learning coping strategies can help, reading some books on ADHD and some useful YouTube videos could be good too! And maybe of you feel comfortable doing so, speaking to your leader or boss or even a trusted coworker maybe about having ADHD. Maybe get diagnosed and then tell your work what having ADHD can entail.",1 I have struggled with this my entire life. I would recommend getting a notebook and pen you can always have on you. Just note down thoughts however they come to you. You've got to play the long game with ADHD creativity.,1 "I had over 700 tabs recently, finally found motivation to go through some of them and closed over 250, now im back to last summer numbers... First hundred probably dates 4-5 years back, to the time before i even learned about ADD, lol",1 "Completely agree. This got me through school and gets me through projects at work. Source: Software Engineer",1 "Dude, this is so spot-on for what it's like to have an actually *good* therapist. I like it :)",0 "fucking RUDE, spying on me like that ​ ~~take my upvote~~",0 "So true. It’s good to make something funny out of it because in the end it’s just a pointless thought, love this",0 You almost had me there. If we don't laugh.. we'd cry..,1 "I feel like the issue with the positivity/negativity on autism stems from lack of knowledge on how it actually works. I believe there was a study on artificially induced autism via electrodes that, when activated, disabled the left side of the frontal lobe. During the time of disability the participants were able to perceive things similarly to how autistic individuals would perceive them. When the front left lobe was re-enabled, they were unable to perceive things in this manner, and ended up in a somewhat confused state based on their memory of their prior perception of given tasks/puzzles. bottom line, autism is a disability. It limits your ability to perceive things; While it may make some tasks very straightforward and efficient, it likely hinders the ability to have multiple perceptions of a given task, and thus, overall awareness. The fact that you pull away from the cliques that you mentioned in the main post tells me that your ability to critically think for yourself, and your ability to have self awareness (which allows you to personally develop yourself to compensate for your disability) tells me that you're well above these cliques who have tunnel-vision on the particular topic. I wish you well in your quest to remain grounded and your future endeavors. May your journey shed light on those who cannot see things from many points of view!",1 Add it to the list of things that would significantly improve my life but I can't afford because I can't keep a job without extra help.,1 "I hate having ADHD. I'm lucky I work fast. Even though I avoid and put off a lot, I still do more than half my team. But I'd like to be up at the top of my team instead.",1 "Thanks for this post, just realised I still have to send back clothes that I've ordered.",1 Oh my god as soon as I read the title I knew what sub it was. Pretty much sums up how's life having ADHD.,1 I check my pockets like 5 times thinking someone planted drugs on me,0 "First in, first out (FIFO). I justify myself with this behavior for many reasons. I know part of it is a compulsion, but the other part is smart shopping. I want the fresh stuff. But, yeah, I do take it too far sometimes.",0 "A few moments pass through the day and my mind is ready to torment me. ""Great time to be sick to my stomach for the rest of the day.""",0 "Hey I updated my google calendar diligently today, I'm claiming victory!",1 "In 6th grade, someone said ""I like your hair"" and I said thanks. Turns out they weren't talking to me. Embarrassing. This was 21 years ago. I think about it probably every day.",0 "I might not have had this exact experience, but the amount of times I’ve nearly convinced myself I was high and about to experience a trip despite not being high is too damn high!",0 "Same fellas, funny thing I was so damn paranoid a month and a half ago that I saw this outcome. yeah,I've I been told i'm crazy, made fun of and told there is no way to predict such things(pandemic) but my ADHD did tingle, warned me and it happened. Now I'm screwed because i don't know how will I manage myself, I'm still getting used to the saving time, plus I'm taking a week off my medication, I need to come up with a plan.",1 "I'll say I went through this when I was in college about 6 years ago. All I can say is that I learned that whatever outcome I did not want, fear produced a feeling of certainty about that reality. When I started to look at how uncertain pretty much everything is, it made me realize that i just can't be certain about much and I gained a modicum of acceptance. As I began to accept these things more, the fear fade and so did the feeling of these ""unfavorable"" outcomes being certainties. TL:DR - I'm pretty agnostic about just about everything now and this kind of stuff doesn't bother me. ​ For what it's worth I'll address how I feel about your concerns. * **Am I dreaming?** \- It sure doesn't seem like it. David Chalmers has some interesting work on this that I imagine would be of use to you. * **Reality is a simulation**. - Same as the first one. Using the word simulation from my POV is only saying that the fundamental nature of reality is different than we suspected. We used to have ideas about matter and now we realize it's mostly empty space. Again, Chalmers has great information on the irrelevance of this question. * **Am I the only conscious being**. - This one specifically used to bother me the most. It's just as likely that panpsychism is true vs solipsism or any other theory of mind. I personally find Dan Dennetts materialism pretty compelling against this problem. I find this concern seems to affect people who had a dualistic view of consciousness growing up. Not always the case though. What really helps was **Wittgensteins private language argument / Beetle in the box thought experiment**. Language doesn't make sense without other minds. If somehow other minds were a creation of your own and your mind created language who is to say your mind didn't create awareness for them as well? Again I recognize the OCD makes it difficult to accept these arguments but they are helpful, or they were to me anyway. * **Is the universe only in my mind** \- This is pretty much a rephrasing of the question above. * **Thoughts of free will** \- compatibilism is where I stand on this one although I don't find the notion of absolutely no free-will particularly troubling. I think formerly religious people definitely trip on this one quite a bit. * **What is Time?** \- I don't have opinions on this. * **What is reality really? -** this is a more general question of some of the others above. In some sense it doesn't matter to me what reality is really. * **Is there a god? If so where did they come from?** (I've always been an atheistic leaning agnost) - I doubt it but I'm agnostic as well.. As you can see from my responses, my underlying change in mindset was largely from acceptance of ambiguity and recognizing a lot of my questions were word games. P.S. - I would consult with your therapist or perhaps get a better handle on your obsessions first but for me reading MORE philosophy also helped. I realized there were a million takes on pretty much every question, some that I liked, some that I didn't. In a weird way this quieted my obsessions because I realized that the only rational position is agnosticism. I care for you internet person, never give up.",0 This post made me check how many watch later vids in my account. I got distracted and spent an hour watching videos instead. 🥲,1 Thank you for this. Just got denied a second referral for diagnosis because my symptoms “don’t impact my life enough”. Now I’m extra angry and extra determined to fucking succeed without anyone’s damn help.,1 "I was just explaining this to my BF- he mentioned that we could do two things on Saturday and even the idea put me close to tears. I hate it, but it’s so exhausting to do everything, even if it’s just one thing.",1 "Well you're not alone, take comfort in that. Last night, I finally took care of some bills that have been laying around on my desk for months, the numbers slowly creeping up. By taking care of them I mean email my city and ask for a payment plan because now (after they've gone up) I really can't pay them all at once anymore. I feel so bad for it too but I never see the urgency of a payment of which the effect is not immediately visible. (I already automated most of my payments, these just come in once a year). It only took me 5 fucking minutes.",1 "ah yes inhaling really deep is gonna save me from carbon monoxide poisoning, ty brain",0 "Yes, I know what you mean...I’m super charming at first and then it’s like I lose confidence when they become interested..abandonment issues? Maybe for me, lol",1 "Yeah, I agree that it's frustrating, but I'm old enough to remember a time and place when OCD was more stigmatized than it is now. People didn't talk about it, even jokingly. If they did, it was in hushed whispers. I see the bad jokes as a sign that the stigma is slowly eroding, as well as an opportunity to educate people about what OCD really is. I hope one day we get to a point in society where there's broad awareness and education is no longer as necessary.",0 "Bruh it's a feeling, I can tell when it's trying to load up a new one",0 "Yes!!! I've had issues being a people pleaser and I tend to drop anything if a friend calls and rush to their side, sadly most of my friends would never do the same. My husband's been helping me cut those people out of my life. Regularly cancelling in me? Ghosted. Regularly demanding way more of me then of yourself? Ghosted. It's really freeing, even if I have a difficult time with it.",1 "Trying to do anything with executive function disorder is like trying to bite through your own time. You think about it you know that your jaw is capable you just have to close it, but no matter how hard you try you can't quite bite through your finger My life is like trying to bite through my finger everyday all day just to do this s*** everybody else does all the time like: take a shower, brush my teeth, etc",1 I have pure ocd (pure O) and don't have cleaning compulsions at all!,0 Darn I wish it existed in my time. Enjoy your school life 😉,1 "They need to rename this neurological disorder. It’s symptoms aren’t being recognized, too often. The H part is being emphasized way too much. The other symptoms are far more severe, and have a far more negative consequence on our lives. People who hear the name just think of behavioral issues, not how it truly causes difficulties in how we approach everything in life. The time blindness for instance can have a huge negative effect. There also needs to be seen how connected ADHD can be to Aspergers/Autism. If you have one condition, almost as frequently you can have both, and in both conditions the comorbids are often the same. There is thought to be something like two to three hundred genes involved in autism. Many of those same genes are likely shared with ADHD and also a rather astounding number of comorbids. Dyslexia is a comorbid, Ehler Danlos Syndrome, and dozens of others are also thought to be. There is much yet to be learned about all of these many conditions, especially the more positive affects they can also have on our thinking, not just the negative. The amount of high intelligence, creativity, artistic, musical, mathematical and scientific knowledge, the thinking outside the box and true talents they might possess can have an tremendous positive impact in the world. If this were being recognized, encouraged, and educated for in both children and adults how much more might they share their gifts with us, with the world, instead of rotting in prison cells, or in our parent’s houses and basements. We have something to contribute to our world. They should be working to help us to begin recognizing our own unique gifts, and helping to accommodate our differences, to better fit into our world. Our education system here, there and everywhere else needs to not just be repaired, but to be entirely recreated to acknowledge our different learning styles and to encourage everyone’s gifts and talents, the strengths they possess, whatever those might be.",1 "Being autistic myself i think its because often i know for mysekf at least the only way sometimes i can understand someone else is through my own expieriences and the only way i can explain that your nit alone is ive gone through this to xyz.i think its just how most of us communicate that were there for you even if it dont seem like it. And im not tryna back them up im just saying maybe there like me and they dknt mean it toxically there just trying to communicate 'i understand you' 'i gone through a similar expierience your not on your own' 'i got you' , you know what i mean.some may be toxic positivity but some may be like me and this is just how i personally communicate those things.",1 "I love the expert advice of “talk to a therapist”. As it it’s just that easy. I mean, yeah that’s nice and I have one now because I luckily can afford one, but for the longest time all I could afford were the free public ones for a limited number of visits. And most of them had almost no understanding about ADHD. Oh and the meds! “Just go on meds”. As if they’re on sale at the dollar store.",1 Those words are constantly circling around in my head,0 "And then you pour bleach on them hoping it finally goes away and, shortly after, it comes back saying, ""Did you ***actually*** pour it on both hands? Are you sure??? I'd do it again if I were you just in case...""",0 "Painted this quickly this morning? What talent, so much truth in your comments. This is a horrible disease, I struggle with everyday- wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy, it’s hard for people to understand the strangeness of the disease. I wish you peace if only for a short time.",0 "I agree everyone on this sub does receive everything well, no one really gets offended. I just feel like too many posts are cluttered self-deprecating rants/vents and I dont hate it that much because we all relate, but all subs need to kind of have a balance of content yet it gets a bit repetitive going through so many posts about ""WHY CANT I DO NORMAL X THING I HATE MYSELF"". In fact I am proud to be on a sub where most of the comments of said post actually feel positive and earnest.",1 "Thanks. I agree, it drives me nuts when people are like “oh I like things to be in their place I have OCD” - I’ve never heard anyone say “oh I once cried then laughed I must have bipolar disorder” or randomly claim any other mental illness. OCD affects every part of my life - pretty sure once I didn’t pass a phone interview for a job because I told them about a typo they had in the job description. I spend a lot of my day internally battling it (like most of you I’m sure) and people trivializing it doesn’t help. And to respond to another comment - it doesn’t always get worse. I’ve got a loving spouse who understands that I have a mental illness and is supportive, and sometimes I can “win” a small battle just because she doesn’t judge and acknowledges that I’m dealing with real garbage. It’s never stopped for me - I take a handful of pills a day (relax, they’re prescriptions or doctor recommended supplements) and sometimes OCD wins. But I try to remind myself that OCD is a part of what makes me me - it’s not all I am. Also, if you’re in a state with legalized marijuana, GET ON THAT SHIT because seriously it helped me more than meds some days.",0 Wait is this related to OCD? Can someone explain how?,0 "This was originally posted by u/dartmaster666 in r/coolguides but seemed very needed here. [Here's the person who actually made it.](https://www.instagram.com/p/B94zQZFBru0/) I know it's not so easy for a lot of us folks but please try your best to keep this in mind as much as you can and stay safe everyone ❤",0 "Hi /u/Zaoessss and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) - we will remove your post if it breaks one - and also check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, it is likely to be removed; if you think this might happen you can delete your post here and resubmit it there instead. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 "Everything except the last panel. I grew up in a hoarding situation, so my parents' house never feels safe. They are finally ready to deconstruct and rebuild, so hopefully that will go away once it's new.",0 Religion is one helluva drug that everybody should stay away from. I highly suggest Atheism or a number of non-theistic spiritual practices.,0 "That's pretty funny. But I'd rather go to a laid-back camp to unwind and clear my head where there isn't so much stimuli, maybe do some meditation. On another note, ya'll should watch [Laid-back Camp](https://myanimelist.net/anime/34798/Yuru_Camp%E2%96%B3).",1 "tomorrow is a new day with new opportunities! don't look back to what you can't change, only forward.",1 "I have a little over 2,000 videos in my YouTube watch later playlist, 5,000 Tumblr likes (I sometimes use likes as my read later list). And I keep adding more 🙃. I'll watch them all some day...",1 That TLDR at the end basically sums up my entire life. I've never heard it described so succinctly before. Thank you.,1 "I mean I can have a few minutes of lying in bed before I have to walk the dogs, right?",1 "Congratulations! This kind of courage and determination makes me think that I can have a better life if I work harder with my compulsions.",0 "Goddamn it and thank you. I was just in a study group and spaced out. Thanks for the reminder!",1 "I asked this EXACT quote to my psychologist and he seemed totally confused. He was like, ""What do you mean? Can you expand? How can something be both?"" And it's like...I don't know how to make you understand, honestly.",1 "WHY DO WE THINK LIKE THIS?? It is so frustrating. I used to agonize *all day* about my work shifts at 4 or 5 p.m. It constantly feels like it's too late to start anything. It's... so dumb. I work whenever I want now, which definitely has its ups and downs, but at least I only have to agonize over appointments now.",1 Mine said my most played song was Timber by Pitbull and I'm pretty sure that's because my son kept requesting it for like one weekend,1 "Constantly, my OCD came from in part a person making false accusations and trying to get me cancelled. Its been going on 10 years now, but my OCD has been in remission for 3 💪🧠",0 "Wow amazing you’re like my twin! I have a billion playlists now",1 "I'm actually getting an ADHD coach to help me deal with this exactly, but in a work context. It seems like clients / employers *really* like me when I start. But my lack of consistency absolutely kills me in the long run. Its death by a thousand cuts until I'm just the guy who can't deliver. Its so frustrating knowing that I have all the pieces to be successful - but I can't make them work. My potential feels stunted and it drives me crazy. I'm hoping the coach can help me work through that, but holy shit are they expensive...",1 "So, I have friends that I have grown apart from because of adult hood and regular shit. My mind has created a reason why each of these people hate me overtime.",0 Congratulations! And your hair is super cute! Love the ends! Keep up the hard work. Thoughts and prayers are with you and yours. 💕,0 "It's ironic to find such a dark and ""depressing"" piece of art that depicts the state of a sufferer of mental anguish... so comforting. I feel refreshed seeing this. I almost want to buy it and put it in my room. Thanks for sharing this OP, even if it isn't yours.",0 Comgratualiatoons dude this must have felt so amazing!!!! I know just how hard this is so I’m incredibly impressed! Keep up the good work,1 Can I please DM you regarding something ? idk if this sort of OCD exists that Ive seen in this person. Ive never come across and would like to know what you think of it.. idk,0 That’s when you gotta pull up on the intrusive thoughts with the baseball bat like “YOU PICKED THE WRONG HOUSE FOOL”,0 Oh man! Absolutely! Been doing so much of this. I am in the middle of dealing with half a lifetime of built up anger that I am still only catching up with 3 years after my diagnosis.,1 okay but…how many tabs does everybody have open rn?,1 Thanks for posting this as I was literally lying in bed on my phone 5 minutes before I needed to clock into work. I managed to log on just in time!,1 People use ADD as an adjective too. I'm not condoning the use of either one. Just saying it happens.,0 "fr though, OCD is so misunderstood. thank you for making me laugh",0 "Oh this is horrible. My OCD is in the form of dermatillomania, it’s a shit show. What a dumb thing to say",0 Literally whenever my parents remind me of shit I have to do that I absolutely know I have to do and have a plan to do but because I’m not actively doing it they think I’m never going to do it at all unless they tell me to. Funny how after years they think it still works!,1 "This craze has just given everyone on the internet an opportunity to feel superior, by repeating every fucking condescending instructions to wash their hands. Like, were all of us savage slobs prior to this breakout? That's on you. Not me.",0 This is exactly what I’ve been going through the past few months and it’s the most defeating and draining feeling ever. Feels like there’s no solution.,1 I use to have emotional break down moments where I shook my head and banged it against the wall trying to get it to stop.,0 "Wow. I literally just made a post about the same thing. I feel this deep, bro. I guess if advice is what you want, the only think I have to offer is the mind racing at 2am. I get this too, and have turned to forensic files. I fall asleep to it every night and if I wake up at 2am having an existential crisis, I just flip it back on and asleep I go. I don’t know if it’s the guys voice or what, but it puts me to sleep in minutes. And on the off chance it doesn’t, I’m watching the show instead of running through my own mind for hours on end. Not really a cure, just a distraction...",1 "Lol final year of University was my ass kicking. But the workforce sucks buddy. But that isn’t your fault and it isn’t ADHD’s fault. What you need is a job that works for you.",1 "Well, damn that is what's going on. Hope you haven't had to send any ""sorry my assignment is late"" emails.",1 life really is ruthless bro. You're the same age as me. I will take your advice and sincerely hope you get better!,1 "Yup, it'll bleed over sometimes though and Ill try to include my wife in on the conversation and accidently talk over the show/movie. She gets pretty mad so I learned to keep it to myself most of the time.",1 "AHH man I was about to have my **whole. freaking. day.** ruined by this disgrace till I read the whole thing. You're playing with emotions here, almost downvoted your ass",1 I havent fully listened to my most listend song in months,1 When I was still in school I had a compulsion to call CAMPUS SECURITY whenever I felt anxious. I did this so many goddamn times that the head of housing had to have SEVERAL “friendly chats” with me,0 I was putting off drinking the bottle of Gatorade I brought to bed. It was 6 inches away from me too. Thanks for making me do it. :),1 "This is basically my main obsession lol I have fears based around forgetting and not processing reality or thoughts properly, thus repeating everything in my head 🙃",0 "I want to say to the people that post this: “It’s not OCD until you know this means all of your children had strokes, so you need to check their pupils and grip strength every half an hour so you know they’re OK.”",0 "Okay, I get all the parent sarcasm here, but I can also see it from the perspective of someone who was diagnosed later on in adulthood. There is a very likely chance all your 'just do it' parents also have adhd. And I also feel they, like you, don't entirely know what they're trying to express. For myself, pre-medicated atleast. This notion worked to a significant degree, however it's only something I learned I could do after years working as a baker: Just hear me out; It is possible to move your body before your mind is ready or willing to do so. Like, while the seemingly hundreds of thoughts and counter arguments, planning, deliberating, bargaining, anxieties, meltdowns, psychological collapses, exhaustion, mind fog etc is pinning you down like a truck is parked on your chest - it is very much possible to seperate your direct physical action from your explosive thoughts and emotions. You will hate it, a lot. It feels horrible and dirty and I always used to rage and get pissed off to maintain momentum when I moved without first giving my own consent, the audacity!? So, just do it? Sort of... But of course, there is always an emotional/psychological cost.",1 "Oh my lord...I have thousands of screen shots, links in notes, bookmarked Reddit posts, Pinterest pins, Intsa saves etc...that I will never fucking look at again. For the photoa and screenshots, I'm trying to get in the habit of going through once a week and deleting some...but that usually only happens like 3 times a year.",1 "YES! I work online. I can set my own schedule, technically. But I need appointments to be either in the morning or in the afternoon. I someone only start working around 1, no matter how early I try to start. And then I can only go till 5. So if I have something to do in the middle, it just messes everything up.",1 "i have 26,000 photos, 12,000 of which are screenshots. i will never go through them but they will never be deleted and i will make an effort to preserve them for as long as i’m alive :)",1 "My favorite is when I get out of the shower and find out less time has passed than I thought! I tend to lose track of time and zone out while in the shower, so it's always a win when I find out I've managed to avoid losing too much time that way.",1 “aren’t you glad we touched the handle 40 times before we left? we did it! we saved everyone”,0 I once had a therapist who concentrated on getting me over specific compulsions. He didn't understand that it would just be replaced by something else.,0 "Omg I love it! So accurate ""I hear you, but let's also consider the fact that......""",0 And then sometimes people think I’m on drugs when I’m voicing my thoughts...,1 "I've been trying to talk to my dad about this. My younger brother almost certainly has ADHD and struggled horribly throughout school and university. He hasn't finished a degree yet and doesn't have a job. Everyday adult tasks are nigh impossible for him. I started talking to my dad about the possibility that my brother has ADHD and that it might be good for him to seek treatment, since my dad has recently been trying to motivate him to get a job through inspirational speeches and the ""just do it"" mentality. I've shown my dad countless videos and articles and he's even admitted that those struggles describe his own life perfectly (he never graduated highschool, has always struggled financially and socially, is constantly late, forgets everything, and after 10 years of insane stress and effort he finally finished a bachelor's degree. I'm really proud of him for that). Yet he cannot accept that it's something that could require medication. He's willing to accept that talking therapy might help, but he flat-out refuses to consider medication as a viable option for my brother (not that it's his decision obviously), because ADHD is just an excuse to be lazy to him. He continues to try to motivate my brother with the tough love approach, because ""I persisted and finished my degree so why can't he?"" You really want your son to have to suffer as much as you did just to get his degree?? That was really hurtful to me, too, since my entire life has been a struggle as well. I've completed a BA and a Master's and it was pure hell. Handed everything in the day it was due or late, wrote every single assignment in a panicked haze over a few hours, beat myself up because I could have done so so much better. Took five years to complete a three-year degree. Quit multiple jobs. Can't do my taxes on time. Can't keep my house clean (neither can my dad). Can't find the momentum to continue projects I started off really passionate about. My heart breaks for my brother because I know he struggles even harder. He's insanely creative and musical, a lateral thinker and a born comedian and entertainer. But he's stuck living off welfare in a shitty apartment because no one acknowledged his difficulties in school and uni as anything more than laziness and lack of drive. I've helped him make an appointment with a GP today to get a referral for an assessment. I can only hope that he'll prove my dad wrong <3 Oh geez. Sorry for the essay...",1 Dang it... but I don’t want to switch my laundry.... laughed so hard at this,1 "Likewise. Any discords or group chats someone can link here ? :) please!",0 As my friends say you are the dumbest smart person I’ve ever met. I thought I was doing fine after finishing law school my career would take off but it didn’t. I’m grateful to have a job that is unrelated to my studies but oh god do I loathe doing the same shit everyday and the most annoying thing is struggling to do this easy job because my stupid brain gets distracted so much. I spend 2 hours of unpaid time to finish my daily tasks and sometimes I don’t even finish them. I’m scared my manager will clock how much I’m struggling 😭,1 "I'm listening to music right now instead of going to the store to get a new air filter for the cold air return, even though it will stop my home from being dusty. Be kind to yourself, at all times. The world is a mean enough place as it is.",1 "I really think that a HUGE number of people are undiagnosed. I swear at least 40% of my coworkers throughout my life have been either diagnosed or suspected they had adhd. I think this, plus people overreacting and calling themselves adhd with little basis, and general stigma leads to people scoffing at it. If I were to say all that at work it would just be a chorus of “bitch me too”, with older people it’s “that’s not real/eVerYoNes a LitTLe aDhD”",1 "I feel that in lectures, lol. Like everything with school is ""can you slow down?"" except my one class where the teacher literally never shuts up and rarely says important info. I always work on homework or just do random stuff on my computer in her class. Her constant jabbering though makes quizzes hard...",1 Yeah this happened when I realized the way my mom treats me is categorized under gaslighting and the worst part is that I had the perfect opportunity to tell people without my mom knowing and having a chance to punish me for it about 2 months beforehand. 💀💀,1 "That’s a lot of adderall for first dose You’re prolly rolling your balls off high as a kite lol",1 "I think you're right! I actually think for me it's because I have a billion thoughts I want to include and my descriptions can be a little animated and detailed. But I HAVE to say all of it, obviously. So, I over use the commas in order to keep going.",1 Yep it’s the same for me :( I watch tons of history videos all the time but cannot recall like 95% of the information.,1 "Sometimes I'll relax and an intrusive thought will slide in with the rest of my thoughts and I'll be convinced that was really me, something I really have to deal with. Those are the scariest moments. LIke a jump scare in a horror movie, I'm calm collected and then --> thought I'm too afraid of to even post here",0 wow to actually see it in writing. it’s nice to know i’m not alone.,0 "I think this resonates with all sides of ADHD, maybe because I'm combination but I feel this. Especially after what ever the fuck this week was",1 "my intrusive thoughts are so bad that when my therapist asked me to describe them I refused because if I said them out loud it would cause them to happen. I also have Dermatillomania, which causes me to spend upwards of 4 hours a day picking at my skin. OCD is a nightmare, I hate it here lol",0 "I just died a little . I ..I have thought for 20 years that I was the ONLY person to have that exact stupid thoughts . Sorry , but . Ahh yes . I'm home.",0 Same. I'm studying a very demanding major and I can't help but feel like I'm the loser among so many overachieving people. I feel like I don't even know what I'm doing.,1 Omg yeah you... you must feel good about yourself right now! Keep it up!!!,1 "This but my sleep pattern is Broken™ and being stressed about an appointment means I might not be able to sleep until quite late which means I've slept through multiple alarms and missed things I had to do and disappointed people before. So I just take the 3pm and accept that the rest of the day is a total loss to anxiety and being in 'holding' mode, rip 😭",1 "I'd just end up rewarding myself for starting the dishwasher, then proceed to eat all the chocolate at once",1 "Oh boy I am over 124 days late to this post but I needed this. I’ve had OCD since I was 2 according to my family but because of so many complications getting with somebody of authority to diagnose me, I wasn’t diagnosed until I was 18. This led to me having 16 years of untreated illness which essentially multiplied and got worse and worse beyond repairable it seems. I suffer from a lot of false memories and have made some regrettable mistakes in my teens that made it so much worse. Every day I see myself as some monster and having Pure O fill my head with believable thoughts, and I always have to tell myself that “The fact that I’m feeling guilty at all proves I am not the monster I am associating myself with” and because of OCD I could never fully believe myself. I may be 124 days late to this post, but seeing this right here helped me beyond imagination, thank you so much.",0 "I'm too busy overthinking about how that mess represents how fucked up my life is, thank you very much.",0 I used to have that ocd years ago. I thought I couldn't have sexual thoughts towards people I liked. Slowly I accepted it. I'm still a virgin though at 25,0 "I constantly live in the past in a state of anger as I reprocess child abuse and neglect. I know exactly how this it. I just wanna let it go, but no, we gotta remember what someone did to us 10 years ago and be angry about it and lose our shit and have a meltdown all in the span of 30 seconds and how did we get here? Oh, we just simply watched a movie and a scene reminded you of this time and now we're thinking about this and BAM now you're c-PTSD is triggered, you're in fight mode, and you wanna scream. Story of my medicated life.",1 "That's always been a big struggle for me, especially with learning Math. Until something has a real world application, or even just a made up scenario that potentially you would use a math concept, my brain just won't understand it or refuse to learn it.",1 "Yup. As a matter of fact I dislike instructions at all. I'd rather just try things and if I get stuck have someone there to answer questions.",1 "I like ""executive function disorder"" because we are EF-D Works for me.",1 "Share this, I don’t know 🤷🏼‍♀️ if you follow r/congratslikeimfive but it’s a great place to share wholesome achievements like this that some may scoff at, but others understand things are difficult and it’s these little achievements that mean the most to us, and we so very seldom take the time to actually praise ourselves for our achievements, because it’s easier to condemn ourselves on our failures. But I really am overjoyed for you and your achievement you worked hard and it paid off. And even if you can’t achieve this with every assignment, at least you know you can. 🤗🤗💚",1 "This is the definition of most of my life! I've found that medication has helped a bit, but I'm curious about people's experience if they have found that finding the right medication and dosing has helped a lot on this aspect, as I've tried a few and it only helped me get maybe 2-3h of productive work in the day instead of 0-2 hours",1 What about if you get intrusive feelings/sensations?,0 God this is exactly where I’m at right now. I can’t shake the thoughts that I’m an awful person who has done unforgivable things and therefore everyone hates me,0 "This made me feel so hopeful, thank you. I just tried my first ADHD medicine, Strattera (non stimulant), and it has not gone well. The idea that I could one day try a different medication and feel this same feeling makes me emotional. Thank you for this well-needed dose of hope!!! I am so happy for you.",1 "I’ve stopped setting goals in my life because regardless of how well I planned or others would plan for me I would randomly and inconsistently, without any logic or reason, defy those plans or revolt against them. Sometimes I hate this bastard brain, sometimes my brain and gut were trying to tell me why those plans were garbage. Regardless, I just do things with a vague understanding that life will lead to something and by doing what Im doing some door will open to something great. Now only if I can feel accomplished after I complete something, even only if its for a few seconds.",1 "I never thought about my mood being the reason my stomach hurts or how I'll suddenly want to vomit. My sleep is also fucked. I spent most of my day angry while I tried to get over a mistake I made. A dumb, irreversible mistake. Was excited to apply for this job I've been waiting for to open up, and I spent the weekend updating my resume and LinkedIn. I applied today and when I refreshed the page to check that out was accepted the application was auto rejected because I was honest on one question about a single experience that I second guessed myself. When I spoke to my friend about it he said, ""yes, you do that all the time... Why did you say no?"" Now I can't reapply, and the hiring manager can't retrieve the resume. I fucked up my really good chance at getting a job. Quick reminder for everyone to collect all important items you need for your day and place them by the door before you sleep tonight. It'll make tomorrow easier.",1 """You can do anything you put your mind to."" What if I can't put my mind to anything?",1 "Ugh, HOCD is troublesome. Keep getting intrusive, homosexual thoughts about guys because my mind knows it's where I'll overreact and try to fight it out. Tired of those gay thoughts and the fears of what if I'm bi, I just wanna be normal and straight. And just clear and overcome this confusion and/or figure out whether it's just homophobia or fear of the LGBTQ+ community.",0 "Me, constantly seeking reassurance on reddit for health worries/obsessions",0 Mine has turned into relationship OCD... I’m obsessing that with the social isolation my friends will stop talking to me and I’ll never see them again.,0 "So relevant to my interests 😳. When one obsession gets too easy for me to ignore/deal with, we circle back to another one.",0 Not necessarily true. It really varies from person to person. Most of my day is spent zoned out and not paying attention to anything. I wonder if it's an PI Vs C or PH thing,1 "Oh my god, I've never seen something more relatable. Perfect meme",0 Just discovered that song “liability” by Lorde and the lyrics sum up this feeling precisely.,1 "People never understood me, they always thought that inside of class, I was an idiot. They would always ask me why I would never listen in class and why I was constantly laughing at irresponsible jokes, why I was constantly talking. I was am always thinking too fast to be able to concentrate, but I still manage to get above average marks. The problem is that society wasn't built for people like us. In order to survive, we have to be the ones to adapt. The problem is, having to adapt to such extreme expectations is really hard. Thank you for being able to make it this far, because I was starting to give up hope.",1 "I too am plugging away at my second year of vet school Unmedicated after being medicated since I was in 2nd grade. For the longest time I held this idea that I couldn’t function normally without it, that I needed it to do school. Not the case. It just takes more work. We are capable of being functional academics!! Look at us go!!!",1 "Yes. Mine typically discourages me from taking action. “Don’t do that thing because something bad could happen.” And if I leave the house and something bad happens, it’s like, “See, you shouldn’t have left.” Another example: If you drive, you could have an accident and kill someone. Therefore, don’t drive. I know this is unreasonable, but I hate taking risks, and most of all, I hate uncertainty. I oftentimes catastrophize situations involving others and their reactions. I constantly imagine they will have a problem with me. I imagine them grossly misinterpreting my actions and judging me harshly, things possibly escalating from there. I suspect this comes from parent issues that my brain has latched on and taken too far. I also rehearse things in my head almost constantly. I fear that if I don’t, I’ll forget something important. But this causes me to be distracted from my environment and miss a lot, so it’s not worth it. I used to enjoy journaling, but that’s turned into a similar compulsion, writing the same things over and over.",0 "I find being on my phone a good way to ease the boredom of brushing while also making a checklist! I try and make sure I get to check off: - left back molars - left front molars - left back gums Repeat on bottom - right back molars - right front molars - right back gums Repeat on the bottom - front gums - front of the front teeth - back of the front teeth Repeat on the bottom teeth. Lastly! Tongue! NOTE: All these stages involve a front, back and bottom of the individual teeth. (If that makes sense). This might not work for everyone but keeping a checklist on my phone so as I'm brushing i can tick them off as I go. I understand twice a day of this is hard but try at least once! I have had extensive work on my teeth and a solid threat from my dentist what what it took for me to be extra careful of my teeth. Good luck!",1 "I wish this cure could have come out 2 and a half years ago when my ocd suddenly jumped from moderate to extreme, I could have just avoided the whole thing!",0 "After reading just a few, I’m going to just leave this comment and dip. I’m getting angry at the universe/myself/something just thinking about it.",1 "Oh nice!! I kinda laughed out loud when I saw the touching your hair thing because I literally cannot stop pulling at my hair. I mean, that‘s probably because I don’t personally have contamination OCD, but I’m still here for ya!! You should be proud of yourself, this is a very impressive feat.",0 Exactly!!!! I have healed so much just from having this mindset. I also started therapy yesterday..💕,0 "This is exactly why I’m not a big fan at all of the whole coddling disguised as empowering bullshit excuse for “mental health activism” lol. Like, “*oh yeah*, my ADHD is *totally* a “superpower”; look at how I can get accommodations at school and *still* miss the due date of schoolwork. Or have a higher chance of developing a substance abuse problem! Or forget that taxes were due until a week later!” “Superpower? *Fuck yeah*, and it comes with a bonus. (;” **”Emotional regulation difficulties and the same fucking 10 seconds of a random song on repeat in my head for an hour.”** And then you have “activists” who’ll encourage this mindset to “empower”, but want to baby you too. They can fuck off with their sanctimonious attitudes. There’s no “internalized ableism” which is also a contradictory statement in itself because it implies that you’re discriminating yourself for having a disability, yet simultaneously you’re supposed to view yourself as not having a disability to counteract that ableism? Makes no goddamn sense! 🤣🤣🤣",1 I thought I was gonna read about a wicked acid trip lol,1 "Yup same for me, apparently these people think breaking me down should motivate me, but in fact it really breaks me down.",1 Yeah a lot of those things were implied by others and my adhd brain hyper focused on them. I really hated myself growing up. I wasn’t diagnosed with adhd until I was 16 and I didn’t really understand what it meant. It took a lot of time for me to realize that the things that I saw in myself that I hated were a part of my adhd. I’ve started to see myself in a better light now.,1 "My roommate takes all day to do dishes. I hate it, I usually just end up having to do them then I resent her even more.",1 I work in a restaurant and when I'm clearing tables it's hellish because I'm constantly getting bits of food or sauce on my hands and I have to wash them immediately,0 This. It might sound goofy to people who don’t understand it. But it is so so frustrating for people who actually struggle with ADHD. I get so frustrated by those unexplainable time skips. They make me so angry at my own brain.,1 I have severe depression and anxiety too so I don't give a shit how dirty and disorganized me or my home gets and it gets really bad. I'm clean and neat and organized af at work though because I'm scared what other people think of me and I'm a perfectionist,0 I literally also have four separate containers of bread crumbs in my pantry.,1 """Just don't have ADHD, my child. You see, it's that simple.""",1 "I realise how lucky I've been to have the right parents, and to have been around the right teachers in high school. My arts teacher suggested the disorder, my parents took it seriously, and my English tutor took me under his wing, made an effort to understand my behaviour, and basically helped me through high school. There've been times when I was ashamed when someone would say ""oh he can't help it, he's got ADD, he just has trouble doing [insert anything academic here]"" but I realised the only thing I could realistically do was to prove them wrong. I still function like shit, but at least I reached university and almost finished my bachelor.",1 Like watching Hamilton and thinking I should get involved in politics. Then spend hours browsing titles I could potentially read on the topic lol,1 I feel like I've won a prize every time I guess what time it is and I'm right 😤,1 I had a horrible lightbulb moment yesterday that I *might* actually be addicted to 'stress'. It's the only way I ever have motivation. This is compounding it.,1 Yup but it stemmed from rumors about me so I think my feelings are valid. I just wish i didn't stress about it so much. You're not alone tho home slice.,0 "Brené Brown has a great way to rationalize this feeling and pattern of behaviors. (at least to me) She calls it “Fucking First Time”. Check out the first episode of her podcast unlocking us where she explains in detail.",1 "damn yeah that pretty well nails me down >\-Using emergency fight-or-flight overdrive to deal with normal daily problems is reasonable and even expected. This is literally how i function day to day So like provided i know what the problem is how tf do i fix myself? therapy?",1 "wait, for me its the absolute opposite. I exercise more, sleep more, and brush more. I haven't been taking my meds either. Paranoid about going to the hospital lately.",1 "Soooo I have had one swollen lymph node swollen for over a year. I went and got an ultrasound and the Dr. was basically like “it’s just your lymph node, *shrug* we’ll proceed forward if it’s still swollen in 6 months” ...... after reading this post now I’m worried again. I hope everything turns out okay dude.",1 Check to make sure no rash has suddenly appeared after checking 5 minutes ago,0 This is basically the story of my relationships: passionate relationship < passionate obsessions. Is this really a thing though? Has anyone avoided relationships to pursue their obsessions?,0 "There is a manager at work who says it. He also mocks someone with a tic. I do infact find it very triggering after 3 years.",0 "Oh, I can relate to this. My actual diagnosis happened thanks to a very similar episode. Only I couldn't wash the dishes without music, so I had to find my headphones which were broken, so I had to repair them, but for that I needed to find a soldering iron, but for that... and suddenly it was 10 PM and the dishes were still submerged in soapy water.",1 "Im sorry for your loss, and im gonna post what i didnt last time i was on reddit. Thank you for the reminder. I miss my parents, im 28 now 3 months into therapy recently divorced, single dad and both parents recently deceased. Im making great progress but i just want to hear that someone is proud of me. Of the work and effort im putting in improving myself and my 2 year old daughters life.",1 Take a shower. It’s set at 8pm. If I’m lucky I’ll take it around 11pm,1 Same same same. I always did the bare minimum necessary for a good grade. Then I got into the workplace and realized that you can’t really skip 75% of the work and still come out on top.,1 "Mood, im a classic/punk rock lover through and through but halfway through the year I spontaneously made a playlist full of cheesy/cringe 2000s club bops and listened to it practically nonstop for a month so now spotify thinks I love dance pop",1 This may be the best piece of information condensed into a post I've ever come across. I tend to forget some details when I'm describing it to others 😅. You made my life a tad bit easier today! Thank you kind stranger. ❤️,1 "I don't feel this is uncommon, nor should it be. Without knowing the purpose of a task, one cannot understand its importance. Wthout knowing the importance of the task, one cannot properly place it in their list of priorities. From a productivity perspective, if a person is spending too much time on a low priority task, that person is less productive. Likewise, if a person fails to place enough importance on certain tasks, the results can be catastrophic, leading to damage to property, injury to people, and even death. Sometimes the person training you isn't the person to ask why something needs to be done a certain way. If they're a low level person, they may not know. The person that trained them may not know, et cetera ad nauseum. I've seen it time and again in different fields that were based on manual labor. The worker bees are all busy doing their tasks, most never understanding why. It won't take long for the person that does know why things are supposed to be done a certain way to step out from the crowd. They'll probably be the person that you see everyone else approaching for answers. That's the person you need to talk to. It may take a little time to identify them if they're not always around you. Be patient, they're lurking around somewhere.",1 "Damn, something that I would probably do. I've gotten the habit to bite the bullet now though and just remove videos from my watch later.",1 "That's a part of it for sure. However, I suggest that you think about WHY you are taking in everything. Then compare it to situations where you cant take in anything except the one thing you are focused on. That is the path to the understanding that you will need in order to construct your life in a way that mitigates the negative impacts of ADHD.",1 "Same here! Contamination OCD for a decade and hatched ducks this year, hand reared them and absolutely adore them! Helped me no end, I hope you enjoy your ducklings 🙂",0 "I don’t know if this applies to anyone else, but it’s also provides false hope. I have yet to meet anyone IRL who has disclosed they have OCD. I often feel really alone and when people use it as a synonym I get a little excited to feel less alone— it sucks.",0 "I have never had this happen, but I have gotten so distracted by doing that everything to ""prepare""(shaving, brushing teeth, etc) that he fell asleep. It's all good. If he knows you have ADHD and he doesn't get over it, well.... your bad ass deserve better.",1 "I have done loads of assignments to ""cement the knowledge"" required for my final assessment (which includes a professional discussion). It's a work-based apprenticeship so it's all about stuff I see and do every day. I have absolutely no idea what I've learned. My assignments get distinctions but I KNOW that when it comes to being put on the spot and asked questions about it, there is no way I am ever going to recall the information. Then I get anxious because I think I won't be able to, and I'm scared they'll think that it wasn't me doing the rest of the work, as I am clearly an idiot with no understanding.",1 "It’s crazy how many seemingly “little” things like this people without OCD take for granted. Not in a malicious way, just because their brain has never forced them to stop mid-reach for a glass and snowball all of the dire consequences that might result from using it. I know how hard this can be, so this is great progress. Happy for you! ",0 NO! You can’t stop me! It’s 12:30 and I’m the king of the WORLD!!!,1 My OCD is having a goddamn existential crisis of its own.,0 lmao @ my dad with OCD when he decided to create me,0 This made my blood boil. Who on earth would desire this disorder....it’s the worst thing I’ve dealt with,0 "It’s funny that I would never say anything like this to anyone else, yet I keep telling myself to just be better…",1 lol i tried doing this but i have no friends and the relationship with my parents is shit ,1 I'm not diagnosed yet but you literally described my life,1 "I discovered this a few weeks ago as well. I just made another playlist called ""Watch Later 2"" 😂",1 "I was all ready to live happily ever after, then *BAM* satire.",1 "I removed all the trash from my bin looking for a paper with passwords I've written down........disgusting since I checked the one with leftover foods too.... The paper was in one of my notebooks.... Found it few days later.....",1 "Stop wondering if you are valid! Start proving to yourself that you are! <3 ​ This is my youtube channel for anyone who is interested! :) I have been making tremendous progress and actually really have been helping myself a lot <3 [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1ikz0\_b6Ngx1mouoRA7cQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1ikz0_b6Ngx1mouoRA7cQ)",0 "Totally. I think it's because we make so many negative experiences with fitting in? Like, you put in all you can and it's never quite enough, so the brain decides that's not a useful strategy",1 "Spotify wrapped makes me feel like I need one account for lo-fi, rain and random artist/song obsessions and another account to listen to my favorites on.",1 "i had the same reaction first i was put on Ritalin, i cried cause my head went quiet, the world slowed down, i was no longer watching 10 movies in my head with a blasting volume. i could suddenly feel more like myself, the real version. no confusion, no loss of memory in the moment, i knew where every little thing in my room was, i could understand every thought i was thinking.",1 "Hey dude the best for you! I'm rooting for ya, you can do it!",1 Wow. Just wow. Thank you for hyperfocusing on this for all of us. This is going to be so helpful whenever I remember it exists.,1 I always tell myself. The FRIDGE IS CLOSED. You don't need to keep checking. What do I do? Check 15 more times.,0 "Is 7 anyone else’s number? I’m seeing lots of even numbers and 3’s and 5’s. If so, then high 5 (or high 7 I guess)",0 insanely true. i’d say it starts in college even - got absolutely fucked up my first year of college bc i didn’t realize i had adhd. horrible times,1 "yea most of my stuff is around my friends misinterpreting or reading something bad into my actions. i find writing imaginal stories helps me a lot with this, basically writing a paragraph that says Yes i will be accused of this thing, and Yes it is true, and there is nothing i can do.",0 "I spent all day laying down with the lights off in one spot on my bed feeling completely down and depressed because I cannot manage to build the motivation even for the smallest things. I was just thinking the last couple hours about all the ways my inattentive ADHD confuses people, makes me come off oblivious to everything, and completely lazy when it comes to daily tasks. I opened my phone hoping to read something to clear my mind and this made me cry. I'm so happy there's people who just understand.",1 I always think of it like clearing an Etch-a-Sketch.,0 "My OCD started when I was about 4 years old, 15 years ago... When I was 6-7 I would always ask my mom to take me to a psychologist or something, but she never did because she thought I was saying it for attention. I know it’s weird that a kid so small would ask to be taken to therapy; it’s not like I knew the intrusive thoughts were a psychopathology, but I knew that my compulsions were really weird because I saw no one else doing them, and I didn’t know how to stop. It was hell. Now that I’m 19, I go to therapy and also found some help in psychedelics. I hope that I’ll be able to beat this one day.",0 I need to finish my summer reading that I’ve been putting off for the entire summer,1 "(Cracks knuckles) so listen I just wanna talk. Seriously though do people actually believe that people just chose to have a mental illness, I don't just wake-up and think ya know I'm gonna have ocd and depression today.",0 "I have literally just joined this group and documented how I am going to start my journey to see if I have ADHD and every one of these posts are so painful accurate to how I feel/what I do, I can't quite believe it! I can relate to absolutely everything..",1 haha thats awesome. Definitely need it on some days,0 "Don’t you know everyone I love will die unless I blink in multiples of two?! Fr though, it’s interesting that you can know something intellectually and still believe the opposite emotionally.",0 Physical Illness and mental illness are two different thing imo,0 "to be honest, i get the spider thing and it's not even my ocd, the rest of this i feel tho lol",0 Couldn’t agree more.”oh you just cant pay attention? Me neither just try harder” like the attention part is such a small part of it,1 """just stop thinking about it."" Gee thanks, I hadn't thought of that!",0 I'm unironically having an ad ocd looping in my head since this morning,0 "Woah. I'm not working currently, but I would without fail start yawning when I got to work and got incredibly tired, despite feeling good beforehand.",1 "This is brilliant, I need to try it myself. As you have I tried all kinds of different methods that rely on rewards/gamification... they all have short term beneficial effect but in retrospect after a while they all seem to actually make it worse. So doing the opposite, in the sense of optimizing for feeling good while doing the work, might actually be a brilliant approach. Thank you for sharing!",1 I watched La La Land this year. 7000 minutes of Justin Hurwitz. Emma Stone was my 5th most heard and she isn't even a singer.,1 "Wow. Beautiful, just beautiful. I would love to buy a copy of this. I suffer from OCD myself, mostly intrusive thoughts, but this expression is wonderful. I use music to express my disorder. It’s great to see other people with the same condition channeling their emotions when sometimes words can’t describe the pain, anxiety and fear of the disorder.",0 I hand out planners. Come see me and we can discuss adding yours to the mix. Ignore the spent ammo at location.,1 Actually I’m good right now (crazy right?) but I’m stuck in a car and caught up on shit I can do inside it,1 "I really seem to feel helped at the moment. Someone recognizes me foe once. My husband has Covid, I haven't eaten properly, sleep comes and goes when I'm tired enough to rest, I can't get on any anti-anxiety meds (I'd get addicted) and my migraine prone head is killing me. Stress is through the roof b/c I have been responsible and not left the house for more than 10 trips since March 1st, 2020 but he's been working at a takeout/delivery restaurant! It isn't penguins (it was for his nana) but for me it is CATS. I need a ball of purring fur telling me he's feline and won't die from this new human strain of corona. I need trepanning, please. To let the evil spirits out and remove the blood flow tension.",1 "This, my friends, is a clear example of what Hyper Focus looks like.",1 That's Awesome! Thanks for sharing this moment with us 💪🏻,0 I think for me it's because the information lacks context so I'm unable to add it to my connectivity knowledge web type brain. Like it quite literally means nothing without the context.,1 "That remember me last week I wanted to change the air in the house before winter so I open all the windows. It took me almost 2 hours to close them all !! Each time I was going in an other room to close one I would found stuff to do there, getting cold and remember that there's still open windows to close! Depart for each fucking room.",1 "Don't just google ""adhd"". Google ""adult adhd"" and avoid all the material directed at parents. Use the quotation marks to make sure the terms are found next to each other in the material. You don't want a document that includes both ""adult"" and ""adhd"", you want to see stuff about ""adult adhd"". There quite a bit out there. Being the subject of study is alienating. I also don't like that feeling, but researchers without ADHD, like Russell Barkley, have provided invaluable information that has helped many of us understand ourselves.",1 "In writing class we're told to avoid run-on sentences. To go ahead and start a new sentence instead of adding a comma and keeping going. That said, I was working on a project with non-native English speakers, and I was told -- write sentences with only one comma. Which I thought was a good note. That's a good way to tell if your sentence has gotten too unwieldy. Meanwhile, I'm hyperaware in this comment about where I'm putting my periods and commas haha.",1 "I call mine Kyle after the vine “what the fuck is up Kyle? Step the fuck up Kyle” https://youtu.be/uQol28R2k6c",0 "Wtf, this is so accurate. Especially yes man really resonates so much more with me right now after seeing it from this perspective.",1 "Yeah it really is a relief to find someone you can relate to on that level! But hey, to anyone reading this who needs to hear it, don't feel bad if you have obsessions that literally no one else has. I feel like our brains are so creative at creating obsessions, and our obsessions are so intricately shaped by our unique life experiences and personalities, that it's likely that we've all had a few that are completely unique to us.",0 "i hate every inch of it , it tears down my mental state some days",0 "I know how you feel. I got asked to apply for a job that I am really excited for. Had to submit my resume and write a cover letter. Literally waited until the last possible moment to do so even though I had plenty of time to do so before-hand. Not sure if it was some anxiety around applying or what, but I just kept putting it off and off. The executive director even asked me if I was still applying...",1 Both things have happened to me. Don’t feel guilty...not our fault :),0 "In late 2018 my intrusive thoughts was at their worst.. it felt like my brain was on fire.. it got so bad that I tried to kill myself.. in my suicide letter I wrote down that even if I got help with my intrusive thoughts I wouldn’t be able to live with myself knowing that I thought those things... It’s a lot better now.. I don’t have any self esteem left and I still feel like a horrible person.. but I’m trying my best to cope. I try my best to not beat myself up when these intrusive thoughts are coming.. I believe the pain will end.. it may take time.. but you’ll come to understand that your intrusive thoughts are not the real you",0 "It’s funny also because despite being diagnosed as a kid, I assumed it was a non issue until I was 30 because I outgrew my hyperactivity and could pay attention to things. Silly! If the name was different I mighta looked into it more.",1 ">""Make sure you get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy diet to help manage your ADHD!"" I men they're not *wrong*. Just a little lacking in the particulars. As though knowledge alone can help alleviate an *executive function* disorder, with...more fucking things to execute. Jesus christ, @#$%, god*damn*it, Kevin! You had *one job*. Just the one!",1 "Oh, All too real! There was one time I left my husbands longboard near the stove (we have a gas stove), to go down south a couple of hours for the family. Yeah.... boy oh boy was everyone mad when I insisted we go back because I was convinced it going to fall and turn on the gas. Luckily we were only a half-hour out.",0 Shit man. All I read was the title and I became jealous. Congrats.,1 God damn this is the funniest and most relatable one yet!,0 Time is never wasted when you are doing what you want at that moment. Never forget.,1 But... isn't this how the rest of the world operates? o\_o,1 "“Aww why can’t you come?” Me: I have to water the cat",0 "Wow, I am impressed with both you and the company. Good job!",0 "Man, im so glad i saw this because ive been having a bad mental health week",0 If I don’t knock on my head enough times I will die in a car accident,0 I listened to my most popular song 47 times and probably only listened to it for 3 weeks😅,1 I definitely get this. Always thought it was a type of performance anxiety connected to general anxiety,1 "Today i was at the grocery store checking out and the clerk waved at us to pull our cart back while the person in front of us was paying. We were a bit confused and i just assumed it’s a policy to give the person paying privacy and my sister said “he probably has OCD” knowing i have OCD. I bit my tongue and just said “i doubt it” but it really left a bad taste in my mouth because she knows i struggle with OCD, i had previously even opened up to her about my progress. I really wanted to ask her “why would you assume that?” out of genuine curiosity but i knew she would get mad if i asked that. I hate people throwing around OCD and it really left me confused. OCD is serious and just because someone is a control-freak or clean-freak does not mean shit. Sorry for the rant that only semi-relates to this post but i know people over here will understand what i mean",0 I finally started getting out of it but I’m back now 😎🦀,0 the internal monologues are the best thing about watching a movie wdym,1 "Honestly Gen z is fucking amazing. Im 19 right now and i used to talk to 30 yr olds mostly because of my job and now i started talking to people my age i finally met people who actually enjoy my adhd and dont mind it and they know how to work with it. This made me so happy. Bless her, she sounds like an amazing woman.",1 Don’t listen to the voice in your head ever. Listen to how you’re feeling and don’t think too much about it but just feel it... only time we should be using our thoughts is for productive tasks otherwise it seems to just ruminate and cause problems,0 "This precise fucking problem has been ruining my life for years and I don't know what to do about it... help",1 "Always good to remember that content doesn’t matter although it feels like it does in the moment. When an old topic comes up, it’s good to do ERP for it and show your brain how irrelevant it is.",0 I did it but instead of locks it was the stove. I drove like 40 min back home just to make sure. The sad part is that I don't really use the stove that much.,0 "Oh crap, did I write this and forget? I'm kidding of course, but I could have written this. I have ASD in addition to ADHD so I've always thought this problem was more on the ASD side.",1 "I saved something because it was something I wanted to try out. I was going to try it this morning but wasted my entire day instead. Your post just reminded me that I wasted a day :(",1 Even worse if it's a late-morning or early-evening thing and being third shift... Might as well just stay up 🥴,1 "This is me too. I have found that I tend to communicate pretty clearly when I “let go and just talk freely.” **BUT** that can only happen in situations where I feel totally emotionally safe, since I’m basically having to turn off all my filters. So I have to trust that whoever I am talking to will give me grace and help me work through anything stupid I might say before my brain catches up to my mouth, or similarly that they are able and willing to track with the way my brain jumps around without getting frustrated. But if I’m with more than three or four people, forget it. I can’t simultaneously monitor how everyone is responding to me and when I need to stop talking or clarify. (Hey thanks you just gave me a mini self revelation in why I’m an introvert lol).",1 Trauma injury re-wires our brains to ruminate and have increased anxiety,0 "I always try to force my OCD internal monologue into stupid voices so I can laugh at it. I’m not always successful, but it does help.",0 Oi rude - I'm totally not avoiding work at all. Ok yes I am,1 "Well done! I also love this. Especially the clouds and the sky.",0 "For a moment when reading this I thought, ""waait, did i write this earlier and forget?"" Lol. You're in my head. Yes, yes, and yes. I still haven't figured this out. If, in that moment, I recognize and accept that disrespect is definitely happening, I will not hesitate to lay that person out (verbally, of course). If I'm physically transgressed, no problems, either. I know how to defend myself. But it has always been the emotional shit that is so hard for me to be assertive on. When I was a youngling in middle school, I discovered that my ""friends"" and several other classmates had a hate group dedicated to me. Did wonders for the confidence, let me tell you. You can imagine what that did for my rejection dysphoria. I've been a massive people pleaser since. Even recently, I had a work colleague storm out on me without a word while I was in a high anxiety state. Even though, looking back, I should have told myself that unless that person is willing to talk to me their beef is not my problem, I still texted fretting. ""CAN'T WE TALK ABOUT THIS?"" ""WHY ARE YOU SO ANGRY AT ME?"" It's the low self-esteem and confidence coupled with anxiety that holds me back from expecting more for myself. And I am oh so good at second guessing. Once the storm in my mind calms, I can see things for what they were usually and then yep, I'm outraged at them and especially myself for letting myself be trampled on. I'm working on it but that's such a hard one.",1 "I have to close the door just right or try again. I've sat there for 30 mintues opening and closing the door, and as soon as I walk away I have to do it again",0 More like the other way around for me. I was hit by depression first and I tried to seek help with a therapist (to no avail) through my abusive parents and it wasn't until a year and a half that I was finally able to get help though it's still not enough.,0 OCD is a monster. Starving it is the only way to kill it.,0 "My guess from personal experience is that you basically get bored, and different ppl respond to that differently. In some situations where we remove all other distractions, the brain just resorts to feeling sleepy instead. Idk how it works tho",1 "Every once in a while someone posts an ""Anyone else think/feel/do this"" questions on here and it gives me an overwhelming feeling of *it's not just me* relief. This is one of them. A lot of my compulsive thoughts are linked to my loved ones dying. My granny is 96 and not in great health at the moment. So I'll be getting dressed for work and my brain starts in with shit like ""you can wear this to the funeral"" or ""she said she likes your hair pinned back, you should wear it like that more so she can see it before she dies"" and replay that over and over. It's fucking exhausting.",0 "Usually I just wash my hands once, but I've been singing the happy birthday song to myself 3 times in a row while I wash my hands for years.",0 "Yeah, my partner has learned to tolerate my constant pausing and rewinding but he still sometimes gets to the point of “PLEASE CAN WE JUST WATCH THE THING”. I watch everything with closed captions on now, which helps me recover before I’ve wandered completely away mentally.",1 "right on! earlier, i was trying to shift my inner narrative from a state of despair to something along these lines: i'm safe and i'm good to go. while knee-deep in that struggle, at times, relief can feel out of reach or impossible. but, once again, my ocd was wrong.",0 "Yeah I know you feeling, only happens to me when it’s a bad one like you said though.",0 "Yesterday I was attending to a very contagious patient and I thought ""what if I touch my face with this soiled glove?"" after cleaning the wounds.",0 "Am therapist, my place of work has not closed intakes, ever. Our wait time to see someone is typically 1-2 weeks. Try psychologytoday.com and search based on your needs/location. MOST if not all therapists are trained in CBT (but not ERP). Additionally, you can call your insurance and they can give you referrals that are in network. Yes, it's frustrating. Yes it can take a long time. But help has become more accessible thanks to telehealth, and a 6-9 month wait list doesn't have to be the case if you keep looking.",0 "I did this to a friend once in first grade, I said “love you mom” and blew a kiss as my friend got off the school bus. Will never not be scarred by that.",0 If Gunner believes in us then we're all gonna be OK! ❤️,0 "Me, when I was 10 and convinced myself I was pregnant.",0 I crammed for a mid term this morning. Turns out it's next week...,1 Damn it yes I have this. I always think if I dont remember everything my brain is f**ked,0 "That’s how I feel!! If I’m not suffering with it 24/7, I feel like a total fake.",0 "I have two online exams now, we already finished classes before all of this started anyway, but I feel like there's nothing to do now. I'm in Italy, so I can't even go see museums, or other cities in the region. Its literally nothing to do. Studying doesn't count, I keep forgetting about it every single day. Anxiety+ bad memory = 100% chance of me doing exams in June.",1 "Go into medicine or engineering! The ""why?"" Is encouraged!",1 "If you guys want to fix your hands, I can't stress enough the importance of switching hand soaps to something more gentle. I put some soap suggestions in the post below. Lotions and creams are okay, but the #1 thing you can do is switch soap. Washed my hands like 100x a day for 5 years, been in your shoes. [https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/ko6eze/how\_do\_i\_help\_my\_friend\_with\_ocd/ghokvyt/?utm\_source=reddit&utm\_medium=web2x&context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/ko6eze/how_do_i_help_my_friend_with_ocd/ghokvyt/?utm_source=reddit&utm_medium=web2x&context=3)",0 "This was so beautiful. This is all Adhd folks need in a partner. Patience, acknowledgement and understanding. I’m glad that you’ve taken the effort to understand your girlfriends love language. You guys are both lucky to have each other.",1 This gave me flashbacks of me trying not to fart in a silent crowded room... I failed,0 "Been more or less depression free for like 5 months now, after a nasty 2 year bout. I was just gradually getting more and more depressed about the way my wife was treating me, and I was just crippled with the thought of dealing with it for the next 60 years or so. I think my recovery has come in stages: - Asking my mom to set up an appointment with a doctor - Going on antidepressants - Reading Feeling Good and learning about cognitive behavioral therapy - More antidepressants - Making a ""safety plan"" with my psychiatrist to have a plan in place (where to go, who to talk to, etc) when feeling triggered - Realizing my wife's anxiety was influencing her to emotionally abuse me - Kicking my wife out - Buying and reading an assertiveness workbook - Living with my dad for a month - Letting my wife move back in after she went on antianxiety meds - Getting diagnosed with ADHD and starting Adderall - Getting a rescue dog For me, there was never any light at the end of the tunnel, until my wife moved out and I was suddenly no longer in the tunnel. I realized the things about our relationship that I was no longer willing to put up with, and I set boundaries and was able to heal a bit. That said, I would never have been able to get to that point if the other stages hadn't come first. There's my oversharing for the day! If you're depressed and reading this, know this: depression hits a ton of people. I've heard it called the ""common cold of mental illness"". Colds are miserable. If I had a cold for a week or two, I'd probably just wait it out, but around the three week mark, I'd be in to see a doctor to try to get some help. You're in a place right now where you feel out of control and hopeless, and that's not your fault. Go talk to a doctor. If you can't bring yourself to do that, ask a trusted friend to set you up an appointment with a doctor. If you don't have a trusted friend to talk to, PM me. Healing takes a long time sometimes, and it can be a painful process. But it's doable, and it's worth it. The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is now.",1 I always say that if I had a twin I would be 4 times as productive. ,1 "Belive it or not, #NO! but actually yes I should be going to bed probably.",1 "I swear Toy Story isn't fiction if you have ADHD. It's like all my inanimate objects move to weird places when I'm not looking.",1 "My android phone can search by facial recognition so I just have to click on her picture and I'll see all our photos together. However I had never considered screenshotting the sweet texts, I wonder if I can place them in her category as well!! Great post thank you!",1 I do this in class and wish I would just stop. I tried to explain it once and was told I needed to focus more.,1 i had bad adhd and developed depression this passed year (its genetic for me but i got it after moving out) IS THIS WHY My adhd meds don’t seem to be working anymore ???? like i wanna get stuff done and i’m falling behind in school but the ONLY thing i have motivation for is to nap ... i took prozac for a little but my doctor said to take a little less bc that could b why i’m always napping. it made sense but i just stopped taking all together. i feel the way i always feel unmedicated i guess but i ammmm medicated ?? (70 mg vyvanse),1 Get well soon brother. Please update us on your treatment and progress as it goes.,1 I hate my brain. But they seem like obvious signs to me.,0 "The cycle that is our life, I swear the only reason I enjoy Spotify so much is because when you “heart/like” a song it just puts it into an ever growing list/playlist that you can shuffle.",1 "As a doctor with ADHD who treats kids with ADHD, I'll add that the only time I agree with med holidays is for kids who don't do good enough catch up eating when meds wear off, and do their best eating on med holidays, and we're otherwise struggling to get good growth. Also sometimes I'll do it for blind trials to school if it's a kid with less of a clear response to a med. I also do the wake up thing. Especially with Vyvanse where it takes a bit longer to kick in. My meds and a glass of water are on my bedside table so that I can force my sleep drunk first alarm self to reach over and force down my meds.",1 "I just got here, i didn’t expect to get personally attacked first thing. 🥺",1 "I do this with a lot of things now, after learning the hard way. Sometimes people still don't understand why I spend more on certain things but this post is so validating. Lol! Thank you",1 "This might be a part of why i didn't take diagnosis seriously for so long. I struggled for years and have lost jobs to it, but just thought it was my fault, not the ADHD, because every time i tried to understand it all i heard was that it affects kids and ""goes away for adults"" and with every other article being about kids, i really believed that. But it doesn't go away, it's only gotten worse, so clearly that was a lie. (Of which i am very aware now, but could not know then)",1 "This may sound cynical, but like people think it goes away in adults because ADHD is diagnosed mostly by presenting outwardly in the ways in which young white male children with ADHD bother adults. Like as a 21 year old lady - I'm not going to go batshit when little timmy takes my pokemon cards. I'm going to do some impulsive online shopping or miss some assignments for a course in college. I am going to cry in the shower at 2 am because i cant fall asleep and i feel like I am so behind and the world is falling apart.",1 "I've worked in corporate for 25 years, and my ADHD has been a double edged sword. On the one hand, there's the drudgery aspect and the 'omg can someone please shove a pencil in my throat and end it all already' moments. Not fun, and I literally cannot get any work done. Fortunately for me, I've had some good bosses in the past who taught me how to advocate for my own success. I learned how to curate my workload to things I at which I excelled. Rule #1 was that I needed more work in my queue than I could possibly get done in a day, but it was ok it if didn't all get done. My boss just loaded me up and said 'I don't care how much you do on any given day, but I need by .' So days when I could only crank out 50% effort were balanced out by hyperfocus sessions. I also work in tech, and have a reputation as a reliable troubleshooter in complex environments. I can walk into a room full of panicking people and feel calm. The more hectic the problem, the better. The chaos would trigger my hyperfocus, and it's like I could see the solution 3 steps ahead of anyone else. The way I saw it was 'It's just a puzzle', and for some reason puzzles have always held my attention. But don't get me started on my Rubik's cube collection...",1 "Constantly trying and abandoning new hobbies - And jobs. You've described my situation so well. Better than I could have compiled.",1 Wait...that isn’t normal...like seriously? I’ve done that since I was like 12 (i’m 16 now)...should I be alarmed?,0 When I was 7 I feel asleep crying on my bed thinking about death. It's funny to remember now😂😂😭,0 Not sure if this is OCD or not. I did this as a kid often.,0 "Well, I breathe in 4s, 3s, and 8s, and count thoughts in 2s. COVID didn't help anything in that regard.",0 Yeah... which makes it hurt worse that my genuinely great father made the bad decision to ignore the diagnosis because he didn’t like meds. Because I felt like I had been suffering my entire childhood and ... he didn’t realize how much damage he did,1 Maybe. Could be true but it also could be unrelated. I feel I sometimes have this issue if I just don’t respect the person or questions their judgment. Its also depends on the discipline relationship.,1 "Weird relief from reading your post. Yes, I do. I remember being in the pool with my mom when I was maybe 9/10ish and just wanting to sob my eyes out because I was so happy in that moment but my mind kept on going “one day your family will die”. It’s so tiring and so frustrating. When I look at pictures or songs, as you said, I feel exactly what you described. I know it’s not much, but what helps me is... weirdly enough, thinking that I can’t control the future and I can’t keep living in fear. Everyone dies one day, so I will try and not worry about it, always pushing the thoughts away. It took some years to become an “easy” task.",0 "The number of times I’ve heard “you can’t be OCD, your house is a mess!” is so beyond annoying. Like actually, I have been diagnosed with contamination OCD because of the way I interact with messes and food, and that’s why my house is a mess lol. I want to be like “oh allow me to show you my constantly cracked and bleeding hands, are you sure OCD still sounds like a fun quirk I’m claiming for funsies?”",0 "When I was younger, my dad would always tell me that it's not that I don't have time to do things, it's that I don't make time. That always made me feel like I was just lazy and making a conscious choice not to do things. Except that it was literally the opposite. One example that I look back to is that I would be sitting on my bed, ready to go to sleep, needing to turn the lights off. I would tell myself in my head over and over ""just get up and turn the lights off"", sometimes for an hour. I would never be able to just get up and do what I was telling myself to do. After my diagnosis, that I didn't get until I was already working on my PhD, I started understanding not only why I was like that, but that neurotypicals can just... get up and do those things whenever they want to. Instead, for me, I would eventually give up and fall asleep with the lights on.",1 You act like occasionally and chocolate and just be thrown into a sentence together. :P,1 I’ve been searching for good ADHD books and this sounds really interesting. Thanks for the recommendation!,1 I am tryna do leetcode and have ADHD. I feel you bro. I feel you. Everyone talks about 30 minute problems and I take two whole days.,1 "This is why I chose (well, am choosing) a career in which I have to constantly learn. Teach me something in a stimulating environment and I will learn all day. But the second I stop learning I am gonna start drooling on the thing I was ""so good"" at doing.",1 Living in the world of maybe and good enough. Because after all certainty is just a feelings not a fact.,0 Omg. I’ve been hacking it wrong!!! Thank you for this,1 "Me too. If someone tries to tough love me, my brain just goes ""welp I guess they hate me and I'm a repulsive failure of a human being"" and then I never talk to them again.",1 "Man I wish non ocd people and me could switch lives for a week, then they will understand.",0 "What works for me, is finding one thing that I can do immediately after work/school/something that requires full attention. That's usually when dopamine kicks in the hardest because I'm looking at the entire afternoon, not just how much time I have left. Hope this helps!",1 "I like to think this is because ADHD affects everyone differently, and as people with ADHD, we as a community understand that. Therefore there is no judgement toward others. We understand that not everyone struggles with the same thing but we all struggle so why not try to make things a little bit easier for somebody. I like it here too. I feel understood.",1 "Ah yes my favorite words kimchin, bneet, and spinch",1 Yeah I just got off mine cold turkey for a week and it was not fine,0 "I read this blog, might be interesting. https://ocdfreelife.blogspot.com",0 Instructions unclear; sitting wrapped in a blanket on a sofa whilst trying to clean.,1 "Yes, everyone has tiny bits of things they do that look a bit like a certain disorder. But the criteria to be diagnosed with most things is if it significantly affects your life. Just because I’ve hallucinated once in my life does not make me “a little schizophrenic.” Why the hell is this so hard to understand?",0 "2Do for iPhone is an app where you can easily snooze for an hour or 15 minutes, and if you ignore it, it nags you every 5 minutes or so indefinitely. It’s a godsend. Without it I’d be living in a van down by the river.",1 "Wow. Someone I can relate to, I can’t always express my thoughts through talking without it coming out wrong. So most times I stay quiet about deeper things.",1 Omg this is the most relatable thing I can’t even. This is like 80% of my day.,0 "Really am proud of yourself mate, Congratulations 🙌🏽♥️",0 I had like a week of peace from pocd thoughts and then i saw a triggering video (I didn't go looking for it it just showed up on my social media) and now I'm back in hell :),0 "This is me!! Especially with interviews, and then starting new jobs. My anxiety and ADHD start to show and I am no longer strong and confident, I’m weak and insecure and disappointing. Yay!",1 "Nah man, not this time! Waiting while the little ones fall asleep. I was productive today. Good reminder though.❤️",1 Thank you OP and your beautiful hyper focus. You have helped so many of us with this list!!,1 "I love this. The worse my mental state, the dirtier my home is. The more in charge and healthy I feel, the cleaner my home is. My OCD only impairs my ability to function in ways like cleaning my house. I sure wish it was the opposite!",0 "Being diagnosed doesn’t make a difference. No one cares if you have ADHD. This is work, not school, if you do less work you did less work, they aren’t going to act like you did the same just cuz you have ADHD. If you can’t complete assignments then your too lazy, accept it, if you tried hard enough you’d get it on time. Work harder to make up for ADHD, I believe in you, really.",1 "I'm 60, and was diagnosed two years ago. Tourettes as well. It took my new psych 15 minutes of conversation on my first visit to figure it out, after 25 years of other psychs missing the boat. I led a good life, but it would have been so much easier had I known and been correctly medicated. I was moved up a year in elementary school and read at another grade level higher. I taught myself to read at 2 or 3. I'm right with all of you, told how smart I am but seemingly unable to corral it. And, the personal and professional failures just didn't have to happen like they did.",1 I'm now at the point where I can realise that the belief that I would actually use that time to catch up is a huge self delusion,1 "Now I think of it.. When I really cant get myself to do work, I sit on my couch with a blanket and I grab my laptop, and I just start working. And I actually get work done. Anyone know how to do this with chores 😂",1 "Partner is like ""can you do the dishes tomorrow"" ""yeah ofc"" Tomorrow arrives - ""can you do the dishes today?"" ""Yeah ofc"" (unable to enjoy myself today due to the anxiety of knowing I am going to be doing the dishes instead of something like my dopamine chasing) I ACTUALLY WANT TO DO THEM BUT THE THOUGHT CRIPPLES ME MENTALLY ANF PHYSICALLY",1 I wish you guys would stop delegitimizing the neatness aspect in the disease. People do suffer from it.,0 so....I'm Jewish. I snorted with laughter at this while at work. I got weird looks. :-D,1 "I’m in the same situation. I’m getting together with a few classmates to “attend lecture” and then do the assignments together after. But I’m worried my semester will just fall apart without the structure.",1 "Same thing except I've forced myself to clean it out once a month. I live on the edge with always at 5 megabytes of space left in my phone so I usually have to go and clear it out eventually",1 "I hate physical anything, planner, books etc. so I use my phone as a planner and it helps me remember… but sure as hell didn’t cure adhd.",1 "This is not fun. I've had for some months the issue that OCD symptoms start immediately after waking up and last for maybe 2-3 hours until I'm able to start work for the day. The remaining day might be okay, but the first few hours it always hits and I feel just going back to sleep.",0 Last time I was able to hang out with my friends my one friend kept going on about how she was OCD about the fact the lights were different colors (some were yellowish and some where just white) and then she said she had multiple mental breakdowns over the weekend because she couldn't get the right size pants for her new job and she didn't want to wear a belt. I mean I still love her and Idk if she actually has OCD or not but it was making me so mad... Pretty sure she knows I have OCD though 🤷,0 Why did I somehow see “possessive Snowden” in these letters?,0 """Do I really have OCD or did I just accidentally train my brain into acting like it has OCD because I got told I have OCD?""",0 "This is one of the most poetic things I have read about ADHD. For someone with this condition that causes such chaos, this reads like an oasis of calm. I especially needed that today. Thank you, and I’m very sorry you lost your friend. No one deserves that.",1 "100%! Because what is needed is support, not shaming.",1 "Literally, my housemate three weeks ago: ""Oh, what are you talking about? There's nothing wrong with you."" This week after the OCD showed her a thing or two: THIS IS NOT NORMAL!!!",0 "I've always felt this way as well, and I think--for me at least--it stems from a history of emotional turmoil with family members, teachers, and peers that gave me the impression that I was different for the worse. One incident that particularly sticks out is how much my father would be upset at me for wetting the bed. I just never learned how to wake up to use the bathroom until I was about 9. I also remember having to wear what were essentially diapers because of how often it would happen, which would make me embarrassed to be around friends at sleep overs. I didn't talk about my dad much, but I believe that his constant criticism is why I hold such negative beliefs about myself. I remember my dad telling me that I was born wrong when he was pissed and I was six years old. Stuff like that sticks with with you for a lifetime.",1 I love when low effort joke pages targeting Baby Boomers end up rely on ableist image macros recycling jokes from 2005 🙃,0 "Damn. We should all take your dads advice, what an uncaring know-it-all moron.",1 I'm struggling with this now at a dry cleaners. Everything has a purpose but I don't see it until I've made a mistake. Tell me in advance why this is the way we do it so I can have a cause and effect model to develop anxiety over to keep me from doing the thing! Otherwise I'll forget and here we are again. My memory is shit unless I'm taught a certain way.,1 "I've had some terrible times. I've used a 'feature' of my ADHD to hyperfocus on another idea/project/task, and for a time, 'forget' what was making me upset. This lets me clear my head and when I remember the bad incident again, I try to process it calmly, a bit at a time. When I feel myself hyperfocusing again on anger, sadness, fear, etc. I repeat the redirection again. It takes fucktons of practice, but it's helped me remain functional, instead of hitting brain-lock where everything keeps looping back to the trauma.",1 "Does anyone know of any medication regimen that can help with this? I have tried many to decrease the amount of embarrassing intrusive thoughts, and while some have helped, I have never seen a drastic difference. It is overwhelming to think that these thoughts will plague me for the foreseeable future. I keep trying to hold out hope that it will get better, but it seems that I am a slave to my mind and at the mercy of whatever it wants to think about, which happens to be embarrassing me several, several times per day.",0 "This gave me a good chuckle because I realized I was just thinking this a few minutes ago. Reminded me that I was being irrational. Thank you for sharing, you aren’t alone!",0 "For about a month I was convinced I was gay and also convinced I wanted to have children with my husband (I have my tubes tied.) I felt like I was actually going to go insane, fully convinced of two completely opposing realities.",0 "“I have an appointment at 3pm today and I physically can’t do ANYTHING before it” And if you’re like me, there’s a good chance you’ll arrive late, too.",1 "And then you are like “holy shit so since I don’t have have ocd then my obsessions must be real and I must be a true monster! Ima get out, I need some self harm to accomplish...”",0 "Me !! My room was always a mess growing up, and my house was bad too but I’ve been working on putting together a routine and now it’s not perfect but it would be fine if someone came over on short notice. Being super clean is an unfortunate stereotype we have to deal with and a reason why I originally thought there was no way I could have OCD lol.",0 "I'm new here. I'm hoping for a step towards diagnosis tomorrow. But I feel this. I had plans with my friends yesterday at 5:30 and I just had the biggest struggle doing anything before that. What is that? So frustrating.",1 omg I've called my OCD Carl for years!!!! I gasped when I saw your post,0 "Executive Function disorder is actually already a thing. It's a diagnosis reserved for extreme ADHD symptoms. I do agree with your overall sentiment though",1 "I’m a Christian, and it’s difficult but I think I need to admit that prayer is now a compulsion for me. I wish I could say I pray all the time on my own free will, but i’m not so sure. Anytime I encounter something my brain seems “bad” or I hear about something happening to someone else I have to pray about it. Or else my brain tells me that it will happen to me or more people. Sometimes there’s a little extra spice when my brain is like “and now wait that’s not enough you need a Hail Mary too and then you’re good.” Kind of exhausting, especially when I’m in a social situation and I just go blank for a little while I sort out my head. And in addition, a simple sign of the cross and “Amen” is not enough for me to end a prayer. I need to time the motions so that they are not on beat of whatever i’m hearing (whether that be in between the seconds ticking on a clock or the beat to music etc). And then if feels like it takes forever to get my hand clasp at the end “just right.”",0 Haha! This was actually in my psychological evaluation report as a kid!,1 "If only my partner understood this! He has ""dealitis""",1 If that’s what keeps you up at night sign me up. My ocd is more hellish,0 "So happy for you! And also glad you posted this, as gives me an idea of what to expect when I start taking it. Was supposed to start Oct 27, but the pharmacy keeps telling me it hasn't arrived on their delivery truck. Going to stop by to check again today after work... if I remember or have the mental energy. :P",1 "I don't know how people not only get up in the morning, go to work, do their daily chores, feed their pets and play with their kids, but also do the less frequent housework like cleaning bathrooms, and then remember birthdays, anniversaries, organise date nights with their spouses, do their taxes, plan things in advance and make sure they and their kids have clothes that fit, and so on and so on. I can do like 3 of these things at once with great effort, and I'm supposed to do all of them?",1 idk how in the world you can take aderal and fall back asleep. But everyone's different,1 "Can relate. I'm a perfectionist to the point of having to redo everything each time I get something wrong, but that's nothing to the intrusive thoughts I have.",0 "That’s your first problem, thinking you can’t stop. You absolutely CAN stop. At the end of the day, we choose to do a compulsion, whether we like it or not. As hard as it is, it is up to us to stop it.",0 "My favorite thing to do for my morning/night routine (brush my teeth and wash my face, both require multiple steps and products) is I keep all my routine stuff in a little tub under my sink - toothpaste, floss, cleanser, moisturizer, contact solution, deodorant, bunch of other random products - and i pull the products I need for my routine out of the tub and I put them back into the tub as I use them. Helps keep a lot of clutter off my bathroom counter, and gives me a visual to see what still needs to be done.",1 "GOOD JOB IM PROUD OF YOU! i wish i could do that i could maybe do one or the other but not both, but great job!",1 Until ocd has convinced you that you’ve committed mass crimes or disgusting vile acts that bring you down to your fucking knees shut the fuck up,0 "Me everytime my mom says ""this is getting excessive"" and that I need to ""get over it"" already- 🥲✌🏼",0 "This sounds like my experience. I wonder if such a difference means different medication options should be looked at. I'm off of stimulants and on Strattera now, and I think I'm better medicated than I've ever been in my life. It's hard to describe but... I've started to want to do stuff. And then I still have ADHD symptoms with trying to stay focused on the thing that I want to do, but at least I'm really trying. It's kinda like I was absent from my own life for decades but now in some small but growing ways I'm actually showing up. I know plenty of ADHD folks who swear by their amphetamines, but for me this is better. On amphetamines I could fixate on low interest tasks to perform better at work....but that was kinda it. When I went home I'd fixate on whatever was around that wasn't so deathly goddamn boring, but I didn't fixate on the things that I actually thought I should be doing. I was still dysfunctional. I actually ended up developing a problem abusing my stimulants (which I did a lot of hard therapy work to recover from and am much better now :) )",1 I never had a name for this! I pay more to get groceries delivered because otherwise I never end up going to the supermarket and I end up getting take away all the time.,1 I do this all the time but I have OCD so I have no idea if this is just an OCD thing,0 "I know that feeling. Sully from godsmack has a new foundation out The Scars Foundation, the motto is ""we are all imperfectly perfect"" and he did a song called ""under your scars"" i have no idea why but it has hit be pretty hard. The foundation is mainly for suicide and ptsd and other mental illnesses but somehow seems to apply to just about everyone.",1 Every day I find out more parts of my personality are actually just OCD traits... Who am I,0 If I had known about this while I was in university it would have made a huge difference. There were days where I just didn't have anything left in the tank for attention - it burned up all my resources to focus on the teacher for an hour and then the next two were just a write-off for me. I'd zone out for 30 seconds and come back and have no idea what we were talking about. Good suggestion!!!,1 "You know how my ADHD patients with personal assistants do? They do fucking great. If you need help, get it. You don't win a prize for suffering (so far as I know). I too am proud of you for thinking laterally on this topic and will be suggesting it to my patients in the future. Honestly? This is probably going to save a couple marriages in which the ADHD person has, intentionally or not, offloaded a lot of day-to-day bullshit on their SO.",1 "It is like, let the broke record stop playing music. That is exactly what my thought pattern should be.",0 Most relatable damn thing I've come across on this subreddit. I work on my own car and painting things is absolute hell for me. Im about to redo my door handles for the fourth time.,0 "“No one ever died from OCD” well, I almost did. Just about had a successful death attempt because my intrusive thoughts kept telling me to",0 I see my family still does not understand and the doctors won’t give me no medicine,1 I've bookmarked it. I'll probably read it sometime in next 20 years.,1 "Sometimes the word ""accept"" is problematic for me. In OCD contexts, ""accept"" seems to mean ""acknowledge."" For people with Pure OCD (obsessive thoughts lead to obsessive rumination), accepting the worst case scenario is impossible. I like to acknowledge the thoughts and feel them float by.",0 "*Sigh* Fine. We can play, but I hate this game. I never won.",1 " So I'm not the only person who gets the weirdest urges. I've had the urge to open the door and step out of a car moving at over 100km/h, cut the telephone wire with a pair of scissors at work, punch someone, and many others in my life. All for no reason other than ""what if..."" I'm scared that I may one day act on one of those impulses, I have a few times, but all but one were something that wouldn't really have had serious consequences. The one exception, something I'm deeply ashamed of, could have ended in tragedy, but luckily it didn't.",0 https://media1.giphy.com/media/tABM19ZPcjvNRF0yuNq/giphy.gif?cid=ecf05e47vxikkqy1tw3pwe32zma10cgj6ooejvqkqs8blxm4&rid=giphy.gif,1 The recently added a clear all watched button and that was a game changer I’d definitely let shot pile up in there and just scroll to where I needed to be,1 Or i hate humans cars dogs dtreets shops trains thoughs shoes ovrtall just everything,0 "I have a tendency to isolate and lock myself until I can “feel” that I can do something or am “just right”. Oh boy. Decades later and a life wasted later - they tell me it was a severe case of “just right” OCD. How do I get my life back? Somebody should have told me!",0 Completely understand this and am currently experiencing the “not able to” part.,1 hyperfocussed on copying this to a word doc and organizing redesigning this extensively and printing it out (tomorrow) Honestly thank you so much for this list !! <3,1 "Affirmations are KEY. Try to make them all ""I am"" or ""I have"" even if you haven't achieved the statement, and you're still working towards it- your subconscious doesn't know the difference. This was THE GAME CHANGER for me and overcoming my OCD pitfalls. Thinking and praying for you and people like you, my guy.",0 "I find if I try to to see it all through the lens of comedy it helps a ton! ... If I can change the thought into something that humors me, it immediately takes away its power.",0 "I don’t mean to be rude in any way, but why do I feel like so many people on here have numbers and and checking OCD where I can’t touch any shit I think is contaminated. Idk I just haven’t seen any posts that depict germ/contamination OCD and I feel alone :(",0 Yes… I wish I had a remote and could hit pause on the world. This past weekend I as feeling really depressed and overwhelmed (as always lol) bc of my adhd. Those tough days are really hard to get through. I hope you are feeling better today ❤️🙏🏻,1 Same thing with me. Im gonna be fresh and good and when i sit down to read a book that i like after 10 pages im getting really sleppy.,1 "this is exactly how i feel and exactly how my mum acts, i literally sat in front of my history essay for 3 hours crying because i just couldn’t start it and when i finally finished it the night before it was due i get the ‘see you could do it all along!’😃👍🏽",1 "This makes me super sad to hear. I have a level one autistic 5 year old (he is super high functioning but I can tell that he struggles in comparison to his neurotypical brother) who also has inattentive ADHD. I have ADHD as well but was just recently diagnosed as an adult. I never want my son to have to listen to toxic positivity. Your feelings are valid and you should never be made to think anything other than that. I'm glad that you are getting that experience here but gosh this makes me nervous for the kind of world my kiddo is going to have.",1 "Replacing an intrusive thought with an ""clean"" or nonthreatening one is a common mental compulsion",0 "42. Feel this my whole damned life. Don't fit in, not cut out for, not strong enough for or often just straight up don't want to be any of the above. Therapy and meds help, still regular feels. The master of many masks. Oh, I fucking hate masking as well.",1 "I also do this - I've noticed I end up rereading my emails so many times, looking for inappropriate comments that never exist, that the sentences become meaningless jumble and at that point I ultimately end up inserting actual errors in the form of typos... Something that has SAVED me is using Boomerang to schedule my emails to send later, whether it be 2 minutes or 2 hours. It takes the weight off pressing send and I usually end up only looking at the outbox draft a couple times in the meantime before I move on. It has also kind of worked as mini-ERP a bit, since I've started doing this it seems like for lowest 'stakes' emails (i.e. with a person or situation with the lowest perceived consequences for a feared slip up) now I can sometimes just press send on after a couple reads.",0 "I'm sorry to hear about your friend, I mean that sincerely. I hope you're doing okay-- I've lost two of my friends this way and I swear to God I think about it every single day. It's okay to take the time to do whatever you feel you need to grieve, process, and settle with the situation. If you're not already, I advise you start following with a therapist/counselor. Please don't hesitate to DM if you need someone else to just 'understand' this sense of loss with you. You're not alone-- you're among friends here in our ADHD community💛 stay well",1 "Unfortunately, I used to be one of those people. I thought perfectionism and OCD were the same thing until I did more research and realized it was much more complicated and severe than just being neat and tidy.",0 Top post on my feed as I opened reddit instead of sleeping. How dare you be so incredibly psychic about it!!!,1 "I mutter under my breath. I will say i love Jesus Christ if I have blasphemous thoughts or hate satan. If its something thats more repulsive I will say “I would rather God shoot me in the face and bury me in the ocean” or say “I would rather God slit my throat and bury me in the ocean.” I say other stuff I ain’t comfortable sharing. I also pray and talk to my dead loved ones if I have troubling or offensive thoughts cause I worry if the dead like God God can read our thoughts. I snap my fingers, Mutter prayers, make jerking notions if I ignore the the thought and it becomes to much not to respond. I also pull my shirt off when I’m alone and feel my skin get flushed. I pick at places and scabs in my skin.",0 "Yup. I tend to get the idea of a subject. The feeling. The flavor. Details. What are those?",1 What a great read. I never realized until now that my years of growing up with attention deficit actually is the reason I can find things for my family now. Thank you for that!,1 I hope she learns how to trust you better from now on...,1 "Yep, this. I've got 3 or 4 passion projects going at any point in time. The ""it hurts to not do it"" passion projects. All of them give me that gut wrenching longing to work on them, but I rarely last more than 20 minutes before I have to get up to do something else. Which leads me to feel like ill never make it off the sidewalk. Like I'll only ever be a name in the credits of someone else's passion project, but never have my own. And then having friends or family with ADHD who are successfully doing their creative stuff is frustrating. Don't get me wrong, it makes me happy to see that they've done it, but so often they just say the same shit as everyone else. My sister (a successful musician with adhd) often tells me that I should get an art table at a comic convention to make some money and get my name out there. Yet she completely disregards me telling her that im not at that skill level yet as me being insecure. And its stuff like that that just turns into resentment or self loathing. Fuck this disorder.",1 "In elementary school there was a program called Gifted And Talented Education (GATE), basically a catch all for kids that were performing a above their grade level. I was sorted into it and it's the worst fucking thing to happen to me.",1 "this is why i was a personal assistant to a very busy family fifteen years ago before my diagnosis. when it is your job to make shit happen for other people and they are happy with you doing it for them successfully, it in turn makes you happier that you have successfully accomplished a task - even if it isnt your own. and your reward is more than money. a personal pride emerges. for me, it then became a little easier to figure out how to manage my own life. ",1 Oh that last panel made me laugh. It really be like that tho.,0 "OCD is webmd lol Headache? Brain tumor! Stomachache? IBS! Cough? Asthma!",0 so good!!! my boyfriends family asks all the time how i deal with his pacing/talking fast. i’ve grown up with an add father and brother. lol,1 I can’t tell you how much better I feel now that my doctor’s appts for medicine refills can be done by phone. What a freaking life changer.,1 "So proud of you!!!! I struggle with this too from time to time. Dude yes my gag reflex is so bad that sometimes while I’m brushing my tongue, it actually makes me throw up. It’s HORRIBLE and so uncomfortable and just...disgusting. I’m gonna have to try JCMAWFA2009’s tip lol. Just know you are NOT alone. On a sorta-ish related note, has anyone ever had issues with washing your hair Or is that more of a depression thing? I bathe and/or shower every day but I’m lucky if I wash my hair twice a week so dry shampoo is my BFF",1 "Idk why but rap is by far the most dominant genre, its just background beats and vibe worthy lyrics. Change my mind.",1 totally feel this. And it’s really disheartening feeling like I could be doing something better/smarter/whatever and yet I can’t/it’s way harder.,1 "Isn't kinda the thing about impermanence that you forget it exists entirely? I'm not out here forgetting where I left my snack, I'm forgetting that I'd *gotten* a snack.",1 I'm messy af though probably because the million little voices in my head keep telling me its useless to try to clean up in an endless loop.,0 Guys when u get an intrusive dont do nothing about it!,0 "My top “song” of the year was this one from a playlist that plays fan noises...like literally just white noise recordings from a fan. Sometimes music just gets too stimulating but I really want to block out noise while I study and sleep so I turn that playlist on repeat for hours. Seeing a picture of a really close up fan with the aggressive WRRRR noise come up as the “The One Song that Helped You Get Through it All” slide made me cry laugh. Peak ADHD lol",1 "My brain: The past repeats itself, therefore you can use the past to predict the future. That and the present is nothing more than the unholy offspring of past and future. Therefore you live in a plane of existence where time is irrelevant and you should always panik because the past present and future are all part of the same repeating and predictable pattern.",0 "but then i end up feeling bad/guilty for the item that i just overlooked, and end up picking up both to not make the first item feel left out. :(",0 "Just got to put this here because Ive never been with anyone that have got such patience with my mental health. I just had a stressful 16 hour trip from my old home, to my soon to be new home. This absolutely adorable person stood there talking to me while I was making the bed for 30 minutes. Knowing full well he had to be up in 4 hours for work he just did not care, and hugged me afterwards because I was getting more and more frantic. I hope you guys have someone in your life like this. If not; Hello!",0 I have the opposite problem a make a terrible first impression and then I never get a chance to make it up,1 I keep running into situations where I feel like it's too early to start my day and then all the sudden it's too late to start my day so I'm not quite sure when I should start my day...,1 "WTF WTF WTF I HAVS THIS WTF I GO ""IF I DONT DO X BY THE TIME Y HAPPENS THEN I CANNOT SPEAK TO THIS PERSON""",0 Lmao I needed this growing up. Instead loud music it was. The bad thoughts cant bother you if you can't hear them!!,0 Literal years pushing everything else away because I shouldn't spend time on it before I get my studies going and then ever procrastinating studying...,1 All the time then by the time I go to rewind it .. I'm like naw ill just watch something else ... then its the same thing over again lol,1 "I have a friend that will call me while shes at work, driving-anything- she likes to talk ALL THE TIME. I tried talking to her recently while working out, and just..never again, I didnt accomplish shit while I was at the gym. Ive had to set boundaries because I cant focus on whatever im doing because she needs to duo call me 3x daily. Love her but DAMN.",1 Does anymore else feel like if they are happy or have something good happen to you that something bad will happen to you?,0 "Your skin looks so smooth and beautiful! Dont even know you, but as someone who knows how freaking hard this can be, I'm so proud of you and I hope you're proud of yourself too. Keep it up girl!",0 I had a therapist tell me I couldn’t have ADD because it had to have been diagnosed by the time you were 7. I changed therapist a and was diagnosed with severe ADD a year later,1 I am so happy you did it!! And I want to try! Did you use only exercise sheet for exposing yourself to trigger and not doing compulsions? Or you used more stuff from psid membership? What type ocd did you had?,0 I have this issue and sometimes it happens when it's something I AM interested in. I sit down to watch a tutorial on how to use Blender to make 3d models? Energy levels plummet and I begin yawning uncontrollably. I step away and feel fine.,1 "i can't be the only one who sees posts like these and thinks ""or i could just ... keep scrolling?"" and then you just keep scrolling i hate adhd brain 😂",1 They prolly think it’ll make them more motivated to clean/organize things … idk tho 😂,0 Shhhh I definitely haven’t been shredding paper towel sheets into little pieces to avoid showering,1 I’ve actually cured people’s depression by telling them to just smile more.,1 "Opened that free award for this post, it was the ‘hugz’ award. Fitting, since with light there’s usually warmth.",1 Please post this every once a month or so. Thank you.,1 "wow my obsessions and intrusive thoughts immediately gone forever, thank you internet",0 Damn I’m 12 and mine started this year too. I didn’t face alott of ocd before 2018 I did some where but since 2019 rn I’m having thoughts about me dying. Anyone have this or had this cause I really need some help I haven’t found much people with this.,0 "So you're list of 'what it means to you' is pretty lengthy, but I can relate. I'm 49, still medicated on Adderall and fairly successful (at least I think so.) I just had an epiphany at work that made me think a bit about this: ""My brain thinks too quickly...that doesn't mean the other person is stupid, or less than, or didn't 'get it'. It just means that there is a disconnect in me. Traffic on one side flows slower than the other due to whatever."" I was abused emotionally and physically from a young age. I was in the foster care system. I felt like I was lazy, unsustainable, and had an inability to do simple things like budget and balance a checkbook. Once he pulled me from the system, my father would beat me for not taking out the garbage (because I got distracted by shiny things) and laugh when I cried. When I was eight. My diagnosis changed my life. It let me know what my boundaries are, where I can shine and where my shadows are. Please make sure that you have a mental health support system...one that gives you that ""AHA!"" moment. One that speaks to both your strengths and your weaknesses. The reason I'm still a software engineer after 25 years and no university education is that curiosity, and impatience to stagnation are fundamental to that profession. TL;DR: Find your passion, and get the support to succeed in it. It's not us vs. them, it's not that you're lesser and everyone else 'gets it.'",1 I constantly feel like not enough for everyone so this hits home.,1 Meds really help but you really need to change your mindset to one of get it done and enjoy be free afterwards,1 "Unpopular opinion: I disagree with most of those, but with OCD I definitely do find myself looking for OCD thoughts even when I'm not having them, and the times I have had respite from my OCD the thoughts have still come up, but I've just somehow managed to ignore them. I really do feel there is an element of self-infliction to OCD.",0 "Thank you so much for this. About to sit down and work on some artwork and my brain just immediately starts attacking me. This gives me the courage to push through. You're awesome and I hope you have a good day <3",0 "This. I thought my daughter to say ""I can't"" when she is having difficulties following orders. She has even said ""I can't"" when she was supposed to go to bed because she had gotten too agitated, this way I can offer to help her.",1 THIS! omg I am so grateful you posted this just so I could read this entire thread. My entire life I’ve thought I was just dumb because I felt like I could never remember anything I’ve learned when wanting to talk about subjects I’ve spent hours reading and studying.,1 "Yeah, I suddenly just become aware that I am speaking during an important convo and start thinking,, damn I am literally speaking rn I could just stop?? I could say anything rn?? So there’s this silence Sometimes I just can’t translate thoughts into coherent sentences and start saying words at random hoping that people understand rip",1 Yes! I'm unemployed so there is nobody making me do anything but myself. So I have to reward myself for doing normal everyday stuff in order to force myself to do it.,1 "I took to recording in my journal alongside not deleting our texts, emails and pics together because my mind loves to fuck with me with the impermanence bit. But on the other hand, he's my FWB and not my actual boyfriend, so my impermanence kinda grounds me to the fact that this is limited. So ""forgetting"" the sweet moments, words, and pictures helps me not lose control emotionally...if that makes sense.",1 "This is the most beautiful thing I have read in a while! I think most of us here needed to hear this. Thank you. And I'm so sorry for your loss.",1 I hope when they get to the house they punch whoever made this meme in the face.,0 "All the time. Not just movies. Everything I watch, it seems I have to rewind it multiple times to catch the parts I've missed. And sometimes I rewind a little bit too far, and then I get distracted again and miss the same part again!",1 "Holy fuck thank god I'm not alone, it gets irritating at times and prevents me from doing many things",0 "I can relate , I don’t really have any hobbies because whenever I try something new I’m bad at it so it upsets me and I just give up",1 V beautiful. Makes me think of all the intense thoughts/memories/feeling swirling together. A textural fractal collage that just gets deeper and deeper,0 Not fearing for you life every minute must be amazing.,0 When you are having fun and it seems too good to be true and then intrusive thoughts come,0 Mandatory work from home. At a new job. Really frustrating but it is what it is,1 "Me when my brain tells me to throw my phone out of my car window, for no reason at all",0 "love this! just like every add that pops up is different, every obsession is different too.",0 "This sentence triggers my OCD, I feel the need to compulsively caress their face with nothing more than my fists and the brawn of my belief.",0 Lol this was pretty much my prescribing Dr to me on our phone session the other day. He upped all my meds. Good thing is my kids are home to help. Bad news is my kids are home to help me clean and sanitize my entire apartment and everything in it. But there is a bunch of stuff that can get thrown away or donated so there's that.,0 "I fear that it's coming (which mentally drains me), you know it's coming, you anticipate the impact, but it always feels worse than you imagined it. There's actually studies that say hurtful words hurt some people as as if they were actually physically struck. So when you tell me to ""man up"", in actuality you might as well be the dog owner kicking his dog in the ribs when the window for punishment already passed; the dog can't connect the dots, he doesn't know what he did to deserve it, and he ends up living in fear in anticipation of the next physical abuse.",1 "Hyperfixate before the appointment so you don’t be late. Ends up being late cause time management skills are horrible.",1 "So you're saying that it's not real and that it'll never be and then you're saying that I have to ""accept it being possible""? No, sir.",0 Don’t forget touching all the stove tops and oven to make sure it’s turned off for the third time before leaving the house.,0 "\*Claims to read a lot of books\* Me: Obviously hasn't read enough.",0 "5000 is also the limit for liked videos, once you reach that it removes your oldest liked video from the list when you like a new video. This is a big pain because I keep track of what videos I watched by liking them. ​ P.S. I have about 170 (long-ish) videos in my watch later, used to have more but I cleared some of them a while back.",1 "This makes sense to me! I write with a lot of commas, more than most people, I think. I also send a lot of separate texts when I'm chatting with someone to break up the long sentences",1 "No one: Me: “I need to tense up my shoulders every time a car passes!1!1!”",0 [When you have both](https://previews.123rf.com/images/delusi/delusi1404/delusi140400125/27594364-happy-young-and-handsome-businessman-in-his-office-shaking-his-own-hands-after-making-a-deal.jpg),0 "For someone who obsesses constantly about every tiny mistake I've ever made, to the point where I convince myself that I'm secretly a monster and start to question my own memories, this is a good reminder. It's just so distorting, when theres some kind of misunderstanding I hurt someone else's feelings or come off as rude and I only realize it later or something, it's like a broken record in my head and I remember it so often and so intensely that I fuck up the details, and it becomes hard to tell if I'm remembering what really happened or just a version of what happened that's been distorted by obsession. Like how when you repeat a word so often that it doesnt even sound like a word and it no longer holds any meaning. And theres the idea that I really am a bad person, what if some part of me really did have malicious intent. What if some part of me enjoyed it. Over and over and over until I convince myself that I'm secretly evil incarnate. Idk if it comes out like that for anybody else but it definitely does (in part at least).",0 "dude this is literally my whole life. I've had to start keeping track of all my monthly subscriptions with dates and everything. ESPECIALLY for the free trial stuff. Those are a nightmare!! My sister reminds me of a few of them too just to make sure lol. Also the uber thing is REAL! I always underestimate the amount of time it was take me to get ready so I've missed the bus COUNTLESS times and I'm always buying duplicates, forgetting to buy things because the idea of making a to-do list sounds miserable. Also, THE IMPULSE BUYING!! I've bought so much stuff because I didn't take a second to think my $100 purchase through. Luckily I'm not much of a shopper so when I want something, it means I REALLY want it but it still ends up hurting my pocket. I don't even wanna know how much i've spent this quarantine season tbh",1 ERP and CBT? Sorry but I just think it's hilarious that this thread has two easily misinterpreted abbreviations like that,0 "For a split second I thought you meant your mom actually found a cure... I'm so desperate to concentrate right now, but as you can see, I'm browsing Reddit...",1 "Sometimes I will actually signup or do stuff I don’t wanna do and will dread, but just so I’ll latch on to it and worry about that instead of something else",0 I hate the denial part. I refuse to accept I'm spiraling because then I would have to do something about it and all I reallllllly want to do is spin a little more.,0 "Im sorry for the problems you have :( I hope it gets better soon! Btw you look beautiful! Keep it that way!!! Congrats ! :)",0 "Last time I tried accepting uncertainty and not giving into my compulsions, Covid happened. I'm not saying I caused the pandemic but my OCD sure is. 🤷‍♀️",0 As well as fears about getting intrusive thoughts that are about them. I won't have kids but wow that would be impossible to live through,0 "Being gaslit my ENTIRE LIFE, including the present, I’m actually very considerate of others, I have worked on being mindful due to my childhood, but while i was being mindful and introspective: EVERYONE ELSE WAS JUST DOING WHATEVER THE FUCK THEY WANT! They - friends and family expect perfection and they have the expectation that their imperfections are to be glorified. I’m dropping people left and right like flies. I’m giving what I am getting all day, everyone can get it. I use to give less and less of myself only to the worst offenders, I’m getting rid of the mediocre friends as well. I even keep my mother at arms length",1 "Two days i got broken up with. While it happened, I cried a lot and was sneezing and drying my tears all the time, without being able to run to do my contamination compulsions. I was too focused on the pain. It was really surprising, and in that hard moment, for a second I felt amazed that i could do that... Trying to focus on that today, while I recover.",0 bonus points if the rest of your bedding has been sitting in the washer for hours and it's 10pm,1 When I’m constantly slathering myself in hand sanitizer now I’m not worried about bothering people with the smell or looking obsessive because everyone is doing it!!!,0 "i was talking to my mum about adhd and OCD ticks and she tells me i definitely don’t have OCD or else i’d be worried about keeping my pet’s cages clean and always cleaning my room. she’s such a hypocrite bc she tells me she’s super interested in medical stuff, but the second i tell her to learn about mental health, she asks, “why?”",0 Anyone have any ERP strategies for not going through your self-therapy sessions? It's taking over my life :o,0 So ocd is like the opposite of psychopathy? Because there's science that showed brains of normal people and psychopaths and the difference was the brains of normal people showed much more activity while the psychopath brains showed Lower activity.,0 Any reasoning? It seems like there is some logic to this but looks like it barely makes any sense,0 COVID making my dermatillomania wayyy worse is what made my parents drag me to a therapist (I’m a small human),0 "but it is a nice analogy. as i often dont know what thoughts are intrusive or really mine, thinking of my brain as of garden means i can ""decide"" (or try to) which ones i want to keep, whether i planted them or not. this might not make sense but it kinda doeas in my head.lol",0 "I’m not sure if this is applicable to the topics you’re learning/trying to recall but I try to make associations to things that I am interested in. Which does lead to really odd segues in thought but does the trick. I also doodle a lot of concepts that make sense to me but probably not to others. I can’t remember what member protein fits X receptor on the cell but I can remember “yellow triangle with handle bar mustache goes to red brick house with roses out front”",1 Well I’m on the toilet drinking some water and scrolling through reddit so I don’t think I need a break other than from this toilet,1 "Its a common theme for me to worry about every little mistake, error, wrongness etc. The way I have started to think about them is to accept that there was a mistake and think about any implications, actions that I need to take. If I realize it is just for reassurance then I have to say to myself heck with it multiple times to get over the urge. It helps to avoid repeating the whole thing over and over. So, essentially repeating any words like 1,2,1,2,.... or any of ones choice helps provide the calmness. It works because it provides awareness for the specific item. Longer term mindfulness meditation helps to bring back the thoughts to allow one to just be is what I am hoping for.",0 "Thank you so much. I have really bad contamination ocd but my sister refuses to believe me and says I don’t and even though she said that to me months ago, I keep thinking about it and doubt if I really have OCD every single day.",0 "what if your thoughts magically came true? somehow that's so painfully compelling to me.",0 3 months I’ve been procrastinating this bloody report.,1 i love this idea but i’m confused... 30 dollars for 2 hours of work? she’s getting paid 15 an hour? maybe this has something to do with the area but the nannies i know get paid at LEAST 20-25 an hour.,1 Ugh. My mom still does this to me and I’m 50 years old. I wish I could show her this but I think it would hurt her feelings.,1 Thank you for sharing this! I’m going to start thinking of my intrusive thoughts like this as well!,0 "thats crazy, he is where i get all my dramatic acting inspiration from lolol",1 "Man if I was charged for all the intrusive thoughts I had, I would make Ted Bundy seem like a joke.",0 "Yeah I'm all types of fucked up rn, I really thought OCD was just wanting everything to be clean and having everything neat symetrical and clean. Discovered this sub cause I wanted to post some meme about OCD with that image but holy fuck I feel like I finally know why tf all that weird shit I do and the weird shit in my mind are. All that do x for x amount of time or x amount of times so x happens or x doesn't happen, really didn't know wtf was going on",0 Driving over young kids or seniors. I have to check multiple times in the rear view mirror.,0 "My boyfriend who also has OCD also enjoys doing art. Yours looks awesome! You should definitely keep at it. It reminds me of some of StickyPops work on Instagram. Edit; u/Thawne3030 ",0 "A heads up, if you prefer to read stuff on a Kindle (because the e-ink screen and lack of any other features REALLY helps with distractions), then the Push To Kindle app makes this a perfect ebook. If you don’t want to pay for the app, give me a shout and I’ll send it over to you in whichever format your preferred e-reader uses.",1 "YES, I add LOTS of commas in my writing. In fact, I didn’t really notice it until a teacher of mine back in high school told me she REALLY admired my writing style (I loved to write, still do now) because when she read it, it was as though it was the way I spoke out loud because of the frequent commas. (: Although, I do admit, I struggled with “run-on sentences” as well. When it would come to the part that I was most excited to write about, I actually didn’t add ENOUGH punctuation. Lol It was as though I was jabbering on in excitement about a subject I was passionate about. It was a problem though, honestly, because it wasn’t academically correct. Lol Boy, I miss writing. Pen and paper hardy exists within my vicinity like 98% of the time. Screens and virtual keyboards have taken over, but are about the same, so I’m not complaining. It just feels a little different. Haha",1 "This is text book OCD but the way MJF personifies OCD in this scene is spot on and amazing. OCD comes in so many different forms all left to triggers, prevention of triggers is just like treating symptoms. You’ll never conquer it until you sit in the toilet in the roof!",0 You are the silence in which the thoughts appear. Know this and be free from identification with this mental mind. ❤️,0 "Dude I can't memorize the last film I've watched Even the next day, sometimes the next hour Edit : and that's cool ! I can watch the same movie and take nearly the same experience as the first time with it",1 "As someone with all four illnesses listed about, I hate the comment of, ""Oh, I'm so (insert illness)!"" Makes me want to slap them into the next century >:(",0 “tell them whatever comes to your mind all the time for no reason”,0 "Oh, this is exactly what I needed to hear at this moment, thank you for that!",0 I actually hate nostalgia. lol But I definitely do need to work on being more present and letting go of the need to be in control of everything.,0 When my brain convinces me I’m a horrible serial killer for having violent intrusive thoughts that I never asked for,0 "I'm notorious for doing this even after I get the appointment reminder phone call. I also used to check that I set my alarm each night. ""Seriously? You just checked the alarm. It's fine! No, no, I need to make sure it really is set.""",0 Mine is always a violent intrusive thought or a snippet of a song plays over and over again. Just ugh,0 "This sub has really been mind blowing for me! I was diagnosed like 3-5 years ago (I’m 58!). I have been intermittently successful in my career; started and ran several successful businesses (successful until they weren’t!). Funny thing is when I mention to people who have known me most of my life that I have ADHD, the most common response is “duh!” Really??!! Reading the comments in this sub and completely relating to nearly all of the behaviors is just crazy. I had no idea that so much of what I do (or DON’T do as is often the case,) is ADHD related. It just explains SO much of my life! I have had meds prescribed for a couple years, but only recently resolved to start taking them on a regular basis. What a difference. Smh.",1 "Yep! I’ve also found that providing rewards (snacking, music, etc) while working or rewards for starting work is more effective for me personally than trying to promise myself some future reward for finishing something. ADHD brains seem to be more inclined towards immediate rewards. I get disappointed and bogged down if my reward is waiting until the evening to watch TV. Also, the small things can serve as great motivation. Sometimes just eating a meal while working, lighting a candle, or putting on a pretty outfit keeps me engaged and excited about studying.",1 "I'm 44 and just diagnosed this year. You're right everything I read is about the kids, which is great but man it is hard to understand what is going on exactly. I always been told i was lazy or just not smart enough. Now it's like ok i have ADHD so is what's happening at the moment my ADHD or just complancey. THE STRUGGLE IS REAL! Lol!",1 "I started with time timing myself. Toga for instance. I have a timer that I use. I time it for 30sec and increase it each day by 30sec. Had to trash talk myself first before I would get up and do it, heh. ""You telling me you can't do cat's cradle for 30sec? You spend more time staring at a while trying to count all the dots, you can definitely do crane pose for 3min.""",1 "Literally every time something good happens to me or I acquire a nice thing, my mind goes ""I don't deserve this and I'm gonna fuck it up""",1 And then the first one comes back and you have double :)),0 Today I realized my intrusive thoughts are basically an obnoxious drunk,0 It’s crazy because even in my sleep/dreams I do my compulsions. There is no escape. Lol,0 "wow, this is great. i was just feeling like a criminal! thinking about how i'd survive jail, lol.",0 The samsung note 9 caught my interest only due to the fact that it had the best battery on a flagship.,1 "This is very interesting as I could think of something similar up and down, like a data chart. It is as if I’m in jail for life.",0 "This is why I’ve some how also created probated playlists called Watch This, Watch This 2.0 and Watch this 3.0 all with about 500 videos",1 "I feel the same. My mental health became really damaged in the past year, because of my family. I am getting through the process of being diagnosed with ADHD and that doesn't help either, because they just don't understand and think i just want drugs. School for them seemed unexistent and they acted like i'm on a long holyday until I told them I'm giving up on it and started fighting. It's really hard to work from home, when you barely understand what the teacher is saying in school, and people screaming around while you're trying your best sucks. I am no longer capable of learning, and I used to be a very fast learner (that was the only way I was passing through the school years, since my study hours consist of 10 minutes of learning and at least half an hour of anything else at all).",1 "Repeat it to yourself or take notes in summary, or better yet, tell someone about it. It helps for you to remember and understand it better.",1 "Maybe the person has a feeder type fetish but for turning people into ""The Aviator"" Movie/s",0 "Someone took their meds today :). Thanks for this!",1 I did the exact same thing. I quit drawing because of my ocd too. I’ll get in little kicks where drawing is relaxing and I can do it and other times no matter what I do the drawings look terrible or the lines aren’t straight enough. I totally relate with this and I’m so glad someone else understands. Thank you for sharing your work it looks amazing. ,0 "Urm, I was 1 month old when people said this about me. Great.",0 Biggest reason why I can’t watch tv or movies especially alone..,1 "The way I look at it is, I always try my best \*to\* try my best. I don't always get there, but I always try.",1 "I drew my picrew avatar with graphite on paper. It started out to practice drawing so I can make comics again (haven't drawn in years), but yesterday/ this morning, it was ""I have to finish this, it is my defining work!"" *Sigh*",1 You just save my house. I was reading the title and i realized I set a 10 minute timer for a pizza 20 mins ago.😣,1 "Ah, the 'Hal Fixing a Light Bulb' method. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbSehcT19u0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AbSehcT19u0)",1 When you're feeling bummed because of the heavy stigma against mental illness everyone has but then you remember which one of you can get drafted and who can't:,0 "This is why I hate phone calls, especially social ones. I am so thankful for text. I can skim messages and think about my reply, rather than being on the spot for a response or having to sit through a lot of drivel.",1 "Some people respond to this. At the end of the day you have to realize that most people just don’t care about ADHD or really any other disability. “Do what you have to do so you can do what you want to do” is advice from my dad that has guided my life. Sometimes just sucking it up and making that mental decision is exactly what you need to do. Of course it’s harder for us, but life’s hard.",1 Fun fact! Emma Watson has it too. I don't think anybody in history ever would have guessed that by watching Harry Potter,1 "Holy shit this is brilliant Is there any Reddit threads or websites that help pair up people to do this?",1 I do this while reading as well. Like my eyes are still following the lines of words but I haven't been reading for a while.,1 "somewhere out there are dishes from 30 years ago i havent done the Force is with them",1 "Well this just hit me like a ton of bricks. Ouch. (as an aside, I evidently interview fantastically - I've only ever not gotten a job offer from 3 interviews I've had. But I am a shit employee)",1 "Amazing progress! Thank you for sharing! Proud of you, human :)",0 "That ""advice"" is along the same lines as telling people with depression to ""just cheer up!"" Some people are convinced that anything other than very obvious physical ailment is malingering, or at best something easily wished away.",1 "Wow that’s hard, I could never do that!!! Good job.",0 "Dude I did this in college. My professor called me and I thought it was my mom so I answered ""Hi Mommy"" (yes I am 27 and still call her mommy). My professor was such a dick about it too. I basically told her to suck it because I hated her anyway.",0 I totally agree. My struggles are primarily that I have a very hard time doing things I actually want to do. The neurodiversity movement isn't helpful for that at all. The only thing that really helps me is treating my DISORDER with medication that improves my symptoms. Making the world more accepting of people with disorders like ADHD and ASD is a very good thing of course but the notion that 'we are just different and everything is OK' is harmful.,1 Yep! And I rewind and rewind again because I tend to mishear a lot (not sure if it’s a ADHD thing or not). So I sometimes put on the closed captions. My husband keeps saying I have a hearing problem. And I think he mumbles.,1 Create a WhatsApp group or a discord server for your class and stuff. I recently went through this and relied 100% on my classmates to post reminders of the deadlines in our class group. It would have been impossible to remember everything otherwise.,1 "Right, like sometimes at work (pizzaria) I'll see a pizza I don't want to make and hope that someone else will make it first. Meanwhile, if I don't go back and do the dishes when I have a minute to help, I feel bad about it because I know nobody else is going to, and if they do I'm like ""oh no"" (and dishes aren't even a specific part of my job!)",1 "I called my wife out on saying something similar to our daughter last week, while working on math assignments that I know she was struggling to keep her focus on. Compassionate alternative: ""I know this is hard, but it needs to be done. It's okay to ask for help.""",1 I don’t even like watermelon (lol pls don’t hurt me) Guess I’ll just continue having OCD weeeeeee,0 Don't know how I'll function when my sanitiser and other cleaning supplies run out,0 "you fucking legend I came on here because I needed a reason to sit with thoughts and this is it im proud of you and thanks for being an inspo to so many of us <3",0 Gotta start somewhere. It's all about establishing momentum in the direction you want to go. :),0 My brain giving me vivid images of having sex with the person talking to me and then convincing myself everybody can read my mind,0 "Oh shit, thank you. I've got two assignments due tomorrow.",1 That's so my brain. Especially when I leave a store without buying anything.,0 "a weird thing i’ve always had is actually the opposite fixation. like i have to step on the cracks obsessively, specifically i draw triangles in my head out of the imperfections in the sidewalk and need to step on the sides. it’s extremely hard not to",0 "For years I've been convinced that my POCD isn't actually OCD because it feels so similar to my constant obsessing over whether or not I was ""really"" bi in high school and of course that wasn't OCD, so clearly - . . . I need to call my therapist.",0 Ha! I'm immune to this because it's literally always true when I'm on reddit,1 "Sounds a lot like my 7yo son. I'd offer internet hugs, but that slows down his fidgeting and he doesn't like that either at times. :) 'love from a parent",1 Yup..hey I gotta ask..do you guys ever notice if you'r symptoms are worse in the morning?? I feel like shit..in the morning..but gets a little better later on,0 I literally thought this exact same thought today: that I’m 28 and have had OCD since I was 8.,0 I just hired a virtual personal assistant last week to help me with phone calls. I'm still waiting to see if it pans out and I'm really nervous. I'm so bad about them and it's really making life hard for me. If this person will make my phone calls life will be so much better. Just an idea for anyone else who struggles with the same!,1 Yep I can relate! It doesn’t click with out the why / how,1 hyperfixated on an album for like 2 months straight (which is still really fucking good btw) and now like my entire wrapped was [glass beach](https://open.spotify.com/artist/4gHs8pWsgZpndQZKs6QVRH?si=wPiGCd2-SMCCL_BmXusAIQ&utm_source=copy-link) lol,1 Can I post this on r/thanksimcured or do you want to?,1 "I have reminder alarms for things or just times of the day. Example: I have one set at 1:30p for meds, but it tends to be a reminder that it’s 1:30pm. Well, my bedtime reminder alarm went off at 11:30pm... and I looked at it, laughed, then said *”Nah.”* *pours one out* RIP",1 "I have a similar story from my first day on meds. It felt like those youtube videos when color blind people get their first pair of color correcting glasses. I cried because for the first time since I was 7 I felt what NTs must feel all the time. It was like all my life since that age I was stuck, unable to resolve the 4th stage of Erik Erikson's model of Psychosocial Development: Industry vs. Inferiority. You all know what I am talking about. The grief over what you ""Can't"" that you carry like a millstone. It grows heavier and heavier with each passing year, each accumulated failure and abandoned dream. The way it changes what you believe about yourself. The first day I had my adderall I had a huge paperwork project I was going to try and tackle. I brought all of those papers, receipts, files, etc with me in a big backpack and went to a cafe with my SO. I started to whiz through the things I intended to do. My brain was doing what I told it to do! I just had to ""try"" and the ""trying"" finally worked. The ""try"" button in my head that never, ever lit up when I pressed it after all these years lit up. This is what it feels like for NTs when they ""try""? It just works? I wept openly in the cafe and my SO was very misty, too.",1 "Reminds me of a dream I had where I was with a person I admired, and my vision was pulled away to reddit of all places. In the text box was just all of the intrusive thoughts as evil imagery, and I unfortunately let it break my concentration from that person. Seeing this would've been much less discomforting though I'm sure that's just a testament to the aesthetic quality of the art lol.",0 This is so cute. I hope when my little sister grows up if she has any mental illnesses I can help her normalize them. It’s nice having that support :),0 "This post right here. I have had this difficulty for a few years now, but even if im aware of it, i still find myself really taking my time speaking so i can make sense of my own head, and it is stressful and takes a lot of my energy each day.",1 "Is the ""look everywhere, no matter how illogical"" searching technique so unusual among people? My brother once lost his wallet at a hostel when he was hiking with friends, and got very lucky when the people there managed to find it and hand it to a person heading over to the same place as him (because they were on a schedule, so they couldn't stay to search). As he was telling this story he was just baffled that they found it, because ""he looked everywhere"", so he couldn't imagine where they found it. To me (and my mother and other brother) it was very clear he didn't look everywhere, since the people from the hostel found it after he left. When I go into my ""hardcore"" searching mode (which luckily isn't that often, I don't usually really lose stuff), I will even close the rooms of doors I know I raked from top to bottom to make sure I don't accidentally move stuff around absentmindedly that will mess up my ""log"" of where I've searched or not.",1 I’m sending this to my bf so he knows he’s not the only one. ;),1 "Sometimes I try to explain some of my rituals and the things that make me feel ""OK"" but then I just realize how silly it would seem to a person that doesn't go through it every day and so then I give up. It genuinely makes me feel like an idiot.",0 wish i could get a brain scan. I occasionally look for university research projects that give free MRI but they are usually only on weird things.,0 "Man I have the opposite problem. I think too fast. People can't keep up and I just get annoying. I talk *way* too much. I know what I want to do but I can't for the life of me start doing them. I just end up a restless, self destructive and fidgety mess. I wish I could pause time so I could just catch my breath. I am so exhausted all the time. No matter how much I rest and try not to stress. My head just goes 100mph and I can't help thinking and worryig about everything there is and I am so damn tired.",1 "Im ADHD, and as long as I can remember back to my early childhood, i get extremely emotional when Im tired and need to go to bed and other people dont get it. After work, my brain is so done! Leave me alone and LET ME GO TO BED !!!! IM TIRED 🤯",1 One thing thats helped me was timer pill bottle caps. Shows time since last opened. Gottem from CVS,0 Thought I was the only one who gets stressed from these,0 Its always myself asking the question of did you do your best and knowing that often I didnt and that if I had more self discipline things could be different,1 "Wow, couldn’t agree more. I’m in law school but I leave the lights on in my car at least twice a month, resulting in me calling my friends twice a month to jump my car. That’s right, I can’t afford a new enough car that automatically turns the lights off when the car turns off. I blame the car out of anger and then I blame myself, because the car doesn’t have a brain, let alone a brain full of scrambled eggs.",1 "My ""top artist"" of the year was Mindless Self Indulgence...because I spent one day listening to all of their albums. That ruined my entire year's genre and favorite artist analysis!",1 How are you doing now? Are you located in the U.S.? Hoping I can help in some way.,0 "Are body focused repetitive behaviours ocd? I seem to have an issue with nails, cuticles, hair, biting my knuckles, and scratching my nose. I bite my nails, cuticles and knuckles till they bleed and blister.",0 "Jesus himself always talked in parables that contained numbers and obsessive behaviour. Ya mom sure Jesus himself didn't have OCD? Edit: This is a joke, just wanted to help you keep your head up with some humor. You seem like a smart person who knows better, I wish you the best on the journey with OCD, I was told such things as well..",0 "Not that dramatic... But, for a very long time oral basically did nothing for me because it's so passive that I would just drift off and barely be aware of what was happening, even straight up losing the mood right in the middle of it. I always preferred _giving_ oral because it's active and can hold me in the moment. My current partner has managed to find some buttons that, when pressed, can't be ignored, but it took her a couple years to do it.",1 "“See brain I don’t like it” “Okay but what if you’re just repressing it”",0 Congratulations! I love the happy smile... this internet stranger is proud of you,0 "Thank you for adding the ""sexual"" part! Most of my intrusive thoughts are obsessional about >!Rape, Incest, or other people's sexual relationships. !< I have to imagine >!characters raping or fucking!yonks ago. I love this and I'm stealing and using this.",1 "3d printing has been good for me. You can hyperfocus to get the print started, then walk away while it finishes.",1 "Yep, waking up with an alarm and doing some journal entries EVERY SINGLE MORNING has shifted this in me. If you complete a task upon wakening then your brain triggers a response to complete tasks for the whole day. I have a gratitude journal and a life admin one I leave next to my bed and do it as soon as I wake up.",1 Oh for heaven’s sake. Am I the only person who is tired of people whining about how other people don’t understand their OCD? Come on. I have OCD and the least of my worries is what other people think it is or isn’t. I’m too busy trying to stay on top of my own anxiety. I’m too busy trying to keep my shit together. It’s not an identity crisis. This community is being overtaken by this nonsense.,0 Hey guys I almost actually made a post asking for reassurance today and then I didn’t! Progress!!!,0 If you want to dye your hair black but aren’t sure if you’ll like it/if it’ll be too dark/if you’ll want to change your hair color soon I recommend dying it with a semipermanent dye like manic panic as opposed to a permanent dye! black permanent dye is so ungodly hard to get out and the semipermanent one will be much easier to remove/fade out,0 "So sorry for your loss, and thank you so much for this message ♥️",1 3:33 4:44 5:55 and any repition of 7 are GREAT but 6 is bad number 0/10,0 "I agree completely with this. My coping mechanism is to tell potential friends of things I've done, and let them know exactly what they are getting into. I'm aware of how good of a first impression I make and I find it is easier for me to go day to day if I'm really openly honest in that first impression. Don't know if that made sense but it seems to help me and maybe it'll help someone else",1 I feel this so much!!! I feel like I should spend as little time as possible with them so that the disappointment never really hits.,1 What if this was all just an elaborate plan to attain drugs that you had never heard about because you’re secretly a drug addict and have been doing this to yourself the whole time wow you are such a bad person knock on wood if you want this to not be true!1!!!@!!1!!,0 "I don’t entirely agree b/c I have found that I still have enough initiative to start projects too!!! It’s the keeping them going long term that eludes me. Research and prep is the easy part. Starting it is something, but I have found that once I sit down to continue, I realize just how much work I have left to do and that it actually takes A LOT of sustained mental effort and practice to get good enough at sh*t and to keep things going, then I get overwhelmed, and abandon until a future time or date when I am feeling the “creative spark” again. Basically, I Love to plan and I enjoy starting things, but I “run out of juice” 1/6-1/3 (15%-34%) into something. (However, If I manage to get at least 40%-50% done in one go, I have a higher success/ completion ratio. And I rarely abandon once I get above 51% cuz then hyperfocus will kick in until I finish it.) I spent 30 years unmedicated. AMPHT/DXTROMPHT helped A LOT with focus and prioritizing the first month of treatment. But, I am on my second month and trying Methylphenidate and it’s just NOT the same. Naughty old habits are coming back. 😩 Since a dose burns out in 2-3 hours, the whole pill only lasts 6 unless I space out the dose, or purposely take it later, which means I don’t have it in the morning to help me stay on task, and post 4/5pm, my brain reverts to its ADHD-ish nature meaning it’s time to think of everything and do nothing. 🤣 So I will definitely need to talk to my shrink about that since my full day’s dose can’t even get me through an 8 hour shift. Let alone actually attempting to keep the momentum going once I get home.",1 "Honestly it's true. I laughed at a meme and then noticed it was an ADHD meme. My brain went, hey, what? Let's check what ADHD is. Queue hours of trawling the net progressively going oh my god I so have this and I didn't know! I'm 33 and finally diagnosed 7 months ago... Shouldn't be a thing!",1 I highly suggest trying meditation. There's a small learning curve but there are many ways to do it.,0 "Ah, friend our brains seem to be from the same place haha. And I leaned something new about myself! Echolalia! Just googled. Huh, explained a lot. I've had people I know ask me why I say certain random noises/ words while I'm doing something. Haha I was always like 🤷🏻‍♀️ ""Was I saying something... huh. No idea. I felt like it?"" I've always, at specific times, had compilations to make noises or words. Especially when stressed or super focused on something. And talking myself through the steps when really struggling through a difficult for me task due to my ADHD. Thanks for helping me learn something new about myself. Appreciate it!",1 I’m pretty sure my Apple Music has just given up on trying to recommend me songs,1 "The hardest part for me is actually liking the post. I like, unlike, like, unlike, repeat for however many times my brain says to in that particular moment.",0 No lie. I legit accidentally had some knives one day...,0 "First of all, your story is hilarious and has absolutely made my day! 😂 While this has never happened to me, I feel certain that it will at some point. I can't tell you how many times I've paused an activity to use the bathroom and ended up brushing my teeth, washing my face, or taking a shower instead of doing whatever it was that I was supposed to be doing. Try not to be too hard on yourself. It happens. The guy might not understand, but we sure do!",1 Society has taught normal people to think we're stupid and lazy so they won't feel bad that the government isn't taking care of us.,1 I don't have ocd but for some reason I still get paranoid about this,0 "Good god I love this sub. I hate that we have to deal with it, but it's nice to know we're not alone. This post made me laugh. Too real, my friend. Too real.",0 "Oh man fr, i give myself 4-8 and thats it, i thought i was the only one who thought this way",1 Holy shit lmfao this is also why my current sleep schedule is 6am-3pm ☹️,1 "These OCD posts are revealing the things I thought were normal are actually at OCD thing. Or I could just be a really worrisome person. I have a question. Do you have thoughts in your head mocking you? Is that a thing for people with OCD have? I have thoughts in my head that mock me and scorn me. Imagine a toxic person talking to you but he's in your head.",0 My go to is either arson or hit n run. Kinda scares me how much I think about it :/,0 "OCD is not an adjective OCD is not an adjective OCD is not an adjective OCD is not an adjective OCD is not an adjective OCD is not an adjective OCD is not an adjective OCD is not an adjective",0 "this is exactly how i shut these intrusive thoughts down!! i just roll my eyes at it and say ""that's funny, tell another one!"" to myself",0 "I know I'm lazy, but not stupid. I just have this constant brain fog that breaks my focus and make me very drowsy and irritated.",1 I've gotten so used to eating stale food (like chips and cereal) at this point because I either eat the package super fast or I forget about it until it's stale. 😬,1 "Does anyone else struggle with....the opposite problem? Like I become hyper aware of where I am, what my particular role in this group is, and feel as if people are watching my every move. I associate and hard :(",0 "I struggle with that thought as well, what helps me is by setting a reminder on my phone every day and then as soon as I take it I just mark it as complete.",0 This is music to my ears. I (100kg guy) am on 25mg methylphenidate a day (Medsafe's recommended max dose for ADHD is 80mg) 5 days out of seven. I burn through my fortnightly prescription in six days. Does anyone know a good psychiatrist in New Zealand (in Auckland preferably) who I could ask for a second opinion?,1 "I like this a lot. There's even a good counter example: when Jim and Dwight have the ongoing snowball fight. Unlike his normal behavior, Jim gives in and gets totally wrapped up in Dwight's stupid scheme, and it turns him into a crazy person.",0 I hate going out on long trips or car rides because the whole time I’m just thinking about when the next opportunity I will be able to go to the toilet is,0 "I made a post almost exactly like this a year ago, Executive function disorder is already a thing, its weird, but i fully agree ADHD should be renamed to something thats not so easily stereotyped",1 "Nobody: Absolutely no one at all: OCD: you should review the law to make sure you've never done anything illegal :)",0 "Once I'm diagnosed I will totally do that, but don't mention ADHD, to piss people off hahaha",1 "A ""medication holiday"" is really a safety deposit in my medication reserve. I don't skip meds because I think it'll help my response to it, I skip because I fucking forgot then figure it'll help me out later when I inevitably forget to call in for my refill and let it slide for a week after I'm completely out",1 "Thank you for writing this with the depth that you've provided. As someone with ADHD and a chronic illness, this is a really great idea that I would love to implement when I feel comfortable. I'm also looking to share this post with folks in some of my chronic illness communities... Some of us struggle with keeping on top of things and this seems like a perfect start at a small-scale level.",1 Me who should go to sleep: Oh...maybe u are right...,1 OK so real talk my tics are coughing and throat clearing thanks to seasonal allergies. Living in a city people always think I'm sick and will avoid me (which isn't a big deal) but will purposefully move away on public transport EVEN WHEN I do all the proper face covering and whatnot when I cough. And one of the people in my cohort called it out in a game. I was never bullied as a kid for my tics. But these small things kind of hurt.,0 "Holy cow, the delayed processing. Yeah! When things click days weeks months years later. Not in a wisdom/perspective way but a ""brain slowly catching up on processing"" way.",1 THERE ARE TOO MANY- DON’T MAKE ME LOOK I DON’T WANNA,1 "I don't like ""Emotional Regulation Disorder."" That would be WAY worse. We would be grouped in with people with Bipolar or Borderline in the general public.",1 "Last week i went against just one of my biggest obessions and pruposely messed up a ritual i havent broken in 5 YEARS. My ocd tells me that i shouldve been killed by something since i messed it up. But im still fucking here. It gets better, and never give up bros",0 One day we shall all get to a point where we will ignore our thoughts/feelings/urges and move on with our lives. Just have to remind ourselves so we dont forget,0 "I was expecting the wall of text I usually see on this sub. That was short and sad. I've been there, and it does indeed suck. I hope you survive this. You have a right to live and breathe and sit in the sun like anyone else, no matter who you are or what you do.",1 "Feel you on the spotify part - I don't know if I can ever go back! The ads especially while going to the gym are so brutal to my concentration. Mid lift ""HEY HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF AGING ON YOUR ERECTILE STRENGTH?""",1 I thought the title said racist and idk what that says about me,0 "Literally why I can't post it. OMG, I love how relatable this sub is. For me, it's Mayday by TheFatRat coming in at number 3, which was located conveniently between 2 large phases of ""a bunch of songs I add to queue"" on my 1000+ song playlist, so when I'd be adding Aurora or Menke or Porter Robinson, I'd just throw Mayday on for good measure, which meant it was on essentially 3 times as much as the others individually. Also, this French lo-fi playlist is added. C'est super!",1 I've just about McFucking had it with inaccurate OCD representation,0 "When I was in therapy for a really bad ROCD episode, I had to mute some of my group chats for MONTHS and only go in if I was ready since I was very touchy around the subject of relationship issues at all but the trigger was so ingrained in normal conversation that I couldn’t ask to avoid the topic. I feel a little bitter bc I also have a ptsd diagnosis and after ERP for OCD I don’t believe in cw/tw because I had to learn to face mundane shit in the world so why don’t I get special warnings? Then again, having ptsd makes me somewhat understand their need in web content as people are allowed to curate their own exposure... *endless thought pattern of existential frustration* FYI: ending on a happy note, after a bunch of relationship therapy I am now the advice guru in my friend groups :)",0 I always accidentally start saying “I fucking hate myself” or “I need to kill my self” when it gets bad like that. I didn’t know that was an ocd thing,0 Lmao and you’re that guy who is getting beaten by both devil and advocates (imagine 2 cartoons fighting and hurting one innocent person) ocd is nuts lol,0 "Yep. Put the dog in his crate, wave at him through the two specific bars of the crate, and recite the same speech to him that I do everyday. If I don’t tell him to “have a nice nap” I worry that he sits there bored all day instead of sleeping. And can’t leave the house until he lays down and gets settled.",0 "My OCD just tried to change themes on me a little while ago, and it was weird AF. Sorry, brain, but I'm just barely making progress on this theme, I do not have the energy for a new one.",0 "I tried to make myself a massage appointment for 11 am but it was twice as much as I expected to pay so I’ve made it at a different location for 5:30 pm. And thus my day is ended. What do I do now that I can’t DO anything with the 4 hours at least of actual open space time I have to do things with? Also- it’s currently 10:34.",1 This is the most hilarious meme I've seen in awhile,0 This is the best OCD art I’ve ever seen. It pictures intrusive thoughts so well.,0 "I have the exact opposite problem (I can get myself to structure things on my own time but can't pay attention in class to save my life), but I definitely see where you and others are coming from though.",1 Is this an ADHD thing? Or do normal people experience this aswell?,1 "I once “confessed” to killing my family and burning down our house. I “confessed” this to my little sister, while inside of our very much in tact house.",0 Wait so is this a good coping mechanism? Because I figured it was like a compulsion,0 "At pretty much every job I've had, I have been slow to pick things up and establish a workflow to become more efficient. I think this has to do with the ""why"" behind things. Once I finally get the hang of the inner workings of the place, procedures, tasks, etc. I eventually start to excel and even get promoted. If the higher-ups just provide me with a bit longer of a grace/onboarding period, it pays off for them (and me) in the end. Of course, then I take on too much responsibility, get overworked, burned out and end up quitting. Such is my ADHD pattern.",1 "for those looking to at least not have 200 tabs open at once, onetab is a chrome extension that’s helped me (idk if it’s on others, i assume so?) basically, you press a button and it compiles links of all of your open tabs into one tab that you can sort and open later. helps avoid slowing my laptop to a crawl, at least",1 "Yep it’s horrible — my current life. Thank goodness I no longer deal with anxiety though because of my antidepressants but I remember those days Now it’s adhd depression and suicidal ideation but you can’t have everything i guess..",1 WOW! Saved! Thank you so much. I have an appointment on Thursday for diagnosis and applied for a different job in my department as current job is just too complicated for me right now. It was really encouraging how many of these I’ve been doing for years or just recently. Thank you for taking the time to compliment this.,1 "Ohh man. My tactic (my very inconsistent but effective when I actually do it tactic), is to just sit down and write a list of everything that I need to get done big or small. Then I just start doing the things that I feel inspired to do until I forget and lose the list. But at least I got some things done!",1 How did you get this picture of me that one time I tried to go to a yoga class?,0 "Super relatable, and I didnt even read the whole thing. Im glad I have ADHD though",1 "My mother *still* doesn’t understand inattentive ADHD, so therefore she feels my diagnosis by 3 different doctors isn’t valid. She talks and talks, usually about nothing. She’ll be shopping online and find an hour conversation to make about what color blue to order... I try SO hard at first, I’m kind, I’m patient and then I lose it. She keeps pushing and pushing... I walk away, say I have to do something- she’ll follow me, call me, text me. I don’t know about anyone else, but I put my notifications on silent. I get too easily distracted and frustrated. Except my mother views my frustration as being bitchy. When in reality, she has denied my disorder since I was a diagnosed. If she took some time to read about it she may actually understand that I am incapable of functioning the way she expects me to. ADHD is hard. People make jokes, “oh I’m having an adhd moment.” NO FUCK YOU, your moment is MY LIFE. thank god I have my boyfriend who is also ADHD, but on the hyper end, so we understand each other well. He knows when l take a day to reply / call back that it’s not me being unloving , it’s me being hyper focused onto something and I totally let time slip by. On top of adhd, I have anxiety. I can not get dressed. It takes me over 45 minutes to choose SWEATPANTS. I put them on, I get anxious that I look fat or feel fat, then forget that i need to get changed, and focus on my weight insecurities for awhile.., then get dressed in another outfit, anxiety again.. cycle again.. until I feel like I’m losing my mind. I’m fine mom, just fine. This is normal.",1 Took a page straight out of my journal with this one.,1 "I think some of the disdain for the so called “fakers” comes from a place of envy. It’s soul crushing to live with severe, debilitating mental illness. It can be frustrating to see high functioning variants take most of the oxygen in the room and the conversation.",0 "Top songs: 1. Ripping apart my cuticles 2. Your boyfriend is going to die 3. Your psychiatrist thinks your lying 4. Is it carbon monoxide poisoning, cancer, or your period? 5. Mom I’m having an allergic reaction please look in my throat",0 "Holy shit, YES. And reading all of your comments makes me feel 100x better yet unfortunately I wish it made me 10x more productive. But I know you know, I know, you know, it will happen when it happens",1 "Back when I struggled with religious OCD, I thought the devil was gonna get me pregnant unless I said Hail Mary 3 times and tapped my window. Yup that’s it. That’s the intrusive thought I had.",0 I love this way of understanding it- you can’t solve the problem with the thing that caused the problem in the first place,0 The level of sheer focus on such a particular task is such an adhd symptom from OP. 75% chance OP did this instead of studying,1 "LOL truth! Like, just because my brain decided we were going to listen to the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical soundtrack on repeat for a week straight does not mean it's my ""top album"" of 2020!",1 "I honestly have no idea how I made it through school dealing with this, or how my teachers still deemed me as smart while my grades declined and neither they nor my parents ever considered the possibility that I might have adhd. Well, I think I do and I really don't think I'll be able to actually study at a university level without a diagnosis and medication and proper tools and support. I tried two courses, psychology, only got a grade on two out of four tests, and film studies, only one out of four tests. I have continuous nightmares about being in school and failing or not finishing assignments on time... lmao",1 ">I don’t know whether it’s an evolutionary advancement neurotypicals will never understand Now I'm not an evolutionary biologist, but I am a biologist so I do have some knowledge on the subject. I'd say that ADHD is one of many qualities of an individual that can be useful and thus it has remained in human populations. The mania can sometimes be very useful in finding out solutions to difficult problems or to complete a lot of work in a short period of time. The general lack of attention I feel is very beneficial for adjusting to new environments, you can pick up a lot of information fairly rapidly in tidbits all over. But like most differences from the norm these characteristics aren't optimal for most situations which is why we usually struggle so much. Evolution doesn't care whether something is optimal, it only cares how well that quality can help spread and keep your gene copies in the gene pool. Clearly ADHD has helped do that often enough. Or it could be connected to other genes that have other benefits. For example people with Sickle Cell disease (80% of which live in Sub-Saharan Africa) which can give you anemia, swelling of the hands and feet, bacterial infections and lead to a stroke is still fairly common in the area. This is because the carriers of that gene (but not the sick themselves) are more protected against malaria.",1 Is this OCD?? I just got diagnosed and am so lost. I do this all the time,0 "Thank you, I really needed this! And good luck to You!!!",0 You have friends? I cant seem to remember where I put mine.,1 "This sorta happens with me but it's usually if I was already tired and/or had just woken up. It happens alot with online school and math is incredibly difficult for me to keep up with. I also get nauseous sometimes if I have to get up and I didn't sleep enough. I don't get sleepy unless it's late at night, but if I have to do a task late at night I usually either get sleepy or so bored that i get sleepy.",1 "I'm the opposite. I love sitting around and playin games all day long, and sometimes my brain goes into ""I've wasted my day away"" mode if I DIDN'T get to play games as long as I like to. I always have to swat those thoughts away so I don't fall into a depressive state, but hey, I'm having fun out here.",1 "It’s not just the misuse of OCD that pisses me off about this, it’s the idea what driving your family members “crazy” by triggering their OCD is supposed to be funny or something. Like, why would you do that to anyone??",0 You don’t have to chase after every stick your mind throws!,0 "I'm too fast for everyone. It's isolating and lonely. I feel like the world is trying to catch up to me and I can't let that happen. So I sprint full speed into the future. Catch me if you can. Maybe the difference between me and you is that I have a plan with defined goals. If I don't know what to do, or need a change, I got a big plan to stick to. I grind on that shit like it's my level in a video game. I fight, flight or freeze as well. If things are too much, I'll freeze up, so I needed a clearly laid out plan to follow when I don't I want to think about my next action. I autopilot into what I need to do to make progress. Also, learn to obsessively log everything down. It'll help when you can't remember.",1 This is exactly how as a child I was conditioned to be afraid of doing math.,1 "I give it to time blindness. Adhd brain can't judge time the same way as neurotypical brain can. Everything seems either ""now"" and you spend the whole day waiting for it or ""later"" and then you are late",1 Thats why i wasnt so mad during lockdown the world finally slowed down so i didnt feel behind,1 "My ""Podcast Marathon"" podcast was one I stopped listening to after a week because one of the hosts annoyed the hell out of me, but of course I had to listen to 12 episodes to MAKE SURE. I'm still like, ""Man, the content was so good, I could probably suffer through it right?""",1 Oh my gosh I spent years falling asleep at work and thought it was depression. HOLY GUACAMOLE!,1 "Can we acknowledge that she got 7 other things done in those hours she was intermittently washing dishes? I consider a tea and cat break a self care activity we don't often allow ourselves that isn't an endless phone scroll. NT might see this as ""it took her 5 hours to do the dishes"" I see this as ""she got so many tasks done on top of doing the dishes"" I don't care if it's piecemeal, it all got done plus some bonus things like tea shelf, kind donut gesture, forgotten wine. Kudos to her! And you for detailing this but in a supportive way.",1 I'm more bothered about these posts literally every single day criticizing others for missusing the term OCD...,0 You know what’s even worse? Not realizing the good things in the moment. That girl who was really friendly? Yeah mate she probs liked you. Or my absolute least favorite realizing someone wanted to be friends and I didn’t see that they wanted to hang more and we drifted apart. Man fuck adhd shits wack.,1 "Oh my god 100% feel this. I get absolutely incensed before appointments and can do absolutely nothing for an entire day or two beforehand. Completely throws me off and my anxiety is off the charts 😩",1 Oh my god I do this during long distance!! It’s a lifesaver seriously. I didn’t know it was an adhd thing and called emotional impermanence when I learned to do this.,1 My entire life I have wished of a scenario where I get to do a “dry run” of each day. When I was young I thought it was genius!,1 "Interested in law, wake up ready to fight supreme court.",1 "My boss recommended a planner to me, and his secretary immediately ordered one and it showed up the next day. I was all ready to take notes, but I haven’t seen the darn thing in six months. I don’t know where it is….",1 "Additionally to these all I onsessively rip off my lip skin. After it is halfway cured, I rip off the scab with my teeth again and my lips are always covered in congealed blood. I hate my life.",0 "While my GP was insisting it was just PTSD (with its buddies Depression and Anxiety) I knew there was something else going on. My therapist agreed that there had to be something underlying because I was still having issues on antidepressants. Thankfully GP went on mat leave and we were able to get a second opinion.... Psychiatrist said she knew within 15 minutes of talking with me that it had to be ADD... and was surprised they even bothered with the 8 hours of testing to create a report. We all know our minds and bodies and we just need to share our experiences with more people so we stop the long term suffering of others!",1 Currently in the emergency waiting room right now due to heart palpitations I've been putting off for several years 🤣,1 "not so great hack if student with adhd is elementary school aged, hyperfocuses on the school chromebook itself, and learns that fart sounds can be mistaken for speech. highly specific, i know, but not the game changing hack that our family needs.",1 "i remember when a supervisor took me aside and asked me how i felt with genuine concern that one of my lesser supervisors basically said ""f you"" to me infront of some other workers. i cant remember if i was hungover that day and just didnt really notice the comment or didnt proccess it properly, or blocked it out or somthing? but it concerned me either way that i just let somthing like that slide",1 "Anytime I have an intrusive thought I laugh and think brain you are so fuckin weird dude lol. Found that accepting you have no control, is the only way to control it.",0 "That’s why now I like Audible...can just listen when I feel like it. Autopay is your friend, and make sure to tell your bank to not allow overdrafts. Those two things saved me... But yea the food, gym membership, etc all on point",1 AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH FUCK feels good to let out the frustration. Mine is getting worse fuck off ocd,0 "Instead of saving post to come back to, I thought I’ll text the post to myself and I can go back into them later. Thinking it would be a more visual reminder to check them out later. I have text from 2019 and I can’t remember why I saved them in the first place!",1 "Similar experience for me but I looked at my girlfriend and was like ""this is how normal people get to think?!"" I was so calm and clear. I don't think I've ever had euphoria from Adderall, but it helps me feel so calm I can actually nap and get some much needed rest. I can do dishes without leaving them halfway through to find my coffee and then wind up in the shower. It's just all so much more manageable. So glad to see other adult diagnosis folks have positive experiences with their ADHD meds.",1 "It's gonna be like that untill end of my life. Fuck me I guess. Thank you parents for ""let's make a child, we will be so happy"" and then put me under a constant stress from age of I can remember. I didn't want to be born, you don't making a child thinking about making your mood better and not about child itself especially when you can't afford child, I'm not gonna be thankful, fck u",0 I can relate especially when you wake up after drinking and feel fine then the hangover with usual unwanted thoughts hit( together is fucking hell either are bad enough as it is ) and your like yep I was still a bit drunk when I woke up,0 "Sure, everyone has some obsession... and maybe everyone has some compulsion too. But the word **disorder** is rather critical key to what OCD is as a whole. It’s amazing how dense some people can be. It’s like saying everyone is a little clinically depressed because everyone is a little sad sometimes.",0 "Are the doors locked? lights, stove, heater off? cat bowl full? car lights off blah blah blah every single night ",0 "OCD cleaning (IMO) isn’t even close to “normal” cleaning. I am, unfortunately, a compulsive cleaner. I’ve flooded my house multiple times trying to clean. I’ve frequently stayed up until 3-4 a.m. just to clean. My house is quite sterile-looking, not only because my mother was a serious hoarder and clutter gives me incredible anxiety, but also because the fewer things I own, the less I have to clean. It’s not fun. It doesn’t look nice. I’m not organized, I’m distressed and unable to enjoy things.",0 "LOL, browsing trending, and this was three posts up https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinfuriating/comments/dmt9bg/my_ocd_is_kicking_in/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share",0 It's a good exposure though. I purposely don't share the post on Facebook or wherever it is and accept that the bad thing will probably come true.,0 Yes with cars. I don’t accelerate too fast and after a long drive I like to let it rest overnight. ,0 "This has been so true for me. It’s somehow lead to this contradictory belief about myself that I’m amazing, unique, the best thing since sliced bread but also - awful, incapable, and barely worth less than the mold that’s now grown on the bread that expired two weeks ago and I forgot to throw out",1 I come here to feel like I can relate to other people,0 Dude same. But I like to think that I would have been OP if God made me without ADHD so the ADHD is just a nerf or something,1 "Im fucking bawling, and printing this out. Thank you so much.",1 "Thanks, no, I'm not doing well but just keep swimming, right?",0 Lmao too true. Scrubs barely making it to a the allotted time of washing their hands and I’m over here washing mine 2-3 times in a row.,0 They obviously don't have OCD. Probably just anal about cleanliness.,0 "thank you for sharing. you are helping many people, including myself, feel less alone.❤️",0 Wow! I thought I was the only one that literally blocks off whole days to do things like that. I was recently diagnosed at age 41 so I’m learning so many new things after reading this sub. I’m not alone with these challenges after all.,1 Well this is my life for the past 10 years life is hell with OCD GOD help us all with this evil ocd disease I waste so much of my important time in my life with this ocd shit.,0 "Hahah. I stream to Twitch, and, even though the program I use to stream is closed and I definitely ended the stream, I will still worry about it still streaming.",0 "Yes I am logical about it, just don't want the blood and all the dust from inside the haunted house on my clothes..etc...",0 Oh my god. I- *yes* So glad I’m not the only one oh my gOsh.,0 "The most representative art I’ve ever seen of how the inner turmoil of ocd can feel. Funny, it’s all the same brain and yet it can feel blissful and also like an inner hell. Amazing work.",0 "I’ll gladly give it to them. Better yet, I’ll pay them to take it. EVERYONE’S HAPPY!",0 "Thank you for sharing. Sometimes I have massive problems falling asleep due to obsessions, as it makes me feel extremely insecure. The group and texts like this help me a lot to feel better.",0 "OMG! I get it! At home I didn’t learn personal hygiene, until I was a teen and through early adulthood I was learning so much! Congratulations! A goal I should set for myself",1 Love the King Ghidorah-esque depiction of the OCD monster. Keep it up and stay strong!,0 "I think communication is the key, I didn’t have anyone tell me shit about it. Figuring out later that Just because you have a little bit of darkness inside you doesn’t make you a slave to it. And some of us (those not suffering from the extreme versions of whatever we suffer) can still stand up and fight it.",0 "But, but ... I mean, okay yes, everything in the past was overblown and I only worried so much because of my O.C.D. But THIS time it's serious!! This time the threat is real!",0 "I seriously never thought about it this way!! thank you so much for sharing, you saved me with this!!",1 "Yeah I go from film making, design, drawing, making music and nothing long enough to perfect it. It kills me. Plus it works in bursts. I do one thing constantly then nothing for months.",1 "Never made the connection, but this post rings very true. Every time I try to make a change in the dopamine sphere of things, it never lasts. But I do get huge quality of life increases from just adapting my environment to be more comfortable.",1 "For sure! I struggled with OCD for years before I was diagnosed, and I pretty much thought I was crazy the entire time. Then after I started doing research about OCD everything just fell into place and even thought things aren’t perfect, they’re better than they were.",0 Is your house constantly being robbed? Tell the robbers not to come inside your house! No need to thank me!,0 My OCD tells me that my immunocompromised mom is going to die from the coronavirus and the last time I will see her is through an iPad with her on a ventilator. very tough stuff.,0 "This is me. It takes me three or four trips back and fourth to the door, before I will accept that the door is locked. On particularly difficult days, I will detour back around the block just to double check that I had checked that the door is locked. 😂😂😂",0 For me I think it’s more of an anxiety thing. For example if someone asks me a question I’m more likely to say “I don’t know” rather than answer it with what I believe to be the right answer because I’m worried I’ll be wrong. But sometimes I can’t tell the difference between what I know and won’t say and what I just straight up don’t remember.,1 "My daughter is 13 and has ADHD and we never ever yell at her or make her fe l stupid or anything similar. She’s our baby, our princess, and gets treated as such. If she does something wrong we talk about it. She is very forgetful but we deal with it. We also don’t put her in medication as it makes her depressed and someone she isn’t.",1 If it wasn't for my adderall I would be an awful bean stuck in made up feelings for people who most definitely do not have them for me. It's nice to robot out and just focus on what I'm supposed to do. I see it as me investing in my future so that I can relax and just exist.,1 TIL that OCD can present itself as unwanted naked thoughts. I don’t suffer from this but I’m both intrigued and I sympathize. I’m glad the internet is here for us all to be able to share our seemingly weird personal struggles and hopefully feel less alone.,0 "Excellent description of this experience. There are a couple games I've been playing for years, and realizing that I didn't get enjoyment from them anymore was my first clue that I was depressed at the time.",1 "Stop reacting emotionally to it and staying in that guilt self distructive puddle, let go of the idea of being perfect or doing important stuff, when you get to the point of screaming at yourself again stop and self talk till it sinks in like chill your fine right now, lifes to short,no ones perfect , I eventually always get it done or think I need this me time moment to balance my diorder, sadly I have adhd and I do things differently and thats ok etc and everytime you do this it sinks into your self concouis slowly and you believe it and your mood changes and life gets better cause all tht negative energy is only going to kill your motivation. idk self talk is a great powerful tool we dont practice enough....",1 "This is honestly how I get through menial tasks, unfortunately it's bleeding into more of the things I do...",1 Ditto! Sometimes I can feel so smart...as long as no one else is involved 😩,1 This cracks me up because my competing compulsion is counting. 😂 so after an intrusive thought I start counting until I can move on or a new one starts. 😂😂😂,0 Lol so relatable. I am having new intrusive thoughts almost every week with some things mixed from the previous one.,0 "Just joined the community, I feel lighter already. I am talking to my therapist about it next week.",0 I needed this! It's so difficult to function lately. Thank you,0 That's why I find myself staying up really late at night (and going into the early hours of the morning) because my brain seems to think that if you don't go to sleep that the day is automatically longer and that staying awake just means longer days when in reality it just means me not having enough sleep which leads me to be even less productive than usual,1 I know I have the potential to be a fantastic artist... I also know I never will be. It is crushing.,1 "Agreed — in school-school. My teachers would even forgive my assignments and give me lenient marks given I had such great test scores and could articulate the material very well. In college, it just didn’t fly anymore — professors don’t care at a large selective school. You’re just one of a million brains to them. The tests were based off the homework — but with caveats — and were so strictly timed it’s impossible to “think through” and provide satisfactory answers. F in assignments, and B/C’s on tests results in a D, no questions asked. And they wouldn’t provide lecture notes or homework solutions (even after the HW was done) out fear that students would share them. Means HW & test questions wouldn’t be reusable Thankfully, I’ve been getting my ass kicked by a planning coach and my parents and found that I do produce output. I’d sporadically get hyper-focused on assignments too. Just some forced discipline and temporary pain can make all the difference.",1 "Thanks for this! My husband finally came around and realized that with health issues, he tends to be like the meme where the dog is surrounded by flames saying “this is fine”. He asked me to help him with those final pushes he needs to make the appointments, do the steps etc. I’m grateful for that plan because it changes our dynamic from him feeling pressured and uncomfortable and me feeling worried and naggy.",1 Yup. I think that’s the biggest irony of all. Your brain knows what’s up. It knows what’s going on. But then it crumbles under the pressure and you give in.,0 Lmao same. I thought it’s just that I don’t like straining my mind so I feel sleepy.,1 Literally just sat here for 10 minutes listening to my alarm going off because I did not want to do it.,1 A good therapist won't call you a liar. They will challenge you but that isn't a bad thing. Remember their job is to listen to people's thoughts. They have heard some shit and honestly it is unlikely you'll make them even blink. They are there to help and get paid for helping you. If you don't feel comfortable you won't come back for help.,0 So proud of you! I've been thinking about similar ERP but very scared. You are an inspiration!,0 "Well done for the great drawing, and well done for sharing despite knowing it would induce some anxiety! Please continue to make and share art! Wishing you all the best with your recovery. ",0 "Looks like a repost. I've seen this image 64 times. First Seen [Here](https://redd.it/fa0q0c) on 2020-02-26 99.22% match. Last Seen [Here](https://redd.it/lsl2n2) on 2021-02-26 100.0% match Feedback? Hate? Visit r/repostsleuthbot - *I'm not perfect, but you can help. Report [ [False Positive](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RepostSleuthBot&subject=False%20Positive&message={""post_id"": ""m7s61x"", ""meme_template"": 13265}) ]* [View Search On repostsleuth.com](https://www.repostsleuth.com?postId=m7s61x&sameSub=false&filterOnlyOlder=true&memeFilter=true&filterDeadMatches=false&targetImageMatch=100&targetImageMemeMatch=96) --- **Scope:** Reddit | **Meme Filter:** True | **Target:** 96% | **Check Title:** False | **Max Age:** Unlimited | **Searched Images:** 210,390,154 | **Search Time:** 20.1004s",0 "This show... he was a drunken mess when I was a drunken mess. He was working on himself when I started to work on myself. He was struggling with sobriety when I was struggling to stay sober. And now he’s sober and learning about life (ok... in prison) while I am sober and learning about how to manage the emotions of being alive. Love this show. My mental illnesses aside even, it just resonates so much with the struggle to be happy.",0 "Yes. I buy the big package of pre-cut apples. Partially prepped fruits and vegetables is the only way I will eat them regularly",1 Girls on HBO. it’s been a while since I saw it but there are a few episodes that deal with Hanna’s OCD painfully but beautifully.,0 An illness that makes your own brain your worst enemy,0 I definitely use a lot of commas in my written ramblings. Personally I like the semi colon more.,1 I have to have the volume at an even number but if I don’t my grandad will die. There’s a difference.,0 The fact that part of the text is partly cut off triggers my OCD. ^^/s,0 "That's the worst part. When the odd situation strikes when you're actually RIGHT, and then for the next ten years the OCD just repeats ""Yeah but that one time I was right though so definitely listen to me now CHOP CHOP GOGOGO YOU'RE GONNA DIE IF YOU DON'T LISTEN TO ME GOOOO""",0 "Same problem different thing, I have a teeth grinding OCD and it’s gotten so bad where my teeth are so sensitive I can’t eat, i’ve even made some of my teeth wobble. :D",0 "How do you deal with the fact of fail after this feel of pleasure, you know? I get myself really frustrated after have a nice plan, feeling all this pleasure as mentioned, but when I make to real life, sometimes I can't even get closer to the feel of planing before. I dunno, feels like plan things are more rewarding than make things.",1 Is it sad that I already knew half of these negative meaning... wishing you the best <3,0 "Yup. The main way I survived the world of work was crippling fear of failure, until that wore off and I switched to having my manager prioritize stuff for me. I’m sure he hates having to shore up my executive function, but when I do manage to focus I’m damned good at what I do and I hyperfocus on code easily, so he just needs to make sure I’m pointed at the right code first.",1 Thanks. Just got home from work and I might not have noticed until 3am. I have to eat lol,1 Oh so that’s what Harry Styles was doing in the watermelon sugar music video,0 "Yes! I get the exact same thing and I also have adhd. In math class I arrive full of energy then I am struggling to keep my eyes open a few minutes in, as soon as class is over I get a burst of energy. Not sure why but I definitely think it correlates to adhd because anecdotally I have heard this a lot from others with adhd.",1 This is just awesome on a whole bunch of levels. I hope to be able to do this for/with my sons when they grow up. ,1 me taking 3 hours to conjure a 5 sentence email to my coworker lol,1 "Are you guys also tired all day long? I mean, not physically perse but mentally?",0 Same and I've grown to hate being called smart. Everytime people say I'm smart I feel like I fooled them into thinking that.,1 [THANK YOU](https://m.imgur.com/r/reactiongifs/uJk01CI) ,0 Man I just realized today that I may have a phobia of not being good enough from my childhood. And i feel paralyzed from it. Im going to look into ways to change my view of failure and not being good enough because it is exhausting.,1 This sub both warms and breaks my heart knowing other people experience the same psychological bullshit I do,0 "oh i completly understand how this feels, like your brain is going at 10 billion miles per hour, yet also standing still. Sometimes, i dont have enough energy to get out of bed, and sometimes i have enough energy to run around the yard 50 times. My hair, constant struggle. My anxiey makes it 10 times worse. I am super insecure so i try and cover as much as i can with my hair, but it annoys the living shit out of me. I feel ya, and sadly i dont have any work arounds, if i did, i would deffo tell you and/or use them myself.",1 "Perhaps you could persuade her that Jesus might ""use"" a therapist for helping you. I don't believe it, but I think it's very good to find a (good) therapist. Definitely go for a certified one, and be careful if he is pushy in any way.",0 "Yes. I really wanted to go a drive out to the beach a few months ago just to get some air and sit and read. As I got my keys and stuff ready the thoughts started and as much as I really really wanted to go I just couldn't . The fear was overwhelming and so I just sat in tears, no matter how hard I tried I couldn't bring myself to go because what if ? It's sad we live this way . I wish it wasn't like this or I could just ignore it.",0 Awesome post! Haha ... My blood pressure was rising and my brain kept repeating wtf!?? all the way up to that last sentence. My ADHD'd out brain would cause Franklin covey to jump off a bridge in frustrated defeat.,1 "For REAL. My girlfriend said to me ""I thought the money you were spending on things like automatic medicine dispensers, smart home automation, QI wireless charging adapters for literally everything, and other 'convenience' things were frivolous....but now I get it: **you're countering a disability. That's all.**"" Changed my life to not feel guilty or lazy when finding things that automate or eliminate stressors.",1 I just screenshotted this. Thanks & have a great day!,1 I’ve had similar thoughts when writing company emails. It’s hard to sound normal when you’re trying to a explain a simple concept with 10 different points of view. I wish people could borrow my brain for a sec.,1 I'm a shitbag *and* I just happen to have a disorder. Porque no los dos?,0 I said something about my POCD once to my mom. That was a mistake. Really bad idea with her. Usually understanding. Not. With. This. Apparently.,0 So did you get out of this loop. Is there any solution.,1 "This was me last year. I really thought I was going crazy, it got so bad it that resulted in me being held back a year. Ocd is already hell enough for people who are aware of it. It is somehow even worse for those who don't.",0 "I’ve noticed, my boss tried that on me one time and just to spite her I slowed down because it basically killed my motivation to work faster because I was trying my best, and she was basically like “your best isn’t good enough” she didn’t flat say that but that’s what she was implying or that’s how I took it anyway. I mentioned ADHD and she was like “you don’t have ADHD you just need to train your brain” oh why didn’t I think of that. Of fuckin course I’ve tried that I just get impatient with myself and quit as per usual with my many abandoned hobbies🥺",1 Why do we all have the same thoughts? It's so wild other people think like me. I feel like a degenerate evil mutant.,0 "i'm a mod on the hocd sub and it wasnt until i came to this sub that i have intrusive thoughts about.... so much stuff. the hocd stuff was so foreign and more distressing since i was so certain about it. but wow, ive had intrusive thoughts about so much other stuff for years and i just... thought it was NORMAL",0 "Well this is hilarious, most of yall couldnt read through this, just like me! Yet we know we are gonna type things this long, lol haha",1 "Damn, this relates to my job at work so much hahaha",1 "*There's something wrong with me chemically* *Something wrong with me inherently* *The wrong mix in the wrong genes* *I reached the wrong ends by the wrong means* *It was the wrong plan* *In the wrong hands* *With the wrong theory for the wrong man* *The wrong lies, on the wrong vibes* *The wrong questions with the wrong replies* *Wrong* *Wrong* \- ""Wrong"" song by Depeche Mode, written by Martin Gore And this is exactly how I felt before I got diagnosed. The video to this song is also simple but amazing, and vibes with my feeling of having lived eyes blindfolded for 30 years until my diagnosis. Edit. Spelling",1 "Happy Birthday Michael, hope you have an incredible day and many more",0 "One thing I've learned as a result of suffering from the same thing, is having scripts ready for different situations. I have pre-made responses practiced for what people may say, and if there comes a time when I need more time to articulate my thoughts, I use pre-made excuses like I need to go to the bathroom for a sec or asking another question to make them talk more so I have more time to scramble together an answer.",1 "An alarm goes off at 9am every day telling me to take my asthma meds, and I automatically snooze it for 30 mins. 30 mins later, the same thing happens. And again 30 mins after that. At some point in the day, the reminder coincides with when I am in the bathroom and I actually take them. I usually end up finally taking my meds anytime between 4pm and 9pm. It sucks and is totally ridiculous, but it's the only thing that's ever got me to actually take my meds every day.",1 This gives me so much hope. Warmed my cold little heart right up.,1 "My favorite therapy moment was when I lamented that I couldn’t get anything done ahead of time, I can only work well when my back is against the wall. I said it as in “I hate this, I need to fix it”. But her reply was “Cool. You know that about yourself now.” We talked about how knowing how I do good work makes it more possible to do good work. Once you accept something about yourself and work with it, it becomes an asset. I too have a million half started projects. But looking at my flaws, being honest about them, and turning them into strengths has been a life changer. I’ve been working on a ukulele video project since the summer and am launching it in a couple weeks. I’m almost there. I’ve finished so much of it. I tried something similar a few years ago and faltered like usual. This one seems different because I designed it for my brain to finish it. For example, it being a huge undertaking with many different parts means that I can procrastinate on one thing, do another part of it, and I’m still working on it while also letting my ADHD scratch it’s “I’m tired of this, let’s stop” itch. I’m also forgoing the usual business model of “one video a week”. I’m making a bunch and releasing them monthly. That way I can use that last minute deadline rush, and also have time to not do it. When I was trying weekly videos, I was always in that rush and got burned out. I know I need to be able to procrastinate and charge up in order to blast out an insane amount of work in a short time. There’s other ways I tailored this project to my brain, but I won’t list them all. The important thing I learned is that looking straight at your flaws allows you see the strengths in them. And there’s nothing wrong with picking and designing creative projects with your weird brain in mind. Don’t look at how someone else makes stuff as “the right way” to do it. You have a different brain than them. Just because an Olympic athlete wears a size 10 shoe doesn’t mean that that shoe will make you run fast. Figure out the right way for you to make stuff, and do it. If you hit a wall, back up and find the right path. It exists.",1 "Covid is doing a number on my health related ocd. It’s trying to grab anything to worry about. A cough, a weird exchange with a family member, not answering a phone call .... I’m just waiting for the other shoe to drop and things to get even worse.",0 "*has awful day full of symptoms, with one good hour at night* Me during that one good hour: *fuck, I’m fine, I’m totally fine and I’m just making it up, maybe I’m normal and I’m trying to manipulate my family* etc etc etc",0 Although it feels worse at first I like to think that it's essentially the same. It's also an obsession which annoys me. That makes it way easier to deal with.,0 Most relatable post I’ve ever read. I needed this. I’ve been going through an “I’m just a burden on people” phase and I need to let that go. I need to stop thinking everyone would be better off without me. I need to stop seeing myself as poisonous.,1 There’s so many! And it’s not just on here I have a bunch from the scary story subreddits that I haven’t read,1 "The kicker is that you can only delete them one at a time, at least on mobile.",1 "Well said! 👏 I take medication, not ashamed to. Some days are easier than others but I work hard! It also helps with a super supportive partner to get you through the rough times!",0 Made a second watch later list... Now I just drop them al in the waiting list en keep YouTube open,1 "My POCD strained my relation with my fathers side of the family (i have allways apreciated verte much) I felt guilty for a long time. Now im doing my best to catch up with them and fortiving myself for having done that. 😊 Keep it Up bros.",0 "I fucking despise this compulsion. It’s gotten to a point where I get anxiety attacks every time I have to do public speaking or present something to a group of people. On my worst days, I even get anxious talking one-on-one to a black person, which probably makes me look like I’m anxious to be around them and in turn makes me feel even more like a racist piece of shit. I feel like I have to suppress some racist bigoted asshole inside my mind every time I interact with someone. My thoughts disgust and scare me so much. I’m sorry I’m venting like this on a meme, it’s just that I had a breakdown over this exact thing last night and this struck a chord with me. I hate it so much.",0 Yeah... doesn't work too well with RSD when the relationship ends on good terms and you are still in love with her and you come across one of those pics with you where she smiled and looks so pretty and seemed to be genuinely happy for a while 💔😢,1 "I ended up getting into an argument with someone about why the ""quirky cleaning satisfying ocd"" is a false representation and they kept saying people with ocd are only excessively tidy and It was so frustrating!",0 Mine’s recent fixation is that I am getting early onset dementia. I feel like I’m getting dumber and I forget some words here and there. Getting real sick of this anxiety jumping from one issue to the next. Be strong!,0 "I feel this so much. Class canceled early for spring break and moving to online when we get back. I was actually enjoying my classes this semester. It’s almost 12 pm here. I’m still in PJs,un medicated, haven’t had food or coffee yet with homework due at 2. That still needs to finished up. This is going to be fun :(",1 "Yoooo I can recall this happening twice this year. Felt so unreal. So this is what it's like to be ""normal"". It just turned out to be the calm before the storm lol but felt wonderful",0 Not pathetic in the least. What an amazing job you're doing¡,0 "Fully agree, I am sick of being constantly told that I am amazing at my job and bring insight no one else can and then I’m reviews finding I am mediocre at best because of consistency or communication or something like that. Oof, can one of us please just find an ideal job for us where we can actually make the most of our talents?!",1 "Work is too much sustained attention on boring tasks over a long period of time. I feel like I always doddle, procrastinate and waste time for 60% of my work day then I’m crunching to finish my work in the other 40% and im perpetually feeling behind and anxious. I don’t know how to work any other way! I’ve started taking breaks when I start getting distracted and that seems to help. Considering starting medications cuz I can’t live like this anymore",1 "This scenario has become somewhat of a meme, and yet I honestly believe its a good situation which we struggle to notice; it sits right in our emotional blindspot. ​ One of our symptoms is emotional impulsivity. We can unwittingly turn tiny emotional reactions into strong ones very quickly. The perfectly reasonable feeling of slight frustration can spiral into an emotional monster. This amplification process is almost entirely beyond our control, and trying to calm it down or descalate it, takes enormous effort. So much effort in fact you've likely given up trying, and in my opinion rightly so, it's bloody hard work. However, we are not entirely helpless. Something we can control in this situation are which emotions become candidates for this amplification process. Adding more horses to the race so to speak, decreases the odds that the frustration emotion will be the one that wins and gets amplified. It would be nice if we couild squeeze gratitude, or happiness, into the running, so they have a chance at getting elected instead. It's not that simple though. It's not just a case of choosing happiness over anger. We don't get to directly control which emotion we feel. We have to try and legitimately generate a small amount of these emotions. We have to put in some ground work to convince our inner chimp that these alternative emotions have just as much dopamine potential as frustration and anger. ​ This is the sales pitch I use for my inner chimp: When a normal person tryies to help another normal person, they ask themselves ""What help would I need if I was experiencing this problem"". This strategy has worked for them 99% of the time, because most people are neurotypical just like them. It's important to realise, that what you're seeing manifest as terrible advice, originates from a genuine desire to help. This means as uninformed and stupid as they are, they are on your side, they are an ally, and they care. Openly acknowledging the caring that exists behind the advice, accepting them as part your team, paves the way to getting better advice in the future, whereas frustration actively discourages improvement and may ultimately stop the help altogether. Feeling gratitude instead of anger, is a long term dopamine investment, it creates an environment permissive to getting better help next time. They don't understand how to help you, **yet**. Water that plant with **gratitude** and **kindness.** ​ Peace.",1 I love when I see things like this that absolutely describe something I do lol.,0 "\> I felt free. \>happiness and calmness Is it possible to learn this power?",1 "Are you me lol? Over 1/2 a year or so ive actually made a lot of progress on this topic. I'm far from efficient and I'm not in the clear with saying I've officially stuck with it. But, I've stuck with learning to make music for long than any other creative outlet I've tried to pick up. There were two big things I think have helped me get this far. . I HIGHLY reccomend reading the book Flow by Mihaley Csikszentmihalyi. It's hard to read with ADHD, but this book just might be worth it. And then give this article a read: https://www.edmprod.com/how-to-make-electronic-music/#part5 It's frame around making EDM music but it talks a lot about developing artistic skills. It kicked my ass so hard.",1 "Part and parcel for CPTSD, I figure. Step back and think about the use of your time. This phenom is called perseveration, when negative, anxious thoughts just keep coming back over the same subject when there is no new information to be gained from thinking about it. When you find yourself in the midst of one of these, picture something that grounds you. I went through therapy twice for years and this is the thing that helped me. I picture a stop sign. I describe it in my mind (this is to bring your brain into the present, instead of it flying into the ether and bringing back nuggets of worry to chew on) like this: has 8 sides, is red, says stop. Stop. Stop. Then I breathe a beat, think about how that rumination or thought is wasting my time, then I think about what to DO. An action. Sometimes I need to run for a minute. Other times I will listen to music or watch TV. Other times, I need to eat or drink water. Other times I need to talk to someone. Other times I need to get ready for work, or go to the store. All of these actions redirect you and stop you from thinking about something that nothing useful is going to be gleaned by thinking about it again. Thoughts can be lies, and you don’t have to believe them. You don’t have to wrestle with every little anxious thought. You can let it go. One way to do this is to use this method, of stop, ground, and do an action. Sounds simple. Seriously works well for me. The most important thing for me to realize is that I can and do take up as much space as everyone else, that WHATEVER I think and do is ok and acceptable (this is in counter to the 40 years I spent thinking the exact opposite because that’s what I was taught). That’s the biggest piece for me. Knowing that whatever I do and say, it’s ok, because I accept me and I will honor myself and do right by myself. If someone shames me, that’s probably their bully way of getting me to do what they want. I’ve put up with too many bullies saying those things - criticisms and insults, OP - that stick in my head like glue. The stop sign helps immensely, because eventually those thoughts will just more easily be bounced out of your head, into the ether, where they don’t waste your time. But accepting yourself for who you are and loving yourself is the other MUST DO huge piece of stopping this type of perseveration. In my experience. Just remember that chewing on those thoughts isn’t going to get you any closer to your goals or make any of your relationships stronger. Waste of time. Even if you can spend 5 minutes less per day on a thought, at the end of the week, you could take that 35 minutes and get closer to something you want. Which is the goal, essentially. I hope this helps. I know everyone is different and I had these tools 20 years ago but sometimes your brain won’t let the lesson sink in until you’re ready. When you are and you really do change, it is worth all of the effort. I didn’t think I’d ever get those repetitive ruminations about what people said out of my head, but I did. This is one of those times when something that seemed impossible became possible. I just got so mad that I had to change myself so I could live my life without the voice of 100 bully ghosts telling me I suck all the time and my thoughts telling me they were right. Once I was able to do this, feels like that’s when life started for me. I have way more control over my thoughts, which leads to control over emotions, which allows you to live in the present and just engage with whatever is really happening and important. Peace.",0 As in Carl Wheezer? I love it. I'm naming mine either Meg or Butters.,0 Now imagine not knowing you have this disorder until you are in your 30’s and spend your entire life prior wondering WTF is wrong with your brain. No wonder my self esteem was destroyed!,1 "So very relatable. Some don't believe I have it because my desk at work is a mess and I don't spend time washing my hands over and over. Mine manifests in intrusive thoughts and obsessive checking, googling, reassurance seeking etc. I am not very organised at all.",0 "This hit me deep, I experienced symptoms for a decade but only found out a year ago.",0 Oh my god I love this analogy. This is just what I needed to hear today!,0 Yay! You're inspiring me I also have dermatillomania though not too much in my face mostly my fingers,0 "Cute. I lost count of the number of times I started the dishes, then sometime later saw them draining in the rack, realising my housemate had finished them off. She never once complained. I always thanked her. There were many other small things that I did for her too so it wasn’t like she always just finished cleaning up after me.",1 I think guilting someone never really works. It’s better to try to educate yourself about someone’s struggle and help encourage tried methods in a supportive way,1 I have this problem really bad when trying to listen to music,1 Especially when I have somewhere to go or be! I always seem to get sidetracked while getting ready and sometimes I’ll snap out of the trance and realize I’ve wasted 15 minutes watching cooking videos on Facebook.,1 "Reminds me of the feeling od people blaming you for something you haven't done, only for you to want to do it so you have reason for the punishment. Or as a child, I'd occasionally get screamed at to do the dishes. Which I would have got around to [and do fine as an adult], but because I had someone angry trying to push me to do it, I lost all care to want to. Now I just want to leave it there longer and annoy you further. This latter characteristic has followed me online, for sure. People are so easy to be annoyed by everything under anonymity, that I get great satisfaction of riling up people who rile themselves up. Classic troll tactics without going out of my way to be one. Seriously, some people try too hard with the troll shit. It's so easy to have them come to you and not be a racist whilst you do it. Anyways, I got off track... Sorry. Yes, tough love is nonsense. If you can't support me, I have no interest in listening. Pull them up not kick them down.",1 "GOD COULDNT RELATE TO SOMETHING MORE OMG FRTGhtredfghytreffgt5refd ITS SO ANNOYING.",0 "Dude/dudette I've had adhd for 20 years and yea I do this on a regular Edit* word usage.",1 "I know how you feel about the difficulties in getting a job with OCD, so seriously good job!",0 I have debilitating episodes. I understand the frustration because I can't tell if something is triggering my spirals or if it's just my mind operating on a cycle of symptoms.,0 One manifestation is needing to be perfect. I’ll clean the stove/oven till perfect then have no time to clean the rest of the kitchen. Funny thing is I always started with the stove.,0 "Yeah, haha. That, or blinking my eyes very hard. It seems to be pretty common.",0 This is such an ADHD thing to notice. You were probably reading something then 5 min later you found out you hadn't absorbed any of the info in the post cause you're to busy thinking about how interesting it is that ADHDers use lots of commas.,1 "I have real event ocd and I'm constantly arguing with myself in my head, trying to figure out whether I'm a monster or not. The worst part is I feel both sides have good points, so I can never pick a side, so the argument just goes on forever",0 "It takes 3x more energy to do what you need to do than to do what you want to do, but just remember the magic switch in your head. Let everything else become white noise and the only thing left is the task at hand. Flip the switch and get it done. Obviously this is much more difficult unmedicated, but music helps drive a task forward. The important thing is drowning out distraction with some form of white noise.",1 "Omg, I relate to this so much! Even when I was in kindergarten, I was and still am always scared that I am dreaming when using the restroom and in reality, I’m peeing my pants in class. It’s good to know I’m not alone!",0 "I am a novelist and worked as an editor ... and you nailed it at least for me. Using commata a lot is a persitent issue with my writing and i often break up sentences during the editing process. Though i am not sure, if this is not also a sideeffect of ADHD-drugs like amphetamines, as they tend to trigger very intense toughttrails and enhance your workmemory, so you tend to write longer sentences. Nonsense spread over long sentences and a lot of commas are a also common trademark of hardcore amphetamineheads like Aynd Rand or the later PKD.",1 no offense but some people in the comments saying they like their compulsions sounds very sus,0 I was diagnosed at 5yo (Idk if I was rightly or wrongly?) bc it was the 90s abd my parents had two teens and a 5yo. After being medicated through high school(when I was determined I didn’t need meds) I feel like now as a 32 yo I never got to know who I was as a kid.,1 This is fucking beautiful and so are you! Keep fighting the good fight!,0 "Well, what I get from all the comments here is that I should check my reminders that I consistently ignore and move/delete them",1 "Absolutely! I always feel the need to prove myself, even when someone believes me.",0 "Oh god this is why I'm so hesitant to form new friendships with people now, but sometimes I just can't help it 😬",1 "Hey!!! I work as a cashier at a grocery store!! It’s honestly really easy once you get the hang of it, just remember to always put the bread on top of the eggs but congrats!! 🥳🥳🎉🎉",0 I'm glad it's working for you. However I think it falls under mental compulsion .,0 This is one of the most difficult things to do I feel.,1 My OCD is better than it used to be (it’s still a big part of my life) but a few years ago I would wash my hands until I was bleeding and crying.,0 The fact that it took 6 yrs for me to know that I had OCD and I still have thoughts whether it is real or nah 😑,0 "I took my first dose of my meds yesterday and I also cried, I think this might be a pretty common reaction",1 "Wow. I've only seen one episode of SpongeBob, and it was like 20 years ago, and this was it. And I remember what he was saying too.",0 "Art... Ocd... alike personally peanut butter and jelly to me. The clock striking 1:11 AM and my checking it to see if said Alprazolam kicked in.. Wouldn't have thought to post my own on this account, I do that on another. An Alt as well, primary account devoutly dedicated to shit posting, its doing. The art itself is solid, generally Ink is my favorite medium to work with. Reminds me of one of the few inktober sketches I'd actually enjoy upvoting. Stippling but more importantly mass drawing is under-seen and underrated. Funniest thing is the words are a deviation of a quote, Voltaire I believe, that is emblematic of one of my many major themes: obsessionally. It's cool to see how ocd artists compare and contrast with those unscathed. Cooler to see more, or make a sub of it. I wonder if my general pool of work, with repetitious imagery, symbolism, (and faces/portraits of the same person/s again and again then again) would stand out as obsessive on it's own or just pieces dedicated to ""the philosophy of having OCD."" Will try. 1. Good rendering 2. Hope drawing brings you solace. Sometimes it is quite the anxiolytic",0 Thats what they think but they just dont know yet that im actually shit.,0 "Whether we’re all real or not, or if anything matters at all, there’s always a silver lining in the somewhat nihilistic view of the world. If nothing is real then nothing matters, which means that er can create our own purpose in life, and do what is in line with ourselves and live free from the common norms of what is considered normal, real etc. Just thought of dropping this thought in hope that it could get you through hard times with your mind, or at least make it easier. Questioning one’s own mind (with us at least) can be tormenting, but only if you decide to see it this way. You got this!",0 "100% My ex and I had a fight once and he apologized when he realized how much it hurt and discouraged me",1 "100% The “why” informs how I approach the problem, and what to prioritise. Without knowing why, it’s just noise. I listen and try to make mental notes, but it just disappears from my brain, I’m not *invested* with empty instructions.",1 This was my exact Wednesday two weeks ago. The worst part is that I won’t keep this therapist and now I have to find the strength to look for another one,1 "This submission has been randomly featured in /r/serendipity, a bot-driven subreddit discovery engine. More here: /r/Serendipity/comments/dn33pb/for_literally_anyone_that_doesnt_have_ocd_xpost/",0 Once I spent half a day just to send one email because it actually turned into a 4 page essay and I had to read it over 10 times after each error I massaged,0 "I'm seeing so many comments on here along the lines of ""if I'm so smart why am I failing "". And as a lecturer / professor I have to say first that intelligence is no guarantee of academic success, regardless of ADHD. Smart kids fail all the time because college grades are based on meeting other people's expectations. And if you are too smart, lateral thinking, tend to tune out and get oppositional when people tell you what to do and how to do it, which are all ADHD characteristics, chances are your grades will suffer. College especially is built around expecting you to manage your time, be proactive about managing your needs, asking for help, etc. This is executive function NOT intelligence. So college isn't set up for us and therefore if you are struggling THIS DOES NOT REFLECT ON YOUR INTELLIGENCE, or your value as a person. But second these comments seem to reflect an understanding of 'intelligence' as fixed and I'd really like to encourage everyone to try to shift into a growth mindset, based on Carol D[Dweck](https://www.worldcat.org/title/mindset-the-new-psychology-of-success/oclc/58546262)weck's research. This has been turned into some lousy self-help pseudo drivel but basically it means: ""A “fixed mindset” assumes that our character, intelligence, and creative ability are static givens which we can’t change in any meaningful way, and success is the affirmation of that inherent intelligence, an assessment of how those givens measure up against an equally fixed standard; striving for success and avoiding failure at all costs become a way of maintaining the sense of being smart or skilled. A “growth mindset,” on the other hand, thrives on challenge and sees failure not as evidence of unintelligence but as a heartening springboard for growth."" When people say, 'but you are so smart', they're putting a fixed mindset on you. If you turn it around and say 'I'm constantly learning and growing and changing', that opens things up for you. And a couple more things. There are multiple forms of intelligence - musical, social, mathematical, I forget the rest. [Howard Gardner ](https://www.edutopia.org/multiple-intelligences-research) And often ADHD people are really good at synthesis and making connections, but not so good at understanding hidden rules. And we might be inconsistent performers - but what is consistency anyway? It's a fixed mindset combined with some puritan work culture that says 'you are an A student, therefore any time you get a B is a problem and it must be your fault'. Which is all bollocks anyway because in inherently competitive systems like capitalism, someone is being set up to fail. [this interdisciplinary rant has been brought to you by a background in psychology, a decade of teaching, anthropology, and critical sociology of education. And coffee.]",1 "This is a good post!! I either impulse buy something... OR I research the crap out of it to find the best one for the best price that I’m gonna get the most use out of yadda yadda yadda. I also try to only shop at online stores that have a physical retail location nearby so I can return/exchange at the store if I don’t like it. Cuz you know I’ll never do the 20 impossible tasks within the simple task of mailing a package",1 What if you started screaming slurs in the middle of the room 😄😄😄,0 "i- :( i never thought this was a problem. Not saying isolating is entirely right but i thought...you're supposed to do this. this has been the way i cope in stressful situations for a pretty long time. i thought it's best to isolate yourself before making dumb decisions by stressed and irrational emotions. i guess i need more work on myself than i thought edit: is there anything i can read or watch to help this issue? im racking my brain trying to think of how i can assess this",0 "Omg. This, so much. Whenever I get to feeling like maybe I don’t have to deal with the “reds” anymore (“a case of the reds” - when you’re scared but you don’t know what you’re scared of; Breakfast at Tiffany’s) is exactly right right before my worst bouts. I’m grateful to be at this point of some concept of recovery, and at the same time, damn tho.",0 I have a fever rn and this is what i feel like. Stfu OCD.,0 Same. Causing me to fail university because I can’t get the thoughts out of my head and obsess over then 24/7 without a break,0 "This sub is bullshit cause of memes there is r/ocdmemes y know. this is support sub and support posts dont get any attention those posts by poeple who need help.but memes get 510 upvotes? Really mods? This isnt only thing bad it makes poeple think ocd is ""cool"" and something to be joked around with.Generous fuck you",0 "Omg, i’m so happy and proud of you, sometimes these are the little things that make our day, i know things are gonna keep getting better, keep on fighting, and celebrating",0 I dont understand. I always thought my OCD was ridiculous. Does anyone think their own sophisticated OCD?,0 "I feel like this is what I do. I was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age but my hyperactivity is gone now. Does anyone know ways to cope/treat this? I’m on Vyvanse now and that helps a lot, but it feels artificial and unsustainable.",1 I always cry in English whenever I have fun with my mom thinking of day i have to live alone and when my parents eventually dies,0 Yes i did this all the time!!! It was brutal. My OCD comes and goes so right now it’s not as bad. But this is very common i think.,0 "Thought I had schizophrenia, therapist says it’s ocd.",0 "I've been planning to go to therapy once I get a job after attaining my license. I just can't take my OCD anymore. It got worse since quarantine started. Compulsions and obssessions keep adding everyday and when I thought I got over it, they keep coming back. ^(I just want to do things normally again :c)",0 I found an app that nags! It’ll send out a “prealarm” and also keep going off at set increments until you mark done. It also has a snooze option then go right back to nagging. It’s helped me a bit! It’s called “Alarmed” (has a green icon with a ribbon tied on a finger),1 Yeah. My OG psychiatrist who diagnosed me always said drug holidays were a terrible idea. They don’t do anything.,1 "Me after I realize this is all OCD and I have nothing to worry about: ""wow im glad this whole OCD thing is over with, now i can move on with my life!"" Me, 18 seconds later:",0 "Beautiful, I love the moodiness of this piece! It's hard to stop the urge to ""fix"" so congratulations!!",0 thank you so much for sharing i’ll try it this week,0 I WAS JUST THINKING ABOUT THIS EARLIER i am so glad im not the only one,0 "Or getting extreme anxiety, not being able to do the task because it doesnt register in your head then anxiety becomes worse then you have a complete breakdown then any bit of confidence has been taken away, then panic. Then you get in trouble because your not trying then you are afraid of making any type of mistake so you dont try anymore and shut down. Also you dont want to do anything because it just gets you in trouble. Then the depression kicks in but that's a whole other topic",1 Yupppp. Just now experiencing panic attacks for the first time from this shit. Wahoooo :’-),0 "The worst is when you talk to someone about it and they say “oh, I do that” Like yeah, worrying about people hating you isn’t that unusual. Worrying that people hate you so much that it’s all you can think about for a whole evening and you have ruined relationships by reassurance seeking? Not so much. Avoiding looking at your bank balance, normal, being so worried that all your money will be gone so you don’t look at your bank balance and you miss paying important bills and they get sent to collections? Yeah I’m sure you do that. 🙄",0 "At the point of my life right now, I have a mix of hyperactivity and inattentive modes but it depends on my energy levels mostly. If I have more energy I am as quick as a cat but when I have none(basically when my sleep is irregular and I don’t eat properly) I get dazed all day",1 "I love this. I got a tattoo of a dopamine molecule behind my ear, when I was diagnosed with ADHD (and ocd/anxiety etc) because ADHD is caused in part by low dopamine and because we can all use a little extra dopamine.",0 "This problem is honestly one of the worst parts of ADHD, every time I actually pay attention and learn something in Algebra 2 and can actually do the concept perfectly, I take the test and it just gets thanos snapped from my memory",1 "Oh this doesn't make sense at all, but it explained a lot of my “not getting shit done, but also got some shit done” situations. For example, yesterday I was supposed to do homework, but I remembered that I always wanted to watch Haikyuu!! so I started watching it, in hopes that I'll do the work after like 3 episodes, and ended up watching the whole season. Watching anime is semi-important to me, but not as important as homework, this might not be exactly “not getting shit done, but also got some shit done”, but it kinda felt like it",1 "highly disturbing spellings on a r/OCD I've been itching every time I look at it and I can't stop looking",0 I didnt know other people did this. Glad I'm not the only one :),0 "I think my brain doesn't keep track of specific rules but concepts, which it can then use to figure out what the details of the rule are, because I understand the underlying strategy/intent. My job has a LOT of specific, obscure policy stuff. One half is in this program where it's all very unified, conceptually consistent, and you look at the situation holistically. The other half uses broken software, so it's just wall to wall workarounds. It has way less situational deviations to keep track of than the other program, it *should* be the easier one. But because there's no coherency it means I need to keep track of *each* workaround, and I just can't do it. So I'm constantly having to double check cause I'm not able to figure it out conceptually. The *only* workarounds that I can ever remember are the ones where I remember why it's that way, specifically because ei remember the why not the how. So I remember ""oh the dates always get messed up and then the client has to deal with XYZ. Hmmm, what was the workaround to the date issue? Oh yeah, you entire it as 2 days before the real date so that I fully closes BEFORE the program tries to open a 2nd file, that way there's no risk of them getting double indexed"". If you just tell me ""btw never enter the real date when doing this one case action thing, always enter it as 2 days previous"". That's a pretty obscure and detailed fact that you expect me to organically remember with nothing to prompt me to remember it other than the fact the entry form asks me to enter a date. Which like, yeah no shit, they all do, my brain doesn't see that as a meaningful cue.",1 OCD guy here that boxes. Love this. Would also love to know your therapist? I’m looking for one an they sound great,0 "Hi :( this list made me sad because so many of us ADHD people are only told a handful of symptoms, but stuffer from so many others and are unaware that they are actually our ADHD. ADHD in women is so complex and fragile, too. Depression episodes, PMS (post/pre menstral cycle syndrome), tendency to gossip, tendency to be drawn to unhealthy relationship partners, more likely to be abused, etc... life with ADHD is no joke, this shit is TOUGH!",1 I feel this so much. Yet it has me laughing looking around my wash with random laundry everywhere and paper bags and boxes full of random shit everywhere.,1 "I'm having a major spike with my new electronic devices especially my phone. Im having panic attacks if I think i see a hairline anywhere or if I think something came to close to hitting it while walking. I'll drop something and my brain immediately forms a false memory that I dropped it on my phone, which I wear on my hip, even though I know it didn't. Today I went through panic because I left it in the break room in my locker and my coworkers were microwaving food in the same room. My mind tells me the steam is gonna damage my phone. Im in complete hell.",0 "HAHAHA hA Ahh Do you get it??? BecUse ocd people are clean",0 Thank you for putting this feeling into words and a picture haha it’s so true...,0 I normally don’t make it through any of the longer posts on here but I finished and felt this one 😓,1 "I feel like i would still procrastinate cause I’d literally have all the time in the world to catch up lol. But with all seriousness when you figure out how to deal with this shit you could actually work faster than others and be crazy efficient and creative, at least this was my own experience dealing with this.",1 "My daughter won't eat anything until she's seen me eat it so she knows I'm not allergic to it. I have food allergies, she's got OCD. We both have MCAS and I started a new treatment for it. Our doctor asked if she wanted to start it too, and she said she'd wait and see how bad it messed me up first.",0 "Ive been experiencing this right now Even when im using my imagination and while im dreaming :(( WHY WHHHHHYYYYY",0 Congrats. I consider it a win if I do it 2 days in a row lol,1 "I’ve recently started working in editing for a globally-renowned organisation. Our style guide explains Ritalin as “*a drug for hyperactive kids*”. I’ve been sorely tempted to kick up a fuss, but it really isn’t a hill I’m prepared to die on.",1 ">OCD >Being clean and organized lol good joke, OCD ruined my life, it's a serious and debilitating mental illness and should be seen as such.",0 "I took my first online class in high school ~7 years ago, and have since been taking some online classes over the course of my college adventures. It's not for everyone. If the circumstances were different, I would suggest trying out a free online class through your public library (if they offer that), I did a few fun writing classes online while I was between colleges. They are low stakes (since the grade doesn't hurt any gpa and it's free so no money is being wasted). With the lower stakes, you really have to be diligent about doing the coursework because you think to yourself ""it won't hurt anything if I just stop doing this,"" but building that self-discipline is an invaluable skill to have. Since you are being forced to take classes online and aren't already used to it, I won't lie, it's going to be rough for a bit. But try to get in touch with classmates and set up a time to meet in the library or on a Skype call or Google Hangout session. That way you can all help each other out with the course material and hold each other accountable for doing the work. If it is feasible, schedule your day as though you are actually going to classes. Set an alarm, get dressed in the morning, and go outside for a little bit. Just a walk around the block can be helpful. If any casual restaurants are open, go there and set up a workspace for an hour or so. If you are only staying at home, set up your living space so that work and home are separated. There are some good browser add-ons that you can try to keep you off of unproductive websites for certain hours of the day. If you are tempted to play video games or something, unplug your console and put it somewhere so that you have to put in effort to set it back up again. If you have a PC that you use for gaming, create a separate user login on the computer specifically for schoolwork and set it up with parental controls from your main account. One thing that helped me with online classes was creating an itinerary. I would write down all of the things I needed to do and the material I needed to cover for the week (or even just a day in advance). Each thing has a check box next to it so I can keep track of what I have done. The list is prioritized so that the first items are due today and things near the bottom are okay to work on today but aren't due yet. Another thing you can do is schedule your day into blocks of time and include breaks. When you would normally be going to a different class or having lunch, schedule a break for that time. Don't do something you wouldn't normally do while at school, though. If you normally have to walk 15 minutes to get to your next class, then go outside and walk for 15 minutes. If you would normally take an hour between classes to do homework or readings for the next class, then switch to a different position in your living space to work on those things for that hour. You are used to the routine of being at school. Keep up that routine. Try as much as possible to go about your day as you would if classes were still in-person.",1 "I agree that it serves little to no good to be dismissively positive. People are looking for fellowship whether it be in success and/or hardship. No sense in hiding or obfuscating the truth of ones experience.",1 Yeah but weirdly a “you have 1 hour to finish this” gets me going like the wind.,1 "I’m so late to this but yes. I started a new office job right when covid started so I was in the office for a few weeks. Learning a position that was completely new to me on TOP of very friendly, very talkative coworkers was rough. This is why I love WFH so much, I can actually focus. I had to go in for a few days over the past year and trying to focus in the office made me feel physically ill. I’m dreading when they tell us we have to come back in 😔",1 This subreddit is a bright pearl in a sometimes dark and trouble ocean. Thank you mods and everyone involved.,1 THIS OUTFIT AND YOU ARE SO CUTE I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!!!!,0 Oh lord. That took a turn. I felt so relieved at the end.,0 "Except when I actually steal something, I'm gonna pay for it later... Mentally, by repeating ritualllllsss!",0 "Yo I do this too. I have inattentive, and I wonder if the anxiety surrounding difficult tasks exhausts us and makes us tired. I'm not sure. I also sometimes have this happen when trying to force myself to practice hobbies I don't feel like doing at the moment.",1 "I get like 20 seconds. Im fine!!!. ""Omg im not"". And so on. Least not 24/7 anymore. Just 12/7.",0 I’ve spent over $300 on a digital piano and accessories for me to use it maybe three times a week🤦🏾‍♂️,1 "I do this with a minor scream with my eyes shut. TW: or i visualize myself shooting the idea of my head. Is that weird?",0 "I always wake up feeling normal, then my brain is like “wait you should be miserable right now!” And the thoughts come rushing back",0 "Yeah pretty much any time I think of something I want, I then think of why it would be bad for me to try to get it.",0 "Nah, you’re right, forgetting things is basically second nature to me atm",1 "I read your caption, then the meme... then I turned my attention to the image. I immediately felt a warm sensation of familiarity creep over me. This is so great. I know exactly what you mean.",0 I love the fire under water lol. I feel like it's representative of how real the thoughts actually are.,0 "I’m both so upset and so amused that I read this post while scrolling on Reddit while in bed instead of going to sleep. And it’s 12:30 am my time. Thanks for this OP, if it makes you feel any better I’m closing my apps after this post and going to bed.",1 "Omg yes. I never thought it was on OCD thing though, just I’m very empathetic. My therapist says it’s arrogant how empathic I am.",0 "The avoiding situations that triggers obsessions really hits home for me. People may not see me performing rituals so much because I’m busy just outright avoiding going outside, avoiding socializing, avoiding life because I’m afraid of triggering my obsessions.",0 "Ah shit, i guess i won't get more than 4 hours of sleep again '-'",0 "I’m ready to face myself. No more obsessions. Therapy and journaling. I’m obsessed with those right now.",0 "No no, it's great. You don't even need to change the motto. ""Work makes free"".",1 "I feel the opposite. I always feel like, “of course the door is locked, I made sure like 600 times” but that never stops me from doing the same thing the next time.",0 "I feel incredibly guilty to be alive because my hedgehog passed two days ago. The night prior to it I found him laying on his side unable to move and making noise to get my attention. It keeps replaying in my head and he’s yelling “Help me mom” Edit: He had a tumor and was put down at the vet. At least he went peacefully",0 Absolutely yes. Its a thought ive had daily for the past decade. Slowly working on getting better now...,0 "I don’t think I have OCD, but I get intrusive thoughts every now and then. I do have anxiety, as well as past childhood trauma and ADD. I don’t have compulsory activities at all where I must carry out an action. I did have bouts of that as a child, where I had to retrace my steps before leaving a place or I would feel really uncomfortable. But now in my life I don’t experience that at all, other than mild irritation at certain predictions not coming to pass the way my brain told me they would.",0 "That's literally Jordan ""clean your room"" Peterson Lmao",0 "Dude, my worst fear and one of the reasons i haven’t been to the doctor for the last 6 years",1 Now I really want to eat it for some reason. It made it worse. Help.,0 "I always knew something was up with me, but I never read much about ADHD for this reason. The name is quite misleading. Totally agree with you!",1 "Feel! Except unlike your girlfriend I don’t get seven other things done in the course of one task. I get seven other tasks started and not completed. Think that’s something that we should really acknowledge in this post is that she got a bunch of shit done even if it wasn’t the one thing she said out to do initially.",1 Oh and then try fitting in remembering to eat in there. Doesn’t happen.,1 "100% agreed about ASD, I have been diagnosed with it and have just been diagnosed with ADHD, the toxic positivity about ASD is really infuriating. All this time thinking about ASD made me very angry or depressed and I didn't know why, you hit the nail on the head here, and gave me an epiphany, **THIS** was why! ​ It is now to the point where I don't even bother talking about it anymore or even like thinking about it, because I'll just get mad. I don't tell anyone I'm ASD anymore either, unless the conversation will find it's way where I could. It doesn't define me.",1 "Currently lying on my room floor like a fetus, scrolling through Reddit whilst also simultaneously thinking about the assignment I haven't started that's due in a day, and I can just about hear my flatmates in the next room having fun... Man this sucks.",1 Well the funny thing is I know we feel bad about it but doesn’t most mental illness happen in adolescence? It’s kinda like we had a fuck-you-timer built in with the right pressure and situation. It unfortunately couldn’t have been avoided.,0 "When you're satisfied you're done researching, maybe have a journal where you jot down the top 2-3 takeaways or a TLDR of what you discovered? I have ADHD but I also have a really good memory, so I don't suffer from this fortunately. I'm not sure ADHD and bad memory are realted tbh.",1 "Throwing this out there for all my friends! Brush your teeth first thing! Take a pee, wash your hands, brush your teeth! And you can get non offensive fruit flavored toothpaste that doesn't taste like minty death when you're trying to drink your coffee.",1 "Hugs! It's definitely a struggle for me too, you're not alone. It feels terrifying to think that the woman looking at me in the store is getting ready to call the police because I just did something I don't remember. I wish I could draw like you. :D",0 Nothing I hate more than intrusive thoughts like when ur walking past people and your head is all like ‘don’t punch that guy in the face don’t punch that guy in the face’,0 those 5 minutes of relief... then the ever impending “welllll WHAT IF”,0 "Thanks for this. I was just diagnosed with OCD in my 30s after dealing with these thoughts most of my life. I am still having a hard time figuring out what is ""normal"".",0 Happening to me right now - not reading manuals at work and obviously commenting on reddit,1 Exactly. As well as having constant reminders of assignments and projects and easy access to school sports. The reminders and physical activity really helped keep me on track. College and work has been a bit of a nightmare without those things.,1 "As an artist, that is absolutely stunning and ethereal. The mood and depth is very impressive. That sky... No more painting over, ok??",0 "It’s been especially rough lately. That’s probably one of the very few things I want this year heh. As Santa knows, that wish is unrealistic. Maybe a new brain? 😂",0 "You Mean I’m Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy is AMAZING - written by women with adhd for adults with adhd in a format that suits adhd readers. I can’t recommend it enough",1 "If I could reference my monster, it would probably be White Face from Imscared lmao",0 "Oh no I scrolled past this too late, now it's 7am. And now I've reached the tipping point from ""maybe I can still get x hours of sleep"" to ""well fuck now I'm extra tired and I'm worried I'll sleep through my alarm, so maybe I should stay up forever.""",1 Omg It's so nice to see. what a good exercise. i love ducks too. I hope this helps you. Feel u 💕,0 "I pride myself on always trying my best, but so often my “best” is dictated by how good my brain will let me function. Some days my desk job seems awesome and I blast through all the paperwork, other days it feels like I am reading a different language. And the extra effort of trying to translate to something I can understand makes my mind shutdown and I get so freaking sleepy. It frustrates me so much when I really want to be productive but then when it gets to it I can’t figure out what I am doing, sometimes I feel like I don’t even know where I am and I like to refer to that as my brain throwing a tantrum and I can’t figure out how to get it to do what I want. But then I’ll do something my brain likes for a second and I’ll feel so refreshed, feeling like I have a chance to be productive again, but then boom, tired and confused again when I try to get back to work, wtf brain?",1 This meme has been helping me get through compulsions. It is a nice thought to distract & it makes me giggle. Thank you for making this.,0 "I change my mind every day if I actually have every disorder in the dsm-v, or if I actually don't have any of the disorders I'm dx'd with and I fully believe it every time like ""nope. this can't be an intrusive thought or delusion. I'm 100% correct right now""",0 Yeah that's me pretty much at every store. Some sheets employees looked at me funny when I threw away 7 napkins before grabbing mine...,0 "I stopped using the clock or time to help motivate me to do things. I switched from, 'its 8 o clock, better wind down, i can do it tomorrow' To 'you know your not gonna get outta bed till noon you lazy fuck and give yourself the same excuses all day tomorrow, just do it tonight' So far its been working quite well. 350 minutes of mediation logged in 22 days from it. To be fair though, i went through months of procrastinating. No job, no gym, nothing. Somehow went weeks without barely leaving the couch until my health started shitting out on me",1 "The worst thing about understanding your ADHD is the twin understanding that to others, it’s an excuse. I’m in charge of completely setting up the new CRM for my company right now. I made a super enthusiastic timeline presentation for my bosses in July. I’m where I should have been in August. My daily symptoms have increased ten fold since March and combined with anxiety and depression I’m running at 20% tops. I am humiliated and burnt out even though it looks like I’ve done fuck all. My bosses know about my ADHD and they’ve been semi patient so far, but my shame and anxiety are overwhelming. Ultimately I’ll be held to the same standards as any neurotypical coworker, even if I pull off a trademark zero hour miracle finish like usual. It just doesn’t matter in the end.",1 "Honestly, my thoughts exactly. Luckily, I haven’t even left my house for weeks now so I haven’t faced it outside my home yet (this is not because of fear, I simply don’t have to because I get everything delivered and it seems like realistically better option). What I’m honestly worried about is when things start to go back to normal, this “everything might be contagious” will stick with me and I’ll have to work on handling my OCD all over again. I already absolutely have to clean everything that comes from outside with alcohol, but I feel this is quite reasonable considering the situation. As someone who has been on bihevioral therapy, not fighting the urges to do compulsions because it is now encouraged to do things how I’d like to do them all the time (k, I might be even extreme even now) feels like an OCD disaster waiting to happen. Anyhow, you’re not alone if it helps.",0 "Gets in bed Brain: did you lock the doors? Checks. Thoughts must be done now! Brain: did you check the stove? Checks Brain: did you accidentally turn the stove on when you checked it? Checks Brain: did you check to make sure you didn’t leave the water running in the downstairs bathtub? Checks Brain: you probably left the medicine cabinet open when you checked the bathtub Checks Brain: if the stove is on, it’ll explode Checks Brain: you obviously unlocked the doors FOR HOURS WHEN MY NEUROSIS IS BAD",0 "Most desirable trait in a partner? Affliction? Personally I’d prefer the clothing line… I just cleaned two sinkfuls of dishes before eating because I was compelled to. I was very upset and almost cried because I didn’t want to or have to and was already stressed out and hungry. I dunno if I agree with this in all honesty.",0 i convinced myself once that i was responsible for a plane crash and it stressed me tf out... magical thinking.,0 I have thought about needing someone to help me go through my to do list for years and always thought it would be insanely expensive. I think we could actually make something like this work. I’m definitely going to talk to my husband about it. Thank you!,1 My personal fave is when you think that by taking your meds you’re actually going to die of anaphylaxis,0 "If it isnt OCD: Then id rather kill myself If it is OCD: Then ill kill myself anyways since it has ruined my entire life already",0 "A massive issue here is that learning while extremely stressed is nearly impossible! The best learning takes place while alert, but not extremely stressed. If you want more information, look up Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development.",1 "My mom used to say to me, ""I don't know how you can be so smart and so stupid at the same time."" I feel this heavy. You're not alone. I can't help but at least misery loves company.",1 I feel that way about my ADD. When I say I have ADD. they come back with Me too. “I can never remember where i put my keys”.,0 """Because the one in front has poison or factory contamination in it"" - my dumbass OCD brain",0 Me rn at an appointment thinking of everything i could be cleaning at home that im not even planning on cleaning today lol. And now im obsessing over what to do for dinner because i sti ll have errands to run,0 "It pisses me off when people like to have games in alphabetical order or whatever and they claim ""it triggers my ocd if it isn't"" but in store they look at it and joke ""that's triggering lol"" and keep browsing like year you don't have ocd let's be honest",0 This is why I tell people about the gendered nature of diagnosis. Boys typically getting recognized first does not guarantee they will have it better than women diagnosed later in life. Diagnosis without compassion is useless.,1 "Honestly, that’s one of the things that helps me deal with my intrusive thoughts. “These are not real, they are not rational thoughts, and they are not mine”",0 "Something that might help with this, or at least, it helped with me anyway: see if you have a maker space or hacker space in your area. I pay a monthly membership fee for mine, and as part of that, I get access to: - A full wood shop - A full metal shop - A full blacksmithing forge - An arts and crafts studio - A leatherworking shop - A 3d printer studio - A laser cutter/engraver - An electronics lab - Classes to learn how to work all that stuff I can bounce around from hobby to hobby without blowing a bunch of money on tools and materials. They occasionally have big projects they work on, and I can help out as much or as little as I want. They even participate in a robot fighting league.",1 "I tried to punch it in the head but I ended up washing my hands 7 times in 10 minutes. Next time maybe. EDIT: I just wanted to say I didn’t think this comment would get this many upvotes and it makes me happy",0 "Call Of The Void, basically? COTV is one of the hardest things about my OCD at this point",0 So that's why I've literally been doing this my entire life! I was just diagnosed recently so I guess I just always thought this was normal.,0 "I thought it might have been schizophrenia because it’s like an external voice telling you what to do, only you don’t actually hallucinate the voice",0 "I have to listen to chill background music to focus on work/studying, so now 3 out of my 5 top artists are just bands I don’t even recognize the name of, but they have songs on the LoFi Beats playlist. 😑",1 I heard this thing on a podcast today and it was just a comment on focus/attention in general but it was something along the lines of: it's not the inability to focus on a task it's the inability to unfocus on other things.,1 "Sounds like your dad is frustrated and having never suffered a mental illness is failing to understand that your brain doesn’t work like his. My parents were the same with me, but I was seriously depressed and in and out of hospital for mental illnesses for a few years. They always would demand that I “help myself” and that I “just pull yourself together”. The love me, they just fail to understand. It took years for me to forgive them for their part in my problems, but ultimately they weren’t doing it out of malice, just a lack of understanding. Might be worth your physiatrist or doctor explaining to your parents exactly what is happening to you?",1 Congratulations! This really is a big deal😁. Be proud of yourself girl.,1 "giving the missed the ol' O face gives plenty of guys anxiety. perfectly normal! (Im stuck at the airport with delays stacking on delays please forgive my goofy post)",1 Good for you!! That’s so exciting!! Good luck and kick ass!,0 "Sometimes it’s too much to go thru them. I really wish there was a way to organize them w/folders. RIP my Pinterest boards. There was a glimmer of hope when an update added subcategories that removed/hid pins from the board, but of course it stopped doing the amazing thing… back to pinning fun stuff to the void of “scrolling for eternity”",1 These people would change their minds in a heartbeat if they experienced what we do for one second.,0 "I very recently (less than 2 weeks ago) decided to restart treatment for my ADHD. I was diagnosed as a kid, but didn't stay on the medication very long. Anyways, I have to talk to a therapist before I meet with the psychiatrist. Her first words to me are that ADHD is a children's disorder. She ends the session telling me that it's probably just depression instead 🙃. Thankfully the psychiatrist wasn't a tool.",1 This is an amazing victory with the OCD! Great work!,0 "I hate how brushed aside ocd is, it’s literally like having a fucking nightmare, you constantly have these scary realistic feeling thoughts, that bother you all day, those compulsions that you can’t control. Like fuck man, but yeah that’s just a little ocd hahahaha...",0 "Reminds me of high school and the beginning of college. Nothing makes you feel more like a failure than struggling to do the bare minimum. You want to have fun? You can't. Want a social life? Sorry. How about doing some chores? I'll just have to do it again later anyway. It's like you've been cursed to have a 25lb weight on your brain and personality.",1 Everyone with ADHD has heard this at least once in their lives,1 "Welp! I'm probably the oldest one here (45) and I've felt this way as long as I can remember. Ppl tell me often how nice I am. How generous I am, and I still feel like a horrible person. Thx for sharing!!! Maybe I actually am nice :)",1 "I was diagnosed a month ago at 35. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels just to know that I’m not the only person in the world who struggles with missing return windows and letting food go bad because having to wash it feels too difficult. Edit: and you better believe I buy gummy vitamins. Figured out last year that I’ll actually take them if they’re gummies.",1 Mine is “if I don’t keep reminding myself today’s date I’m going to become a pedo.”,0 "Oh my guy, you just described me perfectly. Except I hate lists, for some reason I don’t like making them and if I do I never use them. But man I how you feel, when I am alone I think rationally and normally, when I am with people(especially friends) my mind goes on autopilot, and it can’t steer well.",1 "I'm terminating germs! I work in a hospital and before leaving for the day my boss said for us to remember to wash our hands, use hand sanitizer, don't shake anyone's hand, etc... So proceed as normal then? Got it.",0 Where did you find out that he was diagnosed with ADHD?,1 "Common struggle for those of use with the condition, but it does help to know you are not alone in it.",0 "Me currently!! Well, I've been mulling it over and processing it for the 2 weeks since it happened and using my lovely over active brain for pattern recognition and am realizing how long it's been happening. I finally get over it, or so I think, and then à New wave comes and I'm just like. ""thanks. I hate it.""",1 "I met my boyfriend on tinder, and he turned out to be the best person I could ever be with. He's incredibly patient; it takes a lot to have him get annoyed with my ocd triggers and me asking him to wash his hands. He knows certain things bother me (i.e taps and doorknobs) and remembers them, sometimes being one step ahead of me. He also helps me get over triggers; when he is upset, all my triggers disappear and all I can focus on is making sure he's okay. I've gotten hate from his two sisters, one made fun of me for my ocd, and the other wasn't happy because I had to leave a family event and didn't say bye to anyone (it took a lot for me to even just get there, I freaked out about it for weeks). He was by my side for everything and told his sisters off (his dad did too). There's some days where I can't even believe I even found someone like him. I got so fucking lucky. I hope that everyone out there with OCD, and any mental illness, finds their person who will love them no matter how much interference their mental health causes. I can promise you there is someone out there who will love you. They'll find their way to you.",0 "I do this a lot, but not as much as I used to. Fair warning, I take meds and work in a school setting, & it also doesn't always help when I am really feeling pretty depressed, so take that as you may. I tend to overestimate how much time a task will take, and get very distracted and hyperfocused on not the most important part of a big task. Sometimes, the cycle of self hate (why can't I do this? What's wrong with me? Just get up and stop watching YouTube!!!) starts and I'd end up turning things in late or not at all. For me, the trick was **accepting** I was going to procrastinate, account for it and try to plan when I would do things **SUPER EARLY IN ADVANCE**. Oh, this thing is due next Friday? Bet. **I'll get my ideas down on paper now so I don't forget, and leave it where the task will start** (notebook, laptop, folder, etc). I'll plan to do the thing on Wednesday. That way I don't stress all those days leading up to it. I get to tell that voice, ""shut the fuck up, I'm going to do it Wednesday so let me watch some nerdy videos in peace!"" It also gives me the option to start earlier and give myself the boost of ""wow, I did it way before I planned 🥰 Yay me!"" Even though it's an arbitrary deadline I placed on myself. I also always choose a time **that is not the night before it's due** so if I fuck up, I can still meet the deadline. For everything else it's touch and go, I've got a lot of laundry piling up so... Good luck friend!!! There are no shoulds, there just is. I should be able to just start and complete a task in a reasonable time. But I know I can't yet. It is what it is, so how do I survive while I figure out how to get better at that? Edit: spelling because jfc 🤦🏾‍♀️",1 my ocd is a thunderstorm and my brain is a very scared dog,0 "People often forget how light retainers are, and as a result it falls to the bottom of whatever place it's in.",1 "Making fun of negative thoughts is such a good way to cope for me. If I ever get depressing feeling I just say to myself ""awwhh you poor baby no one likes you and you have no friends how sad waahhh"" and then I realize I'm overreacting and i feel better",0 "Well my brother (who also has ADHD) yelled at me basically for waking him up past noon when he was supposed to be up and working before 9. He then was yelling at me asking why I was crying, while he was still yelling at me who has ADHD who was just trying to do the right thing since my mom who usually takes care of this for my 22 year old brother had to be out of the house that day. She had already woken him up as a bonus.",1 "This is what I started doing when my OCD was ruling my life. Helped me out so much, especially challenging the OCD",0 The online game I used to enjoy since child hood is not enjoyable anymore because the game is about leveling up and I keep my stats even if they are not even it makes me anxious so keep leveling them up till they are even,0 "My brother has been cooking for me the past few days so that I eat better. Today, I will be cooking for him and me. I did most of the housework due in the kitchen yesterday, maybe I'll finish today. And I just quit my job. After I slept a total of eleven hours in the past three nights. This post hit too close to home. You're amazing 💙",1 "I also have the fear of a clown attached to spine-like body popping out of the toilet and trying to bite my ass. Thanks to Killer Clowns from Outer Space. Every time I use a toilet, I think about that shit.",0 Have to leave the house today... going to spend the rest of the day cleaning myself. Wish me luck!,0 Damn. At least my dad has the courtesy to not say that he thinks that,1 "I look middle-eastern. So, there we go.. cue the ocd",0 Just....JUST as I stopped bleaching my actual hands.,0 I'm so bad for this. I also start overly texting my bf or my family to check they're not annoyed with me and sit staring at my phone til I get a ❤️ or a 😊,1 Just spent the last hour obsessing over something that happened almost 4 years ago so I feel this on a deep level,0 Yes all the damn time. I gaslight myself too. I always try to use minfullness when this happens.,1 "Ugghhhh these kinds of things drive me insane. And the worst part is, it’s all them trying to get attention. Not helpful for the ol’ OCD.",0 Ahahhaha curse you for having the same bad habits as me,1 Mindfulness always gives me more anxiety since I have pure o :(,0 "I’m so glad I read the whole thing! I was really hurting for you at first! I know what you mean though... if I believed every OCD thought that I had, it would be pretty terrible!",0 Wow good insight. It gives me hope for your recovery,0 "It is what it is. You cannot know. Do not create a catastrophe. It is how you react. Work through pain. Tolerate it. Breathe. Embrace uncertainty. Accept thoughts.",0 Im being homeschooled for covid-19 rn and ik my mom is trying to understand and be better but she just snaps at me alot and it hurts and she tries to play it off like 15mins later and act like nothing happened and I just want to run away sometimes I already unintentionally got a plan by intrusive thoughts,1 "You're overestimating those non-Adhd tips. Getting sleep and eating healthy and exercising *actually* helps. What non-Adhd people will say though is ""just write lists, get a planner and put reminders on your phone"". Or this guy who was all about neuro-pathways something that said I could just think myself out of Adhd lmaoo",1 "Actually, that middle slice looks a little bigger than the one on the left. If they wanted to satisfy me then they should have made perfectly even cuts.",0 Bitch I’m crying this is so funny. As a Jew with adhd I’m interested!,1 "Thank you, I needed to hear this so much today. The last week has been horrible. This made me cry in a good way",0 "This is why people always tell me I act so different over text than I do face to face. It's not a confidence or shyness thing, I just literally *can't* translate into speech quick enough. I have to take what I'm thinking, assign words to it, reorder the thought in a way that makes sense to people, remove unnecessary bits, make sure you're staying on one thought at a time, etc, etc. People seriously underestimate just how mentally exhausting, and frustrating, it is to do that for every single interaction you have.",1 I was told by one of my former friends to help my bipolar and adhd “have you tried yoga?”,1 "Just wanted to ask what’s the proper way to motivate someone with ADHD? I have a kid with ADHD, recently diagnosed.",1 I always put my jumper over my mouth and nose when I clean with it.,0 "Oh yeah!! Ever since I was a child. I go through cycles where my bedroom gets so bad I’m tripping on my way to my bed, then I’ll spend a full day cleaning, reorganizing, and I feel amazing and refreshed afterwards but 3 weeks later...looks exactly the same as it did before I cleaned.",0 "I feel for you man. I was in that state for about two months I think. I'm so glad I don't have to do that job anymore, but feel less glad I'm unemployed.",1 "Had this before I knew it was OCD, I was like “how am I gonna explain this to my girlfriend?!?!” 😂",0 Your hair is so beautiful!!! Keep going and get jazzy with it. Enjoy your hair. So happy for you.,0 I relate so much to this ... why it took me so long to get diagnosed.,1 "When walking, the lines in the road, the numbers and letters on license plates, window panes, imaginary placements of objects in a house, buttons on my keyboard and car stereo... The only thing I couldn’t count is the amount of items my brain tells me to count!",0 "I've been convinced that I'm pretty much a serial killer in hiding for most of my life now because of how often I have vivid, violent thoughts.",0 "I’m 22. Right now I’m on my couch sobbing because I’m ruining my romantic relationship by being so hyper sensitive and have a lot of uncertainty with my job. I feel like no matter what I do it’s not enough and that everyone would be better off without me. I feel as if I am such a burden on the world and that no one is better for knowing me, only worse. I feel like a black hole that sucks the life out of everything that comes close to me. The only thing that helps me is reading books. But even then I get distracted and go on my phone and remember what I’m upset about. It’s wake up, work, fight, cry, sleep. But I keep waking up because maybe one day everything will click into place. Or maybe one thing will click into place. I haven’t lost my hope for better days, and I hope you don’t lose yours either.",1 "😂 this has been my week. Hey - you know that interview coming up? Me - the one you mean that I’m only going to obsess over my outfit for? OCD - and you know what else you’re going to obsess with? Everything! Me - goddammit. We’ve talked about this. Stop doing this shit. OCD - I couldn’t hear you over me telling you to organize your makeup holder...for the third time today. 🙃 because we’re convinced someone touched it.",0 "Thanks so much. I ran out meds at the weekend so I've saved this to go through once my head doesn't feel like the inside of a tumble dryer.",1 "I’m still unlearning a lot of these things. It’s a long process and sometimes I trick myself into believing I’m just not a decent person, but I know I just can’t listen to those thoughts and keep working towards what I need.",1 I juat pause for a second and people are too afraid to ask what happened. It's like scenes from Final Destination. I guess that's why I can't watch that movie.,0 "I have severe OCD, but this honestly gave me a smile.😄 Thank you for that.👍",0 Very much a mood. Here i am walking and talking at 9 months already displaying clever skills and having a 123 IQ and yet I feel like a dumbass,1 "Yeah I'm pretty sick and tired of the ""ADHD is not an excuse to (insert symptom here). It is. I will still try to do the best I can each day, but it sure as shit is a disability. Good for you man! I havent got money for a nanny, and I've got 3 kids I've gotta"" be normal"" for. But it's good to hear that somone has figured this shit out.",1 "I’ve felt the same way forever. Refused to consider the state of Me *disabled* . Then I found this playlist of Alan Watts. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbWG52j53Biq82nE0muLWJz3ZFRevXZmm We don’t even NEED words. Yes they have a function, but also a cost. At the end, they don’t do anything except between two people who already know what’s being described. But we like to talk because it’s amusing. At the end, using them for joy and not to try and satisfy false authorities trying to boss us is the secret.",1 "For years at my corporate job, I was judged largely on the number of items I completed on average in a given month. At 10 items per hour, you’re hitting the bare minimum and you won’t get fired. At 12.5 items per hour, you’re eligible for quarterly bonuses. I’ve struggled at times over the 13 years I’ve been there, but in the last year or so, I’ve gotten to a point where I’m consistently doing more like 15-16 items per hour. Sounds like I’m kicking ass, right? That’s what I thought. Now we have a new system in place that measures our idle time. What that means is if our computer is idle for two minutes, it starts a counter, which then stops when we start hitting keys and clicking the mouse again. If this idle time adds up to a certain amount in a given week, we get in trouble. The problem is that due to my ADHD, I have periods throughout the day where I’m cranking out an epic fuckload of work, but I also have periods where I’m literally staring at the wall for ten minutes at a time. In the past, this hasn’t been an issue because it all evens out at the end of the month and my stats indicate that I have, in fact, done a pretty impressive amount of work. Now I’m in the fucked up situation where I’m getting praised by my boss for have my best week ever. Then in a separate email I get from her FIFTEEN FUCKING MINUTES LATER, I get chewed out for having an excessive amount of idle time. I asked her how I can possibly have my best week in nearly 13 years, but also be slacking off to a point where it’s an issue. I received no response whatsoever. Look, I get judging me by my work output. What I don’t get is insisting that I work at one consistent rate throughout the day like some sort of robot. If the end result is the same amount of work either way, why the fuck does it matter? This is just corporate control for the sake of control.",1 "Dude I'm so so proud!!! I've struggled with brushing my teeth consistently for nearly my entire life and I often feel really shitty about it but I'm working on getting better about it! I would reccomend trying out using a wash cloth if you have sensory issues bc sometimes that helps me in that regard bc it's a lot gentler on your mouth. It also helps me to take the time to get my gums good and clean and keeps my gums from bleeding as well. I just wanted to say again how proud I am of you!! Even though I don't know you, I know that, as someone worth adhd, it takes a lot of effort to form a habit like that so great job!! Keep at it!!",1 "me as a child: does something bad that a 5 year old would have NO knowledge of being a bad thing to do me anyways: cries myself to sleep with guilt because what if i did know that it was a wrong thing to do",0 Thank you for posting this! I took a screenshot to reference later.,0 "My solution to some of this has been the food service Fresh & Lean. The meals are pre-made, so I don’t have to cook or clean or shop for anything but breakfast cereal. I got a big cube shelf and keep a lot of things organized (ish) but visible on the shelves rather than in the boxes; no hiding stuff in a cupboard and forgetting its existence.",1 I feel this and it's because nobody actually knows about the mean things I have actually thought or bad things I've really done. 😪,0 "I always preferred exams to assignments at school, and having just been diagnosed with ADHD a few months ago, I completely understand why now.",1 Im struggling with one right now ! Hope i can stop myself from doing it too !!!,0 "Try focusmate virtual coworking--3 hours a week working with an accountability partner of sorts are free, unlimited time is $5/month. Not affiliated with them but I would basically die without it & want everyone to benefit www.focusmate.com",1 It's something like 5% of people with ADHD finish college. This of course is due to nothing other than access to a planner.,1 I feel so seen! Would love to see research on this...,1 "omg yes, i always can’t remember if i’ve taken a pill, or like since i share a medicine cabinet i’m always scared i took someone else’s pill and that i’ll die so i always have to check to make sure it’s my pill.",0 woahhh holy shit dude idk you but i’m so proud of you. for real that is inspiring. you are incredible,0 "I need to put my e brake on, release it, and put it back on again five times or the world is going to explode",0 Me me me!!!!! Then I find something else to fixate on but really - sometimes I feel like an imposter!,0 This is a great way to think. These are fantastic suggestions. Thank you for this.,1 As a messy person with OCD this severely pisses me off,0 "I’m crying for you right now. This is amazing and you should be so terribly proud of yourself. Thank you so much for reaffirming that ADHD is indeed a disability, we’ve spent so much of our lives being told everything is our fault that we just continue the cycle within ourselves. It’s a hard habit to break.",1 "Well done, I’m so happy for you! Keep going strong ❤️",0 "Like so many other things, there's an app for that...Check out ""Fridgify: Food/Leftovers Tracker, Recipes & More"" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fridgify.fridgify or this one Check out ""KITCHENPAL: Pantry Manager, Grocery List & Recipes"" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=fr.icuisto.icuisto or this one Check out ""My Kitchen: Expiry Dates, Shopping List, Pantry"" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.steljoy.smartfridge They each have their pros and cons.... but they all keep track of food, and remind you, so you don't waste it...",1 "Same. I instantly get anxious because I’m being judged and, well, RS, which triggers my fight reflex (my go to response), which makes me angry at them, and I have zero ACC so I just instantly flip my lid and tell them to F off to their own business then I storm off and have an anger nap. ADHD is fun.",1 "Sorry i cant really relate, but could i offer some advice? You can take it or leave it. Set a reminder for half an hour prior, or an hour prior. Trust that your phone will let you know when it's time to get moving onto the appointment. Then forget about it. focus on what's in front of you. Dont beat yourself up trying to force yourself to be good at things youll likely never be good at. Personally i just accept that i'm shit at keeping time and I use a calendar like a disabled person uses a wheelchair.",1 "“bUt iF yOu ReAlLy HaD iT yOuR kItChEn WoUlD bE sPoTlEsS!” I actually went a long time not realizing I had OCD due to thinking “well what I’m dealing with is pretty special and awful, but it must not be OCD cause I never feel the urge to clean anything.” Someone who claimed to have OCD from being “neat” heard me explain my symptoms once (at the time of me not knowing it was OCD) and laughed at me for it. The irony.",0 "I just had a similar thing. I spent 3 solid days on some work, I was trying to get it finished for what I thought was the deadline. Midnight. I uploaded it at something like 12:08, and then realised I was a day early! Lol Fuck ADHD!",1 It’s all fun until you think “wow I have all this extra time! now I can use that to do xyz” and thennnnnn you look up and it’s been hours :/,1 "1 2 3 2 3 3 1 2 3 1 2 1 3 2 1 3 2 3 3 2 1 2 1 1 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15 I’m personally just glad that I now know that these patterns are caused by OCD because I thought I was just going crazy.",0 "🤣As a fellow ADHD sufferer, I know I hate when anyone I’ve talked to about it says that, too.😤",1 "I just got diagnosed with adhd this past October but my brother hasn’t, and he definitely has the same sensory and gag reflex issue when it comes to brushing his teeth. I never even made that connection, I wonder if he’s got adhd too, just a milder kind than me. but he just went to the dentist and now has to get two teeth pulled and he’s 23 so I kinda feel bad for him :/",1 What do you mean it's not huge? That's a lot! Holy fuck! Congrats!,0 I am so cerebral palsy at baseball. I have literally never hit even a single.,0 "One thing, if the sleep schedule is an actual problem in this situation (as opposed to just an example of the kind of thing you do), that's really important to keep it consistent. I was told by my therapist to have a more consistent sleep schedule, which I didn't really think would work but it has helped tremendously. Also, something else is that you need to just do the thing. Force yourself to do it and don't give yourself any excuses. None. I really struggle with this, but once I force myself to start, it makes the rest easier. For example, I'm in an English class and often times I think ""I have no idea what to write, I just need some more time to think about it"". However, if I just start with the first thing that comes to my mind, no matter how dumb, it often gives me a small idea for other parts, and those do the same until I have it done and then all I need to do is refine it. It's a similar thing with positive/negative cycles. Every time you do something, it's easier the next time until it's a habit, which can be good or bad, so you need to just force it to be good.",1 this has been me for about a month now so I feel you,0 I do this when going only 30 minutes with no symptoms,0 I totally identified with this. Congrats on your progress 💖,0 "I am obsessed with things being “clean” but absolutely am the opposite about tidying. Like I do it but I HATE it and having to organise my wardrobe for example makes me want to set my house on fire and run away. I will however be happy to pick clothes off the floor, use carpet powder and vacuum and then throw the pile back on the floor and take them off shelves, dust and use pine o clean on the shelves then shove the clothes back.",0 "Simple, do what I did…. Stand too close to someone with OCD who sneezes and boom! Since it’s highly highly contagious you should start showing symptoms within 7 days! 🙄",0 nah but the second picture pretty much show how i feel inside if i havent checked if the door is locked 4 time in a row before leaving home 😂,0 ">facing your fears and living with your ocd mostly under control forever and ever FTFY",0 "OCD attacks the things we love the most to make us feel crazy. It's because you live your family and love your cat very very much that ocd chooses to ruin them for you. You need to sit with the ocd and try to listen to your own voice instead of the ocd. Get your true feeling out. As for psychologists wouldn't be bad to tell them that's you are afraid they might misdiagnose you. I'm sure they can help you with that. Ocd is putting up walls for you to be afraid of help or scared of it so you'll still stay stuck. My therapist says ocd is used as a distraction from what is really stressing us out in real life. I would go buy yourself a nice journal and write down how you feel then write after a line space “I completely love and accept myself” Then expand again on your feelings and write the line again. If you feel like you need help you can use an online thesaurus to help you pinpoint how you feel. (Remember the things you feel are unrelated to these ocd thoughts you have to think hard about things going on in your life for example if you lost your job or a friend stopped talking to you, or you are worried about money etc) for example if you write I am feeling UPSET then type upset in the thesaurus “UPSET” and it will give you more words to pick from like distressed, hurt, which will take you to more words and write these down. You may need to do it 20 times I know I did the first time I did it. But it needed to be done!",0 I’m sorry. I hope there is some kind of help for you.,0 "Right now I'm on reddit to escape it, I have things to do...",1 Oh I love this so much. I would buy a print. Or a shirt because that would be so cool.,0 "In those moments my brain tunes out external stimulus and I imagine what it would be like if suddenly the apocalypse started and if I somehow survived, what role would I take in recreating our new society, because I wouldn’t be a fighter, maybe a teacher? I’m sorry, I wasn’t listening, what was that?",1 this is so amazing! Is there anyway i can add to this later?,1 If I don’t listen to this song before 5 pm then my entire family will die,0 "Medication didn't work for me. I was also given Ritalin and some other ADHD medications for some reason, which turned me into a crazy Maniac. One medication gave me bad nosebleeds every couple of hours. Exposure therapy has helped me the best with no meds.",0 Yeah when I was having a horrible episode I was watching some mcelroys to feel better and I remember very vividly the truck simulator episode helped me realize I constantly felt like I was was about to get into an unavoidable high-speed car crash,0 "a couple of weeks ago I wasn't feeling right in general and then I realized that for the last couple of days all my liquid intake was exclusively several cups of milk coffee a day. No water, no anything else.",1 "Well, OCD is an asshole. So if they approved it, I'm definitely not buying.",0 "I feel like this is hitting extra hard lately. I’ve seriously been emotionally fragile with these thoughts. It sucks, because I wish I can bring myself to talk it out with friends or family, but I feel the extra negativity baggage will drive them away.",0 "Currently spiraling down the anxiety hole because of exactly this. Can't explain how much I relate. It sucks how long I have gone thinking I am just lazy and beating myself up over it. Didn't help that everyone around me just reinforced the thought every chance they got. But I don't blame them. If I didn't know what it was like and someone told me they really want to but it is physically impossible for them to write an email, I would probably call bullshit too",1 (This was one of the top posts that’s why I’m commenting on here.) I have a question I know I’m on r/ADHD but I just have something to say about attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and maybe you all could know. When people think about just being off task and distracted they think of ADHD really everyone I’ve met. When I say something like “Oh yea by the way I have ADD (/attention deficit disorder)” (for what ever the circumstance maybe) they wonder what that is. Then when I say it’s like ADHD why does it pop into their head. Also sometimes when I say it’s like ADHD they say then why aren’t you fidgeting. Why is that,1 Crazy how this is really basically the plot of the movie when you get down to it lol.,0 Story of my life when I actually manage to get something done 🥴,1 "Beautifully stated, thank you. Saving this for future reference.",0 "Thankful for support any day, but especially right now",0 "My thoughts are the very same. It’s not my place to judge how others deal with their OCD, but all I could think was “aaaaaand there’s a new compulsion.” I mean, it’s probably a fairly harmless compulsion, but a compulsion nonetheless.",0 "I’m young and don’t have a corporate job but I found the opposite true! School was my worst nightmare. I never graduated, never even completed a grade 12 class, the fact that you could even produce an output is far above what I was capable of. But now that I’m working…its just physical work, being nice to people, I don’t have to actually use my useless brain anymore!",1 "good for you! exposure therapy is hard and i hope it gets easier for you. im in a partial hospitalization program for ocd right now, and ive cried and yelled at therapists because of exposures, so i understand how stressful it is. i have severe contamination ocd, and before the program i couldnt even shower out of fear of germs in the bathroom. im now starting to shower every three days. i couldnt even speak and i had to make humming noises that sounded like words out of fear of (nonexistent) germs getting in my mouth. now i talk everwhere (while covering my mouth). ive only been in the program for less than a month. this proves that you can do this. you can beat this. it probably wont go away completely because ocd is chronic, but if you keep this up itll get so much easier. i know its getting easier for me. i promise youll get even better than you have already. dont give up!",0 "My phone occasionally asks me if I'd like to organize our delete unused screen shots. I have this moment of ""oh yeah, I forgot about that"" when I start going through them. Still don't delete all of them, but that reminder certainly helps",1 I once heard someone describe OCD as the inability to deal with uncertainty. Video hits the nail on the head lol.,0 That ignorant person better search OCD up. Thanks for not being quiet in front of them,0 Eugh. So true. Unrelated to an ADHD post but just this morning found a website that was super job relevant and i was like 'AHA must earmark for later' then got distracted and have lost it.,1 One time my brain attempted to tell me that I didn't actually have OCD and that was just the OCD trying to convince me I had OCD...,0 "This is why I really hate those “I have to keep things clean, I’m just SO OCD” jokes. They contribute to people that dismiss this horrible disease as just being extra neat or persnickety or whatever. It contributes to stigma and makes it harder for others to recognize it as a “real” mental illness.",0 Oh yeah all the time. I’ll have intrusive thoughts about the past whether it be a conversation i had 5 years ago or one i had 5 minutes ago. I walk away from almost every conversation thinking ive said something awkward/cringey and deadass talk to myself and make noises out loud to distract my brain lol,0 "I've had issues with this all my life. I have memories of laying in bed and crying when I was like 7 because someday my dog would die. It still happens to me all the time when I see my parents. Just last night at dinner it was happening and 3/4 of the time I can't enjoy spending any time with my dad at all because my brain is going in circles about what will inevitably happen when he dies. :/ When it gets really out of control, all life feels pointless.",0 "So glad people like you are taking the time to help push out people like that. OCD is a mental illness and it's not fun to deal with. I truly wish my issue was just uneven tiles or differently placed colors. But some people like me truly need mental help and it's honestly hard when all the public sees or gets confused about is simple examples like you've mentioned. It's much more complex and serious than that and I hope one day that people with true mental OCD issues like us get more focused upon and maybe even have a cure. ",0 "Agree 100%. I came to the same realisation really after my OCD switch from never getting money for religious OCD, 7 months ago. That is the worse of worse OCD in my opinion. I am 32 years old and suffer for OCD my whole life. I was acting for my ""problems"" and that give my OCD fuel, now I am learning to not respond to thoughts, moving forward anyway. It is hard to do it, especially if your whole life you spend on responding. Sometimes feel like end of the world. Well but now I know it is right approach. Exposure therapy is unlikely helpfull because unwatet imagies in my mind I am kind of ""exposing"" myself into mein issue.",0 "ADHD made me feel like I have Sharingan, I’m extremely powerful of what’s in front of my sight but defenseless out of my visual field.",1 Two months of fixating on a broadway musical suddenly wiped out 4 of my possible top 5 artists of the year and i am SAD,1 "For me, it's not death I fear but having a really bad day if I do things out of order or wear the wrong thing.",0 This hit home. The urge to create is why I quit my job and now a year later I am just poor and unemployed.,1 both of my parent have ocd so do i and with my taste of unstable women it wouldnt be wise that kid would be messed up.,0 "Great, now I have to actually read my chem textbook",1 "This is truly incredible, and an accurate portrayal of how many of us experience intrusive thoughts. Thank you for sharing ❤️",0 "Alright, I’m gonna head out don’t want to give my ocd head more ideas.",0 "Wait, some of you take medicine?? My psychiatrist told me in the beginning that there was no medicine for it. Or maybe doctors just don’t use medication against OCD in my country?",0 "It's incredible. But I must ask, what is it? Also, what kind of tics do you have, if I may ask? Is it similar to Tourette's? I used to have tics in high school like a compulsive-swallowing tic.",0 "That title is a good summary of my life. I'm 36 with a gen-ed transfer degree and no other proof of skills or interests, short of my book/game collection (mostly unread/played).",1 " Yep... It doesn’t matter how long ago the offense happened, either. I’m a forgiving person but good grief. Why is it so easy to forget if I took my meds in the morning, yet so easy to remember every single annoying detail of an encounter that left me feeling small, unheard, misunderstood, or outright railroaded and gaslighted. Argh. I just want to be at peace with myself and the world.",1 It’s so weird how OCD is like a living breathing constantly mutating/transforming thing,0 My grandfather died a week ago (of exactly what you expect) and I've kinda just been in this mode to avoid thinking about the fact that my parents are in their sixties an agonizingly mortal.,0 I feel like I’m in constant state of fight or flight,0 My top song is one that I listened to for 5 days straight on repeat four months ago and haven’t listened to since,1 Wow! My family makes fun of me for the amount of commas I use! This 100% makes sense now! Thank you!,1 Nice! In the middle of a pandemic as well. Congrats!,0 "The RSD and binge eating sugar have destroyed my life, and I never knew why until this year at 38. I'm a psycho type A perfectionist that ended up anorexic and bulimic over and over to counteract the weight problems from the dopamine chasing sugar bingeing. My poor body is wrecked from over exercise. I've also ended every relationship over perceived or real? rejection over my appearance. I'm 38 and single with a chronic back injury and my life is work and controlling my weight. At least now I know. I love relating! Thank you for the list.",1 "Amazing job, very inspiring...I gotta get cleaning lmao",1 "Yep. Now that I’m in school again, I constantly beg for a pause day. But I know I would just fall behind again.",1 "Yes, it sounds familiar, because it’s a repost with the credit removed ([original post](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/8u53r5/having_intrusive_thoughts/)).",0 "I go from A to B and expect people will see the obvious link. Turns out I go from F to R, back to A, loop around G a few times before arriving at Y. And I wonder why people get confused!! It happens too quickly for me to verbalise the process easily, but I am getting better with practice. A tip to keep in mind: it might be helpful to explain but that doesn't mean you have to do it perfectly, this second. Give yourself time to take a deep breath, be kind to yourself and the other, and give it your best shot!",1 "Wow, this is exactly me right now. I came on Reddit to do just exactly this whilst I have work to do. Binning my phone now. Thanks.",1 "Yes!! And the results almost always go both ways, on the one hand I become the village idiot that everyone talks s*** about, but on the other hand they also feel threatened because I just asked them a question they don't know the answer to and now they feel stupid and like I'm a know-it-all. So then I become a know-it-all idiot.",1 "Well if you want your OCD to become weaker, first thing to do is to stop doing the compulsions, when you do them you are feeding the monster, but if you don't do it, the next time the urge gets weaker",0 my brother says this shit all the time and it makes me sick,0 "I am also getting tested on ADHD right now (I'm 22) and being born a girl, I just never thought it was an option. In addition to being about kids it's always about little boys. I am so sick of it. Yes, I have Borderline Personality disorder too, but girls can have autism spectrum disorder and ADHD!",1 Right now I'm literally chatting in my discord instead of studying networking like I should. Then in the evenings I'm trying to force leisure time instead of finishing homework that night. I have to adult on top of all that. I hate it.,1 "That’s just the fate of saved posts It’s not that we forgot, they’re there in case we remember",1 "Truth. The message I got growing up: I am so smart, but I’m bad because I don’t do the work each day like everyone else. But I can do anything as long as I’m stressed and rushed enough. But It’s a terrible shame that I don’t live up to my potential. What’s wrong with me? “Why can’t you do this every day, girl?” Repeated from every corner. So I could be a good person, And I could have the career I should have, If I just find a way to be stressed enough every day Embrace the adrenaline! Stoke the anxiety! Try this Months and years later... For some reason living in fight or flight mode every day takes a toll on my mental health. Complete breakdown. I’m willing to have my depression and anxieties treated a little, but not enough that I lose my edge! It’s the only way I can do any work at all! What’s the point of being a happy vegetable? I remain dysregulated. More breakdowns. Oh, I get it. I’m brain damaged and stupid now. Might as well sleep for a year or two. Start over again, no drugs. I figure out how to do life, with a few decades utterly lost in between, and that pesky depression cropping up on the regular. But I don’t give a shit anymore about “potential” or “smarts” or what other people think I should do. And thanks to being a few decades older, with plenty of memories and regrets, and a backup plan for how to be poor without dying, I get to decide this time. Yay.",1 "How about a complete lack of knowing what day it is, or even what week for that matter. Have I been in my house for two weeks, or a month? Who the hell knows!? :D",1 "I also found out liked videos caps at 5000, been like that for me over 2 years now. I wonder how man are really in there 🙃",1 "I’m in a straight research role that I’ve landed from being medicated properly. I used to love it. Life has gotten crazier, busier, and more stressful in the last two years. My strength is researching and finding what everyone can’t, but when it comes to presenting all that research I’m bombing on the daily. It’s seriously the worst feeling. I have the ideas. The only time I can deliver is with hours of practice and basically writing myself a script...the point of my ramble is, you are not alone. I keep telling myself things will get better but man is it hard right now. It’s completely blown my confidence.",1 I’m honestly so amazed by this i decided to make an account just so i could tell you how much better it makes me feel to know others are going through the same thing i am,1 "I study clinical neuropsychology and I find this very interesting. Indeed ppl who have OCD have high activity in the frontal cortex. This is the part of the brain that is used for attention and thus it is overactive with people who have OCD and this abnormal activity is also seen in similar disorders such as ADHD and such. Therefore people who have OCD sometimes show similar syptoms to other disorders.",0 it’s funny because this was literally what i needed to hear. i was freaking out over being numb and not caring about intrusive thoughts or feelings but it made me feel like they were somehow now real.,0 "I'm currently sitting in my lunch room trying not to cry because even tho I have some days where my new job seems fine, I then get knocked on my ass because it turns out I'M NOT DOING FINE! I thought I was struggling because we are short staffed only to be told that this level of staff is normal and maybe I'm the one not coping with the work level 😬 I quadruple check my work so I'm slow but accurate, but as soon as they need fast I make a million mistakes. I often feel there isn't actually a job I can do with this brain 😞 So I 100% feel and hear you! You are not alone!",1 "Not the same, but if something embarrassing happens, I suddenly get INCREDIBLY tired. I've actually fallen asleep because of this. It's very intense.",1 I’m thankful to not have a ocd relating to diseases or viruses but man hoping y’all with them are holding out ok as I’m sure this is causing you to be in a state of panic,0 "I dont have an ocd i just liked a metmet and now im here What is sensory overload ? Is it like when sound is blinding and lights etc are loud?",0 "Yes, this, the moment I read the headline,,, I knew, this was me.",1 You are not the computer...you are both the electricity that powers the computer,0 "Wow, looks lit! I want to tattoo just a semicolon in the future because I like programming and it also has some few other meanings for me, OCD being one of them. Your photo just reassured me it's a good idea :P",0 "I have all those same ADHD symptoms. but i recognize them as an excuse for being lazy/irresponsible. The best tool i've found for at least convincing myself I don't have ADHD is the RSVP method of speed reading. RSVP (or Kindle for Android calls it Word Runner) flashes one word at a time to your eyes at a massive pace of like 6-10 words per second. I concentrate like mad for hours on end when reading a good book using any speed reading technique (RSVP at a slightly uncomfortable pace is probably the best way to learn the fundamental aspect of speed reading: elimination of subvocalizing). a lot of the other replies i've seen on this thread, most of them to be honest, are manifestations of anxiety. we need to be honest, many people claim they have ADHD to evade personal responsibility for making sound life choices. in fact, the symptoms of ADHD are almost indistinguishable from chronic depression and anxiety. I say this as someone who has such a poor memory/attention span that I recently started to entertain the idea that I have a retrograde amnesia. on further reflection, I realized that i'm lazy and intentionally disorganized with a mediocre diet and incredibly poor sleep habits. to me the disorganization/chaos is an (avoidant) stress coping mechanism. i have better coping skills available, i just don't have the mental stability to put them into consistent practice.",1 "I was just a year younger than you when I got my diagnosis. I'm so sorry to hear that you're going through this, but I'm very glad they caught it. Make sure that with your follow up appointments someone is forcing you to go, these are very, very important as well. Sending you all the good energy.",1 "This got me to go to bed last night, so thank you :)",1 "ADHD and bipolar here. I think that people forget that these conditions bring struggle to our lives. If we don't recognize and name the impediments society puts upon us, we won't be changing anything",1 "then you're like ""damn I wish I just had that one again...""",0 "It has to be divisible by 2 and 3, never ending in 5 or 0",0 "Sometimes I'm grateful for another obsession to take over, some are far less traumatic",0 "I used to “remember” all sorts of times when I’d done something wrong and would apologies to my family for these things. It’s such a debilitating emotion, but what I like to do is ask myself if it’s doing anything good. Guilt is so useless for me because it never helps me be a better person, just makes me less confident. So I try to let the feelings pass by because they aren’t going to do anything good for me.",0 "Today I fucked up because of this exact issue. Don't ask me for details, I still can't put it in words!",1 "Mine is the top, but they’re not in alphabetical order so it’s not 100% accurate",0 “YOU’RE BOOKSMART BUT YOU’RE NOT STREET SMART yOU’rE bOOKSMart buT YoUR’e nOT STrEEt SMARt yOu’rE BOOksmART bUT YoU’rE NoT sTREETsMarT”,1 It’s so painful. So tiring. I am scared and depressed because of it. I just want a break from my ocd,0 "I feel the same as well, thanks for sharing, maybe I need some help",1 I hate the constant researching. I remember i pinched a nerve the other month and i google the symptoms and of course my mind goes into worst case scenerio mode. Then im panicking thinking i need surgery for median nerve disorder.,0 "I don't have ADHD, but I certainly have executive disfunction and do this.",1 "I think I’m just an asshole because of my ocd. I mean.. you try dealing with 100 intrusive thoughts a day, constant anxiety, and having to stand up and hand sanitize my hands 68 times a day...",0 The worst when I’m trying to make a train but stepped in the wrong spot and now my brain is freaking out,0 "Thank you OP. I read the thread, it was amazing, this is like the amazing encore. And an accesable resource. Much appreciated.",1 "Yes. I don't care if its helpful in the long term. I will very well instantly feel worse and even less motivated to tell you anything about me, be harsh on myself for not being perfect and then end up being less motivated, be lazy and lose all hope.",1 "Mine's the Dying Orangutan meme. His name is Michelle. Everytime i get sick Michelle thinks we are going to die and then have cancer.",0 ">In 40-some years, I have treated many people with ADHD. And so far every single one, every one of you felt in their core that there was something just deeply, fundamentally wrong with them. I'm trans, so I get a pass on that one, I think?",1 "This is amazing. You’re so strong, we’re all proud of you💕",0 "That's incredible, congratulations! I'm sure it took some serious hard work.",0 I love weed. It kinda forces me to do ERP even if I don't want to because when I'm stoned I don't really get any relief from compulsions and then it rewards me with relaxation by just leaving the thoughts alone. Probably my favorite drug,0 "Or on the flip side, they do know what it is and believe it's real, but then they won't hire you or they'll discriminate bc you've got the ""lazy"" ""disorganized"" disorder and what they need is a perfect robot (which, not even the most neurotypical robot on 5000 mg of amphetamines can satiate the hunger of corporate capitalism).",1 "Or music, or video games, or tv show.I feel like my intrusive thoughts hav invaded all my favorite pastimes :/",0 Holy shit i thought i only did this... what the fuck,0 The first couple months of lockdown was kinda heaven for me. Everything felt so manageable to me (outside world events lol),1 It helps to be like “hey remember that time I told you I was worried I might have sex with my brother?! That was my compulsion!!”,0 "I don’t really mind obvious jokes that much. I do hate it when someone touches something of mine and I’m like “yeah I don’t like it when people touch my stuff, I have OCD,” and they’re like “omg me too! I’m such a clean freak” and touch me on the shoulder to show solidarity. I feel bad because a lot of people just don’t know much about OCD but it is pretty annoying.",0 "Wait, is this not normal? I'm still figuring out what the fuck is wrong with me and this hits very close to home. I'm not hyperactive but I keep failing studies for this reason EVEN if it's my interest, but if not my interest then I'm a completely lost cause, and my teachers call me lazy or imply that I'm incompetent because I forgot what was written on the brief, and I found trying to actively and forcing myself to do something I'm not interested in like business or finance, then it begins to almost physically hurt (it's more like an internal itching).",1 Sure it does. But that is not tough love. That is just berating people and that doesn't work on anyone.,1 "I have always pictured mine as Randall from Monsters Inc. Cunning and slippery, able to literally blend into its surroundings. But at the end of the day also a bit silly. Then when I am able to recognize intrusive thoughts for what they are, it’s like “caught ya, you slimy little fucker.”",0 "I took an electrical engineering class in college, that taught the basics of circuits. I had to drop out because I couldn't wrap my head around why electricity exists.",1 "Yes, OCD definitely stands for Obsessive Cleaning Disorder.",0 "Oh man. With the utmost sincerity I hope your treatment goes well. Everyone in this sub will know the feeling of putting things of until it’s too late. Thank you for the heads up. There something I’ve been putting off for close to the same amount of time and I’m definitely going to get it checked out now. Once again, thank you and all the best to you!",1 "This is utterly perfect. ""You locked the front door this morning, right? RIGHT?!?!""",0 I feel your pain dude. I recently had a panic episode where I've started to lose my identity because of OCD. It fucking sucks that our brains can tear themselves apart so much.,0 "omg? yes. very much so. I do this less now but I did this all the time as a child, moreso than the average child I mean. I still have stuffed animals and I have a VERY hard time not imaging them having feelings and being sad when I ignore them or knock them off the bed or whatever. I lost a stuffed animal outside a few months ago... I thought it'd be cute if ""she could see the outside world"" and ride along in my backpack. I had a meltdown when I realized she fell out... it still really bothers me... I'm an adult in college and I feel like I should really not be having meltdowns over lost stuffed animals but I can't stop imagining her being sad and lonely and abandoned somewhere sorry this got rambly lol I just feel like I can't vent about this to most people because it's absurd that I find it so distressing",0 haha just ignore it and focus!! everyone else is doing it !!! this shouldn't be taking that long !!!!!!! HAHAHAHSDFSSDJKFSJKBSDG,1 Needed!! Appreciated!!! ROCD is kicking my ass this week and I just despise it.,0 "Hello OCD therapist, one thing about ocd is, themes are ENDLESS! For example, one of my biggest themes is, convincing myself I have mental disorders and researching them as a compulsion. Last week I thought I had autism and DID, but this week I am on my schizophrenia ocd theme. I create delusions in my head, and obsess over being delusional and research schizophrenia/ psychosis symptoms. I’ll question if I believe, and question if I’m really covering my psychosis by saying I have ocd. My search history includes, “Can someone with schizophrenia be eccentric?” and all that jazz! Also, ocd is not always obvious, some people conceal it very well.",0 "This is actually a really sad meme given the context, though unfortunately accurate",0 I go unresponsive and start going “yeah ok true yup no really wow” like... you’re talking just to hear yourself talk I’m not even listening sorry I just can’t.. oh you’re not done,1 "I’ve been on this weird diurnal cycle since living back with the parents last year, 25, and basically double down on my shitty nocturnal habits to maintain privacy and avoid family during the daytime. Makes it doubly hard to go back to normal, nowhere to go and grab a coffee and escape, makes the sleep schedule seem also semipermanent or at least necessary",1 I have ocd and the rumination is unbearable some days. This is the best illustration I’ve ever seen of what it feels like. Please keep drawing and sharing.,0 "Yeah, that's my current main obsession at the moment. Having depression in the mix doesn't really help, either.",0 "I just spent half an hour trying to screenshot a video at an exact frame My brain: That’s just the rules fam",0 "You're just high, the honeymoon will be over within couple of weeks/months",1 "ADHD and any comorbidity sucks. I've been there. I wrote an article in an attempt to deal with some of this, and these questions from it might help: 1. *Are my life and my superpower in harmony?* 2. *In what circumstances would my superpower, and therefore my identity, suffer?* 3. *In what circumstances would my superpower, and thus my identity, thrive?* 4. *If my life required me to, how would I manage to sacrifice my superpower?* 5. *What am I willing to sacrifice to maintain my relationship with my superpower?* When I went through these questions, I started making headway on my depressive symptoms. YMMV. *\*For reference, when I say superpower, I’m talking about any developed trait, behavior, characteristic, or skill you rely upon in everyday life you know isn’t shared by everyone.*",1 "Holy shit... ok so I was thinking....I don’t really have a local friend or family member who has the same issues as me (messy house being my main challenge). So I’m wondering : What if I could somehow link up with other people in my area with the same issue?? Obviously we’d have to meet first and determine a way to feel confident that the both of us will keep shit respectful and confidential.... but this could possibly go a long way towards making progress on the Things.... I kind of love you right now, OP!! Edit: my first instinct was to give you like 500 upvotes, but as that is currently not possible, enjoy the gold instead!!!!! This really made my day!",1 "This sub really is amazing, it’s good to feel so understood",0 "I think about that all the time. Why is it that there’s something wrong with me? I notice that whenever I’m around other hyperactive people we have a great time. Maybe everyone else has a problem. Thank you for this post",1 lol. i dont really know if im ever gonna be happy again . fuck ocd . it sucks,0 Well done! I also had no idea you could do ERP on your own.,0 "for me, my main “good” number is 1, with 0 also being acceptable. the number my OCD doesn’t like is 2, and it’s definitely got something to do with one of my main themes.",0 I screenshot it and I’m having it as my fb background pic and all social media accounts.,0 "Totally relate. Any job I've been trained on (prominently tech, coding, and data analysis jobs) I would ask ""the why"" for any given thing that I didn't know about a system I was working with. I'd always get ""well why does it matter, this is just how you do it"" But I'd push, get my answer and eventually I'm almost always the go to person when a quirky situation comes up and no one else can figure it out. I guess having to ask the why helps me see patterns. It's part of my need to ""master"" what I'm doing. If I don't get the why, I get frustrated and forget the instructions altogether.",1 Because I forgot to take my meds and expected to get shit done today,1 For me it’s the constant call of the void whenever a window is open wide,0 "Started meds recently. Last week I was like ugh I guess I should at least sort that massive mail pile that’s been growing for 6 months. No way in hell I’m gonna actually take care of anything in there, like bills I haven’t paid, a new address I need to update, various other things I need to respond to and send in, etc. So I start sorting and after a few seconds, come upon an unpaid bill. And when I saw it, I just… opened it up and paid it. And then I continued sorting the mail, and found another bill and… again, just opened it up immediately and paid it. Every time I found a new bill I had to get an envelope, fill out the form, get and apply a stamp, and write out the addresses, all of which seemed WAY too hard pre-meds. I got through the mail pile in about 45-60 minutes, and felt wonderful fulfillment, and amazement at how much easier things are *supposed* to be. I’m incredibly hopeful for the future, more than I have been in a long time.",1 It sucks. However if your symptoms are running rampant with thoughts/compulsions to cause harm to yourself or others they will often try to get you in sooner. So if you check off the “suicidal/homicidal feelings” box they will rush that. Sad that it comes to that.,0 "Thanks for posting this. I agree we have a great community here. I have ADHD and have a son with Autism (or an Autistic Son - I still am not clear the correct way to refer, but I know either way pisses off someone.) I usually lurk on the Autism sub, post sparingly and it isn't horrible. I think the whole movement around ""autism is a super power"" is clouding a lot of the internet. It seems like a bit of an over correction from ""Autism should be cured"". Essentially - I go there to better understand the struggles my son is dealing with since he is minimally verbal (only 3) and what I should be aware of as he grows up. I never feel unwelcomed there... but I do need to filter through the more opinionated posters. Here - we are well moderated and have a group of 1MM+ strong just trying to deal with the struggles that are unique to ADD/ADHD. Sure - I enjoy that I am a bit quirky and have excelled in areas I can hyper focus... but it's mostly a struggle and it makes sense to acknowledge this and actively help everyone to find solutions to limit our struggles or atleast rant about them. ​ I like who I am - and I wouldn't be the same if I didn't have ADHD - but I am aware enough to know that ADHD makes aspects of life harder for me. I feel the same way about my son. I love who he is - love his personality and the little man he's turning in to. But - I dont view Autism as a super power - it's just a different way to take in and respond to information and the world in general. I'd never try to stop him from self regulating/stimming (unless it's harmful) - but... being Autistic will introduce struggles into his life others dont need to deal with. It's not all sunshine and happiness. I'd rather acknowledge that so I can be there for him when he's struggling and not teach him to suppress or ignore it.",1 We are just our inner child living in an aging physical construct. This is perfect.,0 Well this post(which led to a few different google searches) *realllly* explains.. a lot. Thought I was nuts until I saw this.,1 """taking med holidays can even set you up for anxiety and depression because of the withdrawal and recovery"" - I am SO close to giving medication a shot, but statements like this make me very scared. Can anyone elaborate on this aspect?",1 "Toxic positivity is my new favorite phrase, thank you for that.",1 OP are you the original artist?? I really love this piece.,0 "I’ll never forget- in college I got an essay passed back to me. It said “0- Plagiarism? See me.” I was instantly flooded with anger and confusion. I couldn’t hold back my tears, and got up and walked out. The professor followed me, asking what was wrong. She was shocked when I explained to her that this was all my own work, and asked why all my other grades were so low. My response to her was “I think this is the first time I’ve ever actually read a book that was assigned.” She then was embarrassed for her assumption and asked how I had managed to get through all of school until my junior year of college without reading a book..... and tried to tell me I needed to consider getting my doctorate (sorry- that seems like a lot more books 😂)",1 "omg, I used to have this shit, I don't know howI got rid of that but it felt exactly like that, I remember once I did it and stranger asked me ""what??!"", change that to the fact that now I give myself a little pat on the face 🤡",0 Tfw you’re turned on by something until your OCD makes you think about it so much that it completely kills your vibe and makes you feel like hot garbage.,0 This is probably the most accurate meme of OCD I have ever seen. ,0 "Visited my mother over Christmas and told her I have ADHD (I slowly realized it this past year). Her first thought was ""well sometimes we diagnose things when they're really just a symptom of trauma."" THANKS MA. Let me just work through all this trauma I don't have, then I'll be ADHD free!",1 "I have SD and have made it worse because if this but, whenever I get acrylics I can't scratch and not being able to pick anymore stresses me out...",0 "I think that it's the maximum for ""liked"" videos, too.",1 getting compliments from the hand audit at work on how well you follow protocol,0 this speaks loudly to me. it greatly puts me in tight spots in my romantic relationships too. i fucking need help and fast.,0 "This is like someone saying, ""I don't wanna be cured from my eating disorder because it makes me skinny. I dont see what's wrong anyway!"" No.",0 :| I really just discovered it today god fucking damn it,0 this is absolutely gorgeous! a lovely design that she did a great job with.,0 """Who cares about the executive dysfunction bullshit"" is such a fascinating statement to me",1 "Me and coworker jokingly call it squirrel syndrome. Know like when your walking your dog and they get distracted by every squirrel.....thats how we feel it is and how I try describe it now.",1 This is me all the time. My life is tinged in this crap.,0 "How easy is it to get diagnosed of this? Like this describes me to a T and explains the immense trouble I had in college, but would a doctor believe me if I told them I think I might have this adhd without hyperactivity?",1 Yeah but I have pure OCD never been a clean person. Haha,0 "I have an appointment on Monday to get something checked out and I'm vaguely worried it might be cancer. And if it is, it's something I've been mostly ignoring/dealing with for about a year. Not that I'm glad you have cancer or that I might have cancer, but I *am* glad that I'm not alone in this",1 Except the train is translucent and goes through the bus cos its fake but I still think I'm being ran over,0 If there is something I can't remember like a definition or song lyrics I can't sleep it just bugs me. Sometimes I have to get out of bed and search it until I find it and am satisfied.,0 For some reason my OCD has been acting up after months of being dormant so I needed this thanks <3,0 "I've been telling people this my whole life! Didn't know it had anything to do with ADHD, but I've been telling them forever that I don't follow rules unless there's a why. Either I completely forget it or I remember and forget to focus on it. If there's no reasoning it's pointless to me.",1 Clearly we can’t handle a taste of our own medicine 😂😂😂 have u ever heard us talk?!?!,1 "I already do this and it just gave me a ""deny all thoughts"" compulsion.",0 Reminds me that I've got to call back that new psychologist today. Two half assed phone calls over the last 2 months doesn't really count as trying.,1 "You’re right, I gotta read in bed for half an hour and go to sleep.",1 "Okay idk why everyone's saying it's gonna come back like yeah it might but in my experience my episodes, while they DO repeat, are lessening in severity. The second was worst than the first, but after that they got shorter and easier. And I guess technically I still have OCD in between episodes but it's so minor it's basically just a tick",0 "'better suited to consuming than producing' - phewweeeee, that hits home.",1 This make it look like you people get long breaks between the thoughts? I have them mostly al the time. ,0 What is the difference between serotonin and dopamine? I fear I have adhd but my current geological location forbids me for attempting to get a diagnosis. Please explain.,1 Did this man's dad just CURE ADHD!? It was that simple? You go pops!,1 "I truly have found my fucking people. Ever since I was a tween, I used to read and reread and preview and reread my comments over and over and over again, even after they'd already been posted. I even remember looking it up at the time after I'd grown conscious of it, like *hey why do I feel the need to do that?* It seems egocentric in a way, but it also happens outside of my own commentary too.",0 I use a lot of parentheses because i feel like many thoughts require an explanation!,1 It looks really great and I love your hair color! My biggest OCD for almost 30 years now has been my hair. Still struggle with hours a day focusing on it. It’s always a great day when you can be free from the compulsions,0 "That makes a lot of sense for my daughter and myself. It's probably not pleasure alone. I'm willing to bet that the ideation of preparation for anything is so vivid for us, it has a similar psychological effect to doing that thing itself.",1 "you don't even have to build something new for it, auschwitz still exists",1 I didn't realise this was so common amongst OCD sufferers and now I feel less alone... but also sorry for everyone else that deals with this shit.,0 "I mean in some cases it can be being an overly sensitive person with a hyper-awareness of existence and extreme focus to detail along with trying to be very careful of our actions is not always a bad thing so I can KIND of understand where she's coming from. She knows not of what she says though. I believe she meant well with her comment but good god these women tend to have a horrible gene where they OFTEN don't think about what they're saying and it comes off as the dumbest shit with an awful outcome when it comes to people who aren't so understanding. Good God Kardashians think before you post shit on Twitter. OCD is not just ""cleaning"" and it causes a lot of fear, anxiety, and despair to the people that have it. It's not just about wanting cleaning your damn kitchen lmao.",0 Is that a ADHD symptom. Every time i read about ADHD I find more and more things i can relate to. That why factor i have to always ask myself has reached the point where i want to know the origin of words and their evolution and after that I imagine myself speaking 5+ languages and then i think about something else,1 "Yeah this has always annoyed me and it’s literally what I thought OCD was when I was at my “OCD Peak”. I was going crazy thinking I was crazy because I had to touch everything I came in contact with 4x or else I’ll die or go to hell or whatever... yeah I wish I could’ve been obsessed with cleaning, or afraid of germs and not intrusive thoughts 💭",0 People with POCD aren't pedophiles. They have pedophilic intrusive thoughts. I have thoughts of eating my loved ones. Does that make me a cannibal? No.,0 And they come back as a first anxiety inducing thought just after waking up.,0 I am in this post and I don't like it. I'm in this wayyyy too much.,1 We are never that person. I am not the depression I am feeling today.,0 Maybe your Dad has so little actual personality that it is easy for him to crush it into silence. Some people make better cogs than others.,1 "So proud of you!! I swam in the sea today after 7 years of being too overwhelmed by shitty intrusive thoughts, it really does get better. <3",0 Is this an ADHD thing??? So freaking relatable it HURTS,1 "I hate this so much! “Oh I’m so ocd with my cleaning and everything has to be in the right place.” ... meanwhile I’m explaining that I can’t open their text message because I now have 111 unread messages and if that number changes now someone I love might die, or me turning the car around when I’m twenty minutes into a drive from my house to check I didn’t leave the oven on, then doing the same and going back thing twice more in case I didn’t check it properly. Knowing for a fact I didn’t leave the oven on and haven’t cooked for days but if I don’t go check then the house will definitely burn down. People have no idea",0 I need one for dyspraxia so many people think it's just bumping into shit,1 Right?! Like this summarizes my life! I was discussing this the other day and finally landed on... At the very least I wish I could explain myself better. Just because I can't remember the exact term doesn't mean I don't know exactly what someone is talking about... But not being able to quantify your thoughts quickly can delimit you from the conversation! Hang in there!,1 Ah I’m so proud! When my dogs get flees I’m locked in my room. I can’t.,0 All my top tracks are used in the 100s of alarms I need to wake up,1 Wow this actually made me tear up while reading... thank you for making me feel seen and validated ❤ I didn't know I needed that but I did.,1 Thank you so much! I did need this reminder . you're a blessing OP <3,0 But instead of just corona virus it’s a variety of illnesses that you have convinced yourself that you have the symptoms of.,0 I do. I do wonder though if it's a natural thing that in a way helps to prepare you for it when it happens in the future (if you believe in linear time that is). I was only thinking about this the other day as it happens.,0 "My daughter had horse riding lessons 3x a week at 4 pm. It ruined my day for WEEEKS. I work for myself so have nobody to hold me accountable to a schedule, and fuck me, man that was tough. Not only could I not get anything done I couldn’t even cook dinner when we got home because it was so late for us so we’d grab food on the way home and it sucked! Thankfully she rides at 10 or 11 AM now and life feels much better.",1 *is totally crying because of how relatable and sweet this post is*,1 I'll periodically think I killed my family before leaving for work and that it had just slipped my mind.,0 """You dont need to vaccum everyday its fine dont worry"" ""Thanks im fixed""",0 "lmao. I walked into this thread with a pitchfork (i just realized that I don’t really know the exact function of a pitchfork, i just remember it from that painting with the dude and the dudette. Great now i’m not sure if that thing’s called a pitchfork in the first place). Isn’t there a music magazine or website called pitchfork? I like Mac DeMarco. We have kinda similar teeth. But that’s not why I like him, I like his music.",1 "I usually do this to myself because I have a lot of ""Pure-O"" stuff and not many of the common manifestations. I sometimes think what I have is completely different than OCD. Sucks.",0 "“But if I just try a little harder, if I weren’t so lazy, I could know everything, and then I’d finally feel better.” That is my OCD talking.",0 "Wowza. Just get out of my head? Amazing idea! /s Seriously though...I find that I need to leave the house for a few hours (eat lunch, shop for a few thing I need at home, etc), and then I'm fine to clean the house.",1 "I have a scratching compulsion and if I hear one more well meaning person tell me ""just sit on your hands!"" I stg...",0 I wish I had this sub when I was younger and felt constantly shitty about wondering why I do (or don’t do) things the way I do.,1 "Interesting. I’m almost the exact opposite - when a manager gives me “tough love”, I tend to take that advice and immediately implement it. Not because I agree or see value in that feedback, but because I want to show them they’re wrong and prove I can do better",1 "Easier said than done, and it's a constant battle, but every single time you get an intrusive thought, you need to tap back into your feelings and immerse yourself back into reality. Even if you feel anxiety. Even if the thoughts are looming in the background. This is actually good. Feeling anxious and not reacting to it is GOOD. This is what is meant by facing your fears. And it is through this process, that you eventually get rid of your fear once and for all. ",0 Oh my God. Really? My son feels that way?! And the stuff at school 😞,1 I have a tik tok page dedicated to this ! [ocdchronicles](https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJAwT8YG/),0 "Tell me more Unrelated question what is a forum that helps you find other forums",0 Wow I’d love to stumble across this one day :) comforting in just the right way.,0 "Yes. Me a few years ago to my wife: “Ahhh I can’t believe I’m turning 34 this year! I don’t want to be 34!” My wife: “You’re turning 33 this year”. WHOOOOOOP!!!",1 Dude I need to be on your level. I am in training but I need a master of the ADHD. I never think to check the trash till it’s too late. Teach me your ways u/wearekindtosnals,1 When someone reposts the meme you posited and gets mor upvotes :(,0 "This is really good and helpful too! The hardest part for me is getting correct medication to treat it. I've been diagnosed for 11 years but haven't really found anything that has helped. I find it interesting how the anxiety/depression can be influenced by the ADHD along with many other things. I also have the ocd type symptoms but not the compulsive parts. Along with it goes sleep issues and not it being 3 am when I know I have to get up at 10 am It has also impacted my processing speed too which makes me slower than average on schoolwork. If you want to know more about it just ask. I also have the focus aspect of ADHD and my current obsession is the sims and any and all random factoids. I also love learning about medical related things and have since a child.",1 This is amazing!! and sad and exactly how I think most of us here feel..,0 "This is me, but take that and multiply it by 5. I was untreated for the first 30 years of my life. I somehow managed to graduate from the Air Force academy through a combination of stress and fear. Every assignment was like this. Almost 5 years after I graduated I was seeing a psychiatrist for focus issues and he said that I fucked up by giving myself long term anxiety and depression as a coping mechanism for ADHD. I’ve only recently sought medication for my ADHD and it is helping immensely. Even if I never had to worry about work or have to be responsible for earning money, I still stress about living in a messy living space, something that probably had a hand in the end of my first marriage.",1 "yeah when people are freaking out, i'm like... Meh, that's me everyday",0 This. The staring at a blank screen thing is so accurate. I know I need to do homework but I open the computer and have no idea what to do. Or I log in to my classes and get such sudden overwhelming anxiety I just log right back out.,1 "This is literally why I got diagnosed. I managed to get through 2 bachelor's degrees, and a masters - but the thing that kicked my ass was a full-time architecture job. Up until that point I had worked service jobs and summer/ part-time internships, but I never just worked full time in the corporate world - it sucked. Now I'm a licensed architect, and I work what is considered 'part-time' for an architect (34 hours a week.) I honestly don't know how some people work 60+ hours a week without melting their brains.",1 "Mad respect for you man it takes a lot of inner strength to do what you did. I think people without OCD wouldn't get how big a deal this can be! Take care of yourself :)",0 "Hi, sorry you are going through this at present. Read my past comments on here for context, they go back to about May of this year. I can’t say if it is ROCD, as I am not an expert, but to reduce your feelings, I’d recommend ERP scripting along with mindfulness, which will bring you back to present. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me and if you cba reading my past posts, I can post the link to an academic article on ERP scripting. Take care meantime 😊",0 "Thank you for posting this! Today I'll make my appointment for the *pap test*. For all women in the forum, we should take the test every 2-3 years to prevent/catch cervical cancer!!! To OP, I'm so so sorry to hear about your diagnosis! I am really hoping that if it took 3 years without major symptoms maybe it's slow cancer and therefore treatable?? There should be a sub called **ihatecancer** just for swearing words. Best of luck! And know that your post will probably save lives, I see many others are also making doctor's appointments that we have been procrastinating.",1 Woah you just explained something I didn’t even know I experienced,1 "Good job on getting to the dr, I know how hard that is! I wish you the best, I rly believe you'll kick cancer's butt! <3",1 "I'm really late to this thread but I just had to give a 30-45 minute presentation on ADHD to teachers and tried incredibly hard to say ""people with ADHD"" instead of ""students with ADHD"" for this reason. I also included the ""what's it really like"" video from HowToADHD so they would see a spectrum of ages. There's a lot of ignorance to combat!",1 Unfortunately I can't go 5 minutes without my ugly OCD symptoms,0 That is part of adhd. They used to separate executive function disorder but now it's part of it.,1 "I feel so called out On one hand I love planning, especially if it's related to stuff I'm interested in or passionate about, on the other hand it seems like I can't ever fully stick to any plan. Either because of that false sense of accomplishment (and the result is that I never do anything to turn the plan into reality) or because I get too impatient and just change things as I go. Then there's a different kind of planning, the kind that's related to chores or assignments, because it allows me to procrastinate. 💀 Though sometimes planning can be hard too, like if something feels too overwhelming (like making phone calls to strangers lol) I'd rather jump straight into a task without having any plan and without thinking much, because there are times when spontaneity helps lift my anxiety.",1 Wow. Thank you for this post. I was literally talking about this with my adhd coach (by talking I mean trying hard to articulate),1 "I'm inattentive with a mix of ""my hyperactive presents as constant anxiety"". If it weren't for the energy boost Adderall gives me, I'd do so little. I'm constantly exhausted. Everything feels like it takes so much energy just to get through the day. Every sound is too much around me, I have to actively filter things out just to have a conversation with someone in public. My mind drifts to daydreaming when I'm overwhelmed/stressed/depressed which is 90% of the time. I'll have important tasks I need to get done but when they're a task to do on top of everything else, it just seems like too much. People will say, ""Why didn't you do \_\_\_\_? You had plenty of time to get it done"" but I just can't. I've been meaning to send an easy job application for 3 days now. I just finally got it done. I had time before, I just couldn't do it after already doing tasks all day. When I have a task to do that's outside of my normal daily things, I'll usually have to wait until I have a day off because I have to dedicate the entire day to get that extra task done.",1 I was talking to one of the regulars on day and he was like just stay hard and be organized it’s not that hard. Thats the only and only time i wanted to smack him. THE FSCT THAT ITS HARD FOR ME IS THE REASON WHY IM NOT ORGANIZED! I need a clean room to focus or else the mess distracts me and I dont clean because I’m not motivated enough for it and the trash is always fucking full so I just say I’ll do it later but later never comes so yeah,1 "Unbelievable, I have literally typed this exact same topic just yesterday and did not post it (surprise, surprise). It is still in my drafts. I'm sorry you are going through this and I can totally relate to it. I have been reading a ton of self help books/quotes, following all these helpful subs and still struggling in this aspect. Every night I plan and write down my tasks and hope that I am going to spend my time in a much better way the next day and then the next day I just somehow pass the time until it is mid-afternoon or evening and then I wait for night/bedtime so I can plan and hope for a better tomorrow again. Stuck in this loop from quite some time. It seems like I only like to plan things but not implement my plans. Anyway sorry op, don't mean to take over your Rant :)",1 I hyperfixate on ONE song for about two weeks and that’s my most listened to???,1 "My doctor has been pretty great, though she still talked about medication holidays when I'm on vacation from school, like if anything that would make my time off more frustrating and less enjoyable not having a semi-functioning brain. I was originally meant to go up a dose still from here but found that this is a good balance of useful to side effects because oh boy I went on the generic of what I have and the pill is a bad shape and releases too much at once and that messed up my meds for a good month or so. But I am at a dose that helps my brain kinda work but also I don't have a super high heart rate or too much shakyness and I can have one cup of coffee if I wanna cause it tastes good but on my meds makes me shaky if I have too much. I didn't used to react to coffee at all so it's crazy to now.",1 "I keep starting cleaning projects and getting stuck 80% through so I have random piles of recycling that need taken to the dumpster, boxes that need shoved back in a closet somewhere, and ""one more small pile"" of crap covering.... Most flat surfaces in my home. But I already did so much and I'm tiiiirrrreeeeddd.",1 "Yes. From time to time, my thoughts (during movies) look like this: Every afternoon when I just thought about something and do you remember that one time that in 1947 but how is that possible? Oh right it was beca-shit my food!",1 "For once, I've completed my tasks before getting on reddit. Love the thought though! Thank you!",1 "The trick is disregarding the thoughts and not letting them consume you, not trying to disprove the thoughts or try and push them away.",0 I have been doing this - switching my thoughts to more positive and loving thoughts. It’s been working. It feels like the mindfulness and positivity squash the fears. The more you do it the more automatic it can become.,0 "Wow way to attack me, I’ll take my 32 tabs somewhere else thank you very much!",0 "I saved this, actually following it with my eyes seemed to not make me worry as much",0 In situations like this I take what little joy I can from knowing that I understand a complex medical condition better than someone who DOESN'T HAVE A LEARNING DISABILITY.,1 Congrats!! You should be really proud of yourself!! It IS a big deal! Be gentle on yourself and don’t expect to know everything at first. It’s a learning process.,0 "This is absolutely game-changing, for me, for my kids, for my friends. GAME. Changing. Well done. Well done, well done, well done. Good job, you.",1 "Oh definitely. It doesn’t help if it’s an actual doctor appointment and they take my blood pressure. It’s always high because I’m afraid of being late and missing the appointment. Usually if it’s high enough, they wait and take it again closer to the end once I’ve calmed down. But man, the traffic, the parking, the waiting.",1 "I 100% agree!!! I'm hard enough on myself, I don't need someone else being harder on me.",1 "Soooo I came across this comment on Reddit years ago and I reread it every time I get into a slump. I doesn't really address ADHD (though it's had a lot of edits so I since I last read it. I originally copied it and this is the first time I've gone back to the actual comment, so there may be something new in there). But it's really helped me, not only to do more for my life but to accept the many, many days in which I do less. Hope it helps you. https://www.reddit.com/r/getdisciplined/comments/1q96b5/-/cdah4af Edit: Apparently there's a subreddit around this entire philosophy now! r/nonzeroday",1 "ME FROM FREAKING 2-3 YEARS I won't say I was without ADHD before, I mostly did bare minimum to get by, but after depression, I'm literally in the loophole of what you said, I totally tried playing the game but it doesn't work like before, before I could play it all day but not anymore, you described my day so perfectly",1 "But, i just got home from work and breastfeeding my daughter IS what I'm supposed to be doing! Muahahaha.",1 Then you would have broken the laws of physics by creating something out of nothing.,0 "I suspected I may have ADHD but after being diagnosed with OCD then it does explain alot. I'm not ruling it out though. Regardless I give my love to you guys too, hope you are thriving in this difficult time.",0 "I feel this and there's only one way out of this very particular brand of hell; therapy. Hope you can get out of this OP, or at the very least find solace in the fact that you're not alone in this struggle - I'm right there with you buddy~",1 "This is exactly what I’ve been doing my entire life! I plan all of these amazing activities in my mind and even write them down and seeing those random dates I chose for them right there in front of me makes it even MORE exciting! Like whenever I’m bored I just plan for the future and I’m like “omg I’m gonna have so much fun” then I never actually get stuff done cause I get sidetracked by other events. And whenever I try to plan work related stuff, never happens",1 "Gotta hear the horn beep 4x from locking it. If I accidently to 5, than the new number is 6. And so on.",0 "Oh my God I have the same problem! And then my parents think I'm lying or just trying to get out of doing things, but I feel physically tired. So then I start believing I'm just convincing myself I'm tired because I don't want to do things and I get frustrated because I can't snap out of it. My parents just end up thinking I'm lazy and it makes me feel bad and even less motivated because I wanna do things that make me feel better, and then I get in a procrastination loop, getting more and more stressed out. Oops, I just described my daily routine...",1 "everytime i see anything posted here, i'm like ""holy SHIT it isn't just me??""",1 Can someone please read my post? I really need help with reading OCD,0 Anyone else find their phone underneath the microwave way too often? Just me?,1 "Ha! Another post where I say ""this us me too"". Although my top artists seemed accurate, 4 out of my 5 top songs are there because I listened to the same album non stop for 3 weeks",1 "Adhd much like other developmental disorders (ehem asd) was first discovered by studying the development of children. The study of adhd as a disorder was not about the difficulty it causes the individual but the difficulty it causes that individuals *parents*, or, more aptly I think, the study of it as a ""naughty child"" disorder. This conception is inextricably linked to the modern, wider understanding of the disorder, which, all things considered, has been expanding quite rapidly. The issue is that kids with altered development still *develop*. Yes, my brain has never had control of that magical focus juice, epinephrine, but it's gotten *pretty damn good* at making due in these past 25 years. So no, as an adult Im certainly not getting up and leaving my seat to wander about idly in the middle of my meeting. Nor am I having uncontrolled outbursts of emotion and action. But, I'm still bored to tears(literally) when I'm forced to fill out *any* amount of paperwork unmedicated. I still lose everything, I still have an inability to organize. Oh yeah and this cookie tastes so good, lets eat twelve. I also have other *things* that come from being undiagnosed, unmedicated, and ignorant of my disorder for 97%of my life that I did *not* have as a child. Such as a crippling fear of rejection due to all the times my impulsiveness, my forgetfulness, and my disorganization have led to, well, rejection when I was trying as hard as I possibly could to please. I have an inability to plan ahead, to set goals, to maintain interest in one pursuit for any worthwhile perood of time. I have the debt that Ive wracked up in nonsensical, impulse purchasing. I have the dusty, ill-kept vault where savings might have been that Im meant to somehow turn into the money. I have dysregulayed emotions that wash me away like the tide at the beach, floating to the horizon in exhaustion after. Turns out a developmental disorder *doesn't* present the same constellation of symptoms as its child form. Its basic psychosocial psychology. So yes I very much feel your frustration. This type of misunderstanding keeps soooo many people fromnthe type of help they need. I know it kept me away for a long time.",1 People like that are irritating beyond words but they’re also ignorant and refuse to learn so it is their loss. We cannot stoop to their level. We all know the pain it brings and we’re all working hard to overcome the challenges it brings us. That’s all that matters.,0 "Raise someone else's hand if you're sure your doctors cringe every time you walk in their office bc they know you're gonna ask them again if they're sure it's really ocd (˘⌣˘)ʃ＼(ﾟｰﾟ) Edit: 2 silvers?! Idek what to say (〒﹏〒)",0 "Posts like this make me wish we had an ""Omegasave"" function. But we don't, so instead I'm literally saving this post to a document on my desktop to remind me. Thanks Phaes, what an insightful, helpful post.",1 "Ooh this got me properly steaming in the space of three short sentences - and then, and then... You are a VERY bad person...",1 "I always start to irrationally resent my partners. I never understood this before I read about ADHD and how when the partner no longer stimulates you like a new relationship does your brain starts to ""blame"" the person from the lack of dopamine by focusing on their faults.",1 Is there one with “me convincing myself it isn’t actually reassurance seeking”,0 "There are a lot of great treatments for most of lymphomas now. Get well soon, OP",1 "ugh I can relate to this so much, happens at least once a week :(",0 Literally me this whole week on reddit for 10 hours a day.,1 Here's a little help everyone!! https://www.reddit.com/r/psychology/comments/fr6luz/procrastinating_its_not_about_willpower_but/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share,1 I sometimes feel bad for bottles or glasses if they are too far apart and i feel like they feel lonely so i put them together to talk...,0 Wow!! I never knew that either and now it all falls into place!! Interesting!!,1 I have heard all of these things said about me from different people,1 Even if the world stopped forever I’d still wouldn’t be able to catch up,1 "I tend to write in really long sentences. It is ridiculous sometimes. I also use parentheses way too much and sometimes parentheres inside of parentheses, which I think doesn't work, but I sometimes need them to further explain my ideas without it becoming to confusing. I have always written in this way, and I think I speak like that as well.",1 Thank you for posting this. You are not a waste and this helped me feel less alone. <3,1 "This is my flatmate. I enjoy being around her when I’m calm and not overstimulated but oh man ... the days I come home from a long day of trying to focus at uni and she’s going on and on about literally nothing important (should we rearrange the fridge? What should I have for dinner? You haven’t eaten these vegetables they’re starting to rot, etc etc etc) it makes me feel like I’m about to go full Kyle and punch a hole in the wall. Even if she’s not talking to me I’ll hear her (very loud) voice in the other room, barely taking a breath between sentences, like she’s on 2.0 talking speed.",1 "Totally understand, if I don’t understand the why I think it’s some bullshit task. I’ve even had to make up a ‘why’ to get things done.",1 "Ahhh I always do this as well as blinking really hard and clenching my fists, but I did not realise it was a compulsion lol. I thought I had Pure O but a lot of shit is clicking into to place with this realisation…",0 100% accurate lmao I'm glad this life has taken a turn for the better and I'm not experiencing this much. Before it was a nightmare,0 "Still the president of ""Traumatized by I'll give you something to cry about"" club. Which arguably is more of a legitimate threat than ""tough love"" but I digress.",1 "I hold my breath going through the detectors in shops in case I've accidentally stolen something, too.",0 THIS! I felt this in my soul! My OCD takes form in obsessive intrusive thoughts and not compulsive behavior so when I finally made the decision to get on Prozac I’m not kidding when I say it saved my life!! I also struggle with clinical depression and GAD. It was the best decision I ever made! I hope every single one of you find that relief some day ♥️,0 "Exercise!!! People with ADHD and/or depression don't realize how much physical activity helps our brains produce the chemicals we need. Some days I really don't feel like doing anything, but once I workout, it's like a hard reset and I can be productive",1 ">looks at mine which are 90% hentai I saved them for a damn good reason 😎",1 Has it gotten better for any of you? Your obsessive thoughts?,0 """Edit: Something else I just remembered: Attention is nothing more than the combination of motivation + memory. I wasn't sure if the meds were helping at first because they only seemed to help with motivation. I was concerned that I actually had high functioning depression instead of ADHD but this completely changed (and blew) my mind. Also I noticed that my memory was being improved later on"" What changed and blew your mind? I'm confused. Also what helped improve your memory? Thats my biggest issue lately.",1 It’s praying that they don’t think I’m actually insane o felt this😫😫😫,0 "My spouse gets very irritated with me because of this. Apparently, I often pause to collect my thoughts before replying to a question and that pause can sometimes be several minutes: it gives the impression that I don’t care enough to answer the question and has strained my relationship at times. Other times, I will think of the reply, but fail to speak it, then I get annoyed because an argument started when I “answered” the question. At work, this brain-buffering has been detrimental. My current boss understands and is patient, but I know that it has hurt my career potential in the past. I was diagnosed recently and am starting to reflect and finally understand why I’ve had issues and what I did to compensate without realizing that I was compensating.",1 "Every new one is the worst for the time you have it. “Well it’s only up from here” doesn’t exist for OCD, it’s more like “Well it’s only (what if you want to kill your mom) ... oh god, what was I saying again?",0 Enjoy being bad. Deliberately be bad. Love the process and embrace the mediocrity.,1 "If this is who i think it is, you might be right, people that play people are not who i want to surround myself around, good luck with life, karma is a MF.",0 Have this happening now. Sucks. I think I'm going to accept that all the bad shit is real and roll with it because what I'm doing now sure isn't working. What I'm doing now is identifying myself as being sick.,0 It's a battle. I want to take the bait and argue with the thought. All that does though is fuel the fire. It's difficult but letting the thought come and go is best thing to do regardless of the context.,0 "Nah ADHD is deciding at 11pm that you are going to build a rocket, and then spending the next six hours combing through old forum posts and articles and carefully compiling a shopping list full of the rocket parts you need, weighing in your options using some forum posts from 2003 to get the best possible prices on the parts you need, and then waking up the next morning and just not feeling like it",1 "As someone with the same issue and someone whos parents still think im lazy for not having the ability to do the dishes, thank you for posting this. Now i can prove other people have the same problem and we arent just lazy!",1 "The beauty of OCD treatment is you learn how to fight all of it, including the guilt. Guilt won’t bother you anymore because you’ll master the intrusiveness of the guilt as well!",0 "I can't read this all right now, but I just needed to say how wonderful this post is. :ó) Thank you, for sharing this lovely information with us all and for writing it so perfectly ADHD-friendly. ❤",1 "I wish there was a better way to describe this feeling. The weird locked-up feeling where you genuinely want to act on something, but honestly can't. Like, I've had times where the desire to do something is so intense that I'm nearly in tears frustrated. But getting from ""want to act"" to ""act"" feels about as likely as sprouting wings to fly. The best thing I've done is to figure out ways to deal with this specific issue. It's one of the few identifiable and sort of solvable problems in the whole ADHD mess. I've had some success in finding ways to just get started, no matter how small or shitty my efforts are, because once I'm started, I can usually get moving from there. But the sense of overwhelm, the frozen feeling, the emotional component -- it's all real, and normal folks just don't get it.",1 This is just ignorant people... I have the awful habit of getting rid of everything that I don't use and try to sell it because I don't like having it in my house. I can't stop thinking about it because I feel so bad for having things I don't use and someone else can benefit from it. I have pure-o ocd... I would go to this person's house and get rid of everything I didn't like.,0 This is why i hate writing out plans and schedules and stuff because i know i can never stick to it and I’ll get way too caught up in working on it and making it nice and before i know it it’s been seven hours and it looks like shit anyways,1 "I think that's why I'm fascinated with werewolves and lycanthropry. Because it all feels so relatable. I've always felt there's a monster ""lurking beneath"" or that no matter how much good I do I'm still broken or ""wrong"" inside. And I always feel like people know how broken or wrong I am and that's why they stay away from me. But when I try to explain it, even to myself, it sounds so crazy and I think it frightens people. It's interesting that we all feel similar. It's nice to know I'm not alone and that maybe I'm not a freak. :)",1 "I actually got in an argument (although I didn't mean to) with my mom yesterday because she keeps suggesting I listen to a psychiatry podcast and use an app for how to cope with ocd and anxiety. Fine. She kept bringing it up, like 5 times. I finally kind of word vomited all over her about how frustrating it is that she thinks an app or a game is likely to help with severe anxiety or ocd. Can it help? Absolutely. Would I encourage people to try? Absolutely. But please don't tell me to play a game or listen to a podcast. I've had these tendencies since I was 7 or 8 worrying that a loved one would die if I didn't shut a cabinet door the right way. I get extremely defensive about this. Medication is necessary for MANY people, even though the side effects can really suck. She basically shames me for not ""doing the work"" when she doesn't realize how exhausting that work is.",0 "Second. You can't cure a developmental disorder with shame, but you sure as hell can make one worse.",1 Omg the level of dishes in the sink is my how bad am I getting meter 😖,0 "Jesus. Yes it's an ocd thing when it plays over and over in your head, every hour of every day for 8 years.",0 Okay I’ll try to do some homework but I feel like Im overheated lmao,1 "What you are describing sounds awfully lot like addiction to me. Constant need to get some ever stronger kick - some escape from your trauma that is hunting you. AD(H)D messes with your executive function as well, but instead everything gets your attention and it’s hard to keep attention on one thing that really matters to you. With addiction your attention and desire go towards addictive behaviors that become more and more important, yet less and less effective in satisfying you. I’ve been struggling with both somewhat and honestly I’m not even sure there’s much difference between the two.",1 """The endless scream"" Yes, I get it on very bad days. Like only a little piece of my brain is having a total breakdown while the rest of me goes about my day.",0 "Ah, but if you nail those three usable hours then you can get 12 worth of work hours done in those three. And in my experience, if you nail the first five minutes, you may end up working for 16 hours without realizing. Like, hunger, bathroom needs, everything just vanishes and the only three things in this world are me, what I'm working on, and the next thing on my list.",1 "I had that when I started reading manga and came up with a story that I wanted to draw. To this day I am terrible and have recently decided that I will stop chasing this dream. It was really hard to draw over and over and get no results so I gave up. However I think that having multiple things to do is a good thing. You get to choose what to do and if you are not in the mood you can do other projects. I usually get a lot done when just starting to work, but then there is a break because I just am not interested anymore. And then I realise that 3d modeling a phone stand will make a worse stand then a one I will buy. So I wrap the project. If it is actually a good idea then I am okay with continuing a few weeks later. I became really stressed when I force myself to do things. Then I get bored and not like the project. I dont think you should be pushing yourself to finish unless you actually want to because chances are you will do it later in a better mood. If it has been too long ago maybe then try revisiting it.",1 Hahah my ocd thinking I sold my soul and and am possessed is TOTALLY THIS LMFAO,0 "Never in my life have I been able to say I’ve tried my best with anything. It contributes heavily to my depression and sense of self worth. I thought my ability to put my best foot forward would come with age, but I’m in my 30s and feel hopeless at this point.",1 I get the constant fear that I'm going put something in my pocket without thinking and then get caught with it.,0 Got a big chuckle from this apple here. The first thing that came to mind was this one episode of South Park regarding this very concept aaaaa,1 "This is big. Great work. It takes a lot to make a step like that. You have that huge fight internally- you won against the disorder. You had to block all those obsessive thoughts, the what if’s etc. And won!!!!!! High five! ( then we can wash our hands /s)",0 Me last night at 4am saying I would go to bed at 11 and then scrolling until 2 then I said okay 230 and then it was 430 by the time I even put my phone away,1 I actually do a lot better when its all online. Simply driving and sitting in class takes so much mental energy thats it's very difficult to drag myself to do the work.,1 "I do this, but I've found it is a good habit to have, lol. For me the worst is when I read I have to reread each line, count the words etc...I don't know how I got through grad school and college, let alone the third grade.",0 "I actually have to disagree with the sub for once. Wrapped is my favourite time of year; 108,060 minutes this year.",1 "I know I have stolen something when I walk through them. Then when they don’t go off, I remember that I am factually innocent. I guess that’s what makes it OCD, that I lose touch with reality a bit when I’m confronted with certain things?",0 "Reading this hit deep wow, I'm feeling a way now. That was so weird. All my life, idk if I could use the word bad to describe it but like. Like everyone is slotted in fine and I'm jammed and twisted as if I woudnt fit but someone still slammed me in the slot anyway.",1 "I need this painted on every surface in my house. It's true, but easy to forget.",0 "I just got over having depression for 4 years and being medicated for it, but unfortunately i still have anxiety and sensory anxiety but got prescribed medication for that but idk if i wanna take it since there is a possibly that it may make u very depressed and suicidal plus apparently there is an interaction with it and my adhd meds, something called serotonin syndrome but mum says that he's a doctor and he knows what he is doing idk i probs shouldn't look up the side affects lol",1 My hands are cracking all over. This virus is just making it worse,0 "When I was 16 I had a therapist try to get me to do mindfulness meditation to help with anxiety. I thought it was stupid because I couldn’t get through it without getting distracted and never really tried. Later on when I went to college I learned more about the practice from a psychological standpoint and WHY it is good for you, so I try to do it every so often now. I still have adhd so I’m not getting through sessions flawlessly but I hear that it helps your focus to improve over time.",1 "Sleepy or hungry, either works, I eat like a mofo as a bad distraction habit",1 "Honestly my dad is having a really rough time with the Corona virus. I believe he is a hypochondriac because since I was little we would always freak out about sickness and tell me that he was going to die and he had to say goodbye. I wish I could do sometime to make him feel better, but I don’t know",0 "And there is no such thing as quirky OCD. You can’t have the ‘mild kind’ where you like things clean/tidy but not to an extreme point. Everyone with OCD is in some way distressed by their compulsions or has overly time consuming compulsions. If you don’t have either, it’s not OCD",0 How did you get diagnosed? I am procrastinating calling my GP for multiple weeks now because I heard most GPs dont take it seriously and I do not have the money to find a private practice,1 "I haven’t experienced this as much since I found the right dose of stimulant meds (not too high, not too low, and covering the whole day) Maybe you all need to work on yours? I guess this post bugs me because it makes me remember that our ADHD can be hard on those who love us just as it is hard on us. I can understand and relate to what OP is saying. But he still sounds like he may be being a dick to his mother. Similar irritability can be caused by too low a dose, or too high a dose. I’ve experienced it both ways. It took me a while to find a dose that reduced ADHD symptoms without pronounced negative side affects. Now that I have it, it’s great. I guess I shouldn’t assume my story applies to other people. But I’m thinking of all the mothers out there.... so if you’re being an impatient asshole to people who love you, i hope you’ll consider that a call to optimize your meds before accepting it as the status quo. Out of fairness I’ll mention that I was that impatient asshole for many years. And now that I realized I could have fixed it with the right meds (I’ve also deliberately worked on developing good ol’ coping skills which probably also helps) well, I feel really really bad about behaving that way. Given how much ADHD sucks, can we all agree to be super careful to avoid externalizing it onto other people who love us—if we can?",1 "Same. I'm planning on starting a small study group with my most functional, studious friends who I can trust to yell at me if I rock up hours late. Mostly, I find that the act of leaving my house and going literally anywhere else to study can be enough to keep me semi-on schedule, so I'm planning on trying out all the coffee shops near my place.",1 "I did that too in my undergrad. I created separate spaces for myself in my apartment. If I'm at my desk, I physically turn the phone off, not just turn off the ringer or notifications. Then when Im done and go back to the couch, phone can go back on. I had the same rule for myself studying at the library; phone literally turned off! With my ADHD, I transition around so much that I get distracted waiting for the phone to turn back on. If I know that will happen, then it's like a 'flag' for me to direct what little focus I have back to what needs to be done.",1 This is the best. 😅 I gotta meme the fuck out of my OCD.,0 When you’re biting at a hangnail and you FINALLY get it,0 It makes me much more grateful for those who “get” me though.,1 It gets hard for me to grow a relationship with anyone when I constantly get intrusive thoughts that repulse me. One of the reasons why I don’t get close to anyone. Anyone else like this?,0 I had to get two STD and HIV screenings after having protected sex once. Good luck friend.,0 I get more stares because of Corona because I’m Asian-American and I just want to scream “I’m a germaphobe! I have literal OCD! I wash my hands so much they bleed! You’re gonna be fine!”,0 Imagine ur a teenager without internet in a poor country. I wish they could get the help they need,0 This is me to myself every time I try to shut down any thoughts me of performing a compulsion,0 "Said it before, will say it again: a better name would be Executive Dysfunction Disorder.",1 I’d like to get back the ability to travel without anxiety.,0 Because no one really knows what ocd is until they have it,0 "Ong. So read this. Thought to myself ""me too"" AND THEN PROMPTLY SCREENSHOT ""to remind mysel about later."" Dear god.",1 The other day I started ticking real bad and one of my ticks is just screaming “f*ck” in multiples of 3. So my girlfriend decided to start screaming it with me and she just grabbed my hand and said “don’t worry this will pass and I will be here the whole time” it’s hard to find people who get it. And it’s even harder to find someone who can make me feel better about the fact that I tick,0 "You are not defective, it’s the modern world that’s wrong. Our brains are still wired to a lifestyle we’ve given up thousands of years ago and that comes at a price, and for us with adhd that price is huge. In between the inane ramblings, the una bomber had a point. Keep this in mind when/if climate change forces us to give up this lifestyle, and see that it may be for the best",1 "Yes!! I thought that my intrusive thoughts were fantasies and I was fantasising about HORRIFIC SHIT because I was a TERRIBLE PERSON and if anyone knew what I was really like they would be absolutely disgusted.",0 "I once went to my mom crying, like hysterical (I was a child) Mom: omg what's wrong? Me: I want to be a vet, but I don't know how to make the animals better :'(",1 "pov: after talking an online ocd quiz, you go to r/ocd to ask if you're just making shit up, when you see a post that reaches through the screen, grabs you by the shoulders, and shakes you",0 "JESUS, yes!!! And this is all WITH the Adderall keeping me functional. I'd hate to see the level of hot mess I would be at otherwise.",1 I always thought there was something wrong with everyone else. Seriously. I wondered why people couldn’t do what I could do and wanted to do and wanted me to do something different. I always felt different but not that something was wrong with me. I feel very fortunate that that was how I internalized it.,1 "I feel like I have the same issue when someone asks me about specific details. BUT when a problem arises or something relevant comes up in conversation I often find the information coming out of my mouth without thinking. If someone asked me 5 minutes earlier to recall what I studied, I couldn’t tell them a thing. But if it comes up naturally I can. It’s almost like the mental organization that requires recall is broken and I need something else to come up and find the information in my brain for me.",1 Just because there are millions of others around the world suffering a similar condition doesn't really help with your own personal obsessions and compulsions. It's like pain. Feeling less alone doesn't alleviate your own personal pain especially when the severity and fallout from the condition in everyone's life is very different.,0 I can relate to so much of what your saying. You’re not the only one ☝️- we’re here for you,1 "OCD is what you make of it, Let it control your life then Expect to live miserably. If you’re not exercising, eating healthy, or feeling sorry about yourself then expect a shitty existence. My ocd consisted of intrusive thoughts, if you have thoughts of murdering someone or some other explicit stuff accept it and you’ll feel a world of difference but continually denying it will on intensify the anxiety and depression that comes along with it.",0 Once in a blue moon I’ll set a 20 minute timer and wheel-of-prize scroll to a random point in my Save pile and start purging them/actually read some. Same with my goal of chipping away a 50-100 emails at a time. This post might have pushed me to have another go at the pile. Thank you!,1 "My psychiatrist just recently brought up the possibility that I have OCD (compulsive rumination that we've been treating as anxiety most of my life, no official diagnosis yet or anything). I am also a very organized person with a super clean house, and when I told my family we were looking into the possibility of a form of OCD they all said some variation of, ""oh, that totally makes sense with how organized your house is!"" But I don't have any compulsion to clean or organize. I just like knowing where stuff is. If things are messy or out of place it doesn't bother me and I get to it when I get to it. My only OCD symptom I'm aware of is replaying dumb moments from my life over and over again in my head and not being able to stop. My books are sorted by color because it's fucking pretty.",0 To me brushing my teeth is so worth how fresh your mouth feels after that this is not an issue for me.. but I understand the struggle to accomplish certain things and I congratulate you for overcoming something unpleasant to you to do something that is good for you..,1 "And here I am with inattentive ADHD, losing things on a daily basis, but still freaking out every time like it's the end of the world and hating myself because I feel so stupid lol 🙃",1 "nope. I could care less about perfect grammer and spelling, that sort of thing is annoying and a waste of time. i think words look nicer without capitals too, i only really use them if i wanna i do reread but only if its like important or i have thought of something else to add or change",0 "That feelings that yeah i could impale myself with a larger butcher knife right now, but the real question is should i?",0 I love reading and people sometimes ask for book recommendations or want to discuss a book we both read and it’s like I’ve never read anything in my life.,1 "Yes, but then like most lottery winners, I squander my riches and end up worse-off than before.",1 "My OCD is a bit stronger that it should be, but thank you for this 🖤🖤🖤",0 "I'm literally staring at my computer screen looking at 5 weeks worth of late work. I've emailed my professors sincerely apologizing and explaining that I am struggling with my mental health and they were really nice about it. I am at a point where if I don't do my work NOW then I'll fail everything. I would cut off a finger to have a normal working brain. You should be really proud of yourself 💜",1 Figured out that I've ramped up my commenting lately to basically sort out/rehearse/stress test my last year's worth of opinions before I'm willing to try them on people in person.,1 "Me! I worry about getting sick...cancer. Brain tumors. COVID-19, etc but I am not a neat person. Someone once told me it’s organized chaos cuz I know where everything is!",0 "It’s not just my thoughts that are the problem. It’s also everything else in my life around me. If I could fix those issues, my thoughts would likely be a little less painful.",0 This describes my life. I know what to do. I just don't...,1 "My boyfriend likes to give me pep talks when i am completely frozen in time by my adhd , but what he doesn’t know is now i need to add feeling bad about myself to the list of things i have to do :/",1 Eh the first bit doesnt really resonate with me. I have existential OCD so I cant even say my thoughts arent that illogical I just dont know if they are true or not.,0 "Paranoia and OCD have different feels to me. Related but different. I know my OCD is wrong, but with paranoia I don’t. But yea both are bitches.",0 "This is pretty much one of my main fears. I sometimes have intrusive thoughts about irrational fears in the past I may or may not have done, sometimes as far back as several years ago. This is something that I've talked to my therapist about and one of the only things you can do is just accept it and move on and deal with any consequences should they arise (which they most likely won't since these are irrational thoughts to begin with) because its just not possible, physically or mentally, to truly make sure you didnt do anything unwanted in the past, especially if it was years ago. But yeah this is probably one of my larger more irrational fears, and it definitely is hard dealing with it.",0 "I did online school in high school and then had to do it again in college because of COVID. Distance learning is 1000% a sink-hole for getting stuck in the ADHD/depression cycle. It made me realize how much I need a routine where I'm going out and interacting with people to not get stuck in that cycle, even though consider myself a relatively introverted person. But the introversion just makes me more susceptible to falling into that cycle.",1 Anyone else have that 20 second period when you just wake up where you’ve sort of forgotten to obsess about things then it hits you and it’s there for the rest of the day?,0 "Dude, yes. A lot of the time in feel like the world is flying by me and I’m stuck inside my head with no hope of escape until someone physically walks up to me and breaks the spell. So bizarre. I thought I was the only weird one who experienced this.",1 This is an OCD thing?? So much of my childhood explained.,0 It's amazing to think that in actuality there are LOTS more people with OCD. So remember you're never alone :),0 Just upvoted and saved this. Gonna read it again later 😬,1 "Well welcome! Here is the raw harmful side of OCD that we all let out and talk about from the safety of our keyboards and phones. It does comfort me to know there are actual clinical professionals taking partake in this community. Simply knowing there are others that are suffering the same and knowing there are people trying to listen does more than anyone can know.",0 Why can't I have intrusive thoughts about firmly grasping seagulls?!,0 "Mhmm. I mean, if you missed deadlines, were late, or fucked up in school, what's the worst that would happen? You'd miss recess, maybe get detention, maybe get grounded. But as an adult, depending on just *where* your ADHD brain dropped the ball, you're looking at... * Getting fired * Getting demoted, or passed over for a promotion * Being evicted or foreclosed * Having utilities shut off * If you're in the US, losing your health insurance that you need to pay for medications, therapy, and other treatment * Being dumped or divorced * Having your kids or pets taken away * Being arrested * Having bad credit (which can bar you from securing employment, housing, or a loan) And so much more. There are just so many expectations, and real consequences for failing to meet those expectations. (Adulting is hard enough without throwing ADHD into the mix. And support for adult ADHD is still pretty limited.)",1 "I always questioned my adhd diagnoses (3 separate times, by two separate therapists both as an adult and child), because I never had hyperfocus that I could remember. I'm so glad this exists, because maybe I can stop doubting myself and thinking I literally am a lazy sack of crap",1 "Absolutely worth it to spend a little more on something more convenient or enjoyable if it makes the difference between actually using it or it being avoided or wasted. I'm also someone who tries to be as frugal as possible, especially with food, but $5 in my belly is worth more than $3 in the trash.",1 "everytime i come on this sub I am reminded that nothing I do is unique to myself, never felt so relatable",1 "I have the coping skills to go about my day even if I have an appointment later on. But the time to stop and get ready to leave usually catches me by surprise, then I rush but still end up late. Now that I’m actually writing this out I think I’ll try and set an alarm 3 hours ahead of time so I can get ready to get ready.",1 My best friend talks like she is on cocaine and now I know why we are friends.,1 "Holy crap are you me? Like an alternate version of me, cause this spot on. Swap the psychologist for my father with a PhD in psychology and we got a match :O.",0 "Thank you. But I politely decline your opinion, it's a very difficult thing to achieve and I don't feel very close to it. (I'm not fucking writing this asking for your guys' pity, please don't think I'm fishing for it 😠😖)",0 i used to tell myself i would have to touch fuzzy blankets and pillows in stores and if i didn’t my family would die,0 I find affirmations extremely helpful and only in the process of really opening myself up and being completely vulnerable did I find myself actually hearing and applying them. My favorite quote I say to myself every time I have an intrusive or obsessive thought is “I am willing to release the pattern in me that created these conditions.” -Louise Hay,0 "I hate this. People don't realise how fucking terrible ocd is. Ocd isn't limited to just cleaning a little more. It this constant barrage of intrusive thoughts that really just drive you insane. I haven't felt like myself for 4 years now, i hate this so much. Ocd is crippling, and you can't really truly understand it unless you have it. Jesus",0 I learned this from my mother. She would always tell me growing up to pick up the one behind the one in front. But this was only the case for groceries or medicine.,0 More sad part is that when i try to reassure myself by getting reassurance from others i feel like they’re saying that just to make me feel okay. Or even worse... they don’t even the truth. Lol,0 "Yup, me here 👋🏻 I was only diagnosed a month ago, and can’t start treatment for another 2 months, which definitely isn’t helping.",1 i had an emotional cheating situation almost 5 years ago. my boyfriend knows about it and has moved on from it but recently my ocd has told me that i need to repeat every single detail of the situation to him to ensure that i haven’t lied to him and that he has full understand of who he was with. can you imagine being him and re-hearing the time that your partner betrayed your trust? he probably thinks i’m trying to rub it in or something sick like that. but it’s not. it’s my ocd telling me that I HAVE TO AND I HAVE TO RIGHT NOW. it’s fucked up. not to mention the shame all over again.,0 "I feel like I'll finally start to gain some traction, and then the thought will come back strong a couple weeks later. It's disheartening, but I try to remember that I at least went *some* time without the thought. One day at a time and small victories, I suppose!",0 "I am so proud of you, congratulations!! And never give up!",0 "“WAIT WAIT —“ *Searches desperately for pen.* “—HOW ARE YOU SPELLING ‘planner’?” Reader, there was no pen. There is never a pen.",1 "Not gonna lie, I just read your title, upvoted, saved and will get back to this ""later"".",1 "School for me was awesome. I got to constantly learn all kinds of different stuff so I didn’t get bored. Rubrics and deadlines meant there was no guesswork as to what needed to be turned in and when. Groups of people all studying for the same thing helped immensely in helping me get things done. I still procrastinated but I rarely got myself into bad trouble with it. My first job out of college I ended up in consulting and it was a nightmare. It was a smaller firm that had never had someone right out of college before so they didn’t have an actual training program. I was left to my own devices to look things up and ask questions when I barely knew enough to know what to ask. Management was almost entirely hands off and there were no real deadlines until I messed up or they felt I was taking too long and then I got chewed out. At the time I had no idea what was wrong with me that I would be frozen knowing I needed to work on a project or I would be in trouble but still not able to make myself do it.",1 "I don’t think “stupid”, but I think “lazy” is valid to an extent. There is such a thing as lazy thinking. Edit: Adding this [article](https://connectconsultinggroup.com/how-to-exercise-your-brain-to-avoid-lazy-thinking/). Maybe it can help someone.",1 "You don't always have the time or ability to sit with an intrusive thought, recognise it for what it is, and allow it to pass. Sometimes you just have to shake it out of your head and continue with whatever task is at hand.",0 "My guilt is so bad I feel like I’ve murder someone and I’m just waiting to get caught. I hate it, i almost want to walk into a cop shop and confess to them about this fake murder it never leaves me alone I feel like I’m always doing something bad I don’t understand. I don’t lie, I don’t cheat, I’m a firm believer in karma and think it I’m good then good will continue to happen to me.. the last two days have been horrible.. I’m guessing it’s because I relapsed w my drug of choice recently and i hate that I did it and I know it’s over I don’t have to do it again but I feel like shit for just doing it and IDK I DONT UNDERSTAND I’m constantly worried I’m not doing good enough at work even though I’ve been promoted 4 times within the past two years and I know deep down I’m amazing at my job but idk mental health sucks. I’m already on medications for things but I feel like I haven’t found the yet medication to handle my guilt and anxiety",0 "Hi yes hello highschool me who was yelled at by her mom every day after school for “being lazy” can relate big time. Jokes on her though I would just disassociate when the yelling started so I never heard anything she said... ...I’m fine...",1 Oof yeah I’ll just excuse myself and go to the bathroom if it’s someone that isn’t understanding,1 OH IM SO THANKFUL TO KNOW THAT IM NOT THE ONLY PERSON FEARING THE TOILET (its w bugs tho),0 "I haven't done my laundry in months. Every day when I get up, all I can do is just... tiredly dig through dirty clothes to find the cleanest thing to wear. I haven't made real food for myself in just as long. I constantly think that it's just because I'm a lazy piece of shit. I have the physical capability to do something about it, so clearly that means me NOT doing anything is just me being lazy. I can't work, and haven't had secure employment in almost two years. I can't pay my bills. I can't feed myself and can barely keep a roof over my head. Maybe I need to change my meds. But meds don't fix everything, I know that, and there's always something inside me that says this is my own fault. That I can fix it if I just try harder. I don't know where I'm going with this, sorry for talking about myself so much. I understand where you're coming from, and I feel your pain. I hope this passes for you.",0 "To be completely honest, since joining reddit 2 years ago I have felt so much better just knowing that other people out there feel like this as well. (This account is newer). I am so very sorry that you all feel like this, I just don’t feel so alone and afraid. I have been afraid my whole life and I’m 32. It is an extremely debilitating disorder that other people in my life really don’t understand at all.",0 "No don’t use OCD as a way to get people to wash hands A youtuber I watched gave a much better analogy Imagine u just cut a bunch of peppers and chillis Now imagine ur about to go put contacts in Wash ur hands the same way you would in that situation",0 This is exactly what I’m doing now. I’ve been going crazy for the last three days doing this exact thing,0 "At work, but this sounds interesting! Saving this to not read later!!! 😂🙃🥲😭😭😭",1 "I am so happy to finally understand why my brain is the way it is, I’ve lived with this all my life not knowing about my illness and blaming myself on it and calling myself different and weird but I finally understand that I’m not alone. 😢",0 I wish you the best of luck. Thanks for sharing your story with this sub,1 Listen when you're like me and work at walmart you never grab something from the front most items,0 I was diagnosed 2 years ago as an adult. I've been having these intrusive thoughts forever and thought I was absolutely crazy and sadistic. These things make me so sad and I hate the thoughts of my pets/ family getting hurt. I'm honestly such a sensitive and anxious person I wouldn't hurt a fly. The more I'm in support groups the more I feel a little normal.,0 "I can remember a few times during the fun bit, my mind would just wander and come up with the weirdest thing.",1 " YES! Telling me I have autism, retardation, don't have OCD and that I'm using it as an excuse, that I'm not cleaning myself properly in the shower, I'm not doing [insert task] right, lead poisoning, that I'm abusive, neglectful, mean, rude, that my texts or emails might be misunderstood (because a simple ""ok"" will somehow make them think i don't care, or hate them or something), having to stare and smile at every house and car I pass or else people will hate me, thinking ill ""sell my soul"" by accident unless I keep ""making sure"" i don't. Urges to scream profanity or blasphemy in church and school. Urges and images to murder my family because I need to ""stop"" something from happening, raping infants and children, and endless shit I'd never do even if my life depended on it. Thoughts that my own mental functions don't work right or are mixed up with each other, so I have to mental check, which paradoxically makes it really hard to focus. That my memories, thoughts, feelings, etc. Are somehow ""wrong"" and ""incorrect"", so they can't be trusted, that everything I say is a lie to manipulate people, or some shit. Having false memories of horrible things happening. Etc. Etc. Etc. So to feel just a little bit better, i sometimes count things, mental check ALOT, recheck what i know or believe just to be sure i'm, still ""me"", interact with things a certain amount of times, order, or way, and if, say, i dont do it exactly right (if I didnt touch this side the chair with my foot as hard as the other, i have to touch it a little harder than to compensate because ive gotta do the other one agian even softer to make sure i touched the chair on each side an equal amount of times, but with the overall same touch pressure ""score"") ive gotta compensate for it. Most of my rituals are mental, consantly going over things, reassuring myself, checking, reviewing, deleting, replacing, invalidating, constantly reminding myself thoughts and memories so i dont forget them, I write out some of my obessions as a compulsions, and have spent hours doing so, etc. 24/7, i can't think about anything else, and its horribly impairong. I cant focus, remember, or think almost at all because my OCD. I couldnt practice mindfulness because I couldnt stop ""checking"" to make sure i was doing it ""right"", and doing it perfectly, so i couldnt just ""let go"" and focus. I think OCD might be one of the most misunderstood disorders there is, because while most people don't understand the full scope, severity, and impairment of mental disorders, they usually have a basic idea, like: depression is sad and unmotivated, adhd is hyper and unfocused, anxiety is worrying, etc. But to most, OCD is just being clean and liking things organized and symmetrical. While some OCD people do have those traits, its a minority and far more severe than your average neat freak and for totally different reasons, and that's the part most people have no idea about. If you told people you were suicidal, they'd assume you're depressed and likely talk with you or get some kind of help. But if you told them you had thoughts and urges to murder and rape elderly people, unless you avoid stepping on the cracks in the sidewalk, you'd probably freak them out, or they might possibly call the police on you.",0 "I am literally doing this right now. Got a few hours extension on a deadline, so now I'm like, ""oh, I'm nearly done and now have more time than I thought. I can TOTALLY afford to take a Halo break. I've got PLENTY of time""",1 "I swear man and womans, My personality is so close to Jim Carrey's it's crazy. In fact I favor him when I have certain haircuts. The dude is all over the place but it seems like recently he's starting to kind of get the Zen thing going and his artist side is really coming out as I had no idea he was a painter. And I've never thought about it but gosh he's a poster boy for ADHD. Or a poster man for ADHD. I didn't have mine diagnosed until I was 40 and that was 10 years ago ish. I'm the consummate whichever side of the brain is creative is quite extraordinary and the other side that's logic and you need for mathematics for example It's pretty much just broken. And that's okay... It's just what's so Everybody have a wonderful Sunday... It's beautiful here in Nashville Tennessee, sunny and 65 to 70 degrees. Woop",1 "I think there are parts of OCD that are “perks” and make us special. I hate OCD; it’s debilitating, but I guarantee no one can dive into a subject and learn something like someone with OCD can (I research and look things up as a compulsion sometimes). or covid for example. I could keep tabs on when I touched an object that may have covid on it which prevented myself from touching my face until I washed my hands. I was very stressed about covid and it triggered my OCD, but it kept me safe. I wonder how much of my obsessiveness, even when it is not stressful, is linked to OCD. I have strong urges to be good at something or know everything about a subject. Like I HAVE to be good at it or understand it. My actions linked to that obsession could be considered a compulsion. I can say I’m thankful for that kind of obsessiveness. Now I’m going to a really kickass art school because I was obsessed with being good at art. I’m not saying it’s all good though, obviously. I had a bad obsession for months where I feared my thoughts. This fear had manifested in a few different ways throughout the past couple years, but the most recent was the worst. I think I’m on the other side now. But my OCD has now latched on to a fear of inhaling toxic fumes and I can’t paint my nails anymore. So it’s a constant battle for me. I stop one compulsion and another arises. I really hope I can make this more manageable someday. I’ve had OCD since I was a kid. It doesn’t define me, but it’s affected me in more ways than I can count. I don’t know who I would be without it. What I’m trying to say is we are all bad bitches for fighting this illness, and I am proud of every single person on this sub. We got this💪",0 "Here is my anxiety today: My kitchen is a horrendous disaster and there are no clean dishes at all I’m very hungry, but can’t eat till I wash some dishes like a plate and fork at the very least But if I’m going to do that I might as well clean the entire kitchen but I can’t clean the kitchen till I’ve eaten cause I am too hungry to do a task like that right now but I can’t eat till I’ve cleaned the kitchen….",1 "I usually just go for whatever interests me at the time. It may suck and I may not get good at it before I'm done. 4 years ago, I learned to crochet, now I'm interested in it again. Now I'm building off what I learned then. I just look at it like I'm learning so many things simultaneously that I need to switch up often. Interests always eventually cycle back. I figure by the time I'm elderly I'll be amazing at many many things.",1 Lmfao omg I thought this was such an original ocd thought of mine!,0 This is the biggest mood. Please for the love of god don’t repeat yourself I heard you and I understood I just am not able to keep up my side of the conversation right now,1 "I hear ""I want what ever ""insert my name"" is on. And then I make everyone uncomfortable by saying you have to suffer a lot.",0 Just contacted my therapist yesterday for the first time in 3 years because of this. It’s no joke. I used to have this feeling before covid but damn did it get exponentially worse over the last 2 months.,0 "I understand her. Yesterday in an attempt to decide whether or not to buy an air fryer, I completely reorganized the underneath the sink cabinets & purged kitchen appliances. I completely forgot my mission was to reorganize the countertop to see if the thing would fit. That never happened, but I did manage to remember to buy the air fryer 5 hours later.",1 That’s why I’m considering not having children. Don’t want them to suffer,0 "I was doing so terrible during the start of covid and not having school or working and my ocd was spiraling and I was experiencing derealization and kept worrying about seeing things out of the corner of my eye and panicking about going crazy and it was such a mess. Skip ahead 8 months and I’m feeling so much better :) I feel like I’m apart of the world again and my routine is back and I began to stop feeling like I wasent real (if that makes sense). I know how hard it is to imagine yourself in a different head space then you are currently but things can change for the better depending on circumstances, be brave, be strong and challenge those thoughts sometimes when you feel up too it! Recently to challenge my intrusive thoughts of being drugged I ate a chocolate that my coworker gave me without me knowing where it came from, I felt super proud and definitely enjoyed the chocolate 😂",0 I think that the weed almost magnifies my OCD but it makes it better for me because it is easy to label the thoughts as OCD and accept it. I feel like it really helps me with practicing mindfulness.,0 "For those who believe in that, myself included, Jesus does cure OCD. But he cures it using the medical miracles of medication and doctors. Sorry that things are difficult for you with your family and your illness OP",0 "I'm... so disappointed. So angry. So sad. I have narcolepsy that I got from the zika vaccination and got depression soon after at 10 when the symptoms fully appeared. I was diagnosed with Aspergers and Aspergers related OCD a year or so ago. And my depression has evolved into mixed depressive and anxiety disorder. I am now 18. I have gone to two diffrerent therapists long term. First one for 5 years or so, and the latest one for a year or so. They didn't help much. I currwntly don't go to therapy. I feel like I've wasted so much time on trying to cure myself with little success. I currently live on my own, and barely eat, do chores of any kind or go shopping. I have no social life. I've been able to start eating one or two meals a day, and even then only noodles. Despite me not eating much, I'm still normal weight or slightly overweight. I did manage to go shopoing with intense anxiety the day before and the day after that cleaned my whole apartment. I am currently working with a behavioral therapist or something close to it, and it made me sad to see that I do indeed depend on them largely to stay sane. I also work with a social worker, that is meant to help people with indipendence problems like myself. I hate myself for not being able to confront my fears fully in all my years, and I'm starting to lose hope of a successful future. I'm supposed to start online collage in a week or so, and I have no internet to use for my computer. I barely completed highschool, as I spiralled into near complete isolation and a constant state of anxiety half way through, and only got through it because of my amaizing special education teacher and teachers in general. I have practically no skills, or I feel as If I don't because I've been lying around doing nothing for years now. I'm starting to lose hope there will ever be a competent therapist that would be able to help me, I've been depressed for so long now that it's starting to show in how much therapy is available for me. Is there anything I can do to fix myself? I feel like I'm doomed to live like this for the rest of my life.",0 "Anxiety disorder and depression...is that you? How did you get your ass out of the pill bottle and onto this post. Back in your lamp you bastards, *BACK*!",1 Uhhhh.... isn't this just a more fun version of thought stopping therapy? A therapy proven to be ineffective for OCD?,0 "That is the reason of why I hate religions, I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with it. I just hate it for this reason",0 "Holy shit, I can finally go through my million backlogs and unsave everything I was never going to read!",1 "This is a huge deal! I’ve struggled with this my whole life(33), it’s my biggest insecurity. It’s gotta be in the routine or it doesn’t get done for me and this year has been shiiiiiiit for routine. Keep it up, and if you slip and forget, don’t beat yourself up! 😁",1 "Yeah it has biological explanation, it think it is also because when you just woken up you feel the need to make the point again with your fears, so that they can somehow leave you... :))",0 I wish I could do ERP but there aren’t any therapists that are certified in my state and the ones that do telecommunication sessions are too expensive :(,0 Healing from OCD in my definition is pursuing life with vigor while being mindful of my OCD and not wasting time doing compulsions,0 "For a moment I thought this was an actual infographic and I kind of began to feel guilty, then I realized",0 "OCD fetishization makes me sick. These people have no idea what it’s like to lose hours of sleep, lose relationships, and lose your grip on reality all because your internal wiring is off. Like, this isn’t cute or fun, people. This isn’t about having standards.",0 "The dishes may not be done, but the trash is taken out, the tea is organized, and you got donuts! Sounds like a productive day :)",1 "The consequences of this misconception go beyond unhelpful articles. I was never diagnosed as a child but I do have a strong suspicion now. I'm 21 and I live in a country where a Google search for adult ADHD produces a couple news articles (definitely not more than 5) and one discontinued ""helping adhd adults"" initiative. I don't even know where to start or how to go about getting evaluated in the first place because there are *zero* resources. (It's especially ridiculous compared to easy it is to request transition related healthcare here. When I decided to transition, it took a grand total of one phone call and after that it was just about setting up the necessary appointments when my doctor told me to. When I try to decide whether to get evaluated for ADHD - something that undoubtedly affects a much bigger part of the population than being trans - all the resources are for children and it's impossible to find out who I should even call.)",1 Having RANT/VENT as a flair is one of my favorite parts about this sub. Something sucky is happening but most of us will relate and offer encouragement.,1 "Ronald Laing once said something along the lines of ""the only suffering that is avoidable in life is the suffering that comes from trying to avoid suffering.""",0 "wait, I didnt even realize this problem of mine is ADHD......",1 OCD is more like Digimon than Pokemon in that it can evolve into endless forms.,0 one thing that i’ve really found that helps me a lot is just trying to write poetry to explain my abstract thoughts. it’s helped me communicate with my partner a lot and communicate a lot of my stressors and it helps me identify what the problem is by just judging my own writing and seeing what is actually bothering me. it’s worth a shot imo.,1 You have made a great first impression on me I hope to disappoint each other in the future...,1 Trying to decide how to share this with my sister in law without her thinking I'm judging her parent ing skills or her anti drug stance on my nieces/nephews adhd.,1 "I thought I was the only one who did the dishes this way! Glad to know I'm not alone. When I do them, I do them well, it just doesn't all get done at once.",1 "I literally have a group project as a final that was assigned a few days ago and it’s due tomorrow at 11:59 pm. Me and my group tried once or twice to meet up to do it. We never did and ended up procrastinating. The topic for the assignment that we chose is procrastination...",1 "EDIT: If you find my response ignorant or cold hearted I ask you to read my response to EpicOweo for further clarification. Thanks! So now that you’ve had your moment of awaking. You have two choices: 1) waste more time being mad only to have a second moment of awakening about the time you spent being angry and not being productive, or; 2) GET OFF YOUR ASS AND BE PRODUCTIVE! The choice is yours good buddy, and it’s not an easy one or one to be minimized. Mourn your loss, and get busy building your castle.",1 This feels like a personal diary I wrote for myself.,1 "Haha that’s the most accurate meme! I definitely have. Diagnosed myself with ADD, bipolar disorder, maladaptive daydreaming, schizophrenia, narcissism... it’s OCD every time. My therapist reminds me a lot:) ",0 "I feel confident in all my research until this exact moment.. Once I try to spout all my intelligence about the topic suddenly I can't remember dates, names, basics about any of it. I mean I know it I just can't remember!!",1 "It's heaven for me. Can't be late! I skip lectures normally because I can't concentrate on them, so I just study the slides and handout at home/in a library.",1 I am thankful my parents are very understanding of my OCD. I feel bad for everyone who has to go through ridicule with people they love. It just doesn’t seem fair,0 "I am so proud of you! Between my ADHD and Major Depressive Disorder, this is something that I struggle with too. I ended up printing a habit tracker and taping it to my bathroom wall. That way,but is a reminder and I can see how far I have come. Haven't missed a day since January 1! Keep it up, you can do it!",1 You know how many 0.00001% planners I got lying around... somewhere....??,1 "When I lived with my mom, she threw away my glasses thinking they were hers and they just didn’t work anymore. Not once, but twice lmao",1 The twist is that the picture on the left is the actual after-photo.,0 Or I have an appointment at 2pm it’s 11:30 which is basically 12 and I need one hour to get there so I’ll just sit here stuck in waiting mode,1 "I love this so much. Shame is a powerful emotion but I see no reason to feel any shame in asking for help to live your best life. If anything, it makes you courageous. I genuinely applaud you.",1 "I have an appointment with a psychiatrist in a few days and let’s just say reading this post helps my case. I relate to this so much. Yesterday it took me the whole day just to clean the 1st floor of my student apartment (living room/dining room/kitchen areas plus bathroom and a whole lot floor soace) and I have a messy cat which doesn’t help. It took me at least ten hours to sweep/vacuum/mop the area. That still doesn’t include doing the dishes, sweeping up the tables/countertops. Sorry to hijack your post. I just needed to vent",1 "Or even worse if you're cooking naked, to cut something off...",0 "Thank you for making this post! I’m about to show my Mom this the next time i see her because she had the same exact reaction, especially when I tried to explain my contamination compulsions. She was like, “ok but your room and bathroom are so messy so........I don’t get it.” ",0 "If I don't think ""they will be alright, it's fine."", I won't feel better",0 Not me opening Reddit at 1:23am to this at the top of my page 😬,1 This sounds like me doing the dishes...and any other sort of housework coming to think of it. She’s not alone :-),1 "I love that you went through your internal justification for this. :) I think this was a great decision. I have a hard time asking for help. But when I look at the people who are the happiest and most successful in life-- the ones who seem to ""have it all""-- they all hire personal assistants. Or housekeepers. Or real Nannies. Because we can't do it all ourselves, especially when we have ADHD. It's important to be able to recognize when you need a hand to take some things off your plate... and there's no shame in that.",1 I don't think it's always as simple as that. It's also a matter of what's hit when we wake up. I think my suffering is to let the dopamine level off after having a day in which I did not have control of my life. The day is the sound of static and the night beings order to that and becomes harmony. I need to hear the beautiful sounds of a less scattered night time mind to have any chance at dealing what I wake up to.,1 "Pro tip: Get some quality lotion, apply generously before bed and throughout the day. Consider switching out your soap too, some are more gentle on your hands than others. Anybody else have any tips for folks struggling with handwashing? Please do chime in:)",0 "I started making folders on my phone to organize screenshots and it’s pretty great. I get most things organized, obviously not strict about it or do it every time. But I’m glad it’s easier to access a lot of things.",1 "Not to be political one here but one way I deal with my intrusive thoughts is imagining them as some conservative on Twitter talking bullshit at me. “You’re an awful person who needs to die to make sure you don’t hurt anyone and anyone who says otherwise has been manipulated by you” yea okay sure, Sheryl, go watch OAN",0 This gives me so much hope as I also have existential OCD. May I kindly ask what were your triggers?,0 What do you call it if you have intrusive thoughts about various things and a couple compulsions but it's probably not enough to warrant a diagnosis? I mean like I get things way less bad than what I see here but I still spend a good portion of the day worrying about whether or not I'm a narcissistic sociopath among other things.,0 Omg same!! I have an email to reply to and it's been a month and a half 🙈 why can't I just sit down and compose it?! I'll give you a 10000 reasons why now isn't the right time 😭,1 60% of the time i believe its not me. But the rest is difficult,0 It's like some kind of goddamn gray wall springs up in front of me. And my mind can't grasp any aspect of the project I need to do.,1 "Great post, and you've given me a lot to think about.",1 "The mind has 2 modes of looking at the senses: attention and awareness. Attention is how you're reading this right now. Awareness is the fact that you can still see the environment around you even though your attention is here. I think ADHD is less to do with attention and more to do with the inability to close down awareness. It's awareness surplus disorder. The outcome is that it feels like attention is at a deficit because the increased field of awareness is constantly distracting attention. Awareness is much less filtered in an ADHD brain which is why you notice so much more peripheral detail while missing things right under your nose. Unfortunately this doesn't just apply to the external senses but also the internal ones - mental images, mental talk and audio, physical and emotional feeling, and so on. There's much less of an ability to tune out of that stuff which can be very distracting and disturbing.",1 "Welcome to the island of misfit toys! Oh sorry, its actually the island of 'perfectly fitting toys'.",0 "I actually didn’t realise infodumping was a symptom of ADHD. Thank you for telling me this. I thought it was just something I consciously did but I always kind of look over stuff and be like yeah I layered that on a bit too thick. Now I realise it’s actually a side effect of something I have that makes me subconsciously do it. The last two, skipping meals and letting food get cold is also a problem for me, but more of a problem because I’m into bodybuilding so have to eat a lot.",1 "Someone I know who has struggled to understand my OCD through the years told me they're having a lot of anxiety over knowing how much to wash, when to stop and how much is too much. It was ironic",0 "Sometimes even when I make the appointment on the phone I repeat the time and date even if I understood the person on the phone very well. Even when the person confirmes that I repeated it correctly, I have the fear that she maybe has misunderstood the time and I will be late on the appointment. That kind of overthinking is so exhausting.",0 "I always light up a scented candle to work. I don't know what's going on, but it works.",1 "I'm not OCD but follow this thread because I struggle with intrusive thoughts like this. I remember confessing something similar to my garbage guidance counselor in high school (also the football coach and hired more for that). He basically freaked out, left the room, and then came back told me to get help from someone else. I'm so grateful to see material like this because it makes me feel a lot more sane and relatable. Also, hilarious :)",0 It’s also the physical response from searching actions or thoughts. Not just symptoms.,0 "Interesting. Yes, isnt it chapter 5, verse 32 of the new testament: ’And upon completion of his psych degree, the lord did stocketh his cupboard full of the most richeous SSRI’s’",0 "You did it!!!! You showed yourself how powerful you really are. OCD has nothing on your strength and ability to say you don’t care. Now you have evidence, you can do it again:)",0 I have speech impairments too and it's terrible. I basically just never talk to anyone,1 Thanks..... just let me read all the comments first,1 "Just stopping by just to say you're GORGEOUS ♥️ Okay, Bye!",0 "All of you folks suffering with ADHD and depression, please please please consider meditation! The three pillars of ADHD are meditation, medication and nutrition. Most people are not doing anything similar to meditation in their routine so typically this is an area people lack experience in. Meditation allows you to quiet the roaring noise that is your thoughts. It doesn't work over night, but if you can make a habit out of it, it is a very powerful tool. And not only that, but it requires exactly zero effort to do, you literally just sit there quietly and focus on your breathing, every time you mind wanders just slowly find your way back to your breath. I guarantee if you do this for 15 minutes every morning instead of hitting those alarms over and over again, within a week you will notice a substantial difference in your attention span, and also your mood! Meditation has been used for thousands of years (that we know of) all around the world. It is a natural antidepressant and a great way to find inner peace and harmony. I've been doing it for about two years now and my life has finally started to fall into place as a 29 year old man with only recently diagnosed ADHD. I can't stress this enough, this is something that really does actually work. When I meditate in the morning, I enjoy every single thing that I do throughout the day significantly more than I would have had I not mediated that day. You simply have more capacity for patience, love and empathy. This comes off as a vibe to the people around you as people are inherently sensitive to things like this. Once you get into a habit of doing this, all of the other things can slowly fall into place. Help yourself, love yourself. You are the only one that can change your situation.",1 "I can feel the weight on your heart and the strength you have to be able to bear such a burden. Strength to have such a positive perspective on life, yet you've suffered so much. I get the similar feeling when reading your post to the feeling I get when I think about the Thestrals from Harry Potter. Sometimes, we find our greatest strengths when we are in our darkest places. As you know all too well, that's not always the case. But it seems like you've found strength somewhere. For this, I am relieved. I know you will be okay, even if it's for nothing else but the penguins (you saying this gave me a sorrowful chuckle...penguins are awesome). I'm so truly touched by your persistence, and so truly touched by your compassion. I'm sure you are a great friend and so were they. I wish you didn't have to go on without them. The experience of surviving on is a horrible...dreadful one. One that changes a person's very core--One that will resonate through your bones until your own end of times. But it cannot be changed. I once had an epiphany when I was suffering the loss of my 32 year old brother almost 8 years ago now to reckless driving on his account (no need to console me, much time has passed). I had been in very dark times for a few years. Drugs, drinking, slipping university grades, discovering I had ADHD for the first time and fighting the stigma. One day I couldn't find the courage to move out of bed. It was a beautiful day, my friends were hanging out, and I wanted none of it. I lied in bed, lights off, curtains closed, and in the dark. I wish I knew how to say this better, but basically in that moment a switch flipped in my head. I was done with the darkness. I didn't want to be sad in the dark. ""Damnit"", I said, ""if I'm gonna be this fucking sad, I'm at least gonna go be sad in the sunlight were it's pretty"". I think ever since then I've been okay with life. Even when it got really, really difficult I still had a baseline feeling of being content. Am I always happy? No, even after 8 years I still cry. I cry for my loss, I cry for the loss my mother and father must suffer, and for the loss his widow and his children aged 8 and 3 at the time now have to bare. And I still dream about him, though he has become different and ghastly in my dreams. I still love seeing him in my dreams even if they are haunting. He use to tell me in my dreams that he was okay now (I'm not very religious). Now he just stands there...and stares. Motionless. I can hug him, and he will hug back. But he squeezes me so tightly I can't breath, and says nothing. When I stop, he just stares at me again. I'm sorry I got a little side tracked. You said something about sharing and I feel like there is also strength in companionship between people who have suffered. I think that reading your post has caused me to re-experience some things. You're compassion and strength knows no bounds. You've struck my core humanity and I've never met you. Your spirit is one that is vibrant and colorful, and even in the face of darkness you will persist. Keep on keeping on. Thank you for sharing.",1 "Luckily I don't have a lot of problems with the toilet, but I WILL NOT touch any kind of shower or tub drain. I cannot stand on them and it makes taking a 'relaxing' bath incredibly difficult. I mean I start to freak out if my feet or hands get within a foot of a drain. Standing showers with the drain right in the middle of the stall are nightmare fuel.",0 "I'm so happy I found this post. My mom is spiritual, and 110% believes in manifestation and really made it seem like people with anxiety just got the short end of the stick. Everytime I would tell her an anxious thought, she just said ""well if you think it then its gonna happen."" It made me feel terrible.",0 Damn that looks almost exactly like my jacket. It's my favourite piece of clothing,0 "There's a new service called https://www.focusmate.com that connects you to others committed to getting stuff done in real-time together. Not exactly same idea but similar concept. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks simple and fun.",1 "Wow this is amazing, truly beautiful. You’re super talented. 😊",0 "Exactly now try having a former military boss who is used to ""you do things cause you're told"" and ""I do things because I'm told"" he is baffled when you don't listen to his demonstrably inefficient commands",1 "My spouse is my favorite person on the planet, and one of the many reasons is because if I Just. Need. Quiet! he doesn’t take it personally at all, he just takes the dog/cat/whatever other thing is making noise, and goes away. When I come to find him and say thanks once I’ve drained off some of the tight wind up, he just acts like it’s a perfectly normal thing to need a few minutes, why wouldn’t it be?",1 I didn't realize that Scrubs ever had moments that were this serious. Wow.,0 "I also restisted successfully! It usually takes me 15-60 minutes to get from my front door to outside (3 story apartment building). Today it took less than 5 minutes (same thing on the way back up)! Im very proud that you too had a success :) Keep going like this friend! Edit: Two minutes after posting this comment I caught myself humming happy songs. Thank you for sharing your happy moment <3",0 I convinced myself i had ALS. I was absolutely petrified. Got my doctor to check me over and test me and I'm fine. Now I'm petrified of covid coz i have lots of health issues and am on the plumper side.,0 "I have to pee. I’m literally procrastinating on that. Ok, time to put the phone down.",1 "Holy shit. Lately I realized if I think about doing something, a chore, a project, even just a conversation with someone it FEELS like I've done it!!! And then I usually don't actually do it!",1 "This is really cool. I can't help, but I wish you the best. Keep drawing.",0 I'm afraid that's exactly what I'll do with this post,1 "I've 100% been there OP! It's hard to see the line between being cautious and OCD/Germophobic sometimes. What I've lately done is ask myself whether what I touched is really related to COVID and what happens if I don't wash. Getting better at it my hands used to look the same. It's a fight!!",0 "I tried to explain my ADD (I say ""my"" because honestly it's different for everyone) to a colleague today and feel like I barely scraped the surface. Like no, it doesn't mean I *can't* focus or do things well, it's that I normally don't because my brain won't let me no matter how much I want to do it or have it done. It could be something as simple as taking out the trash, but if my brain won't let me it just won't happen. I'm *very* behind in all three of my college classes right now. Do I want to be behind? No. Nobody *wants* to be failing a single class, let alone three at once. But my ADD means it takes me way longer than it should to get things done once I even start.",1 "Newly diagnosed a few months ago. Me to a T. I always thought I was just weird and alone and was ashamed. I'm so happy I'm not alone.",1 Same with tiktok I’m on the OCD tag searching for actual people with ocd and I keep getting videos about organization and it’s SO ANNOYING,0 "Instead of going for the diagnosis I needed I got really into productivity and motivation podcasts. Like Tim Ferris, Tony Robbins, etc. I used to listen to them on my long bus rides to school. Yeah sure, they helped a little, but holy fuck what I really needed was a diagnosis and treatment. I basically had imposter syndrome, I was doing well at school, so yeah I was like ""yeah i might have ADHD but really it must be a problem with my productivity."" Lol Jesus what a individualistic capitalistic answer to a neurodevelopmental issue.",1 "Imma save it to read later. Or have someone read for me, but I've felt it already.",1 "You are literally describing my day today, lol! I think I can only handle one major thing per day. Any more than that and I start to panic.",1 "I saw some post that was like “ people who don’t use their blinker literally won’t lift a finger to cooperate” and I thought hold on, who tf neglects their blinker on purpose and it occurred to me that maybe the reason why everyone is so mad when I make mistakes or forget things is because if THEY had done it, it would be because they were being uncooperative and antisocial (I.e. they want someone else to do the thing) and they don’t understand that is not what’s happening when I neglect things ( usually, every so often I really do just hope someone else will do it but that’s extremely rare)",1 "I can relate to this so much. I’m always wanted to be a writer. I have ideas all the time and I keep starting but I never finish anything. My writing by itself is really good; clear descriptions, nice prose etc. But I have no practice with tying things together, developing character arcs or any of that, because I never get far enough.",1 "And yet, you were still up until 1AM anyway. Weren't you OP?!? ADMIT IT!",1 Never thought about this before and it’s so true. That said I also text sentence or thought by thought in separate texts instead of one long text.,1 i tho i was the only one arguing with my ocd like that 😂,0 "My dad used to say ""if the house was on fire you'd be able to get up"" as if that logic would prove there was no excuse for me struggling to get out of bed. Now I'm 30 and on a waiting list for an evaluation and he jokes ""you on Ritalin would either be a genius or a space cadet!"" Dude is so close to *getting it*.",1 "If anyone wants to try a out of the box idea, I would suggest getting a kids music toothbrush. Yes you heard me, the electric toothbrushes that why your brush you can hear the song in your head. It is a great tool to help you focus more on the song and less of the sensory load of brushing. As well kids brushes and small and soft. You can do it :)",1 I know! Oh my word I have just been referred her by my advice post because I’m so absolutely scared shitless whenever I have to go outside my “safe” zone. Going to the grocery store caused me a giant panic attack. Yay thanks OCD,0 Every sentence applies to my OCD. I will most definitely use this. Thank you so much.,0 "I've been trying to find a way to describe this, and word for word you I share my exact thoughts with you! I'm also trying to get back in college full time but it seems absolutely impossible despite having a great work schedule.",1 "This is great, except that I don’t like shaking hands 😫😝",0 Every time I’m in line at TSA I think of terrorists and want to tell everyone I’m with my opinions on how ineffective TSA is...,0 Omg all the time. This is why I don’t really watch movies! I mainly stick to series because I’m more inclined to focus for short periods,1 "OCD about the pandemic. No one can help me, because I have lost my ability to help myself. I have been locked in my home for over 21 months. I am going insane. Think of just wanting to just die. I will not hurt myself because I love Jesus. But since I can just barely eat all processed foods from Amazon. I am slowly dying. The isolation and loneliness are crushing.",0 "this... isnt nice... this isnt beatiful... This is super nicely done and beatiful! 👏",0 Ph my god same 24/7 then it’s my biggest pet piece when other people do it and I think I’m a huge hypocrite too,0 He looks slightly too much like George III in the nose. I might tremble slightly...,0 "I started going and watching his movies around the time I was researching and getting diagnosed. Purely coincidence though, I just noticed Netflix had a lot of Jim Carrey movies around that time and once I started I just kept going. Now 4 of his movies are in my favourites list (probably a pretty long list but still, pretty sure he's the most repeated actor in my favourites.",1 I spent nearly ten years thinking that my intrusive thoughts caused my grandmother’s passing and was absolutely convinced that I was responsible for her death. Then I learned what this disease was and I never felt more relief and sadness simultaneously.,0 "Last night, the regret reel was playing. It wouldn't let go.",0 Yeah I’ve been real bad lately but it’s got nothing to do with getting sick,0 "My OCD convincing me I'm a repressed serial killer, because I put a grasshopper in a bucket of ants when I was 8.",0 Not only it's irritating but also made me want to eat some watermelon while being unable to get one right now.,0 "Yea, I needed that ADHD being a ""thing"" when I was kid. Sadly that was almost lifetime ago. :/ And agree, its stupid, given ADHD isnt actually at all new thing. I suspect its with mankind almost as long as it exists.",1 Ugh. No dude. I wish I had a tidy house. Instead I had a two hour panic attack because I couldn’t remember if I washed my hands after bringing in the mail.,0 In a similar way I have this strong tendency to pre-emptively feel anger or frustration from events that have not (or may not) even happen.,1 "Thanks for posting this, I've had swollen lymph nodes and night sweats for years, just made an appointment to get seen.",1 "Diagnosed 2 years ago at 30 years old, 20 years of being told I need to stop being lazy, just try harder and pay attention... 10 years of friends and family wondering why I would not just go to college again and go to class this time, instead wasting my time with minimum wage jobs 6 months at a time... The last 2 years have been the best of my life and this post means a lot to me as I'm sure you can understand. I appreciate this sub and I really appreciate you making this post. Thanks, I feel the connection.",1 "Wow, I didn’t even realize this was abnormal. Some days I’ll just wonder if I accidentally hit and ran someone on the freeway",0 "I'm not in the place to do this but wow this is such a big brain idea, and beyond that, thank you for the ADHD friendly formatting! I can't feel how all those steps were huge to take but thanks for doing it and laying it all out, takes massive courage!",1 Great work! I know how hard it is! Now go reward yourself with a (non-compulsion related) treat. You’ve earned it :),0 And then I have obsessive thoughts about faking ocd lmao,0 "Idk, maybe you are faking it, maybe you aren’t. What I do know is that you have the power to choose to accept that uncertainty and keep living your life even though there’s a possibility that you’re just pretending to have OCD or another mental illness for some reason",0 I started going to therapy a few months back and just being able to openly talk about this stuff has help me a ton. The thoughts still happen but Im getting better at how I react to them.,0 "“The light at the end of the tunnel is just the light of an oncoming train.” ― Robert Lowell",1 "Truth: you are a beautiful, special and unique individual with so much to give. We love you. We’re here for you.",0 Greatest meme here in a while. Thanks for the laugh!,0 Is that a Daytona I see? Ignore the knife and fork - the watch cancels it out. All is well. ,0 "Empathy 100% Currently losing sleep over a 4-hour task I had 3 weeks to do. Due in 9 hours. Go time! Right after I check r/ADHD.",1 "Low key my "" solution "" to this in school was to just cll it quits and go do the fun thing. Sadly I have found this doesn't work as an adult. WYM I can't leave the office to go on a hike??! SOUNDS FAKE",1 "My therapist does this to me all the time. “Well, try not to let it bother you.” My dude, I have OCD and repetitive thoughts",0 "I don't think I'm a bad person, I know I'm a good person, as far as people go (we're all a bit horrible, and prone to bad decisions at times) - BUT I have always felt that I'm ""not quite right"". I've never been totally sure what about me isn't right. Even after diagnosis, I'm still sure there is something wrong with me. Maybe my meds aren't working properly idk. But there is something that isn't the way it should be. People are flawed, and they have underlying illnesses, weaknesses... But this is more than that because its a persistent knowledge, perhaps even obsession, with something being wrong with me. This isn't like a hyperchondriac thing either (though I do have many ailments) because I don't think it's a medical problem. I don't know what it is. So your post has been both reassuring and worrying. Reassuring in that maybe I'm not alone in it, and worrying that its unlikely to be resolved.",1 "I am actively crying right now suffering over a mountain of grading I need to do because I can't get this stupid brain to just start the thing and I reallllllly need to have a good day so I can make the appointment with my doctor to at least see if medication is going to work for me. I'm getting too old to do all nighters, but I'm having 8:30 pm coffee, so let's gooooooo.",1 "I constantly think about death, of my loved ones, pets, and even myself. I take pictures a lot so I can have them in that case and it's hard to focus on now. And it's a real drag to think about death all day.",0 "I don’t necessarily use a lot of commas per se. I’m meticulous about making sure I use them properly; however, I do use a lot of punctuation for the reasons you stated. Or, I go overboard with formatting to make sure my main points are understood. I can be very wordy in email and text 😅😪",1 "I would say this is true generally about people, but moreso for people with ADHD. Positive reinforcement just works better than negative/criticism, for animals and people.",1 "Yeah, and I realized that, unless I am incredibly stoked about seeing said movie, I've found it's hard for me to finish a movie without someone else there watching it with me to prevent me from stopping it when it is ""too boring"" (2 minutes in) or I begin the inevitable search for ""a better movie""",1 Your hocd intrusive thoughts are so me right now :(,0 "Woah. I feel so seen. I haven’t done this very recently since everything is digital, but this was a bit one for me in school. I didn’t ever connect it to OCD. Thank you for sharing and enlightening me.",0 "I feel like that's gonna happen to my dad. We have the money, he just ignores us when we tell him to go to the doctor, and that that mole on his head looks sketchy. My grandfather died at 62, because he was scared of hospitals and refused to go (along with hid symptoms from his family). Turned out he had cancer- one which had a 90% survivable rate even back then, had he sought treatment. I'm scared my Dad will wind up like the grandather I've never meant. He's healthy in general (normal bmi, eats salad basically everyday, takes vitamins, walks a couple miles eavh day), but ignoring health issues will get him killed. . He's in his mid 50's now, so it's not as though youth will protect him.",1 "What's funny is I only read the first 12 words and was like ""I think we may be related""! 😂 I didn't read the rest of the OP's question of saving a post to read later. I would never. I know myself better now. ADHD, my friend and foe.",1 "F in the chat bois! ​ F Edit: also yeah, I feel ya. Can relate :-(",1 Can't tell you how many veggies I through out because I forget to eat them. I started buying frozen more often and now they last longer so I don't waste.,1 Yes this shit is what makes me weigh cost/ benefit of murder. Fuck these assholes that belittle the hardest part of my life.,1 But I don’t wanna tidy up! I wanna sit here amongst all the mess feeling tense and guilty about not doing it and eating to make myself feel better!,1 This right here. I feel so guilty for venting a panic attack or a mental breakdown to friends. I really don't want be an abusive person,0 "If it's worth doing (ex: folding laundry), it's worth doing shittily (fold em quick, it doesn't have to be perfect like you want, it just needs to be folded so it doesn't get wrinkly bc you left it in the basket)",1 my top playing artist is someone I discovered in August and my top genre is lo-fi beats because I need noise to sleep lmao,1 "Stop trying to run away from thoughts/feelings. Acknowledge them, honor them, look them in the eye - eventually, they'll decrease. This secret ended my 15 years of misery, 15 years of trying to avoid my thoughts/feelings. Obviously it's not that simple, like flipping a switch. But in time it will get easier.",0 "Others that could've been on here: ""My house is so dirty, I wish I had OCD so it would be clean"" ""If you pass this test, you have OCD!"" \*some other things\*",0 "This is me, every morning, until I get to meditate; won't lie, it doesn't exactly stop it, but it becomes a little manageable! Vipassana technique, closed eyes, total focus on your breath for 10 minutes straight! Takes practice for the entire of ten minutes ofcourse.",0 Also my brain when I tell myself all the doors are locked and I don’t need to check them again,0 "This is exactly me. Even in the simplest situations. But I am also diagnosed GAD, so it might be that.",0 "I ALWAYS say “shut up”, “stop idiot” or “fucking stop” to myself. I do it hundreds of times per day. :/",0 "i feel this. especially with college, i hate the way i know i’m perfectly capable of doing the work, passing the tests, and getting good grades, i just can’t get myself to sit down and actually do assignments or study. on top of not being able to simple household stuff like dishes and laundry so everything is a mess. it just makes me feel so depressed to the point that i just don’t even care and it makes everything worse and it’s just an endless, terrible cycle. i don’t even know how to get myself out at this point. i finally got a diagnosis after months of waiting to get in with the doctor, now trying to get with a doctor to start meds is taking forever. i just feel hopeless and like such a failure right now.",1 "Oh yes. Paris cafe candle from bath and body works makes the house smell like a cafe, lofi or coffeeshop sounds in the background. This was how I studied for my healthcare selling exam in one week for work.",1 "Ah yes, this is one of the ones I'm really glad I lucked out and didn't develop.",0 God I can’t even count the times I can vividly recall these horrors. I have a very hard time with certain foods too and my mom and I would battle it out daily over either food or cleaning my room in addition to all the other horrible overstimulating events. I had a reading level of a college freshman in 6th grade and failed reading multiple times. I wonder why no one thought there was a problem 😂,1 Lol. If I wake up in the middle of the night I’m pretty much fucked until like an hour before I have to wake up. Which is like 4 times a week. Yayyy!,0 20 seconds all that's necessary I promise! Wishing you the best <3,0 "When I was a kid I would lie awake at night and cry thinking “what if my parents died” “what would I do” “how could I go on” and really go into a lot of detail thinking about the answers to those questions. It eventually happened less and less and then when my relationship with my partner got serious it came back with “what would I do if my partner died” “what would I do” “how could I go on” and eventually got less and less and then when I had a baby it became “what if my baby died” “what would I do” “how could I bear to live” - it’s definitely the worst with the baby. I haven’t been formally diagnosed with OCD (or anxiety) but a sibling of mine has and I feel like we are cut from the same cloth. Who knows... Edit: Thanks for posting this btw - I feel like OCD comes in so many forms and only the few most common issues are talked about. Makes me feel like less of a weirdo, haha ☺️",0 "Yes, I'm the same as many others here. It frustrates me and I have tried different memory-tecniques to help me, with some success. Yet a few months ago I came across an article saying the ADHD people's long-term memory is not necessary worse than someone without ADHD. It's more about how the information is taken up when using the short term memory. So to remember things to the long-term memory, I'm basically trying to re-learn how I have learnt things during my whole life - since this is how the school tought me. It's an adventure for sure. It would also help if I would have remembered to actually practise this 😂 If anyone's interested I can see if I can find the article and link it here.",1 "This is so perfectly explained, thanks. After 2+ weeks of hardly any OCD (momentum sure is amazing once you’re in it) thoughts are popping up here and there, begging to be ruminated over, asking for that sweet sweet reassurance. Thanks for reminding me that that’s not the way to go. From your experience: When not engaging in these thoughts and therefore teaching your brain that they’re not important, have you found that certain topics overall they pop up less? Or do you just become better at dismissing them? (Ideally I’d hope for the first to happen but I guess in reality it’s more about the second… it’s not like people without OCD are incapable of ever thinking something unpleasant, they’re just better able to let it pass and disregard it.)",0 "Me: wow why didn't I think of that, I'm gonna get up and go for that run My brain the whole run: *1,000,000,0000 wpm* Me: ahhh, so cured",1 "Omg feeling the personal attack coming on lol On a serious note that’s me rewriting the same thing over and over again on a new piece of paper because the line across the “T” was either to long or to short.",0 What do those numbers even indicate? As in what quantity is it measuring?,0 """If you weren't OCD before START NOW!"" *looks at dry crusted bloody hands from being washed every 20 minutes*",0 "I love this image, its so succinctly spot on and understandable. I hope that some people who see it might better understand the effect of their words and be more thoughtful. Also, the colors spread are so pleasant I can't stop staring at it.",0 imagine: a 3pm appointment being your only option because you also have chronic insomnia/sleep issues and any time before that is setting yourself up for failure,1 "I’ve spent hundreds of dollars on clothes I don’t need because it’s easier than doing laundry This is crippling",1 "nothing i can say that anyone here hasn’t already, but if you’re also one of us currently in the winter season then that’s a triple threat. sending you strength and cleanliness",0 "I don’t have much of an issue (sensory or otherwise) with brushing my teeth, but I do find Arm and Hammer’s baking soda toothpastes way better to use than regular toothpastes, which give an unpleasant “squeaky” feeling against my teeth. The task is actually pretty nice and satisfying with baking soda toothpaste and one of those Asian toothbrushes with the thin, pointed bristles. Just sharing in case this helps anyone, and congrats, OP!",1 no yeah me too!!!! my grandma had some people working on our house earlier this week and there was a lottt of loud loud noises as soon as a woke up.. and me not being a morning person as well as dealing with that overstimulation i was totally pissed and kept snapping at people!! my family is generally pretty loud and it gets me so pissed in the moment.. i end up feeling terrible a hour later too!,1 i was just telling my boyfriend ab this. We’re making bug strides as a couple so my anxiety has had great fun with it. I am so happy with gina bd we have so much good and so much good in the future and my anxiety keeps hitting me with intrusive thoughts of bad stuff that isn’t even relevant till at least 5 years down the road. Then I would be fine and we’d start hugging or cuddling and then I’d get upset because I would start to worry about something bad happening,0 "I'm dumb, can someone knowledgeable explain what the image means. As in, does it mean there is way more activity in the frontal cortex of an OCD brain?",0 ya can say from the other side that it is certainly NOT desirable,0 "That's exactly how it feels. But if you keep going, the fire goes out. To make room for a dozen more fires",0 "Absolutely! It doesn’t matter if I’ve just woken up from a full 8 hours of sleep. When my brother asks me to help him with a self tape, my energy is immediately drained as though I haven’t slept in 2 years.",1 Don’t try to invalidate this person because their form of OCD or perception of OCD doesn’t match yours.,0 "Holy fuck I've been procrastinating on cleaning the house all day. I've only got the kitchen and the living room done. I still have to do my room, the bathroom, and the laundry room.",1 "Mod note to people reporting this post. It's related to OCD enough that it's supportive, and right now, we all can use an extra cute puppy hug. 💕",0 "Idk, Im pretty sure the world is out to get me. And I know it mostly comes from my ADD since I cant fucking be consistent or control how much I tell people or how I talk to people. People take their best friends and consistent friends for granted",1 "Whoa. This is me right now. I am ""researching"" at this very moment for my research paper entitled The Effect of Late Diagnosis ADHD on Self Perception in Adult Women. So far so gooooood??? I don't know. I never know. I will write it all out, fuck around with it 'til the last possible minute and hand it in OR I will decide it's ""done enough"", hand it in and then pretend like it never happened. EDIT: it is due tomorrow at midnight so I'm pretty impressed with my self",1 "I have to put my phone in the other room, otherwise I get distracted and suddenly a 2 hour film becomes a 3 hour film",1 "In todays episode of this: Trying to watch television, prevent cat from eating my food and this is the prime opportunity to tell me a story about someone getting in a street fight 12 years ago...... I can't even imagine what my face was looking like. I probably look offended.",1 I saved a post about cleaning silver stuff. My silver rings lies somewhere waiting for me to clean them 🙃,1 Is there guilt OCD as well? It is very difficult to accept my feelings and thoughts,0 "That’s absolutely brilliant! It makes sense, though. The only time I actually follow through with anything is if it’s for someone else ",1 "Literally ME. Paper towel/ tissue is your friend lol",0 "omfg, this is soooo me. I actually find myself rewinding things all the time because of this, particularly pod casts.",1 That is exactly what’s happening now. I have a test at 9am. And I am silently freaking out but still lying in bed on reddit instead of studying. Wth.,1 I have to literally say the words abstract thought over and over until it goes away or my anxiety comes down.,0 "I was standing in front of my medicine about to forget to take it for the fourth time in the fifteen minutes since I set out to take it. Thank you for this, you wonderful person!",1 I’ve now listened to half of a FoundFlix video and remember exactly none of it except the very beginning when he explained the movie is about an asbestos removal team,1 "Oh, this is part of my OCD, too? I thought it was my anxiety.",0 "YES! I am also constantly trying to figure things out. I even battle with myself about whether therapy can help, my motivation for going, researching, etc. etc. etc. Have others questioned that therapy can help? Or, how have you found clarity even briefly?",0 I do this. My family laughs at me because I even will do it with things like newspapers and magazines. I like to take from the middle of the stack.,0 "Im neurotypical but my friends said I might have adhd so now I’m reading the subreddit for adhd so pls don’t take this with too much seriousness bc idk if it’s real or not or if I’m affected by it (I don’t think so but I’m still second guessing everything so that’s why I’m here) I’m not going to read the replies bc it’s too much effort but yes holy shit??? This is exactly what I thought today. I feel like I’m behind all the time. Everyone around me is always talking about what’s mew and what’s not and especially schoool work don’t even get me started on that. It just feels like I never have anything to look forward to bc I have nothing I can fully engage with. Idk. I think I’m just stupid bc I cannot think of any other reason",1 I feel like knowing the ‘why’ makes content way more engaging because you’re learning new information and making connections. Just learning the ‘what’ doesn’t really give you that engagement boost.,1 "I had to laugh when I read this... not at you, OP, but the fact I have done this so many times. Remembering stuff only means normal me plus high anxiety and going thru my head ""why aren't you moving? why is this not happen.... oh kitty""",1 "Hmm I think this happens to a lot of people that don’t have OCD. And the internet made this worse, since people kinda auto diagnose themselves based on what Google says and then they constantly worry about that. “Those who are affected by health anxiety illness phobia are convinced that harmless physical symptoms are indicators of serious disease or severe medical conditions. For example, if a person experiencing health anxiety feels their chest is getting tight, they may believe that they are having a heart attack.”",0 Religious ocd made me do and think SO much shit when i was a kid. To this day i still have a bit of it left in me and it's fucking awful.,0 "Man this hits home. I vividly remember being banned from my year 8 science lessons because I couldn’t follow through a task of drawing a diagram with a pencil. I could answer some tough questions but couldn’t follow a simple task. I ended up sitting with the deputy head every science lesson for almost the entire year. To be fair, my teacher screaming at me ‘you don’t fucking listen’ probably should’ve been an early warning I have ADHD. 17 years later and I finally got diagnosed. Even now I struggle with what many think are simple tasks. I’m a content writer but find writing about something I’m not interested in almost impossible. 300 word piece on pensions will take me days but a 3000 word piece on football will take me two hours. I do think when you’re undiagnosed and you get these punishments for things you can’t control, like not following steps, being late or unorganised, it totally kills your confidence. I now don’t do things because I know I’ll fuck them up and if someone calls me out or punishes me, it starts a cycle of low mood.",1 "that is why i dont have any bookmarks. if theres anything i want to read and save and take note on, i put it on my google keep bc i go thru that daily/when possible",1 "This is something I dealt with frequently while I was dating. I saw a specialist, did a lot of ERP, and learned a lot of techniques to help me manage this. I am currently happily married. I still have flare ups and issues to deal with but your situation is definitely not hopeless if you get the right kind of help.",0 "Yes. I recently made the decision to get help because of the debilitating fear that I one day could be cancelled, whether on a micro or macro scale, leading to my OCD diagnosis. It's known as ""real event"" OCD and seems to be talked about very little. I have the same exact compulsion of Googling things to get slight relief, feeling the constant need to confess to people, but it never truly helps. I am very sorry that you are experiencing this, I know how truly awful it is. Before learning I had OCD, I felt like my life was over and I was the only one in the world who felt this way. I'm very early along in my ERP sessions but I think that it is helping, slowly but surely. I wish you all the best. We can't let OCD win.",0 I fucking love this guy's ig. Jan Erichson IIRC. he does the stupidest shit,0 Is this why I spend more time modding Skyrim than actually playing it?,1 Looks like I’m in the minority on this but I think the balance is off. I’m glad people have a place to vent without being invalidated but the ratio of hopelessness vs success posts makes me feel down sometimes. However it seems that the sub is doing its job for the majority of people(?). I do wish there was a place for dumb asses like me who want that other side to be the dominant theme. But I can see how that could be just as frustrating. I’m glad to see a different perspective and I’m happy people find value in it. Best of luck to you OP,1 "That's pretty admirable. I can't make it up until the last seconds counting and even after that sometimes. That's definetly a milestone, you should celebrate",1 "Usually it’s 3, which is weird because I HATE any odd numbers, except for 5 because it’s the “between” point. However, TV and radio volume can never end in 1, 3, 7, or 9.",0 "When I was in middle school, my hand washing compulsion was so bad, my hands turned black. They look burnt. I remember a couple of classmates making fun of me for it.",0 "This is making my first “big girl job” so much more difficult, I feel like I waste my whole day worrying about how long the to-do list is/ how best to complete everything I need to do",0 "Your last sentence, I’ve realised that I’m no good at anything that people want to pay for and should just be fertiliser for the land already. You’re so fucking right.",1 "Hate to be that guy but having ADHD doesn't exclude you from being stupid. No need to beat yourself up but...",1 "Same here I'm sorry we deal with it it sucks My bad thing is I counteract the fear with obsessively thinking about how to cancel the people that could cancel me. Doesn't help me, because in the end no matter how much my brain lies I did nothing to be canceled for- and then I end up triggering myself because they did traumatic things to me that they COULD be canceled for, but there's no way for me to do so and get away cleanly. The anxiety spins forever onward. I'm sorry I don't have good advice but you are not alone in the feeling",0 Late to this party but wanted to chirp in and let you know one more person is wanting the best for you.,0 "Makes sense, but I wonder if something else is at play. How many redditors on this sub speak English as their first language? I know I use more commas because they are used differently in my native language.",1 "I've been there, I know this pain. I've found Eucerin cream has been the best for me, but do what's best for you of course. This will get better. Hang in there.",0 "I just had someone ask me, “Have you tried forcing yourself to do it?” I realized, “Oh, you know what? I haven’t tried that. I’ve been just sitting here not trying to do anything and wondering why I don’t get anything done.” And now I, too, am miraculously better.",1 I love this idea! What is below it? Is that a serotonin molecule?,0 "I feel it too. Modern living is hard on the soul. Why that is, I have no idea. But I've always felt disconnected from other people. It might be we all feel this way from time to time, but we can't see outside of it when it's most acute. I'm job hunting at the moment. Nothing feels more soul sucking than job hunting to me. Good luck, and just remember, you're not in this alone. No one's time is wasted by you voicing your feelings.",1 "Why do I have to check things 50 times , why do I think I did evil thing I never did , why do I have no self trust ?",0 Man I tearing up reading this. We’re the same age. Thank u.,1 "Well done! It's a hard thing to get over. I have a severe fear of the floor. Whatever touches the floor goes in the wash or the bin (unless it's footwear or furniture, obviously)",0 "Several years ago I came to the realization that I Dave more money buying small amounts of food than I do buying in bulk. Because I'd get really excited about something (like rice) think I'm gonna make all kinds of rice dishes, buy a 40 lb bag (because it's frugal, right ?) and then use one cup of it (or not even open. Sometimes paying more for less is really paying less for less. I like to think of it as giving myself room to pivot and change, which is the only constant in my life.",1 Story of my life. Within the 1st 5 mins I've zoned out. And when I get up to clean or do something I even forget to pause it...so I stay rewinding stuff..smh,1 "P much why mine and my boyfriend’s Dominant/submissive relationship works. I can’t be bothered to go put the washing on? He orders me to do it. If I’m finding it REALLY hard to make myself do it, I brat back, and he gives me more ‘incentive’ ;) So, I end up turned on AND the washing gets done!",1 Yes. Oh my god. You put it into words. I didn’t know anyone else experienced this,0 "I make a weird facial expression. It's like I'm smiling and I rehreact the muscles near my eye. so it looks like this. https://images.app.goo.gl/oMB3gCC8gPRDsif89 If I can remember I did this in public.",0 "The word origin for ""concentration"" (camp) comes from ""compacting a large number of people into a small place"" and has nothing to do with mental concentration. Other than the name the idea is actually pretty good. I'd call it ""Brain Storm Rehab"". For comparison here how some non-ADHD learn&focus camps describe themselves (random picked google result): Lumeria Maui is an educational retreat center in Hawaii offering overnight ... is an educational retreat center offering a focused setting for learning and growth, ... Annual Teaching & Learning Retreat | Everett Community ... www.everettcc.edu › programs › arts › ctt › retreat Remember when we first started thinking about the annual teaching and learning retreat? Our plan was to focus on these three areas: Love of Learning Love of ...",1 "I had heartburn for the first time in my life last night and I immediately assumed I had the 'rona. I caved to reassurance and tried my temp and everything, haha! I had no idea heartburn could affect my breathing!",0 "Number 6 is so so important. You can't guarantee that someone else will be around forever. You need to gradually learn how to cope on your own, it's the kind of thing ERP is useful for. My (harm) OCD is really tied into being alone and learning to confront being on my own is the biggest thing I've been working on since completing my CBT programme.",0 My friend told me “okay stop doing that ocd now and go back studying!” like it’s easy but I don’t even explain anymore and just tell them oh ok I’ll stop now!,0 "The worst is when you get immersed in some kind of activity and actually manage to distract yourself from the intrusive thoughts for a couple of hours, but literally the second it stops the thoughts come flooding back and you're right back where you started. ",0 "My OCD tells me I’ll hurt someone I love real bad. But I hang out with them everyday knowing there’s nothing for me to worry about.",0 "It sounds awful but the only reason this does *not* happen to me is, that I also have an eating disorder and massive anxiety about my body/looks, so that anxiety usually propells me into getting the bare minimum done.",1 "I have struggled so fucking hard in life to just be good enough... I have spent so many days on the verge of giving up because I just can't be good enough. I'm not having the greatest Saturday to begin with and man I just sat in my car crying for 10 minutes after reading this post.. Reading phrases I have heard so many times before, feeling just completely broken because I feel like I have been trying so fucking hard to make things better in life and to be good enough for others, but I am just so pathetic that to them it doesn't even seem like I tried at all. This shit has fucked up my life so bad at times. Off and on I've turned to drugs to try and be awake enough, to go to bed late enough, to be social enough or engaging enough. I have struggled with taking my vyvanse at my regular dose because maybe today if I take 2, or 3, or 4 more pills I will be able to focus enough, i will be able to do enough chores, maybe for one day at the very least I could just be good enough at one fucking thing I'd like to say I feel a bit better knowing that I am not alone in feeling this way but fuck I don't wish being in this position on anyone else. It just fucking sucks. You could love and care for someone so fucking much and try your hardest to make them happy.. and even after you have started to form better habits, even when you think you've made improvements and things are really looking better, out of the blue you will hear about how you just don't care. And then you realize, sure maybe you,ve made some small change or another, but the feeling that things are going well and maybe you can be good enough was just bullshit to make yourself feel better.",1 This is why it’s so hard to make friends as a straight guy. Feels like I always have to defend my sexuality lol.,0 "I don't drink water from any other source than my own house, and if I remember correctly, whenever I used to go to my grandma's house for the summers, I used to take three bottles of water along with me as 'survival water'. I, on a few occasions, have called water at other people's houses as poison water. I didn't think this was an OCD symptom, but apparently it is.",0 "I always describe OCD to people as a monster that holds on to your life, tortures you and doesn't let go no matter what you do to apeace it.",0 "I went in for a psych assessment to get diagnosed with ADHD, but came out with a few diagnoses, none of which were ADHD. Two of my diagnoses were GAD and OCD. While I wasn't surprised by the OCD diagnosis, I've become a little obsessed with my symptoms and intrusive thoughts. I also have come up with every reason why it doesn't fit and questioned whether I'm a fake somehow or mislead the doctor somehow... though I realized that thinking that way was probably just proving that I have OCD even more.",0 "No, my brain would be : don’t! You hear me?! Don’t handle it not carefully enough or you may cut yourself! Me: gets scarred for life (The last part I’m exaggerating a bit)",0 NO I’M NOT SURE now I have to call every friend and family member to make sure I didn’t THANK YOU,0 "Semi-related, but I adore Contrapoints so freaking much. ",0 "I think this kind of thinking is more than just an ADHD thing... Pretty much everyone in my social circle feels this same way, including me. I think a big part of it is feeding into the prophecy. If I sit there and find reasons to call myself a waste of time... I can go on forever... and I'll be right... it IS a waste of time... so it just gets worse and worse. Do the opposite and the opposite happens, right? Granted... it's not THAT easy to just ""think the opposite"" or ""do the opposite"", but I PROMISE you're capable of slight perspective changes over time.",1 "Prime ADHD there. My compliments. I cleaned mine out at 400. Still have 200.",1 When people ask me what it’s like having ocd I tell them try having a really bad day but have it about 40 times in the span of 24 hours. It is DRAINING. I understand you. And you are not alone.,0 How ironic. This comes up on my feed at 1pm the next day.,1 "Ocd: What if you're actually psychotic and hallucinate? Me: Pretty sure I don't sense things that aren't real [goes over evidence in my head, and tries to ""make"" myself hallucinate to ""check"", aka compulsions] Ocd: But maybe you're just faking you don't. What if you're lying? Maybe it's just not happening right now. Maybe you should check Webmd just in case. Oh you did and you don't match up to the symptoms, well what if i told you you did and they're wrong? etc. etc. etc. Me:(*sighs* as i compulsively go over every square inch of my mind, memory, check everything, and check that im checking to make sure im checking, try not to step on the cracks in the sidewalk, or the imaginary lines coming off of geometrically shaped objects, remind myself of what i think and believe, avoi thinking thoughts that could ""contaminate"" my mind, etc.)",0 I just always tough love myself by telling myself I'm a piece of shit and I procrastinate until the last second then get everything done. So doesn't effect me when people tough love me in a situation. It just adds to the loathing and anger which is the fuel for my post-procrastination work binge.,1 "Jk Rowling has had severe OCD so I wouldn't be surprised if this was an intentional thing. To those saying it's a mental compulsion, definitely mentally saying the word ridiculous would be. I think it's more a reframe of a classic mindfulness technique of noticing your thoughts and then redirecting your attention",0 "Don't listen to the people who say it would be back , everyone is different. For example I was one of the people who had to check my doors were locked 7 times before I left even coming back half way from my destination to check if they were locked even tho I knew in my mind I did and other complusions that I used to do from how I walked in a certain way. Until one day I just got so fed up and my brain just clicked and said fuck it and from there I haven't done no of those things for YEARS. You did it and beat it and I'm happy for you , if you feel they come back by any chance remember this time and realized nothing bad happen when you took your phone out and didn't care of your OCD .",0 My sister did the same thing. She also has adhd as well. She finally went and got checked and found out it was thyroid cancer. She was also pregnant at the time as well. After she gave birth about 5 months after the initial diagnosis she had surgery and had her thyroid removed and had the iodine radiation therapy. That was May 2019 and she recently had a scan and is still cancer free! I hope you don’t beat yourself up for procrastinating because everyone with or without adhd is guilty of it on every level! Best of luck and good vibes to friend! 💚,1 Checking the fridge is what got me I have no idea why everything I ever lost is in the frige beside the milk.,1 Just found this while procrastinating a research project. I'm going insane slowly :-) part of the ship part of the crew,1 "That's it, I'm cured!!! Just like my mom telling me I just needed to ""try harder"" in school. INSTANT CURE! /s",1 "My friends and so many other people that I know that don’t have OCD have joked about this. Googling your symptoms freaks out everybody. With OCD, we’ll just ruminate about it and worry about it more",0 Thank you for this! I identify wholly and completely and have sent the link to so many people in the last 30 minutes. lol,0 "The number of times I’ve had to dig through the trash smdh Good job!",1 Not sure if the sentence stuck in my head is made of words anymore after repeating it over and over and over and over...,0 Wow. This is a good one. I couldn't help but laugh at this.,0 "I used to get irritated with my brother’s tics as kids, his was always repeating everything he said in a whisper immediately after, and I’d ask him this. Then in elementary/high school I developed my own facial tics. Karma, I guess.",0 Who else's ADHD is kicking in trying to figure out where the fuck I'm supposed to store this beautiful information?,1 ">“They feel in control when they see the schedule they’ve devised, and they equate the time spent drawing it up with time spent carrying it out.” That's beyond accurate for me!",1 "LOL everyone in my life literally ""get to work and stop procrastinating"" thAnkS fOr thE adVicE. dO yoU haVe a hEalthY doSe oF neUrotRansmiTterS tO gO wIth tHat aDviCe""",1 "This makes me want to cry right now, but like, in a good way, I think?",0 This is great! And makes so much and I can relate to most of these. Now I have to go back and watch some of them again!,1 This is exactly why I characterize my OCD as Alex Jones,0 "I hate numbers. I fucking hate them because my OCD enforces it and makes ones like 3,4, and 7 seem like they are going to ruin my life.",0 Does anybody feel their physical location has a lot to do with this? When i'm outside I'm usually less OCD.,0 "My wife hates when I do this. There have been many times where we've wanted to go shopping on a weekend and for whatever reason we get a late start. Then I'm like, ""well, it's 12:30, kinda late to go to town now."" Then she says I'm an old man, we laugh, and then we drive to town.",1 "My top 5 songs were just the first 5 tracks off ol dirty bastards first album. I listen to other stuff plenty, but i also listen to that album every day",1 "Absolutely. I have a couple ""co-morbid"" conditions, one of which has me in a recovery community. The community can be very helpful, but there are some ""tough-love"" types who enjoy bloviating and convince themselves they're helping when usually they just drive people away. There are always a few people who it does seem to help, of course.",1 same. i had to stay home today and i feel like i wasted it even tho i couldn’t do much since i have a cold..,1 "I did not know most people are content with not knowing why. I always need to know three bullet points; what im doing, why im doing it, how im going to do it. If i don't have the critical information, i wont be invested enough to do a good job.",1 "A thing that worked for me was being able to think from the ground up, like let’s say I want to explain the concept of a sky Hook system to someone( a really neat idea that involves using rotation to yeet space craft). I start with illustrating how rotation can be used to launch things like in a catapult and build up from the most basic building blocks of a concept. It really helps to think like that too, doing that while studying also helps cause you don’t have to remember the big stuff only the small stuff and extrapolate from there.",1 This is why I have a hard time telling people what I am going through because I feel I am only doing these compulsions to get attention from people and I hate feeling like a narcissist so I usually don't tell anyone about my problems.,0 "I hear it. It makes sense. But what ARE you supposed to do to help motivate the children stuck in this cycle? I'm raising three children with various ADHD tendencies. I want to do better but I don't know how. I love them and want whats best and I certainly don't want to stress them out even more, but I can't just let them not do their schoolwork. I see so much about how parents and teachers fucked everyone up but no advice on what to do instead. It's so heartbreaking. Edit: Two out of three of them have been diagnosed. We do OT but so far meds haven't worked well for them.",1 "All. The. Time. Anything I have to send to people other than my closest friends and family. College was fucking rough. I often highlight the work to check that I didn’t “black out” (which I’ve never done, btw) and write something horribly offensive in white. It’s very frustrating.",0 BWAHAHAHAAA *wipes tear from eye* so true... *sigh*,0 It is really sad. Not until the last couple years did I start feeling like “why am I like this?” “I wish I was just normal like everyone else” it really is so hard.,0 Is it bad that my thought isn’t “I’ll die” but “I’ll kill myself if x doesn’t happen”?,0 "I shake my head violently. Or repeat things like ""I would never say that"" or try to replace the intrusive thought for something more pleasant, like thinking about kittens.",0 I have this in so many forms with my intrusive thoughts. I hate it so much.,0 Oh yes. That book (Women With Attention-Deficit Disorder) is an excellent one!,1 "This really explains my shortness of breath. Thank you for this! On a side note, I've been wondering if I'm gay/bisexual but in denial about it because of some sort of internalized homophobia, but now I'm wondering if I'm only thinking that because of OCD. So I'm even more confused about my sexuality now lol.",0 This reminds me I need to have my lymph nodes checked again.... one has been swolen and firm for at least two years but I’ve been ignoring it. Should probably get that checked out,1 "Ugh I read title as “erectile dysfunction” and I was like (as a female) OMG, I had no idea. Guess I should have paid a little more attention",1 "I hear you! This is one of the great struggles of my life. I highly recommend the work of Lynda Barry for working with this kind of thing. Her book “syllabus” has lots of exercises with fun & creative constraints that work really well for amateurs, people with our kinds of brain, and people with assorted creative blocks. Our brains can do this kind of thing, they just need different kinds of structure than NT brains. I’m still figuring out what mine needs, but I feel like I’m so much farther along than before I realized I had ADHD. I wish you a lifetime of creativity and creating.",1 "Interesting. I have never had bad memory. My problem with ADHD is a lack of motivation and difficult to being ""outside"", also a lack of sustained focus, I tend burn off easily. However since I'm taking methylphenidate my memory has increased a lot. I mean I dont remember every detail of everyday, but if I want to remember something I need to put focused effort to remember that thing. It is like ""this is important, need to remember this, time to put effort"" It is interesting because I can understand why people avoid to put focus on things thats makes them feel bad, it is related to focus, if you put hard effort onto something it will be integrated in your memory, and it works for everything, unmeaningful data, social relationships, self related thoughts, knowledge, ideas about others. In healthy neurotypicals (neurotypicals with good mental health) they have a intuitive system of self regulation like ""this will harm you or will harm your relationships if you put too much focus on this"". ADHDers if not medicated are in a increased risk for harm related to uncontrolled focus.",1 This is one of the sweetest heartwarming posts I’ve read,1 "I think it might do that because OCD thinks it can protect you - it knows you like it, so it tries to keep it safe by being high alert, but it inadvertently does the opposite.",0 "Lol even Ronald McDonald has had enough 🤣 Edit: Ronald is not lovin' it",0 "Nopes. Because my try button is broken. Most of the time it doesn't work, and when it does work it works too much. It's not that I didn't want to try, it's that I couldn't try. It's broken.",1 I was always paranoid about getting stopped in big airports. When it happened it was a small airport that exray showed something pointy in my bag. Turned out a manicure set I had been carrying around for years. Go figure. It was taken away from me before they would let me on the plane.,0 Me right now but I'm failing. I lost my resolve so I'm kinda spiralling. I'm over stimulated right now,0 You would think “intrusive” would be enough to explain it.,0 "I'll just stare at a point for 5 whole minutes trying to ignore everyone while, they call my name, so they dont break my ocd line of thought because if they do we'll be there for another 5 minutes.",0 Me today and yesterday second guessing my over thinking,0 "Congrats! I totally feel you. I went through a period where I hated brushing my teeth. So many more interesting things to do y’know? Getting braces broke me of that though, because I didn’t want to get them off and find my teeth all gross.",1 Today my sister asked me why I didn't just stop washing my hands so much and I had the same reaction.,0 "Lmao just like the parents that think that if they punish or make their child miserable enough, they will stop having adhd. Guess what, mom. I still have adhd and thanks to you, I now also have cptsd! Thanks mom! Planners just became another reason for her to abuse me lol. I had to log my homework down in the planner. Once I got home, she would take my planner and call this hotline my school had. If my planner was slightly off, I got my ass beaten. Even if I got the assignment done in class and turned it in. I wouldn't bother to log it in the planner. She thought I was lying and trying to cover up that I forgot. The kicker? I had an official diagnosis of adhd. She expected me to function like I wasn't adhd. I was beaten when ever I showed symptoms. It's like she took me having adhd as a personal attack lmao.",1 "my ADHD works real hard with my anxiety in the mornings, I am ALWAYS 15-30 minutes early to everything I do, even if it means up at 5 just so I can waste an hour and still be okay",1 This is me everyday. It's a never ending insufferable cycle of thinking you're going insane when you're just fine.,0 "My wife and I don't celebrate Valentine's day, but I might have to make an exception for a card made from this...",0 Welcome. I’m someone who doubts their diagnosis and worries constantly that it’s a product of online reaffirmation. Having some professionals in the mix on here is comforting.,0 "wtf... when did i save all these.. argh I'm just going to delete them all and start over.",1 "I was so surprised by my results because nothing seemed accurate. I have been fixated on Dua Lipa's new album for months. The only one I was genuinely surprised it was my top artist was a band that I have been listening for years and have gone to their concerts. They are always in the top 3 and I am surprised I am still not tired of them. The fact that they are a band that completely changes their style and anesthetic every album, kind of helps because it feels like different artists. And I will always defend them for changing it up instead of keeping the same style from 15 years ago like so many fan boys want them too.",1 I only get work done during 5 hours top/week. Ughhhh,1 Is this why I’ve always loved Dwight’s character? I think he’s hilarious.,0 My partner has helped me a lot as well with my ocd. Absolutely love the drawing!!!! big props!! nice to hear your story through art!!,0 "Along with not taking the trash out, I ""deep clean until the item is revealed"" Losing something is a great reason to take a day to clean under the stove.",1 Very much me. Good thing I am diagnosed now and on medication so I can regulate my emotions better and don't impulsively send messages to people calling them out for things that happened months ago. Lots of embarrassing memories there.,1 "Hahaha so true. I’m like “Come on, I just spent 2 hours hyperfocusing on learning the guitar, what do you mean I cant play Freebird yet?!!!”",1 "Definitely! Analytical mind, plus if it is not deemed as important by my brain, it seems to automatically go to the mental garbage can.",1 "fantastic! good job on getting your licence! i am 38 years old and have never driven",0 "This would have been great because no arriving at lectures 30 minutes late and everyone staring. Not that I cared that much if they stared because I didn't let myself care about that but the questions about it were annoying and missing information was annoying. Still managed a B average in my BA and an A-minus average in my MA. You can learn a lot just from BOOKS which is what I did. If the class had 9am lectures then it was a write off for me. Still I never failed anything and never got below a B- All from reading books really. And YES I am a very slow reader actually because of constantly being distracted by daydreams but I always brought myself back. My secret weapon that you guys don't have though was NO INTERNET because it didn't exist for anyone other than the military back then. I feel really sorry for you guys trying to study with internet as a distraction heaven help you!",1 "yeah ocd halluzination/sensations are really shit. like i constantly feel like somethings moving inside my stomach and i am god damn assigned male at birth XD but my ocd is like: well if you feel something and if it aint inside you it has to be inside someone else and if you dont do \*insert random ocd-behaviour\* then that becomes reality.... like srsly fuck ocd",0 "Ooh ooh! Another option: because I took my meds this morning with coffee, on an empty stomach",1 I can't stop pulling my facial hairs because they feel like plastic growing out of my face,0 "The *moment* somebody asks me a question, especially if I was doing something else, my brain grinds to the most immediate halt. Car manufacturers wish they could replicate the technology for such a fast acting break system. Its like when I get ripped from a hyperfocus. The only thing that tends to get a solid answer out of me is an actual dialogue. My brains gotta have the space to fling to the associations its used to rather than somebody trying to (unintentionally but that's what questions do) direct the thoughts.",1 "there was a time where my OCD convinced me that I'm an incestuous monster that can kill animals. I hated myself for so long, i could barely sleep at night. All because i couldn't talk to anyone about it, i felt ashamed and utterly disgusted with myself. Sometimes i wanted to just die so this could end.",0 "A common theme I see here in this subreddit is “I’m terribly hard on myself due to [insert any ADHD Symptom, today for me it was emotional dysregulation yay 😭] so I’m gonna be kind, supportive, and understanding to this random redditor”. I know this community has been nothing but supportive and understanding for myself. Which has been vital to me, since I’m either an imposter or a garbage can human being (in my own mind 😂).",1 "I love this I’m going to start paying people to come to my place for coffee a few times a week. Having people come over is the only thing that motivates me to clean. It’s not dumb if it works",1 Omg yes. For me it's my son who also has ADHD. It's really tough.,1 "All the time..like, my sleep medications that I need to actually sleep?",1 I can't count the number of days and weeks I have relived this over and over.,1 I sound like a babbling idiot because my brain wants to change the sentence structure half way through. Or because I'm elaborating on something I haven't said out loud yet.,1 "Totally relate, sometimes people look at you like “what do you mean why? Just do it!” Infuriating.",1 "I'm so glad I joined this subreddit, now I want to find a name for my intrusive thoughts xd",0 "i spoke to my brother's older friend heart to heart as he has ADHD r/ADHD he told me the stigma he faces is quite similar, he was also very informed on OCD and was himself suffering with it at some stage. i agree it's annoying seeing certain comments on Social Media when people say ''this triggers my OCD'' it is often under videos that revolve around cleaning etc.",0 That's amazing and a very helpful way of looking at it! :),0 Why should we be looking at the picture of these kids?,0 "Thats why the goal is to get to a point where you don't care whether they are there or not. Confront them, joke with them, laugh with them, laugh AT them, and you win. Intrusive thoughts aint shit. Yall got this.",0 "Seriously I have not Related to anything more. I thought I just didn’t have the patience to stick with things long enough to get good at them. Yeah, my adhd in a nutshell.",1 Mine was overtaken by The Hunchback of Notre Dame musical soundtrack and I haven't listened to it since February 😭😭,1 I mean... that's just one type of OCD. Definitely not relatable to me.,0 "OH. Fuck. I just found this sub, and this is exactly why I came looking for it. ",0 "I’ve literally been laying in bed reading reddit for 3 hours anxiety awaiting having to get up and comb my hair before my noon first zoom. I was cramming on a task all night, I finally was looking forward to something to present at work. I lost all sparkle overnight somehow. Feel like shit. Anxious, tense. Tired. Bleh.",1 "“I’m in this picture and I don’t like it!” 🙃 You also forgot bout buying new socks n undies cuz you forgot you were running out this week, and never got around to Washing ‘em! Good times!!!",1 I call this space the lukewarm chili zone. as in it feels like im drowning in it,1 This was a great reminder. It really helped me today,1 "Except from the times it tells you to run from that lion over there. Plus that one time fear kept me from killing myself. Kinda wish it hadn't",0 "It's a known technique called Body Double. The trick is to find someone to do it with that gets why it helps. And ADHD is strongly inherited, so you're onto something there, too. Another tip is to get a visual clock (one is called a Time Timer) so you can see how much time you have left instead of having to remember what time of day you are supposed to be done.",1 Im scared the result of not thinking about it is i be fooled. Im consantly afraid about being cheated again or what if all my thoughts are real and true. That’s the damn circle,0 "I feel this big time from school and work mostly and I think it the whole ""not being able to refuse tasks"" transferred into work alot. I often found myself during my teens taking on everyone else's tasks at work and in turn getting well overworked and started hating my jobs. This then led me to not working for over a year and having alot of anxiety and doubts about working again.",1 "Watch out for self-reassurance, that can become another compulsion, and we want to give OCD as little as possible. Maybe you did touch it by accident and cross-contaminate. Either way, even if things are cross-contaminated now, you still did something hard and you ate what you wanted to eat because it is your life. I am proud of you for that. You can do this.",0 this has definitely been my experience so far. I have debilitating episodes. I understand the frustration because I can't tell if something is triggering my spirals or if it's just my mind operating on a cycle of symptoms,0 The pain will end. OCD is a way of thinking but when treated properly it just fades away. Guilt and all.,0 Stayed in bed for an extra 2 hours because of that. Me rn.,0 hey i know im a little late but great job buddy! its been 3 months and i hope youre doing even better now!,0 "I really need help! I’d like to do more research on this, but not sure what to search. I really relate to this post, and it seems like there could be multiple things going on. Any insight into learning more about this from written work by ADHD and adults professionals?",1 This is me right now with a baby on my chest trying to figure out what to do (and also hoping my baby didn’t inherit my ADHD—please be like dada),1 "Oh this stresses me out. I have been hitting that ""watch later"" button relentlessly.. Does it give a warning when you reach the limit..? 👀",1 "Not always true. Every single time I meet someone i believe I'll never encounter again, my brain doesn't even hear their name. Or when doing daily commute and brain is on auto-pilot. I imagine when fully autonomous vehicles are a thing, it won't be as much of a new experience for me as it is with others.",1 "what if i just hallucinated locking the door, despite the improbability? checkmate, logic.",0 being a dumbass is a choice and apparently this person chose it,0 Adhd sucks when trying to work :( I hate the small comments like: “so are you gonna work on that?” After like 10 minutes of needing to space out. Makes me feel bad because I’m trying but I just CANT,1 haha yes! especially when you get used to it and your anxiety levels start to decrease.,0 RSD bro. I wish i could have told this to like every male role model ive ever had.,1 Ha! Oh my goodness. You had me there yet I can totally relate.,0 Makes me laugh when I see people actually believing ERP works. But good luck trying!,0 "Yup. I woke up early this morning and thought about getting ready first so I could relax until I have to leave for work. I'm still on the couch on my phone, and will likely need to rush to be on time now. Fun times!",1 "I feel personally attacked, both by this post and by myself. It is nice to not be alone, but also terrible knowing others suffer similar things.",0 Even adults that’s why adhd people are more likely to burnout faster than neurotypicals,1 "This is so true. In my final 3 years of school I developed the habit of procrastinating until I had just enough time to start and finish an assignment, at which point I would get a huge adrenaline and stress rush and do it all in one sitting, usually early in the morning without sleeping. Now it's become the only way I manage to do anything, and without tons adrenaline and looming stressful deadlines nothing gets done. Get treatment before extreme stress becomes a necessity.",1 "i just had a conversation with my psychologist about this, i told her ""i know my compulsions don't make any sense, i know they're stupid but i know the minute we're done with this conversation im going to go do my compulsions""",0 "I would've taken my clothes off and put them in that trash can then scrubbed my face and arms. How in the fuck do you avoid the normal follow up to something like that (cleaning the hell out of yourself)?? I have an extreme contamination problem and it's getting worse and worse. I'm in my mid 30's and you'd think it would get better.",0 U of M? Just heard about it and kinda scares as I live an hour away,1 "I love this!! I really believe this is something we could all do for ourselves in some way shape or form to give ourselves some compassion. I believe we’re worthy of support regardless of what anyone says otherwise. We all try so hard to tread water, sometimes it’s ok to request a float :)",1 This is exactly what art is meant for — capturing human pain and emotion on a canvas. Well done.,0 "man OCD for me feels like im trying to stand in a white void, shit just doesn't work and my mind feels blank half the time and chaotic the other with the intrusive thoughts coming in and out",0 I read this at 1am while getting one last bit if my dopamine high...,1 Oh hey that guy from Shameless was in Parks and Rec!,0 "LPT: there's a browser extension that can group saved posts by subreddit, which is immensely easier to organize later. I think it's ""Group Reddit Saved Links"" but it may only be on Chrome. I only used it before I came to my senses and said ""fuck Google""",1 "I think this sort of representation would be really helpful for so many reasons: 1. It might stop people seeing OCD as a quirky personality trait - or worse, a good habit to have (cleanliness and tidiness). This would hopefully stop people saying ""oh I'm so OCD!"" 2. It would show people what OCD is like which would encourage people to seek help for it sooner! I didn't know what I was thinking and doing was ocd for YEARS because it didn't align with media representation. 3. People might treat us with a bit more respect if they knew what we were dealing with on a daily basis (is this too optimistic?!)",0 "Ok, that explains a lot. Didn’t help that I was diagnosed 4 years ago, and I’m 22.",1 "Crazy how accurate this is. I feel like im almost at the point of not knowing anymore which one of these actually have the most power over my brain. The only time when im able to shut them up for a bit is when im really drunk",0 I feel a bit goofy if i respond to every comment but thank you everyone for all the very kind words! You guys really made my night with this. I really do appreciate it.,0 Especially at night! Looks at clock...it’s ONLY 11:34?! YES! Next time I look at clock...1:45am...damnit.,1 "holy shit i never knew that the noise thing had a name, nor that it was related to ADHD. that makes so much sense now....i'll stand there and hum the frequency of the microwave or other random things. now i know why!",1 OCD+ The illustrated character hugging you = a friend your not comfortable with,0 "Sorry for the comment on a month old post but I just really wanna share my most absurd thing I've been worried about because of ocd I was on one of the last cruises before covid. I was standing up on one of the top decks on the rail looking out at the ocean, taking some pictures and I started getting worried that I was going to drop my phone into the ocean so I put it into my pocket. Then after that I was worried I was going to accidentally grab my phone out of my pocket and throw it into the ocean as hard as I could. Luckily the shorts I was wearing had zip up pockets so I zipped up my pocket so I couldn't accidentally just grab and throw my phone. Then after a little while I started worrying ""what if I climb up onto the wall and jump off the boat and into the ocean and my phone is still in my pocket. What will I do then?"" And I took a couple steps back from the rail. Once I did that I was able to think of how absurd it was that I was so worried about dropping my phone into the ocean I was worried that if I intentionally jumped from 10 or so stories into the middle of the ocean, my phone would break, completely ignoring the fact I probably wouldn't survive jumping from that high into water, and if I did, I'd probably die of hypothermia from how cold the water is. But no my phone is what's in danger in that situation",0 Well. We all know going outside is not dangerous but the intrusive thoughtals I got after going out there is what really kill me. I don't want to deal with it at all .it will keep bring anxiousness back over and over again,0 "My brother rarely brushes his teeth or showers it's really bad. He even had a cavity for a couple months now hasn't made appointment. I worry for him but I can't force himself to brush his teeth, he also stays in bed all day and stays up all night. But he also has Asperger's.",1 "How I see it: ADHD and ASD are disabilities. They aren't 'superpowers' or we are all actually super geniuses but just need to realize our potential. It's just a thing that you are, good and bad. Having said that, I unsubbed from aspergers because there was too much self loathing for me. Are there things that are annoying about these conditions, sure. But I would say some people took it to the other extreme. But I think it's fine to find a balance.",1 this list would be so much long if you also have anxiety disorder 😔,1 I always forget to and have to go back and punctuate my things after rereading what I wrote. But hey! to each their own.,1 "Having a body double for any task works very well for me. Example: 3 foot tall stacks of filing that I can't file away- yeah not gonna fucking happen. A friend comes over, sits with me and chats while I attempt to file. Shit gets done.",1 "Update: I finished making my bed, did my homework, and my laundry is clean and in piles on the bed!",1 "I starting seeking for help when it was too late, the therapy didn’t work. Now I am on a waiting list for clinical treatment.",0 "I triple check everything. I do be getting up in the morning checking things are locked. Lucky i am on disability because if was an accountant i would be checking things too much. I remember in college i had to do the perfect exam. If i did bad in a question then the doubt would come alive. I used be trying to guess what grade i would get hundreds of times a day. I was even getting up ten times at night trying to guess what grade i would get. Took me a while to accept that other people who are not ocd dont do this.",0 I feel this! My mom always used to say to me: “you’d feel so much better if you’d just pick up after yourself”!! Like girl??? I forget to breathe sometimes??!,1 "fuck you im in bed its not even 8am you can go and suck the biggest fucking left nut you can find you absolute wanker thank you for the reminder though it means a lot",1 "I have like 1800 in mine, and like hundreds of movies/tv shows to watch, and like a couple thousand albums saved on Spotify. I'm not even sure what aspect of ADHD this is but I just cling onto every little thing I think I may like and just put it in the massive drawer of watch later/my list.",1 This might be random but something that gives me comfort about the way I speak is Elon Musk lol. He stutters/jumbles up words but you know he’s incredibly intelligent. I think the more thoughts you have the harder it is to speak.,1 its hard enough dealing with the illness but dealing with people is soo much worse my mother taunts me doesn't believe me says its fake and that i need to try and be normal,0 "I need to start carrying stickies that say ""ableist"" and just slap them on anything I see like this.",0 Well I mean if you're cyan you're sus no matter what,0 "Is taking quizzes an obsessive thing? It’s just now dawning on me that that’s a really obvious source of reassurance, for sure why that’s one of the first things I go to when I worry. I never drew the connection.",0 "As all the other comments are saying, I had no clue this was related to OCD! Turns out I’m not just overly sensitive",0 "Super duper relate to every.single.thing. on your list. I feel you OP. I feel you, exactly.",1 me but for one song that features an ancient armenian instrument that just happened to be on the gladiator soundtrack,1 "Isn’t the concept of an observer, also just more thought?",0 "I get that too, instead of ""you're just being too sensitive"" for me it's ""clearly they want to debate with me about this fascinating topic!"" whilst that person most of the time just feels like I'm below them and tries to insult my knowledge of things :))",1 You've perfectly described what happens to me whenever I'm talking. At least I'll have a better way of explaining it to my wife. Thanks.,1 "Very true. I have this in the form of sensorimotor (hyperawareness) OCD and it sucks. More info regarding obsessing about obsessing can be found here: https://laocdtreatment.com/the-cruelest-obsession-obsessing-about-obsessing/",0 "Shit, I guess I have executive dysfunction AND I'm lazy",1 Yay!! I’m so glad! I struggle with the same thing! So happy for your progress.,0 "I got it from my dad and showed symptoms early... because of this, I feel I got the structures I needed in place at a crucial time so that they became long-term good habits. I still really want my own biokids, but I’ve decided that I have to have a structural plan in place to start good habits EARLY and should probably procreate with a neurotypical person.",0 "I'm so happy for you! You're going to be okay! Congratulations, you are so strong.",0 Me scrolling through this subreddit trying to distract myself from intrusive thoughts after trying to rationalize them to myself,0 I literally just made a reddit so I could share this meme that I made lmao.,0 "I totally agree! I often find myself over explaining pretty simple directions to people because I would need that over explanation if I were in there shoes. It’s led to some pretty funny interactions with new hires at work. I.E: “Hey, so we have to mop the room once everyone’s left. You know how to fill the bucket, right? Okay cool, great. And remember to put just a splash of 256 in there? Awesome, you’re the best. And the mop heads are hanging downstairs. Oh you knew that, right. And the mop handle! It’s also in the bathroom with the mop bucket. Cool? Great. Let’s do it.”",1 "Haha that was me a year ago. Glad I can laugh at it now. Just remember your body has so many normal and natural sensations and when you concentrate on a part of it, you can magnify them and even create some new ones. :)",0 "Yep, and trying to get help when you don’t want to step outside your home because you get so much anxiety seeing people’s faces makes it impossible",1 "I literally have obsessive and intrusive thoughts even when I'm simply relaxing by watching a movie or show. Went to a psychiatrist 5-6 days ago, he prescribed me Paroxetine every night and Clonazepam whenever I have these thoughts, for 15 days. I'll have to report my progress and he will proceed to my further treatment. I have to say, seeking professional help is the best advice for who has problems like these. Why live with the discomfort?",0 Wow. I still was reacting to everyday situations with fight or flight until I found the right medication and dose. Now I just have to worry about affording my Vyvanse which pales in comparison. Coming up with 2-$400 a month is easy when I can channel my thoughts and emotions.,1 "I'm so sorry for your loss. This is so beautiful, you are beautiful. Thank you for being here!",1 "My brain be like ""oh my friend has a cold and I've been around them, so now everyone I love is going to die a slow painful death and will blame me but they hated me anyway so I guess I should go kill myself before I kick a baby into the ocean""",0 "Unfortunately I can't see this sticky helping much since as I said, apparently people can't take ten seconds to look around the subreddit before posting, but I just want to be very very clear on this. There's no excuse for making posts like that.",0 "Oh shit so not only do I have to worry about my current OCD, I might switch?",0 "Another one of those “oh right, we really are all like this, aren’t we” moments right here.",1 "Everyday we get the shit kicked out of us. I like to think of it like movie Bronson. We are just naked lubing are selves up and fighting the guards of the prison in our heads. Its what we do. I think about giving up all the time. All the goddamn time. But I don’t. For a variety of reasons, but mostly I deserve to live even if I don’t believe it at times. I deserve to be happy. even if I have to sit through some bullshit to get there.",0 Intrusive thoughts alone already suck but then once they start stringing together ohhhhh boy.,0 "oh shit, making sure the door’s shut is a compulsion? ...guess that’s another on my list of my compulsions , lmfao",0 "The most adorable dog I have ever seen, thank you Gunnar!",0 "My ocd a lot less now and I do nothing for this. I only listened my favorite group so maybe can be helpful? Find for u "" best music group """,0 "Doctor: You are depressed and should take antidepressants. Mind: “Yeah, you are an addict, just like your father, you visited a doc for reassurance and pills. You fucking manipulative borderline psychopath.” 😂😂 At a point...I swear sometimes it gets “funny”. I just can’t take my mind and thoughts seriously.",0 😂 I thought you were trolling. My attention was lost at the point you said it was cured using a planner.,1 25k photos in my phone and I won’t embarrass myself in telling you how many are screenshots or copies of those screenshots so they’ll be more “recent”.,1 This is so important to remind people about. You’re in my prayers 💗,1 "Yooo that's amazing. Unguided ERP can be brutal, good on you for sticking with it.",0 this is precisely how i feel right now and i am dying. hell.,1 What a load of airy fairy nonsense this 'manifestation' bullshit is.,0 "Last night my dad asked my why i was taking so long to do my essay and I told him it was because my mind kept wandering off. His solution: “just do the megafocus” :)",1 Recently diagnosed adhd as an adult. And earlier I was wondering if everyone notices other people thinking/feeling too loudly or if that’s just me.,1 "*Enjoying something* Brain: “Wait, what are you doing, you cannot enjoy this”. *Stomach drops...*",0 "This kind of thing just requires a little research on your part. Not everyone will know the answers and you'll find satisfaction looking up and learning these things for yourself. For example, with this situation you could find the model number of the machinery you were working on and get the manual online, study it and learn everything about that machine and its operations to understand all the ""why""s. Most people at work don't need or want to know why, they just want to get on with it and go home. There's nothing wrong with being how you are or the other way, it's just different people, different ways of thinking and working. Best of luck to you in your future endeavours finding work. You might be best suited to a job which requires such investigative processes.",1 And then there's criticizing yourself for overthinking,0 "Lately I've been feeling like I'm not good enough at *anything* Even the stuff I'm extremely passionate about I feel like I should be better at, but I find it extremely difficult to just relax and actually enjoy what I'm doing (even when it's something I love) Anyone else feel the same/have some tips on how to deal with feeling like this?",1 "Welcome to the Gulag. You have been sent here because you offended Comrade Stalin. We are here to help control yourself by sending you into hunger and hypothermia, and if you try to leave, even by impulse, you will be shot.",1 "Is is werid this post made me feel better? Like I kinda needed to reminder that I am in fact Dealing With Alot, makes me not a piece of garbage for not feling good or being as productive as I'd like.",1 "Oh god yes I have SOCD And the amount of times I thought I was majorly depressed and was suicidal and that I wanted to die inside. It’s crazy I don’t have really really bad OCD like many other people but SOCD really is awful Some of the replies I saw are insane I feel for you guys ❤️ ",0 I already take a multivitamin and extra l lysine and vitamin c with bioflavonoids because I’m scared of getting sick. Corona will not even scratch me lol,0 "I set alarms for 1-2 hours earlier than I need in order to avoid procrastinating getting ready, only to spend those 1-2 hours procrastinating before realizing I squandered my time, and then continue to procrastinate until I have 10 minutes til I clock in and I’m still in bed.",1 Luckily it only went unnoticed for 14 years and unmedicated for 16 years. I write this with my 30 pills of Vyvanse 70mg sitting right next straight from the pharm fresh. Feeling the most content I ever felt :). The most confident and also sometimes my lows too but they don't hit as hard. But sometimes being able to focus on the lows can make them harder a little but in the future with an understanding it helps to cope later on with worse things that come.,1 I knew what subreddit this was before the name loaded,1 "Oh goodness yes. Same goes for the autism spectrum diagnosis even though I'm not sure how much they overlap. Like I was diagnosed earlier with depression and anxiety and like, I can grasp those two easier because I'm perhaps more aware of that effect compared to other people.",1 "Heeey! I see progress here! Maybe the dishes didnt all get done, but some did and other important things did too. - She cleaned the cat box. This is one if the big ones that takes me ALL day to do. Half cuz adhd and half cuz I dont want to, and so I adhd more. - she showered! I tend to forget this one until it's too late and I have to make the decision of being late or skipping it entirely. Situational answer. - tea organization may not sound important, but it probably felt good for her to do it. Maybe something shes been wanting to do but keeps putting off or forgetting or trying to work out a system for. - she got you donuts! How thoughtful!",1 "@hjay I agree with you on some of the ocd. Like for mine if the thoughts stopped bugging me, the urges would leave me and the fear. So i would be fine. Other people would still have some issues. You are trying to help people and i give you credit. The thoughts do feel real and its really crappy. I was in remission for 10 years. Now i had a baby and its been hell for 8 months.",0 Me getting anxious BECAUSE I have no reason to be anxious. Yes.,0 Did you take a blood test or did it take a biopsy to get a diagnosis?,1 I wish we were given these resources instead of having to struggle until we figure something out on our own.,1 Are you me right now? Because everything you said is my life 😅,1 "I'm so sorry you are going through this. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 49 and about to lose a job working for an abusive a-hole. One day she called me into a conference room to ""teach"" me how to perform a procedure in our enterprise software program. Completely stone-faced, with the door closed she told me to read the directions, watch her do it, and then she watched me try to do it. Totally rattled, I skipped a step and she went full quiet psycho repeatedly asking me ""Why did you do that wrong? I just showed you and then watched you do it wrong. What is the problem?"" It was awful but not the first time this happened. A couple weeks later she stopped by my desk sobbing and crying how bad she felt after she realized what a fucking bitch she was. I did nothing to placate her and just said ""ok"". My contract was not renewed and I went on unemployment for a couple months and when finally diagnosed and started medication. When I started to look for another job, I sat down and thought about focusing on the exact things I am both good at and enjoy. The next thing was to re-vamp my approach to interviewing. I was taught or adapted to believe that you need to act like you can be whoever they want you to be. This time I put all of my ""faults"" together and told them 1. I need help with details and deadlines, 2. I need to be able to get up and talk to people and can't be isolated from the team. Anyway, it's taken me almost 20 years to find a job with people who I work really well with. They are even supporting my going back to school with a tuition reimbursement. Even more reassuring, I work at the same university where I had the previous job above. I had a setback this month and working during Covid-19 restrictions has been tough, but I reached out to my boss just to say I'm feeling a little off and out of touch and she let me make some adjustments. The more I learn about adult adhd the more I able to see my strengths or why certain things that other people think are easy, just aren't picked up on my radar. Interviews go both ways and you should be able to feel you are interviewing your interviewer for a good fit. Of course only disclose as much as you are comfortable with, but there are still places out there that will meet you half way when dealing with adhd in the workplace. Go easy on yourself and good luck!",1 It gives me some comfort in knowing that OCD is caused by our monke brain alarm system going out of control.,0 "Going to sleep is the worst. My mind is constantly searching for stimulation, but the most salient thoughts are always the rumination and self loathing and emptiness, and because I'm in bed there's nothing else to think about So when people tell me that it's not good to fall asleep watching TV, I tell them it's better than the alternative",1 I regret not joining the military. boot camp sounded fantastic.,1 "It doesn’t bother me. People identify with aspects of OCD (or what they think it is) so they say this. I have no problem with people relating to this disorder, even if it’s not how OCD manifests in me. Makes it easier for me to talk about.",0 "yep, that's me. perpetually labeled as lazy. I do actually get satisfaction from a job well done, but getting to the point where I want to DO that job... it kills me.",1 That sounds good for writing the first draft of an essay. Typing is too much pressure.,1 "My ODD, motivates me to do things differently than I'm told. Don't what to do, or how to do it.",1 Great achievement! :) got any tips for resisting compulsions? I’m struggling,0 "Yep. and then my dad got cancer september 2019 then corona and ahmaud arbery and george floyd. everything feels bleak, like why should i keep trekking. i feel like i'm progressing towards an empty void of life that is the future.",1 "Since my doctor and I have gotten my medications correct it is amazing how tact sharp my memory is...while on my medication. After the effects wear off I become kinda useless for trivia night, but when things are firing on all cylinders I am a jeopardy champ XD Weird how our brains work....",1 "It doesn’t help when this is combined with stutter, and mask",1 My muscle memory with drawing is WAY better than my actual memory.,1 Really good but i simply dont understand the dali reference,0 "How many times has each of us been asked ""what's wrong with you?"" Great share. Thank you for this insight.",1 """Maybe that 1 second or half a second... Or tiny little millimeter... Or that tiny little millimeter noted twice.... No, three times. Three times is better. Maybe just four..."" This is where the powerful of my life falls!!!! 😬😬😬😬😬😬😔😔😔😔😔😔😔😒😒",0 "“Bruh, I’m like so OCD. I went to pump gas, it stopped me at 30.99. I just had to add that extra penny and make it even 31.00. I’m so fucking OCD”. Fuck these people. That’s not how OCD works. At all.",0 Well it’s cause usually we do feel like we’re in danger. It’s quite literally the same exact feeling in my opinion,0 Ugh I’m sooo tired of people saying this is OCD so annoying,0 One of my internal monologues is dedicated solely to self-flagellation. Thanks for posting,1 It’s beautiful and so is the fact that you were able to accept its completeness.,0 "I’ve had this worry and it’s been the root of my obsessive thoughts for the last 3 days. I have never experienced any schizophrenia specific symptoms like hallucinating, but now I’m starting to think the intrusive thoughts I’ve always had with OCD are really just aspects of psychosis.",0 "But if this post has been created to summon people like us -those who aren't cut out for this world, then this is now a new world, isn't it?",1 "A consistent room is a good room. That doesn't neccesarily mean it's clean, but it changes very slowly. I'm not going to clean your house for you; In fact, I'd rather leave it messy because i hate change and transitions.",0 "Why is it that I came here to this subredddit looking for info to help my son (diagnosed both types) and I keep finding out stuff about myself? Life is funny like that. Time to get a book! And I absolutely love the planning stage. Executing it however makes me so anxious it doesn't get done.",1 "I got a small wave tattoo on my finger, which has double meaning to me. Partially to remind myself to ride the waves of anxiety instead of fighting it with a compulsion, and partially bc my dad always says “just keep surfin” when we’re stressed and he’s comforting us. The guy who did it used weird pressure, and it healed patchy. So some parts are choppy, part of the line is thicker than the other, and it’s just generally imperfect. But I think that works to my advantage too. It’s like, if I can let this imperfect line on my finger go, I can let a lot of other shit go too. It’s a process, but I like having a little visual reminder that it’s okay if things aren’t just right.",0 "Yeah. My OCD ""talks"" to me, so I talk back to Mrs.OCD. Sometimes Mrs.OCD could get real sassy/b*tchy 💅 so I tell her to shoo. Sometimes I just gotta remind that little fly to mind her business, ya know. Like, honey I need a break, I'm tired!!😖😤",0 This is awesome! Very inspiring keep up the amazing work!,0 I just came here on Reddit to avoid my checking habit which I’m feeling the anxiety to do rn,0 "I am very much like that too and it is torturous. I try to think a few things to make me feel better: 1) Most people who were around when the cringy thing happened have forgotten all about it. People think of you far less than you might think because they are wrapped up in their own lives. 2) I am allowed to be imperfect and to do stupid things once in a while. I am only human. 3) These cringy things happen to everyone. It is part if the human experience. 4) if I had a terminal disease this would be the least of my worries. (Putting it in perspective.) I hope you are getting professional help for your OCD thinking. That will help more than anything. Good luck! Sending positive thoughts your way!",0 I’m personally into em dashes and long parenthetical asides!,1 "Yep I feel this. I'm lucky enough to work at a guitar store, but I'm completely incapable of picking up a guitar outside of work and doing any practice at all. Have to constantly bully myself into doing anything creative.",1 legit like 80 times a day i have that full body shake spasm,0 I struggle with it too! Congrats for beating it. Your skin looks great.,0 "I feel like I’m at a high with my life right now. I’m happy, my ocd is not as present in my daily life and I feel almost normal, because of this, I’m taking Care of myself more by eating more fruits and cheese rather than sweets. And I’ve been more confident about my self-image. When ocd isn’t overpowering, it is nice to enjoy it while it’s absent. Enjoy the happiness you endure, regardless if it’s short or long. Keep working at it and you’ll get stronger 💜",0 "“You spend too much time in your own world” Damn, this one in particular really hits hard. My wife used to say this to me quite often before I got diagnosed",1 "This is great, what is the original size of the substrate (paper/canvas)?",0 "Congratulations! That's truly amazing! Y'all sound very supportive of each other. Thank you for sharing. I hope to find someone where we can support each other like that!",0 My therapist had me do this too! Mine is called Herobrine lol.,0 "This explains me changing my major 6 times and my impulse buys of a ukulele, cross stitching supplies, and my 200 dollar wordpress/bluehost account that I wrote two things on and gave up after I couldn't decide what my blog should be about",1 "My mom asked me this once. Why I seemed so brave as a little kid then turned into a nervous wreck after 13. She chalked it up to normal teen angst, but I was developing OCD along with that. The funny thing is, I had precursors to OCD when I was still small. Intrusive thoughts, obsessed with opening and closing a door until it was just right, anxiety, etc. The signs were always there, it just didn't manifest until I was older.",0 I had a bad weed trip last Friday an this entire week my OCD has been scaring me that I’m schizophrenic now,0 Once saw a day planner that said in cutesy writing “start by starting”,1 "Guys I’m almost certain I hav ocd I’ve dealt with intrusive thoughts for a year now and I do compulsions like undo the thought in my head for example if I get a thought of hitting someone with a car I imagine me being nice to them , I also grew up doing things like tapping my ankle 7 times , so would this definitely be Ocd?",0 "I've had had OCD since I was 7 years old. My ocd is linked to hypochondria. I spend my day measuring my temperature and I dont do anything else because I don't have the machines, or else I would spend my day checking my whole body. Im trapped inside my head. I feel everything in my body. I cant enjoy anything else. I'm in a loop of thoughts, that i cant leave. Ive started therapy and im on more medication because im relapsing. I also obsess a lot about losing control and going insane. Its my biggest fear. I also obsess a lot with depersonalization because i had a really bad episode of it when i was younger after smoking weed.",0 "Just got on this sub reddit, looking for some hope to get me through my compulsive behaviour and ruminating, after 2 weeks of smoking cannabis, and now feeling lost ... I found this. And thought that your picture has no imperfections and looks fabulous. Also, forget perfection. Hope you are good now!",0 "Thank yoy, thank you, thank you. I was honestly thinking about this today, and I agree 100%. No one can be positive all the time.",0 "If people say that to me, I usually ignore them and just say ''aha, yep, ahhhh, oh okay'' because its usually a boomer or a really stupid family member. Before, I used to said to myself that I am horrible and why this was difficult for me and not others, then I learned my adhd is not my fault but my responsability so I started feeling better because at least I was trying and not using it as an escuse. I have this thought process that if someone dismisses my efforts and doesn't try to understand my situation even though I am doing my best, then I automatically think of him/her/them as a npc with a limited set of options and I can ignore it without feeling bad, it usually angers then which made laugh like a lunatic.",1 I had such a bad day today and it keeps getting worse. Thank you for this. I’m sorry about your friend.,1 "All ADHD kids growing up get this one: ""s/he is really bright, but I don't feel like they are really working to the best of their ability. If they could just \*apply\* themselves more..."" I heard this, \~EVERY YEAR\~ of school until I eventually gave up. I eventually took my GED. with zero prep. at 45. And passed with almost zero effort. It isn't knowledge, skill, or a desire to learn. It's order in our brain not fitting the expected model. That's it. We are weird shaped pegs that don't fit in their square holes, take heart.",1 "crazy how this virus saunters in as I'm finally doing better with my OCD. well, was doing better",0 "I have to agree with u/McNuggin . This is my life. HARD. I had no idea this was an OCD symptom. I thought I may have ADHD or something in addition to my OCD. Can someone please explain this? This, more than anything else is ruining my life right now and I want to know if anyone has any experience or advise on how to change it. Please.",0 I wish I had advice but I’m just here to say I’m right there with you and send hugs ❤️ The imposter syndrome is so real,1 I read this then when I left a public bathroom I grabbed the door handle bare handed!! I did kinda shiver but I did it! Thanks for posting this :),0 "Lost focus mid read but yeah I've been there😂 on my previous phone I had nearly ten thousand images which I then lost the majority after a failed backup. I have no idea what was lost, yet whilst they were there I could never bring myself to delete them because of the ""what if I want to read these again?"" Question in my head. Have I learnt anything? Absolutely not, will I build an arsenal of screenshots and saved pictures again? Of course.",1 "Thanks for sharing! Well, I haven’t managed to read more than 10% of any book for years now....",1 "I hate how many employers celebrate it, and encourage it. Like no, you can be organized without OCD, you can be detail oriented without OCD.",0 "He probably doesn't, he likely even has the same issues and is in denial. It sucks though, to be misunderstood, or willfully misunderstood.",1 "For a long time I did wish I possessed time abilities. So I can nap, read a book, work on projects, play games. It felt like there was so much to do but not enough time or energy. Nowadays I mostly grew out of it. Mostly.",1 Literally every day. I can't run the garbage disposal since I read a Stephen King book where a movie director shoved his hand in.,0 "my mom after my sister diagnosed with schizophrenia, me diagnosed with ocd and my other sister being diagnosed with depression: 😳 I kind of feel bad lol she works so hard as a single mother and gave us a good childhood but we still ended up with a lot of issues lol.",0 i mean for real i woke up in the middle of the night and my brain was like LETS THINK ABOUT THIS INCIDENT AND FIXATE ON IT CUS WHY NOT,0 "I pretty much ""watch"" myself have anxiety attacks and depressive episodes, and while they're happening the whole time I'm thinking like ""when are you gonna be done? I have things to do""",0 "This is something that I appreciate my husband for so so much. He'll find my coffee and just ask if he should reheat it or pour new coffee. For my birthday he got me a whiteboard and colorful markers. If there's important stuff I have to remember then he puts a couple sticky notes around the house. My haphazard brain is treated with love and laughter. However some people have been far less than kind about my forgetfulness and absent-minded schedule. Sucks for them though because let's face it, when we're excited and on a roll, the ADHD is strong and fun as hell and I really think everyone should get to participate in that at least once.",1 "well, this certainly ruined my day. in all seriousness thanks for posting it, very interesting read.",1 "I had leave college because I kept having thoughts of stabbing people ... which freaked me out and sent me in an extreme downhill spiral of depression and anxiety (and obviously OCD). I felt so alone and like everyone was judging me. My mom is one of those “just stop thinking about it” people. I used to sit on my hands so that I wouldn’t do anything - which is so irrational thinking back because I didn’t WANT to do anything bad. It was like a midlife crisis. At 19. It was horribly painful and something I never want to go through again.",0 Really? You want to be subjected to this mental hell 24/7 where your mind is the enemy and sometime you don't even want to leave your bed due to crippling fear? Be my guest.,0 this mindset was very helpful to me when i was really going through it.,0 "That was my wish all the time, and also something I’ve really needed",1 "During grad school I was constantly told by the school (teachers, staff, other students even) that I have to ""time manage"" if I want to do better. This post reminded me of how I felt every time I was told this and thought I would put it out there because I know I am not the only one that was told this in their life. Oh, and I did finish grad school. I can assure you ""time management"" was never the issue.",1 "At risk of sounding like an entitled brat, I’m just not content being a worker bee - I need to at least know why I’m doing the things I’ve been told to do",1 I think I remember that my intrusive thoughts are Incorrect but my mind is going “what if you made that memory up?” I hate it so much,0 I’ve been there..I’ve created like 5 more watch later playlists for myself because of this over the years,1 "I tell people that the key symptom (for me, at least) is hyper-focus. It's just that sometimes I hyper-focus on one thing to the exclusion of everything else, even peeing my pants as a kid because I couldn't stop what I was doing to go to the bathroom. Other times, though, my brain is trying to hyper-focus on EVERYTHING, with every little noise or flicker of light or thought being a distraction that cannot be ignored, so I am not able to concentrate on any one thing.",1 "This is so me it isn't even funny. After 6 weeks on meds and upping my dose, I'm feeling great...a truly noticeable difference. BUT I can't stop thinking that OCD was all in my head and I was making it up before/it wasn't as bad as I thought (bc my obsessions/compulsions are more mental than physical). So I guess it WAS/IS in my head (lol)... but is the medication fully working if I still have these thoughts? I suppose medication can't fix everything. Why does my OCD manifest like this?!!!!! I'm so confused!!!!",0 *crying in the shower* I repeat *CRYING IN THE SHOWER*,0 Manning up isn’t about bottling emotions up. Express them. Share them. RS is super hard.,1 This one touches me particularly because last year I was accepted at a University outside of my country for my master degree and I was not able to go due to my OCD. Congrats and good luck!!,0 "Great idea! Having people around me that I don't want to let down is always a good motivator. Next step is trying to find a way to transition that respect for others to respect for yourself, self love is underestimated.",1 Mine is self-depracation. And also the bottom right.,0 "Yup, that's about right. Knowing and trying to move forward and act rational but being completely torn apart and hyper focused on the horrible things in the past. It personally speaks more to my Pure O. ie I have to keep checking with my past to make sure that something horrible hasn't happened or will happened. A lot of reassurance seeking and knowing that I need to move on but I just can't.",0 "Thank you, my friend. This was great to stumble upon :)",0 "As someone with ADHD and completing the second half of their BA online, you guys can do this! ASU online has been a godsend because I also work full-time, so I have adapted well to an online program. It does take a lot of organization, but that's why I keep digital and handwritten reminders. Someone mentioned keeping a tidy workplace; this is great advice. Just consider how often you might check social media and channel that habit into checking Canvas/Blackboard frequently. Any time I feel compelled to look at Facebook, I stop and go to Canvas instead. Accountability buddies are also helpful, so find a friend or someone that's in your class that you enjoy working with and help each other. Seriously, you guys are amazing and I believe that you'll be just fine!",1 Waking up not feeling the need to shower and wash my clothes DAILY!,0 Thanks for the reminder. I'll get back to my homework and be back in 5 minutes when I get distracted again.,1 "i don’t love to see them, bc mines are that way too and it hurts. use aquaphor",0 "Don't give into the sleep drive for one thing. Maybe switching gears a little might be good though. Wash dishes, walk, hike, run, then come back to that task",1 "I do that. I don’t know if I’m ADHD or just bad lol, but I do that",1 "There is a girl on YouTube, her channel is called [How to ADHD](https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC-nPM1_kSZf91ZGkcgy_95Q) and she has some wonderful videos that make me, almost an old lady with ADD, feel like I’m not alone.",1 "That’s how I (a B/C student in high school) got straight As in college. I knew I was going to do every assignment in the wee hours of the morning just before it was due and only take a few hours to do it because of that. So instead I immediately wrote the paper in a few hours the day it was assigned, turned it in early, and asked for feedback: “What would I have to change to get an ‘A’ on this?” They’d tell me and I would make the changes and they would have to give me an A. It took that each professor a few times to realize I wasn’t kidding and then, continually employing that tactic, I got straight A’s throughout college. And yes, I’ve been on Ritalin for 12 years.",1 "this!!! I have a huuuge issue with “waiting mode” where I will not do anything until my appointment even if I have 3+ hours to spare before. I have serious anxiety about being late and having to go in places late, but my adhd makes it almost impossible for me to remember appointments. I’ve had 2 therapists break up with me because I keep missing appointments (but I need to go to therapy to learn tools to use to stop forgetting!!). I feel for you!!",1 "God damn it! Now I have to touch the fucking light switch 7 times!",0 "Liferally! This is one of the things that annoys me most when I am unmedicated. I cannot enjoy anything the same way other people do. Entire plots of movies have been lost upon me even as I am staring directly at the screen because an internal ocean is roaring. I still remember the first week I took my meds. I was rewatching so many old movies and having so many AH HA moments.... it was like seeing the world in HD for the first time.",1 "My office is about to be shut down and everyone will be working remote soon. Everyone is talking about how productive they’ll be.. I’m half dreading it and half excited to spend hours playing guitar and video games instead of working",1 "wait, i have to do multiples of 5… does this mean… shit",0 Whoa. I haven't thought of it that way. Of course that's why the Pomodoro technique only works for me sometimes and for a limited time! I need to rethinking my habits...,1 "Congrats for it being so helpful for you! Adderall and other amphetamines gimme really bad anxiety for the first few weeks of taking it, it's almost torturous. It's super helpful after that but fuck is it miserable in the beginning.",1 "Dark chocolate = Dopamine, White chocolate = Serotonin. Got it.",1 "Duolingo of the day, done. Does it still count if I was consciously avoiding it? That just leaves procrastinating setting up my coffee for tomorrow morning (non-negotiable) and then I will be free to go to bed without brushing my teeth.",1 "Okay but if I wasn't a bad person then you wouldn't be pointing a nerf gun at me. Checkmate.",0 I agree 100%. When people make it out to be fun or quirky or the least bit beneficial ... fuck that.,0 "Honestly, I kind of feel the reverse. I feel so pressured by paper to make it sound nice and make my thoughts coherent so I end up freaking out. Talking doesn’t have to be coherent, because people won’t remember exactly what you say and if you mess up, all is forgotten. Writing however, people can read over again and again and criticize spelling mistakes and incoherent sentences. Talking is like instant gratification for me, makes sense because ADHD makes us typically quite impulsive",1 That last paragraph took me 8 months to do! Best decision ever. Vyvanse!!,1 "Looks like me: \- I know that paying my house bills takes less than 5 minutes because I can do everything in my bank account mobile app and I still wait for the last day or even exceed the deadline. \- I know that my food is almost gone and I still wait for the day when I don't have cereal, milk, water or meat to go to the supermarket which is literally 250 meters from home. This is so annoying. I had been taking rubifen 10mg in the morning for a month and I started to feel improvements (stop being sleepy in the morning and being able to focus on my tasks). After complaining that after 4h I feel a huge drop in its effect, my psyc. doctor switched me to Rubifen SR 10mg and now it feels like I'm back to the starting point again: it's like you don't even take it and I'm constantly putting off my tasks and getting distracted. I'm starting to think I should be taking Rubifen 10mg in the morning and after lunch. Or maybe increase the dose from 10mg to 20mg of the Rubifen SR but here psyc. doctors are a bit reticent about that. So I feel that",1 my parents literally took me to the hospital when I was 5 because they were so concerned. it wasn't until I was 19 and diagnosed that we realised it was all symptoms of OCD.,0 This is legit what it looks like in my brain 99% of the time.,0 Is object impermanence a common occurrence with ADHD?,1 "I suffer from pretty bad OCD. My hands are literally covered with scabs because of washing them too often. I don't feel offended, I don't really care. I get why someone could be upset but is it really that bad in the end?",0 "I am literally doing this right now... On my fourth snooze so far. Not sure how long this will go, even though I'm aware that not doing it now will determine when I get to sleep tonight... Still can't bring myself to get started yet.",1 "I remember being scared of Prozac and then my Psychiatrist who was kinda quirky said “ There will be a time when you will want to kiss your Prozac. A time when you will thank God for Prozac being in your life. “ She wasn’t lying.",0 "well, not acknowledging that disability exists and acting like autism/ADHD is a super power is also just internalized ableism. Because not acknowledging the negative emotional effects of ableism (in education, in how things are designed, \*gestures broadly at capitalism\*) only furthers it. Acknowledging that some things are just inherently harder for people with disabilities is part of deconstructing ableism to make life less fucking hard. I personally support neurodiversity (and believe in equity vs. equality, you can google that if you need to) I believe someone can be disabled and neurodiverse because some parts of ADHD are good (or would be good in a world structured for us) and some parts of ADHD are just inherently bad. Seeing everything as bad is internalized ableism, seeing everything as good is also ableist because it doesn't acknowledge our struggles. That doesn't mean our lives are absolutely terrible or we need a cure. It is what it is, diversity between people, some things are just harder so we need some help and that's ok.",1 "> Finding monotony and tedium completely unbearable I think this is part of why I like programming so much. If something feels monotonous or tedious, you're probably doing it wrong, and should be adding a layer of automation or abstraction.",1 "I press lock twice, hear it twice, and then pull on the door handle what seems like five hundred times to make sure it’s locked and won’t open. I’m afraid one of these days the door handle is gonna break 😖",0 Luckily I never had to deal with religious OCD.. but! Lol I have dealt with every other sort under the sun.,0 The other day I bought a new jacket. A very expensive jacket. I was very proud. After I went to a coffee shop and sat in a couch with my coffee with my jacket bundled up next to me. I spent the next ten hours having anxiety about my jacket being unfused with some kind of particles from people going to the bathroom because I had sat down right next to the bathroom of the coffee shop. I almost returned my new jacket....,0 Honest question: doesn't pansexual mean ur just bi?,0 "CEO of making it awkward af right here! “I’m a little OCD.” “Haha cool. I’ve been awake for 23 hours because I started cleaning out my dresser then decided to burn it because when it was a tree it probably had bugs and that bothered me but then I realized it was in my house for a few months so I had to sterilize my bedroom and washed everything I owned and wiped and lysoled and sanitized every surface but realized I forgot the closet shelf so had to get out of bed and handle that or I wouldn’t sleep... but yeah. You like your sweaters folded a certain way so you’re ocd.”",0 Is it bad that I used to get a super terrible panic at the beginning and now its only sometimes,0 “Thinking too fast but working too slow...” siigh. truer words have never been spoken.,1 "Oh i love it. Would you mind if I shared this on social media? It’s cool if not, obviously, since we have ocd and our fears don’t make sense I would understand if you say no 😹 let me know if you want me to tag your Twitter/instagram handles. ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎",0 "Gotta love these dumb, self-sabotaging issues. It makes it even better when you can't explain it and everyone just thinks you're lazy.",1 "Holy shit, you guys do this too!? I thought it was just me!",1 "Would looking at the mirror and thinking this isnt me why does this not feel like me count as this? Like I feel super disconnected from the image in the mirror, I dont feel anything just numb. Sorry if it's wrong I'm thinking that I may of ocd because it makes so much sense. But I'm also planning to talk to a professional after all this.",0 "I've just decided whenever it's past 5 I don't have to do anything anymore. So if I want to get something done, it has to be before that time. If it didn't happen, no biggie cause now I've got legit downtime. Regardless of what I did during the day. It helps me get important stuff done during the day.",1 “What if I don’t have ocd or (list illness here) and I’m just mimicking the symptoms subconsciously because I know what they are?”,0 "And essential oils, those little vials of indispensable goodness. I could add Costa coffee.....",1 "this sub is full of people with loads of experience and very real useful practical advise. there is alot of forums for mental health out there and plently of them are full of rampant toxicity. this sub being an expection to that. community is super important when you are dealing with a dysfuntion that can cause isolation very easily. the people here should all give themselves a massive pat on the back for the support we give to each other. keep up the great job and we will get through our struggles with each others support and encouragement. hugs!",1 The amount of shit I put down and don’t buy regardless of whatever sale is going on won’t ever be recognized.,1 I’m a onenote fan. It keeps all notes in one place. I’m an mba student.,1 I just saved this post because I related SO much with it and ironically I probably won’t check it out ever again.,1 "I have to repeat thoughts in my head constantly to prevent unwanted thoughts from being in my mind, do I have ocd?",0 This is an excellent fictional portrayal of OCD for sure.,0 "If I wasn’t “ obsessive compulsive disorder “ about washing my hands “ 👌🏻👌🏻 makes 0 sense. It’s like don’t actually know the full meaning before using “OCD’’ in a sentence “I’m so ocd” makes no sense. Stop wanting it",0 "> What's even crazier is that I'm aware I am doing this, I am talking to myself out loud about going to bed as if there are 2 of me and I'm making a deal with the other guy, making sure he's satisfied that enough fun stuff has been done before going to bed. Shit, this. It really is like living with two people in one body. ""You"", the real conscious you, and the ""Other"" you. ​ Conscious You *knows* they should go to bed, or brush their teeth, or do their homework, or stop browsing reddit. They are actively trying to do these things. In the meantime there's Other You. Often it seems like Other You iz in complete control over your body, and is actively sabotaging any attempt to do the things you want to do, because ""Just this one video, it looks really interesting! Then I'll REALLY go to bed, I promise."" ""But I realllllyyy don't want to do laundry! Let's just sit here doom-scrolling through reddit!"" ""You don't need to brush your teeth, what if you can't sleep and decide to get a snack? It'll taste gross/you'll just have to brush your teeth again."" ""uuughhh do we reaaally have to do work? Come on man that's boring and you know it."" ​ Like always living with an angel and a devil on your shoulder, except they're in your head and they're both you.",1 I wish I could offer some advice. I had such a terrible real-world job experience I decided to work for myself. This is also... not always feasible. I can't really take time off and I'm always barely keeping my head above water. We'll get through it.,1 October is one of my worst months - Halloween decorations are a huge trigger for my Harm OCD.,0 "I was just saying this to my wife, as I put on my (sanitized) sunglasses. I feel like an OG, and damn it feels good to be a (clean) gangsta.",0 I immediately shared it with my friend who usually takes at least 40min showers cause of OCD. Maybe you'll be her inspiration :),0 "I make a detailed list of tasks and have them in different categories as well, such as room 1, room 2, kitchen, bathroom etc. It’s also organized in a way where the first task to do is downstairs so I can immediately start as soon as I wake up. You’d think all these tasks keep me busy, but even while doing these tasks, I get side tracked and do other tasks that I randomly thought to do. It’s all so frustrating. ETA: Or sometimes I just make that very detailed list and not do it until a month later",1 "Same. I don't even find food worth doing anymore. I am so empty, and no one cares. I thought Reddit would, it was my last ditch effort to find support. I am empty and exhusted. I have nothing left in my tank.",1 It takes an understanding person to learn about another's mental processes. Your brother is lucky.,1 "That probably explains why I only feel like doing dishes when I put some music on. Well, washing anything really, my mind seems to have latched on to ""music? Time to wash,"" and it doesn't take me nearly as long as it did before. Til",1 "Hey guys! I got some smiley face stickers that are ""Depression approved!"" I am now cured! /s",0 "TBH not really. If it noisy cricketed tho fuck yeah",0 "“I’m not saying you’re wrong, I’m just saying, what if you *were* wrong? Wouldn’t that be terrible?”",0 "Yes. This shit works. Because there is no expectation. You aren't used any willpower whatsoever. It is outsources environmental pressure. You do it because you have to. You don't do it because you should. No significant dopamine need for that. But adhd is a bitch",1 "Wow, didn't expect to see Green Day here, haha. This was the first song I learned to play on guitar. I love it so much!",0 And the list of things I thought were just me being bad at life but are actually ADHD continues to grow...,1 "Yes my OCD is always like “what if you become famous and everyone finds out the stupid shit you said as a teenager and you get canceled?” Or “what if your future boyfriend or girlfriend finds out and they won’t want to date you anymore?”",0 "How do I get a brain scan like this and what’s it called? I wanna get one and show someone the “control brain” and my brain side by side next time someone was “it’s all in your head” and I’ll be like, “damn right it is just not the way you think” and whip out the comparison between control brain and a scan of my mind and be like how is this not a legitimate illness when my brain activity itself is not “standard” so there’s no making it up. Fuck this shit sucks bad enough last thing I need is antagonistic individuals who’ve never dealt with mental illness first hand doubt my claims of illness. Like being ill sucks but having to constantly validate its legitimacy to others that don’t even understand it to begin with. (Also I wonder what mine would look like scanned with not only OCD-O but, ADHD-PI, MDD, GAD, and prescription Benzodiazepine (taken as prescribed only never abused) induced PAWS (Post Acute Withdrawal Syndrome). My brains gotta be lit up like all over the place lol.",0 "I have to kiss my son on the forehead every time we get in the car, once I forgot because my sister was with me and talking nonstop and I slammed on the breaks on the road beside my house, ran around the car, kissed him and got back in. She just shook her head at me. “What if we all die today?”",0 Wow. Just jotted down all of the ones that I feel I need to do and filled 2 pages in a big notebook. Thanks so much! It means a lot and can hopefully get me started on the long journey to living my best life!,1 "That feeling doesn’t last, it’s the amphetamine euphoria. The work does last though.",1 This just spoke to me on so many levels! The worst is listening to someone speak and then the inner dialogue begins and I have to ask them to repeat what they are saying 🤦🏻‍♂️,1 "Would have been especially accurate to me if ""It's not a fact"" at the end was replaced with ""But what if...?""",0 I use this feature all the time and love it! I highly recommend trying it out. I also find it helpful for focusing on what is being said when I can read along as well. I also use another free/pay dictating app called otter that is better at picking up accents. Really helpful if your professor isn't a native English speaker.,1 "Yes, I do, I think this is a common theme called Real Event OCD.",0 "OCD: You’re pregnant Me: A 16 year old virgin with a boyfriend who lives across the world. Relatable. 😂😂",0 Omg I used to think this when I was like 8 years old. When I’d go to the bathroom at school I would think “what if you were actually peeing in class and everyone was just watching you?” I had no idea this was OCD wtf,0 This is me but with the number 6 and any multiples lol,0 "You've put my thoughts into art. This is exactly how my brain feels: judging, leering at me, consuming all of my brain with never-ending disturbing obsessions that never stop or relent, making me cry and feel awful and like something is wrong with me. How did you pluck that out of my mind??? Absolutely astounding, you did a great job on this",0 "Not an OCD thing. A lot of neurotypical people do it, too.",0 "Yay! I thought I was the only one who take very long showers, but you did it, keeping going. ☺️👌🏼",0 "Wake up Actually wake up No seriously bitch get up 40min before work 10min before leaving for work Are some, i also have lists for dayyyyyys Then i have my on the job notepad and when ever i add something to it i also have a 15min quick alarm i can set to remind me i added it cause you iv forgotten already...",1 "when i got diagnosed with adhd (several months ago) i felt extremely valid and then was frustrated for at least a couple of days because of how many times i’ve been called lazy in my childhood (or heard the whole “potential” line) it’s weird",1 This also kinda looks like a vagina if you look at it right.,0 "Haha, I have annoying touching complulsions as well. It's good to know I'm not alone.",0 God yes. Any time I even think about it I have to do it. It drives me nuts. Same if I'm anxious before going somewhere.,0 "It's hard for everything, i love reading books and watching movies and this year i didn't did any of those because OCD",0 My pink finger skin was in my mouth as i scrolled by :(,0 "Lol my manager about 6 months after she hired me, “you were great! Just a little slower than expected from your interview” Cue me: 🙃",1 This made me chuckle at the end of a super stressful day. Thank you for that!,0 I’m 10000% cured. I don’t know what you’re all talking about. I feel so much better already lol,1 "I overcompensate for my OCD by being extra kind and helpful but it doesn't do much good because when people comment on those qualities, I feel like I've tricked them into thinking I'm a good person when I'm really a monster.",0 i just cant tell if i know im faking it hahaha. like am i knowingly causing myself this? am i terrible and attention seeking even though i dont tell anyone??,0 That’s exacaly what your doing wrong your fighting them to feed em agree with them and expose yourself to em and they go away when you stop reacting to em,0 "Yes. I loved this show!!!! Especially if I had a psychiatrist like that guy, I feel like my ocd would just cure itself",0 "Like so many others in this thread I also make appointments for the morning. But not TOO early because then you can guarantee I won't sleep the night before. I remember in high school the night before I had a big test or presentation I would end up sleeping on the floor because even the blankets would cause me to get anxious and I wouldn't sleep. I haven't thought about that in forever.",1 "I definitely feel the same way and as a late 30's adult I can say this is not a problem that goes away, however there will be some amazing days with it. Be safe and look after yourself, try to find distractions or escapes that help you. It is always a very personal journey, but the resultant feelings we all know too well. My Boss (derogatory term as far Ias I am a concerned! I would rather a manager) asked me how I can stop being ADHD / depressed / BPD when I am having rough days.. As if I can just, you know, stop being these things? So, if anyone has a magic trick let me know. There is ALWAYS someone out there and I would rather listen to you rant for a week, than hear you lumped in with yet another statistic of the failure of our society to help those who need it. *edit, and yes its perfectly fine to fell better knowing there are others feeling the same! it feels amazing to not feel so alone",1 Hey for me my cat gets 8 pats instead of just a single pad because ocd lol. Makes him happy when I do that then so yeah.,0 "So I’m a guy and when I was like 14 my ocd pulled something like: “HA, WHAT IF YOU HAVE A BABY IN YOU” Yeahhhh",0 "This is beyond accurate. I will ask a new boss a million questions in this regard. It feels good that others can relate. I literally just thought I was weird and/or stupid.",1 "Yeah, I look back on old themes and most of them are ""ok well, that was stupid, it's nothing compared to this HUGE IMMINENT PROBLEM"" They always feel imminent and all-consuming. Try to use the knowledge that the current theme will feel the same some day, to give you the courage to do ERP. It is uncomfortable but it really works.",0 "The gift here is that we are aware of the problem. The solution is hard. The solution can be stated simply though. It is to not give it the mind share that it needs. This needs to be done by accepting how ones mind works, understanding the fear that is driving it and exposure and desensitization to that fear. And then refusing to give it power by giving your mind share. It's in the power of being in the now. No questions to be asked or answered.",0 Every time no lie. I haven’t been diagnosed but I’m seeing a doctor.,0 I have a list of saved reddit posts I wanna get back too; but forget that I saved them. So much for that.,1 """my body temperature is 96 but I feel hot"" is such a mood!",0 "FUCKING accurate. It’s taken seventeen years, but my parents are so accepting of my OCD. Keep going, loves.",0 "It doesn’t help that I read headlines like ‘people diagnosed too quickly’. So I guess I still don’t know??",1 "I sometimes have thought about this, like if hearing about other's OCD would make mine worse ... but I've concluded that if anything it might help me realize that 1) I'm not alone and 2) ultimately these are just thoughts, these are just quirks and learning to be OK with it all is part of the process. I know I'll always have OCD quirks but I am certain I can really have a good life even with these tendencies. In a way seeing people with my same thought process of the questioning and doubts is like reassuring? I know this might sound harsh but I feel OCD of all mental disorders can really drive people into isolation where we almost go into this shell and close off from everyone for fear of our thoughts. It's like this process where slowly and slowly we just close off, that definitely happened to me. I don't think though that's good to live that way and we need to as a community come together more and give each other that feedback we aren't alone, we aren't bad for having this. A big part of OCD is the shame aspect, for me my intrusive thoughts seem so counter to the person I am in my everyday life and definitely my values, for a long time it really did take over my life completely as I had no idea I had OCD ... when you have no idea what is going on with you, the explanation I'm just bad seems very easy to latch onto. Anyway, it's worth it to me to know others are like me out there. I also want people to know when they have OCD cause a lot of people out there have no idea what is happening to them.",0 Anyone else’s OCD create a sort of ‘bonus round’ if you do the initial compulsion so then it extends to the next marker and the next before the car passes or whatever the thing is?,0 You did it! Great job. Enjoy the well earned coffee and may you enjoy many more ❤️,0 "I finally had to tell my husband to just stay away from me and don't talk to me at all when I'm getting ready for work in the morning. He used to come up and give me hugs and kisses when I was trying to focus on what I'm going to wear and what I'm going to make for breakfast. I feel bad sometimes because I know he just wants to show affection, but I need to FOCUS! If I get interrupted, then I lose momentum and that irritates the hell out of me. It's like, ""Yes, I love you too, but you're in my way!"" Mornings are the best when I have them to myself.",1 bold of you to assume I would read through that >:) thanks for the tip though!! it might help me in the future (it’s not something I struggle with a lot at the moment),1 This was me for ~the first 25 yrs of my life and I am SO GRATEFUL to have an answer that isn’t just me not being enough. I still have anxiety over it BUT I know it isn’t true,1 ">I can't think fast enough I have the opposite problem, I think too fast and too much my brain itself can't catch up. But your point still stands, why can't the world slow down and wait for our ""mental-shoelace-tying"" asses?",1 "You should see my evernote. It gives me a place to stick all those. I don't ORGANIZE them or look at them mind you, but it lets me clip them all to my hearts content. And I'm about to get a Rocketbook so I can add my analog ramblings to it too. Onetab and I are best buds, I currently have 264 tabs saved on it, because I have issues.",1 "I love this. I'm going with Craig. From Friday. ""You ain't got to lie Craig, you ain't got to lie!""",0 This is why I always have to listen to something while falling asleep. And also self-medicate with Doxylamine Succinate.,0 "Hey, struggled with anxiety and depression for most of my life, never realized I had adhd till about 2 years ago (22 now). Therapy, specifically CBT, was the first step to making all of the progress that I have so far. My depression is gone, and I have made a lot of progress on my anxiety recently, ever since I started meditating. Reading books was a big changer for me too, like Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl. You're not alone, and capable of improving yourself, no matter what your mind tells you. I was pretty skeptical of meditation until I tried it for myself, and realized how powerful it is. Feel free to dm me anytime",1 They are so sweet and cute. What a motivation. I took care of a duckling once and it was so happy to be held by a warm hand. He would fall asleep after a second like clockwork. They’ll be so appreciative of what you do for them.,0 "Congratulations! Keep going!! Don't let it come back again, cause it will definitely try.",0 "“You feel itchy, remember that time you maxed a credit card on skincare at Sephora?” Nope, the k beauty stuff I have is fine. “Don’t you miss having a rouge discount?” “How do you know they’re telling the truth about the retinol content?” “Exfoliate with the surface of the sun...or lava soap I guess”",0 First time I took adderall I also cried because I felt like normal person. I wasn’t just a lazy forgetful unorganized person I just needed medication.,1 "Aw sweet, something else to beat myself up for and still not do!",1 "This is like reading my personality on a page! I definitely wish I could’ve read something like this in highschool, when I thought “oh there’s no way I’m dealing with ADHD because I act nothing like my sibling with ADHD.” If I had something like this, maybe it would’ve been easier to see the signs in myself and get started on treatment earlier. Thank you for sharing, I hope it helps people the way it would’ve helped me! 😊",1 "My father had an irrational fear of his parents dying as a teenager (OCD), and my mom has anxiety. Such a good gene pool!",0 i would count the amount of steps i took between the breaks in the sidewalk or parking lot...and ofc if i didn’t i was going to die,0 "I think I need to make an arrangement with someone else who has ADD. We go to each other’s house and be their motivation to clean now, right now when it is scheduled, and not some nebulous later. Or finish that hobby project. Or watch that show they have been meaning to. Just having a person there to help do it now, not later.",1 "I just had a bad day when I forgot to help start dinner and then trying to make up for it just caused me more anxiety and to lock up mentally. So it's going to be a long road back to trying to show that I can be functional. I just hate that I see how this makes other people's lives more stressful - but then everything is super stressful all the time.",1 I hear this. Spending all night long checking my dog multiple times to make sure no one left her outside in the dangerously cold weather too it out of me for the last couple of weeks.,0 "I set alarms for myself. So if I have an appointment at 3pm, then I set my alarm on my phone for 2:30pm. It gives me a little warning and it let's me lose myself in whatever I'm doing and not worry about being late. I always leave a bit of extra time to snooze once or twice, because... Adhd. 😂",1 Thank you for posting this. It's good to see what seems like somewhat of a concept in my mind actually written out. I've saved this picture and will have a look next time a thought pops in there.,0 "Congrats OP!! I know we don’t physically know each other, but I know it’s a huge step so I’m proud of you 😁",0 I’m exactly the same. The more aware I am the more stressful communicating becomes.,1 "When I worked in child care, we had to wash our hands like CRAZY. My hands were so dry and red, it was like my fingerprints started to crack. I tried different creams but I found most were way too thick, like it would leave a disgusting feeling on my hands that just made me want to wash them more. I even tried to lather my hands in moisturizing cream and put them in a sock overnight. I started to use helping hands from lush and found improvements literally within days. I still have the tub of it because a little bit really goes a long way. If there's anyone out there struggling to find a good cream that works, I strongly recommend it!",0 "I was literally just talking about exactly this with my therapist in my most recent session! Finding ways to laugh at my fears is so powerful, and bogarts is exactly what my brain connected that to!",0 Just throw in PMS and you’ve got yourself a hot fudge sundae!!,1 """Don't check everything in the flat is off 20 times tonight. Just go to bed. They're off."" Does it anyway",0 Wow something I can finally relate to and it is the worst thing that I can relate to,1 "I just shower the night before. Who wants to go to bed all dirty anyway? I'm out of my house within 20 minutes of waking up, because I had a job that being late for could lead to severe consequences. I had to develop a system. When I get up, all I have to do is put on the clothes I left out the night before, quick hair brush, deodorant, and teeth, and I'm gone.",1 "I tend to do the opposite because of people like that. It takes me weeks, months, or even years to finally accept l have things like OCD or ADHD because I don't want to be one of those, ""I have ADHD I'm so quirky uwu. Panic attack because I want ATTENTION!"" I was feeling a mild anxiety attack the past few days and I was denying it because 1. I've never had one and 2. I wasn't 100% sure if it was one. You should see my Google searches lol. ""what does an anxiety attack feel like?"" ""mild anxiety attack"" ""what does a mild anxiety attack feel like"" ""right feeling in chest"" ""chest feels heavy"" ""anxiety for no reason"" ""anxiety from overthinking"" ""anxiety myths"" ""OCD and anxiety attack"" ""panic attack vs anxiety attack"" And then my ADHD sees a huge block of text on each page and reads none of it 😂.",0 "Yeah, this is so true. And the more you try to hide from them, the scarier they get.",0 Your hands look incredible and SO MUCH YOUNGER!!! A+!,0 Realizing i probably have ADHD has been such a relief for me. It's sad so many go undiagnosed,1 Anyone else had shortness of breath for the last few years straight the moment you wake up?,0 "My autism side didn't catch the sarcasm until the 3rd paragraph, idk why but my heart actually sank cuz I was so worried this post was about to legitimately shame me lol I can only imagine experiencing this first hand. I'm so sorry.",1 "Hahah 💜 oh dear.. yeah we all know that feeling, when it just slams down on you nice and early. This also makes me think of the shaving cream I have called PURE 0%. The % sign is tiny and the rest of the name is printed really large on a plain white background. so it just looks like a large tube of pure o. Which I smear all over my face because apparently I need more pure o than I already have",0 "This post is so important. OCD doesn’t show mercy, so don’t provide any back. What really helped me with performing compulsions was to realize that I am the boss of my actions, not my OCD. I love this post.",0 "Just got diagnosed with ADHD inattentive type, been going to therapy for the past 8-9 months and my therapist says its is such a clean case of ADHD that it cant be mistaken for something else, but i still feel like im faking it or that it is a mistake somehow",1 "I have an appointment at 2 on Monday. It's only a 2 1/2 hour appointment. So I booked my pto for the whole day off! Which means, I'll spend the morning scheduling 15 more appointments, only 2 of which I'm actually going to show up to and I will be late for both.",1 "ADHD is given by Neurotypes not by us who actually suffers from them. Yes, we can rename this mental illness",1 "I can’t keep a routine to save my liiiiiifeeeeee But Bedtime Stories for adults free podcast has a 100% success rate in helping me to fall asleep once my arse is actually in bed. There’s a short breathing exercise you do while you’re Laying down. She tells the story once. Then tells the story a 2nd time at a slower speaking pace. THEN YOURE FKN SLEEPIN [Nothing Much Happens podcast ](https://open.spotify.com/show/6wegpF4BHu5dQG7sTg1Cz9?si=pjhQ7Kb-RVyXmbMJICju7Q)",1 Oh the terrible things we all imagine we have done... that we magically can’t recall for obvious reasons(never happened),0 "YES. I had to just start letting things go. It's like grieving the death of a loved one. I experienced abuse (which probably exacerbated my already-apparent OCD) as a child instead of love from one of my parents, so I attribute my attachment to inanimate objects to a sort of projection of feelings; I felt alone, so I showed the inanimate objects (stuffed animals, usually) the love I didn't receive. This just meant that I felt very attached to them and tried to protect them. At the age of about four, I lost a stuffed monkey in a playground. We went back for it, but someone had taken it. I was so sad, especially because it belonged in a book. (The book had a cut out that the monkey fit into, and then the monkey could essentially be a part of each page of the story.) I also had a Little Mermaid towel as a kid. It got holy and ripped and one day my mom said she threw it away. I was so devastated that I took it out of the trash. I also had this one brush for many years, until I was a preteen or teenager. For some reason I took it trick or treating with me one of the last times I went trick or treating. It may have been the year that I finally understood that I was being abused. I needed that brush like it was a security blanket. It was in a pocket of the bag I was using for candy. Anyway, it fell out somewhere along the way. I was secretly heartbroken, even though I didn't show it to my siblings. That was probably almost 15 years ago and I still feel a little bit of grief over it. I know all this sounds silly, but I'm 27 and I'm still sad about these lifeless pieces of cloth and plastic that I've lost. -A",0 "I've read this article today, that might have some useful tips: [5 Habits for Crafting the Perfect Remote Work Day](https://doist.com/blog/remote-work-habits/)",1 "Damn that first line hit hard lol. I often feel like I am simply slowly becoming what is essentially a comic book supervillain...",1 "Sometimes I feel like I’m too into weed, but it helps so much...",0 yes. months/years of this type of thinking can do wonders for OCD. i look at my condition completely different than i used to,0 "This really is frustrating. I have a hard time telling if someone is genuine or not when they say stuff like this because I do have OCD and several other diagnoses AND I make light of them all the time around people because I'm so self conscious about it. I'm so bad about it that I get accused of ""jokingly"" saying I have OCD. It's frustrating to be accused of faking because I make jokes about my own issues, but I 100% can't stand when someone makes light of OCD (or whatever else) when they don't have it. Idk, it's honestly hard to tell unless you ask the person who is making the joke. Not sure where I'm going with this, just thought I'd share.",0 "Just want to make a quick point that I’m not really seeing elsewhere: Your college has an office that handles academic assistance for students with disabilities. Send them an email briefly describing your concerns with online classes, and asking if they can do anything to help you. Best case scenario: They’re able to connect you with someone who can help structure your days. Worst case scenario: You have documentation of you asking for help ahead of time.",1 "This is awesome! I think doing things like this is underated. Anything that's a big deal to you is worth recording and celebrating! Well done :) ",0 "I’ve always felt like I’m such a bad person that I’ve convinced and manipulated the people around me into thinking I’m actually a good person. Since entering my first serious relationship, this feeling has intensified. I had no idea other people felt similar to this too.",1 Kinda reminds me of the level select screen on Mario Bros.,0 "Partially finished homework. Thank you, I needed this push.",1 My new obsession is to find whoever made this and throw a cup of coffee in their face 4 times,0 I have timers for every hour just to make sure I don't fall too deep down this pit. It's annoying as hell but it works.,1 Yo I’ve been working 5pm-11pm or 1am for over a year. Worst year of my life.,1 Never before have I been so offended by something I 100% agree with.,1 "I'm a bi boy with OCD as well. This is a daily thing with me. But here's a hot take: the most bisexual thing you can do is question your bisexuality itself. Something that's also helped me is recognizing that the bi-cycle exists and attractions can vary in intensity.",0 Trash?! This is beautiful art! Evokes emotion and thought.,0 "If u practice it it can commit a little to muscle memory and it’ll stick a little better. It helps me at least with programming for example, just something to try if you haven’t and need help",1 "I told my therapist how frustrating it is that medical professionals don’t take adults, especially women with ADHD seriously. Tell him that I actually need my meds and sometimes it’s hard to keep my appointments with my primary doc bc I work nights. Therapist then said “I’m sure the adderall helps keep you up!” No it fucking doesn’t. Adderall only helps me function like a normal adult. I’m not taking adderall so I can “stay up.” This is just another shitty stigma about ppl with ADHD, that we don’t actually “need” meds and that we abuse them.",1 "I always forget I have dryer sheets... so many extra boxes of fucking DYER SHEETS. Also bad for me is forgetting to say thank you (or in general forgetting to say things out loud that I'm thinking inside my head, which may be more my anxiety than my ADHD).",1 "Same. Here. I had a mental breakdown the past 2 weeks leading me to drop 2 of my 5 classes. Yet I still can't bring myself to do the work I've been stressing about that is now a week late. Halfway through my junior year of college I've now decided that school is not for me, even though I'm getting great grades. It has made my life full of anxiety and stress. Making my mental health, social life, and overall well-being decline tremendously. I'm going to finish my 3 classes for the semester and then do trade school or something. I can work with my hands for hours and hours on something tangible, but sitting down at a computer for a couple hours to write a paper is torture. I hate the fact that I've spent thousands of dollars on classes, but if that results in me feeling like I live in hell then it is not worth it for me. Edit: For those younger than me I highly suggest starting your college career at a community college. You can spend ~2 years there as a full time student and get an associates degree like I did. Then you can transfer those credits to a 4 year school if you want to continue your education. Community college is FAR cheaper per credit than 4 year schools too. I'm glad I did that because even though I'm dropping out mid-junior year I still possess a college degree.",1 "This is how I do chores - I put my favourite power metal on and just have fun while doing the dishes, sorting clothes etc. Makes it so much more enjoyable (and therefore making it more likely that I'll do it more regularly) then without music.",1 "This is so funny! It is right up there with masterful advice such as: ""Just pay attention"" ""Just do it"" Anyone who begins a sentence with ""All you gotta do is....""",1 Yeah. Most of the time. My plan is usually to approach it like 4 things. like half enjoy. Start the dreaded do and then quit and take a break. Then more enjoy. And then the final piece of the dreaded thing. Needless to say I leave numerous things half finished. Half finished is my prime level output,1 "Totally completely get this. A good visual analogy for explaining to people who don't have such thoughts what it feels like. Also have heard someone say its like if you put certain physical symptoms under a figurative microscope. There may be other things happening but it's really hard to just ""think about something else"", or ""focus on something else"" because you have thoughts/feelings that are being illuminated or enlarged inappropriately. It can be really distressing at times. ☹🤯",0 Why are we like this (bawling again at 5 in the morning).,1 I get worried that my weed is sprayed other then that its good,0 I love this! 🤣🤣🤣 “Carl” is perfect. I’m going to name mine Debbie.,0 I’m traveling today and plan to work from my moms house tomorrow. My expectations are low.,1 "Totally relatable. Although my stance has changed now. If you don't like it, there's the door. I'm done with people pleasing. I'm me. Love me or hate me. Most people take the latter, that's their problem, not mine.",1 YESSSS!!!! I love learning about the titanic but put me on the spot and it’s like I’m in nursery again ffs I’m with you on that one,1 When you're taking to your mum and the sexual intrusive thoughts start kicking in ,0 "Keep walking :), don't give a response to the thought!",0 "Even random post-it notes scattered around my monitor that completely obstruct my view get ignored. Edit: I have an alarm in my phone that says ""VJuice4Brandon"" who tf is Brandon and why did I set a reminder to bring him vape juice",1 I wish you a speedy recovery! And thank you for the eye opening message,1 Forgot about this. For you https://youtu.be/VAag-nlCJQ0,0 "Omg yes, there have been times where after texting someone I’d throw up the anxiety was so bad",0 "Heh. It me. Though today I didn't do the dishes because g'damn it, i've done them every day this freakin' weak! It's his turn!",1 I can't anymore. I feel like I'm in a prison and everything happy is on the outside,0 Start your day with a freezing cold shower for that sweet serotonin boost! ,0 Congratulations! I’m going through this right now and seeing that others have recovered is amazing!,0 You ain’t getting far in life without learning to laugh at your own situation lol,0 Just because you have bad thoughts doesn't make you a bad person it is the second thought and the action you take that determine that. Having bad thoughts just means you are aware of what is evil and you must know that to understand what is good.,1 "yay!!!!! i have anxiety with the floor too, and i dont think i could do what you did! not yet anyway... but yay!!! so proud :)",0 I’m an artist and this is absolutely incredible! I’ve probably seen 200+ paintings today and this is definitely my favourite! Keep up the good work!,0 "I’m in this picture and I don’t like it okay but fr how do ya’ll stop obsessing about ocd because it’s the only thing I obsess over now and I don’t know what I’m so afraid of lmao",0 "I really appreciate this post because I feel like this is 100% me. It’s hard when some of the ADHD symptoms say “disorganized” yet many people would say I’m the most organized person they’ve met or worked with. Y’all I can make a list like nobody’s business. I can create a 5 year plan with step by step objectives to reach a goal. But when it comes time for ACTION? ... yeah. This is where I fall short. It’s so infuriating. I’m ambitious, career driven and thirsty for knowledge. It feels like I have a complete split personality of a lazy person living in my head. I present well on paper but I have this other side of me that takes over (ADHD.) Also I “saved this post for later to come back and read again.” Famous last words for an ADHDer😂😂",1 "Man, this doesn't age well. It's near midnight on a holiday weekend, and you just scared me shitless that I had work and thus a 4am wake up call.",1 "I sometimes feel the most anxious when I feel alright! Like, ah, everything is about to be worse cause I am actually ok right now.",0 Bruh my ADHD ass would have shed a little tear secretly while I bounced the ball in the corner,1 "I am so impressed!!! A couple weeks ago I ordered a salad at a cafe without baby spinach but then it came out with baby spinach. Initially it triggered my anxiety, but then I made the decision not to send it back. I dressed and ate it all. I hadn't eaten a salad outside of my own home in years. It was so good, and I was so happy and proud of myself. I prob won't do often still, but just knowing that I did it and survived still feels huge. I was okay. I am okay. We are okay.",0 "HAHAHA oh my god easily one of the most relatable ocd memes yet. well done, thank you for this!! 💗",0 "Yep... I had a friend tell me a couple months ago that she had anxiety and all she did was call out to Jesus to help her and she literally felt the anxiety leave her body. This type of thing makes my blood boil. This is the reason I haven’t been to church since realizing I have OCD because it already makes me thing why the hell would God make me this way I don’t need you telling me that if I just prayed or talked to God it would go away. Because let me tell you the amount of times I have screamed and cried at the top of my lungs while in the shower or in my car, for God to take my anxiety and OCD away. He not once has lifted it out of my body. So what does that mean God doesn’t love me? Or I’m not praying loud enough ?",0 "This is literally why I went to a psychiatrist that led to my diagnoses/medication. I’m usually very anti pharmaceutical, but after years (my entire 35) of thinking I was just a lazy piece of shit in spite of the fact I really do have goals and ambitions, I heard the term “executive dysfunction” and everything clicked. I’m so grateful to my friend who helped me work through the stigma, it took a year of counseling with her and I still deal with it and am very private about my struggles and especially medication, but it’s been life changing. So helpful to see so many others talking about it!!",1 Don’t forget to check and make sure the stove is off three times before you check the door an additional two.,0 "Could there be a little area for pacing? Maybe call it, Pace Place?",1 "-headdesk- I cannot believe I was actually reading a post on this subreddit about struggling with chores, and I remembered I put laundry in the wash 24 hours ago and it needed to be dried....",1 Doctors hate him for this one simple trick he knows to cure ADHD,1 Real talk: this is what meditation retreats are for. There's strong evidence supporting mindfulness training as a way to manage ADHD symptoms. Great resource if you have the option to give it a try.,1 "I'm so happy you were able to get past that's daily ritual today, one day at a time, keep up the good work,, you look absolutely fabulous by the way, amazing hair :-)",0 "Exactly how I feel. It’s like my brain never freakin shuts off. I just think about every single aspect of life constantly. Family, relationship, tasks, work... it’s never ending",0 Are you kidding me?? This is amazing❤️ it reminds me of a Frida kahlo painting,0 "Sorry to see that you're going through this. I experienced severe hand washing compulsions in 2018. From what I've learnt, OCD is exacerbated by stress. Are you going through a stressful situations caused by work, relationships etc.? If you are, I would advise you implement some coping strategies that works for you.",0 Now if only I could get someone who actually does CBT/ERP... every single therapist I've ever gotten referred to has been on the psychodynamics side and not to entirely write off one branch of psychotherapy but at least it simply doesn't work for OCD.,0 Even numbers or dividable by 5. Everything else makes me 😖,0 "I hear you. I suppose I can relate to that toxic positivity. As someone who’s only recently been diagnosed later in life I know I have had to practice a disproportionate amount of optimism to get through life. Sounds like defensiveness connected to survival strategies. Ironically, it sounds like this pattern of toxic positivity is really an ableist assumption and expectation which is dismissive in the way some of us have experienced our whole lives. It’s important to not ignore or sidestep the burdens that society places on us so we can more meaningfully grapple with and address those issues and impacts. I’m glad this space has a really healthy culture in this regard too!",1 ".... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....",0 Yup all the time I'm always afraid I may have done something and that memory will resurface years later and tear me apart. I'm glad to know others go through this aswell. When I was about 8 I actually convinced myself I did something terrible and it was awful.,0 Bruh I have this ritual with the garage door because I’m so scared that I’m gonna leave it open so I take a picture and video and sometimes have the other person do the same but I have to check by my house three times and even then I don’t believe it’s closed and I’m making it up. Only on bad days though. On good days I’m like I probably left it open and I’ll check once or I’ll call someone to check on it.,0 "I pretty much always skipped all my classes in college besides exams and showing up to turn in papers, so making them online low key might have helped me lol.",1 "I've personally been lucky to have built good relationships with my leadership and they have helped me learn new skills to help cope and increase my output. Tbh, I feel like I function at a higher level at work when I have oversight and accountability, I struggle at home developing my self and making use of down time. I routinely disappoint myself when it comes to fitness and side hustles. On that note I learned a new trick that has helped me a lot which is not taking off my shoes when I walk in the door. That helps me get right into what ever chores or exercise I want to do. I started wearing my joggers yo work so I can hop right into a workout when I'm home.",1 "Frozen broccoli - the flash frozen kind actually tastes good, not like the frozen broccoli of old. We buy a huge thing from Costco, leave it in the freezer and use as needed. Same with spinach. It's cheaper too! Fuck me though I forgot I was supposed to return a pair of shoes someone bought me as a gift",1 "I relate to this , but didn’t realize it was connected to OCD. I thought that type of thinking was due to low self- confidence.Can someone explain ?",0 "This. I love yoga- it has been integral in my healing. But the moment I was handed a copy of the Secret by a dear friend and teacher, and read a few pages I was grossed out. It is straight up dangerous to tell unsuspecting people to be concerned about the content of their thoughts. That shit cannot be helped.",0 My ADD gets me to clean half of my room until I remember that I dont know if other people really like melted ice cream or if im the only one so I google it and start reading articles and then leave a giant pile of socks on the floor,0 Yo what😭😭😭😭😭 is this what normal people think about,0 "That’s how it gets you It makes it seem logical but it isn’t",0 "I'm convinced that some people, despite being educated and living with someone with ADHD, simply lack whatever combination of intellectual curiosity and empathy is necessary to understand why a non-neurotypical can't ""just do it"".",1 "100% me. Also, current me: it's 12:00, have a meeting at 14:00 which means I won't get anything done before it, and I'll be eating late dinner at 16:00, so I won't do anything done after meeting too. May as well get back to scrolling $discussion-board. Teenage version of me: Mom! Did you *have* to schedule this thing to happen at 1 PM? Now my day is cut in half and I won't get anything done!",1 "I always ask and I find more times than not, the person has no fucking idea whatsoever. lol.",1 “Buy a planner” to this day I struggle not to strangle someone when I hear this suggestion. LIKE OMG IM CURED HOW HAVE I NEVER THOUGHT OF THAT IVE LIVED NEEDLESSLY MISERABLE FOR 30 YEARS THANK YOU!!,1 I be getting so paranoid taking my earphones in and out and turning the sound down. Like sometimes I even think I can hear my name being called. I usually use 1 earbud now so this doesn’t happen.,0 I'm doing it now. Time to get back to vacuuming. I just was diagnosed 2 weeks ago. The last 40 years now makes sense!,1 "Same, my friends look at me like I'm fucking weird asf and get annoyed by shit that doesn't even effect them. Fuck off please is what I think.",0 "Hey I don't know if I have ADHD, and yes I am seeing a therapist (took the initiative jus yesterday). Can I like message someone here who has ADHD, I jus want to talk and understand if what's going on with me is adhd(the therapist seems really busy and hasnt started the first session yet) and don't wanna poke any random person from this subreddit so just tell me if it's okay to message you. Thank you very much",1 IF I DONT SPEND TIME GOOGLING CAR CRASH STATISTICS MY FAMILY WILL DIE IN ONE OKAY,0 "Its similar to being deaf and being in a deaf community. Communities like that becime a circlejerking joke. Not everybody is having a good time with the disability, Karen. I get the part of building selft steem but not everyday has to be bright. On the opposite side there are communities where every post is doom and gloom. Its just depressing to be there and read all that shit. I think a balance between the two types of expression of experiences is perfect. I am also on the spectrum and ADHD,btw. Its not a fucking superpower. Thats sounds like something that would occur to a mom to make herself feel better about his weird child, tbh.",1 "Hey, I have asperger's and adhd too, I \_know\_ I'm magic. :D",0 "Absolutely. Everything else about this disorder I can manage. But the inability to stay on top of simple day to day tasks is debilitating. My marriage is suffering because of it, and my life in general for that matter.",1 I feel the same! And all of the events that should have made you just slightly angry one at a time finally pile into this avalanche of hatred that comes falling down on a very minor inconvenience.,1 "You took the words straight out of my mouth. This is exactly how I feel. On a related note, this morning I was making tea and as usual I left the door of the cabinet that I took the cup from open. My mum called to me and said you keep doing it, yet it had not occurred to me at all. So basically, we don't notice things, and when we do its usually too late.",1 "I feel I'm in a special kind of Hell. I suffer from ADHD and Narcolepsy, and I've tried TONS of drugs/medications (even found a few that worked well... But they're illegal and/or unable to be prescribed) and the best option I have available at the moment is amphetamines. I'm forced to be dependent on speed all of the time -- even when I don't need to focus. I think that the light is that there are so very many people suffering right now from a very similar thing, and that is the type of situation that is ripe for solutions. In modern human society we have treated or have found (near) cures for everything from cancer to color-blindness. with something that affects millions of people and only continue to affect millions more, I feel like solutions are on the way. Somewhere out there is a researcher or scientists or pharmacist who suffers just like we do, but they have the knowledge and resources to do something about it. It's painful-- trust me I know. However, humanity is making great progress on these and other things. 30-40 years ago, someone with ADHD would just be called stupid slow or unmotivated. Now there are treatments, medications, and therapies exclusively designed for it. And WHEN solutions are found for it, they will spread like wildfire.",1 Can't relate. It's like my adhd is less the attention deficit part and almost entirely the no motivation part. Imagine having chronic lack of ability to emotionally connect to your established motivation and utilize it. That's my adhd.,1 "I have what i can only describe as nightmares about these things. In the dreams, nobody every listens or believes me. Everything is my fault, and if I get upset or frustrated by it, they say it proves their point. I don't think I've really understood why this was such an intense anxiety of mine until reading this thread.",1 "I use to be fine at communicating, now I'm not. I relate to this so hard",1 "I'm never excessively tidy. If something is dirty, I can live with it, if it isn't dangerous or too obviously messy. On the other hand The other day I had trouble falling asleep because I touched a bottle of castor oil and was afraid that it contained traces of ricin (an insanely dangerous poison made from castor beans) although I know people FUCKIN DRINK castor oil as a laxative and it never contains ricin (and I just touched it!!! Most of the time you need to inhale ricin for it to kill. Ingesting may also work but requires higher doses). Several days earlier I ate pickles (factory made) and was afraid they had botulinum toxin. So, well, you see the problem here.",0 So simple. So profound. Why hadn't I thought of that before?! Literally cured. Amazing... :-z,1 "Google Docs has this, too!! I make sure to remind my students that it exists and they should totally use it to help compose their papers. Especially for my kids who struggle just getting their thoughts on paper.",1 "> Having a tablet like an iPad Pro is helpful for keeping colorful notes. Avoids issues losing notebooks I dont know if they were talking about using it with the Apple Pencil but you dont even need the iPad Pro for that, just the basic iPad will do. Any iPad released 2018 or beyond will be good. I have the 2018 iPad.",1 "I was convinced after I broke up with my high school bf I was pregnant and didn't know it since I watched that show ""I didn't know I was pregnant"" in high school so until we were broken up for 10 months I was constantly worried about it lol....don't know why in that whole time I never bought a pregnancy test...thank god I'm a lesbian so that's no longer a concern",0 "Yes, def, and then I got my wish with the rona: no more social engagements, WFH, etc. and tbh, I love it. My life is so much slower not having to get up early and run around and commute and rush back, but sleep and sit in my garden and walk my neighborhood. My head is less full of everyday bs, and I can do things like laundry or supermarket shopping when I remember them and/or have the energy, rather than forcing myself to around work hours. I’m starting a new job Monday that’s permanently WFH and I’m excited about this new life.",1 I'm so glad you posted this! Lately I've been thinking about how weird it feels when you're in the obsession versus out of it... Once I've calmed down I can't even believe that I was convinced of \[insert obsession here\] yet in the moment it's the most realistic thing I've ever conjured. Weird.,0 My therapist thinks it’s my fight/flight/freeze stress response . I pick freeze apparently and go to sleep.,1 "Also love ""make a to do list"", which does help sometimes, but I always have one already and just can't do the things on there. Especially when I'm having a depressive episode. I think the problem with mental health issues is that everyone knows these feelings and moods kinda, but just not on that crippling level and so they assume their little ""life hacks"" can help someone with a serious medical issue. It's like someone that had a scratch on the arm giving advise about treatment to someone with a bone sticking out of their arm.",1 "Yup. Had a job interview this morning, so I made sure to go to bed a little earlier than usual to have extra time for my nightly ruminations/obsessions/""woe is me"" thoughts, but of course I still took forever to fall into a shitty quality sleep",0 "I don’t have social medias because of that, it’s terrible",0 "This shit fucking pisses me off, people don’t fucking realize how horrible ocd can be and YOU DONT hAVE IT IF You SIMPLY LiKE TO BE TIDY",0 "No one is taking care of that poor morbidly obese dog though. Its breathing is labored, it grunts in pain as it moves because of the weight crushing its joints. (Thanks OCD, for ruining everything.)",0 "Holy shit, this is why I spend 2 full months planning and micromanaging the fuck out of every party I throw",1 And the only reason you had done it in the first place was that so they don't die the next day,0 I only wish I could channel my hyper fixation into useful things. I went so deep down the PC building rabbit hole I could've told you ever protocol and standard of every motherboard made since the turn of the century. If I could apply that level of obsession to something else like code or math I could be fucking brilliant. For now I'm stuck with a bunch of random bullshit that I half remember.,1 "I'm sorry you have to go through this :( Keep fighting even though it's hard! (Because it IS really hard) :( I hope they get better soon!!",0 "Interesting. I actually perform much better in my online classes. In-class classes require me to actually have to try to go to class and pay attention. Even if I’m present in every class, I’m only physically present. Mentally, I’m usually in another universe or on reddit. Since I’ve always waited to the last minute to teach everything to myself, these online classes work perfectly for that.",1 And then you start getting compulsions about not getting compulsions lmaooo,0 "Honestly I just tell myself that if this is how ""hell"" really works then all of us are going there, even the ""nicest"" people because we all make mistakes, we all sin.",0 "I think it’s called intrusive sleep, and afaik it is definitely an ADHD thing",1 "Enforcing my own ""rules"" doesn't work because if I make them up, they're not real, just made up!",1 "Sometimes, I’ll write down my thoughts to remind myself that a lot of them are irrational. Funny that it doesn’t matter to us, but it’s always interesting to see.",0 "When idiots say ""ADHD is superpower"" this is what they should mean Congratulations OP I am proud of you",1 "Let’s add this to my list of “things in my life that suddenly make far more sense because of ADHD” - I am 100% this way too, and tbh? it makes me a better teacher because I am always sure to explain WHY to my students as well.",1 2011 was when I started having intrusive thoughts (I was 13). I remember I couldn’t even write down the thoughts in my journal.,0 "Yes lol, i was at class at morning and i slept like 2/3 of the college class. I woke up like, damn, i missed the class, but i was online on the call so, i got my presence checked lol",1 My current awful feel is Too Hot. 87f/30c heat plus no ac plus having to keep the windows closed because of wild fires makes it too dang hot.,1 "I felt that on a personal level. 😔 I really like this subreddit because I can really relate to posts!",0 "This is me rn. I have online class and teachers aren't really helping me. Now, I'm not depresseed (Psychiatrists deny that and I personally think that they're right), I have anxiety however. Every single class is boring and whatever stuff that I need to understand or do, I do it in urgency before deadline.",1 "What I try to apply in my household is that whoever notices the mess first, they do it. We should not ask someone to do it unless it's a abnormal busy week. And it's been working, everyone is more aware somehow and more collaborative and less prone to fight about stressing mess related stuff. After all living things will leave some mess every time so in between stuff we try to be more relevant, as long as the house gets clean and proper regularly and after messy stuff. I hate doing dishes though, I get too much thoughtful. :/",1 I’ve found that the best way to get off the OCD thought loop of torture is to find what it’s fearing and try to sit with it or accept it.. watching the distress/terror/disgust/ shame building like a tsunami and just ride that shit out. So.. in this scenario is the worst part that you’re a fraud? Or that you might be seeking sympathy? Or that you might not ever know for sure? Find the one that gives you the gut punch and let it ride. Best of luck.,0 "My curse that has only gotten worse (in the last 3 or 4 years anyway) is these accursed parentheticals. It's so effing hard to take them out, my brain just thinks this way. (With little side trips and pop-up video style invasive fun facts while I think, I mean) I've written hundreds of comments on reddit, with a parenthetical every other sentence, had to go back and realize that I can just out a period and start a new sentence. I have no idea why it seems so important to ""sidenote"" everything... (Actually I do, it's the ADHD)",1 If I trusted my gut feeling I would never leave my house,0 "Perfect, wish I could show it to my friends but then I'd be acting like a victim lul",0 "This is such a solid reminder! Made me go check my bookmarked web pages too and found all sorts of stuff I saved months ago (and completely forgot about, as usual) for a paper I'm currently writing.",1 I work from a home studio as a hairstylist and I do this constantly even though I’m in the place I know I need to be I will check over and over and get up to the salon 30 min to an hour before my app is even supposed to be there just to be safe,0 "Honestly it makes wonder if college is even worth it, I know I’m smart enough but does it matter if I’m just gonna forget everything after it. How am I supposed to develop cybernetics if I can’t remember basic formulas after learning them.",1 "Everytime I walk into a store with my girlfriend, I immediately get overstimulated, and I know she's talking to me, but I'm so busy with taking in everything its too much sometimes. I usually gotta ask her few times what she said",1 I remember trying to joke about this with a coworker once and that was the moment I realized that normal people don't have thoughts like this,0 What is the difference that people feel when they take vynase? Same?,1 "I can’t believe how many have had such relatable experiences. My awkwardness as a teenager, undiagnosed narcolepsy and ADHD made me super timid and shy. This led me to be friends with people that made me feel so insecure and uncomfortable about my personality, causing me to always feel like I was the problem. Over the last year I’m realising that I work so hard to suit people as I always assume I’m the one with flaws so if someone isn’t being nice or is making me feel uncomfortable I must have done something wrong and am responsible for them making me feel bad. But it’s just not the case, I’m realising my hyper awareness in social situations is actually an incredible skill and the fact I’m a bit of a weirdo allows me to relate to so many people and form great connections with people. I no longer wish to indulge those negative people that are only marking me feel bad due to their own insecurities.",1 "Oh god this made me laugh so hard. I'm sorry your dad is being a pain, OP.",1 Couldn’t these also apply to anxiety? I’m only asking because reading through these comments I’ve had all the thoughts people have mentioned and I haven’t been diagnosed with OCD. I don’t know if I’ve been tested either. My brother has OCD and he’s older but I’m pretty sure it’s not a genetic thing. I’ve been thinking about why I’ve had these thoughts a lot really and ya know I want to know why so I can stop it but at the same time I don’t want to address it and make it real.,0 "this just happened to me last week. NOT fun. i thought i had lost it for good. hope everyone is taking care of themselves today!",0 I was coming up with reasons why it’s not ocd as I read the title of this post lol,0 Holy cow man that's awesome! Very well done indeed!,1 "Ever seen How to ADHD's ""Why Is It So Hard to Do Something That Should Be Easy? [Wall of Awful](https://youtu.be/Uo08uS904Rg)",1 "Omigoodness. Yes. You do not know-- or possibly you do-- how many sobbing emails I have sent about not being able to catch up, about getting caught up on one thing only to get behind on ten others. It's like I'm running on a treadmill. I am going fast fast fast. I'm sweating a lot. My body is sore. I'm super thirsty. I am losing wait. I want to know if I look weird as I'm doing things. But then it turns out, I'm not actually going anywhere at all.",1 THIS. That stigma part is so true that I can't even-,0 "I sort of feel validated in my own irrational fears now though... I thought for sure all of the injustices in the world were due to my OWN personal and horrid incompetence.",0 "Haven't been able to properly put words to this, but yes. Definitely not just you.",0 YES!! I was raised by a single father and it's a worry I have daily that something will happen to him..,0 "Is it just me or are there more people who get a lot of motivation when working with others, but with a small twist :D - I get a lot of motivation to think of everything what needs to be done and I am happy to work on something specific with other people, but only as long as I can be an observer saying other people what to do, even with all the small details, but just can't get myself to be the one actually doing stuff?",1 "That's honestly my entire life, it's killed most of my enjoyment for things",1 "Honestly, i haven't really noticed it, because my native language is Slovak and it uses a shitload of commas all the time. But yeah i hate how little commas there are in english. Even now, i am probably using way too many commas.",1 "Keep a diary about something eg when you took meds in relation to food. Er, ok then.",1 "Is not being able to differentiate sounds a thing? It’s like i hear everything at once and my brain refuses to filter out some of it For example when my bf says something and the radio is on i cannot freaking understand him The more sounds the more terrible even if they aren’t that loud",1 "100% agree, and sometimes it really helps to hear this",0 "The reason I came on here. Is to find out more information about ADHD medication, and I would like to ask you guys a question. Can ADHD medication improve your social skills????!!",1 Ngl but that is some pretty impressive memory you got there,0 "I overloaded myself with planners, fast forward 2 months, I'm now running 6 different companies, all in different fields",1 I am once again scrubbing my hands/ peeing before sleep/ closing my car/ locking my house,0 God this. I just had a meeting this morning and I swear when I'm trying to get an important thing across dealing with a bug in our code I go from being able to talk to like 4 words per minute. Its like my brain turns off and I'm struggling to find basic words. Maybe I'm just dumb. God knows.,1 "Me!!! And I REALLY related to about eight posts, but there would be this tempting array of other Reddit posts...and lands sake, I keep looking but I can’t find those posts again! Did I save? Nooooooo. Usually a phrase from the preview stays with me. I stubbornly search but can’t find. This post, here, really connects with me. I keep thinking “Ahh, you sissy, you probably don’t have anything wrong. You just aren’t doing anything right.” Then I see posts like this, and I remember that this is real. It’s like being forced to move around an endless board game with interesting parts, but the real world is waiting...and the time wasted is now much more than the time remaining. I feel like I’m sinning, in a non religious sense.",1 "All I can say is that I've been there. I'm sure you know about every hand cream/gentle soap under the sun and if you don't there's tons of comments here recommending certain brands so I'm not going to talk about that. OCD sucks. Anyone who has it or knows someone who does knows that. But there are ways to get through it. I'm only a 16 year old teenage girl, so I don't have tons of life experience, but I can say that you CAN get better. I don't know your situation, but I can say that I've started to get a hold on my OCD through counselling. It's not therapy and I doubted it at first but my counselor is really nice and has helped me look at some of the underlying causes and given me strategies to cope and it's only been a few months. If it's within your means to get professional help, whether it's online counselling or an in-person therapist with a PHD, just having someone knowledgeable to talk to can be a great help. The current pandemic definitely doesn't help people with germ/contamination OCD like us, but it helps to talk to friends and family that care about you and to get the help you deserve. Hang in there.",0 "My cousin was trying to order chicken nuggets and she always would call them chicken nuggers (from this weird menu item that was sort of a meme at the time) she was focusing so hard on not saying it that she said ""chicken n-words"" 😑",0 Omg. OCD and Tim & Eric are my life. Which I’m now realizing is pretty sad lmao,0 Currently certifying to be a doula and I am terrified that I'm never going to be able to pitch myself to clients or actually DO the job because my brain just... doesn't brain. 😬,1 "Thanks, still needed to study french and I’ve been avoiding it the entire time, maybe I would start",1 Here’s where I tell you I created a personal playlist called Watchlater2 and didn’t miss a beat adding to that one.,1 I hate this. And when you point it out? “No really...I am totally OCD...I’m not just saying it.”,0 wtffffffffffffff i thought i was the only one doing this ? this can't be real,0 "Oh. Great. This is what I'm going to college for? Yay... ^(What is life...) ^(Wtf am I doing...?)",1 "This but I don't look that cool when I'm going through that thought process, I think I'm more of a jerky mess lol.",0 "A method was recommended to me that is basically try to do a small thing, once it's done walk away. Doesn't matter how big or small and then do something fun. Then come back when you're ready and build on the accomplishment. Also, figure out when you feel the most productive and shoot for doing things then. For me it's right when the coffee kicks in",1 You gotta love feeling guilty about the time you wasted worrying about your obsession.,0 So ive been thinking about starting a new group where adhd people play video games with like minded individuals during the day...,1 Good on you OP! It's especially difficult during these times so you have my respect!,0 I have uticaria ; itchy skin. Hypersensitive skin. Zyrtec medicine for allergies takes care of it and I sleep better. Helps with my skin/hair annoyance. Maybe you should try it. It’s an OTC medicine. I can buy a whole years worth at a time. Really helps me,1 "Ya man, yelling cures 0% of neurological diversities. I don't think many neurotypical people fully appreciate how much is hinged on this amazing gift of executive function, let alone what it might be like to live without it. I've known so many people, ADHD therapists, family, friends who've been around me and my ADHD my whole life... And even they don't get it. But hey, we get it. I get it. This bubble is full of people who know you're trying your best and we're here for you OP.",1 "Oof. Same today. I halfway redid my liquor cabinet (removed a shelf and cleaned it but everything is on my table now), I have 2 loads of laundry left, About 80lbs of books to unload from my car, and now I'm on reddit standing by the door in my running clothes not wanting to go run, but also wanting to go run.",1 "I find I do the dishes best when I'm not trying to do the dishes. If I want to do the dishes? Nope, can't get up If I want to make breakfast (and I've finished doing all the work convincing myself that I need to eat if I want to stay regulated and focused at work etc) and I get into the kitchen and the kitchen is a gentle mess from making dinner the night before, I sort it out before I make food and then make sure everything is loaded into the machine before I sit down to eat it. Having a dish machine is a game changer",1 "When I avoid or put off a task, I assume I will get to it eventually. I'd feel so guilty if someone else did it for me.",1 I had a very similar compulsion in the past. Well done!,0 "I can’t begin to even say how much this picture resonates with me. Everything feels like it’s falling apart, especially with this week in particular. I hope you begin to feel better soon",0 I did this with my psychologist for the first time and I had literally never said some of these thoughts out loud before. I was like damn girl... you really crazy,0 ".. dude, you aren't alone. i was 15 and i ended up telling someone and cps got involved. nothing came out of it, but the whole experience was so traumatizing. i wouldn't wish these kinds of ocd worries on anyone",0 I have to admit that o was actually like this before my symptoms first manifested,0 "Not with emails, but I check my PowerPoints are ok dozens of times, which sucks a lot because I used to love doing presentations.",0 "As a kid I used to call me panicking during tests ""testing mode"" because I panicked during every test, and I was unaware that normal people don't panic when faced with a test.",1 Is this a subliminal LGBT message from an OCD company?,0 """You're smart, you can handle it."" Sure bu... ""Nahh Im sure youll be fine. jUSt FoCuUUs"" *hhnngghh*",1 "Okay but for real I think I have schizophrenia or some kind of psychosis...and idk what to do...even if I see someone to try to get a diagnosis, what if I accidentally lie to them? I would never intentionally lie, but what if it happens? What if I accidentally lie to them?...ahhh I hate being alive...",0 "I'm the opposite. I will become so laser focused on a movie that when others around me are talking to me, it is just like, ""blah blah blah blah..."" Wife hates this.",1 Very much true! Spot on! I wonder if more people with mental disability's need to be teaching/coaching after they are stable.,1 That was like reading a page out of my life almost exactly. I wish I had advice but I’m in the same boat and you’re not alone.,1 "I want to go one day without seeing a meme or post on this sub about this shit, just one.",0 "I blink hard or shake my head. But, now that my OCD has calmed down this part of the year, I am able to not have a physical reaction most of the time",0 "I'll take the juice and nutter butter, thanks. Put the ketchup in the fridge and remove the nuggets from the stove top. This is how we get ants. Then just move the dishes from the table to the sink. If you feel like you can wash a couple of dishes else leave it for later, no fuss. Divide and conquer.",0 It’s funny because I love watching videos and doing research about conspiracy theory stuff and can seperate my brain from it and know it’s just entertainment but when its about myself all bets are off.,0 Yes I do baby. I’m right there with you. This is so very painful.,0 "Anytime I'm free from my thoughts, be it a few hours or even a few minutes, I try and start doing something like playing video games or something like that to distract myself for when those thoughts do come back.",0 "Geeeze just had this convo with a family memeber who said “oh maybe our cousin has it too, he likes to organize bla bla”. So infuriating!!!! Then proceeded to tell me we don’t have mental illness in our family (cause we’re West Indian). SMH",0 Hang on now—it’s my fault for taking off my necklace the wrong way,0 "this actually makes me realize a lot of things I’ve done before and said was me being lazy. thank you for showing this, and good luck out there!",0 This made my day. That’s so true. I was literally sitting and replying to my thoughts.,0 I just went through those. I had some weird shit from nearly a decade ago in there.,1 "Oh, like that free online course I joined then paused indefinitely right before the final exam!",1 "Wow. It’s me. Sometimes even when I start bleeding I’m still convinced I’m pregnant.",0 Oh my god yes all the time. It was my grandfather’s birthday earlier this week and I couldn’t sleep the night before because I kept thinking about losing him. Then when that thought stopped it went towards dread about my boyfriend and parents dying. Thoughts like those and existential dread are some of the worst things I struggle with.,0 "“No one told you when to run. You missed the starting gun.” -Pink Floyd, “Time”",1 "I suppose I'll get downvoted for this but I've got to ask... Why didn't you just jump in and finish the dishes? So far we've got your girlfriend giving you a taste of her tea, getting you coffee and donuts while you go for a run, organizing in the kitchen (tea shelf), cleaning the cat box, emptying the dishwasher, and now you're here getting karma off her dx... Maybe I'm missing something, but I thought the punchline would be something like ""after she unloaded the dishwasher I jumped in to finish up. She brought me coffee and donuts after all!""",1 I started writing the concepts down in a brain dump. I thought it would help me “remember to remember”these useful tips. Silly me!,1 "Fuck.. hitting too close at heart with both barrels of buckshot, OP.",1 Yeah same. If I try to write it I’m just gonna get sidetracked and then never do it,1 "Yeah, cancer can happend to everyone, even if you have perfectly healthy habit. I mean, it was happened because of random genetic mutation goes wrong. And each of our cells are mutated, everytime. Don't feel bad about it mate. Also, get well soon.",1 "me in sixth grade trying not to yell mastur*ation at school.",0 Definitely a great response. My favorite misconception is when people see my messy house and say “I thought you had OCD?” 🤦🏼‍♀️,0 That hit hard man. This is me irl for the past half hour.. theres like 6 people in my living room downstairs,0 "I'm an atheist and I do this. I've done it even single night without fail for the past 3+ years (even in hospital the night after having my daughter, exhausted from labour and trying to breastfeed, I still had to do it before I could sleep). Then a couple of months ago I fell asleep without finishing it, the next day OHs grandma passes away. Of course my OCD tells me it's my fault for not finishing the prayer.",0 Can't just leave shit at 4.either 3 or 5 or my someone dies,0 "This reminds me of a time where I complied with my ocd because it was easy, I'm never doing that again, sets off a whole chain reaction ""if you don't do this you're just lazy"", and ""why not it's easy"" never again.",0 I’m so tired of digging my heels in against tasks that will improve my life,1 "Think of em like weeds. Yes they’re in the garden, but you didn’t plant them.",0 "When I was younger it was “if you step on a line you’ll die, if you don’t make that jump you’ll die” etc!",0 "I have 30+ hikes and trips planned and organised almost to details. I plan when I have to study. So until the end of the exams, i will have 10 or 15 more planned to details.",1 I have a weird dual response. I’ve always performed really well for the tough-love type coaches. You get in my face and yell what you want me to do specifically and I can get right to it if it means doing something that some one else wants or needs. If it is vague “motivation” to do something for me I have the same reaction you do. I already know I don’t like the lack of mental impetus I have at times. I beat myself up over it. I don’t need someone else to do that. Support and having an outlet to discuss my struggles has worked for me much better.,1 Almost posted this last week. I have no idea what it is because I hate naps and I really hate sleeping.,1 "Zoom has made things so much worse. You can't sneak away or break eye contact without it being super obvious. I now just don't show up to the weekly family zoom unless there is a game that we are playing together, or else I do audio only. I did not explain or warn, I just did audio only, one day. When my mom was confused, I just explained that I didn't feel like being on video. When she got anxious that something was wrong, I was like, ""Look, sometimes I'm just not going to feel up to being on video, or doing a zoom at all, and I need it to not be a big deal."" 🤷‍♀️My mom's a little temporarily anxious about things, at times, but handles being called out well, so this worked. Meanwhile, my siblings figured out that I only show up when there's a game, and have found an internet boardgame site. I did not consciously decide to only show up for games, but games just happened to clearly make me much more interested, so kudos to them for figuring that out. It's so much better.",1 "I mean, organization doesn't have anything to do with it. That's a separate thing. I have COCD and am a disorganized slob.",0 its nice to see someone else has the shower complusion!!,0 "Yup. A future ""hard stop"" makes the available time feel worthless since it inevitably will be interrupted by whatever is scheduled. I generally am able to accomplish the most when there are no time constraints hanging over me, even when the time actually spent is a few hours.",1 "This girl I was dating about 8 years ago had a friend she'd known since high school that did not care for me at all. She'd constantly throw backhanded comments at me. After just about every time we hung out with the friend, my girlfriend would say thank you for not going down to her level and reacting to what she's saying. Yeah, I completely missed whatever shade this chick was throwing my way the first few times it happened. It was all of this three layers deep nonsense that was an insult if you tilted your head 15 degrees to the right and squinted. Somebody that didn't know her would miss it so she could feel superior because she was mean to you AND you didn't catch it. I eventually cracked the code but still didn't react. Then my girlfriend got tired of this girl being shitty to me and we stopped hanging out with her. Girlfriend stuck around, I put a ring on it and she upgraded into wife. The point is that you can win by not reacting",1 I'm sorry for your loss and thank you for sharing. I was diagnosed later in life and a lot of what you described sounds so familiar. It helps to know others are going through it too.,1 "During university writing classes, I would often defend my arguably excessive use of commas/punctuation because I think it makes reading that much easier. As I learn more about ADHD, it makes perfect sense that this may be related!",1 "So true! I just started buying reasonably healthy frozen meals (in the US, so evol, Eating Well, etc...) for lunch. I take 4-5 of them to work and put them in the freezer. I'm no longer eating lunch out of the vending machine (Starbursts aren't great brain food). I pay $3.48 for each meal, which seemed ridiculous because I could make a whole healthy meal for that. Except I don't. And I eat fast food or vending machine snacks. It feels a lot less expensive now that I always have a healthy-ish option for lunch. Turns out I'm also a lot less distracted when I eat protein for lunch....",1 "That works besides hair, the instructions actually say to repeat LOL 😂",0 "You must have me mistaken; I do this with *all* my saved posts. To only have save-for-later-never-to-return posts from one place just seems so...not stimulating. Now if you'll excuse me, I have upwards of 50 tasks to begin consecutively, so I must get going. I'm saving this post so I can come back to it later though.",1 "Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me..... This song is literally me rn",0 Mine is named Mal and I frequently tell him to shut his stupid fucking face.,0 "A nightmare you can't escape from, is what it feels like to me most times",0 "my compulsions does not involved death as a consequence, I have long accepted it.",0 "This is a great tip, thanks OP! Now, I just need to repeat 20 years of education and I will be all set. I remember trying to focus in night classes as an adult. Even though I had much better focus when I got older, it was still murder. I got past this by writing out my notes by hand and my professor was also very keen on this, it really helped but it would have been nice to have a little backup when I wanted to sit and ponder something (often).",1 "How many things did you avoid doing to do this amazing bit of work for everyone?! So good, thank you.",1 "I am currently being evaluated for ASD. If confirmed I would fall under HFA (high functioning autism). One thing the psychologist mentioned that stuck with me is the awareness of shortcomings that is inherent to higher intelligence. A person with ASD and an IQ of 70 probably doesn't realize their shortcomings. A person with ASD and an IQ of 130 is likely acutely aware of every time they have struggled with social situations, work situations, etc. Being a spectrum disorder there will always be a disparity in perspectives. The unfortunate reality is that some people will not be capable of seeing other perspectives resulting in unintentional toxicity.",1 Sometimes I get multiple so I stuff my face in my pillow and shut down. Sometimes it goes away.,0 "Like, the solution is easy and impossible at the same time",0 "My ocd is all about thoughts like “I’ll die if I don’t shut the door 3 times in a row” or “the world will end if I don’t rinse my cup out 5 times” or “my mom will die if I don’t listen to this song 3 times in a row” literally the most ABSURD stuff in the world. And I have certain routines that I HAVE to do every night, especially before bed",0 "I have never felt such a connection to a reddit post, as I feel right now. SO TRUE",1 "For years I've been looking for an explanation why I couldn't do what I had to do when I actually wanted to, I simply couldn't. People called me lazy & said stuff like ""getting something done is easy youre the one who doesn't want to"". That's fucking terrible to deal with, but just remember the fact that you're showing there that you care means you're trying, sth that they don't try to do when it comes to being comprehensive.",1 "Oh God! I used to be so so so bad at this when I used to drink. I do not miss drinking, probably for this reason. Lol, Happy New Year's!!!!",0 Cancer sucks. Thank you for sharing your cautionary tale. Best wishes in treatment and recovery!,1 "OMG YES! I saw someone say something about being kinda ocd because… I don’t even remember, she wrote OCD wrong and I just read that and replied that OCD isn’t just having a few habits, it’s exhausting and disturbing.",0 Pretty sure he is bipolar. Could have ADHD too of course but his crazy humor seems more like mania to me. He also has reoccurring depressive episodes and the last years he has really lost the plot. Keeps talking about how nothing exists and nothing matters and reality isn't real etc.,1 It’s the garbage disposal for me. My morbid brain won’t let me rest without thinking of sticking my hand in while doing the dishes,0 "Gotta get off the bed and go pee and get ready for bed. .....meh, fiiiine",1 "I use so many commas, and I always speak in run on sentences. Or I write in them anyway",1 "Oof man. Really calling us out here. Only difference is when I wake up I either continue trying to sleep or being on my phone 20 min after my first alarm rang and I only have 10 min to get ready and walk the dog before going to work. And every single time I’m like I’ll be fine I can manage this and then every single time I’m LATE. If I don’t take my medicine I’m extremely drained and sleepy but I still procrastinate on sleep because I don’t know man I just gotta scroll. Eating becomes something of a habit and I just feel compelled to eat even if I’m not hungry which I just found out that it’s because I’m looking for stimulation. Focusing on anything is so tough even if I want to and then I just get so tired.. even after I’ve slept for 9-12 hours. So I go lay down but instead of sleeping I just... scroll. With medication all of that is still present but it’s something that I can handle and I’m still learning how to handle. Everything just becomes more doable and doesn’t feel as terrible or tiring. However it’s still there and some days are better then others. I take it a day at a time at this point.",1 "Yes!!! Some days I'd wake up and be exhausted by 10:00 a.m. because my brain went so crazy in the last few hours. Since I started meditating, and taking some mild medication, I actually have the energy to get through the day.!",0 "My OCD: If you don’t use the same bowl and spoon to eat exclusively cheerios for two days, you wil DIE. Me: Aight man, say less, seems legit. My OCD: You know your fiance is cheating on you, right? He HATES you! Rationally, I know he isn’t a cheater. His family said that before we were together he talked nonstop about me for a year. He’s seen how it has effected his family. He asked me yo marry him the second I turned 18, he was 19. And had been asking ever since. He is a good man. But ocd is an absolute dick, and he understands Me: Why the fuck is he leading me on then! Then cry for like a whole day, and Borderline pays an unwelcome visit.",0 "I have an intense feeling all day long of having to shower and wash my hands cause I feel as if my skin is always dirty. Its stopped me from doing many things I enjoy. Oh yeah, and the feeling of sweating drives me up a wall.",0 this is relatable and aesthetically pleasing at the same time.,0 "Damn i really need to go too, havent cut my hair in nearly 3 years and its looking like the before pic",0 "God do I feel this. My window is from like 9/10 am to maybe 3 if I stretch it. And that's not to say I'm continuously productive but *if* I wanted to get something done it has to happen then. And I do school work then and then I don't have the attention/energy to hand out with people. It made my partner feel a little bereft There's just no way to fit school work and social life into that window. I cannot afford to not do school work in that time frame because my course load is so heavy this quarter. But now I feel bad that I'm neglecting the people in my life.",1 "I identify so much with this. I know I’m a smart, intelligent, and capable person. I have multiple college degrees. So why can’t I for the life of me complete something simple like cook a meal by following a recipe or file my taxes (this causes me so much stress every single year)???",1 "Painting OCD as a bully is so apt... I personify my OCD too, I call her Josie Dee. Whenever she is making life absolutely hell, I say why don't you ever fuck off Josie",0 This has been me so much lately. Feel like I’ve “touched wood” anytime I’ve said anything,0 my fbi agent isn't supposed to speak to me like this is he,1 "I have days like this frequently. I think some of it is that I have a job where I'm surrounded by a lot of folks without ADHD--or people who just mask really, really well--so when people start talking about their weekends full of hobbies and leisure, I'm suddenly super embarrassed that my weekends are digging out from a pile of laundry and dirty dishes while meal prepping so they we don't just eat pizza all week...",1 "With or without stimyoolants?! Either way super happy for you! **stares at my own messy apartment in shame and disgust**",1 "Then my OCD has an idea is all like: Yeah, you totally don't have OCD. You just want attention. Shame on you! Yada, Yada, Yada. Me: :(",0 hey thanks for sharing that. glad to know its not just me.,1 "Years years wasted not pursuing what I enjoy to the point where I don't know anymore what I enjoy and want to do. I'm over myself at this point, over this constant need to be perfect in order to move forward with anything. The crazy thing is that I really admire people who are able to show their process and growth.. I have only recently learned that I have ocd and I soo wish I knew when I was younger. But whatever that's how things went the important thing is that I know now and I can work on changing.",0 "I needed this today! I’ve been in a bad OCD cycle lately, especially with rituals and intrusive thoughts. Thank you for posting.",0 I’m basically always a coiled spring due to procrastination anxiety. How do you relax?,1 "Oh it's a choice? In that case I recommend POCD, have ""fun"" with that one. Or how about harm OCD, had that one my whole life, it's ""cool"". Or I've recently got into HOCD and ROCD, it was something I always ""wanted"". RESEARCH YOUR SHIT, DUMBASS!",0 "My OCD: Just throw him in the entire sack, he'll find the triggers on his own.",0 You’re right! I’ll keep opening and shutting my door until it’s “correct” so my house doesn’t burn down! After all... it’s all that I can think of!,0 You too. I actually thought the same about people with adhd. Best of luck! Stay safe :),0 Yes this hits. I missed a lot of appointments recently because I just cant deal with life.,1 "OCD is a hell of a disorder. In an acute episode it can make your life extra difficult and, to be honest, makes you suffer a lot. If there was a magic pill to ""make it all go away"" wouldn't we all take it? I'm on meds for my OCD and I've never been so calm in my whole life. It was a great decision and I wish everyone could have access to the pills they need. It's not ""an easy way out"". Stop shaming people for seeking help.",0 Or is a headache coming on from being in front of this monitor for 5 hours longer than I planned?,1 "Congratulations! What not being able to focus feels like to you?",1 This is a great pic. I so want a high res image of it.,0 "I hate that out of most disorders, ocd is the one that people make jokes out of the most. It’s gotten to the point that people don’t believe I have actual OCD, and think ocd is just being quirky and neat.",0 Well my experience for me is that my anxiety and depression comes at different times and power of impact due to the situation I am of my adhd. I call it situation and due to my emotional regulation in the sense I amplify what I think I see into something way worse cause more anxiety and depression. Complete mind fuck.,1 Breathtaking and beautifully drawn!! You're very talented!,0 Anyone else shake their head like that’s gonna do anything???,0 "Oh 100%. Even for NTs, the more cognitive energy you devote to something, the more likely you are to remember it. So knowing the why would be helpful for anyone, but especially for someone with memory issues like us. Plus, it helps contextualize the information.",1 Create the habits. Stay clutter free. Form a routine. I'm so excited for you :),1 "My brain is like one of those books, with alternate outcomes.",0 "Yep. It took me years to go from knowing about ADHD to thinking that I might have it, just because I knew I wasn’t hyperactive, so I couldn’t possibly have something with hyperactive in the name, right?",1 "Be aware you are in the honeymoon period with your medication. There are effects that will be constant throughout your medicated treatment but you can definitely have more extreme reactions at the beginning. It’s why many doctors start on a lesser dose and work their way up to the proper dosage, which is important to nail down at first. I personally went into a cleaning spree in my room when I first took it. In the classroom it made me calm and focused. I have seen it bring out extreme emotion in others, including one friend who had rage fit and nearly a psychotic episode his first day, but no issues after that. Everyone can react differently but don’t expect the beginning to be an indicator of every time. Glad you’re having a positive start to your treatment.",1 "Yep. All night until 2 to 3 And because of them, I’ve been waking up at 2 pm",0 "Can someone Eli5 this type of ocd? I've not heard about touching of floors. (I of course mean no disrespect for this question - just generally curious)",0 Looking at this image made me realise I always do this! I had no idea this was my OCD!!,0 "I always tell people my mind is like an interstate with frontage roads. If I don't direct some of the traffic to the frontage road, then the interstate gets jammed up. That's why I'm always listening to music or fidgeting with something when I study",1 "I feel this on a primal level, the tiles in my school aren’t even so I can’t space my feet out correctly and it hurts my soul",0 "Truth. I have even asked people ""there's something wrong with me. What wrong with me""",1 "mine is constantly saying ""i nEeD yOu to bRiNg yOuR pAtiEnCe"" like. do you want me to go to the store and go buy some?? i feel bad about it, but i can't really control it or do much about it",1 Holy crap I can’t believe I found people EXACTLY like me,1 "Me too, all nighter barely eating dehydrated failing school quarantine and fires just over the ridge gang!!!",1 "Not sure if you’ve heard of him, but this immediately reminded me of the Manga artist Junji Ito. I love his work and this looks amazing!",0 "I'm poor. So my hobbies tend to follow; get new interest, watch 12+hours of YouTube about said thing, read all about it, get sad i can do it, find new interest, repeat. I know how to build a boat. Ive been on like 4 boats my entire life. And im 27.",1 "Yep! People always say stuff like ""How can you have OCD if you're so messy?"" and I'm like ""That's just a type of OCD, not everyone with OCD is some kind of neat freak."" If anything, I'd say it makes me slightly messier. I have trouble throwing useless stuff away ""because what if I need it?""",0 "When Netflix asks if your still watching! Oh yea, I was watching something, now I have to go back 3 episodes!",1 "I'm so glad I've found this sub! It seems like every other day a post catches my eye because it's about something I do all the time yet never once connected it to my ADHD. I get it as a parent of 2 kids with ADHD, I understand how it manifests in them but since I'm only self diagnosed I think I'm pretty naive about ADHD traits as it relates to myself. I guess I always thought my overstimulation was from being introverted but now ADHD fills many more gaps than being introverted. Wow! Mind blown!",1 Love that everyone can relate on here. We're in this together and we're not alone. Sending love to everyone.,0 omg. 😂I can so relate to these kinda bizarre intrusive thoughts. This is one of the reasons people REALLY need to stop throwing the term “OCD” around at every opportunity. Do these people experience disturbing thoughts such as these?? Most likely NO.,0 If I don't wear my right shoe first then something bad will happen to me at work.,0 "Indeed. Only for me it's ""accidentally stab someone else"". Fortunately I've learned how to not let my intrusive thoughts upset me like they used to.",0 This is the most relatable post I’ve seen on Reddit so far thank you,1 "Me: cooking food Intrusive thought: *Knife stabby stabby finger*",0 I wish my wife appreciated all things I do rather than harp on all the things I didn’t do.,1 Found out about this limitation about a year ago. It broke my heart but I had to delete a whole bunch of videos from that playlist.,1 DAE just get stressed when they aren’t sure of why they’re stressed lol,1 "Whenever i feel really depressed i mentally repeat to myself ""there's a light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not a train."" I have no idea where i heard it from, but it stick with me As for a class i failed, i got an 8 in gym for a making period in high school (2nd quarter of sophomore year). I did literally nothing for the entire class except for one rainy day when we did a worksheet. I'm actually proud of myself for that",1 Its scary how real this is. Its comforting to know that this isnt uncommon and just my OCD,0 "Me: *breathes* Me: OCD: What if you are not breathing tho?",0 I've had the thought that I caused Coronavirus bc I had ignored compulsions from a few years ago and this was the 'bad thing' it told me would happen if I didn't follow through with it,0 I mean I understand why this is problematic but I don’t really see it as something worth getting upset over. We don’t chide people for saying they’re depressed when they really mean upset or for calling someone a psycho when they really mean acting illogically.,0 "++ that you will (before dying) infect all the people you love, so that they'll also die.",0 "Hi /u/milobdenum and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 I have ocd and definitely feel this. I also don’t think we fully understand all the things associated with these kinds of mental illness,0 *Carefully tries to hide his collection saved posts and screenshots he's forgotten to review*,1 I know those eyes. I have them like this several times a day :-(,0 "> **TL;DR**: Survival instincts outta whack so I wanna travel back in time to hit people. For this reason, I should never be allowed near a time machine or device. Despite knowing this, I will try my best to get either.",1 Pomodoro technique! Google it. Do it. Only way I manage to study,1 "Schiz ocd for the second time , exactly the same feeling and thought .. Didnt have it from 17 to 22 where i was most susceptible of developing it . 23 now and still not psychotic",0 Alright. Believe me I know this disorder sucks but I don't think we should be a bunch of Karen's about it either. I don't see a huge problem with these types of things. It's mostly just the people who think they have OCD because they like to be tidy that bums me out.,0 Okay but i know i think im pretending to fake it i think,0 "Ugh yeah on the bills. For me it was more the destroyed credit rating that happened when I had bills go into default. I realize now that the way I fixed it was by making finances one of the few things I hyper-focused on. I have excellent credit, now, but that was a really shitty lesson to learn. Though I'm also not great at all financial stuff. For example, I have two dormant retirement accounts from previous employers that I should have rolled over or transferred or whatever into my current 401k. Like, years ago. So I guess I'll be paying for that lost interest in retirement.",1 Yep. Was looking for adult coping strategies and got infuriated with the amount of kids classroom strategies etc. Even searching for fidgets made me feel like a kid.,1 "Bro are you kiding me! I do the exact same thing, ocd ruins the fun things and i specifically cant play my favourite game football manager crazy how simillar we are",0 I just started talking to a therapist and psychiatrist for my anxiety but found out on top of my anxiety I actually have adhd… she brought it to my attention and my mind is blown because this is what I thought life was. Realizing I don’t just have bad memory at a young age… I’m not lazy I get distracted then forget my original task. I always felt like I don’t have enough time during the day. I’m too busy to even eat but I just thought I was a busy person.,1 "Yeah that’s the thing I don’t remember anything I read or do at night anyway, I’m like a mindless zombie, so it’s literally impossible to be productive unless I’m applying for jobs or doing work which I’m never doing at midnight You really have to just do the actions... close your laptop... walk into your bedroom and turn off the light, even if you do so without brushing your teeth or anything, getting at least 6 hours sleep is more important. I was only getting 3-5 hours for years and it actually made me think I was depressed when really it was my constant sleep deprivation (and some mild depression I guess)",1 "my mom: ""how could your room be messy if you have OCD"" me: ......",0 Is it normal to do this while on medication? I’m wondering if I’m not on the right one or dose...,1 Go for a quick hike in a forested area if you have that available or just anywhere that’s more nature than anything else,1 Combine that with ADHD and you don’t really ever pay attention to any conversation,0 "Reminds me of the time I heard about an accident on the news involving a vehicle with the same make and model as mine. Then promptly panicked thinking I went on a joyride, got into a wreck, and just somehow didn’t remember it. I was, like, 14 and had never even driven before.",0 """Yeah, I wash my hands. I'm so OCD, ahaha."" No, you just do the bare minimum of keeping yourself clean. Keep the name of MY mental health issues out of your mouth.",0 "This shit kept me up late at night for so long. I'd stay up watching TV in bed until I'd just pass out. Wake up, look at my hands... look around... Did I....? Wife sleeping next to me... okay I guess we're all good. Ugh, F OCD...",0 "Hahahahaha hahhahahah. Sorry this was actually so funny. I was actually expecting some random thing which helped. Classic. But I feel u and sorry about that :(((( u can do it tho 😀😀",1 "I often fantasize about cursing those people with OCD. If they’re going to claim to have it, they deserve to know what it’s like.",0 This is 100% accurate. Sometimes when I’m going though an ocd moment and my grandparents ask me to do something I want to scream. But I try so hard go cater to them being that they are older.,0 "Yeah its great. Until the day when work DRAGS. Been working for 4 hours today. Feels like twice that. However, I shouldn't complain.",1 "You’re a beast, brotha!! Keep it up! I’ve been on a steady path of improvement myself.",0 I have to move very suddenly in a little over a month. I haven’t even started packing yet…,1 "Thank you, I have been struggling with some of this trying to reeducate myself before getting back on some meds to help. Now if only that was what is holding me back. I am currently trying to get a therapist but keep falling short due to Covid. At least that is the excuse each one has given me as to why they are not taking new patience.",1 "What were you putting off while you put this list together? Also, thank you! Take my poor woman’s gold: 🏆🏆🏆",1 "At first, I thought this was from Junji Ito manga. Awesome work!",0 I've been in a incoherent daze all day. This made me laugh. Thank you ☺,0 i convinced myself I had covid so many times this pandemic and it led to many panic attacks,0 does anyone have a citation for the Brown article? can’t find it on google scholar.,1 Thank you so much! This made me teary eyed. Lots and lots of love to you. I hope this post makes you feel loved and helps you as well. <3,0 "I mean it may sound inconsiderate but that kind of attitude *does* work for some people. I mean. It's still kinda inconsiderate. But... yeah I dunno.",1 "I might be totally projecting, but, is it because you also have undiagnosed anxiety?",1 That ROCD ruining the healthiest and best relationship I’ve ever had rn lol,0 "This is so beautiful! I really love your thought process on the meaning behind this. I don't know how much your OCD contributed to your suicidality, but I personally also see the semi colon as ""breaking the cycle"" after winning your battle!",0 "yes, i do this while also shaking my wrist. i also say “no” out loud",0 Bizarre I'd get this with my job and have an irrational fear that I'm about to get fired.,1 "Ugh. This is so true. I need to switch my psychiatrist and therapist (same office) because my psychiatrist pervs on me, and my therapist doesn’t read her notes or remember anything about me. She practically forced me to do an incredibly awkward TIR session where she just asked vague questions that I had no idea how to answer, and then stared me down for like 30 seconds every time I couldn’t give an answer. She never has anything helpful to say. Ever. The wait to switch is the reason I barely take my meds anymore because I cannot bare seeing either one of them again so I’m just trying to accumulate a 3 month supply of extra clonazapam while he’s still giving me scripts. (He overprescibes me and tries to make me take meds I’ve already had severe adverse reactions to) I’m not doing it anymore, it’s hundreds of dollars I don’t have.",0 "When i was a teen (about 14 or 15) i started imagining my entire family dying horrifically so that they wouldnt die. Since things i imagine never come true, i had to imagine them dying so it couldnt come true. I would stay up for hours every night crying myself to sleep with these horrid thoughts.",0 I do this and then I'm still ten minutes late for everything due to procrastination,0 "Ummm... preferably... black colour please, or wait, which colour should I get... *enters OCD loop*",0 "My top 5 2020 songs: 1) am I bi? Am I making it up for attention even though no one knows? 2) if you don’t knock on wood 3 times right now your family member is going to get hurt 3) you have cancer and no one will ever find it 4) next time you’re going 80 on the highway you’re gonna pull the wheel 5) washing my hands right after I just washed my hands because they’re dirty... even though I just washed my hands",0 "I know some of this is joking but honest question, Would an Ai/ Siri solve this? As in could a computer identifying that everything is locked, turned off/etc, Apple Watch feature for handwashing help in combination with Cbt? I feel mental health treatment is so massive that it really needs computer/engineering to help manage people’s treatments/symptoms. People need help and quickly and past methods are way to slow to respond to this torture! interventional radiology continues to be a field where ai outperforms experienced radiologists. Is there a push for more research/engineering for “an app for that?”",0 "I can’t offer any advice or guidance since I’m not dealing with this well myself. But I can give you my reassurance in knowing that you’re not going through this alone, im pretty confident that many here on this subreddit are going through the same thing. We’ll get through this together",0 "After being diagnosed, I find it ironic how I’m the one who is telling people not to worry too much.",0 "My mom is that type of advice giver too. And she doesn't understand that i can't even keep a planner going because of my adhd. Best part is when i tried to really have an in depht conversation about it with her the other day and all she got from it was ""oh ? maybe i have it to because that sounds like me lol"" ... No. You keep your little ""happy planners"" that you're so proud of, you have a routine where you even check all your social media without a fault in the same order every day and then you sit on your ass, do none of the chores because you ""don't feel like it"" and play mobile games instead, in which you meticulously do all the side quests and tasks. Then you go to the store, at the same hour every day to buy all your things without needing a list because you just remember. And you're capable of focusing on a task you have to do and just do it. And you've already proven many times that you never experience sensory overload and dont even understand it. Infact according to you it's not even real and i'm just unapproachable and aggressive. You don't have adhd, you're just a lazy woman with a bad case of ""if it sounds quirky to me, i have it otherwise it doesn't exist"" PS: i'm angry and tired of her shit.",1 "Me: “This is how you can solve that problem with minimal effort. It’ll make your life easier.” My gf: “Why don’t you do that, then?” Me: “Too much effort. Not the right time. I have other stuff to do…. Uhhh…. I’m hungry. Can’t do it on an empty stomach.”",1 "Why is this the only ""artistic interpretation"" that resonated with me? I feel like the rest just don't understand. Not to diminish anyone elses experience, of course",0 "In the middle of a meeting My boss: so what are your thoughts on how to proceed in this situation? What documents did you file? My Brain: * hit your boss in the mouth with the stapler* *hit him. With the stapler* Me: 🙃",0 "My life goal is to build a commune-esque community with all the good hearted misfits just living together and taking care of each other. It could sustain itself as some kind of retreat away from the ‘real’ world for the normies, but day to day would just be working the land, building earth homes, and developing our community artists. Because yeah, I don’t fit into this world. The ‘good’ news is, I think the average joe is feeling more like that by the second. But we can’t wait for change. We have to make change. Hugs.",1 "I thought I had Alzheimer’s because of my memory issues. Turns out it was the OCD in the first place messing my memory up. I do also panic a lot about being pregnant. I literally got my tubes removed yesterday and I’m like “I dunno, a took a late pill two days before surgery...what if an egg snuck in real fast???",0 "Precisely! Ocd will not fade if you keep pleasing urges, because your keeping wiring your mind that the urge is important which is absolutely not.",0 "Yes, except I just scream. It has essentially turned into an increasingly severe panic disorder for me...I hope my new therapist gets back to me soon",0 "More like rejecting delusion, with my own obsessions I just kept on reminding myself they aren't true. This works better for some forms of obsessions than others though.",0 "...so that's why when I was in college every time I was supposed to study I did the laundry, did the dishes, went grocery shopping, cleaned, cooked, washed the windows and made up budgets? Interesting.",1 "Me to my OCD “OCD it’ll be good to go and be social! You’ll feel much better around friends” My OCD: “friends bad, bed safe, shut up.”",0 "I remember as a kid I would sometimes throw or hit something out of anger and then immediately feel so bad for it, especially if it was a stuffed animal or something like that ",0 Well it's not 2am in every country. Congratulations!,1 I felt like I had the flu yesterday. I was barely functioning cognitively on top of physical sickness. Turns out it was 8:30 and I only ate a small bowl of golden grahams 12 hours earlier. Adderall will PUNISH me if I don't eat,1 are you me? i could have written every single word of this.,1 Just checked. I discovered 236 new artists in 2020. This is what happens when you like one song and go down a rabbit hole of everything they have every made. Also fuck 2020.,1 Welcome in! Would love to hear some insight into OCD from a therapist’s perspective here on the sub. Hope to see you around!,0 My life since lockdown. I try so hard to be interested. The only thing that has stimulated me and brought back my emotions was a surprise visit from my best friend since we were 12 (were 26 now) who moved out of state 2 years ago. I really needed that right now. Its been so long since I felt anything other than bored and sad.,1 "As someone who has to talk about work in meetings with stakeholders all the time I can agree this is (after not being able to work because brain says no) is the one thing id give anything to improve. I fully know my shit but when I speak all that stuff you said happens and I seem confused",1 "Reading all these tips almost brought tears to my eyes! I've been struggling with my routine (stay-at-home dad of four young kids), lately, and I feel as if my life's about to unravel, especially starting homeschooling for the first time, ever! Kids are loud and wild, and the wife (smart, Type A) doesn't understand how I get lost in my own mind so often. (""I've never met a bigger slob in my life!"" ""What the f!ck did you do all day while I was gone?"") [sigh] Either way, thank you for your hard work wranglin' this all together. This may become my new, personal manual for life! (First-time Reddit commenter, btw.) 👍",1 i spent a whole 3 days with my garbage can liner outside of the shell and the bag falling into the liner for literally no reason and then decided today wtf am i doing and took the 30 seconds to actually put it in the shell. i hate it too man lol,1 "Yeah one of the reasons I doubted I had ocd was I’m not really a clean person. I basically have all other symptoms of ocd which arnt the stereotypical ones. Which can be very very different from just cleaning though that can be a symptom.",0 "Jesus Christ I wish I were you. Great job, we’re all proud of you",1 Time for bed. Even though back door is locked and closed go down and check anyway. Get back upstairs into bed. Wonder if cat is still in house and hasn't escaped. Go downstairs to confirm door is shut and locked. Search entire house to ensure cat is still here. Cat still here. Go back upstairs and go to bed.,0 "Ooh I feel this. My ADHD is... quite severe lol. but I was never diagnosed until adulthood. In school, especially high school, I had the worst cycle of getting high enough grades to qualify for the gifted programs, but once IN the programs, I had absolutely no capacity for the actual workload. I enjoyed learning and wanted to do well, heck thats why I wanted to be in the gifted classes in the first place, but I felt so dumb bc for some reason I just couldn't do the work that my peers were having no trouble with at all. I'm still kind of dealing with that. I really want to get a masters degree in philosophy. Because I love philosophy and want to learn about it and discuss it with expertise. But I think about the actual rigor of post-grad degrees... lol and you see my issue.",1 "Exactly!! skin AND hair picking Ugh why does hair plucking feel so satisfying",0 Okay but the worst part for me was when I convinced myself I didn’t need to check and turns out I had actually remembered the WRONG appointment time,0 About to be in the same situation. Not minding the part of being in sweats at home all day...... but.....,1 "Omg I thought I was responsible for the coronavirus because I was like “life is so boring, I wish something interesting would happen like the movies”, and here we are",0 "It was the hardest time of my life, too. I found out what OCD was from a talk show after school, then at least I knew I wasn’t alone and wasn’t some weird freak.",0 "pain. agony, even. what's worse is this isn't even for bad obsessions only like, i'm always looking for niche shit to obsess over to distract from my bad OCD obsessions that distract from my real problems :D",0 Awesome! My husband and I are both ADHD and we just today decided to go back to using a meal service for our dinners. We have thrown out so much food the past few weeks that it gave us both emotional heartburn.,1 "Bonus points if you do an entire clean-up at about the 75% done point, including taking out the trash",1 "I am not diagnosed with ADHD but I have so many symptoms and can relate to...almost all the posts on this subreddit and I told my parents about it but they deny that I have it (getting back on topic XD) my mom yelled at me for getting a 32/58 on my math test and she thinks I'm doing it on purpose, I literally was happy with myself for that grade bc I didn't understand most the math so I thought I would get a 15...I have decided to talk to my counselor about my ADHD symptoms and hopefully find out if I have it or not :)",1 I think like this all the time even though there’s no way I could have gotten pregnant.,0 "Something I wish I could explain is, executive dysfunction does the thing with stuff I *want* to do too.",1 "Yep. I have two ways to try to cope: 1. No appointments at work days if possible. It's my disability, I have to just not bookmyself. Scratch that, I have almost eliminated all appointments bc they just won't work for me. 2. Appointments before lunch, about two hours after my normal wake up time. This works really well, I am less nervous and still have half a day free.",1 "Oh mannn, “while knowing deep down that it is”... The phrase “Trust your gut” is completely lost on me. Going to try my best to enjoy this weekend after a stressful work week instead of succumbing to a million baseless what ifs.",0 That feeling when you also have social anxiety and zero friends,0 that’s why i set an alarm an hour before i have to do something.... because it gives me time to do exactly that,1 "Congrats!!! (I'm unfortunately unable to upvote this post due to it being a currently incompatible number to my life, but I will check back later to try again. 🙂)",0 "My everyday painful routine before leaving the house - stove, oven, windows, doors... repeat 5 times :| Then I would leave and be panicking on my way to work if I checked everything or forgot something",0 It's funny because my compulsions for the last year have primarily centered around being blinded from things getting in my eyes... :/,0 "Today has been especially hard bc I'm home while everyone in my life is working, which doesn't usually work out well for me since I have the time to obsess about how empty my life would be without them and how they might not always be there, how would I cope if every day was like this, what if I go crazy, what if Im already crazy, what if I can never cope by myself, etc. and finding this thread made me laugh and remember how silly this disease is and that its ok to take things a little lighter. To keep up the light mood I'm now crying a bit into my fake tan which will definitely stain by tomorrow - and nothing screams MENTAL HEALTH like going out w tears through your fake tan. Cheers to that!",0 "I feel like that ""I don't know if it is real or not"" thought comes from being told I know nothing as a child solely for being a child and now my sense of logic and decision making has been stunted and it's reflected in my OCD.",0 "Yes. I know my husband feels this way and it's the root of why he lies. He learned at a very young age to lie because he was constantly fucking up. This is our final hurdle. Hoping therapy can help. All I care about is honesty and he wants to be, but he is so deeply conditioned it is impossible.",1 Apparently I discovered over 1500 artists this year 😂,1 "No joke on a recent apartment viewing I genuinely had the thought “Ahh so these might be the next rooms that I’ll be pacing for hours, ruminating! Nice change of scene”",0 “If the TV’s volume is not divisible by 5 there will be an earthquake”,0 Seriously???? YES! And it seems to be getting worse with age...,1 "YESSSSS MY ENTIRE ADOLESCENCE. I have NO fucking clue how my parents didn’t notice some shit was a bit off. They didn’t and still don’t really understand what OCD is but I was acting weird as shit. I have 2 other siblings and I find it hard to believe there wasn’t a noticeable difference in me vs them. Funny but also horrifying story. I had a summer fling with this guy once who was from another country and I lived with my mom so she met him and I’d never really brought a boy around my mom before so it was kinda significant to her (and me) because it was the first time I’d liked someone enough to do that. She really liked him and also was happy for me because I was happy that summer. After he left she messaged him on Facebook and said something along the lines of “you made Shicole’s summer great I’ve never seen her that happy before. I have learned to embrace her specialness and not see it as a negative trait.” First of all LMAO SO HORRIFICALLY EMBARRASSING. Secondly, I guess she has always been aware there’s just something about me that is noticeably a bit off but never thought of the possibility that I could have had any sort of actual disorder. As an adult now it’s my job to figure my shit out but my life just would have been a lot easier if I was diagnosed with OCD when I was a kid. I’m going so off topic here but I only knew about the message because I just had this gut feeling that my mom would message him after he left and say stuff she didn’t realize was embarrassing for me so I snuck onto her laptop to check lol. I couldn’t even be genuinely mad about it though because I thought the line “I have learned to embrace her specialness and not see it as a negative trait” was so damn funny because it had major “my daughter is disabled and I have grown to love her and don’t hate her for being disabled anymore” vibes but it was coming from a good place and she just didn’t see why that was a tad absurd. And I don’t know if it’s objectively funny but if you knew my mom you’d understand more why I think it’s so funny because she just has a habit of saying the wrong thing a lot of the time and genuinely not understanding why it isn’t the right thing even though it’s blatantly obvious to literally everyone else. I hope this isn’t offensive to anyone but the best way I can describe it is she has a lot of “dumb blonde” moments like one time she bought this necklace with a MASSIVE bedazzled marijuana leaf pendant and had no idea and thought it was just a regular leaf. Another time we walked into a store in the summer and she said “why is it so dark in here?” She was wearing sunglasses. Her Facebook statuses make me hysterical because she just says the wildest shit and has no idea it’s wild shit.",0 "That's weird because I have 2,3k films saved on my watch later list on Yt but it refuses to take any more from a good few months now, which is really pissing me off",1 "Ok so first of all. BIG congrats on the achievement. That’s so incredible, and you should feel proud. Also, I’ve practiced in therapy that a relapse to previous behavior isn’t the end of the world. So if you ever ever break this pattern, it’s OK! It doesn’t invalidate your achievement Nor your efforts to improve your lifestyle. Second of all, Wow there are SO many things about my life that I didn’t realize were brought on by ADHD which I was only diagnosed with back in October at the age of 26. I’ve had terrible habits brushing my entire life. Sometimes going months at a time without doing it (I know, terrible). I love this community and seeing everyone helping and supporting and caring for each other. I’m learning so much from everyone, and it feels good to be able to celebrate wins and growth together.",1 "I just got diagnosed this week with inattentive ADHD and I have heard all of these more times than I would like to admit. Being told you don’t care enough by someone you truly care about hurts a lot. Being diagnosed at 27 has led to years of self loathing because I felt like my best wasn’t enough. I was so happy after receiving my diagnosis because I could finally put all of those statements into perspective and for the first time in my life I was able to understand accept myself. Now that I know where all of these issues stem from, I actually have a direction to move towards and I feel more positive about my future than I have in a long time.",1 That’s been me this week! One particular detail that I haven’t worried about in over a year... BAM,0 This is the most ADHD thing I have read all day I have always wondered this,1 After awhile I just end up destroying the piece so I can’t pick at it anymore.,0 Can someone share a few of their compulsions and personal reasonings(if you don’t mind) behind them?,0 "Well that made me cry. Thank you for this. I can’t tell you how much this means. I have been struggling mightily, and sometimes this place is the only place that can even begin to understand. I am so thankful for you and your post, and I sorry about your friend. It is harder than anyone could think to lose a dear friend. Enjoy your bath, and I’m happy be in a legion with a of you!",1 "I hate it sooo much when I set a time for myself to do it and I feel like I'm actually going to do it without being reminded and then someone say like 20 minutes early ""hey u/GoldArrowFTW do the dishes"" and I'm like come on man I was literally just about to do it for myself you didn't need to remind me.",1 "Like hell I'm gonna clean one more room besides my own, mine's already a mess. How do these people think I have enough time to worry about my sexuality AND clean spaces?",0 Im fucking useless un-medicated its been months its fucking hell i wish i had the power to switch bodys with narrow minded neurotypical for 30 seconds then see what they think,1 !RemindMe to ignore this notification and tell myself I'll do it later and leave it open on my phone to check later only to forget it when my phone randomly restarts,1 "Oooh I know a little bit about this!! EMDR is a therapy modality that reprocesses memories. I've used it for the last year to work through challenging childhood memories or really negative self-stigma that I have. I noticed that when going through treatment I'd start the session awake, ready, not tired and after I'd get into a memory I'd start yawning nonstop. I'd apologize and say I have no idea where this is coming from. My therapist said that getting sleepy is equivalent to dissociating. So for instance, reprocessing a challenging childhood memory and getting tired was my body/mind being like ""nah I don't want to do this right now."" As it pertains to work and tasks, I've found a similar pattern. I also get really tired when a task is overwhelming or challenging. In short, I wouldn't necessarily call it an ADHD thing, but a mechanism that unconsciously takes place when a situation is off-putting or tough.",1 "This is me at work!! Ughh I hate it it seems to come.and go. But there's always a ""feeling like nothing just going through the motions not giving a fuck"" period before I'm temporarily stimulated somehow.",1 "I had ocd as a child. I could not walk in front of windows...I thought that if I did, someone would see me in my home and kidnap me. I literally crawled in front of windows for 5 years because of it. Make sense of that.",0 "I had a terrible teacher in elementary school. He thought that the homework assignments were “too easy” for me, so he made do my work in cursive from then on. Still hate that guy to this day.",1 Your not alone! My dad think all my adhd problems could be solved by waking up and eating a good breakfast!,1 "Omoi from naruto is somewhat a good example of OCD and overthinking, which he does out loud, coming up with the worst case scenarios and freaking himself out while everyone around him is trying to focus on the task ahead. I was surprised by this character when watching naruto, but it kind of warmed my heart to see some real representation of the struggle of OCD.",0 Calling me out for not calling my therapist today lol,0 Wholesome as fuck and also don't look now but I might be your girlfriend,1 "Worse is people who talk in fragments, like they’ll finish their point and go silent for 10 seconds or so. Then - just when your attention has wandered to something else, they’ll decide to speak again. It’s infuriating. I find it almost impossible to keep track of what they’re saying, as my attention is constantly switching back & forth. If they’d just talk continuously and finish saying what they have to say, I’d be fine.",1 Creepy as shit but very cool and good representation,0 Thanks. I'm going to put my phone on the charger and go to bed. I didn't realize how late it was!,1 "For me it's losing interest the next morning, even if I'm obsessed the night before.",1 "So valid lmaooo. And you know u can’t actually process what anyone is saying when u feel like that too, or at least I can’t.",1 Since I was about 13 I've always figured I was the only person who had intrusive thoughts in fact never had a name for it just told my mom I had horrible thoughts and couldn't stop them I still have them but at least I know I'm not alone I guess,0 "The problem for me is once I start thinking, I can't get things done. For example: I have to work out. I start thinking to myself ""ugh, but I hate working out. I'm too tired. I'll do it later."" So even if I was energetic before, my thoughts literally weigh me down. I can jump out of bed when my alarm goes off as long as I don't give myself any time to think about the reasons I don't want to get out of bed. The only way I can get myself to do ANYTHING is by legit not thinking. I refuse to listen to myself when I'm about to come up with an excuse. You just have to do it. Schedules and time restraints don't work so It doesn't matter what time you wake up. If you have something to do, go do it. Edit: Wow thanks for the awards, upvotes, and replies everyone! I'm so happy I am able to help!",1 "I can totally relate. I took the bus every single day to and from campus at the exact same time, but still every morning without fail I needed to check multiple times to make sure I had the time right before heading to the bus stop.",0 "It's good to be thorough.... \*joking don't check at all",0 SAME. It’s also one of the reasons I find it so much easier to write things to be spoken instead of to be read. I can write a speech easily but writing an essay takes forever because I agonize over every word and punctuation mark,1 You totally needed to do something but hyper focused on this and I respect that,1 I’m so sorry OP. I know that this has to be a rough time for you. I also have contamination OCD. I’m sending lots of good vibes and love to you. ❤️,0 "As someone twice exceptional (more like 4x+ considering my other conditions lmao) this hits a little close to home. I'd forget writing and entire essay and write another essay for the same prompt and turn it in, then have an awkward talk once my teacher had 2 or 3 different essays from me for the same assignment? I write very long essays too, so it's hard and awkward to explain to teachers that yes; I did in fact write you 3 separate essays and not once did it occur to me, that I've somehow already read this prompt and written 2 previous full-length essays on accident. It's so bad with everything. The working memory is the issue mostly with ADHD, most other forms are mostly fine independently. But working memory impairs your short-term memory, which thus in return can impair your long term memory. This and many more factors screw up memory but both nonverbal and verbal working memory are the most decimated in the ADHD pathology.",1 "I am wondering if anyone experiences the ""avoidance"" kind of OCD. I know that by not Avoiding things I am engaging in ""valued behaviors."" (Cooking, shopping, going out, etc.) I yearn to do the valued behaviors but I simply cannot do them. Forcing myself (exposure) Makes it all much worse. makes",0 "I'm the inattentive type, you have no idea how happy this post made me.",1 MY UNI JUST CANCELLED TOO AND I’VE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS ALL DAY,1 "The worst is when you want to relax, but you don't know what to do because there's just so many choices at your fingertips. Books or games or tv shows? So many unfinished games and tv shows, that I enjoy and would enjoy if I forced myself to sit down and start the activity but I don't do anything, and scroll through reddit.",1 "Thank you for this friend. Sending you love and warmth and healing over the loss of your friend. I needed to read this tonight, it made me feel less crazy and alone and more hopeful. It’s so easy to get locked into your own head about how much of a struggle having add can be. How it infiltrates every aspect of a life. It’s so healing to take a second and shift your focus on the good beautiful things in life. Tonight I’m grateful for tea, for a cute room in a cheapish apartment I just moved into, for my girlfriend, for books and for dancing and music. The other night I laughed so hard I couldn’t see. Thanks for reminding me to reflect on the good. Also, what music did your friend like that you’re listening to? Listening to that sounds like a beautiful way to honor them and the love you two shared.",1 Yes amphetamine makes ppl happy dopamine and serotonin rush.,1 "i hate it but if im not going throigh it i feel like im faking it, help",0 And then there's the doubt if I really tried to start or if that's just what I've been telling myself.,1 I hate going into a store without a purse because if I'm not holding the strap I don't know what to do with my hands without looking suspicious!,0 "mine was always like more along the lines of... ""if youre only stable with medication... then are you really you right now anyway... or are you even stable at all...."" Man that shit sucked. Thank god I am finally growing past and getting over all of that unhealthy limiting beliefs.. unnecessary boundaries... ect!!!!!",0 "Never have I felt more like I'm not alone in this repetitive ""schedule"". Only difference is I work from home, it's not school. I constantly feel like my job is on the line because I'm always so late in turning my work in. And my current game rotation is: overwatch, heroes of the storm, csgo, vrchat, world of warcraft, animal crossing, and destiny 2 (not like anyone asked but there ya go haha). I've been doing this same daily routine and never leaving my house other than for walks for over a year now. It feels like the movie groundhog day. But then again I've been in much darker more depressed places than I am in now so I really try to appreciate that I'm not at my absolute lowest. Far from it in fact. Everything external in my life is going right for me for once but now I'm struggling internally. Ugh! Stupid how that works. Anyways I hope you find peace soon. It's nice to know I'm not alone.",1 I've been doing these recommended precautionary measures my whole life,0 My OCD got worse after I got sick and it sucks because it makes it so difficult to do certain stuff that I used to like to do before. Having to constantly do my rituals or compensatory actions is a pain in the ass but sometimes I just get so burnt out I just tell my brain 'get fukt' and just go for it. But anyway it still sucks though but peace be with you my OCD brothers and sisters.,0 "OCD gets laughed at as well. Imagine if they did something similar about schizophrenia or bipolar. Loads of people just laugh at me when i say have ocd. Like it is nothing.",0 "Is a blind person a waste of space? or not worth living? How about the child with terminal illness? the amputee? Autistic? Should they all just say fuck it and give up or let the thought of their flaws terrorize them forever? Rhetorical question, the answer is clear, regardless of our shortcomings continuing to push ourselves is the only thing that will fulfill us and lead us to a better life. Succeeding through heavy trial is incredibly rewarding for people like us that feel like the odds are always stacked against us. It all starts with a positive mindset and a dream",1 "I wish that worked for me. I just get wacky energy and kind of shaky and then lost in whatever I next focus on. Kind of makes it worse for me, almost.",1 "I love to plan and prepare and research. But when the time comes to ""go"", I suddenly lose all interest and energy. Very frustrating",1 "thank you so, so much. i consider myself a hopeless and lost 19 year old at the moment, but reading this post made me think of how i wanted to go to the zoo with my family. i forgot about that. i think ill go to the zoo next week. thank you, truly. ​ \- random internet stranger who really, really needed to hear your words.",1 "This is really helpful, thank you. I struggle with knowing if I’m being lazy or if it’s my ADHD. I’ve recently experienced a loss, so that adds another thing to the equation: is it laziness, ADHD, or grief? Usually I tell myself it’s laziness and then the guilt quickly follows. I needed this so much. Thank you",1 I used to think it would be so much easier when School is over and I have a job because I wouldn’t have homework. Now I remember that I never finished class work either and I can’t just leave everything half done at work.,1 Thank god risperidone for making me sleep instantly.,0 Me when trying to fall asleep: thinking about that one time I accidentally went to /r/guro,0 "What sucks even more is that whenever you stop procrastinating and go see the doctor with symptoms, most will say “it’s nothing”... I have a friend who died of cancer, because it was found out too late, but he went to the doc multiple times every year, being told that “it’s nothing”...",1 "I try to laugh and play off the thought, to diffuse the importance my brain is placing on the thought since it's just my brain sending an electric signal. Deep breathing helps and focusing on the breath is a good way to reroute things too",0 That is hilarious! Can’t say it has happened to me cause there’s the whole erection thing to indicate I was doing something.,1 "I will admit that it helps, but doesn't cure. And by planner i mean `org-agenda` in emacs.",1 "Ace Ventura is about a guy with a lot of animal focused hyperfixations who was able to overcome executive dysfunction by rocking the ""loveable idiot""-stereotype and who is physically unable to slow down or he will die (at least that's what his inner voice seems to shout)",1 "Can I just thank you for this? Because for years, I thought these things were unique to me and made me the worst person alive. But even though it is still difficult, I can at least rest a little easier knowing there's a reason behind it.",0 honestly dkfjdk they’re kinda stupid but they do help ngl,0 "I've been through that too. Really rough stuff, you're not alone OP. I'm out of that state (for now) and am doing CBT to try and make sure I don't fall back into a depressive episode but it really did fuck me up. For those of you with severe anxiety on top of that, holy fuck, you guys must go through some stressful shit. I hope you guys get through this.",1 Holy shit this is literally a compulsion I struggle with. Anything small enough to yeet is yeetable,0 "My hands get so dry and red because of this. I always try to keep aloe vera lotion on hand. I always try to tell myself, “Once is enough”, and it seems to be working. Wishing you the best ❤️",0 "duude this is so good, and i relate to it so much! great job!",0 "As someone with OCD I am probably the most I unorganized person on this planet. My OCD flairs up so bad when I’m trying to organize that I will sit there and cry because I can’t put something the way I want it to be, which then makes my intrusive thoughts even worse.",0 "my G, what is your secret? do u mean ur NOT starting essays and papers an hour or two before they are due after having weeks to do them?",1 yea i watched all trailer park boys season at least a hundred times.,0 "Genx and I was called ""hyperactive. All the fkimg wasted years. I was put in ""progressive"" classes because ""smart"" but in that learned zero organizational skills. Dropped out if college. I have done best at jobs like: point me at that thing and I'll do it. And working with kids. ADHD and working with kids saved me. But I berate myself constantly for being lazy or unmotivated or not caring.",1 This thread makes me feel that I'm not the only one who zones out and stops completely while riding xD,1 "Ufff... This is very much how my day went. So many things to do! And I couldn't get started with any of them. Only now, at night in the a.m. hours, when I should be sleeping have I finally gotten one thing on my list half-done. And with the hours of sleep that it has cost me, the cycle will probably continue tomorrow.",1 Omg same!! I would cover my webcam with a sticky note or a piece of paper. And I'll just ask a question from the teacher to make sure that it's off. 😟,0 I will not accomplish anything if I am not fully dressed. I need to make apology phone calls because I have been so wrap up in important business and paperwork the past two weeks. That I have avoided all calls and text because I did not want to break my concentration. How some of go to ruminating procrastinators to meticulous perfectionist is truly insane!,1 How the fuck did you know. It is currently 12:52 am for me and I was supposed to go to bed hours ago,1 Just came on to make this post. Give me my tuition back perhaps??,1 "This post is the best representation of hyperfocus that I’ve ever seen lol. Thank you for the hard work! Now stop procrastinating and get back to work 😂",1 "I always tell myself that if it's that important I would have put better effort into saving it somewhere safer and easier to find and remember. Do you ever have things that are very important that you put somewhere away from all the unorganized clutter? like you mentioned that your taxes are organized. Consider that to be the only important and just delete the rest, its hard and risky, but I can almost guarantee nobody has so much ""important"" stuff. But I can totally relate to your problems, especially those things where I put everything in one folder to forgot about it, I usually just end up scrolling thru the folder to see if I can spot something very important, and then I just delete the rest, so far I haven't discovered later on that I aciddentely deleted something important, and if I just forgot about it, it was not important in the first place. I recently discovered that you can sort all your bookmarks into folders, don't know why I never knew that lol, but I had a fun couple of hours to sort all of it. If you don't like sorting stuff it might not be so fun tho, and I don't know how many bookmarks you have. I prob had around 400 bookmarks which took 2 hours to sort, I ended up making 24 categories but I like it that way.",1 "TMI: This is why I was MORE productive in my super-abusive childhood home. (Honor roll, completed projects, etc.) My mom and siblings' brains turned off during the abuse. Mine turned ON. Which is also probably why I was able to get us out of that situation, eventually. I could actually *focus* during these incredibly stressful times and devise strategies for escape.",1 Yes!! I feel this photo in my bones. I love it!! beautiful art and I am sure the artist is just as wonderful !!,0 My OCD overwhelms my brain so much that I am exhausted by the end of the day. If my head could just leave me alone I might actually be happy.,0 "The title struck a chord with me. I grew up being constantly frustrated by people's description of me not aligning with the way I see/remember things. It felt unfair that no matter how much effort I put to regulate my actions, people commented negatively on the very things I was sure I was actively limiting. As I got older I slowly started to own it. I now am very aware that a lot of people will not like me, no matter what I do or don't do. But I'm in a place in my life where that fact doesn't carry the weight it used to. I still consider myself to be a friendly considerate person, but I'm not longer surprised or defensive when the opposite is pointed out. I apologize when I know I've done something wrong and I let people know if I enjoy their company. I'm now ok with genuinely doing my best, and no longer punish myself when that is not enough. It can be hard to come to terms with these things, but it really helps if you have a few loved ones who you can count on. Some people who don't care when you mess up, and know you never mean any harm with the stupid things you might say.",1 I have this same intrusive thought!! Except mine tells me to write it on papers that I’m grading.,0 "This is so inspiring. I've imagined a scenario like this for a while, and occasionally have had friends who know me well come and keep me company while I do normal household tasks, and that really works, but I don't want to impose on them. I am somewhat new to thinking I may have ADHD and am maybe not just a chaotic/lazy mess. Congratulations to you for finding an arrangement that works, and thanks for this post <3 I plan (so, probably months from now, but still) to do the same.",1 "anyone else having the feeling that your thoughts attach to your body?... like its really weird but after certain thoughts i feel like my hands are contaminated with that thought and i cant get rid of it and everything i touch gets effected -,-",0 I think it’s the added dopamine/norephenephrine that makes us function this way.,1 "I cant step on cracks when im walking outside, so if i do step on one, i have to step over a crack (any one as long as its outside and a ""clean"" crack) with each foot 8 ×8 times. If i cant do it outside my backup compulsion is to find a place inside where the floor is segmented and do it there, but if people are watching i have to find a wood surface to knock on 7 by 7 times. The numbers are always more too because i lose count or feel like its not enough. Its exhausting",0 i think i might check out the audiobook since reading is a bit hard for me to focus on. thanks for this,0 "Another amazing cure-all is ""You just need to focus more."" Lords above my ADHD was cured that day and I am now the president of a fortune 500 company /s",1 "Haha yeah, let me just go tell my brain to call off the act, that I don’t need to obsess anymore",0 I have so many saved posts and liked videos/ watch later videos it’s insane,1 "I often use a ridiculous number of “e.g.,” and “I.e.” and all other punctuation too, definitely a bit much",1 "I just had one of the worst days in my life, came here, saw this and started laughing hysterically. This subreddit is gold",0 "This was me with EVERY paper!!! My first paper of the year, when I finally got to wrapping it up (which turned out to be a lot more work than I thought) and sorting references AN HOUR before deadline, my laptop CRASHED. It _crashed_. I didn’t make it. So I got a 10% penalty. And that wasn’t the first time. Fuck adhd.",1 That’s awesome! You’ve must be making a lot of wonderful progress!,0 2 years And absolute inability at times. Most times.,1 "For me it's the opposite, intrusive thoughts prevent tears from coming out, so ocd = feelings unable to come out and bottled up very tightly",0 "I find it a little easier in public, it’s actually being able to leave my room that’s the problem",0 "Lmao true. But remember that fighting obsessive thoughts is not the way to beat OCD; you'll never win. The only way is to accept uncertainty.",0 reality vs in my head thinking i glued the whole rock back together w my mind power.,0 Step one: get a partner... /s thank you for this meaningful tip. I struggle with this,1 Is this an OCD thing? I always thought it was general anxiety or that I was just weird.,0 Omg I haven’t touched the floor in forever I’m so proud of you!,0 "Forreal past year i went from skincare, to Real Housewives, Love Island, Fortnite, Among Us, OTV Rust, now stocks is shaping up nicely",0 "Thank you for posting this! I was diagnosed 3 years ago (early twenties). I was always a good student and participated in as many extracurriculars as possible. As I got older I just became SO tired and distracted. I mean sleeping 14 hours a night and then napping tired. I got told I was ""lazy"" or that all my exhaustion came from ""anxiety"". I finally saw a doc that listened when I said something wasn't right. Now I'm in med school so I can be the kind of doc that listens to their patients when something is off!",1 "I literally just read a [really interesting article](https://www.njlifehacks.com/the-unschedule-procrastination/) about how to overcome this exact problem and it was super helpful to me. Key insights: >Right now, your thinking probably goes something like this, “First comes work, then I can do something fun.” Sounds good, but the problem is that for procrastinators, the ‘something fun’ part never actually comes. Procrastinators don’t know where their time goes, feel guilty for thinking they wasted time, feel that they don’t deserve any rest, and thus never really allow themselves any guilt-free leisure time. > >This creates a terribly negative image of work – it’s something that deprives you of leisure time, fun, play, and pleasure. Work is something that gets in the way of your personal interests. You unconsciously resent work, which creates an (unconscious) desire to work less. The solution to this is to intentionally schedule time that you are going to have fun. Sounds counter-intuitive, but so far it has worked really well for me. If I know that at 6pm I am going to stop working entirely and watch 2 hours of law and order I don't feel like the thing I am working on now is depriving me of time to enjoy myself, so it's a lot easier to get myself to do the thing.",1 "Brushing teeth / showering before bed? No problem, I've made it a rule long ago. Brushing teeth before leaving the house? Also no problem, would feel super weird if i didn't. But then the pandemic came and now I'm working from home, so my usual crutches don't work right since I almost never go outside. I'm still struggling to brush my teeth ""after breakfast"".",1 "Been there, it’s near debilitating. I try to focus on just doing small tasks. Clean here and there and keep moving. Can’t let these ruin your life",0 "Thank you thank you thank you!!!!! Oh my god, I thought I was so broken because this was starting to happen to me, but this makes a lot of sense. I love this guy so much and he's AMAZING for me, but I feel like I just lose myself before I see him again and then I start questioning if I'm really in love or better off alone or if I'm using him because he helps me out in different ways. I'm going to try this. Does anyone have other ways to combat object permanence?",1 "Same. For everything. Indefinite, and I already suck at staying focused the way it is. We'll see how this goes.",1 " Hey, who‘s here for „if you‘ve been getting on until now it can’t be that bad.”",1 "I hate this kinda shit bc it took me 8 years to realize i have severe ocd because im ""messy"" and suplosedly only ""clean and organized"" people have ocd",0 "I always get an impending sense of doom, and start feeling paranoid like the world around me is never going to be normal again. It depends on the obsession/compulsion. The type will determine what I feel if I don't do the compulsion. A lot of magical thinking, paranoia no matter what.",0 "Here I am, even with some enough time before an exam, mentally drained to even do it, already making huge plans how I will catch up to it, with eventually not following up. Really frustrating.",1 How much does he have to do with the screenwriting? I’d imagine many of these were written before they hired him.,1 "This looks amazing, you have a great talent at doing this :)",0 "I KNOW I read that exact same thing on the back of something a while back and was kind of shocked to see it and thought the same thing! I wish I could remember what it was! (Please message me if you don’t mind on the product, it’s driving me crazy trying to remember) Edit: Popcorn I think?",0 i do this with literally everything digital lol. anything that leaves an online trail freaks me out.,0 "Haha 100% agree. My most listened to track was between today and Nov 15th. My most recent hyperfixation. Also, skewed because I lost access to one account and had to start another in October.",1 Im kind of glad this is a thing. Ive felt so alone.,0 ADHD is me completely forgetting I had a test even though I was informed of it 2 days ago.,1 "seriously like just because i hyperfixated on (french pop albums as well, infact i was so obsessed with those albums that i took french for two years and now im stuck in a french class im disinterested in, unfortunately) for 4 months doesn't mean that they should be in my top #5 on spotify grr 😤",1 "Wow, I just realized why I forgot many instructions when I started my job. Also realized I explain why when I’m training people. I didn’t notice any of this before or maybe I did and forgot. I dunno",1 "Oh you’ll get it, but you’ll be fine. You’ll give it to meemaw and papaw and they gunna die.",0 "I relate to this heavily. My grandmother never tried to pressure me to get excellent grades in school, just to “try my best” and even when my grades started slipping in high school and college she would say “as long as you’re trying your best” and I always felt horrible when I said I was trying my best because it felt like a lie. Now I realize I AM doing my best. The best my unmedicated ADHD brain can do. It’s still something I’m struggling to accept but it helps that I’ve at least realized it.",1 "Yes. The monotony. The apathy. The intrusive thoughts. I’ve had a lot of vastly different experiences in life, and I have to say, I’m just bored with all of this. I’ve had probably 4 existential crises since this pandemic started and they’ve all led me to really understand how fucked up this world his. It’s not meaningless at all, life just isnt valued the way it should be.",1 Ohhh I'm going to keep one of these and fill it out throughout the day.,0 I added a third sealed bottle of rice vinegar to my pantry just yesterday haha (cries in poor),1 🙏🙏🙏 can't tell you how much this means. Thanks for spreading the message.,1 "I have a lot of these tics. Sometimes I shiver or shake my head. I also knock and tap on things. The worst are the verbal tics. When I think about things that hurt I'll tell myself to shush, or shut up, or kill myself. I'm terrified of people hearing me say something because I don't know how to explain it to people.",0 "Oh god all of this. And then when I’m in it I’m thinking “well this *could* happen. Maybe by thinking it’s just an intrusive thought I’m ignoring the obvious sign that this bad thing is about to happen”",0 "Yes.. lately it has been so bad! I go through spouts of feeling mentally free then its back to the OCD life. I don't know if this is the same but an example would be.. I was playing this game called LIMBO on xbox with my boyfriend helping. There was a lot of knowing when to jump in sync of the timing of objects just right. It was so easy for him to figure out but not me. Finally he just did it but I needed him to explain it to me. He explained once and I just.. couldn't comprehend it but FINALLY understood and then had to sit there and think about it over and over until it felt right in my head and fuck it was so frustrating because I knew I understood but.. I could NOT move forward without feeling right. While my boyfriend was like.. you can keep playing.. but i have to say ""just a minute. I have to think of something"" .. for like 10 minutes. Then I get a headache. I alo hate when I really need to understand something for my own dysfunction and someone goes ""don't worry about it. or ""It don't matter''. YES omg it SO MATTERS. Hope this made sense.",0 "only got a hand washing compulsion recently (thanks, corona) and I hate it. I have no idea how to stop cause you have to wash your hands and it feels so gross and gives me so much anxiety to only do it once :( congrats and good job, it's really hard work",0 "Happens to me all the time, lmao. I literally have thousands of YouTube videos on my watch later playlist.",1 This makes me feel very happy. I’m happy for you! You deserve it.,1 "Male 30, Norway. Got a family, money, eat good food, drink fine wine. Hate living. Will I ever do something about it? No. Do I wish it would end somehow? Absolutely. Nothing on this earth feels like it's anything near worth all the struggles. I don't even know what it is I'm struggling with. Feels like I'm just wired to hate it all. Thanks for giving me a place to rant too.",1 "Sadly the habit of brushing my hair every morning has passed away, it is rumoured to not be returning until summer although this is yet to be decided. I have to say this is always a fun one since my hair is to my lower back it always takes 30+ to completely brush any knots out if I forget to do it. Luckily there's less pressure now, seeing as I'm barely leaving the house...",1 "Thanks for this!! Also: relax your shoulder muscles and breathe.",0 I should probably have tried going back to sleep but my pain is keeping me up anyway,1 this was so helpful and informative i liked the important parts in bold touch thank you ❤️❤️,1 "I see this post just as I type up a long paragraph with way too many commas, goddammit",1 Im so fucking proud of this generation! I hope we don’t lose it as we get older.,1 "I don’t even open the emails to read them... and this is true even if the email is about something that benefits me. I think it’s because it almost always requires making a decision of some kind, even if that decision is as small as whether or not to respond",1 Awesome! I'm glad you've been able to find a creative outlet for your intrusive thoughts. I know it can be challenging. Best of luck!,0 "I'm very visual and it's difficult for me to describe something I see in my head to others. It also doesn't help that my brain pings HARD when I'm discussing something that needs in depth thought. And then brings back the immediate information all at once, along with some panic because I doubt everything and so I can't organize my thoughts to articulate them and it all comes out in a jumble. And then the anxiety gets stronger because shouldn't this be information that I could easily share? I must be wrong if I don't know absolutely everything about this topic. And then my brain goes back for more, digging into little nooks and crannies and brings back MORE information and MORE doubt. And then people are like ""whats your degree in again?"". FML",1 "It really upsets me that people think it’s a goofy quirky joke to have OCD. I’ve lost years of my childhood that I will never get back, but people never take OCD as seriously as it actually is.",0 Yes it’s strange I have a internal dialogue while watching film or playing games too,1 So much space... someone could’ve added it later...,0 "I call this “the fog.” This is how my inattentive type adhd manifests. I try to do something I have to do, like work or a chore, and this fog descends. I can’t concentrate, I get sleepy, I struggle to focus on the task. But if I “give up” and go to Reddit, a personal project, or even try and take a nap, it’s like someone handed me a gallon of coffee and a Red Bull. I could go all day. But if I go back to what I’m supposed to be working on, the fog descends again. Meds help a little. I consider this my most prevalent and frustrating symptom of my ADHD.",1 It used to be 3 and 5 representing different futures for me. But there was another lever where 13 meant it wouldn’t happen and 14 meaning it would. 5 was what I was afraid of and 3 was what I wanted so 514 or 313 were day ruiners for me. That was when I checked every license plate I saw.,0 "Spot on. I am in that journey of getting help - found out about 6 months ago that I have a high probability of having mental disorders so, I need to be diagnosed - and I want to be diagnosed ASAP but at the same time I am petrified of being misdiagnosed. I have been reading information, watching videos, joined on reddit just because of this and I keep searching for specialists and their CV and professionalexperience. Then, there's the decision of going through NSH or private? I can afford, initially, by private but if the diagnose is positive then I will need NSH support for future as I won't be able to support treatment financially... For how long will I be sabotaging my life? Good luck everyone.",1 "Shit. Just wait until you have children of your own, that you can’t escape. They’re loud. All. The. Time. As toddlers, they follow you. Everywhere. Constantly. The main thing I miss from my time spent living alone was the silence.",1 "My psychiatrist is an old man. Idk how old he is exactly, but he's old enough to be my grandpa. And he said the exact same thing as your therapist. The first thing he said after diagnosing me was, ""I want you to know that it's not your fault. It's no one's fault. It's just a developmental disorder of the brain. You are not a bad person."" Can't even begin to express the relief I felt after he said that. I went home and cried for an hour.",1 "Fwiw, I'm reading ADHD 2.0 and it is incredibly helpful. I'm middle aged and only recently discovered adhd has characterised my life to date, and posts like this have been validating and crazy to read, as I ""me too!"" my way through them. Well, this book is an amazing resource. I highly recommend it: ""ADHD 2.0: New Science and Essential Strategies for Thriving with Distraction--from Childhood through Adulthood"" by Edward M. Hallowell, John J. Ratey. I got this link from within the Kindle app: https://a.co/3k8lRhz PS. Your added comment on brackets, colons, semicolons and hyphens gave me a giggle; yet another 'me too!' moment, lol.",1 "Exercise and once you start seeing results, chase after more results and this leads to becoming passionate about it. Learning to love to exercise fixed a lot for me. And the endorphins finally make you feel good and feel good about yourself and the amount of time and dedication you put into something for nobody except YOURSELF. and every time you look in the mirror you will remind yourself how far you’ve come and what you’re capable of.",1 "This is exactly why I haven’t gotten a job, It’s using up more of those precious hours.",1 Do people actually care how others use the word ocd? I don't expect people to be experts at psychology or something. Idk I would probably laugh with them,0 "Aaah USE a planner. My mistake. I thought it was buy a planner hyper-fixate on all kinds of cool markers and stickers and then let the planner sit until November, when I realize I never used it, get mad at myself, and buy a new planner, new markers and stickers because I forgot I had them. No one told me I was supposed to actually USE the planner. /s",1 "Well this is interesting. I got a nick name in the 4th grade, ""Comma Kay"", because I would always put the commas in the grammar fix sentences of the day.",1 "Just today I walked back across the first floor to close my locker because it hadn’t shut right, meaning the door had closed on something. I felt like whatever it had closed on would be in pain, even though that’s ridiculous. ",0 I also found using the closed captions feature on zooms and google meets is incredibly helpful,1 "Holy shit. I am good at paying attention in class as long as I don't have to write, but writing while paying attention is hard for me. This is a game changer.",1 "I was smart enough in high school to get fairly close to a 4.0, be a national merit scholar, and pass 7 AP tests without really studying. Well, I did study for AP History because that class wasn't offered so I was motivated to do it on my own. Turns out that when homework and class became optional in college, I wasn't smart enough to ace math or chem tests without going to class or reading the material. Dang! Had to switch to a major where I had more natural aptitude. Life has turned out pretty well for me even though my diagnosis came long after the end of my academic career, so no regrets! That's not a humblebrag; I just was a naturally good student and SAT taker. Honestly there are way more important skills in life, most of which I lack.",1 Can I just say how much I appreciate how you formatted this post 😍 the bolded headings and spacing 🤌🏻 so easy to read (big paragraphs make me skim and give up),1 "Its 730 on a morning and I'm crying like a baby. Not how I thought my day would start but thank you for sharing that. ADHD can have its good points but I've definitely seen that darker side of it. I'll be thinking of you and your friend today. ❤",1 "I hate them but then again, most of them probably say it because they themselves don't know what ocd is because someone else explained to them in a wrong way I remember my friends telling me what ocd was and I thought shit I might have ocd, but after getting diagnosed with it and having stated about the anxiety and distress I realised my friends don't have it and that its a much serious issue than what they had explained to me",0 "I had a coach in high school who would (jokingly) tell us that he knew the secret to basketball: ""Just score more points than the other team, and you'll win every time!"" That's kind of how I view that kind of advice. Its both completely true and entirely unhelpful.",1 "Loool thats me at times, especially after comming down from a dissociative,i slowly start to remember i have ocd and im like oh god fuck no!😛 its a big crash",0 This is so sweet. it’s so special to have a partner who recognizes ADHD affects but also recognizes the accomplishments that can often get buried under whatever looming unfinished task there is. I hope you two are doing well and continuing to support each other like this :),1 Yes. When this happens the best I can do is to try to ground myself and to acknowledge those feelings and know that they are real but then to try and turn it around by calling the loved one or if possible going to visit them so that I can try to use the anxiety in a more productive way by cherishing the time that I have with that person or even my cats. It doesn’t make the fear go away but it does help to focus on the good time and new memories we can make now so that we have them to look on when it does happen.,0 "Oh man, big time. For me two things come to mind - ""if you cared, you'd be able to remember"", and ""you could do it but you're just being lazy"". Got a lot of that growing up. Slowly learning to give myself credit and space, at 32. Even now, this looks like a list of my biggest complaints against myself.",1 Imagine if it’s reversed and you’re still fuckity fucked. He woo,0 "So they want 24/7 crippling fear, anxiety, compulsions, with a side of self-doubt and constant suffering? Okay, very wise of them. In fact, I'll let them have mine!",0 "I always have to click them and subscribe to them. So I'm 100procent behind you, they suck so much.",0 can relate. similar sensory overload off lamps/noise/communication and stuff I think. #actuallyautistic,0 One of the things about ADHD is that our try function doesn't work.,1 "It’s even better if you imagined these posts with accuracy of the disorder Title: How to drive your family members with OCD crazy this year! Then below is an image of everybody just killing each other. Lol",0 But then what’s the guy in the back whose head is in between theirs? Hmmm,0 Yep. You’ll pass your test. After the 30 min pre test last minute panic.,1 "Yes, but not nearly so much as I used to (my OCD as a whole is under control). It does still make it difficult to throw things away.",0 "“cancer candy company if you’re buying it, then you understand it!” just imagine the backlash someone would get if they did that lmao.",0 "Wow, I have been really feeling like this lately. The little ""tricks"" (aka positive coping mechanisms) that usually work for me have mostly stopped working. Thanks, I'll talk to my counselor about it.",1 "🙏🏻💗💗 i’ve gone my whole life up until now at 23 undiagnosed and have believed the lie from society that i’m broken, that i’m a burden, and that i am unlikeable and unworthy. i’m still going through testing but my psychiatrist is almost certain i have ADD and isn’t the first professional to speculate it, just the first one who cared enough to dig. i have lived my life so damaged from how adults, authority figures, and my peers around me have deemed me all the things you describe. i am done being damaged. i am and we are all so much more resilient than all of those who judge us on their high horses will EVER be. we are fighters. they don’t know what it’s like to fight because they make their lives easy and simplified by merely deciding OTHER PEOPLE are defective and not up to THEIR “standards” of “normal.”",1 "I am not naturally organized, but when I went minimalist, everything kind of stays clean and organized because there is some much space open(not that much stuff). The people with contamination OCD saying"" they are right"" obviously aren't. I am hoping most of them are saying it as a joke. This kind of stuff has only really happened 3 times in the last 100 years. But still really bad shit.",0 "I hate that so much. and I can't even tell these people how annoying and wrong they are, 'cause the minute I'll do it, they're recognize it's something I feel personal about and (rightly) assume that I myself might suffer from that mental illness. therefore I have to suffer alone and ignorance keeps on roaming supreme.",0 "Oh hey, there's the PhD I got funding for BEFORE I flailed wildly on my MSc and was diagnosed with ADHD. :/ I miss structure",1 "I’m in my bed, it’s late in here, and I was litteraly just going over and over some old shit that happened with a close friend of mine 3 YEARS AGO, as I can’t seem to find sleep tonight. Like how the hell did I not say anything at the time?? How did I just left, went home, and blame it on my incapacity to socialise? At some point I thought fuck it and opened Reddit. This is the first post I see, and it feels really good. Hello stranger and thank you",1 "It's so crazy to me that I never considered I had ADHD until I was diagnosed. And now that I understand it more, I can't believe I didn't notice sooner. At the same time, I still feel like I'm just lazy constantly. I still feel like I should have this entirely under my control, even though that isn't medically acurate. I beat myself up so often over the fact that I'm doing nothing, or that I can't just bulk up and start focusing.",1 Thanks friend. I’m taking a study break and really needed to read this,1 "I have five checks to deposit. I don’t even have to go anywhere, i could deposit them with my phone. Would literally take 5 minutes. Has been two weeks.",1 Does anyone know if medication can help solve this problem?,1 I have never in my life seen anything more accurate than this,0 "YES. Specially on Christmas, I get this anxiety and I start panicking when things such as “what if it’s our last Christ together” pop up in my head. It’s been like this for 3 years and I’m terrified of the future",0 Wow. I've never even realized this or put it in to words 😂 Don't even get my started how many fucking saved reddit posts I have. Rarely do I look back for a post later.,1 "Right? Like I’m terrified of touching a doorknob but I’m not as scared as I should be about this virus... OCD is weird, man.",0 "Ok so I’m not sure I have OCD, but I do get really triggering images in my head, for example, yesterday I was cycling with my gf and there was a car coming, and in my head all I could see was her falling off her bike and the car hitting her head. They’re mostly related to traffic accidents, but sometimes other stuff. Does anyone have similar things? Is it an OCD thing or something else?",0 "Guys, I have ocd and it wasn't my parents but an uncle and he didn't do it but tried to, so we are not so crazy like that, we have memories ok?",0 "This is actually the worst time to have OCD. I havent done the handwashing thing since I was a kid, not looking forward to having it come back.",0 ABSOLUTELY. Context = connections. No context = random facts stuck in working memory with nothing to anchor to.,1 Thank you so much for posting this. I really needed this.,0 I thought my OCD was more or less under control into I found out about relationship OCD. Now I don't know what to believe anymore.,0 I've had a dream about getting brain tumor the previous night and my ocd is almost killing me because of it.,0 Tfw your symptoms try to convince you that you don't have symptoms 😑🙄,0 For school what is active recall + space repetition? Can someone explain this to me? Thanks! Lol,1 "I went to the trouble of ordering a bunch of chocolate and other stuff to make my friends little care packages as I can't see them in person (I'm in the UK and we're still in Covid lockdown). I hand made cards, tracked down everyone's address, assembled all the packages and addressed the envolopes. I even bought stamps. That was a month ago. They are all still sitting on my desk and I just cannot get it together to post them. Postbox is 3 mins walk from my flat. I also hand made Christmas cards for the concierge and cleaning staff who work in my block of flats. They are still sitting on my shelf because I just kept forgetting to take them downstairs or feeling weirdly anxious about doing it, even though I've managed in previous years, albeit late.",1 "i’m not officially diagnosed (yet) but i’m pretty sure i have severe contamination ocd. this has taken over almost every part of my life for approximately the past 2 years. but here are some of the things i accomplished lately: -talking/hanging out with friends again -going on social media again -using personal accounts again (bank, emails, amazon, etc.) -working on my business again -saying certain words again -lessened my bathroom/hand washing time there was a time when my ocd was so bad, that the only things i convinced myself it was okay to do, was watch Youtube and go on reddit. but one day i told myself, “what are you gonna do, delete everything/ throw everything out just because you have a silly contamination fear? drop all of your friends just because you didn’t do xyz perfectly?” and thinking that way has helped me lead a somewhat normal life again, i still have a lot of work to do but i’ve come so far",0 This jpg is so low quality it's practically deep fried 😧,0 "I TOTALLY forgot you can save comments, I've been saving posts and scrolling for the comment for a year now....",1 A good example of zero empathy. It's like telling someone who cannot walk to just get up. Just because we look normal doesn't mean we fake this condition.,1 "I also follow r/anxiety and r/insomnia, I was just thinking over which community it might be from and BOOM surprise it's r/ocd",0 "Im sorry to hear this... try to be strong, organise your day. Wake up and take a coffee ,then study or listen to music, if u can go for a walk ( I know its quarantine times but maybe for a jog ) then u can do things u like, cook and the day will pass. Try not to think about anything just do things not think. I know it is hard but u must try.... Are you taking any meds? Can you talk on Skype with your therapist? Best regards, and stay strong!",0 "I’m currently at college in architecture for this reason! I was doin great the first few years, but I’m rapidly spiraling into a pattern of apathy towards deadlines, complete lack of motivation, and a generous side of depression. And the worst part is, I should be preparing for my final presentation right now...but here I am.",1 Wait just one minute! This is an ADHD thing? I genuinely thought this is how most people deal with most things. Well doesn’t surprise me now that you say it,1 Adhd peels gotta lookout for eachother STOP POSTING AND STUDY BRO,1 "I've been thinking about this article all night since I've seen this post. We just had a parent teacher conference and the teacher knows my daughter is capable, but just not applying herself. She is diagnosed with ADHD and has accommodations. However it's not working and in some subjects she is getting high D's. Now I don't care if she is a C student, but I also don't want her to fail. So we push her but at what point am I pushing her too much ya know?",1 this because but my shift starts at 3 EVERY DAMN DAY,1 "Yes, thank you. <3 I also need to remember this about my boyfriend. He's the one my intrusive thoughts are about most of the time. 😬",0 "I was recently diagnosed with OCD and a new friend of mine is also showing a lot of symptoms of OCD- It’s so good to have someone who understands, and doesn’t ask or judges.",0 Thank you for this Tedtalk. I always use a shart ton of commas. :),1 "As someone whose OCD morphed into BDD, I have to say BDD is even worse. Both cause unspeakable anguish.",0 I can do things without knowing why but I would soooooo much rather know. Understanding why helps me remember what to do because it makes logical sense. Unfortunately my current job has a lot of rules that’s are “just because” and that’s drives me bonkers.,1 Literally just subconciously ignoring the leftovers that needed to go into the fridge.. thank you! No food wasted tonight!,1 Yeah I just got a new lab job and I've realized a big part of why I've felt kind of loss is because my supervisor plops me in the middle of a procedure without telling me about the bigger picture,1 Corona made me a bigger germaphobe than I already was,0 "We know our obsessions are absurd, otherwise we would never even believe we had OCD in the first place. Turning a light on and off 5 times to make sure my glasses don’t break? This seems rational. And using logic fails because it seems you can’t rationalize with the irrational. That “what if?” factor is too strong.",0 Yesss. This is imposter syndrome. And I recently learned about it. Maxxx relate,0 "Yep, my personal productivity window starts between 1am until 4am. If my sleeping pattern improves I’m fucked.",1 "I literally cannot do online classes for this and many other reasons related to ADHD. And I *can't* **go** ***into*** school because of Covid-19. Life is so fucking stupid right now, I just wish I were rich so I could pay someone to keep track of everything in my life AND teach me at my own pace.",1 I was apparently in the top 0.1% of listeners of Franz Ferdinand... poor blokes... especially when apparently my top played song was Cake By the Ocean by DNCE...,1 Would you be able to expand how you use active recall and spaced repetition?,1 "I always found this the other way. School was difficult and working was the thing I excelled at. I agree working at a big company would not work. I’ve always worked for small companies. The only danger is doing too well that makes others look bad, including bosses. That can cause issues. For the most part I’ve been in sales. As long as you make goal you can spend your time on the road the way you want. My son, also ADD, is a bit OCD and a perfectionist. He finally found a job he fits in. He is quality control and correction at a specialty vehicle company.",1 "lol yeah when mine was bad my first thought when i woke up would be smth like ""ok now where did we leave off last night...""",0 "Im sick of having to explain to people that yes, I have OCD, and no I don't have to wash my hands all the time or need everything organized and actually I would be tidier and more organized if it wasn't for my OCD constantly distracting me",0 "Something I do that works really well is pour painting! You put a bunch of paint colors in a cup, put the canvas over the top of the cup, flip it over so the paint spills out when you lift the cup, and tilt the canvas to make the paint run across and cover it! They only take like 10 minutes to make and look like really cool abstract art",1 "If you can, outsource it. I know I avoid dentists and would never go so every year my sisters birthday present to me is making an appointment for me and going with me and then doing something nice after",1 "Finding what works is key. I do meal kits (HelloFresh for now) because trying to figure out a meal plan, buying food for recipes then not forgetting items or what I was planning on making was driving me insane. As someone else says, it’s not stupid if it works! And even if it’s not the “norm” - *who cares*. We all have different strengths and needs. I’m glad you found what works for you!!!",1 "This is 100% what I've been looking for. I am on an SSRI and it definitely has helped me with certain things. I'm much more ""wait a minute, think about this"" than I used to be, and a little more ""work active"". My only issue is that if I'm doing something, like drawing, I can be 1. So easily distracted that I'm doing things every two mins and not drawing or 2. Focused only on that and nothing else all day. Like forgetting to eat if I haven't finished a drawing or a work thing.",1 "Get your butt to an art supply store and buy a cheap set of (real hair) brushes, a cheap pack of acrylic paints, and a cheap pack of canvases. Painting is such a great therapy even if you aren’t “good at it”! The best paintings are abstract often. And acrylic paint is dope because you can paint over and over it. Sometimes I have 15 paintings under a finished product because I didn’t like it enough to quit yet. The paint washes out of the brushes with water. I keep a cup of water next to me so i can just dunk them until i’m ready to clean them off for the day (sometimes they sit in there a week..) But seriously it’s not all that expensive of a hobby and you can sit and paint as long as you want. I like to get caffeinated and just bomb some canvas with whatever colors I fancy in the moment and I did eventually get pretty good at realism and paint animals now. Getting friends to paint with you is fun too",1 "Same here. I have a long-time friend group full of young bankers and lawyers (one of which had gone on to an Ivy League law school). A very successful bunch of degenerates, to say the least. For years, my friends have consistently said that I’m the smartest of them all, and I’ve always blown them off. I sucked at college, barely made it through and am easily the least successful of them all. I sound smart and am fairly analytical about things, I’ll give myself that, but when it comes to practically implementing that intelligence my brain works about as well as someone who just got back from the dentist and is still high from the anesthesia. I try to focus, write down as much as I can, end up fixating on one thing someone says, spacing out for a minute, and then come back only to realize I have no idea what is being talked about. Then when I actually try to juggle multiple things at once, I don’t even know where to begin. You know that path in your mind where the road is completely clear, and you can see exactly how to get from point A to point B? Yeah...I don’t. For me, it’s like driving in a blizzard where you’ve got about three feet of visibility. Shit is infuriating.",1 That therapist is giving them reassurance which she never should have done in the first place.,0 "I have two pre-9:30 am appointments coming up, and I'm hoping I can wake up in time 😭",1 For me I think rsd is the worst part but executive dysfunction is definitely a big one. This weekend I worked on a play I'm writing for school - literally sat in a library from 8am to 1am for THREE DAYS straight trying to finish the damn thing and it didn't get any longer. It's maddening to work your ass of to get nothing done.,1 Would discrimination laws make it unfeasible to create a workplace made up entirely of those with ADHD?,1 "i’m new to reddit & i just joined this group.. this is the first post i clicked on & holy sh*t i just started full on bawling in my car. i’m 22 years old & was just diagnosed with ADHD, OCD, bipolar 2, & adjustment disorder. i’ve cut so many amazing people out of my life because i didn’t feel like i deserved them. i’m an inconsistent communicator & an obsessive over thinker with the best intentions & the worst follow-through. i felt, & sometimes still feel, like a burden to the people closest to me, like they would be better off without me. i’ve always kept people at an arms length because of that. i can’t explain why but i have now been sobbing for 20 minutes over this post. ugh. to anyone who knows these feelings, you are not evil & you are not a burden— you are a wonderful, strong, misunderstood person who is just as deserving of happiness as anyone else.",1 "Yes,bro...So am I...And my exp is taking pills for ADHD can help.",1 Thank you. This actually helped. Got some work done on my coursera course.,1 "Yep. I need the big picture because I like to work out more efficient ways of doing things. I did a filing job at Big Corp as a teen and needed the whys and wherefores, and the boss was really happy that I was actually interested. I asked for an empty office so I could spread everything out (this was weeks worth of filing work and would pay for an overseas trip). I got the office and bought a radio in and was highly productive - because of that interest and being a people pleaser, I got a lot of love at that company.",1 Ugh. I needed this but also really didn’t need this. I honestly feel *so* attacked right now,0 "It doesn't make sense, but it makes sense to my brain though.",0 "-> Post telling us to go the fuck to sleep... ***every person on Reddit commenting on their insomnia and sleep problems *** *me scrolling through them all like hey yeah me to!!!* Yet we are all still here and none of us are going the fuck to sleep...",1 First thing i think of when i wake up is my mistakes.,0 "Should have asked her mom where it was, always works when I lose something even though I'm not living with my mom anymore",1 "Accepting uncertainty\* . . . \*regarding the timing of my certain demise as a result of not giving in to my compulsions",0 Reading this as inattentive type and seeing hyperactive/combined traits in my 3yo son made me sad. I pray I am able to give him the base he needs not to fall into addiction or abusive behavior or any of the soul destroying things we can do to ourselves.,1 I got everything other than money. Otherwise same. Same!,1 "Dude, you are doing awesome, keep it up, and fuck OCD <3",0 "When I text someone, I literally don't use periods anymore. It's either commas or semicolons. 😂",1 "I do that, I’ve noticed that after a little while I turn it off out of reaction. So I don’t even realize it going off.",1 "This has nothing to do with OCD but what's ""Music Appreciation""? I've never heard of it. Also congrats on your grades!🙌",0 I actually thought this is what people were saying (referring to intrusive thoughts) before someone told me what “thot” meant.,0 mood... only slightly worried since they wanna put me on meds and I can't risk dealing with bad side effects since I graduate next year and I need to work hard at uni,0 "That hasn't happened to me so far but to be fair I don't think I've had to stop mid-session in that way so far in my life. I can see why someone might take it personally, especially if they have some insecurity, but I hope with some distance he can laugh because it's relatable and endearing. Hope he wasn't a jerk about it.",1 I'm 1 week into not checking the door when I leave for work and it has been so hard. It's getting easier though :),0 you’re an absolute legend for this. i’ve found myself zoning out in lectures that i really wanted to pay attention in and getting frustrated with myself so this helps hugely. thankyou so much!,1 This is fucking genius and I'm totally stealing it. Thank you.,0 "I named mine Kanye. I’m always like “Thank you Kanye, very cool!”",0 Thanks for posting this... this particular “feature” of ADHD has been positively wrecking me lately.,1 "Yes, but I speculate it's not sustainable. The only sustainable path is to become completely compulsion free. I.e. not using any kind of tricks to ""neutralize"" thoughts. But just letting them be or pass over.",0 "One thing I’ve been doing for the last couple weeks is keeping what I call a “productivity journal”. When I’m feeling like I wasted a day or didn’t do enough that day, it helps me to look back at the journal and see that I did at least *some* things aside from just existing. My productivity journal is simply a brief list of anything I’ve done that day that I would consider productive. Others might not consider some of the things I record to be worthy of noting (i.e. brushing my teeth), but for me doing *anything* outside of taking care of my baby is a major accomplishment. An example of what 1 average day would have recorded is: brushed teeth, washed face, got dressed for the day, did dishes twice, went for a walk outside with the baby, and scooped the litter boxes. If it’s something that you feel might be beneficial for you too, then I’d definitely recommend giving it a try. [Side note: I know journalling is nearly impossible for some people with ADHD, but I’ve been successful because it’s literally just the date and a bullet-point list.]",1 "I've deactivated, deleted most of my social media. Have absolutely no problem deleting the rest if needed. There isn't value there that is worth the time I would/did spend on it.",0 "This drives me nuts. I never know if something's a rational concern or not. I'm usually pretty good at telling which is which, but when I can't, it can destroy relationships I have with others",0 Whenever you’re having a good day. That’s when you gotta be on the defense,0 "Background, been diagnosed for a year. I actually never thought I got THAT overwhelmed. I just thought that once in a while when theres a lot goin on, Id get annoyed. Until I was at one of my best friend's house. I live alone. He has 2 toddlers, 2 hyperactive dogs, and in this case, he was playing CoD and yelling/calling people cocksuckers at the tv. 1 toddler is relentlessly asking the same question over and over and over, the younger one is running at mach 10 back and forth. If you so much as look at the dogs, they jump on you trying to be pet and get overly excited. Im over here just tryna watch a video on my phone. All i hear in the background are a gaggillion distractions and getting climbed on constantly. I had to walk outside before I lost my shit lol. My friend was like, whats wrong with you? Y u mad bruv. Like, its just too much rn, I had to take a break. Hes like, Im used to it, but also, what lol. Ive never had to just leave lol. It clicked that shit is literally just overwhelming, and thought about all the other situations in the past where I blew a fucking gasket. I swear I learn something new about myself every week.",1 "Anyone who likes me, I believe that I just somehow manipulated then into liking me, and I work extra hard to find proof that I am actually a bad person, and get them to hate me like I hate myself. It's a vicious cycle.",0 "I am literally doing a research degree and aiming for a postgrad Master of Research XD ​ My OCD may be a pain but at least I can use it to my advantage by making a career out of my obsessive research and compulsion to know all the facts.",0 Yes my most favorite mug has the worst case of mold in the corner in my room on a shelf right now but at this point I am scared to touch it. I asked my sister to help and she still hasn't...I can smell it from my bed and people may call me a slob but I am too scared to even go near that mug anymore.,1 I've been having auditory hallucinations lately which manifest into intrusive thoughts. Anyone else experience this? ,0 Dropping in to say I low key love this and would participate.,1 I wish I could word search my screen shots to find that thing I was going to watch that day but only remembered 73 days later.,1 "If you think about it, it means it was a mistake. People who do bad things on purpose don't ask themselves if it was a mistake or not because they already know the answer.",0 Thank you. Sending this to my very depressed 17 year old son.,1 This speaks to me on a whole new level. I never even considered that thoughts like this would be down to OCD. I can take comfort in knowing that it’s just another part of my brain doing this and not _my_ personality. OCD coupled with ADHD is a wild ride,0 "AHH such a cute lil frog. I struggle too, this made me smile :)",0 "I always think that I’ve killed someone even though I just saw them a minute ago, I’ll be like “Did I just kill my dog? Gotta go check!”",0 Yes. I get the same feeling when I see my car and think I bought the wrong color that a healthy human would feel if encountering a mountain lion in the woods at night,0 "Me: hehe, that old chestnut, eh? *laughs nervously* Brain: c'mon, it'll be fun.",0 I feel like my brain works at an A grade but my ADHD causes my actual finished work to barely grade at a C/D,1 Ya got me! I can finally take my food out the oven. ;),1 "Anyone else do all sorts of things to help others to make us feel like we earned our way or like made restitution to the world for our existence because of this? Like ""Hey, I'm sorry you have to put up with me, but here's this good thing I did to make up for my existing"" Or is that just a me thing?",1 "Ahh, the backdoor spike. That one tricky bastard use to get me.",0 "Me: I have ocd My dad: No! That’s when people are too neat.You’re a slob. You cant have that Me with my constant compulsions, obsessions, and ruminations: 👁👄👁",0 "For me it's like, ""I suddenly no longer want to be friendly to this person. What would happen if I just turned around and walked away...?""",0 "ERP without medication is a form of torture, but go for it... these therapists really know what's best",0 Saw this post and thought Jesus that is terrible advice.. before realising it was in the OCD sub ha!,0 "Lol, I feel this. I’m 36, which is basically 40, which is basically the second half of my life, so I’m basically dead.",1 "I feel this picture. Gotta recommend Vaseline, especially at night while sleeping, its saves my skin from melting off my hands.",0 "The feels :) this is awesome. Personally I've been trying to date someone with one of my comorbidities, but it is awesome to hear there are people out there that understand.",1 I would forget to put my retainer in its case in the morning and my dog would come chew it up! I lost three retainers. Now I just don’t wear one 😅,1 I sincerely hope you recover quickly. Thanks for the reminder. ❤️,1 RELATE SO HARD. except the boyfriend part. I’m 💯 a lesbian. Everything else is how I feel everyday. Thank you for this wonderful post.,0 I snort laughed as I sit here waiting for the bad thing to happen to me because I didn't make it to the microwave before it beeped.,0 "Yep, that is me with every appointment. Part of my brain knows what time it is. The other, louder part is unsure and needs to check 18 times. Including right before I go inside for said appointment.",0 Me. In a nutshell. Honestly me. From the beginning to the end of this post,1 "Congratulations!! I'm lucky that my hands only look like this in the winter. What does extensive exposure look like, if I can ask?",0 "My most listened to songs were all from ConcernedApe -my calm stardew valley playlist that I use to sleep 😭 otherwise I just can't sleep. Second artist on was pretty accurate, though!",1 People without ocd wash their hands one time and think they have ocd. I’ve compulsively counted every single step I’ve taken since I was 8. We are not the same,0 "As a lawyer with this same condition I am thrilled to hear that you found a doctor like my old one. For the longest time I was in denial about my condition because I’ve always been a people pleaser (behind the scenes to my own absolute detriment). At every level the bar got a little higher and I got more disorganized and depressed. Despite have a very obvious case and a strong family history of the condition (BOTH parents), doctors would tell me that nah I’m too high functioning. That isn’t a real criteria as it doesn’t consider the extreme cost of that functioning (compared to peers) and also it’s about the degree of impairment to the individual which is not a static line. I am so much better able to access my abilities and not ruin my life when I’m medicated. Bless my parents as I know they were actively doing what they thought was the right thing by not medicating me. But I think back to childhood and early adulthood often and just recall constantly being ‘in trouble’ but never quite understanding why (getting lost on my way home repeatedly, failing to learn anything taught in school or church because I could never pay attention, breaking and or losing every possession ever bestowed upon me, being a running joke among family and friends that I just ‘didn’t think before I acted.’) I wonder how much easier life would have been and whether I could have achieved more had this been identified and worked on earlier. Wishing you (and your doc) all the best in the world, my friend.",1 "Commenting so I can come back to this, thank you!!!!!!",1 "First of I do 100 percent feel u. 2nd I do feel it's the worst to disappoint myself. 3nd I am German. In german he word disappointment is translatet to enttäuschen. Which means as much as unmask. There is a song arguing the good thing about the unmasking is that you don't mask anymore. Like besides the struggles in life those of us with adhd has to face anyway. Why should we also worry about people who did the math.... Well he succeeded in school so he will succeed in life. Maybe those people aren't the best mathematics since there is always a unknown part in the formula. And especially when you got diagnosed early it's obviously that there is a high chance of struggle in life. It's possible to do it for sure but there is still struggle. I'm sick of justify myself for other people's expectations anyhow. Still I do wanna succeed of course. But I try to accept that I will struggle alot and that I will fail more often then others. That doesn't make me a bad person. It rather shows strength in getting up again. And of course it sucks. But I strongly disagree with feeling ashamed for that. And I'm still learning this too. It's taff!! Best wishes :) When you try your awesome regardless of the result :)",1 "We're masters at rationalizing the irrational. It doesn't make sense, but it makes sense to me.",0 "Yes, haha this has happened to me. It's weird how this is funny but not.",0 "Ugh in hs I used to wash my hands so much, my knuckles would crack and bleed. My friends would literally call me “Old Man Hands”... thank God I’ve found medication that works now so I don’t feel this compulsive need anymore... for the most part. OP, please be kind to yourself. OCD is a bitch.",0 "Mine when I get on a plane: “Don’t think about the plane malfunctioning....don’t think about the plane malfunctioning...” Brain: The plane is going to malfunction and you will crash. 😫",0 yeah ocd makes me feel like i'm constantly on trial with myself,0 "I’ve had OCD for 19 years. Not a day goes by where I don’t ask myself “why me?”. There are so many physical illnesses I’d trade for OCD. Your art is beautiful and it’s great you have a means of expression as sometimes, especially with OCD, words can’t convey what it is like to suffer from such a debilitating illness.",0 "Yup, i know exactly what you mean!!! I exerience thos every day.",1 "Well, that's because if you are anything like me, you have started some task before the appointment and then lost track of time and were late to the appointment in the past. Or if you had focused on something before the appointment, you can't help but be distracted with thoughts about what you focused on during the appointment.",1 My therapist told me it's an avoidance technique and part of my depression,1 Just had this kind of thought process and went to the sub to ease my mind. So thank you,0 I don’t have ocd anymore but when I had I would do this exact thing even though I didn’t have zoom class. I would do on this at night with my ps4 mic even tho the ps4 itself was turned off,0 "When I first got hit hard with OCD at 22( had it all my life just didn’t know), it felt like a loud disturbing movie going off in my head that I couldn’t turn off. Medication helped. Therapy also helped. If OCD thoughts creep up don’t resist them, acknowledge their presence and focus on what your doing. Also don’t make decisions based on OCD. For example, when I was worse I used to deliberately avoid triggers. Now, I go through with whatever I’m doing and I’m fine. I know you can get there as well, it just takes practice!",0 "I have strong OCD. Thank god this sub existed, maybe I can talk with others about my condition.",0 "This is why I keep score at the baseball game. Keeps me sorta focused. Movies, music, golf, I can't always stay focused. And, the relentless inner dialog....",1 "Thanks. Pretty scared right now, and this helped. ❤️",0 ">I've learned to stay shut as much as I can. People typically think of me as being the “quiet type”, and in a way I certainly am an introvert — but I don’t necessarily want to be. I’m just locked in my own head. Yes. A million times, yes.",1 I love this. Thank you. Teamwork makes the dream work.,1 "Focusmate.com has been a huge help for me. You schedule a time and focusmate matches you with a random person. You get on a video call and both silently work on your respective tasks for 50 min. At the end, you each say what you accomplished during that hour. It is literally the only way I've been able to get myself to do anything for months now. It's free for 3 sessions a week, or $5 a month for unlimited sessions.",1 "OP questioner... ""Can I have OCD"" Me: ""sure you can have mine... It's fully functional, but you will never really know if it will snap and send you to prison, or if you should already be in prison so you go out of your way to prevent harm to others that you develop other mental health conditions and schemas based around being selfless as you begin to believe you don't matter and that everyone around you will work it out fuelling a never ending cycle which makes you look weird when you have to refuse the sushi so they don't find out that you are a hateful, worthless racist deserving of prison."" OP: ""WHAT?!"" Me *has hOCD* ""WHAT?""",0 Tfw my therapist says this exact thing every session O.o,0 "Hopefully, you can start enjoying some of those aspects of life again soon! It can definitely get better.",0 "I have found an electric toothbrush helped a lot, because it does the minute work for you. You basically just have to gently pass the bristles over each tooth.",1 Congratulations!! I’m working to form the habit too and it is seriously hard so I got a lot of respect for you for keeping that up,1 AHAHAHAHAHA ! Thank you for this MEME I genuinely needed the laugh tonight it has been SO bad for so many months now.,0 "Yes, def! I don't retain arbitrary information AT ALL. I think it's why I'm bad at non-basic math, it just seems like made up rules to me (I know there actually is logic behind it but it's really hard to grasp and no one really teaches it anyway) so it's just in one ear and out the other.",1 I needed this today/this year - THANK YOU. Nicely designed too,0 when you have a non ocd dream for once & you wake up feeling refreshed then your ocd is just like “hey 😀 good morning 😀”,0 "Mine was cured when someone told me to ""just focus"". I had never though of that before and POOF! I was cured!!",1 "sorry this is kinda tmi but really I do relate lol after having a couple times over the years where I've REALLY had to pee (car rides, out in the middle of the lake during rowing races, etc) the pain it caused has made me so anxious I go to the bathroom constantly now to avoid that distress at all cost. I'm not very good at distress tolerance I guess 😅 but yeah I think it has turned into an obsession, I never really thought of it that way. it does affect my daily life as I avoid drinking water when I'm going to be out of the house a long time (as a trans person with OCD I avoid public restrooms at all cost lol)",0 I wish I could talk to more people about this shit because all of my friends are literally fucking perfect compared to me and none of them would get what I would mean if I tried to tell them about how this post is exactly how I feel,1 I don't know if you'll see this but as a dental hygienist and a fellow ADHD human I want to say you are doing great! They teach us it normally takes 3 months to have a solid routine that is much harder to break. You've made it 27 days which is awesome! Keep it up! The longer you do it the better your teeth will feel and it will no longer feel normal to not have brushed your teeth!,1 HAHAHAHAHAHA THIS IS SO TRUUUEEEE AND THEY TAKE YOU EVEN LESS SERIOUSLY WHEN YOU SAY YOU ALSO HAVE ANXIETY,1 "Check out [monica](https://www.monicahq.com/). Provides a nice little web app that allows you to keep track of your families and friends. It's a little hands on and rough around the edges but provides a lot of functionality. It's almost made for ADHDers. The only major thing missing imo is integration with the todo app. A couple of cool features(all email at this time) * reminders to keep up with family * important date reminders like birthdays * crude task manager and reminder * crude journal * able to document when you hang out with family and friends * even has a cool debt tracker for when you barrow $20 bucks from a friend. * only you have access to it. negatives * Rough * manual entries for just about everything * $9 monthly subscription * still in development * lackster journal * no text or app notifications * needs more integrations",1 "That's a great idea! Yeah, I find myself giving advice to others on intriguing topics when I'm supposed to be doing something work-related--the whole novelty of doing other people's biz.",1 "On one medication I used to take, I had a side effect where my OCD thoughts would physically manifest in my body. Basically, as the thought was going through my consciousness, my pinky finger would curl up until the thought was gone and the finger would release and relax. I don't take that medication anymore. I do shake a thought out every so often to prove I am ""rejecting"" it. The more I learn though, I try to avoid doing so if I remember.",0 I have photographic memory...and ADHD. I can memorize most of what I read - and then FORGET THAT I KNOW IT.,1 "I am the same exact way and I think you just explained the reason why you need to know ""why"". It's to help you memory...or at least partly. I think by making the information relevant it gives more for your brain to latch onto to remember. Otherwise you are just memorizing a fact. Very difficult for me to memorize facts. I would have to make a song out of it or some catchy phrase/mnemonic device to remember. It's smart that you intuitively ask the ""why"" without a thought. You know you need the answer to remember. Plus it makes it much more interesting to remember. God knows we need ""interesting"" in order to stay engaged. I just think it's common sense to explain ""why"" to ppl. I don't think all ppl get why this is important, not just for those with adhd but for anyone you are teaching in order to remember...I would think anyway.",1 "Wow, I never realized this would count as OCD. I myself have dermatophagia (imagine hair pulling/biting but instead its the skin on your hands) which is what drew me to this sub but as I scroll around I'm learning that I am not OK 😅 ",0 "particularly annoying during my childhood, especially at church with family",0 I think about this all the time. I'm so afraid of random things possibly killing me or the ppl I love but that fear keeps holding me back from living my life. It's a strange (and frustrating) conundrum.,0 "My solution to this problem has essentially been to become a cyborg, where all I have to do is remember where I saved the info to on my smartphone and I can just look it up and read it aloud at the appropriate moment. Take that, shitty memory!",1 Yes - I was obsessed growing up with the idea of having a time turner like Hermione in Harry Potter. I would definitely abuse it though :(,1 "I have the same problem. How do I fix it though? Or do I just need a change of career?",1 "As someone with ADHD, I remember my first year of law school, where we learned that legal writing (as opposed to other, less technical writing) encouraged the use of commas much more than in plain language (e.g., the Oxford comma). I think it’s a product of the way we think, our tendency to produce long-winded ideas, and our need to be extremely precise.",1 "I am currently struggling with exactly this... After years of going undiagnosed, I recently found an amazing therapist who figured out I actually have OCD, and not just anxiety (not trying to diminishing anxiety by saying “just anxiety”, I am simply calling out that OCD has its own specific types of anxiety and therefore needs to be treated differently) I am so so so nervous about taking the leap of faith that is going on medication. The more I learn about the disorder, the more I am not sure where OCD ends and I begin. One of my strongest qualities in my professional life is my attention to detail and analytical skills (project manager/analyst at an IT company). What if I lose that? What if I am not as “smart” while on medication because my intelligence is not intelligence at all, but simply another symptom of my obsessions. Another thing about myself that seems to be tied to OCD is my curiosity in existential type stuff. I have always been in to learning about time, consciousness, being, etc. What if that isn’t me either? What if there is nothing of me left? What if I am OCD? Sorry for the rant, I have just been having a hard time lately. I feel like I am losing my identity.",0 "Lol and if you're like me, you substitute drugs to achieve the stimulation, which creates an entire domino line of other drugs to compensate for downsides",1 "It's fucking messy, but if that towel is not folded in that particular shape, I suppose I'm dying.",0 Me when I was on a plane where my brain kept telling me to yell I have a bomb on the plane 😞,0 "Likes were 499 and I turned them 500,youre welcome ;)",0 "Yes! Never assume that just because it’s your first thought, it’s the most important. It’s not!",0 THIS yes omg my ocd tried to convince me i was bi for “attention” for so long 😬,0 "bro is this me? I have a uni assignment due in a few days (that had a 3 week extension). I completed 80% of it in a few days - all the hard graft requiring hyperfocus - and have since taken 2 days off to play a video game with excessive caffeine. .........it helps me drive better on racing games. Adhd + university = fuck me sideways.",1 "This is a common meme in the OCD community but I don't know if it's really that helpful. I feel like it's more important to just focus on your own mental health instead of criticizing other people's perceptions of OCD. To be fair, if you don't have OCD, you would have no idea what it's like. I also think it's important to be able to laugh at your problems otherwise the issue becomes way more serious than it has to be. I'm not saying that OCD shuoldn't be taken seriously, just not any more serious than it has to be.",0 I don’t sit on my couch because my stupid brain won’t let me :(,0 "Double fun with autism as well, seeing that is the fun meme insult for everything under the sun now...",0 "Aside from the importance of early intervention I suspect economics has a lot to do with this too. Treating kids is probably more lucrative since other people are paying for it (eg parents, schools etc)",1 "mornings are really overwhelming then i started to do like quick minute morning routine things- 1 minute meditation, etc. the 1 minute journaling every morning has helped IMMENSELY and this is coming from someone who thinks journaling is bs. still trying to figure out how to not feel this way at night and end every day crying or borderline crying so i’ll get back to you on that one",1 "I want to post this on my WhatsApp status, but I'm too afraid of the number of questions my friends and family will ask once I put it up or fear their judgement. Ugh.",0 "Ironically I did need to hear this today (for the first time in a long time), thank you for this!",0 """My mind is too buzzy"" Omg I struggle with trying to explain this feeling. It's so hard and people dont understand how debilitating it can be. And then it's a vicious circle of hating myself for not being able to do simple tasks that I literally want to do but I just CANT",1 "Omg in the middle of a relapse because I slacked on ERP over some time I feel this. The worst is when your aggressively pursuing ERP, so OCD responds aggressively right back for a time! Ugh!",0 "OMG yes, it's one of the things that eventually led me to seeking a diagnosis.",1 this is the most relatable thing i’ve seen in a while,0 "Excuses I’ve come up with to excuse my rituals: “My foot is itchy.” I have a thing about crossing lines on the floor with my left foot first, so I rub the top of my right foot over the line if I cross the line with my right foot first. “There’s something wrong with the light.” (totally believable 🙄) “I’m not sure.” “The washer isn’t working properly.” “I (or one of my kids) accidentally got (actually dangerous thing) on (item), so I have to wash it again.” “I burned the food.” (Nope, just convinced myself that I contaminated it) Trying to play it off like I’m not just being OCD.",0 For people to say that is stupid bro. They really want something cause there bored all the fkin time . Imagine being 9 -10 years old and thinking about all these intrusive thoughts you can't control and dont want to see. Thinking you were gonna go to hell 24/7. It's mental hell I can say the least is what I can possibly describe it as. I swear I was depressed and It went on from what it seemed like forever.,0 I’ve taken all of these. Lol had to be switched off so often because almost ALL of them made me suicidal/like a zombie. I eventually just started to refuse taking them when I got old enough and I felt much better.,0 "Thank you for this. Today's been a hard day. It's been a year and a half since I have been unemployed. I used up all my savings staying alive... While my partner offered to help me with half of my rent....he's been really supportive, trying not to pressure me into looking for work while I worked on studying and my mental health. I am always feeling so grateful of him, and guilty that I'm not an equal partner. But today, it all became too much for him, and he questioned whether I care about him at all because I'm not putting in any effort... He said, it's been more than a year. He's right. How did it get to this? Why has a year just flown by without me noticing or taking action? Why?? As someone who was adamant about ADHD not being a ""disorder"" but a evolutionary mismatch for our current society.... I broke down and thought, maybe there really is something wrong with me. Maybe I'm just fooling myself thinking that I'll get better, I have it handled, I don't need medication... It's the first time I seriously played with the idea of leaving Earth myself. But I decided I'll try a little harder in honour of your friend... And for people like you who understand. Thank you.",1 "That's a pretty effective way, I should name mine too. Uh...something evil and something that I hope will die be tortured in hell... hmm (it sounds like a joke but no I'm being serious) Idk suggestions..?",0 "yeah. when at your best they still think you aren’t trying, you stop trying because that’s what they expect anyways",1 Yep! Currently working through this with my therapist. My compulsion is digging through old facebook messages that will NEVER BE DELETED and finding every instance of my ignorance in my early 20s. It never helps so I would not recommend it.,0 "Everyone is saying that this meme isn’t representative of ocd and not making a good impression of ocd for those who don’t have it, but I actually do have thoughts about as outlandish and crazy as this with my ocd. I DO feel like it represents me. Is there anyone else out there who has crazy delusions like mine?. ******EDIT****** Someone commented that I was exaggerating when I said I had fears as exaggerated as the meme. I was being perfectly serious and not trying to frustrate anyone. I am this delusional, and it is a part of OCD. I have researched this a lot, as many of you probably also have, and we with OCD can, in fact be very delusional. OCD has co-morbities as well, like ADHD, and can even develop into schizophrenia. So that may be why I can be so delusional. I am aware my delusions are nuts but my OCD brain still makes me feel the terror because that’s how it works, as we all know. So please understand everyone that I was being serious and searching for others who shared experiences like mine, and my heart goes out to you. It makes me feel comforted a bit when someone tells me I’m not alone. So my comment was legitimately from a good place and not to harm others. People need to not be rude to others when we are commenting about our mental illnesses. It could really hurt someone else going through the really tough shit we go through. ❤️❤️❤️❤️",0 Dude I have this exact fear for for this exact reason. I've created a will & written goodbye letters based on this minor occasional headache. Oof,0 "This is the weirdest thing about ERP for me. At the top of the anxiety curve, I have no idea how I could possibly *not* worry about the obsession. Five minutes later the spike has passed and I can't remember why I was worried about the obsession at all. Then the anxiety spikes again, and I completely forget everything that just happened and go back to thinking the obsession is the most important thing in the world...",0 I’m sooooo happy to see resisting the urge to tic on here!! I thought I was the only one that had tics caused by OCD lol,0 "I think it’s totally fair to feel that way. Failing to meet our own (even modest) expectations over and over again makes us feel like we’re not good enough. For me, it’s led to avoidant personality traits and major, chronic depression. But the truth is that we have the strength to figure things out.",1 Yeah I’ve been doing this for 7 years with Snapchat stories and Instagram stories. Also with Facebook.,0 "This is so crazy to me. I just stopped seeing a wack job doctor that made me sign a contract that I wouldn’t take adderall more than 5 days per week. I am furious now. I’ve been taking adderall for almost a decade and I’ve NEVER had a doctor say to only take adderall on weekdays. They treated me like a total criminal AND made me jump through a million hoops to get my meds refilled even though I was diagnosed 9 years ago and have been taking adderall the whole time. They treated me like a drug seeker and as if I was new to ADHD. Fuck them.",1 "I have that. I am in a especially bad episode right now, I can't get anything done. I could scream. (male btw)",1 "Exactly! And we don't control the ads we get, so do what you do with the ads and ignore them!",0 "When I was a kid I would obsessively confess to my mother. I can also remember feeling weirdly guilty when kids would bring food to hand out at school, like I didn’t deserve it.",0 "This got me off reddit and on top of my dissertation again. Deadline is in 7 days, have been scrolling for an hour... Thank you!",1 """That we aren’t trying to be rude."" This hits *so hard*. I have absolutely no sense of tact and constantly get in trouble for being ""argumentative"", ""snippy"", or ""needing to watch your tone"". And whenever I tell them I'm trying, they say ""no you're not"". How tf am I supposed to look for or tone down something that isn't and has never been a conscious effort, and which I can't tell when it's happening no matter how hard I try? I can't pore over and censor every sentence for an hour before I say it, or I'd never get any words out. And sometimes, ironically, I'm the person being told I'm gaslighting. I get that memory-blanks thing and it takes me half a conversation to remember important details, but in the meantime my idiot brain will swear up-and-down that said detail never existed, making my parents mad at me. It's understandable for them to see it as manipulation but I swear to god I'd never try to do that to them. This is legitimately how I remember things, for some stupid goddamn reason that's messing up my life.",1 You hit me where I didn’t know I needed to be hit and healed. Thank you for knowing and telling me.,1 This in addition to the guilt of letting down friends and family just destroys me :( I’m so tired of feeling guilty and feeling like a shitty person. It’s so hard to forgive yourself when you look at all the what could have beens,1 "> You can be very smart and still have the condition... Yep. I was always able to keep pushing through. I did really well in grade school, I pretty much did 4th and 5th grade in my 4th grade year. I was tested in high school because they thought I needed remedial help, their testing said I was very smart but bored. I eventually got through high school. I did very well in college usually having the highest marks on exams even though I rarely showed up for class. People assumed, me included that it was because I was learning things I wanted to learn. Finished college, and I was always able to hold down jobs afterward. Moved quickly up the ladder in my mid 20's and was expected to keep moving higher. I had some ups and downs - anxiety problems and so on. In hindsight they were ADHD related so I never really went as high as anyone expected and eventually burned bridges and bounced around a couple of different jobs. The anxiety and depression built up like a time bomb that went off in my early 40's. I finally got so bad that people who cared about me made me get help. I spent a couple years getting out of a decade long bout of chronic depression only to realize I was still having a lot of the problems that were always blamed on my ever increasing anxiety and depression. I also happened to be working with someone to have my child diagnosed, so as I was going through that alarms bells were going off because she was exactly the same as I was at her age. Now I'm kind of back at square one, waiting to get a proper diagnosis. I can at the very least start learning about how to deal with it now because I know what's different about me but I really wish someone figured this out 20-30 years ago. Sorry for the wall of words. TLDR - undiagnosed ADHD is terrible.",1 I can totally relate too. I am a HUGE math nerd and when i study i fall into the rabbit hole. Why is negative times a negative positive?,1 "So I had a planner and I was cured, but then I lost it and it all came back...",1 It's good to see this is a thing people understand cuz when I was struggling bad with depression and anxiety and trying to explain why it was so much worse cuz also adhd Noone really understood wtf I was talking about.,1 "Look into working in UX Design or Research. It feeds that searching for why, and helps companies make apps, websites, and desktop software better for more users. A lot of backgrounds can transition to it. There's a loot of jobs. A lot of six figure in roles in America. Countries will often sponsor your visa and pay for relocation for a role you fit. And most are permanently remote, even before covid. I've recently transitioned from a graphic design and education background (as in I got my portfolio site up last week after finishing an udemy course) and I already have two interviews in two European countries I'd be VERY happy to land a job in. I think the work is just excellent for someone with ADHD and hopefully a road to some who need the insurance to get professional help with it.",1 "My husband was kind enough to get me earplugs that are connected to each other with a string. Nice because I can't lose just one, and it's super obvious when I have them on. It's an easy way for me to notate to others that I'm overwhelmed.",1 "I do think my OCD has gotten better as I’ve gotten older. Probably partially because I’m now aware that it’s my OCD delusions most of the time, but also maybe I just don’t notice some of my rituals anymore. Cause people call me out on them. But the rituals I have are usually, perpetually replaced with new ones...",0 Fuck I used to hate myself because I thought I was faking it. I’m so glad I don’t have that anymore ugh,0 "Buddy, I'm still processing and getting angry over shit that happened to me years ago. Maybe even decades.",1 "I have recently discovered that I have many symptoms of mild OCD and I can relate to this so much. After looking at a bunch of posts on this subreddit I have been analyzing my entire life. Biting my nails when I was younger? Probably OCD. Avoiding sidewalk cracks, stepping on one color of tile only, or stepping on the reflections of lights on the grocery store floor like a knight in a game of chess? Probably OCD. I feel like my eyes have been opened.",0 "Mines always there, it’s 4x4 so I use 4 pumps of soap 4 times (or 4 swirls with a bar) so a lot of soap (which is expensive) but I also have to put moisturiser on 4 times after to ‘lock in the cleanness’ so that makes my hands about average. So maybe try cream after? But if it feels like it will become a compulsion approach with caution.",0 "Listen I didn’t mean to offend anyone, I just wanted to get a point across. I did say that it is a part of us, but I just don’t understand why one would like it. Sure, there are slight positives - maybe you’re more attentive or don’t make as many mistakes because you check more - but would you really want to only have OCD so that you don’t make a mistake you should have learnt about in primary school, for example? I’m sorry if I offended anyone with this post or if I was too blunt, and I completely understand that everyone has their own opinions and that’s fine",0 I've found my niche in Business Data Analytics combined with Continuous Improvement and Organizational Leadership. I can come up with 100s of solutions to one problem in the amount of time it takes others to understand what they are even trying to solve.,1 "Looks pretty similar to my top songs: 1: Do I have heart problems? 2: Do I have brain problems? 3: What about heart and brain problems? 4: Which one of my freckles is secretly skin cancer? 5: Are my heart and brain problems secretly cancer?",0 I don't mean any offense by letting you know that I'm praying for you (I know everyone has their own beliefs).. My heart genuinely goes out to you internet friend. ❤🧡💛💛💚,1 Try using nitrile gloves as a second skin. When home i leave one pair on and wash them like i would my hands It can help. and use less hot water. I started using warm water.,0 This should've probably come with a trigger warning... \*gulp\* I feel ya!,0 "I hope you don't mind if I share some lyrics from a band called Frightened Rabbit, we lost the singer and main song writer of the band under same circumstances as your friend. The title of your post reminded me of this from the song Oil Slick 'There is light but there’s a tunnel to crawl through There is love but its misery loves you There’s still hope so I think we’ll be fine In these disastrous times, disastrous times' Your lovely post reminded me of this and of how even when's all awful there's still hope. I'm so incredibly sorry for your loss. I'm 29 currently going through the long process of diagnosis and I know when I get my answers it will bring me a lot go peace from that constant feeling do failure of just not been able to get things done like others do. But in the mean time the kind words from people such as yourself and others remind me that in the mean time it's OK just be and that I'm not alone. Thank you.",1 "I suppose I am not down with the ultimate dark thoughts, but part of me really wants to live in a tiny house in the woods of Vermont away from most of society.",1 This was me the other day realizing having 60 open tabs in safari isn't normal,0 So accurate. It’s like I’m being hit in the head non-stop by Mario when he has the hammer.,0 "They thought it went away as adults because 1. They can potentially structure their lives so the ADHD isn't a ""problem"" (until it is) This takes a degree of social and financial privilege in the ability to do so, and even then, the support system developed can be overwhelmed - such as by having children, especially when they also have ADHD and increasing responsibilities at work and you are just expected to handle it on your own. I lament the fact that my ADHD is controlled enough that I can be a kick-rear individual contributor at work, but to go any higher, I really need my own administrative assistant/personal assistant - but that isn't an option until executive levels or for someone to marry well enough that their spouse can support them and can afford to pay for helpers/personal assistants. 2) The obvious symptoms of hyperactivity and distractibility are either turned inward or redirected to more ""appropriate"" outlets This can look like picking career paths that allow for a lot of activity or even running around the office, like to the copy machine, going to talk to someone in person, even if the question could have been a quick email... This feeds into why the risk of drug addiction appears to increase for those who had been on ADHD medications as children. Experts thought it was outgrown around puberty, so the patient was taken off medication. The patients still sought relief from their most debilitating symptoms, but official channels were not available, so they end up turning to ""street pharmacists"" who don't have the patient's interests in mind ' side effects and ensuring everything is working properly - and there is no quality control. 3) The obvious symptoms (observable by others) also just happen to coincide with negative personality traits - so people just think you are an inconsiderate, lazy, loser with no ambition and a big mouth and aggression problem or you are just an inconsiderate, lazy, flighty space cadet or something like that. Resources I like: The ""How to ADHD"" Channel on YouTube ADHD Homestead blog and other various blogs/reddit/tumblr posts various books about ADHD and setting up things so symptoms are not so debilitating I'll also read scientific papers about various aspects when I can get my hands on them.",1 "Thank you for writing this. It's made me tear up. I feel ""not quite right"" today, I'm somewhere between decision paralysis and having a mental to-do list that is so long and vague that writing it all down just seems hopeless (I'm not going to be able to finish it anyway). I feel better after reading this post. I'm going to make a cup of tea and a grocery list and maybe I'll actually eat something today.",1 Me when my therapist tells me to set a calendar lmao,1 """why of course I need to brush my teeth twice, otherwise my teeth will rot"" is not normal to me now, two montues before I start my first brushing, but it damn sure will be in two minutes",0 "Well for me as an hypocondriac if suddenly some weird sensation appears , the obsessive bizarre images I have stop ...",0 """not sleeping makes ADHD worse"" Thanks, doc, now anxiety is going to make me worry about not sleeping enough",1 "I used to be like this. 😭 I actually had feelings of anxiety but what I was reading about anxiety didn't fit for my symptoms, and then I stumbled on OCD and read about what it is... And realized I have it and didn't know what it actually was all these years.",0 I’m fanatically clean and organised physically (in start contrast to my head) and it’s making me wonder whether I actually have ADHD tbh,1 "My super talkative over sharing mom has laid ruin to my social skills. I don't want to chit chat, I want to get on with it! I so don't want to be like my mother that I usually just leave people alone and hope they do the same... Well, I'm also a bit autistic. But the mom thing sure doesn't help!! Ps love u mom <3",1 I would do this at my last job because I’d park my car in front of a little embankment that drops down to the ocean. Was worried it’d somehow roll into the ocean if I didn’t put the e brake on every time,0 "I remember finding this funny as a child, looking back at it now it hits differently (its a really accurate portrayal…)",0 "I feel very lucky with my upbringing considering how much worse others have it, but my parents were still boot-strap-y Catholic guilt machines. Trying to unlearn the guilt is hard. Therapy is useful for that. The public really needs to understand something that not even all of us do, that it's not attention deficiency, it's *intention* deficiency. The secretaries at the front desk of our brains are non-existent. I totally have those same thoughts that ""I *COULD* be doing my best, am I just lazy?"" But how can we do our best when our brains won't let us start?",1 I needed this. Thank you for your words. Saving for when I need it again.,0 I just discovered this sub and I've never related to a thread harder in my life,0 "Idk if I have ocd but I feel this, I at least have anxiety and adhd",0 "again, i dont wanna be insensitive and all. but my friends who are NTs does this too...",1 My OCD tells me i'm not good enough and i'm cold person and i suck and socialize.,0 "Most are about kids because there's still a stigma on mental health but people will research the crap out of anything when it comes to their children. I just got diagnosed with ADHD. I'm in my early 40s. I also have a child who was diagnosed a year and a half ago. I researched it because of her and realized that I need to get tested for it. No. It doesn't go away. Mine is the type that is genetic. I see it in my dad and he never knew. Mine kept spiraling into depression 😔 because I never learned how to deal with it when I hit that wall. I have to stop working for now because I don't trust myself to be reliable. I'm sorry I don't have an answer for you. I am on meds and doing cognitive therapy. I am making my diet, exercise and sleep a priority whenever possible. Remember your brilliant moments. If you haven't already, you will have moments when everyone is looking at a problem the same way and can't solve it when it's obvious to you. All those words and all I meant to say is that I can relate. I also feel that people don't get it unless they have it.",1 "All the time. ""Nice is just a mask I wear to be normal."" No one would like the real me with normal human emotions. MUST BE HAPPY, NICE, PERFECT SMALL TALK, JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF EYE CONTACT. WHY AM I YELLING IN MY HEAD?",0 "I wish I knew other people went through this before I discovered Reddit at age 40! When people discuss OCD or it is depicted in media it is often exaggerated, simplified, or outright comical. I fight these thoughts all the time. I obsess and fixate and get stuck deciding between two options going back and forth waiting for the right feeling or some logical resolution. There is none. Whew. I’m just glad to have an answer as to why I am this way.",0 "OMG this is me. I used to daydream about having a machine hooked up to my brain that would translate everything for me. That way, people would know I understood what they were talking about. Also? They would know I actually think A LOT. A lot of my thoughts would come to me as feelings and pictures but putting them into words was impossible. Medication helped with that a lot, but obv not perfect.",1 I’m in this situation right now. Didn’t know what to expect when first getting help but I developed a whole obsession over faking OCD cuz if it. It gets worse before it gets better in some cases supposedly haha...,0 "Hah. I have to agree. I've been over comma-ing my entire life for that exact reason. I also started using hyphens a while back too, and have recently pondered using a semicolon.",1 oooohhh boy I relate. I lay awake obsessing over things I say/do in fake situations I make up in my head and feel EMBARRASSED about it.,0 "Unlocks your paralysis. Words have never made so much sense to me.",1 "Newly diagnosed OCD In this picture, is OCD related to waking up from an anxiety attack?",0 The worst part is my fear is almost justified because when I was a preteen I set off an alarm with a CD because I didn't realise I was walking through the doorway of a store-within-a-store,0 CONGRATULATIONS! you should be super fucking proud of yourself!,0 this is actually the most relatable thing i have ever seen,0 "Also, the new Recorder app that Google released is fantastic. Audio AND speech-to-text.",1 "I like when I have to read a text I wrote approximately 7,000 times until it sounds right, in my head. Not even the whole message, but just the first few words. Over and over.",0 "I'm old enough to have been in both the hearing too much and talking too much perspectives, and this is how I've learned to handle it while receiving:- For family, wife, kidlets: - I raise my hand in a stop gesture, and wait for them to stop. - ""I'm sorry but I'm feeling overwhelmed right now. I want to understand what you're telling me, so please give me time to digest what you're saying. I'm with you up to...[the last thing I do remember]"". - and then repeat back what they say to me, after every sentence, once I've understood it. - I put my hand up again whenever they start giving me another sentence that never ends, say ""Hold on,"" process it, and then repeat my understanding. I don't argue at this stage, I believe its okay to repeat what they say even if I disagree with it, or don't want to do it. At the moment I'm just letting them be heard. If they just need me to be an echo chamber for them, they can get that with minimal effort from me. I find that this is respectful for both myself and the person trying to communicate with me. Sometimes the other person just needs to hear that you want to hear them. Sometimes they need to learn how to communicate better (speak, then wait for an acknowledgement before continuing). In pretty much all cases, when someone is talking to you, they are after an outcome, and it's in both your interests that you speak up and help resolve it as efficiently as possible. If you want a real laugh (maybe), upon re-reading the above for flow I realized that's pretty much the TCP protocol. It's how many billions of devices in the world communicate with each other.",1 "This definitely hits home for me. Sending everyone strength and love, we need it now more than ever ♥",0 "Wow, I see some of my own incentives here. I love being out in the sun working, sometimes with coffee, sometimes with beer (but that messes with me later), and snacks.",1 That's an ironic thing to say while you're literally breaking someone's focus,1 "This. But also working a full 8-hour day, coming home, sitting down, and then doing nothing on my list of fun, non-stressful activities.",1 "Anyone ever have to talk their neurologist out of calling an ambulance to have you ""baker-acted""? Yeah that wasn't a fun day.",0 "Every time my parents attempted that, whether it was a few simple words, threatening to take away my phone/other perceived distractions, or straight up grounding me, it either made me unreasonably angry and determined to be obstinate, or just flat out feel like a miserable sack of shit who'd never be able to do anything right. Once I got home from my first driving lesson (which I had been stressing over to the point of hair loss for weeks) to find my entire room cleared, my laptop, books, and sketchbook gone, and a note saying that because I had forgotten to clean up to my mom's standards the day before, I could no longer have any electronics or go anywhere for the next two weeks. I wasn't even allowed to go outside and jump on the trampoline with my neighbor. Worst two weeks of my life, and certainly only motivated me to cry and punch my door, not get to cleanin'.",1 "For sure. This is the most painful aspect of ADHD for me - crippling perfectionism combined with not knowing how to start. I'm pretty sure this contributed to the paralyzing depression and stuckness I had for years. It took me a year and a half of writing classes where the focus was on generating writing rather than ""writing well"" to start cracking it. Life is much better now - so much better!",1 Yesss this is so me. I haven’t told anyone about it tho because i don’t want them to categorise me as crazy or something.I thought I was the only one that does similar things like all the time.,0 Your emotions are being exploited by an evil mob. Nobody cares if a bunch of midwit bastards think you're bad.,0 "This is not very helpful or good advice. Neutralizing the thought is a compulsion. Your thoughts may well be true, you just have to embrace the uncertainty.",0 When I only double checked instead of triple so my brain is constantly telling me I fucked everything up.,0 "This was me when I first took adderall after being diagnosed just a couple of years ago. Went back to the office after picking up my prescription, took the first pill, and then 2 hours later realized I was just….working. And then my eyes filled with tears and I realized how shitty and difficult it had been for the past like 18 to just focus on a task. Glad it’s been a good experience for you!",1 "Slow release luvox, look into it. It has changed my world. Normally the voice in your head lasts for a long time telling you to do the compulsion. With this medication it goes away quickly",0 "I love commas and I love excessive use of it in my reading. The worst I’ve ever read was in some linguistic book. the author would list several things together in the sentence, not use any commas so it was really hard to discern what was part of the thing she listed, and just use “and” way too much. Had to reread so much",1 Nope considering I have a fear of not remembering doing things that would make me ill or a horrible person (: (cries in OCD),0 "Yes! On a side note, does anyone else prefer email or text over talking in person? I feel like I may miss something or not sure of answers off the top of my head.",0 "Check out the video on the ""how to adhd"" channel about the Wall of Awful... 💞",1 "Wow...it’s like you’re me... I mean, I’m you. Idk I just know sometimes I don’t even know why I am still breathing but then 5 minutes later, everything is great, but I also just want to sleep.",1 "Dont even bring up science such as hawking radiation and black holes, that'll keep you up and your head scratching...",0 "This is an awesome an inspiring story but I need to make an off topic comment I absolutely love the way you formatted this post! I read the title and was interested but then opened it and saw a wall of text, thus my brain just noped out until I read your note on top. So I glanced through reading the titles then reading the bolded sentences. Once I got through those bits I was invested, interested, and very curious. So I read the entire post (though in a non-standard) order and frankly am quite pleased with myself. Thank you OP for taking the time to write this, for writing it well, and for your beautiful formatting. I hope your wonderful nanny/housekeepier helps you achieve exactly what you've set out for and more!",1 "Congratulations!! That's a big step, I'm sure you'll do it well! And don't worry cause you won't mess up, just confide in yourself.",0 Sometimes i don't have time for my hair to be wet cause i always have it air dry,1 "My goodness, this is a great post. I don't know what else to say besides... thank you so much.",1 "Needed to read this today. I got diagnosed with ADHD a few weeks ago, and today also marks one year since I lost my mum to cancer. An overwhelming time for sure. So sorry about your friend. Just know you have lifted a strangers spirits today.",1 You are not alone. I'm not suicidal but I often wish I had never been born or could just cease to exist without hurting those that I love,1 "It’s one of my main problems too...I’m terrified of sending insults, slurs, inappropriate content, making typos, sending it to the wrong person,... mails are always a super painful moment and I’m always scared I might get in trouble if they’re not the way they should be. Writing 3 lines can take up to 45 minutes and then I spend more time checking if I really sent it, if I sent it to the right person,... ugh...I really hate it",0 "Yeh that kind of treatment has always made me feel like a failure and certainly has never made me feel more motivated. Just unhappy. Glad you found us too. It is a great group",1 "I didn't realize that this might be part of my OCD until you posted this, but i absolutely understand. I have been doing normal things like driving or taking a shower or something, and will suddenly be struck with the fear of my boyfriend dying. That's followed with an intense thought process of what steps I would have to take if he died, and the emotional feeling that he's actually dead.",0 I even do it the other way around in that I’ll procrastinate doing something I enjoy by doing something I don’t.,1 Yes! Or when I’m doing school and I feel like 5 minutes have passed but it’s been an hour. It brings me joy when I’m able to concentrate for long stretches.,1 "I start working at 3pm, my solution is to go to bed really late so i woke up around 1pm, eat something and then work",1 "Something I realized that really upset me is that ADD and ADHD are named for the traits that most bother/annoy ""regular"" people. Really, though, the most difficult part of it (at least for me) is the lack of executive functioning.",1 "I was talking to my therapist about this recently. Since I’ve been on this sub I’ve seen lots of posts about it, and I was telling my therapist how so many of us experience it (therapists don’t seem to know much about adhd unless they’re specialists it seems, so I’m often explaining what it’s like to her). She said “so what do the people on reddit recommend to help with this?“ And I realized I haven’t come across any tips for this yet. Anyone found something that works for you? I make my own work schedule, and Thursday’s I don’t start until 2. The time before is hellish, and I’d love to find a solution.",1 "Same. I have a vet appointment for my dog next Friday at 3pm. I'm already dreading it. 😐",1 "It makes u rlly not wanna get up until I'm like, ""oop time to compulsively workout."" It's like a spinning wheel of hell. 🙃",0 "Off-Topic: do you think you benifited from this 1 year med break, in terms of effect or did you notice anything at all?",1 "I dumped the friends I grew up with three years ago after one said she and I were the group fuck ups. She’s a surgeon and I have a masters degree. She’s biopolar and I have ADHD and CPTSD as I’m guessing she does as well. The group winner? A spoiled princess who got a degree in event planning and married rich. I left the group and started making twice as much money within weeks. That programming is insidious. I’m now making 4 times what I was making 3 years ago when I left the group. If I stayed I never would have escaped my role.",1 "Good job, I""m trying to ignore OCD too. Keep doing great works.",0 With the right med combo i can get things done fairly well. My problem is with teaching the to do list is never done and I am a home owner now and that do to list is also never done. There is always more to do.,1 "Lol, I've just looked and apparently I'm in the top 0.05% for Eminem, which I find bizarre!",1 "If it helps, can you recall much of the cringey stuff that other people at your school did? I can't remember anything lol so I think of it as they also can't remember anything of what I did",0 "With as much as I pay my out-of-network therapist, I’m the poor one.",0 "You know I was thinking about this exact quote the other day. In this episode BoJack had started running in the morning, and there was always that monkey guy running in the background. I don't want to spoil anything but, it's really good episode and am overall good series.",0 Yes. OCD doesn’t mean ur clean and neat. A lot of ppl who have OCD are clean/neat though.,0 "This is sadly becoming a trend. Do people actually think they sound fancier when using OCD as an excuse or something? A few years ago it was 'I got burnt out' Then was depression the excuse for everything and now this. This is just sad.",0 "Yeah, i started a masters by distance and i've basically doubled my Dex intake. I started going to the library for three hours after work because i needed a study-like environment. Not my house.",1 That’s why I wake up at 10-11 and shift my day later,1 Also keeps telling me that everything is pointless and that I can’t do anything. Like a shrieking banshee.,0 "Hello, I am curious as to why you chose OCD as your speciality. I am a CMHC student and I have certain areas that I am highly interested in. I just would like to know why this was the one for you.",0 Great to hear that. My son suffers from OCD as does my wife. My sister is a retired psychiatric RN who worked for 42 years in home health agencies . She said you really can not reason with people who have OCD because everything is black and white with no grey areas at all. SSRI's can help take the edge off but does not cure it. Son's problem is on making decisions and dirt and my wife's is on dirt and cleanliness. He is 38 and we have been married for 43 years . Counseling helps some people as in your case and it depends on how committed you are to dealing with it your success and your degree of OCD because some cases are mild to moderate and some severe as in my son's case and moderate in my wife's case.,0 "There is nothing to enjoy about it. It's a nightmare! It's becoming a 'cool' culture so everyone says they have OCD, just like a trend of saying ""we are bi too"".",0 "Have y'all ever made a daily schedule, go over it and realize maybe something might take longer. And then freak out that you won't follow the schedule to the T for no reason really. And then you switch it up 10 minute extra here, 5 minutes less there and then you realize you can only get 7 hours of sleep in this new schedule (even though on daily you only get 5). So you cross that out because that won't do and then you make another and promise yourself you will follow it. And then agonize over if making a schedule and following is authentic way of living, when you actually never really cared for that sort of thing. Then you agonize over this thought because now you want to make a schedule but making it makes you ""inauthentic"". As you go through this mologue for hours, you realize, all these thoughts are full of shit but they are extremely important. They eat at you all day while doing anything and everything. Finally you get tired in the evening of overheating head and you find some peace cause you're exhausted. Well yeah so, telling anyone is almost comical when you're out of it some days later so you just...",0 "I had to specify adult or in women. Once I did, it got a lot more useful. Something else I liked was how a childhood diagnosis translated to adulthood.",1 i wish i could obsess over something that could generate something worthwhile lolzzzzz like in queens gambit,0 "Yep. It took me a long time to realize how withdrawn that feeling made me. I needed all of this alone time to recharge and sort things out that I never wanted to do anything with anyone. Ever. I decided to let go a bit, figuring I might forget an extra thing here or there but I'd be less stressed. It really helped with the constant worry, and tuned me back into everyone I was missing.",1 "Me too! I thought I had a few quirks but not OCD. Until I went to therapy and finally realized other people don't spend hours/days/weeks obsessing about specific things and doing ridiculous amounts of research and are able to ""let go"" of their thoughts.",0 "I think it’s a common thing because many of us have time blindness so time chilling is distorted and same with work. And if you notice you were blind and wasted time you beat yourself up. 1. A good thing is that you feel you waste your day. If you didn’t it’s mean you have no motivation to improve. 2. Put into perspective what you did already and what time it actually is. A reverse to do list writing down what you’ve gotten done is huge. And something I’ve been doing is putting into perspective what time it is. Many times I’ll get down at 3 pm that I’ve Done nothing all day for whatever reason. Then I overrule the self doubt and guilt by realizing I have 6-9hours of day left. Again I’m nowhere near figuring my shit out fully but it’s been working recently",1 "Have to shampoo it daily, about 45-60 mins per shower once a day, someone have to come into my apartment for the electric, worst case is they have to open the walls replacing cables. Im actually trying to figure out if it is better to kill myself before and after... I can feel with you ",0 "I have a magnet board next to my daughters chore list that lets my family know where I’m at. 1 - let’s do stuff! 2 - Give me a minute 3 - Having a difficult OCD day 4 - Need some alone time 5 - Don’t. Even.",0 "Great job man! I never managed to do that. Had to get several doctor's notes for migraine or stuff like that to extend my deadlines during my time at uni. I was just never able to work on my papers, until the panic reached a critical level. People just don't realize how hard this stuff is for people with ADHD. Instead, they criticize one's work ethics or willingness to change. I would give up all my possessions to change the way my brain works, but that's an option I don't have. It really is like telling depressed people to just not be sad.",1 Every time. But then I know my brain still wouldn’t get anything done and I’d just have the world stop indefinitely 🙃,1 "All the time. Do you know how often I'll read a paragraph and then have to reread it four or five times because I'm not at all paying attention to what I'm reading?",1 I tell myself to fuck off or make a soft clicking noise with my tongue till it's gone.,0 "Man this is the kinda post I need every day, thanks!",1 Is ADHD a factor in why I always hated online classes?? Hmm...,1 Lmao don’t forget rewinding the song 2-3 times to make sure it is in fact apart of the song 😂,0 "OCD has ruined my life. False memories, maybe-memories, intrusive thoughts, compulsions, exhaustion, annoying everyone around me, being so certain some days that I am worse than dirt. Don't... don't pick OCD.",0 The fact that windows 10 doesn't have dictating built in and like a key for dictating on the keyboard is an immense disappointment. Completely inexcusable at this point,1 "Is Prozac any good for OCD, I've that most of the time it doesn't work, or make things worse.",0 "YOO i fucking ghjutgn hate myself a lot of times. Like my man, Ive fucked up shit via venting about my intrusive thoughts ad thinking I was in control- and that im just 'burdened; with weird desires. People think youre crazy, I now know to keep my trap shut about this.",0 "There's this old Japanese story, about a yokai named Futakuchi-Onna (translated Two Mouth Woman) Its told in several ways, usually all different cautionary tales. But the way I was told it was that a girl refused to eat and so a monster grew out of her hair with a mouth and mind of its own. And if its not fed it screams taunting words so horribly she can't ignore it. So she either needs to feed the monster and hence herself which she hates due to her presumed eating disorder, or suffer its screaming taunts, driving her insane either way. That story always stuck with me, that's honestly how OCD feels at times, like i have a monster on my head, I either do what it wants or it screams and screams. Only where the monster in that story is, in a way, trying to save her, OCD just wants you to suffer. The picture just reminded me of that for some reason.",0 Yikes man I always thought I may have OCD but was never really sure. This hit me like a truck ,0 "I spend so much time prepping, creating vibes and making coffees that I finally waste the whole day",1 I've told people the same thing! Tough love does NOT work on me. I feel like it shuts me down and if either makes me really mad or it makes me cry lol.,1 "Add in “would you like to be consciously aware of your face moisturizer the entire time it dries?” And “you can’t be itchy if you have no more skin” Currently “did you know everyone is judging you by how many lint pills you left on your shirt?”",0 It’s not ocd if you get enjoyment out of doing it. Ocd is mentally draining and pure torture,0 I have seen nothing more relatable in my entire life🤣 used to do this constantly when I was like 14-16,0 "Idk I'd rather hear from the doctor without ADHD who has observed thousands of patients with ADHD, and conducted his research properly without bias, than the doctor who thinks he knows everything about ADHD just because he has it. The same way I don't need a surgeon to have a brain tumor to be trusted to remove a brain tumor. Sometimes an outside perspective is better. Not being able to just move on to the article that you want to read that is aimed towards adults without getting all upset is a pretty good indicator that you are in the right place now.",1 "The first part (about a month, maybe longer) of the quarantine, I actually felt a bit better than normal, because my natural state is believing that everything is collapsing around me, and for the first time, I felt like everyone else was on the same level as me, so I actually felt like the real world was just catching up to the demise that's been going on in my brain for years.. so I thought it wouldn't affect me as much as it affects neuro normative folks. I'm not sure it's more or less than others, but I was wrong to think it wouldn't get me down.",1 if only I saw this during normal business hours lol (gotta make phone calls),1 How is it that I never made the connection between my OCD and the need for reassurance until seeing this post?! ,0 "I understand and send you support. It's the reason I've had ""cogito ergo sum"" tattooed in a spot I can check when I'm feeling anxious. I got it almost 20 years ago now. Basically it doesn't matter because I'm thinking, I exist and no one can change that or take that away from me. It's my little token of sanity in times of existential crisis. Keep up the good fight. ",0 "I've just checked and and I have 247 tabs open on my browser... Over a thousand screenshots, and 18 normal tabs open from hoping around on different apps and such on my phone today. I was completely oblivious to all this, reading this post just made me feel compelled to check and mercy. Edit: I also have 500 YouTube videos under ""watch later"" I think it's just a security feeling like ""yes that's saved not lost forever I can move onto the next thing without feeling guilty or worrying about forgetting about it for later"" then later never comes and you forget it exists",1 I haven't felt this spiritually attacked since I started giving myself gold stars for doing the homework.,0 "Hi, I was also diagnosed in my 20's... its pretty useless by then, because most people have had to find their own coping mechanisms.",1 "Up until the last year this was how I felt about myself. 7 years back I moved out of my home state to pursue my art career, & did my absolute best. Even against my undiagnosed ADHD, but if I look back on it I was fighting an uphill battle the entire time, so when things finally did cause me to have a breakdown due to the pressure I spent 3 of the last 4 years since my diagnoses feeling like utter shit. This past year I heavily looked at my worth as a person, & its been a slow crawl, but I dont feel like I'm a bad person anymore. I fuck up routinely, I'm horrible at managing time & being on time but I own that and plan around it. The self loathing was the hardest thing to deal with, & its still there inside, but I tell that voice to shut the fuck up whenever it reels its head at me.",1 This has been one of my biggest intrusive thoughts recently. Thanks.,0 There’s so many out there who have mental conditions and either don’t want to tell or don’t even know! Glad you met this person though!,0 "I totally feel your pain. Its especially hard for those of us diagnosed later in life. Living undiagnosed for 30+ years telling myself and hearing that I was lazy is hard to reverse. I don't expect it to happen overnight. The positive is now we know that there is a reason for our difficulty and we can recognize our limitations as they occur. Overtime, I hope that we are able to reshape our psyche and prevail over our negative self image...only time will tell, but I am very optimistic!!!",1 "Props, this is very noteworthy; hope to see more on here.",0 "My fridge has the freezer on the bottom and anytime i close the freezer, the fridge door pops loose. I will literally be out the door for work, then park the car and run back inside to make sure the fridge door is indeed closed before i leave for work.",0 "“I have to round out the gas pump to the next full dollar. There’s no way I can leave it at 29.88. Lol. I’m so OCD” No. You’re not. Fuck off. Anyone who giggles at the thought of their OCD habits doesn’t have OCD. Mental illness isn’t cute",0 Omfg true man... Part of adhd is the lack of ability to do just that. Executive dysfunction is a b****. I hope you're doing ok.,1 Congratulations!!! Would love to see more of these types of posts in this subreddit,0 Shit man I guess I can just cancel all my therapy sessions and stop freaking out! Awesome news!,0 "I was on my phone for 2.5h ... in the bathtub ... instead of studying and writing an essay ... and preparing a meeting Ill have tomorrow The rest of the day I watched dog videos ... like the responsible adult I am. ‐-----------------‐-----------------‐-----------------‐----------------- Update on me and my meds: Nothing seems to work and it's making me depressed. Again. After I kind of beat my depression. And because the first two times I took it, it worked, I had hopes. Now, after two weeks of taking it and increasing my dose twice, it lnly works a tiny bit in the morning and then as soon as I eat, the effect goes away slowly. Then the second dose I don't even feel. No incresed blood pressure like everybody is saying, no concentration on what I need to do, nothing, just me being the lazy whatever I am. I was on my phone for hours now instead of cleaning and studying. I managed to sort some of my papers and wash some clothes - that I then tossed on a pile in my living room ... like I would've done anyway even without meds. In the morning I was purely excited to do something when I woke up. Then took it and an hour later felt better about myself and actually doing it. That's when I sorted the papers. Now I sat in the bathtub again for two hours straight. And yes ... the water gets cold. Lol I feel lost, I talked like a waterfall again the padt few days, just like before. I didn't pay attention to what others were saying judt like before and the worst was realising how useless I am without a (functioning medication). I can't anymore. It's just exhausting. For me and for the people around me. I became the emotional mess I was before. Has this ever happened to anybody else?",1 "I’ve picked my nails right to my fingers every day and can still pick like a BOSS. Yeah....it’s not really a great ability.....",0 Literally saving this post so I can read it to my psych,1 "The unexplainable time skips in the morning, yeah. But I figure it's still faster to shower than to go through all the other shit and just force myself to do it real quick. Sometimes I get in late, but let's be real, that would have happened either way.",1 I don’t run my dryer unless I’m home bc of a possible lint fire. I have to be home bc my animals obviously wouldn’t know how to handle a fire,0 *sniffs the air* . . . Is that. . . Dr. Powers I smell?,1 All I do is plan. I need an initiator and a follow-througher.,1 This is absolutely incredible. Wow. Thank you so so much.,1 "This is my every day. I’ve been sleeping on an email since April… it’s July :)))) in my mind it’s like: the consequences haven’t caught up to you yet so whatever It’s exhausting, I fucking hate it. My boyfriend keeps bugging me about it and I keep saying “I’ll do it tomorrow morning” or “I’ll do it in 5 min”, suddenly it’s two weeks and it just doesn’t seem like there’s a point to any of it anymore BUT ITS IMPORTANT BUT NOOOO. Brain said not too important so it’s not too important🤡",1 "This is actually a great idea. You’re doing wonderful, OP!",0 "Reassurance is a risky game. Best played out in the long run. The less you seek, the less you will need. Thoughts will be thoughts.",0 Overturn every stone until you find something positive that pings a passion you may not have known that you have.,1 "I have to hide all my knives until I need to make dinner, otherwise it’s just the constant thought of STAB URSELF.",0 I follow this sub to understand my boyfriend a bit better... just realized I don’t need it and we think the same. Damn.,0 Thank you... This just helped me stop checking the news right now!,0 I seriously wonder how he is doing. I know he went into rehab a couple weeks ago....,0 "I had no idea that this was related to my OCD. I always thought I was just extremely introverted, or maybe even a little depressed at times, but I experience this quite a bit. Friends and family will think I'm angry with them when it's really I've just zoned out. This makes me feel so much better knowing it's not me but the OCD.",0 "Can we from /r/ADHD join in? Sigh. (Also: I'm a trifecta as well. OCD/hoarding continuum, PTSD from growing up with a severely personality disordered much older sibling. Sigh.)",0 Also the android app Otter is very good and more portable,1 "When making an appointment on your calendar, put the exact time of the appointment in the subject, IE: ""Dentist Appointment - 8am."" For me, I often forget the ""8am"" part and focus on what time I need to leave the house, so I tell myself that same appointment is at 7:30am...and then I sometimes get confused, forget I already took off the travel time, and continue to walk the appointment back. Having the exact time of the appointment in the subject of said appointment is a huge help when trying to remember if I already accounted for travel time (sometimes I will put an 8am appointment on my calendar for 7:30am proactively).",1 "Ikr. I sometimes have them throughout the day too, but they get 100 times worse when i try to fall asleep",0 "\*reads title\* ""This is clearly bullshit, time to downvote and report."" \*sees upvotes\* ""What the hell? This sub is usually good about not promoting pseudoscience."" \*sees that the advice was to just use a planner\* ""Oh thank God it's satire."" \*upvotes\*",1 "really have been having a hard time with thinking i'm ""faking"" my exhaustion and depression because of work, mental health, etc so thank you for this reminder. it never crossed my mind to think that the only way i could be faking something is if it were my intention.",0 "This post is so true. Whenever someone jokes about a physical illness everyone cares, but as soon as the illness is mental its suddenly OK to laugh about it, it just doesn't make sense!",0 "Getting out of bed is usually a struggle for me. I'm thinking about setting my alarm and taking my meds and then going back to sleep for another 30 minutes. I've heard that works wonders for some people. ADHD and depression both cause a lack in the ""vroom vroom make things go go"" brain chemicals.... It can be a real bummer. Side note, concerta, while allowing my brain to stay present and engage in linear thinking, completely knocked any motivation and joy out of me. It was the worst.",1 "My hands look like this too when school is in person (I'm a school speech pathologist, right now we're remote but we were in person earlier in the year). One of my students asked me if my hands were hot 😆",0 "Excuse me, but I was not prepared for such an attack 😤😂 I don't even want to count the number of saved reddit posts, open internet tabs on *both* my computer and my phone, phone screenshots/pictures meant to remind me of stuff, etc.",1 I seriously do not mind if people make OCD jokes. I make a lot of «edgy» jokes about such things. Take it as it is.. a joke.,0 "This is my husband whenever the family is leaving home. ...did we Lock the front door? So now as we lock our door I say an absurd thing like poopy cookies so we don't forget. Works most of the time.",0 "I used to do it 3-4 times or so, but I've gotten it down to 1-2 recently, maybe 3 every once in a while. I wish I could get over it fully but I just can't resist the urge because I know I won't be able to sleep unless I do it.",0 "Relatable supermarket experience. Just replace ""7 y/o"" with ""grown ass adult"" and ""put ur hand in the air"" with ""Only one of these loaves of bread isn't cursed. Choose wisely."" Followed by the remainder of the shopping trip thinking up valid excuses to go back over to the bread aisle because you're gradually convincing yourself you chose poorly.",0 I relate to this! I struggle sounding articulate and really getting my thoughts correctly into words. I always feel like my brain is running too fast and jumping around and my mouth just can’t keep up. I’m definitely better at writing! I can take my time and make sure I’m saying what I want to say.,1 "Oh my goodness I thought I was the only one. Why did I never made the connection to OCD before. I have to check every single social media and every messaging app. It's usually just obsessing over whether I unknowingly sent something to someone or maybe I fat fingered the share button on someone's post. It got bad to the point where I deleted Instagram and Facebook from my phone. At least that's a silver lining I guess. This makes a whole lotta sense now. On the bright side, apparently I am far from being alone dealing with this. In hindsight, considering my thing with locks and lights, this is hardly surprising and rather obvious.",0 I check it and used to even take pictures of it when I left my house to make sure it's closed..,0 when I was little I had a weird obsession with the number 2,0 Sometimes i even think how cringy would be something that i didn't say,0 "I would never eat it though, I just constantly pick at my fingers",0 "“It’s my OCD, the pencil on the floor is BOTHERING ME!!! What are you, racist against OCD people????” Yes, one of my classmates actually said that. I still want to slap them.",0 "It's the worst when you have media at the ready. It's like my brain is chained to YouTube, ect. It feels like a physical and mental addiction with somewhat similar consequences.",1 "ive done this for as long as i can remember and never thought anything of it. text screenshots, pics & vids from irl moments, etc. trying my best to grasp the moment with anything i can because it’s so hard for me to be present. when i would start to lose feelings i would go back and look at all my documentation. to read that someone else does it is comforting",1 "This is genuinely awesome!! I struggle with the sensory experience of brushing my teeth lmao...If I'm leaving the house I will ALWAYS brush my teeth before leaving but it's a weird mental hurdle, haha. So I can brush my teeth nearly every morning but RARELY do at night, although I've been pretty good about flossing. The most success I have with brushing my teeth consistently is doing it in the shower! Anyhow, congrats again!! :D",1 "I was diagnosed late in life, in my mid 30s. I cried, too. I hope it works well for you. Keep in mind that even though it's smoothing your mind out, it's still an amphetamine. Make sure you're keeping your body fed and healthy. It's going to affect your appetite, to the point where you'll forget to eat, so make sure breakfast goes with your morning dose, and that lunch and dinner occur on a schedule, not when you get hungry. If you're not on XR, sounds like you're not, be mindful of the comedown. It will take some getting used to. Talk to your doc about a rest schedule, I didn't take mine on weekends, to give my body a break. And talk to your partner about that schedule, too, because on days when you're not medicated, it's easier to start arguments. That will also take some getting used to.",1 "When my wife had her first dose of medication she did something strange. She went and had a nap in the afternoon. Before that, even if she could barely function she was so tired, her brain wouldn't let her wind down enough to sleep through the day. If she does get to sleep she would always wake up feeling horrible. On this day she slept for a few hours and woke up feeling great.",1 My partner (who also has ADHD) and I have been together for 6 years and we have only a handful of pictures together and it bums me out when I think about it. On the other hand we are super happy together and really do enjoy our special moments together. We just never think to document it.,1 "People: darn a commercial Me: my mind speaketh",1 "I have scrupulousity, I wanna switch my OCD to something not related",0 "Typically, you’d find me styling my hair after a shower and nitpicking in the mirror for about an hour. The nitpicking would travel from my hair, to my face, to my stomach. By the time I’d leave, I’d feel unattractive and not wanted in the presence of public eyes. This time, I fixed up my hair, noticed the compulsions and desire to look into mirrors to fix SOMETHING. But every time I did it (very few), I turned away and said “I am good as I am”. I don’t look bad in these pics at all, fuck you OCD. I am going to the coffee shop SIGNIFICANTLY less scared of looking ugly in the eyes of others.",0 "Oof, I hope you don’t have to squeeze that 50 times for “a better feel” like me.",0 "THIS. I always use emergency fight or flight / panic to accomplish literally everything and had no idea that this isn't how it's supposed to be. To be fair, useful help can be really scarce, so the last one is pretty true in my experience.",1 I do understand and this isn’t trash. This is raw and beautiful.,0 "Google has Live Transcribe for some phones. I used it at a presentation once, it worked reasonably well",1 "This post lacks context. OCD is certainly MORE desirable than other horrific, torturous things. Didnt say it was desirable.",0 "First it was avoiding illness, then I avoided knives because I had an irrational fear that I would accidentally kill someone, now it’s touching stuff equally because you know OCD obviously had a sense of humour 😂 fucking ocd.",0 "Shit I feel called out. I used to be even worse about it when I was younger, but then I got too many comments from teachers about run-on sentences. Lol",1 "That looks like Bhante G, the Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka. He writes great books such as *Mindfulness in Plain English*.",0 "You’ve captured the essence of OCD perfectly with this drawing, at least in my eyes. Well done, you are talented!",0 "You mean: People slowly (quickly?) disappoint you when you realise they can't keep up, but because the slower way of working and being less disruptive is how the majority of people work, you are seen as the dysfunctional one?",1 Reading through 4/5 of books and stopping anyone? Have too many of those...,1 ">I'm like nope I work at 4pm!!! Absolutely true. And not just that. If I had ANY appointment, having dinner with someone, for example (it rarely happens though), then from weeks prior to the exact day, I'd be extremely anxious hyper-focusing on counting the remaining days, and being miserable thinking how many more days should I live this way.",1 My top song was “white noise 60hz”. And after that one song that I put on repeat to study,1 "I think holidays might be more useful for some people than for others. I do have days (or longer) where the Adderall is doing nothing. If I then step away from it the next day, my world doesn't come crumbling down because the Adderall already wasn't doing much of anything. I'm currently taking a holiday because I've had it help before.",1 "\*takes sip\* my enemies have succeeded in poisoning my water",0 I'm just too stuck in freezemode every time I'm not ocding or Corona focusing that my room and house are a mess.,0 "I'm pretty sure this app has a mind reading capability. Last night I decided to put my foot down and clean my room and then after I cud watch a show I was in middle of. That was at six. Four hours later my bed was still just as much of a mess as it had been when I started. I managed to catch up on all of Instagram and you tube, nothing I had on my list of things to catch up on tho so just utterly wasting time. I even let insta persuade me to buy two wigs. I'm not even into that kind of stuff. Wtf. I'm almost impressed with myself. It took me from 10-11:30 to just fold my laundry and pack my bag for today. And not food or anything, basically just switching my money and lip gloss from my old bag to my new one. Then I was annoyed that I didn't get to watch my show so stayed up for next bit watching a diff series that was shorter cuz I got no self control. Ended the night feeling like I spent all night doing nothing and was tired the next day either way. Fml I'm not sure if this is a symptom of my add or maybe I am just very lazy but either way I am so not OK with myself rn and I'm scared ill never change.",1 "Oooh this is so cool, giving me Sebastian Masuda vibes in a great way!",0 "I didn’t sob but I had a similar experience, I’m so happy for you!!!",1 I totally disagree but it depends how it is delivered. Sometimes I just need my cage rattled.,1 "A lot of these are kind of based off of Atomic Habits. Definitely a good read. Thank you very much for posting /u/beatadhd.",1 For me it’s more like I have to pray a certain way and touch things a certain way or God will be mad at me and take it out on me and my loved ones.,0 "Yikes this is so accurate for me. With meds I get a solid 8 hours and it's glorious.",1 I never knew that OCD was intrusive thoughts as well until my psychiatrist told me. Its fucking annoying when you having a great day and then boom you think you did something bad.,0 oh my god dude i thought that was just me i know exactly what you mean aghhh!!! it’s so frustrating!!! and every time i try to be more assertive i always feel like i’m being way too harsh :(,1 I feel a little embarrassed because it's usually not something people would be interested in hearing about beyond 2-3 sentences so I try to make it sound like I don't care,1 "I realized that I function much better when there is less going on. I traveled for some time, went to meditation retreats, or worked on farms as a volunteer and I worked much better since there were fewer decisions to make and fewer distractions. I might be super wrong but I would guess that when there was no internet, cable tv and less noise around ADHD was less of a problem. I only know how to control one thing in my life well when there is more it becomes like drunk circus LOL",1 "I can’t even open the dishwasher with my bare hands. I have to either put them in my leg pocket, dressing gown or top to open",0 "YES! This needs to be said more. OCD shouldn’t be joked about in memes and shit. This is REAL and as a sufferer, the media has made it seem like OCD is all about perfectionism, to the point where people associate OCD with positivism. It’s painful. It’s torturous. And it’s a real issue.",0 "I remember being in math class and this dude said he was super OCD because he liked his pencils in order of hight. He promptly didn't keep them in order of height and wasn't upset or bothered by if 🤔",0 "You might have conditioned yourself to do this. I used to have to pee whenever I brushed my teeth because I trained my brain on accident. I just stopped going right after and waited. Also, these small pees are not good for your bladder. I would try holding it in if you can and then go for bigger pees to see if it helps. Also avoid drinking after peeing for 20 minutes or so.",0 "This reminds me of the two perfume sets from marshalls I got because they were cheaper than regular store and ended up no liking the smell, kept procrastinating the return then lost the receipt so now they’re just sitting there for now until I decide to sell them.",1 "I’ve always chalk that up to me having a terrible memory. I can’t remember fax, or procedures. I do remember systems because I understand the systems. Knowing why a rule is a rule is the only way I remwmber. that rule.",1 "Well one positive aspect is that I can Wing the crap out of things, think really fast, make up stuff for ages and improvise on the spot, I had a meeting last week and Microsoft was being stuck up and decided to lose all my document so I had to wing the entire meeting and was able to even get a promotion, one of the very rare occasions that I thank ADHD",1 I do this even while writing a message or a comment here. Happens all the time...,0 "Omg there is a café in my country with that name!! ""OCD: obsessive coffee disorder""",0 "I wouldn't mind ADHD getting some kind of rebrand honestly. When I was a kid I couldn't get a diagnosis because my mum thinks all disabilities are made up and if I was diagnosed all it would do is ruin my life because I'd be carrying around this label everywhere and she was especially convinced that only naughty kids get diagnosed with ADHD and all it meant was that teachers couldn't deal with them in class because they were misbehaving too much. Even as an adult in my mid-20s, if I talk about it to my family, a lot of them beg me to just pretend I have autism instead because they don't want their friends and family just assuming I'm some kind of brat just because of the stigma that that four letter acronym carries. It's really sad.",1 You are living my life. Just stop it. I personally hold the patent on this!!,1 "It is very disabling alright. People know how schizophrenia impacts ones life. With ocd, they just laugh it off.",0 I never even considered my constant need for getting the why could be tied to adhd... Pretty much been told I just need to question everyone and everything less. I literally can't function when I don't understand things. My brain freezes like I'm a computer and that little spinning wheel.,1 "For real. I just got done working off clock on the things at work that I was too exhausted/anxious to deal with while at work. But, going back there and just putting on headphones and getting stuff done I knocked out more in less than two hours than I can normally do (with constant interruptions and phone calls) in eight... Why? Because I will do just about anything imaginable to keep my job responsibilities from being delegated to others (especially if I don't trust them to do it right)",1 "As I have said before on this sub, ADHD is not an excuse for poor hygiene. Grow up and get your life together, it's not that hard to brush your fucking teeth",1 Just force yourself to do it bro that’s the only way,1 "This is so true. I always used to avoid it because sleep was “too boring” and it meant accepting the morning would come, which was always boring too. I then started trying to design my mornings to make them a bit more “exciting” (which for us could mean anything, you know what I mean) and it does help a little bit. Audio book is also good about. Not boring but allows you to drift off. Spot on though.",1 And nothing makes sense and you question why you even try. I’m not good at this horrible thing called life.,1 Fuck that shit ! One of my most time consuming ocds,0 "I like to think I'll get bored and scroll through all my saved posts someday, but instead I go through my old posts and laugh at my own jokes",1 "This! My bf leaves his shit in weird places. We both have adhd. He forgets, but i come across them in the weird places and then remember where they are later when he can’t find it.",1 "Fuck. That hit me hard. Cried like a baby. But I really needed that. Thank you. I’m so sorry for your loss. He was lucky to have you as a friend.",1 "If you count self-accusation as ""being accused"" then almost all OCD is this. Definitely not rare.",0 If you do this to me I will laugh my naked ass off at you for at least ten straight minutes. But I understand. I could see myself doing it.,1 "My life... Like, I know I’m going to be the one to do it. I just can’t make myself. In the unlikely event that my husband does it, I apologize for a week about it. :/",1 "I'm 47 years old, and I was only finally diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago. I have been suffering for a long time. I've never had the ability to control my temper, and I have little to no impulse control. It's a ***constant struggle*** to keep myself from saying or doing something that would be socially inappropriate. From a young age, my mom made me feel so ashamed. She told me that I was immature and undisciplined. I think the word she used was ""**defective**."" She never truly loved me because she felt my behavioral issues were due to a ***character flaw***; I was ***mentally weak***. I've lived my whole life feeling like a disappointment. God, it was painful. It still is. I still feel like a failure even though I know it's not my fault.",1 My camera roll could function as a small encyclopedia at this point. I wish apple made it so that when you organize things into folders they wouldn’t show up in your camera roll. Its makes me anxious,1 "She's right. But you're also right - turning it off is like flipping a switch once you figure out how. That's freedom, and we all deserve it.",1 "you don‘t have to say that intrusive thought is “not yours” to make sure you are safe. you should change the “manifest” mindset, even you real thinking and hope is also not a manifesto. stop believing the “attraction law” thing, it is neither science nor religion, just a morden cult theory invented by fake gurus for making money. I recommend Michael Gazzaniga‘s book Human. it studies how and why human think and feel.",0 Oh man. I was pleading with myself and my own brain to shut the fuck up for the last 24 hours. Then thinking more about which sweet mental illness or disorder is making me stay up! Exhausting.,0 "the “if you have ocd why are you so messy?” always invokes a deep rage inside of me, like if I could utilize my ocd at will for good, do you think id still be freaking out over shit like making sure my body feels even?",0 "What do you mean by gut feeling here? I'm a little confused tbh. Is it not to trust yourself or something else?",0 I do this everytime. I do at least 8 beeps on most days. I hate it.,0 "OMG. I have a checking compulsion. I thought it was only with doors, but I do this too and never put two and two together.",0 "Wow, yeah, this is me 100% and explains so many of my past behaviors. I’ve been diagnosed since more than 10 years ago, but sometimes I do wonder if I’m just lazy, crazy, and stupid. Also, I wouldn’t be where I am today without medication.",1 no. it tricks YOU into thinking you’re tricking others into thinking you’re a good person.,0 "At this point, I could probably write a dissertation on Hep C, HIV, and HSV 1 and 2.",0 "*anxious before doing a thing* *does thing* *feels less anxious* My brain: *lmao you fucking idiot see you’re not anxious at all! You’re fine. You’ve always been fine. You’re lying to yourself and everyone around you whenever you’re upset because clearly, as seen here, YOU ARE FINE.* Also my brain, but quieter: *I mean rationally speaking if you were fine you probably wouldn’t be having this mental conversation tho* My brain: *LIAR* Rinse & repeat",0 "Thanks for the great list, I’m definitely going to read this later. This time I mean it, unlike every time I’ve said that in the past.",1 "Hey, I can relate to this! I recently got tested and diagnosed at age 35. Throughout school and for all of my adult life I've been told things like: ""you have so much potential""; ""if only you would apply yourself""; ""why are you here if you're so smart?""; etc. I have always thought of myself as being pretty intelligent but with one lobe tied behind my back, so to speak. Well part of the testing process was an IQ test. It was broken down into four parts. I scored highly on the verbal comprehension and perceptual parts of the test, 99th and 90th percentile respectively. On the other two parts, the working memory and processing speed, I scored far worse. Still above average, but well below my other scores. That difference, the doctor explained to me, is the source of much of the frustration. I might be doing something, working at a task and I know that I know it, it know how to solve it, but I can quite get there as fast I now that I should be able to. It doesn't matter that all my scores are above average; it's the disparity that causes the anger. My brain knows stuff, but has trouble keeping up; I personally compare it to NPC walking speeds during escort quests in video games. You're accustomed to a particular speed of movement, so encountering a task that requires a different speed that you are then unable to maintain drives your crazy. Anyway, just having gone through the testing process and hearing this from the doctor, couldn't help but think about it while reading this. Just knowing it has helped me, hope something here resonates and helps you too.",1 Making progress! I am thankful my obsessions are primarily in my head.,0 "There is some wisdom to 'just do it' which I believe is what he is saying. Don't overthink it, don't worry about your issues or problems, just do it. Sure it will be hard, sure it will not be perfect but there is no point worrying about it, just do it.",1 Squidward may be the most relateable character in the history of entertainment,0 "Welcome to my life before I did something about my diagnosis and got RX. About 40 years of my life, to be precise.",1 "Ive been on this subreddit for like a couple of weeks now, and so far it looks like all my issues with anything ever is due to adhd.",1 "aw this made me smile. as someone with both ADD and OCD getting through online classes has been hard but last night i finished one of my final papers and my last exam is on monday, i’m so close!",0 Thank you! Y'all are the first people ever in my life that have understood when I say I forget to eat and drink. I just sit there wondering why I feel so bad and it doesn't even cross my mind sometimes.,1 "I ended up making another playlist. ""Watch Later 2""",1 "Time to sleep then ^^"" Thank you, I didn't realize how much time passed.",1 Bruh that's brilliant!! I totally never tried that before.,1 What an uplifting message! Congratulation! You deserve a round of applause from this community.,0 Sigh.. I hate ADHD... This is why I'll never get anywhere in life.,1 This should make you all feel better: https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/30/health/poor-memory-smarter-study-partner/index.html,1 I’m not even joking I literally just got finished with cutting my nails short after months of having them long for this specific reason aha,0 Omg I am so proud of you!!! I know how debilitating that stuff can be and how hard it is to control,0 "similar thing happened to me, first time i took adhd meds i was in a physics class in hs and came close to crying from happiness in the middle of the lesson. i could finally focus on what my teacher was saying and my brain was.......silent",1 ">I thin it’s critical to remember this because once you buy into the ignorant narrative you’re fed and give up on yourself... it’s all over. Ah shit! Can I just stay given up, keep going with the repetitive flow that takes me nowhere and pretend I didn't read any of this. I'm gonna pretend I didn't read any of this. Actually I'll probably forget it anyway so wth am I worried about.",1 "Anyone else feel like your brain can't even remember the complex ways you've been gaslit and changed the fit in, to the extent that it's an even bigger struggle to unlearn them?",1 "Oh, it's definitely a thing from what I've seen. My sentences tend to be at least 80% parenthetical statements if I don't watch myself. I actually have a masters in writing and the first thing my instructor told me after reading my writing was ""go back through everything you write and replace half the commas with period.""",1 "When I have to force myself to do a thing, it’s usually because it’s scary and thinking about it blanks out my mind and I don’t know what to do. I guess rather than telling myself to step up, I’m acknowledging that I’m out of my depth right now and try to zone in on what to start with (difficult, because I tend to go overkill with planning and use it to pretend I’m being productive so I can further procrastinate on actually doing it and I have to fight to avoid endlessly going on tangents and second-guessing my choices) so that the task is less daunting and I don’t have to leap as much as make small steps forward, focusing on putting one foot down at a time. My mind seems to buzz when I try to fight off the blankness as it simultaneously remembers dozens of things to consider but it helps grab the first thing that seems like it should be the first thing to do (yes) and try to hold onto it with a vice grip, memory and other thoughts be damned. I *am*forcing myself to step it up, but it’s easier when I force myself to do that first step than think of it as stepping up for the whole thing. I already know I don’t yet have what it takes to do the whole thing (it takes some learning and other skills I’m still working on, and tbh I’m not sure what the end result even has to *be*), but maybe I can start by stepping up just enough for the first part of the thing.",1 "I remove about 600 screenshots a month from my phone, all of them I take to remind me of something, and when I open them before deleting, I have no idea why I took them. So now I have this habit of just deleting them without checking what it is.",1 "My issue is, I know it needs to be done but I don't have the motivation to do it until my wife asks about it for the 15th time and I finally do it...and then it only takes 5 mins 🤦‍♂️",1 "When somethings needs to be done and I don't feel like doing it, sometimes Ill talk to myself out loud as if someone is asking me to do the task. ""Hey MnJiman, can you do this for me?"" and I respond outloud to myself ""Sure! No Problem!"" then I do it. :D",1 I guess this would explain why every headache I get hurts the front of my head,0 I was symptom free for about a week or two and I was just waiting for something to happen. It was a nice feeling but I was just waiting for something to happen.,0 "I used to get screamed at for being stupid in warehouses and labor jobs. Now I run their networks. It's all about finding the environment that works for you and allows you to plan and document better to avoid mistakes. Even still, I still beat the shit out of myself mentally when I fuck something up, and my coworkers just laugh and say dude it's cool, here's how you undo it.",1 "with me, i have to make sure the door is locked otherwise i’ll die 😭",0 "This made me feel really nice. A week ago I had a really bad attack over whether I was “OCD enough” or “your symptoms are too weird to actually be OCD, nobody believes you” over some guy doubting what I was experiencing and suffering through. This post reminded me that my symptoms and suffering is valid and it is real. Thank you for this",0 YAY!!!!! And proud of your self you should be. This is substantial in your growth keep fighting friend and treat yourself for this achievement:),0 "Cheers to your teacher, nailed it! This one is a keeper Haiduken orrrrr youken!!!!!",1 Ok! *picks at my skin for 3 hours straight* *breaks up with my boyfriend bc brain said I have to* *kills my pets* *crashes my car* and so on and so forth,0 "I can relate to this post and appreciate your rant. I always wake up shitty and sleep like shit. I need meds just to get my brain going otherwise I sit there lost as well. I saw someone's comment on a post the other day (I believe in this community but I could not find the post again) and someone with ADHD said that they recommended the book The Warrior by Steve Chandler because it is written in short bursts so it keeps you stimulated and it is supposedly helpful to people with ADHD because it helps your organize things in your own sort of way. I actually just got the book in the mail today and only started reading it, but right off the get go I like what I see. I usually don't read a lot of books but someone's post or comment inspired me to give it a go so I wanted to put that out there in case it was of interest to you or anyone here. It has 101 chapters (I KNOW SOUNDS DAUNTING BUT WAIT) they are like 1-3 pages each. Just reading a few chapters, I felt a bit more focused and like I was getting something done (instead of being lost in 30 page chapters with my mind wandering) and I'm eager to read more today. As you mentioned, ""ADHD demands stimulation in order for you to function, and depression takes away the feeling of stimulation, leading to perpetual nothingness."", and I could not agree more with you. I'm hoping this book will help me stay focused and maybe it could be of hope to others here as well.",1 They understand that at 1:00 this morning I had to go down to the basement to make sure I really did blow out a candle that I know I blew out because I was looking through pictures and saw a lit candle in the exact same spot?,0 "I admit it, I was ready to blast you on first impulse. Well done.",1 "James Hamblin is a doctor that writes for the Atlantic and he believes we all shower too much. He never does. When I don’t have time for one I just tell myself I’m ~protecting my skin microbiome~ and make sure my hair isn’t sticking up in the back. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2020/09/26/917019912/in-the-era-of-hygiene-clean-author-makes-the-case-for-showering-less",1 This is why it's so essential for the rest of society to be more informed about it. And that getting diagnosed and the help needed as soon as possible makes a huge difference.,1 "Unfortunately this problem is exacerbated by all the undiagnosed people who claim to have ADHD and are just easily distracted or lazy. So many people respond to my “I have ADHD” with “yeah me too totally I’m soooo ADHD” and meanwhile they have no diagnosis or have had no discussions about it with a medical professional. I understand a lot of people don’t have the luxury of seeing a mental health professional and a lot of those may indeed have ADHD, but it’s way too common in popular culture to use ADHD to describe anyone who is a bit distracted or restless.",1 "I would upvote this, but it has 420 upvotes so....... :3",0 "The fact that it's followed in the movie by Sam Jackson saying: 'Oh I'm sorry, did I break your concentration' only makes this more perfect.",0 Lmao I've left a shameful amount of cell phones on top of cars so that part made me laugh out loud. I've also had to go through my trash several times.. ugh. Good job!,1 As a designer and artist this hits the nail on the head. Sometimes you just got to make baby steps to get it done or going. I have so many idea from different types of mediums and styles it can be frustrating. I wish I had one consistent “style”.,1 "Woah, how did I never think of this!! Must’ve been the ADHD!",1 "I get this aside from the depression aspect which I'm grateful I don't deal with. I find myself thinking weird abstract things that logically make no sense but keep me up at night sometimes and give me proper fear and paranoia when it happens. For example, sometimes I think what if someone climbed up to my window during the night and climbed in and attacked me (first of all why our house, second of all why my room specifically). It's stupid I know but I'm sure you guys understand that often when you think like this logic goes out the window.",0 "I know what you mean, diagnosed last year at nearly 28 this community has helped a lot though.",1 "This is so concise and perfectly worded. I need to share this, may I?",1 "I’m 22 years old. I’ve felt this way as long as I can remember and I’m in tears. It feels so good to know I’m not the only one. This was really reassuring.",1 What I’m reading is that I should be a project manager.,1 """The fact that you feel bad and guilty for not doing the task proves that you're not lazy"" \-My therapist",1 "Well now that you mentioned it, yeah IT DOESN'T WORK! When I was really young I was never prepared for the immediate responsibility of being a teenager, so when it happened I struggled to adapt to it, and I'm still doing my thing like I did when I was young, but with that constant reminder that I'm not like other teens who know how to do shit. My step-dad is pretty insensitive to my ADHD, and sometimes my biological dad is. My mom on the other hand really is understanding about it and actually helps me to loosen up because I know that I can make a mistake or ask for help without having a fucking lecture. For all the parents out there who have kids with disabilities like ADHD, teach them not ridicule them, and as two awesome guys once said ""be excellent to each other"". Can't wait to escape the bullshit, but I don't wanna be thrown headfirst into a world I can't fucking survive in. Man 2010 to 2014 was great, but it's gone.",1 "I have this problem but I create or save graphics to “catalog” important things I’ve learned or want to share Then when brain goes “I forget” I can show them instead!",1 "I'm always afraid that what I'm trying to say wont sound right to the person reading it, and they'll be upset and start a fight with me. I usually avoid commenting or posting because of this, internet people can be really mean and scary sometimes.",0 Yuuup I literally have 1-2 hours left of a task for my business and I'm grinding my gears over it. Wasted a lot of time this week. I hate it. Trying to turn off the internet lol,1 This is frighteningly true with me. I thought I read an old post I wrote. It’s bad serious impact in my life and particularly in my career. I’m afraid to apply for a promotion at work because I just know that 1) I’ll impress them and get the job and 2) I’ll fail miserably within a few months. To be honest - I was recently fired due to my addiction - and I’m so petrified of getting another job. I started a landscaping company instead. My friends - I have a bachelors degree and a masters degree. I know I’m selling myself short but — I can’t seem to help it.,1 "Wow. I procrastinated a swollen lymph node on my neck for 16 years! I was a teen when I felt the lump internally, and in my innocence (or stupidity) I thought it was a normal thing everybody had. Recently I finally remembered this and asked a doctor and he said that its not normal and I have to get it checked out. In my case its just a swollen lymph node (3 cm) but nothing that I need to do apparently.",1 "This particularly affects me at work. I interview well. Bosses adore me. I do well at work while it maintains my interest and then once it fades, my work slips and I become flaky and uninterested. Boredom seeps in and there is nothing that can bring my attention back to it and I move on to another job. It makes me look unreliable and like a bad worker.",1 i started falling asleep to cigarettes after sex's discography back in january and so that was my whole wrapped LOL i'm in their top 0.01% too.,1 "Man, that is too real. this subreedit have helped me too much, I can see how there are a lot of people like me. My father is a very productive man, smart, high intelligent and high dedicated. He have multiple escleroses, and after the diagnostic, in a wheelchair, he was still working, make his master degree and get another collage deagree, just because. now he retire, but now he make lectures, he made 60 lectures in 2019. and I can't do nothing. if I had 1/3 of his dedication and focus, I would probably be millionaire by now (because my father choose to live in a small town and work in a field that not pay too much... he is an agronomist, write the first book exclusive about strawberrys here in Brazil, he has an award from FAO, but as a public server that didn't make him rich... and I'm a lawyer, i could, in theory, make unlimited money... and I consider myself good in what I do, the problem is when I do)",1 "Thank you for having the courage to share. The sensitivity crap is an albatross hanging on my neck, too. Good days and then wham back in the dark. But I tell you this : posts like yours help me.",1 "I overthink a lot of the things I say. Like no big deal kind of shit, I find some way that that might be interpreted in a cringy sort of manner.",0 "Embarrassing, offensive… and straight up silly, stupid and awful mistakes. This is called **Real Event OCD**.",0 Ha I have 3pm appointment today!!! But I’m messed up physically so actually looking forward to it….. but agree my whole day is based around this appointment.,1 "Wow this has been me the last few days. A kid puked where I work, and when I asked where the puke was, they refused to tell me and have made it into a game of ""maybe it was right here lol.""",0 "Doubly frustrating (and embarrassing) when you don't live alone and have to explain to your housemates why you tapped the light switch fourteen times in a row... Finally told one of my housemates about my OCD and she basically went ""yeah that explains a lot"" 🙃",0 "I absolutely didnt want to know that I listened to the same song fifty times in one day, thank you spotify",1 "My favourite advice was always “have you tried focussing and turning off electronics?” Like okay lmao now I’m just going to daydream about hypothetical scenarios 🤦‍♀️",1 Holy shit if I had a dollar for every time I've had to back a movie up within the first half I'd be rich,1 "This is exactly what a Personal Care Assistant does, and I really wish that health insurance companies would allow us to use them. They’re mostly assigned to work with elders and disabled folks who have physical barriers to ADLs, but they would help us so damn much. I’m saving this post for when I make a little more money and can afford something like this.",1 "I love google photos, it automatically compiles memories of him for me",1 I just said “how in the HELL is it 4:30?!” I only get two partial days a week without the kiddo doing virtual learning at home. This is killing me!,1 "I’ve only had it once where I obsess over what someone has said because it hurt my feelings. Or, only once when it’s bothered me for months. I was in a football group chat, and we’d lost a game the week before. I made comment about how the defence and goalkeeper (me) needed to work better as a team. No one was bothered except one guy who took it personally, and started laying into me and criticising my performances. Instead of standing up for myself I just tried to calm things down. I still think about what he said months later, and it bothered me so much I quit the team. I just wish I’d stood up for myself.",0 Every single day. I even started emailing them to myself bc my saved section in reddit is impossible to go through,1 "Yeppp I remember those days. Nice to have hands that don’t physically hurt. Congrats on making it out, and best of luck with the rest of your journey.",0 I've had this problems plenty of times too. But I've worked enough night shifts now and wasted enough time before work that I try my best to get myself to do ANYTHING before work. Sometimes I just lay in bed browsing Reddit until work though. Good days and bad days lol,1 "If I don't go out and in to the checkout page online the ""right"" amount of times when ordering a product will be cursed in that I will think the same horrible thought that came up while I was trying to order it whenever I use it.",0 Noice!!! I didn’t know it was so easy!! Thanks for the tip! Tell your Dad I said thanks!!,1 "HOLY SHIT! I had no idea this was an OCD thing till now and it explains so much! As a kid I used to cry and apologize to my broken and stubby pencil crayons before I could throw them away. Of course this then led to some mild hoarding as a kid because I absolutely could not throw anything away without worrying that I was being cruel. And of course the movie “Brave Little Toaster” didn’t help my intrusive thoughts about throwing things away 😣 (good grief!!)",0 "Yes! OMG thank you for this explanation. I have felt so dysfunctional lately but all the things I'm too ""lazy"" to do are things that I must do and no on else can do - like fill out paperwork and clean my bathroom. I don't have an assistant and there's not gonna be a surprise housekeeper showing up anytime soon so I'm the one who is standing in the way of getting it done.",1 [r/thanksimcured](https://www.reddit.com/r/thanksimcured),1 "See at work I’m on top of things, but at home I just can’t get myself moving. It’s like I’m stuck, and then I feel SO guilty! But yet the cycle continues.",1 "I was going through my feed then saw a post from adhd subreddit, was trying to read it slowly and in fear so that I don't relate to this but i do wth",1 I just want to fix this shit bro and I don’t know what to do.,1 This is the last place it makes sense to post this. Everyone in this sub knows what ocd is. So tired of this meaningless bitching.,0 "Not me taking a shit ton of pictures thinking I’ll go through and edit and delete later, but instead I just have 6,755 photos and 435 videos. I might have a problem soon.",1 This is my teenage son. Sitting at the table turning into a skeleton because his OCD tells him the food is tainted for a dozen reasons and rituals.,0 "**Concentration issues are affecting my school performance please help** “Oh I see... well concentrate and you’ll be fine”",1 It's better than my mom who told me to just give up and get married to a rich guy. :)),1 "i feel this, and at the risk of sounding 100 years old, i also think that (ironically ?) this experience becomes more common as like the cultural attention span gets shorter. like i'm only useful to people when i'm entertaining them, and the bar for what is entertaining just gets higher as it becomes easier for them to switch the channel when i'm not meeting expectations. pretty isolating",1 "This is exactly why I worry people see me as dumb or annoying! I’ll figure something out but then I can’t also adequately backtrack and explain how I thought my way into my understanding, so even if I attempt to share my solution I struggle to share complete comprehension. I’ve tried and what will happen is I’ll explain and just see a bunch of confused faces staring at me, and know I’m clearly missing context that I forgot to cover, then I’ll start to feel insecure, apologize, and sit back, end up waiting for someone else to get there and be acknowledged as figuring it out, all of the while being annoyed at myself. Knowing that if I could explain how my mind got there it would be so much better but I can’t, it’s like jibberish sprinting around my brain. I just know I understand it. I can’t explain it or share the understanding.",1 "Thank you for sharing. I've had some problems with my prostate that I've been avoiding for some time (some context: I'm m, 22, which is a bit embarrassing), but I will now definitely make that call. I honestly wish you all the strength in the world!",1 Yes! And the same with reading when I actually pick up a book. I realize I have no idea what I read the last two pages and have to go back and read it all over again.,1 " In my interpersonal relationships this has been hell for me. However this one relationship i have is so refreshing because we *both* have it and understand how it affects our communication skills/emotions etc. My mother to this day still doesn’t believe I have adhd. Why? Because I wasn’t disruptive in school, quiet, kept to myself. I wasn’t a “problem.”",1 "Ugh but... my intrusive thoughts are more like my brain trying to find moral in everything, especially when im thinkin "" oh its only in my brain nobody can know what i think ab so its fine that i think this way"" I need help if anyone here deals with that too..",0 You described my mental state exactly. I’ve been off work the past 2 days and I have an extremely motivated wife and tons of stuff to do and I can’t start any of it until like 1 hour before her and the kids get home. I’m so lost in life right now it’s not even funny.,1 my sister taught me when i was little that an example of ocd was people having to turn the light switch on and off an amount of times before leaving or entering and i think growing up i had weird rituals but just never thought of it that much until one day i was like wtf wait a min and realized i could have ocd. and i do have it.,0 I just can’t stand the textures involved in cleaning. Dirty dishes are so upsetting to me and I want to wash my hands between washing dishes which is...ridiculous. And the feeling of dust...,0 "Yeah and then I end up not doing anything or putting off important decisions or even relatively important ones. Though I do suffer from depression too I'm beginning to think a lot of this is caused more by OCD than depression in my case.",0 "My life... Like, I know I’m going to be the one to do it. I just can’t make myself. In the unlikely event that my husband does it, I apologize for a week about it. :/",1 "I don't spend ages washing by hands because of cleanliness, I spend ages washing them because I spend ages doing every single action",0 "And, when that relative also has ADHD, or is the one you inherited from, ( ""I grew out of it, so you should"" ), is worse ...",1 I have a YouTube video I need to upload. I recorded it in March. I’ve set multiple reminders at different points to upload the damn thing. Still haven’t done it. Have I uploaded other videos? Yes. Have I uploaded this *specific* video? Nope. Do I have any fucking idea why that is? Not a clue.,1 Phrasing it this way implies that [redacted] actually is helping.,1 "Oh yeah I feel this. It's really hard for me to talk about personal things too, or have a big discussion or debate about something I'm interested in. Oh god it reminds me of the time I went ""ha ha your dad is dead"" to a friend. I wasnt even thinking about her dead father nor would I find that funny! It just fucking slipped out of nowhere. Nothing I could really say would make that better",1 "Me: Im pretty sure god hates me. Therapist: I think that’s a reflection of how you feel about yourself. Me: 👁👄👁",0 Don’t no. I won’t be able to stop and I’m already procrastinating on ORGO,1 "I mean, this is a good meme if it was worded a bit differently. If it was in response to people who THINK this is what OCD was, instead of what OCD actually is.",0 "this just brought back memories of 8 year old me watching this and being like ""haha relatable"".. I probably should've known sooner lol",0 OCD 100%. Have to remember unimportant things or solve unimportant problems.,0 "I agree with my intrusive thoughts... I can find no reason to disagree about being a stupid loser who contributes nothing to society except being a bother by merely existing. I'm not coping well",0 Honestly this is a good idea? I need accountability to help myself focus.. I think a lot of us are like that,1 "My fiancee: play your game Me, internally: She must want me to stop playing my game",0 This happens to me too. I think it's just my brain's way of avoiding work.,1 Omg I have never and could never! Due today do today! But I am so so so proud of you!!!! (The irony is that I am a teacher lol),1 I also do this except I do like 10 min of what I need to do get bored and start to do something alse subconsciously that interests me like a different project or watching youtube and then I realize its been 4 hours and I have barely touched the important task and now I feel a lot more tired then before.,1 "... Yesterday I wrote every assignment left in the quarter down in my planner. I literally “counted” it as being productive. It took me a solid 2 hours at least. But I wanted to do 3 hw assignments. I only did one. On that note too: Does anyone else have a hard time knowing when to stop? Like I will sometimes hyper focus the crap out of an assignment, (after I struggle to get started) and spend like 3+ hours on something that really only “deserved” maybe 30 mins tops? Basically ending up with something way more elaborate than it needed to be.",1 "When I moved, I called over my friend who also has ADHD to help me because I was overwhelmed and needed help from somebody who would actually help without judging me. We had a great time and I got us Chinese food for dinner as a treat to thank him.",1 "Hey guys, I have a family member who I believe has severe OCD/somatic anxiety. They won't leave their house, and believe they are allergic to most things, and also that electronic devices cause their ears to hurt (even muted). I want to get them books to see this, so they can work through enough to get real help after covid. Anything you guys suggest? Thanks",0 "Wow. This is 100% me. Right down to explaining destiny raid mechanics lol I never got into the d2 raids though because when I tried, the people who were trying to teach me didn't explain why, so I didn't enjoy it and stopped raiding altogether in d2.",1 "I'll go to read a book to kill some time and fall asleep. Go to do some work on my laptop that doesn't HAVE to be done ASAP, fall asleep. Start to draw, nah, tired. Asleep. I need to clean, but eh. Sleepy. Unless it's something I'm fixated on doing and hyped to do, my brain decides we're wiped. And I genuinely love reading, my work, drawing, cleaning, all those things! But if it's not ""LET'S DO THIS"" it's nap time.",1 If this is true then it’s a loss to hire or partner with somebody with ADHD.,1 "I feel you on most of those. My room is clean and then messy a day later. My cats go in it, but then they’re annoying almost immediately. They sit in my lap i love it. A second later it’s annoying or uncomfortable. I too check for gratification more than ever because of reddit, and become frustrated why my questions aren’t answered, and question if Im in the wrong when i downvoted",1 "When I was younger, for punishment I often would have to write a corrective phrase over and over like Bart Simpson. ""Write, 'I will not hit my sister and listen to what I am told.', 100 times."" It was absolute misery, I remember feeling something akin to being on fire while I worked on it. They considered it good punishment because it was agony, I guess...",1 "Anybody have any tips on how to deal with this? ​ I've started 'time blocking' every 30 mins and it makes me more aware of HOW much time I have between things & even though it helps a bit, I still go into 'waiting mode'",1 Oh man sounds like a nightmare!! I try really hard to avoid online courses but I had to take an online course. At the time I was able to afford a tutor to help me out which was good because she set deadlines for me and also it was just a subject I was terrible in haha. If you have the funds maybe that could be a good option for you?,1 "Thank you for sharing this and reminding me that I need to go back in for a follow-up on the lump in my breast (not cancer, still took me about 4 months to make the appointment) and to replace my IUD that expired 2 years ago 😂",1 "Well, I guess I'm off to go work for my crippling fears and anxieties",0 It's really just like other chronic illnesses like hypertension and diabetes. It's alright to take meds!,0 "“How can someone so smart be so stupid!” -Everyone to me since I was 3.",1 "The analogy I use to describe what it’s like for me is I have a big barrel of attention and energy juice hanging above my head, but the tap for them is broken. Sometimes the energy tap gets stuck open and I get a massive burst of energy followed by a massive crash, or it gets stuck closed and I’m down all day. The same thing applies to attention, but energy and attention go hand n hand for me. It’s the most frustrating thing me because it feels like I have no control over my energy output.",1 "Dr. Reuter is one of my good friends and colleagues. We work at the same office. I just stumbled upon this post and am so happy to see you all are finding his book helpful! I know he worked hard to address a lot of the things you all are commenting about, like common misconceptions about OCD and techniques that really work. For anyone working on their OCD, I hope you stick with it. Consistent effort in applying these techniques really does lead to lasting positive outcomes.",0 "My father has said pretty much the same thing to me, and it’s quite infuriating. I can’t even try to educate him as he’s the type of person to think he knows everything. Sadly, he only realized my anxiety disorder was legitimate after he witnessed me vomiting my guts out before/during panic attacks. Why are some people so stubborn...",0 "Yes, that's a great way to deal with them. When I move on my brain generally forgets about the thought and after some time replaces it with a new one. Though it still sucks that I often have to pause what I'm currently doing and entertain the thought for some time before deciding to move on. Also I often find that after a while my brain just is too tired and refuses to engage with the idea and a feeling of ""there was something bothering me and I haven't solved the issue"" persists, but I no longer can't remember what the issue was exactly.",0 "We are the devil's legion When everything is dark We turn on night vision And see the beauty through The impassable Devils need love too",1 "Bro legit my OCD escalated over the years to tourettes and trichotillomania, like wtf XD",0 I don't know if I should laugh or cry. Pure O is a nightmare.,0 Thanks for the reminder! Also I need to buy more toothpaste...,1 "I use commas and dashes a ton, haha! But I was waayyy worse in high school. Even when it wasn’t grammatically correct, I would still use a ton of commas. But I’m sure there’s a ton of writers out there who don’t have ADHD and use a butt-load of commas",1 "i feel you here. i've just defaulted to ending all my spoken responses with ""i hope that makes sense"" or ""i cant put it into words""",1 "Ahhhh i hate it... the fact that you can't even have a conversation with your family is simply awful and makes you feel stupid. But knowing you're not alone, helps you through it, somehow...",0 Nuh uh I’m playing a board game with my sister and took a break to poop and reddit,1 Checking OCD started for me when I incorrectly filled a financial aid form at my University by missing one number in my bank account number which caused me to lose a substantial amount of money. Now I continuously reread things over and over again to ensure it has been written correctly. It’s often mentally draining. I’m trying to limit the amount of times I proofread to 2 or 3 times.,0 "I love spending hours before bed having to constantly redo rituals because I never get them quite ""right"" Thankfully I've managed to resist my bedtime rituals enough that haven't had the ""stay up for hours doing them"" problem in quite a few months :)",0 "And I’m starting to have anxiety now because I HAVE to do knives, spoons, then forks. I have an entire argument going through my head as to why this is the way it must be done",0 "I use OneNote, Evernote, a pad and paper, and posted notes. It cured me too I’m think that to be safe I’m gonna add a 3 ring binder. /s Seriously though just had my appointment and this will be try number 3 on using meds Vyvanse and and some Adderall",1 Gosh. I hate it when I’ve overstimulated myself in my head. Plus something in my hands. Someone comes up and tries to say something to me. BOOM!,1 "That one appointment is my WHOLE ASS DAY. I don't do anything before it, and ignore anything after.",1 I wasn’t normal since i was little i had it but it didn’t kick in until 6 years ago now it’s constantly controlling me and almost become part of my character I changed a lot,0 "something that’s helped me is to not give my thoughts any power , WE ARE NOT OUR THOUGHTS , our thoughts are separate from us , they just are , we are the ones that make these thoughts horrifying - because we feed into it and feed them until they grow more and more prominent in our minds , just brush them away and laugh at them , don’t let yourself get in the way of your own happiness 😎🌈🌎",0 Weirdly 2-3pm is when I book most of my appointments. I'm nigh on useless in the morning and still need to get in during business hours.,1 I appreciate your art & also hope the pain gets better,0 I sleep past breakfast because I'd rather get extra sleep. I never make lunch because I'm too lazy. I hate this,1 "Well, that’s when you immediately find the next thing to fixate on.",0 "Now im confused. I thought this was my ADHD, not OCD, lol",0 "I really felt known when I was reading your post, in the past year due to how my body carries stress I've lost a lot of weight and along with worsening mental health sometimes it feels like I am wasting away and losing the will to continue thriving and existing. You absolutely didn't waste my time by reading this, if anything I am glad I got to read something so profoundly similar to my own internal monologue the past few months. I appreciate you. At the end of the day for me, what has kept me alive is ongoing therapy giving me a sense of growth + support from my incredible partner + the comforting thought that I can be in a better, less stressful place someday relatively soon. Hope this helps : )",1 I’ve been doing a pretty good job keeping my compulsions in check but my intrusive thoughts and constant guilt are at an all time high 😔,0 "I’m a Dental assistant and I had to go in on Friday for an hour , to see a couple emergency patients, but we didn’t do anything besides give them antibiotics and pain meds and referrals (one pt was for an oral surgeon , the other root canal specialist) because we literally are not allowed to work on patients until May 18th (as of now) and I still haven’t got approved for my coronavirus unemployment 😭",1 "I'm so sorry. I just got negative results about a throat nodule I put off for months. I honestly didn't even think about cancer until my ENT gave me a concerned look and said it needed to be biopsied right away. When I got those negative results I vowed to go to all the appointments ever and I have. I only have one more appointment left to analyze some vascular stuff in my legs next week. If you can (because I know that having healthcare is an absolute privilege in the US), go to the doctor, go to the dentist, go get them eyes checked. Do not put that ish off. You deserve it.",1 "Guess where I found stimulation... Drugs (not medication, I can't even get that in my country).",1 so close to home... people always get angry at me for having to step on every leaf/sidewalk crack a certain way and i cant say i blame them because i know first hand how fucking annoying it is lol,0 "It's hard to motivate yourself without the chemicals that we're missing, we definitely see the world differently than other people, maybe that's a good thing",1 "But it's only 12:59, surely I can squeeze one more campaign in.",1 "This is why I'm writing a novel right now about OCD, specifically scrupulosity. Even somewhat well-educated people think OCD is about just about repeatedly washing your hands and keeping a tidy house. You can have hand-washing and organization compulsions of course, but a lot of us have mental compulsions that people don't know about, whether that be about harm, self-harm, morality, pedophilia, or religion. OCD is a huge spectrum and it's time the public becomes educated on it.",0 "Of my top five songs, three of them are by my number one artist. Of my top five artists, two of them are people I literally cannot remember the last time I listened to them and one of them doesn't show up in my top songs playlist at all",1 Never read anything more relatable. I realized now I can't honestly say I'm good at working alone or at being self motivated. It's a bold faced lie.,1 "This might actually cure me, seeing as how i'm allergic to watermelon and it would kill me. But hey, if I'm dead I won't have OCD anymore!",0 "My dad accidentally said obsessive compulsory disorder oh dear, maybe we are all a bit OCD if it’s compulsory",0 Yes but one thing that bothers me the things that the OCD is holding one is taller,0 Personally I need people to explain things in full detail. I can’t do with somewhat vague instructions. For some reason people always explain to me how to do things way too vaguely. I can’t think of a good example but that’s my experience with stuff like that,1 "Dude this is STUNNING!!! I just adore how dreamlike & colorful it is, you did an amazing job! <3",0 I think of it like someone climbing a mountain but they keep losing their footing and are just stuck in a perpetual cycle of struggle.,0 I want a new brain. I asked last year too and he didn't deliver,0 "I did this yesterday 🤦🏼‍♀️😭😭 I always tell myself to chunk it out and just do 1 or 2 but I’m afraid I won’t be able to get it all done unless I do it all in one day and then it has to be in the perfect order",0 "I love the way it looks, with the bit of shakiness in the lines. It looks like that’s actually the style, and it’s a lot more interesting than it would be if the lines were all perfectly straight. Nice work :)",0 "I found myself getting into this cycle largely because it felt like most of the day wasn’t “mine” and I was doing things for other people (work, cooking, spouse time etc). Finally (late) at night was when I got to do “my” thing. I’ve since tried sticking to a 10pm bedtime and I wake up early to get some of my “me” time in so I feel less desperate for it at night. The idea seemed pretty crazy to me at first but I think it’s actually been working well. Also I realized that society isn’t built for night owls (staying up late in night, waking up late in am), and the more I kept staying up late / getting poor or not enough sleep, the more I would contribute to a cycle of unhealthy habits (hygiene suffers, not planning meals so resort to unhealthy food, feel like I’m “just trying to keep up” / rushing to things esp in the AM)",1 They’re actually a pretty based company if you don’t let preconceived notions of porn’s morality cloud your judgment. They do more charity work than your average millionaire too.,0 Finally something I can laugh about over this damn illness,0 "I needed to see this today. I’m really struggling this past week. But slowly creeping out from under the beast. Thank you for sharing!",0 "This makes me feel so much better... my last intrusive thought loop induced panic attack made me think I was onset for a while :/ The stigma is real",0 "I hope my kids feel comfortable talking about anything. It’s my job to provide a safe place for them when they need. I told my mom about depersonalization and being an empath and she just started blaming herself. I think this happens on vary measures. She may be in the narcissistic side bc it always comes back to her feelings. Don’t be discouraged. There is love and understanding out there",0 "I love this! I’ve always been really good at finding things for other people and this makes me wonder if it is related to my ADD! At first my family members thought it was weird I’d look in bizarre places till I end up finding everything BECAUSE I look in the bizarre places no one thinks to look. Cellphones in fridges, sunglasses in the bottom of the laundry basket, wallets in knife drawer.",1 "I'm new to this sub, just found out I might have OCD. And this describes me so well most nights. I'll be in bed for 20/30 minutes, know the door is locked, but just _have_ to check it. It's always locked. ",0 That moment when you do shove a whole TV up your ass and still manage to get through security. XD,0 I cried inside reading this. The slippers did not fit from amazon and yes I gave them away. The veggies from wholefoods are rotten too 😞 I want an adhd trust fund. It is not cool.,1 Thank you for sharing. This is so powerful and encompasses so much of what I think we’ve all experienced at one point or another! So beautiful ❤️,0 "My brain tries to convince me I’m doing something illegal at random times. So my self conspiracy theory is: I’m a cold hard criminal, and I’ve somehow managed to manipulate everyone around me into thinking I’m a good person.",0 "> In the moment when someone is being rude to me, I gaslight myself into thinking that I’m just too sensitive. > Or I tell myself that I’m SO easygoing and detached that I don’t give a damn about anyone else’s opinions. Sometimes I don’t even notice it at all. Ohhh this hit too close to home",1 Friction. You need to make it hard to get to your phone. Buy a timer safe and lock your phone away from yourself.,1 I needed a good laugh. This has been me all week. 🤦‍♀️,0 "I just spent two hours learning bat wing eyeliner at 5 am and convinced myself I only like halloween to make myself seem cool and that I hated my clothes that were all black and shouldn’t listen to punk music. My bf bluntly said, “No. You now have the money and don’t hate yourself so aren’t afraid to express yourself. You made a lot of progress with body dysmorphia/OCD. And where are you going at 5 am wearing that cool makeup.” I said, “but I dress like your sister!” And was super upset. He hugged me and was like, “No you don’t. You dress like you. And please don’t compare yourself to my sister.” But his whole family is good lookinggggggggg🥺",0 "this happens literally every time im waiting for someone, even if they’re not late. intrusive thoughts suck.",0 when youre listening to music as a distraction from intrusive thoughts but youre sick of that music: p a n i k,0 "this is so true... like i dunno. i dont even fear death. sometimes i wish to finally be free of ocd and dysphoria and just die but then on the other hand i fear talking to people, fear to emberass myself or to do things wrong... heck anxiety lead to my past 3 years being nothing more then a slideshow of other people acchieving stuff while i sit in the background and panic no-stop.",0 "Yeah in a way, people trying to tough love me identifies the fakes In the world for me.",1 Hey man Ive seen some of your previous posts on this sub before and i just wanna say its fucking awesome that youve come this far. That takes lots of dedication and strength so definitely give yourself some serious props. Keep at it man youre doing great!,0 "I just wanted to share last night: at 10pm I told myself it was time to go to bed and even logged out of Netflix only to switch my attention to my iPad while I was clearing off my bed to sleep. I proceeded to organize every application, set up how to stream my iPad to my computer because I remembered how annoyed I was using Zoom when I TAed TWO SEMESTERS AGO and set up a whole online note taking system to “save money” but I already bought 3 brand new pads of engineering paper. I went to sleep at about 4 or 5am…",1 Dude this is awesome and a really good way of dealing with ocd. I love it.,0 "When I had birds, I had to check on them and on their cage doors, food, and water. And I'd check their droppings because small birds poo often and the appearance is a good health indicator. And I had things I had to say to them. Long mantras. Basically lists of stuff I had to tell them. I had different things for before I showered or before I left the house. Before I left the house, I couldn't say anything after doing my rituals until I was outside and the front door was closed. Or I'd have to go back and do it all again. It was annoying and I was embarrassed by it. And sadly, one of my birds died like 2 weeks after I started ignoring my compulsions. But he was old for a parakeet. And then my other bird died a few days later because he just refused to drink water or eat food or even move much. He just gave up. (Birds are very social and bond with each other strongly). The timing of their deaths was just awful for my mental health. Even though I knew it wasn't actually my fault.",0 "I have a test week, already failed last year so I have to redo it not sure how I'm going to get good grades lol",1 "This is literally how I got through high school. Every night, I would procrastinate because of ADHD and anxiety. Then, at the eleventh hour, I would have a panic attack at the prospect of not getting into college. The adrenaline that came with the panic would propel me into completing the tasks and everyone in my family would be like “obviously you could’ve done it you just waited till the last minute like an idiot.”",1 "Ok, I was talking to my counselor yesterday and that was the first time I’d had a medical professional tell me I probably had it, but that I should get diagnosed. I’ve lived my entire life like this, it’s impossible for me to do anything for myself but as soon as someone else needs anything, I’m off my ass and going. I don’t know how this happens, but if it’s happening to others then I’ll take it as confirmation that I probably do have ADHD. I think going on medication may be a good idea for me, but I wanted to pose this question in a thread first: what medications have worked for you in the past? I don’t really want adderall because it’s too easy to abuse; some even compare it to weak meth. I also suffer with depression and use substances sometimes, but I just want to get better and feel like I can work for once.",1 Trying to find a therapist after the first 5 you call in your healthcare network are either not accepting new patients or do not answer or call back at all really has disincentivized me into calling the other 40 in my network. What good is health insurance if the shit it covers is unavailable?,1 "Thanks for the laugh, Meta OCD can take the joy out of the simplest things that you once just accepted and not doubted. Who knows there’s a guy on the roof with a bazooka named “me realizing I completely missed an entire episode of my show because of the overthinking.” THEN BACK TO SQUARE ONE! 🤔🤯",0 "Yes, definitely. I've never could memorize a bunch of random things without the why and context of it. It's kind of funny as I can describe something in great detail, like a movie, but forget the name of it.",1 "I used to think that way until i realized.... there's like millions of us. And people with other, similarly life-disruptive conditions (BPD, Bipolar, depression, etc). And lots of those people come up with great ideas and solutions for neurotypicals *all the time.* its hard for people like us to be successful, but when we are, we're usually filling some gap that neurotypicals miss or ignore or don't think is necessary. I just don't logically see the point of killing off like 2/3rds (or possibly more) of the world becuase.... what? They're not *""born right""*? That doesn't make sense. People are more complicated that in just 1 singular value. Once something starts to sound like something Hitler would say, i kinda realize... its fucking dumb. It would be nice for people like Hitler if the world, and people were simple. So black and white. Good or bad. Clean or dirty. But its not. Real life requires constantly adapting. Constantly learning. Constantly reorienting your perspective. There's lots of ""capable"" people who aren't fullfilling thier full potential with their brain OR their body? I have ADHD and I'm trying to adapt and overcome all the time - **while** navigating life. Whats **their** excuse? What about all the neurotypical people out there who aren't doing anything worth a shit with their ""perfect"" brain? What about them? What's *their* ""punishment"" for wasting their opportunity? Why am I some kind of defect but they get the freedom to be lazy?",1 Also [this is a pretty good explanation of some of these things ](https://ocdla.com/memory-hoarding-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd-1964),0 "Hahaha YES Since before I could use a computer even, I would write down notes and draw pictures of mechanical designs I came up with, and Write down the names of movies I wanted to see your music I liked and toss them in the scrapheap underneath my desk. What I learned how to use a computer it turned into word documents and later bookmarks. The bookmarks never migrated from one computer to the next of course so it’s just like a giant mess on multiple computers that are sitting in my garage and probably absolutely in capable of turning on anymore. And now on my phone it’s just a heap of pictures and saved bookmarks and tabs open. God for bid when I accidentally shut all the tabs because the fucking exes in the wrong place in Safari versus Google app for internet! Kills me ALL that lost info and most of it was shit to help my adhd or trauma!!! Ugh. When I started medication I think I got a burst of motivation to organize things, I think around then was when I started organizing my screenshots at least into albums, so any new screenshot gets organized into an album that makes some sense. So if I take a picture of the plant I like I’ll put it in a “Plants I want” album, if it’s adhd med info it goes in another, pictures of art I like another, political info another, grad school and job shit get albums, etc. I will probably never look through the albums but on the rare occasion I do want to find some thing I do have a chance of finding it nowadays… Well more of a chance that I had previously, which was no chance at all.",1 "I have the same problem, It's at the point where even I think I'm dumb despite scoring very high on the intelligence test the psychiatrist had me do when getting my diagnosis. I guess it comes from me coming off as dumb because of things I do and the response that gets from other people. Most of the time I can laugh at myself my doing dumb shit but the occasional reminders sometimes get to me.",1 I describe it as pac man is my brain trying to outrun my thoughts which are the ghosts,0 "My OCD tells me that it’s better to not eat at all because I can’t finish my food and the thought of putting my food in the fridge for later distresses me, I feel like there is something wrong with it and will make me sick. This week I was able to reheat my mozzarella sticks, and SAUCE. Not a big deal for most but the experience of eating it for me was both terrifying and gave me so much hope.",0 "I know that I’m super late to this post. Only because someone just made me aware that I probably have ADHD. But I’m literally feeling this way about my doctors appointment tomorrow…. For ADHD",1 "Fuck this is so real. It’s not even just regular ass people who say these things. I just had my second appointment with my psychiatrist and talked extensively about how my untreated ADHD is ruining my life and career and was just told to cut out screen time 2 hours before I go to bed and consume less sugar. I explained that I had barely an appetite and so I eat out sometimes just so I eat something and she hooked onto that as one of my main issues…",1 "Every damn time. Same goes with reading, praying, listening to people talk, etc",1 "As others are saying, you should definitely tell her you appreciate the effort. Especially with the way you are so understanding at the end of how it might never get done, but she is doing her best",1 "Thank you. It's only 12:30 where I am, but I really should go to bed.",1 "I can relate. Before I started drawing I'd often fantasize about creating cool pics and I'd look at everyone else's art and then get discouraged because I felt like I couldn't be as good as them. I finally took the initiative to start drawing maybe like.... During December? Can't really remember lol the thing that is keeping me going is that getting good at drawing isn't a race, So I can take my time with learning how to draw. I dunno if that's just me but that's how I think of it whenever I feel like I won't be a good artist, it's not a race and it's ok if it takes me 5 to 10 years to be able to draw good(thought I'd like to be able to draw great in like 3 years tops.)",1 "I think did you try your best is a cop-out term. I think it is a way for the person asking the question to not accept their responsibility. Did you do your best when you were teaching me, did you test for understanding, when I did not understand, were you a good enough teacher to change your approach or did you give up a long time ago and now can only toss out unhelpful cliches. Sub teacher with parent etc.",1 Hit a little close to home lol shed a couple of tears seeing this myself lol. Good stuff though its a very good representation my dude.,0 "One moment you think you figured it out. The next, you forget. Then you ask yourself, ""Do I feel awful because...""",1 I'm just glad they aren't making me go back on campus with all this going on tbh. It is gonna be hard but its better than the alternative,1 "It's worst than calculus. So many things to keep track of or else it means starting all over again, making it twice the work or worst.😫😞",0 I thought this was in another sub and I had to read it twice before I actually checked 😂,0 "Jokes on you I completed my 8 hour job in 2 hours just like every day so now I'm bouncing between this and sending messages in Teams so my status doesn't change from available :D Jk you're right :P Also procrastinate more not less, don't take my word for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bavdneN9sKg",1 Seems like you took ur meds before writing this OP;),1 "I'm loving all these comments! I'm cracking up. I guess I should get out of the car and clock in for work, huh? *sigh*",1 "This is so very well said. I actually got into a Senior Leadership role, which I had to leave, because of this style of measurement. I took a step down so I could do what I am best at, which is problem solving, building programs, and being more creative. High level leadership is all about final products, presentations to senior leaders, and the political games within the company. None of those things fit my ADHD brain. Now I am happier, less stressed, and enjoy all the work I do.",1 People regurgitating the same information in circles is infuriating.,1 Worst when you're engaging in your searching compulsions at work,0 "To be fair, some of them do have a few OCD traits but not the whole disorder. Like they get intrusive thoughts, obsessive over rituals etc. I’m here because I have bipolar, bpd and part of that for me is having therapist-described OCD traits, so I relate to a lot of these memes. I’m not diagnosed with OCD specifically but it’s gotten bad enough that I’m on medication I think the difference is whether they actually understand what OCD is (not about being clean or anything sAtiSfYiNg).",0 I’ve have a lymph node that is slightly inflamed but it’s been that way for years and hasn’t been growing. All of my lab work is normal and I feel ok otherwise. Should I be worried? My doctor said he’d order an ultrasound if I really wanted but he thinks I’m ok.,1 "I had an appointment for a CT scan today & I got there a full hour early due to my OCD. I'm embarrassingly early to everything & at this point I'm scared to think about how much time I've wasted just showing up & waiting. I rationalize it by saying I'm terrible with directions, but at this point it's very clear I'm just crazy.",0 But my dog is currently sleeping on me. I have priorities and she comes first,1 It feels like when the interaction queue is full on the sims,0 "Been suffering like this ever since I remember. How do we deal with this, tho? Also, is it odd numbers for most of us?",0 "I was constantly thinking about my friend could dump me so I couldn't resist and slept. I ended up dreaming my friend dumping me, worse than the real life.",0 "The worst is when the “professional” who is supposed to be helping you doesn’t understand this. I’ve been going to a “counselor”, I’ve told him everything think I should do to be better. Every session he keeps telling me to do these things and then shaming me for not doing them. The last session he was like I told you everything I have and you just don’t want to do it. I just told him to his face you were not helpful at all and I’m not willing to waste more of my thune with you.",1 "When I originally saw the title of this post, I started laughing. Which moron thinks they ""cured adhd"" 😂",1 "I didn't cry the first day, but after getting up the second day and realizing I would be able to do it all over again... the happy tears started before I even took the meds.",1 "I’ve managed to find someone who takes my diagnosis seriously, yet makes fun of it when I need her too. I feel really lucky 😊",0 "YES, so glad it’s not just me! i’m constantly checking my text messages/social media apps in case i posted or sent something horrible or humiliating.",0 "Monica from F.R.I.E.N.D.S. definitely doesn’t have OCD... if there’s one character in a sitcom who does, it’s Chris Traiger from Parks and Rec. He worried so much about his health OCD that it plunged him into a deep depression and had to go see his therapist, Dr. Richard Nygard, like seventeen times a week. Actually j kinda take that back, Monica from friends may have OCD. She’s unhealthfully obsessed with making everything perfect and while she is a stereotype, it does kinda make sense. But I’m not a professional so yeah lol. I’d say Chris is better representation for us OCD patients, especially since they showed off his problem as unhealthy even if they didn’t name it. At the end he even had this health thing on his watch and would constantly check to see if he was healthy, every time it would say he was perfectly healthy but he would still worry about it. He definitely had a reassurance compulsion.",0 So real. Thank you for posting this. I wish I had been aware of this thread when my OCD was manifesting itself initially and I lost my fucking mind. ,0 “I believe you’d get your ass kicked for sayin’ summin like that.” - Office Space,0 currently reading this after spending 2.5 hours writing 200 words for a 5 page paper due tomorrow lmao,1 "that’s amazing!! i myself struggle with brushing my teeth consistently, so i understand how impressive this is. keep going!",1 Holy crap! I've never been diagnosed but I really relate to this!,0 "i’m late to this, but i nearly hate watching movies for this EXACT reason, and i think there’s 3 tv shows i’ve finished in my whole life. either i realize i wasn’t paying attention, or i try to and it’s just straight up boring. Every time someone brings up a show or movie and i tell them i’ve never seen it, they’re shocked! or the 3rd option, the best out of them all, i’ll watch a movie and after about a month i will remember nothing about it, and get it mixed up with plots and characters from other movies. it’s nearly useless",1 oh god this hits HARD I didn't realise other people had such specific traits that are exactly the same as mine,0 Funny but I legitimately hate this type of humor coming from neurotypical people,0 "YES ALL THE TIME OH MY GOD. honestly i dont have any tips though, i either succumb and just put it off until i feel better or im like fuck it and just do it anyways. but i think that action cant be contaminated forever so in the end its okay",0 "i used to have it like this severely but luckily i just have it minor now but i did develop an ed in my early days of having this kind of ocd. it has never gone away for me though, still think any kind of thing that has a germ will be the end",0 Imagine how crazy do we look when a normal person finds out that we dont trust any single thought that our brain comes up with,0 This might be the greatest thing related to the virus that I’ve read. THANK YOU SO MUCH,0 "Only way for me is to listen to the thought, give it all my attention, take it seriously for a few moments, then say “you’re just my ocd.” And then I decide to ignore it after that. Doesn’t always work but this has helped.",0 Wow thanks for this. I really feel like a bad person a lot. I feel like I'm dumb and a burden on others. I hope that one day I can feel this weight lifted off my shoulders and feel better about myself but it definitely helps to realize I'm not alone in this feeling. Thank you so much for sharing this!,1 Imagine being a guy and not being able to keep hard all the time because other things distract you. I can last long but sometimes it loses like 30-40% of its hardness at random 1-2min intervals due to my mind not completely being there.,1 I just never leave them out of my sight for more than 18 hours at a time🙃,1 "Yup, this year, I've had multiple sclerosis (several times), lupus, breast cancer, several heart attacks, kidney infections, liver disease, and coronavirus. The only times I was really sick, I never did go to the doctor, because I thought surely I was just pretending I had my symptoms. I ended up passing a kidney stone at work. OCD. Such a sick disease, it needs to be called WTF.",0 "I’ve been needing this, my OCD is the worst it’s ever been right now. Thanks",0 "Compulsion suck. We feel like we need to do them but by doing so, at the same time we’re fuelling the fact that we feel the need to do them.",0 "ADHD is ""not having enough time"" to do anything despite being unemployed and barely sleeping. Speaking of which, I'm going to force myself to go back to sleep. Then maybe I might possibly have energy to potentially do something.",1 "That resonates with me so much. I abslutely love planning out what I'm going to do and how I'm going to do it, and almost never follow through with any of those plans that I make.",1 "It the worst in a social situation, i’ll suddenly be quieter, more awkward and can handle less stimuli since my mind is already occupied with ocd thoughts. Anyone else having this?",0 "Not only this, but it invalidates all the messy OCD people. “You’re not OCD, your room is messy” well it’s ducking messy because I have to go stand on my scale every 10 minutes in case my weight increased and then go rewash all the dishes because no one else can do it properly and then reorganise my folder and throw away any pages that look ugly to me and then this one thought comes into my mind but it scares me but it’s there and it’s repeating itself and I can’t make it stop and it’s going on and on and it’s 3 am",0 "I’ve started writing down a brain dump each morning before work in a journal. I’m not saying it’s done magical work and all my cares are gone, but it’s definitely easier to start my day. Also helps to organize my thoughts by grouping together similar concepts.",0 "OMG I've been wondering why my sex drive has been fluxing with my partner recently and this promoted me to look it up, and I definitely have thoughts since I AM queer about how he's male and I'm female and we're both cis but damn I haven't really slept with a woman before and I'm way more gay than I think I am, but I love him why would I wish he was a woman? Omg stop thinking about porn stop thinking about cheating hes right here hes attractive and you have always enjoyed sex with him",0 I'm building a robot then the next thing I know it's fucking harder than rocket science to stack the dishes in the dishwasher.,1 "Especially during zoom calls, I can see my tapping, breathing and clicking while on camera 🥴😥",0 "i cant afford to see a doctor or anything but i think i might have ocd. the thoughts are what really bother me. i dont really do the ""if you dont watch the clock change to ______ something bad will happen"" anymore although i did that a lot when i wad a kid. now i just have intrusive thoughts. its hard for me to blame it on ocd because ive never been diagnosed with it, but i have no idea how else to rationalize it. sometimes i doubt that i might have it because i dont have to close doors a certain amount of times, but if i dont actually have it then i must be a terrible person because my thoughts are awful :(",0 "Most of my coping (when my meds wear off) is avoidance. If I don't have to, I don't.",1 "I totally do this, I always thought it was weird but didn't really have a label for it, now I know that is probably some form of ocd",0 someone irl told me that “everyone is ocd to some extent” I cringed so hard,0 "Yes I experienced the same exact thing as a kid and still sometimes do. I feel like I’m on the verge of peeing, so I go and try but I am unable and the feeling gets worse and worse. I didn’t know this was ocd when I was a kid but looking back on it later on it makes more sense. I’m sorry you still have to deal with it, I hate that feeling.",0 "I like to imagine that you ""click"" your tattoo when you have a intrusive thought",0 "It sure does suck. I can offer the advice though to try to reorient your expectations of yourself from what society expects to what you can actually do. A lot of the pain from executive dysfunction comes from the pressure you put on yourself to do something, rather than actually not doing it. Your brain doesn't work like neurotypical people's brains. You can't do everything the same way. Try to work with it rather than against it. Of course it's not easy to change your deep seated expectations and emotional responses, I certainly still beat myself up for stuff I can't do regularly, but I know that it's pointless, and the less I do it the better I feel.",1 "you have no idea how happy this makes me i love you i recently started going to college again since dropping out due to adhd making it too overwhelming, i hope this can ease everything a bit for me, and it's nice bc my university gives me a free copy of all office products!! :) thank you!!!!",1 "You all don't know how tremendously relieved and happy I am to discover I'm not the only one! I've always struggled with OCD, especially about my thoughts on basically everything but I've never really been able to connect with anyone about it and share",0 It's not just a feeling. All my life I've been treated like I was the hardest person in the world to get along with. My engagement party consisted mostly of my family telling my now husband to get away while he could.,1 "Ooo, ooo, I'm good at this one! I got to play it last month when I was so fatigued I couldn't leave my couch for a week. I got to play ""is it covid or am I depressed?"" 🤣",1 Fuck I've always had this. Still do. Didn't know it was ocd though ,0 gonna start thinking of all my obsessions as alex jones screaming nonsense at me,0 The good thing is that I keep forgetting to buy rope after work!,1 "You need to get some hand lotion ASAP. Anything from Aveeno to Cerave or Lubriderm. I was in your shoes 7 years ago and a doctor told me that I was at risk of infection from the cracked and open skin. Look at skin moisturizer as a protective barrier for you too and place some in a location you can routinely get to after washing your hands. I know a lot of places are closed for the holidays but find some type of counseling service. You can get this in check! You have people rooting for you!",0 "Woooooowwww this is weird. When I scroll up and down like midway fast, the black rectangles with ocd on them move really weird. Anyone else?",0 "The be stupid early one is good, forgot my social security card I needed for a new job and forgot it, good thing I had 45 mins to spare",1 "God, nothing aggravates me more than my OCD being like “wait for it!! It’s coming mf!!” And quite literally NOTHING happens. Still waiting for one of my OCD fears months after the initial issue lmao.",0 "I'm very moved by this. Maybe someday I should try it out, as I've never really been able to properly explain it in words, even to myself.",0 "ADHD is often co-morbid with anxiety, depression, bi-polar etc. I think it’s worse for us because it’s difficult to regulate even without additional mental health issues. If you are battling boredom while depressed I recommend short puzzles and not necessarily phone apps with a lot of colours and sounds (they can be exhausting). When I was going through that I did a lot of games on sporcle.com and conceptis.com and found that short puzzles helped draw my focus away from the general ‘suck’ without feeling like a real investment of time or energy. Were any of you also diagnosed with OCD? I had severe depression and anxiety when I was younger and a shrink also diagnosed me with OCD at the same time. About 2 years later I figured out that all of my ‘OCD symptoms’ were just ADD and I had to explain it to the doctor, I know that sounds like r/thathappened, but that particular shrink was an idiot. Basically, ADHD can lead to obsessive behaviours because we tend to overthink and hyper focus, but it’s not necessarily a compulsion. So if you have ADHD and are a bit germaphobe because you can’t filter stimulus and who knows what that guy touched before shaking your hand; or if you ritually check that you turned the stove off because you’ve spaced out and almost burnt the house down before, not because you think that if the stove is on your grandmother will be hit by a bus tomorrow, then it might not be OCD ;-)",1 Discomfort literally makes me feel shitty so when compulsions aren't too energy consuming they are wayyy easier to preform than trying to convince my mind I won't contaminate everything around me,0 Congratulations friend! So happy for you. It means a lot you would share as well! Happy life to you 💚🦋,0 ">7:25–8:00 unexplainable time skip??? This, fucking this. Every time I show up late somewhere and people say ""what took you?"", I have to come up with something because people don't understand how time just slips away from me.",1 Or you remembered them. And then walked into another room and saw a book you wanted to read and then and then and then 😫,1 Please say it louder! I can’t stand that. People have no idea.,0 "It’s also important to remember that some OCD symptoms are just liking things need and organized! I have severe OCD and it’s mostly just cleaning. If my room isn’t spotless I feel like my mother will do horrible things to me. Obviously this is very different than someone who just wants attention, but it’s good to recognize different severities and triggers.",0 "How does rewarding yourself work for people? I already have the reward, and I'm giving it to myself again? Makes no sense to me. I'm sorry, but a piece of candy is not going to make me do something I don't want to do, and anything I wanted badly enough (which nothing comes to mind), I would just have what I wanted and continue avoiding the thing I don't want.",1 "Wow, thanks for the hope. Have you ever tried Cognitive Behavioral Therapy on your own?",0 "Haha*hahahaha* Yes. I do this daily. *alarm rings at 11pm* oh shit I gotta shower, haven't done that in 2 days.",1 "Is this an adhd thing? I thought it was completely normal hahaha, been doing it for as long as I can remember",1 "Saved and scroll-captured so that I can share the screenshot when appropriate. It was a difficult read (not just 'cause I kept doing the lazy-reading thing and skipping lines) but it's a thousand times more concise than I could ever hope to manage. Thank you.",1 "you're so right, my Spotify says I'm in the 0.005% top listeners of The Neighborhood, and I apparently streamed Sweater Weather 675 times, but that's not fair when I only listened to them for 2 weeks in January",1 "When I was in highschool I woul re-write the same word several times while scribbling it out. Teacher just thought I was messy I guess, no one bat an eye that there might be a mental illness.",0 "In many ways the whole cancel culture / political correctness thing we're on right now is becoming more and more authoritarian and totalitarian (certainly the most in America where I don't live in). So I believe that this fear is becoming more and more common even with the persons that are not in the OCD spectrum. In fact what you're describing has been theorized I believe by Hannah harendt in her definition of a totalitarian state after WWII. This sentiment of being constantly watched, the sentiment of being all on your own in a crowd of people who also are frightened to speak against the authority. I've also that fear of being cancelled, of not being ""woke enough"" But at the same time I'm more and more concerned about what is going on in our societies, like sometimes I legit freak out. I've recently come over a documentary series about the evergreen college protests I didn't knew about before, I mean wtf this whole event is just a remake of the movie Die welle!",0 "Was in a Zoom meeting the other week, and it got so bad I turned off my camera and just laid my head on the desk. People's voices were like nails on a chalkboard- and that includes the people I like!",1 Holy moly is this accurate! Honestly I feel really seen and validated by this. I'm glad I'm not alone. Thank you for sharing ❤️,0 "My comma use, in comparison to the use of other punctuation types, is, and always has been, way over the top. No seriously though definitely something to this. ADHD and crazy commas",1 What's most annoying is that this will happen again despite you *knowing* that it's something that will take 5 minutes. That's what gets me. I keep repeating these patterns and can't seem to stop myself.,1 I love this. Awesome advice. I am very frugal too and feel guilty all the time about spending extra for convenience. It's a great idea to reframe the experience.,1 "Oh man, I'm so sorry you're going through all that. I don't have the checking type so this is another horrible side to OCD that I never thought about. Sending lots of good vibes",0 "Yep. I am not ‘differently abled’ and I don’t have a ‘superpower’ - I have a neurological disorder that fucks with my life in a multitude of ways, and it’s okay to find that difficult to deal with. If there was a way to not have this disorder, then you can bet your as I’d be first in line.",1 "Relatable. I feel like I’m actually dumb and the people who surround me are just nice and say and reassure me I’m not. But in my everyday life I just feel and see all my failures and all way ways I’ve been wrong and are wrong. Though my therapist doesn’t allow me to call myself stupid in any way because she’s like “no you are not- I tested you, and know your IQ. You are not dumb.” As well as always telling me I’m too self critical and need to be kinder to myself. But I have this feeling coming back, haven’t really felt this way since I’ve dropped outa college- but I feel like even if I’m not technically dumb, I feel like people over estimate my intelligence. They think I’m much smarter then I actually am- and I really don’t wanna be like I’m just bragging or whatever, but my friends all think I’m pretty smart, they would even say that they think I’m smarter then them- which is EXTREMELY hard for me to believe seeing that one of those people is my girlfriend who is graduating college and pursuing a medical degree and gets straight As in Uni. So it just makes me think that again, they are just nice and trying to build my confidence or just think I’m smarter then reality. I don’t know, I just really few dumb. In any and all situations I feel like I’m slow and dumb and behind everyone else. It especially hurts when teachers or mentors would say “you are smart, you just need to put in more effort” “you are smart, you just need to apply yourself” to which I feel worse because I was putting in my best effort and trying my best to apply myself..",1 "Oh thank god! I’ll just chose not to have it tomorrow! Thanks for this it’s what I needed, wish doctors would tell you this would have saved me some time, and hand soap usage! Edit: spelling - I’ll also choose to not be dyslexic.",0 "I’m in my mid 20s now. Have been prescribed every ADHD medication under the sun from 6-18. Around my jr. year of high school I started selling my own meds to support my cocaine addiction. Not getting too into that-horrible idea. Horrible time in my life. Etc. aside from wanting to fuel my own drug addiction I truly did not want to take MY medication anymore. I kind of feel, for me at least, that the medication isn’t a cure. Or a solution. It’s just a cover up for what’s going on. I don’t judge those who take these meds. I support any other ADHD sufferer with what works best for their brain. I just can’t help but think-why can’t I just figure how to deal with ME instead of having to rely on something that really could be taken away at any second. Why wasn’t I taught the tools to deal with my ADHD but just handed a bottle of pills?? Medication isn’t a cure...it’s an aid. But how cool would it be to learn how to live daily with, work, relationships, friendships, family, etc just ANYTHING. Why can’t I just live with just me...like I said. In my mid 20s now. It’s been about 10 years since I stopped taking my medication by choice. And honestly, I still haven’t figured it out. I’ve had success. Many down falls. I struggle every day. It’s unbelievably draining. Maybe I should go back to meds? The side affects and dependency is what detours me so much...I’m in therapy too in case anyone was wondering. It helps. Not significantly-yet at least. Thoughts? Useful tips for proceeding on how to just LIVE with adhd without medication? Sorry this was word vomit. Haha. I’m sure you all get it...it’s not easy. It is not easy to live with this. Everyday is a struggle to cover up my “slowness” or inability to comprehend anything on a “normal” pace...",1 "That's what did it for me...I'm finally climbing out of the pit I fell down into 3 months ago. I can see the light again, although it seems far away. I realized that I can't answer the thoughts that bother me, because OCD will twist that too. I have to accept that this disorder distorts my thoughts so they always feel 100% real, and always feel devastating. So I remember that when I catch myself ruminating, and I am doing much, much better. I am thinking of getting ""There is no answer"" tattoo'd on my arm so I don't forget.",0 "One the one hand, I’m SO surprised to have found this sub. I really had no idea other people thought the way I do. On the other hand, dammit. Now I’ve got yet another distraction....",1 I don’t usually like the memes on here but love this one! Lmao,0 "Wow. This list just... This is why for so long I refused to think I had ADHD (even though my mom, brother and close friend have it) because I just did all of these habits automatically. Throughout my life I just learned coping mechanisms and just assumed everybody did things these ways. It took me until this year (I'm 27F) to realize that my behaviors fit so perfectly to ADHD. I just assumed I was an odd ball with wierd preferences and struggles. I'm still undiagnosed, but this just blew my mind. Thanks for putting it together! <3",1 "As an adult woman with ADHD and Autism, I don't exist four times over! I'm so invisible that John Cena can't see me!",1 IT'S SO ANNOYING! I'm sick of reading about tips to help me do my homework. I'm 20 years old. I haven't had homework for almost a year,1 "Explain it like ""you are not dead because I wash my hand three times. ᕙ (° ~ ° ~)",0 "I can't be the only guy with ADHD that plans everything in advance. Like imma eat this soup on this day and make this then. And so on ? But then again if I really think about it some months I get like a craze for stuff. Fruit for example and buy lots then waste it... But that's only sometimes. Common bros and sis out there we can do this, we just gotta cut and wash or wash and cut da damm broccoli or... Now this is a good idea. Wash the broccoli when you get home Boom. IVE SOLVED IT: WASH! AND CUT! THE BROCOLI WHEN WE GET HOME. THEN STORE IT! BOOM. ( then forget we stored it because it's no longer the BROCOLI we bought. Therefore forgetting we had brocolli and reinvigorating the whole problem )",1 Loved it. I am also curious about the chemical looking tattoo.,0 "E-xact-ly! And I hate confrontation BUT I hate not protecting myself even more, so I have to work up the courage to “throw punches” at the time. Feels overwhelming every time but at least I didn’t roll over for bullies.",1 "I definitely relate. When I sold software and SAAS I was always asking why our products did this, that, and the other. It was really hard to sell if I didn't have these answers. Eventually I cut out the middle man and just became a software engineer.",1 "Oh yeah I also had to find that out Now I got another playlist called ""watch later cause my watch later is full somehow"" already on 1,753 I should probably do something about that",1 thisssssss. people always say our interests aren’t pointless because somehow it will come up but I literally forget everything I learn. for example the titanic and it’s history was a hugeeeee hyper focus for me and I couldn’t name a single fact,1 I’d like to get back the ability to travel without anxiety.,0 I've been getting so frustrated this past week or two. I am so tired of forgetting things.,1 ">For some reason, people on these subreddits take another person's opinion on their OWN life very personally. God yes, someone on another board asked me for my opinion and experiences with ADHD. Nagged me into, honestly. Finally posted something. Then this person shows up to start a fight, or something. First thing response from them started with 'Alright. We gonna disagree on this.' I'm sorry, you're agreeing to disagree on my life experiences?",1 yep trapped is on point... trapped within the constent circle of your intrusive thoughts and rituals... or maybe even trapped inside the reality your ocd creates every single time you try to fight it.... like whatever sparks joy instantly gets claimed by my ocd and i end up being trapped in this joyless hell that keeps on getting worse. i just want it to end..... even typing this gets distorted by intrusive thoughts again xD just fuck this,0 "r/OCD looks like those blokes IRL. Don’t let anyone tell you, you don’t.",0 "wow yeah! never seen the connection here but I was always told through my school career that I use way too many commas, it probably is because of how my thought process works.",1 "I like thinking of a dementor or a bogart as a metaphor for an OCD thought, but I think the process described here would count as a compulsion, at least for me. However, I like thinking of it as a bogart (being the intrusive thought) because you have to face it in order to defeat it. So, it's like I'm saying, ""I'm not afraid of you or what you'll turn in to"".",0 Fam yes. There are so many open that you can’t really use a single one and actually focus.,0 "Yes this is a huge stressor for me, I have 0 self-discipline and cannot put any effort into online classes. Wish me luck lol!",1 "I tell myself I have to get my assignments done before I can do what enjoy doing, but I always end up doing the opposite unless I'm being watched. I hate it.",1 This is an interesting take. I'd say my sensory issues are the exact opposite where I HATE having anything on my teeth and so I'll brush about 5 times a day. Happy for you!,1 "My rationality is similar accept for me it's ""oooh look it's getting dark outside which means the day is over, which means I can't do anything 6 hours before bedtime."" :)",1 "Yup! I'm in a bad one at the moment. I think it's because I've actually been working on stopping my compulsions and reassurance seeking, so my brain is panicking. It's like. ""What are you doing? You can't just let this thing go! It's a problem! How can you just act like everything is okay?! Your relationship is doomed, you know! You have to analyze everything more so you can figure out what's wrong and fix it!"" Stupid brain.",0 This phrase is literally going to be in my mind for a while.,0 Do you have a link to this questionnaire? I'd be curious to see the rest of it,0 My alarm to take my clothes out of the washer went of 25 minutes ago. I’m still here on Reddit. Maybe this is my sign to go take care of it!,1 "I take all online classes anyway, so it is not a change for me. In my first semester, for the entire first half, I got almost nothing done. I turned it around by scheduling hard times to do it and building routines around it. For example, I get up every morning, make my bed, brush my teeth, practice mindfulness for 20 minutes, then do school work for 1-2ish hours before I go to work. I do it every day. Some days I don't have nearly as much time as I want for school, and some days I only meditate for 5 or 10 minutes, but the routine is ALWAYS the same. I've been doing it for 3 months now, and my life has improved immensely, (especially after I added setting an alarm clock 30 minutes before I need to get up just to take my meds).",1 My memory is so bad I was convinced I had some sort of amnesia. Now I think I could have adhd but can’t get a diagnosis,1 "Hahaha, God, it's just... like, wHYYYYYYY???? It's not just you. I've been using a voice assistant (Alexa Routines on an Echo Dot) to keep me on track in the mornings. Not sure why having her nice voice saying ""Now it's time to floss and brush your teeth and have your shower, you have 21 minutes"" and then ""Get dressed, do your makeup and hair"" etc makes it happen but so far it does?? (I also leave 30 mins in between waking up and getting up - weirdly it becomes quite boring when I'm MAKING myself do it and I'm quite glad when the half hour is up?? ADHD IS THE WORST CONDITION)",1 "I know for a fact that I'm generally lazy as a person and I value my leisure time, which I like to get the most of it whenever I have the opportunity to without neglecting any responsibilities. I'm content just sitting there on the couch and playing video games for hours on end or watching Netflix, if I have time to do so. I understand the self-loathing, I have a lot of it myself and am working on it in therapy currently. I sincerely hope anybody here struggling with it will overcome theirs as well, a good bit of mine comes before my ADHD was diagnosed and began getting treated for it last year. It gave me the answers I needed as to why I couldn't focus on anything and always forgetting stuff, I thought it was my fault for being lazy. The clarity and the relief of knowing it's ADHD and it can be treated with the right medicine (a work progress for me) doesn't take away the loathing I feel for my perceived carelessness in the past.",1 "Yes to everything. I'm in the medical field so my last six months have been fucked. Finally realized the stress and got an appointment with the counselor that is today thankfully. Edit: this just reminded me to go brush my teeth. I hate that is the first thing I miss to do.",1 Thank you for posting this OP! I find these messages (including yours) very helpful 😊,0 "Except for the one thing everyone expects you to pay attention to. ""How did you miss that!?!?"" I don't know man I'm not steering this thing.",1 "I've had an appointment with my GP this week, and although he has agreed to refer me for testing he basically said that it'll get bounced back and they won't even assess me because I've obviously done very well for myself if I do have ADHD... I breezed through school up to GCSE not paying any attention, next to no revision, always forgetting homework etc I have no idea how , I just seem to be good at remembering facts and figures (names, faces, and appointments not so much!) I felt so sure I was doing the right thing and now I'm doubting myself all over again. I have so much imposter syndrome about parts of my life anyway. I've been at my grade in work for over 5 years now, and it's only recently I stopped panicking that someone was going to realise they made a mistake signing me off and I needed to do things over and go back down a grade.",1 "YeS, yEs, AnD yEs—a million times over again and then some more!!!!! I find myself über resonating with this post on a spiritual level, and I'm afraid to admit that nope, I ain't claiming that that's true for dramatic effect or whatever. One of the major distinctions for me, however, is that upvoting would probably fall into the second panel on the right as opposed to the first one. (I suffer tremendously from black-and-white/all-or-nothing thinking à la OCD, so I feel compelled to either not click the ""like"" button for anything on certain social-media outlets or ""like"" legitimately everything). On the other hand, I feel as though my debilitating fear of being judged renders my ability to both comment and post relatively nonexistent (i.e., the last panel of the blurriest heart). In fact, my OCD has convinced me that I ought to personally abstain from posting, commenting, and upvoting anything on Reddit for who knows how long—except for me; unfortunately I'm way too knowledgeable about how many consecutive months it's been during which I've had the sincere intention of doing any of that and how many years it's been ever since I've done so on my old, long-dormant Reddit account :'{ . And I think that helps to explain why I decided to make a fresh new account on this site not too long ago and befittingly called it ""BegonePostingAnxiety,"" a username that I pray will act as something of an inspirational little mantra for me and my online presence. As a matter of fact, I originally had the intention of properly introducing myself to those of you guys on this particular sub in the form of a post on the very first day that I created this account but I inevitably chickened out—yep, I recognize the inherent irony in that statement considering the content of my username lol, and to make matters worse, this was after typing up and saving a ""rough draft"" of a ""quasi-completed version"" of it onto my laptop. I'm hoping that I'll be able to garner the illogically massive amount of courage required for me to post that prior to the end of the current week if that's at all humanly possible; that would be utterly dope! *Fingers, arms, legs, and all other flexible appendages crossed* XP Last of all—I swear that my first Reddit comment in what honestly might as well be eons (otherwise known as my wannabe dissertation/thesis paper) is finally winding down to some semblance of a conclusion: I'm well aware that this is gonna come across as laughably cheesy, although I just wanted to take one more moment of your time, u/mb19877, to thank you very much for having the strength to share this with all of us here at r/OCD in the first place. If I weren't a broke-ass college student, I would definitely provide this post with one of 'em mystical Reddit awards which I can't stop seeing around everywhere—including one of the other comments in this same thread as of now! Well, at least I ultimately faced my fears by giving it an upvote on each of my two Reddit accounts and especially by writing this veritable novella of a comment hahahahaha... XP [Plus, just for the sake of full disclosure (and I truly wish that the following confession was some gross over-exaggeration or maybe an unfunny joke): I literally invested upwards of four-ish—albeit embarrassing AF—hours into typing out and obsessing/""compulsing"" (?) over this rambling shitshow of a comment to the point of my erasing any suboptimal words/phrases and substituting the best possible synonyms for them in their place, beating myself up about how overly verbose everything turned out to be and how far from perfect it sounds, contemplating whether or not any of this will even be relevant to whomever may be reading it, etc. I understand how my obsessive-compulsive mind works for the most part, meaning that if I don't press ""comment"" within the next couple seconds and then skedaddle for a little while then I'm just going to delete this whole entire thing. I mean, there's still a moderate chance that I'll wake up tomorrow morning, wondering why in the world I believed that it was a reasonable idea to divulge potentially too much intimate information within a single comment tonight, and promptly revise the hell out of this baby or turn a large segment of it into another parent post of its own, yet who knows what the near future is destined to hold anyway? If nothing else, I do promise that by no means will I let my OCD force me to take all of this down outright; perhaps that'll function as some type of self-directed E/RP therapy for me or something!]",0 "Good response. Fetishism of any disorder is gross. My OCD can ruin days / weeks for me.",0 I'm taking a shit so this is perfectly what I should b doing right now,1 "You are very needed here, thank you for joining. I encountered a person with a fear of soiling via bodily fluids that I hear a lot of people understandably experience. I wanted to help and did my best to help another person in distress between making sure they were protected adequately so as to not need to be afraid and helping them build their confidence in their vigilance in doing so. I then did my best to get resources for help centers and phone lines, but there were not any available in this person's city which is distressing anyway by itself. Do you have insight into how I could have done better? Are there resources that a person not in the US could utilize to gain a professional to talk to? Especially if it were free or sliding scale pay.",0 "Write down events that happen too. My memory is shit, I feel terrible because I almost forgot this fun haunted trail me and my gf went to in 2019, if she hadn't brought it up I probably would've lost that memory forever. I'm trying to make a habit of writing stuff down I've done with her, usually just short paragraphs but enough so it can spark my memory. Like we went to the beach a few weeks ago and messed around with watercolor paints, I kept one she didn't want and wrote about our day on the back. Its really nice looking back at it when I'm not feeling well",1 "Yes I was diagnosed late at 20, even though my parents were told to get me tested multiple times throughout my childhood by doctors. And every time they told me this I actually sank into my self worse and worse to the point where I now have no self esteem and I’m socially anxious and constantly watch people’s body language around me cause of a fear of rejection. This whole “oh you need tough love and then you’ll start to grow up” is BS. We need validation of our strengths and support in our weaknesses, support in a way that may help us to finally do neurotypical things on our own, not thrown blindly into the world with no tools to eventually end up hopeless, depressed, and anxious. It feels like social isolation because these people compare you to others who have something you and I do not and never will. It takes us a lot longer to become self sufficient in some things, and not giving us support is what drives people into a depressive state. I’m sorry to all of us for going through this, it hurts, it’s scary, and it’s very hard to get over. I hope you all find the love you need and I hope the world becomes a more inclusive place.",1 "Me just trying to go to the grocery store while my brain is freaking out that people are too close to me, disgusted by the trash on the street and screaming ""HEY REMEMBER JONESTOWN?"" because I saw Kool-Aid in the juice aisle That was one week ago today? Time doesn't have meaning anymore.",0 "OCD: ""What if your ""intrusive"" thoughts are actually your real thoughts?""",0 "Not exactly the same, but I had a friend once he helped me getting a job, you know resume making etc, when I got a job few months later, I forgot to tell him, I like genuinely forgot to tell him, but he got upset with me when he found out, and not talking to me since then.",1 I've always thought about it but then I get anxiety because I would use it too much and start aging faster than everyone else. Like the last episode of Futurama.,1 Really bouta get a diagnosis from a professional real quick lmao.,0 "Proud of you, OP, it really takes a great effort! Happy that you had such a dramatic improvement and got your life back. For any of you guys and gals out there, even if you're smart and proactive enough to do a bunch of research on your own and apply these techniques to yourself, remember the best option is still to have a professional by your side. Dealing with all that stuff without any supervision can get quite scary and sometimes even backfire, ruining your progress. I did some self-therapy along the way, which was indeed the most crucial step for my recovery, but I also had a few professionals and therapy groups that helped me along the way. If I could afford it, I'd probably have someone with me during the whole process. So if you're completely broke, yes, you could do your research. But if you can even barely afford it, please work with a specialized therapist.",0 "Hi! I'm from the US but I attend the University of Liverpool's China Campus near Shanghai. Our classes were moved completely online since the beginning of the semester due to the significant prevalence of the Covid-19 in China. I can completely understand your concern with having less motivation to keep a structured life. As someone who really struggles with staying on task and keeping organized, Planning is absolutely essential. Write down your deadlines in a planner. Write down what days you will work on specific assignments and for how long. This is essential to success. Do one long weekly planning session, then review and update your plans daily as needed. I also recommend you hold yourself accountable to a set sleep schedule and workout. At least 7 hours of sleep per night, and enough exercise to eliminate any restlessness you may feel. One characteristic of ADHDers is that we are very independent thinkers. For me, this meant that Sometimes I opted to take online classes at my university as they were less painful than sitting in a classroom, and I could learn at my own pace, rewind videos, and spend much less time than I would have attending class, later doing work at home or elsewhere since I was going to class and doing coursework at the same time. The last piece of advice I have for you is to make friends with your online classmates. Keep a solid group chat and support each other! this has been so helpful to me as I've sometimes felt a bit isolated in the online learning process. best of luck to you!",1 Absolutely amazing! I wish you even more success! I'm trying myself too :p,0 "I need to leave the house in 25 minutes to go to the office. I’m sitting on my couch reading this entire thread. I haven’t made coffee or brushed my teeth or showered. I was up all night watching television even though I had a ton of work emails to read and take action on. I have a project that is super late. I dread opening me email every morning for fear that someone would have copied my supervisor on the email where they’re complaining about me. I’m afraid to respond to their original 4 emails from 2 weeks ago. I don’t want to admit how late it will be. I need at least 75 days to get it to them but my deadline was mid-September.",1 "If this doesn’t work out, try the mindfulness workbook for OCD by Jon Hershfield and Tom Corboy! I personally use it and found it extremely helpful while I was unable to access therapy!",0 "Yea the normal amount of anything fucks me up. I have the battery on the lowest setting, and will take the smallest puffs ever, it can help my mood a lot. It’s worth a try. And you have so much control over it.",0 "I used to think this way until very recently and i was diagnosed multiple times over 20 years. A lot keeps going wrong in my life and its not because I'm not struggling or trying, I'm either fucking up on accident via adhd habits causing it, or something just isn't clicking with how i need to go about things. Being in this sub, and seeing other stories very similar to mine has really made it hit home that adhd has done a severe number on my life, and a lot of it was needlessly chalked up to ""I don't try enough, I don't do enough, I'm not smart enough."" I do try and I do struggle. I've just got a block and life is relentless.",1 I still wouldn't trust this to be clean. Especially if a lot of people touch it!,0 "Totally agree! Despite the obvious symptoms, no one ever thought about me having ADHD because I had ""good grades""",1 I was crying to someone last night about how this community has helped me more than a therapist ever has. Thank you r/ocd!,0 "I feel personally attacked. Two therapists told me I had OCPD because of my intensive planning. Nobody listened to me when I said I was never able to actually follow through. Or about my intense productive procrastination (new term to me- I **love** it!!). That diagnosis never felt right. It took 16 years in and out of various psychologists and psychiatrists, incorrect anxiety, depression & OCPD diagnosis’ to get a diagnosis of ADHD-PI at age 33. This info needs to be way more out there for professionals in this field",1 "Wow! Hi, I’m new to this community because I just found out I might have ADHD, but it’s so nice to see how other people experiences the exact same things I experience and that some of my behaviors that I didn’t realize were normal are explained on here - like this one I can totally relate to! Thanks OP if you see this, hello to everyone and I’m very happy to be here :)",1 I saw somebody with a car sticker saying obsessive cat disorder 😡,0 It's called executive dysfunction. I've been struggling with it a lot lately.,1 "It’s always annoyed the hell out of me. Like family/friends/coworkers telling me they’re “so ocd” for being super organized and I’m like. Over here having the most horrifying intrusive thoughts that make me question my sanity every 5 minutes. I understand people don’t know what it really is, or are going off stereotypes from shows like Monk, but I wish people cared enough to look into how much someone with ocd can suffer on a daily basis instead of making it quirky and cute.",0 "I still get really on edge when I clean, and I hate it. It makes me irritable and lash out, and I get stuck to where I can't stop until I'm physically exhausted. It's gotten better over the years but so much stems from how my father would get to force me to clean.",1 "when you haven’t had an intrusive though in a while, only to trigger one",0 "Months? Try years. A decade or more lol. I had a ""friend"" in high school/shortly after high school who, in retrospect didn't respect me and didn't care for my company. I can't remember how much/if they initiated getting together and hanging out, but I can remember some instances where (again in retrospect) they were trying to get rid of me, or talking down to me, and my naive younger self just couldn't comprehend someone would act like a friend and then disrespect or try to ditch me. There were even times after the fact that I tried to reach out to this person over social media because I had it in my mind that I'd just flaked out or gotten distracted and that was why we hadn't spoken for a while. Of course, even though they responded they evaded any more actual attempts to remain in contact. I got really angry about that, not just at the person but at MYSELF for not being able to take a hint or two.",1 OMG I’m not crying. You’re crying. This is so so sweet and I’m so glad to see such sweetness on here. Y’all are too cute!!,1 This is literally me before leaving my house… I always check stuff such as plugs and the apartment hall door to make sure it’s closed (so no one breaks in and hurt my family),0 I find planners work best if you hit the people with it that say shit like that,1 Just had a BAD half an hour of worrying! After some days dodging my compulsions. It's like my OCD is trying to reel me back in. But I won't give up!,0 "My doctor keeps reminding me that I can open the capsule from my meds if I want to take a smaller dose on the weekends or something. Sounds like too much work, I'll just skip meds that day. Like, you know you're treating me for ADHD right?",1 "me fourth. and i tried really hard to reach out and tell the truth and apologize. this subreddit is making me realize, wow maybe i do have po-ocd. i have no clue how to move forward sometimes",0 "When I was a kid, things like shoes lying on top of other shoes, for example, would bother me. I felt sort of like the objects would feel uncomfortable like that. So I always straightened them out. I still do that kind of thing sometimes but I don’t think of it the same way. ",0 This is such radical supporting yourself! Obsessed!😍🙌🏻,1 Just because my heart is beating doesn't mean i survived,0 Yes!! This has happened to me so many times. People calling out my hand washing mostly. First time it happened I was just a kid and some adult made fun of my tapping 🤦,0 "You did it! YOU DID IT! Go forth and prosper!!! Well done! I'm doing my dissertation and am a bit ground down by isolation and the politics of my department. But your news has inspired me to believe and keep on going!",0 "I can relate to everything you just said :| I wish you the best dude, much love to you. Here’s to hoping it gets better for all of us.",0 For real and the fact that I get up at 2:00pm doesn't help😭,1 "👏👏👏👏👏👏 BRAVO 👏👏👏👏👏👏 A BIG DEAL❗So happy for you and so incredibly proud of you❗ And you're also FLOSSING⁉️ AND RINSING⁉️ You GOT this❗Very very inspiring 💕💕💕",1 """Not now, I want to do first. *clicks snooze for 1 hour for the 6th time*"" And then the reminder I set for when I woke up that day is still there at 8 PM.",1 "This is called ""waiting mode"" as far as I'm concerned.",1 "This can basically ruin my newly started degree. I just started last fall and it was going so well. Also the close libaries will take the one place where i can study productive. I really hope they either just cancel the summer semester or make the exams so easy that everyone passes.",1 I just started brushing/flossing every night for the new year! Any suggestions for rewards? I'm finding my motivation is running low but my normal rewards are typically food based which won't work here.,1 Ok so the other day I was trying to read a book for the first time in a while I was on my the couch it was so difficult I decoded to take a nap,1 I 100% know I shut it but I have to do it again cos better safe than sorry.,0 "That’s crazy you mad if through all these years, I can’t even stand one year of it (one year since I’ve been properly diagnosed but not one year since I’ve been dealing w it). ",0 "Can relate. You should try excluding things in Google's search results. Go with: > ADHD -children -kids ""adult"" This is how you filter out the links that mention children and include the links that mention adults specifically.",1 I've been trying out different meds and I'm still waiting for that feeling,1 "I thought I had generalized anxiety, turns out I have OCD. I got prescribed medication for it and am so mad I didn’t do it earlier in life. I now realize what I felt was not normal and feel 10x better.",0 "All of these points are very inline with my lived experience taking medication, and I’m thankful that your dr is speaking out against its misconceptions! That mention about tolerance is so important! I’ve been on adderall everyday for the past few years and I’ve never had to go above 30 mg. (My usual dose is 15 mg in the morning and then like 7-ish mg in the afternoon for a boost)",1 "This is me to a tee! Sorry you are feeling this way, but it’s comforting to know I’m not the only one. Thanks for posting.",1 "There’s an app on the app store called Due I do recommend. It’s the most annoying thing I’ve ever downloaded, so sometimes it works",1 What to do in this situation lol? Has anything worked for your guys?,0 "Started listening to this one band in February, got into their top 0.01%. Started listening to this 1 song on 17th February, had my 100th play on 19th February.",1 "What about dyslexia? ""omg sometimes I'm so dyslexic lolol"". Bitch please, this pathologies are no joke. We have feelings, we don't have it so you give us attention.",0 I gaslight myself into thinking Im too sensitive all the time. This turned me into a grumpy middle aged asshole. (33 yo).,1 My doctor described ADD as my brain going a million miles an hour and my body just trying to keep up!,1 OCD is the worse thing that has happened to me so far in my life,0 "The book “You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid Or Crazy?! “ is a great resource",1 100%. I try and make every appointment as early as possible. It's like torture thinking about it.,1 "You seem like a genuinely amazing person and based on the amount of readers potentially saved a human life. I hope whoever that is comes back and thanks you Feel horrible that you have to deal with this and I hope all signs lead to recovery, whichever stage it is. I saw another commenter on here mention that they overcame stage 4 Hodgkins and I think that sounds very promising. Whatever stage I hope that you hold that hope",1 Sure would be nice if someone could suggest some other books... I just scrolled & scrolled & scrolled and didn't see any.. So I'm now following in hopes of suggestions.,1 "THANK YOU for this! You just identified something I (as a 40 year old no less) have just not been able to relax and let myself do without guilt. I feel like a bit of a failure every time I opt to buy a bagged salad, but sometimes it's the difference between me actually eating salad a few times or letting a bunch of lettuce and other stuff rot in the fridge and then feeling MORE guilty (or taking an hour to rinse, peel, and chop everything, and more time after for cleanup). I did finally let myself spend the extra money on carrot sticks to go with hummus as my office snack. Because the reality is, if I bought regular carrots and brought them home to process before taking to the office, *I never would.*",1 "So cool! And oh, is that a kabbalah bracelet on your arm?",0 How big are yours? I have a 3cm node they won’t biopsy,1 "Of course. And it's often accompanied with regret, like why did I say that? I can't believe I said that. What was I thinking? I should have known better. I wish I didn't do that. My life would be better now if I hadn't done that... And it goes on and on.",0 Whenever I have intrusive thoughts I make a funny noise. If you’ve ever watched Garden State when Natalie Portman’s character starts dancing in her room making funny noises. That’s what I do when I have an intrusive thought or I physically shake them off sometimes haha.,0 Im gonna have a stroke or seizure cause im stressed!!!,0 "Oh! I have one to add that has been a GAME CHANGER. Get a “mini wallet” just for like cards, ID, and some cash. And attach it to your car keys. Never forget your wallet again.",1 "Saving this post and sending/ pasting it to everyone I know when they ask ""What's wrong with you?"" Very eloquent and well put together, covers a lot of ground of the full ""experience"" in only a few paragraphs, and it was so relatable I didn't even lose attention reading it. This is what happens when you hyper-fixate on the disorder and do a bunch of psychological research on it and I love it.",1 Oh my GOSH yes! I’m in therapy for it!! And I’m on medication (for other reasons too but this was a bit factor). I have really similar compulsions of also asking my therapist again and again the same questions to seek reassurance. I also use google all the time to find people who have done similar things to feel less “alone” and while it works for a second it all comes back to haunt me eventually. I’ve been able to manage most of it but I still have really hard days but PLS know your not alone in this!,0 Pro tip: Take a video of yourself locking the door before you leave. You can just refer back to the video instead of having to go back.,0 Congrats! Bread is bagged separately otherwise customers get upset,0 "For me it is more like 'It is OCD? What does that change? You still have bad thoughts, you still are piece of shit, with OCD or without it""",0 "It doesn’t help if you’ve been berated for years either. I scored really high on standardized tests as an elementary student, but ALWAYS did poorly in school. So of course the only possible explanation is “I wasn’t trying” when I was actually trying as hard as I could.",1 I think the problem is that it genuinely feels good. It feels nice to pick. It doesn't even hurt. I feel like this is probably why I stop peeling when I'm given mozzarella sticks or nail files.,0 I just got suspended from work for being late too many times... about $500 lost. I moved and forgot to cancel my old utilities...just plain old forgot to pay rent. All just this month. Wtf self.,1 Early onset solidarity. It’s so hard to have a childhood like this and seeing you gives me hope. Thank you for fighting and for being here.,0 "And they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming Sorry, had to say it 3 times ",0 "Yeah, but it's not that simple. People just think we're quirky, but let me tell you that the anxiety that comes with it is so crippling and overwhelming. It's no joke, it has me clinically depressed for over 2 years now.",0 Same.. i start spouting intrusive thoughts nonsense and the others go like woah.. so i try to stay in my room especially when the are near peak.,0 "Omg words can’t describe how proud I am. I have contamination OCD too and it’s been on much higher levels that I can handle since covid this year, however seeing your post has motivated me!!",0 "how the f do you get halfway I have aproxomently 17 conlangs, 38 fantasy worlds, 27 alternet history worlds, 12 songs and 3 video games with a collective time put in of about 100 hours",1 So happy for you!!!! I have to force myself to do that all the time!,0 I get it while reading haha I can look at each word on a page and say them out loud and still be thinking about something different! it can take over 10 times,1 "ocd is when u clean ur room. the cleaner ur room, the more ocd you are",0 My sister does cleaning and organizing as a side job. I pay her to do the house work.,1 "Absofreakinglutely!!! I have to know how the task fits the larger job or I can't figure out how to start or prioritize at all!",1 The title of this post is literally a note in my phone... so yeah I feel this,1 "Good for you!! I've had problems with brushing too. Its just such a hard habit to keep since I hate the stinging mint sensation, but ive recently been able to find a hack for myself. I keep my brush and paste on a shower shelf, and force myself to brush before I get out. Its worked sooo much better than trying to make myself do it at random times in the day!",1 "This is why I'm failing college. There's that one thing for that one professor who hates me that I need to do but then I hold all the other assignments hostage until then they all build up so much that they also become the thing I HAVE to do before doing anything else... And so the cycle of self sabotage continues.",1 "It's because we live in a world built to work for people with ""normal"" brains. To us the problem presents as paying attention to everything and not being able to focus properly on any individual thing, to other people all they see is how it affects *them* not how it affects *you*. They see you not giving your full attention to what *they* want you to. That's why they see it as a deficit of attention and not a deficit of regulation of where that attention goes",1 "Yes, 100% I've noticed a small dose of edibles will slow down the clock so I can enjoy what little leisure time I have without it blowing by so quickly.",1 "My university is talking about doing the same thing after our spring break next week and I’m really concerned. Especially considering my job is here and one of my classes is a statistics class. I guess we all just have to take a deep breath and try to lean on each other and the people we have IRL.",1 "I cant touch Adderall I start crashing at the end of the day and get super depressed and angry. Im happier when I'm not on it, and for a long time. It takes awhile for it get out 100% of my system to the point where I dont have lingering emotional side effects.",1 So proud of you! You're doing so well and I admit I'm jealous 😍 All the best to you! Get better every day and make sure you stay awsome 😁,0 Ah shit. I have never thought of that. I think your mom just changed my life!,1 I'd trade my arm and my leg in order to get cured and I mean that literally,0 Work is saved 20 times and enter needs to be pressed 20 times.,0 "i love this! and totally can relate, this is an excellent portrayal",0 "I've been reading ""is it you, me, or adult ADD?"" Good insight for relationships and behavioral/emotional recognition",1 "Asbolutely. I feel like I'm a pipe flowing with fantastic ideas, but my verbal output is a tap stuck on a drip. Lamictal gives me word-finding issues too which kinda compounds it as well.",1 I often wonder why my parents even bothered to get me diagnosed only to call me lazy and never get me any help beyond deadline extensions. Especially considering my dad majored in psychology... But no obviously I'm just lazy.,1 "l o l why is this me. When I was a kid I would ask God, “please watch over my parents, & my friends...” & then I’d feel bad so I’d have to start naming everyone, then I finally shortened it to “& all the people on Earth” & then I worried the people in heaven would be offended so I had to change it to “all the people on earth & in heaven,” & THEN I was worried the angels would get offended so I had to add them in, & what about God?! What if He was like um, ok literally everyone in existence but me? So by the end of all this my prayer was “please watch over my Mom & Dad & family & friends, & bless all the people on Earth, & all the people in heaven, & all the angels, & Jesus, & God too, Amen.” 😂😂😂😂 I look back on it like “how did it take me so long to get diagnosed with OCD?” 😂",0 it’s even more annoying when you genuinely enjoy the film but you just can’t seem to focus on what’s happening very well 😐,1 "Holy shit 8 hours is no easy feat, but if you did it once you can do it again for sure.",0 I’m like this fear has no evidence behind it and is completely ridiculous. My ocd be like nah,0 "Yeah wow this hits hard I'm trying to get into the didgeridoo right now lol",1 Oh wow I just found this sdubreddit and I'm so happy. This makes me smile.,1 Wow you’ve answered so many questions I’ve been confused and unsure about. Especially taking Med holidays. Thank you for posting this.,1 I'm so new to the game I didn't even know this was related to my OCD 😭,0 I won't say this fixed that for me but it helps to keep me to it is to snooze the alarm until I complete the task it lists. Granted I still sometimes take my lunch at work an hour to two hours late.,1 Literally.. the easier i would have it without. FUCK OCD,0 Mine took a good twenty minutes to explain why talk therapy (reassurance) didn't work rip,0 I am 25 was a “good” student as a kid and don’t hit some of the stereotypical markers for ADHD. But now I’m almost sure it’s what I’m dealing with. The worst part is the lack of memories and emotional dysregulation. I’m so tired,1 "Had a similar experience yesterday. Was having an awful day and decided to put on some music and just wallow...when I went into my playlists I discovered that I'd made a playlist to help myself feel better LIKE 3 YEARS AGO! Totally forget, all the time, all the little things I try to do to help myself. This is why traditional therapies don't work - I can't remember anything!",1 Mom to ADD teen here - perhaps someone could make a post offering “do”s and “don’t”s for parents?,1 "this thought captures perfectly how my thought life has been the past week. jfc its been so stressful. this shit aint good for my health",0 "I love 5 and 7, and hate 6, and 13, ehhh. I'm so obsessed.",0 During a job interview I spaced on the word “optimization”. “Optimization” is in the title of my thesis!,1 "Its happend before somebody says there bothered by a bottle of the edge of the table and they ""idk it kinda feels like my ocd"" and I said ""you don't have ocd at all you dont know what it feels like""",0 "I’m on my third day of Ritalin, and have had wildly different reactions on each day. First day made the mistake of taking it with coffee, which gave me crazy shaky hands, but was able to focus! Second day was meh, and third day I went into hyperactivity lol I hope I also get to experience calmness and focus soon 😅",1 This is one of the first things I started changing in exposure therapy.,0 Neuroscience student with severe OCD and tics here to say that it’s possible!!!,0 "I had a panic attack and fainted after I couldn't get on a conference call, then I called my boss and cried. Good times.",0 "If I could have one super power it would be telepathy for just this reason! If I could just push my thoughts onto people without having to find the correct words, which always tend to be obscure and idiosyncratic, my life would be so much easier!",1 "Did I write this post? Are you living in my head? I had gummy bears and diet Dr Pepper for breakfast. For reals, I literally am feeling the same way. Exhausted and overstimulated. I used to love being a “homebody” but after a year like this and being in Texas’s deep freeze last week, even home isn’t comforting anymore. DM me if you (or anyone else) wants to talk. Overshares welcome, as well as long stretches of talking about nothing. Talk about the weather where you are, or cats. Or just say hi to a new human. Everything is hard right now. Come say hi, I’ll be nice, I promise.",1 "Tough love works on me, but I'm the only one that is allowed to give it to me. If it comes from someone else I lose my crap.",1 "You might be on to something. I noticed I use a lot of commas, parentheses, and dashes in my sentences a while back and thought it was just a writing style (long sentences vs very short and concise sentences) but I think it’s just my brain trying to keep everything together. It would be interesting to see how widespread this is among the ADHD community.",1 "My OCD used to be extremely bad but I was able to break the cycle and now I only have a few minor compulsions, basically doesn’t effect my life that much. If i could do it you can do it!",0 "OCD and addiction sucks;( soooooo much. its so unpleasant when your brain decides to like something with never ending, excessive passion to the point you can no longer control yourself. \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\Ugh, addiction is fun but it makes the compultions less mentally damaging.. IDK what im talking about. in the words of linus torvalds "" fuck you OCD""",0 "I have no idea how The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead by the Crash Test Dummies ended up as my most-listened-to song when I was having an MCR kind of retrospective year. While I am okay with Pearl Jam being my #1 band, I honestly don’t know how they got there. There’s also a bunch of songs listed that I don’t recognize.",1 "i had one psychiatrist tell me i have adhd and another not because i didn’t show typical signs of adhd in childhood. i don’t even know what to think anymore. i can have attention for things but it has to be really stimulating and i did show inattentive symptoms as a child. i am also a 21 year old woman so i don’t know if being a girl/woman affects anything about how i was diagnosed. i’m just ranting because i’m frustrated and feel like i have adhd. send me any advice or help pls lol.",1 "Yes!! My mom doesn't have ADHD, but also isn't ""elderly"" yet. Still she also has someone coming over every now and then to help her clean. If she can afford it and it helps her keep sane, why not? We should def normalize this!!!!",1 "Omg you've called me out so badly that I immediately put my hand on my chin. 😂 I write a lot, and lordie, do the commas take over. SEE? 😂",1 Awesome Tip and Thanks for the Book Recommendation! :),1 It’s like heaven sent needed to hear this today!!!!,0 "I have OCD since I can remember and severe obsessions and compulsions for 14 years to this date. I'm receiving therapy and medicine, but what I want to tell to everybody is: When explaining OCD to any people that you know, it's important to understand that NOBODY will feel OCD the same as you. Explain a little or inform what you are feeling, just don't expect to have everyone in your head sharing your thoughts and understanding them. The best option is going to a doctor and receive therapy and help you need. But what I have learned in these years is that OCD doesn't need an explanation, give it the same attention that you will do to something you don't care or is irrelevant. It's going to be difficult, but you fight OCD all the day and that means hope. P.S. Sorry about my bad grammar.",0 "Omfg! ADHD is the culprit for this?!? I always just thought I was a bad Family member! I love seeing my family and I am always supper happy when I am there, then I don't hear from them for a few months because I forget they exist until they call me again. Note to self: write down family members names on a paper so I remember they exist and can call the ones I haven't seen in a while... Other note to self: Make a note on calendar to remind me when to call relatives...",1 OCD is the pop up ad from hell. Close the window and more pop up. I imagine my thoughts as bubbles and when one i dont like pops up i pop it out of existence. I suffer from real event OCD its a hell of some sort. Someone on here told me to imagine my thoughts as leaves 🍁 floating down a river until they disappear this imagery helped me some. I hope anyone who suffers from OCD finds a way to fight back. Its not easy but one day ill have my mind back.,0 Usually how i put it to a person is worrying about schoolwork that's overdue but doesn't really exist,0 "I have no fucking energy It’s not that I’m choosing to relax, I can’t relax either, I’m just constantly mentally exhausted Does that make me lazy? Because I feel like I would enjoy myself if I was being lazy.",1 Bruh when I get stressed I have to pick my back fml,0 I was so happy the other day when a new obsession came up making my way worse one that I had worried about for months seem stupid.,0 I always overthink things I’ve said and done in the past and genuinely believe I’m evil. It’s tough but maybe I deserve it.,0 "Relatable...idek where I'd be in life without adhd, or what my life would even be like.",1 "Maybe your actions are really nice despite what the tornado in our mind say... Hmmm we're never not being nice so maybe...",0 "See most of these things are hilariously/unfortunately relatable, but the thing is, yes, I will in fact clean your house for you. If your house is a mess and I have to spend time in it, hand me a vacuum and I will do what you should have done.",0 "Save my soul. 17 years. For 17 years I’ve lived like this, until recently when I get medically diagnosed. It only served to help me become cognizant of the realities I live, but it has done nothing for the people around me. Nothing has changed with them. Ever since I very recently started to go to adhd related social media outlets, I have seen such things like this that I am genuinely in disbelief of how accurate to the exact detail that these things are, and how dumbfounding it is that I wholeheartedly believe no one would ever even begin to approach to understand or comprehend the specific things I’ve dealt with all my life, and just seeing it here described almost nonchalantly is truly surrealistic feeling to me. Once again I have to say thank you, I really do think there are such innumerable amounts of convoluted nuanced intricate dynamics and elements in our daily lives that would take multiple lifetimes to completely vocalize. It is crazy. Thank you",1 "God I feel this. Especially when I just had a dream where I was some super important thing and was super amazing at whatever job I had, with all sorts of natural talent... Just to wake up and find out, no, I'm average. Jack of all, master of none.",1 "Religious ocd thoughts can get very tough, but we should remember that all ocd thoughts only matter in our head and don't have any real world value",0 Wait but what if when i blink at someone they really die and then it’ll be my fault??,0 "Yeah I often don’t even realize it’s an obsession until I’ve lost it. Maybe I’m doing something weird now idk, I definitely am I mean",0 "My daughter is four and she already knows and uses the ""Okay, where's the last place you *remember* having it?"" routine, because we misplace things so often. I'm glad she's learning these skills so young, because my husband and I are both ADHD and they say it's genetic, so she and her brother are pretty much doomed to follow.",1 "Fuckin hell, I hate how accurate this is. It's like when I'm not obsessing about something my mind is like, "" bro I'm not used to living this way, let's desperately think of some absolute non sense bs to worry about"" and then I'm in this ""get ready"" mode.",0 🖐 however I don't worry over me being an asshole but being in denial,0 "Off topic but as soon as I read « wake up in the morning » I immediately thought... « doing so many things, just wish that things would get better » TikTok has ruined me",1 "Yessss. We don’t think our thoughts, they just flow into our conscious attention... if you can meditate and watch your thoughts, it’s like watching a river flow in front of you.",0 "Yes! I STRUGGLE with this EVERY SINGLE DAY! My brain thinks I’m not allowed to do something I want to do because I don’t deserve it, unless I do the ‘chores’ first. I’ve not been able to do any hobbies for years because of it and it’s really hit my mental health hard",1 "Maybe it will help to write a super quick draft on paper, then do it on the computer the next day or later? Honestly, for me, writting what most people call ""a quick 5 minute email"" NEVER takes 5 minutes, getting into my office and setting a place on my desk for the laptop takes some time (cause my office is a terrible mess 🙃), turning the computer on and waiting for it to actually power on, finding the right email adress to send to, and then the longest part of the task is actually writing the damn thing. I back space again and again, get stuck on how I want to word something (words are hard), PROOFREADING FOR ERRORS. And Ive found that going into the task with a prepared rough draft (no matter how simple the email and how others might think its silly to need) gives me a little confidence, makes me feel like the task is mostly done. I also find it's less pressure to write the message on paper cause I dont have to actually hit send (if Im in the email doc I feel I cant back out and have to commit to making the perfect email which stresses me the fuck out) Idk, it doesnt always work for me, but sometimes it really does, I hope this helped, Im sorry you are going through this, its a really rough feeling, but dont beat yourself up about it, because it truly isn't your fault❤",1 "Yep. It wasn’t anything new, but man, did my washing compulsions amplify along with COVID. Still going strong. Hands haven’t been this raw and cracked in years.",0 And then I have to do whatever tick or compulsion because I just can’t move forward.,0 "I read most of this to distract myself from the panic attack until the beta blocker kicks in. I wanted to add something but I forgot about it right now.",1 "Yeah. It can be weird to even hold a knife in you hands sometimes. ",0 I’m getting tired of my rituals. It’s like my brain tells me that I need to check what I just checked ten times already. Ugh!!!,0 Now I’m getting ocd cause I don’t have a physical compulsion for my intrusive thoughts lol,0 "For the getting up part: if I put the volume of the alarm all the way up, it hurts my ears and I want it to stop so badly that I can sometimes manage to get up, that might help you too",1 I’ve always failed online classes and I’m being forced to try again this summer. This is extremely upsetting. May the force be with me. And you all.,1 "I love you internet stranger. And I'm really sorry about your loss Thank you for this inspiring post <3",1 "Can someone be extroverted, but prone to overstimulation?",1 "Shit, this is relatable as hell man. I think about my life, and I feel like literally anyone else with my life and opportunities would make so much more of them. Anybody else would be able to get their school work done on time. Hell, anyone else would've had their degree finished already instead of going back to school at 30. Yet here I am, struggling to do an assignment in two days that I know I could do in a few hours if I could just make myself actually focus on it. I don't have insurance or money to be able to try medication. But without it I feel like I'm drowning. I try to self medicate with caffeine and it helps sometimes, but my very Mormon grandfather in law whom I live with gives me shit for being ""addicted"" to caffeine every time he sees me come home with any. And when I think about the future I feel so overwhelmed, wondering how much longer I'll have to struggle like this. Will it be better when I finish my degree and get a decent job and can afford medication? Will I ever actually get a decent job? Will I be able to emotionally handle children when I'm finally financially stable enough to have them? Some days I feel perfectly confident that things will be just fine no matter what, and other days the very though of looking for a job after college feels like an insurmountable task. It's a roller coaster. Thank god for my wife, she's the only thing that keeps me same most days.",1 "My car doesn’t beep when it’s locked it just makes a quiet noise so I SPAM that button until it feels right And then I click it again",0 "How do you suggest handling a situation where your loved one has these issues and cannot face it. Anytime I attempt to even begin the topic the response is he walks away or cuts the conversation short and hangs up. He’s highly intelligent, warm, not working and not even paying for a critical item although there is money in the bank. It’s hard to understand. It seems there’s a lot of self shame and denial involved too. And now there’s isolation from old friends and some family. What to do???",1 "BRUH for real so for most of my life whenever someone mentioned ADHD I would mentally dismiss any chance that I had it bc ""well I can't have ADHD bc hyperactivity = being good at sports, and I'm no good at sports"". Like... Omg. Now I am honestly baffled that I didn't get diagnosed until I was an adult (bc there were a LOT of signs in my behavior as a kid), but even when I would read some symptoms of ADHD I would think ""well yeah, I relate to all of these, but I still can't have it ObViOuSlY bc I'm uncoordinated and I don't run fast."" Wasn't until I went to a doctor and he explained that you can be mentally hyperactive, and also physically hyperactive (fidgeting) w/out being like... Good at basketball. Lol.",1 Why has always been my favorite word!!! It drove my mom and teachers insane.,1 Happy for you. Adderall wasn’t the one for me. Turned me into a compliant zombie. Luckily my parents actually cared for me and weren’t ok with that. They gave it three days to see if it normalized and then called the doc like this is not ok. I have no memory of those 3 days.,1 "Congratulations!!! That's terrific! I have had the same positive results with meds and ERP. But I have to keep up with the ERP or the compulsions sneak back, slowly but surely. The good news, the ERP is not that difficult to keep up with as long as I do a little bit on a regular basis every week. It doesn't even have to be formal. Again, congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!",0 "I was struggling with getting Back on my meds, but I am happy that I decided to take Them again. I will not pressure myself into managing my life without them. I will not let my problems spiral Out of control again.",0 "Yeah OP... tell me about it. God damn, this whole adhd thing. It's as if most of the hours of the day goes to coping.",1 "Saw this on tumblr a couple months ago, it changed my my life",0 "Yeah ADHD causes hundreds, probably thousands of negative things in our lives. One of the worst conditions.",1 Are y'all hyperactive type? Because I very much do not pay attention to anything.,1 Nocd can help! Download the app and get a therapist! You are worth it #personalexperincenotsponsored,0 "I am always like ""how much would you bleed?"" ""Would it hurt?"" ""Would it start that downward spiral again?"" Ugh!",0 "I can understand this line of thinking. When I turned 18 I realized I hadn’t planned to live that long so I prepared for my own death which I thought was going to happen soon. Then I actually got really sick with Paxil withdrawal later that year and realized I was still scared to die and none of the letters I had written to the people I cared for would make up for a lifetime of living with them. So I’m planning my life in little steps, since I never planned to have to be an adult. I will be happy if I can at least survive until I get my bachelors, I think. Anyways yeah. I know what you mean. I just can’t think of a real example at the moment. Sometimes I think my pets are dying, too. It’s mostly just me though :(",0 Haha. Yeah I just laugh usually. It's not their fault. I was the same until I knew what I was dealing with.,0 "I get that one a lot. It's just ""say the n word"" And I'm like "" ha I'm white, fuck no""",0 I agree so much. But I also love that organization and cleaning disorder would also be OCD.,0 "I genuinely hate those other posts so much, this is 10/10 amazing, thank you",0 "Yup, and the depression it causes due to feeling unfit for anything just makes it all worse... and the worst part is even DOCTORS don't seem to understand that it can be so devestating for us. They expect us to just suck it up and deal.",1 "Yes, it is illogical and irrational for me to wash my hands 12 times. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go wash my hands 12 times.",0 "This!! My close friends and family have gotten used to it, but I really struggle with this and often stumble on my words. It’s so embarrassing answering questions in class or talking to professionals like OP said. I do a similar thing when people are talking to me, I usually say “huh?” And then answer the question before they repeat it because my brain needed to catch up. It seems easier to ask them to say it again then to be like “sorry I need a minute to comprehend what you said and come up with a response in words that are intelligible”",1 The thing is that I tell myself it’s gonna work at some point,0 "I keep a visualization in my mind of a padded cell with a steel door, and periodically I look through, and there's a churning mass of vicious spikes in there that is my OCD. I don't name it, but when I get an intrusive thought, I slip it through the slot in the door where they'd slide a food tray in. Sort of a 'you go wild in there, do what you want, climb the walls, but you're not getting out.' And if ever stray thoughts or fears start cropping up I just think 'what are you doing out here' and imagine sweeping them up in a dustbin and putting them through the slot in the door too. It's a bit over involved, but so far it works for me better than the 'put your thoughts on a leaf on a river' exercise. Still haven't named it, though...",0 "I love it. My favourite memories of art class in school (I was in advanced placement art.) were the projects that were very precise and balanced. Math oriented geometric pieces. Stuff that we ""copied""...take half a picture from a magazine and draw the other half. Sure I erased and redrew over and over, and I absolutely suck at blending and shading. Sometimes I ran out of time and just said screw it and never finished and took the shitty grade. But the stuff I did finish (my stuff was more 3D sculpture type pieces) won a few awards. My Dad has my best piece in his office. Said someone offered money for it once. I don't see the shakiness. I just know I would use a ruler for all of those lines and wouldn't be able to make the curving lines nice like these.",0 "From my experience your therapist is right. Shaking your head is just as much of a compulsion as checking, touching doors, etc. One thing I’ve heard is instead of saying yes or no to the thought, try maybe. If you recognize that you are not your intrusive thoughts, no matter how awful they are, then telling OCD “maybe” is a sign of inaction that eventually signals your brain that you don’t need to be afraid of that thought. Not sure if I made sense, but I hope that helps. Shaking my head is also a compulsion of mine.",0 Oh my god! Call the press!! The people have to know!! THE CURE IS FINALLY HERE!,1 "I recovered from OCD many years ago and just wanted to add to this. This is absolutely true and a lot of people here need to hear it. It doesn’t invalidate your OCD if your experience is not the same, and it can be a compulsion to compare your experience to someone else’s, too. Your mind can also bend it to seem like you are different to everyone else as well, when from a rational standpoint most people’s experiences sound quite similar.",0 "Who can say they haven't, but yes, I do see that the theme is pathologically pointed and grabbing",0 "Yes I’m the same way! With everything! I was told I’m good at teaching! I work for a local ambulance company and often I’m asked to train new employees because I’m good at it! And do I go off on detail lol I’m like because I had adhd I learned all this people are like how the hell do you know this shit like I’ve been here for ten years and didn’t know that( I’ve been there 2 yrs)! It’s because I struggle with learning and learn the hard way, ask questions about every single thing or figure it out myself and I’m just overall curious about everything.",1 "I never, ever, ever in my 7 decades of life thought I was stupid. If I wasn't so damed smart I never would have made it this far whole and sane. But lazy? Yeah, it's hard not to be lazy when you are so much more comfortable just ignoring unpleasant tasks and just going for a walk or watching Netflix. I'm happy to be lazy if lazy makes me happy.",1 Especially true for anyone who grew up in a Calvinist church.,0 "I like things like this, they kind of put it into an easy to understand way on what OCD is like. Really cool!",0 "Humans were evolved for an environment completely different from the modern world. We're not meant to be indoors under artificial lighting, sitting for 8+ hours, stuck in traffic, and then spending our time at home too tired to do anything so instead of doing things like trying to maintain a social life, getting the bare minimum of exercise we need, and trying to eat healthier meals, we just resort to sitting in front of the TV and consuming junk. Epidemics of drug addiction and obesity aren't a coincidence... People turn to those things whether they realize it or not as an escape from such an unnatural and unhealthy way of living, from loneliness, etc. I'm certainly not compatible with this world. The only reason I'm still around and doing okay is because I was fortunate enough to be born to a decent middle class family that could afford to keep me afloat this long, on top of choosing to work only part time (a job I only landed through nepotism), and restructuring my schedule so I can do my hobbies/chores/fun stuff in the five or six hours I have before my overnight shifts (because working first drains me too much to do anything after work). And I have my dependence on prescribed amphetamines on top of that, which I'll admit has become a borderline addiction at this point as an increased tolerance after a decade necessitated dosing even higher, but I'm afraid to ask a doctor to increase my dose in case I get cut off (and I'd simply build a tolerance to an increased dose anyway). I'm open to making the decision to ""check out early"" later down the line if I can no longer keep up with this world. Even if I could maintain a normal full time job (i.e. even if I were qualified and could be hired to one, which I wouldn't be), I absolutely wouldn't want to. I'm kind of happy for now working paycheck to paycheck, living with my best friend, getting a little help from my family as needed, doing my hobbies on the side, but if/when this gravy train stops, yeah, I'll give myself permission to call it quits if I want to. Until then, I choose to live on my terms to the best of my ability as a big fuck you to this sick society. I keep going as an act of defiance. I'm not to blame here. I'm not going to let myself feel bad for failing to be well-adjusted to a sick, greedy society and neither should you. Cheers and good luck to you and everybody else in here that's struggling.",1 I record videos just to make sure I really closed it.,0 Fantastic use of an ADHD trait! I misplace and retrieve items all the time with my SO chirping “you lost it” in the background!,1 Hahahah I am that guy .. was reading a post about the terrible come down from adderal someone was having. I related to it so much. I saw a comment where someone suggested to take 200 MG of magnesium with a meal during that comedown. And boy did that help. It boosted the adderal and made my mood a lot better.,1 Brain: also you totally forgot something. Better figure out what.,0 "Indeed. In fact, I've explained it to others as that seen from the first Star Wars movie: ""Uncle Owen, look! This R2 unit has a bad motivator!"" I have a bad motivator circuit, and it makes my life harder than it should be.",1 "Task initiation is one of many “executive functions” that come from the area effected by ADHD. It’s really closely related to organization, so if you struggle to keep tidy you probably also have a basket of clothes that needs to be folded, or a trash that needs to be taken out",1 "Don’t forget diabetes. They need to take mental control of that pancreas and just think more sugary thoughts. There’s no reason to rely on toxic medications! They have to vaccinate themselves like multiple times a day! Think of the autism! /s",0 "Remembering and actually letting it sink in that other people DON’T struggle like we do and that how hard we work isn’t normal is kinda hard. Jessica’s, from how to ADHD, Ted talk helped me a lot and I rewatch it from time to time when I struggle to accept myself.",1 Having any interests with OCD is like walking through a minefield,0 This. And a folder of bookmarks and pinterest... I felt more organised when google reader was around. I'm thinking of using Zotero for this but it may be an overkill...,1 "I have done this too. I think The thing I have learned from, my therapist, is that exposure needs to be done properly and not haphazardly.",0 "Lol every time! If my partner is up and busy, I don't sit still, I'm up and productive. Once she's done though, so am I. The fire goes right out and I'll turn away from whatever was fully consuming me just minutes before. We can't self start reliably without external stimulation. It's dumb. ",1 "I remember this so much. I think my mind would spend 40% on the conversation itself, 40% on fighting my internal thoughts and 20% deciding whether I should keep fighting my thoughts or just let go and pay attention to the conversation again. It was tough.",0 "Wow, this is a moving piece. Thank you for sharing. I am not artistic so I really appreciate it when someone can represent OCD accurately. And in a beautiful format. :)",0 Clock in and out on time and keep busy. You will probably blend right in because my experience in grocery stores has shown you've got to be extremely weird to not fit in with us misfits.,0 "I’m sorry for your loss. I’ve generally done well in life despite my ADHD and took a lot of pride in that. This past year was different though and I found myself unable to cope with daily life. I’m currently on short term disability while I figure my shit out and restabilize myself. It’s incredibly embarrassing to admit that this is where I’m at, I have not told my family and I don’t intend to. The only people who know are my friends and coworkers. I haven’t even explained to my coworkers why I am on leave though, I’m too embarrassed to admit it. Life is never what you expect I guess! I know this has already been good for me though, and I will probably look back on this time very fondly. It is really nice to have enough time to do all the house projects I’ve put off for so long, engage in my hobbies, keep up the house etc. I honestly don’t want to go back to work. I’m worried about the future.",1 And what exactly do you do for a living?!?!?! If your in between jobs due to corona or anything for that matter I can clearly see your next calling,1 "Beautiful, nice work. I just started taking meds and I hope they work. ",0 I’ve been super sensitive to overstimulation the last few months. It’s awful. Turn off the lights and shhhhhhhh!,1 "I wouldn't even be able to say that. I spend so much time trying to look ""normal"".",0 "U made me smile but at the same time I teared up. My child has ocd. We are just trying to give advice to try to alleviate this freaking torcher. What can I say then to help my child? Lots of hugs and love to u all. Before all this ocd was just something people joked about...i had no idea it was like this.",0 "Oh my god the amount of times I’ve literally thought “oh god what I horrible thought, I wish MIB would come flash that away”",0 "Professional writer here. I'd say I use slightly more commas than average... because I've learned to use m-dashes, colons, semi-colons, parenthesis, and graceful incomplete sentences that continue the thought of the previous one. As I learned to write and became more aware of my style (lots of three-point lists, sometimes multiple in a single paragraph) I started to think this exact thing. My thoughts don't follow the traditional geometric logic -- if 'a' then 'b,' 'c'='b,' therefore if 'a' then 'c' type shit. I think in a kind of physical logic -- a network of interconnected data points where meaning arises from context -- like how a stone in a wall is just a stone, you can't understand it by only looking at the stones to the left and right, but at the whole wall at once. Translating that to a linear medium (top left to bottom right, in English) is a blast. I tell people I write so I can vomit onto the page and spend a couple hours cleaning it up (it doesn't take as long as it used to.) I could talk about writing for ages. How you create meaning by physically placing unrelated thoughts together in a paragraph. How you conceptually unite ideas through parallel construction. How three item-lists create harmony while breaking parallel construction creates dissonance.",1 "I vote for the devil's legion, because I am literally such a mess of inconsistency that I drive myself crazy. I fucking hate it. Today I did poorly on two midterms and I'm really done with it all. Like I don't have many excuses why I can't perform. I did perfectly fine the first round of midterms. I don't even know what happened. Though I'm no longer suicidal, I still have the same mindsets towards myself as I did before. The brain chemical balance has just been managed. Oh hell do I need a therapist lmao. It's a loop of confidence and then disappointment, because if I'm not scared about something I can't push myself to work for it. I can't study. I don't have friends in my classes. So in order to do well and perform I have to be always fearful and stressed. Oh and I'm already on non stimulant meds for adhd/asd. But it has literally done nothing for my ability to get work done. I really do understand it's good to live, even if us adhd will never be like other people.",1 Did I steal a tv aaksmsnskwmsn why are our brains like this 😭,0 "Reminds me of one girl who told me, “you don’t have OCD, your room isn’t tidy enough.’",0 "Man, I relate to this too much. Had to start sleeping with my tv on to distract myself:(",0 "I mean it helps in the short term but My memory basically still doesn't exist 10 minutes from the task I'm hyperfocussing on right now",1 "My OCD is opposite around, my partner cheating on me even tho there's no red flags at all🙁",0 Audiobooks get the job done for me. They keep me entertained while I do boring shit.,1 "And the ""what if"" changes at a whim. My brain just makes up a compulsion literally out of nowhere & associates some stupid compulsion with something out of the blue. Some OCDs are locked in, but, some just create themselves out of nowhere. Total chaos, and logically stupid. But, whatever the brain says we do. It's like having a little DEMON sitting on my shoulder 24/7 saying ""do this, do that, otherwise, this '*whatever* will happen"". Total brain suck. Tiresome.",0 I did have this fear but also I sometimes fear I have Munchausen and think that these symptoms aren't from OCD (and ADD),0 "my OCD makes me panic about death constantly, making history a very hard subject to revise, as pretty much everyone i’m studying is dead. also, the religious themes of some of it makes me panic about whether God exists, etc. in my french work, i had to study L’étranger, which is about existentialism and absurdism - my ocd makes me panic about the meaning of life and the existence of God. Overall, revision wasn’t fun. I got A*s in both at A-level so that was pretty cool",0 Sometimes I drive to a quiet place and actually scream it out,0 "I'm fine not knowing and not caring about things that are unimportant. However I do want to absorb every useful knowledge, academic fields of study, I have notes on everynote with every subject categorized complete with reference links and attributes",0 "I only have two hands, but man, I wish I had more to agree harder....",1 "Jesus just reading this brought me to tears. I've worked long and hard with a therapist to get rid of this feeling but it doesn't go away, it just fades more into the background",1 I have discovered so many side effects of adhd through this subreddit im not even sure whats real anymore,1 "For me it's not a memory problem, it's a searching problem. It's like the search function in my file system is buggy af. My memory is actually really good tho",1 I hate how people think ocd is only about being a clean freak…they don’t realize it manifests in other ways.,0 This is one of the most beautiful pieces I've ever seen. Thank you for depicting what people have to go through every day.,0 But what about if it’s a memory that might of might not be true? 😭,0 Thank you. I also LOVE The Office USA. I will try this.,0 "People with ocd are the most oppressed race. Seriously though guys, it's just some guy shitting out website descriptions quickly for the new products. It's not a big deal and they would probably remove it if you tweeted at them.",0 ">Rattling off factual information that may or may not be of interest to others (infodumping) I do this so often, especially to my close friend, usually on a call, and immediately after the call I feel so bad about myself, thinking how selfish I am that I just forced her to listen to this bs she doesn't care about.",1 "This doesn't make any sense. This is like the cure to insomnia is just go to sleep. Past is still real and my brain likes to remind it. Edit: Let's put it this way. Whe think about shit we've done but others don't think this way and these things/thoughts are only in our head.",0 thats amazing! im actually jealous.. gonna go brush my teeth rn.,1 Hey my ocd has just got better and the depression immediately took the place.😂😂😂 But for me ocd is far more painful than depression😅,0 "You didn’t have to come for me this hard (Thank you for sharing)",1 "It's like your brain realises when you're happy and decides to throw this shit out there, just to rock the boat. Brains are jerks.",0 "I just wish I knew the true ""why?"" Of my theme. like why that and not something else? Why is it this and what truly drives it?",0 I'm just imagining me sitting playing a video game now and I turn to look and someone who was completely fine one minute is now looking at me sobbing lmao. I'm glad you are happy with your results and they are tears of joy! I'm having a similar experience with my Vyvanse I just started yesterday. I'm just crying at the price!,1 "I’m 27F and in the UK, diagnosed as an adult too and feel the same. Even on my medication is says things like “ask a parent or guardian if you experience side effects”, or the information sheet talks about how the medication affects a child / school work. I find it’s really infantilising to even tell other adults that I have it. I try to speak openly about my ADHD, but I get looks of pity and even some well-meaning people talk down to me as if I’m a child or some type of idiot. I’ve told my new workplace that I have a “neurological condition managed by medication and regularly see a specialist for this issue”. It seems to work, because I’ve not been treated like an invalid by any colleagues so far...",1 "Yes, I feel this way so often! I'm always accused of being lazy or trying to get out of work - it really affected my self-esteem until I was diagnosed and realized there were actual reasons for why I couldn't seem to function like a normal adult lol. Not like anyone believes me when I tell them, but at least I'm aware now",1 "Lately I've been trippin when listening to music, sounds different with volume fluctuations and all....sigh",0 "Congratulations! Mess ups are going to happen (everyone messes up sometimes especially in a new job). As a manager what I look for is how the new hire deals with the mess up. Own your mess up when it happens. Don't take correction personally, correction is just part of learning and whoever is giving it to you is trying to help you succeed. Let them know that you understand why it is a problem and then reassure them it won't happen again (with what change you will implement to make this change). So if you put bread on the bottom of the bag and your trainer said, ""OP, bread needs to be on top or it gets smushed."" You would respond, ""Thank you for pointing that out. I can see how upsetting that would be to the customer. I am going to start setting lighter items to the left and wait until I have packed all the heavier items, to make sure it doesn't happen again."" Also, if you can bring a small note book and pen to keep important notes in. The act of writing down important information helps us retain it. You don't want to have it out all the time or have it distract you from work, but taking small notes on break or during meetings also shows the manager how invested you are in learning how to do the job to their specifications. You've got this!",0 wow so funny i have actual OCD and this is just like me /s,0 "I'm so sorry you're there, I know what that feels like. I have found a way that helps me is to just put something 'closer' to where it should be or group it with something similar. Even just small things like moving something from the floor to a table or putting a pen next to another pen. Eventually you'll get there, I believe in you.",0 "Abso-fucking-lutely. I feel like I've just been struggling more and more since I was at school as it has just been impossible to translate my high performance during the heavily structured and minimal effort required for me to attain so highly in GCSE's into the personal effort, commitment and focus that you need to do more and more of in A-Levels, University and then the workplace. I know I'm still the bright, smart kid who was one of the top of his class across the board in school, but I've not been apply to apply myself for over a decade now and it takes its toll.",1 "Congrats - you've taken a very scary but important step, one I'm sure everyone here understands how difficult it is to take. You should be proud of yourself. :-)",0 Babe it's time for your daily barrage of unanswerable existential questions.,0 "Its the freaking worst and yes anytime my ""fear"" is confirmed its like a point in my OCD column of ""I was right.....""",0 "For me, it’s e-mails. Yesterday, I sat down and responded to ten emails I had been ignoring (I’m a college student). It took a big weight off my shoulders!",0 "Storing all the glasses in your cabinet on a specific type of towel **and** storing them upside down so they don't get *dusty*. Listening to the same thought on repeat in your brain, to the degree that it interferes with your daily tasks, so you get a notebook to write down the thoughts. Great, the thoughts stop as you write them down but now you're obsessed with notebooks :''')",0 I think one of those slices is slightly bigger than the other one 😶😶😶,0 "Yes! Must change her water, give dry and wet food. Check litterbox. I'm the first one out of the house and she always accompanies me to the door, I say goodbye and tell her what time I'll be back (then I'll HAVE to be back by that time).",0 "Well I was gonna write some important but my wife asked me what sounded good for dinner, so I think we are gonna order out. I Appreciate the fact the mother is making progress on supporting your focus needs! ❤️",1 "Defintely, its a shame the 3 hours are at terrible times. I only get my actual bursts of motivation and energy at around 7am or 2am.",1 I've had to fall asleep with the tv on for as long as I can remember. It's like if I turn it off the force field goes down and all those horrible thoughts come charging at my mind.,0 "I really felt like i could relate... and this is very deep to me My room is the same, cleaned evey once in a while andbrhen forgot to keep it clean and tidy, i think i just dont want to do things. About checking your up-votes: those potential voters are complete strangers and you have 0 info about them so it doesn't make sense to care about how they see things. I hope that's a little helpful at least The keeping in touch thing i can reflect a bit too... I care about my friends enough to do many things for, because i like making them happy... but my other side just has no drive at all so im losing potential life long friends by distancing myself for too long... But reading what you wrote really makes me wanna try harder again, thank you And about not wanting to do anything... I never met anyone who knows that feeling xD wanting to do things, like playing a cool game I installed and haven't started yet. I think i sometimes tend to not finishing things so maybe to prevent that i just dont start.... i just had that thought for the first time :P Lastly i think you critique yourself to much",1 "I can relate, unfortunately for me the sensations and rituals come back after a couple days. I wish you luck!",0 "Ha! I said to myself ""All of the above!"" as I was opening this thread... and then low and behold.",1 "Woah is this an OCD thing? I often have to put scissors down because I just start thinking ""what if I just stabbed myself as hard as I can in the thigh?"" Or I'll be somewhere with a gas stove and it's just so tempting to put my hand through the flames",0 This needs to be fucking pinned on the subreddit please. it’s amazing,1 I’m fucking tired of it all. I don’t know what’s real and what isn’t. I want help but my first psychologist appointment is in February and I don’t know if I can last that long with out hurting myself.,0 S/O to all my rocd friends seeing this - just a reminder that this can be beautiful and also have no connection to your own relationship and how it’s effected by ocd ❤️,0 "This has been my experience in life as well. I've only recently started the diagnostic procedure for ADHD (I'm 26) and I have other issues as well, but oh my how much I can relate to other people who commented as well. I've excelled in things I like and barely scraped by on other things. Like in school, I had already learned all the phisics and chemistry for the whole elementary school out of curiosity, but failed the mid term multiple times of my german languange class. Everybody always told me to ""just focus"" or ""just sit down and do it"", I couldn't even comprehend how people did that. Now I work in corporate finances and don't even know how I managed to get here when I frenquently loose my mug in the house when I'm thirsty and it takes like half an hour to find it because I get distracted.",1 "dude that is the most strung out ""big bird"" that i have ever seen in my whole entire freaking life lmao holy hell!!!! XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD what in the actual fudge lmao!!! ty for making this meme lmao",0 Having ocd and an emotional eating problem...not lit,0 "I've been having trouble focusing on everything but I read this entire thing in 15 - 20 minutes. 1: Thank you and everyone involved for these tips and tricks. The struggle has been very real lately and I feel like I'm losing myself. I'm going to give a lot of these things a try. 2: WHY can I read this entire thing but not do my homework??? EDIT: I copied it in Word and it's 4200 words.",1 "Meds took away any depression i had, looking back i doubt it was actually depression, more likely to be burn out from dealing with stressful situations. Now I can handle them better i don't get that feeling anymore.",1 OCD destroyed my sex life to some extent... :( Maybe I should click that link?? haha,0 "I’ve always noticed I used a lot of commas, but I never put much thought into it, thank you for making me conscious, now I will never not think of it when typing",1 "Guilty. I never cease to amaze myself with the string of thoughts that branch off from one idea. And then the resulting meta-analysis of that tendency and the fact that i let myself get distracted, which I’m turn does the same thing until i snap out of it in frustration with myself. Well, better rewind and do it all over again only to have made 15 seconds of progress from the previous episode.",1 "Highly recommend reading (or listening on audio) the book Getting Things Done by David Allen. And implement it. A couple ideas of his system; 1 - Your brain is for having ideas not holding them. 2 - A lot of the mental resistance you face with accomplishing certain things on your lists comes from the fact that you haven’t yet decided whether you want to do it and what exactly you want to do. Once you’ve made the decision to do something, be very diligent about determining what exactly is the very next step you can take…I’m talking detail level. Implementing his system was life changing for me and really has helped me to better understand how my mind works and has given me the tools to be able to get things unstuck and maintain a clear head",1 "Usually I'm under the ""too much"" category, but when people say that to me is it so much easier to get over. It really is the too little that hurts. I've lost way too many friends who couldn't understand how difficult it is for me to do things that seem simple to them like texting.",1 What can help with magical thinking ocd? Any strategies?,0 My counsellor said to me that I should focus on “what is” than “what if” also someone else told me to limit my what ifs to 3 times per problem.,0 "Congratulations. This I would have just passed by, but just two weeks ago, I had to get four front teeth removed because of bone lost, largely because of negligence in my care for my teeth. Other major factors were at play, but had I had taken better care, those teeth would still be there.",1 "Of course, and I expect and encourage others to do the same. Never blindly follow orders, you should know that what you're asked to do is both right and just.",1 "When I get these I start hitting my bed and screaming in my pillow,is this normal?",0 "So proud of you!! Remember, if you break your streak you didn’t fail, you’ve accomplished. Missing once is circumstantial, missing twice is a new habit. Just get right back on. You’re such a winner and you’re inspiring me! I’m on day 1 after having a 5 day streak ♥️🤩",1 "Reminds me of some sort of protocol my mother wrote about me in my first year at school. At some point, I apparently once said to my granny something along the line of ""Im not a naughty child, I was just born bad"" (not sure how to translate this to English). I felt for a long time, that I don't have a place in this world and I'm sometimes still not entirely sure what to do with myself, where I belong, what I have to do to not be the misfit again, that is but a nuisance to everyone... It's somewhat disturbing to see, how many people are feeling like that... almost, as if it were our fate to grow up suffering... EDIT: I'm not entirely sure right now, if I screwed up and used a wrong word or something, that gives the whole thing a different meaning... With protocol, I meant, that she was writing down notable things about my behaviour... maybe for looking for a psychologicst or something. Though I do have a somewhat difficult relationship with her... I'm not sure, if she is actually a narcissist, but she does have issues (she is often in a bad mood and a controll freak, I often can't even talk to her about important things, without her getting annoyed immediately... I'm somewhat scared of interacting with her...).",1 "Yeah, they usually trigger me and bring up a lot of anxiety for a few days.",0 "Jokes aside, this is probably one of the few things I would spend money on.",1 "Impulsively spending $300 on a custom made Sailor Moon doll and then wondering why you did that after the ""hype"" feeling goes away....",1 "If I have an incomplete thought - like my brain forgets what I was about to say, etc., I have immense guilt and focus until I can remember and complete the thought. I've done this ever since I was a kid and I had no idea it isn't normal for everyone.",0 "Me completely. It’s hard for me to keep stuff clean, I’m completely disorganized.",0 "Bro I could’ve written this myself, I’m doing literally the same thing rn. I also have anxiety and a perfectionist complex which makes the inability to care or listen/pay attention absolute torture because I know I gotta get these things done and it feels like I want to get the things done but I also just don’t and then I end up hating myself which makes me more depressed which makes me care less. It’s a lose lose lose situation lmao",1 "Yes, I do. I'm very afraid I'm a bad person and my OCD has me convinced I'm dangerous, so any citicism or insult I take to mean that I'm hurting someone, and it scares me. I'm not great at it, but my therapist tries to tell me to distance myself from the situation and stop ruminating on it. It's hard.",0 When this happened I used to think I should be feeling the way I usually do. But now I realize all those moments of peace are what I try to find now.,0 "I found this sub a couple of weeks ago and reading through it I realized I have ADHD. I also had this same realization: In my >core that there was something just deeply, fundamentally wrong 5 months ago I also found out I was transgender. I found out that there was something even more profound that was fundamentally wrong with me. ADHD is the least of my problems right now but it helps being conscious of what we are.",1 This is me trying to get a degree. I keep wanting to switch majors because something else seems more fascinating or fun to learn about. Also how I get sucked into a hobby for like 2 weeks and then forget everything about it a day later,1 "I have 14 years of work experience and 13 of that in a supervisory/manager role and every day I feel like I’m still just a 12 year old pretending to be an adult. I even recently got married to my SO, and we’re starting to look at buying our first house together and I still feel like any second everything is going to fall apart at the seams. I just trust that my mom did everything she could to give me the tools I need to succeed in life and assume everyone else feels just as helpless as I do most of the time, but we’re all just faking it until we make it.",1 "Yes, hours later, days, months or years. I will finally realize it and the anger or other emotions pile on to whatever I’m already feeling.",1 "Titles definitely helps with the reading and motivation to read😂😂😂 you brain sibling, you.",1 "This rings so true... But for one fear theme, I can’t get over it. I mean, it’s possible, it’s dangerous in certain cases, so it matters some? How do I make it something manageable if I can’t understand it properly? With infection from certain bacteria? Why is COVID important to worry about but another contamination with serious implications should be ignored? Such an odd double standard. Such a frustrating disorder",0 Never too late to connect with people sharing the same difficulties on a daily basis as you. Welcome :),0 "I go through this often when in a high up location. It could be a mall, rooftop, anywhere. I go through a very strange sensation like I’m really gonna just somehow do it spontaneously. It’s not any kind of suicidal thing whatsoever. Another thing I go through is sitting on a couch and the thought that “what if I just NEVER get up?” can keep me in this strange trance locked into my couch.",0 I always had to move in an L like pattern like a night in chess on school tiles,0 awww i was genuinely expecting a positive experience this time😂😂😂 its okay tho this is still funny,1 With ocd it’s like the problems aren’t solved just rearranged,0 Gunner could use his nails cut. I'm genuinely surprised no one in the OCD subreddit has mentioned it.,0 Honestly I dont have had experience in depression but i think I’d prefer that over my rituals & obsessions which take up and waste so much of my time,0 Shit I wish I could read through this without thinking about something else ☹️,1 "I never wished that, his wouldn’t solve my problem. What i really want is to get properly treated to catchup.",1 I once found a frog sitting in the toilet after I got up. My fears are founded.,0 "I've also read some things, I'll have to find the data, that telling people you're going to do something feels good, it releases some of the same chemicals as actually \*doing\* the thing, so you're less likely to do said thing. E.g. if I plan on donating $100 to a charity and I go around telling a bunch of people that I'm planning on doing that, I get a good feeling from doing that, and I'm actually less likely to do it as a result because I've already got the feeling as if I've done the donation. Interesting to think about. Tl;dr don't tell people something til ya did it I guess lol.",1 "Yes, constantly. It's very vivid images and it's extremely frightening to me. I wish I had some advice but you aren't alone.",0 "Oh buddy I am so sorry I would just never do the work, what a disaster",1 "This happens a lot with autism too tbh (PS I'm not invalidating your struggles I have ADD and Autism)",1 "non religious person here too, my OCD often works along the lines of ""if i don't do *insert random thing here* the gods will get mad and hurt my loved ones"" i don't even know what ""the gods"" means but it sure as heck keeps me obsessively good",0 I’ve done this my entire life. I say sorry to them and will even take trivial things like chapstick out of my car so it doesn’t have to sit alone in the cold. It’s ridiculous. ,0 [I think I'm finally getting tired](https://gfycat.com/CompleteBrownGreatdane),0 "Yeah exactly, i could be doing everything, but can't prove because can't do anything ,because of executive dysfunction. Even once you start to get everything together, it falls apart in no time. And then rinse and repeat.",1 That's amazing! I got a tattoo to help me break out of obsessive cycles back in 2015 and it has helped me a lot over the years. I hope this helps you too!,0 I don’t think I’ve ever related to a meme more in my life.,0 Now when you put it like that it makes me want curl up like a salted slug,0 "You're awesome. Thanks so much for what you share. I'm delighted to see such a smile! Keep on moving, don't give it a chance to stop you, the joy you have is powerful",0 "I’m unclean, disorderly, kind of a hoarder (ironically hoards stress me out, but throwing out stuff ALSO stresses me out) and I’m absolutely NOT a germaphobe (well sometimes but it depends) I was trying to ask earlier if anyone else felt the same. It’s nice to know I’m not the only one who’s this way too. The shutting down of stuff is what’s freaking me out the most..",0 "As long as I can trick myself into being interested in a subject, I can be a high performer on it. Edit: I meant this to be more motivational in comparison to some of the doom and gloom. I know how rough it can be :/",1 "Huh, I never thought it could be ADHD, I just thought it was was me. But yes, I write with a lot of commas.",1 "The only reason that I even came around to discovering I had pure O was by googling the absolute shit out of my symptoms, which then led me to reaching out to a therapist to confirm the diagnosis and start OCD specific treatment. So while indulging in my compulsion to excessively research things that worry me had been a negative thing most of the time during my recovery, I do credit it for getting me onto the path of recovery in the first place 🙂 Ya gotta find the silver linings lol",0 "Thank you so much love !! I needed this (: To you as well. Taking the time out of your day to write such a thoughtful and meaningful message shows just how kind and special of a person you truly are. I could use an ear right about now, OCD has been piling on new obsessions for months ! I want to get back to feeling like myself again. I’m so proud of all of you, truly. I’ve seen firsthand how merciless this disorder is, and how hard it is to stay afloat when it always feels like you’re being beat down. You guys are amazing, and continue to spread your light to the world, wherever you go ! ❤️",0 I shudder to think what led to this reaction but best of luck to you.,0 "Yup. In third grade, my teacher brought a girl in front of the class who apologized for gossiping about a classmate, they then said I did it too, and wanted me to apologize. I had no idea what they were talking about and burst out crying. The teacher walked me out in the hall and tried to talk to me about it but I just remember being in total shock. Since I have auditory processing disorder, what probably happened was the gossipy girl was talking to me and I just nodded and smiled but had no idea what she was saying because it's hard to constantly ask people to repeat themselves. Anyway, I'm always scared of being accused of doing something wrong, and I usually believe people when they said I did it because I can never remember what happened : (",0 "Such a gigantic mood. I'm two weeks behind on the lectures for my classes and it's stressing me out so much, but being stressed just makes it even harder to focus and I end up running to things I'm supposed to enjoy to try to find some sort of comfort. I'm managing to scrape through on the assignments, but everything's just stacking up and Looming so I struggle to do anything more than the Absolute Bare Minimum.",1 "Yep. I have a lot of scarring on my fingers, toes, lips, everywhere really. Picked my skin since I was 10 or 12 at the earliest I can remember (22 now), so any cut would eventually become scarred. My thumbs are messsssed up. Trying to stop myself from doing it, just its subconscious. So nice to see other people have the same problems, I never really looked for others before (there is a lot more to it than just the picking for me).",0 ... Is this an AHDH thing?! Because I could have written this post.,1 "This is literally me with my HOCD ""what if im gay"" ""oh no, tentacles up my ass"" ""dude wtf""",0 "This is literally the only way I can study. Low lights, chill piano or very smooth jazz, and a warm drink. Thankfully I have a room for this. But I can li these my kids conversations across the house if I don’t turn the music up loud enough.",1 "Cuz we’re honestly trying our best, full of earnest good intention and it hurts when we’re attacked.",1 "Wow. I can relate to this so much. I have to shower before bed, because I never allow myself enough time in the morning. Problem is, I can put this off for so long it often ends up that I’m showering at 3am.",1 "This is literally my first ever comment on Reddit. It took far too long to hit post and only had about 9 rewrites, but I finally did it. Hopefully I don't delete this in 60 seconds!",0 I feel so convinced I don't have ocd (multiple mental health professionals have told me I have it) I feel ashamed to post or talk in this subreddit because I think I don't deserve help because it's not actually that bad. It makes me want to kill myself. Now I constantly question if every thought in my head is ocd or not.,0 "Never have I been so damn offended by a post but that I 100% agree with. I'm the exact same way, I do believe this is rather common for us with ADHD/ADD tbh",1 I was just glad I got past 7 months at my last job before they cut me loose.,1 Also for me the worst thing is when people are trying to talk to me while there is music playing. It makes me feel like my brain is gonna explode and I wanna just cry. I thought that everyone disliked having convos with music playing at the same time (because that seemed like a normal thing to dislike) but I realized when I got my licsense and started driving around places with my friends they don't mind playing music and having convos but I can't stand it.,1 "That's usually how I beat an episode too! I just get all like ""fuck this I don't even care"" and then the adrenaline starts to feel more euphoric",0 "I relate to this so much but especially to the messiness and noise. I love my husband, he is really amazing. He is not obsessed with cleanliness like I am. I have to rewash dishes sometimes because I see that one spec that didn't get cleaned so the whole thing is filthy. I wash my hands often because the texture of grime and oils that builds up is so disgusting it makes me anxious. Something that helps me when everything is just too much and nothing is the way it should be is I go sit in the dark and take deep breaths, then I take a shower or exercise. Then I limit what I am allowed to clean. What is the most anxiety inducing in this moment? And I do the best I can to resolve it. Then I try and move on to the other things in my life that need to be addressed. It helps me be more calm and forgiving about the way things are.",1 " I was watching the TEDx talk about Coronavirus and at the end how that lady’s like...”wash your hands. Develop rituals for washing your hands. Wash your hands whenever you can. Dream about washing your hands. Remind each other to wash your hands. Just wash your hands. Wash your hands now.” I get it.",0 "I suffer from OCD and only recently was diagnosed. I'm 32. I've lived with this my whole life and it is debilitating. Most of my compulsions are internal and so people around me can't recognize it. To everyone else I look normal. I chew my nails and fingers til bloody. Every time I spend money I have to recalculate my budget. 6, 7, 8 times a day. If I send a text, I have to read it after it is sent at least 10 times. Could it be misinterpreted? Could the reader be offended? Did I spell everything right? I chatter my teeth to the rhythm of whatever song is stuck in my head and ... trust me, I ALWAYS have a song stuck in my head. So by the end of the day my jaw and head hurt from non stop chattering. If I see my phone I have to check it. Did my daughter's school call me? Did I miss a text from someone? What's the time? When I read a book I have to read and reread and rereread every single sentence 4, 5, 6 times. Make sure I didn't miss a word. Etc. Living in my head is torture. I told my dad about my compulsions and rituals and he says that's not OCD. He says I am choosing a depressed, anxious lifestyle. People around me don't understand. But if you saw my fingers. You'd know. Sometimes they hurt so bad I can't sleep. :(",0 "I am in a similar situation with my psychiatrist, she has adhd too, has been taking methylphenidate(same as me) for almost 3-4 decades. She says exactly the same as your doctor(except for tolerance, she thinks it’s very rare and once you have your dose it’s not necessary to upped it). She also considers a vital point the emotional part of the disorder",1 Does anyone else ever scroll through their Reddit and pretend to be someone else cus same,0 "absolutely, it has led to me feeling like a failure of a human being and just completely freezing. oh and also panic attacks 🤪",1 "I'm the same way, none of the 'perks' of being a clean freak.",0 Congrats!!! I’m so proud of you!! Your nails and hands are so pretty!,0 Aren't OCD and Tourette's related somehow? I could totally be wrong,0 "Thank you for sharing, OP. You didn't waste my time. It's probably clear by now that this resonates with a good deal of us.",1 "I guess it’s good in this analogy to realise the punches the brain is throwing aren’t actually effective. It makes you feel it’s throwing haymakers but if you actually let your guard down and take the punches, you could do it all day. Once you realise the brain isn’t hitting hard and it realises you are able to stand there and take them with no problems, it will get bored and stop attacking. That’s how OCD works really (what I got from therapy anyway).",0 "Yep, I’ve been struggling with this for the past few months. I’m even feeling guilty about something I didn’t even do and have had reassurance from people that I have nothing to worry about but my brain does not compute. I’ve noticed this has really gotten severe over coronavirus, I have too much time to think and be by myself. At the beginning of lock down I was super productive and went for a walk every single day, really helped, but I hurt my foot and have been less motivated, for me, this has really affected my mental health and now I can’t stop over thinking and bullying myself. I hope it gets better 🙁",0 "I realized the other day that my adolescent suicidal thoughts were actually just part of OCD. I'm very relieved, I never understood why my brain had to wanna kill me. Edit I'm not suicidal now, it just took a long time to heal.",0 "Yeah, and I dislike the thoughts that replay in my head (obviously) and so I ‘edit’ them in my mind, as in I change the things I or others said and basically create a new version of the conversation or event that happened with the same roots and that’s one of my compulsions, but to others it makes it look like I sit there daydreaming for ages",0 "Feel you OP. Many times I've had convos with my bf where he thinks that I'm not caring about the conversation, but it's just taking me a million years to think of a response that actually has substance. When I'm trying to be direct it comes off like I'm pissed. If I'm trying to give a chill response it comes off like I could care less. Its absolutely annoying to have to constantly think of the correct response, but even then I'm always second guessing myself. In situations where I have family members questioning my life, and I need to stick up for myself, I fucking suck and make my situation appear worse then what it actually is. I too feel fortunate to have found this sub reddit. Nice to have people who get it.",1 "I am literally sitting on a chair surrounded by piles of paper. Was scrolling IG and was like why am I stuck here *knowing* I need to go through these papers and feeling so unable to pull myself away from my phone? Does reddit ADHD know what this is called or why I am doing this? ...and boom, you gave me the kick in the pants I needed. Even if its 10am on a sunday, I got stuff to do, idk how ya'll live but I want some of that next.",1 "I totally and completely FEEL this! Ive been told by professionals that I have ADD but then other professionals say ""it doesn't sound like you have ADD"" in very niche specific situations. I have a therapist who very plainly states that ""adderall is speed"" and that I am certainly going to be able to do more work and be more focussed if I'm on speed. So maybe I should go off my meds... Plus I had a recent issue of an adderall overdose - which has led me to taking a break from adderall. And now while off the meds I can see in stark focus that I am so easily distracted. It is all so confusing and part of my brain even considers this /sub a sort of enabling for my laziness. ​ defeat...",1 "This is the exact reason I live in a house with dead plants. :( I love plants, but I can’t water them. It gives me extreme anxiety, and I feel awful. Watering them only takes a few minutes, but it requires a lot of focus for me. The thing is I spend more time anxious about it than I would actually watering them. Then I keep getting them (“it’ll be different this time”), and the awful cycle continues.",1 Good grief! 😐😐😐 Thx for articulating what I feel all the time and didn’t even realize it...,0 This really pisses me off. Gives people the wrong idea about OCD. No one understands what actual OCD is. Because of these people.,0 "Ahah having a more than good memory is not as fun as people might think it is, also having OCD is not as fun as people think it is. Also also, avatar the last airbender is one of the greatest TV shows I've ever seen in my life.",0 "Tough love sucks. I hate when you tell the person doling it out that it is counterintuitive and they talk about how much negative reinforcement motivates them. Like, maybe we’re different? I don’t respond to that rhetoric wanting to prove them wrong, I just end up feeling like I can’t do anything right.",1 Yes. It 100% is. Your brain is struggling to cope with its lack of stimulus so its going to sleep.,1 "Good man Josh! We have faith, you’re gling to win! ",0 It is a daily subscription until you switch off the TV,0 "Try meds, man. REFUSE any new ideas. Just straight refuse them. It gets distressing sometimes, but then you can actually make progress in the here-now. Keep reading and learning about whatever strikes your interest, but, seriously, refuse to try picking up new hobbies. Enjoy learning about them. Recognize that actually trying them just causes distress and feelings of failure. Learn and leave it there.",1 "That low level of anxiety …that’s adhd? I just thought I had traces of agoraphobia. Or social anxiety. I’m always keyed up in public. Sometimes at home.",1 Yes!!! I convince myself I can do two weeks of work in a weekend but end up just sobbing while browsing Reddit. But I get all the work done so I guess I can’t complain. It’s pretty stressful tho,1 "Same right here. I automatically go back to my obsessions and compulsions. I also haven't done ERP in months... It's not like I avoid it, I just forget about it. Always happens whenever I start a new habit. I do it for a week, miss one day, then stop doing it entirely.",0 it's sad. those people have no idea how much harm they're doing. stay strong.,0 "You may not believe me, but I think you are just a perfectionist in disguise. You are way too fucking hard on yourself. You’ve set such high expectations for yourself that they’ve become unrealistic for anyone. And these expectations are overwhelming, so you’ve found comfort in researching things while you think about how you will start working on those goals tomorrow. I think you should give yourself some credit. Celebrate your daily accomplishments, even the small ones. Write down your long term goals. Then make goals for yourself each day, even if the goal is just to research stuff less.",1 "Yes! I just wish We're not gonna take it! by Twisted Sister would stop playing on repeat in my head. I have never liked that song. Why is it there. Along with at least 4 other thoughts. Look there's a squirrel!",1 Am I the only one that lies sometimes to seem less crazy?,0 "Oh my god, these are the most accurate memes ever about mental illness. We're never alone!",0 "This resonates with me so much. I have felt this all my life. I was only very recently diagnosed ADHD and very likely also Autism Spectrum Disorder (also, diagnosed bipolar 6 years ago). It wasn’t until the ADHD/ASD diagnoses that a lot of things started to make sense. I’ve struggled for so many years (I am turning 33 in April) and I just keep wondering how life might’ve been and how much more successful I’d be had I had the medical attention I needed for these diagnoses, when I was a child. I was raised by a single mum, so I had to grow up real quick. I struggled a lot but it meant that I had no time to struggle, cos my mum struggled too. It’s almost also like, ignorance is bliss? I just kept trudging along, with great difficulty and pain and confusion. I felt stupid mostly. And other times, I felt like I was a really bad person and didn’t deserve good people. Anyway, despite all the difficulty, I managed to become successful in my career; I am a high school and university dropout and I work as a business analyst on a six figure salary. It isn’t about the money - I am not boasting so please forgive me. The point I’m making here is, everything was fucking hard, but because everything was so hard, I tried so much more than most others around me. This made me a successful person; there is strength and resilience in us ADHD/ASD folk like no other. We are blessed. The down side is, because of ADHD/ASD, I have really intense imposter syndrome and constantly feel like I’ll be “found out”. I just don’t feel like I’m on the same level as my colleagues, or that I deserve being there. I have constant fear that everything I’ve built will just come tumbling down and that I’d have nothing and be nobody... ...Reading all the comments here gives me hope as I try to find a community to learn from given I am newly diagnosed. I feel a bit lost and I feel like I’m in a state of just digging to discover as much as I can about ADHD. Thanks everyone for sharing your comments, it is helping.",1 "Oh man, and then you wake up and question weather it was a dream or maybe there's a tiny chance it really happened and you're remembering it? The worst. Stupid brain.",0 "Consciously: Man, I am having a great time right now. Subconsciously: Yeah, this is a great distraction from the fact that the entire world is hurtling toward entropic demise and there's no chance of escape. Consciously: Well fuck, nevermind.",0 "I'm just as terrifically dull without medication as I am with it, so it's kind of a win-win for me! ",0 I think it's related to the obsession for controling. Or fear of losing control of the situation. We are Control freaks! :-),0 "I absolutely LOVE planning shit; researching, making lists/charts/graphs, buying supplies, etc. Actually doing the thing? Eh I could take it or leave it (usually I leave it).",1 My ass when my cats bring in a dead bird and I just SEE it,0 "OCD makes me feel like an evil, disgusting person every single day of my life. I wish people would stop making a joke out of it. There are people (a.k.a. people who actually have OCD) who are legitimately suffering--battling against their own minds--while people who have no idea what it's like to constantly struggle sit around and make jokes.",0 "As a person who doesn’t have OCD and just spends way too long scrolling down on the popular section on the reddit app Why the hell are you pouring bleach on your hands",0 "Most nights I have about a hour to 2 hour spell where I just go through this existential crisis. Like as an adult everything I'm doing is just so awkward and wrong, don't really fit in this world as an adult.",1 I honestly hate Vsause cuz I watch ONE video I have a 10-hour exestencial crisis.,0 Oh shit this was me two days ago. This exact expression. During lunch time at my university I just hid in the bathroom and cried. I'm staying at home today because I need to battle with this crap alone or ill just have a breakdown in public. And no one wants to see that,0 "ACCURATE. I had this huge talk with my therapist because I thought my mother wouldn’t be happy when I told her I was engaged, big freak out, the whole nine yards. I text my mother. It goes terrifically. 😑",0 Me when my OCD makes me waste half my fucking day doing math worksheets.,0 "Whenever I feel happy my OCD be like Oooo looks like manic depression to meee",0 "Honestly, I disagree. I think we are all bad people sometimes, the catch is - nobody cares. You can be good if you want to, not for any other reason - the world is not fair, you will not receive what you deserve either way.",0 Yeah it’s frustrating. I start work at 5 half the time and I just sit there not doing anything useful or fun till it’s time for me to get ready.,1 "My Dad used to call me stupid. Not in front of me but behind my back when talking to my mom about me. I felt so useless when I couldn’t remember things, or do things the right way. I love my parents and he hasn’t said anything like that in over a year but it still hurts.",1 My girlfriend works with a lady who says “sorry it’s my OCD” every time she straightens or organizes something. If these people want OCD so bad they can have mine so I can live in peace.,0 I love this tbh. Makes me feel better knowing I’m not alone. Bonus if they have some tips to cope.,0 "you got me! :D thx, I will actually try and close Reddit :D have a nice day/evening/night",1 If it’s around 4pm it’s to late to start soemthing because by the time I’m ready it’ll be five and by the time I find everything it’ll be 530 and by the time I leave it’ll be around six so by then it’s basically two hours until 8 and at 8 the sun will be down I’ll be tired so I’ll go home at 9 but by then I won’t be tired anymore and then all the sudden its midnight,1 "I always thought of it as similar to tannitus, just a constant buzz, whether you have it in the back of your mind or the front, its always there. Just gotts learn to accept it.",0 "Its frustrating. I understand, and I wish I could help. Go eat something if you haven't yet! Your body will thank you!",1 Oh you broke your leg? Just don’t be in pain you’ll be fine,0 My ocd gets in the way of reading as i have to read sentences in certain numbers and patterns. I read about three pages of school textbooks today though. Not much but still was not fun to do and i finished a chapter🙂🙂,0 Listen to the “Procrastivity” episode of a podcast called “I Have ADHD”. There was some really helpful information to me in these regards in the second half of the episode. I actually pulled out a sheet of paper and started taking notes to keep on my desk at home to help guide me when I’m stuck in those moments. I don’t think I’ve ever taken notes during a podcast before but that issue really hit me and some of the tips have been genuinely helpful.,1 Just want you to know this post helped me out 5 months later. Thank you,0 "... I need to go lie down. More seriously, this is helpful for me as my daughter reminds me very much of me and I suspect we will have this type of situation arise more as she gets older; this is a good framework to remind me what not to do!",1 "LOL! Spotify drives me nuts! I listen to Deutsch Pop and specific genres of metal. It cannot figure out that I do not want American Pop or Metalcore. And why Rap? What?! Just because a few pieces of Deutsch Pop are rap like? Gah! When I want music auf Deutsch I don’t want English. And just because I listen to Halestorm doesn’t mean I want to listen to everyone else. Just give me Halestorm. That’s why I stay in my box in Apple Music.",1 The first case of the doubt: it's just a rat - Europe,0 "There’s a band/album on my top 100 I swear I have never heard at all. Maybe one song was familiar? I think I must have hit play on them and then walked out of the room to do something else? Who knows. I love my wrapped lists though. This year has been my least diverse though. I settled heavy into just a couple albums.",1 this is why i genuinely just do things that dont require skill or when they do i just dont take them seriously,1 Stop reading my mind. It's freakin me out a little. LOL.,0 congrats!! i’m very proud of you! i know how challenging it is,0 "This is actually a pretty profound metaphor. I would also say it's a good metaphor for boundaries. The only way anyone could go around the gate (at least by car) is by disregarding the road and just driving all over your lawn.",0 10mins is a long time. I have a hard time taking breaks bc I get bored,1 Essentially describe how my adhd has been for so long. I am finding it harder then ever to just do the little things. I take adderall when I know I will have a demanding day.... It works but I come down off the meds and back to me. Sometimes I feel as though everything is moving past me while I am stuck as an audience member instead of a participant... Does anyone feel like they have a thousand browser tabs open and never go back to them to look?,1 "Ever since I saw the movie Hoot, i'm terrified an alligator will come out of the portapotty and attack me. I avoid portapotties like the plague.",0 Intentions matter. I have a thousand screenshots/saved posts that I will never ever look at. Try not to feel like shit. We all do it.,1 "Lmaoooooooo, so true (I’m allowed to laugh at this as I have this annoying OCD shit were I’ll do some dumb shit sucks like tickle my toe 3 times do 10 backflips and 3 barrel roles to prove to myself that I don’t want someone to fall off a cliff or have something bad to them)",0 That kinda made me wanna cry because it’s so sweet 💕,0 It must be nice to be able to excuse crappy behavior with actual disorders.,0 OH MY GOD FINALLY AN OCD/TOURETTES MEME I CAN RELATE TO 🥺 I LITERALLY felt this so hard you have no idea,0 "Oooh yeah def. walking w lines on the ground is a struggle for me. Has to feel even, never does. If I’m counting it’s even worse I end up walking in place or doing a weird dance to make it feel right. Sometimes I have to force myself to just pay attention to part of my feet because trying to get the whole foot even (toes and heels on both feet) is too much and if I’m not conscious about that I will turn my own anxiety up to 11 just walking to class and I’m not even in class yet aaahhhhhh",0 "You scared me, but I'm good for now, 1030ish on a Sunday morning, on a holiday weekend, I'm safe. And then my mom messaged me to tell me dad's going to the ER again. There is no safety. There is no peace. There is no rest. Ever. Edit: this was a bad moment. Everyone's ok now, including me.",1 "Congrats!!!! Just curious do you still get the obsession to wash your hand and ignore it or is the obsession totally gone for you because you stoped showing it attention?",0 "Yep, and throw some severe depression into the mix, that's me. Fuck this shit sucks.",0 Even the package insert of my stimulant says “your child” all over and the insurance does not pay because I am not a child ughh,1 "That’s already hard, then put OCD on top and it’s quite an achievement!!! Congrats",0 I got intrusive thoughts about hurting people it suck got me worried,0 Hands down this is the best use of this meme I’ve seen A+,0 "This is incredible. I’ve been trying to grasp a good explanation for it that I can easily explain to my partner and honestly, for myself. This is it!!! I honestly want to wake him up right now just to have him read it haha. Thank you!!!",0 "YES. I get anxious when I can't know something, even if it's gross or weird or totally insignificant. What helps me most is just reminding myself that uncertainty is part of the human experience.",0 "As a 40yo in film school (college! Finally!) I feel this analysis. Imma let this knock around my brain for a bit and get back to you. Unless I forget.",1 "Wow this hits hard. I recently started a new job and they taught me how to open the shop and showed me each step. Of course I wrote it all down because I would never remember. But I found while I was doing it, I had a hard time knowing what to do first and that I sort of just walked around for 10 minutes before looking at my notes and doing the order that I wrote down there",1 Wow. I can’t believe someone else goes through this.,1 "I was the low performing quiet girl in the back. Work was my salvation. Will do boss!!! I did not excel in school. I have a graduate degree somehow.",1 "Going through this right now after a buzzed dinner blurt-out apology to my 2 best friends [who I havent gotten together with in a while] re: my being so ""intense"" of a person a few years back when my mental health was at its worst. Now I feel like they hate me for even bringing it up again.",0 Meanwhile my brain is angry this isnt 6 layers deep because it has 6 rows.,0 Happy Birthday! You're doing amazing and thank you for sharing this! ❤,0 "I shut down and want to die even if thats not the reaction I am going for. Fear of future tough love on the other hand sometimes works for me, but it makes me reluctant to want to do anything at all when I dont need to",1 I used to bring a tiny tape recorder to lectures in college before this was a thing. Such a brilliant addition!,1 "It's so frustrating. Like you don't think I know that?! I'm extremely aware of my shortcomings all over the place, thanks for pointing them out. Immediately followed by having whatever sort of foothold you had that day to get started instantly crumble under your foot.",1 "I normally feel awful because of my lack of self control. I try to not eat, but if I am in any way tired, self control goes out the window. Every day, I do well for breakfast, I do well for lunch, then I get home and collapse. Just too mentally tired to fight against my urge to eat...everything. Haha. And then the worst part is the self judgement. And it’s only in my head, no one else understands it. 😞",1 "I can remember where everything static in my house is, like “oh yes, that piece of paper from two years ago is in the mud room closet in the second drawer from the bottom under the birthday hat and the mermaid swim goggles.” When it comes to mobile things like AirPods, phone chargers, keys, wallet, the glass I was just holding, etc. they are lost to all space and time when I set them down.",1 "ah yes trickle down therapy (but seriously thanks, this is helpful!)",0 It's 3am and I just woke up my bird because I laughed so hard. Take my upvote and apologize to my bird you son of a gun.,0 It's a meme but if this isn't me losing my shit when someone adjusts the shades and doesn't have them all line up with the windows and wall.,0 "These posts usually never make it more clear you have OCD, or makes you think you’re faking it for attention.",0 "I love this so much! Even without understanding your personal intentions behind this art, i can still feel the conflicting emotions and the feeling of being consumed/overwhelmed. Amazing <3",0 I just go by feelings. Like I set my coffee cup down on my counter a bunch of times until the little clink noise it makes “sounds just right.” Tf does that even mean? I don’t even know 😂😭,0 "My brain does this a lot with my wedding ring, which is part of why I take it off when I eat. ""Make sure you swallow your ring!"" ""Well I wasn't planning on it, but you know now that you mention it...""",0 "For me this has gone so far, that I have to take small doze of ketiapine an our berofe I shoud go to sleep. It shuts me down so I have to go to sleep. It's easier to just take the pill than try to go to sleep at the right time. But it works so fuck it.",1 "Several doctors have ignored my swollen lymph node in my neck for years, but not this time! I actually have 3 of the risk factors to get a cancerous lymphoma too, so I will definitely request a biopsy on Monday! Thank you for posting this. Wishing you the best in defeating this cancer!",1 🙄🙄 like let's change it from $.98 to $1 while we are at it,0 Ahhh! Packing to evacuate my campus rn and this made me smile! Bless him,0 Nice! I use closed captioning all the time in Microsoft Teams,1 ">OCD is not cute quirk Tell that to the reddit users",0 "Lol, yes. Unless it’s something that I really do want to do and I just can’t remember. But I’ve tried setting alarms for chores before and I’m just like “Um no, go away”",1 I FEEL THIS OMG WHEN PEOPLE THINK YOU COULDNT POSSIBLY HAVE OCD BC YOU’RE NOT SUPER ORGANIZED,0 I actually didn't know this was an OCD thing! I thought it happened to everyone.,0 "Me when I had a terrible childhood but apparently have a ""good"" sense of humor because of it",0 "This kills me. My #1 challenge. Timetables, like for trains and buses, take so much of my brain power.",0 "Wait, you guys actually remember to watch the videos you added to the watch later playlist?",1 "Did you just tap into my brain, take every issue and thought I've ever had, and dump it onto this post?! Because RELATEABLE AF.",1 Not for me. I love watching films/shows so I definitely pay attention.,1 "EVERY DAY. Not only scientific facts, but just things I know to be true in general. Recollecting things in my mind, that I know as fact but NOPE. OCD mind says it isn’t true. Lol Yikes.",0 trying to sleep when your brain wont shut off and is like “remember that embarrassing thing you did in 6th grade” is the absolute worst,0 "I'm a project manager and I fight like HELL to avoid this. Thankfully it's mostly my job to direct the work vs carrying it out myself, but I still have to triple check actions were done and I wasn't just thinking they were because I scheduled them.",1 "they always come at night for me. my brain is ruminating really unpleasant thoughts like a fuckin jackhammer and i'm struggling. I feel like I let all of my supporters down when I get like this, it's very much a lonely feeling. I don't know what amount of blame to feel responsible for, it feels like it's totally my fault that I am this way. I also feel like i know how to do better, but I just don't, and i'm so ashamed of that. ",0 "Nice job!!! Really proud of you, I hope you'll manage to keep it up but even if not, this is a victory to be celebrated",1 ">No more hypothetical catastrophes We’ve got plenty of real ones, especially in the USA Today.",0 No fucking way! Le Festin (original) was my top played song this year because I played it almost non stop for a few weeks,1 I struggle with the same thoughts. Good job! You look fab!,0 "i have cleaning ocd but my room is a mess cuz if everything is clean, I'm anxiety free so the organisation/ mess doesn't bother me at all",0 I have 243 tabs open because I can't bring myself to close them,0 ",,,are we secretly allowing m e m e s again?? Edit: side note, when were images allowed to be posted again?",0 You are so right. I just realized that yesterday. Thanks for taking the time to share what you learned and the book recommendation.,1 "Ah yes or anxiety and depression brought on by substance use which is my personal favorite, can't pay attention at work, have to schedule psychologist appointments and go during work, can't get prescribed the most common ADHD drugs due to cross addiction potential, feeling of worthlessness and lack of focus drives you to use more drugs, can't get to root adhd issues without sobriety. Anyways I found a way out through sobriety and non-stimulant medication. I still walk around in circles and stare at the refrigerator after opening the door most days.",1 It annoys me because things like this are the reason it took me until 31 to get diagnosed.,0 "When I was younger I had to go to a doctor, my hands were completely cracked and I was bleeding from washing my hands to many times. They used some type of medicinal ointment cream and gauze, and I had to wear those for a few days. Luckily I'm not washing my hands that often anymore. Hope y'all can get trough that phase. :)",0 "Ok thanks! I will go shower and cook dinner, as I said I would do 3 hours ago",1 "a small tip that helped me was to just ALWAYS have handsanitizer, but yeah this really sucks like i can't go ten minutes without the urge to clean my hands",0 YES. I just suddenly remember a bad thing I commented once and start feeling guilty and scared,0 "Today when I finally said no to someone, she was pranking me. :(",0 "Thank you so much for this. Things have been jwrd lately and today is especially difficult. Needed this Love you 💕",0 "This legit was why I didn't read the book my therapist asked me to on how to help intrusive thoughts. I told him ""I don't want to get the book because it might actually cause old thoughts to re emerge or somethin"" lol",0 "Honestly, that's why I resorted to radical acceptance. My OCD is never going to go away so I might as well not let it take control of my life. ""Yeah but what if this nice moment is ruined and you die a slow and painful death"" ""Okay, I look forward to that."" ""What if this person that has traumatised you comes back and ruins your life?"" ""Well, I'll welcome him to a nice cup of tea, then.""",0 "I was at a movie tonight. Something about not being able to talk brings out the worst of my intrusive thoughts. I can definitely relate to this. You're not alone. Thanks for the laugh <3",0 "I recommend a lot of self-advocacy. Explain the situation's effect on you, be sure to be clear that if it hasn't been an issue in the past its because your physical presence helps you mitigate the issue.",1 "This was amazing. Reading that my compulsions aren’t what I am and also seeing it from the perspective of not reacting to the pop ups makes me feel like if I don’t react to my obsessions I won’t get stuck in that cycle. Thanks for this. Tom I’ll try and not even react to my obsessions, going to be extremely hard since I have checking ocd. Let’s hope for the best and thank you!",0 That's why I have five windows with more tabs than my screen can contain... it's Chrome too. My poor fucking computer.,1 "That's way too long, you should only brush your teeth for two minutes at a time.",1 "I cant let them sit i try and try with therapy and control and focus but my dam wife whom i love to death is the cook, home makes everything but since shes the main wage earner im the housewife, i don't usually mind but when she leaves me a legit mountain of dishes i just wanna cry..",0 "This is so accurate I think this is an example of me dissociating",0 "I was supposed to kill myself in January so it's my fault too. Now I can't because I don't want to burden the medical staff with my corpse too, but also maybe if I kill myself the pandemic will end? Writing it out makes you realize how foolish it all seems. I feel you.",0 Yeah compulsions are kinda like addictions when you know it's harmful and kinda want to stop but do it anyway,0 "There are a number of very famous people who have achieved a lot in their lives who have OCD: [JK Rowling](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/sep/27/jk-rowling-ocd-the-casual-vacancy), [Eminem](https://calebdupton.wordpress.com/2016/07/12/a-personal-note-on-o-c-d-and-eminem/) and [many more](https://www.ocduk.org/ocd/famous-people-with-ocd/). Its not hopeless. ​ Its hard. I wish I could talk more about things to people. Its hard to progress when talking about it to family causes them so much stress/drama. But for me personally, I really need to focus on acquiring treatment, which so far I have been too despaired to struggle for. But it can save me.",0 "Yeah, but something that I’ve noticed helps is saying, “I don’t give a fuck at this point.” To every “What if?” And it kinda works",0 "Yes. Sometimes when I watch a movie a second time, it’s not that much different than watching it the first time.",1 My life is a constant cycle of vaguely *knowing* that I'm smart but also feeling like everything proves otherwise.,1 True. Next time I see ‘i like everything to be clean and tidy I’m so OCD’ on a tv series I might just about lose it,0 "Absolutely!!! Especially at work - when I see I’ve done my tasks quicker than usual, I practically LEAP with joy",1 Yeah I’ve had this. Less yeet the baby thoughts and more drop the baby.,0 This is great. I appreciate the work you've put in!,1 As I'm reading this I am procrastinating right now.,1 "This sounds fantastic, thanks for the recommendation!",1 I have to play along with my mom getting mad at my dad and I’m not diagnosed but we both probably have ADHD and the my dad thinks I’m lying and so does my mom when I say I forgot something even when I genuinely did.,1 "I HATE when my parents are like ""washing your hands and hair so much is bad for you you have to stop"" like WOW THANKS AMAZING ADVICE",0 "This needs a companion piece, or two more frames of the same scene. The two new frames will show the cat sitting there with this fella, no flames, room in perfect order. The cat lives in objective reality.",0 feeling guilty for smoking?? even though i’m trying my best to quit??? i made the decision to start when i was 13??? and everyday i regret?? and feel guilt???,0 Every day of my life. It gets worse and worse and worse,1 "Something that I like to do is think of the OCD as an ""it."" A long time ago, an excellent doctor (now retired) ); said to think of the depression as an ""it"". That causes more depersonalization and less ownership, therefore making the depression/ anxiety/ OCD into disorders rather than ""my"" appendages. I love that; it really helps me. Thank you doctor!!",0 "Every single practice you manage adds up. I found as I aged it just sorta... added up. Plus, even TRYING is better than nothing. Hang in there.",1 "Practice a little self compassion. Others make the same mistakes as well. Just try to make one less mistake next week. Be thankful for the job that lets you buy the groceries or the subscriptions, or the other niceties. Then tackle it head on. You’ve got this!",1 "There is always something. Once I deal with one thing, another pops up.",0 God you people confuse me sometime. You shit on everyone who fetishises this disease and feel personally attacked by jokes just like this one. Yet this garbage is top drawer?,0 "Honestly, my backup compulsions have really helped me get better with my OCD. If I really want to do a compulsion I just tell myself that another one will just pop up if I get reassurance. It still can be hell but it really helps",0 There are lots of upvotes so I must be really dense. I don’t get it. Can anyone help me out here?,0 "Reminds me of, ""The best exercise is the one you will to continue to do"" (or however that saying goes). Also broccoli is awesome",1 "Y'all, I literally have someone harassing me in my DMs because I told them advice like this on this subreddit was insulting. If we can't keep this advice off of OCD safe spaces, where do we even have left to turn? Even if you don't share someone's OCD type or severity, please still try to respect their pain.",0 I like to think well if this terrible thing were to happen I will make it through somehow,0 "I usually just wake up during the middle of the night and my brain usually has something for me to obsess on. Something I didn't give a second thought to before... but, now... IT'S ALL I CAN THINK ABOUT. So here I am, on Reddit, trying to focus on other things (distract myself?) until I can get back to sleep.",0 "PFFF! OF COURSE! I mean, the past exists only in your mind! And your mother's! And father's! And neighbors'! And history books! And the internet! And more! And they're all different versions of the past! Can you believe?? Don't overthink it guys, just turn the OCD switch off! If only... 🥺",0 too bad the depression hit me first. i think i've always had ocd but not very badly at all until a few months ago when it became crippling. now all my old coping mechanisms for depression don't work and i feel nearly emotionless as my feelings become buried and bottled up.,0 "Hey guy, I was freaked out by this; but I know two VERY highly regarded epidemiologists and they both said this was a media-driven malarkey. It’s bad; but it’s not nearly as bad as we think. Rn it’s flu season so we don’t really know how many people have Covid-19 vs the flu vs a bad cold. The mortality rate is probably several orders of magnitude smaller (according to them). Both agreed we should be more worried about the flu. Also know that really the only people dying are over 70, have HIV, or have asthma/lung disease. This isn’t a reassurance cause it’s straight facts. Take solace.",0 Anybody else touch something until a good image pops into their head instead of a bad one?,0 "Shoutout to ADHD doctors! They’re the best. My psych (psychiatric nurse practitioner) has ADHD herself and was the first one to take my ADHD seriously. My previous doctor refused to even get me a referral to be evaluated. I ended up paying out of pocket for an evaluation from a psychologist, referred to an agency and now I’m blessed with my lovely psych provider and (decent) therapist! Current psych and I had a long discussion the other week about hormonal effects on stimulants after I told her about a lot of women experiencing lowered effectiveness of their stimulants during low estrogen points in their cycle. She thanked me repeatedly for bringing it to her attention and has been doing TONS of research on it.",1 " Exactly, was feeling so good for several days and then had a sudden assault of intense suicidal urges.",0 All of my songs are from playlists I put on repeat when I'm studying lol,1 "Top Songs: 1. Am I Secretly A Serial Killer? 2. If I Lose My Rubber Bands I Will Die 3. Is This Even OCD Or Am I Just A Psychopath? 4. If I Get Into This Car I Will Crash And Kill Myself And Everyone Else 5. I Could Cut Off My Thumb Right Now",0 Uh oh. I haven't brushed my teeth for like 4 days now.,1 "I did this when I was in a really bad place and looked through my notes the other day and stumbled across this. It helped me a lot to realise how far I’d come, most of the time it with ocd victories aren’t noticed, at least with me, so it meant a lot. It helped me a lot to write them down so I could let go of them. I’d write them down then say “five minutes then I can come back and finish the ritual” and usually after 2/3 I’d forget. Not always but it took me in the right direction",0 I've shown my counselor memes for this exact reason.,0 😂 I have mostly obsessional OCD and seek constant reassurance for my ruminations.,0 "Lol this is too true. I have an assignment due on Tuesday. I'm like, man, it's already Thursday, which is already over, and now it's the weekend so I'm fucked... Why do we do this? I should have so much time to do this and other assignments with ease. But my mind gets in a state of freeze.",1 I’ve always wanted adderall because I act super confident and feel good. But I can’t deal with the anxiety after it wears off. All my life I’ve had social problems but adderall helped me.,1 "... Which is *another* intrusive thought. Go back to focus on whatever is in front of you, *now*, and pat yourself on the back for taking control instead of being in control. This is how you slowly level up your prefrontal cortex and executive controls.",0 "At one point I had so many compulsions I did in public. I lived in a small town too. Just walking down the sidewalk was embarrassing. I felt like everyone driving by saw me and was thinking, ""oh there's that one guy who's always doing that thing.""",0 I have OCD and this is the realest thing Ive ever seen.,0 It’s like listening to lecture and asking your seatmate wtf happened,1 "Wow this is me though. That’s why I always excel at group projects because I can’t stand the thought of my team members failing or me letting them down. So I always get 100% on group projects with most of the work but with individual projects I struggle a lot more.",1 "Thank you, everyone. I've been having such a hard time lately, but especially today, and all of your kind words have really helped. I know all of us have different families and lives, but it genuinely comforts me to know that I'm not alone in feeling this way. We all deserve better, and it saddens me immensely that people treat us this way because they don't/can't/won't take the time to understand us.",1 What about when you’re with your friends joking around and they bring it up? Then this chart goes out the window,0 "This post is relatable. Well done, you are doing great!! 💚 I’m jealous of your handwriting too!",0 "This is how I got diagnosed. At 15 my dad and I sat in his truck and he asked me why I was failing at school, why I wasn’t turning things in. I simply said I don’t know I’m really trying. He listened and with in a week I was seeing a psychiatrist and being evaluated by specialists.",1 "[I’m confused by two specific categories ](https://www.reddit.com/r/autism/wiki/config/sidebar?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) “This subreddit is drama free” so the subreddit (r/autism) rule wants us autistics to “calm down” idk about any of you out there, but for me, anxiety is more than just 24/7. Sometimes there’s no room to calm down.",1 "Lately I've just been like, ""Oh you brain, you're so silly."" It works pretty good so far.",0 "Best post I’ve read in a long time. I needed to read that, I needed someone else ro verbalise it.",1 So many moments that were so torturous are so clearly OCD when I look back now.,0 "As a child I could not clean my room. I got privileges taken away constantly and it wouldn't motivate me. I'd just get used to life without those things. My parents would threaten to throw away all of my stuff. I would cry for a bit before reasoning with myself that it would still be okay and I would find new favorite things. My mom would sit and try to help me, but when she left me to do it on my own, I couldn't. I was grounded from TV for three years. We moved and my stuff had to be boxed up. That was 2009. There are still boxes from that move that I haven't opened. There were 4 mouse holes in my floor when we moved my dresser. That was the only area that had empty floor space. I also dealt with roaches constantly. I had one crawl across my face one morning. Still didn't motivate me. The 3rd house we lived in was the first time I actually cleaned my room and kept it clean. I was 20 years old and it was the first time I had a boy spend the night. We're married now, and he does most of the cleaning around the house. My son was diagnosed with ADHD at age 6, I was diagnosed at 26. Before I was diagnosed, I swore that I wouldn't let my son go through what I went through and when his room starts getting bad, I will fully clean it myself. I pick up a couple things any time I go in there, or ask him to put one specific item away. I know first hand how hard it can be and this exact Tumblr post is something that helped me immensely with my parenting years ago.",1 “I would like to begin my ten-part apology by first saying that I think you’re a wonderful human being with many admirable qualities…”,1 Hmm there's something I've had for a while that I need to go to the doctors about too,1 "I used to have high school kid come and help me out with my housework a couple times a week it worked amazingly well! I'd pay them $20 each time (1-2 hours each day. Senior year she had to quit to focus on her studies but she was awesome.) Now I just outsource everything to my neighborhood kids lol. I'm a mom so I have a zillion popsicles and goodies and sometimes they will ask if they can do a small chore for me because they want a cookie or something haha. I give them $1-$5 for bigger chores and it works EXCEEDINGLY well! Kids will do anything for a snack lol. (All with their parents permission of course.)",1 "I thought of you when I read this quote from ""Taking Charge of Adult ADHD"" by Russell A. Barkley, Christine M. Benton - ""ADHD is a disorder of performance—of doing what you know rather than knowing what to do."" Start reading this book for free: https://amzn.asia/hJeyrPo This is the most succinct quote to explain ADHD for me.",1 I thought it’s anxiety. That basically I stress myself out to exhaustion. It’s so annoying cause I wanna do so many things and then I’m asleep by noon.,1 That’s your insta? I follow that insta and love it! Thanks for the memes! Even though they are just memes they really help. OCD is terrible and memes help to make it just a little better. Thanks again!,0 "What fi we just start throwing what ifs back at our OCD like your OCD comes in like ""what if you accidentally kill someone and you go"" ""what if *you* accidentally killed someone >:0""",0 Yes. It’s essential for me. Always has been. I have no urge to do something unless I understand why I have to do it.,1 Can’t even tell you how many times I’ve driven back home to check if I shut the garage door on the way to work,0 Every day I feel that if I die nobody will care or nobody would mind because I useless as shit,1 "My OCD makes me draw a pokémon every single day without missing one and posting it on Instagram before 12 AM. I'm currently at number 602, and haven't missed a day. It takes so much time everyday, but in 300 days or so I have drawn them all! But my brain probably comes up with a new ""wonderful"" idea after that to keep me busy... 😅",0 "you see human. just because you touched something that touched something that touched something that had your semen on it once means that the person living in the same house as me totally has touched the same patch and is now pregnant because of you. if she isnt then not washing your hands will shift you to the parallel universe where she did become pregnant. \~sincerely OCD..... i wish i was kidding but yep my intrusive thoughts are just that plane bonkers. whyyyyy are waiting lists so fuckkkkking looooooong i want my therapy -,-",0 When ur watching videos on OCD and start questioning the validity of your OCD because it seems like the person in the video has it worse than you therefore yours must not be real so you start asking yourself what if you’re just faking the entire thing or what if you’re just schizophrenic ha ha ha ha ha,0 "Doesn't even work for me, i'm med free. Exposure therapy has helped the most for my particular case.",0 Okay... This is my first time in this sub... Nice job I'm probs joining,0 Pour one out for showering and for remembering to take my medicine.,1 I have the absolute worst memory for movies because of this.,1 "any achievement is a good one, no matter how small it may seem to someone else!!! that’s amazing, you got this <3",0 Needed this. Had my first compulsive episode in a month because I engaged with it. Now I’m back in my world of depression and confusion for a while lol.,0 That’s amazing. I’m finally seeing a therapist as soon as their office opens beginning of June!!,0 "My son was just diagnosed and will have his first day of meds tomorrow. He’s a smart kid. He scoots through school well enough because he’s a smart kid, so his teachers routinely say “He pays less attention than his peers, and he tips his chair constantly, but he does well and is a sweetheart!” Meanwhile, he tells me the wires in his brain are all jumbled and he cries and says he can’t do this stuff. It’s like he pushes so hard in school and collapses at home. I’m really hoping this helps him. He asked if he could take them today but the script wasn’t ready early enough to take them. 😬",1 "That’s exactly how I think OCD would look in a physical form. This drawing gives be a weird sense of deja vu because I have seen a monster like that in my head. Head one is obsessions Head two is compulsions Head three is intrusive thoughts. You are amazing at this!",0 If I can’t touch something seven times after I accidentally come into contact with it I’ll click my teeth all at once one time to make five and then just my molars to make two which adds up to “seven” 😭,0 This is me. My memory is far better than the neurotypical people's once i know why though.,1 or when someone asks me if i locked my car’s doors so i’m forced to go back and check,0 "Ugh, this affects me so badly with school. I always need to understand, remember and ask about the most unimportant things. Why is my brain wired like this.",0 "This is fucking me over as we speak. I need to get some certifications so I actually have a vague chance of getting a decent job in my field. I've studied, I've done the practice labs and tests and I did well enough. The *second* I sit down in front of the actual exam? Hahahahaha no. I browse the TIL sub every now and then, and there's a ton of stuff that garners a ""hey, thats interesti....wait, you already knew that"".",1 It really is. I'm sick of living like this tbh. I can't do anything for myself. IM 28 I'm a MESS,1 I guess it's fortunate we are in a situation where we pretty much stay home all the time. I'm dreading having to go back out in public once things open back up.,0 "I love this!! Thank you for sharing!! Side note: your environment does not have to look like anyone else’s, or be a “normal” productive space. For me, I’ve found I am most productive when I have a designated spot, (when I had flat mates I’d go to the terrace, in my small apartment now I have my yoga mat set up always in my room) and I can go there, usually sit on the floor in uncomfortable positions, light an incense, and GET TO WORK. Like, total zoning...even if to others I just look like a freak hunched over her computer/sketch book on the ground.",1 "Same, same, same old same. No worries, you're not the only one. Recently found a subreddit called: Unfuck your habitat. It gives some really easy steps to like get started with the messes. It is meant for the people with executive malfunction (at times) r/ufyh [Unfuck your habitat](http://r/ufyh) Just found out about... Hope it can help you a bit to find a place to start. I believe in you. You got this. Also get some like easy but better food and put the chocolate and other temptations like in a place where it just takes too much effort to grab it. So like the chocolate is further and harder to grab than some bread. If it doesn't work no worries. But put the chocolate back at the annoying place and the bread in an easy place to grab it. Or where the chocolate is now. Maybe it'll work, maybe not. But give it a try, you got this. :)))",1 I killed a fly a week ago and have been dealing with the *intense* moral backlash ever since,0 Wow I’m so proud of you! This reminded me to brush my teeth before I head to bed! So thank you,1 Omg that’s so me. Especially when I’m trying to study 🤪,1 "Yes yes yes. My family, school, friends and even doctors has done this to me my whole life and they KNOW I have ADD. I’m sorry we have to constantly defend ourselves to everyone about everything. I’m so exhausted by it.",1 "I do this when I do laundry. I feel bad if I use my ""freshest"" batch of laundry so I would wait for a couple weeks for it to sit in my closet to ""rest"" (or I put it in the very back/bottom of my drawers) because I feel bad that I'm making it tired and worn out, not necessarily the fabric but in a way that it has ""feelings""...",0 When I found out about the opportunity rover I cried heavily for like 20 minutes. I have teddy bears also that I feel this way about. I feel this way about a lot of other inanimate objects too.,0 Arent you worried there is nothing to worry about??!!!,0 "ALL OF THE TIME!!! Seriously! I always ask my friends if anything I did back then and even now is awful or worthy of being cancelled, etc, and they look at me like I’m crazy. It gives me reassurance that I did nothing serious. Wow, I never thought someone actually related to this. Thank you for this post.",0 "Everytime I hear someone say that I snarkily joke that: ""Man, I wish OCD was like that and not the hellish nightmare it is.""",0 This is awesome! And your bf seems like a great guy,1 "You aren’t alone. When I was younger, I had several vivid dreams consisting of a parent dying in some freak event and the toll it took on me/how it changed my life. Sometimes I overthink about “what will I do when this person is gone”, and I begin to sort of.. “spiral” into a series of thoughts and compulsory actions? I had a huge fear of death as a child, and I worried a lot about what would happen when I “grew up” (because people were constantly talking about my future), when I didn’t even understand what “growing up” meant. All I knew was what I had seen and heard: you grow up, then you die; your parents will be older when you grow up and things will be different without them. Eventually my childhood fear turned to “I need to be with my parents when they go somewhere or something will happen”, etc., and I became increasingly worried for their safeties.",0 "Punch needle is super fun and meditative. I too suffer from intrusive thoughts Very cute froggie",0 "Yes. Yes! I’ve started scheduling even basic things like gassing up the car and laundry. It helps. I may procrastinate but the reminder helps me get it eventually. Autopay is a friend. Every paycheck, I pay cards first. Then transfer some savings to another bank. The backup helps when emergencies happen. And the separate bank means I don’t spend it unnecessarily. Autopay helps when I’ve genuinely forgotten. Catch net.",1 Oh man is the door locking one an OCD trademark ? Gets me everytime.,0 "Sometimes I try to say — “I’m not trying to be mean, but I’m really feeling overwhelmed. If there’s nothing you need me for, could you ignore me for a bit please? Sorry.” When that works, it’s great. When it doesn’t, it goes from that to *GAH! LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE* in seconds. It’s truly a last-ditch effort.",1 Making enough money to hire a personal assistant has always been one of my main financial/career goals.,1 Or repeatedly step over the same spot to prevent a car crash,0 "Lol, yes!!! I also use semicolons and the old ... a lot!",1 This...I- no. No this hurts ouch. That’s so accurate I’m experiencing physical pain. Oh my god that is so frustrating I’m gonna explode. FUCK.,0 "I'd reply: ""it's actually real sad to see someone being so uneducated for their age.""",0 Someone should post this regularly... I’m going to do some errands that I should have done already.,1 "Too energized to talk about new ideas, make plans, but too lazy to start executing by myself.",1 r/YNAB has been a gift from above in terms of helping me manage my finances! Once I used my hyperfocus to get over the learning curve my life has completely changed,1 "I do this with with a few food items. Cheese like brie, I switched from blocks to snack varity packs. - Already in portions to just eat. - Easy to see how many I have left . - If I open one, the rest don't risk going mouldy before I get back to them. So actually open them. - More types of cheese. - Less money spent overall, because not eating other things in place of cheese. - With less money ended up in the bin in the form unopened cheese. With soreen malt loafs and mini cake slices type things, I pay extra for the ones with indervidual wrapping. That way the rest don't start to go bad from being exposed after the first, so last longer. I try to get the single and small pallet fruit in realistic amounts with lots of variaty. Works out more per kg but sometimes nicer and more likely to not get bored of what I have, less waste. Had large tubs of icecream for almost two years. Badly freezer burned, so ended up in the bin. Switched for variaty boxes of small pots. Probably get through more as now as it's a treat. Both of us will pick one each weekend to have during a film. Also got some nice berry conserve and lemon curd in. Last for ages if you only use clean spoons. Also keep cheap digestives, creamcheese and double cream for normal cooking and stacks. Then I can always make a lazy persons cheesecake. Wisk the amount of cream and cheese you want with some sugar, caster if I have it. Crumble a digestive and add a spoon of a fruity flavour, and done.",1 I feel lucky. The people in my life have mostly just been concerned. Maybe they call me insane once I leave the room but to my face at least they treat me nice.,0 "I JUST got diagnosed this past Thursday and it felt so good to have a doctor confirm what I had suspected for so long but everyone who I shared my feelings with completely discounted it. Starting meds tomorrow. I’ll get back to the laundry I started folding but abandoned halfway through, feeding myself, and doing a few crucial things for work that I’ve been putting off for two days. Thanks bruh",1 "Same! I'm not as much compulsive as I am obsessive. Like, I've got intrusive thoughts for days. I didn't even believe the psychiatrist when he told me I have OCD, because of the usual media portrayal of people with OCD",0 "How do you get rid of constant compulsions though? For example, I have this compulsion where every few minutes I have to grit my teeth 3 times specifically. I understand you can take control over intrusive thoughts, but what about this?",0 "Pick 1 think you want to improve upon, and start to work on it. Just one. See where you're able to progress. Starting with improving one can go a long way. I believe in you",0 "That's great! Small steps are significant in dealing with OCD, you should be proud.",0 I found out there are 3001 maximum favorites on Taobao D:,1 this is the battle that goes on in my mind every day bruh,0 "I feel the same way righ now. 25, couldn't graduate from first university, take the exam again, get into a English major from a good university in my country, couldn't even pass the proficiency exam (can't pass writing, not enough time/ can't pass speaking, nervous af). I honestly don't know if it's ok to try anymore. My parents got divorced, we have no money or a job, my father is mentally disabled but no one in my family tries to accept it and always needs someone but I can't even manage my life let alone my father's, oh btw my uncle says I gotta get my shit together because nobody will help me anymore (thanks uncle, that's assuring). I've been constantly in depression for about 4 years now. Pandemic didn't help it either. I don't have the money for therapy or doctor and I've been thinking end it all for good at some point. I think I won't do it as long as I have my mother and my sister but this existential pain is almost unbearable for me. I don't know what to do and I certainly don't want to be burden to anybody, all I've left is struggling desperately and trying to keep myself sane enough to be accepted by society. TLDR; I feel you.",1 Definitely misread this and thought you were agreeing with my inner self that constantly tells me I'm stupid and lazy lmao,1 "You are not an evolutionary mistake, society isn't structured to fit the way we evolved. I know just how you feel, I will not spend another minute fueling a capetalistic society that isn't sustainable or fit for the human condition. Did I say will, I mean can't\* I can't keep a job.",1 "This bitch is not for real. I wish my OCD would make me ""tidier."" This is so cliche. I think the most misunderstood aspect of OCD is the stupid cleanliness thing. But what ev, yeah my house is ""clean"" because my OCD makes me do it. It's not because I worry obsessively over what others think, how they'll react, how they actually did react, what people think of me, oh shit I'm going to die, no wait I'm not gonna die, I'm gonna cause other people to die because I screwed something up, gotta do it all again, always my fault, always my fault, I'll just chew my finger prints off and pull out my eye brows, why's everyone judging me!!!! Rinse and repeat, ba dump bump, ching (punchline drum with cymbals).",0 "I definitely still feel lazy, but I haven't ever thought of myself as stupid. I just think differently than others.",1 "I should watch that. My OCD has gotten better throughout the years, to the point of just changing numbers on the radio, but I almost had to drop out of school due to my OCD. Anxiety depression and addiction now rule me.",0 "Same thing happens with me, except I'm a teen. Articles on adult adhd keep popping up, or articles on premature adhd. I hate it, it's like they don't want us to do researche",1 Ahh! This is what I’m going through right now with my constant historical research! Someone help me!!,0 "Oh my goodness, this is absolutely delightful to see! I'm a nanny (I've only ever worked with actual children, though!) and I also have ADHD, and I'd never even considered that an adult might benefit from our services in this kind of way, but it's so smart of you to think of such a cool way to use a nanny's services! And it's so great that you get along with her so well! I'm sure I would've messaged you if I'd seen you on Care.com, even though my schedule wouldn't really allow for another job. It's just so good to see this! Gosh, I'm just so happy to see this! Congratulations! I'm glad it's all worked out so well!",1 There needs to be a petition to change the name or add more letters to it,1 "I cant enjoy drawing traditionally and digitally, play minecraft, listening to new music, wait, you know what, ALMOST ALL OF THE THINGS I LOVE DOING, I CAN'T ENJOY IT ANYMORE BECAUSE OF THIS FUCKING THOUGHTS",0 "I wish I had looked more in the trash before taking it out., I lost my wedding ring months before my wedding in my apartment and I never could find it and since then moved to our house. I searched everywhere for it before, during, and after the move. Part of me thinks it ended up in the trash by accident :(",1 I definitely agree. I have been panicking so much. My ability to pay attention in class is already so pore; I don’t know what is going to happen now,1 "This reminds me of how I did a totally cringey thing in a dance club in about 2002 and forgot about it. About 10 years later, my friend reminded me. Now it's one of my go-to things to feel bad about.",0 "Oh my god yes! I was talking to my therapist about this a couple of days ago. Thank you so much for posting this, it feels good knowing I’m not alone. I’m sorry you’re going through it too though.",0 "From ""clean your room"" to ""go to bed"", I haven't set an alarm I wouldn't ignore.",1 "I usually jerk my head and yell out something like a comfort phrase or mantra. Not sure if Tourettes or OCD intrusive thought or Tourettic OCD. 😐",0 "Yeah. I cringe now thinking how weak I was. Poor scared; confused child.",1 "WOW. I have lurked on this subreddit for a while and this is one of the first times I've truly felt seen. I went down your list and went ""yup....yup...uh huh...yup..."". Someone else also goes through these things!!! I'm not crazy!!!",1 "You know when you're getting better when your OCD starts sounding like a whining child, saying things like ""Nooooo you're supposed to do that! You promised!""",0 "People kinda treat it like it goes away once you are an adult and ignore it. Our understanding of this disability is still in its relative infancy. It was only 25 years ago that the whole ""give them ALL medication!"" was the general approach because the diagnosis tools weren't really clear. More research is still being done, but it's nowhere near as ""sexy"" as researching and curing childhood cancer or autism so the progress is slower. I recommend that you find what universities are doing it and doing reputable work and write them and ask for copies of their research because you have it and want to understand it. You can also ask them who's doing adult ADHD research.",1 "Imagine if it was called “Down syndrome candy, it’s so good it’s RETARDED.” Imagine how many people would be SO offended. Lol",0 "I have found myself in this A LOT, especially during quarantine. What I have noticed is that I was not getting any time to just allow myself to be with myself. Meaning, without seeking any kind of stimulation, or waiting to be somewhere else. Just allowing myself to be where I was at that moment. Over time, practicing this, I start to come back to life. Its challenging if there are stressors that come up, but they always do. So I am trying to learn how to remain present in that situation. Eventually energy and emotions start to come back.",1 "As someone who suffers from this theme, I am proud of you!",0 "I feel this one too hard. I’m bi, so I get homosexuality and heterosexuality ocd and it *sucks*. My ocd counting number has also switched a few times (it’s been 4 for 4 years now tho) #Parkour!!",0 "I used to use the livescribe pen for this! It recorded while you took notes, so I could go back to the notebook later and tap on a diagram or bit of text and hear exactly what he said at that point in the lecture. It was EXTREMELY helpful in copying down a certain professor’s anatomy diagrams, because he wrote and talked FAST and there wasn’t time to label everything.",1 "Yesterday I was proud of myself for all the improvements I've made since getting diagnosed in early 2020. Yesterday I was miserable because I feel like I'm going to get myself fired if I don't pull myself together. These thoughts occurred simultaneously. Feeling like I'm getting things together while also feeling the exact opposite is unpleasant, to say the least. I asked myself if the brain should be allowed to work like this. I would have pondered this for a long time, but I was immediately distracted by my cat sneezing and having to wipe his nose.",1 "Just skimmed my saved posts. It's like a treasure trove in there! So many recipes, r/askreddit threads with movie/book recommendations, memes, and more. I wish I could organize/categorize my saved posts. But I would spend so much time doing that and making it look pretty that I would forget the purpose of saving those dang posts and comments in the first place lol.",1 "Quick! If you don't run back through the whole building and go back through the ""right door"" everyone in this building will die!",0 "This is excellent! It warmed my heart and made me smile. ""...Relaxed-A feeling I've never felt before"" needs to be a t-shirt or bumper sticker. I've been on Adderall for years and I still stop and enjoy the feeling of no anxiety every so often. Thanks for sharing.",1 "Takes me like 2 hours to post on reddit or any social media because i just keep rewriting it. Thats if i end up posting, lots of times i end up just keeping it to myself.",0 "It happens to me too especially when I was younger. Our brains are really smart, but don't get me wrong they can be stupid too. They were wired for survival, so any perceived struggle or threat really gets amplified for some and brains can't always distinguish. We have to kind of tell our brains, and yes out loud so your brain can physically hear you, to shut the fuck up and stop being so ridiculous. Sometimes it helps to talk to your brain. I know it sounds weird but try it.",1 I opened up EVE Echoes to give my corp all the Jaspet I've been hoarding and opened up my physics homework.,1 Loved reading this. My roomates crack jokes about how I lose things all the time but also come to me when they need help finding their things 😂,1 "This is easily the most frustrating thing about OCD. I can put in the work, do CBT, and rid myself of an obsession, only for a new one to spring up. It's like a game of whack-a-mole. I think my brain is just so accustomed to working a certain way that if I manage to neutralize an obsession, it will reflexively find a new one.",0 "I once said, if I could step in the boxing ring with OCD, idk if the OCD would survive because I can hardly keep calm anymore",0 I feel you! I often feel so stupid and out of place in social situations because i can’t articulate sentences and form words. I hate it and feel like it’s getting worse as I’v gotten older.,1 Yes. It’s a form of OCD. Basically treat it like any other obsession. Shrug it off. Do ERP.,0 Meditation. Sort of a secret among society now adays. It has saved me literally. Just a little bit can go a long way. It more than just sitting silently,1 Ha! This is truly relatable; sometimes I forget other people are having the same bizarre experience as me (and you better believe I had to retype certain parts of this sentence or else suffer catastrophe).,0 "Ask him if he wants to go to the hospital and ask cancer patients if they've tried not having cancer. Frankly, I absolutely detest insensitive pricks who say shit like this.",1 I’m not sure I consciously understood as a parent raising my daughter with adhd but growing up when frustrated with a task I suggested a break and still do to this day (17) when I can see she’s getting overwhelmed. But the repercussions of not doing this and I know in school she would be pushed until it was done because she’s very smart but damn it y’all. My heart hurts once again for the children suffering with adhd.,1 "Oof. This hit so close to home. Especially the ""talking about my feelings or unloading on my friends"" and the ""acknowledging my diagnosis or seeking attention"". Thank you for putting this into words",0 "Wow. Never even realized that this was an adhd thing. I constantly feel so busy. For example, I get 1 week off at a time. If we plan to do something for 1 or 2 of those days off, I feel like my whole entire week is gone even though there are 5 more days we could do something on. If we plan on going somewhere for a single overnight, I will not plan anything else for the whole week because I feel like I'm tok busy.",1 I use google keywords such as *adult* and exclude children with a *-children* etc,1 Gotta make sure it's 3 times because 3 is the Good™ number...unless it wasn't good enough or you fail it then you gotta fail the 4th because 4 is a Bad™ number and you can't end on a bad number...but 5 is Good™ enough.,0 "yeah, my gf broke up with me because of her relationship ocd",0 "This might be controversial to everyone else but I use this exact advice to get tasks done at my work. I have ADHD and my coworker knows how much I struggle with it but he pretty much told me to stop overthinking the work and just get it done. That advice has helped me make decisions and get out of my brain when it comes to my work and now I try and use the same tactic in anything that’s seems to “block” me in my life. Don’t get me wrong sometimes ADHD effects me an my performance in ways that other don’t understand but as much as I want others to understand how I function in life, I know that information given to me doesn’t always make sense but it’s the sentiment that counts. My coworkers was trying to help me in any way he could even if he doesn’t understand but maybe that’s his way of trying to understand. So I’ll keep listening and trying what he suggests if it gives me good results, and keep communicating about it with him if it means we can work better as a team and produce great results.",1 Is this ocd? Genuinely want to know more please if anyone has any info,0 "I watched documentary on discory chanel or something about wild animals in homes when I was 7, one of them was a snake in toilet sit and it stuck with me ever since.",0 Every step counts no matter how small. A step toward less OCD prevalence is a step in the right direction OP! For real!,0 It’s sucks that a mental illness can try to convince you you don’t have a mental illness and then you just end up feeling even more fucked.,0 "Does anyone else sit there and think about how they should get up and get some water? How nice water would be for such dry mouth? How important it is for health? But remain sitting there, not moving forever and letting the thought kind of just linger uncomfortably for a stupidly long time?",1 "I understand you completely. But find a nice bedtime routine and practice it often. It's made a huge difference for me. I usually take a shower, let my hair dry while I game for like 30 mins, and then go to bed listening to subtle ASMR videos. I lock my phone, turn down the volume, and roll to the opposite side. Also try maybe melatonin or otc sleep aids if you want. They help take the ease off. I know it's hard but hopefully you'll find something like similar that works!!",1 And then my mom gets mad at me for yelling “STOP!!!” at her 😭,0 "Is this *really* an ADHD thing, or does ""being a dick to people until they do what you want"" just not work on *anyone*?",1 "Been there, done that. Took me 6 months of chemo and a month of radio to get it all out of my body. Take care, get well soon. Hmu if you have questions.",1 I’ve gotten better about calling setting off my nighttime routine for google. It sets my alarms and plays sounds (usually thunderstorms). That and setting my phone to charge on a wireless charge pad are enough knock me out.,1 I was also cured by my mother from this statement! I’m all better now,1 "Yes.....totally!! I actually haven't overcome it yet so I'm still doing a lot of avoidance of activities I used to enjoy. You're not alone. The thing is, once I cancel my planned activity due to intrusive thoughts - I then sit in my room ruminating so I think I'm going to learn to ""force"" myself to still do the activity..... I think this is something that therapy can fix. I'm going to talk to my psychologist about it, it might be a CBT fixable problem.",0 I used to work shift work. My day could start anywhere between 5am to 10pm. It was absolute hell,1 "Sorry but America is so weird. As an Australian, I’ve been going to a specialist OCD program run by psychiatrists for literally free. As many sessions as I need. Free. They even apologised to me when they said I might need to pay 50 bucks to access the online component of the program. Really don’t understand the States at all.",0 I can totally relate to this. Then we give in to our OCD because... of the implication. ,0 Yep and the worst part is when everyone is still telling you that. For example my father and elder brother have diagnosed hyperactive ADHD. I (female) have diagnosed combined type ADHD. My symptoms and struggles are almost completely different from them. When it doesn't match with their experiences it's not my ADHD it's me as a person. Which is highly frustrating.,1 "That‘s 100% me! I‘m a woman and I am the inattentive typ. I just can‘t motivate myself to actually start a task. And when I somehow start a task which is really hard for me I either just don‘t finish it or need weeks/months to actually get it done.",1 "I just love how the doubt has a dent in it. Like, ypu know it, ""but still, is it really doubt?"".",0 "Hey guys I am an OCD magical thinking sufferer and things have never worked for me it was really bad even now I am still suffering and taking meds, until someone told me a very important and mind blowing fact about OCD. Symptoms started improving significantly since then. You must convince yourself that OCD is actually what you tell yourself; that really changed my perspective on OCD. Because its undeniably true: OCD is a bunch of theories you tell yourself is true from day 1. All those rituals whether weird or common are all made by one person which is yourself. All those bad events and things that happened are not created by yourself they occur outside your body. And now that you realized this fact? Are you scared of yourself? Obviously not. Are you afraid of the events happening outside you? Yes definitely. Now lets severe the connection between these 2 objects. When an unfavorable event X happens your OCD will flare up and tell you that happened because you didn't your ritual, you freak out and make the connection. Lets say in the most extreme example where OCD wins. Lets say my dog died and got ran over by a truck 10 minutes after I did not follow my ritual that day as I forgot to blink 5 times. I contracted Covid and spreaded to my entire family and killed them because I did not wash my hands that Saturday morning. Any OCD sufferer would say yes OCD is true and freak out. But lets put things into perspective. Who created this ritual in the first place? Me. Is this ritual man made? Yes. Why would I believe in myself? That is like saying you drew your own cartoon on a piece of paper called Bob, and saying Bob is real and exists in this world just because you drew it. Unless you are God which is highly unlikely. So no matter how real the situation is, the fear weakens if you convince yourself that OCD is just your own mental construct you created in the first place to cope with your scary thoughts. And then you can start seeing the reality of the situation yes my dog died because it got ran over by a truck physically as I was careless. This blinking ritual is as good as Bob my man made cartoon and its up to me to believe if its relevant or not. Relevant? Bob my creation exists and I will be scared forever of my own creation. Not relevant. Yes its just silly scared me people call OCD freaking out over things. For hand washers. I washed my hands 20 times a day and everyday is safe but I must keep washing or else I will kill my entire family with my virus. Ask yourself who created this excessive handwashing habit in the first place? Who was the original architect of these thoughts? God? No. The Devil? No. Myself? YES.",0 "This is me with Animation, I'm fairly good with computers and have a couple of Ideas for video games, just wind up playing some random video game I like and pretend I made it.",1 I cant stop thinking i creep other people out... by creeping myself out all the time.... permaspooked xDx,0 You got this OP! :) You're doing what a lot think stigmatize us as unable to do and that's amazing! So go you!,0 "I'm 15 and i I'm starting to understand that learned self hatred thing :/ My parents kept telling me it was obvious I just wasn't trying hard enough, so I stopped trying. I thought, I'm trying so hard and getting nothing but punishment, so what if I just stop trying so hard? They can't do any worse than they already have. I'm medicated now but it still isn't helping yet.",1 I just screenshotted this for the next time I need to say no,0 "This is really good!!! Also, the drawing looks a LOT like me, minus the nose. (Mine is a lot more Jewish looking, for lack of a better description. Still kind of creepy though. lmao.) Is this a self portrait??",0 "As a mod I almost made this same exact post. This is compulsive and dangerous, and I am thinking about removing all of the posts because of potential damage. Update: They are removed. I will not allow this kind of compulsive behaviour since it's obviously becoming contagious. As well, a BODY MODIFICATION as a compulsion is serious to me. Do what you want to your body but don't encourage others.",0 This. I have to really contain myself to not be awful or rude to my mom sometimes because she doesn't deserve it but her talking all the time while I'm doing something else is really hard to sit out.,1 I save every post... An upvote feels too intangible..,1 "definately do that, or if its bad enough hit my head",0 I started “just shower”-ing when I realized “just washing my hair/towel-bathing took me the same time that an average shower does (20 mins),1 "I hope one day to be able to feel calm. I hope to be happy. I am so proud of you, keep it up <3",1 “I know u will stick around forever but I just wanna say fuck u you chronic infamous debilitating illness” - us to ocd,0 WATER SORT PUZZLE oh my god - you’ve come for me in a madly specific way,0 "Oh damn, this is the second-ever OCD meme I’ve saved on my phone, and the second I’ve saved this week. Maybe 2021 will be the Year of the Marginally Amusing OCD Meme. I can live with that.",0 I feel like the first year of my daughter’s life was stolen from me because my OCD fixates on keeping her safe,0 "Yeah, that's about right, but my first alarm goes off at 630am and I leave by 815am... This is also why I keep a bag in my desk at work with dry shampoo, a brush, antiperspirant, a travel toothbrush and toothpaste, etc. Some days I roll in looking trash AF, but then I can get it together in the bathroom after my meds kick in.",1 "Do you keep notes as you research? If you write it down, or highlight or things like that you can add an extra pass through your brain and it might stick quite a bit harder. I like reading books about my subjects of interest, but I also write in the books and I deface them with more notes and answers to questions I had about parts and who they came from to give them social context. Change how you research so its less passive. Become part of it. It keeps me from going nuts with the exact same problem and I only figured it out in my early 20's.",1 "THIS 100% I was trying to explain this to my bf the other day. He wanted to hang out at around 2. I tried to explain that it wouldn't work. I don't think he got it.",1 The worst thing about these stereotypes and stupid jokes is that I believed them growing up and didn’t realize I had OCD because they completely skewed my understanding of the illness. If these jokes didn’t exist I might have been diagnosed way sooner.,0 "My problem is picking up a new hobby, becoming really great at it, then getting bored and moving on to the next thing. I’m convinced I can learn anything, and everyone thinks I’m “oh so talented” but I literally can’t commit to anything. It’s really crippling and I get depressed and stop making things because of it.",1 "Yep, living with ocd in a nutshell... It sucks to deal with this on an almost daily basis.",0 "Eating 3 meals a day. I’m down to one meal and 2-3 snacks. And the meal only happens if my husband just has it show up in front of me. I can’t tell if it’s stress or lost habits. Probably both. Also, RIP emotional stability, September 2018-March 2020. I’m not entirely falling apart but my emotions are a bit volatile and I can feel the anxiety in every part of my body.",1 \*crazed desperate laughter\* at the sight of this. So true.,0 This is so relatable right now. My intrusive thoughts are making me feel like a terrible person for situations that aren't even real.,0 I was just diagnosed this week because of the results of an objective test and I still feel like I must have faked my responses or something,1 "This is awesome! A pretty amazing sample of that hyper-focus at work! I'm definitely going to be coming back to this. I won't forget either because I set an alarm to come back when it's not midnight lol.",1 "Last year I had my mom on the phone, I was relaying some messages between her and my husband, and my husbands dad kept loudly talking to me in the middle of it all. I think he was being objectively rude regardless. The whole situation made my head want to explode. I'm still amazed I didn't snap at him for it.",1 "I’ve been talking about wanting to do this for awhile and people think I’m crazy, so thank you for giving me the push to go for it. Living alone in a big city and having extreme social anxiety on top of my ADHD and recently being diagnosed with narcolepsy definitely make daily tasks a struggle, despite having a successful career. I try to explain to family and friends that they aren’t at home with me watching how badly I struggle; they only view the high functioning outside appearances. Again, thanks for having the courage to do this and share with us.",1 Omg this is me every month when my period is 2 minutes late. (Also impossible),0 "Yes! When it comes to telling/showing me something I need to repeat/recreate for myself later as part of a job(or anything else for that matter), I need to know the ""why"" behind it. If I know the ""why"", I will LEARN what to do, and therefore memorize the steps successfully. For me, there is no successful memorization of a new string of words or actions, without knowing the reason, concept, or purpose of why I am to do the action. I need to learn it, not just memorize it. I will have a much harder time remembering what to do later and therefore need it shown to me or repeated several times...and that is just a waste of everyone's time.",1 "Ppl thinks im organized because I line things up perfectly. My mind:",0 "Not to mention depression makes you constantly over analyze stuff, and those are extra distracting thoughts (if you’re inattentive)",1 "This is me but also add anxiety, so I sit there staring at the screen when class time comes, and I just can't bring myself to join the class anymore. Being on camera for hours on end gets into my head and makes me really anxious.",1 "I know it's easy to just give advice, but like 28420938 harder to follow them. I can relate to a lot of what you are saying, I'm sorry you have to feel like this... ! How does you day look? Like, do you have any specific responsibilities? If not, maybe try to write down 1-2 things that you will do today, or tomorrow in addition to eating/getting dressed/brushing teeth? Like someone mentioned here, set alarms for at least 2 times a day when you have to eat something healthy. But also remember that you actually do need a lot energy, so having a piece of chocolate and some fruits that, yes, contains sugar, is needed for you to keep your energy. You just need to mix the quick carbs with fibres, proteins and slow carbs that will keep you more balanced in energy levels (and to get all your body needs). So for example, one time a day you make a smoothie - **apple, banana, celery, green cale, beet root, carrot, oats, water, tahini, cacao powder, dates and mint leaves** (with the right ratio you will have a mint-chocolate shake that is super healthy!) The second alarm is warm meal, do you live at home with your parents you might not even have to think about that. If you live alone, spend 1-2 days a week dedicated to cooking one or two different meals in x amount of portions. Heat up a portion in the afternoon, are you feeling engaged in cooking maybe make rice/pasta to the dish and a salad, and if you are not, just have your meal with some bread. Make sure you have a list/reminder of things you need to get done, like appointments, paying bills or something like that. If you have a friend that seem to be super organised, maybe ask that friend if they would like to spend a few hours every month just to help you organise some stuff and to prioritise correctly? So what to do with the rest of the day? Physical activity is one of the best things to feel more balanced for people with ADHD. So 40 minutes a day, just get out there, listen to some awesome music or a fun podcast, and walk in a fast pace. It's super duper ultra hard to make new routines I know. But try. If it feels easier to start out with 3 days a week, then go for it. When that seem to work, add another day. It's one of the best things to do to keep a clear mind, being able to focus, dealing with stress, sleeping well etc. Feeling like ""there are so much I could do!"" is awesome yet it makes it f\*cking impossible to actually do anything. So you end up scrolling on social media (I've been there countless of times...) But I've started to realise that I will never ever do anything if I don't just pick something. So make a list of what things you would love to try and do. And then you randomly pick one or two things. Maybe first make a separate list with things you know is reasonable atm (like, sailing across the world might not be the thing to right now, but drawing could and learning photoshop could be). Set reminders on your phone. Feeling super absorbed in drawing? Cool, but make sure you alarm will ring every 2 hours - get up, jump around, drink half a litre of water. Being energetic and wanting to do a lot of things, and being able to hyperfocus is an awesome trait when learning to master it. Of course, we will have bad days, or periods of time, and that's totally fine too. But we do not have to feel like we are out of control the whole time. Personally I cannot relate to having excess energy, but I definitely can relate to having a mind racing, not being able to start things or finish things, not being able to set up new routines, (or when I finally do, somethings new happens that makes all my new routines fly out the window), not focusing or focusing too much... the list goes on. I'm writing this post sitting amongst a million pens, paintbrushes and aquarelle paints, mixed with my medicin jar, liquorice powder, rice cakes - and in the distant the dishes is piling up. I'm going to do my best to follow my own advice, but I am also bloody exhausted so I just want to sleep for an eternity. Everything is just so abstract and floats aimlessly around haha. Btw, are you on any meds?",1 "Male, 30, US here. First off, fuck everything about the line, ""Just the fact that I'm writing a post about my feelings on reddit, because I can't ""man up"" and just keep them inside makes feel pathetic"" and it isn't because I haven't thought the same thing. I have, so many times in my life, found myself feeling pathetic because of the emotions I was feeling because ""someone may have it more difficult than me, so I have to shame myself for feeling these things."" Bullshit. It is 100% bullshit. Just because you are hurting and are finding it difficult to find your way, does *not* mean your emotions are not valid. In fact, your emotions, which are unfortunately impacted by the way your brain works, are incredibly valid, and you need to give them the space they need to operate. Emotions are a natural part of our life, and for those of us with ADHD, they can often be overwhelming. If you are feeling an emotion, practice recognizing and noting that emotion so that you appreciate how you are feeling in that moment. If we move on too quickly and don't digest the situation, we create issues for ourselves as these emotions create debt. Sooner or later, the emotions you have that are tied to that situation will bleed into another if we do not give them space. One of the hardest parts for those of us with ADHD, at least where my moderately ADHD/Depressed/Anxious ass is sitting, is that we are forced to live in a nero-normative world. It is so difficult for us to open up to others without ADHD because, even when we try to lean on someone for support, the answer is so often some variation of, ""Oh that's what ADHD is? Maybe I have that! I can't focus sometimes too!"" or ""So? Why can't you just sit down and focus?"" or ""That isn't a real thing you're just lazy."" Our daily life experience is so foreign to those without ADHD that our needs aren't even taken into consideration. Of *course* we are going to feel as though we don't matter to these people. Of *course* they aren't going to understand what it's like to have so many priorities on our plate that we are overstimulated and browse reddit just to escape those thoughts and feelings of inadequacy. The hardest part is sometimes that we *know* exactly what we should be doing but we just....can't. And guess what? That is ok! I'll say it again for those in the back: *IT IS OK TO FEEL OVERWHELMED/UNPRODUCTIVE/EMOTIONAL/DEPRESSED/WHATEVER ELSE!* I mean it sucks, but what can we do? I do it, you do it, my wife with ADHD does it, everyone reading this right now does it, even those without ADHD! We have this preconceived notion that we have to be perfect but that is simply not possible. You're going to have days where getting out of bed will make you feel like crying. You're going to have days where you simply cannot focus. You're going to fuck up, just, SO many times and at times it will be broadcast for all to see. You're a human with the deck stacked against them from birth. Mistakes are going to happen. My advice to you is this. Something that really helped me while I tried to meditate was simply noting your thoughts and emotions, recognizing they are not who you are, and try to focus on your task. As I started to incorporate this into my life, I began to notice that my self-depreciating thoughts didn't hold as much power over me anymore. I would simply think ""That's a thought. It is a negative thought, but it can't hurt me if I just let it pass. It is not who I am."" It took a lot of practice, but I am able to now brush such thoughts off because I focused on improving them. Are there days when I get nothing done? Absolutely there are and they do give me anxiety, but I no longer leave work believing I am a piece of shit. I will think it, but that just gives me motivation to not let the next day be the same. I know this is a novel, and for that I do apologize, but I just want you to know that you are not alone. I have been exactly where you are more times than I could count, and I will probably be back there at some point in the future. Just keep going. You're not alone, your voice is valid and heard, and you are loved.",1 "Once I started working on my anxiety, I stopped being able to get anything done for work. I'd spent my entire life completing assignments and tasks by waiting until that adrenaline rush kicked in. As I got diagnosed, worked on my anxiety and got medicated, I didn't have that constant anxiety to push me anymore and it was really difficult figuring out new strategies to get myself to do work I didn't want to do.",1 "Thank you for your visibility. I’m a messy OCD hermit too & sometimes there’s just too many “rules” or immutable tasks that eat up my free time to do basic human things. Didn’t make it to the grocery store today either. Tried to clean my room today, but when there’s so many “rules” about the order and manner categories of items can be organized in then it’s not too productive. Do you have any random items that “can’t” be moved for a random amount of time even if they’re in the way or dirty? I hate it, especially when I keep tripping over something but have to put it back in the same absurd place exactly. Or when I cannot allow myself to wash a glass or use a different one for a week which is nasty & embarrassing.",0 "This is really interesting!!! I’ll try to keep this in mind while I write! Also, I’m not sure if this is related, but I’m one of the few people I know who seems to use semicolons on a regular basis. I have this weird love for semicolons.",1 "sometimes my OCD catches me laughing or feeling happy and immediately interrupts it with a bad thought telling me why I don’t deserve to feel that way, it’s the worst.",0 Omg when I was like 12 I stole like 25 dollars. At the time I didn’t think much about it. But now I think constantly of how terrible a person I am. Hahaha,0 "Find a buddy and find a place to meet. It can be one of your places, but you can still keep an expectation that you're up and at some location to do work.",1 "Bless her. My way of doing the dishes is....let hubby load the dishwasher. I always do it wrong anyway 😂",1 "I seriously would prefer advice on this over a never ending series of “relatable lol” comments. Sorry for nitpicking, but I’m just frustrated with these problems and lack of solutions.",1 I'm always afraid the people I love will die. I find myself obessing about made up horrible senarios and not actually enjoying my time with them.,0 "I have to wait for 'a good day' to work on my creative projects. They occur roughly once or twice every two weeks. I am so tired.",1 "I had never thought about this loophole before, but OMG that is so me! My own finances and taxes and records are in shambles but I’m practically my dad’s accountant.",1 This is totally me logging onto my work computer everyday and looking at my meeting lineup for the day...,1 Do things like this get helped with meds? Curious because I’m getting a diagnosis Tuesday have been at my worst worrying it won’t change anything.,1 "When I'm doing well, I am able to see my intrusive thoughts the way those without OCD see them. With perspective. They just dont hold the same weight. In sure the same will be true for you. Good luck, friend.",0 "Honestly same. I can't be productive if my first thing of the day is even at 11am. That's why I always schedule an event at around 9am. Weekdays I try to show up to work at 830am. When I was taking classes in college, I would make sure to have a class around the same time. Things like that really help out. It helps that all of those events are ones where people will notice if you're gone. So I guess if none of those apply to you, you can see if a friend of yours would like to do a phone call or workout at a time in the morning that works best for both of you.",1 "I’ve been hyperfixating on starlight express for the past three months and I am not pleased that it completely destroyed my results. Also, not a single one of my top 10 songs are the same genre.",1 "Just sent a link to this post to my husband and he informed me that he was actually going to send me a link to [this](https://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Search-Your-Feelings/dp/1368027369?pd_rd_w=JzOVA&pf_rd_p=07442e57-5bbc-4b36-bdb2-92a549250cee&pf_rd_r=SGQ171DNN0A09EZPNJHC&pd_rd_r=8a2c4ac6-3ba6-4401-88db-5dcabf44bfdd&pd_rd_wg=j5Sm1) book. 🤦‍♀️ (Just wanna say, he loves me and knows my struggle with ADHD, this was not him making fun of me 🧡)",1 Started listening to Chillhop last month and it made it to #3 on my top genres list. Post is 100% accurate.,1 "Brains are also far more complicated than we can currently explain, so there are no single right answers for everyone. Trial and error is the only way to do it.",1 People with any given mental illness are world champions of positive thinking.,0 "I'm getting invisalign soon and on top of straightening my teeth, im hoping the brushing after every meal (and $5k cost) will help me to have better oral hygiene habits. I was pretty neglected as a child so not all my fault, but I still havent learned after having more fillings than I can count, 8 root canals, a bridge, 6 crowns and losing 6 teeth (still have all wisdom teeth though).",1 Thanks! Gonna remind myself to look at this post when I get off the train xD,1 Ooooh! OCD Atheists unite! God people don’t understand how dangerous and toxic religion is for people with various mental health issues. It’s a lot easier for schizophrenics to know they’re hallucinating when they don’t believe demons are real for starters. And I for one don’t need more paranoid thoughts of death.,0 "I have to constantly check for my wallet, phone and keys. Even though they usually stay in my pockets the whole time.",0 "I'm constantly grossed out by the idea that we are having to remind grown ass adults to do this. I had a friend who never washed his hands when he came to visit, and as soon as I realized, I started wiping every single god damned thing he touched down with clorox wipes after every visit. Notice I said ""had.""",0 "My sister is experiencing the same thing! We both have ADHD so I gave her some tips. I’m very used to online classes (taking all online now) so I think I can give some good advice. Just because they’re online it doesn’t mean you have all day to do them! Keep your alarm and try to match your routine from when you had in person classes. If you woke up at 8, took a shower, then went to class for example, now you should still try to wake up at 8, take a shower, and go into your computer and look at due dates and assignments. This will make it a lot easier for you to keep up your motivation. When it comes to online classes it’s all about time management. PLEASE get a calendar and write down due dates! What’s also really helpful is writing how long the assignment might take to complete so you have an idea of when you should do it. Keep a routine. Do the same thing every day when it comes to your homework and assignments. Even if you don’t have anything due, still go to your online class and look at it so you don’t forget. Look at your calendar every day. Online classes can be an ADHD dream come true instead of a nightmare if you work with it. This is why I actually prefer online classes. I can work at my own pace and do assignments when I can focus instead of having to force myself in class. You also have a quiet environment at home. ALWAYS get dressed and ready in the morning even if you aren’t going anywhere! It can trick your brain into thinking it has to get shit done. If you stay in PJs all day, it’ll be harder to complete things. If you’re doing online classes where the professor can do live lectures, that’s a dream come true. But if not, YouTube can be your best friend! If you’re in a math class, watch videos on the formulas and follow along with paper. With science you can do this too. Same with reading and language but it might be a little harder to find these videos. TRY to watch a video every day in the subject your taking. Taking notes with the videos are super helpful! With online classes it can be a bit difficult to know what you need to learn. You can work against this by looking at your teachers power points or “practice tests” if they provide them. You can write down what is important and you can keep that paper with you while watching videos so you remember what’s important. Write notes when those subjects come up.",1 """ thought of “something isn’t right” and end up trying to think of what might be wrong "" has any body experience this",0 "Dude...I feel you. I'm average IQ based on my assessment, but everyone around me thinks I'm higher IQ. I'm 36. Thought I was a dumbass for 30 years. Self diagnosed many people ADHD and Borderline Personality over the years, before they actually got diagnosed professionally. I'm a Veterinary Technician for 18 years. Always rose to be the best tech at my practices. I quit High School at 17. Never thought I could succeed at academia. I'm currently on my way to Nursing School to become an RN. Made Dean's List my first semester of school ever, without an ADHD diagnosis. At 35, realized I was ADHD, right as I started college. Got diagnosed. 3.5 GPA (not astounding, I know, but amazing for me). I think I can do this. It's so hard, but I'm getting As and Bs during a fucking pandemic! I still think I'm stupid...but realizing it is just #ADHD. I mean...B+ and B in Anatomy and Physiology and Microbiology is pretty good in my book. A's in all my Research Writing and Psych classes. I must be smart enough to be doing better than most of the people in my class. But man...I'm too dumb to remember to close the refrigerator so we had to get a refrigerator alarm so I stopped. Wtf.",1 "I hear you, man. I could've written this post for all I know.",1 I demand more Spongebob / OCD memes. This is amazing.,0 "Just give it to shrek. He can carry it. All he is made of is strength, and luck, and princess, and sketchers. He will place it on donkey, and donkey will deal with it or give it to kevin hart.",0 Hey there :) Love this meme. The struggle is real lol,0 This is a great picture man. You're looking good. Keep on fighting brotha. ,0 "Pfff. I found a hack too. You just stress the fuck out about everything. The stress is a driver that forces your brain to engage on a task due to panic. It will kill you... but hey... you get stuff done right? :) ... :) ... :| ... :(",1 "Hey! Good news is you have adhd and have some reasoning for why you may be depressed. I was diagnosed a year ago and before then my depression and anxiety was attributed (by me) to just being a mess of a human and comparatively a mutant to normal mentally balanced folk. So yeah I agree that the experience is quite debilitating and it feasts on negativity, whilst also ensuring plenty of fuel is fed into that mental fire to ensure there's more to keep down about. I see it is a foreign invader in some ways that's like an alien species or virus. It wants to survive and thrive, it feeds on negativity and depressive thoughts to grow, its weapon is to mask itself in your mind so well that you believe the thoughts and don't even question their validity. It makes you feel Like you deserve to feel this way, and thus, ensuring its own survival and food supply... Ever seen that one documentary with David Attenborough about the fungus that infects ants brains and effectively make it climb as high as it can up trees, just so it can burst out the ant and spread spores far and wide??? Its like that in many ways minus the climbing and exploding part lol. Edit: link to the vid lol https://youtu.be/XuKjBIBBAL8",1 "So utterly fantastic and a major breakthrough!! Congrats to you both! My girlfriend and I both have our own issues, which include slightly different forms of OCD. She doesn't have a contamination issue with food, but intense aversion to certain ones; when we met, she swore to me that never in her life would she eat onion. 7 years later, she's eating it on burgers and sandwiches, salads and fries, caramelized and sautéed and even raw (; A little compassion and encouragement is all we need, it may take time but what is a few years of effort to lessen a lifetime of needless suffering, especially for the person you love? Blessings be to you & yours and congrats again!",0 Honestly I think this is why I didn't realize I had OCD until 21. I never actually knew what OCD really was because everybody perpetuated that it's just being a perfectionist and really tidy.,0 "Thing is, I always get anxious about jinxing myself, so I never say “no reason to get anxious” ‘cause I feel like then a reason will appear",0 "Makes me think of a song lyric: *and my friend calls me up* *with her heart heavy still* *she says, ""Andy, the doctors* *prescribed me the pills* *but I know I'm not crazy* *I just lost my will* *so why am I, why am I* *taking them still?*",1 "I appreciate his support. Please be sure to tell him, Arf! Arf! Rrrrruff! Rrrrrrrufles. Lays.. arf! Woof! Subwoofer(because those were invented by dogs) ruff? The last ruff should be pronounced in a southern fashion. This translates to ""how do you deal with pervasive, confusing, intrusive thoughts?",0 "I did the same with an abscess. I went from originally getting a fill-in, to needing a root canal, to just loosing the tooth all together. It was a lot of pain I could have avoided, but my stupid brain said just wait.",1 "I’m not hyper fixated on numbers, but for some reason my brain has assigned a gender to each number? Like 1 is male, 2 is female, 3 is female, etc. I’ve never understood why my brain thinks this way.",0 "YES!!!! it’s so funny i had this conversation with my therapist today, he said “sometimes we don’t think we deserve good things bc our motivation is tainted”. obviously having OCD u get the intrusive thoughts, compulsions, etc. anyways, he suggested i think of 3-5 POSITIVE motivators that i can look back at to motivate me to do the things that make me HAPPY, we as humans deserve the right to be happy but our subconscious taints our motivations so we lose interest in things that we enjoy bc we feel we don’t deserve it. i hope this helped, hang in there 💜💜",0 Hey mods can you make this a daily recurring post that breaks my scrolling? Thx.,1 Well that is so very very true. I'm so brilliant at planning. And derive such joy from my great ideas. But yeah its enough. Rarely execute on them!,1 OCD and ADHD human here as well! Thanks for sharing this really did help to see. It's nice to know we aren't alone.,0 I have that too and I used to be late to primary school every day because of something very similar. I always have the “what if there isn’t a way for me to go to the toilet wherever I’m going” thought and it’s really annoying,0 "lemme jus push down on the doorknob precisely 18 times just to check... wait, but what if that breaks the lock? oh god oh fuck",0 "My short term memory is great. If I read it in the last 24-48hrs, I can regurgitate the hell out of it. If I took notes, I might get a few more days and a few more vague long term memories. But, specifics never stick around for long and sometimes I’ll forget completely long term.",1 "Op , I have my finals this month. Thanks for the reminder!",0 "This checks out to me. I've always noticed that I tend to write at greater length than most people I knew, and with much longer or more complex sentences. In part it was interest in writing—I wanted to write better so I learned how the parts worked and that can pretty easily take you to Dickensian, paid by the word levels of verbosity, but then it also naturally leads to the ability to make a sentence like this one right here grammatically sound; well, more or less (certainly within creative license bounds if not style guide standards). But even before I could do that, the length would go on, they'd just get called run on sentences because *just* commas can't fix that unless you're a Founding Father (which leads to other problems). I was also directly called out on writing the way I talk, so your hypothesis lines up pretty well. The thoughts are a bit more stretched out sometimes and possibly convoluted—you want to show the whole process until you learn not everything needs said—but you still want to get it out, so you use the tools you have, and everybody at least knows commas. ETA: to be clear, I tried intentionally to use long sentences. If anyone has a problem where they need to control that habit, you absolutely can. Most things with more than one comma that aren't lists *can* be said in multiple sentences. It's up to you and your particular situation nwhether they *should* be.",1 "Im in the same boat! My university just switched to online classes as well, everyone else seems happy but i know i wont be getting the education i paid for. Even if my GPA survives i fucking hate teaching myself, especially when im paying for an expert to teach me in person. Wack",1 "But then all day every day I spew weird random facts about things. The number of times I've heard ""Why do you even know that"" is insane.",1 "plot: I have OCD, and someone showed me this obnoxious picture of a border collie... plot twist: I own a border collie that looks a lot like the one in the picture...",0 "This is a huge deal!!! I have bad sensory issues with brushing my teeth too and it’s so hard to make myself do it. I’m not proud of how long I go in between brushes but it’s *so hard* to force yourself to do it. Congrats on the 27 day streak! Keep it up, you got this",1 "I like it. I've had OCD so bad that I was afraid to leave the house. I've washed my hands over and over until they bled. OCD is absolutely a mental illness. That being said, this made me smile. Sometimes you just need a laugh.",0 "I didn’t even know I had OCD until I was absentmindedly putting away the clean towels and realized that I had two perfectly folded stacks of washcloths, five to each stack, and they were the exact same height and folded the exact same way. I did the same to the hand towels and bath towels. Perfect symmetry. I just waved it off until I mentioned it to my mom and she thought it was a bit weird. When I mentioned it to my grandma, she told me that I had been kinda obsessive about color-coding and sorting things perfectly and all that ever since I was in preschool. I mean, some people like things neat but it was just strange in my case. It took seventeen years for the doctor to comment on it. So I have slight OCD tendencies—nothing worth medication, the specialist at the hospital said that I have a processing issue (it just takes my brain a couple extra seconds to “catch up” with something that someone says to me) and slight OCD tendencies.",0 Can I upvote this multiple times? I’m online right now because I’m avoiding doing the simple task I’ve had to do for weeks.,1 "I don’t get this with windows, but I get it from social situations. When I was little, I felt if I didn’t retrace my steps before leaving a place I was at, that something bad would happen. I also felt ifI didn’t do certain things at the right time or in a certain way that I’d get the thought something bad would happen as well. I didn’t know I had OCD until a few weeks ago but it didn’t phase me cuz it’s just the same old thing. Also, no wonder people don’t understand why I listen to sad/slow music. My extreme anxiety and constant overload causes me to need something relaxing to listen to. This sounds super basic, but ASMR helps me so much when I feel extremely tense. It always helps me calm down.",0 Monk is a pretty good show. It's about a detective with OCD and he has tics and compulsions and he counts things,0 "Yep, I label it ""ruminating"" when I deal with it. It's really hard to get myself out of it too. Embedding myself in a dramatic tv show helps me.",0 "Yes, I have this too. I'm an ironworker and a lot of the time I'm told to go a specific thing like weld on these clips without an explanation on WHY I need to do it. If I have a better understanding of what it's purpose, then I can catch mistakes that I might be doing when welding them in, like they need to be a certain way so another trade can get their stuff in this same spot or because later we are installing something else here that uses these clips so it's better to not make it super tight against the ceiling to make more room to help get the piece in. When I ask a foreman why were doing it, I get talked to like I'm a total idiot, but unless I know why I'm doing it, I won't remember all the details needed to do a good job. Thanks for posting, I totally relate.",1 "My friend yells at me when I'm on my phone when we're hanging out, but I am paying attention to her and ignoring the phone. I just have it out because I need a steam of information to distract myself so I can focus.",1 Planners work so well that I’ve been banned by my fiancé from buying them!,1 :( I was (and sometimes can be) in this place...have you tried coconut oil with socks on your hands at night?,0 unfortunately its false comfort and is just pulling you deeper into the ocd. theres no judgement here i know thats hearing that won’t help anything,0 I have suffered with Contamination OCD and my cats have been great exposure therapy too. Hope you have a great time with them!,0 I once had a migraine and thought I was having a stroke.,0 Too bad none of them will ever bother to educate themselves on these things or visit this sub.,1 "Hey! Another thing that I didn’t realize might be a product of my OCD. Seriously, this is why I like this sub and others like it. I find out so much about myself.",0 A vicious cycle indeed...so hard to find a middle ground that works consistently.,1 I think you just described my kid. Are you them? Today the doctor thought Wellbutrin would be a good idea. So did we!,1 "Hello this exact thing is my constant fear, I have a never ending paranoia of spiders being in places they shouldn’t like inside my body and crawling out through my mouth",0 "Yeah, that's the ""one secret trick!"" Also ""have you tried just getting up earlier?"" Actually, no, Susan. I have not! Thank you for suggesting it!",1 Wow. I can relate so much to this and I feel like this is a great way to explain it to people who may not relate to it so they understand - really appreciate this. Thank you,0 This is me as a grown ass adult with a job that gives me hella anxiety and I exist 40 hours a week in this state.,1 Ahh the good old panic of not finding anything. Phenomenal adhd has taught me just get a spare of keys and anything valuable and put your wallet in the night stand so I won't forget. And when everything isn't in it's spot then we panic 🙃,1 "tl;dr - turn your research rabbit hole into a solution to someone else's problem - it's a win win for everyone. Most of my days revolve around work work work (I'm always on call, and always thinking about it when I'm not - apparently I even talk about it in my sleep). I often go down research rabbit holes and feel like I've wasted my day. But, when I come across something of interest I bookmark it (in some form) and sometimes even remember to look at it again later - this is when I usually end up learning something, even if just one little fact. If I learn at least one thing of interest every day (even every other day) I feel like I'm at least doing ok. I also try to help at least one person with a small/medium problem every day (the easy ones don't count because they're usually too easy). I have a service job so that's usually pretty attainable. I've learned to help people with a lot of those small/medium problems as a result of going down plenty of those rabbit holes...because the subject interested me even if just a little bit. It's a manageable cycle and a win win for everyone.",1 With me it sorta looks like I cringe when the thoughts kick in,0 i feel you. i struggle to finish work and i absolutely hate it,1 "I relate so much! I am constantly battling imposter syndrome. I frequently forget words and I feel like my colleagues think I’m an idiot when we’re talking about work things and I can’t remember the terminology, when I know abstractly what I’m trying to say or convey but it just won’t come out.",1 I remembered I stole from my parents just to buy a fake Yu-Gi-Oh cards. That moment will forever haunt me.,0 [Caaaaarl!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJOwdrTA8Gw),0 I found this out this week and couldn't believe it!,1 "I'm 38 years old. I spent much of my weekend playing a video game. I woke up 4 hours ago and have been on my work laptop for 2.5 hours. I can't think of anything other than that game. I try to shift it to work, it goes back to the game. I was thinking about it when trying to go to bed last night. I have very little control what my brain thinks about.",1 "Am I the only one not understanding this? I see how it tricks us into thinking we are bad people, but I don't understand how it tricks others into thinking we are good people.",0 "Dang! Cant even thank you enough for putting the time in for these tips. Might I make a suggestion? Let me print these out first, then remove this post and make it into a book. That is so awesome! You need to get paid for this one. May I ask what your job is in life? You need to make money doing this or something similar- research, author, etc.. What was the motivation behind creating this list? Whatever it is- thank you ..but I am curious. I read some of the responses, there should be nothing but gratitude coming from the peanut gallery. Even though I cant read it all at once, crazy awesome organization, structure, and format. -much gratitude",1 Omg on Facebook I have SO many saved posts and stories that I forget about.. probably hundreds!!,1 Mine are my kids songs. You'd think Spotify algorithm would figure out its not one person who loves Moana most of all and then Bon Iver and Phoebe Bridgers,1 This is such a good piece of advice! Thank you for taking the time to share this!,0 How is it that I can forget to make my lunch if I'm leaving on time. But if I am running late I can prepare a great quick ass lunch in the nick of time plus breakfast.,1 How can your day be fine when they start the moment you wake up?,0 "Wait, this makes so much sense. I seem to use so many commas in any writing I do. I also seem to be the only in school that doesn’t struggle to use semi-colons at all",1 The old OCD rebound as I call it. Also happens when you confront an obsession or compulsion and feel good for standing up to it. Then it comes back.,0 "If the technology in the movie Inception was real, it would be so easy to incept someone with OCD. In the movie, they have to go REALLY deep into Cilian Murphy's psyche to plant an idea and let it grow. From someone with OCD, you could do it at the first level. Hell, you could probably do it to them while they were awake.",0 I honestly try to avoid making appointments and go for anything that let's me do walk-ins. Less stress.,1 "i swear to god this is me with every new obsession. it's always ""ok, your last obsession was ridiculous and untrue but this one is VERY REAL""",0 "oh my god, this x100. i do archive work for some of my favorite bands (looking for lost and/or super old and unknown songs, albums, demos, concert videos, cds, merch, etc.). that archival work mainly involves scrolling through craigslist for hours looking at every cd in a cd lot, or trying hundreds of variations of google searches to find something new. yeah. obviously i'm awake at 2 AM until i make one ""searching for"" post on a subreddit or something so i can feel good, and then i go to bed.",1 My best is really good but most days my best is not a realistic option.,1 This is a perfect depiction. I always imagined it as an insectoid Lovecraftian monster I call the Locust King.,0 I have a work meeting at 5pm and Im not doing anything except looking at the clock waiting until I have to get ready. even going out to get food I feel like it'll be too rushed lol,1 "Right?! Out that month where all I did was listen to Great Big Sea until my husband said “staaaaaaaaaahp”. I was just in a mood",1 Since the Age of 5 in different ways. It's not easy being us.,0 "So many acronyms, some I can figure out, but a lot of them I can’t. What does tldr mean? Is there Reddit page that explains the most commonly used ones?",1 "i get like this... lmao.. like cleaning for instance.. you been cleaning all day, but since you start on something else before finishing the last.. you got nothing to show for it. hmmm..",1 "Same! Researching things I want to do, but I will never or should never do is slowly killing me. Everything else I need to do to actually make a living just goes out the window in search of instant gratification. The thought of being homeless and hungry does not scare my brain enough, apparently.",1 "Omg just the other day my roommate told me that Google Calendar really helps him! That made me neurotypical, but then he gave me a copy of *Getting Things Done* and now I'm the CEO of Elon Musk.",1 "Feel this. Now imagine being female, where even the research and content about children is almost exclusively male children. Women with late ADHD diagnoses are being called 'the lost generation' 😖",1 "I really did need to hear this. Thank you. Now I just need to believe it",0 Yeah that’s a huge thing for me. I am lost if I don’t have a reason why I’m doing this and something works. Weirdly enough the other kids knew why but I didn’t and I got in trouble for wasting time. Maybe they explained why and I was in la la land again.,1 "So true. Sometimes my obsessions are overpowering and hard to deal with. I am trying to learn more about being mindful and accepting that my obsessions are just that, obsessions.",0 "I had a really bad episode of this a few years ago. I had pretty much convinced myself I was terminally ill and eventually went to the doctor. His reassurance had broken the cycle for that theme surprisingly, but it just shifted to a different theme anyway as is it's typical nature",0 "Sooooo me. Now in my 30s, I've hashed this out in most areas of my life, but dating is, um, a problem, when you're convinced you're an inherently broken person. When my self-esteem is low, I attract assholes. When I'm feeling more confident, I attract people who are neck-deep in their own issues, looking for someone to fix them. I'm secretly a bit envious of anyone with ADHD or self-esteem issues who somehow have tripped into happy marriages.",1 Gonna be honest. i have been depressed for a bit lately and this whole comment section is me basically and it made me cry a bit.,1 "It is exhausting. Here are a few things that have helped me get to the other side. No reasoning or justification of thoughts and doing the opposite (I believe it is acceptance (ACT) and ERP). The new habits then very slowly take away the thoughts or flashbacks etc. I am also a huge believer in nutrition based treatment as it helped me. I would suggest give a try to taking the right amount of omega 3 daily via fish oil, flaxseed oil, flaxseed, chia seed and walnuts and see if it helps. Per my experience it takes more than a few weeks to see the impact but it starts to get better and in about 4 months it is a lot better. The amount of DHA and EPA should be about 1000-1500 mg per my understanding. The ALA in flaxseed etc convert to EPA and DHA only at about 10-15% per my reading of research papers.",0 Saying the same thing over and over in slightly different ways just to fill conversation is a huge part of my ADHD symptoms! 😆 I wonder if your mom is also ADHD without knowing it.,1 "It sure is, i'm on disability pension, mostly because of my OCD. Days when i dont need to do anything but the essential stuff, like eating, brushing teeth etc. Are some days too much for me. My showers take 2 hours, i miss the days when they took 1 hour...",0 Love these drawings and illustrations! To me it’s hard sometimes to explain with words what my thoughts are like. Just comes out stupid or weird. I can definetely relate to this one,0 I started to write my nightly to-do list and ended up browsing reddit for the past few hours instead. I think I'll do that now. Thanks for this!,1 Love seeing you all cope through art. Hope people keep posting their work.,0 "That's awesome! I've just recently overcome some of my own contamination-related obsessions, so I know how relieved and accomplished you must feel. You've earned it!",0 "OMG this was so fucking me! I would have ""bad thoughts"" during prayers and then apologize for those thoughts, ect. I'm so glad I'm an atheist now, but I still have ocd though. You win some, you lose some.",0 This headline made me laugh so hard. And then cry a little. I haven't even read the post yet. Feel like this needs to go on my fridge or something - motivational reminder? 😂😳😭,1 "I'm late to the thread, but thank you for these beautiful words. As someone who has attempted suicide once before and strongly considered it several times since, it really touched me in a personal place and made me feel a little less lost.",1 All the time. So many things I just move to the next day. It’s funny how I keep procrastinating over small things.,1 I have planner. I forget to use it. I also have 8 million phone alarms.,1 So surprised to see one of my tips up there! This is mega mega helpful. Thank you.,1 "Sometimes I put a reminder to go to sleep with the bedtime option on the iPhone, but whenever the reminder pops up, I just ignore it because I’m not ready to go to sleep. Eventually, it just becomes background/ part of the screen and I don’t even see it anymore lol",1 I should keep this one handy and show it to everyone who keeps asking me why I am bringing up shit from 15 years ago. I don't know anymore what is just a me thing or an OCD things so I use my husband as a compass which in itself is part of the OCD reassurance problem.,0 "That's amazing, I'm so glad I for you! Also the coincidence that this post is the second one where I can make a parallel with recent events in my life. only 2 days ago I took my first pill too (Ritalin, to make me do tests under its effect) I was scared after the appointment because I noted that I felt energetic and calm and satisfied and thought it might, idk, show that I'm lying about having adhd (I know I'm not but there's always doubts) But I read your post and the similarities comforted me so much, thank you for sharing!! And the way your boyfriend reacted just makes me wish I had a lover to share this with.",1 Good for you my friend. Keep it up! There is always hope.,0 And that cake would have to go in the bin! Lying OCD or no lying OCD,0 "I wouldn't label it as the OCD saying something. Our own brain is stuck in a pattern and we really made the associations and connections to fearful emotions and outcomes. Its just not only 'ocd playing up' but a deep pattern that we as a human are stuck in. Many people often say that their OCD is talking or acting which is so weird because eventually we are producing that OCD unwillingly",0 "That’s when you fight back and say “no fuck that i am going to try my hardest to have a good day” and even if you fail everyday, saying it to the cunt OCD is and trying anyways!",0 Right!? Like...do these schmucks not realize they diagnosed a horde of us that are now adults?,1 "It’s like if someone stubbed their toe and said “I have chronic pain.” Funny joke right? Except, when they make that joke, people actually believe that chronic pain only manifests in the form of toe pain. That’s the difference. It’s only funny if people are educated enough to know how ridiculous the comparison is",0 I feel the opposite; people tend to think I'm obnoxious at first but then after more interactions they start to like me. 🤷‍♂️,1 This is exactly why I went to sleep at 4am last night... oops,1 I think I'm going to start telling people I have Alzhemiers lite,1 when i think of every possible outcome of my life it always results in loneliness or suicide so yes very tru,0 "I absolutely agree. I have no hyperactivity and attention deficiency is probably one of my most manageable issues. Its the lack of ability to plan and execute consistently that ruins my life, coupled with the feelings of inadequacy and self loathing. Then when you add the lack of self control and emotions it essentially the shitstorm from hell we all live in. The term ADHD totally minimizes this life long battle we’re involved in daily and it’s grossly unfair.",1 currently up rn tryna fight these thoughts so I can sleep ://,0 "Holy shit this. My mom does the same thing. I'll be still waking up in the morning, enjoying music or a YouTube video while cooking the simple breakfast I want. And she'll come in and start talking about all the recipes I could try. I could say that I'm not wanting to talk right now, or that its not a good time. But then suddenly I'm a bad person. That, and working retail is brutal. You get 4 impatient customers asking intricate questions at the same time. Just wait your fucking turn",1 "The amount of times I've been yelled at in my life for forgetting something...""How do you forget???"" Well...I have this thing...",1 Saved it to read later. Somebody should probably remind me.,1 "Ooo I like this game! For me: 1. I can’t remember if I locked my car 4 times so now I have to go do it again or it’ll get broken into 2. Brain, wtf? 3. I do NOT want to kick my dog now will you shut up?? 4. I’m dating a girl and I’ve never ever had sexual feelings about a man so why are you telling me I’m not actually gay 5. This logic is so flawed.....unless?",0 "I've been gradually having to come to this realization myself. I realized that the core fear at the base of most of my OCD obsessions has to do with the fear of disappointing people in my life, or that they won't think I'm a ""good"" person anymore. Whatever my specific obsession is, whatever I feel it is that people won't ""like"" me for if they know, I've had to realize ""If I get reassurance about that one thing, something else is going to take its place."" So it's pointless to argue with them. Realizing that really took the wind out of my obsessions' sails.",0 I showed this to my therapist today and she said it's part of her job to be able to spot when someone isnt genuine or lying and she would never tell me lies about what she thinks of me,0 "My therapist is an ice cold motherfucker, in the best way. The best approach I've had for my TOCD so far is ""Yep, maybe I am trans and my marriage is gonna fall apart. What's for lunch?""",0 Parking somewhere for 1 hour? Pay for 2 and you don't have to pay the inevitable parking ticket.,1 "Im so tired of hearing “you have OCD why are you so messy, aren’t you supposed to have a thing with germs?” 😡🙄",0 "Yes, I do this to remind me to eat, always delay it for hours. Even started using a barcode alarm app so I have to go in the kitchen and scan a thing to turn it off. Still just wander off after. 🎉🎉🎉",1 This is when my OCD is usually at it's worst so I use it as a meditation tool since it's gonna be there anyways.,0 "Oof. This is a hard hitter. I have three degrees and a professional career. I thought I had ADHD about 5 years ago and was just really wondering how all my peers in grad school were getting everything done. Some even had time to spare. I got the runaround and decided maybe I didn’t have it. Boyyyyyy was I in for it when I started my career. I had to get diagnosed because I almost got fired and my life was in shambles. I was so unprepared. I honestly still struggle but good god, this corporate work is clearly not with us in mind. Just know I’m right there with you!",1 "My OCD told me I couldn’t drive to work today because I would die in a car crash. But I got in my car and made it just fine. My OCD told me that the exact time I did something today was crucial. I did it at a slightly different time.",0 It happens to me all the time but I always pause the film because I hate to miss anything!,1 "When that new obsession/compulsion comes along and your life becomes even more limited... I know that feeling all too well.",0 I wonder what chevy chase would have to say about this?,0 "Cough cough, cable guy is about how consuming premium media is the only way some people can make the day to day manageable",1 "Hi, OCD therapist. Welcome to the community of us OCD-havers. We're are very honoured to have you, so please enjoy your stay and please feel free to contribute whenever you like to this great sub. :D",0 "So much of my essay feedback I got in college (I did English, film and clas-civ so all big essay based courses) was that although I had a lovely writing manner, I should consider using less commas and instead break up my sentences into shorter ones occasionally to make them a bit easier for the examiner to digest. Never considered it an ADHD thing but now it makes a lot of sense as that’s exactly how I talk as well, quickly and with very few breaks!",1 My mom has to tell me each med and the dose just to make sure that I'm not going to die by taking it,0 It was such a holy shit moment when I realized most people don't do this,0 "You cannot take my gummy vitamins away from me. Gummy iron supplements on the other hand taste like shit if chewed. I will be getting those in pill form next time. I take them at the same time as my gummy vitamins because hell yeah it's gummy time anyway!",1 I understand this so so much. Especially when people make fun of it or see it as being clean when for you it’s debilatating and not fun or helpful. I wish it was more talked about and not taken as a joke by people who don’t have it.,0 "thanks for posting this :) I've had a psychiatrist tell me I don't have an attention problem, and that it's ""just"" depression and it was super frustrating they just ignored my inattentiveness, which appeared when I was like 5, whereas my depression showed up nearly 20 year later",1 Why is this so upsettingly true? It's making me sad.,1 Yea! I get this so intensely about so many things that I thought that I was schizophrenic at one point. Especially when I smoke.,0 "1. It's never too late to do anything (in your personal life) 2. Dismiss weak excuses, you'll literally always find more of them. 3. Try to ""approximate"" sensible decisions. F.e. by adding certain levels of logically expected good outcomes to your expectations, even if you cant emotionally realize them 4. In your personal life, it's usually better to make mistakes early instead of not making them at all (Or, to be realistic, making them a bit later after letting them become a way bigger problem) 5. If you're not gonna do something because youre exhausted, accept that and commit to recreation. It's important though to differ between ""anxiety lazyness o.s."" and actual exhaustion. The lines are blurry and you may never find a goldden rule but, while fighting your ""lazyness"" does wonders, ignoring exhaustion will just leave you burnt out and having to ""recharge"" for longer. That being said, I still fall into this from time to time - but realizing it is already half the battle won",1 "Here in Canada we have about a month waiting time since Covid got into full swing. You can access therapists who are not covered by medical and get in, but they're pretty pricey. Especially since many are out of work. I finally had to suck it up and pay for a few sessions because I was suffering that much.",0 "This whole post and all the comments are literally that scene/meme from We're the Millers. OP: Neurotypicals get 24 usable hours and we only get 3? Commenter: 3 hours? I'm only getting 3 minutes! Other commenter: You guys are getting usable time?",1 "Oh yeah, and then when you’re ocd starts affecting your interpersonal relationships then you’re no longer sick, you’re just an asshole who needs to get over things.",0 "As an artist myself I feel this, I would love if I could draw everyday but some days I just can’t get up to do so :|",1 "Me trying to explain my intrusive thoughts Everyone and everything else*",0 "Preachin to the choir. Its funny, ""Existence is pain"" has a whole new meaning with both lenses(adhd depression/anxiety)",1 "Right before covid I was working on weekends as a ski coach. We had to cancel the last three weekends, so we missed the annual banquet at the end of the season. My boss emailed us in May I think, asking us to send in a video saying who our most improved was. Well, so much time had passed and I didn’t know who my most improved was and I couldn’t think of what to say. So I set a reminder for the next day, planning on taking the rest of the day to mull over my ideas on how to do the video. Next day comes: * Remind me tomorrow * I did that every day for a **month** before my boss just stopped asking about it. I never got it done and three months later I still feel horribly guilty, and that pit in my stomach you get when you keep procrastinating.",1 Consider the following: the captcha but it keeps making you do another and another and another and another and....and you just want to watch your damn hulu,0 "That looks like a nice book! I am currently reading [The Smart but Scattered Guide to Success, by Peg Dawson, Richard Guare](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/25404196-the-smart-but-scattered-guide-to-success?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=xMIblnrNeh&rank=3) (mostly because I am waiting for a diagnosis and it appears more general than just ADHD) and I found some useful tips.",1 "*Always having songs stuck in my head* The other day I had the ""Striped Sweater"" song from Spongebob stuck in my head. I think my friends almost killed me.",1 memes like this usually dont bother me but this one got under my skin.,0 Awesome! I know that feeling well. Glad to see you are on the up,0 Maybe you should put the ban warning on the sidebar.,0 omg your dad should get a Nobel price for curing millions of people from ADHD! 😍,1 "I wish these types of people would just leave the whole OCD discussion alone. If all the other people want to cure it and you don't, your idea of OCD is probably wrong, people.",0 religious ocd is fucking BULLSHIT and I suffer badly from it,0 "Happy birthday! Also wait OCD can convince you, you won’t live past a certain age? Oh this explains so much...",0 "Quite the opposite. Now that I have assurance that everyone is sanitizing their hands, I feel much more comfortable not using my sanitizer :P",0 "It's the worst! I feel your pain. It's a constant battle trying to be understood and honestly, I have given up trying by and large because of how shitty it makes me feel. They look at you like you're making it up or just trying to make excuses for yourself and I've gotten that from various therapists too. I'm currently looking for an ADHD specific therapist who KNOWS this inside and out. It's so much more than ""just focus"" ""just meditate (my doc)"" ""Just start and get it done""",1 “Emotional regulation disorder” wouldn’t work for me. My emotions are one of the few things I’m _good_ at regulating.,1 Yeeeepppp. I’m now going above the recommended max dose of zoloft just to hit my intrusive thoughts. I get pangs of guilt over stuff I did a long time ago all the time and it bothers me as I’m otherwise largely fine?,0 "This is me but I sometimes stay up until 5, get up for work, and do the same thing the next night. Really takes a toll on you. I hate it.",1 "I feel you. I'm 17, my family is constantly home, and just don't understand that things are different for me. Like please, you're making me cry. Stop. This shit is already hard enough to deal with.",1 I would like to humbly thank everyone who has commented and/or given awards to this post for all of the free dopamine. 💖,1 Like not to brag or anything but my brain is so big it can fit like 3 mental illnesses🤠,0 Are we allowed to post this here? Or is this too “low quality” or “annoying” for the admins ? Jw,0 There should be a edited version of this where it shows the whole head and the jet streams coming out the back of it,0 "I used to go on planet Minecraft and look for skins for like 3 hours straight, because I just couldn’t exit the loop :0",0 "Same man, I fidget so I can focus better and they just keeping getting mad. And then when I just stare it’s too fogged up and I look at them like a stranded fish... just let me be:(",1 "The back of the mind ""you lazy bastard..."" is always kind of there for me and I have to actively dispell it. The imposter syndrome I feel has gotten easier to deal with the more years go by (age 33, been in my profession 5 years now). I hope you find it to be similar. ✊",1 My husband was weirded out that I was super serene/calm/tranquil or whatever you want to call it. I just was happy to feel....peace. Finally feeling the bees calm down and the world slowing a bit. It was wonderful.,1 "Dude i was wondering why i want to be completely perfect in any video game then i searched about ocd, my fear of having a loyal future wife, idk if this is ocd symptoms but i want to know everything about whatever things happens with me and i am just tired of searching wth",0 "I don't know you, but I'm cheering you on. Congratulations! I'm 27 and I just started brushing my teeth at night few months ago. The sense of accomplishment is real. You're so not exaggerating! :-)",1 "Favorite reaction image of all time. I was recently put on a combination of Zoloft and Rexulti (not recommending specific medications, everyone has a different physiology and thus not everyone experiences medications the same) but for me, this combination has been amazing to me. My obsessive thoughts are still present, kinda looming in the background still. But thus far, they're less intense, less attention consuming, and overall less debilitating. This image is really funny and I find it really relatable but the point is that the condition can improve, it can get better.",0 "I struggle to brush my teeth just once a day, let alone floss... So yes I’d say that is definitely a big accomplishment!!",1 I had this realization when reading Fahrenheit 451 and the captain is explaining to the MC why that little girl who died was doomed anyways because she asked ‘why’ instead of ‘how’,1 I want to do this but I’m worried about how compulsive I’ll be about choosing the name. I got a robot vacuum and didn’t use it for an entire year bc I couldn’t decide what to name it 😂,0 Planners and diarys are good for a couple of days/weeks after that the hyperfixation is lost and so is my interest.,1 WELLBUTRIN AND ADDERALL CHANGED MY LIFE!! was diagnosed with ADD and depression and felt numb and dead Inside. Please talk to a professional if you can. For the first time in living memory I don't want to die in my sleep anymore.,1 For like an entire minute I forgot actual concentration camps exsisted,1 "Try Meditating everyone. It helped me a lot (and try to do research on Spiritual matters, etc.)",0 "Yeah dude, I’m the same. I find myself literally pacing around the house doing nothing to dull the agony sometimes",1 I paint them so I’ll pick at the polish instead of skin but then I end up digging around my nail beds.,0 "One reason I gave up on cinematography, you have to write a script, get actors, go out and shoot, possibly multiple days in a row, and then sit down and edit it. The most I could do would be going out and shooting for 2-3 hours and then doing a quick edit. Now that I'm on meds and getting my life together I'm going to try getting into it again",1 Lol yup! Sucks! I got some protein bars cause I’ve stopped lying to myself about cooking lol. Can’t fix all the executive dysfunction problems that easily tho :/,1 "Wow. I never even knew I did this. So much of my life is making sense all of a sudden. I need to see the big picture to retain any of it, otherwise it’s filed under “irrelevant details”",1 "As a home renovator i can relate, i have come to terms with all areas of my home exposed!",1 this makes me wanna go too because my ocd is really bad and appereantly the meds aren't helping at all either,0 Or just rekindle one that had been sitting dormant in the back.,0 "Try taking the first step, broski. Even if it’s just one thing you put away, it’s one more thing than before. One you start, it’ll get easier and easier.",0 "I always have a dentist appointment at 3-4pm, I can't take the stress most of the time so I reschedule a few times before I make myself go",1 This is the most darn thing I hate with ADHD!!! And no one understands,1 "I've dealt with this too. About a year ago I stopped killing myself trying to make a great first impression doing everything 'right' and tried to just make some effort but still be myself. To try to explain (b/c that's what we do, lol), if my normal effort for friends is 70%, and I would bust ass and analyze everything and be on my absolute best behavior when meeting people was 100%, I would not only be exhausted from the mental effort but also freak myself out for the next few days trying to figure out what I did right and wrong to do better next time. Now I aim for 80-85% when meeting new people. I do still put in more effort to not interrupt or overshare and to be on time, but if I slip a little or am 5 minutes late then that's just who I am and they can accept it or not. Although I definitely haven't been as quick to connect with many people, I have ended up making one really good friend who actually likes me for who I am. I'm pretty happy with that trade-off. Hope this is helpful!",1 "My mom: Fuck you, my child is completely fine! My search history:",0 "I haven't posted in this sub before. Recently got a formal acknowledgment that I do have ADD/inattentive ADHD. Started on concerta, various doses did nothing for me so I stopped and am waiting to be able to go back to the doctor (live in Alberta where covid is... out of control... docs are a bit stressed). I'm in my 40s. Struggled all my life (being the best parent I was capable of, jobs, school, etc). My oldest son has developmental disabilities and got tested as a young child. Not ADHD, just 3 separate conditions (slow processing speed, short term memory, and a language disorder) that are closer to being on the spectrum, I am told, than ADHD (prior to diagnosis, we did try meds, the lowest dose had him awake for 3 days, so.... no). I have nieces and nephews and cousins with diagnosed ADHD and other developmental delays, so it's definitely a hereditary neurological thing we have going on. Anyway, I've always said that ADHD is not ADHD. That name was given in a time when our lacking knowledge of the brain was closer to 1800s medical knowledge, than to 2020 knowledge, and we are still learning. Someone commented about it being an executive dysfunction, which is much more accurate, though I think of it as executive functioning conditions, with each ""problem"" being a loosely related subset of the cause, that individually don't cause disability....together can really put a lid on functioning though. Might be why my family have always gone military. I couldn't though I tried, migraines excluded me from service. The structure and discipline might have helped them deal with how their brains worked. Really just wanted to say thanks for the post.",1 I love being alive. But I feel like society is trying to kill me and force me into structures and life patterns my brain is simply not wired to do.,1 I can always tell when I'm talking to my daughter and she gets one.,0 "it literally never makes sense to explain, and i’ve tried and when it comes out, it just doesn’t work??? it makes perfect sense in my head and when i try to explain it to someone dndososizug&.@:’$./!",0 Even reactions are misleading. (They'll never catch us!) Sure...,0 [https://youtu.be/MCSfNS\_954Q](https://youtu.be/MCSfNS_954Q),0 "In was a spastic mess at my covid vaccination today. Strange place, strange people, and lots of instructions is a bad combination for me.",1 "After you will get better, you will discard all the pain and guild because your brain will function properly and won't be intrested in reliving all the bad parts. I am currently feeling better after years of suffering, in almost 2 years I have gone from 8/10 to 5/10, I feel like the healing is proportional to the work you put in like respecting some basic rules, eating well and sleeping enough.",0 "In the wrestling match with OCD, you have that cunt in a headlock. Great job.",0 "I’ve found the best way to deal with them is to take them as seriously as possible. So “This is so setting my OCD off” to a picture and I reply, have you seen a doctor or therapist? That really sucks. Then when they say oh it’s just a joke. I say no you really should see someone if you think you have OCD, it can even lead to suicidal thoughts, it’s really serious. I hope you get the help you need.",0 "I’ve never been able to do a planner. The bullet point to-do list has been the only thing that doesn’t make me want to rip my hair out (figuratively. it would be my skin, not hair)",0 Who else automatically thought to check the doorknobs in their house?,0 "Oh yeah, eat breakfast. Still gotta do that. Its 2pm. Granted, I woke up an hour ago. But still.",1 "I'm currently taking the steps to get evaluated for ADHD and it's been a very slow process. There is only one person in the psychology and psychiatric department at the clinic I go to who is qualified to evaluate so my appt isn't until May unfortunately. So I've been browsing this sub as a reminder that there are people who can relate and who have managed and gotten through to the other side so to speak. This is exactly the type of post I needed to read tonight. I'm new to all this so I'm not real confident as to whether it's ADHD or not, but almost every post on this sub is relatable in some way. My big fear now and the thing I continue to hyperfocus on is ""will I be one of those who slips through without a diagnosis"" and then my mind betrays me ""you don't actually have ADHD, you just don't try hard enough and are a procrastinator"". Constantly forgetting things, or zoning out of important conversations only to have to ask people to repeat things constantly. Unfinished tasks leading to anxiety because I assume people think I'm just lazy, or just the anxiety of ""am I currently forgetting something super important"". Anyway, sorry for the rambling, I'm very sorry for your loss and thank you very much for such a well written and beautiful post.",1 "I've had friends attempt to 'one-up' me on how perfect their habits are around this epidemic. Everytime my response is straight analytical: ""You touched X, then touched your face ten minutes ago."" They usually shut up when they remember I track that shit and have been annoyed by it.",0 Lexapro seems to be working for me. Now most of my negative thoughts are blown off as complete bullshit. Then I think to myself out of all the negative thoughts I have ever had did any of them come true? Of course they didn’t because I’m still here. It’s usually us that create negative thoughts. Let them blow by like clouds floating by in the sky,0 Good point I've never thought of it like that before ☺️,1 "I feel this in my soul. I'm now 30 but have been diagnosed since elementary. You learn to cope, but it doesn't ever get easier. I took Adderall for the better part of a decade. When I turned 18 I decided I wanted to go without it since I didn't like how it made me feel. What works best for me is blocking off an afternoon to let myself space out and slowly but surely complete any necessary tasks. It may not work for everybody, but it's my best coping mechanism for living life without meds. Good luck!",1 "I used to be a full-time nanny for many years before being able to get started on a career. I loved the babies, and caring for them felt genuinely rewarding. I also have severe ADHD & trauma induced anxiety when it comes to studying. Your post makes so much sense. Thank you for it. I forgot all about the website, but will look into it for the things I need. Kudos to you for identifying your obstacles and figuring out workarounds! Money is a utility and when put to use to get things accomplished, it’s being perfectly utilized. Congratulations and thank you for posting.",1 "oh, it me Like, half trying to get myself and everyone around me calm (and shut up) but also seriously concerned because immune system hijinks",0 That's awesome; thanks for educating them and standing up for us fellow OCD sufferers:),0 "The number 13 makes my stomach drop. Uneven combined with the superstitions behind it. If seat 13 has the best view, no worries you can have it! 🤪",0 I do this with audiobooks a looot. At least with movies I have closed captioning to keep my eyes on something.,1 "reading this on the bus, and it immediately made me tear up. i really needed to hear this. thank you for sharing",1 "Thank you. You are a great person. Thank you. I think I'm going to cry.",0 I do the shut up thing or flick my forehead hard enough to dissolve those thoughts.,0 "I’m hypothyroid as well which adds to the depression or maybe started it in the first place. I e seen a few other comments from people who are hypothyroid.I wonder is there a correlation between ADHD and thyroid levels? On thing that I’m learning from a coach is state changes. A state change for me is exercise but not like a committed work out cause it’s only for two minutes. Could be push ups or jogging in place or on a treadmill. Something I can do now, wherever I am and pretty much whatever I’m wearing. This gets you to turn off your brain and get your heart rate up and you off the couch to the next task on your list. Another state change I heard of was brushing your teeth. Not gonna hurt if you brush more than twice a day.",1 "I was so so scared to see a doctor because I was afraid they'd tell me it wasn't OCD and I'm just in denial. Same thing every time I see my therapist, I come up with 2 or 3 more reasons I must be in denial and we're far enough into ERP now where she refuses to answer the question and it's so so frustrating. But I just have to push through I guess.",0 "I make a to-do list every night!! Sometimes it even starts out with mundane shit I know I’ll do like brush my teeth. It really does help me, because I know I have 1 million things to do… But if I don’t have it written down I don’t know where to begin so I don’t get started at all.",1 "When I was a kid, I went to a car dealership with my dad and I accidentally set off one of the alarms to a car. I bolted out of there so fast because I thought I stole the car and I was gonna get arrested haha.",0 "ROCD is real and it sucks. But for us people with feelings and thoughts all over the place I think love is a choice. It's not all about the feelings. We need to choose to love this person, every single day. It's an active choice every day. Not all days are great, not all years are great. All relationships have their battles and downs but what comes out of it is irreplaceable. The deep, loving, understanding relationship I have with my husband would've not been the same without my OCD. In a way it's made our relationship even deeper. He gets me. He's therefore me when I'm in doubt, he hugs me, tells me everything is going to be okay. Yes, someone else might be able to give me the same but I will never give up on my marriage. No matter what. I'm a Christian and I do not, personally, believe in divorce. You have to ground yourself, see what you can do by yourself and as a couple to help you.",0 "BROOOO: i've been thinking about this for my whole life. and when it went to online classes. i broke. i finally broke. already told my mom, she says once this is over, we can go to a doctor. :(",1 "I hope you don't mind but slight correction on your title, ""my ADHD girlfriend"" isn't quite the correct phrasing, ""My girlfriend with ADHD"" would be better. I'm not an ADHD person, I'm a person with ADHD.",1 "I can't remember meaningless instructions. I can remember instructions with purpose and meaning. Its like the difference between you asking me to recite events of an episode chronologically and you asking me about the actual meaninglful plot developments and discoveries. If you ask me the latter, I could probably tell you the entire season from memory. If you ask me the former, I might forget the name of the fucking show, the characters, the town they live in....",1 "To me it feels like I’m listening to three audiobooks at once, at all times, while trying to go about my daily life. All three books are recited by me. Book one is Anxiety: every embarrassing memory I can drudge up, and everything I have ever done wrong. Book two is Depression: everything that I wish was different about life, and everything that I regret. Book three is ADHD: just a constant every-30-seconds rotation of creative ideas, movie quotes, 90s songs, and whatever happens to catch my eyes as they dart around every half-second. I just came up with this last night before I fell asleep, and of course I forgot about it completely until I saw your post. Our brains are so powerful to be able to even live like this. I suspect someone without any pieces of the trifecta may be shocked by this analogy and find it hard to believe, but let me know what you think!",1 "Literally all of those but the clean one I have heard, I have a very unclean brother so it was kind of a shock and I just can't be unclean, but yeah some of those I hear daily from my parents, and only recently I figured out it was my ADHD I just thought it was me",1 Put the finishing touches for tomorrow's schedule in my bullet journal ([bulletjournal.com](https://bulletjournal.com)),1 "if i see hand sanitizer i Have to use it. even if i just used one hand sanitizer in the other room, or if i washed my hands. one time i was in my psychiatrist's office and i used the same hand sanitizer 6 times in the span of 30 mins skdjdjsjhfjsjdksndjd",0 attention is like the water coming out of a firehose and you are trying to water a flower,1 Whoooaaaaa I do this and had no idea it was because of OCD. (I just got an “official” ocd diagnosis last week so Im still kind of figuring it all out),0 You literally just made me realize this. Thank you.,0 "Can I warmly recommend Toc Toc on Netflix? It's very good, and very representative.",0 "I burnt my building down. What’s your address romeo?",1 this is so true. i just am glad there’s people i can relate to. 🥺,0 "My OCD: No I am the Messiah, if your mom didn't exist I wouldn't lewd her so it's her fault, if your best friend let you touch his lips I'd be dead so it's his fault, if you don't the ritual you are the sub human trash, not me, of coarse you don't deserve to think about your passion for 15 months, your life would be so much better if you stopped having passions and human contact and just did my rituals your entire life, you always know what to touch next etc, no more free will bullshit, it's a perfect life Me: Well if it's a perfect life you would not need to lewd my relatives, strangle me from inside ban my friends and passions and repeat past bad memories and fabricate new ones just to get me to live it, right? My OCD: That's on you though, it is perfect you just can't see it so I have to push you a bit OK!?",0 "For some reason, I find this to be deeply self-indulgent. Back to the cave of self-hatred I go!",1 "These scenarios that are made in the heads of people with OCD, what happens if the scenario they make up fails? For example in the post if that person did not actually reach before the car, what exactly is the thought process that follows in their heads?",0 "Nice job! Neither me nor my wife lose our stuff all that often, but when we do, we rely on each other to bring in the ""out of the box"" thinking necessary. Sometimes there's an explosion of magic in our flat and a thing I need vanishes, and I start to get annoyed trying to find it, and then my wife comes and finds it in the very place I *just* checked *twice*. But on the flip side, I've developed a subconscious habit of always tracking where my wife's phone is, because invariably every other day she starts looking for it in panic (it's on the fridge, honey!). And if she loses something for good, my analytical thinking comes to rescue - I do essentially the same pattern you describe (except due to accumulated emotions, we also end up having an argument in the middle of it...), systematically going over every inch of the room, whether or not it's physically possible for the lost thing to be there. Also, there's a phrase that's banned in our home: ""I'll put it here so it doesn't get lost"". Because whenever one of us utters it, that very thing is doomed to be lost very soon.",1 "OCD tells me to check check check check check check check check and maybe again if I didn’t do it right Is this accurate ? :/",0 "I literally make amazing plans for other people because I know I can't actually carry them out. Wish it was easier, once I get going I'm a machine. I just need to find my flow in life and the pleasure, I feel like once I find the pleasure then manage the flow THEN my life starts",1 My university just made it so that we have to do our final week of classes AND our finals all in this week. They also didn’t tell the students until Friday night before the new finals week. Absolutely sucks but at least this is my final quarter,1 "Yes, and I think this is more common in those with certain other diagnoses on top of ADHD. A candid conversation with him will hopefully clear things up, if that’s something you want to do. If he still takes it personally, my opinion is that he doesn’t deserve to sleep with an ADHD badass like yourself. The appropriate response in his position is to laugh about it, because you’ve got to admit, it’s pretty fucking hilarious 🤣",1 "Should say: OCD Candy Company...if you’re buying it you probably don’t understand what OCD is!",0 "I have had a maid most of my adult life for the same reason. It's not as expensive as you would think, and it helps me focus on my career.",1 I feel the opposite. I purposely step on the cracks but both of my feet has to step on an even amount of cracks to work-,0 "okok so i obsess over if my dog likes me or hates me i pet him almost every 5 min to show him i love him and i have the utmost deep feeling that if i do t he will grow to dislike me eventhough i know this to be false my brain still goes through the process of what if and i find it so insignificant that i pet him and indilge in the satisfying moment of petting and giving him love getting some back and 5 min later im like he doesnt like me i have the feeling that if i dont show him lots of love he will not like me so i feel like im either doing to much of not enough again also with the run on sentance i hate pontuation and the feeling is mutual so i dont use any and i dknt got bothered by the fact i missed a few xause i just never put some so dont be surprised and my whole paragraph se tance its how i roll do t like it well PM me and il be sure to ignore it thanks for reading again i know i right to much when i start i cant stop even this i d9nt really want to write thus but i cant stop my fingers just continue writing what goes off in my mind okkk ill stop thanks for reading sorry not sorry you probably won't understand i do thats the important to me at least i understand fuck it ill stop goodnight goodday whatever suits you take it",0 "5 minuities? Wow, you're doing better than me! It takes make a like a whole day to do the smallest task. And then I can't do anything for the rest of the week. So yeah, I can understand your frustration. I think we all can. I wish I could make it go away for all of us.",1 "Correct me if im wrong, my i feel like hyperactivity affects all of us with adhd, it just manifests in different ways. Like I've always been labeled inattentive type, but as a kid i would talk a mile a minute at any opportunity. And if its not hyper movement or hyper speaking, theres hyper thoughts",1 "One thing that made me eat better (and stopped skipping meals) was to buy meat and vegetables in bulk. I borrowed my parents a extra freezer. I buy at once 14kg of chicken breasts and 5kg of pork sausage and it last almost 5 months for me and my husband. And every month I get almost 1kg of fish fillet and a 10kg bag of potatoes. Then I took one day, sit in the kitchen, peel, dice, pre boil, measure in small bags and freeze all of it. Whenever I have to eat, i grab a pack of potatoes and any meat and fry it. 20 minutes later I'm eating (the faster take-out takes 40 minutes here). And the potatoes taste like mcdonald's.",1 "You know, 7 in binary is 111 but 6 is just 110. I get you.",0 "That's a new word for me, echololia, I'm glad there's a term for it. I just call myself a Parrott.",1 "Love this post — makes me feel so much better. Somehow, one day, I threw out my mother’s engagement ring (was on the bench) and it was sitting on top of the rubbish, in the bin, when my partner opened it next. I was horrified",1 "He cured his ADHD withe this one simple trick, big pharma hates him!",1 "Does anyone feel like they forgot if they did or not, like they don't trust their memory? Lol even if it just happened. You know how brains work in autopilot sometimes. Idk, I always am scared I forgot",0 "What? Okay I’m feeling personally attacked. But glad that I’m not the only one. I literally told the second doctor who diagnosed me “but i don’t know if that was a diagnoses” about the first doc.. totally thought to myself that I exaggerated symptoms. Turns out I’m “the poster child for OCD” if there was such a thing, I hope I’d at least get paid because I’m not able to function at this point 😅 corona virus has messed up my obsessions. They are now ultra obsessions and I need help 🤣",0 "Holy shit. So many of these posts are literally exactly what I go through. Especially this one. Like word for word. 😔 It's brutal. Online college has been pretty tough some days. It takes a lot of prep to be able to sit and work. I first need to get a coffee. But the coffee cup is dirty. So I have to wash it. But there's no dish soap. So I have to go buy some, but I need to fill up Gas first. I get to the store, and buy everything but dish soap. Come back, sit down and realize I just wanted a coffee and it's been 3 hrs already...",1 i'm 38 years old and have never been able to drive because of fears like this,0 "Correct me if you feel differently, but it often feels like knowing the vehicle is running off the road, not wanting the vehicle to run off the road, & you’re not even in the driver’s seat, right? Probably more accurately you’re locked in the trunk. You can feel the depression, but the bitch of depression is itself standing in the way of getting rid of depression. The bitch of ADHD is the same: Knowing what’s wrong, but not being able to efficiently stay focused on finding the solution or changing habits. While the debate of nature vs. nurture still rages around both conditions, they’ve also both been shown to have strong chemical/neurological elements to them as well. Medication partnered with consistent therapy (which *can* be done virtually) do wonders. The biggest hurdle is getting started. Write notes, set reminders, set alarms, create calendar events toward starting the path toward medication + therapy & following through with both should supply other resources & habits & development as well.",1 My therapist said that all the time and then when I stopped bringing up what I was worrying about for awhile and mentioned it later she said “I’m surprised to hear you say that. I thought you had moved past it.”,0 Never knew if this was my ocd or just me being crazy but I always get anxious when holding sharp objects or firearms cause it’s like “what if I just shot myself in the head or stabbed my eyes out???”,0 Thank you so much for this. I needed this hope today !,0 My experience with adhd diagnoasis and tretment at a late age to a Tee!,1 "I stopped questioning it when I realised my brain reacts to my meds way differently than a non-ADHD person would e.g. can't get addicted to them, forget to take them, feeling awful when I've accidentally double dose instead of getting high. Can't fake that can I? Haha taking the double dose of dexamphetamine because I forgot that I'd taken it 15mins before on a morning I was late to work and then being woken up by my concerned partner 30mins later because it put me to sleep, that was the watershed moment for me hahaha!",1 "Middle school virgin me convincing myself I had an STD even though I had never had sex Edit: an STD lol",0 big time—I used to have one twice a day for brushing my teeth (bc of quarantine I was stuck at home for 5 months y'know) and it only worked about 3 times out of the 4 months I used it lmao,1 Im guessing most of these apply but i wonder if i can just apply them all when i try out rilatin. Adderal isnt really a thing here,1 I always forget to eat lunch ALWAYS I get told to eat breakfast and dinner so I don't forget those but lunch is basically non existant for me at this point. AND ASSIGNMENTS OH MY I ALWAYS FORGET TO DO THOSE AND THEN I'LL CHECK IT LAST MINUTE AND SEE OH I HAVE AN ASSIGNMENT AND THEN I'LL START WORKING ON IT AND THEN I'LL JUST GO ONE MY PHONE FOR AND HOUR LIKE WHY DO I DO THAT I DONT UNDERSTAND.,1 As they are explaining it I'm staring at my reflection in the mirror next to them trying to make my face look right or I'm going to become a psychopath 😂,0 I have to supplement with quick easy projects between losing interest in my bigger projects. Usually something with very specific instructions and I can do or complete in 20 minute spurts,1 "DUDE THIS DESCRIBES ME PERFECTLY Anything involving 7 is good, anything involving 6 (Satan) or 13 is bad",0 "One of the most helpful things my therapist taught me to do is to make ""imperfect decisions."" Sometimes when contemplating a compulsion or contemplating what the best decision is, if it's my OCD stopping me from making a decision I just have to make a choice and move on without worrying if it was the ""right"" choice.",0 "One thing that helped me was realizing that people have had these kinds of concerns [across cultures and eras](https://encyclopediaofbuddhism.org/wiki/Eight_worldly_concerns) and found them very disturbing. I don't know why, but seeing 'reputation' on this list of the eight worldly concerns really helped contextualize my own fear and put it into perspective (I am just one person feeling afraid about their reputation). The other thing (which is *much* more difficult) is accepting the uncertainty that I don't know what will happen. Even though that's hard initially, over time it lowers the frequency of those thoughts of cancellation. Another thing that helps me (though I don't know if this one would be therapist-approved) is to extend compassion to someone else who has been cancelled or could be cancelled. I just imagine sending them a little love and support and wish them healing and growth. I also know people who have done bad things, and I try to give them the opportunity to change and grow.",0 no we don't..? that's why it's called a disorder?? h e l l o ?,0 I didn't think other people experienced this! Sometimes I get so overloaded I just need to isolate for a while,0 that was creepy. it's 1:04 am where I'm at. high on dopamine. wow,1 I definitely relate to this. Especially the cancer part. I’m constantly convinced I have every kind of cancer in existence,0 Actually no! For once in my life I spent a good portion of today cleaning and my house actually looks good now. I’m relaxing with a nice scroll through Reddit.,1 Anyone else not allowed to feel happiness OR sadness? OCD just takes all emotions when it gets the chance?,0 """What if zoom lets the teachers hear us even if we are muted""",0 "This thought has always bugged me. I think a truly bad person would actually worry about being a bad person and look back on their actions to see if they are truly bad, but ultimately choose evil in the end. It’s like, “am I a bad person? Did I do something awful?” And then accepting it. Being evil is one thing, but being self-aware of your evil actions yet still continuing them is worse. My apologies for playing devil’s advocate.",0 "Thank you for sharing this. It reminds me there are things worthy of appreciation in me, too, even when I don’t accomplish exactly what I set out to do. ♥️",1 "for a while when this type of thing was really rampant, I had an image saved on my phone that was like ""this image automatically clears you from \*those type of comments\*"". it actually really helped",0 "As I've discovered over the past couple years, there's a lot of overlap between OCD and tourette's in terms of symptoms and overall function. If I'm not mistaken, some psychologists have proposed that ADHD, OCD, and tourette's are all just variations of the same disorder.",0 All I did as a child was pluck my eyelashes and I never connected it to OCD. Wow.,0 My favorite way to procrastinate is writing to do lists,1 "I love everything about this. Literally sent this to my boyfriend so that if I don’t have it with me, he can pull it out and show me when I’m spiraling. Thank you. ♥️",0 Yes! I took a nap today and woke up earlier than I thought I laid down for said nap.,1 "Yep, when I start a task I do it thoroughly well. The issue is starting the fuckin task.",1 This image is actually plagiarized from my favorite artist! I just saw her post about it. Hers is better anyway,0 I’m comorbid ADHD so the worst part is that sometimes I really did write (x thing) wrong... so obviously that justifies checking every other thing a million times,0 There are 3 usable hours but only if you add up all the 15 minute bursts of productivity,1 "Commenting on an 11hrs old post... So this will likely not be seen but I heard from a presentation once about ADHD that the reason we do this is because it’s our attempt at closing the gap between us and neurotypicals. Closing a tab is technically not the issue. The issue is when/IF we ever need that information, if we don’t have it readily available, we would need to start the process up. Unfortunately for us, we’re running off of a Window’s ‘96, 1996 Dell Laptop, with a start-up time of for fucking ever. So instead we try to put these tidbits of information into “sleep” instead of closing the window/“shut down”. Still going to take a minute to get going but considerably faster than the alternative. And yes, this is the same when you have 8000+ tabs because you at least know the info you need is in that 1/8000 vs potentially not remembering at all what you’re looking for but you know that you know something that could be useful for this situation... If only you had saved it.",1 "Lmao yeah I've been Hyperfocused on internet security for like 2 days now. Just today I spent from 9am to 3pm setting up a password manager, along with other productivity stuff on my school laptop... My homeworks are gonna start piling up if I don't stop, but then I remember that I still have 100+ accounts with 0-5% security because I've always used the same password everywhere. I can't leave them like this anymore... But I can't ignore homeworks AAAAHHH",1 This a ADHD thing? I had no idea. I thought it was just me.,1 "Completely obsessed with checking my windows are up, doors closed properly and my gear stick is dead in the centre in case I'm damaging my gear box. My neighbours must think I'm mental literally like clockwork check this everyday multiple times",0 "Ha! Yes, I can relate. Has my OCD become my new obsession? Sometimes I feel like it has. It’s exhausting.",0 Literally me a half hour ago. I knew I didn't need to. I knew it was locked. But I NEEDED TO,0 "But then when you don't have anything to do or any more assignments to hand in you suddenly have loads of motivation. Like. Where have you been?? 😐 I just finished my mock exams and I have much motivation to study...but had very little during the mocks. When my brain feels like it doesn't have to do something, that thing becomes important however, if my brain feels like it has to do something.......that becomes the last thing it wants to do 😑.",1 "Is this normal among people with ADHD? I rarely do dishes but if I were to do it, I’m going to complete it right away. Maybe I just have mild ADHD or no ADHD at all",1 Spending five minutes reading the bottle making absolutely sure it’s the right kind,0 "hi egg, i know you from school! i just came to this sub to look into some things i’m struggling with and the first thing i see is a familiar face! glad you’re feeling good about your hair, it looks great :)",0 "I literally came here just now to write about how shitty I’m feeling about myself today. Your post could not have come at a better time. Thank you so much for sharing. Actually believing/internalizing this is a whole other story, of course, but it’s still helpful to hear. :)",1 Wait what’s the treatment though- cuz that sounds amazing right about now luvie,1 That's me when I'm doing mental compulsions during most of the conversations I have with people. 🙃,0 "UGH I remember these questions on my OCD diagnosis test! They suck, so sorry you're facing this :(",0 "As someone who added fridge checking to my routine about a year ago, I relate to this. 🤦‍♀️",0 "Congrat! That's huge achievement, please keep the spirit.",1 "Me too!! It's like this meme, ""no thoughts, head empty"". I hate it here.",1 "So...when I do my ""kill yourself"" tic, following up it up with my ""shut up, _bigfootsdick"" tic is actually helth-y? Good to know.",0 I sometimes asked someone else to say that it's okay and I don't have to do it. For some reason that was more reassuring.,0 How about I give you a free 24 hour trial by switching my brain with yours? Then tell me how you like it.,0 I do this with podcasts all the time :( always gotta rewind,1 YES FINALLY MY QUEST FOR AFFIRMATION THAT THIS IS REAL HAS BEEN RESOLVED THANK YOU SO MUCH,0 "Beautiful, thank you. This accurately describes my thought AND speech processes. Thank heaven I'm too lazy to add all the side thoughts that come along throughout the formation of the point I was originally trying to make. Sometimes I forget the original point though. I hate that but it does show if my audience was truly listening.",1 "This is such a move of honour! Congratulations mate you have the power, and that little parasite can be scared in the corner while you go out there and live 🙌🤍",0 When this all started I had just had a major surgery so I had that to obsess over. Now I’m all healed so it’s on now! I live in N Minnesota and my boss has what I call “northern Minnesotan” attitude of this is not that big of a deal. It won’t get to us. Blah blah blah. So even tho half the town is closed down he feels like our office needs to stay open. It’s a NON essential business. I’m being chastised for not wanting to work during the day when the office is full or asking people to respect my 6’ social distancing. I’m hoping the Gov actually puts a secure in place order into effect.,0 " This is what frustrates me the most. Honestly to a point of rage and sadness like nothing else, it's the most unfair and painful part of adhd. Before my recent diagnosis as an adult, my ""bad memory"", just as you and commenters here describe, has been the joke of my family and friends. And in truth it can be quite comical from the outside, but not when it hangs over you 24/7. It has always made me feel like I have the guns to get the job done, school, college, projects, work etc, but I'm lacking the ammo. I feel shackled and completely cut short of my potential. The worst part is the awareness of it, and that has only increased after the diagnosis when I stopped to look back at all the instances where this has affected me. I KNOW THAT I KNOW the answer to this question, I just CAN'T REMEMBER IT. I know you explained to me in detail this process, but I can't remember more than the general outline. I know I understood this previus lecture, I was even explaining it to others, but this week they all remember and it looks cryptic to me. I know that I read that book and loved it, I just can't remember anything about it. I feel very smart, educated and knowledgeable in many things, except that I'm reduced to a brainless fool who can't remember a thing about any of it. And the saddest part is all the trips, all the family gatherings, all the hangouts with friends that in my memory feel like they're under this thick fog. It's not until other people begin to reminisce that some images are triggered, but I just feel like I will get to a point where nobody will be there to remind me and everything I ever lived will slowly dissolve into oblivion.",1 "This is awesome, thank you for sharing! It’s very informative to see what other people are going through, good job and good luck! ",0 "I thoroughly enjoying the many, many similarities to myself that I'm finding here, on this subreddit! Makes me feel normal lol!",1 "Yeah, that why i don't delete or block porn accounts and sites. I know how to undo them, but i still feel guilty and like am too old for it or something. Like I should have control over myself.",1 "Thank you kind, wonderful stranger. I need to eat, as well as get back to studying as my exam is in a day. And here i sit on reddit, taking a 30 min break that turbed into 3 hours.",1 Literally the only two things that I don't do are running late and missing appointments because I have ~*anxiety*~ in addition to ADHD 😅,1 me!! i also have 2 touch the handle like 4 times. 2 on my left n 2 on my right. n it always ALWAYS has 2 b an even number,0 "Omg, i always thought it was because I'm just a people pleaser or because i never have any interest on my own thats why i never have any motivation and energy to do things for my own sake... But do anyone else also experience this, or is this only because I'm a bad person, that i need someone that i respect (or maybe worth pleasing for) to be able to do that effectively. If its just normal friend, or even worse if that person that i respect at first start to open up to me or being my bestfriend, i start treat him easily and not make me so motivated to help him. Maybe just like how we treat and polish diamond (hard to get people) everyday, but then the diamond value drop (when we already being close) we start to ignore it or didn't feel any need in polishing ",1 You wanna make me finish laundry? I do like 1/3 of it every week and bever finish.,1 "Omg... I need to work out. I can do it on my own and feel great. My wife tries to motivate me and it’s the last thing I want to do ever. Even with the most gentle, kind motivation.",1 I avoid everything. I cant touch 99% of things in the fear or eternal torture or something like that. Because of that i just spend most of my time in bed,0 "I'm a history minor specifying in the World Wars and I was like ""what's wrong with the name????"" 10 minutes later...""oooooh I get why its bad""",1 I have impostor syndrome because my meds (long release concerta 27mg) don’t give me ANY side effects (but many benefits) and for some reason that make me think something is wrong,1 "I’ve done this before, I was taking care of my parents house as they were travelling, pulled so hard the back door frame busted, I also broke the handle of my closet door a few years after that 🤦🏻‍♀️",0 "I um. Yeah wow. When I was kid I was *required* to do an insane amount of chores on any day I had off. On one of those days I had cleaned **the entire kitchen** except for vacuuming the floors(I hate vacuuming). I finished around 7 pm My *dear* mother refused to let me leave and do anything else until I vacuumed. My brain was 100% done. I ended up sitting at the table getting more and more tired, pleading to go to sleep. She'd wake me up if I dozed off. Finally, around 9, I broke and in a daze of fatigue and tears I vacuumed, she scolded me about how easy it was, and I went to bed. This is the kind of shit that someone without ADHD would not understand the horrors of. **I was forced to slam headfirst through my wall of awful by sheer fatigue and emotional distress.** Honestly, I still haven't completely processed it, but I can very clearly state, with conviction, that being pushed past my emotional limits face first through a brick wall was the most unpleasant emotional experience I have ever had.",1 "No. I will usually dither in starting the movie in the first place, then decide it’s too late and not to bother today.",1 "Actually as much I hate my OCD, fear of not having money, being finance dependent of employer, let alone fact that I was scared as fuck of never finding job, gave me motivation to achieved at age 32, two great apartments that I am renting, and car of my dream (Impala 67 sedan). I just work for extras in my life right now.",0 If one has a stroke witch impairs the ability to move one side of the body properly. Your dad would just say to this person the he/she/they should start using their arms and legs.,1 "holy shit, i was just thinking of this meme the other day for this exact reason. i keep telling my brain to shut the fuck up lately because of my OCD and i can't get it to.",0 "I used to get this about shoes when I was a kid. Like they used to have to be in pairs otherwise they were ‘lonely’ lol, I try my best to ignore it these days. ",0 Calls from the void. I’m so glad I know what they are now.,0 I take a drink everytime someone says OCD and neatness in the same sentence.,0 "Awesome. I'm happy for you, friend. Keep pushing forward whenever possible.",0 "You're not processing the information because you're not connecting with it, and without the stimulation, it's in one ear and out the other. That's why asking questions like ""why"", practicing active listening (repeat back what you were told in your own words), or in my case, taking lots of notes, are so important. People with ADHD need to develop tricks to keep interest (and therefore focus). I used to zone out during work meetings, 1000x worse with Zoom calls, but now I take a ton of notes. I spend meetings now obsessing over how my notes look, asking a ton of questions to make sure my notes are complete and make sense. I even share my notes with participants after the call, which makes me very popular with my coworkers, lol.",1 "How do I manage my intrusive thoughts, sometimes they are completely gone and when I think I am over them. They come again and I get obsessed again.",0 "I’ve still never seen Relationship OCD in media, beyond the instances when obsessive love is portrayed as a positive thing. As someone who is happily married but plagued by intrusive thoughts that my ex is my actual soulmate, movies like the Notebook are incredibly triggering. I wish that just once, leaving your partner for someone else was portrayed as a bad and irrational response to these thoughts",0 "The workforce? My comeuppance was a drafting class in 8th grade where I spent weeks trying to draw a semi-circle. Honestly don’t know why the teacher didn’t step in at some point. First C in my life. The odd thing is that I just now realized that undiagnosed ADHD was causing this. Shit. Then I failed the first quarter of Geometry in 9th grade and had to take it again the next year. And with a different teacher and a new textbook, I got A’s each quarter.",1 "I actually like *aspects* of my OCD. It makes me an incredibly good worker and diligent listener. But it also deprives me of experiencing any joy for longer than a few moments before guilt, shame, and intrusive thoughts slam into me like a wall.",0 "I’m not in school or academia, but my workplace is likely about to transition to a purely remote in the next few days and I really don’t know how I’m going to manage my productivity at home. I have enough trouble in the office.",1 I also was told to listen better and holy shit I never knew I wasn’t doing this right before.,1 "Forgive me if someone’s said this but I feel like that’s why we’re all so into our disorder and learning about it, we need to know why we’re doing something in order to do it AND change our behaviors as well.",1 "I don't even know if I have ADHD, some say maybe, others maybe not. Nevertheless, this helps. <3",1 "I love making lists, and I found a way to sortve work the intrusive thoughts into it. Whenever I have one that particularly upsetting (mostly about my immediate life) I write it down. Log it as a possibility. Like those books/games where there are branching paths, except it’s real. Eventually you’ll have a long list of things that can play out, and most often they’re negative. When the time rolls around that the event could happen but doesn’t, check it off the list. What you’ll notice is that these things that you’ve cemented as a real possibility just become scratched out words on some random page. Over time you can recognize these intrusive thoughts as mere possibilities and not definite outcomes. Unless we’re all psychic in which case we’re screwed... Kidding.",0 "Dude at an office has a mountain of paperwork to do. Ugh! I hate paperwork! Can I deal with car problems instead? Sure! Just drive down the road when the weather starts getting bad, I'll make sure your transmission fails, and you'll have to fix it under the rain. It's a deal!",0 "When I was a kid, prior to my diagnosis, they thought I was mentally challenged, so they checked my IQ (this was in the 90s) thinking it was going to be ... to be polite, below average. When it came up with a 143, they started looking at the other options, testing for adhd, so having established some coping mechanisms to at least outwardly show as ""normal"", I flip flop between I can't be adhd, I'm able to blah blah blah, and saying I can't be smart, I'm halb halb halb, so yeah bud, I feel you, and it sucks. But on the occasion I can embrace either on, (or both on a rare occasion) it can be fun, to try to direct the smart brain on am adhd ramble.",1 "Since being laid off this spring because of Covid-19, I will often lie in bed scrolling (TikTok, Reddit, Insta, FB, Twitter) and mealtime comes and goes, the sun sets and it gets dark. Luckily my bladder needs emptying which is the only reason my hyper focus ever ends.",1 "Reassurance helps in the short term, but it hurts us in the long term. That's why it's so bittersweet getting it. Fuck OCD. ​ Good meme though.",0 "It’s funny, because Spotify doesn’t reflect *all* of what I’ve listened to, because I also listen to a fuckshitton of festival sets and mixes on YouTube. So while on Spotify I’ve only listened to a particular song 35 times... let’s just say I’ve played it a ***LOT*** more on YT 😂 (On an “unrelated” note, please send earplugs, I think I’m destroying my ears 😅)",1 "Same here, feels like I unlocked a Pokémon!! 🙂🙃",0 "i ABSOLUTELY hate doing things an uneven amount of times but weirdly enough 7 is my favourite number, i just will never do things an uneven amount of times",0 "Mine is more along the lines of “this could be real, this could be real, this could be real”",0 "I get excited to make something I’ve seen on Pinterest/reddit/instagram and I’ll obsess over buying the tools I need to make it.. and either put it on the back burner or I’ll start it and realize it’s harder than it looks or “oh look at this other thing going on” and I drop that thing to start something else. In the past, I did a bit of a painting with a twist paintings at home while I watched gamers play horror games on YouTube on my tv. I’d have an image on my phone of what I want to paint and it seems that having two distractions sorta helped me to focus.. like, I’m having the options to drop one thing to hyperfocus on the other thing but since it’s there, I was able to do a couple of crappy paintings. But I love felting and knitting and playing with clay and painting and making jewelry.. and I’ll start felting and think about the making jewelry and start that instead.. then I’ll wanna doodle something I thought of.. then I’ll wanna knit a scarf and get my yarn/needles..oh, how do I knit this/that(or find the pattern for it).. get on Pinterest and 2 hours later, I’m still browsing Pinterest and now it’s time to go to bed 😞",1 "That reminds me. I need to make an gyn appointment. My last exam and PAP test was done in 2013. Ooof. I hope you have a speedy and easy recovery.",1 " Both verbally and in writing, I only make long sentences. It’s something that my university professors really had to stress before I realised its hella annoying to read an essay paragraph of 5 sentences :’)",1 This is exactly what it feels like. All day every day,0 "3+4=7 4+3=7 37=777 73=777 43 is 4+3 which equals 7 34 is 3+4 which equals 7 and it goes on. Hope this helps 🤗",0 Damnit. You totally got me. I'll start my drawing now. Thanks for giving me the push!,1 Sometimes something can end up in the trash when you throw something else out (a napkin),1 "Honestly it’s really hard to get things done especially after working all day and my medicine has worn off.. BUT what I try to do (I say try because it’s hard being consistent lol) is make a list of 3-5 things I need to do. If I can do more that day, awesome!! This way some things still get done like putting dishes in the dishwasher or scooping the litter box. Looking at a list of ALL the things I need to do is overwhelming. But 3-5 things is better than 30!!",1 "I have a diagnosis and take medication for my ADHD. In my experience, I have found that a lot of my ADHD issues have been nutritional deficiencies that I have to address on a daily basis.",1 Especially during the corona. I have tonsillitis and everytime I get a sore throat I’m nervous.,0 "And then in a conversation someone talks about something you know you've read about... My special fatal blow to the conversation is answering with a ""ooh, I've read about that! It was interesting... But I can't remember what it was. Or where. I wonder where it was? And when?"" Aaand then I get lost in thought, and forget what the topic was.",1 "OP spitting truth! 90% of my reactions to posts on this sub: ""Loool that's totally me."" 20 seconds later: ""but why am I like this? :(""",1 This sub has been on a roll lately in terms of seeing me.,1 My OCD Tells me that if my mom does my laundry I have to rewash it myself (even tho I told her numberous times DONT DO MY LAUNDRY),0 "God I feel this so much. I’m a stay at home dad with three kids. A 6 year old (who got my adhd) a 4 year old, and a 2 year old. We’ve just all been trapped in the house together for the last year. My whole day is a constant assault of screaming demands, meltdowns, and literally constant needs for validation. I don’t think I need to overtly blame the adhd here, we all know how it is, but like... ADHD makes it tough for me to deal, and the easiest way for them to get through to me is to get loud and incessant. Things can quickly devolve into them yanking and pushing and yelling while I try to function, and they will fight each other for the chance to be the one who’s doing it. And all that with YouTube kids songs playing on the TV (and rent free in my head in some kinda ADHD infinite cognitive feedback blender.) Anyway, the inside of my head is basically curb-stomped scrambled eggs.",1 yup. it’s weird because i always get good grades on essays so i just assumed i was good enough at writing and didn’t think too much about my excessive commas but once i showed one to my friend before turning it in and he started talking about how my grammar sucked because everything is a run on sentence. oops,1 "Funny I was actually thinking this exact same thing in the shower earlier, how if there is an appointment or meeting or something, until it happens I can't stop thinking about it and the day of I can't do anything until the meeting happens, I can't let my mind wander or get immersed in something because I might lose track of time or when the time comes I might just not want to go.",1 My room would be messy and I’d have laundry to do. I was bored but didn’t want to clean up. So I just went to my brother’s room and started cleaning and doing laundry. His room was much messier than mine (He also has ADHD).,1 "Feeling *very* called out for falling off of the consistant-teeth-brushing train and the going-to-bed-at-a-reasonable-hour train. I'm constantly tired and paranoid about my teeth just fucking falling out all of a sudden, but have either of these things driven me to improve in either area? Fuckin' *NOPE*",1 "I was diagnosed recently as an adult and the peace it has brought me is remarkable, but I'd thought about it ... a few times. The only advice I can give is that when you hit the bottom, that's when you have to find the resolve to rebound higher than before and do the fucking work. You might be lucky and have people round, you might be unlucky and not have support; if you don't have support just remember that even the people with support have to do the work themselves. There's no one who's down there who has an easy ride out of there, so don't be going and thinking that because you have no one and you imagine other people have all this support that they don't have to do every single bit of work you do. I can promise you that if you do the work, if you get up everyday and make the right decisions for yourself, if you find love and compassion for yourself, if you dwell on your successes small though they are, if you say hello and smile at someone in the street, if you look at the sky and see the beauty in it, if you pay attention to the wind on your skin ... if you do the fucking work (whatever that means to you that day) IT DOES GET BETTER! I FUCKING SWEAR IT DOES!!!",1 Same with me. Not the most hygenic. Place is a mess.,0 Thank you for giving me a beautiful representation of how I feel so often.,0 "Great, so I really am OCD. I hate it when I seek out information to refute a suspicion only to find it completely validates it! Yep, I do this all the time. I’ll have to keep rechecking back to be sure though. : D",0 I always find that whenever I see a post from this subreddit I notice yeah that's one of my tendecies. I'm never sure it's from the adhd/add or just us ranting xD,1 "I hear this loud and clear. I just wish my work colleagues could... It’s like being fat. No amount of people telling me I’m fat has stopped it from being true, but they’ll keep telling me...",1 Thats nice that you spread the love it means alot coming from someone that gets it I personally appreciate that alot thank you,0 I am uncomfortable with how much this actually comforted me and soothed my anxiety.,0 I've found a way to solve this: the pomodoro method.,1 "I'm an ace too and I have the same intrusive thoughts :c feel you, take care ♡",0 "Ok this is literally an exact description of how I feel a lot and especially lately it’s been constant, currently watching tv but not actually watching and thinking about everything I could and should be doing, and even though it makes me feel shitty and stressed it’s just not enough to get any of it done all I ever do is push these things off even if it’s small and fairly simple",1 I wash my hands tree times. Nothing changed during the lockdown.,0 "Or ""what do you mean the crafts store isn't open on Sundays?? :((""",1 That's awesome! Makes me think of all the barefoot contessa memes 😁,0 4 and multiples of 4 are what pleases my mind but i prefer 4 and 8 to end on,0 "Yesssss!!!! Driving on a nice sunny day, birds chirping, listening to my music... Brain: Run that lady over with you car... Me: .....what the actual fuck......",0 "I've been struggling with pure O for more than 6 years (I was diagnosed 6 years ago). I don't have much to add, just know that you're not alone, we're not alone. We'll get through this. I know I'm not saying anything you haven't heard a hundred times already. I'm sorry. But it helps to know you're not alone.",0 "You are so talented! Get a website and sell that stuff! It’s great! I don’t mean in any way to diminish the seriousness of the subject matter though. It’s a sad, lonely feeling, this is a very skilled depiction of it.",0 "This is definitely me and, it freaking sucks. Anyone have any tricks to get out of it.",1 "If you’re going to post their art, credit the artist. It’s Liana Finck.",0 "That's on my Kindle and has been for a month. Now I'm going to be compelled to read it (ha, ha). Seriously, I have heard good things. There are three self-help titles I put on the Kindle over Xmas break and I hope to get to them soon. This one is my priority.",0 "Hey, I did the same thing but my procrastination was only for about 6 months...my diagnosis was stage 3 Classic Hodgkins Lymphoma at 26 years old. There are a ton of people on reddit who have/had cancer and are more than willing to help you mentally get through this, myself included. If you need a sound board or have questions, please reach out.",1 "This inspired me to download a habit tracking app and it's really helping me feel motivated! I want that little checkmark! It's also such a relief to have my phone tell me to take medication, eat breakfast/lunch/dinner, wear sunscreen--so many things that I (try to) do daily but still forget about constantly. Thanks for sharing your experience, it's seriously made a difference in my day-to-day life!",1 Honestly. I dont say this often.. but i love you mayn.,1 This isn’t gonna work on me. This was the third post and I earned it after taking the trash out after packing all day. Nothing like moving on Saturday to make you get the packing done.,1 Happened to me last night exactly like this too accurate man,0 "My girlfriend is second generation russian, her parents have crazy thick accents. ITS SO HARD! I have to focus on every word, my mind isn't allowed to wander for even a second.",1 "I didnt even know OCD crept in this way until recently. I have thoughts like this ALL THE TIME and I love my partner so much and have absolutely no intension of breaking up. Like this whole back and fourth is hypothetical, and still takes up energy?! Oh, OCD.",0 "A fellow autistic adhd-er here! I genuinely feel the same about this sub, I’m not as afraid to speak about downsides because the people here genuinely seem to understand and talk through stuff. Things can be negative, autism can suck! It isn’t always sunshine and rainbows and it’s ok to be empowered by being autistic and *also have valid complaints about it.* I have avoided autism subs too for that reason and that the majority of people that post in the ones I’ve seen are just autism parents who think having a kid on the spectrum makes them some sort of expert. I genuinely love and adore this sub too, so I’m adding my voice to the “thank you mods for everything” train. You created a beautiful place for all of us",1 "Thankfully, this made me pay my expensive 2 month overdue phone bill. I’m going to try to forget about all the money I’ve wasted throughout my life",1 I just realised that a song from my childhood is probably about someone with OCD,0 "Like, when an intrusive thought or feeling comes, you just recognize them as intrusive and a symptom of OCD, and not fight it whatsoever? Like, they’re there in your head but you just let them be — not like you’re saying they’re real of course, but in a sense that they’re just passing through",0 "I just want everyone on this thread to know how much their comments mean to me. I'm literally sobbing from reading this because you all made me realize that something I hated so so deeply about myself, something that causes such a struggle in my life, isn't my fault. It's not me.",0 DAMN that’s a big accomplishment! i’m jealous but super happy for you (:,0 Oh my god yes. Fuck it I’m getting out of bed and making a coffee.,1 "ADHD is not a lack of discipline, and it feels like a betrayal when friends and family treat it as such. I understand.",1 "That’s title is the most ADHD sentence I’ve read! Also thanks for the heads up, gonna start chipping away at my watch later playlist now!",1 "It used to not bother me but now I realize how annoying it is to tell someone I have OCD but have to clarify that I have real OCD, not ""I'm sooooo OCD"".",0 "Oh so that's what I experience, thanks for the tip, it'll come in handy I'm sure",1 "Thanks, it’s 3:47 in the morning and Imma sleep now!",1 "I want to stop doing that. Facing people later is difficult. Standing on a pile of disappointment. But now I steer clear of coming as promising as little as I could hope m doing it right. New member to this group. M 33 just realised m ADHD though out my life. It's not hard to digest the fact becuz there are like gazillions of real life experiences I had . The only thing is if I should change it or live with it. Is this a curse or a blessing or both",1 "sooooooooo true sssssooo true when moments of clarity infiltrate the madness of OCD you can see the debilitating aspects that make you complaisant in touching light switches 11 times to make if feel okay. I love eleven because it can exist using liquids. Liquid can freely move sround the structures of double ones. free flowing happiness can exist comfortably when liquids are concerned.: I wish I didnt have OCD, but because this subrettit exists, Im not sure about my original statement.BTW im aware, idk what im talking about hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",0 "Hey hey hey hey, slow down there, hey hey hey, attacking me like that in front of everyone",1 "I'm in the UK and have been working from home for the past few weeks due to strike action. Time has no meaning to me anymore, and what little routine I had built up is trashed... The teaching that I do is lab-based, and I have no idea how that'll be affected also. Fun times!",1 Nobody knows how debilitating it is unless they’ve experienced it. They think it’s just silly people who wash their hands and lock their doors. I don’t think people realize how many peoples’ lives have been ruined by it.,0 "This hits close to home. May the fallen warriors never be forgotten and let us keep living to honor their memory. ADHD is not a curse. You are not broken. You belong in this reality. Fight the good fight against mental health, we can't do it alone. Thanks for the inspiration OP. Your friend would be proud.",1 Hi I’d like to thank you for this post that reminded me I haven’t taken my meds yet today (it’s 11:43 and I won’t take them later than 12 so it doesn’t effect my sleep!),1 I love this! Laughed out loud when I read it. So relatable - both the good and the bad. You can really see you love her. I hope I ever meet someone who feels my quirks are lovable instead of annoying. 😊 Good luck to you both,1 "This is why I had to get a 9-5 job. Any job where I have to be somewhere late in the day, totally fucks with my whole day",1 "Oh, exactly. Good basically means ""not a diabolical villain.""",0 I need to go sleep but my existential dread at the way this world is going has me unwilling to turn phone off. I'm so over this fucking year.,1 following; I want to know if anyone else has advice for this because I do it too ):,1 "Yeah! Just one more ends up being 10 more and by then, I'd have gone through the whole season of whatever show and its 2 am and I get so disappointed in myself for wasting my time",1 "My theory is that our existence sits on thus razor thin line between appearing socially functional and socially disabled at the same time. We appear ""normal"" because don't have the out right visible disabilities where people can sympathize with the root causes (physical disabilities, autism etc.), but we actively and frequently fail and not live up to social standard. We struggle to attain an arbitrary social standard that ""regular"" people achieve with ease. Since they can't see or understand or sympathize with the root cause of our failings, they see us as failures of our own makings. Thus, we take on this reasoning and expectations of others. We don't see or feel that our ADHD is worth acknowledging as a condition that deserve the same treatment as any other disabilities, and just feel the guilt and shame for not living out our ""best version"" of selves. But on some days, I would tell myself. ""I'm broken, but that's fine.""",1 "I do, but I don't consider it one of my many problems. I've brought it up with therapists, and they generally attribute it to me not having a childhood/being left alone growing up. I've never connected it with my OCD. I'd never heard of that being a related thing until now, and I can definitely see some links between the two now that I think about it. That's interesting! But, yeah, I apologize to things and want to do things to make something... feel better? i.e. clean it, paint it, ect? Like, I might want it clean or spruced up, but in my mind it's also making the... inanimate object feel good and that makes me happy??? My childhood love/personification of stuffed animals and dolls has turned into a BJD and doll restoration/customization hobby that I very much enjoy. The BJD community is full of people that think of their dolls as little people, so I feel less weird. My husband and friends think it's creepy af, but I'm okay with that. ",0 "This is 100% true. One of my favorite passages from The Mindfulness Workbook for OCD touches on the subject: > A common misconception about OCD sufferers is that they are neat and tidy. Although some people find their OCD pushing them to keep everything spotless, it’s quite common for OCD to keep you from cleaning, because it’s too burdensome to meet your own com- pulsive standards. You may have garbage in your home that can’t be removed because it seems too contaminated to touch (or it may seem too burdensome to wash yourself after you touch it). Or there may be a variety of items that have been labeled untouchable for emotional reasons. It’s hard to clean when you can’t touch the things that need to be cleaned—even harder when you can’t touch cleaning products!",0 "This is exactly how I feel, CONSTANTLY. It's even turned into a sad joke. ""Sorry, I'm in low res mode, I'm literally trying to make sure I don't die, amd that's it."" Not that in this mindset I'm adamant about survival... but... you know.... Family gets it though, so that's nice. I just hate that hollow, deprived feeling.",1 Can I pick something else now cause this shit sucks,0 I could tell a major difference. You should be proud of yourself.,0 "I tried to explain this to my boyfriend and I described it as “ my mouth can’t catch up to my thoughts “ and yes same thing about becoming aware that you’re speaking mid sentence. That’s the absolute worst, it’s like being backed into a corner. Anyway thank you for confirming this and sharing your experience!!",1 "On the plus side, I cant take a hit to my attendance grade for sleeping in or mismanaging my time anymore",1 LMAO FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING SAME. BEST NOTIFICATION EVER,0 "I just developed my first obsession 2 months ago and it hasn't left me yet, so really it's made perfect sense the entire time. And on top of that, I just had a fear of mine partially confirmed yesterday night, so it makes even more sense than normal now. Life is tough.",0 "At the end of my work day, I write down 3 tasks or goals for the next day. The next day I find it easier to start right away and cross out the 3 things on my list. Don’t make them too lengthy or hard because you’ll feel defeated... make them easy so you can accomplish at least one thing a day.",1 The good news is at least I'm getting some checkbook reconciliation done today.... which is what I try to make myself do when I have 0 motivation for anything. At least it's something to think about.,1 Might have SCT/CDD sluggish cognitive tempo/concentration deficit disorder. Check out /r/SCT,1 "this is so wholesome and i am so happy for you. it is so freeing to feel like for once in your life, you can think clearly, your thoughts aren’t racing, you can just sit and rest. i hope you continue to feel so happy because you deserve it. also your boyfriend sounds very kind :)",1 "You're not alone! I have been doing this all my life , only after discovering about ADHD gave me a little closure and did change and got better for a few months after discovering about ADHD but now back to doing the same shit of wasting time.",1 thank you for this. just realized I had dug myself into another hole and this was The Wakeup Call™ gonna go stare at a wall for a few mins,0 I do this too. Fear having no empathy or being a sociopath. Like deep down Im mean. So I feel you,0 "Like ""no, you're only self-diagnosing hypochondriacs and also fall under the spectrum of I-want-attention-syndrome""",0 "Obvious misrepresentation aside, as a former candy store employee I feel SO sorry for the people who have to package these. These are definitely packaged by hand and gummy bears are an absolute BITCH to get in those plastic bags.",0 "LMAO Tangentially related - anyone else dislike 69 because it’s too hard to concentrate on both getting & giving at the same time?",1 "Ha, that's me. Well, not dumpster, but it's pretty clear my OCD isn't about keeping my room organized.",0 I just look at chores as maintenance tasks that will never be done! Just like eating and bathing I always know I’m going to have to do it again. And they are morally neutral!! Doing them or not doing them does not make you good or bad.,1 Maybe you’re actually in denial about your lack of talent 🤷🏻‍♂️,1 "Mine are starting to look like this, too. It’s funny, I never struggled with obsessive hand washing until the pandemic. I guess it makes sense.",0 "I'm currently typing up an essay I've been working on ADHD style all week so this is uncomfortably real for me right now lmao. Wish me luck, I'm going to close reddit as soon as I post this and try not to open it again until I'm finished.",1 This is so funny it hurts...because it's so true too,0 "Or burn alive, survive and be horribly disfigured for the rest of your life dying alone. Yep. These were my thoughts when crossing the effing streetlamp shadows.",0 Reassurance is the fuel to the never-ending cycle of obsessions which is the fire.,0 "I’d love to smack Ppl Who say that. For real. This is a private hell.",0 No one ever says they’re a little bipolar after a change in mood!,0 I feel this. Like every day I’m working so hard to catch up but I keep falling further behind.,1 "I just read all of that twice, I've been awake for 10 minutes and haven't even taken my meds yet. This post is so good it literally cured me.",1 Yeah I use timed emails lol something about it feels more official and harder to ignore,1 "Thank *God* I usually get all the way through doing my eyebrows, the rest? That is me daily.",1 It really hurts especially when I'm trying to sleep!,0 "Yes! If I don't know what they're getting at, my brain will not make sense of what they're saying.",1 "So deep in the darkness, seeing this little ray of light. Printing it out and vowing to keep going, at least another day.",1 "3, 7, 9, 27... Just getting around to allowing 4, so... Progress?",0 My health insurance won't cover OCD or any kind of treatment exept bedication for schizophrenia and Bipolar personality disorder. What bullshit.,0 "Actually you can also put a gut there, a sick gut. Has any of you read the work Natasha Campbell Mcbride has done? She made the gut brain connection with OCD too.",0 "If you grew up with financial insecurities, LISTEN TO THIS TWICE^ Here's your secret weapon: you get ADHD tax credits too. TL;DR if you hyper focus finding deals, have an affinity for efficiencies, use decision paralysis to counter impulsive purchases, your ADHD may also be saving you money. Put it towards paying the ADHD tax up front and it's a wash ;) ------------------------- ------------------- TL;RA (The following uses a general ""you"" readers should understand as ""if you are me, you..."") Those hyperfocus sessions you've used to find the best deals on big purchases. The decision paralysis that you can harness to just... Not buy anything cause you kinda realize you're just shopping for entertainment right now. I've learned to embrace the small high I get from leaving the store empty handed. It used to feel like failure, now it feels like an ADHD tax credit! 100% savings, no added junk to have to store, re-store, agonize over, put in a box ""to get rid of"" for a year, actually get rid of. You know the value of shared resources and when having your own copy is better. You have an appreciation for efficiency that's second to none. (Executive function is unfortunately necessary to harness full efficiency but by golly we LOOK FOR IT) You know patience and tolerance for sub par situations and solutions. You know how expensive it can be to be poor. You know how to adapt and endure, but the older you get you learn which of these are just perpetuating anxiety and are surprisingly costly (hoarding, poor storage solutions). All this to say, I never appreciated my ADHD/poverty-earned ""tax credits"" until my partner used them to convince me it was ok to spend a little more than ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY on certain things that make our lives just a little easier in reasonable ways. He was right. We've been doing things like OP suggests. Buying huge bags of pre-chopped coleslaw has resulted in huge savings in energy, time. More than that, it's bonus energy cause it's a snap to get veggie fibre into our human meat sacks. +1 to digestion! To those of you who made it this far, there's a snack table with orange slices and Gatorade behind you. Please rehydrate before moving on.",1 Before I even considered ADHD I used to tell myself if I just catch up this week I’ll be fine and I kept saying that every week until it spiralled into a big pile of executive dysfunction and unfinished tasks so that’s great. I have the overwhelming sense of I just need to reset and I’ll be good to go but I just need everything to stop so I can reset and move forward in life you know.,1 Spending half an hour debating whether I’ve got time to both eat and shower only to end up doing neither lol,1 "Go you!! Something that has helped me with this problem is bringing my wet toothbrush and toothpaste by my bed and laying down. It somehow makes it more pleasant and tricks my brain as not being another step to execute. I always use the restroom right before I go to sleep so I time it so it it’s only one trip when I have to get back up. It also helps me put my toothbrush and toothpaste back where it goes. It anyone has any suggestions for my nightstand, I’m all ears though bc the toothbrush is the only thing I’ve got down now",1 "I feel this even more while medicated, like I’ll actually care that I wasted my day, it sucks lol",1 "Literally my mother when I told her I had OCD - ""but you were such a messy kid!!"" 🙄",0 "100%. Like, oh man were you late for work because you were organizing your pens? Were you frantic as you organized, hoping it would make the thought of your mom dying go away? If not, STFU.",0 "It happens when I take my meds. Time ""slows down"" and somehow even with fun stuff I fool around with I seem to get ""more"" done in less time. It's a great feeling... if only meds didn't make me so tense too. But I hate losing 6 hrs and looking up to find out the sun has gone and I haven't started yet on the thing I meant to do 😂",1 "I feel you. (Also doesn't help to have a parental figure that still thinks it's bs and just thinks you need to get rid of your phone. Cause and consequences have been inverted.) I wish you luck trying to admit the truth to yourself. I've only been diagnosed 2 days ago but I'm trying (and I think it's kind of working) to ""Fake it til you make it"" Be brave and kill that imp syndrome in the butt.",1 "Fuck, I wish I was far more neat and organized. My OCD is all, “If you touch that, you will contract an illness, spread it to your family, and everyone will die.”",0 This is especially true for me in relationships I think... rough to think about for too long,1 "You're my hero! Seriously this is amazing. :D *music break* Overcoming illness like a champ-i-on *music break over* ",0 Ohhhhh yes. And as soon as I open the door to my apartment where I’m all alone with nobody to judge me ~•’•breakdown•’•~,0 "This is amazing. Absolutely amazing! I started reading this last night for myself and the this morning my mom called to talk to me about my 8 year old nephews struggles with online learning (he is on the spectrum and has ADHD). I am going to work on an online school survival kit for him and your research is going to help so much! He broke my heart today and told me he is going to create an imagination monster to kill his imagination. He thinks he's stupid and that his imagination is bad. ☹️ I need to do something to help him out!",1 "i have the same problem and it really upsets me. i’ve never had any organized space or device in my life. when i get a new phone, i rarely get to transfer anything because a) i don’t have enough storage space to back up the insane volume of data i have and b) it’s too much anyway and it will make my new phone unusable. i got a new laptop recently and it’s been months and i still haven’t transferred anything except some school stuff because of how overwhelming and intimidating all my files are. the only thing i’ve done recently that worked was i just deleted all my bookmarks on all my browsers and just created a few shortcuts for the most important websites (also just school stuff mostly). i remember being at my friend’s house and she was transferring her pictures from her phone to her laptop, something she apparently does regularly. and it honestly blew my mind. she said she only transfers certain pictures and keeps the most important ones? and she and many of my friends have their pictures organized either by date or category or whatever. i can’t even fathom it. it makes me feel really self conscious.",1 Did I leave my webcam on? Forget to close my ipad? How did you know my cycle?!,1 i mean idk about you but ill sometimes get wrapped up in all the bullshit and just getting out of your head and just trying to focus on the task at hand defiantly helps,1 Yea and its so funny when you start thinking about gouging your eyes out or ripping your nails off and hurt yourself because if you don't the images and the voices in your head won't go away. It's hilarious right folks?,0 For the past year I've been attempting to apply for disability pay with no success. I need it in order to be able to move out + focus on some sort of education. Still haven't finished applying and the wait list is a further 9 months or so...,1 "Or what I do. “Omg right, better do this immediately” *clear notification* *walks towards thing I need to do* “What am I doing in here?”",1 "And if I wasn’t losing all hope that people would stop using this horribly painful disorder as an adjective, I am now.",0 "Yup. Normal sleep hygiene tips: ""No electronics at all for hours before bed, never use them in your room, do nothing in your bed ever except sleep (preferably not even sex, but like... I GUESS it's okay), etc."" My friend with narcolepsy and ADHD: ""Try to only use your phone for awhile before bed rather than a laptop because it's smaller, puts out less light, and you can't multitask well on it."" One of those is feasible. One of those is bullshit.",1 This description is actually like a really enjoyable low key day off for a lot of us - provided she's not concerned with doing the dishes in one go or trapped in avoidance guilt cycle.,1 "This is me with reading and sometimes conversations that I’m participating in. I’ll sometimes start thinking and completely miss what they’re saying. I made a comment at work and one of my coworkers went “oh we know, we’re used to it at this point”",1 Every time i see a post here I’m like: Wtf this isn’t just me who has those feelings after all,0 "The difference my medication makes is literally the difference between me being able to get out of the house and live a semi-normal life, and me being a shut-in spending all of my time panicking and being consumed by compulsions. But I still do therapy on top of that, and that’s also making a huge difference in my life. The combination of the two has genuinely made me hopeful for the future, and excited where my life is going for the first time!",0 "This is exactly why I have to keep my eyes closed during sex. I get SO distracted if they're open. I love my partner and love when we lock eyes, but as soon as my gaze drifts I'm thinking about the pile of laundry in the corner, what I want to make for dinner, or why the ending of The Sopranos had to suck so bad.",1 I also have rewriting problems working through it like you. It's been a horrible time in school I would never pay attention just rewrite notes. I'm starting college again soon hoping to have it more under control.,0 "Yo, for real, when someone says ""Everybody is a little ADHD sometimes"" point them to this",1 Don't forget the fees for late and missed appointments!,1 "I so relate to the breathing on napkins bit. I see a drop of water on my floor and first think “oh, just water from when I dried my hands. It’ll dry on its own.” And then a second later be like “I need to wipe it up and clean the entire floor because it might be a splash of a drink that could hurt my cat!” It makes you feel insane but you justify the lengths you go to because you truly think you’re protecting yourself or others by taking these extreme actions.",0 Goddamn I really feel you on this one. Do you have any idea how much of a history nerd I would be right now if not for this bloody memory,1 "I had a 3pm appointment yesterday. I forgot the exact time and thought it was 3:30, I called 20 mins before because my instinct told me to, turns out it was 3pm. I had to tell them I'd be a lil late.",1 I don't think it's OCD that makes that feeling happen though. I think that's just general forgetfulness.,0 Beautiful! it reminds me of the scene in Midsomar with all the flowers,0 "Every day feels like another day of telling myself tomorrow I’ll figure out how to fix this. I keep thinking I just need to get through today and by tomorrow I will have come up with a plan to make things better. Day after day, the same thing. I’m so fucking sick of living one day at a time because I can barely handle that much.",1 "I like the sound of it, but it wouldn’t convince me. How can it kill germs that quickly? What if someone’s hands were really really dirty? My OCD is just too bad for this to help. I’d probably still stick with my sleeve.",0 "This is me! But also I tend to write reaaaaally long sentences with a load of commas in them, as if all my thoughts are spilling out too fast and I need to write them in. My supervisors must hate me for it haha",1 Thanks! It's time to take my pill and I totally forgot!,1 "Wow!!! This is so good, you are super talented! Reminds me of a landscape from skyrim",0 "Me when I go see my grandma and explain to her for 3 hours why I have a certain illness this week. Flavor of this week? Ulcers, migraines, and COVID.",0 really appreciate this but my first impulse was definitely “you can’t make me >:(“ hahaha,1 "as a child i thought it was nice everyone in my family had ocd cause then if i had it, i’d be clean. the only thing i got out of the deal is intrusive thoughts about suicide. damn.",0 "only YouTube videos when I am tired, but never movies.",1 "Congrats on that, I'm so proud of you! Keep up the amazing work, you're so strong and it gives me strength for myself to hear that you did it.",0 "I just gotta know, what was the look on your moms face when she said that? Bonus points for a gif",1 I did it! I needed to write an email. Email makes me very very anxious.,1 "41 male, Germany. I have no friends, never had a real relationship, lonely as fuck, can't enjoy the casual sex I get every 5 years, bordeline messie, battling porn, alcohol and amphetamin addiction.... Earning good money. Have no idea to spend it. Again: lonely as fuck. Hate my life... so much. It is hard. But: we are not alone. You are not alone. Sending love and positive vibes from Stuttgart!",1 "I am not diagnosed with any mental illness, but every second I spend scrolling through this sub makes me more certain, that I have at least a mild case of OCD.",0 "Wow, I need to go watch all of these movies! Thank you for an interesting insight!",1 "I woke up this morning and went on Spotify and was so excited to see my stats, I mean it was one of the reasons I've switched from apple music to Spotify! And goddamn I was so mad the whole day...Still high key upset. Instead of either studying for my orgo exam or writing my microbio paper, I was googling about the accuracy of spotify wrapped, or looking up other websites that could give me something and while one of them felt more accurate, still. ALL of them showed that my top played song was [this.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8m6ar1qDk4&ab_channel=BestMusic) A song my friend decided to make a bet with me (she said i wouldn't memorize it within a certain time frame) and I apparently listened to it 34 times???? I DONT LISTEN TO THIS KIND OF MUSIC. I REALLY DONT LIKE THE SONG. I mean ffs when it comes to rap I only will listen to Eminem (who was my top artist so at least that felt accurate) or like idk more old school hip hop, but for the most part I listen to anywhere from rock to death metal idk. ANYWAYS. I was spending my whole day just wishing that I never accepted that stupid ass bet and I was thinking if there is a way to just erase it, but I mean no shit you can't lol. Regardless of that song, the other songs weren't any better. I mean some of them were accurate like as you mentioned, I had some weekly phases of idk listening to hardbass and stuff, or like idk weird stuff. anyways. wow im upset . I did not expect to find such post and I did not expect myself to be upset about such thing for the whole day, I also did not expect to complain about it while playing csgo today. Stubborn part of me keeps thinking that I won't let something like this happen next year and that I will ON PURPOSE play only songs i want to see. (i obviously wont lel, defeats the purpose ahaha) ​ Ok rant over. Thank you.",1 "How DARE YOU tell me exactly what I need to hear right now even though I don’t want to hear it! :P",1 "No. I usually want to do it, hence the setting of the alarm.",1 "I have to toss out so many groceries because they go bad bc they stayed in my fridge too long... don't have the attn span to cook meals, forgetting about expiration dates, and also just forgetting that i even need to eat :(((",1 "I forced myself to make a schedule and follow it. Its tough, but forcing work and just following a work routine is huge for starting a better life.",0 Thank you for this post. And the thread in this post. 😢,0 Yes because it doesn't make any sense until you understand why you need to do that or why that has to be that way it's just like a bunch of random nonsense until you're told why,1 "Why do you think therapists say “you’re not a murderer. thoughts aren’t the same as actions”? They’re all in the pocket of Big Murderer.",0 "I came to this sub because my son was diagnosed with adhd, but after reading this, I am starting to wonder if I actually have it too. This sounds exactly like me. I love my to do lists! But they definitely never get followed through on the way I intended.",1 Oh man this meme format really has potential for ocd memes lol,0 "Maybe tell him that you’ll ‘just do it’ as soon as you’re done walking past the other things that distracted you on the way that you half way just did yesterday. I literally walk into the kitchen or bathroom and realize I left the water running or forgot to actually start the washing machine after loading it. Being on time is my nemesis. Everyone says just leave earlier. So I set timers, start getting ready two hours ahead of time just to find myself rushing back in because I forgot xyz. Tell your dad that if he will follow you for the day he may be able to help you just do it. I have found some things that help. Keeping everything in the same place, color coding my closet, hanging everything as it comes out of the dryer, I try to stay on a weekly schedule instead of a daily schedule. That way I can still do things when I feel like it and I have all week instead of one day. That’s been huge. Maybe show your dad the comments so he understands that if we had the ability to just do it, we would! I run three companies and just do many things. I have learned the hyper focus can be amazing, as long as I don’t let anything distract me, like people who don’t understand. 😊",1 "Ow ow ow this hits me right in the feels. Of COURSE any kid would feel that way, let alone one with emotion regulation challenges. This makes me wanna pick the world up and shake some empathy into it.",1 "Nope. I'm old enough to know exactly how my brain works, and how to make it work for me. Ups & downs for sure, and yes, I'm pretty lazy when I'm not interested in something, but still. No self-loathing, just slow progress. Any progress is still progress, just keep at it, brother.",1 Or even just making up evidence that doesn’t exist lmao,0 "I just allow inner me to hang out when they want. It's nice to have a bestie in my head. Even if we don't always see... Eye to eye? Ehhhhhh? Yeahhhhh!? Get it? Cause like... Inner me is only able to see eye to... Oh wait. I wear glasses. He can see into my soul whenever he wants, it's just reflected. Oh, I wonder if he's been having problems with that.",0 "oh my goodness. The cuteness factor of this. Will find someone to try this with!",1 "I'm still mad at my roommate for a conversation she had with her doctor through an online visit. My roommate didn't wear headphones and played the visit pretty loudly, and basically blamed the fact that she was eating out on the fact that I was cooking less at home. Bitch I was cooking less because my classes had started, so two days a week I had to come right home from work and then have 3 hours of classes. And I made extra portions when I was able to cook so you just had to heat up leftovers, but you'd rather order takeout and blame me for your weight. You are a grown adult and capable of cooking and going to the fucking store on your own. I'm your roommate, not your mommy.",1 Incredible... As we could control our compulssions..,0 "I really don't care, there are so many things that are miss understood in the world. If you had mental issues you could have gone seen a psychiatrist and get a diagnosis.",0 "I'm not gonna start cleaning, I most probably am going to stand around awkwardly because I can't sit on any of the furniture I'm not properly acquainted with, look around to make sure there's no stray stickers, tags or strands of hairs which I am not even going to pick up since it'll induce a panic attack and mumbling song lyrics / curse words in regional accents or languages every 15 minutes that you'll confuse for something important I said under my breath. I'll probably also smoke like a chimney / bite the ever loving hell out of my nails because I would be generally uncomfortable. Oh and please don't offer me food, you'll do it wrong and it'll be a waste of perfectly good food. Or...you know...don't stereotype my disorder and clean your dirty house yourself.",0 I have lifelong OCD and this trope is getting a bit tired. I have stopped reacting..... as best I can ;-),0 I'm so thankful I found this post randomly tonight. Great advice.,0 "As a food scientist, I can attest that more fresh produce get thrown away or uneaten (roughy 50%) and the prepared and packaged is unconsumed by about 20%. So, not just ADHD... everyone who buys in large and limited shelf life,thinking that they will use, is the problem..",1 "Congratulations! I'm so proud of you, much applause!!",0 this somewhat sounds like we are delusional... not by an means you can't have both but... i don't believe the CIA is after me. i just don't wanna be seen as oh i wash my hand from some extreme reason.. i'm offened... i am. i wash my hands from getting HIV off me and getting sick and never feeling clean. i showered cuz expired cooked meat got on me. not to mention something off a book based off bizarre thoughts. don't get me wrong psychotic thoughts and bazar thoughts already get enough hate and stigma.,0 "Thanks a lot for this advice. Life-changing technique. since online classes will go on for a while for, this will be such a boon.",1 "I was diagnosed last year, I still doubt that guy to this day.",0 "Wow. Celebrities are just... Trash. Like ugh. They say shit like this and have the entire world as their audience, and they think this quote is okay now because of this giant idiot.",0 Mine is a Whiney little bitch called Derek. He has no friends and lives with his mum,0 "YES For context: I am not officially diagnosed thought I have talked with a therapist about the possibility of me having ADHD. Back in high school if I felt like I wasn’t able to take a test well my brain would just shut me off and I’d either pass out or be so sleepy and unfocused that I wasn’t able to take the test. Now, when I get overwhelmed or just don’t want to do a thing, the same thing happens.",1 So you've seen my deep dive into the J! archive and the Jeopardy subreddit to solve when a certain question happened and how many times this month there was a triple stumper.,0 "I’ve been saying for a while now that I feel like I need some kind of “how to be a person” boot camp, but the way you’ve laid this all out I think a “nanny” would actually be exactly what I need. Idk how I’d afford it but I seriously might try to move some things around to try to make that happen… My friend suggested hiring a cleaner (a very very good idea, as I’m currently living in a cry for help 😅🙃), but I think it makes much more sense to hire someone whose emphasis is more on the care/helping aspect than just coming in to clean.",1 Busting out the POCD thoughts is always a rough ride but must be done 😓,0 "I’m medicated. This is exactly what I want to be doing right now, but thank you. Past life me would have needed to hear it.",1 Or trying to figure out if something you did with good intentions actually turned out to be a mistake and you’re actually an evil incarnate. That’s how real event works for me. I think about the possibility of an event actually being something else so much that i start to believe it.,0 "The clean/organized myth has got to go. It isn’t everyone’s experience, my room looks like a mess whenever I’m consumed by an obsession or a compulsion. I literally wouldn’t notice if my entire room was on fire if I had to do a compulsion or a routine",0 "there are so many ads around my city along the lines of “anxious? jesus offers security.” i’m glad to see his company getting off the ground, seems like he’s doing well as a therapist",0 "Every time any health issue crops up I assume it’s my fault, a moral failing that caused my knees to have issues (“I shouldn’t have sat around all weekend”), or my vision to need bifocals (“if I’d just try harder I could focus my eyes properly, it’s my fault”). Every time. Still. And if I actually try to get it taken care of, I berate myself for whining and making a big stink. It’s just ridiculous at this point. And then I berate myself for berating myself. Ugh.",1 I miss a day and never want to pick it up again. Fuck planners. What i do with my day is no notebook's business. Fuck planners.,1 I start tapping like a maniac it distracts me sometimes,0 "Lmao this is so me I feel like Kindergarten/1st grade teachers are used to getting called MOMS at this point But male teachers are never called Dad",0 Now make sure that when you do it the 9th time you don’t have an intrusive thought about something bad happening to your family,0 I reset my reminders. My air conditioning filter was so gross when I finally changed it today. I literally get new ones from the office of my apartment complex. I just call and they leave it outside for me. I’m pretty sure I reset my reminder every day for a month!,1 "Realized today that I had completely mentally blocked out my contamination compulsions. My coworker and I were talking about all the adjustments she’s had to make I her daily life d/t COVID and I said, “well, my life hasn’t really changed.” It wasn’t a lie. I’ve WFH for the past 4 years, rest of office is now telework, so big adjustment for them. I really only leave the house to pick up groceries (drive up pickup) and get carry out for the majority of my time WFH. Not sure if I should feel proud or realize how restrictive my life is.",0 You got my free award because you told me no monies. Anyway I was exactly like this in highschool I just never said I didn't do my 100%. My in class work was always great but I could never keep up with my homework because I could never get myself to do it,1 i’m so proud of you that’s amazing :’) also you’re so talented!! that looks amazing :D and this makes me so happy,0 "I have ADHD, but I hope somebody else will do it. ...unless it needs to be done **perfectly**, which is when my OCPD kicks in.",1 "I have OCD and I'm here to tell everyone it CAN get better. Things I have done over the past year is: 1. Go see a counselor every 2 weeks 2. Cleaned up my diet 3. Meditation and relaxation. I am a Christian so I use prayer, quiet time and even globally accepted, scientifically-proven meditation practices to reduce stress. 4. The realization that knowledge on this illness is a key element to management/recovery/full healing. It is definitely not easy and I still struggle at times. However, I can move past it much faster and able to ignore my compulsions easier. A few takeaways from my counselor: 1. Give yourself grace and love. Know that everyone struggles with this to a degree. You have to give yourself grace and not think you are the worst person or can't get better or you did something wrong to deserve this. OCD happens and it happens to a lot of people. You will not start to get better until you do this first step. 2. DO NOT ISOLATE OR COMPARE YOUR CONDITION TO OTHER'S. Know that other people struggle with things too that are equally debilitating. Find the support you need. 3. EVERYONE has intrusive thoughts. We have to learn how to see them, filter them, and let it go without judging it, good or bad. JUST LET IT GO. ****IMPORTANT**** This takes time and continual work to be able to control your mind and what is ingested into it. Yes it is daunting but it works and you will start to see improvement if you are faithful to it. After all, OCD is the inability to control the mind. Look up mindfulness techniques and what it is about. There is a lot of good information out there that is scientifically proven. Even though it is based out of Buddhism you can practice the techniques no matter what your faith background is and not involve Buddhism at all. 4. OCD is just a glitch in the brain. A glitch CAN be repaired. Saying all of this, I want everyone reading to know there is hope for your illness. I know and have seen the change in me since starting on my recovery journey. I used to think I was the worst case ever and no one could be as bad as mine. There is hope, true hope I have seen the change in my life. Stay strong friends and keep fighting.",0 You need perrla in your life. It has saved me in this nursing degree,1 What if you save everything???? Asking for a friend,1 Proud but worried u tricked urself in some way. I hope not….,0 "Oh yeah this works so well for my English classes, too bad it doesn't work in my own language , like I wouldn't care to study everything in English , but we'll , too bad ig",1 This is actually really great. I like the separation of different states. Can be interpreted different ways but to my pure-o mind it feels like how my mind is when it tries and separates bad thoughts from good thoughts.,0 I was told something similar and it allowed me to think about “tunneling my focus” instead of feeling like I have no focus in the first place...,1 You got this!! One day at a time!! 😉We are all rooting for ya!! 🤘🏼💪,1 "I feel you, and I know it can be so frustrating when everybody seems to know exactly what they have to do effortlessly. On the other hand there are some positive aspects, while we have many obstacles in our way to achieve our target, neuro-typical people don't. I know this might seem as a clearly disadvantage, but in some way we can take profit of this situation for future life obstacles. Life has many difficulties and it's constantly requiring us to readapt, and think about it, we are the masters of adaptation. Since the educational system is not adapted to us (at all), we have no other option rather than adapting to it, this means our whole life consists on practicing adaptation while catching up with what our equals do, not to mention sometimes we do go a step forward than the rest (for example, when it comes to creativity activities people with ADHD usually have better results), however, what I'm trying to say is that neuro-typical people will experience an obstacle at some point and they might have much more less resources ""in terms of psychological/emotional"", to overcome those adversities in life. To conclude I would like to mention a quite accurate Epictetus quote ""the greater the difficulty, the more glory in surmounting it. Skillful pilots gain their reputation from storms and tempests."" I wish you the best of luck in your life and keep going, you are doing such a great work!!",1 So what do we do about it?? would medication help? I can’t stand living with this master procrastinator (me) anymore,1 I’m so glad I don’t have to randomly change my walking pace to throw off the sniper who is watching me through his scope from some distant place anymore!!,0 I felt so bad the other day because I was playing video games with my boyfriend and I kept getting bumped by other players and the music was a little too loud and he was trying to tell me a story about something and I just fell apart and was like I’m so sorry hit I’m horribly overstimulated and I need to take a minute. He felt really bad but also just didn’t understand what I meant.,1 "I'd like to suggest a tooth brush that for me has been a game changer. Brushing my teeth /hurts/ physically. I avoided it for years because of the pain and the gagging. I've tried so many different combinations as I've had to have all 4 wisdom teeth out this year, 20 fillings and 2 broken teeth covered. (I've also had a phobia of dentists since I had my eye teeth out 24 years ago and the local didn't work and I wasn't believed! Hadn't been to a dentist since unt this year) Anyway, in a last ditch attempt to get on top of my oral hygiene I bought these https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B085THJTMH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_JCA-Fb5S4MCE2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1 And now all I have to do is deal with the forgetfullness/inattention! No pain!",1 I've suggested it be called Attention Allocation Disorder because we aren't good at choosing and controlling where our attention goes.,1 "Yes, please shut the hell up, I am trying to function like a normal human being!",0 I think you just described how my marriage functions. ,1 Seeing how supportive and empathetic this sub is makes me tear up sometimes.,1 "Anyone read ""Start With Why"" by Simon Sinek? Years old by now. Great book that centered me as an ADHD professional. Recommend.",1 "Being remote for the last few years has really helped with this (at least for me, I realize that some people see increased micromanaging when remote). I have a position that is very uniquely suited to my variable output tendencies. There are times when I can get 150% of the work/output done but others that I can only do 50%. Being remote and having the output be delivered to various stakeholders makes it such that nobody can exactly see which time I spend where but my level of output exceeds expectations for the most part (even though I likely put in less work time than others would on a given task). My adhd brain lets me inactively participate in calls when I can't give my full attention and I've developed some creative ways to get people to repeat information if I am asked a specific question that I missed a piece of. However, I have been feeling some major burnout over the last few months. Recently I was able to talk to my boss about working 4x10 instead of the usual 9-5. I still ""work"" the same amount of time but I can disconnect much more easily on the weekends. One big tedious work thing I am struggling with currently is I am currently in this mode of not keeping up with tracking my work. I don't need a timecard to get my paycheck, the tracking I do helps in the larger performance review and team performance metrics and shows approximation of output. Today is mid August and I have about 50% of time recorded from March to May and apx. 0% from June to today... There's no meetings on my calendar the rest of today, no urgent tasks to complete and I have a cold... I want to just play video games but maybe I could go get some time tracked..... Wish me luck! Sorry.... Ramble ramble",1 me buh im literally 13. i jus wan): buh i might b homeschooled thankfully,0 I saw something that said Obsessive Christmas-shopping disorder,0 "That's gotten so much harder with the pandemic, especially now that it's freezing cold where I live, and I can't do anything outside. During the day, I can't do any of the things that would normally bring me joy, so it's hard to feel satisfied when I'm in bed at the end of the day. I just keep chasing an impossible high, looking at travel and nature pictures, trying to remember when life was fun. You know when I used to sleep the best? When I was traveling. I'd look back at my day, and think ""Why even look at my phone right now? My day was perfect, and nothing I could do on my phone is going to add to that."" Man I miss that.",1 "Yes. I came here to see if anyone else suffered from the same thing. For me, it'll be ""what IF I did this"" and it's almost as clear as an actual memory, or it feels ""inevitable"" that this what if scenario will happen even though it won't. Just bizarre. I'm 100% aware of how irrational it is and yet I still just have an overwhelming panic.",0 "When I started cbt I went on a big barely sensical rant about how ""I'm a fucking liar I just lie about everything what if I'm lying to you rn???"" And my therapist told me ""that's a whole other type of therapy, we'll get there""",0 Yes! Finally a picture to kind of help my husband understand!,0 "Logan Paul said a couple of these on his channel as a post once. Got roasted for it. I believe it’s meant to be comforting... and instead is very dismissive and insensitive. Full fail.",0 "Well yeah. No shit. Of course I need to pull myself up. Of course I’m an adult. That’s why it crushes me when people say stuff like that. Like yeah, I get it, I know I’m failing at being an adult. And then I spiral from there",1 "I love this. But serious question: why??? Why do people dismiss this disorder? Is it really over- or mid-diagnosed? Why is it not just accepted, like autism? Why???",1 "I'm not sure exactly if I have OCD, I've been trying to figure that out for a while. Though I notice that due to not having much energy I can't keep myself organized, my room is always a mess and I'm always cleaning only to have to stop, drop everything and/or shove it into a corner. Every time I look at it I get overwhelmed and can't function, putting me into more of a deep depression than I'm already in. So I tend to leave things out, I let them get dirty. When I get energy again it's like I'm on crack when cleaning, but I HAVE to organize all the little things before I move the big things. Sometimes I have small victories, but usually it ends up getting messy again and I have to lie in bed and feel anxious because I can't keep up in managing it.",0 literally me every day lmao... or maybe im faking it...,0 "Look into OCPD, though! I just found out it’s something completely different to OCD!",0 "It really cuts both ways. I’ve found that stupid people think I’m stupid - I often just cannot follow their conversations. Smart people tend to view me as fairly intelligent I believe. It’s so frustrating at times.",1 "I failed a class because I just couldn't get it together. Meanwhile, my overall GPA was 3.9 in engineering. Summa cum laude, multiple regional and national awards. Still happened. I don't know how. I tried my best. Sometimes my brain switches on, sometimes my brain switches off. I had to sacrifice my entire life to get as many 90%+ exams as possible because I would randomly get some fucking 30%. My college career was a life in a dark room with books and nothing else. No partying, no breaks, never anything fun. People are proud of their GPA, it only reminds me of how much I hate myself. It has happened several times already beyond college where I randomly fail some random task miserably, like no one around me could have imagined it. It is painful and humiliating. I sometimes I just want to bash my head against the wall hoping that a major concussion would somehow miraculously fix that broken part of me. I loathe it. I try so fucking hard and that fucking faulty piece of shit keeps fucking me over randomly. The best thing in my life is my partner. We work so well off of one another and we complement each other perfectly. She takes care of me like a personal assistant. She is my guardian angel. I spend a lot of time with her walking my dog because I found that it was critical towards ensuring I stave away the thoughts of self-harm. Truth is, I can see myself circling the drain without them, even with good healthcare providers and mood stabilizers. There's a dark place in my head and it is a constant battle to fight off the ever encroaching darkness.",1 "I can't even deal with this shit!!!!!! I just realized how maladaptive am I and now this? Everyone please please please leave me alone and stop touching everything I've done perfectly the first damn time!!",0 "I never thought of that but it seems like if I ever did it could go horribly wrong. Because what is I sniffed it and it smelled weird? If I sniff something that might be bad then I would have to buy it to make sure it was OK and that I didn’t sniff something weird. They should totally just have OCD shoppers day. Like the day at the movies they have for kids with ADD or autism",0 "I always manage to convince myself to give in to *one* more compulsion, and of course that only leads to more intense OCD. Thank you for your post, it helps a lot ☺️",0 When you know why you can extrapolate the instruction to any situation it may apply.,1 they really brought someone in to give her ERP too like she just likes or organize her clothes,0 "I literally have a 3pm appointment today 😭 I woke up at 7 and I’ve been *trying* to do other things but I end up stopping early/halfway through because I’m convinced if I keep going I’ll end being up late. So now I’m just sitting on the floor of my bedroom, on my phone, scrolling through reddit. Real productive.",1 Never have I been so offended about something that I 100% agree with,0 "I’ve started doing this. Every once in a while I’ll get it in my head that I can handle the cheaper option (I’m definitely going to eat this giant bag of spinach that’s on sale before it get gross. I need more veggies anyway) but it doesn’t take too long till I once again accept the facts of my life. I always feel bad when I see how much everything is at the register, but it ends up being better in the long run.",1 "It really doesn't, there is no amount of tough love even going to prison or be mentally or physically abused I cannot change . ADHD is hard wired, the best people can do is try to accept us , not that we aren't already aware by the lifelong tough love already . Myt make it easier on everyone. Hell we might be able to function better if we're not always being beaten over the head. The way to instruct us is slightly different, people are usually instructed not by words . We are in a world of our own and ADHD aggressively trys to keep it that way . Were half in half out that's just the way it is . That beating over our head just strengthens that position. Because we never give up so we're never going to just disappear without a fight ,. And we're never going to be Mr perfect , so half in half out is what we know and what we will always know . Tough love only makes you dig your heels in, because we cannot change the way our brains are hard wired and were not just going to give in to a completely unmouldable tyranny . Who can change the expectations or a brain hard wired threw millions of years of evolution to be that way ....😉",1 "Yeah, over had this thought before, but I just figured everyone else was stupid for not using them, or for having trouble keeping up with all the detail. Like, I'm literally breaking it down for you, and I want you to have the whole story. Keep up! I got a lot of stern looks from my professors for it lol",1 so so happy to hear this :) conquering ocd and irrational thoughts is incredibly difficult so i hope he knows how proud you are of him and how proud of himself he should be for doing so!,0 "I might have ADHD, but you can’t prove that I’m not ALSO stupid and lazy. So there",1 "That's sick. I'm doing everything I can to fight against myself and do homework at the start of, and not the end of the week because after changing majors, this is the first time since returning to college (after dropping out / being dismissed like 4 times) that I've been properly challenged and I'm deathly afraid of what'll happen if I let my procrastination take the wheel. Congratulations on your achievement. Keep up the good work.",1 Very much. I’m waiting for someone to unveil the person I truly am underneath and for me to lose everything. Like sometimes it’s from things I know I’ve done and other times it’s just a vibe that the end is coming for me.,0 That has happened a lot. And I lose my arousal very easily,1 This is what it's REALLY like. It fits me perfectly! 😯 I'm gonna screenshot this. Thank you and good luck with your journey 😊,1 "Checked my laundry, made tea, brewed a tisane for the fridge, fed the dog, held hands with my bird :)",1 "Coming back to add how my brain is like a poorly organized computer, random stuff everywhere and folders that are hidden and I never bother to access. Memory overloads constantly loading and freezing lol. Oh and no search bar!",1 "For me I have a big task to accomplish. From just before covid. I’ve tried everything, from just doing it, to breaking it down into smaller tasks, to inviting people over (it’s a cleaning/organization task after a large Reno) to give myself that urgency. None of it is working, so I cancel friends last minute. So many friends have offered to help, but it’s gone on so far and only gotten worse so I get these thoughts that if I let them help me I will lose all my friends .",1 100% me too. I’m cross training in my military career from medical to and electrical technician and this past weekend they were trying to teach me the basics before I go off to school. I kept asking for clarion things because they were not explaining it fully. Like why does there need to be a load on the circuit so that the breaker doesn’t trip. They eventually got it through to me but not without them pulling out the book lmao.,1 "We threw out the old (so old) food in the fridge, took out the trash, ran a load of dishes, and Drano'd the sink today. It would take other people like 30 min to do, but I don't care! That's a win for today!",1 "I still struggle with a LOT of damn-near crippling shame over how little I've accomplished. I've struggled with internalizing it. I actively fought the idea that I was lazy because I knew how hard I was trying without giving up. And I've had too many people tell me how smart I am and specify how much better I could be doing. (A roundabout way of calling you a lazy failure, even if they don't mean it that way.) Accepting that I was stupid or lazy would have been admitting defeat and I wasn't strong enough to handle that. I've set out to do so many things and all my plans have fallen apart _repeatedly._ If I were to go back and talk to my younger self, I think I would have killed myself knowing how much shit there was to come. Unless I could give myself the directions to fix it, it would have magnified my grief and despair to an unmanageable level to know where I'm at now. I've made more progress in the past few weeks than I've made in the past _decade._ And I say that as someone with a fucking Associate's degree. I also self-taught all through high school.",1 "Same struggle here, my friend. Meds helped me sort it out... Well done to you :-)",1 "As a kid I got beat a lot for ""choosing to forget things"", whatever the fuck that means. Sucked having to constantly wonder why I just couldn't do anything right.",1 I think that's what makes it different than schizophrenia,0 "Damn you. I have 15 min to leave for work and I'm just sitting here, air drying after my shower. Minding my own business......just to have you call me out like this.",1 Absolutely ALL the time. This is my main OCD FEAR at the moment. It's gotten really bad during lockdown. Previously fears of have always been losing loves ones but now it seems this is the loudest. I absolutely hate it as it makes me feel like I cannot enjoy any success I have because I could loose it all in an instant. Sorry if this was tmi but it feels good to write it down!,0 "Seriously though. Start small. Get an Estes kit. You'll develop a $$$ habit. Rockets are fun, most are cheap, and you can really lose yourself in them",1 I love this! I got an ocd tattoo this month as well. It feels good to have the visual representation. Much love,0 "I have counting ritual OCD, pure-o, superstitious OCD, and probably getting tick. I don't know how to get well.",0 That or I’m having wicked interesting conversations with myself,0 Is this my brain talking to me????? Ohmygod. Can someone just get me some medicine.,1 "My intrusive thoughts aren't so much voice as the concept just sort of appearing out of nowhere in my head and everytime I think of something related to it, it tries to come out and get voice. I never allow it to do so but it's still infuriating.",0 "OMG P L E A SE REPRESENTATION OF DIFFERENT FORMS OF OCD AND THE ACTUAL REASON WHY PEOPLE DO COMPULSIONS RATHER THAN JUST SHOWING COMPULSIONS",0 "Wow, this is awesome!!!! This would explain the frustration when the things I think are supposed to help don't do that much. The idea of focusing on the serotonin incentives sounds pretty nice, will def look for ways to incorporate that, thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!",1 "Congratulations dude, this is a true inspiration for me",0 "those thoughts never represent who I am or what I believe in, yet they still have so much horrid weight to them. the fact that many other people experience this, gives me comfort that I’m not alone.",0 Same i feel like ive wasted my whole life. I just cant do anything. I just lie in bed the whole day mostly,1 "*wakin up in the morning* *thinkin about so many things*",0 "As someone who will obsessively plan holidays practically as a hobby this resonates. Covid restrictions are ruining me. Used to have a job planning kitchens for a developer, best job ever, someone else finishes it all ahhhhh....",1 Thinking of the entire world really can mess you up,1 "I am a lurker here as I am a parent of a child with ADHD. My daughter is the best. She is beautiful and smart and funny and tries really hard. I have had other parents ""help me"" by repremanding her or my extended family tell her off or even other kids at school say she is funny or crazy. It sometimes makes me feel like keeping to myself more. I want to keep her protected, but she deserves to be part of life and having experiences just like everyone else. I guess like all parents I want her to experience lots of amazing things but I want to keep her protected from people too.",1 anyone else reads “is for me?” in pewdiepie’s voice every time?,0 "Welp. I guess this was the sign I needed. I was trying to decide if I wanted to do one more task or go to bed.",1 this reminded me the water for my tea has been boiling for 10 minutes yikes,1 " Scrolled past just as I was spiralling into guilt from intrusive thoughts. Thank you, friend!! 🐝💛🐝",0 "Oh yes, this is awful. I just start yelling ""stop, stop, stop"" in my head lol.",0 "This is why I always try and schedule my appointments as early in the morning as possible. If the appointment is at 9am I can get up, go straight to the appointment, come home and then relax or be productive the rest of the day. If its at 3pm I wouldn't be able to do anything before it because of anxiety that I'll miss the appointment, and then by the time I get home i'll feel like it's too late in the day to bother doing anything, so I might as well write today off and start again tomorrow.",1 "My college went all online around the end of my course. It was freaking hard, eventually dropped out for many many reasons, but it being all online was for sure a big one. Keep strong everyone!",1 "So true ! Doing 1 compulsion means the next one is gonna be stronger. We can't always run away from our fears, at some point we have to take a stand and face them",0 "Preach! If this were on a t-shirt, I'd wear it to work every day.",0 "When I first got diagnosed with OCD my first thought was ""But my room's a mess"".",0 "Whenever I get a cringe flashback and I’m alone, I just yell out something random or a comfort phrase/mantra. Makes me wonder: Is that a Tourette tic or an OCD tic or a mental compulsion?",0 "holy forking shirt this could change my life in my french course edit: tested it, but you need to keep Word as the focused app or it turns off. what does work, however, is Google Translate.",1 "Yes! Or when a new one doesn’t come, so some old one comes back to torture you again...",0 Don’t have a diagnosis but still think that’s the reason for everything.,1 "I want to start taking adhd meds but I’m not sure I have it! I do show some signs. I’m also on Trintellix and have been treatment resistant for depression and anxiety for years!!! Dr thinks It could be adhd, my brother was definitely diagnosed with it. But my blood pressure is a bit high! Also I can sit and watch the tv or movies and have two degrees - I’m not hyperactive - any advice?",1 "small things sink to the bottom, it's a known thing. so it's not surprising that it was in the bottom of the trash bin. glad you were able to help her find it and that she was willing to hear you out.",1 "I didn't think this was an ADHD thing but I'm really glad I have some closure on it I always just thought i hated myself bc i was terrible Thank you for sharing this you've made me not hate myself as much today",1 "This is so accurate. Thank you for making this, sincerely.",0 "I know it's been a while since you made that post but I just want to thank you. I had no idea what dermatillomania was but your post made me realized that I struggle with it too. After 2 weeks my skin look a bit better and my struggle is slowly going away. Thank you so much💛",0 "I try to do my best to look at the silver lining of things. It helps to keep me relatively sane. I remember several years ago thinking and wishing that I didn’t overthink everything so much. I wished that I couldn’t remember the terrible thoughts. I prayed that the rumination would end and just go away. But then I realized something else. As much as all the positive things about me are part of me, so is the negative. Do I have a tendency to overthink? Yes. Am I also very well prepared? Yes. Do I tend to hyper-analyze my faults? Yes. Has that made me a great friend and a sympathetic supporter? Yes. Does my mind race at a million miles an hour leaving me exhausted? Yes. Has that also made me great at connecting seeming disparate concepts and creating helpful analogies? Yes. Has OCD made my life a living hell? Yes. Has that made me better guide for others that venture into the hellscape? Absolutely. I don’t have to like OCD to find humor and growth in my trials and suffering. OCD is a curse. That doesn’t mean I can’t find some positives to make it bearable. I’ve been given a hellish existence to deal with, but dammit if I don’t become stronger because of it.",0 Same tbh. I used to think overthinking about my religious intrusive thoughts was normal.,0 "Honestly at this point I just try to do the chore I told myself to do, by removing any distraction. Like if you have enough space in your room/ apartment create a spot where you can work without any distractions. Helps a lot especially if you can lock the room.",1 Yep sometimes my boyfriend doesn't understand why I do them and I'm just like sometimes I just can't be bothered arguing 😂,0 "that moment when the symptoms list doesnt match you EXACTLY and the anxiety sets it because you ""probably have an unknown disease""",0 "I have storyboarded a dcs vid set to the music ""caravan master take"" from dizzy Gillespie, I have asked arround, yet not at the times people who would be able to do it are on.",1 "About a year ago, someone from the health department came to my work show staff how to properly wash their hands. They gave everyone this lotion to put on their hands and used a black light to show your ""germs"" before and after. At this point my hands were super cracked and sore from constant hand washing. I finally said, ""yeah, I'm trying to wash my hands LESS and trust me, I know how to do it."" It was actually pretty amazing to see a group of adults who don't know how to wash their hands correctly. Hand washing is our OCD superpower now!",0 Holy shit this is SO relatable; it almost makes it worse that you’re able to recognize what is happening but you can’t help but obsess,0 "Me, as I save this post on Reddit so I can never refer to it again 🤣",1 It doesn't help when *other people* call you lazy or make you feel like you're not good enough.,1 "I'm the opposite 8 am that's close to 10 which is basically the afternoon no time for breakfast 8 pm that's for hours till midnight which basically equals infinite time for some reason then boom its 5 am",1 "Happy birthday! Well done on being so brave for so long, your determination is nothing short of inspiring!",0 They probably think it’ll just make them a more tidy and neat person.,0 "This isn’t Pure O OCD, no. Pure O would be thinking “I’m going to stab myself”, getting a massive anxiety response because you actually really DON’T want to stab yourself, and then getting caught in a loop of uncertainty trying to convince yourself (or seeking reassurance) that you aren’t going to stab yourself even though the original intrusive thought felt so real and awful.",0 About the timescale estimate...what do you do when tripling the time would put you at a big disadvantage compared to other people in your line of work? I work in graphic design and I feel pressured to agree to or give unrealistic deadlines sometimes just to get a gig.,1 The problem is that my boyfriend also has a terrible sleep schedule but he doesn’t have to wake up as early as me so I get distracted and talk to him till like 2 AM every night and then I’m tired lol,1 Woah woah woah let’s not get ahead of ourselves with the unreasonable demands /s,0 I've been saying this! We're designed to be helpful and connected.,1 "Wow. I feel incredibly seen and validated by this. Thanks so much for sharing it. Add in depression and anxiety and I spend a lot of time beating myself up for this despite always knowing that it wasn’t as simple as I was just choosing to be lazy and not do things.",1 "> just get out of your head and do what you need to do If only they understood that they wouldn’t last 5 minutes in our heads.",1 "Yep but once you stop competing against others, it gets easier to live like nothing matters but the progress you make against your self, the bs from the outside world gets quieter",1 "I have um, I have OCD and I didn't even know this sub was here, but, I was scrolling on r/All while having a really terrible intrusive thought... I just want to say this really helped me, thank you",0 AMAZING! You should hold an art showing. I would buy one 🧡,0 That but for a toilet and toilet brush would cba be my life,0 "I normally don’t believe this message, but, other than the binge eating disorder and diabetes, cake has never steered me wrong.",0 "except i’m not smiling.. i’m usually fighting back tears, heh. ",0 This picture is so true. If you want any tips on recovery message me !,0 "Not really, shit's still shit even when the source is identified.",0 "I can appreciate the post, and perhaps most of us would. And I read it all. haha Its also so cringy however... The same person you to want to sit down and thoughtfully explain your whole life, experiences, symptoms etc to, is probably the same person who... thoughtlessly judged you before they had one shred of knowledge or understanding or care about who you are and what you've dealt with your entire life. What's to get? People are all different, so, treat everyone like individuals, and with dignity and respect. If you don't understand somebody, it's often due your own lack of initiative. Who's lazy?? It's probably the one who's judging you. I'm not even sure that anybody is actually 'lazy'. They probably simply lack the reward or encouragement they, as an individual, specifically require. Or have been so aggressively hammered by unjust disdain that dusting yourself off and trying again and again gets to be more difficult each time. Been in both places, and it sucks. But no amount of money or reward is going to keep me from the occasional, unintentional dropping the proverbial ball (by symptom) which is not at all related, I feel, to my character, work ethic, etc etc. And no explanation is going to, in my experience, make people who lack empathy, understanding, kindness, real leadership quality, et al treat you right.",1 "I need to exercise or study. I want to play vidja gaem or watch Netflix or anime. I will watch mediocre YouTube videos I don’t care about for hours and then be depressed. I also feel like if I do any of the things I want I will inadvertently be ignoring my wife so I will just not do them but also not interact with my wife. I hate it.",1 "I mean, I wash my hands anyways since they’re practically mutilated from anxiety.",0 I can barely force myself to take my medicine everyday.. it’s the absolute worst,1 "Me currently not washing my face because we have no water. (It's killing me guys you have no idea.) ",0 "My parents are liberal with their tough love and it pushes me to hate talking to them, visiting them (we live in separate states), and trying to have a relationship with them.",1 Eh. I have OCD as my first thought/memory. :/ Idk what's like to be normal.,0 "Oh yeah, I have a fear of accidentally taking them twice, but I also don't want to deal with withdrawal symptoms :/",0 I hate these too but I hate the shame of posting them even more.,0 Was literally feeling this kick in right before I saw this post.,0 I wish I couldn’t think so I didn’t have to be controlled every day,0 "hahaha 😂 ""I'm just saying this to play the devils advocate, but""",0 "i love this picture. i tend to have the opposite of TOCD though cause i’m trans and i always ruminate about if i’m actually cis and that i’ve made a wrong decision and that i’ve fucked myself for life even tho i know for a fact i am most certainly a trans woman and that’s the only way for me to be happy. it’s tragic how our brains will warp things however they can to make us doubt and be uncomfortable smh",0 "my guilt is combined with that and things I've actually done, tbh",0 "you’re so lucky :( i wish it helped me that way. i thought it was supposed to! but maybe i just have so much on my plate that it’s impossible to overlook the stress. idk but i’m so happy that it’s working for you, there shouldn’t be a stigma when it’s actually saving the lives of people with our condition",1 That was me before I was medicated. Its the most frustrating thing when that's how your brain works.,1 "For me it’s more like, I’m anxious, and then I get irritated with myself for being anxious for no good reason, and then I get more anxious, and then I go numb. But naturally, it depends on the situation.",0 This is why the pomodoro method never works for me. Lol. That 5 minute break turns into five hours.,1 i even do this for my college classes- it could be mid semester and ill have the same routine for weeks and yet ill stick somedays doublecheck my schedule to make sure im going at the right time,0 "My OCD told me to spend long minutes in front of every mirror I saw myself in, making a series of facial expressions. It told me I must dread to look at my own reflection. I went through days with every reflective surface I could see covered up. Recently I took all the coverings down, shortened my compulsion to a reasonable level, and am able to look at myself again!",0 Or bacteria will creep into my butthole while pooping.,0 "YES -- I've been sitting here for 10 mins feeling like I haven't done something I distinctly remember doing. 🤣 UGH ERP",0 My bed squeaks so badly that it distracts me from sex and is really frustrating. We only do it on the floor now lol,1 "One time I came home and discovered I left my curling iron plugged in. From then on, I had to go up and downstairs exactly three times to ensure any and all heating tools were unplugged before leaving the house. I would go upstairs, check, go back downstairs, go back upstairs, check again... you get the picture. Now I just touch my hand over the plug three times to ensure it's unplugged. My therapist told me that I created a shortcut ritual so I wouldn't have to keep going up and downstairs.",0 Literally broke up with my boyfriend because it got so bad. I'M BI!!! But apparently OCD doesn't know that.,0 I'm really sensitive to any kind of coercion. Even positive feedback can mess with my head. My most successful recent attempt to quit smoking was when I didn't even tell my fiance that I was quitting. I just have to be doing things for my own motivations.,1 "I just use gloves most of the time these days, saves the skin on my hands",0 "My ocd used to manifest itself as compulsive handwashing and contamination OCD as well. What worked for me is a perscription topical oil fluocinolone acetonide 0.01 topical oil (reading this from the box). you have to get it from your doctor, but it has been the only thing to work in my expirience. Also to prevent me from feeling the need to wash my hands, I began wearing disposable gloves when touching something that could trigger me to wash my hands.",0 "i usually eat breakfast around dinner time because i can’t get enthusiastic enough about food until it hurts, so i feel you haha",1 There’s something deeply and fundamentally wrong with me 😂🥴,1 That's like telling people who need spectacles to see absolutely clearly with wearing spectacles.,1 Holy s***... you just described something I could never put into words before,1 Same! I've always really tried to avoid people who are too into tough love.,1 "If i have an appointment at 3pm that's 10 minutes away, then i have to leave by 1:30pm in case there's a zombie apocalypse on my way and traffic gets backed up. Then i sit in my car stressing over what time to walk in...""is 2:50 too early???"" ""i don't want them knowing that i've been sitting out here for an hour"" ""maybe i'll be fashionably late"" ​ The cycle is endless.",1 That’s amazing! You should be SO proud of yourself :),0 Seriously! So many things I always thought were just unpleasant traits of mine or something I went through alone get referenced here often. It makes me feel so much better about handling it.,0 I feel this way because it was drilled into my brain my whole growing up.,1 "I get the -""stop doing that"" one all the fucking time. I want to swing at anyone who says that, my brain is so fking annoying and I can't stop having intrusive thoughts about it for the rest of my day.",0 Kinda sad but I actually picture this in my head to shoot the thought away. Never works but it lets me chill for a second or two.,0 Who the fuck is out here picking and choosing what mental illness is the best or desirable?,0 I'm way too impulsive to try that method. I'm the type that will eat the whole candy bar and play video games for hours on end. Doesn't help to have a dissociative disorder along with ADHD.,1 Time to get up and grocery shop. I usually hate these posts but today I actually needed it myself. Thank you. I'll be less judgemental in the future.,1 Seriously discussing numbers for hours on end..come on,0 """Let's say for the sake of argument you were a horrible person""",0 Lol time to rearrange the wording in your username then 😂,0 "One annoying thing is, the kind of help we need at work and home—prompts, a body double, someone looking out for the schedule—is straightforward, predictable, and easy to provide. People just have a strong moral judgment around self-motivation (that IMO causes them to create deliberately ableist structures—but that’s a conversation for another time). Most of the things I have struggled with in various workplaces can be considered failures of business process. Like why do you hire a _manager_ and then make the _talent_ self-manage _administrative_ tasks? Inflexible schedules are also a source of intense but completely unnecessary office friction. Like ok, my brain wasn’t working yet so I arrived at 9:30 instead of 9 to complete a collection of non-urgent tasks. Let’s fight about it every single day. Great job allocating your business resources. At home, remind me what I need to do if I forget, suggest an order to do the things in if I get stuck, and offer to sit in the room with me while I do them. Sure, annoying; it’s extra work. But possibly this approach is less annoying than watching the house fall into disarray and cleaning it yourself while hating me because you refuse to indulge (i.e. accommodate) my lazy, undisciplined habits (i.e. my disability).",1 I gasp/flinch out loud lol my boyfriend is so used to it. He always asks me what it is now or what I’m thinking of it’s very sweet,0 What did the author suggest OCD is more desirable than?,0 "Im doing this with youtube. But with reddit, i save them so i can remember all my problems when i meet my doc again lol.",1 "I kind of understand, I walked on carpet with shoes on on for the first time a few weeks ago after eight months of having carpet.",0 "Yes, I’ve always bounced around. I fee like I’m destined to be a jack of all trades and a master of none because of my inability to focus long term. I get bored.",1 Thank you for saying all this. I don't feel so alone now at least ❤️,1 Glad to see it referred to like an etch-a-sketch. That’s been my exact wording for it.,0 If I don’t do it perfectly then I have to restart which leads me into looping so I just ✨ avoid ✨,0 "An ocd and the office meme :O Did make me laugh, so thanks",0 Perfect. The next time I have intrusive visions of accidentally breaking my dog's back while I'm petting her imma just pet this watermelon instead. Problem solved,0 "You forgot to add that sometimes at around 7pm-1am you get a sudden burst of energy, motivation, inspiration to change your life. Frantically move to get 5 diff lists sorted, room cleaned, new project started, cant sleep, so full of life. Wake up fucked the next day, none of that from last brand new day, maybe 2 of nothing special again.",1 Oh my god. I literally was having this conversation with my OCD two nights ago. Just asking it to stop,0 Congratulations! That’s a big step! Keep it up. Exposure Response Therapy really helped my contamination OCD and it is now so much more manageable. I feel like I can live a pretty normal life now!,0 If only my mom worked like that. I'm talking about the guy actually not the guys mom. Sometimes I'm not sure my mom is paying attention. If I thought it would help I'd get her a bunch of bouncy balls. Haha,1 "See, this is something I constantly do, but I thought everyone just saves things and never gets back to them, actually that reminds me I didn't put my lunch in the fridge I should go do that",1 "It's like a Ferrari that can rev to 9K RPM but the transmission is broken so you only have 1st gear. You can get on the highway and sorta keep up with the other cars, but people can't see you're putting in 3x the effort for 1x the result. And they really don't understand why you need to pull over regularly to keep from burning out.",1 "I feel this too. I have to reread every email I write, not only to put in punctuation marks but also to take out a lot of unnecessary wordy sentences. It takes a lot of time and energy to write what is probably a simple email for NTs. ADHD is draining!",1 "I took her out, it was a Friday night I wore cologne to get the feeling right We started making out, and she took off my pants But then I turned on the TV And that's about the time she walked away from me Nobody likes you when you're 23 And are still more amused by TV shows What the hell is ADD? My friends say I should act my age What's my age again? What's my age again?",1 "Me and my 2,000 screenshots agree. Same for saving videos on YouTube to watch later, plot twist they never get watched later",1 "LMAO. I'm so glad I can talk about this. I've reached that point. I have solved this by creating a ""Watch Later 2"" list.",1 I'ma need that app that comes every half an hr of my wake time. How do i even search for that on Google Play? HELP PLS,1 I have a cleaner for this very reason. I quite enjoy cleaning but I just can’t quite start the task and I always give up before I’m finished. I enjoy buying cleaning products and planning but the thought of doing it is overwhelming. I love my cleaner!,1 "Non-ADHD: It may be tempting to try and use caffeine and nicotine to boost your focus during bad med days, but they are addictive substances that can affect heart rate and sleep. ADHD: So are your meds. Go for it, see if it works.",1 "YES!! We do WAY better with external motivation, so leverage that as often as humanly possible. ",1 I feel you. I’m a woman with scaly hands. Lol gotta get that good old Gold Bond for the crustys.,0 "There was a time where I would've been ever greatful to see a post like this, but im so glad I found it now, I pulled myself out of dark places and kept going and doing my best to keep my head down. Whether it was in the right or wrong direction for myself. I want to be there for you, for someone, just to listen and tell you, it'll be ok, and fuck some shit up in whatever way suits you best. I'm here for you whoever you are X",1 "does anyone else have the issue that their thoughts link to something physical? i try to just ignore my thoughts like in the meme but.... then they attach to something thats dear to me and now i fear to have to deal with those thoughts whenever i look at said thing... for example the face of a person that got attached to my mmo character and now i cant think of anything else but that person when i play -,- and its distresssssssssing",0 And after a while they become so annoying and tiresome. After clicking away so many pop up and so many more appearing it overwhelms you and you spend youre whole time on the computer clicking away the pop ups to get rid of them. You're whole screen is pop ups now. You can't do youre original purpose because its covered by pop ups.,0 "I have started doing that too for veggies! I know what I bought fresh, unless it's fruits I love, is most likely going to waste because I forget, or I can't be bothered cooking that, or, or. So I buy pre-cutted one. Also work as more healthy snack when I need a crunch to focus on something!",1 """Okay. I love you. Be good. Have a good day. Mwah!"" Good to know I'm not the only one.",0 "Hello, Target? Hi, I’ve been using your hand sanitiser for weeks now and I’ve seen no improvement in my symptoms. In fact, the more I use, the stronger my symptoms. Should I be applying it *when* I have an intrusive though, or *before*? Ah never mind then, could you give me the contact for OCD? Yeah, the organisation ‘OCD’ that approved this product.",0 "I was on such a roll before this hit. Had a good gym, cooking, and cleaning routine reaching the point of consistency, was even down 10lbs. All the progress is now lost, like tears in the rain.",1 The nut doesn't fall far in my family. I'm come from a long line of crazies.,0 This is so wholesome! Glad you‘re appreciating each other. Much love.,1 "I’ve been told all my life that I was really smart so this hits home. When I struggle I always feel like I’m struggling because I’m not putting in enough effort. Then it just spirals. Im grateful for this sub.",1 "Same, I'm always afraid of security and my heart pounds a lot when I walk through these ""gates"".",0 "I started writing notes on my phone any time random memories pop into my head because I can’t remember stories unless they randomly come to me. Start a journal too. It sounds super dumb and I resisted for the longest time but journaling is helpful so I can remember shit too. I am super tired right now so idk where I’m even going with this but yeahh",1 Oh you don’t do the sign of the cross over and over ? Weird.,0 I’m up to 768. My first thought when reading this was relief knowing I’ve got space for lots more. I love my video hoard and I swear I’m gonna watch it all someday.,1 "hey, pm me :) I’m here for you and i love talking to people. you’re not a bother at all",0 This has been me this whole time this has been going on. Thank god my boyfriend gets it and is a rational human that can bring me out of a spiral,0 "That was me yesterday. Did laundry but didn’t fold or match my socks together, then only changed the pillowcases on my bed not the full sheets. Then put up my Xmas tree but didn’t decorate it, and put up some twinkling lights around the archway in my apartment. I didn’t even eat dinner until 9:30 pm and then had to go to bed. Meanwhile my husband is like, are you going to finish x before you start y? And I’m just like yeah, but I didn’t. It’s bad enough I woke up at 9:30 am, relocated to the couch, read for like an hour and then took a nap until 1:30. But the fact I didn’t take my meds yesterday and was able to accomplish anything is amazing. It’s the little victories. My husband used to get so angry when I didn’t finish stuff, but this was pre-diagnosis. It still frustrates him, but now he knows I don’t maliciously start a million projects only for them to sit for days or longer.",1 It's now 430am..I just typed a long comment and deleted it 3 times. I need to word it better.. thank you for your post and I'm sorry for your loss.,1 I'm here to support you. I also struggle with the accumulation of things saved to review later.,1 "I can not relate to this enough, I’m having surgery next week and I’m fucking terrified.",0 "Unfortunately I don't think we're going to change the entire world's perspective on this. Which is a shame, I know.",0 "You just saved me. It’s 11:05 pm and I have 7 research assignments due by 10:00 am tmrw. I’m a college freshman, how tf am I gonna get through this",1 "Exactly, the OCD brain takes your biggest fears and tries to make you think they’ll happen if you don’t wash your hands, etc.",0 "That’s awesome, I love hearing about a supportive partner.",1 Ugh. I’m so sorry. :( idk why brain’s are so unpredictable. It’s baffling ,0 "Yep! But what actually helps is not punishing yourself by forcing yourself to feel unhappy, repulsed, etc. That's actually a compulsion. I try to just let the thought happen then move on or just let them keep happening but not react. I still struggle but it helps. I'm also on Zoloft which I think makes it easier too.",0 Mine is at ~120. It was at 150 last month. I’m subscribed to about 100 youtubers and I watch all their new videos besides for like five. I always procrastinate watching them by putting them in my watch later list. I will one day make it to the end of the list. It’s my destiny.,1 I was literally asking my therapist about this yesterday. I wasn’t sure if it was common for people with OCD to obsess over more than one thing at once or to rapidly switch between them. She wasn’t totally sure but said she was going to try and find out.,0 It annoys me because then people see those who really don't have it saying that they do and it seems to be happening more and more now and it's now a joke and when I try to be open about my mental illness I don't think people take me seriously.,0 "Dude, I finally graduated in December of last year (at 28!). I was literally in my last semester and almost dropped out and said ""Fuck it,"" because it was so taxing. I literally put off my assignments and everything until the absolute last minute for every. Fucking. Class. It felt like that was the only way I could even get any schoolwork done. Just let the anxiety of potentially being an absolute failure run loose in my head until the only way I could escape it was to do the work. But, while I was taking classes, I tried finding help. I thought I was having issues due to ADHD (I was diagnosed as a kid). I paid an assload for an evaluation and got diagnosed with a fancy term for ""Almost PTSD"", which was related to anxiety symptoms apparently stemming from my time in prison. So, I just assumed I was stupid and needed to get my shit together. Recently, I saw a post (coincidentally, it was during a particularly horrible week of depression) about ADHD. I really vibed with what was being said. Now I'm working to see if I can get re-evaluated (because I really feel like these people aren't listening to me). I'm just hoping I can get to a ""normal"" state at some point. :/",1 Did ... did you just work Outlander into an OCD joke? 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 Made my day.,0 "Thank you. This just feels right. We are meant to work together as humans, anyway.",1 "Funny thing, I have contamination ocd and I HATE washing my hands Edit: I do wash them!",0 "I used to take 15-20 minute bathroom breaks because i had to A) find a bathroom/stall that wasnt just recently used and B) find the maintenance supplies and wipe the seat down. I've gotten better tho, now i take 10 minutes and hope im lucky enough to find a fresh toilet",0 I have this problem as well. People often think I am weird or talk too much because of it. I also have a hard time putting thoughts into written words as well. My texts come out as incoherent jumbles most of the time :/,1 Haha i think i am schizophrenic and i am hearing noises,0 "I only became clean and organised once I was diagnosed, I was a messing slob, my cousin literally tripped on my pants.",0 "Agreed. I've career hopped quite a bit over the last 10 years. During that time I earned a BA & MA in fields I don't work in now. I've worked higher Ed, IT, and spent the last three years in the medical field as a CNA/EMT. Last year I started my own business and it's slowly becoming more lucrative. The point being, the only limits we have are the ones we place on ourselves. I did my BA without medication, and got married and had two kids during my MA studies with the meds.",1 "The task im putting off is sleeping for my 8AM, 8 hour shift :)",1 "Yo I have one friend who constantly would tell me that I wasn't attentive, didn't care about her, was a bad friend etc. and I cut her the fuck off after 10 years of dealing with NEVER being good enough for her. I tried so hard to be a good friend to her specifically but she was so fucking critical of every thing I did and took every thing as a rejection or me being a bad person, when a lot of it was ADHD related. None of my other friends have said this about me, but it's probably because they understand me more and that if I forget to respond or have to change a time because I double booked or got overwhelmed, it doesn't automatically mean that I don't care about them but it's just my brain. Sorry for the rant. Point is, cut people off who don't understand you and talk this way to you (unless it's like friendly suggestions and they're trying to be a good friend).",1 "Thank you for posting this. I’m sorry you’ve had a negative experience elsewhere, but it’s really nice to hear about your positive experience here!",1 story of my life..... don't ask me about my bedtime alarms it's too depressing,1 "ADHD is a wonderful thing to me. It makes me shiny, energetic, compassionate and funny. Yeah my filter gets clogged at times but if someone denies it their projecting",1 "Hi /u/CumLandFill and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 "Finished my Masters last year, beginning law school this year. Lifelong OCD and Panic Disorder. Don't let mental illness stop you from pursuing your dreams. Congratulations my friend!",0 Or that you’re actually some gross pervert and you’re in denial about it.,0 I save posts and then when I go back and check them later I’m like “why did I save this post? This is wack”,1 "I honestly thought it was common knowledge, like, I've never seen an interview or anything where he's said it, I just assumed because I recognised so much from my own life in him",1 Most of the times it's an audiobook/ podcast... I restart or rewind minutes at a time constantly. Even when I'm really trying to follow my attention subtly gets abducted and guided away until I'm thinking about something wildly different.,1 "Yup! Mine's a little different, I have fears of being cancelled in the future so I have to stay really scrupulous with what I post, do, think, say, etc. It's kept me from doing things I wanted to do, like write or make comics. Eventually I had to come to the conclusion that this fear was robbing me of something I valued, and I have to give up the obsession.",0 Having OCD and intrusive thoughts about sexual trauma at night is a fucking night mare,0 "It’s almost funny how wrong this is. Welp, don’t mind me guys, just gonna go set my psych degree on fire since we’ve been exposed, cause buddy here found THE SECRET",0 "Yeah I get that the worst part about OCD to me is when I accidentally start to think that there might’ve been a chance that it actually happened when, as always, it never did",0 It's ok. Feel free to write as much as you want. You can also pm me if you want. It's ok.,0 "This is ominously beautiful. Reminds me of forced femininity, like the way girls toys/clothes sections of stores are obnoxiously pink and frilly",0 Where do I sign up?? I’ll do it as soon as I finish th.... omg a squirrel!!!!,1 "I'm really in the thick of it with my problems right now. But a really important thing to remember is that the majority of us have comorbitities with other mood-affecting mental conditions. I'm going through this big struggle at my work right now that I initially labeled as an adhd problem, and that is a piece of it, but I think depression is the bigger culprit. Can't bring yourself to even start things, even when the stakes are high? That also looks like laziness and is absolutely a depression symptom. So many people deal with depression and anxiety that I think, once people are focused on their adhd, blaming depression or whatever feels passe. But it's helpful to correctly identify what's causing problems.",1 "As a mother of a 10 year old with ADHD and a wife of a husband with ADHD, is there anything I can do to help not perpetuate that feeling during our interactions? Especially with our daughter, no matter how chill I am when I have to talk to her about things she can’t do (like eat powdered sugar out of the box while watching YouTube or absentmindedly chewing a toy to pieces Lol) she still shrinks down and clams up like she’s in trouble. I can be saying, “hey don’t worry darling you’re not in trouble, I know you didn’t mean to. Let’s just put the powdered sugar back.” She’ll still hide like she’s waiting for punishment. Maybe it’s unavoidable. :(",1 God this shit is why im scared to seek professional help. I'm scared I'll tell a therapist and they wont have experience with pOCD,0 "None of us here know the long history of the dynamic between yourself and your father or the family unit dynamic as a whole. We can only go on what has been stated here. With that, I’m more curious what your response was, because this seems like it could have a moment to (non combatively) reach a point of understanding or to open a dialogue. If he cares enough to acknowledge your struggles and to even offer his own unsolicited and misguided advice, then there may be an opportunity to convert the dynamic from a position of misunderstanding and judgement to him understanding you, himself and even becoming an ally and partner. ADHD is misunderstood even by the people who live it daily. Recall the work that had to be done by you to fully understand the mechanics of it all. No one here magically became ADHD knowledge wizards because we suffer from it, it took a lot of research, observation and discussion to know some parts of the big picture. In a sense, writing him off is also writing your own self off.",1 My dumbass OCD brain whenever I make any assertion at all. ,0 "My Grades and turn in rates: RIP 2019 - March 2020 :( ""you came into my life for a short time and was ripped away too soon, damn""",1 "I’ve broken so many locks before (the inside mechanism) from hauling on them 7 times to make sure it was actually locked, always hated the walk of shame when the janitor came up with the lock cutters. My friends thought I was crazy",0 "I work in an area that relates to HIPAA and I’m always concerned I’m sending an email to the wrong person with someone’s PHI in it. I check the email addresses I’m sending it to, reread a million times and verify that I’m actually referring to the right client. When I write notes after a session I sometimes worry I’m writing the note on the wrong client. Sometimes I have to send letters to clients and will panic on the drive home thinking I mailed the letter to the wrong client. Whew that felt good to get out.",0 "I have that too...Fear of being accused of cheating at school even if I’m 99,999% sure I never cheat...",0 "GOD me currently and since last week ...i hate it Edit; Basically always, too. Sometimes its just way more noitceable than other times",0 Brand new obsession about the content of a dream ENGAGE!!,0 Yes. Every night for over ten years. I ended up having interstitial cystitis. Even on medicine and a cystoscopy I still get up multiple times a night because I’m so paranoid.,0 This REALLY helped me tonight. Like.. I can’t emphasize that enough. Thank you,0 "In addition to the back-up, i must do something in place of the original compulsion. That new action now becomes a compulsion too and replaces tbe old one. Thats how i was able to fully grasp that i had OCD and that its mental",0 "EXACTLY!!!! I’ve always called it . . . **AEHD** Attention Everything Hyperactivity Disorder",1 "I've heard this countless times from just about everyone I've ever opened up to about it. They just don't get it and probably never will, even if they eventually understand, they still won't get it. When I hear someone say some shit like this now, if I have a minute and I know the person moderately well, I read them examples of ocd accounts of different people. Usually by the end of it they're sitting there with their mouths open and apologizing for saying they had ocd lol is this gatekeeping? For sure, but I'm tired of hearing aunt Betty say she's ocd because she has to cook her turkey at ""just the right temperature."" or better yet the ""ive had my own experiences with ocd I know about it"" *proceeds to live and lead a normal life* Lmao it may be O and maybe even a little C but not D",0 Saaaaaaaame I’m at the point of having intrusive thoughts ABOUT my intrusive thoughts 😒,0 "The key is to actially understanding what adhd is like in depthly and how it specifically affects you.... then once you get it, you develop coping mechanisms in which one is.... I no longer let anybody bring me down or condescend my worth or value, because I understand my own self and nobody can take that from you",1 "Hello there, I started taking Wellbutrin for my adhd and my anxiety , it’s working well and I recommend it to you.",1 "I have struggled with ADHD my whole life. It's sad because we are really loving and caring people, but a lot of the time people get offended with that we say. You're the person we need more of.. people who understand adhd and its challenges.",1 "When i take my meds its like i dont have to fake my emotions, they just come naturally. You wanna see me smile? I havnt smiled for years!",1 "Every gotten everything single comment here, from both flip sides of the coin. Preachin to the choir over here man",1 When I finish an assignment I click save like 20 times just in case,0 Im about to make a post how i think im defeating ocd right now. Pls read that,0 "Easier said than done. The thing is, even if I force myself to bed earlier, I can’t sleep if my mind is still racing.",1 "I'm quite literally IN my driving school RIGHT NOW and this is what I come across... Fantastic.",0 "If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please do not hesitate to talk to someone. US: 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741-741 Non-US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OCD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",0 "Yeah I literally picture everyone naked & the scandal to my brain just wore off, but once it becomes normal then people you’re actually attracted to stand out then there’s a new birth of mental awkward. Just can’t win.",0 Im sure I might have ADHD but my immigrant parents say I just need to focus🥰,1 "I avoid watching movies, no one gets it but the thought of focusing on one thing for 2 hours makes me panic",1 "I have a rough time brushing my teeth too. It IS an achievement to be consistent, congrats!",1 "Happens to me constantly. I do it when I read too sometimes and then I realize that yes I may have read the page, but I didn’t catch any of it",1 "Lol me last night. Asked my mom something like ""you don't think I'm a bad person, right?"" I know I'm not a bad person, but the idea that my mom might think I am is bothersome for obvious reasons.",0 "I got a 1min ad on a 30 seconds video, man i miss the youtube days when things were fair",0 "My new problem is if I give in and obsess on a thought, I’ll obsess on my failure to resist even more afterwards.",0 haha! Hell yes. My journal consists of these words repeated over and over again for several pages at this point.,0 "It’s perfect, like the puppet is me acting out compulsion even when I acknowledge how stupid the compulsion is and still in a state of dread and panic",0 I had a 3PM therapy appointment today and I totally forgot about it 🤦‍♀️,1 This was just the reminder I needed to see right now--thanks :),0 "I even get sexuality OCD of ""what if I'm actually asexual/aromantic and I don't actually like any gender..."" being bi with OCD is so rough :((",0 "Car app allows me to lock and check if it’s locked using my phone from anywhere. Front door on lock that does the same. Must check phone alarm set for wake up and turn silent mode on and off over and over until it feels right. At least now I can operate all of these compulsions from bed. Can’t tell if that’s good or bad. Must ruminate on privilege and technology taking over with extra time saved by those items above.",0 If he is actively avoiding looking at other humans than thats pretty acurate,0 It sounds to me that OCD people get that tidiness quality as a side effect of all those thoughts you cant control. You can control how straight something is as a result?,0 Haha. So relatable. It's made me relaxed in some ways. Knowing that others wash their hands more - which was always one of my main anxieties around contamination.,0 "I keep being told to put things in my mouth. DnD dice, pens, coins, spoons, tide pods, and other weird things. I cannot stop myself and I hate it. It like takes over me.",0 "Have someone in my office who uses OCD as synonymous with ""tidy and organized"" and uses it like a joke, normally accompanied by a giggle. Drives me bonkers. Normally if people use it as a one off, I can let it go. Some people just don't get it. But this is a constant, daily thing. I just want to start doing the same shit when she does it. Like, oh hahaha just picked all the skin off my lips and now they're bleeding down my face. Haha My schedule just changed slightly and now I can't move because I'm spiraling. Ahahaha Look at my bald spot that I can't stop picking at, giggle giggle. Shut down because someone innocently challenged me on something mundane. Giggle giggle giggle. Gosh, I'm just so OCD!",0 Ask her if he would heal a broken bone sticking through skin or should a doctor be consulted...,0 aahhh I can FEEL this picture :( I’ve been washing my hands at least 3x a day for the past more than a year now and my hands are blazing red and feel like the Sahara desert :| I just wanna beat up ocd really bad,0 When I go to park my car. my OCD thoughts say that if you park here you won't pass in Exam or You will get fewer marks.,0 "Oh my gosh, I had no idea this was caused by my OCD",0 "It should be saying ""and you also have intrusive thoughts instead of asking it.",0 I don't know what I hate most: the constant barrage of thoughts or when I dissociate and can't have a single coherent thought. It's like... Brain? Why are you doing this to me?,0 "I feel dumb for not truly getting this meme. I wish I did though, because it looks good.",0 "can someone call me and walk me thru my life things i need to do daily, bc if my friends ask me to do it it will happen but if my parents or teachers do, i never heard it",1 I get thoughts that other people are in the car with me,0 I recently discovered why I compulsively save posts. It’s because I don’t trust my memory. Like _at all._,1 They should just call it “can’t do anything right disorder” because I mean that’s the main symptom after all,1 Hannah Hillam is awesome! Check out her Twitter she has lots of funny comics like this,0 Yeah I'm obsessing that a friend doesn't like me rn.,0 one of my teachers did this to me all the time kinda traumatic to 9 year old me :(,1 "God this post brought me right back to a doctors appointment I had years ago, where the doctor told me straight to my face that it was impossible for anyone over 18 to have ADHD. I had just moved to a new city and tried explaining that I have had multiple doctors in the past diagnose and treat my ADHD, and ended up crying and walking out of the office because he was being so rude and adamant that it was truly impossible for an adult to have ADHD. Reaching out for help is hard enough and these stigmas and false beliefs make it worse!!!!",1 Ugh I get this. “You can’t have OCD! You’re living space is so messy!!”,0 "actually, im quite confused as well. how *do* you just sit with the thought? That sounds like torture. I blink excessively, shake my head, and look up as everyone has mentioned but how do you just *not* do that and sit with the thought. i can sit with the feeling but a thought? How do you do this especially if you're outside or in a public area? edit: i've made a lil bit of research and found this post that's helpful [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/ROCD/comments/m3efa0/the_basis_of_ocd_healing_and_prerequisite_for_erp/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share)",0 “but like what if it’s not the ocd and it’s actually my thoughts and the bad thing really will happen”,0 "another reason why the theme is irrelevant; you might be obsessing over one thing this month, and something completely different next month. but they both give you the exact same fear response, (it’s just a different obsession.) thus continues the cycle—unless you can become aware of this and put in the work to realize that your biggest battle is the immediate emotional response of fear and the reassurance you seek from compulsions.",0 You almost made me cry but I’m not crying because I’m having insomnia from my medication on top of being a natural one time a week insomniac but now it’s every day which is something i should edit in my post,0 I can vouch for that... I’m living the dream. Such well laid plans... never executed. Face palm.,1 "Yes, totally. Maths I couldn't follow just steps I had to know why.",1 "So, funny story. Kind of. I have an X on my wrist as well, without the box. Related to my OCD, I have a restrictive eating disorder and a year ago-ish I got the X to remind myself to think about everything I’m putting into my body. I am in recovery now and was unsure what to do with it, but now I have this lovely idea, since I am also in OCD treatment. Thank you, sincerely.",0 "Op, just letting you know that I feel you. I’m in a similar situation myself right now and could relate to so much of this post. It’s hard to explain to non ADHD family members that it’s not me being flaky or irresponsible, my brain is just a massive asshole sometimes and won’t work with me no matter how hard I try. I’m sorry I don’t have useful advice to contribute, but I wanted to let you know you’re not alone and I can totally relate.",1 I made it like ... maybe half way through then a fly landed on my leg and I lost focus,1 "Ironically, hearing about the lives of other people with ADHD seems to sometimes make it worse. Hear from someone whose symptoms are much more severe and are struggling more than me? --> I'm obviously an impostor, an actually lazy, evil person with fake ADHD and I somehow managed to manipulate my doctor into a diagnosis. Hear from someone who achieved much more in life than me and is able to perform better in multiple areas? --> I'm a useless piece of ungifted garbage who just isn't trying hard enough, and I should be doing much more and much better since *clearly* people with my condition can also do *that*. Can't win.",1 lol I get this with my mom. Funny thing is my mom and I do this to each other back and forth (she has ADHD and I am waiting on my results from my assessment).,1 This is great. It’s also nice that she was so polite. You can put people in their place while still being kind.,1 Worst part is when you project this into a relationship with someone you love more than anything and then potentially lose them forever,0 "Read the actual studies, not the articles. Scholar.google.com instead of google",1 "As a 30 year old who was diagnosed 3 weeks to a month ago, I feel like all this ""your child this / that"" us a slap in the face. I've had this illness for nigh on 30 years and when I was a child and struggling and needed the help it wasn't there, now that I'm an Adult and know I have the problem the help... Isn't there. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad this generation has that help. But goddamn do I feel forgotten.",1 "Throw in some homosexuality and a scar on your face from a childhood accident and you’ve got a perfect storm of self hate and doubt. Oh, and being left-handed for an extra bit of odd flavor. I gotta say tho, I’ve always enjoyed the last part. Made me feel special.",1 "My surroundings are as disorganized as my thoughts. So much for that perfection, cleanliness and order. (I get that some OCD sufferers deal with obsession of order etc, I just personally happen to be a clustercluck, mentally.)",0 "Welp, this is really describing me too. I have a bag (I call it my stupid bag) that I need to bring when I actually do go outside with a pack of wet ones type wipes & a can of multi surface/harsher ones. Not to mention I have to clean myself even in my own bathroom that only I use, from fear :')",0 Thank you I needed to hear this because my parents keep blaming my ocd on me being trans.,0 This is why I don’t tell anyone unless they are close to me,1 "I got one of the last bottles of disinfectant spray last weekend, I’ve been washing my hands and spraying the handles of everything and light switches LOL I’m trying to convince everybody I’m not as paranoid as I seem, being sick just fucking sucks",0 "I spit out my water laughing so hard at the title of your post. BECAUSE I RELATE SO MUCH. Holy hell. Let me wipe the water off my screen. These days I've gotten better too about being more aware in the moment, and now I will ask my trusted sources that were there with me, stuff like ""...should I be offended by what that person said to me?"" or ""...did I do something or were they just being difficult?"" or ""am I being weird or were they being weird?""",1 I think it's great when the top songs playlist reminds me of a song I hyper fixated on for two months then forgot about...then gets me back into it again. 😅,1 Anyone else use sleep as a coping mechanism for OCD? If I had too overwhelming intrusive thoughts as a teenager I would take a nap. Problem is now I’m in my 20s and my body’s response to basically any stress is fatigue ahhhhh,0 This paired with eczema my hands are never in good condition.,0 "I have to do it with a specific part of my hand sometimes or I have to do it until it’s right and if I make mistakes I have to make a right to cancel it out, it sounds crazy but that’s ocd",0 "My mom always tells me “you’re going to need to marry rich so you can hire a maid” but she says it in a negative way. And you know what? When I finally move back out on my own (I moved home during the pandemic), I fully plan on having someone visit my home at least once a week. You budget for the things that matter to you, and it’s really not that prohibitive in cost. People pay to eat out, grab coffee, etc. and aren’t lambasted for it. 🤷🏼‍♀️ Good on you for finding a helping hand. I’d just considered finding a cleaner, but a nanny is a great idea! I’ll have to keep that in mind when the time comes.",1 "My whole day is ruined if I have an appointment around 3pm. Wake up at 8am. Could I go do X? Nah, might drain my energy or I wont be peak mental state for 3pm, plus I gotta start getting ready NOW so I can chill out for 5 hours before I leave at 1pm to drive the 20 mins to the appointment. Then I will sit in the car for an hour and a half so I wont be late but will somehow still be 5 minutes late ...",1 "*promptly chucks phone* Thanks for the reminder to live",1 Same. People get mad when you question the why of things too. And conversely they rarely want to hear about a new way to do things regardless of the why.,1 "Yep, every single day for my enitre education. Darkish Grey cloud? Must be my house burning down.",0 "Hm, I feel a little differently. For some things yes, but like my biggest trigger is being around my dad, I find him very ""unclean"" and I will wash thoroughly after. However I don't really want to hang out with him, OCD or not? I/OCD feels like I'm protecting myself from him by cleaning.",0 I’ve spent majority of my life thinking I was insane with the intrusive thoughts that would control me. It’s a huge relief knowing all you guys are crazy too,0 "I've found it so useful to do a tak adjacent to the awful one. Example, I need to wash up before I can leave the house. But the kitchen is a mess and there's loads of washing up. So the compromise is to just collect more dirty stuff and take into kitchen, empty everything out of the sink and fill it with hot water. Then I can put the glasses in to soak for a few mins and leave. Once I'm in the kitchen and there's hot water, suddenly the actual washing up isn't so bad and I can wash up the glasses and then put the dirtier items to actually soak or whatever. And then I do leave and have a break and I actually feel ok about walking back in because part of it is done and it's been started.",1 urghhh this is way too fucking real - please get out of my head. Even better is when I wake up at 12 and then decide I've ruined my whole day so I should just do fuck all and wallow in self-pity and self loathing for the subsequent 12 hours.,1 short answer--Being a caregiver for my mom destroyed me. I just *can't* anymore. There's a chance I'll just up and die before I have to deal with something and by godz I'm going to keep taking that bet apparently.,1 "Good job, however I can't help but to think from the look of it that you've found a new compulsion",0 "When I get hit with this I’ve literally been lying in bed begging myself to get up and do something, anything. It sucks hard.",1 "Oh my gosh, thank you for sharing. I can relate to all of this. I'm definitely going to read this book!",1 gotta think about your interactions and what you say and how well it will be recieved before saying something that is/may be i mportant. imaging the interview/interaction in a few different ways and try out and keep the one you feel most comfortable with eh friend?,1 RIP to my social media cleanse March 2020 - April 2020,1 "Speaking as a scientist and a healthcare professional, the scientific community needs to get there f****** s*** together on this. There is like zero peer reviewed research about teen and adult ADHD and that’s insanity. There is a considerable sector of the planet that suffers from ADHD who are adults and could benefit from a bit more spotlight.",1 "I feel this. And why I try to be more aware and ready when someone says something mean to me. Sometimes some things pass through the cracks and I have no clue someone insulted me until later that day. The only person who gets me is my best friend and knows it takes me a while to process my emotions and thoughts about something.",1 Has anyone found out the max number of tabs you can have open on your phone yet?,1 "I have heard of mothers mention a sort of unspoken rule with parenting: you can love your kids but hate every aspect about being a parent. Acknowledging your disability and masking it are completely different things. I hate how themedia has represented autism to be this ""cool quirk"" that makes you incredibly savant. It is a learning disability and to some a full on mental disorder. Whatever you label your autism, it doesn't mean you have to glorify it, simply make peace with the reality and learn to move forward. Acknowledging how difficult it has been for you and seeing your progress is a way more effective confidence boost than anyone who will tell you you have to love things that are obvious frustrations.",1 "Hell, maybe I can use this to finally write my dang novel.",1 "If this is referring to not knowing whether or not what I’m upset or nervous about is even real life then.... Spot on holy chit. I am constantly wondering if what I’m upset about or constantly obsessing over is even real life",0 "I actually make my appts for the arvo. The entire day is dedicated to it anyway, and it will keep me up the night before thinking about it. I need time to sleep in AND get my several hours of pre-appt thinking, as well. Otherwise I'll have no fucking sleep. I dream of a day where I'm medicated and can have an appt at 10am and then also do something afterwards, too. I can't imagine doing two things in one day.",1 Personally if doesn’t speak to me a whole ton but I definitely think it’s really cool. I’ll photoshop one later today of something like this that makes more sense to me and tag the you u/HeiWiper,0 "So very true. Unfortunately it took me 42 years and counseling to realize this. That despite what I believed (because of what I was told my whole childhood), I was actually a good person and successful. What is truly unfortunate is how many things in my life I self sabotaged because I didn’t believe I deserved it or because I took no pride in them.",1 I've lost wasted so many opportunities because of this effing executive dysfunction.,1 "Nothing ruins my day like an evening committment on an otherwise commitment free day 🙃 The amount of times I've thought, oh I can easily go to a concert on a weekday evening, I'll have the whole day off to study/etc. And then I fucking do nothing I hate ADHD lol",1 "I'm so sorry for your loss, Thank you so much for sharing this. I made this account when I saw this because I didn't want to just lurk but say a few words: When I read the top part saying 24 year old with undiagnosed and overlooked ADHD, it made me cry, because for the last 21 years of my life, I was in that position. I can't tell you how many times I felt so stupid, so worthless, so alone. The whole world was passing me by and I felt helpless in my childhood and adolescence. It felt like a neverending nightmare. I'm sitting here with minor insomnia at the moment because a few days ago, I was finally diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 23, and began treatment for it, and the amount of happiness I've felt over the last 2 days has been overwhelming. I couldn't see the light at all; I was so afraid it would never come, but it finally did, and I'm so grateful for all the people around me who have supported me in my search for the answers to why my brain acts the way it does. The kind of person you are, I could never thank you enough for being you, and caring. The way you honor your friend is beautiful; I truly wish there were more in the world like you. The light for me came, but it's only the beginning; there's so much i have to do to catch up and better understand myself, and you inspired me to want to help others who were in my predicament find their light. If anybody ever feels like their life isn't worth it, please know it is, sometimes life truly feels bleak and not worth it, but there will always be somebody who cares about you, and sees you as a person who deserves love and compassion and care, whether it's a loved one, that not-so-strange-stranger, or me. The world is a scary place, but we're never truly alone, and it took finding the ADHD subreddit and seeing all of these people who have gone through the same struggles as me, to really feel like I'm not alone in this big world. Thank you so much for sharing this; you are a kind person, and I can only hope that others will find their light as I did.",1 "I heard some lady on the radio today calling in about some other subject and she said her husband was ‘a little bit OCD’ because he could remember car number plates all the time. I already hate when people say that, but when it’s NOTHING to do with actual OCD symptoms...",0 Yep! Definitely say “no” out loud. Or will say “that’s a lie.”,0 I literally think of a new career to change to every other night. Then wake up the next day and do nothing in even my current one,1 Any good television shows/movies/stories about OCD sufferers???,0 "*There we go.* This is what I've been dealing with for over a month. I'm getting help from my teachers and I'm lucky that they are understanding, but it's still really hard to do. I wish you luck.",1 "Yes, I do this a lot. It's part of having checking OCD. For me too I fear I messed something up and I'll go to jail or something. But I also fear I slipped in things I'd never say.",0 "i’m scared to tell people i have OCD for two reasons. one, it’s embarrassing for me. and two, i’m scared they’ll use it against me like people have done in the past. frustrating",0 "Thank you for tossing a little fuel on my fire. Keep sharing your light, friend. It is much welcomed.",1 100%. I have a law school girlfriend who obviously doesn't have that problem and it's her single biggest issue with me. She's understanding of mental health issues but it just really irks her when I complain or talk about the things I want to do but then don't execute quickly or effectively. What she doesn't realize is I've gotten so much better over the course of the past two years. I'm trying!!,1 """You'll still feel like an imposter afterwards"" Fucking accurate. This has been my biggest struggle since diagnosis 😭",1 my therapist calls it a big red ball in the pool. I've named him warthog.,0 I want to program my phone to not let me Pokémon/reddit/ASOS/Etsy/YouTube until my timer for 1 hour of work or whatever has gone off. I’m sure there’s an app for this?,1 "omg mine was mostly what I expected except my top song was Weightless by Marconi Union (which I've been saying in my head as macaroni union oops) bc I listen to it to fall asleep?? also my second top song put the artist as 5th in my top five even though it's literally the only song I listen to by them lmao oops",1 "I never suffered of this kind of OCD, i have obsessive thoughts and mental compulsions, but man, I suffer so much for my kind of OCD which seems to be not as hard as a physical one, I understand all of you, OCD can be hell 24/7, really hope everyone understand someday what ODC really is",0 Great hands and nails! I don’t think mine have ever looked like that save after a manicure. :) good job!,0 Omg same...I get stressed when I can't remember the name to a song and other things like that,0 That whole clean or perfectionist stereotype sounds a lot more like OCPD - but I doubt they actually have that either.,0 You're absolutely right; and that's why I also love semicolons ;),1 "oh my GOD this unlocked a part of my brain i didnt know was there. there was also the ""step on a line and you'll break your fathers spine"" the first time i was told this in childhood it scared me so bad i trained myself to not step on the cracks in the sidewalks. there was also an episode of a tv show as a kid (I think fairly odd parents?) where everything timmy said came true and he stepped on a crack and it showed his moms back breaking (in a cartoon way, so not like... scary) and god i didnt shake that until i was probably in my teens!!",0 "I literally just had to cut some of my family out of my life for this reason a couple weeks ago. At some point it started to become abusive because they couldn’t understand why their “advice” never got through. I was becoming borderline suicidal because they made me feel even more broken and irreparable than I do without their help. Their response was that I needed to “get over it” and “everybody has problems.” Whelp, they’re no longer one of my problems anymore!",1 Lol! You should see all the browser tabs I have open on my phone!,1 So it isn't just me??? I always have to do a surroundinf check multiple times to make sure that i'm actually in a bathroom and not peeing on my chair in class,0 Tell me about it. I'm so afraid of losing the ones I love that I get angry so much because of it.,0 """ If it's that easy, then you do it, while I'm screaming random numbers in your ear, with your arms tied behind your back.""",1 "If you ask yourself this kind of question, then you are probably not a sociopath. Sociopaths and psychopaths rarely believe that there is anything wrong with them, they usually think that everyone else is the problem.",0 Wow. I thought I was alone in this. Turns out I’m not and that gives me a lot of calmness,0 "This has been my life lately. Thanks for breaking it down into meme format for ease of explanation. Also, I’m sorry you suffer, but it’s good to know we’re not all alone with these problems.",0 "or worse: a 3pm appointment in 3 days. just comatose me already and wake me up when it's time to go. I can't handle the anticipation and worrying about missing the window.",1 "I know in the back of my mind that it is OCD a good portion on the time. I frequently will start doing something to alleviate the obsession and I will stop and tell myself “This is probably just OCD” but I do the compulsion anyway “just in case”, just in case I’m not crazy and this is the one time I wasn’t the one who opened the peanut butter and just forgot but it was actually some maniac who wanted to poison some poor random family who happened to pick that one jar that just happened to make it into my home because my grocery pickup person didn’t check it like I would have. It doesn’t make much sense even to me but it’s not worth the risk of keeping it. I also have a totally off the wall fear about public soap dispensers. Like legitimately crazy and I know it is but I still heavily prefer to have my own soap or have my own hand sanitizer when in public",0 I’m going to print this! I didn’t even read most of it yet though lmao,1 this is me when i don’t take my meds even tho i always tell myself “it will be different this time”,1 "Omg, THANK YOU! I literally LOLed so hard the entire time from the intense relatability! Hilarious. We are always good in an emergency! I've tried to explain this to normies. I will be in the kitchen, making the same damn supper I make every night, going through the same steps. Then I will look down and something is missing. Just vanished from the spot I left it in. Like my paring knife. Now, I know from experience, that I must have been day dreaming while chopping and went on auto-pilot but have zero recollection or usually even knowledge of what I was day dreaming about. 9 times out of 10, i put it away in a drawer or in my sink to wash--even though I'm not yet done with it. This is where I usually find it, but occasionally in those deep dive areas you listed. Normies look at me with shock, awe and concern that I may have brain damage. Many recall putting something like milk away when they are not yet done with it. But they vaguely RECALL it. Know they did it, just not sure why, as they were deep in thought. Me? Space cadetting so hard, I have no awareness of even having moved from the spot. I just look down, and the ADHD ghost stole my shit. Again.",1 "Give it a few days at least. If it’s any consolation, I almost biffed an Estes rocket assembly on step #2 this week.",1 "My second thought is usually, ""ugh, I don't want to think this"".",0 "I can totally relate to this. I’m always envious of people who can express emotions through art! Great work, OP.",0 Yeah ... Same here lol. Just put ADHD adult into quotes basically. Or women or men lol,1 "Look at that it's Nice! Tried something similar last night, got like 2 characters in, found myself just writing 'Fuck fuck fuck fuck' such a nice sentiment",0 "This is what I like to call, “Glorified OCD” where people think it’s “cool” or it makes them “hip” because they’re “sooo OCD” about things. No, you’re not “sooo OCD” about anything, you don’t even know what OCD is, you’re ignorant and anal, you basic ass bitch.",0 A mental illness that convinces you that you don't have it.,0 "Honestly I love that this can be read in past tense, too, because that shit is _me_. ",0 This is literally the best OCD meme I’ve ever seen! And I’ve seen a lot!,0 "I hate it when people say they have ocd like it's a personality trait. Like ""no grandma, you don't have OCD just because you like your paintings to be straight""",0 "Have you tried trying harder? Yes thanks, that's why I'm permanently knackered. See also: any advice given by anyone to a person with insomnia. Why did I never consider that chamomile tea/ meditation was the answer to this life long condition?!",1 "It sucks man..constant reel in my head..makes life fucking painful..like I'm surrounded by joy n happiness but my mind's in hell..n I'm tired..physically tired..I can't fight it..learned that long back..fucking tired ..I'm too much of a pussy to off myself..life's on automatic..I live coz I'm not dead yet..I wish for a day..just one day where everything's ok.. Edit: I just wanted to vent somewer..having a particularly bad day today",0 "If it's a really bad thought and I'm in the middle of doing something else, I'll do it. Otherwise I just say or think ""nope"" and try to focus on what I was doing before",0 "Hey there, I just wanted to say I understand your pain. I have a few creative hobbies that took a long time to feel good enough about to be able to consistently practice. However, creative outlets exist in places you would not even think about. I see from some of your previous posts you have an interest in video games, just like me. I wanna suggest an explorative and creative game. Personally, I have delved deep into a game called ""Space Engineers"" which has endless creative opportunities and is WAY more in-depth than other games in the genre such as Minecraft. A creative outlet does not have to be things such as drawing, painting, singing or dancing. It could be computer programming, rearranging your home, exploring new mindsets by reading or watching media to learn about them, or in my case, creating an amazing space ship in my video game. A creative outlet is anything that allows you to just ""do the thing"" your way, or a new way. Stay strong my friend, we are all in this together!",1 "I can definitely relate to this and it’s taken a toll on my personal relationships Writing things down and putting reminds on your phone helps a lot",1 If you're in the U.K. Watch Pure on 4od. It's so good and felt so relatable that it made me cry!,0 "I'm sad and relieved other people do this!! On the same note, I'll spend an entire weekend in pain from my chronic illness. I'll camp out on the couch, won't eat, sit in a hot bath for well over an hour etc. Come my next good day, I swear I was faking for attention...even though I was mostly alone all weekend.",0 "this is me, every day. it's an endless cycle. i have nothing to look forward to.",1 "Id shake my head, laugh , and a lot of pacing. A lot, tryingg to reason with it. You dont have to “sit” with it long. I label it as a thought and let it pass in a fee seconds while im busy myself with something. Itll just get shorter and shorter over time in my experience",0 This is the best thing I've read on the internet for a long time. Thank you,1 Me every fucking day of this cruel existence. I just wish it would give me a break...,0 "Well done!! As the finder of lost things (note: mostly lost by me) in my house, I salute you for your keen intuition and your never give up attitude!",1 "I literally just told my boyfriend this cause I kinda snapped when he kept saying the same thing over and over, just in different ways, talking about crypto. Now I’m involved in buying crypto and investing but he also has adhd and obsessed with crypto and learning about it. I on the other hand am just putting my money in and waiting for stuff to shoot to the moon. I like the surprises more. So yea, he kept showing me his computer and the same coin and what he’s learning about it. The third time I snapped and told him that I cannot listen anymore. My brain runs out of desire to learn when you’ve told me the same thing over and over. Similar to why I dropped out of high school lol",1 "TIL that ADHD distributes our skill points to address the pressing matters of losing things and deliberately building up systems so we can keep our lives from totally falling apart from our repeated problems (probably at the cost of not having as much time and skill points left to spend on as many other things as people without ADHD do). Kinda makes me feel better about taking years to fix problems that resurfaced/turned completely debilitating because of college. I probably the least skilled when it comes to my professional career, but I don’t think anyone else in my batch had to develop nearly as thorough problem-solving skills (and healthy mindsets and coping mechanisms) for personal matters because man, you don’t make it out of my life without having to completely construct the supporting structures everyone else has almost solely on your own because there was almost no one who knew how to help you. It’s not the skill that takes me to the heights of the industry or the cutting edge of knowledge, but if I ever find someone struggling without them knowing why then I could probably do a better job of figuring it out with them because I’ve been in those straits myself and problems like that are almost routine for me to solve. Which actually makes me think back to something I read about disability and employment that said that disabled people tend to be good problem-solvers because all they’re life they’ve been forced to figure out for themselves how to deal with their lack of accommodations on the spot, on a nearly everyday basis.",1 "Yes. It's super frustrating. I'm a mom to a kiddo that has been struggling for years, even with a diagnosis a few years ago, and I was recently diagnosed myself. My entire extended family and many of my friends all think I'm being super dramatic and that ""it's not that bad."" My son's ADHD is so severe that even medicated he is struggling with life. If I told people he had autism, they would give me so much more grace. I hate the stigma associated with this disorder, and how people don't take it seriously. I could cry. And I do.",1 "So many of these thoughts in my brain revolve around eating/swallowing things. And let’s just be honest, licking things.",0 Omg I didn’t know these things were apart of my ocd!!!,0 Are you university of Wisconsin? Cause there some rumors about it happening to the Whitewater campus since Milwaukee and others are going through it,1 My wife is still so amazed at the difference of me medicated versus unmedicated. She’s always like “are you okay?” Because I’m not so spastic lmao. Just calm for once 🤣,1 "If it makes you feel like you're not alone, I once put off the simple task of filing my receipts for reimbursement at work. I kept putting it off and putting it off until I was too embarrassed to file them, which would have required my boss to approve. I ate more than $3,500 in travel expenses instead of filing the receipts in a timely manner.",1 Damn this is exactly what I was explaining to my mom yesterday. Blech. Can't wait till my appointment on the 10th.feels like all I do is count down the days till then.,1 "TW: phobias Y’all I marked the post nsfw. There’s nothing else I could see to do to try to add a trigger warning for the mention of that specific phobia. If there’s something else I can do please let me know, I am Reddit noob! I’m so sorry if you were triggered by that 😣 Maybe like this comment so it shows up at the top of the comments?",0 "Man I feel this. I’ve broken many things by checking them over and over. I hope your hands are okay, because I know that pain too. Have you tried videoing yourself checking it, and watching it every time you feel compelled to check again? I know you’ll probably still compelled, but maybe this can ease it for just a little bit longer. One step at a time.🤍",0 ADHD-tax hahahaha! Now I can explain where my money tends to go! 😁😂,1 "I also agree and disagree with this. :) If someone claims to like their OCD because it makes them organized, or extra clean, then probably they don’t actually have clinical OCD. But I’m someone with Pure O and I do think I’m happy to have had it. I think that would have been a difficult thing for me to say when I was in the middle of OCD, but now that I’ve worked really hard to manage it, I can accept that I have it and appreciate how it can improve me. 1) it shows me how much I care about my loved ones (a lot of my obsessions were about hurting them) and highlights my values. 2) it makes me more empathetic to people who are struggling. For instance, a mentally ill woman asked me to help her rip off the sole of one of her shoes last week (long story, did make sense). I think in the past I would have felt too uncomfortable but when I talked to her I felt like—I get how someone with a more severe illness could end up in your situation and I feel for you. So we hung out for an hour and I’m like—I NEVER would have done that a year ago. 3) the more comfortable I become with the uncomfortable/unknown for OCD, I find it bleeding into the rest of my life. I can do things I would have been too scared to (like I accepted a promotion I had been rejecting for years). I think it overall makes me a braver person. 4) I think it makes me more interesting. Experiencing something like this seems to help develop your personality, you know? I like myself better having had it than I liked the girl who had never had it. So, do I think I’m happier when I was in the middle of an OCD bout? Oh god no. But now that I manage it, I am happy I have/had it.",0 "I got a planter,.. now what? You did say planter? Sorry I space out when I'm being lied to.",1 I had to break the habit here - on Reddit - I was confronted -using these-dashes -your post has really given me something to think about,1 "I read this as If you're ever scared You're a bad person",0 I actually can’t leave any open when I turn off my phone or computer. It’s all I’ll think about if any are left open 😩,0 "This is awesome!! Thanks for sharing, I try and “fix” things I make too",0 "I do however use a discord server that only I am in, for various things, notes, journal, etc etc. I do have to remind myself to look at it though.",1 "For me, I know exactly where this comes from: As a child, I had a very controlling mother. Not allowed to play with other children. Had to stay home with her all the time and play with Barbies. As I got older and of age to go out on my own, she would find reasons to scare me to stay home once it for dark: They're gonna be shooting. It's dangerous at night (me as a grown woman who traveled different countries alone). She would sit by the door, give me the evil eye. At some point, I just stopped going on my nightly walks. Now that I'm living with baby Hitler, I feel like once I move out (again), I'll start feeling safe and in control enough to go out or do things at night. Like I have to teach myself that it's okay to do things after 9pm. It's okay to go to the store at 10pm if it's open and you need something.",1 "any of you ever have worse days than others? my adhd is really bad today. cant focus for shit and procrastinating a lot and keep picking at my face I agree though. I fucking hate having adhd. I too have wasted a lot of time",1 Lmao omg thank you for posting. So glad I’m not alone. Had a breakdown about my dad today and was terrified and my anxiety and OCD were getting so bad. Thanks for posting,0 "Somehow, I got home at 1:30am from work, told myself I could chill for an hour before sleep... Next thing I know it's 5:00am. I swear it should've been 3:00am MAX. Went to bed. Woke up at 2pm. Wtf, I have to leave my house in 1.5 hours for work??",1 "Oh gosh, this hit me so close to home. People have no idea what sort of hell it is to be inside my brain. I know that sounds lame, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. If you don't mind me asking, what art program did you use to make this? I'm wondering because I'm trying to get back into art, and I'm not sure what program to use.",0 Because of that I literally never studied for one minute in high school. I get called lazy so much everyday and not just by other people but by me as well because I get so frustrated at this behavior. It’s literally too much it makes me feel like the worst,1 "Sadly, that first part of the day would be a productive day for me the past couple of months... now when joining classes, if I manage to in the first place, I just wake up 3 minutes prior to its start.",1 "Forgot to open my mail for a couple of months. Missed multiple letters about my health insurance premium being overdue (I thought it was on auto-pay. Narrator: it wasn’t). And a letter about how it was cancelled. Well I didn’t see any of that before going to urgent care for a broken toe, which shit can’t be done about anyway. Opened the letter with the $1k medical bill, then alllll the other letters saying insurance was cancelled, you owe us dammit, etc. Fail.",1 "What helps me is to write every task on my phone. I usually like to do this day before. And I’ll add to the list as things come up through out the day. The way that the list works for me, besides writing things down, is treating the list as a Quest list. I relate it to when I used to play WoW. The problem is, if there is no reward system, your brain is gonna forget about that list and focus on none essential tasks, like watching youtube for 2-3 hours. So what I do is I’ll reward myself for every task completed. For me, the reward might be something simple, 30 minutes of youtube time. The problem that WE experience is, not lack of focus, but directing that focus where it needs to go. For example “pay electric bill” vs “watching youtube”.",1 Ohhhh so that's also my OCD.. I thought I just had ADHD and a terrible memory. Damn it really permeates everything I do.,0 Me checking to see if all my car doors are locked after I clearly locked them...,0 Every night this week I've had OCD dreams about leaving my pets for vacation and something bad happens to them every time. Huge fan.,0 "I was some meters away from home. Ocd was telling me to return home to get paper napkins. I already, had some paper napkins with me but they were ruined because of water. I did not want to do the compulsion. I tried to ask f a specific curse from Christian God, if I would return home to get paper napkins. I tried to make that deal in order to use the fear of the curse to force myself not to do the compulsion. I tried to cancel the deal in the last moment, but what if it was not canceled? what if other Gods accepted the promise? I did not specify for how long the deal was valid. I remember visualising what action should be done in order for the curse to happen. I think, I visualised the action in order not to make any mistakes with my words/thoughts and not because I wanted to specify something. When I tried to make the deal, I was living in a different apartment, in a different area. So, when I was visualising the action that breaks the deal, I visualised a specific way that leads home from the spot where I was when I was making it. I think, I visualised the specific napkins from a market that I had on my kitchen that time. I think, I did not specify if the deal was valid only, for that moment or forever. Despite visualising the promise, There is a chance that I may have said: - if I return home for ONLY, to get OTHER paper napkins... (because I already had some napkins with me and a specific curse was asked in the end of the sentence)) I am not sure. there is a chance that my words were only: - if I return home to get paper napkins.... (a specific curse was asked in the end of the sentence) One year later, while living in my newer apartmetn, in a different area, I left home and ocd started telling me to return home to get the garbage bags and dispose them out. So, I returned to get the garbage bags and I started putting extra, scattered garbage from my house into the bags. There are chances sthat one of the things that I put into the trash bags, were paper napkins.Does it count as if I returned home to get paper napkins indirectly? If in case the deal was not canceled, do you think it counted only, for my old apartment and only, for that moment (just because I visualised the promise?) I just, thought that I was getting just, garbage stuff from my house. I did not realise the danger of it. I think, I did not connect it with the napkin deal. Can you please tell me your opinion? I worry that maybe Gods, did not care for my visualization or that I just, wanted to force myself not to do what ocd was telling me to do that moment when I tried to make the deal. What if they accepted the deal and as soon they show me entering my aparment and putting a napkin into the trash bag, they decided that the curse should happen? And what makes the case more worrying, is that In the first case, ocd was telling me to return home to get napkins and in the second case, it was telling me to return home to get the garbage bags. What if while obeying ocd that was telling me to return home to get the garbage, it looked like as if I was obeying my ocd that was telling me to return home to get paper napkins, the moment that I touched the paper napkin and put it into the garbage bag?",0 "I think one of the WORST things about the focus on ADHD in children is that it implicitly puts the diagnostic and research focus on subjects who have not yet fully developed the ability to understand or communicate their experiences, or the aspects of their experiences that might be unique? Like, how many times in their life does a person with ADHD, even well into adulthood, go ""Ohhhhhhh, that's not 'normal'?"" The circularity of it is absurd: If the people learning about ADHD are learning about it from children, who are the children learning about it from??? It's a frickin Human Centipede of neurodevelopmental research. We're learning about the experiential qualia of complex neuropsychology from children. Children with ADHD. To be clear, this isn't Hating on Children, or implying that they're not worth being researched They just literally haven't learned as much yet, and what they have learned, they've learned from sources that have proven themselves deeply unreliable. Like, are children gonna be telling doctors ""Well Doctor, I do find that I'm quite sensitive to bright lights. I believe the condition is known as photophobia. I'm quite comfortable leaving the lights off in a room. In general, I find visual stimuli, like television, substantially more distracting than auditory stimuli like music. Also, I think I may have what's known as 'Delayed Sleep Phase Disorder' I sometimes take melatonin to help fall asleep, and it's made me wonder if I could have an underlying issue with the way my body produces melatonin. Not sure if those issues may all have some interdependent roots in connection with the superior colliculus, but I thought you might be interested in that particular web of symptoms.""",1 "This post and the whole thread have been really helpful. Relationships are such a weird thing to manage, and I'm learning that so many things about my behavior patterns are adhd related. I've already taken up reading past conversations with my partner since we're currently long distance. The good part about having this adhd fluidity of permanence is that I've always gotten over break ups and other losses fast. The bad part is that I can't really make plans because if it isn't here, it doesn't exist. Low contact friendships are left for the other person to keep up. I get false signals of neglect and rejection and my head starts to ""let go and get over"" relationships that are not supposed to be over. I'm also terrified of accidentally cheating on my partner if I get excited and my brain temporarily disables access to the memory of being in a monogamous relationship. It only got out of hand once in my early twenties but I know that ""dark potential"" is there and it makes me wary of having fun... because the impulsiveness only comes out when I'm happy, especially if I'm drunk.",1 "I'm a 36 year old woman with a recent diagnosis. I've always thought my life closely resembled the ""If you Give a Mouse a Cookie"" books. This post reminded me of my day to day life, hard. It takes me hours to do the dishes, but in that time I'll pay the bills (that got left on the counter and got wet, so now I have to pay them since the paper is ruined) run to the store for produce (since my kids reminded me we're out of apples), reorganize the Tupperware drawer so everything fits again, and 20 other things. Thanks for understanding your girlfriend. y'all are doing great.",1 Yes this is what I hated in maths. I was really good at maths. I found most things easy but got annoyed when they never explained why we use certain formulas.,1 Me doing a compulsion to handle my intrusive thought ... then getting an intrusive thought about my compulsion LOL,0 "Funny enough, I'm the only one who has ADD among the people I know. It's tough, because I can't exactly reach out to family members because I just keep getting pushed back with the same ""it's so simple just..."" blah blah blah shabam. The only person who *does* have ADD along with me is my best friend and he's in the same shit. ",1 Self regulation disorder. That's not mine. That's someones on YouTube.,1 Probably just a good practice to keep in general. OCD for the win!,0 "I knew something was wrong with me at a young age, when I had to read something at least three times to stay focused on it. And I could not pay attention to what someone was saying only to me, right up in my face...\*if\* there was a television turned on in the room. Sometimes it wouldn't even need to be a television, sometimes it was just someone else's conversation.",1 I feel this in such a palpable way. I've been getting so frustrated with myself about this. I actually started taking notes on my recent hyper focus because I cannot retain and/or recall the information. ...hasn't helped,1 This is such an important reminder bc I tend to downplay my anxiety when it’s actually straight up debilitating.,0 "I’m pretty much in a fuck it mindset. I’ve worked really hard in the past, but ended in a fucking traumatic experience. So now I don’t care.",1 "Whenever I'd wash my hands my parents would ask me ""are you about to perform surgery?"" Look who's laughing now mom and dad 😂",0 "I’m re-reading Atomic Habits right now and wrapped up a chapter that really hit home with me on this topic. In short, the difference between system and goals. I have many goals and can relate to this. What I think I’ve been ignoring is a good system for my goals and wonder if that would support the way I feel about myself and progress.",1 "i think i had this when i was young. i vaguely remember something like this. i used to have to use the bathroom many times at concerts over and over... now with my ocd, i avoid using the bathrooms a lot haha",0 "Imposter syndrome is the bane of my existence. So I’m often I’ll be zoned out or forget to clean and a part of me says “well you’re ADHD just relax and get to it when you can.” While the other side says “wow I can’t believe how lazy you are, can’t take a single trash bag out, even ADHD people can’t be this bad.” I feel you, I really do, man.",1 "Holy fuck, this guy gets it! Yet another thing with an overlap with ASD, too, there's a thing called ""Autistic Inertia"" which is very similar to this!",1 Go you!! I’m 27 and finally back in school and working toward getting my degree. And I’m so far getting good grades. I feel like I’m on a balancing beam with shaky legs and just one slightly off move and I’m fucking done for. I’m sure you probably feel the same way or similar. So I hope you do something nice to actually celebrate this tiny but huge victory :D,1 "I’m with you my dude. And given the insanity of the political climate, it’s hard for me to adjust my focus on anything that’s not depressing. The depression just exasperates those negative emotions and it truly does feel like living in a hellacious prison in your mind. Stay strong!!",1 "Yes, this is actually rather normal. It's rather rare for a person with OCD to be completely organized. That may be a popular way to depict OCD sufferers on television and in movies but it isn't real life. It's actually a harmful stigma and puts unnecessary pressure on people with real OCD to appear to have their shit together all the time in public because then in private, they are THAT much more exhausted. It's one reason I don't tell anyone that I have OCD. It comes with expectations that I do not live up to and I have no desire to apply to myself. I hate showering for instance. I hate having my hair cut. There are a lot of complex reasonings for these but they are a means of control, a fear of vulnerability, and an obsessive tendency to need full control over my physical self. If I clean my apartment, it has to be done in a specific way in a specific order or else it's wrong and I have to do it again. I can't take a shower and then do the dishes or vacuum. Why? I have no idea. It takes me a really long time to clean anything so I don't do it often.",0 "Okay. So I myself am not diagnosed OCD. I am autistic but my partner is OCD so I follow this sub to learn how to support him better. Just about everyday someone will post something that is something I do. Can y'all juat stop trying to recruit me? I have enough confirmed mental diagnoses, I cant be part of more clubs. But for real I do this once a week and I hate it. I cry myself into a headache.",0 "As an adult who has just figured out he would have been diagnosed with autism if I’d been born 20 years later, I 100% agree with this. We are adults and we can advocate for ourselves.",1 "Imagine if they made a product making fun of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder,there would be outrage immediately.They don't seem to care that OCD destroys lives.POS",0 "I do this as well, but in terms of relationships. I ‘pre-grieve’ my partner leaving me, and get intense anxiety about how I wouldn’t be able to cope if it ever happened. It seems to be our brains way of dealing with the worst-case scenario :/",0 "Ah, the way this sub makes all these things feel more 'normal' through camaraderie.",0 YES ! You’d never say ‘ugh I’m so chicken pox’ or ‘I’m so depression’ so don’t do it here,0 Amazing I am so proud of you op! You inspire me to get back on my maintenance work.,0 "Every actor makes the choice whether to accept a script or not, and by and large the roles that you choose are going to be those that resonate with you in some way. You're just going to do a better job at them.",1 "mine is the same, she thinks if I concentrate hard enough I can do it, but at the same time refused any kind of med talk. An caffeine just makes me jumpy hyper",1 "You have an inner George Costanza, but he hasn't caught up yet on this season of Your Life: The Replays.",1 I'd like to see these people talk to someone with actual OCD. This is beyond disrespectful.,0 Unfortunately I work 3pm to 11 and get home at midnight. If i dont stay up until 2 or 3am I feel like all i do is work and sleep,1 Logic and reasoning? As a coping mechanism for OCD? There's nothing logical or reasonable about OCD!,0 "AHA! See, I was actually waiting for a program to finish in the background at work! Blindly scrolling *was* the task!",1 "Congratulations that's amazing!! This pandemic has driven me mad as well, my usual contamination OCD is bad but now it's just a whole new level. Small steps of victory for you, keep up the good work!",0 "Perhaps just stop thinking? O.o or mediate. Replacement. Replace with.... Nvm U know. I prayssss",0 I take all my classes online and it really isn't bad once you get used to it. Just make sure to have a daily to-do list so that you don't wait until the last minute to do it all. Do the easiest stuff early in the week and break up the harder stuff like research papers into chunks to do later in the week depending on your due dates.,1 "I feel attacked, lol. It's 12:55am and I just finished mentally scolding myself about how I should've been going to sleep an hour ago, but here I am.",1 I have a presentation I am giving in 35 minutes and I have been absolutely useless today,1 "Aww.. Im so prpud of ya! Good jub! Your hands look healthy or yeah, i dunno, i feel weird saying that xd but good jpb anyway!:3❤",0 Really felt this one today. Many thanks for posting.,1 That fact the pictures are from supernatural make this even better 😂,0 It's actually much worse when you are becoming numb,0 "ADHD is comorbid with ASPD, that's not much of a surprise. When life and people fucks you for decades, maybe even not diagnosed all that time, you learn to not trust. Empathy works both ways, you receive none you give none. And yes, we are ""inherently bad"" (in the point of view of a ""working society"") it's a genetic anomaly that doesn't fit, and you have two choices: 1) becoming some sort of anarchist like i did in the past, blaming society, the world, for everything. 2) Accepting that you don't fit, you didn't choose it, you have no say about it, better forget it. Try hard to fit if you will but it will drain you, just do the bare necessary to keep yourself afloat, use the rest of the time to enjoy the time you have on earth. With dopamine issues you enjoy it all less than other people, you need more. People will see you as a waste of air, some sort of lazy bastard... Don't waste your time arguing with them, just nod and leave, you have better things to do than explain yourself each and every time. Don't hate yourself, accept it. It's not like you can just delete a save and ""play again"", you have one life, it's gonna be shit half of the time. Could be shittier tho. Focus on the ""could be shittier"", realize that. That's what keeps me going, i could had it way worse and it's still a possibility. But not yet, i have stuff to do (and abandon), things to enjoy (and then not), it's not much but it's something. When i was diagnosed, i was relieved it could be over, it was not, in my head i lost little more than 20 years of my life ""trying to fit"", ""struggling"". I was full of rage for my country, France, who disregard ADHD as a thing and makes you go through a lot for the diagnosis. People saw you getting the meds and have two reactions, either saying you are cheating/drugged and hating you for it. Or expecting you to get in line, get and keep a job, a car, a wife, a house. Like you never had to carry the weight of decades of failure. And fear. Fuck. Them. Both. With gravel. No lube, only tears. I'm gonna enjoy life, on my own terms. I'm gonna start by watching and reading the things i'm passionate about. Finish those damn CRPG i never finished, walking in a parc listening to music on my headphones, savoring life as much as i can for the sake of the years lost down the drain. Because ""good boy points"" are worth nothing on your death bed. Enjoy life now, i beg you. Now? I'm poor AF, struggling for many things, meds aren't cheap too. But hey, it's the first time in my life that i actually ENJOY my free time. It's a currency that not many people have. Free time stocks STRONK. Invest today!",1 Honestly ADHD is a unique talent in my head as I am willing to drive straight in too anything. I have learned very difficult skills fast as my I find I am able to keep thinking through the process when I am done. The scary part of how hard something triggers stimulation for me which then allows me to switch to short bursts of hyper focus. This allows me to condense the time needed to learn a skill as my brain loves hard. As soon as I get it though that’s another story till I got medication. From what my doctor has said My mix of ADHD and personality helped me before medication as “you are too stubborn to let yourself fail so you figured how to harness it”. I also from what I have read in these forms learned to cope at a early age before it started to ramp up. I had skills to help me and because of success from sports I knew I was able to do anything as long as I never gave up. On to artistic endeavors I have 100’s laying around the house I have left them alone as they filled the need at the time. The point of creative endeavors is too make YOURSELF feel good. I have started to finish a few as after 30 years I finally have the ability to finish them and just see it as a full cycle in my life. Don’t get hung up on it if you can’t “finish” a project as art/creativity is never truly finished.,1 "[Seagull related music](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9t-slLl30E) [Yoda:] Rockin' Rockin' and rollin' Down to the beach I'm strolling But the seagulls poke at my head Not fun! I said ""Seagulls... mmgh! Stop it now!"" Everyone told me Not to stroll on that beach Said seagulls gonna come Poke me in the coconut And they did And they did Had me goin' like Nothing I could do but yell When these birds attacked me When I tried to run I fell And then these kids start laughing And then Got hit in the neck with a hacky sack Where'd it come from? Now run, run, run, jump! I can be a backpack while you run Run, run, run, jump! And stop Put me down I love to groove and boogie Yeah [Luke Skywalker:] Great [Yoda:] Show you some dance moves [Luke Skywalker:] No, I don't want you to [Yoda:] If I had your giant feet Out there on the beach Could have outrun those birds [Luke Skywalker:] You're a psycho wiener! [Yoda:] Let me grab my beater [R2D2:] Stop it please! [R2D2:] Don't hit me Please Don't hit me [Luke Skywalker:] Come on man! Quit that banging [Yoda:] Hey, what's that stank? [Luke Skywalker:] You put a fish in our basket! [Yoda:] Oh, yeah! I forgot I did that [Luke Skywalker:] You owe me an apology [Yoda:] Just hold your breath and see When the time is right Birds'll bite your face Now run, run, run, jump! I can be a backpack while you run Swing from a hairy vine I can be your backpack while you climb Stand on one hand and lift Rocks with your special gift Run, run, run, jump! Now breathe That's good Like that Like that One day I was walking and I found this big log Then I rolled the log over And underneath was a tiny little stick And I was like, ""That log had a child!"" Listen, boy Someday when you are older You could get hit by a boulder While you're lying there Screaming, ""Come help me please!"" The seagulls poke your knees",0 "My top songs: 1. MOOOOOM, I have a very tiny little wound in my mouth and I'm dying from oral cancer (feat. Sorry for smoking) 2. I know I'll end up in hell 3. 27 doors and 7 stoves 4. My dog ate a chocolate that never existed 5. Someone took my co-worker's card info and used it to order food, but it was probably me because I've never seen her card",0 "Thanks, I needed this. I keep thinking about the same thing and I feel so guilty all the time about it",0 "My husband has had to take on a lot of these responsibilities as I just can't do it!! He says it's fine, and yet I still feel incredible guilt. I'm working on it :(",1 "Great work. As a fellow COCD, I know how hard that was. Good for you.",0 "Been in this fkd up spiral since November 2018, started off with a panic attack, excessive anxiety, switched to dp/dr and then existential/philosophical questioning. After seeing a therapist for 3 months I first heard that I am going through existential ocd. Our minds are trying to give answers to these questions so the anxiety can stop, which is the obsession. The compulsion usually takes the form of researching the internet for an answer, trying to get reassurance every time you talk about it with someone etc.. Personally I don't take medication. However I'm trying out supplements such as CBD oil, fish oil and jogging which help with the physical symptoms of anxiety. I also pray, meditate, work and try to keep my self preoccupied through out the day. I guess the only way out of this is just to accept the fact that these questions will remain unanswered until the day we die and just keep moving forward. If I was to give a meaning to life that would be ""the journey towards death"". You know your destination, might as well make your journey as much interesting, joyful and adventuress as possible while accepting the ups and downs of life. ​ There's a poet by C. P. Cavafy called ""Ithaca"". I strongly recommend that to anyone going through an existential crisis Keep strong",0 "I really love this representation of OCD. The google logo with the questions really hit close to home for me, I have spent hours upon hours searching symptoms. Thank you for this!",0 I have to remind myself everyday to “under promise and over deliver” otherwise I disappoint people. It’s helped a bit.,1 "I think I have been focusing too much on the reward it self rather than the meaning or how it makes me feel. This is why, sometimes I hit walls that I won't climb no matter the reward. The one thing that has been working is a technique I learned from David Goggings. When he needs to motivate him self he sees himself if he were to pull it off. What if I did the thing, how would that make me feel, how would I see my self if I was someone that could do the thing and pull it off.",1 "I'm at the point where I'm filming myself locking the door, repeating the date and the fact that I actually locked it. But I only do this when I leave the apartment for several days.",0 Makes me feel all of these things! The bad person one seems to be the one that ulitmately links all my themes together,0 Looks at my massive folder full of the last 4 years of receipts because I'm so scared of being accused of stealing.....,0 Ill take Psilocybin and erase my ocd for 6months for 6grams..oh wait 😅,0 "My ADHD is directly linked to my two severe depressions and my anxiety. I have social and performance anxiety because I've been told time and time again that if I took things seriously, I would've succeeded/people would like me. Why did it seem I didn't take things seriously? You know it my friend, ADHD and zoning out! It makes me feel as an adult that there is no room for mistakes, whether it be in relationships or work, which stresses the hell out of me and sometimes leaves me paralyzed by fear. It's all linked and it sucks that people don't get that.",1 All by yourself?? I'm so impressed! How many days of planning did you do for this? My apt is a mess! Let me soak up this good juju,1 I sadly relate to what “they told me ADHD looks like” part as well,1 "What you described in the following... >""***Even though we know we have a disorder***... we can’t help but flagellate ourselves for not trying hard enough, for inconveniencing others, for disappointing people, for being dim witted, for being inappropriate, for being too apathetic - for internalising other peoples sentiments."" ...is interesting. Interesting as I was diagnosed in my late 20's, yet felt and still feel all the things you described; leads me to the thought that whether or not we have the insight diagnosis offers, the belief we are innately flawed possibly manifests regardless. What you say holds very true! After years of reinforcing these beliefs of yourself, it creates a bias in your thinking that can't be seen as it *is* your thinking. We base all our assumptions of ourselves and more critically, assumptions of how others see us on it. What starts as identifying our flaws, naively grows into a destructive narrative. This has been and still is my biggest obstacle; the vast majority of the time I have no idea I am doing it and changing it is a veerrrryy slow process.",1 "I get so embarrassed when someone spots me doing it. On my good days, having someone around means I don't need to take responsibility to do the compulsions as much because I'm not in charge of keeping everyone safe. But on my bad days... doesn't matter who's around, they're going to catch a very confusing glimpse into irrationality",0 I am like this with Lectures and long meetings. The excessive talking puts me right to sleep. 🤣🤣🤣,1 "Yes. I’ve gotten twitches/head shakes so hard that they’ve hurt. It seems that when I’m really in my head, it’s almost like I get tics. Sometimes I will cringe or flap my hands, too.",0 """just stop thinking and get it done"" I'd be so pissed & defiant that I'd show him exactly what happens when I do that!",1 "Fuck, right in the feels. I was so sure as a kid I was going to hell.",0 "Lost my job this week, suspect it could be due to this",1 " 😂 Hit me in the ouch, why dontcha?! Lol honestly weed (indica/ hybrid only) temp helps a lot and even long run. Drinking never really helps unless it’s capped at a couple glasses of wine. More than that and I question whether telling my mom “I love you” was too much. 😂 Feeling a sense of purpose helps the most. Honestly the OCD subreddit is my fave because we all get it. 31 years old and first place I’ve felt really understood in my whole life. Hope I can find group therapy soon. Keep on truckin’, fellow souls",0 "Literally got distracted from finishing my assignment, thankyou for giving me to motivation to get it done",1 "Honestly this thread has helped me so much, I still have all the thoughts etc but just knowing that its ocd helps me deal, and having all you guys relating to it all makes it even better :) Your post is exactly how I feel now when I sense it coming! Hard. Yup. But so glad to at least know where it's going!",0 "Yep, same here. Most days, I could literally sit at my desk and think about what task I should do first, and before I realize it, hours would passed before I could even lift a finger.",1 "Hi! I’m so happy for you! As an adult mom with ADHD, it’s a life changer to just accept that you’re not gonna do some things, no matter how much you “want” to do it bc it’s … “normal”. Idk. I’ve never been able to just do chores. My husband and I have had a cleaning person for a few years now and it’s amazing. The bonus is that the only times I will actually do a good pick up/clean is when someone is coming over, so I do a pre pick up each time before the cleaning lady arrives. Which means she can focus on like.. actual cleaning such as dusting and mopping and stuff. Which even if I was good about picking things up, cleaning would never happen. My mom recently let us know that she finally hired a cleaning person for their household because they are so busy with work and extra curriculars that they can’t even keep up on dishes and laundry. She went through her spiel of justifying it and I let her lol. After I told her I l’ve had one for a few years she was so relieved she was like “why’d you’d sit there and let me justify it?” And I laughed and said “I wanted you to get it off your chest and immediately feel 10x better about your decision.” Cleaning people and people who help with normal mundane life tasks are some of my favorite people in the world.",1 "Who me? Procrastinating on my chem homework? No, never. 😂",1 "Yes, I've always done this. Real letters were so much worse. Sealing and sending a letter used to cause a great deal of stress.",0 thank you for this meme - i love how OCD memes bring us together laughing and rising above an illness that certainly doesn’t define us 💗,0 "I was just thinking of how real and frightening ruminations can feel, even if we know that they are ridiculous. My brain is always locked and loaded with another disturbing 'what if' scenario not unlike swallowing air pods. this meme is v accurate. ​ oh well, at least we're not alone.",0 i can remember having symptoms since before the age of 10 but I didnt realize this way of thinking was disordered until I was like 22 so it's good that you knwew from an early age that it wasn't 'normal',0 "mine are the same, can't even keep moisturizer on cause as soon as i do, my OCD finds a new reason to wash them and then I have to wash them for like 5 min to get the moisturizer off before I can even get the soap on. I've started keeping more hand sanitizer around and I noticed that helps - I still feel compelled to wash to get them \~really clean\~ or whatever tf OCD thinks she's doing, but the hand sanitizer works as a quick fix if I just touch something that's been on the ground or another 'small' exposure. my mom doesn't ""believe"" I have OCD and was shocked/disgusted to see my hands the other day - I didn't show them to her, she was just like omg what's wrong w your hands and I was like uhhh YEAH that's what happens.",0 I appreciate this but I had to get reported for my past mistake and now I have to suffer more of this uncertainty and anxiety when I’ve already been through enough and now I know how bad my mistake was because it was considered a crime. I’ve fucked up so bad. How am I meant go move on,0 Awww. Thank you for this. Makes me feel warm in my heart..,0 "I guess my OCD is coming back, cause this has been non stop lately. ☹️A big insecurity of mine is that I’m stupid. So if it’s not that I messed up and they hate me, it’s that they think I’m just stupid and incompetent. When I’m well mentally it’s not even a thing.",0 Totally! I set 5 alarms in a row to take my medication (1 every minute from 6:00-6:05). It usually works for me but even still I sometimes end up missing it all together,1 "Thanks for sharing what a great story! I lose my phone about 3-4 times a day and my glasses at least once a day. This just reminds me of my fiancé helping me find my lost things.",1 "Speaking of groceries, add your coupons online before you go. The savings on my shopping trip last night was 40% The total was $198 (really big shopping trip lol)",1 I dont that then with some things i sniff them and look like a weirdo,0 "I know people doubt their gender/sexual identity but seeing trans & gay flags used with other horrific imagery really does hurt many LGBT people suffering with OCD. It's very exclusionary. There's nothing wrong with the OCD doubt of wondering what your gender/sexuality is but when being trans / gay is used with other terms like pedophile OCD and harm OCD it alienates LGBT people.",0 do they sell storage containers that are perfect for hoarders? razor blades that are great for self-harmers?,0 Oh my goodness! I'm so proud of you! Keep up the good work! Thoughts and prayers are with you as you continue to work on learning how to cope with this disorder. 💕,0 Awesome. I’ve already gone gluten free and it works wonders. Now just want to optimize fully.,0 "I so needed to read this, thank you. Been struggling so much lately and you are so right, fuck OCD! Time to start fighting it again.",0 "In my case os this draws https://art-sheep.com/artist-turned-depression-into-art-inspiring-thousands-of-people/?fbclid=IwAR1qO8cw9hph35GoY1AvsCWSBKiiQCi_L_v-W5R3jCcKLsbqqA8K0Y0X2OQ Take a look",0 omg same! i have around 12k screenshots or more (and i just deleted A LOT) idk what i do i’m always running out of storage lol. i cant not screenshot i have the weirdest stuff in my gallery. hoping to organize and clear it once i’m done w exams lol,1 "I would have to disagree with this - I think the obsession is super relevant - sure, one may have had a predisposition to have ocd, but the reason the obsession manifested as what it is speaks to one's traumas or past experiences, likely obsessions that were subconsciously acquired.",0 I so often peep at my car from the gym to check if I lockedit,0 Then they think they have helped you because you've naturally recovered 🙄,0 "Yup it’s not you going crazy, unfortunately it’s just anxiety and depression. I know it sucks. Anxiety likes to make you believe you are going crazy, especially OCD. But you just need to ignore those intrusive thoughts cause you are the boss of them, the thoughts don’t define you.",0 "I do actually remember from time to time but get reminded why I sometimes decide that it's better not to. [This....this is the most recent thing I had saved.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Unexpected/comments/ocoy81/2_experts_debate_covid19/) This is the reason we just don't go there... Update: just to underline and highlight this point....[this was the second most recent thing I had saved.](https://www.reddit.com/r/Ooer/comments/obvw14/leggiso/) ....yeah.",1 for my it’s the same for the lights. i’m glad i don’t have epilepsy,0 Thank you for this. There’s a very important email I’ve been putting off for literally months that I’m going to go write right tf now,1 "I'm trying, but getting a therapist under the NHS, especially under these times, is near impossible. All of the questionnaires tell me to seek medical help immediately, but what I've heard from other people about the NHS as well as my own experiences and the financial constraints when it comes to going the private route makes me not even bother.",0 Never knew this was a thing until now but wow now I feel a lot better,0 I can see this being relatable to a lot of non-ADHD people too. It would be interesting to see a analysis of average commas per post in this sub vs other subs.,1 Going back to my room after I’m already in my car just to see if I left anything.,0 I think about this every day. What did I do to deserve this?,0 He might help get you through it with a little help from doctors and other sources but he’s not going to fully cure it on his own,0 And then one day you actually didn’t lock the door and you’re like “Yep see I knew I was a piece of shit”,0 "This is a great response to OCD. Ive called this the ""eye roll approach"" in the past. We could all do well to roll our eyes at OCDs suggestions. ",0 "“Don’t make excuses.” “Your personality leads to the bad habits.”",1 "This is in my city! The owners are very sweet and awesome people, they give a free packet of seeds with every purchase. I do have to say that I have ocd and autism and everything is lined up and perfect there and its lovely. If you’re ever in tacoma WA, it’s worth a visit My brother said that the creator has OCD, and would always organize their candy by color and amount, and if they or someone else ate one, they’d reorganize the entire thing to keep it even. If y’all want I can ask them about it directly once quarantine is over? Edit: i really don’t mean any harm! honestly the name irks me but I think its just a shitty misunderstanding",0 "The last line ahh. Literally my saved posts on Reddit and Facebook are full of those I never look at again.",1 "I can’t believe I read this whole thing. Lot of good stuff, and many things I started subconsciously do were here. One I didn’t see here is this: Lose your keys a lot when you go out? Physically attach them to your body. Get a D clip and put them on a belt loop, or if your usual outfit doesn’t have a belt loop, try a lanyard.",1 "OCD symptoms also dont automatically = OCD! Being a little obsessive, or a little compulsive, alone is not OCD. Hell, even being a little obsessive and compulsive is not OCD, OCD is when those components impact your day to day life and/or ability to function- hence obsessive compulsive *disorder* . Most symptoms of OCD correlate to other disorders too. You could have several symptoms of OCD and not have OCD, but have another anxiety or compulsive disorder like myself.",0 "There are some programs/apps you can get that will lock you out of distractions. You can usually set them up to lock during certain times, or for a specific number of hours that you specify. I've been using Freedom for about a year, though I've also been dabbling with FocusMe lately. None of them are perfect, but they can probably help you to stay on the right path when you need to be productive.",1 "It's beautiful. Good job. Expressing your Self it's worth it even if it's not ""perfect"". What's perfect anyway?",0 "Yeah I was actually thinking of this, I pretend like it’s a boggart.",0 "I feel this - if you SAW my desktop. I usually go through them on a monthly basis and either throw them into my google drive forever (because I never go through that) or I ditch them. But whoo boy, I think I had 200 on my desktop today and I just moved them around!",1 This is why I don't drive. I got the license and then said fuck it once all that shit started happening.,0 "“It’s locked, it’s locked, it’s locked, it’s locked, it’s locked..” “..well there’s no harm in checking, though”",0 "When you go through the watch later list, how many of the videos are you still interested in watching? Sometimes when I go through mine I’m like some of these don’t even seem interesting anymore.",1 "Next step is to use your bare hands to spread it all over your universe to ""flood"" your brain.",0 I was really surprised when you specifically mentioned D2 in here. Yeah I’ve always hated when people tell me exactly what to do to do a certain cheese in a raid but I don’t know what exactly the original encounter calls for so I can’t adjust at all when things go wrong. Always bugged me.,1 "It gets complicated when there is something I can do, and I don’t know where there is a limit to those compulsions and I keep doing them endlessly",0 "I needed this right now. I had a severe panic attack because of the coronavirus, and I needed a reminder that everything is going to be okay.",0 "I find that really adorable in a way. Like, ""Hey buddy, you wanna trade chores?"" ",1 "My former boss said something particularly nasty to me 2.5 years ago, and I still think about it almost every day 🙃",0 I know the 'double tap to edit' is unintentional but I 100% love it,0 "you put it in words. i’ve been learning about my adhd recently, and how much it really does affect my life. the fact that i had to learn about it myself, and that no one told me how my brain worked differently for the 7 years i’ve been diagnosed, is really sucky. adhd is one of the most well researched medical conditions, so how come i have to have a powerpoint presentation ready whenever someone tells me to ‘just focus’ or ‘it’s so easy’, in order to explain that i know it’s easy but i can’t do it. i really wish there was less stigma around adhd, and people understood that our brains are literally wired differently. you shouldn’t have to justify yourself for struggling with adhd with facts and reasearch. you don’t have to justify that depression affects someone. you don’t have to justify that autism affects someone, so why do you have to justify yourself with adhd? idk tho",1 "I relate to this so much, the obsession causes so much stress and to a point, sadness, by the end of the day you’re just exhausted from it all. I hope you’re doing okay, best of luck to whatever you’re dealing with rn.",0 Lol my mom is also religious and she says things like “Leave it in Jesus’ hands” or “choose to think different thoughts”. As if I hadn’t tried thinking differently. I think the worst part is that when parents say things like that it shows they haven’t really looked into how to help a loved one struggling with ocd.,0 "This is some really nice art, and I like your interpretation of your OCD! I don't know how I'd think of mine to be honest.",0 "YES OMG YES. I had a boss at a previous job who basically refused to tell me the why. And then got upset when I never could follow directions correctly 🙃",1 "This only makes me more anxious because what if my choice doesn't lead to one of the many desired outcomes? Even if the outcome is positive, it isn't the one I tried to plan for.",0 "I started writing notes to myself in my alarms, with the stuff I ask myself when I’m at the 8:30 mark. It actually helps, since impending urgency with immediate repercussion is the only thing that actually motivates me to get going lmao",1 "I’m not diagnosed with OCD, but I have anxiety and I have this experience with my intrusive thoughts all the time. It’s really scary. You’re not alone.",0 "Not me reading this, swinging a dog tag on a chain around my toes, and whistling Loch Lomond to myself all at the same time. Not me at all.",1 "Literally in my journal 30 minutes ago I wrote ""I wish logic always worked"" thank you for this!",0 "I’m so sorry. That must be so scary. I definitely do this too, I know it’s not good so thank you for the reminder to take things more seriously. As much of a pain as it is to get my adhd meds refilled regularly, at least I have regular doctors appointments and checkups to keep me a little more on top of things. That’s probably a blessing in disguise for many of us.",1 "I'd call it ""Brain Storm Rehab"" or ""Brain Storm Retreat"" intentionally leaving it open if * ""storming brains go there to get a vacation from storming"" or * ""brains go there to storm together"" to feel connected & understood Edit formatting",1 Anyone try medication for ocd? I’m just saying it might help.. it’s helped me a little so far.,0 "Absolutely. Partly because it helps me actually identify it as important enough to care about doing, and also partly because it helps me understand what I am actually working towards. If I am told to do a certain project at work but I don't know what the end product is supposed to look like or operate, it makes it very hard to motivate myself to actually follow through with it out of a fear that I may screw it up royally.",1 "So true, it’s so funny how when I tell my friends about stuff like this they are so confused, I wish I was them.",0 "Thank you so, so much. I really needed this lately. You’re a life saver. Just thank you for making us feel less alone. I saved this post. Bless you. :-)",0 "Me too!! I just got a new phone, and specifically didn't transfer any of my 1000+ photos, just to clean out the clutter... but I'm keeping the old phone. You know, just in case I really do want to go back to all those memes, funny/informative reddit comments or tiktok videos I've downloaded... you know. Just in case. I always save them, thinking ""I'll look at this again tomorrow morning, start using this tip"" or something. Then promptly forget it exists.",1 "That’s what a mental illness/neurological disorder is essentially- it’s a trait most people possess to a small degree....magnified to an extreme. Everyone feels depressed at times, but not everyone has depression. Everyone has anxieties, that doesn’t mean it’s an anxiety disorder. We all have intrusive thoughts, but it’s not OCD at that small a level. Etc etc etc.",0 That moment when you’re hyper-analyzing every part of your body to make sure you’re appealing,0 OCD is a living hell. It completely ruins everything it touches. Fuck OCD. Keep fighting everyone,0 I always say I would never wish OCD on even my worst enemy…nothing to joke about :/,0 "True, to the point where i get afraid when i actually like something, cause i know my OCD will try to ruin it for me",0 "Man sometimes I feel like I waste half my time shopping for the things I need for a project. Like the past week I've been working on a woodworking project which needed multiple trips to Lowe's. But I can never just go there and get what I need. I'll see something on the shelf and it'll spark my memory or give me an idea, and down the rabbit hole I go. Next thing I know I've spent over an hour in the store. Turns out U-shank jigsaw blades with the hole (the ones that my old, inherited jigsaw takes) are outdated and hard to find. So guess who bought a new jigsaw that day? Yup... Gotta get that sweet retail dopamine dump.",1 "This is definitely how I deal with it, saying ""no"" out loud and then attempting to move on. My boyfriend and I have lived together for 4 years, he's used to it and knows he doesn't have to respond when I do that.",0 "One time I stopped listening to my favourite song ever because OCD convinced me that if didn't like the song cuz when I listened to it one time I didn't get goosebumps. And one time I stopped watching F1 cuz I bothered me so much that on car was slightly of colour. Does anybody feel the same stuff that I do.",0 "I used to compulsively comb my hair. I’d walk out of class, events, etc. because I’d obsess over any perceived flaw I’d imagine in my head about my hair (I’d carry a comb in my pocket, and extra one in the car or my backpack). People got fed up with reassuring me every time I’d ask them if my hair was okay. I had no idea it was part of my disorder at that time. Oh how I suffered.",0 "OMG that's so cool!!! My therapist said the same thing, she said it's just ""junk mail"" haha. I love your tattoos",0 "I’ve been struggling for most of my life with my OCD because my family was one of those that said shit like“psychiatry is a pseudoscience and therapy is for weak people.” I finally gathered the courage to go to a psychiatrist my final year of college at the age of 21 to get treated. I’m finally on medication and going to therapy and I feel like I can actually live my life now. I had no idea it was OCD and never even thought it could be because of the damaging stereotypes of the disorder. My heart aches for those that are currently suffering without any idea of what’s going on with them. It’s only been about 9 months being treated and I feel much more functional even though I still struggle sometimes.",0 "Thank you. totally needed this tonight. Over the past few weeks I've been working on establishing a healthy bedtime routine involving timed wifi lights, a ""get ready for bed"" checklist, zero screens after 11pm and melatonin to regulate my sleep cycle. It's (mostly) working, but occasionally I find my self slipping back into old habits... Like tonight. So thank you for getting me back on track!",1 "that outfit is so pretty on you!! you look amazing :)) and good for you, for standing up to your ocd!",0 "I've actually seriously considered providing online lessons on how to wash (anything) thoroughly. I did a little math, and I computed that I have literally spent over 3,000 hours washing my hands and another 500 hours drying them completely. Comparatively, commercial pilots only need 200-250 hours in the cockpit to get their pilot's license. I can guarantee that if the novel coronavirus is killed by soap and water then there is absolutely ZERO live novel coronavirus running around on my hands. Not a single one.",0 "Also, stop fighting with whatever reason in your brain that tells you that taking medication makes you a flawed person. Medication gave me my life back.",0 This hurt so bad you might as well have just clubbed me over the head with a shovel,0 "*raises hand* I have intrusive thoughts and checking compulsions but I'm sloppy af because cleaning is mentally exhausting",0 Today I left the market just for this because i heard a sound... my cart was completely full and i was about to finish shopping...,0 "Why would anyone be a “fake fan” of hand washing or OCD? In times of infectious disease, it’s only normal that people’s awareness and “paranoia” will increase. The ones who genuinely have an OCD problem related to cleaning will continue to do their thing, and probably even more intensely than before, but I don’t see why other people would want to be a “fan” of that. Just let ‘em do their thing. Don’t get me wrong, I have OCD myself (not related to cleaning, tough), I just don’t think we should worry about whatever whoever else’s doing, just try to get better in our own conditions. :) keep it up, stay safe!",0 Ugh I feel this. My OCD keeps trying to convince me I’m straight and attracted to men who I’m not,0 "Depression is confusing, I thought my life was sorted out when they told me at 26 your dyslexic. Then at 38 depression and anxiety. Then 43 Adhd. Now my life makes sence;) I am glad the doc was able to hook me up with some meds that all work great together. First time posting, long time creeper, everyone here is amazing thank you for all your Truth.",1 Oh so you’re a compulsive hand washer? Name every virus.,0 "Yeah I’ve said I have a “neurological condition” at work and school before. If I describe symptoms I keep it vague, but have mentioned that it messes with my sleep or “flares up”. Works well, and hasn’t gotten me pigeonholed!",1 "Totally agree with you! In my case it’s the yelling that actually propelled my adhd. After many therapy sessions I can see the roots of it. My mom used to shout at time when I wasn’t doing something right. That voice embedded into my mind and now it keeps sabotaging whatever I am doing. I carry on through life and the voice changes depending on who I am clinging to. Sometimes it’s my ex wife sometimes it’s my mom and my in-laws. What I realised recently is that adhd could be a symptom of something as well. It’s not necessary brain chemical misbalance, but more a consequence of a prolonged trauma in my case.",1 "dude, i had to google ""concentration camp"" to remember why that was a bad idea",1 I’m 33 and just discovered pure O this week. I’m still in shock that I’m not just crazy like I initially thought,0 "I don't get panic attacks that often anymore due to OCD, but they just happen for no reason",0 "I think I love you. If ever there was a time to pay for awards to give someone, this would be it. But I think you have enough now so here is my worthless emoji love instead 💌 Did I mention I love you?",1 "Seeing a therapist specialized in ocd changed my life forever, for the better",0 "ADHD too strong to read all that rn, but try making folders to put new ss in. At least some of my many ss/downloads are in folders that I go back and look at or use.",1 I have these all the time. I’m taking meds and even those don’t seem to be helping.,0 my doc is autistic + adhd too and she STILL won’t prescribe me stimulants. so i’ll just be over here meditating and getting nothing done lolol,1 Is Jim Carey having ADHD a new thing recently? Is the child who supposedly had autism and got it from vaccines but it was “cured” it his biological child with Jenny McCarthy? Because Jim having ADHD and his son having autism would make so much sense,1 "Lol, I have pure-O, and I suffer absolutely zero germaphobia. Literally the only time I usually wash my hands is when I've used the toilet (obviously), and I frequently kiss pets on the nose or stroke them and then go on to eat a sandwich or something with my bare, unwashed hands. I feel like I'm not gonna catch anything worse than maybe a stomach flu because of not washing my hands anyway (unless I'm in a hospital or something). I'm more worried about getting some serious illness like cancer, and I can't prevent that with hand washing, so 🤷‍♂️",0 This person with OCD decided to become a hygenist? A very brave soul...,0 This made me smile. I find myself sometimes tortured by things I did and said 10-20+ years ago. Interesting insight - thanks for sharing!,0 "Have you tried telling him to ""just"" get out of his stuck-up normalizing stubbornness and ""just"" be an actual supportive dad and to ""just"" create a perfect son without said executive dysfunction bullshit next time he blows his guns ❤️ For clarification just in case. Love, you are good the way you are. Please don't see this as me saying you're less than perfect. Point us he can't control what genes are gonna be picked and expressed when he makes a kid, just like you couldn't choose which ones you received when being made.",1 This is me when I'm downloading so many skyrim mods at once and then by the time I finally get to play the game I'm bored.,1 Thank you for this. I'm grateful for those moments my mind calms.,0 This is what I'm doing right now!😂 Thanks for the advice. I'll sleep now. lol,1 "I don't know if this is relevant but I'm also happy with this sub's lack of toxic positivity. Finding the right medication and getting therapy has made me realize how much ADHD has been a debilitating condition (for me). I know how people point out that ADHD is linked to creativity but I'm a creative person even when I'm medicated, the only difference is that I'm able to properly channel that creatively and actually execute projects from start to finish. Since getting my medication down and using my organizational skills I'm definitely less spontaneous but I'd trade a calm and orderly life where I'm actually spending time and energy on things that are meaningful to me rather than trying to chase down my latest dopamine hit.",1 "I absorb pretty much all incoming data that comes my way, but it just goes into a swirling mass of papers like at the end of Crystal Maze, so it's pot luck what will come back out again.",1 "So what were you procrastinating on when you did this? :) ​ (Thanks)",1 "My initial thought is that is a large does to start with. I only take 10mg at a time. Nothing wrong to easing into it, but I know doctors should know best, I may be way out of line here, if so, my bad.",1 I left a penny lying on the ground earlier after having the thought “if you don’t pick that up your family will die.” And I really can’t quit thinkin bout that penny,0 "I've definitely been in that place many times before, and unfortunately I know I will again. Sorry you have to deal with that man. It's quite literally a deadly combination. Not to be depressing, but I just know the day will come where I say fuck this I'm out know what I mean? Do you feel the same with medication OP? For me, I don't really. I don't get to the point where I just stare at the wall because nothing is fun or interesting when I'm on meds. I'm still severely depressed, but I'm not THAT depressed. Curious as to what others experience is. I can still barely function, but it's better than it was before I got on meds again.",1 Hearing steve-o talk about his gum rotting from not brushing his teeth motivated me to remember to brush them more often,1 "I skimmed most of this, but this was very informative and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. Not sure if I have ADHD, but I relate heavily with this. One thing for me was that I always felt supremely dumb or lazy, even though in school I was taking advanced classes. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand material, I just didn’t know what to do. I never knew how to start. I would need to go step by step. Like I HAVE to go step by step. That was the only way to have some sort of structure in my head. If I miss a step then I’m completely and utterly lost. Then I would get frustrated, so frustrated that I lose track of time and then I end up rushing. Once I start rushing I skip more steps and the cycle continues. Working is awful because I’m so bored that it’s actually bothering me. Unless I’m working with my hands, or something that requires some thinking power. This post definitely is making me consider talking to my PCP.",1 "Anybody else get like a social justice compulsion to read like everything you can about an issue? Like when I’m done reading an article and I’m tired of reading I now HAVE to read the next article if I see it. Then I feel guilty if I don’t read it. Also isn’t easy because I have reading related OCD too. So one Instagram story can turn to 20 and 20 into 30, and before you know it I’ve just spent like 4 hours on my phone reading stuff and sometimes even longer than that.",0 "Joke is on you. I should be asleep... Wait, that's the thing I need to do...",1 This is WAY too accurate... I had to take a half a pill of opamox today to realize that no harm has been done.,0 "I purposely schedule all my meetings between 9 and 2, any earlier meds haven’t kicked in amd not functioning, any later and my brains drained. 9-2 is my sweet spot fo sho",1 Ppl do the same w any executive functioning disorder. I’m like “I have adhd and it’s terrible” and they’re like “don’t be sad ur a superhero!! U have a magic power wooo! Adhd people accomplish things all the time!! Just try harder to pay attention!!”,1 Once I get my license I can see ocd messing this up for me I’m sorry that it’s messing with you,0 "Saving this for later AND commenting on it, so I will actually come back to it later this week.",1 "This really made me chuckle. Thank you, I needed that",0 Y E S. This has been my obsession since December. It’s awful,0 "That is a good idea. I have ADHD and my wife has FASD. We both struggle sometimes with those basic tasks, but often try to help and remind each other. Even sometimes going as far as just giving compliments for getting basic things done. Unfortunately, there are times where we both slip together or we don't always remind each other in positive ways. However, we do have an understanding in place that we don't take the bad days from the other person too personally and if things get bad, we probably need to eat or something just to reset. ​ It's amazing how missing simple things can escalate into more if you just try and ignore it. Having someone come in to help with that reset is a great idea.",1 "Not sure if anyone has recommended this yet, but I would highly recommend meditation. I use a product called Muse. It's a bit pricey, but it has been the best tool in my toolbelt for clearing out a foggy mind, and getting some clarity in my thoughts. It comes with a headband that ties to an app on your phone and increases/decreases an audible noise to let you know if you are distracted or not. I've always been skeptical of meditation until I tried this; once I got used to it, I realized that I've been meditating wrong all this time. I now try to meditate at least once a day for at least 10 minutes, and have noticed huge difference; especially with projects that I'm stuck on, because I can't figure out how to start, or plan out. Hope this helps you, I was diagnosed later in life, and have had a lot of issues re-learning all the correct ways to do things, and I found this helped the most to clear my head.",1 I’m late to this but congrats dude. We know how hard it can be.,0 I hate when people do that haha. I often find myself forgiving them because sometimes they don’t know what that feels like as a person with ocd to hear that. I’ve learned to love my ocd for its creativeness and really try and find a positive spin on it even when things are bad,0 "I’m so sorry you’re going through this lad. If it’s any consolation, it’s happened many times to me before, I’ve cracked a lot of light switches in my day. Sending you healing thoughts, it DOES get better- I promise you🤍",0 "The reason OCD is so stigmatized is because (and please don’t take this the wrong way) the humor is almost inherent. With other mental illnesses, you need to find the humor. There’s comedy in depression and anxiety, and some of the best comedians in history suffer from such issues and incorporate them into their acts in brilliant ways, but you need to look for the comedy to find it. With OCD it’s just right there.",0 "Yes this is so true. Convenience is valuable, sometimes just as valuable if not more than the same item without the convenience",1 """Hey, how are you doing?"" (Gauge their reaction! Are they answering like they hate us?) ""Eh, I'm okay."" Five minutes later ""Hey, how are you doing?""",0 yea so fucked up. for me was mainly caus of other ppl treating me like shit for me being adhd me. now that I know is so much easier.,1 "Is your job super sedentary? I switched careers from a graphic designer to a manager and I'm on my feet a lot which helped me feel less bored. You also seem to have some depression which is common alongside ADHD. Don't feel ashamed if you're a little messy, it's impossible to be impeccably clean all the time. Be kind to yourself, it looks like you're trying to improve your life and have that mindset so I applaud you for that! Remember, one thing at a time.",1 "I hate that others have to feel this way too, but also feel some relief that I'm not the only one. Does that statement make me a horrible person? Here we go again.....",0 10000000000000%....right down to the refusal of using public bathrooms. And the paper towel doorknobs,0 Same. But mine is because I no longer get a full night's sleep. I wake up 3-4 times a night so just say screw it I'll live on 4 hours of sleep a night.,1 "“Bullied by your own mind” WOW never thought of it that way!! Why the f am I letting myself bully me - I legit speak up to everyone and am so straight forward and opinionated with people, yet I do this to myself",0 "Wait, thoughts like these are OCD? I was curious if I had it and I came go this sub to see if I related to things here and I think I might actually have it lol",0 Cleaning? Looks more like he's preparing something.,0 whenever i get those “what if” chain thoughts i just go straight to “ok yeah great and what if the asteroid that exploded to create earth was a couple inches to the left” i tell myself it’s pointless to acknowledge those thoughts bc they won’t/didn’t happen and it doesn’t matter what would happen if they did bc they didn’t,0 The meta thing here is that I immediately saw that some themes did not apply to me and immediately started dealing with thoughts that I don't actually have OCD xD,0 you've helped me with my ocd but at the same time i have neck problems now :P,0 "This is me. My head starts getting foggy and my eyes start zoning out and next thing you know, I'm on reddit.",1 "This just happened to me. I just got over my leukemia fear OCD, and not even 2 days later another issue has now taken over my mind. This has been happening for years.",0 "I cannot stand people like that. Celebrities shouldn’t use their power and influence to push stigmas further. A part of me is telling me to be the better person and forgive them while re-educating them, but the bigger part is intrusive thoughts of all the ways to cause them an amount of physical pain equal to the amount of emotional pain they cause us by perpetuating inaccurate stereotypes.",0 How do you take it before waking up? Like on an empty stomach? And you don't die?,1 I watched teachers reduce classmates of mine to literal catatonia with this approach. There is no fucking excuse for a *professional teacher* to be unable to recognize a child in distress. #stillmad,1 "do not mix ocd with religion...thats a huge rule NO NO.....like a religious schizo that goes too far...youre not demon possessed and those rituals of religiousness mean nothing cause the dreaded blasphemes come back..... look relgion isnt going to do anything but be a support to you, I know cause Im too myself as a hermit, cause people make me anxious....so i use my faith to cope....but if you get a blasphmemous thought, idea, or imagine, remember its all content...in context....= intruding anxiety due to shortage of sertononin.....which cause relfexive rituals to ease discomfort....my answer is the hell with it, and just follow the lead of Jesus.... I am the ocd mystic.... I am a pastoral knight hermit....d.div",0 "Haven't looked yet, but I'm concerned that my wife is gonna realise even more how weird I am.",1 "I just got sent to this sub from another comment thread, and this is the first post I tapped on. God damn if it isn't the most ""hit you where your ADHD lives"" shit. I needed this.",1 my compulsions are luckily calmer in public but it hurts seeing people stare at you weirdly for doing them,0 """I am not my thoughts"" always helps me be at peace with all the intrusiveness",0 "ADHD is the worst and there are so many other things that people don’t realize they think it’s just impulsiveness and fidgeting but fuck it’s impossible to describe. sometimes when I’m really stressed from just everything and it’s pouring into one thing I just think about an empty void turn on the TV and start playing a video game usually that’s enough to get some time without thinking about it",1 "Me, checking the gas for the 34th time at 3am while my mother tries to sleep",0 "I think those people (and I was definitely one of them if not worse) before I was floored with ADHD, MDD, mood disorder with mania, and idk what else. My dad told me in my worst mental state “fuck the past and move on” I guess referring to my traumas. I responded with “that’s pretty offensive, you showing no compassion for anything” he then told me “how about you tell your counselor that your offended all the time and see what she says about that.”) this is the same dad who told me he didn’t believe in ADHD when I was diagnosed in middle school. I’ve gone through my whole life untreated and feeling guilty to even bring up the fact I was diagnosed with it. I’ve left it in the deep crevices in my mind for my entire life. And it’s destroyed my jobs, relationships, school, cleanliness of my space, motivation, literally everything. And I STILL battle every fucking day with, “is it real or is it not?”, “maybe I’m just fucking lazy”, and a whole host of other things DAILY.",1 The weird thing is I remember almost everything I read and that was before I had medicine. So it's been like the exact opposite for me.,1 Sometimes im convinced I’m faking my compulsions cuz they feel like they tend to change every month and I more obsession based,0 What it actually is: **taking my sheet on and off twelve times until it feels right and I know my family won’t die**,0 "I’ve been trying to find a worthy concise description of what it’s like for 10 years, and here it bloody is. 👏👏👏👏👏👏",0 "Oof, so true. Glad I’m doing better now. Hope everyone else here is ok, ocd is hard work!",0 "damn, thats how the last of my few days has been going on. i just scroll all day through my screen for some stimulation and still feels nothing. i want to do something but my mind is like NO, YOU CAN'T. when i talk to my family about it they blame it on phone like wtf And a lot of distanced hugs to you. i hope it gets over for you as soon as it could",1 "When I was younger, I used to worry I was being poisoned. Now I worry that people are thinking I'm poisoning them. I get all nervous and anxious, trying to defend myself in my head when it's not even brought up in conversation.",0 """how did that come about?"" For arbitrary steps served to be a less ""challenging"" way of asking why. Coupled with explaining that I needed a story to hang the steps on, to make sure I remembered it better.",1 You either die a spongebob or live long enough to become a squidward,0 "Feel free to DM me too, I’m a psychology graduate, I have some friends doing free online therapies right now too.",0 "It does get better fellas. And in my experience, 'fuck it' attitude cam be very helpful, especially if you are willing to go against what your OCD says. You won't die, the world isn't going to end, nothing bad will happen if you do, and if you think it will, just say fuck it and give it a try.",0 "Yes, very aggressively sometimes. I do agree with your therapist, we probably shouldn't, but it does feel a bit involuntary so I'm working on that haha. It's so uncomfortable and not helpful in the long term.",0 I’m a teacher with ADHD and completely terrified of having to put my lessons and homework online because if I get to be home for an unspecified period of time I am much more likely to go into “living my best life” mode...lol.,1 "Woah shit man there not even discoloured n shit atm! Good job Also prob most of us w hand washing as a compulsion have figured this out but tip: if ur washing ur hands lots and using lots of soap, try cut down on the soap, use it after bathroom etc but wash hands w water rest of time I say this Cos my hands/wrists used to b super dry cracked sore, etc, but just from not using soap when I wash them most of the time, there a lot better then they would of been But yeh good job g!",0 Love that you can express yourself using art. Also loved it and it's so relatable 💙💙,0 "Yeah sometimes I’ll be in bed and I just think “What if I wake up and my family’s been killed? I’ll be accused for it!” Then I’ll just think about that for ages",0 "Of course, intrusive negative thoughts that demotivate and demean me, while I'm trying to do something everyday and basic.",0 I started taking pictures of my stove to make sure it was actually off. It turned into a compulsion and now I can’t leave my house without take at least 30 photos of my stove out of fear that it’s secretly on and I would know if I just took 1 more photo,0 "I did a half marathon once; during the training days when I ran more than 6 miles in the heat, it felt like I knocked myself out enough to have that mental quiet later in the day. It was bizarre.",0 "I was doing so well even for some time during all of this quarantine madness and lately I’ve been feeling like it’s slowly coming back smh :( Let’s all keep at ERP though, it hurts but long term it’s the true key to recovery and well-being no matter how scary it may seem. Best of luck to you, you got this!",0 Mmmmmmmm fucking terrifying please delete it I just shat myself and now I have to wipe my ass in 5-10 intervals.,0 "Strange I don't suffer from that at all. If I have therapy at 4 then I have time for a whole shift at work before it, or time to do anything up until like 3",1 That is why I crochet while watching. Helps me to concentrate on both things.,1 "I knew someone would bring this up at some point, and I’m glad you did. This has become especially common since 5 months ago when my father died. Every day, I think someone is going to come next, whether it be my mother or a close relative. I’ll be alone and suddenly think, “It’s very quiet in the house right now. What if they need help, and you don’t know?” Or if I’m in the car with them, I’ll think, “What if everything is okay right now, but in a few seconds, they suddenly lose consciousness behind the wheel, putting you both in danger while they need immediate help?” It’s a horrible thought process, and I’m sorry you experience that as well. Hopefully, it gives you some piece of mind that you are not alone here.",0 I am 38 years old and was diagnosed with ADD/ADHD when I was 8. That is the most accurate explanation I have heard,1 "$30? So she does 2 hours of work for you? I have a housekeeper, same stuff. She does a 4 hour session for around $150. Just make sure you’re paying her what she’s worth. Otherwise, great idea!!",1 "I went years brushing my teeth in the morning routinely (only night on occasions I remembered otherwise just mornings) until just recently where I've struggled to upkeep my hygiene; even though I want to brush my teeth or shower so badly, I just can't get myself to do it - so days or even a whole week has passed until I manage but then it repeats itself. 😫",1 "I am an asshole, but my OCD's still real. Just kidding.",0 "This sounds just like me. I’ve always done well in school, and I’m pretty good at solving problems when I can focus on them. That makes me feel like I don’t belong in the adhd category. Then I go and waste the day away and feel like I cant get anything productive done and I feel like an idiot. I know what I should do, but I often fail to actually do it. Especially with how I’m so interested in learning so many different skills and just can’t stick with any of them. It’s so frustrating to feel like I cant fit either because of the other.",1 Happy birthday and have a wonderful day! Here’s to reaching 99!,0 "This is such a great analogy from every angle. I might add that when the pop up activates, the system can mistakenly sense overload and will post a warning that the system may shut down... To acknowledge the panic that often accompanies intrusive thoughts",0 "I still don't understand, (as I sit here at 5AM), why y'all aren't fucking exhausted at 8pm like I am!!!!",1 "Yep I get this 100%. I am diagnosed with ADHD and Autisum spectrum disorder. Sometimes I have the realisation that I'm doing really well concidering the added difficulty and at other times I think it is all an excuse, I have somehow convinced my self of having it, and I'm just lazy and antisocial. Despite the fact I have been professionally diagnosed. I think getting diagnosed late dosn't help with imposter syndrome.",1 "I feel that, just got out of mine. It's get crazy wicked sometimes, COVID crap doesn't help either.",0 I do this with the stove since I'm absolutely TERRIFIED of burning mine or my bfs house down. I'll check it like 10 times and then just sit there and watch it since its a gas stove juuuust to be safe.,0 Ahhh this is the exact reason I had to delete Twitter. Twitter puts tweets you’ve liked on your followers timeline and the constant thought that I accidentally put something bad on people’s timelines made me finally delete it.,0 How do you feel now that coronavirus is a pandemic?,0 This is one of the most relatable things I’ve ever read in my life. I feel u SO MUCH wow,1 "Me: \*checks the mirror\* Me five seconds later: *HoLD* up ^(WHAT) if ^(my) face c h a n g e d ???",0 "Are you the neurotypical partner? Thank you! You are amazing! There is a subreddit my non-adhd partner told me she frequents. Its called ADHDpartners. It destroys me every time I scroll through it. I may be wacky and often times annoying but I'm stable, reliable, sweet and kind. You're a good one for seeing us ❤️",1 "I hate it so much. In school, you could just move past the shit you didnt do, new semester, new chances. Work isnt like that, I still gotta do the report they need. Plus school often had the immediate feedback in class of answering a teacher and being told if you're right or wrong. And I spent the first 22 years of my life learning on memorizing information to regurgitate on tests. Work isnt like that. I miss school and really enjoyed college, but the generic office job I have makes more than I'd make in a non-office job for my schooling and experience. Hoping when I'm 30-something I can save up enough to change to a fun career that is less isolating and boring than my software admin job right noe",1 I hate the whole “oh u don’t have OCD look at ur book it’s so messy” yes because OCD is only cleaning all the time isn’t it,0 "what’s funny is that no one would go ‘MERRY DEPRESSIVE DISORDER, LOL!’ lmao. i know that’s not a great example, but that’s pretty much the equivalent! this makes it clear that OCD is NOT a surface level issue...",0 """avoiding situations that trigger obsessions"" god that just answered so much of my stupid ass shit",0 "I can so relate to you. Please use Google Chrome as a browser. What I have found its the most helpful browser out there. Best thing is not to think so much about all the mess. I put all my mess in a passport Hard Disk Drive and now I dont bother opening it. Also, what is helpful is good sleep. Do the organizing when you have good sleep. It works for me",1 You have just made the truest post I have ever seen on Reddit. It literally feels like nothingness. All. The. Time. It's the reason I haven't worked in almost 2 months.,1 "I have the solution: just jettison people who do nothing but complain about how your adhd is causing problems for them. Don’t get me wrong. I think we absolutely need to manage what we have and take ownership when we are flaky. But it’s a red flag when all someone does it gripe about how your cognitive issues affect them. Hey, neurotypicals do things that get on my nerves too. Don’t see any of them adjusting their behavior to make me more comfortable.",1 YES. I can relate to SO many things you mentioned! I hate the misconceptions about adult ADHD too... People just don’t get it.,1 I think it’s a form of hyper awareness. Your overthinking and that your Aware that your overthinking and it makes you OVERTHINK.,0 Same it's the noise I don't like sometimes they go off when you have been in one store and go in another .,0 "Told my boss I had OCD and she moved a table number a way from the middle of the table off centre and said, ""oh this upsets me too"" then fired me a week later for having too manybstaff, then asked everyone else if they wanted extra shifts because she was low on staff. Think the OCD was a hassle for her even though it made me work harder and actually better",0 "Thank you for this. I have inattentive ADHD and my whole life I was told these things by everyone and I didn’t get diagnosed with ADHD until I was fresh into 17. I’m 18, going on 19 now. And even after I got diagnosed people around me never fully understood my diagnosis and this gravity of having inattentive type of ADHD or even worse they didn’t even know that they are more than one type. Very frustrating having to explain this over and over, especially to my mom. Had to tell her time and time again. All throughout my early childhood and up until very recently I had no motivation, no drive and couldn’t focus to save my life. I constantly stayed tired no matter how much sleep I got. And most of the time I didn’t even feel depressed. My brain just didn’t work and all I wanted to do was lay in bed. Even when I tried to focus on hobbies that I found interesting I would get bored of them very very quickly. But fortunately I finally got on medication that works for me. Still have trouble with the boredom a little bit. Took the longest time though. I’m glad I fought for what I believe in, because I had a strong intuition that something was wrong and that I wasn’t just “depressed” which everyone thought. It was totally worth the fight.",1 "i really don't feel that's for you to say... i dont like my ocd but there are some disorders i actually kind of like having, even though they give me hell sometimes",0 "This is some proper good content. Great work and an idea I will try, and encourage others to do, (could be added to list) pick atleast 1 thing in this list per day to actively incorporate into my day or focus on so I try to get into a habit of doing it regularly as to not overwhelm myself with new good information",1 No body understand why I don’t really like movies. No desire to watch them as an activity with people. But it’s not as fun when you lose big chunks of it and have no idea what’s happening most of the time.,1 This is the most relatable post I’ve seen in a while,0 "Too many. Sometimes I'll skim it, and save it in case I want to look back over it again, and the answer is nope never will. Unless I need to make a big decision, then I cram it all in my brain just in case it helps.",1 "Reminds me of my therapist teaching me the white bear experiment. She said to replace the intrusive thought with a thought that helps you move on, like a flowing river or something calming like that. The experiment showed that if you are told not to think about something (don't think about a white bear) you most certainly will, so replacing with a different thought is the way to go \*Paraphrasing\*",0 i’m calm at night so i always think i’m somehow cured until i wake up in the morning and all of my obsessions come back at once 👌🏻,0 "That's amazing! You should feel really proud ♥ I have issues with showering, hair washing and tooth brushing, it's like somehow they just don't factor in to my routine? I have to actively plan them, and often I just forget - any tips?",1 "omg, this is what i literally do. i have lots of saved posts, bookmarks or whatever in EVERY social networking site. the only reason its ""organized"" is because of the folders that pops up when you save something so its just one click to categorize it. i have one browser though, but different shortcuts of chrome (idk what its called but basically i have different chromes for different purposes) and all of them got lots of bookmarks and tabs. i dont really organize my files and stuff and im only able to organize my files at the moment of saving since its just one or two clicks to choose a folder or at the sidebar already so its accessible. if not, i just dump it in a folder and just forgetting about it until i discover it again for the next months or years when i get the energy to organize everything.",1 "Fine. I’ll go swap out & put away the laundry. ...stupid voice of reason, making me be productive.",1 "Well, not to be rude, but there is definitely a spectrum of people who don't have OCD (or any other illness) but relate to some of the qualities. Then this _would_ be applicable. Personally, I have OCD but I don't get upset when people say they're also a little OCD. I think you can just feel that way and that's okay.. please don't attack me I have good intentions :)",0 "This is me when im leaving my house, when im turning off the stove, when im checking my wallet to see if all cards are there, when im making sure i locked my car... Yup applying this process to just about everything sure does suck ",0 "Used up all of today's energy yesterday because i was exhausted from the day before that, knowing i won't have the will to deal with tomorrow.",0 Finally they have the accurate representation for those of us offering help!!,0 "Are you on meds? Do they help with this sort of thing? This happens to me a lot. My Dr says I am adhd but not adhd enough for meds.",1 "Part of my job is to monitor a chat where other coworkers ask questions or request assistance with a problem they're working. This is in addition to things I'm working on personally. Often, what's going on in chat provides a welcome break from what I'm personally working on. But, as many of you may have guessed, there's a downside in that the problems that arise in chat are often easier to handle, and so it can become this fountain of easy wins that just end up distracting me from more important things. ",1 "Oh man I am DEFINITELY going to look into this!!!! Heal that inner child! <3 LOL made for kids or not! Who wouldn't want to do exercises that are designed to help control and hopefully eliminate their own OCD!!??? So awesome. Looks like I see a PHD there by the author too!!! Thank you SO much for sharing!!! <3 :) :) <3 :)",0 "I am functional from like 12-3 every day... Take away half an hour to an hr for food then an hr for my midday name and my daily productivity time is like an hr and a half",1 I used to use the library as a resource when I was in college. Every time I got stuck I would go to the library staff and get them to help me get started again. They were surprisingly helpful and willing to engage with me.,1 This is exactly me. One thing though : eating healthy and starving yourself are not the same thing. You need to eat regularly to keep your blood sugar up.,1 "What pisses me off the most is when they question you on whether or not they have OCD. After pressuring you to answer them, if you say no they then disagree and will treat you like you know *nothing* about OCD",0 i need to be encouraged not punished or threatened:(,1 "I have an alarm set to water my plants daily and an alarm set for taking my medication at a particular time. I ignore it often but it stays in the back of my mind at least. It's actually trained me to water my plants without the reminder on a lot of occasions. I was professionally diagnosed with ADD in the 2nd grade and life has been a struggle, but I cope.",1 "I know what you mean... I got diagnosed why I was 24, thanks.",1 "dude, DUDE! THIS POST HAS SAVED MY LIFE! This morning I woke up to find that I hadn't left my hearing aid on the bedside table last night which I have never done before in my life. Been missing out on sleep recently so a little more scatter-brained than usual. The first thing I thought of was this post so after checking the bed I went straight to the bin. Low and behold, I'd thrown away my £1,500 hearing aid by accident when on autopilot! You have literally saved me from financial destitution and most likely a trip back to my home country to get a new one fitted. Just had to let you know.",1 "Guys, If you have adhd, you have the trifecta. Those co-morbidities are a match made in hell just for us. If you have adhd, and don’t have the trifecta, surprise, you have the trifecta ;) jk, but you probably do anyway. Effexor keeps the panic attacks at bay for me and my depression is under control these days. Just splashed here and there for taste. As for the Adhd, I haven’t treated it yet. I get nervous with new medications.",1 Can't stop thinking about dying and living as different things. Its consuming my life. I look at the dog across from me and think about feeling what it feels. I wonder when ill be dead. I wonder when it will be dead.,0 "Thank you for sharing. Maybe it's the hypersensitivity but my eyes appear to be wet. So sorry for your loss. I know time will not bring them back, but I hope it is kind to you with happy memories of them. I'm 34 and only just beginning to understand that I have ADHD and it's exhausting. I've been unknowingly masking so long and so hard to fit in that trying to unmask is tiring and anxiety inducing. I'm so lucky to have this community (here and on twitter) as well as my amazingly supportive wife to put up with me and help my understand my own brain. Thank you for your amazing way with words and clearly a kind soul.",1 "Wow. This is insightful. I don’t have OCD but when I was a teenager I went through this awful couple of months where I thought I was “crazy” that I was a creep, that i liked babies too much (we had a cute baby next door at the time) and that I was weird and should just not see children anymore. Idk. It was awful. It only lasted a little time but it makes me sort of understand where my brain went reading this now! I was 15 then and it was a tough year. I self obsessed and worked really over the top to get my mums approval to no avail. Then these thoughts crept in. So glad they went away! Hugs to all of you having to deal with these things on a daily basis.",0 "you have visited this page many times your last visit was on [earlier today]",0 "ohhhhhhhhh my God .....yeah, thank goodness for my patient friends and family. I couldn't tell you how many times I've woken up my parents at 3am because I couldn't go back to sleep without hearing someone say ""no, you don't have \[insert terminal illness\]""",0 I had a therapist tell me I should “let go” of the OCD label. Wtf,0 "I’m currently in the cycle right now. Something that I’ve never been able to make neurotypical people in my life understand is that there’s no clear rhyme or reason sometimes as to what you hyperfixate on and what you procrastinate on. Currently I’m in a very weird pattern where I keep putting off updating my self made spreadsheets the Pokémon gacha phone game I’ve been playing for 1.5 years, and playing the limited time events. I enjoy doing those things, but I just put it off for some reason and then it started the cycle of it being built up in my head. For the last three days straight I’ve been adding it to my calendar, at specific times to try to convince me to do it, and I keep doing work for my job instead. I repeat, I AM PROCRASTINATING DOING THE FUN THING WITH WORK. I have no idea how to stop, and it’s really stressing me out. Edit: to be more clear, I keep procrastinating doing the fun thing with not fun thing during the peak hours of my Mydayis, and then falling into the exact pattern OP said",1 "I am so sorry, Tourettes and OCD sound like the horrible combination :(",0 "I graduated from an Ivy League, I know I CAN be smart. Last week I was being extra scatterbrained and tried to pick up a hot pan of cookies with my bare hands. It didn’t hurt too much but I just went to bed and cried cause it was the final straw in a very stressful week. Why is my brain like this? Just such a stupid thing to do",1 I suffer from false memories and oh boy... They make me feel the worse person in the world.,0 "Yes, I exactly have that. I used to behave spotlessly while sober but my alcohol use made me forget caution and reconnect with people on social media and start improper conversations with them. I also did bad things while drunk IRL (none criminal). I am not saying any specifics because of my fear. I wanted to say more but I am afraid to post even this much.",0 "Mine suggested medication holidays and I just can’t handle it. For me adderall (generic here too) isn’t a study medication or a work medication it’s a me living my life without feeling like crap and treating others horribly because I’m always irritated medication. I suffered badly with anxiety and depression symptoms (and got misdiagnosed with both bipolar and BPD at different points) prior to medication and turning back, even for a few days, feels horrible.",1 "This is what I'm doing now. Supposed to be working: browing reddit instead, playing with my hair instead, spinning around in my chair instead. Sigh",1 "The worst part is that the media lies about what ocd is, due to that you dont find out what you have as a kid or young teen, your brain gets used to ocd structure thinking, rendering it chronic. If you were a kid, you probably could treat it well to the point you would be so much better today. Or just understand you have this thing and are to be loved still, just another illness. Instead? We find out about it late, when symptoms are very very rampant, advanced and distressing, making it a long term illness from which we we suffer immensly. It is a neurdivergent issue but our behaviour shapes our thinking too, same with thinking patterns, they determine what we end up behaving. So longer you go and grow up learning this is what thinking or behaving is like you get fucked for the future more. So if you screw it up for the kid to get why he has these thoughts or compulsions, you sentence him to decades of distress and sorrow, depression, 37-50 percent shot hell experience suicidal thoughts and 15-25 percent shot he'll get at killing himself. ""But hahaha right? Its just being neat isnt it??! Look at how funny this OCD cleaning man is!! Im so ocd too!!!""",0 You know using a planner genuinely helped me… for the month I used it before I forgot about it one day and never touched it again,1 lmao me obsessing over shit I've done in a hypothetical past life,0 "My high school closed down (I live in washington) and everythings online schooling now. I cant even focus on the number of assignments I'm getting and everything is through email so I'm getting like 50 emails a day. I really wish that covid didnt exist",1 "This thread makes me feel well, not better, but less worse. I’ve noticed this happening a lot; I often ruminate on embarrassing or socially awkward things I did in the past, even stuff I did years ago as a kid. I’ve noticed when these thoughts pop up, I’ll say my own name out loud, or the word “beautiful.” No idea why. I was sitting in traffic today, going down a rabbit hole in my brain, feeling so guilty over a stupid social blunder I made once, and I had to shake myself out of it by realizing that this thing happened when I was eleven; I’m an adult now, and it’s okay that I made that mistake then. I was a kid. I wouldn’t make the same mistake now. I can grow and change. I have, and I will. I’ve had OCD for as long as I can remember, before I even realized what it was. As a teenager it was really bad, and mellowed as I got older, but I’ve noticed it “flaring up” recently, in different ways than before. This sub has helped me to recognize these patterns. I think one of my resolutions for 2022 will be to seek out a more formal diagnosis.",0 "This was one of the symptoms that made me real ize my OCD was a real thing. After a session of driving back almost an hour to recheck. I read that was an OCD symptom and felt like crying because I finally felt less alone.",0 "As the non ADD family member this is my job. I sit with SO while he does work. I sit with kids while they do homework. I feel useless doing it because I’m not actually doing anything but, it means the world to them. It’s the difference between getting a job done and not. ",1 Wasn’t it irritating or compulsive? Cause I couldn’t go without doing my compulsions,0 "Anyone see 'Pure' on BBC last year? 6 part mini series all about a woman's real Pure O experiences. It was a decent series, bit especially important for how honestly it showed the struggle. Not amazing, but quite special.",0 "This used to be me for YEARS, but I think I finally found a way to manage it by trying to establish a routine. I block off time for certain things I need to do, and those are based on goals I've set, which are broken down into small tasks that are easier to keep track progress of than some big thing. But they all add up to the big thing in the end. (Basically what the book Eat That Frog says to do) I've also had luck with putting little calendar reminders to do situps and pushups, burpees, chin ups, etc. Throughout the day so I'm not sitting on my ass for 18 hours and not moving. That also seems to help keep track of time during the day since those keep popping up and I need to stop what I'm doing and get up, then I can't really zone out and take too long with something or procrastinate all day. Actually since reading your post I'm wondering if the exercise is filling in the stimulation needed to stay focused. I've always had a hard time balancing a full hour long workout daily with other stuff to do, but doing a small set of something for a few minutes throughout the day seems to keep me alert and happier all day long when I can keep up with it I will say it's not perfect, but the key seems to be if you fall out of the routine, just try to get back to it. For example, I have a really hard time waking up early lately so I keep missing my morning stuff, but instead of trying to shift everything up, I find it's better to just consider that time lost and try to keep doing everything as planned after that.",1 "Is there an easy way to remove them? I have tons that I don’t care about but don’t want to remove one by one",1 "Is this real 😳 I've been through hell and back for years because of OCD. Don't see how it is a blessing. No thank you.",0 "yea! this reminds me of how I hate to eat if I know I need to do something afterward, like chores/errands. Only thing worse than that is someone reminding me that I have something to do after I already got food and then I cant even eat it.",1 I feel this...I'm currently at the end of my 3 hr window which decided to happen from 2-5am 🥴,1 "This is just my personal guess but maybe our community has not been pressured that much into proving that our diagnosis is not the end of the world for us. ADHD struggles are more commonly underestimated (again, my experience. I feel like people see it as the ""can't sit still"" disorder and overlook everything else) whereas autistic people have this (inaccurate of course!) public image of being barely functional. So we might try to prove that ADHD is much harder than people believe and therefore allow ourselves more negative emotions. And autistic people might try to show how much variety and levels of autism there are and therefore allow themselves less negative emotions to break free from stereotypes. This can be totally wrong but that's my guess.",1 I always said if ocd was a person I'd be in prison for homicide!,0 "The best way to confront the OCD is doing exactly the opposite that it wants you to do, do it, and enjoy it, at one moment you’ll just forget about the intrusive thought",0 "I feel like when I have a good idea for a project, if I tell anyone about it, I lose interest. It's as if the act of describing the project and working out the details in the conversation is about 80% of the fun. So I learned that when there's a project I really want to do someday, I don't tell anyone.",1 Have you tried telling your mom about it? It happens to me at work and with my kid. I tell them when I’m overwhelmed and need a minute to get grounded without the chatter.,1 "This site that you linked is my favourite OCD-related site out there. I never knew I had OCD, because my symptoms didn't seem like someting that is typical of this disorder. And then I read this article: https://adaa.org/understanding-anxiety/obsessive-compulsive-disorder-ocd/touching-movement-rituals I tick almost every single box perfectly. I feel like this really opened my eyes to the fact that OCD is so much more than what most sites list. OCD can be any behaviour that you repeat to extremes, it can be any thought that is persistently blackmailing you to submission, it can be any 'natural biological need' that you may wish to control (breathing, blinking, walking).",0 "I have eleven thousand half finished ""to do"" lists for every. single. day.",1 "God I've been trying to describe this for ages but I couldn't find the right words. ""Paralysis of Will"" is the perfect way to put it. I can't even say ""No matter how hard I try..."" because that's the whole issue. It's like my brain is walling me off from even being able to try, so I just get stuck in a sorta limbo of feeling physically and mentally incapable of even starting.",1 "I wish I had found this subreddit long time ago. I feel like I have let my ADD partner down all these years, Its just sometimes it can be pretty frustrating when things aren't moving in a relationship. I got so impatient recently and made a timeline (with pics :D) and sent him with dates, filing tax, getting license. And yes I'm an Accountant. When he filed tax i sent it back with a check mark. haha I thought this would motivate him. I dont know sometimes I wish I can stop hurting him. Struggle is real for Non-ADHD too....",1 "The worst feeling is that no one in my life truly can comprehend how I feel, and when I explain what I’m feeling it feels pointless to do so. I try to not have that mindset, but people that don’t have mental illness can never fully understand how it affects me. If I lay it all out to people suddenly I’m a “downer,” “over dramatic,” or I’m just treated like a freak. I don’t know a single other person close in my life that has OCD. I wish there was a way to connect to people that have OCD in real life.",0 "😅 100% my predicament right now.....although it's 5am. I just can't shut my brain off 🤦‍♀️ I hope you were able to get some rest!",1 Can we use “my body temp is 96 but I feel hot” next time we need some self love and body confidence 👏👏👏 but I legit understand thissss,0 I can't express the full intensity of my emotions in this comment.,1 I was having a great brain day and then a bunch of wildfires popped up nearby 💔,1 "Oh wow I just thought it was my own weird anxiety issues, I hadn't connected it to my ADHD ... I am literally at a point in my life where if i wake up at 8 am and realize i have a 3pm thing, the phrase ""my life is a nightmare"" pops into my head ... it's so bananas!!",1 "So cute!!! I also struggle with contamination OCD, and I now have a dog! It’s definitely a challenge, but exposures are easier when they’re so dang cute",0 "The one tip I found that really helped me was O.H.I.O. ""ONLY HANDLE IT ONCE"" From an ADHD book, I forget the title. It's so fucking helpful because the it creates a boundary and also the idea of passing something along for later becomes way less appealing.",1 "My mind is an etch-a-sketch and my art is my intrusive thoughts. I dislike my art very much, so it must be erased",0 "This is incredibly important info! This is sticky/FAQ worthy material. Side note- to me, the ""Lloyd Christmas"" technique seems like it could easily lapse someone with OCD into more rumination, problem solving, and false memories, so I'd be cautious with it, especially if you're earlier on in the recovery process.",0 "Buster is the cutest baby I have seen and I love him, please give him a big cuddle for me and say thank you got distracting me as well xx",0 What work is not torture for ADHD types. I desperately need to know. I have a fucking masters and 5 years experience as a writer and work is torture for me.,1 "I wish I can pay more attention to people but being on medication for me is worse. I listen and I'm attentive but I feel different, zombie like and it feels uncomfortable because I know I'm different and I am worried that others might feel the same too.",1 CDO? I have heard this before. Is this a used joke...?,0 "Oh my yes. Yet the inner dialog often deserts me when I'm bored in traffic or waiting for an appointment.",1 "The worst thing about growing up and living with my mom again now is that she seems to always wait until I am on my way out the door to go to work to do something, so I’ll tell her I don’t have time and will do it after work and set a reminder for later. Always, without damn fail, she will have done it instead of waiting for me to get home and do it. And always, without fail, she will make sure I know exactly how mad she is about being the one to do it for however long it takes her to decide she’s done being mad. Like.... why, I have preemptive guilt basically the second she asks me to do something when I can’t because I know what’s coming lol",1 "I, personally, feel like I have no right to get upset at things like this because I know I have my own misconceptions about other mental health issues, like ADHD and bipolar disorder. I can catch myself saying similar things that are a complete misrepresentation of those disorders. We all have our blind spots - it's just much easier to catch the blind spots in others when you're the one not being seen.",0 Thanks I had been about to order breakfast for an hour,1 "I feel ya bro, I've been hanging on Reddit instead of taking a shower for too long now.",1 "Wait, seriously??? I do exactly that!! I have to do everything in multiples of three, three times!!!!! I thought I was the only one!",0 "Actually I feel the opposite. I can't focus in class. If I study by myself, I can follow my own pace. I can focus a couple of mins here, couple mins there. I am taking Physics and Chemistry this quarter. I haven't found any lectures that are useful so far. If I go to class, I will just sit there not following anything. By the time I got home, I am exhausted which I need extra time to recover. As a result, I spent a couple of hours learning nothing. Over the course of 2-3 years, I mostly learn the material via Youtube by myself. This is just me though.",1 "In 5th grade I posted something mean about a classmate of mine on Facebook. I have since removed it and apologized profusely, as an adult, because of it. I still think about it and worry about it a lot.",0 Yep... Or being alone at all. I stopped cleaning my house for a while because it didn't keep my mind distracted enough to not think of upsetting things.,0 Congratulation! Keep the momentum of progress! A high-5 with you.,0 "Yeah, this is my silent fear if my company makes us all work from home. Nothing will get done... But I have to teach myself a programming language, so I might just try to engage hyperfocus on that... I have found that being medicated helps me immensely, and I'l have an excuse to just disappear into my music and study. If it happens. **EDIT** WTF, just a couple hours after I posted this, the COO declared that the entire company will be telecommuting for *at least* 2 weeks starting Monday. FML. >_<",1 "Finding out that those thoughts were OCD and I wasn’t just a pervert was such a relief. I’m sorry that other people suffer from it, but happy I’m not alone.",0 "There is a way for us to accept our failings without surrendering to them. This bullshit I see all the time with people saying they ""just can't - I've tried everything""... OPs dad's advice is correct and the only real issue here is how OP took it. Is the dad wrong that we need to get out of our own heads? Absolutely not. That's where our major blocks come from. Now, is it an easy, flip-the-switch thing to do? Not at all. I get that 100%. I've struggled with this stuff for 39 years so trust me, I've been in every deep, dark crack that my brain has. So yeah. Stop thinking so much. Take small steps, make small victories. It CAN be done.",1 "For what it’s worth: I think you look amazing and the outfit looks wonderful on you! Lovely dress, even better paired with the jacket",0 "I haven't started therapy but I think about calling somewhere every single day. I know I need to. In your comments you mentioned you just started 2 weeks ago. How did you find that therapist and how did you know they (hopefully) have experience in this? Is it as simple as asking and they tell you the truth? And what was your initial intake like? Did you have to fill out any questionnaires or simply they just asked what your compulsions were? Sorry for all the questions! Your post and comments just really hit a nerve for me.",0 "I deliver pizzas, most days my work starts at 4 or 5... Imagine how much I get done during a 5 day work week.",1 Fortunately my parents are completely aware of what I have so I can just tell them to wait and I’ll be done,0 "If I had a dollar for every time my ex-wife told me to ""stop living in your own head"" I would have had a much more expensive divorce.",1 "shout out to my younger self ghosting everyone constantly to the point of losing many friends and not talking to my family. trying my best to fight everything now. trying to hold on and see my self worth and maintain communication. it's hard though, but it's nice too.",1 Checking in at 12:33am... thanks for the reminder to get off the couch and get in bed! I’m still rewarding myself for completing the two tasks I set for myself today by ignoring the tv while scrolling reddit. 😂,1 "I can't say I do that on Reddit, but on Pinterest I save a loooot of ADHD posts so I can remember what it is I have issues with. Because one of those issues is my memory XD",1 "What dissociation means ? , what's its relation with OCD ? I'm not a native speaker btw",0 "Too smart to be stupid. Too ""lazy"" to be effective. Too efficient to be bad at the job. Too disorganized to be taken seriously. Too emotional for superficial relationships. ad nauseum ETA:. Hey y'all, I'm really touched that this has touched you too. Thank you. As the saying goes, ""What you resist, persists."" My life became clearer when I recognized myself in all your ADHD narratives. As I embrace ADHD as an aspect of my being, things seem easier. Keep on keeping on, and gently.",1 "Oof I’ve been thinking about this recently!! My mom, who HATED my rituals regarding germs is now freaking out and trying to tell ME how to stay clean. Like... she used to get mad at me for insisting to carry a bottle of Lysol wipes and germ-x with me wherever I go. My inability to open doors, sit on chairs in public, touch shopping cart handles, excessive hand washing etc Nonetheless, they we’re still compulsions that we’re getting in the way of my daily life but I think it’s kinda funny how the tables have turned.",0 "Can completely empathize. School was pretty much a breeze, I think because of the nature of the stakes and expectations. I was so comfortable with it, I decided to get a master’s degree. After that, I was offered a job doing exactly what I wanted to do, but it ended up not working out. Without school, I found I couldn’t even focus enough to fill out a job application, or even look for jobs. Any work I got was brought to me and was always short term (which actually worked great for my brain, but is not exactly lucrative). Eventually it became so embarrassing, I decided to go back again for a doctorate so I could have some structure to my life. Now I’m coming up on the end of that and dreading what my mind will do when I’m outside of an explicitly educational environment.",1 "Yeah, that makes sense.. There were times I felt like I was about to start some bracket-ception with brackets within brackets lol.. and I do use commas a lot and ellipses... Wow, I never thought of it that way.",1 "This KILLS me at work. I will sail through the high pressure parts of a project, and when it's basically DONE and all I have to do is 10 min of final documentation so I can get paid... I don't do it. For weeks. I swear ADHD is, like, an adrenelaine defeciency. I need a certain level of stress/pressure to get whatever hormones we need to take action up to a functional level. It's precisely when a task is easy/low pressure that I *cannot* find the ""on"" switch. Like turning over the key in a car where the battery is almost dead - it grinds & grinds & then goes silent but never catches. Nothing you can do will make it turn on until the power source is replenished. That's why stimulants help. It's like a repacement battery, cause mine just won't hold a charge. Edit: cut some words, tried to be a little more brief...",1 "Honestly, it never even crosses my mind to save a post. If I want to come back to it I just leave it open in a tab until I forget and close the tab.",1 "I feel you and I really struggle with regulating my emotions around it. I also suffer from ADHD, and that is used the same light hearted way ALL the time. “Oooo omg i spaced out, im so add lol😇”",0 "Its like that everywhere right now because of covid .. Was lucky to start therapy in last june while i was at the lowest ive been in like 6 years Hope everyone will have a chance to see a therapist/psychologist soon",0 "Baby dolls are the worst. I have like 40 and I can't get rid of them, and I feel terrible they're all in a bin in my room, neglected. Toy Story DID NOT HELP. On a lighter note, you know how people sometimes reflexively apologize when they bump into stuff? Once I was singing to myself and bumped into my mom's car. I didn't do anything reflexively, because I was midsong, but I thought to myself and made a conscious decision to stop singing and say sorry to the car. I also say sorry to things I drop. I usually get a laugh for ""sorry, book!"" From people around me, I mean. The book does not laugh. *At least not outloud.*",0 I’ve actually had the fear of when you’re supposed to speak or answer a question from the teacher that I’m gonna accidentally say that word in front of everybody.,0 "I think this is a good thing for our treatment of OCD. When my OCD was at its worst I was taught to accept new obsessions as challenges and treat them all the same way (accept, no big deal, etc). I still do that in fact.",0 Nice work! Keep it going! It’s going to help your overall health:),1 "I mean ya you lvl off, but man, the next couple months you are going to realize so many things about yourself, for me it was just epiphany after epiphany every day for a solid 3 or 4 months",1 "god i didn’t know this was an actual researched thing this gives me so much validation agghg. the many days that i just sit on my bed scrolling thru reddit or instagram with heaps of things to do and i cannot physcially get myself to do any of it for hours",1 "Can't speak for your friend but sometimes that is the right choice. It may not feel like it and comes at a heavy cost but in the end you go out on your own terms. Not rotting alone in some deralict care facility. Treated like an inconvenient mess that someone else has to clean. Spending your waking life reliving all of your failures that lead you to where you are. Forgetten and thrown away to make room for other people that don't require the constant heavy lifting needed just to associate with you. It's not everyones fate, hell not even close for many, but when you can skip ahead to the end of the book and realize the whole story doesn't go anywhere, why bother reading it. Society operations on it's own rules. Unless we can find a way to force ourselves to blend in, though medication typically, we will never be understood or accepted. For some people that's too much to handle. Nothing wrong with that. In the end, only you know what is right.",1 "Yeah at first I was crazy. Only issue I had was compulsively touching my face. Wearing my shittiest mascara and lipstick changed that and now? Which of us is gonna get sick? The one who eats healthy and exercises because they’re scared of alzheimers, the one who washed their hands and sanitizes everything, who hates to be touched? Or the ones who called me crazy? 🤔",0 "What would this do, can someone explain? Havent seen the movie",0 "Especially if its a family member. While I'M MASTURBATING",0 Shiiit I have vivid memories of being scared of this as a kid damn,0 "I can hear my dad in the distance, ""It's just one of those things, it's gotta be done Franny!!"" (My names Francesca)",1 Thank you for this. I’m 24 and only got diagnosed last month after failing my classes in med school and being blamed and called lazy and irresponsible left and right. I considered leaving so many times I can’t count thank you so much for this and I’m sorry for your loss.,1 "Started some weeks with the same function of google drive. I edit the transcripts to put the informations in the order I prefer and using my own speech style. Then I record myself reading them and listen to thew while I' m walking or doing something else, it helpes me a lot.",1 "I am so amused by the amount of long winded or rather longer than normal responses to these adhd posts that are clearly written by adhd people. The talkers tribe.",1 "I would make my own schedule that adheres to my regular class times. During those times, I would make myself leave my room - even if it's just to go to a common room or study area. If you're in an area where you can go work in a coffee shop (safely) or a library (safely), I would make that my routine. When I was in college, I took (voluntarily) several online courses as electives. To make myself work, I'd set an alarm, and actually get up and get dressed *as if* I actually had a class to go to. If my dorm room or apartment got too distracting, I'd go to the library and do my classwork there. If you stick to your normal class schedule as much as possible and create your own structure, it might help you navigate this challenge a little better. I know how much it sucks, and having it just suddenly thrown at you makes it harder to adjust. If you have friends in those classes, see if they still want to meet up during class time, even if it's only via skype or a google doc or gchat that you guys can use to discuss material and vent. I know we're supposed to be minimizing social interaction, so virtual meetings might be a great way to help provide some structure, too! You could even see if your professor or TA would be down to do office hours or some review during your class time, too. There's lots of virtual meeting apps out there like Zoom. Good luck! You can do it!",1 "You are super correct, and it's the reason why exposure therapy is only a temporary band aid and doesn't help in the long run",0 Omg yes. I actually was just introduced to the term this week by my therapist,0 "Thats great, i hope you stick to it for a long time so it becomes a normal thing to do. I always had this problem in middle/high school, i always wondered why i just stopped brushing my teeth for days, even weeks sometimes. Its the same with showering as well. I understand why i did that now of course. I also have OCD so i have to brush and shower in a certain pattern otherwise i get anxiety and lose focus. Like brushing from left to right or right to left and i subconsciously count how many times i move the brush from point A to B as well. Its quite frustrating doing this on a daily basis of course. But for the past 4-5 years i have been brushing consistently and i kinda just force myself and remind myself that it only takes 2-3 minutes and that its not that big of a deal (although it usually ends up taking 5 or more minutes tbh).",1 I can't help but feel you've done something to this picture,0 i try so hard to be nice but these people deserve to be told to shut the fuck up,0 "> “They feel in control when they see the schedule they’ve devised, and they equate the time spent drawing it up with time spent carrying it out.” Is there any solution for that? Cause without planning I'd be totally lost",1 Gotta love these mornings when you wake up with an ambiguous feeling of something being wrong but you don't know why so you try to figure it out then get even more stressed,0 "Ha it's def not just you. Somehow, from the time I step into the kitchen (last place I go in my house before I go out to the car to leave for work), time dilates such that the 25 seconds it takes to slip on my shoes, take my keys from the hook and walk out the door, 7-9 minutes pass in the real world. I literally cannot figure out what I'm doing for an average of 8 minutes EVERY TIME. 6:58a I'm in the kitchen with shoes in hand to leave at 7a. Car ignition fires at 7:07. That 7 minutes costs me 15 extra of traffic. It's a conspiracy.",1 "Don't know if this will provide any value to you, but when I have large tasks that feel unbearable to complete, I start by listening to a podcast that is in line with my compulsion. I have super bad health anxiety and I listen to all the podcasts about new ideas to assist anxiety disorders. Gives me hope to get started on things!",0 Lowkeyed dropped a tear or two. Feels like our life won’t ever be in the middle ground. Normies life is like a wheel but for us it’s an advanced high-tech elevator with only two floors.,1 "Same here. But I have to live for my baby girl. But this is making me guilty. Am dysfunctional, currently without work and am not sure how am gonna give a good life to my baby.",1 "One of my fears is snapping at my mom when she does this, because she talks a lot but I love her and don't want to upset her.",1 "You ok OP? Not calling for help through a meme?? If you are, we’re here. And if not, this is really hilarious....and sadly too accurate haha.",0 "You are amazing And I am so so sorry for your loss, I’m sure he was a great friend All of those things explain everything perfectly and in the best way And thank you, I really needed this tbh, at this point i was 90% sure that I’ll fail school, i only had 10% of hope, but now I’m only 80% sure, it isn’t that much, but it’s progress. I have 20% more hope cause of this I’m not good at expressing myself so ig I’ll just say this is amazing and you’re amazing for saying that, so thank you",1 "Because of an offhand comment about annoying blogs on tumblr I saw years ago this is me on all social media. I'm just horrified of being the annoying person on each social media website and probably spend at least 10 minutes per post typing up comments to write, but then thinking they're wrong because I'm wrong and no one would want to hear from me because I'm this annoying online presence who is somehow seen across all social media and I have to make sure I'm not bothering anyone or starting fights.",0 "Im so proud of you for seeking out help!! I’m a professional nanny with ADHD. It’s hard sometimes but it’s more motivating when people are around and you know you have an infant who relies on you. Make sure you pay her well and tell her how much you appreciate her. Being a nanny is hard as fuck, physically, emotionally, and mentally. Being a caretaker in your personal life AND work life is just difficult and draining. So please just make sure she knows how much you appreciate her 😊",1 "I also have sensory issues, as well as PTSD issues surrounding teeth brushing (long story but I'll answer if anyone is curious). I've found milder or non-traditional flavors of toothpaste are best, luckily sensodyne makes ""mint essence"" which works for me. I still forget a lot. My brain pretty much doesn't say ""hey brush your teeth"" unless I'm getting dressed to leave the house. That doesn't work well with quarantine. I'm proud of you and hope to get there myself soon!!",1 "Oh, yeah. I need to work on my Steam backlog. Oh, wait there's a sale... Ooh, that game looks cool... Lemme watch a couple of videos about it before I decide to buy. Dammit, what was I doing? Oh, yeah.. scrolling reddit.",1 "I’ve noticed too that when I succumb to this type of fatigue and go to sleep as a form of anxiety/procrastination..... it’s always the sleep coma time. Sleeping for an inordinate amount of time and waking up feeling groggy, brain foggy, awful, too exhausted to move. Scroll through phone. Fall asleep again. Sleep all day. Rinse and repeat. There are also times when I will go through periods of fatigue where I sleep constantly or are exhausted physically and mentally for days or weeks at a time. I often described these periods as “feeling as though I’ve been drugged”. I used to put it down to having hypermobility, which can cause fatigue and can even be linked to CFS. Maybe it is a factor but I’m glad to know now ADHD is likely a huge contributor too.",1 Yes i do this eveey working day and the doubt never goes away.,0 "I get so upset when I’m in a Walmart. Crying babies, people screaming and fighting, the loud music, how many people are in there, etc. and when I tell anyone I have to leave they give me the weirdest looks or tell me to just calm down. Ugh.",1 Mine is sitting on the toilet not being able to stop wiping until long after I start bleeding... whiiich is the reality I am living in,0 "Oh man, this story is bringing me happy tears. Had a similar experience last night from the opposite perspective. Had My gf come over and ""body double"" for me while I rearranged my apartment. She was painting at my kitchen table which had been moved and I was placing things from a small table in my spare room on it, that would need to go the shelves being blocked by the kitchen table. She asked me if I wanted to move the kitchen table to put the things away, and I said once I move the small table but that's like 4 other small jobs that need to be completed first although I'm not sure what they are yet, she can keep painting until then. She just gave a small laugh and continued.",1 "Lazy, yes. Stupid only when I stay lazy despite repeated consequences which then triggers crippling depression.",1 Ok but I’m confused - you’ve been at work the whole time so how do you know her day this extensively? Lol,1 "OCD: ""wow, you looked at and smiled at a child? your totally a fucking pedophile and you should report yourself to the FBI!""",0 "I haven’t had this experience with meds yet :( I’m happy for you, though!",1 As someone with a 2p appointment and then a 3:20 appointment....YUP.,1 "I barely need to put up with intrusive thoughts anymore, they’re not much of a deal anymore. I used to get extremely angry when they would come, but now they’re not that bad anymore.",0 Yea but how can I say no when the risks are super high😩,0 "It bothers me so much that people don’t realize we suffer, we don’t enjoy Ocd and sometimes it is a nightmare. I have been on medications and therapy for ten years now, and sometimes I still have terrible obsessions (or compulsions). Also, what many people don’t get is that Ocd is in your head 24/7, there’s no off switch",0 "Pretty much all ""reinforcement"" failed on me when I was a kid. Rewards didnt and neither did punishments (unless the punishment was enough to legitimately make me fear getting in trouble).",1 tag yourself im disturbing involuntary imagery (in my own head of course),0 "I’m too busy thinking about what people are thinking to hear what they say. Oh...fuck.",1 "I was recently diagnosed with OCD but cannot afford treatment or further help. Do you have any advice for someone who's handling the mental warfare without access to professional help? Edit: a word (to)",0 I had a hard time writing about it because I have it and it hinders my ability to write sometimes,1 "I just wish it left me. I was diagnosed with Sexual Obsessions last year and though it has healed considerably to the point I can be close how it was for me before, it still does come from time to time and disturb me. I don't let it effect me though.",0 "Spent 30 min, maybe an hour, on a useless chart today, only to to realize the whole day was gone. FML.. I don't have time for this quantum time paradox! I am suppose to do my assignments! So, yeah, I feel you.. 😔",1 "I had regular headaches my whole life. Always attributed them to just 'stress'. They were annoying but rarely bad enough to complain much about. Had a total meltdown in my 30s and was diagnosed with ocd. It's so obvious in hindsight. One of the side effects of therapy, having control and being medicated... the headaches I'd grown so used to, they disappeared. I'm convinced they are related.",0 "Wait, wait, wait. This whole time you’ve been able to SAVE posts?? /not at all sarcasm.",1 "I found a ball in the park when I was roughly 11-12 and thought I'd just kick it away so I didn't get attached before me and my mum left but after I kicked it she said I should bring it home. I left it in the garden and that night it was very windy and I was terrified that it would be blown out of the garden so I locked it in the shed. I've also cried at snowmen melting waaaayyy older than is normal, I'm otherwise a pretty emotionally stable and rational guy. ",0 I feel this on so many levels. Recently I have been trying to focus on making a plan with set points to achieve. It’s helped in ways but still searching for the best way around this problem.,1 "I'm with you. As an adult I need to know what to do with this AS AN ADULT, not as a kid. I am sleepy ADD and back in the 60s and 70s nobody was looking for quiet, non-hell-raising kids to be ADD. Or to have NVLD. I just drifted and got lost in the years and wasn't diagnosed until 37. So much time lost drifting and over-compensating with huge surges of frustration and then feeling like I was missing some memo or something about life and then just daydreaming away the years again. When you get old, you can't keep doing that. You can't keep faking it. You suddenly come up against your limitations so hard at 50, at 60, it takes your breath away. Adults need attention for this so we can stop blowing up our lives and jobs and marriages etc. I have a helluva time just finding and affording my ADD meds and it never gets easier. I have to run to all different pharmacies to find stuff in stock and without GoodRx I couldn't afford it at all. I would just go back to drifting. Like a non-life. Even with generic Ritalin SR twice daily I spend far too much time and energy just managing my brain wiring in the most minimal way (can't afford better sustained release meds). And my boyfriend still says ""you're always making excuses""...dear god if I didn't have ways if explaining my constant small failures of attention to things I have done a million times I would just go completely mad. THIS STUFF DOESN'T GO AWAY. You don't outgrow it",1 I almost shared a tear when I read this. It sums up every interpersonal relationship.,1 "For once I actually don't need this reminder! I did the hard things already, and now I'm coming to reddit to relax/detox. But I appreciate you and I appreciate this post anyway <3",1 "Constant exhaustion was the one that surprised me. I was under the impression that ADHD sufferers had limitless amounts of energy and were always bouncing off the ceiling. Would have been nice to know, perhaps I could have seen a doctor before my 40's.",1 "I relate so hard. I’m 47 years old and got diagnosed yesterday. Yesterday. I spent my whole life this way, never realizing it was an issue that meds could address, never realizing it wasn’t “just me,” pushing boulders up mountains all day every day just to get things STARTED. I spent YEARS (prior to bill pay going online/automated) paying late fees on credit cards and agonizing for days/weeks/months over having to call to pay late bills, a task that would take 3 minutes but sent me into paralysis. I almost lost my home over it and had to sell it and move. I finally got my financial shit in order but still impulsively spend. Every project at work. I just sit and stare at my screen, unable to start until I know I’m right about to hit a deadline. Without deadlines I’d be screwed. I took 10 weeks off work this year because I was overwhelmed (still undiagnosed at that point). I swore I’d get all the things done around my house I’d been putting off. I made a tiny amount of progress. Mostly just did a lot of nothing for 10 weeks. I’m looking forward to meeting this new version of myself. Starting Adderall today, wish me luck.",1 I have to go to sleep and I’ve been putting it off for hours now.... thanks for the sign!!!,1 Just a normal cold and flu season week for me. What’s strange is the number of other participants all of a sudden!,0 "ya i wish i could say ""hey nothing you say will be heard by me right now. pls come back later"" its like im a dog and someone behind you just threw me a ball and i just want to go get it but they havent said go get it yet. OR im a dog and you've put a dog biscuit on my nose and im really trying to be good but the biscuit is SO CLOSE. god new low to compare myself to a dog....why cant i be more like a cat? ok one tip i have for this though, is while they are going on and on, i quickly try to just pick up on how they feel and what the general tone is. this is easier than knowing WHAT they are talking about.",1 They hit me like slaps to the face. I shake and jerk my head and often blurt out things to try to push them away.,0 "As someone with depression who only found out recently that it's due to decades undiagnosed ADHD, I feel you.",1 " I say being on both of these lists one person can be too much and not enough.... I agree we are enough and so much more. Just different in a good way.",1 "How selfish is your mom? Doctors have spent decades researching ADHD and your mom had the answer the whole time. ""Just focus!""",1 Yes and that’s why my room is a hot mess despite being disgnosed with OCD so I guess I was lied to ?,0 I actually came here to complete a task that I have been procrastinating for 3 days. I need to find an old post where I described something and I want to grab it so I don't have to describe it again to my ADHD coach.,1 "Try your best isn't the same as give your maximum. If you, with all of your issues, are able to try something and put some effort \~more than you need\~ I'd say you're giving your best at the moment, doesn't matter if it's your utopic best or what people expect to, but your sanity best!",1 Totally relate. :/ I get hyper-fixated on researching things that interest me and lose track of what I needed to do for that day. Or I get into the TV and spend hours on it.,1 "Yes, also the fear of doing something bad by accident!",0 y’all still try to. find things once you lose them? .....,1 "The world has multiple time zones. If it's 2am where you are, there's millions, if not billions at 2pm.",1 This is bang on the money. Sometimes I suddenly realise what I'm arguing with myself about and realise how completely illogical it is.,0 "When I was a kid (like 4-11yo), I used to repress bowel movements because of the time it would take (literally 2 minutes). I ended up fucking up my regularity and bowel movement trigger/alert nerves for like 16 years after I stopped doing it. Silver lining: I can plunge any toilet that is plunge-able. 🤦",1 "YES. especially as a college student with ADHD. because **I** am in charge of getting my homework done, but as I search for tools to help me with reading and assignments it is always framed in the view of ""Does your child struggle with their reading? Make sure you talk to your child's teachers about their learning difficulties. Try this great app, it is has pictures included that are great for learning vocabulary!"" ... Like hi, I am an adult and **I** struggle with reading, **I** am in charge of speaking to my professors, and thanks for the pictures but I really don't think ya'll have something to represent the vocabulary in the peer reviewed journal article I have to read for class ... And on top of that, I actually refrain from telling my professors or managers because the second a college student mentions ADHD, they picture some lazy, immature, stimulant abusing pill head, so I would rather just struggle in silence. I feel like depression and anxiety are becoming more recognized in the working world, but for ADHD, there will always be an overwhelming assumption that adults voicing their struggles with it are making it up. I would rather tell my manager or professor about overwhelming anxiety before ever mentioning the word ADHD. Mentioning anxiety gets validation or empathy, mentioning ADHD gets me a side eye... even though most of my anxiety directly stems from ADHD :')",1 "“Work in blocks of 45 minutes, and take a 15 minute break between” Ok! So I’ll start to work on whatever it is, and then remember something else I didn’t finish and switch to that for two hours. Then, I’ll remember I forgot to take my 15 minute break so I’ll play on my phone or listen to music for 15 minutes. Somehow that “15 minutes” turns into a half hour and it’s starting to get late so I need to get ready for bed and then I remember the laundry I forgot to switch so I take care of that. Then I have to shower but I have to wait a half hour for my clothes to be done drying. And then I shower and get ready to brush my teeth and remember I forgot to eat dinner so I guess it’s time to heat up some leftovers and eat so I can go to bed. Finally, my head hits the pillow and I’m ready to go to bed. Something is in the back of my mind nagging me but I can’t figure out what it is... Oh, I never did that work I was supposed to get done 4 hours ago. Nice.",1 "Honestly same, and it pisses me off every time it happens. ",0 "I purposely make appointments first thing in the morning for this reason. It's usually the least amount of wait time too, which is also panic inducing.",1 "This is my life. A living hell, I'm sick of it I just want it to end.",0 "I do the same thing except with bookmarks and saving reddit posts/comments. I'll always tell myself I'll ""read them later"" but I never look at it again.",1 "Totally agree, I love this sub. I try and view my adhd in a positive light. I'm creative, I'm funny, I am who I am and it's not gonna change. Along with that is the daily struggle even if that day its only finding my keys it sucks. I love this sub because nobody moans, it's camaraderie and help. Sure you're allowed to moan, it sucks but this sub has a healthy way of approaching the negative aspects that I really appreciate. I joined a Facebook group for adhd which ended up being like the autism subs, totally toxic. I joined a different one and it was just misery and that's unhealthy the other way. Honestly don't know how I would have coped without the amazing Info on this sub. ❤",1 "Every. Single. Night. I promise myself I’ll get to bed at a sensible time but I’m still scrolling at 4am...then I’m so tired the next day that there’s even less chance of me managing to do any of the 10000 things I should be doing.",1 "I like to set the “already done” alarm and start when I have the thought to set the alarm. That way, if it goes off and I haven’t done it I can *start* or I can self high-five",1 It's a two edged sword. The online resources are way better for me to learn. The fact the I need to discipline myself to do stuff is the big danger.,1 I was recently staying with a friend for a few weeks and they had another roommate... the poor guy would just not stop talking. I kind of shut down when I want to be left alone but always try to be polite about making it known. This guy just wouldn’t get the message after several brief responses... “Oh yea” “oh cool” “yea. I totally understand” “that’s crazy”. I literally just left the room because I was fuming just standing there. You took the words out of my mouth with this post 😭,1 "It's an ADHD thing. I can't pull up the study on my phone, but it was a pretty big paradigm shift in how we understood adhd. They took a bunch of kids and then sat them at a table so they'd be bored. They expected the kids with adhd to be ultra hyperactive - which they were, *at first*. To their surprise, after a bit, rather than becoming even more hyperactive, a lot of the adhd kids just started napping. This was a big part of what lead to the realization that kids with adhd aren't *over* stimulated but severely *under* stimulated. The hyperactivity is a coping mechanism from a dopamine starved brain. Have you ever seen the movie click with Adam sandler? That's how I think of my.brain a lot - it wants to get through the boring parts without having to experience them. Sleep is an avoidance technique with the hope that when you wake up you wont have to do the thing anymore. It's our version of the fast forward button. Except, just like in the movie, it's pretty glitchy and tries to skip over stuff that needs to be experienced. I read somewhere that one trick for this sleepiness problem is to mix pleasant and unpleasant. Quite literally give your brain enough fun to keep it from turning itself off out of boredom. The *easiest* way to do this, but it a risky habit to get into, is to use sugar. It's a way to almost instantly light up the reward pathway. Last spring I was taking this now online evening lecture about accounting, so obviously every night at 7pm I was becoming *exhausted* and could barely.keep my eyes open. But having a soda or candy helped a lot. The only tricky part is that your brain realizes the next day that it can eat more candy even though it's not lecture time. At this point, I've given up on mastering that kind of self control. I bought a timer lock so I can literally lock the candy away from myself when I shouldn't be eating it",1 "Just let them be, let them come. Accepting and embracing. ERP and CBT is the key",0 "Ya know, I was initially against the ban on putting a positive spin on ADHD but the more I think about it the more I think I support it. If *every* ADHD sub had the rule I think it would be an issue, but having one sub where you don't have to deal with that is nice.",1 "I think there are two good methods for this, although I definitely struggle with this: 1. Understand that you actually don't need to put too much time into things to get to being a novice/ intermediate, and when you visualise being good at something, this is typically what you're thinking of. You can put in 3 months of daily practice into something, then take a 6 month break doing something else, and after a few days/ weeks of getting back into it, you'll find you are actually even better than if you'd just started the second period when you took a break. 2. You can refine the shit out of your goals, and realistically, if you're talking about mastery, you'll be satisfied with doing only one or two specialised disciplines. Similarly, the more advanced you get at more skills, the more you'll realise that you have no interest in mastering the significant majority of these disciplines. For instance, I like chess: I will play/ study for hours a day for months, and then I'll just get bored of it, and remember that I only like doing it as a mental exercise, and I don't actually have any interest in becoming a really strong player. I'll stop playing for months, and then, when I come back, within a week, I'll be as I ever was. Similarly, I play trumpet, piano and guitar. I sometimes get stressed with how much I want to get good at them, but then I remember that I actually don't care too much. I want to get to expert level of trumpet, and be able to improvise like a semi-pro one day, but for guitar and piano, I'm only interested in being able to improvise chord progressions, primarily for production. Production is the key discipline I want to focus on, and although I'm dealing with similar problems when it comes to actually doing it, remembering that's the key discipline, and my guitar/ piano skills will develop to my ideal goals just by producing, is far more cleansing and productive.",1 "Yes! I've resorted to walking out with noise blocker headphones and just pointing to them like ""sorry I can't hear you but I have these headphones on, what a shame but we talked about this""",1 "Walking past a stairwell 'violently throw yourself down'",0 "god me when my brain decides ""ur gonna have to stutter over every couple words three times or ELSE"" like please I'm just trying to hold a conversation here bro",0 "This is low-key helpful, it teaches your brain that the world won't wait up for you to engage in rituals/OCD behavior and that it has to change the behavior.",0 I always have such mixed feelings about Bojack. It deals with mental health in such a realistic way. Last year when I was at the worst I have been in a long time I watched almost all of it in the space of a few days and I’m not sure it helped me at all.,0 "The way i see it, yeah its very much annoying i agree but more importantly it creates this negative stigma of people not believing others when they claim to have ocd.",0 Not me only realizing recently that most people didnt grow up randomly feeling like nobody was allowed to see them for a few minutes and they had to get to their room in a certain time frame or else everything was Wrong and Bad,0 "Really fucking love this, because this is me. Thank you a million times for posting this",0 "I always feel like an inadequate level of revulsion means I'm probably just faking OCD after all. Which isn't true, but it's almost a nice thought anyway: if I'm faking it, then I don't have it. That would still leave open the issue of why in the world I'd be faking in the first place, but comparatively that'd seem like a minor issue to contend with.",0 "Sometimes it’s so hyper specific, there’s just no way.",0 I’ve never seen a more relatable post in my life and it’s so specific.,0 "Worry is when you are thinking about “what if” scenarios in the future. Although the emotions feel real when you imagine it, it’s not the truth. Focus on the present, something like your breathing. And train your brain to recognise when you are spiralling and instead think about something positive/you’re grateful for. You have to purposefully do it. I find I almost enjoy the spiral but it’s not healthy. Don’t get me wrong sometimes worry can be helpful sometimes but there is also unhelpful worry.",0 "There are moments where I actually appreciate some parts of the disorder, because I can have the most interesting conversations on it because of my insane empathy but on the other had I can't really chill without having anything that touches me emotionally so on a ""normal"" day I feel half dead with a IQ of -10 and sleeping problems at night.... I just want more balance in my mind...",1 Yes! I get such a high amlunt of anxious energy i just spaz out,0 "Where is the ""trash""? This is actually well made :( Nice drawing ✨",0 "You understand her to well, how do you understand adhd so nicely without having it, incredible. My brother would just call my nasty for getting things half done",1 My mom says my atheism is the reason for my problems and God can heal me 😀😀😀😀😀,0 "I am not very good at being productive either. I found that working with people with more severe disabilities than me helped, in a non-profit. In fact, it was the only real long term job I've ever had, and helped me with the self-pity storm, because it helped me see what I have to be grateful for. Like I can use all my limbs. I can scratch myself when Im itchy. Not every one was born so fortunate. There was less focus on me being productive and my output, and more focus on being patient, and I succeeded in that enviroment. Also I could really empathize with some of the struggles my guys went through, having substantial mental impairments, and the learned helplessness thing. THey cant drive and I would take them too appointments, etc.. Just something to consider... I stopped during covid, because I take public transit, but since I stopped my ADHD self pity has become sooooo much more intense. I need to get back to it.",1 "5000 is the limit for all playlists, I'm pretty sure. Right now I'm sitting at 4900 favorites and 2900 watch later.",1 "But my event actually is bad, when I was 13-15 I took pictures of girls without them knowing. It wasn't like upskirts or hiding cameras in the toilets. But its still really awful",0 "Ok I wrote everything down in my planner, color coded every item on the to-do list and even scheduled in some breaks! Now to.....crap where'd it go?",1 "'Brings in four bottles of wine that she forgot were sitting in her car.' Had several cantaloupes go bad because I did this, and I love cantaloupe. Finally just gave up after the 3rd time.",1 "Oh goodness, I've never seen my childhood so vaguely yet succinctly described. This hit me so hard that I, assuming anyone will read this, would like to expand on its long-term effects, at least in accordance with my experience. ​ tl;dr: I accidentally summarized my life story in a tangent where I meant to say that this is serious, and the long-term effects of pressure-driven performance of ADHD individuals may subconsciously form habits that recreate those adverse conditions, seemingly because such conditions have become the only dependable state in which an ADHDer can work. or something. #pre-med Backstory:I (21) have been diagnosed with ADHD (combined variant, please hmu if you are curious about the natures of the variations; I have a whole spiel haha) since I was 6 or 7. My family is very big on discipline and hard work, which I am truthfully very thankful for, but our cultural background can cause these values to manifest in a way that is very hard to deal with as a student in America. Given this, my home life was constantly under pressure to perform in the things that I was involved with...and that I should involve myself in many things in order to be successful in life. As I'm sure many of you can understand, ADHD was my double-edged sword in this battle: I was energetic and curious about everything anyway, but my outbursts and distractedness got me punished very often. Through elementary school, I could easily skate through classes with top grades without studying, and at home I was getting ahead on things anyway, because that was the only way that my mind would remain stimulated from the day-to-day. Since I was always working anyway, my parents never considered that my behavioral outbursts could be connected to my ability to learn, since on the surface, it looked like I loved school so much that I gave myself more of it, and at the time I thought that was true as well. What I didn't know at the time was that I was simply growing in the things that interested in. When middle school came around, I was miles ahead of my classmates, so I just kept steam-rolling, but this time getting involved in even more extracurriculars, too. This was the first time that I really learned the idea of ""hard work"" for myself, because I was attempting to just ""skate through"" these additions to my life as well. It wasn't until my science teacher sat me down and sternly told me ""X, you might be the smartest in this room, including me, but that doesn't mean a darn thing if you're not going to put in work. We saved a spot for \*you\* on this team because we thought you could be something special. But do you know how many of your classmates we turned down, just because we were waiting on your answer? You better earn it. I want you to think seriously about this, because if this continues, then I'd like to ask you to quit and stop wasting the team's time."" I'll never forget that. So my parents started driving me to school an hour early for me to study, and I stayed before and after wrestling practice even longer to make sure I put more hours in than anyone else on the team. My parents thought that this proved that I knew how to prioritize, and that my passion was in my work. While I did absolutely loved this time in my life and the things I did, no one at home considered how constantly I was pressured about my academics and little else. Up to this point, I still found all of my classes some degree of interesting, so I didn't have many problems doing work for them, but something I only know now by looking back was that I was starting to procrastinate on work. I loved math, so I was putting math homework first, checking answers more than I needed to, trying to work problems that weren't even in the homework, just so that I wouldn't have to write my English homework just yet. No one expected that to be the case, though, because I was a bookworm. ​ Where things got bad: When I finally got to high school, all hell broke loose. I loaded my schedule with the heaviest course load that I could, I worked a part-time tutoring job (where I was also a student), I wrestled varsity, and heck I even did drama and student council. What looked like a student prodigy was actually a kid desperately trying to find satisfaction and fulfillment from overstimulation, but he wanted to do it in a way that made his family proud. My family had all sorts of issues, and I suppose I figured the yelling and disappointment would get better would decrease if I poured myself into my work like they wanted me too, while trying to convince myself that it's what I wanted for my life. My sophomore year I saw my first B, by my junior year it felt like the only thing that kept me above C's were the sob-stories I pleaded to my teachers while sleep-deprived. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get away from my parents asking: ""what happened to you? Where was that happy, bright kid that could do anything? You've changed. You're not you... Is this how we raised you?"" If I were to really get into the details, I could tell you about how badly I sought to be understood and tried to pour myself into my relationships, but how I failed them and how sometimes I was traumatized by them, but ADHD and relationships is an essay all its own... The long-term/Circling back to my original point (lmao):I was so pressed for time and low on fulfillment in high school, that my norm was ""not having time"" for writing up a schedule, self-care, time and task management. I developed a very different kind of learned-helplessness: ""Whether I set aside time and ignore other things to study properly, or cram on everything I've procrastinated on doesn't matter; the grades are no different."" I took this as far as I could, resolving that at best, I could put something off as long as I needed, as long as I was working on \*something\*, I'm being productive, and no matter what I can just cram for it anyway. ""I'll sleep when I'm dead"" - a joke I made too often. I've made a lot of improvements, but these habits have not disappeared. I still procrastinate. I still sometimes elect to cram a week's worth of an essay into an hour before the submission time, and I don't even get too stressed about it any more. In fact, the scary part is, the more hopeless and against the wall I am, the more ""familiar"" I feel, and the adrenaline from risk drives me through my task. Honestly, I've noticed that the more I hate myself, the more upset I am, the more \*pissed\* I get at my work...the more fervent I am to actually do it. I've actually found myself \*vibing\* of all things to my EDM playlist, flashing lights, two days without sleep at 5AM studying for half a semester's worth of thermodynamics for an exam worth 30% of my grade coming up in 10 hours. My point:I'm not sure. But I did felt very moved to share this. I might edit this into an actual post in this thread, because I suppose I wanted to lay as much as I could out so someone could see this and think ""so I'm not the only one?"" because God knows I've thought that. No truer a statement have I made about myself that ""I have no idea who or what I am, so I never expect anyone to understand."" My whole life I've wanted to be a neurosurgeon, and I still want that, but I've realized that my passion is in studying the brain and helping those, neurotypical or otherwise, with the struggle that is owning a human mind. If there is anything I will never lose passion for in my studies, it is ADHD. I suppose my dream is to shed light on what our condition really is; how we are in some ways enabled, but in others disabled, but in no way less able. ...now time to get back to studying thermodynamics (I'm retaking the course, lol)",1 Emotion regulation disorder is another thing on its own. I have both 😭,1 "My mom's advice: Do some exercise and ✨stay away from that phone✨ and everything will be nOrMaL, you'll see.",1 "I don’t save posts. I’ve learned that things that matter to me come back eventually, and the stress of needing to “catch up” on something just isn’t worth it.",1 "Oooo I definitely need to try this out with my mom! We both have ADHD and have already caught ourselves deliberately helping each other instead of working on our own stuff, so this actually might work really well for us. Awesome idea!",1 "My room is messy... I feel that whole sentence SO HARD.",1 So I’m 25 and have to keep the volume on the tv at 24 and if it’s any higher I think I’m gonna die at that age lol so I have to keep it under 25. Fml I can barely hear the tv,0 "I created a PDF for easy saving and accessing: https://pdfhost.io/v/z1VHO5lup\_131\_ADHD\_propdf.pdf ​ Note that I removed user names and cleaned it up a little so it's easier to read.",1 This is beautiful. You are beautiful. This made my day.,0 "Me: no job next semester (not enough students). I did my MA online, you CAN do this!",1 Accurate I would recommend guys all of you guys to seek therapy ASAP I start on Friday with my treatment plan,0 "Adorable. When I was 22 my intrusive thoughts were making me so agitated and sad. I always loved animation and had 2 weeks off school. I started drawing hundreds of pages all day. I took all that ocd energy and was able to make a short animated film. Eventually, I kept going got into art school and it turned into a career for years. Some of the coping strategies for OCD actually have possible life changing effects!",0 Me after exposure therapy greatly reduced my symptoms,0 "I have the urge to draw sometimes, but then after I get material out I cant think of what I want to draw, I can look at images and not come to what I want, sometimes its youtube and I cant figure what I want to watch. Right now Im in a learning frenzy, reading on sales, buisness and freelancing, And learning russian I am reading some, and understanding most of the material, Ive never been bad at comprehension, but I do better actually physically doing the stuff myself. Sometimes Ive been needing to re-read or relisten for perfection or because I started thinking about other things and I didnt actually comprehend what I just read. Only reason Im reading on that stuff now is for an opportunity I may have coming up that would take my life in a whole nother direction, compared to where I would be if I stuck with what I am doing currently, and I want the latter",1 "Yes, my attention span is poor. But it is nowhere near the most debilitating part of this.",1 "This is almost creepy! I've always thought that my writing style has tons of sentences that keep on going, just using commas to separate them, and I never thought that had anything to do with my ADHD! Awesome theory!",1 I’ve been on my period the past like 3 days and yet *craves pickle* brain; YOURE PREGNANT. My uterus says otherwise (thankfully),0 This man Is straight up facts my worse compultion is if I do something like snapping my fingers I snap the other side if I do anything on my left side I have to do it on the right I have to make everything even it drives me fucking insane if I dont ocd is not a trend and it's not being quirky it's a disorder that you have to be diagnosed with,0 "I'm in a long-distance relationship and I have relationship OCD. These things do not mix well. And my boyfriend and I have been watching Twin Peaks together recently. Man, that show triggers my OCD so badly. There are so many horrible relationships and everyone is cheating on each other. It's awful. lol",0 "I agree. If you like having OCD, you don't have OCD. I don't really care about celebrities and haven't paid attention to them since I was a young teenager. This is a thing? Wow, sad. Every single one of them should post an apology and a paragraph to spread awareness about what OCD is. Most people think OCD is obsessing over neatness or germaphobia. Few know how serious and debilitating it is.",0 focus. Focus on one thing and do it well. Meditate. These things help to rewire ya brain. Keep going youll do fine.,1 "I’m a 51 F and recently started to suspect ADHD because my daughter was diagnosed. and I feel exactly this. Constantly scrambling to keep up, getting things done, high performing but not trusted by my peers because I seem flaky and inconsistent. Beating myself up about it, extreme bouts of productivity but then becoming extremely overwhelmed to the point I cannot think or function. Like all the info in my brain has literally clogged. Feeling like a fraud, wondering what’s wrong with me. Pummeling my own self esteem to the ground.",1 "True, makes a person with it feel like a lost cause. But one thing a realised about that is about the children developing good habits",1 That's not an excuse to not get some coping skills.,1 Got my first appointment with a therapist in a few days and my stomach’s been in knots. Thank you.,0 "Yep. Because if someone else does it for me, that confirms that I’m so obviously not up to the task because I have a developmental disorder and will always be like this. Maybe it’s just me, but that really stings.",1 "I’ve never hear other people say this. Thank you. This is exactly how I feel. Some days I tell people “I wish my body could run a marathon the way my brain does...” people don’t understand. I wish it was easier to make people close to me understand.",0 All. The. Time. One thing that helps me is if I make myself do one part of the big thing. Not go into it thinking I have to do the whole thing at once. If I can just start on one part (let's say cleaning the kitchen) i just start with unloading the dishwasher as my goal instead of the entire kitchen. By the time I'm done with the dishwasher I'm usually focused/motivated enough to carry on with the rest of it.,1 I'm so very proud of you. That is fucking amazing. Well done!!!!! 🤎🦋,0 " I totally get distracted, I wonder if we need more stimulation than most bc our whole world is defined by our relationships to stimuli. I wonder what the statistics are for ADHD & kink. ​ If it's a near circle I'm gonna laugh out loud.",1 Hey thanks for sharing because I can't afford therapy so whenever people share the things that were most profound for them in therapy it helps me too :)),0 "I have many of these things too. I just didn't know/am still not sure if they are all adhd related. Like, what are other people like then? I mean I know some of it has to do with adhd but I also know that everyone has struggles. Maybe theirs are just different? How much of this stuff can be explained by adhd, how much by my personality, and how much by just being human? I honestly don't know.",1 "I was about to scroll until I say the guy on strings. Yes, that’s exactly what it’s like, like being a puppet.",0 "Recently had a falling out with a friend because I didn't text her enough. I feel terrible that I had made her feel like I didn't care, I really do but I find texting (and most digital communication) to be overwhelming, especially if I know that sending one text will lead to a whole conversation. It really sucks but I've been trying to be more aware of the impact that my unresponsiveness has on others and also finding ways that I can reach out and let people know that I'm thinking of them with less stress involved for me. I don't really know where I'm going with this, I guess I'm just trying to say that this post really rung true for me right now.",1 "Do they know about overstimulation? If so, may be good to communicate to them when you're at that point. My wife has said she really appreciates it when I tell her so she knows to give me the space to let my brain calm down. If they don't know, may be worth having a conversation with them about it.",1 So relatable!! I’m adopted and my birth mom has schizophrenia and my ocd is always convincing me that I’m heading that way lol,0 I thought I was the only one. I’ve replaced the filter on my refrigerator wayyy to many times.,0 When life finally goes your way for a bit. Something else you make up in your head gets to be the next fucking antagonist of Dragon Ball Z in your brain I swear. Shit analogy but I feel this,0 "Not that it’s bad, but I never really noticed that I have ears until now and now I can’t stop being very aware of the presence of my ears. I do like the art, though. It’s really cool!!",0 It’s so good! It does feel like there’s some odd presence making us feel uncomfortable and our minds foggy.,0 The book The Motivation Myth is great for ADHDers. Even just the concept,1 "The first one will always be the hardest, but the moment you get over a ritual or compulsion you get a feeling like no other. For me, the closest I can describe it is relief, and hope.",0 "I started doing this for youtube and photosites (also books i bought for inspiration) and its been ao useful. Its like windowshopping things you already bought.",1 This is the story of how the perry the platypus theme song was my number one track of 2020,1 "Thank you for posting this. I have relapsed into obsessive ruminating and each day has been a struggle, but reading this and seeing everyone's replies makes me feel less alone. Much appreciated, best of luck to everyone on their journeys.",0 "Try abstaining from social media and tolerating the boredom for a few days. I know it will feel horrible but you will feel so much better afterwards. You don’t have to do anything useful with the time either- stare at the wall, sleep, go for a walk in the park. Just replace procrastination with electronics with doing nothing. It works.",1 Being stuck with only my sister and my mum in quarantine has been the worst. I haven't tried to explain why i wont hug them anymore cause I'm sure they'll think I'm crazy.,0 "You would never guess I had OCD unless you took a little trip into my brain. I have very few outward compulsions but my brains where the real magic happens, magic thinking that is.",0 "I'm fine with commenting but I often refuse to upvote or downvote bcs I feel like it's taking a side, and something might happen.",0 "I too cured my adhd permanently. By having 52 browser tabs open at any given time during the day, 4 of them being chat apps. JK it is like indulging in anti productivity.",1 God why did people have tell me about jinxing. I literally knock on wood after every intrusive thought and it’s so excruciating. This post is too relatable.,0 "I feel this entire thread so much it hurts... My photo album is filled with like a gajillion screenshots. My YouTube ""watch later""... Oh god.... My inbox... Dear lord.",1 "God I hate that. “Try to focus!” Like, believe it or not, I AM trying. Very hard actually.",1 "I likely had my whole life inattentive, but after my confusion in 2016 I finally got diagnosed. Went through trauma from 2017 till getting past it in quarantine (not sure if this is ADD related or introvert only child but thrived in 2020) and so I’m finally able to first start learning about this for the first time. My brain finally has enough capacity to unpack it, and it’s been ASTONISHING how many behaviors or maladaptive tendencies that have been explained by this disorder. I’m not getting better yet so while very validating is also quite annoying lol. My roommate and I both have it, she’s the hyper attentive type. She doesn’t really understand the way my ADHD manifests whatsoever, so I often feel like she either doesn’t believe me or thinks I’m just then shitty in general. Inattentive manifests in SUCH a different way. This post made me feel seen, but for the first time, in a good way. This sub has helped me more mentally than some therapy stunts and rabbit hole research",1 "I had a relapse today after some weeks without worrying about ocd, really needed this. Thank you, Gunner is so adorable! I loved his sweater!",0 "Funny you should mention that. I've been thinking the same thing lately. I'm usually writing about non trivial ideas and the preliminary phrases make the point of the sentence more precise. I noticed reading our local pandemic stay at home order a whole set of ""Where as"" clauses. Not that I would want to write ""legalese"" but for precision the structure is useful. Maybe I've just been writing software too long?",1 Bahahaha same thing happened to me with the same exact album 😅,1 "It definitely depends on the moment. Each type of ADHD will have different struggles but essentially it's not knowing what to pay attention to. It's either hyperfocus or distractions - my therapist likes to explain it as us being in a room with hundreds of TVs, all on different channels, and we don't know which one we are supposed to be watching. We also have an interest-based nervous system so we cling onto what we are most interested in / passionate about and when we do things we don't want to do as much our attention can be disrupted much easier.",1 "Yeah, at least you left a legacy of karma for others to appreciate!",0 "Wow! Powerful image, very well drawn. You have serious skills.",0 These are all things i actually say to myself in my own head because of my OCD lol,0 "im almost the exact same with 7 and 6! except its not very extreme haha. 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 and 10 are all the good numbers while 3, 4, 6, and 9 are bad. but sometimes 6, 7 and SOMETIMES 3 can be a little bit more neutral in specific cases. i also like or dislike number combinations depending on which places the numbers are. 123 is good, but 138 i have to glance at it or blink at it 4 times",0 Ok wait I've only newly been diagnosed and what does reassurance mean because it sounds like I'm not allowed to be helped with my thoughts and id just be hopeless????,0 "I HAVE SAID THIS TWICE IN THE LAST 24 hrs !!! (once to partner + once to therapist) 😭😭😭😭 it’s an exhausting, overwhelming, suffocating feeling.. i have felt like this for quite some time. it doesn’t seem to matter how bad or great or organized or stable or busy things are.. i .. i just can’t.. catch.. up. sending love to all of you who can relate 💕",1 "A couple of weeks ago, I had a bill due on the same day as a doctor appointment, which was also the same day we were planning to make a 3 hour drive to surprise our kiddo with an amusement park trip. The appointment was at 1, we dropped our younger kiddo off at 4 with grandma and left. We came home the next day to no power bc I forgot to pay the damn bill bc I wax anxious all day about the appointment at 1. Had to pay a 300 dollar reconnect fee😬",1 They need to make a service for people with adhd like a maid but a bit different. Like someone just follows you around and finishes all the tasks you start on.,1 "Now I know why I always wanted him to play my dad in the movie of my life, he is also called Jim and is a batshit crazy hyperactive with a wicked sense of humour! They also look kind of similar. Weekends with him were non stop shenanigans as a kid. Jim Carrey is the only actor who could truly capture his essence.",1 "laying in bed can’t sleep, but I haven’t drank too much water today... Here’s to being reminded to stay hydrated!",1 There is no future you that's going to check anything ...you either do it now or it doesn't get done,1 "Yes!! Don’t forget the milk you left out on the counter and the leftovers you forget to put away. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve woken up in the morning after a great dinner the night before too see my open leftovers sitting on the table.",1 "I once had a really stressful meeting with my manager and the director of the charity I worked for (it was about massive funding cuts not anything I'd done wrong). The intrusive thoughts banging in my head were, 'take your bra off and lay it on the table'. Fuck knows what my brain thought that was going to achieve. Your seagull song has reminded me of this and made me smile. Thank you.",0 "Don't want to take your excitement but the medication will be less effective after a couple of months. But it could be me only, and watch out for mood swings I had a couple of episodes where it was difficult for me.",1 "All of those things. I was going to disagree about the online shopping addiction. But I remembered that my ""Don't look for things you might like to buy."" rule was what I implemented in my life to regain control of my finances. It means that I never know what I want for christmas or my birthday, but I also don't spend my savings on stupid things either.",1 do people ignore their compulsions?! teach me your ways,0 I also check constantly to make sure my headphones are plugged in😗✌️,0 My top artist is the author of the audiobook I fall asleep to 🤣,1 "It’s the perfectionism that drives the OCD into this hot mess disaster...I look around my apartment at the piles of things (when my mom calls to ask me what I did all day, it’s always “I moved piles from one place to another,”) and in my head I can see the cleaner version of my place. But what I also see is the multitude of steps it will take to get there, because my OCD requires it all to be perfect, and there will be 87 different tasks to complete before *this* pile can be moved into *that* home. I’ve lived in my current place for almost seven years and I *just* now got all of my books put away (granted, I have a small library), because I needed to organize them, pull out what I didn’t want, scan them into goodreads so I had my own inventory, organize *that*, find all of the piles of books around my place...it was exhausting. My apartment looks like an organized mess, but I see it as potential exhaustion. And that’s why it’s stagnant.",0 "Thank you! This even gave me the motivation to be sharing my appreciation with you, rather than just storing it in my head as a “maybe do this later” task.",1 "Spot on analogy. On the same line of thought, I wonder if you can say that accepting the fact that pop up ads are going to be part of the internet browsing experience will allow you to better focus on the content instead of trying to make the experience completely ad-free. Do you think that translates into your analogy?",0 "YES!! You've explained me exactly as I am,except for the trying to do the gotta do's another way,.I simply have little time concept and despite how much I Want to do the *gotta do's* to have some sort of achievement,.it's as tho locked in the damn seat and alright I'm gonna,. am gonna,.come nic do this,.. never really happens! :(",1 "Not pathetic at all. Started this new drug called nuedexta for my depression and it’s been chipping away at my “o” and “c” It’s strange. Ps proud of you!!!!!",0 I think of ocd as enemies and I do not conversate with enemies,0 *puts hands in air* I literally feel emotions and immediately shutdown and have zero motivation for anything. I have a wife and 4 kids and no job and I’m trying but I feel like I’m not; I want to fn be normal ffs!,1 "I go nonverbal, didn't realize this a potential symptom of OCD. Usually not accompanied by anxiety, just a state of almost catatonia. Edit: added 'not' that was accidentally omitted.",0 "they say that to sleep well help the Serotonin developmemt. but i've been lating my sleep for some motive I don't know. I go to bed early, take my medicine, and promisse myself I'll sleep fast. But some minutes after I'm thinking in aleatory things and being very excited with my ideias, so I stay trying to keep myself waked up.",1 They have the audio book at my library! I’m downloading it now! Thank you,1 "Hmm.. Maybe because i had a great home i never perceived it the way that ""i'm bad"" it was more like ""there is something wrong with me, which makes me do stupid shit""",1 "OH MY, this cheered me up after getting in a fuss. Thank you",1 " WHAT. I HAVE 3,996 WHAT DO I DO? make a new playlist ig lmao. i’m gonna make it public and name it watch later 2 electric boogaloo cause y not",1 I've always had issues with this as well. I'm so proud of you!,1 “What other people think of you is none of your business” -Richard Feynman,1 Never thought i was gonna die but i used to think that ants would crawl through my skin if i stepped on the lines on inbetween the tiles in my kitchen,0 "Yeah I’ve only recently been able to get into cooking regularly more, mostly due to buying things like prechopped onions. Paying extra for the convenience has saved me so much wasted produce!",1 "Even reading this was slightly painful because I want to read the comments despite not reading the post itself yet. I did the same from the previous three posts from r/NoSleep too. I wanted to read the content but two paragraphs in and suddenly I'm in the comments section. I'd only come back to the post when someone mentions a specific part like: ""The door being rusty was an obvious clue"" because I'd had to skim the post for the part they're referring to. It's amusing and frustrating at the same time.",1 "No fighting! You gotta do no thinking, just be, Eckhart Tolle style or just get high.",0 "TIL my mindset for the past nearly 34 years is ""pandemic"".",0 This is what my ADHD dad does. He always finds my stuff,1 WAIT THIS IS AN ADHD THING ? I THOUGHT EVERYONE DID THIS 😭 i swear it’s like there’s always a youtuber in my head ALWAYS having something to say,1 "Sometimes I have to grunt too. Sometimes my leg jerks, sometimes I have to close my eyes very tightly.",0 "This solitary existence, between cellphone screens and computer screens, txting, reddit and video games is just not healthy. There is no substitute for human contact and interacting with the world around you. Walking, exercise, in person visits with friends and family, actual phone calls, playing with dogs. Productive activies like reading and cooking can help as well. I do hope you get better.",1 "I have this, sort of, but it's a service provided by the government. I get 10h/month so almost 2h every Monday. The main differences is that it's free, and we do all the chores together. Like folding laundry. She also helps me with government contacts, and when I had meetings she's come along and take notes for me. In the beginning it was so hard to allow a stranger in my home. I woke up super early and cleaned the entire apartment before she arrived. But it gave me a clean apartment every Monday, so in a way it worked that way too? I'm more chill these days. And isn't it amazing how much stuff you get done just be simply having someone there? This is a great post and I am proud of you. You're an inspiration. Thank you. ❤️",1 You might not see this OP but there are jobs where your hyperactivity and impulsivity can be channeled to facilitate rather than being a detriment. You just have to figure out which ones fit you. <3,1 "Omg this happens to me, like my brain makes me worry that my own mind is faking or something. Glad it’s a normal thing people have :) :).",0 "I take pictures of the things I worry about being left on. Light switches, oven, faucets. So when I worry at work, I just pull up the pic on my phone that is date stamped, and I know for sure.",0 "Wow, I never accredited all this to ADHD, just thought I was lazy. I am newly diagnosed and learning that I'm not the only one struggling with this is comforting.",1 So I have reading/watching/handwriting ocd (lmao literally all academics I mean I’m good at school ig but like my ocd slows me down so much) and I kinda overcame handwriting ocd by myself. I just forced myself to use pen and to put wite-out somewhere else. Idk what to do with reading and watching ocd tho it’s literally so frustrating,0 Nailed it! Could not have said it better myself. Painful circle of realization for me.,1 "Aim for easier stuff, I tried for 10 years to become a regular on the gym, only did 3 months at best, learned that that's not my thing, now I only do 5 to 10 minute of cardio every day, of course I'm not going to get the same results, but I do alright, and that it's ok with me.",1 I truly like how you have used the term adhd land because it is exactly like living on a slightly different planet. I wonder what a world only full of us would be like.,1 "I have to clarify to my mother several times a day: ""Yes. I will get to the dishes. I'm doing something right now but *eventually* I will do them. Don't do them for me!"" ""But they are clogging up the sink and piling up"" ""So let them pile up! More work for me right!?"" -cue my dad angrily huffing and my mother letting out a sigh of disappointment-",1 How long did it take you to grow your hair the length you have it in this photo?,0 "Just read this chapter of an OCD book where he talks about dreams and reality. Someone loses their arm, in dreams, they'd have 2 arms and be happy. But reality is that they have 1 arm, so are you going to make yourself miserable for the rest of your life because of reality? Wanting certainty that your worst fears won't come true is nice but it's dream. Reality is that you can't know 100% certain. So can you accept reality? I feel what you said though. I get it",0 I had the same but i know now that i am a good person. It takes some time.,0 "this has been my whole last week. I found that a chat with a grounded friend really helped a bit. I know the pain and journey goes on. Even though we don't know each other, I think you (and all readers here) are genuinely beautiful people with flaws. You are not your flaws.",0 "this is what hurts the most, being highly self-aware of your own compulsions and knowing that you really want to stop, but your brain overriding that desire to stop. why??? why does it do that??? why can't i let the rational side of my mind win for once? i truly don't understand and it makes me feel like i have no control whatsoever and that scares me",0 "This is the sweetest and most validating thing ever, and i strongly relate to your gf",1 "Shame has never been a great motivator for me. I'm already ashamed of myself so heaping more and more on my head just makes me feel worthless. If they make me angry I can be motivated by that for a short time, but that comes with its own shame and consequences.",1 Do meds help y’all with this? Or what coping strategy helps most?,1 "Yep, I feel it every day. ADHD is totally miserable and I don't sugar coat it. I just try to enjoy the good moments while I have them.",1 "It's a real thing. This FB page has articles on this. May be helpful for those who have this type of OCD. [https://www.facebook.com/Hit-and-Run-OCD-Motor-Vehicle-Accident-OCD-or-Fear-of-Hitting-Pedestrians-115738830284449/](https://www.facebook.com/Hit-and-Run-OCD-Motor-Vehicle-Accident-OCD-or-Fear-of-Hitting-Pedestrians-115738830284449/)",0 "one time management/anti-procrastination technique is 'timeboxing', where you just do something for ten minutes. Start with five minutes, can even set a timer. Then you can stop. Or keep going, up to you, but whatever time you set, get there and you can stop. Helps me.",1 """what if someone sneaks drugs or weapons into my luggage/backpack?""",0 "look its a matter of context and content....ocd will still be the same in context no matter what, the content changes....do not get caught up with the content...its useless..... the contect is compulsive urges to do anxious obsessive rituals.....to feel better from the impending doom...I wonder if yall had that experience, of impending doom....thats what heart attack victims go through, and we are actually used to that feeling... go figure....",0 This is the exact situation im in and im 100% sure that im not even clooose to being the only one.,1 "He’s finally at peace, before I used to think of this as a dry, overused sentiment people would say out of respect. But now? Now that this disorder has beat the life out of me & dragged me to the pits, it has a whole new meaning to me. I understand why any of us going through this would want out. I’m so sorry you lost your friend 🤍 This little corner of the internet is the only place I’ve ever felt seen & heard without ever putting content out. I’m thankful for this sub & for everyone here who shares their experiences in their journey. One day I’ll muster up the will to share my own.",1 "I don’t really listen much to music, I usually listen to videos in the background, but I made three different playlists, at three different times of the year, they are wildly different, and the three of them are constituted by 8 or fewer songs and just repeated many times, those are my top songs.",1 Wait this is a symptom of ocd!?? I thought I just grew up being competitive lol,0 "True. If someone wants or needs anything from me and they make the mistake of saying ""Or else"" it's an automatic dispute and I will never give into it.",1 I get the same reaction when I’m holding a knife and my brain is like “bro wouldn’t it be so funny if we just slit our throat? Lmao that would be soooo sillyy..”,0 Keep it up man. I am dreading my ERP hw today as we speak but I know I need to do it.,0 "Shit, why did I schedule physical therapy for 2:30pm tomorrow…. Ugh",1 This and also my eyes. I worry about losing my eyesight especially.,0 "My therapist tried a little while ago to get me to write a list with 3 columns. #1 - the task needing doing, #2 - how long I had been avoiding it, and #3 how long it actually took. While somewhat helpful, it backfired with me just going “you stupid fuck it took 10 minutes and you avoided it for a year.” Awesome.",1 " I am not diagnosed yet (got my first test on the 9th of march) and i always struggling with ""i am just lazy and mean"" but fuck i think i never related to someone so much in my life it's crazy",1 omg i never knew this was an OCD THING!!! I have OCD (on luvox rn) and this is what i have SEVERE TROUBLE with. is codependency an OCD thing too?,0 "Sometimes when I'm laying in bed at night almost drifting to sleep, I get intrusive thoughts. Sometimes it's just easier to give in to the mental compulsion at that moment.",0 "Very true , I did the same and now these thoughts don't disturb me anymore, I don't even have anxiety anymore.",0 "I just do everything the night before. Even if that means sleeping at 2am because I delayed the inevitable but don't think I can keep on covering it up. Its a work in progress.",1 "That's such a wholesome story! :)) I remember my first time taking Ritalin, I felt like I could hear my own thoughts for the first time in my life... My head was silent, it was like there when there is a downpour outside for a while and it suddenly stops. I walked down the stairs with a huge smile in my face, and when my mom saw me, she smiled too haha",1 "I just santize my phone before I get into bed, have alcohol wipes and hand sanitizer by my bed side 😜 I don’t think I’ll ever be strong like you. Good job!",0 "This is fucking hilarious. I know everybody deals with things differently, but it's refreshing to have a break from the dramatic creative expression of mental illness that's so common these days. Downplayed, self-aware, dark humour is the way to go, if you ask me. Well done.",0 "It's a very delicate balance for me. If I feel like you're being too hard on me, I'll shut down, but then if I feel like you're sounding a little too motivating and encouraging, like a parent or teacher cheering on a little kid, then I just feel insulted. But yeah, the ""pull yourself up by the bootstraps"" and the ""you're an adult now, this is what you need to do"" messages and lectures almost never work on me.",1 My parents keep catching me doing my rituals and point out they're weird but when I actually talk about my compulsions they say they're completely normal and everybody does them... 🙃,0 "This, and people interjecting / talking in my vicinity while I'm trying to have another conversation. Like hmmm, not only is that rude as hell but now I'm lost in two conversations instead of paying close attention to one. JFC.",1 "Omg tell her!!!! Because so often this is what causes strife in my home and I'm like ""I've worked on it for hours - I am trying really hard!!!"" But sometimes that falls on deaf ears and frustration erupts causing us all to feel shitty. I bet most of her life she has suffered this very reaction from everyone else more often than not and it really takes its toll. If my partner was talking about me like this I'd probably cry a little- internally.. stuff upper lip, y'know",1 "I totally agree, the voice or thought that tells us to do things/make us do things are not good and its similar to one therrorist! My first psychiatrist compared it to a monster that never got enough and how much I fed him the bigger he got, or I’ve heard it on TED talks, LOL, did that too, but my last ones told us (a group) and campared it with a cat, that came on out door again and again for food, and the more we fed him, the more he came and made us busy, but the more we ignored him, the more thinner he got and eventually he would understand that he wont get anything from us anymore and leave. as a reminder, when we got home, we got a cup with a picture of that cat 😂",0 "I used to be like this, but it does get better, this will pass",1 I know all of this but the second i get a little better i start to obess over if it never was ocd in the first place which leads back to the intrusive thoughts,0 "I was with a friend the other day who knows I have OCD. He still made a joke about it while pointing out how messy something was (""if you wouldn't have ocd already, this would give you ocd for sure""). It's confusing, because he's really supportive and understanding while I'm talking about it, but these sorts of jokes are so common that they still pop up. It sucks that the jokes are thrown around so loosely that ocd has just become a synonym for being a neat freak.",0 "I relate to this so much. Because I'm always so hyperactive and enthusiastic, I tend to make a great first impression with people. After that, I either start becoming more anxious and keeping myself busy with what they think of me and how I should act (this often leads to people just finding me annoying), or I keep being too hyperactive and enthusiastic and people just grow tired of me.",1 "Okay I'll admit I scanned your wall of text (I am pre-meds this AM), but shit that last part almost had me in tears. Reminds me of a workout video that did make me cry lol the super fit guy kinda takes a break and is like ""taking a break is okay, it just means your trying your hardest"". Self-compassion is beautiful. Happy for you!",1 "Yep.... This is accurate. Doubly so if the child is also ""gifted""",1 "No u don’t keep fighting , u stop fighting then you’ve won ur battle",0 "Na, I click it discover it is multiple paragraphs or one really long one, read the first few sentences and then lose interest and move on😅 sad cause I relate to what I do read but can’t for the life of me read all of it.",1 "This describes me completely. I keep searching for the answer that will finally solve whatever I'm obsessing over that day. It never comes. I just want to be released from the clutches of my own mind. I had a weird break in judgment last night and started freaking out to my unsuspecting friends about racism and politics. I literally asked why they weren't panicking with me!! I sounded nuts. I promise you'll have moments of relief. I don't know for how long, but I do know that relief comes.",0 "most people don’t realize the left side mainly refers to Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder. I have been diagnosed with both, as the two have high co-morbidity anyway, but OCPD is classified as a disorder that the person LIKES. I ENJOY my routines and neatness and organization. OCD is the opposite, it’s pure suffering, no one likes doing the things their OCD make them do. If this is the awareness month, let’s start talking about these more and being more informed.",0 "While I keep my OCD a secret from most of my friends, those that *do* know have stopped saying they're ""so OCD"" due to knowing how crippling it's been for me. And that's how I know they're my true friends :)",0 I love and support your theory. I try to apply what I learned from English 101 and half of what I learned from English 102 because I dropped out.,1 Exactly. It’s not a quirky little personality trait. It’s a debilitating mental illness.,0 I had 3 sinks full of dishes that i was worrying about for 3 days and I finished those and swept in ledd than 35 minutes,1 "Who are you to tell others if they have OCD or not? Especially since so many OCD sufferers constantly question if they even have it or not. You don't get to decide how someone treats their mental illness or if you don't think they're symptoms are the same as yours. *Edit: Question mark.",0 "I am so lucky the girl I'm dating knows I had adhd and finds the random things I say during sex charming. The other night during intimacy I blurted out ""I have an okay credit score""",1 Yep I wash my washing up gloves after I’ve finished washing up. EVERYTHING MUST BE WASHED DAMMIT,0 Oh yeah I have to start some shows over like 5 times because I keep losing focus.,1 "I remember drinking a bunch of energy drinks to get through my dense ass art history articles for class and I would still fall asleep, no matter how desperately I tried to keep myself motivated",1 "Is this thing very very specific to ADHD people or it can be found with others too? Cuz if this is the case, holy $#it I’m gonna cry, I always try to explain this to people that I kind of spoiled my HS experience as I didn’t do the fun stuff to stay productive but rather wasted that time on useless things, so no fun no productivity No one ever understood this and said I should use my phone and gadgets less, the only things I have, alone child...",1 "You’re allowed to express your feelings, on Reddit or anywhere else! This sounds like it’s deeply rooted in low self-esteem. You *are* enough and great the way you are, but no matter how much we tell you, improving your self-esteem comes from within yourself. Some days currently but definitely when I was younger, I felt like my brain was fucking broken and I’ll never be able to do anything right. Like I’ve somehow skated through life, gotten lucky, and one day I’ll be exposed as the fraud I really am! But that’s the trauma of the systems we’ve existed in, telling me I’m not enough. It’s genuinely false, I am just fine the way I am, I’m good at things and bad at other things, just like everyone else! It’s not your fault the world wasn’t built for people like us to easily succeed. I want to encourage you to use this as an opportunity to reflect. Where is this information coming from that you are somehow an evolutionary mistake? That’s a LOT of pressure to put on yourself existentially. You can spend all of your time and energy comparing yourself to the rest of the world, but it’s going to encourage you to keep being hard on yourself.",1 "I’ll wake up at 7:30 and be ready by 9 for a 3 o’clock appointment. I can usually sneak in a trip to Starbucks since that was my treat after therapy before I switched to virtual appointments with covid, but if I don’t go by 11 or so I’ll be too anxious to leave the house.",1 Literally every Reddit post I've ever starred. I have an IFTTT integration that saves starred posts to a Trello board for later reading. I'll let you guess how often I open that Trello board.,1 "Don't worry, some day you'll watch Marie Kondo on Netflix and you'll suddenly feel a strong desire to throw out half your stuff. That day will come. As will the hyperfocus to suddenly sort through ALL those pictures. Or at least a good chunk of them :)",1 I actually love the timing of this; I’m laying in bed resting after sterilising every inch of my bathroom,0 There is no pink Wojak who can describe how I feel right now,1 "Only finished a multiplication speed drill once in my entire academic career. My teacher badgered me and put my desk in the back of the room. She also once told my mom she didn't believe in ADHD. My hat is off to my mom for keeping her cool. I would have called the school the next day demanding a different teacher for my child.",1 "I call this my procrastination paralysis! Not enjoying the procrastination due to extreme anxiety about the fact that I’m procrastinating, but I can’t stop.",1 "I once had a teacher in middle school describe it this way— “Have you ever been trying to count aloud when someone thinks they’re funny and starts to shout random numbers at you to throw you off your count? That’s what trying to complete work at school is like with ADHD. Your work is the number to be counted and every single minute distraction will completely derail your output.”",1 What does The Cable Guy mean? RSD? More hyper fixation?,1 Sometimes you have to laugh at the shit in our brains. This actually made my morning a little bit better. Cheers y’all ....try to fight back today. Even if it’s for 2 minutes of holding off compulsions. It’s a win’,0 "Yes! I use lots of commas, dashes, parenthesis and ellipses all the time. It feels perfectly normal to me b/c this thought is connected to that thought and so on - and breaking those thoughts up into separate sentences feels...weird.",1 Oh my god I feel you. I know they mean well but it always just makes me feel terrible and sometimes even less motivated,1 "Thank you for sharing this. I am terribly sorry for your loss. In a strange way like the many other commenters below, this is EXACTLY what I needed to read right now in this moment. You are describing how I feel in my bones in a way I don’t know how to express verbally. As i’m on the verge of tears.. thank you everyone that has taken the time to respond on this thread—it’s SO so comforting to know I’m not alone and you all know THIS feeling without needing to mask, over-explain or justify it. It just IS. So much gratitude and love for you wonderful internet strangers on our floating rock.❤️❤️❤️",1 "sometimes you just gotta think, ""haha yeah that'd be rad, but i still gotta wash the dishes""",0 As a teacher and a person with ADHD this is how I describe it to my students. My brain doesn't know how to prioritize what to pay attention to. It thinks that the conversation we are having is just as important as what is happening out the window.,1 I’ll fold your laundry if you write my college papers,1 "i’ve been trying to get myself to drink more water about two months ago so i’d set hourly alarms through an app, and then last week i was just wondering just WHY my lips were so chapped... all the time... and then saw the 127 stacked notifications from the water reminder app :| it’s been a while since i’ve had more than 1l of water a day",1 This is very true. If you’re of a curious or precise nature with things you’ll only make things ten times worse by trying to figure things out. Sometimes even methods of fighting OCD become themselves a sort of compulsion if you aren’t careful.,0 "Hands down. First of all, I understand how you feel. I've been there before, but living with self-pity and anger got really boring. I'm medicated and it helps a lot. However...despite being medicated, I've discovered how much my identity and the way I relate to the world has nothing to do with my attention span. ADHD has completely influenced my perception of society. No ammount of treatment will make us happy to plug into the lives of the average person. It just won't. We aren't lazy. We just don't derive the same kind of satisfaction or fulfilment from things like.. laundry or dishes. Really ask yourself, ""what can I do to make things easier for me?"" I've stopped folding my underwear and socks. I just stuff them in the drawers because fuck it. Work smarter not harder you know? Also... The systems in place that define much of modern life are just mediocre to ADHD people. Public education was a big flop. Most jobs you'll find without a degree equate to existential death. In order to be happy in this life, you have to be creative. You gotta work in a field you're passionate about and pursue it relentlessly. I truly believe ADHD brains cannot compromise on the old school things our parents told us about an honest day of hard work. Eventually it just gets boring and we quit. If you have the time, privilege, support, etc etc to pursue your passions. DO IT NOW",1 yeah but this time i'll neutralise it once and for all,0 Lol yes. I will say though with (mostly self) treatment the thoughts are still there but mostly background noise that I ignore most of the time (just like the books claimed) . Thank goodness too because I was in hell there for a while. It still gets me once in a while but I just chuckle and call it a sick fuck ha.,0 "I’ve always been horrible with dental hygiene, but I’ve been brushing and flossing every day for almost 3 months now!! Sometimes it really does just take building the habit, but also I do not use toothpaste (idk why but I hate it, so I make up for it with a very good brushing technique) and I’ve only been brushing at night. Gonna try to start doing it in the morning as well soon lol.",1 Insanely damaging discourse. People love doing this.,0 "Yes!!! I had problems drawing too. Compulsions all the time. Glad to know it’s a common struggle. Congrats, man <3",0 "Kind of! Or the opposite I guess? I often don’t clean bc I can’t stand the thought of touching dirty stuff or getting it on me, but I’m super organized. I like clean and tidy but sometimes it’s overwhelming and I can’t do anything but get more and more anxious about it until I avoid it.",0 That’s fantastic!!!!! Now how did you do it? Were you just energized and inspired? And how do I do that?,1 same deal for me with mandatory working from home 😫,1 "This is why I think I'd totally forget a child in the back seat. It feels like anything is fair game.",1 My friend always says that he has OCD when it only involves something being out of order. It really bothers me,0 I never knew it was an OCD thing. Officially diagnosed a few weeks ago. I thought I was just nuts 😂,0 "I know what I must do, but I don’t know if I have the strength to do it. *continues scrolling through comments*",1 "https://youtu.be/TuWYAZvV4q4 Folks this is one of the guys I learned this from and he speaks about it here. He's one of the top OCD experts",0 "I hate this too, but my remedy has been pausing for a moment to search the answer on my phone, so I can further cement it in my mind and satisfy the curiosty at hand.",1 "Oh yeah. Our bodies are suuuuuper into all the extra cortisol wrinkling our skin and greying our hair and aging our organs, as well... Lol",1 "Every time I walk past someone, I think to myself ""did I just try to grope them as I walked by and hoped that the other person would think it was just innocent brushing?"" Every day, I'm convinced that I'm a sexual predator.",0 "Especially when the obsession comes in. You think about it so much it’s overwhelmingly satisfying. Until it fades away, and then a new obsession comes and starts the cycle again. Been there lots of time. Currently talking and seeing a psychiatrist and on Adderall for 5 months. So far with commitment I feel like a normal person",1 "I didn't know this was normal for people, it never happens for as long as 12 hours but i thought i was alone in thinking that.",0 "I fucking hate this shit. Seriously. Nonstop intrusive thoughts that make me do crazy shit, and then I end up causing drama.",0 "Most of my life I’ve lived in houses where the door is locked from the outside as soon as it shuts so my worry is more about if I have my keys and checking the zipped pocket I keep them in so I don’t get locked out, 20 times before and after I go through the door. Cause what if they fell out of the pocket last time you checked to see if they were still in the pocket??",0 "It’s not the “you didn’t lock the door” “Yes I did” It’s the “but what if you didn’t” that gets ya, the second level of “what if”",0 Any solutions to this? I try to link tasks together and think of them as a one task. Like my goal is to clear out the to-do list and the actual things I tick off are just landmarks on the way there.,1 wow okay I feel this a LOT. My intrusive thoughts are largely centered around self-harm and even on meds I still get stuff like this.,0 "Scrupulosity was my #1 obsession for most of my life. I wish I had some advice on how to get rid of it, but I don’t. Therapy and medication are what has helped me. Also, I used to remind myself that God knows each of our hearts, and He knows our intentions. He knows that you’re doing the very best you can to lead a righteous life. A merciful, loving God would never damn someone to Hell for having an illness. I totally reject that idea that mental illness has anything to do with a lack of faith. Whatever religion you follow, I hope that helps. ❤️",0 You’re a gem. Thank you for doing this for everyone on this subreddit.,1 "Yep, we safe. Let the normies deal with that shit.",0 When you decide it’s time to finally sort out your closet/storage so you pull every single thing out and you get distracted/bored after sorting like 1/4 of it so you start doing Other Things and your stuff just kinda stays there on your floor for days and now you can’t even tidy your regular stuff but you pretend not to see the growing pile of stuff on the floor but it won’t magically go away by itself but you still can’t get yourself to clean it up hahahahahaha am I right guys please send help,1 i normally hate this type of deep art but this is so mf true i cant not like it,0 "my brain at work when seeing a black person: ""say the n-word, SAY IT, SAY IT, SAY IT!!!! "" then comes the crippling anxiety because i dont do it, fuck OCD HOLY SHIT",0 "I set a reminder to type up my time sheet... you know, so I can get paid... location based, set to go off when I got home. I still haven’t done it. Probably won’t remember until tomorrow when I’m leaving work and have another to type up.",1 "Holy shit I’m late to the party as usual but this could literally be a game changer for me. I just started a new job last week and my boss has said he wants me to be the one to take notes of meetings and share them afterwards which has been causing me infinite stress. Thank you so much, I’ve literally been freaking out about how I’m going to manage this and when my attention is drawn to something else every 10 seconds.",1 "My cat attacked me a week ago, we are taking all of the proper actions now trying to make sure he’s okay physically and mentally but OH MAN is my ocd having a field day with the fear. I’m in my last week of my semester and am just now trying to get shit done, one paragraph in three hours 🤦‍♀️ I’m trying though",0 "'ADHD makes you walk on the sidewalk of your own life.' That is a powerful image for describing how sufferers feel thwarted and like they can never achieve their potential.",1 I do this so much. In college i always tried to remove some to appear more natural. Turns out it's related to ADHD after all lol,1 "I didn't know that feelings of intense guilt could be linked to OCD! I've been feeling extremely guilty for something out of my control for the past week, but I didn't know it was my OCD coming into the mix.",0 there are like 8 reminders that pop up every day on my phone for something i was supposed to do like 2 years ago i dont think i did a single one of them,1 "I get where you are, but in a way he _is_ correct, albeit in an out of touch way. I know that a lot of my struggles have to do with not wanting to do the thing, and that the more I think about trying to do it, the even less I feel like actually doing. Eventually when I can get myself to do it it's because I've just shut up and started moving. The trick is reaching the end state, without first having gone through the massive loop of not wanting...",1 "Lucky! We never got recognition for thinking in my day. I got marked “wrong” on answers I gave that were correct, but they made us “show your work” (which I cannot do and actually made me make many mistakes) and, because I didn’t reach the answer the same way the teacher did, I was “wrong” even though my answer was correct. I’m a great test taker, but ask me to “show my work” and I’m done. I can’t explain even to myself how I think - it just works for me.",1 And those few moments when the symptoms go away AND THEN YOU REMEMBER THE GODDAMN DOUBTS.,0 hey man. currently having alot of success with my OCD since i started forcing myself to do exposure therapy (not with a professional) save for those days where i relapse. And i think you might have inspired to make a post. Was thinking about it for a long time but i didn't want to upset people who might not be having the best time with their OCD especially thesedays.,0 "Literally so relatable. ​ Either that or I die on the inside because then I need to restart.",0 "All the time and I hate it, it drain every bit of life inside of me. I have this stupid feeling 80% of my day every single day, it completely ruin my life and I just want to never leave my apartment ever again. It was much better when I took meds tho and currently planing on getting back on them, because this is not a life worth living. It gets so intense too like I've not slept for days, I get easily mad, my entire body start hurting, I get anxiety, feel extremely weak and tired and I just want to go home to bed. But when I do get home its all magically good again, its a daily cycle and to me its the worth part of this curse.",1 "Fuck you, you’re right, man sincerely thanks a lot i love u, but also fuck you. Ahh i dont want to figure out what homework i have. Anyways thank you!",1 "This shit is why I have a reputation for being an angry bitch -- it's because if I'm not an angry bitch, this shit will bug me for *years* afterwards so I'd better let it out now because I can't just let shit go. It either goes out or in, no in between.",1 "I also have this very very terrible problem and so far my only salvation has been this: setting alarms. Habits are extremely difficult to quit AND START. It took a lot of training but I am learning to set alarms for EVERYTHING. Alongside this, I have had to train myself to FOLLOW THROUGH those alarms. I set alarms mid-conversation as soon as the time and date is agreed upon. As soon as I read the date on a letter. If someone sends me an email (i make it very clear ""i do NOT remember to check my emails, you have to call\text to tell me you send it"" that way the text will remind me to set a reminder to check it!) Just A S A P as soon as I hear the date or time! My alarm app is VERY CUSTOMIZABLE! I can have a template or every single alarm has custom settings. Snooze times, how many times, dismissal form (easy to very difficult options), shorten each snooze time, etc ... It will tell you how many snoozes and when snoozes are all used up you have just as customizable alarm settings (from shaking your phone, buttons or puzzles). I've made it an absolute habit to NEVER dismiss an alarm if i have not gotten my butt up to do it! The snoozes give me fair warning to finish what I'm doing. If i absolutely cannot do it, i will set an alarm to remind me later to do that task because I didn't do it. This is in your face explicit reminders. Works for me. I also have a fridge app that I have been inputting ANYTHING that goes in my fridge and how many days i have to use it. But that's not perfected yet, the notifications are not intrusive enough and get overridden constantly. So I'm still working on that. I can't 'autopay' bills because it messes me up in keeping track mentally of my money. I have app that's work well buy sometimes there's too much going on and i can't bear looking at another screen until I can relax, which causes me to miss things. So... Yeah. Still working on that too.",1 "I have this and it’s the worst thing in the world. Even as I’m typing this I feel like I actually don’t have it and I just have guilt because what I did is “actually” bad, but I have to try to remember that is the OCD talking…even though I don’t believe that right now",0 I'm curious about how you slept? I was surprised when you said evening as my doc was pretty adamant that you want to take it at breakfast (especially in the beginning) so it has time to wear off and you're not wired at night. How was your experience that way or do you just work nights or something?,1 "This but also standing up a couple of times and pretending to fix my jacket when the reality is I ""need"" to stand up so I can reset the entire ritual because my brain got distracted by the crowd and inevitably did it wrong.",0 "Saved, shared, and most importantly gave me some validation for the literal panic I’ve been feeling all day for no reason. Was supposed to pack and clean before a trip in two days. Today I managed to take a 1/2 hike (turned around mid hill), go to target for no reason, and make homemade breadsticks. No packing was accomplished 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️",1 "Or people who label others as OCD. ""He's so OCD when I go to his house. He makes me take off my shoes and doesn't want me to sit on that one chair."" Or ""yeah my mom used to be so OCD about grammar"". Like what? My OCD is so severe that I have a disgusting room. No daily routine to be kept because I'm exhausted from the symptoms. If their version of OCD is simply *enjoying* clean and organized things, then I would gladly trade them so I can expierence ""real"" OCD. (Eyeroll) And don't get me started on ""we're all a little OCD"" or ""obsessive Christmas disorder"" or ""obsessive coffee disorder"" and then you get called a killjoy or told you can't take a joke without making it ""political"" when you grill them on what exactly their obsessive corgi disorder does to them each day.",0 It is driving me to admitting sui.cide in my next birthday or so I guess,1 "Turtles All The Way Down. John Green's latest book. An author who has OCD writing a protagonist who also has OCD. The book is getting a film adaptation, too.",0 "It's very frustrating talking to others about this. The stigma that you just miraculously phase out of it as you age, never truly experienced it in the first place, or can manage it simply by ""focusing"" makes this all the more difficult to deal with. It's not only by peers either; dealing with pharmacists and doctors is equally as frustrating. I can tell my doctor has been trying to wane me off meds for years, as if they are bad. My meds immediately turned my life around and have kept me in a great place for a decade now. I don't plan on changing any time soon.",1 Imagine how many people read into this and couldn’t get themselves to answer although they’d actually really like to give some support,1 This is the best image I have seen in a while! Will use it when I'm having intrusive thoughts! Thank you so much for sharing!!,0 "I want to share this to another platform, how do I credit you?",0 "I have this one light switch in my house. I can’t touch it, I have to use something else to switch it on and off. I sanitize it often but still can’t touch it. One day I realized I couldn’t even remember *why* I considered it contaminated in the first place. My lizard brain just decided for me and I went along with it.",0 I got a Google mini over the holidays. While turning on and off my lights is cool being able to just tell out to create reminders and timers is actually kind of life changing. Going to do the laundry set a reminder. Need to call someone back set a reminder. Removing the barrier of entry to do that stuff really helps me.,1 Play some video games. It helps me keep intrusive thoughts away.,0 I wear headphones at work and play podcasts all day. I'll listen for a few minutes and then eventually just end up imagining that I'm on the podcast and the shit that we would talk about and the headphones at this point are just something that separate me more from the outside world to make my day dreams more vivid.,1 Personally I never really minded the “a bit ocd” thing but this is a really nice story.,0 "I wish I could have learned this earlier, but I’m trying now.",0 The future does not exist; the past is gone; all we have is the present and it is a gift.,0 "Hard agree. My mom is the only person I really have for support and she is literally the definition of toxic positivity. ""Your ADHD is a choice you're making. It's because of the school system! You don't have ADHD, you're just gifted!"" It makes me want to blow my brains out. Thank you to the subreddit and the Discord for being free of that mindset.",1 "Oh dear god. Very relatable. My sister told me to ""get out of my head"" once when she upset me before. This was right after I told her I was officially diagnosed with adhd. Ironically, I'm pretty sure she has it as well though mine is inattentive and hers seems hyperactive (like my dad). It stung so much because I was newly diagnosed and relieved to share the news that I'm not crazy, I've just been undiagnosed with adhd for 30 years. Only to be told ""its all in my head"" like no shit sherlock! Maybe she should tell that to my psychiatrist and therapist lmao I am so sorry we have to deal with ignoramuses in our own family. It's so frustrating and dismissive. (Also, I am so jealous you can levitate! Maybe I will too next time I'm insulted for my adhd)",1 "anxiety: just get ready me: *tries to ignore it* anxiety: what did i just tell you? my body: *freezes and starts shaking* me: how am i supposed to fight in this state?",0 Don't talk enough or not loud enough is a HUGE one for me. Like pretty much no one can tell when I'm struggling or that I have ADHD until I declare it because it's all in my head. Until I'm literally falling apart that is. It's so damn frustrating because I really feel like i'm on the edge most of the time.,1 "My psychologist says don't look for certainty. Look for peace. Just typing that made me take a deep breath and my shoulders relaxed.",0 Or when someone says “oh I have SOME OCD” like bruh...,0 "Yes, quite often. But I've found that exercising (like jogging or riding a bike) can actually help alleviate some intrusive thoughts. Your body is moving, your brain is getting oxygen, and you're out in the world. My thoughts are ""clearer"" and usually less biased and more reasonable after I take a walk around the neighborhood. Even if I start the day with horrible intrusive thoughts, I can usually take a step back and admire the trees or the sky or the wind when I'm outside. So I'd say that you should try to go for a bike ride!! It might help! (-:",0 "Man, I *wish* planners would work. Over the last 20 years, I must have tried every time management tools under the sun, nothing ever even came close to controlling my executive dysfunction. I'm so dysfunctional, I was up until 3am this morning playing fucking Snowrunner on the Xbox; I have to drive my wife to a hospital appointment at 11am 🤷‍♂️🤦‍♂️. Fuck me, I hate ADHD.",1 The cycle for me is it’s too early to get up I’ll go back to sleep. Oh damn I slept so late better get shit done before it’s too late. Oh I played on my phone too long and now my roommate wants to play video games guess I’ll work tomorrow,1 On the flip side could this explain why I hate planning so much? Because somewhere deep down I understand by the time I get done “planning” I’ll have no desire to do the actual thing I’ve planned to do?,1 You said it all. Literally my whole life went like this.,1 I’m about to cry. I wish I was strong like this. The intrusive self demeaning thoughts in my head have been so intense lately being in quarantine and dealing with all my classes online now but struggling with focus (adhd). I just wish they would leave me alone so I can just try the best I can.,0 "I‘m worried that I cheated on my boyfriend or harmed loved one‘s of him. I have no memory, but only this gut feeling and I don‘t know how to continue. There is a voice which keeps telling me „if you‘re not with him anymore, you cannot hurt him“ and this makes me depressed!!! I don‘t wanna leave him 🥺",0 "Oh yeah definitely. Disorganized, stuff everywhere and hoarding but when I decide to stop procrastinating then I really get organized.",0 I had a colleague tell me “I wish I had OCD” when I told them I suffer from symptoms. I was offended honestly. Like you do not understand what OCD is clearly.,0 Managed to unpack because all my other clothes needed to be washed but the suitcase has been a great kitchen floor ornament for 3 weeks.,1 "You look gorgeous! Keep it up, you're on the right path!",0 "Similar situation where I'll set a bunch of reminders at say 8/9am on my days off, I end up sleeping in or staying in bed passed 9... like maybe 9:30 to 10am, so then I'm like ""well crap, now I don't have time to do anything, I should play games while I still have time off so I can enjoy the day."" results in usually taking weeks to get something done cause I'll postpone the reminders & tasks until my next days off.",1 "I tried waking up an hour early to take my meds for a while. It would take me a good chunk of the hour to fall back asleep, and then it would be crappy sleep because I couldn't really relax knowing my alarm would go off again soon. So all that happened was I lost an hour of sleep and got up cranky, frustrated, and exhausted. I have trouble falling asleep in general unless I know I have a minimum of three hours before I have to wake up again. Otherwise anxiety keeps me from restful sleep.",1 STOP KNOWING ME ! GET OUT OF MY ROOM! 😭 it’s true I have a problem.,1 "Getting good sleep can help manage ADHD. In my experience, when I do not get enough sleep, even on medication, I have issues with initialization whereas when I get enough sleep,my initialization issues aren't as pronounced. I have not really tried modifying my diet and particular ways to see the effect on my ADHD. Presumably, it could affect ADHD too. Edit: does > can, will> could. Obvs not everyone reacts the same.",1 this is literally the mindset that people think is a joke... THIS HAPPENS😂,0 "This is one of the most frustrating things. I recently finally sat down to do something and it was much easier than I expected. I look back at how many times I put it off, then was wallowing in self pity because I hadn't done the thing yet. It was a real eye opener. I try to prioritize by doing the easiest (or presumed easiest) tasks first and then save the rest. But sometimes I don't get to the more overwhelming stuff and the cycle just continues. I know I have so much potential so it kills me sometimes. My best friend is the only person who gives me the kick in the ass I need, but only because they tell me how talented I am, while at the same time roasting me about how much I don't do. Somehow the mix of the two helps motivate me to do shit. What you said about being a mind prisoner describes it perfectly. I sometimes get the ""paralysis"" when I'm too overwhelmed and then the fatigue kicks in. It's so hard to break out of that. When that happens I'll go for a walk or to a park or something to pull me out of my head.",1 Thank you this is very kind of you and benefits us all.,0 omg except i never actually got good at finding things,1 "Constantly and it's exhausting 🙄 Then I get caught up trying to ""prove"" to myself that I am kind.",0 "I was taking a class once, and one of the other students in my work group was for some reason telling us about her rich boyfriend, can't recall what but it was something about spending some money, like weekend trip across the country or some crap like that. One of the older ladies in my group is like ""Oh you better hold on to him!!"" Of course I said nothing, wasn't going to touch that. Inside though I am screaming at her lol...""DO YOU HONESTLY BELEIVE THAT?? I BET YOU DON'T, YOU LOVE YOUR HUBBY, YOUR LIFE AND YOU DIDN'T BASE IT ON THE GUY WITH THE DEEPEST POCKETS, AND YOU WOULD NEVER ADVISE A TRUE FRIEND TO SHACK UP WITH THE RICHEST GUY IN TOWN JUST FOR THE LIFESTYLE WOULD YOU??"" **Moral of the story: People just say meaningless shit sometimes**",1 "> just get out of your head and do what you need to do. I wonder if there is some wisdom in that statement, even if he didn’t intend it that way. I often deactivate all of my social media accounts, meditate, and sometimes have to live an unconventional life. When on vacation with family I have to dedicate a lot of alone time (that’s not an adhd thing though). I make an identical breakfast every single day because I’m way too scatterbrained to do it any other way. I sleep with my phone in the kitchen every night so that it won’t distract me for hours as I wake up. Sometimes you do need to do what you gotta do",1 "I understand your frustration. I was only diagnosed a year ago (I turn 50 in July) and everything made so much more sense during the evaluation on all my behavioral impulses as a kid, teen, young adult and now old dude. My shrink also had ADHD and I think that is how she spotted mine since I was seeing her for Anxiety issues (now I know they are intertwined to my past history). Glad you are able to rant about it. I think this sub is perfect to do so. Keep ranting, keep working on it!",1 """This is not an obsession. I'm just thinking about it a lot. But it's normal to be worried. Look at those cases of people that are not tested early. I'm just very cautious. Yes, that's it. I'm going to call my doctor. No, I don't want to make him think I'm paranoid, I'll send him an e-mail. Not that I'm paranoid, because this time it's very real."" x1000",0 "Without meds I am fucked. I recently told my dad I had ocd. He proceeded to say ""My gf says I am very 'ocd'. lol. OCD is a crippling disorder. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for people who do not respond well to meds. Just because you are nitty gritty about how neat and perfect your room should be does not mean you have any remote clue what actual diagnosed OCD is like. Have you heard of exposure response prevention therapy? You expose yourself (in small, tolerable doses) to your anxiety trigger, over time, until it fades away. Usually you do it with a therapist. I have yet to try this but I am on some very effective meds. But it is very hard apparently. And ERP is not the only treatment available. Have you tried antidepressants at high doses? They are usually prescribed at max dose for people with OCD.",0 Y'all better not save this post telling your selfs your gonna read it later.,1 I completely relate. The why emphasizes the information as important. ADHD interest based brains can unintentionally filter out necessary info if it doesn’t register as important.,1 "I couldn’t agree more. It really sucks that everyone thinks all people with ADHD are merely affected by hyperactivity and possible learning difficulties. It’s so true ADHD is an invisible disability. There’s so much more complexity to this disability, spanning emotional dis regulation, disordered eating, executive dysfunction, etc.",1 I'm so happy you titled your paragraphs that was blissful to read lol,1 "Guys OCD is very, very often a part of ADHD. ADHD can give you sensory issues. So that probably is the reason why you guys have OCD and sensory overload. I have Aspergers and ADHD. So I have this shit too",0 "OH MY GOD THANK YOU!! Not enough people understand this and it’s so relieving to see. The way my OCD works is i need to put my things in certain places as well as other shit, and so many people don’t understand because of the stigma. Then they start to move stuff and whew things get messy...",0 Then I try to educate them and I can't and I go on a crazy obession ,0 "We had to have this kind of argument with the guardianship board about my brother (autism/intellectual impairment) over his money and how it's spent. They would only allow $20 for a pair of shoes. Problem was my brother found them uncomfortable and would normally rip them up within a month. Record was 5 days. In a year he paid over $300 in $20 shoes. They didn't seem to care how many we brought just that they were not more than $20 each. My parents got sick of having to take him shoe shopping and spent $200 of their own money on good shoes for him and took a photo of them every month. A year later he when was still wearing them (proven by the photos) the board finally agreed and paid them back for the shoes and stopped arguing about when we wanted to spend more to buy him higher quality things. There is no point to buying the cheaper thing if you don't use it/eat it/ if it breaks super quickly/causes irritation and frustration that spending a little more money would solve. Doesn't mean you need to buy a solid gold toilet seat, just don't get the $5 one that breaks every month and feels terrible on you tooshie",1 "Who cut the onions?? This struck a chord, thank you 💕",1 "Does anyone else have problems with like loud noises? High pitch? I’m uncertain if it’s a characteristic of my OCD or what. I recently have been kinda coming out of a month long episode after getting my Zoloft upped. Sometimes all noises can make me crazy. I have some ear plugs that help with anxiety and everything it causes.",0 "Yeah, I just got diagnosed. This is my life. It's so hard to function. They come and won't go away. I have tic where I say things out loud to distract myself. Or I shake my head violently involuntarily. It can be pretty embarrassing.",0 "Bruh, THIS. And for me, since it’s connected to my religion/morality, it’s always like “God is punishing you and it’s your fault 🥰🥰” even tho that’s not what my faith teaches/what I believe. OCD is the worst.",0 i have to crack each knuckle or it feels extremely weird and uncomfortable,0 Just know that even if u have it theres a very very little chance of you dying only old people and people with weak immune systems have died with it.,0 I couldn’t make it past where his shirt changes color then back again.,0 "OCD👏Isn't👏Always👏 About👏Contamination👏 ​ but actually, the idea that OCD is a cleanliness/neatness thing is why it took me so long to realise and get treatment of the fact that I have experienced pervasive OCD since I was really young. it took me way too many therapy sessions for me to accept my condition.",0 I love this. I've been attempting to frame them this way. I often use a comedian as the voice. It seems to help.,0 I started feeling this way at 5. Its so strange. Why do we do this to ourselves.,0 "What I love about this is that it doesn’t name specific obsessions. I spent 18 years being told and believing that I had ADHD and anxiety, not OCD, because I didn’t have any of the most common OCD obsessions or rituals. I have ROCD and my obsessions revolve around concerns that my husband is secretly unhappy as well as the irrational belief that my ex-boyfriend is actually my soulmate and I screwed up my life. I didn’t know until I was diagnosed that ROCD was even a thing.",0 "I saw a post about OCD awareness, and how it can save lives. My OCD has made me almost unalive myself numerous times. It really helps to read these posts and realize I’m not alone! And I agree with you, people don’t get it. people think OCD is “quirky” and basically think it means you’re just a perfectionist. They don’t understand OCD is much more complex. They have no idea what it’s like for your mind to be your own worst enemy. Some disabilities are invisible. I’m rooting for you, and for everyone else on this sub!",0 I swear if I hear 1 more person say”I like to be really clean I’m kind of ocd lol” imma back hand bitch slap you and show you my ocd screaming episodes it’s not fun it makes me wanna die,0 "I'm planning on doing my nursing dissertation on adult ADHD, and I'd like to do more research into it at some point. I'm not planning on mentioning in them that I have it though, as it would be considered unprofessional/irrelevant. I suspect a lot of research has been done by people who have it, and I know for a fact that healthcare students are told it is inappropriate to share things like that with their patients. Theres a good chance you've met medical professionals with ADHD, but they are unlikely to mention it.",1 "2 is unlucky and the worst. But 4 is worse because there are two 2s. Also, 3,7,21 are all good",0 "As an ADHD med student considering going into psychiatry, this post is inspiring. While I think several specialities might be a good fit for me, I am realizing I would probably be a really good fit for psych. I think/hope I would be able to use what I’ve learned about ADHD over my own life, in combination with my medical training, to offer high quality ADHD treatment and med counseling. I see a major need, which makes it hard to envision doing anything else with my MD.",1 "I’m writing my thesis at the moment and struggling with the same problem. Though my university is still open, I still have to write my thesis on my own and do my own planning. It’s a literal nightmare, even though the topic of the thesis is very interesting to me. For me it worked to meet with my sister a couple times a week and sit in the library together. She is writing her thesis too, but doesn’t have ADHD, she has really good organisation skills. It really helps to have a buddy that is holding me accountable. So my advise would be to have a buddy or ask someone to help you with this. Inform professors about your problem so they know you struggle with it and maybe they have a solution as well.",1 poor man's award 🏆to encourage more solid self-help resources on this sub!! was getting sick of the usual self-deprecating stuff. setting aside time to read this!,1 No way!!! Your skin looks absolutely pristine. What has helped you (if you don’t mind me asking)?,0 Literally talked with my therapist about this in the past and was shocked that OCD can fuck with you like this. Unbelievable.,0 "I really needed to hear this. I'm saving this post so that I can go back to it when I need to hear it again. Thank you for sharing it. I'm so sorry for your friend.",1 So with my ADHD a big thing for me is I don't feel anxious alot and it leads to me going into a lot of situations feeling like I always have a mask on because I dont have full emotional range. This post was actually extremely reassuring for me.,1 "Nice one. But I kinda did this in a way. Left all technoligy and severely linited my phone and took the RV into the mountains of Colorado, where I did some sort of Tech Detox for what was supposed to be a month, endedup being almost 4. During this time i lived pretty much like normal, only had a laptop with movies and shows on it. But thats it , no gaming, no internet and a nearly wiped phone, just had it to call my parents. Idk if it really helped with my ADHD but i did learn how to focus better. I got interested in things i wouldnt have during yhe before time of tech dependence i had. I would go for long hikes which was annoying at first without having a podcast blasted in my ears constantly, but eventually i got used to it. Got lost in my thoughts, focused on my running pace, and getting intrested in random stuff in nature. Eventually i returned to the real world, but i never re installed social media and mindless games and generally never use my smartphone as much so that something i guess. Is mindless rambling allowed om the adhd subredit lmao",1 "Freshman year of university I had a roommate who was crazy(She knew I was diagnosed with OCD but told me I didn’t have/understand anxiety????). Anyway she was super into meditation and alternate healing and all that. I tried to explain that meditation is basically impossible for me because I cant just not think. like that’s unheard of for me. She told me I wasn’t trying hard enough. I went to therapy and my therapist said meditation can be absolute hell for some ocd people. Sweet sweet validation",0 "You are so strong, good for you. I have the same fear regarding animals and contamination. God bless you and keep up the courage.",0 "Great job! Keeep it up! Maybee even add intentionall imperfectioons.",0 "The hyperfocus is real. I just found out about r/flashlight, and i think im gonna be spending $100 on a fancy metal tube soon",1 """Waow! OCD is like when tidiness and order right? You know when you wash your hands after you take a shit? Sounds rad yo!""",0 "YES. my mom sometimes asks “what grade did you get on _______” and i say i don’t remember because i REALLY don’t, and she guilt trips me for not remembering",1 I alternate between both because I don't really have an internal throttle. So if you tell me I'm being too intense then I'm going to end up on the opposite side because it's either all or nothing for me. Which then frustrates everyone because now they thing I'm doing it maliciously.,1 "I love you sweetie. I could only laugh when I read your post. Anything else would have been too painful. If only it were that easy, right? And , gosh, why didn’t I think of that? Thank you dad, mom, teacher, E.R. Physician…Did I leave anyone out? I’m sorry you had to experience what your dad said to you and I admire you for seeing the dark humor of it. You are going to be o.k. and do great things(in your eyes). You can see the absurd humor that threads through life and that’s a gift. Take good care 😊",1 """Make sure you get plenty of sleep and eat a healthy diet to help manage your {*insert literally any condition here*} !"" You see these two - ""sleep"" and ""diet"", often along with ""regular excercise"" - as solutions in *sooooo* many health related articles for all sorts of things. It's like, *of course* they help but they are so generic as to be pretty much meaningless when it comes to specific treatment... like throwing a grenade at a dartboard.",1 Idk what it is but it just seems so loud. There’s so much coming into my ear at one point and I just retreat into my mind further,1 "Feels great to be validated. None of my intrusive thoughts (or at least catastrophic ones) came true last year. Still, I worried for months until I finally got things sorted. Now I'm actually way too fatigued to be worried.",0 Me hearing my people at my school say ”ugh I’m so OCD” when they draw a line that’s not straight😃,0 I am crying. This is the best thing I’ve ever read!! Way to think outside the box!!,1 i literally just ranted ab how i’m afraid to get my new therapist bc i think they’re going to tell me that i lied to my current therapist and made it all up,0 "I feel this. I've been an off and on again artist (it was a gap of four years before picking it up again in august). I'm passable — others think it's cute, it's well-liked on twitter, I've been asked about commissions (people want to *pay* for it, what the fuck) — but I can only draw one thing. It's whatever I'm obsessed with at the time. I'm not motivated to draw anything else because it doesn't release that serotonin of drawing those same characters. Money isn't enough motivation, it *has* to be that character. It feels so dumb being incapable of that and lacking the willpower.",1 "I know exactly how you feel because that's how I felt every single day for many years. Today, without any meds, it feels like a distant memory. Stay strong, patient and do what you have to do, you'll get there eventually.",0 This has a Scary Stories original illustration vibe!,0 It’s like getting weeds in a garden; just cause you found weeds there didnt mean you planted them.,0 "Oh my. So there is a word for this after all! I always promise myself never to give in to these things though. They do feel like they come from a malevolent influence and I will not give in to them. I can see how some people do though, and that could explain things for a lot of people.",0 "Well at least i wish my OCD was that cute, unfortunately it's not. On the other hand, the ""me"" drawing is a pretty accurate depiction of me when i let OCD take charge.",0 "To be honest; I find it a bit sensitive to say it, also I don’t try not to let OCD dictate my whole personality.",0 "I hate when people say ""I'm so OCD"" because they keep the house organized. It's the same exact thing with the coronavirus, it's your normal washing your hands... Accept alot of people DONT do that!!! Guess there learning normal hygiene now huh?",0 "True, makes me want to scream. I come from work, with the traveling including its 12 hours from home, surrounded by mostly strangers (travel by train), office work, a lot of people... And those are Germans, I don't think they understand what introverts are, they can't stop talking 😭 - Just glad I can wear earphones while working. And then I come home, to what? Fun stories from my mom 😀 I understand that she wants to spend time with me bc I'm away from home most the time, I also understand that she has some problems she wants to share but I'm literally of no use there. I told her many times that I need silence when I come, I can't conetrate on any of her words and they just keep irritating me . Idk if she forgets that I told her or she doesn't take me seriously but I do have the wish to punch her sometimes. Purely a wish from the overwhelming feeling of the day. LIKE STOP. JUST STOP.",1 "You don’t have to eat perfectly healthy, just good enough. Find a middle ground that’s easy, and go from there. Maybe instead of pure chocolate bars, eat granola bars or something else with chocolate in them. Even a chocolate chip cookie with a box of almond milk is better than nothing at all. You could try flavored packets to put in your water, or try a juice or v8 now and then instead of soda when you do impulse buy. Maybe even a protein drink if you realize you haven’t eaten. Just getting enough to eat and staying hydrated will go a long way towards taking the edge off of the other issues you’ve mentioned. Do whatever you need to do to make easy and convenient. Keep food by your bed if needed. It took me waaay too long just to learn to pay enough attention to myself to recognize when I was hungry, and even longer to start using good strategies to eat enough. It was a huge help in a lot of areas when I finally did start learning how to put it in practice. It’s a work in progress. Make it as easy as you can. Get midrange stuff that’s not total junk or healthy but dull. Treat yourself like a kid that you like. Give yourself high fives when you do well, and forgive yourself when you slip up. You can totally learn how to feed yourself.",1 "I always interpreted ""thought"" in that context as ""belief."" A true belief is undeterred, and I wouldn't argue with myself about it.",0 "The way am I just don't clean often because when I do I have to make sure I get EVERYTHING in the room that I'm cleaning. One day I went to clean my room and because one pair of pants was unfolded in a drawer I had to unfold all of the other pants in the drawer ( they were already folded neatly and put away) just to refold them all and put them away. The other day I did something really stupid and stood on a very small shelf in my shower that I'm honestly really surprised was able to support my weight because I "" needed"" to clean the wall above the shower. The only reason I even started cleaning the bathroom was because I wanted to pick up some clothes that were on the floor and put away the makeup that I left sitting out. So I mean I'm sure there's plenty of people with OCD that are messy just because that doesn't bother them, but I'm usually messy because cleaning is just too much stress for me. I try not to let my room get messy but when it happens, I usually just try not to look at it...",0 "Organization never really soothes the OCD heart, I just always think it will",0 That guy in the pic is probably fine af. Can just tell,0 "I can usually focus on dishes until I finish them, but this is exactly how I operate when I'm putting things away (usually after the house has looked like a tornado for several days.) Put an item away, get distracted, notice there's a million empty soda bottles, throw them away, open all the unopened junk mail and throw it away, put another item away, watch the YouTube video I put on for noise, find another item and think ""oh THAT'S where this went!"" Put it away",1 Hey if you've tried all these options then you might be a good candidate for TMS. It definitely helped my OCD but it's not well researched for that and is mostly used for anxiety and depression which it also helped me with,0 All of my life. I didn’t understand what they were until I got therapy for OCD.,0 "I got engaged and now OCD is like, “if you get married you’ll die in a car accident and he will forget you.” BPD made a surprise appearance I guess lmao.",0 One of the first psychiatrist I saw refused to prescribe me adhd meds/even consider the possibility that I have adhd because I managed to stay in my seat the entire hour I was talking to her...,1 "Everyone in the comments is talking about how doing something like bouncing a ball, or tapping, looking at their phone, etc. helps them focus on conversation and my ADHD ass is like ????? Does not compute??? I feel like I'm missing out on what appears to be a universal ADHD experience? If I am watching TV and someone tries to have a conversation with me, both the TV and the person stop making sense. I have to pause or mute the show to understand what they're saying. I can't do idle tasks (knitting, typing, drawing, etc) while watching a show or else I miss everything that happens. Sometimes, when someone is talking to me, I actually have to sit still and literally cover my eyes to make sure I am focusing directly on what they are saying. And all yall are talking about multitasking??? The thought of scrolling through my phone while listening to someone talk makes my head want to explode.",1 "This was the most significant knowledge I received from treatment, and it made a disorder that was previously impossible to explain (or even fully understand myself) into something people around me could understand. I run and tell everybody I know about this now. Anybody who has a mental illness (I told a lot of ppl this in hospital) actually has something major click when I tell them this. A lot of issues in humanity are a byproduct of our natural brain being at odds with the way we as humans currently live, which is far different from in nature.",0 "OCD is so ridiculous. I can relate with any ""new and scary"" disease, infection, sickness, etc in the news As soon as I hear about one of them, my brain thinks ""oh no, I've been sniffly or coughed ONCE today"" lol",0 If it were a real person I would’ve beaten their ass by now,0 "Me to my friend: I can't hang out today I have homework to do Proceeds to do nothing the entire day",1 i blink really hard when i experience a horrible intrusive thought,0 Yup I routinely screenshot stuff on my mobile that is useful for me and nope I don't remember or look at them until 2 years later.... I even forgotten I have such folder :(,1 "You're absolutely right. And this is why I don't think I will ever change. I've had OCD for as long as I can remember, I don't have any concept of sitting with uncertainty (just the thought makes my chest tight with anxiety). I have no idea where to begin, or what life without OCD would look like. It's been a part of me for so long that I'm not sure who I would be without it.",0 I guess from my perspective my brain is trying to shortcut most of the tasks I need to do.,1 Yep. I have to constantly remind myself my intuition is broken. Or is it? (s),0 O'Keefe's working hands. Doesn't feel gross or smell like anything. Has helped me tremendously as I am also having a hard time with my hand washing compulsions. Be kind to yourself!,0 I guess this explains why I almost intentionally deprive myself of sleep just to get shit done cause the adrenaline of completing a task while half dead is what lets me actually do it. Or studying for exams and stuff.,1 It’s better than falling asleep when your getting head. My wife continues to tell me all about it the next morning lol 😂,1 "Seeing this really made me feel something. For a really long time, it's made me feel almost stupid or incompetent, coupled with feeling like it can't be because of ADHD because I'm so used to every person with ADHD I've come across being able to practically quote a random article they read 2 years ago. Then when I'm asked about things I read a few hours ago I might be able to tell you what I searched and maybe tell you a random sentence that sticks out in my head :/",1 "I 100% relate!!! The why is the most important to me because without understanding that I don’t understand why the process is needed and can’t seem the step as more than some arbitrary step that has no purpose. I’m always fascinated in how many people don’t know the why because they’ve either never been told or never asked the question themselves. I always thought this was an annoying learning issue for mine and tried to overcome it but I just can’t move past something without the why.",1 """you spend too much time in your own world"" I admittedly was kinda lost as a child, but this killed my ability to be creative, or even get lost in other worlds. I can't enjoy a good book anymore, or even watch anime or play games for long periods of time. It sounds stupid, but that was my sacred space, where I was never judged, and a place for me to heal and deal with my anxiety. Welp. There goes that. Thanks guys.",1 "Or when they say ""just stop, don't do it, have you tried that ?""",0 Proud of you! Keep it up. With not doing compulsions you are immensely weakening OCD.,0 "I feel this in my soul. Whether it’s something on television or the music I need to be on in the background, I require distraction.",0 "My gf has had severe panic episodes and terror. Trying to communicate during episodes feels like waking her up from a nightmare, only to drift away shortly after. I never had a problem accepting it is a physiological part of the illness that one can’t just, as a partner, help her overcome. This helps me better understand the mechanics of the OCD at least. I will still be patient, calm, be there for her, and support her and her psychologists advice, but it still helps me to understand such a complex and severe disease. I truly feel sorry for those who have to live with this condition. Movies tend to generalize OCD to a point where it “makes sense”, but I find it frustratingly irrational and only more frustrating when trying to understand the cognitive aspect of it.",0 "I’m sorry :( when I was told that I was at increased risk for breast cancer, I decided to get a bilateral mastectomy because I just KNEW I would continuously procrastinate on getting checked up every year, even if I found a lump... please don’t beat yourself up. A lot of people without adhd also procrastinate on getting things checked at the doctor, and it would have been even harder to for you... The great thing is that you DID get it checked out. I mean, seriously, that’s great. I hope you can get treatment and that you’re ok. Nobody would have expected at your age for it to have been anything. Please don’t beat yourself up and just focus on getting better. I also recommend you find someone, a parent, relative or friend, to take with you to all of your appointments. It’ll be really hard to take in all of the information (even at the best of times) you’ll be given by all the different specialists you’re about to see. Be kind to yourself. hug*",1 Yoooo been there. Had mostly gotten over germophobia until 2020 -,0 I am fucked as my ocd is basically checking if i locked the door and if the stove and kven are turned off before i got to sleep so exposure would result kn me probably dying or getting robbed,0 "I'm annoyed that Youtube also has a 5,000 limit on vidoes you can like. You can still like videos after that limit is reached, but they won't appear in you're ""liked"" playlist",1 "LOL my latest fixation. When I'm not depressed and sleeping all the time (cos that's been my default): is this a manic episode?",0 " Very relatable, even with being diagnosed as a child it was never really taken seriously or talked about in my house growing up. To the point where I forgot I had it, or that it wasn't just some label they ""tried giving me"". My mother's just not understanding what ADHD is also wasn't helped by how much I hid my struggles. Just always got through it only showing the good results. By the time I got to college and that was a lot harder to do no one understand why I was ""suddenly struggling"" and that I must not ""be trying hard enough"" and I internalized a lot of that. Didn't think it could possibly be ""that ADHD thing"" Even now after accepting that, learning about it, and working on it for years now I still struggle. What if it just my fault what if I am just lazy? Thing is I don't think most ""lazy"" people spend there lazy time desperately wanting to be able to do anything. It's hard though, day by day struggle to remind myself honestly.",1 "Could you be so anxious about wanting to keep your game that you're fighting against the intrusive thoughts which causes them to occur? In my experience intrusive thoughts get worse the more I struggle with them.",0 "Pretty sure dealing with the system will be what pushes me right over the edge. The waiting. The lack of access. The lack of affordability. I’m just trying to not take my own life. I fight all day everyday. All I want is to live, but I don’t know how long I can keep going, because of this exact kind of scenario. And I’m scared. And I scared to tell people because last time I did they locked me up without anything that could help me, and wouldn’t let me sleep or even talk to anyone.",0 tfw you’re not panicking for once but you feel like you should be so you start panicking because you’re not panicking,0 And I’ll still be late because I’ve started hyperfixating on some new obsessive thought,0 "2 months of no compulsions? Geeez that’s unreal? My longterm goal is 1 month without doing my worst compulsion, but my smaller ones are an every couple of days thing at best :/",0 Thank you for this. I feel this way constantly and now it is really starting to effect not just myself but my husband and marriage. I will feel like I was productive that day and then I realize at the end of the day a handful of things (sometimes very impirtant) that I just didn't even think about..and then its too late and loved ones are upset.. struggling and feeling very down.,1 "Putting the ketchup and sauce in the fridge, tossing the Panera cup and the couple little pieces of trash around it, and putting the crock pot and other big pot in a cabinet will take a minute at most and really help! You got this.",0 I’m guessing they think it’ll get them to neaten up.,0 Is this when u think of every possible thing wrong w yourself and you basically hate yourself bc you feel worthless?,0 "Is the cancer thing seriously common? I thought I was the only one terrified that any new pain in my body means a slow, rotting death.",0 I’m not diagnosed with ADHD but this post is awfully similar to my experiences,1 The worst aspect of this is having a talk about stuff with a romantic partner. They feel like you didn’t listen and it damages the relationship.,1 "I'm gonna be singing this in my head all day tomorrow, thanks.",0 "[Here is an invite to the official /r/adhd Discord server.](https://discord.gg/gEpqrbS). We have channels for accountability and seeking advice already, and will expand when we see there's a need to.",1 "Oh I love this one. Also when I confide in people that I desperately want to do something but can't, and they say ""well obviously you don't want it, or you'd just do it""",1 "This makes me think of organized chaos. My brain likes to put things into boxes, and if something doesn’t fit into one of those boxes, my whole brain will turn into static and tornadoes.",0 You should listen to the talk Robot Pencil talk about paying art debt. It's free from the recent Adobe Max conference. He recommends just blocking out time you do things instead of relying on motivation.,1 I am only on anonymous forums and use an email address not connected to me name wise. So i cannot be doxxed.,0 On days like that I just keep on telling myself that small steps can still be made...it's still a struggle to do those small steps tho,1 Wow this is something I never experienced before. I feel starved for stimulai i never really felt this way. Dang ADHD is pretty vast on how everyone experences it isnt it?,1 "Like when people are interested in your theories on a subject and asks about your sources or where you read it. Me: ""Well I don't know! I had two days where all I could do was to google all about this, but I know it was a reputable source, no I can't find it because I had to close all my open tabs in a panic so that I could snap out of learning and make myself something to eat."" Them: ""So you know nothing about this is what you're saying. Too bad."" Me: ""ARGH!!!""",1 I always think I’m dying of an aneurism like I’m fully convinced I have one and I’ll die if I’m not careful with my head lol,0 That episode of Spongebob where Squidward is “running those errands” and keeps running back to check on Spongebob to make sure the Krusty Krab is okay is basically how I feel when I constantly check plugs in their outlets to make sure everything is safe,0 "That's so interesting, but it would explain a lot for me!",1 "I'm an anomaly - I've established a pretty sick routine in the past two weeks. I've colour codes categories for each hour of the day - I have ADHD but need to work at home, with my husband, and two kids, one a preschooler. I guess the crisis has unlocked my ADHD superpowers!",1 "I used to be incredibly artsy/crafty and sometimes it feels like my adhd has killed that part of me. I have a pile of projects I swear I'll get done, but every time I try I get distracted or encouraged. I miss being able to just sit down and create.",1 "Who cares about your missing legs, just get up and walk.",1 "You're not alone bud! I've got OCD, anxiety and depression. These are definitely difficult times but all we can do is take it day by day!",0 "It is happening, you see it on the news all the time mainly from high profiled people but you can bet it is happening 100x with average people. Every cringe memory of teenage or college years could haunt you years later. Idk how much of it is my ocd or reality. What if a girl i kissed or been with later regrets it even though was deemed consenual at the time etc. anything from your past could be overthought. But in the end worrying doesnt help you.",0 "Damn, is that all it takes? I thought the levitating thing would at least take a few meditation sessions.",1 """I tried my best to try my best, but..."" It sucks because on the rare occasions I can unlock my brain, it feels SO GOOD, even if it's nothing that special or amazing I am amazed by how easy and great it feels to just Do The Thing, I love it, I want that feeling every day but then I blink and... It's gone. That great, amazing feeling is gone, the great, amazing ME is gone and I'm back trudging through the mud to even get to the fucking mountain... Using shame to whip myself into taking action was all the control I had. Trying to heal from shame brings so much frustration that's not all from me ""judging myself too harshly""... there's a genuine drawback to being nicer to myself! My lack of productivity is measurable! Perceivable to others! Ok, radical acceptance says it's better to make my goals tinier and easier until I can't fail to meet them, but my life is SHRINKING over here. Hard to trust this is really the path to things getting better, when That BestBrain Feeling feels further away every day. Signed Me, a mud person",1 "I quicksave every few seconds, really. Also, if there's respawning loot (like gems... looking at *you*, Skyrim), then I'm in real trouble. I'll spend way too much time hoarding obscene amounts of shiny things, and not enough time progressing through the main storyline and completing the game.",0 "I'm actually on a better sleeping schedule since this whole thing started. In fact, being in crisis mode, forced me to focus on getting the necessities done first. The last big week in Vegas, I double downed on my rideshare hours to make enough for the whole month to cover my bills and just planned my rideshare hours and route around my house to save on gas. I also started waking up at 3 AM and exercising and showering and taking care of myself before I started driving. It definitely takes structure and planning but it's not impossible.",1 Lucky you can't say I have felt that way in a very long time.,1 "Every night. Every frikkin night I’m sitting here lost in the world of my possible adhd condition, and the problems I face in life, and something overwhelming as this comes across me, and I shed a few tears. Every night.",1 "I’m in the same boat as you man, 24 uk and sick of this shit too. If only we had the focus to write our own articles about adult adhd lol",1 "Wait, this is an OCD thing? I thought I was the only one lol",0 Congratulations!! It does not sound dumb at all...not on this sub. It's a victory!!,0 Thanks for the tip! I'm deffinitely adding that to my to-do list.,1 "I’ve learned that whether or not we believe or are aware of it negative thoughts do have power and we attract what we fear by compulsively focusing on it. Danger is always real but fear is always a choice. We can’t control what happens in life or in the future, it’s part of where fear stems from. But we can control how we react to them. Acceptance is the root of healing. Accept what you fear may happen but also may not. Accept what you fear did happen and accept that you can’t change the past. Accept that you have no control over what you don’t know and learn to let go. It is possible as impossible as it seems and I am proof of that. Once I got healthier this post helps me stay that way by reminding me not to fall back into old habits that served me no purpose but pain and fear.",0 "I think we all are, and in my case my first molar after my upper right k9 tooth is basic cracked completely open on one side the sensory input was maddening till it ripped the interior pulp and garbage out with a metal toothpick, I still need to get it pulled but keep forgetting",1 This is so brilliant! I imagine my brother would be the only person willing to do this with me if he didn't live so far away. You have a special thing going with your dad.,1 "Hah, last night I was battling with myself over what I should do. I told myself just one of the three errands I needed, and to pick one. But none of them sounded fun, and it was a struggle to not just throw it all to the wind. So then I thought about which of them I would suggest *if someone else was the one doing it.* Then it was super easy. Clearly Option B should be done tonight, Option C tomorrow, and Option A on Monday. As soon as I thought about me doing it I was filled with the same abhorrence, but it was super easy to pick it for ""someone else."" So, with the action chosen I just then had to tell myself the bad news that now I was the one that had to go do it.",1 "I go through phases and my ocd looks different throughout the day. Mostly my ocd is pulling out my hair, picking my face and body, searching all my signs and symptoms for hours and the mental obsession of many things. I’m doing better because of meds. Hope everyone is okay and getting through this",0 " >I don’t know if there’s a reason for ADHD. Hunter gatherers with adhd had more muscular mass that one's that didn't, and that's it. For a long while our species depended on the people that liked walking around aimlessly and were curious and recently the normal became being capable of sitting our asses and thinking about one thing for 8 hours",1 Are you me? Even down to the destiny reference lmao 🤣,1 "Yes! This is very common. I went through this when I was in elementary school VERY BADLY. I started going to Saturday school at my church and I got extremely triggered when it came to the after life/ heaven and hell kind of things. I started panicking all the time and would cry to my mom every night and I would have her sleep in my room with me every night. Eventually I got past it and i felt it again a year into college and when I was extremely depressed because I thought to myself “what would I do without my parent?! I’m so depressed I’ll have nothing and that sent me into a spiral. Fast forward two years my dad does actually pass away and since then I’ve been extremely terrified of my mom passing and when she doesn’t text me back I track her location and call her friends to see where she is and if I don’t text her before I go to bed I feel like something might happen. It’s so hard, but when these thoughts come up we have to validate them and let them go. Ultimately, OCD triggers are things we can’t control. We can’t control what happens to people... but we can control our actions and how we go about intrusive thoughts about death. My nephew is going through this now as well and I always tell him “hey this is probably not going to happen any time soon, but if it does, you are OKAY and you have so many people who love you. But for now focus on being young and doing things you love.” And I’m telling you the same. Let go of the things you can’t control and enjoy your present and make it worth it. I hope I gave you some light. Inbox me if you ever need to talk xoxo",0 This is such a relief. Kinda. I thought I was the only one with intrusive fire thoughts!,0 "currently me rn, why are you attacking me??? ~~*^please ^help ^me ^i ^need ^to ^sleep*~~",1 "Yep! Every single day, over and over and over. Stupid and insignificant things. Right now I'm literally trying to use chaos magic to try to banish the intrusive thoughts. Trying to not let them rule my life, but it is really difficult.",0 One form of my OCD is that I hate wasting which means my room is really messy because I don't like putting clothes in the wash unless I am sure they are dirty and I'll save scrap paper just in case I use it. Does anyone else have this?,0 "Unfortunately true. When you're anxiety-free for a few days, the brain starts to freak out and scan for something to obsess about...or bring up past obsessions.",0 "This isn’t solely an OCD thing, but people with OCD experience this. You don’t have to have OCD to dwell on mistakes.",0 "I can definitely relate to this. It still gets me down that I spent 7 years practically all over the place, isolating on my phone, screaming at myself that I'm not doing enough and all of the negative self-talk that lead to my different depressive episodes and such. I didn't realize just how much my ADHD affected me in my adulthood and why I found it hard to, ya know, function. I went on Vyvanse about 3 years ago, and my focus, mood, anxiety improved. I was getting better at keeping a sleep schedule, a routine in general, my attendance (seldom called out, but was late a lot) at work greatly improved, and overall I was better able to apply the different approaches of CBT to my life. Lately I've been struggling with my depression since losing my job in August and the conditions of the pandemic which stripped a lot of the usual things and routines that helped me to manage my stuff. I've been attending school full-time, but it's all online. Even though I'm working toward the goal of my education and a career, and also working my ass off and putting my brain through whatever it can take, I think memories of me being unemployed in my early 20s, screwing up school the first time, sitting around doing nothing, ineffectively managing relationships, and all of the other signs of my maladaptive behaviors are lingering. I struggled with the reality of so many years 'wasted', but at the same time, I've gained so much knowledge and insight about a lot of things, including myself. While I'm still in that process of making peace with the past, I try to remind myself that yes, mistakes were made, however I'm not making those mistakes now, or at least as frequently. I then try to switch focus to the future and remember that the only choices that matter are those of what we can do today.",1 "Can I ask what tests they ran to confirm your diagnosis? I’m going through something similar right now and so far only bloodwork has happened with confusing results. Thank you for sharing your story so far. If you need anything during your treatment, this community is here for you!",1 "are you doing this on your own or are you seeing a Psychologist? if it's the latter, then do Psychologists answer questions like if a cashier has a bandage on one of her hands and she's using that hand to give you your cash or receipt, what would you do? How does a Psychologist approach this situation?",0 "OP, find a better therapist. I also had a terrible psychologist who told me that my mental disorders don't make a difference at all to her. It ended up making me feel worse because she got frustrated that I couldn't do the CBT exercises properly. I found a better therapist at uni, and I'm so glad she showed up at the right time. Hope you can find someone who specialises in OCD. Good luck!",0 "I'm OCD contaminate, and feel waaay calmer when things are tidy. But I also have depression, which ends up with me being too tired to clean or do anything and then I get too overwhelmed to clean and ya. It's a vicious cycle lol",0 I do this with some of them. But mostly I tend to do this when I get specific memories of things I hate. For example I'm always randomly getting memories or thoughts of getting kissed and i always hated that so I jerk my head away like I always used to when needed.,0 "i relate to almost all of this, but when i went to my doctor appointment my doctor barely let me get through my symptoms without her just shutting it down claiming i would’ve known since kindergarten :/",1 "Yes, I’m vegetarian and I’ll be like ‘you don’t really care’ ‘why do you do this you might as well eat meat’ ‘this doesn’t mean you’re good’ I’ve ate meat during a couple of breakdowns though and the guilt is immense, so it really is just our brains messing with us!",0 OCD people when they touch a knife for 0.0001 seconds,0 May sound ridiculous to some but I’m really proud of you for going against the obsession. Sorry you are one of many with shit genetics,0 I was on Prozac for a bit and it made me wanna kill myself more. Did anyone else have this problem or was it just me?,0 "Yes same. It does not feel good when one realize that this is the reality one will be stuck with for the rest of one's life. ADHD is always going to be a part of you. ADHD is giving me so much depression I friggin hate it. And therapy for it feels kinda useless as most non medical treatments for depression aren't made for someone who has ADHD. I am also scared that I won't be able to work at all once/if I graduate from uni because of this diagnosis. It's just so debilitating.",1 "Although I'm not ocd, I can relate, I feel like crying when tree beaches are cut down or pants are plucked from soil to clean an area, idk if that's ocd though. ",0 "Honestly, I can’t get my family to accept that I have OCD because I’m not tidy and they don’t get that I’m not tidy because it’s impossible for me to group objects together right and that it is less stressful to leave it a mess at times then to try to fight the overwhelming feeling that things don’t belong together the way I put them away. Not to mention the picking at blemishes and black heads. I *want* to leave them alone... I really do.",0 Yes! It feels like every single day is a complete battle against my brain to get things done. Especially now in the extra stressful covid times,1 "Same reason I got into embroidery. Listening to an audiobook at the same time can be nice too, unless you just really need some quiet.",0 Is there a way to pin this post to the top of reddit so it's the first thing I see when I open the app? And then also have it show up every 20 posts or so?,1 "This fog has been really strong the past few weeks for me, after just over a year of working from home during COVID. I’ve always had issues starting something I’m not 100% excited about, but recently, it’s felt like I’m like my brain it had to lift a skyscraper with a toothpick. I’ve been a bit better the last few days, but I feel like a combination of depression and brain fog have been following me the past couple of weeks and almost nothing seems to help.",1 "I never understood why I always had to have chai lattes to do anything and everything. Also I am only motivated by surprises. If I know the outcome I have no interest in the task.... omg that’s why conventional things are boring and stupid jobs waiting tables or trying to run a business are more exciting because you never know what will happen with people",1 "all the damn time, bro. just take a deep breath, and tell yourself you'll be fine.",0 "Personally I can’t do this because I will focus too much on the good things that cause a dopamine rush and then overlook the bad. When I broke up with my now ex, I had to train myself to stop looking at pictures of us when I felt down, to stop thinking about the memories when I went places where we had experiences before, etc. It made me realize that for that dopamine, I couldn’t think about myself, experiences, and places without him being the center of it. So now when I do experience what you’re speaking of, I reach out for new affirmation instead of clinging to the old ones. It helps me stay level headed while still maintaining my sense of self.",1 "(possible trigger). My biggest problems are obsessing, checking and hypochondria. I can normally keep these things in check but its been through the roof recently and I'm starting to worry more about contamination because of my fear of being ill. What makes it worse is a few years ago I started having loads of really bad headaches and immediately thought I had a brain tumor. Managed to push those thoughts aside relatively well and think rationally about the situation and it was probably just hormones or something else. Well turns out it WAS a brain tumor (benign) and that has only validated my hypochondria further :/",0 "Sometimes I have to ""do the dishes"" and finally get around to hanging my curtains and deep cleaning my bedroom instead. Every once in a while the procrastination works to our advantage.",1 "Years of academy training, wasted! I have this *baaad*, but it's worth reminding that the only thing more of a waste than actual time wasted is beating yourself up over it. Because in my experience, lack of forgiveness for yourself will make procrastination worse.",1 "Wow!!! I can’t believe these gummy bears just completely erased the crippling and disturbing intrusive thoughts that haunt me every day! Thanks, OCD Candy Company™️!🥰🥰",0 "This is such a huge relief to learn that I am not the only one... I shake my head and make ritmic sounds with my nails and scream ""ridiculous"" like it is a spell against my OCD. I try to think it as a boggart which constantly makes me suffer by telling me my worst fears will come true if I don't do my compulsions and I am doing rhe "" riddikulus"" spell against it... I know it may sound childish but it helps to distract me.",0 I have this issue..it sucks. You try to keep your mind off of it and then it comes at the most random times.,0 It's weird that my OCD comes in the morning and stays there until the evening when I can finally relax. The thoughts are still there but it's easier for me to control them.,0 This has the most beautiful ending I almost shed a tear. Let us all single people here find a partner like you.,1 "Fix it? Damn ocd is a master liar, this doesn need fixing its great",0 Especially parents laughing like it’s some silly little neatness quirk and you awkwardly going along with it while slowly dying on the inside,0 I literally take Gummi vitamins with my meds so it is kind of a treat every day,0 """Fridge drawers are where my food goes to die.""(Not my quote, but seemed fitting here.) So much money wasted! So many books bought but never read. So many subscriptions never used. So much food thrown away. All the clothes bought and never used. Furniture ordered and never returned. The deadline I missed and which cost me $100 bucks. The impulsive buying of a flight I'm never going to use... Over the years it adds up to 1000's and 1000's of $$$ :-(",1 "This post rocks and if I could boost it with some awards I would. When my income improves a bit, I'm going to consider this. A few years ago when my mother was living with me in her final days (hospice at home) we hired one of those cleaning crew companies to clean the house once a week. The cleaners were women in their 20's and I liked the fact that they worked in pairs. Seems safer for them, not to mention faster. Unfortunately, there are things their company policy forbids them to do, namely: dishes and laundry. But those are my two biggies! So, while there are advantages to hiring a company, you have to consider their limitations. Hiring a private person like you did is really smart. I'll have to check out care.com.",1 "As a 50 year old who recently admitted that my doctors were right after resisting for a decade, I’ve come to terms with my diagnosis recently. I too agree that finding info for adults is like digging through a massive garbage pile of children’s toys..",1 "Even if it's not intentional, art imitates life. If these are the themes and issues he was dealing with in life it is only natural his art would represent them. Slightly off topic but I read an article one time saying that Michael Scott from the office was basically the poster child for undiagnosed adult ADHD. Again it may have not been explicitly done so but he very well could he based on the type of boss the writers has to deal with that was undiagnosed. His behavior throughout the entire show makes so much sense in that context. It also explains why I involuntarily cringe at some of his outbursts. I see myself.",1 "Yeah ny doctor honestly gave me similar advice. Just become the ""and then"" lady from dude where's my car but with ""so what?""",0 my university is likely to do the same. worst case scenario it’s online the rest of the semester. and if that happens i’ll off myself,1 "I live in the south(US)so I grew up where ""spare the rod,spoil the child""was a thing. I was spanked quite often,to the point where my brain broke and just started making me laugh at the pain. It made the adults livid so they'd hit me harder or have new, inventive spanks. I laughed harder and more,to the point that the church thought I was possessed(no joke). That was a whole other issue... In the end I just became numb and had zero feelings. It was almost psychopathic because I felt absolutely nothing... I started hurting myself when I hit puberty (pulling out hair, pinching,etc)then upgraded to cutting myself as a 12 year old. Corporal punishment is never the answer.",1 "Oversteer/Understeer Disorder Modulation Disorder Mental-Emotional Static Disorder Engaging Disengaging Disorder Anchor Loss Disorder Drifting Away From Shore Disorder Bouncy Dissociation Disorder Involuntary Experience Syndrome",1 "And when you finally open your laptop it won't connect to the internet! And you have to write an email from your phone to your professors explaining, and knowing you sound like a fountain of excuses. Seriously I've tried everything. I restarted the laptop, restarted the router. Phone and TV connect fine, it's just the laptop.",1 This is the worst. I was terrified to start meds b/c my brain convinced me I got the wrong diagnoses. -.-,0 I know that artist! They're birdstrips on instagram. Love em.,0 "It's odd how your brain can actively know what your thinking is bullshit, yet, at the same time, cause you to have a freakout about said thought.",0 "Exactly the same for me, I care, but absolutely cannot get myself to do it, and then I’m just anxious about it but still don’t do it. It just comes across as pure laziness and I always figured I was just the laziest pos on earth.",1 "Yes! This is exactly how I feel! A way to stop yourself from being on your phone is to type in the wrong password a few times and lock yourself out",1 Are intrusive thoughts like this commonly attributed to OCD? I get them all the time but I was always thought it was because of bipolar disorder.,0 "So so so sorry for your loss. Fuck man, thats tough.. Wish you all strength. Also thanks for your post. It hits close to home. Lord knows it aint easy. Thank you and wish you all the best. ❤️",1 "I genuinely genuinely can't say thank you enough. I've seen so many of those kinds of posts with collated tips, and lots online which like you say aren't always from our perspective! I never, ever could have put this together nor had the time to find even half of these things for myself, so thank you 💞 I really might be over the top thanking you so much, but lockdown and whatnot has been an absolute killer for me, and this feels like something I can make a to-do of sorts from. Anyway! Thank you! I can see how much effort this must have been, and I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart. Hope you're happy and healthy !!!",1 "Totally agree that ADHD is a ridiculous name that misleads more than it helps. Maybe it would be worthwhile to focus on the neurochemistry aspect, and just call it Dopamine Deficiency or Dopamine Disorder. No subjective aspect to the condition's name, just straight up saying that, ""we don't get enough dopamine (and that makes life suck in one or more of the following 1,000 ways).""",1 "I feel like this won't necessarily replace notes for me but it will certainly help me organize my thoughts and give me a base to work from! Well suggested, I'm going to use this all the time from now on.",1 This saved my spiraling mind at a time when I couldn't focus on two things at once... Ty PornHub! Lol,0 My sister told me the other week that I can cure my adhd in 1-3 years by taking antibiotics lol... yikes.,1 "That sounds like a double entity problem and if that is true we would probably have no free will! As the phrase says, we would be just observers, or slaves (?!), of the happenings in our CNS (that sounds wrong, where would moral agency would be?). Also, have anyone noticed how that would imply that we are just that sort of phenomenal-stuff? Where is our body in that picture of ourselves? Sound wrong if we analyze it, but definitely at first glance sounds correct even if a little bit dramatic. By the way, thanks for sharing I will use it as a great example if I need to talk about this kind of stuff in the future. Have a nice day, saludos desde México.",0 When I was a child I thought it meant you never got attention off your parents. Basically a synonym for neglect.,1 Thank you! Would love one of these every day tbh lol!,1 "We are either too much or not enough for other people. We are held against neurotypical standards but we can switch frames and think about it as neurotypicals being not talkative enough, not emotional enough or too focused and too involved etc. What I want to say with this message is that we are not too much or not good enough, we are who we are and when we're thinking about being too little or too much, you're comparing yourself to someone else. Embrace yourself for who you are, you can use your 'too much' and 'too little' traits to be the person one exactly needs, because it's you they needed, in every aspect of our being.",1 "Right, now let's talk about projects around the house...",1 "Eurgh. Spoke with my new adhd specialist today and he’s scheduled a meeting at 4:30, on the 22nd, proceeded by a 3:00 appointment with my doctor. There’s definitely something off about meetings at 3 in the afternoon.",1 This was the reason why I enjoyed the lockdown. I didn’t like the fact that ppl lost their lives but I did like when the world turned off a bit.,1 Awesome!! What was it about yesterday that you were able to do that?,0 "I feel you. I am not properly diagnosed and I read other people struggles for signs. But I don't wanna bring this to MY story, just saying I feel the same. My sentiments to you, this really sucks. One thing I found out recently that has helped me a lot is Dr. K. he is psychiatrist that streams on Twitch and use easy language towards audience. By watching him one of the things I learned is the the teachings of Dosha in Ayurveda: Vatha, Pitta and Kapha types of mind/energy. Even if you don't relate to this corporate life suits Pitta type people and I think myself a lot like thinking fast/working slow and being easily bored or losing interest (a Vatha mind characteristic) or doing thins again for double and triple checking out insecurity. Check it out, maybe this knowledge can easy your mind.",1 "Ah mine is named wintersmith after the ain antagonist in the Tiffany aching series ""Wintersmith"" because he's trying to get what he wants and do what he thinks is best but is actually causing a ot of problems for a lot of people.",0 "I used to bite the skin around my fingers so bad that my fingers were constantly throbbing with pain. Thankfully I beat the compulsion, can't remember how. I hope it never comes back.",0 "I need an accessory brain to complement mine, because mine sometimes doesn't do the thing. Kinda like my writing computer doesn't run games. If I want to game, I need another device. If I could swap brains like I swap devices it'd be game over for them losers",1 "Serious question, how effective is exposure therapy ? I wouldn't say I'm ""scared"" per se of stickers, but I would definitely be fine with the absolute ban of any sticky paper surfaces in the world, which I obviously realize won't happen. So my options are to avoid stickers like it's literal AIDS (like I've been doing for like...15 years ? something like that) or get over it. I just don't see how I could get over it since it quite literally drives my anxiety through the roof until I get a panic attack whenever I have to interact with stickers and it's getting harder and harder to avoid for some reason. It's also super humiliating to have the cashier at the convenience store rip the stickers off my items for me or tell my boss I can't do that one thing because it involves interacting with stickers.",0 I wish I’d seen this BEFORE I spent an hour on a compulsion just a few minutes ago.,0 "Omg I DONT have OCD, i should clarify, but when I get intrusive thoughts I verbalize something to get myself out of the mindset",0 When ever I’m left alone without my phone most of the time I start crying haha because I’m a pathetic human being that does stupid crap and i always think everyone hates me haha :),0 "I keep thinking that soon enough I’m going to get my shit together and start doing this hobby, or pick up this good habit, do better in school, etc. I’m terrified to start school again but I’m even more scared to finish school. I don’t think there’s a job for me out there. I feel like my excuses are overused and that my time is overdue. I always am having such a hard time but when I try to help people and just handle all of their stuff, mine piles up more and suddenly I’m freaking out and making my failures other people’s problem. I just am ready to get to the part where I’m. Just. Living. For as long as I can remember I’ve been having little reasons to stay: I’ll stay until my favorite show ends, I can’t leave my cats, I’ll hurt these people, I have this concert to go to, etc. I want to know when I’ll get a chance to live like everyone else does. I just think too much and stay in my head too much. I don’t know. To everyone feeling bad, the little stuff that you hold on for, they’ll keep stacking up. I have 3 cats that are all mine, a girlfriend who is the best person I’ve ever met, tickets for a concert in august that’ll hopefully not get postponed again, I just moved into a new place. You’re gonna feel better than you will right now, but you’ll also feel worse somehow. Life is really hard but when I tell myself that all of the stupid rules I have to follow are really just made up, everything is a bit less tight. Idk I don’t think this makes sense but I love all of you and each of you bring something special to this world. Thanks OP 💗",1 It’s a shame that it can be so difficult for others to relate.,0 "Yes! I always fear that i’ll get falsely accused of being a r-pist or a racist or something else that’s evil despite me not ever doing/believing in those things. Thank you for bringing this up, i never would have even thought this was a symptom of OCD!",0 "They look good. ! My hands look so much worse than your first pic, cracked, swollen, bleeding. I have been trying to use a thick emollient at night with cotton gloves but I only manage a couple of hours before I wake up and then have to wash again . It's agony. Any tips would be welcome.",0 "thank you for being a good d2 sherpa, /u/CumLandFill",1 This is like The Scream. It’s horrifying and beautifully drawn and represented here <3,0 "This guy's post history is atrocious, holy shit. I wouldn't be surprised if this was a troll attempt",0 "Saving this so I can copy and paste it to my therapist lmao. I once had a guy tell me that I should have figured out how to deal with ADHD without medication, since I'm an adult now. I said ""I don't think you know how ADHD works.""",1 I think I’m pregnant all the time. Anytime I feel sick or weird. I never go buy a test cause I know I’m not.,0 pissed me off when my teacher did this too. WHO KNOWS I HAVE OCD. bitch once you go to the hospital and suffer for years without knowing what was wrong with you then you can tell me you have ocd. once you spend hours getting changed because you’re scared if you wear the wrong thing you’ll die then you can tell me you have ocd. i have to deal with mental images of horrifying violent acts every second of the day.,0 I’m recently diagnosed and NEVER struggle with stuff like this but clearly fit things like executive functioning disorder. Usually with a movie I’m hyper focused and loathe interruptions. I’d much rather watch in a theater than in my home. Especially now that I have kids. Does anyone else experience only some things associated with ADD and totally not others?,1 "And THIS in a nutshell is why I believe that evolutionary biologists are onto something when they propose that ""ADHD"" is a spectrum of adaptations among some in the homo-primates to better the odds of survival, though some of those adaptations would make the quality of life of ADHD indidvidals harder. I think 🤔 f the evolutionary adaptations in other species that sacrofice individual or a small group of the species for the survival of the species as a whole -- off the top of my head, fo example, the males insects that did after mating or are killed by the females in the process of mating, etc.",1 "I hate that my fears are about health. I feel like if I let go of the idea of watching out for disease, I'll get the disease I'm most scared of, haha.",0 "Please tell me how to stop obsessing about memory, catastrophic thinking over every mental misstep, memory hoarding, thought action fusion, hypervigilance, doubt, and rumination?",0 "Hello? Is this me from the future? 😂 I related so strongly to every, and I really mean every, bullet point.",1 completely irrelevant but can someone tell me what that little creature in the pic is?,0 "This is my every night. Bonus points for not even getting a decent nights sleep once you get in bed thanks to constant nightmares, tossing and turning, waking up every two hours.....",1 "I feel like that tracks up with RSD and low arousal theory - if something that we're not enjoying is made worse by the disapproval of others, even more dopamine is getting sucked out of the whole experience, so why on earth would we even bother.",1 "I mostly save posts of really adorable pet/animal gifs, so going through to find a specific piece of info in my saved posts is a joy.",1 "God damn! OCD-sufferers are literally like superheroes. The quality of their work is unparalleled in every industry in which they participate: Music - Michael Jackson Art - Michaelangelo Science - Tesla, Einstein, Social-Science: Darwin Activism: Martin Luther King Jr. Acting: Katharine Hepburn, Harrison Ford, Howard Stern Directing: Howard Hughes ​ And many of these people are quite literally the smartest people of all time. OCD is a diamond in the rough for sure, but it's one tough road.",0 Aw Buster is such a handsome pupper! Give him lots of pets and hugs from me,0 I moved last week and I was like this for about 5 days total.,0 "Thank fuck I'm not alone with that fear, mines more spiders than snakes but yeah",0 "Tbh when I saw this manifestation thing take off, I was afraid I would manifest all of my bad thoughts into existence. My thought process: Burnt toast? Manifested. Broken mirror? Manifested. Impeding death when I step outside? Manifesting in progress, anxiety intensifying. Thank you for sharing this OP. My mind can now rest knowing that none of these bad thoughts will become real.",0 Tbh looking back even at my “best” times I definitely still had it. I feel like I’ve had ocd since childhood. Even my therapist after one session was like... go back further. The more we talked the more we realized I’ve had ocd since my dad died (3 days after my 10th bday). It’s changed and evolved over the years but I’m definitely worse now but I try to think of how much stronger I am. Yes my diseases keep getting more invasive but I’m able to handle things now that I couldn’t have back then. So I try to find the positivity (if I can) I’m most situations.,0 Thanks for helping me unearth my lost spank bank!!!,1 "I just budget time perfectly and then go running back to the house 3 times before leaving because I forgot my wallet, a tool or to swap the laundry over. I just have so much going on that I orient my mornings with being clean, presentable and on time... then I'm late.",1 Trying to fight the idea that I have some mental problem I obviously don’t have. Constantly at war with my own mind.,0 "I got some werid foam strong cleaner that I use to get the dishes clean, it really fucks me up but I love how squeaky it gets them",0 "Babe. (Sorry if that's a rude intro; am drunk and call everyone pet names bc I'm a waiter who used to be a waitress. It's not important; anyways..) U should be proud when u overcome *anything* holding u back and if anyone understands this shit it's this sub",1 Good luck for the classes and keep up the great work!,0 "Once I ran upstairs to get a bandaid for my mom, who was bleeding. I forgot what I was doing and came back without one. All I could say was, ""Sorry, I pooped and forgot."" I was an adult by the way.",1 "Not as much as my 8th thought of the day. Still, this cracked me up.",0 "I don’t know if I have clinical depression or not, but I do have both ADHD and Anxiety, and have had several phases in the past year where I have gone through long “funks” with depression symptoms. A hell of a lot happened in the past year for me, on top of the pandemic and being home alone most of the time, so its probably due to that. And dude, I’ve had this situation you described happen over and over again, to the point where it took me until 3/4 of the way through my fall semester last year to start pulling myself out a little at a time. And even now, occasionally I’ll slip into a state like that, and it feels like utter shit. You’re not alone my dude. It really sucks. And I’m glad I only have to deal with that occasionally and not all the time. Sometimes Anxiety will do something similar where I dread an upcoming event or something I need to do so much that I cant make myself do anything but doomscroll desperately looking for stimulus or motivation; and then getting really panicked and mad at myself when I lose track of time and still haven’t started the thing. One time that shit caused me three panic attacks in like 2 weeks, and this is after I spent years getting help and medication for my anxiety to the point where panic attacks are usually rare these days.",1 omg! i work at dunkin’ donuts and i feel this way EVERY DAY about ham. i’m a vegetarian and i feel really sad about animal cruelty a lot but for some reason ham in particular is so freaking upsetting to me,0 "OCD for me isn't about acting on my intrusive thoughts in a visible way. For me it's mainly in my head. It's like being stuck in a circle where you run and run and run and run and you can't get out. Every time you get that thought you're right back in the circle. You lose grip of reality, you're stuck in your own head and it's so hard to get out of that circle of thoughts and intrusive thoughts and impulses to neutralize the thought by thinking something else. It's terrible. Time consuming. You feel so alone with your own thoughts and they JUST. WON'T. SHUT. UP. But somehow they keep slapping you in the face no matter what. Or, when you're having a good day and BAM one thought related to your compulsion/obsession and you're stuck. Gotta love it💩",0 "It's my first time on this subreddit and I'm laughing at all these comments because I have never felt so validated! It is such a relief, I'm smiling rn typing this",1 cant heal from it gotta find tricks to cope with it for the rest of our lives aint that fun,0 "My nightly list includes stove, oven, fridge, all doors, pet food/water/safety, and CO2 detector (among others I do sporadically). It’s so exhausting 😔",0 "me, not being diagnosed with ADHD but still relating so hard to this post guess I should probably finish that assignment that's worth 15% of my grade and is due in two hours",1 they're stacking for me that's what we call a pro gamer move,0 Me the past few weeks ;( it’s exhausting and I want the noise to stop,0 "I developed little tricks like writing **everything** down, sticking sticky notes up on the cupboard where I can't miss them, setting multiple alarms (on different phones) and so forth. I also like to put down the time I need to **leave the house**, not the time of the appointment. I figure the appointment (or shift) time and work backwards, taking into account (in reverse order) finding a parking space, traffic to get there, getting into my car and out of my own lot, getting dressed and ready to head out the door. (It's like freakin' **Memento** or something, lol, tho' I haven't gotten to the point of having to tattoo reminders on my flesh yet) So if the appointment is, say, 3pm, I'll figure 3pm minus 10 min to find a spot, 20 min for traffic (dep. on time, location), 10 min to get myself ready to head out my door, so that means I need to be out the door around 2:20 or thereabouts. I'll write that number on a sticky note and stick it to the cupboard so it's right in front of my face and can't get covered up by some other piece of paper.",0 "People always told me “Adderall robs you of your creativity.” I never created more or was more creative than when I was on the stuff.",1 "I think that this has a lot to do with our trying to be “in control” of our lives. My therapist and I talk about this quite a bit. It’s like I’m always guarded or waiting for the other shoe to drop. Can’t be too happy because something bad will inevitably happen. So we create these scenarios in our head. Sometimes just to fuck with ourselves and remind us that nothing is permanent, but I also think it’s a way to mentally prepare. But we don’t have any control over mortality. We need to try to be happy and appreciate these moments while they’re happening, because someday life will change. But mentally grieving in advance will not make it any better when/if it does happen. My therapist says: you will survive when something happens. But until it does don’t perseverate because you’re not controlling anything by worrying about it and really you are just making yourself miserable. But I get it. It’s hard not to think about—paralyzing at times. I feel like Buddhism addresses some of these issues. Like it’s specifically directed at us over thinkers. I wasn’t raised a Buddhist, but have studied some of the basics and I find it to be comforting.",0 "I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/okaythisisepic] [\[ADHD\] 03\/15\/19 - ""You know the whole ADHD loophole where if someone else needs help, you gain the sudden inexplicable ability to do the thing? My Dad and I figured out a way to hack it."" by \/u\/deliciousraspberry](https://www.reddit.com/r/okaythisisepic/comments/b5cvab/adhd_031519_you_know_the_whole_adhd_loophole/) - [/r/toppostofthemonth] [\[ADHD\] 03\/15\/19 - ""You know the whole ADHD loophole where if someone else needs help, you gain the sudden inexplicable ability to do the thing? My Dad and I figured out a way to hack it."" by \/u\/deliciousraspberry](https://www.reddit.com/r/TopPostOfTheMonth/comments/b5qqp4/adhd_031519_you_know_the_whole_adhd_loophole/) - [/r/toppostoftheyear] [\[ADHD\] 03\/15\/19 - ""You know the whole ADHD loophole where if someone else needs help, you gain the sudden inexplicable ability to do the thing? My Dad and I figured out a way to hack it."" by \/u\/deliciousraspberry](https://www.reddit.com/r/TopPostOfTheYear/comments/b5qrj5/adhd_031519_you_know_the_whole_adhd_loophole/) - [/r/u_theninjainthenorth] [You know the whole ADHD loophole where if someone else needs help, you gain the sudden inexplicable ability to do the thing? My Dad and I figured out a way to hack it.](https://www.reddit.com/r/u_TheNinjaInTheNorth/comments/b1ngf9/you_know_the_whole_adhd_loophole_where_if_someone/)  *^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*",1 This is why I disable my microphone in device manager before going on a zoom call,0 "When I was a kid I was super forgetful, this irritated my dad. His solution? We were not allowed to respond with ""I forgot"" when we were asked why we didn't do something. I'm not any better at remembering, but I sure do get anxiety about telling even the mildest inconvenient truths.",1 "I’ve been dealing with intrusive thoughts for 17 years now. The more that I’ve come to accept that the thoughts are not my own (as in I don’t agree with them) and just allow them to flow, I really don’t care anymore. There are themes that took me months to overcome and debilitated me that now no longer bother me anymore (well, not enough to do a compulsion or reel in the thought). It really is true that the pain comes from the significance we put on the thought. But I agree with this painting.",0 "Yeah, I know this is so annoying right. Its like we can't control ourselves even though we know better",1 "My (partial) solution was changing my sleep schedule so I wake up earlier. In my brain, night time hours don't count as ""productive time"" because... Its dark or something? I don't claim to know how my brain works. But morning hours are fair game and I feel like an Instagram fitness guru when I've worked out, showered, eaten breakfast and gotten dressed by like 10 AM",1 ">As someone who was raised to be frugal, a lot of this stuff feels kinda shameful almost? But when I stop and think about it, I stand by my assessment that it's actually cheaper this way. If you think of it in terms of per use cost instead total cost, it will ease your guilt. If you use it more or use it up, cost per use will be pennies. If you use it once or twice or never, then the cost per use is greater. This will either prompt you to use the thing you bought or think twice before you buy it. Another way to not feel guilty about being wasteful is to sell it or give it way, unless its spoiled food of course. I grew up frugal too, and the ADHD tax for me is having too much crap. I either forgot, never got got to it, or thought I would use/like more than I really do, and can't seem to part with it of the guilt. When I realized that I can't clean and organize more than 5mins at a time, I started not buying something that I don't think I will use. Sometimes window shopping (or putting stuff in the virtual shopping cart and not checking out) is just enough to satiate the consumer beast.",1 Thank you this changed the game for me. I like having the imagery of this being a battle royale against my ocd and it's in a suit of armor and I get to clock it in the helmet and it makes a gong noise,0 " “I’m just caught in this loop of second-guessing myself,” says Courtenay Patlin, who describes her OCD as ""pulling the fire alarm when there’s no fire."" Would love for you to check out this video I just produced about OCD and the Pandemic: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tk7cSyTmJk&t=2s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Tk7cSyTmJk&t=2s)",0 "You’re lucky compared to me Imagine all your problems but with ocd",1 Amazon’s “Save for Later“ is limited to 600 items. Thankfully they finally made the oldest ones drop off when it gets full rather than forcing you to clean it up manually when it gets full.,1 "Oh my god, I don’t think I’ve ever related to something so hard",1 "This is why I told my parents/siblings that they shouldnt knock on my door or phone call for every small unimportant question they have (hOw dO i cHAnGe faCebOoK avAtAr?). I told them to message those questions to me so the moment I turn off airplane mode on my phone during my breaks I can answer all of them. What also helps is a closed door with a busy sign and using noise-canceling headphones.",1 "I was diagnosed with type 3 inattentive add back in 2002 at 8 years old, now 28 biggest thing I find from this quote is don’t use what your diagnosed with as an excuse, it’s a gift and and a curse. I’m very up and down, but I make sure I have purpose and work ethic. It’s so easy for people to get caught up in their own problems that they use their issues and/or disorders as a catalyst to their livelihood. I moved over the other side of the world just to forget about my issues and as I’ve learnt it does play a part but does not define you as a human. Hope that helps.",1 "I feel this one in my soul. I'm an avid D&D player, I've been playing for years, I've logged 500+ hours on Roll20 since the beginning of the pandemic, so you think I would know a lot about the game right? The problem is D&D has a ton of information in a dozen books and I don't think I'll ever be the expert that so many of my friends are. Of course there's a lot I do know, but the way some people I know just rattle off rules and lore and mechanics (and things that have happened in our own campaigns for that matter) can be really intimidating sometimes. Not to mention the added pressure of being female in a traditionally male dominated space. Sometimes it can be extra embarrassing talking to people outside of our circle about the game and getting the feeling that they assume I don't know what I'm talking about and feeling like I'm proving them right because I can't even remember all the mechanics of classes I regularly play because I'm not in the proper mindset to recall the information. It's insanely frustrating.",1 "does anyone else feel like their bad handling of old encourages looking for new obsessions and compulsions? It feels like my mind is always actively looking for a new thing to obsess over, and it's exhausting.",0 I have been obsessing for 4 months straight. Until just now when I said FUCK IT. And was like “Let it be. Fuck all this shit”,0 i’ve been prescribed Concerta for years and this is EXACTLY what used to happen to me. i’d start crying of “happiness” out of nowhere. i felt an insane level of empathy. i’d text old & current friends long paragraphs about how much i care about them. it made my bipolar disorder so extreme LOL,1 "The other thing u don’t see being talked about so idk if it’s a common experience is how the calmness and clarity can also make you remember stuff you had blocked away from the past because it was so traumatic. I too have been surprising my wife as I never used to be emotional but one year on being on medication has been a fucking whirlwind because im learning so much about myself, my traumatic past and tbh I don’t think I was ready for it and it has been difficult to navigate while I’m having the most stressful work year of my life and while having lost family in the pandemic. Im changing up my therapy but I wasn’t ready to deal with the trauma yet because my childhood was so fucked up my own sister told me that when I chose to dealt with it to go in sabbatical from work because she had a breakdown and she’s NT, so that being a side effect of the medication I was not expecting, I think my ADHD brain was protecting me by allowing that experience to blend and hide and being on meds has really brought up certain memories, made me more aware of how others perceive me (ie I had no idea it was so fucking difficult to understand me) and others shit like that. Sometimes I feel like ignorance was bliss and I wish I hadn’t been on meds yet.",1 This is too common of a belief of OCD. One CAN have OCD and not give a single f\*ck about cleanliness.,0 "Yup. And a few more times after sending. Just in case.",0 Yea I always wanted to be an space man when I was 13. I got tied up in too many 'projects/distractions' call it what you will. Didn't do that after all lol.,1 Gosh this happens to me. It’s almost like a trance that’s very hard to break out of.,0 "I must be the most vain ADHD patient of all time. I shower twice a day and brush my teeth just as much. Those are things I really like. My nosespray for my allergies however. That one gets neglected/forgotten.",1 "I feel that, I have been putting off night sweats for years and turns out I have lymphoma. I ADHD'd it again.",1 "That totally makes sense from a learning theory perspective. When we try to learn completely abstract material that we have no prior experience with we need familiar learning or understanding to connect to new learning. If we don't have that ""scaffolding"" to attach the new learning to then we need to revisit the new information multiple times until we can build the correct basis for the knowledge.",1 "YES. I will sometimes laugh off something in the moment and then hours or days later, be like, “Hey, wtf. I did not like the way that person talked to me.” But then I feel like it’s too late for me to feel angry and invalidated because it took me so long to figure out that I didn’t like that.",1 Happy birthday! It is really encouraging to see people older than me still alive and fighting.,0 "There are a lot of people out there who mistake OCD (obsessions and compulsions) for OCPD (a pathological need for order, amongst other things). And the ones bragging about it don't have either. As is the way with most mental illness, the ones truly suffering are trying their hardest to appear normal.",0 "I was just thinking that about veggies the other day, I always buy pre-chopped frozen now",1 "Man, cleaning the shower. There is spray you leave on just spray and leave. It’s amazing and yes it did make me feel like trash because it took me too long to actually try it after it was sitting in my garage. Bothered me so long, took maybe 3 minutes total. My grout looks beautiful now.",1 When you forget about something relevant and cant forget about your obsessions.,0 "This looks so cool and speaks so much to me!!! You are so brave and I am so proud of you, stranger!!!!",0 "Imo, you don't have a nanny, but an assistant. You're doing what you need to do to get stress of your back. You're being a creative, solution-oriented adult who shows more insight than most, ADHD or not",1 If ocd was a person I would give it a brutal fuckin beat down,0 "Yes to all suggestions for therapy. Realizing it's not ""you"" and that slowly you can see incremental changes through the development of a plan with your therapist. We can change. We're not doomed to be this way forever, even if it feels that way most of the time. Also, think of what makes you enjoy life. My ADHD causes me many problems. Especially in my relationship. But I also know it causes traits in me that my partner loves. Like my random humour and unique way of thinking. She loves my creativity and (when I can stick with it) the results of my many hobbies. Are there really low times in our lives because of my ADHD? Absolutely. But it also ends up motivating me to make a change in a priority area that we realize is an area of friction. But it's not easy. It might take several strategies. Several attempts. Hundreds of attempts. Don't give up. We will always have to work harder to do the minimum on the necessary but boring things in life. But it's worth it when you see improvement, no matter how small, in your life, your relationships (with a partner, family, friends, coworkers, etc). That's when I start to feel my happiest. Not just because it improves my relationship... But I also feel like my own self-worth improves. I finally have pride in myself. No one is a lost cause. But don't put so much pressure on yourself to ""fix"" yourself immediately. Educate yourself about your symptoms and work towards solutions (especially with a therapist!) at a pace that makes sense for you.",1 "Gotta do laundry, hw, and shopping. Maybe a shower? Nah. It's 10:45",1 Omg ive never been able to put the way I feel into words this is great! I'm showing this to everyone I know.,1 Dissociating into a severe shame attack about cringy things that happened 10 years ago is an OCD thing?,0 "Yay, so we all just have weak minds huh? Makes total sense. Lol, they are aware that mental illnesses can be made visible in the brain metabolism? Sure, you can change the brain by changing your actions repeatedly but it's not a matter of control whether your serotonin or dopamine levels are off.",0 "Lol I’m a physcpath, I don’t believe in god I don’t love myself, but all are not true lol, it gets pretty convincing though, I hate this mean ocd!!",0 Why did you start with such as high dose? I started with 10mg XR and it gives me just enough boost to concentrate throughout the day,1 "What was your moms reaction to that? I’m so happy your brother has such a supportive partner! It seems like she really took the time to understand what ADHD is. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little envious, haha. But, what a keeper!",1 This happens to me every day. Wondering if I just recall the memory from another day and didn’t take anything.,0 "This is a really accurate description of OCD, more so than written words. Well done.",0 "The best advice I’ve received from a therapist is to do my best to repeatedly do the **opposite** of what my brain tells me to do. Not just not do it, do the OPPOSITE. It’s really hard, but it’s just such a victory when I decide to only brush my teeth once despite my brain *screaming* to do it again, and then my family doesn’t die. It’s liberating. This is stupid, but I got in a wreck this last summer and it basically made my OCD intensify 3x. Everything behind the wheel is slow, calculated, and precise. I’m never not scanning the road 10 cars ahead. Despite the fear, I try every once in a while just to go, “ok, I’m gonna drive fast now.” And I do. And my tires keep me on the road, the car handles it. The other day I tore up a windy road in the rain (my crash was a hydroplane in the rain) and it was just, so freeing to do that and realize that am not driving on ice whenever I am on wet pavement. Hell man, I drove in the snow earlier this week. It’s amazing to be at this healthy spot now, when 2 months ago I was calling out of work when it rained. It was nice to sit there and actively act against my compulsions. It felt like the first time I did something fun against my parents’ wishes. That’s what my OCD brain feels like, a helicopter mom.",0 "You should've been like - well just don't be hot during your menopausal flashes. *mic drop",1 "Hahahahaha!!! Took me a second ngl The actual idea is good though I would pay a fuck ton of money if it was run by people who successfully manage their neurodiversity in an NT world",1 "I relate to every single point made on here. Especially the thing about social media. I truly despise reading comment sections, but I can't stop doing it again and again and again. FUCK ADHD its so confusing. I DONT WANT TO DO ANYTHING and I WANT TO DO EVERYTHING. But I also don't care about anything. I need to get back to studying. Great post",1 I had this concern and picked my therapist because her bio said she was a writer. When I brought this up she told me her professional opinion was that mental health issues hindered creativity. She told me she had confidence that treating me would improve my creativity. She said the tortured artist idea is a fallacy and often wonders what some of the world’s great writers and artists could have created with treatment.,0 "It’s hard to say “I have ADHD” to my parents “without them going “OHHHHH, SO YOU HAVE A MENTAL DISORDER HUH!!!!” Or “SO YOU’RE STUPID!!!” In a ignorant tone and having me rely on my medicine to help me and it’s starting to break me down",1 "It has destroyed every part of me and I will never get my older self back. But sure, take mine if it’s so desirable to you",0 "Damn, I caught that swallowing thing just after I read this post. Somatic OCD sucks balls",0 it reminds me of when twitch loads 18 back to back ads,0 "It’s very true, all of my life I’ve heard people mention having OCD when they would clean up or color coordinate items. I didn’t understand what I had, but then I watched a tv show about it and read about it to learn what it really was and I knew I had it.",0 Having ADHD can be straight up traumatizing. It’s weird to understand what “normal” looks like. Hard to look back or how much difference a pill makes… or could have made.,1 "executive dysfunction, followed closely by rejection sensitive dysphoria. The other things I think I might've been able to overcome somewhat, but rejection sensitive dysphoria. man. I went for so long thinking it was just some sort of moral failing of mine, that I was just more weak willed than my peers, that I was a lazy, cowardly person. Turns out it's just another aspect of ADHD that can really fuck your shit up. Missed opportunities, missed connections, missed everything. It's not a moral failing, it's because the chemicals in my brain aren't balanced right and so the little grey cells all misfire when they shouldn't be. It's rough.",1 "When I was diagnosed with OCD by my psychiatrist, I tried to explain it to my dad, and all he did was roll his eyes and say ""Everybody has intrusive thoughts"". I know its true but it really hurt because I know everybody has them, but he doesnt understand how overpowering they are for me. He also said ""Everybody is a little OCD"". It so irritating.",0 "Is your birthday Saturday? That's my birthday, but I'll be exactly half your age. Happy birthday OP!",0 *Picking your skin for about 4 hours* Your house is so clean I bet.,0 This sounds about how I handle the dishes on my day off lmao,1 "Yes i do and i always until recently. That is because: 1) i realised that I’m not the only who’s “falling behind”, most people just don’t show it. 2) giving my ADHD And although I’m slow to catch on thing because of it, I’m starting to realise that I’m better than I thought 3) since people aren’t that far ahead (like i said in “a”) + I’m not as bad i thought giving my ADHD, i made my peace with my “slow” journey and decided to my best in the present. Don’t get me wrong, i still feel down and stressed but I came a long way from before.",1 that’s be such a good watermelon though that maybe I’d forget about my intrusive thoughts for a second...,0 "I’m only productive when I’m actually not supposed to be working and it’s the most annoying thing ever. Like I’ll have bunch of free time during the day but only be productive starting at 11 PM when my boyfriend wants to get ready for bed and sleep. Or during lunch/dinner, when I’m supposed to be eating 🥴",1 sometimes i get moderately concerned about the collective amount of damage i've potentially done to my head through punching it (pretty hard sometimes too) and banging it on walls and shit...,0 For a few years I alternated between the two; I was either anxious with obsessions or depressed. I was staying alive but it was far from living. Therapy for the win.,0 "THIS! I have OCD, suffer with a depressive illness and are Autistic. Hearing ''I'm a bit OCD'', ''I like things in order so I am a little bit OCD too'', ''everyone is on the spectrum somewhere'' or ''not every thing can be explained as being an Autistic thing'' and the trendy '' oh everyone gets depressed''.... it all makes me feel so sick to my stomach. It is demeaning. If I could shrug off all of these things and live in the moment instead of fighting through every day I would do so in a heartbeat. My life is a living hell for the most part.",0 me today. period is due today and hasn't shown up. don't know why I'm so worked up about it since I'm planning on trying to get pregnant in just a few months and it wouldn't be the end of the world if I was now but... OCD says it's bad so it's bad!,0 I get thoughts like that sometimes? But I didn’t even know that was related to O.C.D,0 It's like you're the smartest and the dumbest person at once.,1 OH MY GOD FUCKING YESSSSSSSSS YES YES I LOVE THIS SUB AGHHHHH,1 "This is why I love having an academic output to channel my energy into. You can break them up into small steps and occasionally you can just get lost in them. Also, the anxiety of the looming deadline helps :). I like to express myself in essays and presentations, it's not always the most beautiful work but it definitely feels very personal.",1 People are still going places and I'm over here working out how to make the back patio an ok place for my dog to potty so I won't have to breathe my neighbors' air when I walk her.,0 "Thanks for posting this. I have terrible sleep habits some nights. A few things I've tried doing: Cold Turkey blocker for the computers shutting off internet browsing. AppBlock app for phones. WiFi lights that are scheduled to shut off at a certain time. I need about five other things though...",1 "Very true and it will happen I’m proof I’m being honest look at my older posts and I’m not trying to boost my account lol I’m like proof that it’s possible to get better, it’s fucking hard though but be patient and faithful.",0 "i stopped using watch later when i realized i had something like 1000+ videos on it and at least 60% of them were privatized or deleted now my reddit and twitter bookmarks on the other hand...",1 "Yes, it's hurtful to most ocd peeps, but it actually really calms me to see that for some reason",0 "I just got diagnosed, and still have imposter syndrome for the diagnosis. Like, I know it’s real, but still few like it’s just me being lazy. And then I read a post like this, that is so perfectly describing me. I mean, I’m 100% doing the anxiety scrolling right now!",1 It's okay:) it's just so awesome when you finnaly acomplise something you find realy hard:D i used to have this with growing long nailsXD. But ever since i started working in a workshop making cooling machines my nails have been spared:D.,1 "So have we found a cure for this I ditch the pharmaceutical medicines And use now nootropics But I can't stop the voices and the feelings",0 I’d give an extra upvote for the Squidward if I could,0 "The bright side, at least for me, is that I can watch movies, read books or play video games that I've consumed and enjoyed years before and still be surprised by what happens. Was halfway through Kong: Skull Island the other day before I realized I'd seen the entire movie in theaters.",1 Love. Tattoos can really help visualise your thoughts and feelings! This one is really cool!,0 I had a therapist ( for a short time) who believe all this - he included autism as well. I didn’t stay there long.,0 "what if i’m not going the right direction even thought i just checked the map 14 times and i am me in fallout recently 🤬",0 I love this subreddit. It’s the only place in the world where people understand me.,1 "Yup. I can't tell you the parts of the brain, but I could guesstimate where the face ID part of the brain is because mines broken and how the anxiety loop part of the brain kind of works. I know where the ocular lobe is, but that's all I know about it because we learned nothing you can apply to other things. Like I remember something about letters and shit. That's it. Forced to take a neuroscience class in college.",1 What’s so bad is because at least with thinking you might have accidentally drank bleach or something you would know immediately but with this because the symptoms don’t show up immediately it’s really hard to not worry about.,0 "Fuck. Seriously? These are sets of feelings other people feel? I'm sorry how this sounds, but it's truly amazing stumbling in here. I don't understand how the amount of things that I do, am frustrated by, and embarrassed by, that other people go through it. I don't have anything to say that could be helpful other than you said this out loud, even to strangers, and that takes guts. You're definitely not alone from the looks of things and a lot of people here have helpful bits to share.",1 "In my case, it's like ""well it's still 9PM so I have plenty of time to do something meaningful until I get to bed."" *Does nothing until 6AM the next morning.*",1 I’m convinced I’m a pervert/pedophile and I’m a minor like it doesn’t even make sense but then I have some sexual thought and I’m like ajdnsnana,0 "This was me this morning. And this afternoon. And this evening ommggg",0 "Yes! That is one of the most astonishing positive effects I have noticed since I got my medication dosage dialed in. I find myself able to articulate succinctly information that I need to communicate and to better gauge the interest and attention of the listener. I spend more time listening too. Instead of interrupting when I have a thought, I can make mental note to circle back to it if it appropriate. My anxiety about failing communication, being misinterpreted has almost completely disappeared. I have the opposite coping mechanism than shutting up. I blurt and blurt and blurt until I'm satisfied that my meaning is as close as it can get.",1 "The amount of times people say 'jUSt Go tO tHEraPy!!' Like have you ever TRIED to go to therapy?!? It's not like buying a new pair of shoes, there's no therapy shop. Though if there was, it would probs play out like that scene in Pretty Woman, except there's no rich person coming in to foot the bill for me",0 I felt so sad when I started reading this :( I’m just relived it’s not true.,0 """We tend to procrastinate something important by doing things that also have to be done but aren’t as important."" I was just explaining this to my wife last night. I tend to want to be productive all the time. I feel that, as long as I am working on something, I'm providing value (to myself, family, job, society, whatever...). I can't always prioritize tasks, so I tend to just jump into whatever is in front of me in the moment, just because I need to be doing SOMETHING, but also because, if I don't do it right then and there, I know it'll never get done. This causes anxiety because at times I feel as there are just 1,000x as many things needing to get done as I can handle, even though I actually have plenty of time to do them. One of the things I've found successful in overcoming this is to build lists or charts to track the things I need to do, and assign them value. This works especially well when you have a direct monetary value that can be attached to it. The best example I can think of was when I was in sales, I kept track of my sales pipeline in a spreadsheet, and on the far right column, I would include the potential commission from each transaction. That helped me have a visual representation of what each task's value was, so I could focus on the ones that were most important first.",1 When this happens I begin to think that other people can read my energy and know what I'm thinking which compounds my anxiety.,0 "Damn i think i was also wondering about it, I think my eyes look blank. Like they doesn’t have life in it when i talk about my compulsion related query. It’s scary.",0 "Michael J Fox in scrubs did a pretty good mental representation of OCD in my opinion. I mean, as far as the frustrations are concerned. I don’t have repetitive rituals but I could definitely relate to the frustration of not being able to stop obsession/compulsion loops. Check it out The truth is, the mass public won’t be able to understand the frustrations unless a sufferer or knowing a sufferer",0 I (we) thank you for the book recommendation. I definitely need to learn about myself more and how my mind functions.,1 My daughter did the same thing on concerta and it freaked me out! She’s doing really well now. Good luck!,1 "What the gell is a tube sock, and how the hell do you choke on it?",0 "Well, lookie there—a sudden flood of memories. Sorry in advance. I used to keep isopropyl alcohol at my desk at work for cleaning purposes. It understandably annoyed my co-workers, most of whom were aware of my condition, and added an additional layer of stress on top of what an office ecosystem already creates. And that made it worse because I was friends with a lot of them, so I felt worse about it, but also kind of upset in my own right that they didn't fully understand what I was going through and show what I would have interpreted as compassion and understanding but which I also knew I had no right to expect of them as they don't have OCD, etc. It was a bad cycle and I'm happy to be out of it, for the most part. I've progressed to where I don't have to clean my workspace like I used to. I said all of that to say this: The feeling that image most brings to mind for me is the sudden shock of realizing that someone has caught me doing something I'm incredibly self-conscious about. I spent a long time attempting to hide a lot of my behaviors in public and that only made them worse. Like I mentioned, this also added an additional layer of stress to everything that I didn't really acknowledge as much as I should have—the constant pressure in my mind to appear ""normal"" and participate in everyday life while being at my psychological limit at all times. It was just too much at a certain point. Lots of bad decisions and destructive coping mechanisms later, I reached a point where I couldn't keep up the act anymore. As a result, I started guarding my behaviors less and less in public and people definitely took notice. I was very uncomfortable the first few times I had to explain what I was doing (not that I was ever *forced* to explain anything to anybody, but you know), but the more I explained it, the more I realized that most people were willing to hear me out and at least try to understand my perspective. Most of them never really did fully understand, and I still got plenty of, ""Have you ever tried to just *not*?"" but overall, I learned that I can actually talk to others about what's going on with me and that has been helpful. I feel like that led to me being more comfortable as a person with OCD in a work setting, and that in turn allowed me to start making some of the progress I have. I don't know if it helps anybody else who might be in a similar situation to hear about this or not, as it can be a big obstacle to overcome, but a lot of people are willing to listen if you're willing to talk. I didn't realize that initially, and that misconception was on me. And now, ironically, I feel weird for typing such a long post. Wow. Sorry. I'll just...I'll be over here now. \*waves\*",0 "I currently owe my public library $200 in late fees for a single library book because I keep telling myself I'll start the book (which I have had for over a year) but I never do, and furthermore, I cannot make myself drop it off to the library. I'm so angry with myself.",1 "Na, I work 12 hour days. 24 is not nearly enough even when I'm focus and not wasting time",1 "Then there are the times you aren't sure if you should be offended, like years ago when some girls were flirting with me in middle school, which I thought they must have been teasing me, cause why would some of the more popular girls be interested in me. It was something about my workout routine, cause I did wrestling I was oblivious then, and years later it was obvious.",1 "I don't get offended when people say it. It pretty much just serves as a barometer of someone's maturity. I went on a few dates with a chick and when she dropped this it kind of made me realize that she was emotionally immature. Her behaviors snapped into focus and I was able to bail on what wasnt gonna be a good relationship for me.",0 "This is truly incredible. I can feel you through this. I hope one day the two faces look at each other and the one that should be in control is. You’re so talented it’s just beautiful and raw. I hope this gets the attention and admiration it deserves",0 "“just try to stop doing that” wow i never thought of trying to do that",0 "HOLY FUCK YES. Or “I had a small, momentary pain in my ear, so logically, I’m probably going deaf.”",0 "I saw this post about eight hours ago... I kep scrolling. Now my alarm says it's time to go to work. No sleep for the neuro-atypical.",1 Lol I fucking hate when my brain starts doing that it always happens when I'm trying to do something important,1 "My brain tells me all the time I’m just dramatic as shit and I’ve fooled everyone into believing I just have a mental disorder. Which is, ironically, a symptom of my mental disorder. Facepalm.",0 I am convinced I am just doing it for attention. It seems so obvious to me but I still do it.,0 If I don't open a door four times something bad will happen to me.,0 Uuuuh I have some stuff I’ve been putting off getting checked out so thank you for this reminder??,1 This is an outstanding piece of Art. I love everything about it. Thank you for sharing this!,0 "It's like im switching through channels on the TV in my brain, all the time.",0 "Same here... I have the intense phobia of beeing falsely accused of a crime and go to jail. Each time I have a trigger, I am googling for hours. For example, if I think that someone will falsely accused me for sexual assault, I start Googleing for hours the possible sentences, the different defenses in court, how life in prison is, etc. This is really the hell...",0 "Oh man I’ve never seen scrubs, but when he said ‘this is a weak moment, no one is supposed to see this’ goddamn I fELT that",0 "I am so proud of you!! This is not a small achievement, this is a huge monumental success! I have literally done the opposite Personally showering for the first time in 3 days, in spite of stressing about it on an hourly basis. Keep battling soldier! P.s. I'm not military, but this turn of phrase helps me",1 Omg you need to become an illustrator for books right now,0 "Lol I read this a couple days ago and it triggered me. Probably good exposure, though. I'm glad you enjoyed it! :) I loved his metaphors.",0 "Me understanding Biology. Look all these flowers. Ewwwks pest. Pest like these are because of the lack of this type of microbes WOW! Microscopy is really RAD Eyes are tired Microbes not funny? PLANTS PLANTS aint fun? Mycology! Mycology is really extensive work Better play with my seeds Seeds and landrace seeds are cool, but have you researched about the 10000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 ethnobotanical plants in my area? Mycelium is great in here, better research mycology things again. DANG! its because this tree is like this. Better understand these zone10 trees, and so on and so on. Maybe my ADHD",0 My life is ruined not by negativity but by narcissistic toxic positivity!,1 "Hooo boi... It can deffinitely fuck with your sexuality. I'll spare you the details but combining sex with violent/homicidal intrusive thoughts is... Not fun. Especially since it doesn't make my horniness go away, it ramps it up, and you can get to some REEEEEAAAALLLYY dark shit on the internet (even if only acted, or drawn by an artist). The guilt after it all is unbearable.",0 "A whiteboard plus a daily reminder on my phone to use it worked quite well. Can't fix all of the shit, but it helped.",1 Almost every night I wake up at least twice having a panic attack. Come on brain!,0 "Mine is kinda more intrusive thoughts about my body , I have body dysmorphia and dermatillomania, and I am slowly developing tricatillomania, so mine is about be tidy but with my body of that makes sense",0 "My OCD would like to suggest that 4 minutes is the perfect number of minutes. If not 4, then 16.",0 """What if I don't have OCD and I'm just making it up? What if that symptom I thought I had was entirely made up?""",0 Amazing! how did you do it please? Doing exposure therapy myself.,0 What happens when you have all of these things and ASD and also extremely low hormone levels so you feel completely weak all the time and the slightest action feels like you ran a marathon? And then what if you stopped showering or brushing your teeth and haven't left your room for half a year? How do you get out of all of this?,1 "For a moment there I was like ""Hey who sent you a screenshot of my search history?!?"" 🤨 😂😂😂",0 "To be honest I have actual ocd, like i broke a hanger yesterday because i kept banging it on the closet rod until it “felt” right. It broke instead. I find posts about satisfying-ly sorted things nice and can sympathize with the uneven tile stuff. Is there a place to go to also view that? I feel like im a minority if people who legit have ocd as well as joke about it I feel like joking about my problem is a big way to feel better. Like LOL i organized the cabinets im so OCD HAHAHAHA ((breaks glass because i put it down too many times too hard)) ((cant walk away from door must turn knob. Doesnt feel right)) AT LEAST THE PLATES ARE ORGANIZED o_o",0 "How fun it is to have a disorder where you shame yourself for spending $1 more on a cut up piece of broccoli, but then in the same week can go impulse buy a $700 vacuum cleaner. Nah but for real, I don’t skimp on things that will make my life easier anymore. I have frozen cut up banana, spinach and broccoli in my freezer that I can easily make into healthy smoothies. I have the comfiest pillow and mattress to help me fall asleep easier. I pay extra to get my groceries, toilet paper and clothing delivered same day so I don’t need to go shopping. When I’m running late and flustered I don’t feel bad about calling an Uber, so I can arrive calm after sitting for a bit in the air conditioning. And now I clean much more because I have a smaller, more powerful vacuum. Less stress, more time!",1 ">For some reason, people on these subreddits take another person's opinion on their OWN life very personally. This is one of those things that is common to everyone: ADHD, autism, or NT. When someone is confronted by someone that is taking a personal moral stance that contradicts their own morality, people almost universally get offensive. Think about how many noon-vegetarians react when they hear someone is vegan. They get defensive and may verbally mock or attack the vegan. The reason is that this non-vegan thinks that the vegan is judging them or trying to hold themselves as superior. This may not be true, but it colors how their interaction. Specific to your post here, it seems like this same situation, the reaction to being judged, might be happening here",1 Yep I’m really tired of this mental illness is trendy thing where all of a sudden everyone has anxiety or something else. Apparently everyone in the world is an introvert too. So frustrating because it just makes it harder for people to grasp just how intense the actual illness is for us.,0 "If I don’t work out at exactly 9:30am when I’m awake and ready, it’s not going to happen.",1 "I'm not diagnosed at the moment ( seeing a psychiatrist soon), but I'm starting to understand this. Just this morning, I was trying to watch a 48 minute video for my holocaust history class, but I had to keep stopping and adding the letters of the words in the subtitles to make sure they were multiples of five. I don't remember much from the video and I don't want to rewatch it. I just laid down and started crying afterwards.",0 "Yeah I am 110% with you...I have had friends even say ""I have a lil OCD I like to ensure things are JUST right""..... Like did you have to place it 25 times and then realize its still slightly off and then do it another 50 times because doubling the amount ensures its placed correctly and then try and have a conversation with someone and all you can think about is that FUCKING ITEM YOU ALREADY PLACED 75 TIMES THAT STILL MIGHT BE OUT OF PLACE!"" ...Their face is always like :o ""Um no""....then you do NOT have OCD...stfu",0 Yes. And now that you mention it I bet it’s pretty common among OCD sufferers. I do it when a thought is particularly unsettling.,0 I mean just walk on your broken leg and don’t worry about how you literally CANNOT.,1 "I mean, I do have this OCD, though. It sucks needing everything that you make or do to be perfect, because then I delete everything I do and don’t feel content. 😔",0 "Oh this is what I love about this sub! You can express those negative emotions, those struggles and you can see other people going through the same things, which is miles more comforting than toxic positivity. The toxic positivy/ADHD is a superpower mentality can lead to people forgetting that other people experience ADHD in various degrees of severity, the environment in which they grew up can have a big effect in how they learned (or didn't learn) to cope, to work around the difficulties. Also not everyone has access to medication, or can't afford to pay a therapist every month, on top of a psychiatrist. Some live with other conditions as well (like autism, depression, anxiety, ocd, etc..), some have childhood trauma. There is also the problem of people that weren't necessarily gifted and struggled in school, which in turn affects their future. There are so many things to consider, but the point is that many wish they didn't have ADHD, the negatives outweigh the positives, and life can be extremely difficult because even the small things feel impossible when you have severe executive dysfunction. It is ok to acknowledge the negative emotions, and reject toxic positivity. My negative emotions are the reason I looked for help and figured out why I struggled so much and got diagnosed, and because of that I am finally starting treatment and have hope for the possibility of a more ""normal"" life.",1 "Thank you for sharing this. I’ve always felt this way and I think it’s why I’m always seeking validation in everything I do. I’m never satisfied though and I always think I can be better, which isn’t to say that I can’t. I just always feel like I’m not good enough. Maybe knowing I’m not alone will help me. Thank you again.",1 "No this is a huge deal, congrats!! So proud of you!! You got this :)",0 "Or they forget about pure o. Love when therapist told my husband he has only a few physical compulsions so he can't have ocd. 🙄 Great job dude",0 THAT IS SO GREAT!!! I am so excited for you!!!! You got this!!!! Keep going and keep getting better!!! 💪💕,0 I used to do this but it only brings them on more unfortunately have to view it as a compulsion and aim to stop,0 "I always get mine at night, I wonder if maybe ADHD people are just nocturnal? Like if you kept an NT up all night they'd probably be scatterbrained.",1 Maybe your **partially** a sociopathic rapist and murderer? (people with POCD get me),0 "I'm so sick of trying to explain just how bad OCD is to those who don't have it. I feel like no matter what I say or how I try to describe it, I never have the right words. I can never convey to others just how much pain this disorder has caused me. Even my own family don't understand. Dad keeps asking me why I won't touch taps and light switches though I explained several times. And even my gran keeps saying she 'must have OCD too' because she sometimes gets out of bed to check the door is still locked. I'm tired of trying to explain and get people to take me seriously. Then I see things like this and realise what I'm up against! Even a lady at my church wears an 'obsessive cat disorder' jumper which shocked me because my church has been very supportive of my mental health problems overall but things like this remind me of just how much work needs to continue being done to show people that this is not a joke!",0 "It’s so depressing yet unsurprising to see basically the same thread over and over again. Good luck kid (presumably). We all feel your pain, and have been there.",1 I do this anytime I am waiting for someone to pick me up at my house and go somewhere. Especially if they are 15 minutes late and then my “last trip” is no longer a last trip.,0 "I’m really guarded with my money (probably bc my family can blow it on a dime, I’ve learned the opposite to cope I️ guess). I’m also cheap and broke and don’t like spending a lot. But I️ also hate wasting stuff, especially food. Idk how many times I’ve bought a head of lettuce, a bunch of other veggies, and new dressings, with the intent to make salads. But they always go to waste. I️ do, however l, gobble up the bagged salads with all the baggies of ingredients within them. I’m new to ADHD. I’m not diagnosed yet but I suspect. I always just thought I was lazy. And I used to think that taking the convenient route was another route to being lazy - like, “just do it the normal way or else you’re reinforcing your lazy nature.” But this is a good way to approach it - ADHD tax",1 "Ah yes, WebMD. The website that only assures you of the fact that you’re right to worry",0 "I did this when i was like 9 and i fucking hate myself for it, god im a little shit for doing it and even tho no one in my life has had ocd until very recently around a year ago and i only found out what it kinda really meant when i could actually comprehend english idk i kinda just needed people to know how sorry i am for it",0 "Exactly. This is why shopping stresses me out. Even with a list, I have to look at *everything* I pass.",1 I can't even get started anymore. The depression around how I can't do anything just holds me back from even wanting to try anymore.,1 "The Celebration flare is beautiful. Out of curiosity, have you tried a shared Google calendar or whatever the fuck it is? I suck using it but my SO and I use a shared calendar to mark off large events. I forget about them all the damn time, but I occasionally check it and feel a bit of relief. I really want one to share with my SO and with some other friends so it works better but I'm not sure at what point so I have a calendar vs at what point do I have unpaid secretaries?",1 Omg that literally happened this weekend when I spent time again with my family first time in like forever... no wonder I'm avoiding them all the time,1 "It took me an entire year after after my marriage failed to finally work out what happened. I still have to talk with my ex occasionally because we have children but I've since learned to deal with the excessive gaslighting/narcisism. It's funny how quickly narcisists will 180 and avoid talking to you once you figure out how to call their BS consistently. If you have trouble with narcisists, people gaslighting you, or recognising other shitty conversational tactics like loaded questions then I suggest looking up transactional analysis. Some people use it for pick up artistry but please just ignore all of that - people who do that are also ass holes. I'm only suggesting it here because its such a good deterrent of narcisism.",1 "Omg the thing about hair and clothes reallyyyy gets to me on those bad days. My clothing has to be tight, tops preferably sleeveless and no long pants. Hair gets to me so often that I've had my hair cut short and am still considering shaving it all off. I have to have my hair up. Can't have any long hairs touching me, especially after a shower because then the hairs stick to you and you just feel moist. Can't have any long hairs in my bed, silk/satin pillowcases seem to help but I'm on a medication atm that makes my hair fall out like crazy.",1 "Sometimes I doubt my diagnosis and then I come on here, find a post like this and think oh god, yes, there it is, there's *my* ADHD. Thanks for sharing this.",1 ocd literally gave me an eating disorder Bc every time I went to eat I was like oh but what if I throw up this food that I like for no reason and then I won’t like it anymore,0 "This is the exact situation I was in just over 4 years ago. I am alive and well, although sterile. Have some sperm saved or eggs harvested if you can.   > I'm only 26, I don't smoke, drink, or take drunks. I'm healthy and active.   Same here. I want you to realize that most people who die from cancer are killed because they could not survive the treatment. Usually, this is due to *pre-existing health conditions*. If you are not old, not obese, and do not have diabetes or other significant health problems, you will do fine.   Contrary to what you may believe, chemotherapy is an incredibly effective treatment. There are many side effects, but the drugs they will give you to curb those effects are miles ahead of where they were in the past. Chemotherapy is all about preventing cell division by targeting cells at specific periods of their mitosis. Side effects occur mainly because this also affects critical healthy cells, especially in your blood and other rapidly reproducing cells. You'll feel tired, you'll sleep a lot, and you'll sometimes be in pain or ill (anti-nausea drugs are *amazing*, don't believe everything you see on TV shows that portray cancer). Remember that your mental state does wonders for your immune system. If you stay positive and remember that you *will* beat this, your body will respond.   Good luck, and feel free to reach out to me if you want to talk.",1 "I thought the same ADHD bs until my adhd really started impacting my life as i got older and basically feel my brain creating basically no dopamine and how stimulants i were prescribed to didnt work how they would on a neurotypical, eg increased appetite better sleeping pattern you think wouldnt expect from an amphetamine. And that adhd medication only can you high if you dont have adhd which i though was bull shit but now with NO tolerance ive taken 20mgs or dexadrine for the first time trying to force fix my sleeping pattern and fallen back to sleep for example. To be realistic a recreational dose would probably just be higher for adhd suffer so i dont believe if you have ADHD its impossible to get high abusing stimulants obviously",1 "I have OCD with mostly obsessive thoughts rather than compulsions but I will say my job stocking groceries, organizing things at home and cleaning really soothes my obsessive thoughts and anxiety. But I also get annoyed when people say that shit just because they’re perfectionists or anal about things being clean. If I don’t have the energy to clean it the way it should be done, I just don’t do it at all, then I get more and more anxious and depressed until I can finally do it.",0 "I've been pretty close a lot of times. I haven't. And when I think of checking out, happiness doesn't help. But spite does. Fuck you, every single person who told me I couldn't do it. I may be a disaster, but I'm going to have the upper hand, you hear me?!",1 "Go you!!! ​ This is something that we, your fellow OCDers can really relate to. That really is huge, good for you! I will never forget going into the bathroom with my therapist and her having me touch the doorknob, the FLOOR, etc.",0 "This is exactly why people don’t take us seriously. When I tell people they always reply, “oh, I’m the same way!” Really? Do you take two different meds each morning to control it?",0 "In my opinion, ""Pull yourself up"" is useful when someone's pride/hubris is the salient issue. a dressing down is great to help somebody move forward when they're being a real shit. outside of those problems, is the WORST advice you can give someone. people who say ""pull yourself up"" outside of that context, are saying that when they want to FEEL magnanimous or distance themselves from feelings of responsibility for the results you're producing,without actually doing anything. it doesn't take any insight, or details, or psychology. here's my approach: \-cooling/ helping the other person identify/work through their emotional frustration, \-identifying the specific problem at this point in time, \-refocusing the person's perspective to remind them that they can do this, \-delineating, reminding, or otherwise conveying to them specific techniques to deal with this sort of problem, \-GRACEFULLY seeing this issue as a practice run for larger problems and greater achievements. I immediately associate it with boomers and people who are ""thoughtless naturals"" at whatever they're working on. it's the ""just try harder bro"" school of thought. ""fuck you"" is a perfectly natural emotional response to this but it will make you look like an asshole.",1 "Ugh my mom does this all the time. What makes it worse is that she will only mention the things I forgot to do, but won't say shit about the stuff I did do. Or if I did do something, I didn't do it correctly. Or I forgot to clean up a tiny little spot. Then will interrupt something important to make a point of saying something about the thing I mildly messed up. It's the worst, and degrading. But I always try to remind myself that people just suck, and it's not me personally, it's them being an asshole. They don't respect anyone anyways so it doesn't even matter why they pick on you. My mom picks on my siblings for all sorts of things, and a lot of it is stuff they came help. My sister's worst bully for her acne, was my mom. People pick on people like us, because they like to feel superior and pull the ""I told you so"" bullshit. Anyways sorry to ramble. You are not defined by the opinions of your parents. Parents aren't always right and you haven't actually fucked up that bad.",1 "Tell that to my sugar addicted adhd partner! But then he'll binge eat apples....anything really. Zero impulse control. Thanks ""expert"" lol",1 "I feel this so much. As a non-hyperactive type (allegedly), lacking that charming extroversion and vivaciousness just makes you seem like a mess, which isn't well-received, especially when you aren't at least fun about it.",1 "I wish you the best. Have a look at this too, I found it to be more practically motivating than a great number of other videos https://youtu.be/o7w5r5PfBKo",1 "This. I swear my parents have known about my ADHD since I was in 6th grade and still think it’s just “can’t do school good” and are confused/ annoyed by my leg bouncing, forgetfulness, impulsiveness etc. I don’t know why it’s so hard for older generations to understand but I’m glad your brothers gf stuck up for him!",1 "You hit the nail on this one! I was wondering why I was a bad writer to realize that I wrote exactly as I speak! How does one become a more elegant writer ?",1 "You are very talented. It is a great drawing. Good luck with your OCD, from another person with OCD.",0 "Or worse, after you tell someone about your intrusive thoughts and they say ""OCD is only washing your hands, if you have thoughts about harming someone else you are clearly a dangerous person."" I haven't had this happen to me personally but I've seen it happen too many times.",0 "This is also an OCD thing? I also have ADHD and anxiety and thought it was only part of those disorders, makes so much sense now!",0 "But then it’s like even if they know what to fix they can’t fix you they can just guide you on how to fix yourself, I’m not good at that.",0 "how to mentally kill yourself Step 1: Be trans/of a minority Step 2: Find a trans/minority related post in a non-trans/minority-related community Step 3: feel obligated to read every single ""Controversial"" Comment Step 4: cry because you can't stop reading",0 "Same. Also those three hours are the only time I can relax, socialize, work, exercise, do household tasks, learn/study, be productive, or enjoy life in any way. But I usually have to spend most or all of it unwinding from being stressed for the past 21 hours so the next 21 hours are tolerable. I get maybe 1 hour a week to actually accomplish anything.",1 "I was talking with a friend when my first ever meds dose kicked in. I suddenly went quiet and he said ""You okay?"" I was okay. I was just totally overwhelmed by suddenly realising that the ""noise in my head"" that is ADHD, was suddenly gone. Well, not quite gone, but had the volume turned WAY down. I'm so happy for you that meds are working for you.",1 "I recently started Bullet journalling and Its really helping me. There is this thing called migration where you either reschedule a task or move it forward. You physically have to rewrite the task over and over (each time you move it) until you finally do it... It really helps.. Plus as a bonus the bullet journal method was designed by someone with add (what it was called when he was diagnosed with it) You are supposed to migrate weekly I think but I do it daily. If I didn't do a task today, I physically have to rewrite on tomorrow's to do list.. I can explain the method more if you want but I think it's priceless for the ADHD brain",1 The accuracy is frightening. Thought I was the only one that had thoughts like this. 😭,0 "Hey, what makes you think you can come here and write my thoughts out loud?",1 I used to wait for one of the packages to tell me it was the one that wanted to come home with me. 🙄😂,0 "Context. At least for me, I've found my memory to be exceptionally contextual, but I can't always ""switch"" to the right context. I might be asked a job question and my brain feeds me a recipe for bread... Still looking for a great solution, but a somewhat functional one I've found taking small breaks, ideally doing something physical helps. Doesn't have to be a big thing or for long either, stretching your legs, get a cup of tea etc. I usually just set a timer on my phone for 5min and go do *something that puts me on my feet*.",1 "I agree, it’s a horrible thing for people with anxiety disorders, they must not realize that though. Also this made me chuckle a bit because... 7886 years!?",0 "Well spoken. I use “I struggle with starting, stopping and emotional regulation” to explain my ADHD. There’s a fourth member on that list, and that’s the one I don’t burden my listener with, because it’s something I was given, not something I always had - the self blame and self hate that come from the million times we get told we’re in the wrong. We can’t fix it for ourselves, but we can remember that other people - often our own children - are in the current moment having that put in their head. Some of the sources of this message we can’t control. But where we can - we can so do better.",1 "Yeah also isn’t one of the characteristics in the definition of a compulsion / compulsive thought that the act does not give one pleasure or you enjoy doing? By definition, OCD deals with intrusive UNWANTED thoughts meaning that no matter what those thoughts & actions are, they will not be comfortable or welcome!",0 "Happens all the time for me. Growing up in a very religious household made my intrusive thoughts regarding blasphemy/going to hell a lot worse. As if God wasn’t answering because maybe I just didn’t truly /believe/ hard enough or I had thought something a long time ago and now I’m damned for eternity. It’s a very hard struggle especially when you live with someone like that; constantly pushing their beliefs or their desire for you to “know Jesus” and if he doesn’t answer your prayers then you don’t truly know him. That’s why earlier this year I decided to leave organized religion. I can still believe in God, but I don’t want to be pressured into believing I’m not good enough for their religion/God.",0 "My OCD told me I would never be able to function in the real world. - I graduated from college, got a great job as a software engineer, and have made it on my own ever since. My OCD tells me that I will never be good enough. It tries to convince me that I always have to know the “perfect” answer or choice in every situation, even though I know that, logically, it is impossible to know. My OCD tells me that no one will ever love me because I’m not perfect. I choose to live every day, in the best way I can, in the moment, doing my best to accept all the uncertainty that my OCD “tells” me I can’t tolerate. I choose to seek and embrace love, even though I’m so scared of losing it. My OCD can F off.",0 "My brain has been doing this to me today. I'm in a really weird mood now, and I do not like how I'm feeling at all. Stupid brain.",0 Thank you so much for this. My ocd is really good at making me feel like all my thoughts are 100% true. Thank you,0 OCD is just a bully wasting our time with nonsense. Its just a sneaky condition that attacks the things we think might be true but almost always arent. Many people with OCD disagree with this because their feelings about their thoughts are so strong.,0 "I remember I had one teacher when I was in highschool tell me ""You are the smartest person I ever had to fail. Such a waste."" No one ever thought to try and get me diagnosed with ADHD. Everyone my whole young life just kept calling me lazy or wasted potential. I wish I could go back in time and see what my life could have been.",1 "This is the second year in a row The Iron Throne from Game of Thrones has *crushed* the rest of the 3000+ songs I have on Spotify. What can I say? I love the dramatic sound of that song",1 "Dammit I'm doing this with learning python, I'm learning about a text editor called spacemacs. I consider myself intermediate with python but just feel too lazy to write anything or solve a problem with python that would solidify my knowledge. It's related and will help me with editing code faster tho.",1 "Am i the only one who goes to bed when the thoughts become too much? I’ve always had a really easy time falling asleep and when I wake up, I get a little easy breathing until the thoughts hit me again.",0 i literally watch a show and can’t concentrate because i think about how i could be multitasking while watching-,0 "Unless I'm sufficiently distracted, I run through my list of sins daily. It gets easier to deal with the more I learn to accept myself and remember that I'm not that person anymore. And when it really starts to spiral I get really drunk, but I hear that's not a healthy solution. Still, I've been through it enough times that I prefer not to remember it.",0 This seems like a really smart way to deal with it! Plus they're really cute! Best of luck with it x,0 "All day, Everyday day at work. I frequently panic attack from the thoughts as well.",0 "amazing sketch, but holy HELL i ain't sleeping tonight",0 "Thank you I really needed to see this exactly when I did. I wish you the best, truly",0 "I definitely feel this. I’m interpreting this as heavy thoughts, overlapping and repeating, just weighing down on me.",0 Who tf is this person that finds compulsions and obsessions attractive? Every partner and roommate I've ever had has hated on me for doing them and it's caused major problems. Big disconnect here.,0 "I notice the same thing even when people about adult ADHD, they focus on men. Sooo many articles are like “so your big dumb lazy oaf of a husband has ADHD? here’s how to train him!” The roles are reversed in my household, I drive my boyfriend insane and he’s the collected one. I like to find female-centered ADHD literature because it just hits home more with how intersectionality and socialization affects us in our disorder.",1 "It's a struggle for me to even begin to work, the minute I have to work on the computer I get an overwhelming sensation like the whole world depends on my ability to perform. And it's all just like 10 invoices I have to send, but I completely shut down 😭😭😭",1 It would basically be like saying 'OMG I so have brain cancer' every time you have a headache.,0 thnks I actually got up and cleaned my sheets and blanket,1 "One of the saddest part of OCD for me is how it can keep me from exploring my creative side. Not exactly because of the meds but because of the overthinking. So yeah, I’m super happy you were able to overcome these barriers and put your work out there. Keep the rhythm and don’t stop!",0 "Wow omg I am so proud of you!!! Great job!!! I felt the same when I recently cleaned a toilet for the very first time and didnt shower afterwards. I was so happy",0 "Yoooo this is sooo good! I've been vaguely aware of this but havent put language to it. Everytime I experience something that I know is going into the obsession bank (hard to explain HOW I know, but I know you guys will understand) I get this ""oh fuck no, more intrusive thought fuel"" feeling. And it's exactly the mood you described.",0 i got up really quickly in like 2nd grade and got dizzy and said “mom?” to my teacher. she walked away from me lol. i still think about it to this day.,0 "pure O guy here, what are your main symptoms, generally speaking?",0 "Some days (like today) I can’t even convince myself to get out of my bed. So I log onto class from my bed. And then I doze off and wake up and doze off until class is over. Sometimes I can respond in the chat. Life feels so wasted right now! I’m avoiding a shower right now because it just feels like too much work. But I ate breakfast this morning, so that’s a win? Sending you virtual hugs (or just positive vibes if you hate people touching you like I do lol)",1 "Healing my gut completely removed my symptoms ! Gut brain axis and microbiome research, it’s mind blowing. Also, Byron Katie’s The Work was fundamental in changing my relationship with my thoughts - I recommend it! Challenge your thoughts, question their content and learn that they’re only bad habits. Also, quit caffeine (by tapering, not cold turkey). To healing!",0 "“Why am I so scared of eating chicken? Ohhhhh, we are doing this again.”",0 "So many people tell me that they're shocked that I'm intelligent once they get to know me, like I bamboozled them. Doesn't help that I have a lisp as well as ADHD 🙃",1 My gf really annoys me when she thinks she can help me with this by trying to understand it from a buddhist perspective. I’m like no thanks how about we respect and value the western approach to this. Ugh.,0 The first thing I thought was why is he touching all them that grosses me out and yes that was pre covid.,0 Evernote. Just set up and keep a decent tagging system.,1 You aren’t you’re thoughts you’re an observer of them,0 Fuck man I'm gonna have to try this one out sometime with my cousin lol,1 "This explains it so perfectly. No matter how much logic I throw at it, it keeps creating chaos in my mind.",0 Yay! That’s really awesome! I hope you’re proud! :D,0 Dr drew had an episode where he talked about this with Josh Potter on his podcast. Dr Drew urged him to hire a maid which he did and did a little room tour on youtube. It was all interesting and opened my eyes to it. Not saying i keep my place spotless,0 This was so heartwarming to read. I have the same type of food contamination obsession and it’s incredibly difficult to deal with. It sounds like your husband is incredibly lucky to have you as such a supportive partner.,0 damn this is amazing. I wish I could do something like that- also your handwriting is amazing!!,0 "This is affecting teachers as well. My wife is a language professor at NYU. They made the decision Monday that the school will move to 100% online instruction starting today (3/11/20). My wife is one of the lucky ones. She's been putting together a pilot 100% online course. So she already has technical solutions regarding proctoring, online video setup, assignment collection/markup/return, etc.. I feel really bad for professors who had zero preparation for this. They must be pulling their hair out.",1 "I keep wanting to do things like this, but my husband finds it really stressful to have other people in the house. I can do it in my work life, but it's so much harder in my home life... because it's not just my space, it's ours. I would \*love\* to find someone who wanted to do this, though.",1 "At first i read this as erectile dysfunction and i was skimming your post. Talking about doing the dishes and i was like, yo wtf thats why you have erictle dysfunction, dishes doesnt make me horny either. Then i re read the title.. oops",1 Same here friend. Same here. :( It's such a dark time,0 "CONGRATS!!! I’m always nervous starting a new job, but you got this! Don’t let any manager or customer get to you and put your mental health first!!!",0 "I once daydreamed that if the world froze in time I could catch up and it would be great. But then I realized I would just let the world stay frozen while I watched tv and do the things I enjoy, not the things I need to do.",1 "Hi Josh! I got you. I’ve been there. I’m still there somewhat frequently if I’m honest. But we can beat it! We can’t fight it exactly, but we can still beat it. 🌻 thanks for sharing!! Also this is kinda random and dumb, but when I was feeling most confused and detached last year, my dad would always be like “lol go do a bunch of push-ups and burpees and then when you’re panting and sore tell me you’re not real.” Which like. Rude. But he had a point 😅 I’m still not quite at the place of being able to just let the thoughts go, but now I use them as a reminder to go workout and participate in the physical world for a bit even if it makes no sense to me 😂",0 This is so accurate since I started an education recently...,0 "I make all of my appointments for as early in the day as possible. Anything up until then is going to be fucked anyway, so why not have it be the first thing? All I have to do is wake up.",1 "Worst part about it, sometimes the door really is unlocked and once I found it open.",0 Ironic because my OCD started when I started compulsively praying because I was constantly worried I was doing something Jesus wouldn’t like. Thanks parental upbringing,0 This is what I struggle with every single day. It’s so exhausting.,0 I feel attacked! ... But I do need to get to the pharmacy before it closes to order my meds. Damn you and you being right!,1 The “You already know this is OCD” is missing hahahaha I’ll make a post about it,0 "My therapist calls this ""The Dark Playground."" You are doing an activity you should find enjoyable or at least not painful, but the looming task in the background casts a shadow over it.",1 Pure O is my daily reminder of how anxious I am people might not like me or think I'm weird/gross/wrong/despicable/insane.,0 I feel your pain man. Just know that your brain is better than any normal brain out there. You may not realize it yet but there are ways to unlock your potential. Don’t ever get yourself down about your brain. At the end of the day we are at an advantage because we think differently. It may be hard and some days may be harder than others but I promise you are special and you have potential.,1 If I’m wearing something I bought at the store I feel super sus internally,0 didn’t realize i had OCD for so long because i hate cleaning 😂😂😂,0 "I was just about to say, damn I always thought I had tourettes, welp that's another mental illness I thought I had but is actually OCD",0 "Thankyou for sharing this and best of luck with your health dude, hope it works out for you. I just had a doctors referral about a recurring cyst I have lived with for 8 years and thought it would just heal by it’s self, turns out I have a Fistula which is a void/open wound essentially that won’t heal without medical intervention and I’ve just lived with it for 8 years for no reason (free healthcare in my country so that worry isn’t a factor) - there is never a reason you should live with not feeling yourself is what I’ve learned, we know when something isn’t right so we should always act on it and not fuck around with health.",1 My nuclear war freakout of 84-86 and my AIDS freakout of '91-'92 made a lot more sense when I was diagnosed with OCD in 2016. Turns out we neither had a nuclear war nor I died of AIDS.,0 "in the book running on empty, by jonice webb, she calls it a ""fatal flaw"" that people think they have when they have been neglected or have trauma. and its where they think that if you get to know them deeper you will run away and abandon them bc they are fatally flawed.",1 "I know one other person with OCD. He’s a narcissistic, self-obsessed prick. It’s bad enough knowing that I’m in the company of famous people like Howie Mandel, but the only other real-life person I know who has it is obnoxious and so far up his own ass he can see out of his own mouth.",0 "I’ve been unmedicated my entire life. I’ve been trying and failing so long I’ve just given up. It was heartbreaking to not have the focus to become good at anything. I was a painter, but I really did give up. Put the paints in the closet and havent touched them since. The guilt and sadness of not doing what I loved doing so much is almost as hard to deal with as the pain of failing at something I had put so much into.",1 My fiancé and I argue about this exact thing. He doesn’t understand why it’s so hard for me to just focus on one thing at a time and do one project at a time instead of “half assing” things 🙄,1 "This is me with learning languages. Learning languages is my main (cheapest) hobby and you can't just tell me ""we say it like this, that's just how it is"". I have no idea how to implement it into conversation properly if I don't know the history behind the usage of the phrase or why it's structured like that and whatnot. This is why I'm still not fluent in Spanish even though a majority of my family doesn't speak English. It's hard.",1 How have I not known about saving posts for the past like 5 years?? what??,1 Just got done with an hour freak out over an intrusive thought... 5 minutes later same shit different toilet,0 "Want to have some fun? I'm an adult with severe adhd, wasn't diagnosed until I in my mid-40's and I have a child with severe adhd who was diagnosed right before I was. It's like the blind leading the blind - all of my coping mechanisms were developed as a single introverted adult and had already failed... and then I got a kid with it! So now all of the ""your child"" articles double suck because they depend on the parent being neurotypical. I'm hoping we have a breakthrough as a family pretty soon.",1 Oh my god this is me running back inside because if I don’t the stove will catch fire or a straightener I haven’t used in years will explode or my lamp will melt. 🤦‍♀️,0 "Thus the worst subreddit possible to put this on, yeah these suck ass",0 "I’ve had scrupulosity for the majority of my life, i’d literally stand in the middle of crosswalks praying with one foot off the ground (idk why but one leg always had to be lifted) try to balance, and get the prayer “right” to keep moving forward, shit was crazy. After a year of EXRP, I don’t do any of my scrup compulsions anymore, I pray if I want, when I want, and I don’t pressure myself to believe in any one thing. I let myself question my spirituality and religiosity and I feel so much freer than i’ve ever felt.",0 "I don't have ADHD (I'm here because my partner does) but I was in therapy for a different kind of executive disfunction and often feel what you describe, especially as it relates to college. My therapist told me that we're always trying our best. Even when we fail to do what we want, we are doing the best we can with the resources and information we currently have. If we go too hard in on ""I should have done better, I should have been able to do this"" we can hurt and drain ourselves. So I hope you can show yourself compassion in these moments and try to believe you did what you could.",1 I would record every class on my computer then re-listen to the lectures at my own speed and could pause and rewind. GAME CHANGER. This is how I made it through grad school.,1 *sudden urge to use hand sanitizer and if the blob wasn’t big enough getting more and then accidentally touching something while lathering and then getting more again*,0 Interrupting my task is the number one way to ensure that task will not be completed.,1 AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!,0 "Note taken: On my next meltdown go on a pyromaniac rampage or have the usual random burst of ""fuck it energy"" to go and be alright and just push through hoping that this unexplained phenomenon won't suddenly not happen one day at which point I would be truly fucked",1 Not sure if it’s just me but if I’m reading a book I don’t really like I will read it without reading the words if you know what I mean,1 "It’s like I told my therapist yesterday, I know there’s a disconnect in my brain that doesn’t click right. The motivation is there but it doesn’t connect and I end up doing other things. I get distracted and sidetracked easily. Some days are good and I get it down. But other days it’s like a cycle of wasted energy and procrastination at its worst.",1 Super glad for your achievement! I hope that all of us can feel that joy!,0 "Holy shit! My ex girlfriend did this last Saturday. I couldn’t sleep all night thinking in my own justifications except they are not. I’m a musician and she says I should be putting my music out there because it’s been long enough and she’s 100% right. She cares for me and it shows, but her delivery just makes me physically reject her. In my experience, life is not as linear as people make it out to be, and there are infinite ways for things to get done and for lives to be lived. Even “normal” people have their own mental hurdles to overcome. Whatever those may be, our brains and existence are just too complex for that not to be the case. Every individual is a universe so I wouldn’t trust anyone who says they got their shit together for one second. That’s just flexing on something and someone with whom you aren’t communicating effectively.",1 "I'm having a really really hard time with this right now. I have been able to convince myself in the past that I'm safe, but this time for some reason I just can't. I've talked about it in therapy, done everything I normally do, and for some reason I feel like its really real this time. ",0 "Yes! I hate buying those plastic flossers, but I ACTUALLY FLOSS so yeah, I buy those plastic flossers now.",1 My OCD has made me do some really harmful things to myself. It's hell,0 "I think my closest friends are the people that I've never felt like I ""owe"" them anything. That will always be down to chat or hang out even if I forget to talk to them for 6 months.",1 "It's me! But seriously, no one even suspected I had ADHD until I was in my 30s because my rejection sensitivity is so far off the charts that I found all sorts of unhealthy ways to process getting my work done early and ""successfully."" (Rejection sensitivity and hyperfocus are a hell of a combo- I ended up arguing my way into better grades at times....)",1 "Doctors are adamant I have it, but I don't necessarily dislike what's coming from my brain. Like, it's not something that gives me joy, but it's part of my confidence in myself. I dislike others because they're the reason I have any compulsions. If other people were like me I could relax.",0 I take pictures and record myself jiggling the door knob to help me recognize that I locked the door and turned off all of the appliances that make me check and recheck. I still have to check everything a bunch but it helps reassure me when I'm finally away from my apartment.,0 Uhhhmm the fine creations of a brain under OCD. We could make a movie out of it,0 True. We are worrying about things that are not correlate with daily stuff. We create our own roadblocks along our journey.,0 "Nice bro, but you posted this in an OCD sub where everyone already knows this",0 "You know what? I do this from time to time and sometimes I know it’s going to happen when I start a specific song. But I don’t see it as bad or compulsive. I’ve always thought of it as healthy. I’ve always regarded it as a way for me to ugly cry (and I mean straight up bawl) to cope with stress, etc. but by using something I know will make me cry. I’ve (like the rest of you) been convinced that I was the only one to do this but I don’t associate it with my OCD at all. I’ve just always thought it was a strange coping mechanism. It may be unhealthy but don’t you feel a lot better after? The only thing I would say about it is that you are reminding yourself of the frailty of life which can be very morbid.",0 This happens to me all the time.... I didn't know it was OCD?,0 This happened to me but with buying hardware for jewelry making. I accidentally ended up buying the same thing 3 times...,0 "Neither tough love nor coddling,I can speak from experience. Nothing ever worked for me but amphetamines and my own fear as a motivator.",1 "it was annoying asf with family members and random people saying “oH yOuRe So SmArT”, like shut up. i have zero absolute willpower to do anything i don’t want to. and that, ladies and gentlemen, is why i have an 8% in algebra 2",1 "Tried explaining my HOCD to a guy I'm seeing today. In return I got ""...do you want to hurt ME? Are you having violent thoughts about me right now? Have you ever hurt someone?"" Ugh.",0 This is so me that I did a double take to confirm it wasn't actually me who posted it half asleep last night.,1 Why do I see this heart getting bigger when it’s just a photo?,0 "On medication --> I thought I would throw up a link showing different options. [https://www.caddra.ca/wp-content/uploads/Final-Laminate-Card-2019\_9-1.pdf](https://www.caddra.ca/wp-content/uploads/Final-Laminate-Card-2019_9-1.pdf) Also impact will be different for everyone. Concerta made me aggro so I ended up running away from all meds for 4 years. Now on Dex and it's actually helping me an insane amount (without the negative emotional side effects). Thought I'd share in case you have a similar experience!",1 "I will completely fail a task unless I know the why. At my gas station job, I had to update the computers every day. But they only told me the step by step and not the why. I messed it up every shift for a month until they told me what each step did and why it was needed. ETA: The worst is when they get angry at you for asking why. ""You don't need to know why, just do it!"" But I literally can't do it without the why??!!!",1 "I honestly feel this so hard. If we had the motivation to do everything we wanted to we would be so powerful. It sucks being creative as an adhd side affect... but not being able to show it, it’s like I’m trying to speak but something is blocking my throat.",1 "it's nice to not be alone on this. i used to un-upvote posts, un-upvote certain comments & delete comments from weeks/months ago if i ""shared too much"" now im just too lazy to do it often 'cause other ocd things are currently making me exhausted",0 Vsauces latest episode was super great! Did anyonw see it?,0 "Either that or part of me is saying “stop, this is not normal you goon,” while the other is like “yea! why not hit my leg perfectly against this lamp”",0 "This really made my day, when I first saw it yesterday! I screenshot it, so I won't forget it. I've tried condensing my explanation of OCD over the years. This one is perfect and so heartfelt. Thank you!!",0 I had intensive therapy for three years for my OCD plus medication. It’s been a hard journey but I’m proud of myself.,0 "Ngl, this made me a lil anxious. I have an irrational fear of doing anything earlier than absolutely necessary!! What the hell is wrong with me!?",1 "When I had to use a public washroom, I would put layers upon layers of toilet paper on the throne before sitting",0 Can you give him a pet from me and tell him that he is a very handsome boi,0 "I figured that out because I like every video I was habitually, and so my liked videos have been at 5000 for like a year or two lol",1 "I wouldn't say it's bad. Sometimes the ""STOP"" approach can be beneficial to aid in the aversion of an intrusive thought. Distractions are still a healthy avenue. Sometimes when a disturbing image or sensation or thought I play a small game with the ""STOP"" approach. When the intrusive thought comes I immediately assess and think ""STOP"" or ""ENOUGH"" and play a game looking for something interesting in my immediate surroundings like say a nice car or a pretty flower or plant etc etc You don't always have to be exposed to the disruptive stimuli to get over it. There are MANY pathways you can use to rewire your brain.",0 "My mum looked into my face, told me ""You're healthy."" I was so close to breaking down right then and there; until she told me to ""man up."" I am so thankful for this woman in my life.",1 I’m finding this very unpleasant because it’s lacking the comma. :\,0 "It helps me when I speed up the video, still zone out sometimes but watching stuff at 2.5x makes it easier to concentrate on the video somehow.",1 "This is fantastic. When people ask me if OCD has any positives, I always say that people with OCD are the most creative and artistic people on Earth. I want to see more!",0 "Ugh hiding my compulsions is hard...I don’t even know what to say to my friend when she asks why I’m going to check the door for the 8th time (8 is my “lucky” number). On the outside looking in, it probably looks like tweaker behavior but I am a tweak",0 "The constant romanticization of mental illness, in general, is very frustrating. I'm sick of seeing things that dismiss an entire group of people actually suffering from these disorders. There needs to be more education on things like this! So very well said. :)",0 "I’m always in favor of an Accountability Buddy. Tell someone that you need to write this email and to bug you about it, that’s how I get myself to do anything.",1 "I always wondered about that. *laughs in over 700 tabs open*",1 Hello! I also have checking OCD. This image perfectly describes me.,0 "Start early and start small. I found that having a lot of long term goals can be overwhelming and instead of getting started they get put off. Having a small list of things to get done first thing in the morning has definitely helped because although tasks may feel small, you'll feel accomplished. Feed the dogs, water the plants, take out the trash, empty the dishwasher, do the laundry, tidy up a few things in a room, stretch/exercise, read a few pages of a book you've been putting off, etc.",1 "WOW I do these same EXACT thought process. ""Oh I have to do this or I'll die"" ""I have to make 7 of this, or I'll have bad luck and I'll die from some type disease"". TA Has been helping me, my therapist Is trying TA to see If I can reset my brain. It's working pretty well, but I'm always worried about dogs licking me and getting a flesh eating disease, or ""masturbating"" and getting extreme badluck. Pretty crazy..",0 "I miserably failed at competative exams despite studying hard for it, had a lot of difficulty in understanding concepts, failed to work at job, given up multiple things just because i couldnt understand and thus perform in them. I lways considered myself as a quitter. My life is in turmoil, i am 25. I dont know when will i get stabilized in life. I want to talk to a psychiatrist but then i am again not able to decide.",1 "Something else with looking into is modafinil. I’ve taken it to adjust to time zones while traveling, but also found it incredibly helpful when it came to concentrating. Again, not a cure all, but has similar benefits to stimulants without the intensity.",1 Meanwhile some people with talking compulsions cannot even reply🙄,0 "Lol, my BF with adhd takes viagra so when he gets distracted he doesn't lose his erection. It def. helps!",1 "Oh god thank you so much for this. This is what I needed when I told my therapist I didn’t know how to differentiate from real worries and ocd worries.",0 "oh man, those takeaways... I was thinking in the shower the other day about *why* I find it impossible to ask for help. What I settled on was that it seems like every time I actually *do* ask for help, the help doesn't work, which then gets turned back on me, and rather than having a problem *I become the problem*. That's painful, so I simply don't ask for help and resign myself to the consequences of my disability. It feels like I have two choices: don't ask for help, fail, and live with the shame of failure, or ask for help, fail anyway, and live with the shame of failure multiplied by the shame of being impossible to help.",1 "As someone whose goal is to be famous, this theme has been hitting so hard it’s so terrifying.",0 In fact people with OCD are *less* likely than the average person to act on these thoughts because it’s their worst nightmare and they’re actively trying to avoid it.,0 "This describes EXACTLY what I've been telling my husband I want to do! I literally said this to him as little as 2 days ago. I knew I related to this sub, but damn.",0 "Oh if this isn't me. Just add a step in there where it dawns on me after five or so hours what a mess I've made of my day and how little time I reasonably have left so I sit there and start crying, unsure of how to untangle the knot... THEN I go on reddit/discord.",1 Is that a scuff on the bleach bottle? Clearly this bleach is dirty.,0 "“You have SEVERE anxiety depression and OCD” Me: but it’s wrong right? I must have put the answers wrong or I’m just doing it for attention (Damn I need that psych appointment for a diagnosis soon!!! Stupid covid!!! 😅)",0 "Too relatable, with everything too.. Throat hurts? Cancer. Stomach hurts, hm, probably cancer. Weird feeling somewhere? Must be some very serious life threatening illness that requires immediate attention. They're probably tired of me at the hospital.",0 "hahaha, ironically, reading the title of this triggered me and it made me 'confused' for a sec, (dont know if really confused or just OCD confused) that I was Carl or that Carl was in my head too and needed to shut the fuck up",0 "It’s tough. For over 10 years I told my doctors I had symptoms of anxiety and depression so they just gave me meds to treat the symptoms. We finally figured out the anxiety was manifested from OCD. Took long enough, I’m 30 now.",0 "I can totally relate. Just threw out a cheese that was probably growing humanity's last hope for a new, super charged antibiotic that had been there BC (before Covid)",1 Fucking hard same. 1000000000%. You are definitely not alone when it comes to this.,1 "Artist is [artbymoga](https://instagram.com/artbymoga?igshid=flmrtlbvikbb) she’s fantastic and has a lot of seriously relatable stuff, especially recently on the pandemic!",0 "This is so me. I hate it. Idk if this fully applies, but I finally got to work to email this company about my product they shipped in and I got through a couple of quick back-and-forth emails then left them on read and... its been months and I've lost track and haven't emailed back.",1 "When I get like this dissociative symptoms and experiences start increasing and everything gets super awful for bursts, then a weirdness lingers that just straight sucks.",0 "I’m going through a depressive episode right now and I’m almost through it, and the way I got through it beyond exercise and medication is realizing literally ALL my internal monologue was bad. Just don’t think, it’s kinda relaxing rly. Note every thought as thought then move on. That way you don’t have to discriminate.",0 "This is great! Another one that I learned here (I think?) is to use your cat to get yourself out of bed on time. I’ve started giving my cat treats every morning, with the hope that she’ll start climbing on my face if I don’t get up on time for her treats. I’m only a few days in, so not sure if it will work.",1 "Yep. It's much easier to remember stuff if you know the ""why"". This is also why I find it very hard to learn stuff that I don't have an immediate/soon need to use. There's little motivation... both consciously, and subconsciously. We can't remember everything we hear/encounter/think of, so it makes sense to prioritize things... and without a reason/context behind something, generally our brains will logically assume it is low priority.",1 Nice! I’m learning how hard it is to not give in to the urge to act out compulsions. Little tricks like staying super busy to make you not think about it are so important.,0 "👁👄👁 I sat down with my phone to do god knows what before watching a time-sensitive lecture for school and then an hour(??) (Two hours??) later here comes this post making me feel more seen than James Cameron’s 1997 drama, “Titanic,” starring Celine Dion (you know she carried that film with her silky, soothing voice like the musical atlas she is). Thank you for saving my GPA, friend. ❣️",1 "Lol second chat ever here so don't fret if I am bad at this . Hi . I am no one special ( nor are you sorry !! ) Lol but I saw you on the "" people you may know "" list liked something about you and it so I absolutely love random bored but happy Chats . Had some excellent one's n bad so please message me back and follow because it's not working for me . I have been diagnosed with Extreme Anxiety and Anti Social Behavior and would love to talk to someone like you online or here in private cause I don't do groups anything but really struggling with a few things and appreciate anything you can help me with",0 Thank you so much for introducing me to this book through your post. I got it on Audible and it feels like this book was written FOR ME. I feel like the woman narrating the book is speaking directly to me. Great stuff!,1 "Complete opposite for me, nothing makes me more willing than anger. When someone tells me that I am shit (doesn't even have to be tough love) I get very motivated to not be shit. Or prove they are wrong. I even trash talk myself a lot.",1 Or the worst one: I’m shit because I’m so paranoid that everyone hates me.,0 "Congratulations!! I love seeing posts like this, it's so inspiring! OCD took me out of school this spring, but I'll work hard so can go back and graduate, too!!",0 Especially your own parents. I was diagnosed VERY young but my mom didn’t take the time to understand what it was so instead of being patient and understand I literally am different from her she would beat me physically or emotionally when I did typical ADHD things.,1 "You know, every time that I experience inexplicable time loss I feel really down on myself and sorta alone, like nobody else deals with it. Reading this made me feel a lot better - I SWEAR I tried to take a shower!!! It just didn’t pan out!",1 "congratulations! your hard work is totally paying off, that's awesome 🎉",0 "I don't have any therapist or any friends, and my dysfunctional family has told me that they hated me and insulted me so many times that, if it weren't for God, I'd probably have killed myself.",0 "I actually really needed this right now, lol. Thanks for getting me back on track!",1 I hate it when people say that. It's down right disrespectful.,0 "Thanks but im going to be honest with you, i don't believe you when you say things are going to be better, they won't be for me, there is no way for my life to ever be good again unless i lose all my memories of the last 3 years so i won't remember the realisation that lead to my obsession.",0 "When I was little, my art teacher said she was super OCD. And I was like, you have it too? And she said no; since then I feel like a joke ;)",0 SHUT UP PEOPLE WHO THINK ITS COOL TO HAVE A MENTAL ILLNESS,0 I definitely schedule everything first thing in the morning too! Totally relate,1 I'm bipolar and still deal w this so much omg im glad im not the only one,0 "Lol. I never understood that. If you have OCD, you don't want it.",0 "I try to set a number of repetitions out loud before I try the task, like rinse my armpits in the shower, 7 passes should be good enough, and set my alarm clock I’ll check the alarms, volume, and make sure my phone isn’t on silence and I gotta set a number or I’ll be stuck doing it till I believe myself",0 "I thought it was going to be some wildly improbable story, like you got struck by lightning and somehow that cured your ADHD or something. (There was a woman awhile back who said her MS was cured by a [non direct] lightning strike)",1 "Unfortunately, cleanliness is the only tendency I never adopted.",0 I’m gonna just picture my intrusive thoughts as Ben Shapiro trying to fuck w me from now on. I think it’ll make them easier to laugh off lmao,0 "That’s wonderful! I’ve struggled for years to keep up dental hygiene as well. Recently I bought an oral-b electric toothbrush and started brushing my teeth immediately after I shower (which is everyday in the morning). If I take another shower that day, I’ll brush my teeth again. And to those that already have good practices, yes, I would go years without brushing my teeth or seeing a dentist. 5 years at most, only had one cavity. Dentist says I have very strong teeth, but that’s still no reason not to take care of them. I started using an app called Daylio over a year ago to start tracking my mood after my father passed away. I noticed it had a goals section so I added brushing my teeth as one of those goals. By no means am I trying to underscore your achievement, but I want to also share my success! I am now up to 191 days! Just wanted to say thank you for posting this and to also keep goin! If you ever let yourself down, don’t give up! Just start the streak over and associate the action with another stronger habit (washing your hands). It honestly took me a few streaks to get up to where I am now. Here’s my current progress https://i.imgur.com/2yAGJ6n.jpg",1 "It's so bad when your trying to listen to someone you love especially in a relationship, and they'll reference something you said or something they said and you can't remember and it makes it seem like you don't listen or that your just saying nonsense to shut them up. Genuinely makes me feel so shit when it happens.",1 I’ve had so many productivity apps that I ended up deleting because I started ignoring them.,1 "I get ENRAGED by a fellow SPED teacher who had the gall to call it ""teenage boy syndrome."" If I could get him fired he'd be gone. I avoid him religiously.",1 "I went through the same thing, and now my hands have also returned to be nice and soft. I'm so proud of you!",0 OMG this 100%. I've done all of the mental work of planning it. What do you mean I still have to DO it? Isn't it already done?,1 Noice! Look at you! You let it out and got the damn thing finished! Congrats! ☄️,1 "Option 1: Complete simple task Option 2: delay and endure mental stress and feelings of guilt for weeks/months YOU CHOSE OPTION 2!!!!!! my life.",1 "it's even more accurate because the ""people"" in the picture who understand are a computer, and the only other real people around are preoccupied with something else.",0 "When mine got really bad either I’d hum to myself, hit my head with my palm or flap my hands, and it’d usually happen while I was in public, but I didn’t really care cuz I was desperate to feel better. Anything to stimulate my mind in ways to distract myself from what I was thinking. I still stim, but not as much.",0 I self imposed these feelings at my current job when no one seems to think im lazy or incompetent because i work so fucking hard not to seem that way. But any time i screw up once i pretty much have a panic attack over being “incompetent”. Because i was told i was lazy and stupid my whole life.,1 This is amazing. I saw it in my feed while scrolling and trying to distract myself from intrusive thoughts and it helped. Thank you!,0 "Thank you for this post. I think so many of us can relate to the invalidating and to be blatant, truly stupid response of “but you’re pretty messy sometimes” when you tell somebody you have OCD. As a person with harm OCD I am also saddened by the way the disorder is portrayed in the media and how far society is from having even a general understanding. It’s insane to me that everybody has heard of OCD yet it feels like only people who have the disorder have any actual clue about it. Personally I do not do things like clean in excess or repetitively or lock my doors 7 times etc and it’s exhausting to know it’ll be decades before OCD is known to be anything more than these actions.",0 "The other day, I had a fridge delivered. I let the delivery guys in and showed them where it was supposed to go, so I was wearing a cloth mask. At some point after they left, I took off the mask, and I haven't seen it since. I literally lost it in my own house, and it's nowhere to be found. That said, I'm usually aces at finding lost things. It comes from years of practice.",1 I’m wasting my three hours right now. Took my Vyvanse at 630. Kicked in a bit ago. I want to get up. But I don’t want to because I’m reading posts and commenting and I need to finish that first.,1 Every time I be a dick in the moment I find later that I overracted,1 "Does the presence of at least 1 of these mean a thought is OCD, or all of them?",0 "YES. although my move to my parents’ house was due to a family emergency, so oddly convenient in that unfortunate/fortunate way.",0 I forgot to fold the laundry in the dryer. Thanks for the reminder.,1 And it’s not just that you have it but that you’ve given it to everyone you love and if you don’t do an arbitrary behavior a specific number of times until you’ve done it “right” (whatever the fuck that means) then everything goes to shit and it’s all your fault,0 I'm so fucking sick of it too. I live with slobs so it's impossible to touch anything outside of my bedroom because of my contamination OCD. I miss being normal. I feel ya. Much love <3,0 I think it’s our response to sensory overload. It’s like going into screen saver mode.,1 "Yessssss. Actually I’m really surprised that this pandemic hasn’t made my OCD worse, instead I actually feel real vindicated hahaha because I’m like ooookay just saying but I’ve been doing these things all along & everyone was side eyeing before but know y’all see 👀 🤣 probably not healthy however it’s impossible for me to do any Exposure therapy during a pandemic & technically I’m only following CDC guidelines so 🤷🏼‍♀️",0 "More like, Yeah sure, you're right, why am I being so fucking stupid, I can't fucking get my shit together. I should've stopped thinking about my obsessive thoughts right away, then it wouldn't be so fucking bad now, this is probably my fault were all gonna die because of me.",0 "I can write perfectly fine, unless I get nearby distractions or someone talks to me while I am writing. In that case I have developed a new language all by myself with upside down/missing letters and gibberish that look like symbols😂😂",1 "Books are worse than movies for me, but absolutely!",1 "That’s me but not with n word but literally any bad worst thing i fear to say out loud. I really hate this stupid OCD.",0 "i feel you... for real, i'm feeling like a paroniac sometimes why am i like this ?",0 I just got an ADHD coach/counselor and it has been very helpful. Something to look into in your area. I’m struggling bad and this is my last resort. I just had my 2nd session today and it was awesome,1 I wish people...even people with OCD...knew that it covered a range of topics.,0 When you watch a movie to get rid of the thought and you finnaly do but then something in the movie reminds you of that same thought.,0 "Most of the times I try to convince myself that I dont have ocd so I can't imagine how someone feel good with this and I wonder if all these people who think that ocd has positives they are diagnosed officially with ocd or they just read the traits online. But I disagree this is not part of me. It's not an illness it's an unhealthy coping mechanism due to my low self esteem and my childhood traumas. I wasn't always like this so ocd is not part of me. If I believe that it's something that defines me how exactly I will cure myself?",0 This is me! Tomorrow is the 1 year anniversary of when the thought first hit. I am about 85% of the way there with accepting that it isn't real.,0 "Mine tells me to back in. It lists the benefits even as it acknowledges the points for just pulling in. I'll ruminate a bit. Then, everything that goes wrong (especially while trying to leave) is left to my brain then giving me the old ""told you so"". Your spot is fine. Good luck.",0 This is why I can't get out of Gold in League of Legends,1 "I was a grocery bagger for a summer after high school and I loved it, congrats!",0 I feel getting tackle/hugged by Jason Momoa would make most people's brains happier.,0 This is amazing. So glad you are able to do this and found a way that works well for you. If didn't have a partner i would try to find a way to afford something similar.,1 Sadly i relate so much. I don't even have the energy to type all the stuff i want to.,0 "Dude religion has affected me so much when it came to my ocd. I grew up in a catholic family. It's not a current obsession anymore, thank God LOL, but it was too much. I had this prayer book and my own script I would have to say perfectly before I went to bed. If I messed it up or if it didn't feel right, I would have to say it over again. I would have to ask God to keep everyone safe but name them individually, like please keep mom, dad, bro, sister, dog, dog, dog, dead dog, my friends, people in the us, people in Africa safe....",0 Congratulations. This brought me to tears because I know this struggle so well and how hard it is for most people to understand what an accomplishment this is/feels like for people like us. You can keep it up. You know it. <3,1 That’s horrible! I hate when the scary ones like this get in there.,0 "Literally day 1 of Adderall after being rediagnosed last year, I brushed my teeth without even thinking. Without having to set an alarm! This is a huge deal, congratulations!",1 HAHA OCD MEANS LIKING THINGS TO BE NEAT AND ORDERLY /s,0 "I must not be watching the ‘right’ programmes but I don’t remember seeing OCD handled as badly as the average ‘OCD about...’ social media post does. A few shows I think have done it ok are Scrubs (one episode) handled it really well, even challenging with the harmful assumption that you can’t succeed (be a good doctor) despite it. Glee: though a lot of Emma’s OCD moments *were* cartoonish, her meltdowns and relationship strain was a different tone and quite well done IMO. Pure: I only made it one episode in, it was quite triggering (but then the whole show is about OCD, written by a pure-O sufferer). What’s everyone else’s take on these?",0 "Great fucking job!!! Edit: Just realized that could be interpreted as passive aggressive didn’t mean it that way, truly great job!",0 "This is exactly me! And I'm always befuddled when people get irritated by me asking. I'm never unprofessional or rude and try to always frame it as wanting a deeper understanding or ""genuinely curious"" or whatever. You'd think people would *want* you to care to understand your work 🙄.",1 "Thanks for that, its been really tough recently so I'm glad to hear someones beating it.",0 "I'm so sick and tired of being told that I'm smart but can't apply it. I know, I literally dropped out of engineering school because of it. It's a living hell.",1 I was once told it could be called Adrenaline Deficiency Disorder because we put off tasks & build tension and stress until our brain receives the rush of adrenaline needed to focus to achieve the task. Like a stimulant med would help focus for ADHD so does building up the stress and pressure until you act. Trying to act before the pressure pushes you to focus is useless and often is that source of shame and anger and anxiety because we know we are capable but just unable to act until our brain is ready(stimulated enough),1 Who is the author? I looked up disorganized mind and had a few different books hit.,1 "I went over to a girls place for some late night fun. It’s never my first thought, but she put on a movie at first. The movie happened to be Forrest Gump, which is an absolute banger of a movie. At some point during the first third of the movie, we start messing around. At some point during the sex, she asked if everything was alright, if I wasn’t enjoying it. I had to look this girl in her eyes and tell her the truth: I was watching the movie and completely got lost into it, and that I would like to finish the movie and we could get back to it…",1 "This is a nice sentiment I should try to keep in mind So easy to get so caught up in negative cyclical thought patterns I lose track of actual real analysis of what is or isn't that much of a risk or threat. Or realistically I probably don't have much track of it by default to begin with. But thinking about what things actually have or have not occurred is probably a helpful mental framework to give myself more clarity So thanks for this",0 I do this with youtube videos. I'll start watching one and have to pause it because I'm busy articulating something ive been having inner monologue about. That sounds pretty cooked,1 "Whenever I 'feel', I buy everything and prepare it, peeled garlic, ginger, carrot, fresh herbs. There's almost always at least ~3 days of food in the fridge at any given time. To feed myself during the days I don't feel like cooking at all.",1 "My ADHD and my fathers explosive personality did not work at all. My step brother also had ADHD, which lead to them fighting a lot to the point of physical violence. I never got into fights with him because developed learned hopelessness and learned to just take the punishment without saying more. Quite honestly, I think my Dad has undiagnosed ADHD just because of how fast his brain works and if you can’t keep up whatever he just thought in his head, then he’ll look at you like you spit in his face then he loses his shit. I don’t have a voice for myself anymore. It’s one of the things I’m learning to get back with my therapist. The most frustrating thing though is that now I’m diagnosed and working on improving myself but rather then seeing any sort of progress and praising me for it, he just assumes nothings changed. When he’s talking to me, and I’m trying my hardest to listen, he’ll just randomly stop and tell me “you’re not listening are you”, then gets pissy. Or when I remember to do household chores, I get “oh wow you actually did it” if he sees me, and if he doesn’t then it’s “you never do a godamn thing around here”. I’m so fucking defeated man. It hurts to godamn much to be trying your fucking hardest and",1 "Big time. I deleted my Facebook and tried to delete any social media where someone could find me, in case I ever got ‘canceled’ lol.",0 Doubt your memory? What does that mean. In what way? Like how?,0 "yo i always got down on myself for missing showers sometimes due to horrible planning/ex, im so happy to see that i am not the only one.",1 "People with any mental illness 😂. Man, no one gets a break.",0 "Dude, hardest part is getting started. Worst part is that the meds don’t help with it either.",1 "What about when this has been happening for so long that adult *me* does this to *myself* and the lesson I have taught *myself* is that the task is quite reasonable and I'm just not trying hard enough? I no longer trust my judgement and I can't tell the difference between things I can't do, things I don't want to do, what's an actual useful coping mechanism and what's just my brain trying to trick me into an elaborate procrastination scheme anymore. It's just a big old mess. Sorry. It's been a long week and I'm feeling really down about myself and my ability to deal.",1 I just had this conversation with a coworker last night. We both have adhd and we both are the same way. Whenever I start a new job I explain this because I know it sometimes can be frustrating for everyone involved.,1 I set an alarm for the time I need to get ready to go. I can do anything and everything before that alarm goes off. Then it is time for me to get ready and go,1 "Like sure! Let me just stop thinking about what I’ve been thinking about absolutely nonstop for the past ____ and act normal.",0 "It's also ok to let other people gelp you get things done, btw. That doesn't make you lazy.",1 "Why am I crying because of a four panel cartoon? Oh yeah. Cause it’s true.",0 "First time one of these posts has been relatable for me When I used to do casual shift work, if I had a shift at 6pm I would literally do nothing the entire day because ‘have work later’ Doesnt matter how much time I had beforehand just felt like the day was done when there was something coming up later",1 "I had been going to bed between 8PM and 10PM since becoming a father, but I have no personal time if I don't stay up late. So, I've stayed up a few nights gaming and fucking around aws, and azure shit. I do not regret it, holy shit I am tired AF.",1 "Ugh, this is me. My current most obvious think is q-tips. Every time I wash my hands, I have to clean my ears out with the damn things. No clue how this came about but it's been going on for about a month now.",0 "Not the same but... sometimes when I do something I wouldn’t normally do previously (e.g. waiting until the bathroom is dirty to clean it rather than doing it on schedule) I feel tremendously guilty and wish I still had my OCD symptoms because I feel like I’m turning into a bad, evil person. But that’s just the crazy talking. I have to remind myself that I’m so much happier being “bad” than being so full of rage and crippled with fear.",0 Who is also trans and the opposite sexuality of you.,0 "For me it’s “damn I was right, everyone should stay arms length away from me at all times.”",0 One of the many reasons I'm happier as an atheist. That shut was torture!,0 I've done this like 5 times this week but with the bathroom sink and making sure it's off .-.,0 "It felt like a huge deal when I realized typing was never going to work note wise for me, it's great to be able to search words and sent the notes, but writing things out was (and is for most people) more ""substantial"" in our brain - so writing something out in my class notes (even if I hate having to ""format"" on the fly, was always going to ""cement"" the info in my head way better then typing it out (lol not to mention all the distractions the laptop brought)",1 This fear gave me a full blown mental breakdown and the whole time i was convincing myself it was psychosis,0 "I didn't see what sub this was at first and was confused because I was like ""this is what I always do where's the joke"" 💀",0 "When I was as running my business I would spend all day composing some emails & policing them for tone, succinctness, and clarity. It was exhausting.",0 "I got to explain hyperfocus to my son's speech therapist last week while talking about family medical history. Her first response was 'I thought it meant you couldn't focus at all!' She accepted the clarification at least.",1 "I’m so proud of you. Thanks for talking about contamination OCD. I don’t think it’s talked about enough. I have problems with feeling that any chemical cleaner will contaminate me, though it’s more of an issue of toxicity. I actually had to give in to it because I had no towels left as they were all in the wash as well as my bedding. It was driving me crazy. Anyway, sorry for talking so much about myself. I’m so happy you were able to grow your hair out.",0 "The worse part about OCD is knowing the ad is a virus (as someone commented previously), but that you click on it anyway because the reward seems so promising. But really, the worst part of being OCD, especially as a checker, is that I know most times that I did the right thing (counted the money correctly and locked it in the safe...yes, I locked all the doors...but I simply cannot handle the idea that maybe I didn't...cannot deal with the failure). If I was unmedicated, I would have returned to work already and re-checked things, as my usual routine was interrupted. Trying to ask myself: what is the worst thing that can happen? (Get fired.) Is it likely to happen? (No.) What amazes me is that most seem to picture the contamination type of OCD, and while I certainly don't want a disease, and I wash my hands more than most, I don't spend hours at the sink. Also, some assume I must line things up and my house must be perfectly organized. I am ashamed to admit my house isn't. Weirdly, part of the reason why I don't want guests (yes, my sentence is incomplete...I desired the pause). I am a clutterbug and have a difficult time throwing away things (such as mail, my children's old homework assignments, books and clothing). My general thoughts? I may throw away something important that I missed...I may need this object again in the future. I have a pile of mail that needs to be thrown out. And believe-you-me, I prune at the mailbox. I have forced myself to do that. Why do I take so long to throw away other things that have cluttered my apartment? Because there is a picker that comes through my complex and rips open garbage bags for aluminum cans. I realize I don't have much of an identity, but it is mine, and I don't want it stolen. Don't even get me started on the Internet. I try not to say something that I would hesitate to say to another...but really...am I? I am here, am I not? It's my only social media, now, but I bet if anyone were to lay it out before me...let's just not go there. Just don't. My husband has never been one for Christmas gifts, and that's okay, but I did find myself feeling hurt because the beautiful gift wrapped beneath the tree this last holiday was a paper shredder. I perceived it as a personal attack. Could I use one? Yes. But he could have purchased and presented it out of any of the other 364 days in a year. It's a high tech broom and dustpan in my book. No, I do not save old bits of tape or wrapping paper. Yes, I throw out questionable foods. There are no dead animals or feces, I promise you. I hate to be so crass, but that is what people assume of hoarders, which I have described (myself, anyway, as clutterbug...packrat). If no one reads this, that is fine. I feel good for having said it. I would also add that I am obsessing over a recent quiz score. Yes, I did well and received an A, but although I knew the answer to one of the questions, the wording was too ambiguous (which probably made me pick the wrong answer--I do not know). We have the right to rate the module taught; I wonder if I should mention it. Don't want to be that crazy person, though. It is not uncommon for me to pick the wrong answer, not because I didn't know what the answer was, but because the wording was tricky and I over thought it. Wonder how many times I will read my response, here, to look for typos and to clarify my statement. ",0 "We exist outside of time so cannot understand time. That's the most sense I can make of this senseless curse.",1 "I'm a PhD with ADHD: No, you can't get plenty of sleep because that's when the best ideas comes up....or when you remembered something...or realized a mistake you made....",1 "the whole time i drove on my road trip, my brain kept telling me & replaying what would happen if i flipped the car, hit cement blockers, or even telling me to swerve into a ditch! my bf looked at me like i was crazy 😂😂😂 “it’s just my ocd babe, sorry”",0 "I worked the twilight shift (4PM-10PM) at UPS for about three years while I was in college. I felt this to my very core. Everybody at my college library looked so happy and excited to be able to stay all day and study and I couldn't keep my thoughts off of the fact that I would eventually have to leave for work. I am a lot better now, though. I have had my medication dosage increased to account for about 12 hours of the day instead of the original seven hours that I was trying to get by with. It took me many years to work up the courage to ask for an increase because, at the time, it was becoming more and more popular for abuse by college students.",1 I am in the top 2% of One Direction listeners rn because I reverted back to my college days for a month while coping with covid lockdown lmao,1 Tell Kelly who thinks organized fridges are neat that she can say she’s “so ocd” after she spends the night crying cuz an intrusive thought told her that her beloved dog hates her becuz she’s manipulative and abusive for petting it :),0 Yes!! I’m super messy but have diagnosed OCD and people have such a hard time comprehending that,0 I've always wondered about the lost time symptom and I was never able to really get an answer on it. I was wondering why someone would tell me I spent 30 minutes doing something when it felt like less than 5.,0 Not well. My anxiety and hatred for routine change (comorbid autism and GAD/OCD) are flaring up and I’m dying.,1 so smart you KNOW you are stupid- i envy dumb people somwtimes,1 "Yeah same with me when it comes to homework My brain: did u do all homeworks? Me: yes like 2 seconds ago >*are y o u s u r e* Me: yes >*what if u didn't?* Rinse and repeat",0 "(I just said ‘motherfucker’ out loud, started working on my to do list. Grumpy thanks. Not really grumpy tho.) Edit: worked through more than one of my to-do’s, and still going strong! Did some mails and planning, bullet journal update, untangle some mental chaos. Thanks so much for this buttkick!",1 I don’t post much but I happened to read this as I’m waiting for testing to see if I have ADHD. I’m 33 and pretty sure I’ve had it my whole life. My psychiatrist wouldn’t evaluate or prescribe medication without testing so 6 months later I’m getting tested. All this to say this post just hit me on so many different levels. I don’t think anyone has explained it so perfectly and I just want to say I appreciate the post. I’ve felt so bad a lot of my life for feeling lazy or whatever. I don’t even know if I have it but it was validating nonetheless for someone to encapsulate and lifestyle that’s difficult to explain to people. Again maybe I don’t have it but you named so many of my experiences and I just appreciated it a lot.,1 Good job my guy! Remember that maintaining mental health is more important than maintaining your grades. You’re doing well,0 "I stopped writing in pencil for this reason. If I write in pencil, I end up erasing my name of things over and over again until it looks perfect or just feels right. Writing in pen has helped that a lot",0 bro same but with door locks. every time i take a shower i have to touch both locks a couple of times till i’m satisfied. like i’ll be in the shower and be like i need to go back and touch the lock again.,0 I currently have 7240 screenshots and 74 tabs on my phone and 9 windows with over 120 tabs open on my laptop... and even though I can't remember what's in those tabs I know I can't close them because at one point I decided that information was important for me to know. So...here we are.,1 "I mean, a joke's a joke, problem's when they're not joking.",0 Oh wow that’s actually an incredibly spot on description of what it’s like to have OCD,0 "I'm in the same boat with having OCD and depression. My mom didn't believe I could possibly have OCD because I'm not very neat or tidy, and when I feel particularly bad, the mess just piles up. I've learned, though, that a good place to start is just washing one single dish. One dish is still progress. I've also found that once I've washed one, I end up washing a few more because I might as well wash them since I'm already at the sink with a towel. Take care of yourself the best that you can.",0 "Honestly, if you actually wanna stab yourself, I'd say that I don't think it is. Are you actually doing bad stuff, or do you 'just' have bad thoughts?",0 If I hear one more person say “your ADHD is a gift!” I WILL be exiting this earth,1 "It has served me well so much of my life. Convinced I was just a do-er. I also raised 3 children, often worked 2 jobs, took classes when I wasn't working, know how to do maintenance on my cars, can do all my home repairs, garden, do art, ceramics, printmaking, rock sculpture, drawing...you friggin name it. I always found jobs that supported being on the go. Nursing in a hospital and in a correctional facility where you have to be aware of a lot of things and can just jump up and do something else and just ""LOOK PRODUCTIVE"". Bartending, anything to where walking away to do another task seemed normal. But, I am getting older and really want to focus and not just jump up every time something pops into my head. It affects my social life. I love to throw a party just because I can be mixing drinks, tending the BBQ, chit-chat here or there but keep moving. (I drive card players nuts because if it is not my shuffle and deal, I think of something and I jump up to do it without even thinking) I am trying to put my education and experience into a more sedentary vision and I am finding it truly difficult. I studied computer language back in 1980 for a few quarters and absolutely hated it, then again in the 90s took graphic design ""thinking"" the ART aspect would be different. But sitting and not talking was just too much. I have a TON of strategies. Wear my keys around my neck when I'm out, have a purse that straps over and across my shoulder, so I cant set it down, and leave it. Car keys are zipped in a purse pocket so if I don't have my purse I cant drive away (keyless ignition) If I start a project, I walk a away but I keep going back and finish it within the day so onlookers really don't catch on, but I know it took me 5,1/2 work sessions instead of just sticking to it for one straight hour. Every time having to pick up where I left off or find where I set the tape measure. It is so frustrating on the inside. I have tried all kinds of herbal remedies. Can meditate if I do the square method, sometimes as long as an hour. Even have that ring which shows how deep I go. But I can't stay in mediation all day just to sit still. It affects my sleep because I wake every hour and a half throughout the night. I just need to sit still and focus. Not start feeling bored halfway through having lunch with a friend because we are just sitting and I am feeling restless. It always served me well, I know how to do a lot of things, went to graduate school, studied a lot of side things that I determined were not suited to me (like the computer stuff) I cannot find a strategy to just help me sit and write. If I write in notebooks, I have 15 notebooks, and depending on my thinking at the time I write in different ones, then trying to find my research becomes hell. Typing it seems like my fingers cannot keep up with my head and it does not engage me or seem as active as writing and I have to JUST SIT!!!! I can also doodle when I'm writing which I can't do when typing. I try and screenshot stuff, but I am then going to have to type that up. My life, looking back seems like one long blur, from one activity to the next. I am really grateful I am smart and organized, have a good work ethic but just feel like a ""Jack (or rather Jill) of all trades and the Master of none"" I try hard to appreciate my gifts, so many people look at my life or achievements and think WOW, but only I know how hard it is, how disciplined I have to be, how disorganized I feel on the inside. I am trying hard to find peace. I am having a hard time finding grace in this way of being. I am sure others would love to have abundant energy. To be as creative and have as many solutions as I have mastered. I need to feel the joy that I once felt being on the go all the time. Lately, it just seems like an endless steam of meaningless tasks, which I have no control over embarking on.",1 "no matter how bad it seems it’s not going to be your life, there’s always a way through it even if it seems like forever right now, you got this",0 Makes sense because OCD basically is a mental black hole,0 "I used to do something similar, I'd grit my teeth and close my eyes tightly to try and fight it. Years later after ERP and getting on top of it I just observe them, I don't label them or judge them, I just observe them. The thing you have to remember is, you are not your thoughts. So no matter how disturbing they get, they do not in any way represent or define you.",0 People here are talking about good memory but is that so? Maybe It’s just easier to remember things that make us embarassed,0 "Yeah, usually if I have something that I do for fun, I don't even let myself do that cuz I know I have something more important to do, and I don't deserve to engage in my usual activity yet. So I just end up sitting there scrolling instead",1 Thank you so much for sharing this! Things like this help me understand my OCD much better and also helps my fiance understand it so that he can be a source of comfort and support to me.,0 "This post reminded me of this video on [leadership on a submarine.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=psAXMqxwol8) Goes into detail about why telling people the Why of things is so important.",1 "I have 23 tabs open on my phone, all things I wanna read. I'll probably never read them",1 "ADHD is a struggle. This sub recognizes that each person has their own unique set of struggles, and no solution is one size fits all. Yet we can all relate to having those struggles, and the advice given is almost always well meaning. Sometimes, just reading that someone else is going through the same struggles is validation enough. I have learned some very helpful coping strategies here, and am grateful to everyone for taking a chance and sharing.",1 "Wait, you said take your “morning dose” before you wake up. Do you take more than one a day? I’m on a low dose of adderall and I’ve been taking it later in the day to make sure I get through the whole day without crashing. Do you do a morning and afternoon dose or?",1 "It’s really ironic that it’s your therapy appointment that’s causing you distress, I relate to that",1 "I know I'm late to the discussion, but I think it might be more to do with left handedness, because I've met right handed ADHD who don't have this problem. Are you by chance a lefty?",1 "Your meme is fine and great, but because this sub is for people with ocd getting help, I recommend r/OCDmemes, Again, your meme is good and I am not intending to offend you.",0 So doesn’t that mean like the medication isn’t working then,0 Literally everytime I was doing boring work in school or at my last job. I work retail now because I'm on my feet all day and rarely have to do anything boring.,1 Yes I just don't let my family criticize me at this point.,0 "I have PMDD, MDD, bipolar,PTSD, depression, OCD, anxiety and ADHD...its like a bingo at this point",0 I feel kind of bad for my mum. I never received a diagnosis as a kid and so I guess she had idea. What does frustrate me is that nobody stopped to think that *maybe* this isn’t normal. I think for her that might be because she shares some of the traits...,1 Right?! I’m determined to not let this cause me to relapse too much. In fact I’m hoping it could help some since people are buying up all the stuff I normally go overboard with anyway. Forced exposures.,0 "My therapist let me borrow that book for the time being, it’s really detailed and is actually starting to help me a lot!",0 "I have a related problem. I do remember the contents, but not where I picked it up or what the exact source was (except vaguely what kind of source it was). Not convenient when visiting a scientific sub where you’re asked to cite your sources... 🙄😅",1 The only way I can describe this combination is ‘Eternal Fatigue’. I hope you feel better soon.,1 "This resonates with me a lot. I was recently diagnosed at 33 and just started taking medication and it’s pretty eye opening. My parents don’t believe in it, or doctors or prescription drugs in general, so I was never assessed as a child and had no idea there was anything off with me. I’m a good test taker so was able to do well in school despite my inability to pay attention in class. I just learned to effectively cram at the last minute and avoided taking classes where “participation” was a large part of the grading. On paper, my life is pretty successful. I’m married to a great lady, have a wonderful daughter, 6 figure income, own a house, etc. I had gotten so comfortable with my symptoms that it didn’t cross my mind that it wasn’t normal to be unable to navigate without gps, to constantly lose everything, to be unable to keep a clean house or even a room, to be chronically late, to be oblivious to things people said directly to me, to forget the names of my best friends, to forget basic personal information like my age, phone number, address or zip code, I could go on. I found ways to get by, but these things were always a struggle that I seemingly couldn’t improve no matter how hard I tried. If it wasn’t for wife, who also has adhd, recognizing my symptoms for what they were, I probably never would have sought help, or even knew that I should. I’m very early in the process, but the difference is night and day. I feel like so far in life I had to fake it to get by, and now I don’t need to anymore. It gives me incredible optimism and excitement for the future.",1 Oh wow! Who’d have thought it would have been that easy!!!,1 "That is such a good scene. I am quite enraged with religions that teach us that merely thinking of something is a sin. That can cause a considerable amount of turmoil and is not helpful at all: the more you resist a thought, the more it persists. Then you end up in a full-blown scrupulosity.",0 "What!! I did not realize this was an ADHD thing at all. I just thought it was a weird quirk I had. I legit spend so much time just writing out lists and plans. For example, in college all I would do in class would write out plans on how to get good grades - instead of actually listening which would've been way more helpful.",1 Ughhhehhdhhhhh facts. I was legit holding back tears today like yes😃 but I know it’ll pay off,0 "Nothing I read or try helps me, I feel so much anger 24/7 that all I need is a way to leave the world",0 "I set a rule for myself to limit my phone browser to no more than 30 tabs and when I start getting up to the 20s I start going through and closing some. I am currently at 11 tabs open. Those first 5-6 tabs, mind you, are still from 5-6 months ago lol",1 Kind of I was about to have sex ie making out and I got a notification on Facebook which of course makes that ding sound. I actually picked up my phone to see what the notification was. Needless to say she got mad and we didn't have sex.,1 "“for argument’s sake, what if everyone thinks you’re a pathetic loser? Just testing your logic there.”",0 crap i saw this two hours later and need to sleep for work and didn't reorganize my desk so now I can't build my PC until i do that tomorrow,1 It’s beautiful like seriously gorgeous. You got some real talent.,0 "YES I struggle with this so bad and I tried googling it before with no results, like nobody knew what I was talking about.",1 i laughed but i know exactly what this is like and its horrible,0 "Omg...I'm crestfallen. This is totally me. I always thought it was weird cause I LOVE organizing even though i have adhd. Well....I love planning to organize. I love to get out my highlighters and write fancy titles, and then get out a new page, cause it didn't look perfect, and then i have a beautiful plan to fix my whole life and then I forget about it completely. The adult adhd tool kit is pretty good...but I've only read a few pages in various parts of the book lol. The author says that it's actually designed to be read that way though. When you have a problem you can look it up in the book and just read that part. I think i'm gonna go read it now! thanks for the reminder :)",1 "I’ve been planning my shower for the past 2-3 days, and it hasn’t happened yet 😬. I’m definitely going to get to it during my lunch break. It’s critical at this point lol.",1 "if it makes anyone here feel better, there are no drugs that exist that would make you hallucinate that you’re peeing at home when you’re really in Walmart",0 "I love this. I like to imagine my OCD as cats, giant cats, Giant, man-eating cats. ​ i",0 "Makes me less upset about brain this evening. Thanks for the comeraderie. You calmed me down with humor. You rock, OP.",0 "I sometimes wish that I would be at some type of large event, be it work, or a social or a what have you, everyone have ADHD, arriving late at all times, over sharing, being too intuitive, then getting hurt because of it and everybody getting everyone except the couple of token typical people in the room who feel like they don’t belong.",1 "I mean at this point my sleep is so fucked up anyway and absolutely nothing has helped after years of trying everything that is ""supposed"" to so I'm just like, fuck it, 5 hours, 8 hours.... Really makes no difference to me at all. I'm still gonna wake up pissed, tired, and in need of coffee to function. What a blessed life we lead.",1 "Welcome to reddit. Its good to have your support. Though i hope you don't get to see 'all therapist are useless' or 'psychology is a failure' type posts lol",0 "Today I also learned for relationships/emotional dysregulation that If you like to rant to people to regulate your emotions and impulsively do this a lot, first understand that they might not have the emotional capacity to deal with that right now and that's not personal. Secondly before you talk to someone think ""Am I genuinely interested in talking to them/making a connection or am I trying to use them to regulate my emotions?"" If the answer is the latter, write your feelings on paper, talk to your therapist or even ask if they are emotionally available to hear your rant.",1 This has been me this whole month. There IS something actually wrong with me (this time) and waiting on my specialist appointment is driving me nuts. In the meantime I’ve been poring over the Internet for every damn thing that could possibly be causing my issues. It’s eating up a lot of my time & I know it’s pointless but I can’t stop.,0 "No matter how early I would wake up or how prepared I was, I always lost track of time and was notoriously late to work. It happened so frequently that I just started packing a tooth brush and toothpaste in my backpack so I could brush my teeth at work because I knew wouldn't have time. Once in a blue moon I would be ready on time...I somehow was still late.",1 This is uncomfortable to watch o_o in a more abstract way it’s also what Tourette’s feels like,0 "Whenever I start to feel happy I think ohhh no I am bipolar! Wish I could just feel emotions without being guilty about it :/",0 "I am so happy for you and proud of you! Watching made me nervous, the end result is worth it. i too will face one compulsion today. thank you for inspiring a little bean to push herself ♡",0 Once I get over a “session” of OCD I always tell this to myself and then it never works out,0 "I spent 5 months in a combined patient mental hospital (80% general patients i.e those with depression, anxiety, ptsd, and 20% ocd patients) the nonsense I had to listen to from the general patients was ridiculous. “Ocd? I think I’ve got that. I like to get all the water marks off the shower glass” “ I like to put the bins out at a certain time. I’m ocd like that”. Unbelievable. The problem is that the general public see ocd only as being over picky about something. Also had someone say to me “you ocd’ers are lucky you don’t have to suffer with depression” really!? I’ve got a little demon in my brain and you think I wouldn’t suffer depression like you? Unbelievable!",0 "I’ve convinced myself I’ve had AIDS, Cancer, Early onset Alzheimer’s, Early onset Blindness, that I was gay, that I may sexually assault someone, that people aren’t safe around me, that I’m a sociopath in the making, that God will not forgive me and damn me to Hell and that I’m not as nice as I think and do things to manipulate people to my benefit. Sometime I have a laugh about it and realize that even people with the worst luck in the world couldn’t be all of those things.",0 "thanks for this, it encapsulates the reality of OCD and having to fight within oneself daily. it's a fucking struggle.",0 "You’re out having fun and enjoying life. You feel so stress free.Then you get home and bammmm it’s hits you, all the negative thoughts hit you.",0 Not in that situation yet but my high school is considering such a transition and I am also fearing the worst for my ability to keep things orderly without supervision,1 I show a middle finger in the air to that thought lol,0 "You may want to break your 20mg in half, if it’s IR for your first time with Adderall. Currently, I take 40 mg IR a day; I need to to convince my physician for 30 mg extended for the morning, then maybe 10 mg IR for the afternoon. After taking Adderall for five years, I have found my tolerance has grown, and IR wears off too quickly. Although, everyone is different. .",1 "I finally got up, showered, shaved, and cleaned my apartment for my Fianceé coming tomorrow! Thank you so much!! Need this every day! 😅",1 "I ALWAYS use the paper towel I dry my hands off to open public bathroom doors. I get funny looks (well probably not now) but who is laughing now!!!",0 "I drive a truck for a living which means all I do all day is listen to audiobooks and podcasts. It's frankly far beneath me on an intellectual level, but it beats the hell out of the stress and monotony of office work. When I get home I can devote all of my time to hobbies.",1 When I was little I stole money from my parents because I was a greedy asshole and I’m scared by those memories and the talking to that I got that made me never do it again,0 being accused of not caring is especially the worst. it really stings,1 I’ve never thought of how that part of me might be related to OCD. And you look AMAZING,0 "I tried IV Ketamine for my OCD and it has improved my reaction to having compulsions and has eliminated my passion to kill myself. I had a plan before my first infusion. After the 40 minute first infusion I had no suicide plan anymore. I'll need maintenance treatment but whatever man as long as I get to stay alive and create art and not lose my life to such a nefarious and insidious mental disease. I know for a fact that had I killed myself, I would have wanted people to know just one thing if anything: OCD would have killed me the way cancer can kill someone even when they are fighting it and getting what is supposed to be successful treatment. I wanted to die because of my OCD point blank. Without the disorder's interference into my life I don't feel suicidal.",0 Agree 100%. They will literally roll their eyes if you mention ADHD.,1 "I saw this, exited Reddit to do a task, got distracted, ended up back here, and saw this post again :(",1 "Yup. Except replace distance learning with stay at home parenting. Today I packed 4 lunches/snacks, read like 3 preschooler books, microwaved an English muffin pizza, and decided that I’ll make spaghetti and meatballs for dinner. I’m completely exhausted and the kids aren’t even home from school yet.",1 "I'm happy for you! When I first started taking meds, I realized that the hundreds of limitations and executive functioning barriers I've experienced my whole life, that I thought just meant I was fucked, could be overcome if I use my medicine consistently and responsibly! It's almost a *spiritual* level of happiness that brings. Some advice I feel is important is that ADHD medicine isn't always going to give you big highs like you might be experiencing. Your body is adjusting to basically a kind of amphetamine, and that will have some temporary and long term side effects. Each of the medicines I've used gave me crazy mood swings when I started but eventually leveled out to help me be productive and on top of things. Keep in touch with your doctor to stay on top of it!",1 Very thoughtful of you! Welcome to the community. Please do an AMA!,0 Trying to beat OCD with logic and reasoning is like trying to destroy the Great Wall of China with a toothpick,0 I take online quizzes all the time for things I’m already diagnosed with just to validate me. I know fully well that online quizzes are a joke but I still do it for some reason,0 "This was beautiful. I'm sorry for your loss. Your writing style reminds me of my friend, who probably also has ADHD. Thank you for posting this",1 "I was diagnosed at 16, and did CBT for a few years and take anti-anxiety medication for both OCD and GAD. My 5yo son is starting to show signs of OCD; maybe we can work on this book together and he can learn some coping techniques just in case he does have it. Thanks for sharing!",0 """Don't stop never stop for any reason"" I chant to myself as I furiously scrub the dishes clean",1 "Yanks on every handle 3 times just to be certain Puts the emergency brake on my automatic even when it’s on flat fucking ground or else I’m convinced it’s going to roll away the second I look away.",0 "I try to keep reminding myself that thoughts are just like a computer game.. Its just data. I mean most games involve mass killing sprees but that isn't concerning. Then don't fight against them, let them coexist and melt away. Not always so easy.",0 Mine didn’t show up until I was pregnant so it’s too late for me 🙃,0 "r/thanksimcured basically.... ""Anorectic? Just eat! Alcoholic? Just don't drink! Obsessive thoughts? Just don't have them! It's that simple.""",0 I relate to this so much. My current theme is obsessing over ERP and how to do it right. I need to know that I'm doing therapy right at every waking moment of my life. It's hell & crazy how OCD can turn it's own treatment against you.,0 Can someone please comment on my post about reading OCD? I rly need help thx,0 "Thank you for your comments. I generally agree but there are times when I've found that I can make progress with temporary compromises where I do much milder compulsions for a while. My therapist always wants me to do the most disturbing exposures possible but I've found it helpful to have a middle stage. Nicotine gum and dictators and gangsters making temporary peace with their enemies and attacking when the time is right come to mind. I pretty much beat a checking compulsions by coming up with progressively milder versions of them and then doing exposures with *those.*",0 "Oh boy. Its 11:07am and I could definitely do with a drink. No alcohol in the house sadly. Probably also driving my partner nuts with my frequent outbursts of anxiety.",0 "I’m on reddit because I just got done reassuring myself that I wasn’t lying to someone and then I see this meme! I wrote down an entire list of what I said and my intentions behind them to calm myself down. Edit: a few words",0 "this is exactly how it looks in my head, like 100% exactly, this is a thing? there are other ppl who have this in their heads? that's so weird",0 "Good thing I’m a perv lol /s But for real tho, sometimes I can’t help but think that if I was genuinely a bad person, my intrusive thoughts wouldn’t affect me as much",0 "It’s so funny cause the opposite is the truth, letting it come in is the solution, forcing it out is why the cycle continues with us.",0 "I've tried to explain this to people so many times, and the best (well, most successful) way I've achieved understanding from other people is to let them know that I only have a certain amount of energy I can give to other people each day, and once that's used up, I need to be alone to ""recharge"". And if they've caught me at the end of that energy, they might find me more helpful at another time (if it can wait). If it can't wait, go ahead and tell me what you need, but then leave me alone to think through it on my own instead of trying to work things out right that second. Emergencies aside, this has worked for me. But yeah....totally feel you on this 100%",1 I’m working on brushing consistently as well. At least in the morning. Good job! 👍🏻,1 "Cleaning is... really difficult for me. My ability seems to keep on top of dishes at the most, laundry tends to pile up until I freak out and cry and do it over one of my weekends. It's kind of funny (and kind of sad) but my husband and I would argue about cleaning the house a few times a year because that's how bad it would get. He has RA and ADHD-C, so I notched it up to a combo of those things when he goes through his dysfunctions. And he would get frustrated because the few things I said I would be on top of, I never seemed to do (more than dishes/laundry, but cleaning the upstairs in general. He had the downstairs). It didn't make sense for either of us why I couldn't stay on top of simple things like that until I got my diagnosis recently.",1 "i was JUST explaining this. adhd means you can only do stuff you want to do and depression makes you not want to do anything. if i only had depression, i could probably still force myself to do stuff i need to do even when i don’t want to, and if i only had adhd, i could make myself want to do the stuff that i need to do.",1 "Yes, I do this. It’s super stressful and makes me work a lot slower than others. It’s the worst if there’s someone stood looking over my shoulder while I’m working.",0 "I DO that too, but moreover i tend to form really long sentences that bug out other readers usually. However, for me they are perfectly fine to understand (and grammatically always right). The reasons i do use more comma is laid down in having these long-sentence monsters that have 3 sub ordinate clauses and references inside....",1 Oh god my bfs mom is a NONSTOP talker ..she seriously wears me out mentally. Like I feel bad when im zoning out and on my phone when I need a breather and it feels like I'm being rude to her. I kept on telling her I needed a break when we were getting the furniture in me and bfs new house and she kept on making me get up and talk. Like she doesn't listen. Next time I'll just lock myself in the bathroom or go into my car and take a breather just to get away from her. I do like her and im not trying to be rude but sometimes I do need to zone out and gather all my energy,1 Sounds like a speech issue. Not exactly adhd related.,1 "Sometimes I realized I just developed a new obsession and then I'm like Phew, at least it's better than the one last month",0 "The psychiatrist thing too, I have suspected autism with my adhd and it's worse than having just one :( need schedule's but HATE SCHEDULES.",1 "I have nothing to add but exactly this^^ I came across [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/aspergers/comments/mjzidz/too_much_toxic_positivity/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) post a few days ago. Seeing the way it was received, and how OP was downvoted for what I believe was a very understandable stance made me sad. You’re probably talking about it since you mentioned how it was locked. Thank you for bringing this up here. I completely agree with your assessment of how this sub handles the topic in comparison. I too am grateful for that",1 "I relate to this so much. Not the class thing per se, but as a writer, I need to actually write something and not aimlessly browse random websites. Yet, nothing works.",1 Bruh. same. Didn't know there was a word for echolalia before but I do it often! I always felt stupid/disordered if I did it & someone is around. I try to hide it.,1 How did you get it? I tried to buy on amazon the other day but it’s only available for preorder :( maybe because I’m in the Uk?),0 "Growing up, I would do different compulsive rituals around the house all the time. I remember crying at night because I couldn't go to sleep because I had to keep checking the stove, checking the locks, checking light switches, checking my alarm, etc... My dad always told me I was just looking for attention. He loved calling me a ""hypochondriac"". I think it really messed me up. I still do these exhausting compulsions into adulthood, and yet I keep telling myself and everyone around me that I don't have a mental illness, that everyone is fucked up one way or another and it's just normal to deal with this kind of thing, that I don't believe in the benefits of therapy etc... And yet here I am subscribed to this subreddit. I don't know if I'm a hypochondriac, or a hypocrite, or both.",0 obligatory are you me? i’m glad i’m not alone at least though. hope you’re doing okay,1 "I tripped and fell in front of people Sunday. It's literally consumed my thoughts, on repeat, ever since. Like wakes me up out of sleep in top of during the entire day. Also, every conversation I had before & after the incident. I'm so tired.",0 "OCD can suck my balls. I’m not sorry about the language.",0 "Same haha. Whenever i text with my friends on the internet, i find it hard to break long sentences down to shorter ones, which makes my sentence really long.",1 Oh this is why I don't bill my clients hourly or give them a timesheet that shows how long I've worked on things. They must never know that it took me a month to do 30 mins of work. Smh.,1 Lol this is literally exactly what it looked like. To a T.,0 Props to your girlfriend for *a) getting in the shower* and *b) getting out of the shower*.,1 Yes !! I just realized how horribly I was treated when my mental health was poor and now I want to go back and be like ACTUALLY. I DONT apologize 😂,1 All of the nice tupperwares I've had to send to an early grave... excuse me while I mourn,1 I have ADHD and my very neurotypical boyfriend and I appreciated this very much. It was really sweet and very reminiscent of our household.,1 I have a 5pm appointment with a new therapist today and I slept until 2pm and now just literally wasting time watching Bojack Horseman until it’s time to go. I’m nervous as f.,1 "Fascinating is the word that comes to mind, idk why. I love it. What’s the scale? How big is it I mean? It also makes me slightly uncomfortable, like one of those pictures that are really cool at first then you realize there’s creepy hidden stuff in it. Idk if that’s what you meant to do but I like it. It’s all pink and fluffy and pretty but I feel like I see a head, and the hair and stuff freaks me out a bit, which just adds to the experience",0 The 500 playlists I listened to for 3 seconds each while trying to find soemthing I like is not an accurate reflection of how many genres or artists I listen to,1 Literally me the last couple of days. Recognizing your OCD as being your OCD instead of reality is.... weird. I almost think it’s relieving bc I can tell myself my thoughts are very unlikely to happen in real life but still end up freaking out over them.,0 I've been single my whole life and I've convinced myself that I'm unlovable due to social stigma regarding mental illnesses :(...,0 "I keep experiencing VISCERAL shame and embarrassment randomly remembering things I did and said, as if it were actually happening! Like you were saying I also find myself oscillating between “I’m overreacting, I’m being to sensitive” to “NOW WAIT JUST A GD MINUTE...they said what now??” It’s hard because I don’t trust myself and my judgement to judge my own emotions and responses, so it’s like a constant swirl of colors and emotions and textures I’m constantly trying to sort out (and it’s impossible)",1 "So, so proud of you!!!! I experienced the same with painting today and hopefully I’ll be able to do the same.",0 "Yes, now make sure you have at least 8 contingency plans for this totally inevitable incident",0 "Have faith. It kicks your ass at the start. The key is to 1) develop boundaries and 2) expertise in something. (Not just a figure it out person but actually know something). Eventually you become a manager. Then the workforce gets easy. You have confidence to be correct because you know what you’re doing, and you know when to apply boundaries, ie say no to focus on what’s most important. Management is much easier because you can delegate the boring stuff you can do in your sleep and hate. But you need to check everything and always be right (again expertise) Plus your adhd advantages allow you to move at light speed compared to over-thinkers or non-creatives who can’t lead in an ambiguous situation.",1 What about when you’re most listened song was a ridiculous amount like 1300 times because you kept zoning out during the song,1 "Thanks. It’s made my life unlivable for over a decade now, but, you know. Other diseases are “more important” and “health care isn’t a right.” “OCD isn’t that bad, at least you won’t die.” Wish I were literally anyone else.",0 "Understood, OP, and well done. Sounds like you already realise reassurance is a compulsion in its own right. I have been in a similar situation. You got this!",0 me ignoring my meds reminders for no good reason lmao,1 im in exactly this position what are our little gay brains ONNNNN,0 I second what you’re saying. I noticed it first in December 2019 but didn’t go to the doctor until August 2020. I had a hernia. Not as serious as cancer but could definitely get painful and difficult had I kept putting it off. GO TO THE DOCTOR EVERYONE,1 You forgot about overthinking overthinking overthinking,0 "That’s awesome to hear!! I’m only 19 but I’ve recently really started liking to cook, I hope your husband learns to enjoy cooking too!",0 "It's being a tough day for me. I have fear of contamination, not so much about the virus, but of metals, wood, plastics, etc in bad condition, fear of getting sick because of that. I need someone to talk to today, so please, if anyone's got a little time just let me know. Thanks",0 "Here’s the article: https://www.pornhub.com/sex/ocd-sex-life/ First time I link to pornhub but it’s worth it",0 LMAOOOOOOOOOOOOO me realizing that the reason I couldn’t change my routine in the slightest when I was in middle school or else ppl were gonna die was bc of this and not bc I was “superstitious” as I thought at the time,0 "I've done the same thing my whole entire life. I labeled it being ""novelty,"" but the thing with being novelty is that it wears off eventually... rough",1 I've thought I had schizophrenia and dependent personality. Turns out it was just good ol fashioned OCD. What a trickster. ,0 "I check to make sure my door is closed and locked so many times that over time the screws loosen up and the whole door knob is like loose and shaky , then I have to r e tighten them",0 "yeah this is pretty spot on as to how I'm being treated with my psychiatrist. I want to be assessed for ASD as well because I think I have that too. I also have generalized anxiety disorder, and my doctor suggested we treat that first and see if that helps with my executive dysfunction. taking adderall would probably make my anxiety bad but I will probably eventually be put on it. I absolutely could not live without therapy, so if you're reading this and you can't afford a psych but you have access to therapy, please do it!",1 "This is extremely eye opening for me. I was diagnosed about a year and a half ago with obsessive compulsive disorder and I never realized just how much it affected my life. I always just thought I was too clingy, overbearing, psycho (and I know I am too clingy and too much at times) but I definitely want to bring up with my therapist ROCD because my fixation with everything that goes wrong in my relationship is going to be the death of me. At times I almost want to push my significant other away because even I DON'T WANT TO DEAL WITH ME I FEEL AWFUL HE HAS TO (and he doesn't /have/ to of course, he chooses to be with me and I appreciate him to the ends of the earth) but I feel like a major, major problem in my relationship, and I only feel like my intrusive thoughts have been getting worse",0 Nice people should understand. I hope he's a nice guy that understands.,1 "Yo I strongly suggest you look into the “get things done” (GTD) productivity method (I use the monday.com app to organise it all). I had to make a few tweaks to accomodate for my own quirks tho. I was introduced to it through work & started just using it for work but it eventually trickled into my personal life and it is phenomenally effective when done right. The amount of shit falling through the cracks has seriously dropped tenfold since I’ve gotten into the habit of automatically filling in my “inbox” (look it up) with literally every single thing that crosses my head. Also learning how to write a budget (inclusive of FUTURE expense needs) and putting updating that budget on my GTD to do lists has also significantly improved my finances. It’s not easy, and requires a degree of determination but if you start small and persevere the momentum builds and I swear to god this will change your life. ...extending on GTD, “temptation bundling” is a great way to get all those tedious/difficult to stick to tasks done. Basically you bundle something you don’t like with something you really want to do. E.g. I only get to listen to that podcast I love when I go for a morning run, or before I start playing video games I must always vacuum my bedroom floor first etc.”",1 "I just said this in a post not too long ago when some suggested setting an alarm. I was like, tf?? How does one set an alarm & it actually work? Send me those powers.",1 If I ruined my life and tortured myself while nobody was watching - was it really a Greek tragedy?,0 Tell your mom to patent her idea. She will be rich and so many people can finally live easier lives without medication and therapy.,1 "For some reason I really needed to hear this. Idk if I’m adhd but I do consider myself an HSP (highly sensitive person) and I’m so easily overwhelmed by light, sound, temperature, etc. It’s like my brain is trying to take in every bit of information it perceives. It’s exhausting.",1 This is a lovely post. I’m glad you can see her so clearly.,1 "I have done this at work - to the point where I can draft up a fairly comprehensive document and it gets all sorts of approval, but when someone asks me straight on what x and y were, I fumble. Literally led to people thinking I was lying or plagiarizing at my last job.",1 I like never want to talk and make myself feel worse,0 And for those of us whose OCD is not about cleaning things...it's sometimes hard for people to understand. They think it's all like this guy in the post.,0 "I've been thinking about something similar with my wife, for the annoying stuff. Like dusting, vacuuming, the balcony( were in an apartment)",1 "i just yell ""NO NO NO SHUT YOUR MOUTH"", or ""NO ONE CARES, SUSAN"" (i've named my intrusive female voice susan. the intrusive male voice is Brett.",0 "Yeah, can never watch a movie. Thrillers only as they get my attention...",1 I'm in the UK and was wondering how your process of getting a diagnosis went?,1 "How can you tell the difference between high functioning depression and ADHD? My psych and I are working through whether my lack of motivation is ADHD centered and Depression centered and I can't really determine which is which. Like, my motivation is shit but also if I can get up and do something I'm like shot for the rest of the day.",1 Absolutely 100%. My mind has to obsess over SOMETHING at all times - never get that peace and quiet.,0 Me with my hit-and-run ocd.. yesterday i was getting our of my job when i looked up for a sec on my rear-view mirror to check my surroundings and my brain instantly thought “ what if you hit someone on that sec?” The brain sure cam get creative 💀💀The persistence of the thought is soooooooo annoyingggg.,0 "I get you. I'm basically living in a prescribed benzodiazepine induced coma of various intensity intil this blows over. Basically trying to stop panic. Until I can resume my life normally. I'm having all sorts of OCD issues. I'm really sorry you're also struggling. But you'll get there, we all will.",0 This is exactly mine. Being terrified of being in cars ruins my life a lot 😔,0 Kinda of. It got to the point where I believed all of my obsessions and compulsions made perfect sense and that everyone else in the world was in the wrong for not seeing things my way. That when I had to go to a psych ward for the 9th time in my life.,0 "Yep. I've had one recurring going off daily for 2 months now telling me to find a new psychiatrist BC mine retired. Maybe I'll do it this week, down to 14 pills.. Fml",1 "The only way I get any cleaning done (huge stress for me) is doing it right when I wake up before my brain turns on and gets distracted and anxious. Of course, I need to get good sleep first so this only happens 10% of mornings lol.",1 Agreed. O/C personality quirks are not the same as the full blown Obsessive Disorder. Thanks mods.,0 "i was content with just depression compared to this, ocd is a whole new level of mental illness that takes the cake, i have never had no control whatsoever over my own mind until i developed full blown ocd, its literally tearing me and my life apart and mine is considered MILD",0 "Yeah…ummm what? Sorry. Saw something shiny and got distracted. Oh, and my planner is… *runs off after another shiny thing*",1 "My partner has been arguing that I don't have ADHD for years, and whenever I bring it up she says ""thats not ADHD, thats just your personality."" Then a couple of weeks ago I found a self assessment for Executive Dysfunction and read her the symptoms and she immediately said ""yes that sounds exactly like you, you clearly have that not adhd"" as if they're not the same god damn thing. Adding the compulsory H annoyed me too, because I'm not hyperactive in the noticeable sense but my attention span is trash",1 Me. Then comes the googling compulsion and the whole day is wasted :/,0 is this a normal thing in people with OCD?? i’ve been worrying that i have some undiagnosed psychotic disorder because i’ve been feeling really weird recently (hard to explain further than that). just knowing that other people with OCD also worry about this makes me less anxious,0 "I got help from a company called NOCD. I was skeptical at first, but it’s actually been great. They were able to get me a telehealth appointment within a week or so. The sessions are mainly focused on ERP, which has been helpful for me. I hope you find the help you need! Good luck!",0 "Try this. Ask yourself, “why do I confess?” The answer for me is “I want to be a good person” Then I ask “is confessing this thing having a positive impact on the people around me? Or is it harming them?” If it’s harming them, then this confession is actually going against what my personal values are. It’s not easy, especially at first. But the first few times I didn’t confess and I realized it a few days later that I managed to move on, I felt SO free. I’m still working through it, but it helps to remember your personal values.",0 "Oh gosh, I’ve had swollen lymph nodes for ages and one swollen tonsil - you’ve definitely given me a kick up the backside to get them checked out!",1 "Nah, but sometimes I'm drfiting away while doing random things, also many times I have intrusing thoughts during sex and fucks up my mood so much that I stop doing the act. The other day I was pissing and somehow I literally forgot it and I pissed on my opened belt. Then I was pissed off.",1 "Me too, I struggled with this the past oh... 22 years? Long story short I have been lucky enough recently to feel like I can pretty consistently feel grounded again. For me the way out was this: accept that whatever this existence is, it’s as real as it’s going to get. So f whatever “unreal” would even mean — just make the best of this experience. AND — it seems suuuper probable that everyone else is having a similar nature of experience, ie I’m not in some unique way ‘alone’ or ‘different’ in some substantial way. To believe otherwise without any rational reason just ended up striking me as kind of... grandiose or unrealistic. And finally, I realized that I feel depersonalized or unreal often in reaction to social situations involving being a little more open, or a little vulnerable. I was ‘running’. Again, just sharing my experience, every one is unique! :) Btw, I find r/dpdr is a pretty great community of people dealing with pretty similar challenges... more on the experience of feeling not real, vs the thoughts of being unreal. But for me the two were pretty intertwined historically, so I thought I’d share. Best of luck. ",0 This is very very nice. Saved as well. Will take me at least 5 days to go through though,1 "“I met someone with REAL ocd” Dad I tried to commit suicide last night shut the fuck up (That was a long time ago I’m good now but jesus)",0 Thank you so much. There are some times i get the weirdest intrusive thoughts and dreams and i need to remind myself all of these “what if’s” and scenarios are false.,0 "i did this with my room yesterday. got half of it done, said wow my room looks so good its gonna be great when its done, then didnt finish it",1 me too. i usually say “no” when i shake my head aswell,0 "My current therapist has ADHD and let me tell you, I have never felt so seen or validated by a healthcare professional. I've had other therapists in the past and I definitely know what you mean about feeling like they just dont ""get"" it. No matter how much I talked to them about my ADHD they just couldn't understand it the way my current therapist does",1 "About a month ago I was working late, and I had this pain in my upper back and neck that felt like it was tugging on some nerve that wrapped around the top of my head. It was progressively getting tighter and tighter as the day wore on. Eventually I turned my head, and my neck cracked and all that tension released, but I immediately felt dizzy and mildly nauseous after. I went home, monitored it for a few days. Didn't have much issue aside from certain angles I would turn my head, I would have the briefest Vertigo like dizziness that just left me feeling uneasy. A week later, and after my neck started feeling better, I had some rougher spells of dizziness. So I went to the ER to figure something out. They did bloodwork, and a CT scan of my head and neck. Everything seemed normal in that problem area. However, they noticed at the bottom of the scan, my lymph nodes in my chest were swollen. I came back the next day for another CT scan from my neck down and yep. They were swollen. They did more bloodwork, and the doctor felt me all over for any additional swelling but there was nothing else of note. I spoke with a thoracic surgeon a week later and he confirmed that they were quite swollen. At my age (31) when this happens, 80% chance its this thing I can't pronounce that's apparently manageable, and 20% chance is lymphoma or something else bad. Thanks to a cancellation, I was able to get in for a biopsy surgery about 5 days later, and had a follow-up scheduled for 27th. They said they would call earlier if it was bad news we needed to act on, but anything is possible. Currently holding out on a ""no news is good news"" situation. Still haven't solved my neck issue. Everyone sort of stopped everything and just focused on the lymph nodes. It's gonna be my next step after my follow-up. Book and schedule your appointment now, friends.",1 "I have 4 different watch later playlists. The original one by YouTube, and then 3 more that are trying to one up each other in names, ranging from ""the real watch later"" ""THEEE watch later"" ""I'll actually watch these later"". They all have 200+ videos added and I can't clear them out because YouTube only has ""clear watched"" and I haven't watched a single one :)",1 I just recently got over a false memory obsession that I knew wasn’t true by having to ask the person involved..so embarrassing,0 "*It’s like you wrote down my thoughts for me.* Thank you, amazing stranger on the Internet. It’s a good feeling to not be alone with the thoughts that torment you on a daily basis.",0 Wow that's amazing. My BF is a huge fan so this might help him haha,0 "No guys take ur meds! 😭 its fine i promise! Edit: i know its hard sometimes, but this is what i need to hear when i dont wanna take mine etc. Its hard ik but you are doing amazing!",0 "Straight living this struggle since age 22. Now 34; dxed at 32. I've got buckets of silver linings that I am endlessly grateful for. That, however, doesn't change the reality that I've professionally achieved only in the lowest tier among my peers. Many of us aren't wired for the corporate life. My ancestral peace was in the forest, senses appropriately occupied by the breadth of stimuli and the survival task at hand. Sure we might get eaten by a mountain lion or die from a small scratch on the ankle, but at least no one would be asking how my 401K is doing.",1 "ADHD isn't the disorder in the first place. Hear me out. Psychology classifies mental illness by symptoms, not by root causes. Imagine if we did that for physical illness. There would be no difference between a sore throat and lung cancer, and they would be treated in the same way. We need to fundamentally change the way we classify mental illness, then we can deal with naming them properly.",1 "ARRHHGGG!! 😣 . I hate the whole idea that ""they'll grow out of it"" my doctor literally told my mom that most grow out of it and it probably wouldn't be an issue by the time I got to highschool . I was always told it was a catch all disease for unruly kids in school . It was either be medicated or get expelled . I hate that that was the schools first option . Why?? Oh man this kid Is haveing a hard time learning and fidgets ? Shove em full of pills! They didn't care what happened to us as adults because it wasn't their problem anymore. They only care about makeing the kids tolerable . It was always ""this is how you should dicipline your ADHD Child"" it was never accomodations the way they did for everyone else.",1 "nobody will see this bc the post is 21 days old, but fuck it. i'm literally doing this as i type this... ugh. i work 3rd shift and i've been fucking my sleep schedule over so badly lately ( mainly due to adderall smh ) i was supposed to be asleep like 4 hours ago. i was gonna do one more quest on my new skyrim playthrough, turn netflix on , and go to sleep. instead, i've been on reddit for 4 hours. it's already 4:30pm. i don't know if i stay up all day now to fix my sleep schedule, or just go to sleep. life is so hard lately /:",1 "We get by right now, but I definitely plan to ""splurge"" for a house cleaner after we have a child.",1 "I too love sitting alone at a table in a dark room, before an empty plate and a carafe of wine. *La dolce vita!*",0 "Honestly a shitty part of ADHD for me is that sometimes those solutions DO work! Until they don't. And I never go back. And I forget how I made it work in the first place. So many things unfinished that were supposed to be my coping mechanisms. A half empty bullet journal that I spent tons of effort on for three months and then never touched again. A ""wake up and take the pills then back to sleep"" routine that worked great for a couple of weeks and now I'm not sure how I was able to *start* that routine in the first place. I have to find a new way to fix my problems all the time and it's really exhausting. On top of everything else in life being exhausting.",1 "This happens a lot with autism, but for a different reason than you might think Autism can make you very internally wound, meaning that awareness level of the outside world is lower, thus we are less likely to see what led up to the situation, which is important for deciding fault",0 Seriously wholesome now I just need someone to help ,1 "Not trying to be ofenssive here but, how would this help?",0 "I stopped in the middle of brushing my teeth to give myself an exasperated look in the mirror once I realized the “video game boss music” anxiety feeling was playing louder than normal. This is how today’s gonna be huh? 🙄",0 My hands used to look exactly like your before pics. Great job!,0 I’m so angry that I didn’t know about this sooner lol but thank you for this!! I’m sure this will help me later on when I decide to go back to school once again.,1 """The version of me that I most need evaluated and treated, isn't a version of me that can make it to an appointment"", is how I've always put it.",0 We need more people in the world like yourself. You’re so understanding of your girlfriend and she’s lucky as hell to have you.,1 That's basically why I am here. I don't have OCD but this community has helped me understand it much better.,0 "One of my Italian (my mother tongue) teachers used to tell me she loved my essays and such, and always gave me the highest grades, but would always add ""you're like a river in flood (I hope that's how you say it), you just need to contain that"". Grew up to win literary contests and such, but was always told something along those lines. I would read other people's essays and be amazed by how short and concise their paragraphs were. I have been diagnosed a few months ago, age 20, and it all makes so much more sense to me now.",1 LMAO. *continues researching for confirmation I love my partner*,0 Yep and then drive myself to a panic attack and have an hour long breakdown,0 "I was at the hairdressers once and the hairdresser was talking to my mum aboht cleaning, I suspect, and she said ‘I’m not one of those OCD people, but....’ and mum couldn’t be bothered to argue, so said ‘I’m not either’ and I whipped my head around (thankfully not while my Hair was being cat) and said ‘mother. OCD is not Somethign to be used like that’ I was 11 and hadn’t been diagnosed yet, but I’d had a suspicion. the hairdresser shrugged and carried on at mums hair,",0 "Oh that's me as a freelancer. Doing excel sheets, planning every step for the coming 8 weeks... then running around with the mindset 'it's almost done' until it's a week till deadline and I have to work the last week 24/7 in front of the screen pulling allnighters.",1 I like to imagine my mind as a hotel with revolving vacancy,0 This but sometimes I am convinced that I am the abusive one!,0 "I love the way this is put, it's actually helpful to see it this way.",0 "OH MY GOD. Yes, yes, yes! And even out of the few articles there are on adult ADHD, 50% seem to be how to *live* with someone who has it. Why is most of the information about how to *put up with* or *endure* someone else who has ADHD?",1 My question is does it has to be with ADHD or just with general human beings?,1 Um this was me last night. Kinda reassuring I ain’t the only one lol.,0 every single person under 16 that goes to school needs to hear this,0 When I'm in a rush for work and don't tripple check to see if I have all of my stuff/equipment I am a complete nervous wreck. If I actually then forget something my conscience then procedes to call me an idiot for the entire day.,0 "This is *exactly* me. I'm a PhD student and I have major impostor syndrome because of this. Or rather, the problem is that it's *not* imposter syndrome, which my colleagues are not grasping (yet). It's not only because I don't know a quarter of what I'm supposed to know about my topic, but also because I can't even get myself to read, because of *exactly* this problem. Why reading if nothing sticks anyway? Treating everything like I'm learning for an exam would work, but I hate exams and I don't have the discipline to work like this. I try to force myself to read, assuming that the more bits of knowledge are floating around in my empty brain, the more other bits can connect to it and eventually, I'll have some sort of actual, available knowledge on hand... but until then I'll just feel dumb.",1 I think I’d cry if I had my efforts acknowledged like this. I love how you focus on the positives,1 "YES YES YES YES YES I have had instructors scream at me for daring to question them only because I wanted to know the why behind doing a certain maneuver.",1 Stab yourself Stab yourself Stab yourself Stab yourself. No one will know just quickly do it! Frickin DO IT!! Every single time I’m even close to a suicide method my voices start yelling at me.,0 "Here's mine, Hyperbolic Time Chamber You know, the one on dragonball series that takes 1 day tl be a whole year",1 "I remember when I was a teenager my mom would help me with my italian classes at home (because she speaks Italian) and I would almost always fall asleep. I usually wasn't tired before starting the class, I just found it so boring that I wouldn't control it and would just fall asleep. She'd get so mad at me for being so rude, as she was taking the time to help me, so I would try my hardest but I couldn't keep my eyes open.",1 I'm really getting tired of being called out here. I'm going to unfollow this place eventually.,1 This and the comments all makes me grateful my dad had ADHD and understood the struggle from the get-go.,1 "If you haven’t seen these from a Few years back then check them out. Artist is Shawn Coss. https://imgur.com/gallery/rwDTF",0 Currently trying to get over a small crisis I had where my partner got me a stuffed animal for V day and I’m afraid my childhood teddy bear will get jealous ,0 I recently found out one of my closest friends and I have nearly the same obsession regarding lucky/unlucky numbers. It's kinda freaky and kinda cool tbh,0 I can definitely relate to this. In my head I’ve convinced myself that I’m a pervert and a future rapist. It’s not been a fun year in my skull. Thanks for this.,0 YES! Also I only just recently realized I do this because I had a meltdown about studying for a certification exam when I really desperately needed to rest and let myself do things I actually ENJOYED.,1 "Yooo this might work. Like ""hey brain, did I ask for your opinion on this? No? Then shut up""",0 "I’ve always wanted to raise ducks, and hope to in the future. this gives me hope. good luck to you and your duckies :)",0 Or if I don’t wash my hands 20 times after touching any type of metal I will die,0 "I didn't know this was a legitimate thing with a name and I feel seen, validated and attacked at the same time.",1 This appeared just when I really needed it- thank you 💗,1 "This is such a mood, I have 400 videos in mine and my partner always teases me about it. I really ought to clean mine out but it's so hard Dx",1 ">productive procrastination. We tend to procrastinate something important by doing things that also have to be done but aren’t as important. All. The. Time. I've learned how to use it to my advantage to get the thing done that I actually need done. For example, if I need to get Task A done, my brain will want to work on Task B. If I tell myself I need to get Task B done, then I will want to work on Task A instead. Why, brain? Whyyyy?!",1 Late to this but just wanted to say that this is how I ended up going to sleep at 7 in the morning,1 "There’s nothing “man-up” about keeping your feelings inside. Quite the opposite actually. It takes courage to discuss what is troubling you. It’s also the first and most important step to finding out the path to a better place. Thanks for posting, take solace in the knowledge that you are definitely not alone. I wish you well on your journey.",1 "The fruit one is wrong with me because i habitually eat fruit, like a LOT of fruit, like I’ve eaten an entire bunch of bananas in a day without realizing lot",1 "Completely agree. This sub helps me so much when I'm having a bad day related to my ADHD. I feel like brains with ADHD function similarly enough that we all struggle with the same exact things, albeit with varying degrees of severity which alone helps tremendously. Going through life with a brain that functions differently is so difficult to explain to people that don't share the experience, so communities like this are an absolute godsend.",1 "I like Gemma Correll’s version on Instagram. “I overthink therefore I am anxious” - [LINK](https://www.instagram.com/p/CIGmTQTDL09/?igshid=19kfyq5mnb0mo)",0 Me dead from some other cause but happy that after my death someone else will be cleaning my room.,0 "Such an accurate, painful representation. I suffer from pedophilic intrusive thoughts paired with arousal non concordance. It is literally the worst and I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.",0 Definitely. The disgust was part of the compulsion for me. The more you react negatively though the more the cycle gets reenforced. I think the best thing to do is not acknowledge it as interesting and meaningful and just label it as an OCD thought.,0 i had a really bad attack two weeks ago that really made me realize i need help with this,0 "Hey OP I have been struggling with the same problems for a while and the following things are what have helped me immensely. Probably the most important one for me is studying in my schools library or building and not taking distractions with me. Also be visible for other people, this way i trick my brain into thinking that it would be weird if I wasn't doing anything. Second one is to make tasks more manageable, make a small list of things you want to do. And work on those one by one. Thirdly if life just isn't cooperating don't force it and go do something else if you know you are not gonna do it just stop and do something else. And as a last conclusion, write down what you want to do for the day or a week and just start small and build from there. also reflect on what things worked for you and what things didn't. Because it doesn't make sense to try the same thing again and again if it doesn't work. Message me if you need any more help, I believe in you.",1 I have pure O as an adult but as a kid I would flip light switches and locks so many times before it felt right. I lost so much sleep over it and my parents would just get mad at me for not going to bed :/,0 I want to upvote it but it’s at 444 and my ocd won’t let me,0 "Wish I could do something like this. In a dark point right now where I feel like they don’t care. For some reason, I’m determined not to message them first, because I always do.",0 "When you automate a good chunk of your work, saving your team/dept/company thousands of dollars a year . . . . . but can't remember how to request for a day off or spend the day wandering the parking lot because I can't find the car. Only to realize I was dropped-off. I wouldn't consider myself smart, but apparently I do have a way of weivign information together, which helps when explaining things to teams of diverse background.",1 "Yes, thank you for voicing this, I have OCD sensations (severe) and I am only able to go about a fairly normal day, in regard to my OCD symptoms, because I am on high doses of two different antidepressants, and relaxants. Unfortunately, we didn't figure out a solution to my OCD as we didn't even know it was OCD causing these sensations until last year. I am in my 20s. I missed a lot in life.",0 "ADHD is much more than just forgetting things haha, it’s also the hyperactive tendencies, the inability to focus on something; even having a planner, I’ll read some of the shit I have to do this week/next week/today & be like.. hmm naawww I really don’t have motivation/desire to do this.",1 Same here. Thankfully it hot less intense with time... I have got really long nails now and don't chew most of my fingers.,0 "Just based on the amazon preview about the colored cups, I know I’m going to love this. Can’t wait for it to get here!",0 This feels like such a revelation to me. The weight off my shoulders is actually palpable. Thank you sooo much.,1 I'm always making noise with my ears. Pretty handy in public..,0 "Oath, I’m currently experiencing a bad bout of OCD and can 100% relate to this. Are you on any medications if you don’t mind me asking?",0 As the mother of an adhd student I would love to help and support my daughter but never know what to say. She also has high-level anxiety Please give suggestions/insight,1 "People really just don’t understand the “can’t” part of things. It’s not that I don’t want to or am too scared/worried to do something. It’s that I literally cannot do the thing because the chemicals in my brain are not sufficient enough to start the process of me getting up and doing the thing. It is literally in incapability, hence why ADHD is a disability",1 "I’m not sure OCD is caused by a chemical imbalance, the whole thing with chemical imbalance and mental illness is not even fully proven. Don’t expect drugs to take away your issues",0 Differential diagnosis of ADHD is oppositional defiant disorder. Perhaps they're related in some way. I know I lose my limited motivation as soon as someone INSISTS that I do something.,1 [MFW I'm on reddit instead of focusing on work task](https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/mobile/000/030/710/dd0.jpg),1 "Edit: I wasn’t going to mention it, but I just thought you might want to talk to your doctor about the reasoning for starting you on such a high dose. I started at 5mg of IR three times a day. It didn’t do much, so we bumped up to 7.5mg three times a day. This is the dose that made all the difference for me. I experience a decrease in efficacy during PMS week, and we tried increasing to 10mg the first time that happened but it didn’t do anything except make me feel the stimulant effects more. Now I’m on 15mg of XR with a 7.5 of IR afternoon booster. There’s no reason to go higher once you reach the effective dose, so I’m surprised they started you so high. Original comment: Yay! I also cried when I hit my best dose for the first time and suddenly realized I was standing on my back porch just listening to the birds and enjoying the moment. My brain was quiet and I felt fully at peace for the first time literally ever. Such a huge relief and catharsis to know that most of my struggles really were due to something going on in my brain and not just me being lazy and irresponsible. You’re right that the euphoric feelings will level off, and they should. The great thing is that the help with ADHD symptoms shouldn’t be effected too much. I’ve been on the same dose for five years now, and it still helps me.",1 Me sitting in front of my work laptop right now. WFH has not been good for me,1 "Yup this happened to me with my ex, was in her basement with the tv on, got distracted watching A Bug’s Life and forgot she was there... never will watch a bugs life again",1 "I always loved the idea of a fairy godmother coming in to sort out all my sh%t . Recently on medication and it hasnt had the magic wand experience I was hoping, but has helped. I have written a list of things in an attempt to be productive but I am missing my on switch currently zzzZ . Can feel I am getting frustrated with myself instead of just doing something productive anything productive ... I have a big list to pick from. ANYTHING. My brain seems to want to sleep Zzz",1 "Fun fact, if you have Office you probably also have One Note, which can do both the dictate feature and, my MUCH preferred, recording feature. So what it does is it records the audio and syncs it with whatever you are writing or typing. This means I still actively take notes, which aids in memory, and when my notes are inevitably BAFFLING later while studying or reviewing, I can play the audio, either starting at a place in the notes or starting at the beginning, either way it will highlight what I was writing at the time that it was recording. So some days the notes are just an interpretation of what the teacher is saying, and other days the notes are doodles of fish and kelp and crabs and coral and bubbles and none of this has ANYTHING to do with using a spectrogram to identify chemical composition so what the FUCK happened, brain? Oh, the color he described this chemical as was ""cerulean blue"" which got you thinking about cerulean city in pokemon which got you started thinking about fish? Cool. Cool cool cool. Good job, brain.",1 Yeah. I really need people to realize that OCD is more than just contamination OCD also.,0 Is there anything that can fix this thing. I tried writing notes when this thing happens but it doesnt work anymore.,0 "Man I cried when I read this, She is so lucky to have someone like you that understands",1 "I can relate to this so much. Thanks for posting, much appreciated.",0 This is awesome tho definitely wouldn’t try repainting it or go over it again. I suffer with ocd too and actually went to art school but left for other reasons besides my ocd. so Ik how you feel or I get frustrated with my painting and I wanna just ruin the canvas but usually the more frustrated you get with your painting the more closer it is to being done so. But I’m pretty sure you painting is pretty finished and definitely I’d leave it and come back because then you can tell if something is wrong with it or it was just your ocd making it seem like you were completely done with it.,0 "I really needed to hear this today. I find myself often stumbling when thinking of the next steps to take (regarding anything, career, relationship) and sometimes forget the passage of time- like what happened the whole of 2018/2019 (Will never forget what happened in 2020 lol) this resonated with me. Sometimes I'm just tired of how *hard* stuff is for me- and how goddamn easy it is for others. Logically I know that's not true, everybody struggles- but it often feels like if I were only able to sit and focus, I can fix my life. But hey, I can't do that! It's a vicious cycle of optimism and self loathing. I've been told all my life that I'm so smart and my only problem is 'laziness'. I've grown to hate the concept of smartness. Anyway thank you OP. I'm bookmarking this because it's beautiful, and I'm sure I'm going to need to read it soon.",1 "Geez, I’m feeling this so much right now. My health anxiety (really just ocd) is absolutely out of control and everything is a symptom of an autoimmune condition. I’m certain my brain is definitely manufacturing a lot of these sensations/symptoms to lock me into this perpetual cycle. It’s pure hell. Anyway, Thank you so much for sharing this!",0 "In the beginning, television was the only distraction from my intrusive thoughts. I would have them ALL day long. I would just lay in front of the television in my free time and just stare.",0 I had the worst moment of it this morning. I have adopted a ritual of looking at my calendar for the week on Sunday night to determine what to wear to work each day of the week. I dressed yesterday with the plan of doing some heavy lifting and getting dirty and my help didn’t come yesterday so the job got swapped to today. My brain could not get me out of bed because I didn’t know what I was going to wear today to successfully get dirty work done and still look decent for 3 meetings I had. Thanks brain.,1 "I leave so much time in my brain for getting ready that even when I'm late, I'm on time. Ofc, this was not always the case.",1 "As a mom with ADHD to a brilliant daughter with ADHD, I still say shit like that. I do have a better ability to focus than she does, and the wisdom to know just getting started is the best way to finish. (As opposed to procrastinating) It's engrained in the ""moming"" code to give crappy, unuseful, and unsolicited advice.",1 This is what I'm figuring out by myself after no help for 7 years from therapists.,0 "I only found out about ""relationship OCD"" by exploring OCD online. But there is tons of push/pull in my relationships.",0 So relatable lol. Although I used to have those “time skips” while in the shower. One thing I started doing was playing music in the shower. This has helped me manage my time better when it comes to showers.,1 "lord, yes. it has to be done this exhaustingly specific way, so i am avoiding it altogether because my brain is fragile and i will fuck it up.",0 Sometimes... and I hate that it's come to this. I want to make myself better.,1 "Good on you, there is something powerful about writing it down.",0 "Idk if this could be helpful (as someone who has OCD I know that it is anything but logical haha) but I used to work at a store with these and after working there for a while, my honest reaction whenever it went off was either “damn, I must have missed a sensor” or if it wasn’t my customer, “ugh, who forgot to take a sensor off?” pretty much never “someone is trying to steal something”. I really think of them as checks to make sure you don’t leave with an ink tag that will ruin your stuff or something, rather than anti-theft devices, because most people who steal are aware of them and will find a way to get the sensors off before they leave the store. Hope this helps you even a little!",0 "Thank you :) I bet these will be hard to put into practice, especially step 2 and 3 but I’ll try out step 1!",0 "Whoever called it trash are jealous, don't mind about them. It's amazing!",0 "I cry about members of my immediate family dying all the time even though none of it has happened. I’ll go through the whole “getting the call”, the funeral, eulogy, etc. in my head and just sob. I hate that I do this to myself.",0 "Yep, and if any of us had just “quit wasting our time and focused harder”, one of us might have invented that time machine for you to use. There would have been a long line for it though. Well done in peacefully dealing with things once the code is cracked. I really hate people like that too. Love seeing some of them get bent out of shape when they can’t draw you into petty bickering.",1 "Literally just after I read this I realized I had a test ..Still haven’t studied yet",1 "This is what’s up with me! I started adderall this week, the first time I’ve ever had medication, and all I feel is more happy, excited, and much more talkative. But when it comes to doing what I want to do, it’s still hard convincing myself to do anything besides stream video games :/",1 I've also broken things but due to repeating them more anxiously as compulsions can't stop,0 "Yes, and my old manager would get so mad at me. He'd always think I was, questioning his authority or trying to get out of it. I eventually figured this out and explained to him that I just understand things/instructions better when I can grasp the ""why"" behind it. It got a bit better after that.",1 "I usually say I'm buisy... I'm not lying, I'm buisy laying on my ass doing nothing. It's really important.",0 CHICKEN. FUCKING CHICKEN TOO. Tell your husband he's a fucking champion (from someone who has the same fear as he has).,0 Being isolated in my house and having the OCD loop has been one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced. I think all of of this week has been wasted on me just worrying about my dumbass HOCD. I’m worrying about it now and there’s not much more for me to read on the HOCD forum so now I came here to “feed” the loop even more 🤷🏻‍♀️,0 Yes! This is why I haven't slept good in about a week now.,1 "As someone who is going through a situation where I am now starting to confront people for their shitty behaviour in the past because history keeps on repeating itself, I really needed to hear this.",1 But everything in my room is covered in chemicals and disease,0 "I think this is a great idea, but I personally would have difficulty allowing myself to do this. I’m having so much trouble getting past the possibility that not cleaning, meal prepping, etc. is just me being lazy and needing to try harder. No judgment of anyone else, I completely believe ADHD is a reality for many of us and I support you getting help however you can. For me it’s just been difficult getting over this mental block.",1 Omg I’m so proud of you!! I don’t think I’ll ever be there with certain floors. Great job!,0 "Ugghh the ""I like things to be tidy, so I must be OCD"" annoys me sooo much. OCD comes in all forms. My OCD is not even about being tidy lol. I wear ugly clothes because I feel good in them and don't want to wear clothes that look good but are not a certain color, shape etc.",0 Why can’t it just be the need for everything to be perfect?!!!! It would be so much easier!!,0 "I was diagnosed with general anxiety disorder and depression long before I had just recently realized I had ADHD. When I started taking medicine for ADHD I haven’t been depressed since (I’m less than a month in but it’s helping so much). I stopped taking medicine for depression and anxiety because I found myself able to manage it without medicine anymore (I know, you’re not supposed to do this without the advice from a doctor but honestly I was fine). I’ve been saying for a couple months now that I just FEEL, I just knew instinctually that my anxiety and depression issues are NOT stand-alone problems themselves but are symptoms of something else. (For reference I also have hypothyroidism which really messes with hormone regulation - now that I’m being treated for that, my hormones seem to be more balanced and I’m not depressed. My psychiatrist also loosely diagnosed me with Bipolar but I don’t agree with her diagnosis. I told her i thought it was BPD (borderline personality disorder) because I don’t have manic episodes like those who are bipolar, I just have constant mood and emotional fluctuations - she put me on a mood stabilizer which helps me a lot.) Bottom line is, I can understand why there is a lot of comorbidity with ADHD.",1 "I just use them to mark deviations (and returns) of thought from the core idea of the sentence. Problem then is, I deviate and rejoin **a lot**.",1 Saved post (irony included) (but it's a real problem for me too),1 "WE NEED AN AMA!!! since you are new to reddit you can check r/IAMA to check what it is !",0 "I'm just whaiting for food, I am too hungry to think and therefore I can't do what I am supposed to do. Hope my fiance is here soon.",1 "Everything makes sense when you're scared. That's why people calm down before they make any big decisions. You develop like a tunnel-vision when you're afraid, especially in panic mode. That's why keeping busy is so important and response-prevention is so helpful in recovering with OCD. It really does help once you get the hang of preventing your habitual behavior (compulsions).",0 It’s been 10 months and now it’s starting to feel like I was the one lying,0 This is literally exactly how I feel. I never really thought of it this way and I actually ocationally thought maybe I had a misdiagnosis cause I don't get that much hyperactivity. But this clears up alot now. Would you be able to link me the article or any other stuff you might have on that subject?,1 "I'd assume by the word 'bitches' you just mean individuals who use mental illness as explanation or slang for their shitty or quirky behaviour, as opposed to the meaning of 'female'... But yeah, OCD is easily one of the most misunderstood and mislabeled disorders imo, followed by bipolar. The fact people equate it with liking things a certain way, being clean, etc shows they have absolutely no concept of how incredibly debilitating, distressing, and varied the disorder really is. Unless these people spend hours per day obsessing over how things are arranged and feel severe anxiety or even panic when it isn't just ""right"", they don't know shit about what it's actually like to have it. I swear I've been close to slapping people over their casual usage of the term... I clearly remember this girl in high school saying ""omg I'm so OCD"" over something minor, and I just sat there in disbelief, as I had been struggle with OCD since age 8/9 and at that time I didn't even tell my own parents about it because I was so ashamed of my disorder... yet this girl just casually used the term in reference to herself. I think that was perhaps the first time I realized how the average person has 0% understanding of the disorder. No one that actually suffers with it would want to constantly broadcast it, or to brag about it. It's a not cute quirk, or a way to be unique, it's completely life destroying and makes you feel like you're losing your mind and don't even have control of yourself.",0 "Yeah this works for minor obsessions, anything beyond that it doesn't (for me).",0 Thank you. I thought I was an asshole. Seriously. I beat myself up for this all the time.,1 "Sending good vibes to all the checkers. I don't check, but I have a routine to unplug my mic after every use as well as use stickers if I ever have a cam plugged in.",0 I opened a window once and then immediately my brain just said to me “Jump.”,0 Yeah I need to sleep because it's 2 but my brain wants to draw,1 "Anyone else proofread after every sentence? I had such a bad habit of that when writing my essays for school. I'd spend half of my time just rereading and making sure my words made sense. The idea of making multiple drafts is exhausting, even though it's probably less work.",1 I got a weekly pill box. I refill it on Sunday nights.,0 "now my ocd is telling me that i shouldn't like this post, because it could turn me into a tiny racist pedophile murderer",0 "If you have a diagnosis from a physician or psychiatrist make sure to speak to your school counselor about accommodations. Accommodations vary per college, but our son’s school lightened his online work load and allowed him extra time for projects, tests, and papers.",1 "Dude, I'm showing this to my husband. We both have ADHD and he's dealing with work stress and I'm dealing with work stress and burnout from house and we have 2 toddlers (thank God for daycare) and omg your solution sounds like HEAVEN.",1 "Thanks for sharing. I put off getting a pressure in my hip checked out for so long that when I finally got it checked out I couldn't tell the doctor how long I had it. I was lucky it turned out to just be a problem w/a muscle and not a cyst or tumor like I thought. Your story's a real eye opener and next time somethings wrong I'm setting a deadline to get it checked out",1 "This is why I both recorded AND took notes in lectures. Trying to hyperfocus but knowing I'd need to listen to it again, maybe multiple times.",1 "For me, it's not being diagnosed but feeling like i do have ADHD and also having a friend who _is_ diagnosed who thought to themselves all these years that I do have ADHD, yet not being able to do anything because my doctors suck (Kaiser Permanente).",1 "FUCK this post has convinced me I have OCD. My therapist made a comment and I was like ""No, I don't have intrusive thoughts!"" .... I might have been answering that question wrong this whole time, I have this EXACT FEAR/THOUGHT",0 This reminds me of how much more successful I am if I don't tell my project plans to others because I can get discouraged from their input or my own as I dwell but rather to just jump into the project without hesitation. It also helps if I have something I want to do to feel better and I tell myself just spend 10 more mins trying to complete this project then you can go eat that thing or take a shower or spend time with my cat or etc. Then I end up working beyond the 10 mins since I get into hyper focus mode trying to get more done successfully tricking myself into some mild consistency lol.,1 "Thank you for this, I'm undiagnosed, 21, and dropped out of my second year. Still have ideas of going back once I'm medicated/wiser about my condition. Your story is very comforting to hear.",1 """Maybe ur gay"" ""don't look at that kid or ur a pedo"" ""ur gonna be homeless in 10 years"" ""you'll never find a lover"" ""ur a mix of autism/aspergurs/schizophrenia"" ""no one likes you remember that stupid thing you did 10 years ago? What about that time you embarrassed yourself infront of the whole class in 3rd grade""",0 "Yes, and usually it backfires cos the offender doesn't remember it",1 Yes I do it all the time. But I don't think I can force myself to stop it since is an unsubconscious movement.,0 It doesn't help that there are ppl who will go through your comment history/dox you if you say something they don't like. I don't think I post about controversial topics but it does make me paranoid and I end up deleting a lot of posts to make sure I don't have too much personal info on my account. I also REALLY don't want my IRL friends finding this account,0 People talking to me in general is sometimes hell. I need people in my life but I also don’t need them in my life. My ADHD brain is so difficult ...,1 Being smart is no different than being tall. It gives a slight boost to the chances of your success but in the big picture is barely worth considering. Sure being smart is a prerequisite for being known for being smart but a genius' chances of being the next Stephen Hawking are still the same as a tall person's chances of being the next Kobe Bryant. 1 in a million even if you work as hard as you can.,1 "Thanks! Saw this, and took the break to eat. So I went to the kitchen, cleaned up by off loading and reloading the dishwasher, made coffee and put some more things away before finally making food. But I got there!",1 "And then at the same time: “I have to be out the door by 6:50 am, but right now it’s 6:25, which is practically 5:25, which is practically 3 in the morning. I can stay in bed for a few more minutes.”",1 Holy crap I forgot I do this so much. It’s annoying when people are watching me and I freaking save every 10 seconds,0 "Lose alcohol and sugar???? You have a will of steel. -me the person who licks the sugar from the margarita glass",1 instead of doing mental compulsions and such I'm going to think of this dude absolutely destroying pasta thank u for this,0 "I do arbitrarily organize due to OCD but it comes in waves and the organization is always extremely specific to the point where it's not accessible to other people, and I get extremely upset if it isn't in the order I want it in. This is for certain corners of my living space. Everything else is a nightmare. But I sort things like cards and dice and dominoes because I need the repetitive motion and I need them to be Right, and I can sink time into this that's consuming and unnecessary, and also go to absurd lengths with it. I remember once I offered to organize cards I'd finished playing with and someone ELSE said to me, ""That's so OCD,"" and my whole stomach just sank and I felt sick. But it's not neatness and things that come across as ""organized"" are timesinks that I can't not do and that overtake me when I go to do them.",0 Really? I tried sleeping enough and getting enough sun. Worked wonders. Now I just have to go off my meds and keep doing those things...,1 Agreed! I get told by family and friends that I look uninterested or I’m not listening to What there saying but I have to get my ruminations out of the way.,0 "I actually like it as I can do it at my own pace now. Yep discipline is a key but I have a study group, that we need to log on to and because I am self paced. I am actually a head. However I have peer support workers, just getting help for a routine is key.",1 "Our brains are great at coming up with reasons top about low preference tasks. When you notice it happen have a strategy ready. Some ideas: - decide on a reward you will give yourself when you finish - decide to start after you count to 10 and start counting - do one small part of the task, or one step towards the goal, it can literally be a step towards your car/laundry/etc. Also look into medication.",1 That 30 seconds of calm when you wake up before the despair and suffering kicks in,0 "Yea, the problem is I stop thinking randomly. This is called zoning out and I can't do shit, even move my body then.",1 Dental is important - Set reminders on your phone and/or build a habit to do before anything else,1 "I wish I could find someone to do this with. So insightful, OP. Thanks for posting! I’ve learned so much about adhd from this sub. Y’all are fucking amazing. ",1 "Good afternoon, sir/ma'am. Do you accept people sending you private messages? If yes, then may I please message you, so that we can discuss about my recovery process? I would be very grateful. Have a great day.",0 "I legitimately have to piss this much, it sucks. I can't go anywhere without knowing where a bathroom is. When I go there's a lot every time and I try to hold it.",0 "It’s not an easy road to get on to. I was pushed dramatically hard on discipline to get more decent skills and ended up almost depressed about everything. Still, good sacrifice because I can vent that out now.",1 🤦‍♀️ That’s pretty much like telling someone with anxiety “don’t worry”,1 "Related: If you have depression and someone asks, “What do *you* have to be depressed about?” Easy. Serotonin deficiency.",1 I’m making that dentist appointment now. Godspeed OP.,1 'OCD approved' I swear to god I haven't been this annoyed by a sentence for years. Can they just shut up and leave or maybe do some research?,0 This. So much this. And people treat you like you're lieing too. Like it's impossible to be smart if you have ADHD.,1 "I know how you feel. Therapy is very important, and medication in case you don't see progress for a long time or it's really making you suffer a lot. ""Moral rigidity"" is a common trait among OCD sufferers and it makes you see the world morally black and white when there's in fact a lot of grey in between. OCD can make you be too tough on yourself and others, because you obsess on judging things and labeling everything as exclusively good or bad. Remember that we fear we are going to feel like this forever. That's the fear behind the obsessions. This is absolutely imposible, because no one can feel a certain way forever. Do you think that it's always going to torture you the fact that, for example, another girl popped in your mind in a random moment? No. If you resist the compulsion, the thought will go away and something else will replace it, then you will understand that those events are simply part of life and each new obsession will make you less anxious because you know they will pass too. This can be beaten, a good first step is to start postponing your compulsions as long as you can, and tracking how far you can go each time. This way you'll see that something that was eating you up 4 days ago suddenly doesn't seem so urgent and horrible anymore, and you'll start losing fear of upcoming thoughts.",0 "I can only get it down to 15 if I try really hard, average 20-25 min if I’m being fast Congratulations thoo!!",0 "when I was younger, I learned that I have a very strong reaction to cannabis, so the intrusive thoughts get VERY loud and demanding. I was in a convenience store after having some and there was an armed guard on duty (not a nice neighborhood). the voices kept screaming at me to grab his gun as a joke. fortunately, I was able to kill that thought before I ended up in serious trouble. now, if I have any, I stay where I am.",0 "this is genuinely how I often deal with my thoughts. ""I want to die. I should die."" - ""good for you, now we're doing maths though.""",0 "ADHD and D&D DMs :( my top genre was video game music, but I never listen to it outside of a session",1 That's call task-saliency and is the exact reason I'm medicated.,1 Do you have a hi-res image of this? I need some art for my apartment. Lol.,0 my save-everything-for-later brain thanks you bc i always forget to go back,1 Well shit. This is me. =O I am the comma queen. When I write papers or literature I have to go back and remove about 75% of the commas. Jeez.,1 Truly beautiful! Love how it tells a story. Great job!,0 Thanks for posting and replying!!! You are a great community!!!,0 I dont even have the mental energy to even go through all of them most times LOL,1 The best way i describe that feeling is like... nails on a chalk board but in my whole body,1 "I was just starting to work through this compulsion on my own, but now everyone keeps telling me how worried they am about me getting corona since I'm a delivery driver in a not great area, so it's starting to come back up...",0 "Actually, I think it does work. I've been using [Asana.com](https://Asana.com) for about 10 years and it has changed my life. Now I still have issues with following the plan xD But when I'm able to do that life's better, not cured tho xD",1 "Thank you for sharing. I'm sorry about what happened with your friend. Your. A. Strong. Person. I wish I had the same burning soul for life like you do, I hope you keep it forever :)",1 It's because you're being hyper aware of sounds that worry you so you may pick up on whistling sounds or something similar and believe its something terrible like psychosis or someone harassing you in some way,0 Awesome!!!!! You did it!!!!!!!!!! May I ask what your trigger was snd how long/often you did exposures,0 I like having OCD because it means I'm not a criminal,0 "Hahahahahahaha I dont mean to laugh so hard but yes, all of this",0 I’m trans and seeing shit like that always sets off my panic that I’m NOT a real trans person and that I’m only convincing myself I am because I have OCD. super cool feeling.,0 "Nah the idea is you just lose till you get out the house. Like if anything yelling just gives me the desire to do my shit & get out. It’s like a hot poker that gets removed once you work hard enough",1 "Ooo this is a good meme. For me, it’s if I don’t brush up my other foot the exact same way my foot brushed up something else accidentally, and then do that in a specific pattern repeatedly in the exact way as the original brush up, my family will die and it will be my fault. Nice.",0 "Can someone tell me what is not a compulsion for helping with intrusive thoughts? Thank you",0 I waste entire days trying to figure out what I need to do first in order to determine what I can put off doing so I have enough time to avoid starting the task I should do first. Then I decide to make another “to do” list for tomorrow in order to manage my time and figure out what I can put off so I have enough time to do the thing I dread most. If anyone understands this we are all in the right place here.,1 "Thanks, you too! This post should be posted here once a day.",0 "I totally have this issue and it has caused me serious social anxiety and distress. As I have gotten older and especially after being diagnosed with ADHD, I have learned to just laugh at myself and move on. The more awkward I feel about it, the more awkward the other person feels too, or the more likely they are to make fun of me which I dreaded for a long time. I get tongue tied and forget common words a lot too. I just make a laldkfjdjsk noise and laugh and start again, slower. Talking in groups, though? Forget it! Maybe one day I will get there, but for now I just stay as silent as I can get away with.",1 "Yeah, it's an embuggerance of the first order. University was a special kind of hell for me, because I could tell literally none of the work set was beyond my ability, despite it being an intensely challenging technical degree, I just couldn't settle down to *do* it.",1 I always feel like a bumbling idiot child despite my job in veterinarian medicine.,1 Oh god I literally just talked about this in therapy with my psychiatrist yesterday. Realized my mood is fully dependent on whether or not I am having a “good” (meaning productive) day,1 Woke up feeling lonely and unimportant today. Thanks!,0 Soooooo me right now. I am supposed to be studying but I heard about the open dyslexic font and wanted it and I just forgot where I was going with that... lord please save me. I'm always behind in class anyone else?,1 "Someone could do this meme with that one Futurama bit where Area 51 agents pull the deviled egg out of Zoidberg's stomach, he eats it, and they pull it out again. ""The same deviled egg...""",0 Went to Vegas last weekend and immediately stopped at the dispensary when I touched down since I knew I was gonna need a shit ton of weed to make it through that mess of stimuli.,0 "And they go on and on... I was on a bus that generally makes me sick, I had a sick migraine and I guess was overstimulated. I never heard that word as applying to me but it’s apt. We meet a former coworker, nice enough lady but couldn’t understand that I was in pain... My husband decides to enlist her aid in convincing me to go back to school.. thanks hun. -.- heart was in the right place but wrong time wrong place.",1 "As a hobby, I research my own family genealogy. The number of notes I have made within the Apple Notes app is staggering. Like, thousands of notes just for my genealogy. Every day, I write a new note and title it on the subject and date (“Genealogy, 2021-04-13”), followed by the object of that days research (“who were the children for Christian Lee?”), followed by my flow of thoughts, links and findings. However, I do this for everything else, too. My job, hobbies, schedule/appointments, and even grocery store visits. This has been critical to me functioning, and I still forget a lot of things. I even forget if I’ve already researched something, so I always need to do a few searches, just to make sure.",1 "Anxiety: “Get ready to fight or flee” Me: “Is there a third option?” Anxiety: “Well, you could die?” Me: ....",0 "Ohh yeah... This kind of ignorance makes me want to hit something. This is actually stupidity in its essence.... Because it willingly wallows in ignorance, without any effort to climb out of the mud puddle. ☮️",0 yes. I'm always messing with myself and it wound me up in an emotionally abusive relationship. These thoughts are constant and I'm working so hard to believe the healthy side and not get sucked into the ocd vortex.,0 "Don’t feel too bad, I’m in the same boat and mine’s at 2pm, haha If you can eventually find a thing your brain will chomp the dopamine on(new breakfast, work on music, take a shower) it should help until your appointment..... I think it’s cause we don’t wanna miss it and start calculating all the bad crap that will happen if we do, so we laser focus on it. That’s my take, anyways. Good luck and I’m proud of you for going to therapy!",1 "Hey man, I have OCD as well and thought I could give you some help and hope Check out this website [Rodale Mindfulness](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/mindfulness-meditation-downloads/) And, specifically, check out [this meditation in particular](https://assets.penguinrandomhouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/30141413/01-Meditation-1-Mindfulness-Of-Body-And-Breath-11.mp3) (which is the first of the 8 meditations on the list. The whole point of your post is resisting your OCD thoughts, correct? And in mindfulness meditation, that is exactly what we all do (both ""normal"" people and those of us with OCD) as the whole essence of meditation is to train our brains to come back to our breath or other focal point whenever our thoughts begin to stray away from our goal of meditating and coming back to the present moment and getting back to or beginning to find our center. The meditation I linked and recommended to you is a great one and if you'll make the effort to attempt this (it's only 8 minutes long and it's a guided meditation, btw) I believe you will see the point I am making and have made with my comment to you. Also, not to mention that with mindfulness meditation, at least when it comes to those of us (myself included) who have OCD thoughts, fears and emotions, by practicing meditation consistently we are able to train our brains to not only disengage from the repetitive pattern of negative and unwelcome thinking, but in doing so we also come to know ourselves more from the perspective of somebody without this disorder as we come to see ourselves and our OCD more separately, and in doing so we begin to trust ourselves more and thus free ourselves from the continuous and plaguing doubt that I know OCD gives that you may be likely feeling at this moment. Basically, continuing in a disciplined practice of mindfulness meditation has the power to allow you and myself included the freedom we seek from our unwanted and corruptive OCD. I hope that you take my advice. Just listen to that meditation I linked above once and you will begin to understand my comment more. Good luck man",0 "I just joined this subreddit thinking I really don\`t know if I have OCD, I have diagnosed anxiety and as I saw this picture I could relate so well",0 "Huh. I just broke up with my girlfriend of two years. A lot of the problems in that relationship were on my end, I think. First I’m hearing of this “emotional impermanence” thing and that kinda explains a lot Edit: I really do spend a lot of time questioning if people like me or not, but I don’t know if that’s an invalid question to ask. For most of my life I’ve been a socially inept dickwad, and a high level of scrutiny and introspection is the only thing that’s gotten me to where I am now. Still, I sometimes wonder if some of that analysis is misplaced.",1 "... is this not like, even somewhat a normal occurrence? How does it work in neurotypical people??",1 Being misdiagnosed as major depression didn't help and I'm so happy that OCD makes everything make so much more sense to me now,0 "This is me, only I must be up at 6 to tend to kids. This gives me anxiety. Nightly. I have nowhere to be. Just another day. I don’t sleep well. Xanax at 8 or 9 helps. Then I wake at 3 or 4 to take my Effexor. Then I wake at 5 to pop 20-40 mg Adderall. Fingers crossed the stars align and my podcast nails the content I was seeking or knocks me out. Then baby cries or 4yo has a nightmare. I am either fucking ready to do the things, or I’m garbage. I thought I was going to figure it out. Then I became a mom. Then I developed shitty coping mechanisms because all momming all day makes Mimsy a bigger mess. Sometimes I give my husband the “I’m in a level of hell that you’ll never understand.” But he knows my vices. I speak openly about how I feel, but nobody takes me seriously. Never ever being alone is causing me to deteriorate. I just want to be alone for a day. One day. So I can do whatever I need to do (sleep, so I don’t drink and get fucked up. Or do the things that I used to do. Like take showers. Blow dry my hair. Fit into my size 6 jeans. Fuck. Wear jeans at all... I never felt like my typical behaviors were valid until this sub.",1 Can we make a subreddit for ocd Memes specifically? Cause this sub is getting bombarded with this memes (not a bad thing tho I love them),0 "Mine is skewed heavily on 80s music. Not because that’s what I wanted to listen to all year, but because I’m in an 80s cover band and had to learn the set list. 😂",1 "Hello, that's relatable. I use words that are 'close enough' all the time and end up in really embarrassing situations because I won't register that I used the wrong word. I've learned some coping mechanisms though that work for me: (1) I slowly repeat questions before giving my answer. It can feel awkward to do, but the amount of time is short, and it helps me focus my brain. No ones ever commented on it before (2) I jot down a conclusion/keywords before I speak. That way, when I am trying to get an important point across, I can make sure not to get sidetracked and that I hit all of the issues that matter (3) I try to remember that my brain is ZOOMING, and everyone else's is likely not. I slow down speaking a lot, and I pause between sentences to focus on (1)breathing, and (2) what I am saying and not being distracted by my voice or whatever. But like, all that said, I still get frustrated as fuck when I'm talking to people, and I get too 'overwhelmed' by my thoughts and can't say anything coherent at all if I'm not prepared for confrontation.",1 "This is honestly how I lose chunks of my weekends. There is just so much to do that I can't get it sorted, so I just sit and watch TV instead. Then I berate myself for getting such a late start and not getting as much done as I'd wanted to. And usually I don't remember all the things I needed to get done, until I'm in bed, which causes another round of self-flagellation.",1 "I know we need to eat and drink food, but we forget. Even if we really need it. And also its one of the most boring tasks in the world",1 Dude yes. I’m so tired of saying “oh I read about that!” And having nothing more to add,1 """haha yeah lol, definitely relate"" "".... oh god *what if i don't* *actually* relate though-""",0 "I feel like this is a hallmark of OCD...Feeling like you’re faking. I was afraid that I was convincing myself for attention. I was too afraid to even ask my therapist for confirmation! But you are not doing this for attention. If you were, you wouldn’t be suffering.",0 Me too. Ocd attacks everything good in my life and it’s so draining fighting it off all the time.,0 "Dude, can I pay you to be able to tattoo this on myself???",0 I have to take my dog to the vet in 7.5 hours so my brain is telling me I can’t do my laundry today,1 "Even if these things really affect you because of OCD, why in the world would you ever want your mother to live 7886 years? She'll watch her son die before her, her family die before her, eternal pain and suffering and so much worse. But again, the ignore isn't really giving a good alternative either. I don't want her to live 0 years too. I wouldn't take the choice. If you saw the message, that means you acknowledged it(i.e. you didn't ignore it). So even if you didn't take action, you can simply move on because you didn't ignore it. You acknowledged it but refused to take action, so you are not bound by the conditions :) \-A logic lover",0 "Going up I was used to beleive everyone felt a general sense of unease and anxiety all the time, boy was i wrong.",1 "how about smells? I remember being crazy for women scent, once hocd kicked in its like I enjoy male scent and can't perceive female one pleasurable",0 It really freaking sucks being reminded of these every waking minute by my fam,1 "I can’t STAND when people equate OCD to cleanliness. Like, um, no. Not how that work.",0 "Fuck, that’s exactly me. Tooday i had a the hardest time to reply an email, wasted entire day and just send out few mins ago",1 "All the time, haha. Pretty much the core problem of ADHD for most people I think. Really bad executive functioning compared to cognitive ability and difficulty managing time. Keep grinding and you will make it. If you are consistently failing to meet a goal, say working out three times per week for example, try breaking your goal down and starting with an easier habit like doing 20 pushups every day when you wake up. ​ Every time you succeed at a task, the next time you come back to the same task it will be a little easier.",1 "Heheh nice try. But in all seriousness thanks for being kind and encouraging :)",1 "I'm kinda in a place where all the progress I made over the years (while being undiagnosed BTW) is suddenly not enough and I'm this close to spiral in a self deprecating mode, I'll try to keep it short but this is what I've been telling me all these years: Most of the time, it's society fault for us thinking we're not enough. The advent of social networks just exacerbated this way of life, where everything is fine, everything respects a certain palette of color and is never out of tune. But it's not like this, like, ever. So what can we do? We can start practicing kindness toward ourselves and suddenly we'll see that there's a pattern of people that don't 'fit in' like us: people that don't match the society's standards of beauty, intelligence, way of thinking... heck, up until some years ago just having a tattoo and colored hair was something very groundbreaking but now I see it everywhere! A world where people feel like they're not strong enough is a world that needs to change. Maybe it's not YOU being unable to do the 'simple things', maybe it's the 'normal people' not being able to keep up with a different way of thinking, and from where I see it, conventional ways of thinking never made the world progress.",1 I feel like this could be featured in High Fructose (the art mag)!! Totally otherworldly.,0 Have you used alarms at all? Incredibly helpful for me as I will let it annoy me until I do (thing).,1 My room is so bad. It was bad months ago now its just evolving.,0 "I found an app called clickup, which gives you a todo list functionality, but lets you see the tasks from a different angle to have a prioritized list across multiple todos. A lot of the reasons I procrastinate is that I'm trying to mentally break down all the tasks, I get distracted, and then I lose my focus. Clickup lets me identify and prioritize that. I find that the less information you keep in your head, the better, so figure out what your top 1-3 things you want to get done are, break them down into steps (or at least figure out the first step), prioritize the thing that will be the most impactful in the shortest amount of time, and rinse and repeat. I just started this, so I might give up on this in 3 weeks, but hopefully not",1 Yes! And when they're too much I tap my forehead between my eyes and it snaps me out of it.,0 "it's a pretty crazy feeling to just tell yourself ""hey i should pick up that pice of paper that's been under my desk for 3 weeks"" and then just do it",1 "Sometimes they come as both together, but the depression that kicks off the theme is so relaxing, I'd rather stay with that depression for a long period of time…",0 "Here is the best tip my ADHD brain has: Thank your past self for doing things that made your day easier no matter how small it is. Pay the kindness forward to your future self by doing something that will make their day easier knowing that it will be appreciated. It also never hurts to try and one-up your past self.",1 "Aah yes, OCD seriously needs to be de-glamorized already. I don't have ocd, my 14yr old was diagnosed in June, and since then, the number of times I have heard the comments ""oh we are all a little ocd"", ""everyone has a little anxiety"" , ""oh he willl grow out of it"" or tried to rationalize or tried to make the intrusive thought go away by explaining the logic (and that's by close family alone) I would be a millionaire. OCD is one of the most misunderstood mental disorders. Its only when I bother to mention his suicidal thoughts that said family realises how severe it had gotten. Its debilitating and a dysfunction creating disorder. The struggle is real and needs to be taken seriously and de-glamorized and seen for what it is.",0 """If I dont look at them a certain way in my mind I'll switch souls""",0 That kinda thing happens to me mainly I’ll get bored and start thinking about random thing that sounds bad but it’s not my bfs fault it’s just my mind lmao,1 "Yup. I don't have it, but partner of 14 years does. It's painful to see the struggle. I can send free internet <3 and hugs.",0 "When you do really bad you feel like it's your fault. When you better than you usually do, you feel like you were exaggerating the situation the entire time.",1 Mine did too but we’ve already been dealing with strikes for a month so not much has changed here 🙃 I’m dying,1 "Yeah I always feel shit when i realize i haven't eaten but then I'm like ""oh it's too late for lunch"" and have 3 snacks",1 "I love this because even though it’s not promising anything, it’s still so positive ❤️❤️❤️",0 I literally had to do an interview as part of a class test for my BSL studies this week... I had to make a transcript of the interview and this saved my but as my ADHD ass left it to last minute.,1 "That's actually really cute 😍 I like the way you wrote this out.",1 Wow I cannot relate to this at all if I have an appointment early in the morning I will always have trouble sleeping the night before but now thanks to my work schedule anything before noon is a crapshoot and I found a psychiatrist that will work with my schedule so 3pm appointments are a god send for me. I do understand the part about work though I never have the strength/willpower to do anything before I go to work and it sucks.,1 "My friends in academia (teaching side) say guidelines for disability accommodation have been minimal or totally absent. They’re just shipping all the kids to where they came from (on the students’ dime, of course) and dumping it on the professors, who might do their best (or maybe not, certainly there’s no oversight). There’s a lot of cracks here to fall through. Maybe you can set up an accountability buddy relationship with someone who shares your classes, or a group. That’s the only kind of motivation that works for me, responsibility to other people. Good luck out there <3",1 Wow. This is incredible. Do you sell artwork? (And if so could you direct me there please..),0 "You're not alone! I never really thought about my OCD playing a role but that wouldn't be the first time that's happened. Just know, there are a lot of us bi girls who go through this and we've all got your back.",0 I laughed so much but it’s so bad omg literally EVERYTIME I’m cooking and look at a knife and like before I was diagnosed I didn’t realize that this is what is was I had no idea and thought I was just nuts,0 "I was also thinking about this. I've been using a workbook with my therapist and one of the things it said was trying to ignore and get rid of the thoughts make it worse. So instead of ignoring them listen to them and accept that they exist but then say ""well that was a weird thought"" and move on. This has helped me so much with my intrusive thoughts and it feel so nice not to have a compulsive action or counter thought but instead say ""whatever"" to the intrusive thoughts.",0 "The part about asking for help. Yeah. It also creates an identity problem. If your experience doesn't match everyone else's perception of you, it can make you feel like you're not really all the way there. I still can't stand to receive gifts, because I can't forget all the times I received gifts for the girl my family wanted me to be. I don't know where that microscope came from, but it shows at least someone had a clue. Thanks, whoever you are!",1 That's interesting. Reminds me of Dr. Manhattan's hydrogen atom symbol that he put on his forehead.,0 "This shit is like a virus. Just like a virus hides itself in your DNA, this illness hides itself inside your real thoughts. It hurts you from the inside, and your body can't tell the difference until the symptoms occur.",0 I use O’Keefe’s working hands a lot to keep mine from cracking too bad.,0 "THIS HERE DEFINES MY LIFE. Like just yesterday I had this huge ass English assignment where I got 9 pages done out of 10 and for the 10th page, I felt so immensely happy that I had already gotten 9 pages done that I procrastinated for the entirety of the day instead of just getting the last goddamned page done.",1 "Told my mum i was having bad thoughts and she just said ""well you need to stop having them"", i just walked away cured lmao.",0 "Oh god yes. I had training this morning and the lady talked SO fast and was jumping all around topics and it was the worst. Three hours of rapid-fire barrage of words. I needed to put my headphones in with nothing on and just sit quietly for like an hour afterwards, it was hell.",1 "This exact compulsion is something I struggle with every day. I’m proud of you for seeing the compulsion for what it is, and acknowledging that you look great. Because you do! Serious kudos to you. 👍🏻❤️",0 "Decision making is so hard sometimes. I feel like everything, even something as simple as picking out a brand for the spices I got from the grocery store, is of huge significance. This can be so exhausting.",0 "I really want to believe all of this but I feel like I’ve broken my brain and it’s too late :(. I feel like I turned myself gay and I feel stuck :(. I regret everything and I hate myself :(.",0 Why is he smiling tho? I’m 24 and begging my doctor for a hysterectomy because the idea of having a child is RUINING my life,0 "I never realized this was common for adhd, I just thought that was a specific bane of my social skills. 100% true to me. My energy is so inconsistent, as is my level of introversion and ability to think of clever things to say on the fly.",1 "I got 8 usable hours thanks to vyvance. Unfortunately, I spend all of those in school so by the time I get to my homework I am back to adhd mode",1 "I don't know if my POV is common, but I have no idea how I'd even help myself as a child, and I really don't know what teachers should do; My 11y/o brother getting diagnosed only confirmed this, I know how to work with him, but I just don't have enough time to help him all the time. And sure, if I'd had an amazing teacher that knows how to work with specific children, school would've been easier, but good teachers are rare, and even them are only human. The only thing that comes to my mind is very active home schooling, with a passionate person that would stimulate my young brain into learning either via practice either by giving me actual motivation, and not some ""you'll need it to be a good slave that works 8h/day for 50 years"" - somthing like having a crazy and funny professor home that's only there to teach me",1 "Going to jump on this and say that getting a cloud-based journal was the best thing I’ve ever done for my emotional health besides therapy and medication. Seriously. Being able to access my phone’s photos, including screenshots from Instagram or Reddit (that I forgot I captured) and text conversations, plop them into my journal, and access my journal on my computer or on my phone is amazing. I can pick up my phone and do a quick journal in the moment or I can hop on my iPad for longer journaling and drawing sessions. Everything is linked together and updated with cloud saving. Before this, I would start and quickly abandon journals only a few pages in or I’d get overwhelmed with them looking nice like a scrapbook or being a bullet journal or whatever thing I was obsessed with in the moment and just end up abandoning them and feeling guilty. Being able to easily and consistently journal has been amazing because I can look back through memories (like OP recommended) or read my notes. I’ve been able to find patterns in my thinking and even use my journal to help me get a formal ADHD diagnosis because of the evidence it contained. Tldr: agree with OP but add the recommendation that cloud-based journals are amazing for my ADHD.",1 This made me smile and tear up all at the same time,0 "And then you get cocky like ""eh, I guess I outgrew this whole thing"" \*\*moments later\*\* ... \*\*obsessive thinking ensues\*\*...",0 "Ive been accepting the thoughts and most of the time I know it’s an OCD thought, but my OCD counters with a ‘what if that’s true’ or ‘what if it’s how you really feel’ and then I start ruminating and freaking out. It’s so hard. Sometimes I get scared that it’s my own thought, even though I know it’s gotta be an OCD thought.",0 "Thanks, definitely saved that to use it next time someone explains to me my thoughts are not rational...",0 All I can offer is a socially distanced *high five* and poor persons gold 🏅 Thank you so much!,1 "Same. I talk in tangles, but when I write it’s clear and lovely.",1 "Right? Mine went online only as well, but thankfully I don't think I'll have any extra work over spring break (next week) and the only work I really have is the stuff that's in my online class anyways. Honestly, I got kinda lucky with that, just as long as I make sure that I don't drop the ball on my one always-online class, I think I'll be good",1 "So I do this because of ADHD???? I literally got diagnosed yesterday and my whole world has been flipped upside down (or more like right side up, and I just didn’t know it was upside down.) there so many things I thought were just anxiety that I’m learning is actually untreated ADHD and it’s so wild.",1 That feeling when you don't even have the stamina or the will to wash your whole arm for the 60th time so you are seriously considering burning it lol,0 "Yeppp. Finish cutting a showreel, send a mail to a possible employer. Took me a week and I’ll likely not get the job now. Gotta love it",1 "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhghhhhgggg I’m screaming for you I feel you",1 Today I tried to close all of my open tabs. I closed out one. Then reopened it again. Then moved it back to the place it had been when it was opened the first time.,0 "This hurt me I used to have that freeing euphoric feeling when singing Now I can only identify it in other singer/artists And whenever I try it’s just not good enough Its hard to chase something I no longer have",1 I wish I still had no idea about ocd and my symptoms. From the day I diagnosed some years ago my symptoms only get worse. I'm sure if I never learned from it I would had a chance to overcome it now I have none. Sorry I can't relate.,0 Your literally taking the words out of my mouth! I feel you! And wish you well <3,1 I have about 5-10 alarms set during the day every day. Majority of the time I snooze all of them for hours before either finally doing what the alarm says or just turning the alarm off completely while still not having done what I was supposed to do,1 "I can not function during mental rituals. Interruptions send me into panic. ""I can't talk right now."" is pretty much all I can squeak out. ",0 "Sometimes my wife, who means well, will snap at me to remind me. She is wonderful wife and mother, but we both work long hours at stressful job, and our children don’t always like to behave. Add on the frustration of a husband who “sometimes couldn’t remember his head, if it wasn’t screwed on” (my words); then home life becomes very challenging.",1 Now I'm wondering if I have ADHD. I'm always losing my keys and phone.,1 Yes. Its terrible how people misuse ocd all the time. They think its because of simple things but reality is much darker.,0 "I set early, fake due dates for myself so I *have* to get the assignment done way before the actual due date. For me, it’s the only way to stay on track",1 I can relate to this. The research I do only ever makes me feel more worried.,0 "This is the worst part of my OCD. Since I have severe tetraphobia with magical thinking. My brain not only tells me I'm screwed, but exactly when I will be screwed. Every leap year, which is a mutiple of 4, every pre-leap year when my age is a multiple of 4, when I get a job every four years after I start, if I ever get married it will be every 4th year of our marrage, ect.",0 I really needed this. This is a great quote! I have such a hard time making the smallest decisions. This is definitely a good way to think about it.,0 Productivity buddies forever-- I'm going be working at the same place/time with a classmate or a friend who has to work from home (e.g. at a coffee shop/library/friend's house/somewhere that isn't my house and associated with not working) and my scheduled time with them is how I'm going to structure my day,1 """Compulsions, Intrusive thoughts, guilt? You want it? It's yours my friend, as long you have enough OCD!"" ""Sorry, I can't give you credit. Come back when you're mmmmmm... *perfecter!""*",0 "throwback to when i used to wash my hands so much everyday that they started cracking and putting on lotion was excruciating thanks, OCD",0 "Why gives purpose. I think people without ADHD can look past that and not care. For me, I have to know why. If there is no reason, there is no foreseeable purpose. If there is no purpose, then it is pointless. There is no point in pointless tasks. Or, at least, that’s the train of thought my brain goes through. Logically I can say that there probably is a purpose for it and that the person teaching me doesn’t know but that’s not good enough for my ADHD brain. So here comes cognitive dissonance and paralysis. The worst part is I can’t hijack my brain by saying, to use your example, why I need to pout 1 cup of silicone along the rollers when the gauge rises above 24% is because that’s what I am paid to do. Getting paid literally isn’t a good enough reason for my brain. Annoying. Video games, especially MMORPGS, have a clear point to quests and goals. Bigger picture, the victory or failure makes no change to the real world BUT you have a why and with a why comes purpose. Knowing this helped me come to terms with the idea of needing to gamify tasks I usually don’t care to do.",1 "Spot on and it sucks, especially for people (myself included) who get so wrapped up in their heads and base a portion of their self worth on their productivity. Cue pit of depression…",1 "ahhh same. i had to update my number with bank for MONTHS, kept putting it off because I didn’t wanna make the call. turns out the whole time i could’ve done it with the automated system 🥲 i feel your pain.",1 "I often experience what I call “medical panic”, which just means I’m freaking out that I’m dying of something. I mean....yeah, I may have some pretty serious medical stuff going on, but I’m not dying. It doesn’t help to logically know that, though. Sometimes our minds can *really* convince our bodies that something just ain’t right!! It’s terrifying but sort of comforting to know I’m not alone in that.",0 "I do the exact same thing with my night alarm clock. ""Hey CosmicMug, go to sleep, it's 11:00pm"" Then I'm like NAH, I'm having too much fun gaming out and I immediately turn my alarm off. It happens almost every night now >\_<",1 "I thought I was the only one. At least I can show this to my family now, because when I do it, they look at me like I need a straight jacket",0 "My sympathies. I feel this exact same way. Hell, I could have written it expect for the online classes (my god, I’d be so bad at that) I find myself engaging “autopilot” more and more. It sucks. I know there will be better days. I remember them. I know there will be good days again. The hardest part for me is not. knowing. when. If it was like in six months, shit will be awesome, cool. I could dig in and get to it. But the current endless limbo, not quite lockdown, not quite normal, it’s like serving a prison sentence and not knowing if it’s for life or for a week. (Maybe bad comparison but I think it works) Also, I’m in Texas. Bad pandemic. Bad politics. Bad weather event. It’s all blargh! * Okay. Here’s a thought experiment, what would you all LOVE to do right now, if there were no downsides at all (like pandemic, or budget, or weather etc) I want to have a pool party with everyone I love and care about. Nice warm summer day, beer and barbecue. Kids running around everywhere and being loud. And I’ll just float on a raft and get burnt to a crisp and not even care haha. (When the introvert, indoors-y person wants a pool party, I think that’s a sign of how rough it is!)",1 "Non ADHD people write a BIGGEST article that are ""for ADHD"" people. Man, I'm not going to read that. I'm going scroll through it, decide it's way too long, and not even bother. I need things in bullet points that are straight to the point. Just tell me what it's about.",1 OP can I just mention the fact that you are an amazing writer. Your piece is so well constructed and never loses my attention. Attention of someone who has attention deficit lol. Also you saying that there's nothing wrong with seeking help reassured me so much. Thank you,1 "Something I realize is that you can convince yourself of anything really, and it has nothing to do with whether that thing is true or not. E.G. I could be a gold medal Olympic athlete, and still have to convince my self that I'm worthy of competing in the Olympics. How I feel about my self competing in the Olympics and my self esteem, whether good or bad, is not actual evidence of my performance.",0 """I have checked it on twelve discrete occasions, but what if that's the exact number of times they thought I would check it? One more can't hurt.""",0 "My MiL does not know when to stop talking. Over the course of years of visits, she had concerned because of how “sick” I was (because I regularly had to go lay down or whatever, just to get away) or that perhaps I had a drinking problem. Nope, just a MiL problem.",1 "lol yes. I tell my dad to never tell me anything about his job, good or bad, because of how much I worry about him losing his job",0 "Me: weird, I’ve been nauseous all morning even tho I just got a negative pregnancy test from the doctor like two days ago and I have an iud which is 99.9% effective, plus I haven’t even had sex recently and the test always comes back negative OCD and executive dysfunction: the test was wrong Me: seems legit",0 "that makes me so so happy! keep going and keep your head up!! i love this, so inspiring",0 "Jealous. I’ve always wished my psychiatrist had adhd, we can articulate these things all we want, and knowledgeable doctors have learned what it may be like. But I feel like no amount of schooling can truly make you aware of the symptoms we go through, especially since so many neurotypicals experience them, but just nowhere to the degree as we do",1 "Fuck Just laugh the pain away Hahahahahaha This is actually funny and true tho",0 "I stopped doing this a while ago, I get so stressed out when I don't do a compulsion, and then I get really mad at OCD and I don't do any compulsions for a few minutes",0 "They have them, they are called behavioral and psychiatric care centers. Aka the loony bin.",1 I’m almost 25 and I was officially diagnosed about 2 months ago and it’s so eye opening…,0 "I heard someone say lately ""No that's not OCD, that's having standards"" in response to that. I actually really liked it because it was received well, and stopped the BS.",0 I recently told my mom I’m pretty sure I have ADHD and want to talk with my doctor about it. She basically said she needs to be more strict with me on my phone and that I’m fine and that I should just stop being lazy.,1 "Oh yeah my first week of university (orientation week, no school) I wanted to make a good impression so I wore makeup every morning and dressed cute. Skip to 2 weeks later and the friends I made previously are now popular party girls and I have bummed around in my room unable to leave my bed. It sucks but I know I would’ve never been able to keep up with their constant energy...at least that’s what I say to console myself :’)",1 "Naw, If you were a ""horrible person"" and had malicious intent, you would be mean as fuck to everyone around you. U ok. Also, what's a stonk ? :|",0 "I like to think that we can drop the word 'smart' at this point to label kids. It's done more harm than good imo; just an arbitrary bar of expectations to beat themselves up against. All kids have things they excel at and ways they learn best. Encourage discovery, (personalized) accomplishments, and sense of self. A lot of us could have used it.",1 Dude. Same. I feel like a failure even tho my life is good. I just cant function well enough. I feel like i dont fit it this world,1 "Oh my god I feel seen because this has been my greatest struggle for YEARS. Never been diagnosed and maybe I don’t have it but this THIS is the most frustrating thing and as someone who is looking to get a full time job post grad, I’m not looking forward to this happening at a job of mine",1 "Yep. Mine are 1,4, and 6. I have no idea why I chose those",0 "I have this issue at work a lot. I work in analytics so sometimes we are moving through several different but related tasks and I can remember them during the week when I am working on them but the next week or beyond it’s like I just skimmed through someone else work. It’s a big issue during career development conversations because they’ll ask me what I’ve been working on and I can barely come up with anything. I’ve started trying to keep a list of at least high level the things I worked on to jog my memory but then I have to remember to update the list. I generally have really good reading comprehension and memory if I go SLOW. Like rereading every sentence 5x. I still forget most of it within a few months, but I can hold some details if I really try hard. It was a nightmare in high school/college because it shouldn’t take 5 hours (which is not an exaggeration before medication) to read 1 chapter of a textbook. At first my notes were extensive (like half the length of the chapter) and eventually I learned to tone that down which helped especially since my hand written notes were nearly impossible to read. Now I am filled with dread when someone puts an email up on the screen during meetings and says “read through this really quickly and we can talk about it.”",1 "Please don’t put schizophrenia in a list alongside sociopath, murderer, and pedophile - that is so offensive. And super hurtful. I do have schizophrenia, and OCD, and I am a kind, loving, intensely empathic person who would never hurt anyone.",0 Can't believe the watermelon stopped me from being an imaginary pedophile / murderer / abuser,0 "I'm in a similar boat, I constantly get yelled at or passive aggressively talked to by my mother for all my life. And I am getting tired of it. She constantly thinks all the stress is on her although she works maybe a 10 weeks through a year, my sister and her BF only works no more than 3 days a week while their money goes towards weed and going out to eat, leaving me work 5pm-4am nightshift 5 days and hardly making enough to pay bills and eat. If I miss one she gets all pissy even if I had takin Paid time off. and my job isn't even essential, I build furniture. Sorry for going on a rant, I know how it feels and especially being almost 30 my self. Just want to get away from my family and coworkers for a while would be nice",1 Literally me after I watched The Aviator a week ago. And now I’m here.,0 Reported because I’m in this post and I don’t like it,1 "My natural response to a really ugly thought is to shake it off. Kind of like when you get a cold chill and your body shivers real quick...my head will shake a couple of times then stop. Edit: I've managed to release most of my old rituals, but this one comes through every so often(not daily). I'd rather let my head shake for 2 seconds than sit with the intrusive thought for 20 minutes.",0 Wow feels like I wrote this word for word. Started new adhd meds yesterday (strattera) and feeling so weird. Going to push through it bc I have heard a lot of good things. I started the knew meds for this exact reason. I'd have well though out plans every day and never stick to it. I'll wait and put everything off until I can't any longer then act. When I do I still Excell at it but getting to the point of doing feels so impossible it's disheartening.,1 It sounds like some of you blame every little problem or mental trait on OCD. I may be wrong but...,0 Should I be concerned that the image makes my ears hurt?,0 Then there was the bathroom of horror. I remembered a combination for anthrax decontamination from somewhere. Did the job. But hurt my lungs even through a full face respirator. Lol.,0 I had actually started a better routine schedule because I had less panic attacks related to going to work on time. And I had better hygiene routine because I am too scared of not being able to go to the doctor/dentist. I actually had a tootache that I did not address timely so I am keeping it at bay with lots of brushing ang mouthwash.,1 Had it a lot when I was a child. Made me hoard trash because I sympathized with it. Still have it to a certain extent. ,0 Gotta take the trash cans back up and get inside before that car passes me.,0 Rip my going to the gymn november 2019 - march 2020,1 "No, if you have OCD I promise it wouldnt because that would just be another way to give in to your obsessions, whichwould strengthen your ocd. The part of your brain that's freaking out about germs doesnt actually understand the logic behind bacterial contamination, it's just focused on throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks. At first you might feel better, but then you might start obsessing over whether the UV bulb is working correctly, or whether using it over and over doesnt coat it with grease and dead cells that prevent the UV from reaching your hand, or whether the UV is giving you cancer and so on and so forth. To break free of this obsession the way to go would be to learn to be ok with the uncertainty of whether touching the door handle is dangerous or not",0 "A bit too random to be funny and also misrepresents people with OCD as having these insanely convoluted obsessions, when in reality, most people with OCD flick the light switch multiple times or do whatever rituals they have because they get anxious if they don’t do it, not because they feel like their entire family is going to get hit with a meteor. I’m aware that people like this _do_ exist (although I doubt any have as crazy obsessions as the one in this post), but most obsessions are somewhat rational, like “I have to check my stove 30 times because I don’t want my house to burn down.” That’s just an exaggerated version of a normal person’s habit to check the stove. Obviously, it’s unnecessary to check it that many times, and you’re going to get extremely anxious if you don’t do it, but at least the thinking behind it makes sense.",0 "Yeah, this is what my Safari browser on my iPhone normally looks like. https://imgur.com/gallery/MHiTXxX",1 "This may have been asked already, and this may not get seen, but how are you? If you ever need someone to listen, my inbox is open. No judgement on any feelings you may be having (because there are no wrong feelings. Especially not right now.)",1 They obviously are clueless about how this disorder can seriously disable you :') or prevent you from enjoying life.,0 "I love this!!! I’m bookmarking and I’m sharing with my husband (we are both ADHD and we struggle every week). Thank you for sharing, really. So inspiring. If I had an award I’d give it to you.",1 "Can't say anything intelligent about OCD with this clown.... Seriously, OCD is like having Trump in your head or an invisible Trump following you around all the time.. I could relate to Biden. Constantly interrupted by crazy words like I am by crazy thoughts. Stayed calm on an almost superhuman level most of the time but judged for the couple times he was visibly upset. Especially the parts where Trump tried to get him rattled by insulting his loved ones and saying he was stupid and never accomplished anything. Reminded me of the demon from the Exorcist too. You left your mother to die! Preys of the thing that hurts us most.",0 "The number 5 or numbers that add up to 5 make me uncomfortable. For example, if there were a house with the street address of 131 Maple, since it add's up to 5, it's ""bad"". I can thank my mother who was into numerology for this one. One of my exposures was to talk around with a note in my pocket with the number 5 written on it.",0 "My psychologist gave me the best piece of advice ever that I still try to live by. He called it the 3 minute rule... basically if something needs to be done and it can be done in 3 minutes and you’re not doing anything critical... do it immediately. Without even thinking about it. Every time. You can extend that to 5 mins or whatever but it’s crazy how much panics it can prevent I know it’s not that related to your post but uh... I’ve written it now so whatever",1 there are bad people that exist so what if i am one 😳,0 Been thinking about this one all day. It’s infuriatingly true. Thank you for posting it.,0 Fuck... That last bit sounds really nice. I want to be able to actually believe people enjoy my company without my brain explaining it away.,0 "I don't know if this idea is helpful or not, but could you open a Google doc and give her access. You can write down all of your confessions, and she doesn't have to read them unless she wants to. I have borderline personality. I get the intrusive thoughts. Occasionally I tell my boyfriend about them but he doesn't really understand mental illness, and can't grasp the fact I have minimal control over these thoughts. Your girlfriend is an angel, try not to block her out of too much, let her help you when she can :)",0 "I was doing this exact thing, plus Reddit, when I saw this. I am going to take it as a warning and get back to work! Thanks for posting!",1 This was me with my front door when I got home. Locking and checking over and over again. I could see it was locked but I’d have to press on the lock over and over until I could be sure,0 i feel you. i just cant relax. everything that i do and everything that i think and the way i am is all affected by my ocd. its just so fucking exhausting dude im so exhausted. the thoughts and the feelings have just never stopped for a second for 6 years straight. just a day off would be great.,0 "Lol I’ve had the exact same problem with FM. When I was younger I enjoyed the game and then I started thinking about that I was wasting my life on watching fictional players play football. That problems gone now but now it’s more like your experience. I can quit a save just because a name in the squad doesn’t “feel right”. I find so many excuses.",0 "I can’t subconsciously clench my jaw out of stress for 2 weeks or I can’t get my wisdom teeth removed, and this is VERBATIM the conversation I’m thinking and having to myself trying not to be stressed out. 😂",0 "The important thing is YOU CAN GET BETTER. As hard as it is, let the intrusive thoughts come. Don’t try to fight them. Embracing the thoughts and feelings is the only way to get better. Do you work with a therapist? Or take medications? PM me if you need to talk. 🥰",0 "I have like 600 screenshots of adhd related things. I'll probably screenshot this post to remind myself to delete said screenshots Fml",1 Thats pretty frickin awesome! Keep up the good work!,0 "Also, buy stuff as though there is no return policy. Especially when it comes to more major items (shoes, clothes, electronics). The “buy 3, pick the 1 you like and return the rest” simply won’t work for you, you’d just end up with 3 pairs of shoes in different colors. Lmao",1 I always wanna say something to raise awareness but i also don’t wanna sound like a douche,0 Oh my god this really hit me in the feels. The past 3 weeks/nearly a month have been brutal after a lonnnngggggg time of having had my OCD under control. Best wishes to OP and all of you shit may suck now but we can do this! ,0 I’m really bad in discord and Facebook messages I send like 10 messages because I type as fast as I would talk and hit enter every time I would pause lmao,1 "Yeah, and unless I felt like I understood (to cover all my bases so I wouldn't miss anything and get in trouble for it later) I would freeze. Or blurt out more questions, and get in trouble for that anyways. *whee*",1 "it's good to vent and rant! i wish i had some words of wisdom to share with you, but i wanted you to know i read your post and you are not alone",0 "So this is something I have been working through this year! These are the following things that have helped me. 1. when approaching a first draft or a plan I say to myself.- I am going to write the most rubbish script ever. What this does is allow me to override my overthinking. With writing its really the rewrite that is where the genius comes. But when you cant get your thoughts out to create a first draft that can be rewritten, this becomes a challenge. This technique helps me push through that. 2. Literally, half the battle is getting my bum on the seat - that is the challenge I must overcome more than anything - So my advice would be **just sit on the damn seat** or whatever your equivalent is. I then set a timer for only an hour or could be 20 mins and I say I'm going to write until the time is up it doesn't matter if its good or not. Inevitably I will continue to write... if I don't, cool at least I did 20 mins, right? 3. Look into medication if you feel that's appropriate. 4. This one has helped me profoundly - I realise that the act of finishing my first screenplay (to where I don't actually hate it and believe its of value) equipped me with tools to do the next one. The more you do stuff, the easier it becomes. Its like your brain goes - hey that was hard but you did it so you can do it again. This part grows and you build confidence and that helps drown out the noise. Hope this helps",1 "Yes, my room is an absolute disaster. I hoard things because of OCD, but never have the motivation to clean it because of ADHD. What a combo.",0 "Look at all things she accomplished in between!! Maybe I need someone to log my days for me like this. Maybe then days that are unintentionally productive get counted as such and not another BS reason to feel like shit because I didn’t get X, Y or Z done! Thanks for sharing!!",1 "This is another one of those things that I see places that I think is a red flag for me. I find brushing my teeth freaking boring. Going to the bathroom is boring. Doing basic hygiene and taking care of myself is a waste of time and I don’t know how I’m functioning as an adult. Don’t get me wrong, on the surface I’m getting by but I’m scared to mention these things to my psychiatrist. He hasn’t picked up on anything.",1 Ha! Wrong! I’m recovering from hernia surgery and writhing here in horrific pain while scrolling through Reddit is EXACTLY what I should be doing! Now where are my goddamn pain pills?? Daddy needs some more pain pills.,1 There's those blissful 2 seconds when you wake up and forget about OCD and then the intrusive thoughts all come back and everything's shit again :),0 And then you just sit there thinking that you'll catch the window of productivity tomorrow thinking about all the different things you can do giving urself little dopamine hits just to not get anxity from seeing the things around you never get done,1 gonna get downvoted to hell. but i hope you did beat OCD as it is a genetic condition and incurable as of today.,0 "The last part is very true, it’s been over a month and still no result from my test from Psychiatrist…and so here I am struggling in school; but hey they said I’m depressed and have severe anxiety, and when I told the NP about this he goes ‘you just need to do it’ or something in between those lines…",1 I used to feel this way until I learned how common all these types of thoughts were. Now I understand it to all be part of my OCD and it's reduced my stress. 🙂,0 "I am new to this subreddit, and was just curious about posts like these. Have you been diagnosed ? Are you on medication or are trying to manage the symptoms through therapy/better planning ?",1 "This is perfect. The shapes are disorienting, the jagged edges are piercing, and facing all of them is overwhelming.",0 Tell your mom I’m going off my meds right now!! I didn’t know it was so easy to just focus. Love it,1 "This doesnt bother me, put me in a room with people though and ill assume everyone hates me and then agonize over it for weeks afterwards. 🙃",0 "Scrupulosity used to be the worst one for me in my teens, like completely paralyzing to the point that I couldn't eat or function, but over time after I deconverted it disappeared completely (yay!) and was promptly replaced with health OCD, POCD, reverse HOCD and TOCD (yay...). Ironic that I don't believe in hell anymore but I'm actually living in it LOL",0 "First, you have intuited a very smart way of reinforcing your desired behaviours and everyone who reads this post should listen to what you say and do as you are doing. Second, I think you are under some misconception about what dopamine is and how dopamine works. Dopamine means ""there is reward here, so I am facilitating neural activity to make the meatbag explore/pursue"". Dopamine is NOT an endogenous opioid like endorphins, or an endogenous cannabinoid like anandamide. Dopamine is about action. It's about *doing*, not about *enjoying.* An addict will get hit with a tactical nuke of dopamine upon the slightest whiff of their substance/experience of abuse, yet even when they consume that substance/experience, they may not experience pleasure. The avalanche of dopamine can actually be incredibly uncomfortable. If dopamine was a pleasure chemical, this would not happen. The same thing happens to a gaming addict who continues to play their game of choice even though they aren't having fun any more, or the porn addict who continues to consume porn even though their usage now frightens them. So how does dopamine relate to reward? Dopamine is trained by surprises. If something is surprising - more rewarding than your brain expects - dopamine release becomes entrained. This is one basic way our brains move motivation backwards in time so that we learn to take the actions necessary to get rewards again and again. Games like habitica and etc. are banking on your finding their ""gameified"" reinforcers rewarding and, more importantly, surprising. This is why many mobile and online games have become, essentially, digital gambling dens. They need the variable reward - the surprise - to train repeat behaviours. People with ADHD are very, *very* responsive to this type of training - provided they actually enjoy it at the start. What you are doing is infusing your working environment with better rewards, which will (a) entrain dopamine, and (b) infuse work-actions and thoughts with the rewards of the other things present; neural action is inherently leaky and will spread. But there is also one other very important bonus effect particular to managing ADHD: Just as some ADHD specialists recommend things like sipping on a sugary drink while you work, you are recommending keeping rewarding things around (even, just the same, sipping a drink you love). This elevates the rewards present in the environment and actually elevates the overall level of dopamine in your brain, as your brain goes ""oh yeah, there's nice reward here, let's get after it"". So not only is your advice going to train your brain to release more dopamine upon thinking about your lovely working environment (and even work itself), but it is going to make it easier to focus for longer periods while working because of all the nice, rewarding things present. To restate: what you are recommending here is a wonderful and smart strategy for treating ADHD. And you found it all on your own :)",1 My life just crumbled. Thanks for making it glaringly obvious that I need diagnosis,1 "Well Ihave had a serious problem with ocd/anxiety/panic since I was a small child. Ive been on ALOT of medications but the combo of this drug and therapy has ben life changing. Id say this is the closest ive been to “normal” ever. Im not gonna lie the first month sucks. You have to stick with it. Confessing has went to almost never, intrusive thoughts are still there but have little no no power, anxiety is average to low depending on the day. I would highly recommend.",0 I rock back and forth almost constantly while i drive and when people see me do it they'll imitate me,0 "My OCD is a fussy toddler that thinks it has to eat everything, but doesn't want too.",0 I literally just felt my prefrontal cortex expand as I read your friend’s advice. Incredible.,1 I’ve seen this post on here a couple of times so suffice to say you’re not alone.,0 I assumed this was normal for everyone??? Not just an ADHD thing???,1 "> don't use your phone when you wake up Me reading this as soon as I woke up.",1 so is this why I can only complete schoolwork under extreme time/consequence constraints,1 I’m so glad to hear that you’re here! I feel like this could be unbelievably helpful 🙏 hoping you will do an ‘ask me anything’ soon!,0 To me at the zipper part is equally using your fingers and thumbs to pull it. Especially if there’s a zipper in a zipper.,0 "I wish it would help clear ist, I also do it all the time 🙈",0 "Btw you could make a career out of this. My job in the past has been to sit next to people and help them do things that they should have been able to do alone, but for some reason having someone sit with them makes it happen. ",1 "I was just thinking this! I only remember listening to my top song a few times on repeat one night but I think I left my google home volume low enough that I couldn’t hear it & forgot to turn it off because it played 43 times. Also my top albums are my background music, not the music I actually pay attention to. It all just feels inaccurate to me, yet accurate to my life.",1 "Yeah, but which planner because I’ve bought 10. Is there a specific magic planner?",1 For the first time in my life coming across such a post didn’t remind me of an imminent task..... although there are some minor things that could be a better use of my time but oh well 🤷‍♂️,1 "kinda it is for me too, but it's cos of ADHD too as I just zone out to escape stress",0 Very accurate. Makes it so hard to enjoy these moments.,0 "I had a gaming session planned with friends at 7pm You bet your ass i did nothing productive today (or the day before or before or before or before...)",1 I feel at home in this thread... I beat myself up daily for failing at this whole adulting thing,1 yeah and i also do it when i remember something embarrassing i’ve done,0 "OH HECK YEAH SOMEONE FINALLY DID IT!!! SHE FOUND A C U R E !!!!!!! ]:<",1 "Lots of panic attacks, tbqh. But no in person doesn't need to mean unscheduled. Find a buddy (preferably an nt or at least a highly functional ADHD) and plan video chat work study sessions. Spend a little time creating a visually uncluttered space to do work. I'll think of more, I'm relatively sure. You could try to find an accountability buddy here....",1 "I’m in trying to join this thread, doesn’t seem to be showing up on my account. Just set up it up on my phone, please advise.",0 "Oh I know how that feels, I've kicked myself in my mind so much because i didn't protect myself",1 I got told by my grandfather(father figure in my life) hopefully one day you won’t need those pills anymore. As if my learning disability will just dissipate. People are really out of touch with issues that don’t directly impact their day to day.,1 "Also, quitting after the first discouragement. I finally started to get into something I really enjoyed - creating 2D sculpture drawings with a 3D printer pen. I was inspired by a particular artist who also made art with 3D printer filament. I made one piece, I was immensely proud of myself and posted it on social platforms, tagging the artist and promoting his work. The artist blocked me. I was a bit heart broken, and haven’t picked up the pen again since.",1 As a child I had an extreme fear of walking in front of windows. I have no idea why. I think my OCD started at around 5 years old..,0 "This is great because Barney is a drunk and not someone you should take serious criticism from. ""Ok Barney, thanks for your input""",0 You know. This cracked me up because I'm on my way to recovery and it really does sound goofy now that I've calmed down. Good to have a sense of humor about it though,0 "Yessss. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed at age 33 that I realized why I was “bad at watching movies”. People would asked me if I’d watched something and I would say no, then they would start describing the plot and I would realize I had...or maybe just part of it...because I couldn’t remember how it ended. Or I’d start watching a movie I thought I’d never seen then realize I had. If I’m not doing something with my hands at the same time as watching/listening to something, I cannot pay attention.",1 "Something I've noticed is since my diagnosis and learning to live with my condition I've stopped a lot of the things I was doing to mask my ADHD and instead focused on whatever helps me be a better communicator. I now fidget often while talking. I stare at the ground when I try to figure out how to phrase things. I do a lot of ""give me a second here, sorry, let me collect my thoughts"". I'll sometimes stop a point and go back to the start again. I'm sure all of this has made me seem a lot weirder, but I feel like my points come across better because of it, and I'm much less stressed about talking to people.",1 "It's weird because I appreciate when my loved ones are straightforward with me, but I feel like ""tough love"" is just what people use when they don't have the emotional IQ to really listen to someone and show support or that they care.",1 "Ohmygod I never thought of this as a symptom, but makes total sense!!!! It was really bad during college for me",0 "To add to this. Make sure it is a therapist that actually specializes with ADHD. My last therapist was good for some stuff and she thought she could help but I realized she had no understanding of why I stress about being late by setting up a bunch of alarms or why I stress about being rejected by friends. The current one I have is a godsend. She's helped me so much and she has ADHD too.",1 Saved this post so I can go back and read this when it’s needed.,0 Called out. I literally just joined. Literally saved the first two posts and then read this one. Damn.,1 Thank you friend! Tell your dad that his advice also cured me remotely!,1 "Jeez, I feel this. It isn't always starting something that is the issue. It 100% can be finishing it too. I can't count the amount of times I've started a project, do a ton of work with it, and then never get close to finishing it. I either don't remember what I did with the work I started, completely forget all together that I started, or feel some werid issue where I need to just restart the project from scratch because I didn't finish it right away.",1 "Me: I have a bit of a head ache. OCD: Naaa, you've got a brain tumor and it will explode any minute ..",0 Speaking for my boyfriend. Severe mental health patient being in a relationship isn't fair to the partner. He stood by me and I could never repay him,0 "I do this ALL the time. I’m a daycare teacher and I text parents a lot. Every time I send them a picture of their kid , I have to check a million times that there isn’t a nude photo or me accidentally attached or that there isn’t something incriminating going on in the background of the photo of their kid. Like a kid climbing on top of a table or something. Its exhausting.",0 "It's a real shame, weed actually kicks my OCD into overdrive 😞",0 "Super late response, but I just wanted to say thank you for posting this. I’ve been thinking about doing this for myself for a while and haven’t pulled the trigger for a variety of (mostly ADHD related) reasons. The section you wrote about the responses you got has really encouraged me to consider it again!!",1 hair is gorg you could do nothing to it and i bet id think to myself thats a nice head of hair..,0 "I just yelled at my husband. He said ""I told you that yesterday"". I did not respond well, and we apologized. ""I know you probably told me yesterday, I am sorry that I cannot remember a single thing you tell me, I hate it, I wish my brain was different"". we had a really great talk after that. I am 44 newly diagnosed recovering addict. I am a boatload of fun.",1 I feel this! I consistently pick/rip the skin on my fingers and fingertips because it doesn’t feel smooth and it bothers me. Even with short nails I still manage to do it. I use press on nails when it gets really bad and it usually helps stop me for a week to let my hands get better.,0 "I never considered OCD a possibility because I’m so messy and disorganized (yay comorbid ADHD). Turns out OCD is way different than it’s portrayed in media and popular culture. Turns out I have CPTSD and it manifests symptomatically as OCD. Turns out my excessive rumination, googling, stove checking, and reassurance seeking - that’s OCD. If my therapist hadn’t taken note of these symptoms I’d have never gotten a diagnosis.",0 Agreed. I've always told people I'm a conceptual learner. Tell me to memorize a list of rules or instructions I'll have a real hard time if tested. But explain to me how it works and I'll routinely get 100% or close to it.,1 "🙄 yeah, so desirable to have sexual thoughts about kids and my family members that I cant control. So desirable to not be able to get into a relationship because I keep having bad thoughts about it. So desirable to be afraid a good portion if the time that I'm secretly gay, or that God is sending me to Hell because I'm in the wrong religion. So f*cking desirable.",0 Rooms naturally get messier when cleaning but the best part is that the mess you make from cleaning actually makes cleaning easier.,1 "Don't read this later ""because"" ur busy if in the end u procrastinate instead do ur job",1 "YES I get this as well. I definitely feel like it's an ADHD thing. For me it helps to do something else for a while, but something that activates me. Like a small workout, going for a walk, grabbing a coffee or eating something. I'm not *actually* tired, my brain just tricks me into thinking I am so that I can procrastinate the task I don't feel like doing.",1 "Live in a house with 2 adults (spouse and myself) and our child who also has ADHD. Im in my 40s and just started medication after a long battle to get it. It has been really beneficial. Doesnt fix everything, but has helped more than anything else with the anxiety. I can actually get up and do things. I'm no longer frozen by indecision. However, I'm in the US and insurance will not cover meds for people over 18. It's super frustrating. We definitely need more support for adults with this disability!",1 "I had to be homeschooled and stayed in for almost a year, this is kinda Heaven Rn.",0 "i have a bunch in my watch later but ive watched a bunch of em never taken em out",1 "YES!! THANK YOU!! As someone DIAGNOSED with OCD, it is a 24/7 disorder that doesn't go away when I leave my house. I previously wrote a post here about the same thing. My thinking is, would you tell someone with Down Syndrome that your bad at math because of your Down Syndrome when you aren't diagnosed or presenting as Downs? Or tell someone with MS you just tripped because of your MS....even though you just tripped on something & have never been diagnosed with MS? No, it's completely rude and disrespectful. I had someone respond to my post saying that ""it's just something everyone says, they don't mean it literally"", like that makes it ok, lol?! It's like all they see is the Obsessive word and that's it. People can be obsessed about all kinds of things, that doesn't instantly qualify them as OCD. Yet sooooo many people say it. Basically it boils down to ignorance of the disorder. If I know the person well enough to explain the difference between obsessions & OCD, I will. But it still makes me boil too every time I hear someone casually brush shit off as OCD.",0 "I was almost convinced that I had become schizophrenic over the summer. It got so bad I was put on antipsychotics (never again). I thought I was hallucinating, and everything. Turns out I just have severe ocd. ",0 "I have recently started following r/skincareaddiction and there are some really great tips about products that made me feel like I was really taking care of myself for once. Maybe that will feel good for you too! Great job recovering, girl. You are fighting the good fight!",0 """hey you left TWO of the downstairs lamps on ALL NIGHT...again"" ""I...forgot again, I literally don't know what you want me to say, I'm already trying not to forget and sometimes I just do anyway, do you think my brain will just go 'oh okay we've now been reminded the Correct Amount of times so we're suddenly going to stop occasionally forgetting'? the fact that I remember to turn off all the lights the *vast* majority of the time should *pretty clearly indicate* I don't forget on purpose, so I don't know what you think you're accomplishing by telling me about it every single time I forget (all...two or three times a month, maybe) except making me feel bad""",1 "All of this and broken phones. Literally spent months cutting myself because I was on my second phone in a few months. Finally learned to be better — still cracked, just not as bad and frequent.",1 "I am a scientist, and everyone in my lab group says that I am the best at teaching new members methods because I always include the “why” behind it. I don’t think I ever connected it to my ADHD until now, but it all makes sense",1 I have this but when it comes to texting. I have to make sure I didn’t accidentally send my family a nude or something lol.,0 "For me right now, I stay away from number 4. I just avoid it. I get uncomfortable when I come across it. Ugh",0 Also you only get X amount of saved posts/comments. Your oldest ones vanish when you hit the maximum.,1 Congratulations! I'm on the road to recovery too. My hands look like absolute shit but I'm working on it and I apply cream every night before I go to sleep.,0 "That’s what happened with me. I didn’t have career success until I switched into a field where everything was a project (advertising and then consulting). I needed deadlines, periodic ends and new beginnings, and the discipline imposed by needed to serve a client.",1 "I'm of the stereotypical neat and tidy kind. Everything has it's place, needs to be done in the correct order and pattern. People readily believe when I tell them I have OCD, because I fit the stereotype, but not that I'm also a hoarder because ""your living space is neat and tidy, not like on the TV show.""",0 This brought me some much needed laughter and also was so wholesome. thank you,0 "lmao you probably have had irrational fights with your parents growing up... I swear I remember having arguments with my mom (wayyy to freaking young to be actually and legitemately arguing with an adult btw!!) and it seemed like the underlying communication of what she was trying to say to me was ...""but do you hate yourself yet????"" here I am years later, 24f realizing.... well gosh darn it mom. I think you actually did win. and for quite some time too. NO LONGER! \-\_- <3 lol smfh. :/",0 "I did it. I read the whole thing. Maybe the Vyvanse **is** working! Seriously though thank you for writing this out. I kept copying lines to include in my comment but there were too many I related to. The first few paragraphs I re-read and re-phrased in my own words like 5 times. I imagined explaining it to specific people and it felt - SO. FUCKING. EMPOWERING. Thank you. I was a pure average student before I started self medicating with other people’s Adderall. I didn’t fail before college because my mom micromanaged me and forced me to stay on top of my shit. But I can’t do that to myself and now I’m really failing at life because of it. All my motivation is wrapped up in what other people think of me or what impact my action has on their life, because that’s what I got out of my mother’s methods. So if it’s just impacting me then it doesn’t matter. Tangent over. Thanks again for putting this together. Edit- just wanted to add that my script for Vyvanse is legit and college was a long time ago. I do not advocate for taking other people’s meds. I do advocate for talking to your doctor if you are interested in medication.",1 YES. This is a hard lesson to learn but exactly what I told my friend when we were picking out planners for the year -- it's worth paying more money if the more expensive planner is the right tool for you.,1 "Welcome. Lifelong sufferer here. Started when I was 6 and seen a show about a young girl stabbing her neglectful babysitter to death. I'm 32, I don't drive because I'm scared I'd have an urge to just run people over. Also, had a baby almost 2 years ago. Got diagnosed with severe postpartum OCD. I refused to be alone with my baby. I received personally therapy; group therapy; and am taking Luvox 300 mg. I am now much happier, love my son, can take care of him on my own, and understand OCD more. I still suffer when tired.",0 Totally agree. There just isnt enough content out there . Blogs like ADHDIRL are adult-focused and can be helpful.,1 "One time I was have a bad stretch, before I got on meds, and my dad suggested I paint the deck, ""to take your mind off of it."" That did not work. At all.",0 "Me, alone in my room crying at 3 am: am I doing this for sympathy? Am I just TRYING to look sad? Me, looking back at the time I had thoughts of not wanting to live: I shouldn't draw conclusions, maybe it wasn't depression.",0 "This is my life too and I despise it. It doesn't matter if it's about something I have to do or something I want to do, it applies to everything.",1 "I have spent so much money on video games or books that I never finish, most of them I never even start, I always swear this one will be different. Rarely is.",1 "Lovely post :) It feels a bit weird responding to posts or comments in this subreddit or on the adhd Facebook groups which are relatable to me, since we're generally struggling with very similar things, so it'll be relatable to many of us. However, whenever I did respond with my very similar experience, I've often gotten the reply 'I'm so happy I'm not alone in this!', so it's totally worth it to respond, even if you gather it's likely a normal experience for people with adhd :) The feeling that you're not alone in this, helps so so much! Even if it's just a random internet stranger connecting to you ;)",1 "Paired numbers — hate using buses with numbers like 157, yuck. My favorite number is 8, love the symmetry of it.",0 yeah meanwhile yesterday my OCD went on a 5 minute full detail scenario about how my brother would be murdered and dragged out of my house dead and i would have to run over to revive him but it would be too late and i’d have to call 911 and maybe i could as siri if she could do it because i’d have to put pressure on his neck where they cut it and also do compressions because i didn’t check that i locked on the front door 3 times.... but go off about your pens,0 "Seriously, my memory is so shocking I could plan and arrange my own surprise party.",1 You're telling me. Worsened for me from a traumatic event over a year ago that made me want to lock memories away.,1 "Hahaha oh man. I had a 2pm allergist appointment the other week and literally did nothing all day because ""well I don't want to start something I can't finish before 2, or be so engrossed in a task that I'm late or miss the appointment.""",1 "i feel you this gives me the same feeling or vibe that i have. especially the part with the fulfilling things you could do that you don’t do, and also your mom talking lmao me same and the upvote thing as well. Someone said it might be depression and your answer is also really relatble lol i went to my doctor last week bc i want to get tested for adhd and she said i’m probably just depressed and i was like “no bro i’ve been depressed i know what it feels like and i am not depressed atm” I don’t know anything constructive to say but when i get that overwhelming feeling of stress and too much phone and all of that i find it really calms me down to go for a walk lmao i know that sounds dumb and you’ve probably went for a walk before but i just started to do that last year and it’s just really good for me. and journaling also really helps me. why the fuck am i trying to give you advice it’s so bad omg i don’t have the answer i’m sorry lol yeah i just really feel what you say i just read the oversharing part again i didn’t read that before - MAN I FEEL you. this message is so messy i- bye",1 "Minutes become hours become days before weeks so Very quickly... so yeah it’s nice when you can seize them a bit",1 "> On a side note, I also don't like hearing professionals' opinion about ADHD when they don't have it themselves - it feels like we are their 'lab mice' and they have dedicated their life to studying something they will never truly understand. Maybe we do need n3urodiversity after all. That's one of the core tenets in autism groups. But anyway the world needs more doctors and scientists with ADHD. They just each need an executive assistant.",1 "All. The. Time. I'm also **ABSOLUTELY** terrified of being accused of lying. I'm so irrationally terrified of it. If I'm telling someone a story or something I saw and I mess up on any small detail I'll literally FREAK THE FUCK OUT in fear that the person will think I'm ""lying"" about seeing what I saw, even if it's something completely trivial like a movie or an anime. I have a friend who's learning Portuguese (my native language) and I like helping them and once I accidentally made a grammar mistake when teaching them and the app he's been using to learn the language highlighted what I got wrong, it was a small mistake and completely because I was distracted and mixed up the gendered definite articles in the phrase, and yet I still genuinely had a huge breakdown out of fear that my friend would think I somehow ""don't really speak"" my native language. It was completely irrational, as he knows I'm from Brazil and that's incontestable, but I still had a massive breakdown regardless. I don't know what to do about this. I can't seem to ever tackle it in a healthy way or improve on it. It's just always there, sitting in the background and waiting to come out when I make any small mistake my brain could interpret as ""sounding like a lie"".",0 "Existential Ocd is this with some ""Why?"" sprinkled in between.",0 My OCD convinces me that I will lose my voice if I don't sing and speak perfectly...I just submitted a video for a competition and didn't follow my rigid OCD rules.,0 "Totally understand this. When I was a teenager and the only online way of communicating was e-mail, I used to get loads of ""chainmail"" emails. Like, send this to all of your contacts and if you don't everyone you know will die? Or something. Hated that. Would make me feel so uncomfortable",0 "ROCD : But your husband did that-this-that the other day... what if you don’t have what this picture represents? ME: (while trying to avoid ruminating) yeah so that maybe true... that may not be true...",0 "Same here. i feel like even if i get a therapist i would feel too ashamed to even tell them my bizarre and obscene thought, so here i am to find similar people to myself",0 I had no idea that this a thing. I thought it was just a random personal defect common only to myself.,1 Well not so much with reddit since you can use a throwaway account (but i still think like 10 times lol) but with certain forums and websites where you have to be real and especially Instagram back in the day when you could see your friends/followers activity made me so overthoughtful.,0 "My brain: you have to check Me: yoself before you wreck yoself.",0 "Revenge Bedtime Procrastination. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20201123-the-psychology-behind-revenge-bedtime-procrastination",1 "I haven't been able to believe it. But fuck you thoughts. Fuck you ocd. Fuck these bandaids of washing my hands, washing some object. Fuccckkkkk you. You're not my real life. You're my dumb fucked up thoughts. Fuck you. You're not real. My thoughts are not reality. Fuck you thoughts. I hate you. You don't exist",0 "This is true in general, I definitely consider my ADHD when making purchasing decisions. Reliability is of the utmost priority, I don't want a laptop that will even slow down on me when I have 30+ chrome tabs open. A big reason that I bought the car that I own is because the brand has a reputation for reliability. My phone also has excellent battery life, and I also bought a quality battery pack for if/when I forget to charge it. I want my possessions to be able to take the full brunt of my ADHD and keep on chugging like its nothing.",1 "I just got a adhd coping strategies book and the strategies were literally ""get a planner, write to do lists"" wow thanks i really needed a book by a scientist to tell me that",1 😭😭 thanks for making me feel I’m not alone. I have been struggling with my OCD particularly the past few months. Haven’t seen anything define it as much as this did.,0 "yes, but I also know I wouldn't. I'd probably just end up wandering around getting distracted every time I had a thought about another to-do and moving randomly between 15 things I needed to catch up on, finishing none of them.",1 "Helpful advice : when you see this happening, think about what is infront of you, is it a chair? Or table or laptop? Which colour? Then move on to next object. Say anything about it to yourself. Idk how good it is for someone else but im suffering alot from OCD and this kinda helps. Hope anyone can benefit from this too.",0 ugh i HATE this!!!!!! i’m trying to go to sleep like “ugh intrusive thoughts let me just go to bed” and then i finally escape it to sleep... only to dream about it. then i wake up and start all over. the worst!,0 "my hands looked exactly like yours until i tried out moisturizing gloves!!! i have a weird sensory problem with lotion and i hate it. whenever i am at home, i put a ton of lotion on my hands and wear these soft, thin gloves (which still allow me to use my phone through them). they help a lot because i don’t get lotion everywhere plus they add a physical layer of “protection” against my thoughts about contamination so i end up having to wash my hands a lot less often. my hands went back to “normal” in less than a week.",0 i've been suffering since i was ten and i'm 21 now. eleven years of this shit is real fuckin' old,0 "I don’t even know how to find them ,I am not patient enough for this technologically advanced world! Ha ha.Going back to school has become me spending more time being frustrated at why my computer/internet/program isn’t working than me actually getting to study/do homework, it’s so stupid and counter productive. I’ve been told by several professors that we’re not allowed to hand in physical papers, it has to all be done online. the concept itself makes me mad especially when our homework is to “write a 3 page paper”. Wtf (scratches head)?",1 That’s a good way to put it actually... our brains are liars. It’s so hard to deal with. Great meme.,0 Omg I feel this so much. I used to correct people all the time on this but now I just kinda say “Haha okay.” and realize maybe I shouldn’t talk to them about anything too serious 😖,0 "My daughter is 6 and I know she feels like this. She sometimes cries when I tell her she's a good girl, like she's just so relieved that I don't think think she's bad. When she's a little older I will tell her this and repeat it over and over because it is just heart breaking to think that. Thank you",1 "I can understand. If I read the newspaper about someone dying in a hit and run at night my mind would go to maybe I did the hit run; somehow I slept walk and slept drove for an hour and hit the person and then slept drove back to my apartment, then slept walked back to my bed, making sure to put my car keys back in the exact same spot as they were before I went to bed. Insanity. But ya this you and an ocd thought",0 "I totally feel the religious aspect of it. I gave up being religious along time ago just because of how bad I was stressed by everything i thought about, heaven, hell, and all that stuff.",0 god dammit i hate how much i relate to this. it never ends! if i'm not thinking about an obsession all the time then i end up thinking that i'm faking it and am a terrible person which just makes things worse 😂😭,0 "I joined up to read more about others' experiences, but I usually keep em for later.",1 " anyone else constantly right down goals everyday but avoid looking at them and just keep ignoring them,until they can’t be ignored any longer?",1 I find that OCD (atleast for me) manifests to legitimize things of low-importance (but that are easier to deal with) in order to mitigate the anxiety that real world events bring. It’s kind of a “coping” mechanism if you will. A way to cope with real anxiety..,0 "I always thought the reason why I never understood how to correctly use commas was because I talk too fast. When I was younger, I was told commas help break up as sentence, so that the sentence doesn’t come out in one breath. That never made sense to me because when I read it out loud I could finish it in one breath! Squirrel.idk why this reminds me of struggling to tell the difference between my left and my right. People telling me to make a “L” out of both hands, and because of my dyslexia both hands look like an “L”. Thankfully I am left handed tho that didn’t help with the commas",1 I concur with this picture wholeheartedly. My life encapsulated.,0 I thought every bi experienced this. Like I thought this was the bi cycle. But I guess worrying about this to the point of not sleeping and having ocd and other pure ocd themes makes sense.,0 "Alright I need to have the doctor check out my lymph node that has been swollen for a couple weeks. I am now having a mini heart-attack",1 It won’t let you have your peace of mind. It’s a bitch feeling really.,0 That’s great to hear! I’m doing this too but I probably don’t do it as often as I should!,0 "Lol this is literally me to myself when I've gotten over an OCD spike. Like dude, what the heck were you worrying about? Meanwhile me 6 months ago, completely incapacitated by earth shattering fear and doubt.",0 Charlie’s mom from It’s Alway Sunny in Philadelphia is a pretty good example! It’s only shown in a few episodes though. She does everything in threes and constantly is afraid Charlie is dead,0 "My therapist had a great suggestion for this: I was trying to describe that uncomfortably weird state of “restless energy coupled with malaise” feeling to my therapist. Like, I have all these ideas and I want to be creating something and I’m literally twitchy, but the getting started part is such an obstacle because it requires executive function to decide what I want to do, then gather materials for it, and figure out that first step. So instead I’m just scrolling Pinterest and waiting for that twitchy feeling to pass and I hate it. Her suggestion was to use a time/times when I’m feeling more focused to create a series of project bags. Almost like a prepackaged kit- I include all the tools and materials, print out any instructions I need, etc. And then I get the project started just a little bit before hitting pause. So now when that restlessness strikes, I have my choice of projects, dependent on my interest/focus level (maybe knitting something easy when I just want my hands busy but don’t have great focus, or doing a more complicated macrame project when energy allows). The important part is that I don’t have to waste that burst of initial energy on executive function tasks and motivating myself to get started because I’m just picking up mid-project, with everything already in one place and underway. It’s helped so much! (Granted, some of these project bags sit around forever because I’ve lost interest in that particular hobby but there are a few I’ve come back to much later and I can jump right back in. Doesn’t mean I always finish them either, but for me a lot of it is just getting rid of that restlessness in the moment and it DOES help with that.) There are so many writers on here! I’m an author by profession and I’ve found that using Scrivener for writing novels is a good solution for days when I want to be writing but my brain says NOPE. I can use all the organization tools in there to create character and setting boards or plot out chapters and rearrange them on a digital bulletin board. It’s busy work but useful busy work. An author friend of mine with ADHD swears by the “100 word method.” Rather than getting overwhelmed and psyched out when sitting down for a big writing session, she promises herself she only has to write 100 words. Sometimes that’s enough to get her rolling and she goes on to write thousands, but if it isn’t she’s given herself permission to stop guilt-free because she’s achieved her daily goal. The key is keeping the negative feelings and self-flagellation out of her writing sessions so her ADHD brain doesn’t begin to rebel against them. I’ve talked to other authors who always make a point to stop mid-sentence to ensure getting back into the story is that much easier. In a similar vein, with my last few books I’ve designated a particular scented-candle for each and I light it every time I sit down to write or work on the story. By mid-book the scent alone instantly puts my brain in the world of the story. Always funny when I smell that scent years after publication and I’m right back in that fictional setting! But it works!",1 "I can't even cry when I want to, but I felt done tears trying to push their way through when I read this. You put something really nice out into the world.",1 "And then there’s me whose compulsions all revolve around the number 6, I have an irrational love for that number",0 I've spent so much time ruminating that it feels weird to not be stuck in a loop.,0 It makes me feel so much less alone to see other people talk about their body focussed ocd behaviours! I don’t really have any of the ‘standard’ ocd rituals so it took me a while to get diagnosed because mine are all the eyelash pulling and skin chewing etc :( hope you’re having an okay day!,0 what’s worse than being a toxic person is being delusional enough to think you’re not like if you really were toxic how could you trust the people around you to recognize it!!! this sort of shit really gets to my head and having my friends sympathize with my situation makes me feel like i’m manipulating them. i hate it!,0 "I agree good sleep and a healthy diet help! I'm also guilty of giving this advice here myself. But if you tell me to keep a healthy diet, I'll probably sink in researching a healthy diet for hours and then forget everything. Better tell me something simple: nuts are full of nutrients, a smoothie is a quick, easy and healthy meal...",1 "Ahhh the sweet release of executive dysfunction. Who knew a cure was so easy lmao My parents have a classic line too. They say ""if you keep telling yourself that, you'll never stop being this way"". Really? I didn't realise that.",1 *proceeds to watch an entire 20 episode season of a show whilst scrolling on my phone *,1 "***By your appointments combined, I am Captain Planner.***",1 Proud of you. Inspires me to feel more confident about maybe going back for a masters degree,1 "My ADHD has gotten significantly worse as an adult. It probably didn’t help that I got good grades up until high school.",1 "Great job! There are people with ADHD on the other side of the world as well!",1 "How in the hell are there 463 different genres of music? Also, my top song...I don’t remember listening to it and I never specifically searched for it.",1 So true! OCD coming along for every thought process in existence!,0 "yeah, i’ve gotten distracted by a tv show we had on in the background. it was not my proudest moment",1 Love this meme but fuck Ross he's the worst character,0 "I get distracted during sex 🤷🏻‍♂️I can be near orgasm, but if something distracting happens on Netflix, I’m gonna watch Netflix. I absolutely can’t have a show or movie playing. (If you’ve experienced this too, and are looking for a solution, porn. Porn is the solution. Play it during sex - it’s ADHD paradise, because your brain can wander between sexy things.)",1 I pretty much only save recipes so I've now started making some chocolate filled bread thanks to this post!,1 i wish this helped me but it doesn't. reassurance is only fleeting and my mind will always find another question to ask. trying to soothe with logic never works for long. example: what if i DO know im faking and i am only in denial? (there are countless ways my brain will find a hole in the logic but this is just one to show what i mean),0 Alternatively: how I feel when I’m having intrusive thoughts // how I feel when I’m not having intrusive thoughts,0 It's amazing to be able to actually function like a human being right lol. Granted I have been trying to get back on Adderall for a long time and the doctors out here are kinda shitty about it.,1 "Not for me, I am more on the AD spectrum. I have trouble paying attention to anything that does not interest me. If it interests me, nothing else exists. Maybe falling more on the HD is what your teach was referring to.",1 Hahahaha yes!!! Daily. Lmao “I wear the clown nose in this relationship”,1 "Congrats! ...I remember the day after I got my driving licence, driving happily and calmly down the street wondering exactly how my OCD was going to find a way to mess this up for me.",0 I am in the middle of a big attack after a month of being well amd you dont know how much i apreciated this,0 "I swear that I can start spiraling on nearly any thought and then once I pull out of it, I start spiraling on the thought of spiraling on a thought.",0 "After 3 hours of laying in bed, I finally got up, went for a run, started a load of laundry and now I’m making breakfast (it actually lunch by now but it’s my first meal of the day) and then I’m gonna shower",1 "2020 is over. Lets enjoy 2021 now and forget all the negative! Covid will dissapear, all the places will open back up again.",0 I hear ya. I just got dumped by this amazing girl I was seeing and everything is just 100x worse. On top of that I now have to stay on track and finish 4 summer courses that I now have no motivation for.,1 "That moment when it takes you five minutes to get through both because the thoughts won’t let you think... and by think, I mean focus...",0 "I had a coworker who asked me ""what's new"" every fuckin day and I'm always exacerbated because the answer is either 1. Nothing because I have no energy, or 2. Struggling to work with the US health industry to get proper treatment",1 "Wow I can relate very hard. Especially since I just got off the phone with my dad. Or, should I say I finally escaped the clutches of his phone call",1 Do you have a dean or someone you can contact about what type of ADA accommodations or arrangements may be available?,1 "Yes. I cried so hard when I finally realized that this thing I had been fighting for years is a legitimate mental illness. Like millions of people around the world go through this, not just me. It was a major relief.",0 Who the hell uses a mental disorder to sell their stuff?!,0 "Yep lmao I literally sound dumb af at all times verbally, but somehow have a masters degree and published papers so like... it’s whatever I guess haha Edit: it also totally fucks up my relationships tho because I stay saying shit I don’t really mean because it’s out of my mouth before I can edit it lol",1 Oh yes. My OCD keeps telling me I didn't empty my bladder fully.,0 "My roommate loses all of his stuff every single day, I honestly think he may have ADHD too. Our mornings often go like this: Roommate: “have you seen my keys?” Me: “yes, you failed to hang them on the key holder by the door and instead left them next to the toaster” Roommate: “cool, do you know where my AirPods are?” Me: “yes, you failed to hand them on the key holder by the door and instead left them on the shelf in the bathroom” Roommate: “tight, now I can’t find my badge” Me: “sick I know that one too, you failed to hang it on the key holder by the door and instead left it on the floor next to the recliner” Rinse and repeat. Maybe once or twice a week he actually remembers to hang all of his stuff on the key holder by the door lmfao",1 "I went through this phase for a few months and it was awful. I don’t know what alleviated it, but eventually it just tapered off. But yeah, this is a SUCKY one",0 "Am I the only one putting on some true crime podcast (or some other podcast or youtube video) while doing the dishes? I find that to work everytime without fail, and in the end, I'm actually finding more dishes to wash because the podcast has not ended yet.",1 my OCD is normally tolerable enough but the past week has just been this meme nonstop because I developed a new trigger and it's ruining my life,0 I’m not sure how you could post a meme with a misspelling on the OCD page...,0 "This was totally me when I was first diagnosed as a kid. I even avoided the kitchen altogether because I was afraid I would hurt myself or my family. Thankfully, my mom read up on ERP and helped me through it. We started just 1 second of touching the knife and then prolonged it until I wasn't so anxious holding it anymore. Then I had to say the scary words, ""if I touch this knife, I will hurt someone"" aloud and repeat them until I just got tired. I cried but I kept with it and now today I can not only hang out in the kitchen for an hour but I can also use a knife to cook or to carve a pumpkin for Halloween. Sometimes the OCD thoughts about knives still come up every once in a while when I'm holding one, but now I'm able to bat them away.",0 That's freaking amazing. It sounds like you sound someone who exactly fits your needs. Great job!,1 "For me it's ""run your finger down the blade"". I also have a thought when mowing the lawn to stick my hand in the blades! It's like ""wtf""",0 "I used to a lot of punctuation in middle school and early high school but I wouldn't say I use tons of commas (at least not now). A longterm substitute my junior year of high school explained all the grammar mistakes I had been making in my academic writing and how to write without those errors. I've used the things he taught me on every paper I've written in the last 7 years. Sometimes it just takes one teacher who, instead if simply telling you you're wrong, takes the time to explain WHY it's wrong and how to fix the errors. It was never helpful for me as a kid when teachers just crossed out my superfluous commas because I never knew WHY it wasn't ok to use those commas. Now I only use commas when I think it's grammatically necessary ('When necessary' includes Oxford commas; I hate it when people don't use Oxford commas). I will say this: I'm not sure it's only an adhd thing. I've proofread papers for friends and classmates and I sometimes have ended up crossing out 70% of their commas. Very few teachers teach how to use commas properly so a lot of people just end up using them to add a pause. Using commas like that is fine in some styles of poetry (* holds up my copy of ""Leaves of Grass"" * Holy commas batman! No, like seriously. Damn did Whitman love commas) or in casual writing (like a reddit post or text message) but it's not appropriate in formal and academic writing. I've learned to retrain my urges to use excessive commas (and other punctuation like semicolons) by rephrasing sentences where I feel the need to add a comma that isn't grammatically required. I definitely use too many parentheses in casual writing though. I'm realizing I used 5 sets of parentheses in this comment...",1 "This made me sigh in relief, recognition, and in sympathy for you. I feel seen. I see you. My comment is stupid. But it’s true.",1 "I don't like it, but I honestly think that it makes me who I am. Like, I feel like it allows me to view the world and other people in such a rare and complex way. I think about how awful it feels to be controlled every day by this disorder, but at the same time I feel like it is something I shouldn't take for granted. I don't know... maybe I just feel this way because of how intense OCD can be sometimes. At least for me, I feel like I was born with this for a reason.",0 "Give us more context. Generally, you'll realize a true slap in the face once you get it, or the next day. Sounds like you might be ruminating. And if you are ruminating, ask yourself what you lost. Two months later? Unless you have friends excluding you, probably not a lot. Sometimes it's best just to get along.",1 "I feel my whole body tense up, shake my head or just cringe aggressively. It is shameful when you do it and people is around, but it is inevitable, at least it is for me. It is difficult to describe the feeling to someone without OCD, I always compare it as to when you drop something and your reflexes kick in in order to catch the object. You don’t think about catching the object, you just go for it. Having an intrusive thought is like having that reflex, but hold in it in at the very last moment to keep you from doing or saying something. Who wouldn’t react physically to such experience and the idea of being that close to do what you had in mind.",0 Thank you Gunner. Sometimes it is the small things that make all the difference.,0 This describes my childhood to a tee. And also my current stressors from work in adult life.,1 damn.. I joined a few days ago and everytime I see a post on it here is put in words that I've been trying to explain to people my whole life.,1 "I touched a nicely cut watermelon tonight. Spoiler: it didn’t work. *sigh*",0 It makes me feel better seeing how many people have the exact same issues as me,1 "For me it's like: Me: ""no reason to be anxious chill"" OCD: But have you considered... Me: oh god no stop pls... OCD: you could die at any moment, quick feel your heart to make sure it's still beating, weird how your entire existence is dependent on that fallible organ. And a bunch of other ones too, what even is existence anyway? Why are you conscious? Are you really conscious? Are you real? Nah jk you're probably real, but you won't be for long! Oh and all your loved ones are gonna die too, have you called them lately to make sure they haven't died? You know cars are really dangerous, isn't your partner driving home from work right now? God imagine what a car accident must do to a person, you should probably scan the news for car accident reports and text your parnter like 40 times! Oh no, that probably caused them to get in an accident. It doesn't matter anyway because you're a monster. Remember all those bad things you did? Remember all those... Me: ^^pls ^^stop OCD: _**lmao, never**_",0 "As someone who was diagnosed recently, I’m now reviewing my whole life. There is a lot of this meme that goes on in my head. Lol",0 "This is why I didn’t realize I had ADHD until like a month ago, (Im 22).",1 "Currently 6:19 a.m. as of now, all because I had to look up something I suddenly thought of in bed.. Everything unraveled from there fml..",1 "I understand this, you’re not alone. Stay strong, sending love from one depressed ADHDer to another",1 Did this earlier this morning. I fucking feel this deeply.,1 "I have had this thought, but I have a different perspective (that maybe is helpful for someone?). Yes, I have OCD and my child has up to, what, like a ~25% chance (assuming the second parent doesn't)? Not great. That said, everyone has SOMETHING. There's no one on Earth who has not suffered from something. Maybe it's Crohn's, maybe it's drug addiction, maybe it's GAD, Depression, IBS, cancer, migraines, arthritis, psoriasis--whatever. Everyone's got something(s). As far as I see it, OCD isn't the worst thing to have. It's one of the most treatable mental illnesses and, in my experience, it's really given me a deep and significant appreciation for life and certain experiences that I'm not sure I ever would have had if my ""something"" was treated with just a pill or surgery. We ALL have OCD on this sub, but I have to imagine I'm not alone in saying... I'm still happy to be alive. It's a 1 in a bajillion chance that I'm here to experience pizza, and Edgar Wright, and love, and kittens, and, yes, fear and sadness and everything else. If my father, who had OCD, had decided not to have children then it's not like I would have been born to some fantasy couple with no illnesses or strife. And, frankly, I'd much rather my kid had OCD than something like Crohn's... because I know OCD, I know how it's treated, I could recognize it right away. With Crohn's we'd be starting from square one. Anyway, obviously not everyone's perspective, but it's one that makes me feel grounded. :)",0 "Apparently my favourite genre is Jewish Rap, can't work out why or who.",1 I came on here because I was getting anxious and saw this and I’ve been pissing myself 😭 why are OCD memes elite,0 "An ADHD secret weapon is lying on the couch with your phone across the room. A wave of discomfort comes, but after it passes, you’ll quickly identify something that needs doing. Don’t let your phone be the vampire that lives off your ADHD drive",1 "I just felt guilty because I erased messages 'cause the other person did not answer and at 1 AM he was like ""what did those messages said"" AND I FELT GUILTY SO I TOLD HIM",0 "I'm several years into my meds and still feel overwhelmed when I take them lol, they're so amazing. Living over 30 yrs without them, I may never get used to being normal.",1 "I saw someone walk out the loo and not wash their hands the other day, with the corona virus spreading like wildfire what’s wrong with people.",0 Excluded my top song which was “White Noise 200HZ” and instead said my top song was 9 to 5 by Dolly Parton which I listened to for one full day on repeat.,1 "at the same time, with my sleep issues, I feel compelled to schedule appointments in the afternoon or evening because otherwise there's a decent chance I'll sleep through it. half the time, I wake up early and wired and nervous about the appointment for the next 6 hours, and the other half, I do oversleep and I run to the car straight from bed and I get to the appointment 5 minutes late",1 "I get this, but it feels the best when it happens as I'm trying to wake up (i.e. I'm still lying in bed because I can't be bothered to get out yet), and the minutes seem to drag on. That always feels great.",1 "Change your perspective and try to realize the value in what you do every day. Who are you comparing yourself to? The critical voice in your head is one of many. Tune it down and turn up the voice that reminds you that you control your pace and you can be content whenever you choose to allow yourself to be. No one is your puppet master nor your judge and jury. ONLY YOU. Unless you joined a team that depends on you, who cares. Do little things. Do big things when you do them. But try talking to yourself the way you would speak to a good friend. Your body loves you. It is the trickiness of the brain and cellular memory that you should consider --- you are born alone and will die alone, you can choose to reflect your worth in your eyes or from others'. You are your best friend or your worst enemy. Shift your perspective because no one will be able to give you an easy answer...Life is an opportunity to build tools to help you navigate. I would like to gift you the tool of putting a friendly and loving voice in amongst your angry head voices. You need a friend to speak up to your brain bully. Perspective shifting is key. Gratitude is another tool that can help with perspective.",1 "Weirdly enough, any encouragement actually discourages me from doing anything. It takes away the fact that I'm doing it for myself and now doing it for them because they want me to do it for myself or them.",1 "This morning I washed my face and felt like a drop of water got into my nose. Now I'm afraid I have a brain eating amoeba and I have at most 2 weeks to live. This is horrible. I will write again in 2 weeks to let you know that I didn't die.",0 "This I why I build bulk spare time into my morning routine, I only have two modes: half an hour early or half an hour late.",1 me and my therapist laughing about exposure therapy but the second i have to do it i’m like mmmmm turn off lights and click fan brrrrrr,0 Crazy that we all probably had OVD at such a young age but didn't realize until later on and look back on all these little things we did,0 "Ok so here is my personal view and how I treat this **myself.** Not to be taken personally by anyone here. But I refuse to grieve wasted time. That's something I decided soon after I went to accept my condition: I won't be a sorry ass for my past. It won't do me any good. Neurotypicals waste their times in many different ways, the difference is that they feel more fulfilled even if they lose everything. I'm extremely lucky for being one of the few adults who get diagnosed with ADHD and not the majority who goes untreated and suffer their whole lives. I'm extremely lucky for the years I spent ""wasting my time"" undiagnosed because I learned a lot of things there. I take the positive out of it. I accept the past is just an illusion and that what matters is the present.",1 Hahaha the post on r/Tourette was right above this one,0 My brains beating the shit out of me. I’m practically punching myself in the face,0 "WHAT?! You look *amazing* in this outfit and it is super cute. It’s so fashionable and that red goes so nicely with your skin tone. You deserve to feel comfortable in the body you were born in. Clothes only add to your beauty and this outfit is GORGEOUS on you.",0 "I have no artistic talent, but I feel I'm wasting my potential for procrastinating too much instead of studying",1 Gotta shake your head like an etch-a-sketch to get it out,0 "I heard that OCD is inherited but only comes out if not treated. Like my 2 brothers don't have OCD but I do, because I was the oldest and not treated or taken seriously.",0 That's a Shepherd rambler card! I graduated from Shepherd two years ago! Congrats on overcoming the daily challenge/s that is OCD!,0 "Well....there's confirmation that sth I do is bc of my OCD, I was always suspicious! I have one of these like...prem grief attacks maybe once a month, two months when my ocd is acting up. I've never felt dread and panic like it. You're not alone.",0 This was my exact first reaction. All of my friends and peers are excited but I am not. I’ve been having a really good semester and I think this might really deter me and I’m going to struggle.,1 These memes bother me somewhat in their own right as it gives the impression that people with OCD have bizarre and outlandish fears. In reality the reason you may wash your hands way too many times Is a feeling and a fear that they still aren't clean from contamination that could get you sick or disease.,0 Happy Birthday Michael!!! I hope you have the best day ♥️,0 "This and health fear based OCD (which is what I have) go hand in hand unfortunately. Then you start stressing you’re wasting the time you do with them worrying. 🤨",0 Exactly! It is a hell because whenever I start sorting stuff out it has to be at such percision that it's not physically possible. I so I just have a mess where I just so happen to know where everything is.,0 "Have you considered teaching as a career? I do it, and we need more people who understand the importance of explaining things fully.",1 "This makes me think ""Spin around and let every single tip scrape me""",0 "Slightly altered Copy/Paste version for infodumping unsuspecting non-ADHD people or putting in your notes app to get buried with the 100 abandoned shopping lists and dozens of half-written random ideas you’ll never look at again. ~~ I have ADHD. This is a neurodevelopmental condition that affects my brains ability to do executive functioning, which basically means that things like planning, organization, impulse control, task initiation, short-term memory, sustained focus, self-motivation and time management are more difficult for me which can affect my daily life, which requires these skills. My prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for a lot of this and higher functions is likely smaller than average and would likely show less activity on a brain scan. People with this disorder typically have brains that are 3 years behind in development in relation to their peers in certain aspects. A big component to this disorder is dysregulation of the central nervous system and has even been found to be frequently comorbid with other disorders such as sleep disorders which can compound on this. Though we don’t know exactly what is going on in every case I likely have lower-than-normal levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, responsible for many many functions, including the ones affected by this condition. Possibly serotonin and/or norepinephrine as well. A large impairment is inability to REGULATE ones focus. It’s not so much about complete lack per say that someone with this can focus sometimes but has difficulty choosing when or for what. They may try to start a task only to quickly get distracted on something else completely irrelevant, and may end up focusing on that instead. I can focus for a long time sometimes on something that is interesting but not so important, but when I need to sit down and do something unstimulating, say, paperwork, a combination of poor impulse control, racing thoughts, low frustration tolerance and high distractability means that I might struggle more significantly than the average person who might not like doing it, but can just buckle down and “get er’ done” when needed. Sometimes it is the opposite, where I focus too much to the point of not being able to stop/redirect it, despite it being more convenient to do so. Some may also hop from task to task as they have new thoughts to distract them on to something else, forgetting what they were originally doing. This is no more controllable than a person with OCD controls their compulsions, although there are strategies to help cope and work around ones deficits in order to succeed. Not exclusive but common to this disorder is dysregulation of emotions as well. This is not as well known, but when I am angry, I RAGE, when I am sad, my entire world crashes down around me. When I am happy, I am EXCITED and BURSTING WITH ENERGY. The emotional roller coaster in itself is exhausting, and for those that especially struggle with the poor impulse control aspect, it can get them in trouble. Speaking of that, it is estimated that nearly a quarter of the prison population has this disorder, despite it only effecting about 4% of the general population. That’s a huge difference. That’s not to say that having this MAKES one a criminal: we all choose our path in life. But some of the traits associated with it: impulsivity and hyperactivity, increased risk-taking (mixed in with the wrong environment and bad influences/choices) can certainly make things worse, and predispose the wrong (or right I guess) person to that kind of lifestyle. Having this disorder also can predispose you to having substance use or abuse issues. People with this are hugely overrepresented among addicts, with this disorder being 5 to 10 times more prevalent amongst alcoholics than the general population. Poor impulse control and higher risk-taking/novelty-seeking behaviour, can contribute, as well “self-medication” to try to deal with the symptoms of this disorder. Many claim that their drink or puff or what-have-you will “slow them down” enough to be able to focus, although clearly this maladaptive coping strategy comes with many consequences, and the actual vs. perceived benefit seems… questionable. Also common is binge eating, smoking, excessive caffeine intake (caffeine and nicotine are stimulants, albeit mild ones that have shown some benefit for treating the symptoms of this disorder) and impulse shopping/difficulty with managing finances. People with this disorder are nearly twice to three times as likely to get into a vehicle accident than people without. This disorder is highly comorbid or a common cause of secondary anxiety and/or depression. Struggling with this untreated can make the person depressed because they feel that no matter how hard they try, they are still having more difficulty than the people around them, and may not be doing as well at school or work as they want to, which causes a huge blow to the self-esteem. They may blurt things out in conversations or have struggles socializing, (though not nearly to the degree or in the same ways as autism) sometimes seeming “weird” to others, which can lead to judgement and social rejection, hurting their self-esteem and confidence further. They may begin to see themselves as stupid, lazy, or crazy. Children growing up with this condition are estimated to receive about 20,000 more negative messages from others, due to the symptoms they display which may be misunderstood by others, by age 10. Many adults with the disorder report feeling like they are dissatisfied and lost in life and unable to utilize their full potential. Once the main cause (the primary disorder) is treated, the “depression” tends to go away. It can also cause anxiety due to constant worrying of what they might forget next, due to the short term memory issues, or how they might mess up, especially if they have been heavily criticized in the past for their symptoms, which can be seen as “laziness” or “lack of discipline” by the general population. Many report having what could be described as a whirlwind of racing thoughts that never seem to stop and make it incredibly hard to concentrate. Anxiety can also be used as a (poor, if I do say so myself) coping mechanism, as the rush of adrenaline and cortisol associated with (say) being about to miss a deadline may be able to temporarily compensate for the lack of dopamine that is thought to impede their ability to focus. Basically sending them into fight or flight just so they panic and complete the task. This is how some people with the disorder learn to function: by being stressed all the time, or even OVERLY organized and neurotic in an OCD-like way in order to overcompensate and try to stay on top of their symptoms and calm the mess in their head. (Though certainly a lot don’t or would struggle too much to even develop this way of coping in particular) Wait! But there’s good news. There’s a treatment that’s been studied for a long time, proven relatively safe for MOST healthy people at prescribed therapeutic dosages, has actually been proven to calm hyperactivity and/or racing thoughts, LOWER rates of addiction and substance misuse amongst the treated despite being a pill and is usually not addicting to those who actually need it and take it as directed, (the problem is remembering to take it lol) lowers the risk of driving accidents to about normal, increases dopamine levels and activity in the prefrontal cortex, allowing people with the disorder to function much more normally, decreases impulsivity and may even help with emotional regulation for some people. Can even calm anxiety IF the anxiety was stemming from their untreated disorder symptoms, despite being typically contraindicated for anxiety disorders.”",1 "The backwards torture time machine. Yea I’ve been.......All bad all the time, i like to go back there, Continuously to punish myself over a past i can not change. The past is a time and place you shouldn’t revisit. No matter how enticing it may seem. None of the hits, none of the time thats how i roll.....",0 "They can’t possibly be as hard on me as I am on myself, regardless of what it may look like from the outside. We need compassion, not to be shamed even more.",1 "Great news! That's a lot of painful hard work, I know.",0 "It's crazy how diverse OCD really is, I've never experienced this kind before",0 "Exactly. It’s essentially disorder that causes you to take the world without proportion, always seeing the black but not the white; inability to move on, etc.",1 Oh hell yeah touch those doorknobs lets goooo conquer the world 🌎 💪 🙌,0 Damn you didn’t have to come for my entire being rn..,1 "Anyone catch shit for their zone outs? Like, they know you can't help it but it still pisses them off?",0 "Green Blob Bob is my OCD and he looks a lot like yours. He’s a morality beast as well and he tells me to let others fail for his enjoyment too. Because I hate him and what he says I constantly try to “fix” others who aren’t interested in my help just to make him feel bad, but then I feel bad because I’m pushy, bossy, and annoy people or get angry when they don’t listen to me and do what I say. He reinforces that they are bad and I’m good and moral and better than them. Separating him from me helps and now instead of sticking to me we just kind of hold hands. He doesn’t go away but I’ve gotten a little space with lots of therapy, hard work, and some meds. You can do it!",0 "Oh, no, I should be doing cutting boards design and pricing, but I sside step and start researching about copper deposition in handles. Several Laura Kampf videos later I decide to quote some insumes to create said handles. Then I think: ""eh, I have some lefover wires, maybe I could use, them"". And then I start changing the electric outlets of my bedroom, where the copper wire is stored. It's 5h20 am. I havent slept, havent designed nor precified shit, but, by God, now I cam plug all pheripherials in my bedroom any time I want.",1 "I have OCD and ADHD. My son (almost 3) is being evaluated for Autism. When I read comparison things, or just information about Autism... I start asking myself “am I Autistic?” But then the intrusive thoughts kick up and I’m like “oh haha, that’s right.”",0 That’s the difference between learning and memorization. If you learn something then it’s more likely that you can repeat it. If it’s just memorized you will forget it sooner. It’s just a coping mechanism you’ve developed over the years to help you “remember” things.,1 Not the half the movie but I drift off for 15 minutes every now and then,1 "\> the lousy day when nothing happened, good or bad, but it felt somewhat wrong This resonates so hard. Glad I'm not alone - thanks for writing this.",1 "I used to be terrified of contamination, washing hands until they bled, using soap like it's going out of style. I still do this with some things, but the coronavirus has rarely triggered me except when I think about my family or friends getting it because of me. Unique times we are living in my friends.",0 Coffee is the only thing that gets me going until I’m medicated lol,1 The headline basically describes the sum of my existence.,1 I need my peace and silence most definitely and if the convo isn't that stimulating I will want to move somewhere else,1 It’s not like the retailer was going to stand in line behind the garbage lol,1 "My boyfriend and I do this ..... he recently moved about 2 hours away for work 4 days a week and now we are forgetting things and motivation is much lower. Rough transition! ",1 "It always goes straight to the bottom of the bin. See, most of the stuff we throw out is not very dense, like packaging and pieces of plastic, and whatever you dropped is likely to be much denser, like metal or a heavier item. So it'll sink to the bottom if the bin gets tousled much.",1 "I'll always remember something my cousin said when he received some good-humored criticism for how much he spent on different services for his home. His time is valuable, so he places a high value on convenience. If paying a $10 fee saves him 30 minutes every week, then he'll do it and use those 2 hours a month to do something he enjoys. People structure their budgets and their lives on what is important to them.",1 "AFIAK, most psychology evidence suggests tough love is ineffective on most people. It just feels good for the person doing it.",1 "Bless you for sharing this. I have OCD and my house can often look like this when my depression gets bad and the inevitable question from my FP and family is ""I thought you had OCD? Why isn't everything clean?"" And that sinks me further into depression.",0 """When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?"" ""Last night.""",1 This made me think of how I felt for a WEEK after Corona first reached my city. I literally couldn’t stop nit-picking reasons why I might possibly have the virus.,0 "I just want to do EVERYTHING! I recently got into a new video game, which is abnormal for me on it's own, and I've been playing it non stop. If I'm not sleeping or working, I'm playing. This causes a problem because I have *zero* sense of time, there's never a perfect stopping point, and I have other things I want to do! Ugh... I'm having so much fun... Send help...",1 "Yeah, my obsession with kicking babies has gotten me in SO much trouble.",0 "Yup, can totally relate. Many times I don't care about the instructions, just the why, and after the why is answered I approach the matter and pick up whatever instructions and/or apply my own knowledge. If the why isn't answered, I tend to find out the hard way. Understanding was always more important to me than straight up copying, in school I would make up my own maths formulas because I understood the problem but didn't know the most effective formula that we were supposed to copy.",1 I wish I would have taken this advice much younger. It comes easy now. Thank you for sharing,0 "In his ignorance, he did remind me of my advice though. Lean in to the impulsivity and let it help you get things done. Minimise barriers to things like cleaning by keeping the equipment easily accessible, and when you get the impulse, let it happen. It helps me get stuff like that done anyway",1 "Check out the book ""The Rest Of Us Just Live Here"" by Patrick Ness. I got into it without knowing that the main character had OCD, and it was so good. Really, really well written.",0 "Yes, and I can synthesize and make connections, but I do it so intuitively that it's a big blob, amorphous. Details... and yet sometimes I can hone in on the most meticulous details - possibly because I also have OCD? I may also be a bit Aspie but the jury's out on that one. But yeah, always feeling like you come across as bullshitting when you try to have a conversation about what you thought you knew up until 5 seconds before the conversation commences.",1 "squish is a dick, i know that motherfucker. lives in my house and doesn’t pay a dime of rent",0 "I've had reminders for language learning apps for months and I only used the apps for a few days before I stopped. I still feel bad when I miss my lesson for the day. P.S. It's not Duolingo.",1 "I felt a little silly buying a Quip floss holder because I thought it was a reusable flosser rather than a way to store the floss...Until I realized I'm flossing every time I brush my teeth now, simply because the floss holder is *pretty* and has a *satisfying button* to press. ​ >*If it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid.*",1 Ugh. I wrote a bunch of songs I was super proud of and when I finally tried recording them for an EP I realized I suck at recording and mixing and now I've made no progress in a month and it's nagging at me. The feeling of crawling in your skin because you're trying to do something that provides zero dopamine... Is torturous. People think we're lazy but don't get how almost physically painful that feeling is without meds.,1 "I was trying to explain this to someone yesterday irl. I am allowed to accept an intrusive thought (eg. I wrapped lit candles in a box, and I have to unwrap the box to blow out the candle) as long as I don't act upon it (unwrapping the box).",0 "Procastination is my expertise, find my self on the dark playground ever so often. Very good friends with the panic monster too.",1 "Ok so I have the exact same issue as most people are saying and I’m very slowly attempting to get on top of everything now I’m on meds. Nothing to do with screenshots but my email was signed up to MILLIONS of websites and newsletters and it was so overwhelming. Kept being like “one day I will go through and unsubscribe from everything” but obviously that day was never going to come. Found this google sheet [CLICK ME](https://www.labnol.org/internet/gmail-unsubscribe/28806/) which lets you just tag any email as “unsubscribe” and it unsubscribes for you and DELETES THE EMAIL. Absolutely life changing, the amount of calm it has brought to my life. Found some other really good solutions like this on this post so thought I’d share",1 The one advantage I have because of my OCD is that my boss doesn't let anyone except me to do the tidying and the visual things.,0 I am so glad you found something that works! I found that taking notes in two different colors kept me engaged and helped me remember better.,1 "This is exactly how I feel. I've never had is phrased so succinctly before. I've been wavering on the edge of trying to get diagnosed, but this has made me certain that I should get diagnosed.",1 "It's definetly..challenging, I've battled with depression in the past. And when I was going over that part with my therapist she was genuinely shocked what a hell my days used to be",1 "Well done. My OCD also involves excessive washing and my hands look like the left pic, do you have any tips or tricks on how you managed to beat it?",0 You probably already know 500 is max number of windows open per browser on the iPhone at a time...,1 Oh.... I'm glad I'm not alone in this.. Because I read SOOO many articles that I find interesting. But I can never recite any of the facts when someone asks me questions about it.,1 "Fuck ya! You go beat that lying, nasty, power-hungry creature called OCD!!!",0 "My psychiatrist told me to plan my week on Sunday’s lol. I can’t even plan Sunday evening on Sunday! At least I get more shit done on my meds, but planning still isn’t one of them.",1 "Crafting is a great way to deal with overwhelming thoughts and intrusive thoughts, personally I love working with polymer clay and air dry clay",0 This is the most relatable thing I’ve ever seen. Wow thank u for this,0 "I'm on holiday, that and a thousand variations of that going through security. Also my medication might have turned into tiny explosives or that I'm secretly a drug lord???",0 "Oh my mom does that a lot. ""Just write it down/ focus on it"" Also, ""everybody forgets things and looses concentration sometimes, you're ok!""",1 "I totally get the gummy vitamins thing! I take two different kinds in the morning, and the third supplement I take (L-Lysine) unfortunately comes only in giant tablets - I actually wrote to the company asking if they'd make a gummy version like every other vitamin option they do, because only one other company makes that supplement as a chew (which is supposedly quite nasty tasting). They said thank you for the suggestion and they'd pass along the info, and recommended cutting them in half and taking with applesauce or something. Dude, that's not the problem at all... 😐 I think if I didn't have a prescription med and an allergy pill to take in the morning anyway that requires a swig of water, I would never remember that third vitamin tablet.",1 "My doc: you have social anxiety so let’s put you in a social anxiety group. Me: no.",0 This. I am this 100% you described my quiet suffering perfectly.,1 "This is what initially made me believe that i have ADHD, I'm starting my evaluation this friday. I'm super motivated in my studies and I'm really enjoying school, but I just can't for the life of me get out of bed in the morning. I just lay in bed, after getting plenty of sleep, knowing that I want to go to school, but completely overwhelmed and incapacitated by the thought of simply getting out of bed. It's a horrible feeling and I'm on the verge of failing multiple classes because of it.",1 I am once again checking to make sure everyone is still alive.,0 "OMG this is the same thing with my parents. They just don’t stop talking. Especially my dad (also has ADHD), who just doesn’t know when to stop. One of the big reasons I moved out. And I don’t think I’ll ever have the heart to tell them this.",1 "I have often fallen asleep within minutes of reading for university (even in the library or at the pub!!!!). It’s awful and frustrating bc when I’ve finally gotten over the procrastination of actually starting, I then cant focus. I thought meds would help but 6 weeks on concerta and I feel tired all the time anyway.",1 literally all the time. i relate so hard. this is one of the harder parts of OCD i think. i used to have this problem where these kind of intrusive thoughts would hit me right before i was about to sleep. i'm not really sure what changed but it felt just awful so fucking awful,0 "The scariest part is that i actually think i have schizoprhenia, I even had one colleague who (he almost made me kill myself) straight up patted me on the shoulder and said you are schizophrenic idk for what he told me this but it was weird.",0 Thinking about still having to wash my hands after using this give me so much anxiety,0 Omfg it hasn't returned but god forbid I ever become obsessed with fucking wOOD STAINS again,0 I got high instead of watching my class online. Fuck. Things not going good.,1 I’m so happy for you! Not hearing the bees buzz for the first time is among one of my favorite experiences too. I hope more than anything that you found your med and continue to have this experience moving forward.,1 "I was always scared to trigger someone. I always put a huge trigger on my posts, giving away what topics I'd talk about.",0 "Yep. Had a therapy session this morning, and therapist mentioned the two things she heard from me most often was 'selfish' and 'lazy'. Problem is, knowing that doesn't necessarily help me stop feeling like that.",1 "I thought I could get a routine going by setting things up on Google calendar and having reminders pop up. A reminder a half hour after my alarm to go open and update my planner. Another to do chores. One to do fun stuff and practice music! I was going to be so productive before work and by golly it was going to carry over and I would be productive at work with all that momentum. And you know, I never set my alarm. So half the time I've already missed a few rinders by the time I get up. And then I'm not feeling the chores. And then I get started practicing music, but have a hard time focusing on work after. Dozens of reminders a day that do nothing.",1 I'll usually save 2 or 3 times and then say yes to the exit save,0 "Sigh, my life.... Either that or just avoiding things that make me anxious and instead spend all day distracting myself with something.",0 "I really try, it’s just hard when you physically can’t stop yourself from doing compulsions.",0 Hilarious. I love that movie so I can definitely picture her saying it.,0 "Colossal. Flaming. On that day, humanity received a grim reminder.",1 "I just looked up this sub Reddit and Istg this is all so fucking accurate and I found another post saying that 5000 is the maximum limit lmaooo I know that too, cause I'm over that limit too.",1 "Good God WHY? This fucking illness has me contemplating suicide EVERY FUCKING DAY because of my moral OCD And my guilt complex is literally that bad. Know what? If they want to have obsessive compulsive disorder that badly, they can have mine because I can't deal with it. Here you go buddy, free of charge.",0 "Reading this post made me so happy! There’s no shame in hiring someone to help you! I have someone clean my house every other week. It helps me out immeasurably. I don’t mind doing the little stuff in between, but the thought of cleaning the whole house top to bottom is really daunting to me. I think some people treat it as an extravagance, but it really helps me just function better as well.",1 "Personally I love online classes. They allow me to know exactly what work I have to do every week so i can either get all of it dont immediately or procrastinate and still know I have plenty of time. However what this really hurts is the classes where I actually need to be there to learn and understand whats going on. Being math and Spanish. I an legitimately worried about my ability to pass and understand these classes...",1 Having intrusive thoughts is like blanking out for a huge ass amount of time and then being called iNatTenTivE.,0 What about “I don’t think you have ocd you just need to learn to relax”,0 This won't work. I don't think I get to choose when my hyperfocus should kick in. It just happens :P,1 This happened with my dog when i found out he’s 11 and jack russells only live to 13-16 years old.,0 "Not to be facetious, sometimes the professionals have great advice. But man, sometimes the stuff they say I'm like ... ""well the whole POINT is that ADHD is why I cant seem to do that a lot of the time... """,1 Yup. It’s part of its fundamental nature psychologically. Intrusive thoughts about things you care for being conscious attention to those thoughts and that’s where rumination and compulsions start,0 "I just went on a manic cleaning spree, and may have accidentally been vacuuming above my roommate at 10pm. But. She's up, my room is clean and most of my craft supplies are organized more than they have been in like a year. And it feels like 20 minutes passed instead of 3 hours.",1 "In therapy me and my therapist found a way to personify my ocd and I chose to make it Shakespeare because he never shuts the fuck up so now I go “SHUT THE FUCK UP SHAKESPEARE”, also very therapeutic",0 "You made me laugh, haha. Thanks for this post! I feel like a lot of ADHD-related posts are a little too much focussed on the stuff that makes having it so difficult sometimes. It's for relatable content like this that I stay subbed :P ​ (Too many of the other type of posts depresses me. I mean, I already know what makes it hard, I have to navigate that every day. No use reading about it while I'm procrastinating again...)",1 "Your alarm clock is going to matter way more now. Make a schedule each day at night, set an alarm for the morning and then set a second 30-60 minutes after you wake to go organize your schedule. At that time, set alarms for each time frame you want to get stuff done in. also, super important, write down everything you have to do and make a new list every day. Don't reuse the old one to do anything but make a new list.",1 "TLDR, but I agree with the first and last paragraphs!",1 "sudden urge to wash hands, sudden urge to scream, sudden urge to see if a friend replied to you, sudden surge of adrenaline all at once every other moment of my day",0 this gives me so much hope that i will end up like you at some point in my life. congrats!,0 "It was a little better when they had me on both Adderall and Klonopin, but then they abruptly stopped treating me entirely 4 years ago and I have been a mess ever since. I have been trying to leave my house for 3 hours now and I honestly don't know if it is my ADHD or my fear of the outside world preventing me from doing it.",1 "Yes! Never thought if it as an ADHD thing before, but maybe. When my dad first started teaching me how to drive he got impatient why all my questions about the mechanics of the car. “That’s the gas, that’s the brakes” just wasn’t going to cut it.",1 Every night for about 4 months I’ve gone to bed at 3/4 but can’t sleep until 5 and at this point I can’t break the habit and I’m worried it’s damaging my health,1 "it’s even better when i realize i’m half paying attention to the movie, half paying attention to the internal dialogue, and can’t really follow the plot of either",1 "Them: omg! I’m so OCD, I wash my hands like 3 times a day. Me: OCD controls everything I do, and is ruining my life.",0 "I am this way with getting in shape. I dream of being ripped, but I already know I’ll start lifting for a week then quit.",1 My first ever therapist was under the opinion to not label me and to just simple recognize the thoughts I was having and let them pass like the ocean. Like Bitch I’m not an ocean I’m a fucking hurricane,0 "Lymphoma is very curable, so you should be alright. But please, let this experience sink in so hopefully you avoid ever procrastinating with your health again. I have ADHD, but (I can't believe I'm about to say this) luckily, I also have OCD. HOCD. I so much as get bit by a mosquito and I'm already researching the internet to make sure I don't have Ebola or whatever.",1 "Real question, does anyone else have lighter symptoms while drunk? I don’t usually keep alcohol at home but lockdown quickly changed that...",0 So many of the posts lately have been so spot on for me it’s scary,1 I use tons of commas... you might be onto something hahaha,1 The amount of money I've wasted buying fancy planners and then using them for only three days...,1 As someone this morning who had to leave for work at 10:50 and waited until 10:40 to get in the shower and then was surprised when I got out and it was 10:49 I feel this in my soul,1 "I woke up in a full panic attack last week and my body shook uncontrollably for hours, I was sure this time I really was having a heart attack. I was sore for the rest of the day. Its not fair, I don't want this.",0 "Why is there no option to COMPLETELY CLEAR your Watch Later? I have made peace with the fact that I will never watch all of the videos on it, I just want to clear it out and start fresh.",1 "Yeah... I have ADHD and severe insomnia. Every time I get a new doctor, the first thing they say is ""so, what we need to do is get you on a regular sleep schedule"" and I'm like ""Woah, I never thought of that! My life's going to be perfect now, thanks doc!""",1 "I have a Birthday Card I need to mail out. I completed it days before my brothers birthday! Its still sitting on a table a month after his birthday. Woo....",1 Is it ok if I share this with some clients who have OCD. I think this might really help someone I know!,0 "I couldn’t seem to find a way to call my GP after not being able to afford my terrible, $200 an appointment psychiatrist, hence leaving me cold-turkeying my psych meds all at once, even though one 5 minute phone call to the office last minute had them call back an hour later to say they sent my prescription over. Turns out they only send my adderall. It was 4pm on Friday. Its now day 3 of maximum-dose-x2 120mg-daily Cymbalta brain-zapping withdrawals and total autonomic system fuckery when if I’d just called, I don’t know, some other time in the entire week Id had to figure this shit out, I wouldn’t be in this mess in the first place. I’ll have learned nothing. Guaranteed. Edit: words",1 "Omg this is how I feel about my depression too. I wake up and can tell it’ll be a bad day and am just immediately annoyed. Like ugh yes, I get it, we’re depressed.. can we please stop?",0 "Dude thanks for this. This is totally true, and can be so hard to handle. I really appreciate you posting this.",1 "Same. I always worry that someone has slipped something into my bag when I wasnt looking in an attempt to get rid of it. What makes it worse is that my fears were semi-validated because the machine thought it detected something on my ankle, even though there wasn't anything. The TSA groped my leg as they do, and of course didnt find anything because there wasnt anything there, but that didnt stop my brain from racing for the next hour.",0 Can someone explain the symptoms of this and how you might feel? I know something isn’t quite right with me and my mind but I don’t know what it is and this might be how I feel. Thanks 🙏 ,0 On one hand I think people shouldn’t romanticize what people like us deal with. On the other hand more people knowing about OCD via pop culture or whatever might make people more sympathetic towards the struggles we face.,0 """you're just crying so the neighbors feel bad for you""",0 "I felt this on a spiritual level. My parents yell at me for a lot of things, like forgetting to do stuff, staying up late to finish work, having a messy room, not getting good grades, etc. I've tried explaining ***multiple*** times what it's like for me and I've begged them to take me to a psychologist to get me officially diagnosed and to teach me coping strategies, but no dice. :( (16F btw)",1 I hate you. But I just went and started my laundry. So I kinda love you too.,1 "I didn’t know this was an ADHD thing. The more I find out about ADHD the more I can relate but also I wonder if my family have it too because I’ve always been reassured these things are normal because my family members struggle with these things similarly. So either we all have ADHD (at least me and my two siblings, not sure about parents) or were all NT and I can’t figure out which it may be 😩",1 "Fuuuck I do this all the time, I'm so glad that this isn't just a weird problem only I have",1 I have so many Udemy classes that I’ve bought and haven’t started. They range across all sorts of topic that I find interesting (for five minutes).,1 "When you're actually broke with ADHD, but ppl think you're rich and lavish for wasting all your hard earned money like this! How do I tell you?!",1 "OMG this! I’ve been brought up to be very sensitive and caring and assumed t was just my personality. I never thought it would be connected with ocd? I feel sad for inanimate objects, and especially so for real life humans. If I see an older person (who is probably just doing fine), looking anything less than extremely happy I feel myself welling up lol. I watched instant hotel on Netflix the other day and cried because one of the air bnb owners was happy they were getting nice reviews. My boyfriend could not stop laughing that tears were rolling down my face at a Netflix reality show, lol.",0 This is the most relatable thing I've seen in a while LOL. Wow.,0 It sucks cuz I don’t even talk about adhd all that much but whenever I mention it people seem to get annoyed and say it isn’t an excuse. It sucks that I even have to constantly say I’m not tryna use it as an excuse,1 "Ocd is one of the most scariest thing i've seen in my life,it almost ruined my life and i'm fighting with it every single day.I hope i will win💪",0 "I had a therapist tell me ""one step forward, several slides back"" when it comes to improving. I've found it very true so far",0 I'm so glad other people talk about this so openly. Realising that my intrusive and obsessive thoughts are normal to experience has helped a lot.,0 Liked but only read up until the part about prisoners.,1 "Call Of The Void, basically? COTV is one of the hardest things about my OCD at this point",0 "Wow, that looks incredible! Makes me want to start doing art again although I have the same issue. I'm glad you were able to step away though. Awesome job :)",0 Get out of my head! I realized I had tons of these symptoms a few months ago and it's been such a relief to know why I am the way I am.,1 Don’t forget the missed appointments. I just missed my second attempt in a row to get in and talk with my doc about getting back on ADHD medication. I slept through the appointment because I forgot about it despite setting multiple reminders and alarms. 🤦‍♀️,1 "A good tip from me: Force urself to at least go to the gym three times a week! It works wonders. I feel so relieved and I actually made something of the whole day. I'm exhausted for at least 1 hour after it and the rest of the evening I can do nothing in peace!",1 "I had a fit of depression after going on a no-symptom streak for like 2 months, and my OCD came roaring back stronger than ever. I really needed this today. Thanks OP. And thank you Gunner!!",0 SAME!! I'm afraid that people will find out and call the police and I'll end up in jail for the rest of my life.,0 Can I post this link on [this post?](https://www.reddit.com/r/Anxiety/comments/oczetk/did_therapy_help/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf),1 "Totally. Some days I'm like ""nah, I totally know what I did wasn't that bad and it doesn't define me as a person"". But other days it's like ""well, I do deserve what's happening to me"".",0 "Me: OH GOD YES I DID YES I DID I’M GOING TO JAIL I’M A BAD PERSON I DESERVE TO DIE SOMEHOW I DID THIS WITHOUT REMEMBERING OH WAIT YES I DO IT WAS A FRIDAY AFTERNOON AT 3:04 PM. My OCD is always trying to make the thoughts more real, more terrifying, and more attention-grabbing. I’ve gotta stop answering these “How can we improve?” surveys.",0 I listened to WAP >800 times in a week. The shame I feel is unparalleled,1 "This really upset me. OCD has ruined my life. It took my twenties from me and just when I had some good years and was in recovery and happy I got sick and the OCD was like “wow , you’re weak doing poorly now so I’m totally coming back”. And now my life is a nightmare. “Desirable “?!?!",0 ADHD is just the best fuckin way to brain. I don't care.,1 "I read this as ""I am once again asking for your **fucking** support""",0 "I agree but I have to say that since I’ve started taking vyvanse it has significantly improved my life. The part that sucks is people don’t realize how debilitating ADHD is and they just think you are lazy.",1 "Im clawing away out of my adhd cyclical depression. At least I hope I am. It's interesting though I was able to focus in class. My classes are one of the few things I enjoyed this past year. Maybe I'm lucky to love what I'm studying. I use fidget toys to help keep me preoccupied and focused, and I ended up participating from time to time. Out of class though and i fall right back into a similar slump as the one you just described. Less and less though it seemd",1 "Thanks for the anxiety, especially given it's a Sunday the one day of the week where I actually don't have any commitments. D: (Rational me realises that lots of people will appreciate this post. Buuut that doesn't stop irrational brain shouting ""You can't tell me what to do!"" in the background.)",1 "I feel you. When the depression kicks in, I'm down for the count for weeks with the vicious circle inside my head.",1 "Omg do other people also think that other people think they're pretending, or that they themselves might be pretending? I thought I was the only one",0 OMG I was convinced I had an ulcer once because I was talking some painkillers for my knee and felt abdominal pain,0 "I hate stuff like this I’d like all areas of my ocd to be gone, the only part I’d wanna kinda keep is if the time management one was a lot easier to deal with but it’s not worth the panic attack 6 hours before I have to leave",0 "Same here! Or the ""if it was really important to you..."" line. Hate that. Things are really important, people just don't get that just because things are important to us does not guarantee we'll remember things!",1 "When I was in highschool, I broke down in front of my dad and told him I had depression/mental illness and needed help. . . He laughed at me, told me I didn't know what I was talking about, and that I needed to figure it out on my own because it's not his problem. It took me years to realize how abusive that was, it took me talking to friends about why I don't talk about myself or ask for help, they were like ""bro if I ever see your dad I'm going to slap him"". Family doesn't mean love, just saying.",1 "I'd say the ass kicking comes in university for some as well. Speaking with experience of a academic withdrawal and 2 extra semesters of probation at another uni before a counselor recommended I get tested. Thank everything for her too as I immediately went from a 2.2 GPA fall semester to a 3.7 winter",1 "You can still be a scientist! Seriously, many scientists have problems, it doesn't stop you. Also you can study 5 hours per day, I guess, but I wouldn't recommend it :)",0 Same here dude. My teachers tell me that I'm smart enough even the smartest of the whole class it's frustrating asf I want to succeed because I know I can but it just doesn't work,1 "I am so grateful for this post on an absolutely soul-crushing day. I’m so sorry for your loss.",1 If I don't tuck in the teddy bear my girlfriend got me every morning I feel like something bad will happen. I apologize to inanimate shit all the time. ,0 "With millions over years of evolution finely tuned to be a super computer in compact form. Brain: Flip the light switch 5 times Me: Why? Brain: Just do it",0 Sign this petition to kick out OCD [🖊️](https://emojipedia.org/pen/),0 when i got diagnosed and first told my family about my ocd they're response was your room is messy so i get this op,0 Thanks. I needed this. It helps to know you’re not alone.,0 "Yep, that's exactly what it is for me too. It's funny how difficult this is to explain to non-ADHD folks but how quickly relatable it is within the community.",1 Amazing 😁 I'm new to this sub and loving hearing victories like yours. Congratulations!!,0 I had She Wolf by Shakira on repeat throughout one of my all-nighters:))),1 "It really, really is awful. I have more than a thousand euros lost from services I rendered that I'll never get because I can't just get myself to find each and every one of them, put them in a file and invoice. Sometimes I go without because while I somehow manage to deliver my projects at the eleventh hour, thanks to the power of deadlines, there's no energy left for invoicing the work I did.",1 "It’s always so random, too. I can’t guess at what my next obsession will be.",0 "Hey, I need some back story on this meme. It’s so funny, I need to know everything about these dolls.",0 "I've felt the same way. My analogy was that I didn't get lucky when they were passing out brains (or a bunch of other parts like eyes, nose, legs). It's feels a lot like I'm underdeveloped or less than whole, as if a crucial stage of growth was skipped over. Seeing other people just do the things they do effortlessly like focus and be happy was the worst; I didn't know if I missed something crucial or if I had consciously chosen to screw up, and if it could be remedied through simple decisions of the mind. In hindsight self hatred was pretty inevitable.",1 "Hand washing compulsions are particularly awful when we've got a pandemic going on as well. Thank you for sharing. I also wash my hands excessively, and I try to put lotion on after each time to help counteract the effects. Burt's bees hand salve has worked really well for me. I hope that might help!",0 "YES. I anthropomorphize things excessively and form way too much attachment to inanimate objects. I know it's normal for all humans to do these things to a degree, but with me it's to an extreme that can't be normal or healthy. An example I gave last time I talked about this is when I cried in the car on the way home from the store a couple months ago because I felt guilty about not buying [a pack of plastic Miffy figures](https://i.imgur.com/oJj7zfQ.jpg) I'd wanted. Usually it's cute stuff with a face, like the Miffy figures or my stuffed animals. If anything ""bad"" happens to one of my stuffed animals, even just one of them falling on the floor, I freak and feel tremendously guilty. I have never in my life been able to get rid of one of my stuffed animals, just the thought makes me ill. Some of my old ones from childhood are packed away in storage but I can't bring myself to get rid of them, especially my favorites that I'm super attached to (that I still keep around). It can be other things too, I remember one incident when I was a kid and my parents got me a new dresser and wanted to burn my old one, I sat in shock and horror and cried and cried as they chopped it up and threw it in the fire, I had an attachment to it and seeing that happen destroyed me. Fortunately it's not to the point where I hoard things or anything. I've gotten better at letting things go. Some things I do really form attachments to and have trouble getting rid of though, namely anything cute with a face (as I mentioned), or anything I deem ""special"", cards or gifts, etc.",0 I've noticed this too. In fact i wonder who it works on? And if its not just another piece of b.s. invented by narcissistic abusers to disguise the intent of their abuse. Idk. Its my most recent thoughts on the matter.,1 You have described me in every conversation this happens in. I'm talking to someone then fuck there's an intrusive thought and it totally throws me off my game. Makes me want to sink away.,0 "I have a pretty similar experience when I came out as a lesbian, I had all these panicky moments where I wondered if I was just straight and faking it for attention (even though I despise being seen for my sexuality) or that I was bi but didn't want to admit it. I'm very much just a lesbian but it was very annoying when it happened.",0 "This year I dove back into slightly depressing synth and instrumental, and also chill hop of course. It's my favourite vibe, and it had been a while. I found so much music that speaks to me deep down. It was the most thematic year I've had music-wise in a long time.",1 "recently checked in to therapy? best of luck brother we can all recover from this bs, stay strong!",0 "Ah yes the fire in the attic, thank you person of consideration *tips hat and continues scrolling*",1 "Yeah I have started saying I have a neurological disability that affects how I regulate memory, emotion and other elements of my nervous system.",1 "Pareto principle says 'it takes 20% of time and energy to finish 80% of a task and 80% time and energy for the remaining 20%'. This is true for most everyone and everything, but I have a feeling that it is even more relevant to people with ADHD. Thing is, you need to let go of those 20%. Repeat after me: It's always better to half-ass something than to not do it at all. This sentence needs A LOT of repeating, and I know it won't stick at first, but trust me, eventually it will. Once you've internalized it, you'll probably be able to transfer it to whatever task at hand, but let me use your essay as an example. a) you know that the references page is a boring chore and a drag b) you know you have to do it anyway c) you know you won't start again once you take a break therefore d) you have to cramp it into those productive hours somehow. If you know a necessary part of a task uses up a lot of time/energy (and you can't put it first, like you can't with your references) you gotta save that energy somewhere else. That can mean if you get a little stuck at some point or feel this part right here needs a little more attention - let it go. Jump to the next section and keep going. No fiddling with single sentences for endless minutes. Can't think of that word you really need? Leave a blank. No excessive proofreading during writing! This alone saves so much time and energy! Once you've finished and your references are done and THEN you have energy left, you can go back and do the fine tuning. Also, for many tasks you can split off certain things as different tasks for a different day. Idk, say if you clean your windows, doesn't mean you have to also wash, dry and iron your curtains, even if it feels like those are connected. Leave it for a different day instead of forgetting it in the washer and drag your wet curtains with you for another week.",1 "for the teeth brushing, can I just blanket suggest people try the quip toothbrush if you’re able to? having the built in timer to tell me when two minutes is up is a life/tooth saver. it also SLIGHTLY gameifies it, since you gotta switch sides with the vibrating intervals, and it will never not be a boring activity after awhile, but at least I know I’m brushing long enough now lol.",1 I never thought I’d see the day when other people would actually encourage me to indulge my OCD behavior. It actually feels so messed up to me.,0 "This kinda made my day, I woke up with all anxiety and depression somehow, well not any more *laughing demon voices - you can win the battles not the war*",0 "I very much love it! I also love the ""my favourite"" section!",1 fr! i hate the fact that something so out of my control heavily contributed to the stress in my relationship :(,0 "I’m new to all this. Im guessing medicine doesn’t help, does it ?",1 I don't miss these days. Hang in there and use a lot of lotion. You'll get through this,0 That explains years of character development in my head but not committing much to paper when I'm writing.,1 "Haha yes. ""Top song - 453 plays"" ""day you listened to it the most 232 plays""",1 Depends on how you define life. If your definition of life is getting out there then yes fear is an impediment to that. However if your definition of life is staying alive fear can keep you living longer.,0 "Me most of this year. Just had a nervous breakdown last night, actually. That's why I'm glad this thing with GME stonks happened. I actually got excited about something since the year started. It's keeping me aware and in reality.",1 "Tag yourself, I only drank bottled and canned water for 6 months",0 yooo congrats man!! I know how awesome that feels :),1 I feels so good finally finding people talking about this type of OCD,0 "20mg celexa is how I found out I was bipolar lmao Now: Prozac 40mg with a 150Xl Wellbutrin pls",0 I’ve been not taking my medication on the weekend and I’m EXHAUSTED. I never thought about it being withdrawals.,1 Thanks for the info! I’m a little envious that you have a doctor who gives a shit,1 "Yes! Christmas shopping was rough this year. A lot of ""What ifs..."". What is she doesn't like it? Wrong color? Wrong size? Already has one? Didn't want one? Cost too much? Didn't spend enough? It got so overwhelming one day that I just went back home and didn't buy anything that day. It gets rough at times.",0 Do the dishes for only as long as the microwave is running,1 "oh my goodness, yes! i’ve been doing this since i was a kid with my first social media accounts. i was always afraid i’d be hacked and had to check that i wasn’t over and over again. i realized it was part of ocd a few years ago and it actually helped me go on to realize a lot of other behaviors that had to do with ocd and anxiety as well. thank you for sharing this",0 I think you are on to something here. I have always been criticized about my comma usage :) and my ellipses...,1 Once I found my glasses in a bad of lemons I didn't know I had in the pantry.,1 "Honestly not latching out for reassurance is the hardest bit. I know it’s not good for the cycle but it’s kind of like a drug addict… “Just ONE more hit, just this one last thing”",0 "This is a great post because it seems to have made a lot of people realize “I’m not the only one”... I can relate to what you all are saying. Whenever I say goodbye to my dearest loved one, it is very emotional...I feel this sad, painful feeling in the pit of my gut , because I obsess over whether it’s the last time I’ll ever see him again. (And then I see him again a few days later and everything is fine.) But then when I say goodbye again, the same process repeats.",0 That looks painful. Hope you're able to get some help for your ocd :/,0 "I find that buying/having fewer things, but buying high quality for what I do buy is super helpful as well. If I own ten pairs leggings & only like 2 of them and the rest are meh, I’m spending 80% of my time feeling & looking like crap. If I own 2 pairs of leggings I love - flattering, comfortable, match with lots of stuff & in good condition, I can spend all my time wearing stuff I feel/look good in. Best of all I’m forced to actually do my laundry instead of procrastinating it wearing stuff I hate. Same with dishes. Instead of collecting a bunch of cheap mismatched plates, if I have one nice set I really like, I’m forced to do the dishes more & am having a better experience cooking/eating/cleaning.",1 "I am undiagnosed, but I have a problem of forgetting that time exists since I was little. I usually get overwhelmed studying for even an hour. And then I found the pomodoro method which usually never worked but TODAY!!!! I studied for six hours the entire day. I know that I should be studying more but then I am bragging under your post so that I could get my serotonin boost so that I get more motivation from fellow Redditors' responses. Apologies! Love DepressedMoon1999",1 "Absolutely. Honestly it’s by far the most significant symptom that impacts my life. The number of times I have failed major assignments in classes or caused problems for myself at work because I just couldn’t seem to get around to performing a simple task is… well, it’s innumerable, frankly. I can tell someone exactly all the steps needed to complete something and precisely how easy it should be, but God help me when it comes to actually getting it done on time. I have always been a C and D student in school largely because I just can’t seem to finish anything, or sometimes even start. I can’t imagine how different my life would be if I could actually accomplish half the things that I intend to do. I feel like I get so bad that sometimes I end up procrastinating on doing the things that I was going to do as a way to procrastinate on my actual tasks.",1 "What!? You know how often I'll do this? Whether I'm wearing headphones or in the car, I've often turned down the music to see where the ""noise"" was coming from only to realize it was part of the background music. 🤦‍♂️",0 "I so relate to this. Stay strong, friend. You’re not alone!",0 "I'm dealing with people like this right now. I'm not the type to get into Reddit debates, but it pissed me off a bit..",0 omfg… not sure if that is the worst possible time to lose track of what you were doing. I feel bad for both of you!,1 "Well technically, bad people dont realize that what they are doing is bad or believe it. They believe it is good. Everyone believes that they strive for good, no matter who it is or what that person does.",0 I've had similar feelings. A lot of times if I'm going up hill in a car I feel bad for it.,0 "Yes, i thought that was a normal person thing to do for so long. Even at a theater my stream of consciousness and thoughts take over, and by midway im think about how i would meet the actress i just saw and how it would go, or how it would be if i had the abilities and/or looked like the main character. Basically i end up thinking about something almost completely different throughout the whole film, them im like wait, i practically did not watch anything.",1 "This is such a frustrating disorder. I still feel like a liar somewhere inside. Like, I think I've just never stopped thinking myself capable of consciously ""getting out of my head"" at will, and just going for it, yet here I am! Still struggling.",1 "I do this while reading a book. My eyes are taking in the words, I am technically 'reading' it, but my brain just isn't processing that information - instead it's thinking about something else. I can do this for pages at a time before I realise and have to go back.",1 "I hid a 900 dollar pair of glasses in a light sconce and.lost them for 6 months once. When I found them I remembered putting them in their and thinking ""theyll be perfectly safe here"" like I was a genius",1 "Congratulations. Never worry about whether other people think it's a big deal or not. It's your big deal and that's what matter. Congratulations again 👍",0 "> If you didn't notice this is satire I was hoping this was not satire ;-)",1 “I wish death would come find me”. I could try something arty with that phrase.,0 I felt this in my soul. Sometimes I sleep just to stop f-ing thinking for one second.,0 "Counseling helped me compartmentalize a lot of the noise and identify triggers. Medication took the teeth away from those triggers and helped me let go of the noise. I was able to ween myself off the medication because the relative calm helped me normalize that feeling so that I could better handle the anxiety on my own. It's still a part of my life, but I rarely find it overwhelming anymore. And this was after a near decade long block of my life where I was consumed by it.",0 As a prof with ADHD I’m keeping this is mind! I create online checklists and post a lot of reminders about what is due. Any other tips you’d give profs? (I wasn’t diagnosed until AFTER grad school so my coping mechanisms are different than if I were a student),1 "God, I managed to study uninterrupted and fully interested in my topics today for 20 minutes and it felt like a godsend. Three horror movies later, there goes my damn set goal. Sigh.",1 Wow. This is how I feel when I turn a paper in on time. I’m an English major and it’s usually a once a year or less kind of thing. Congrats! This is inspirational.,1 "I have literally had this conversation with myself word-for-word. But in all seriousness, it works. It acknowledges the intrusive thought but takes the power out of it.",0 "It’s currently convincing me that I have covid and am dying more and more by the minute, so this meme came at the right time and is as yet the only OCD meme saved to my phone. There’s a first time for everything",0 "I do this all the time! I keep a sticky note beside the pill bottle and check off the date so I know that I've taken it. I worry nearly every day that I've somehow forgotten, lol!",0 "I’ve always loved Jim Carrey, never knew he has ADHD until now. This is the best thing I’ve read all day, amazing 🥰",1 Whenever I type a document it blue underlines like every single comma I write and suggests I remove them lmfao,1 "I remember my parents just repeating themselves over and over again even if I said I understood. If I seemed distracted they would start all over again. If I said I understood, they would make me repeat it and if I got one thing wrong, they would start all over again...",1 """Economy is a distributive virtue, and consists not in saving but selection. Parsimony requires no providence, no sagacity, no powers of combination, no comparison, no judgment.” — Edmund Burke In other words, you're not ""paying a tax"", you're make a frugal and thoughtful investment.",1 "Not….really. I can compartmentalize and not need the why but it took a lot of brain training.",1 The difference between peak output and average output and my lack of control really get me too.,1 "I am literally laid on sofa planning a rota to do everything tomorrow, not done anything today it is what I hate the most, unless I have to be/do I don't",1 Same. I always experience short term memory loss after a massive OCD attack and forget the whole reason why I was so distresses and overwhelmed.,0 "Recently have discovered all of this with my therapist. I can relate to every symptom you have listed, and it is good to know that others feel the same, even if it meant me ruining my life before figuring it out.",1 "This is my son 100%. He's ADHD, ASD, mood dysreg, sensory proc. I actually enjoy having him virtual learning vs. in school because of his struggles. Do we have a hard ass time at home? Every. Single. Day. Thank you for posting this and helping me understand it better.",1 Same as “trust your gut” like dude no my gut has told me I should just end it,0 "Yeah it was this for me, esp during childhood. Then came the ""understanding"" condescension of ""oh, you're just more type B 🧐"" -- ofc the ppl saying this are/were completely averse to anything mental health. Now with meds I do things, but comorbid depression, suspect ASD, and dread of capitalism still exist.",1 "THIS IS THE HOLY COMMENT NOW ALL THAT STUFF FROM NOW ON WILL BE OBSOLETE, YOURE PROTECTED FROM NOW ON, that worked for me, combat superstition with another superstition ! You’re brave!",0 "I always thought it was depression that kept me from doing things but it's a mix of 'dirty' energy that keeps me from doing it and then turns into depression from the results. Always feeling like I should be doing something else, I should be past this, should find a way to get someone else to do it so I can focus on more exciting things, and then just feeling stuck.",1 THIS! This is the worst part for me. Is so depressing and anxious thing. My poor therapist haha. It just gets worst the older you grow. I’m 27 and struggling to find a career that I actually like. I’m thinking microdossing might be the answer. I hate the side effects of pills.,1 "It’s me and I wish I had known this before I attempted a career in journalism. It’s weird because I have the best memory for stuff that happened in my youth. I recall birthdays, phone numbers and odd details from that era. Now? My gf has to help me catch up to the show we’ve been binging everyday. Admitedly, the 2 antidepressants that I take don’t help.",1 This meme never gets old... unfortunately so does people around me they never learn what OCD is,0 I think it’s only confirmation bias since I have some of the worst adhd out there and I have so many problems with just writing run on sentences and not using proper punctuation,1 This meme is nice. What do you guys think? Should I upvote it?,0 "I just recently got diagnosed with OCD, and working through it has been magical thus far. Finally being able to understand why my brain was thinking/needing to act out what it does is a game changer. Excited to take it by the reins and push through.",0 "Personally, psychedelics have helped me a ton with my OCD. They help me recognize my thought patterns and learn to separate from them. Obviously, they must be used in a responsible manner and combined with meditation and other forms of mindfulness. I’m not suggesting that anyone tries psychedelics, just sharing my experience.",0 "There’s a movie called “What about bob”. It’s a comedy and kind of pokes fun at people with OCD, but it’s the closest I’ve ever seen to real ocd (it’s not perfect but it’s the closest I think we’re gonna get). He’s mostly contamination ocd but there are some other things he does like sleeping in certain directions, faking heart attacks so he doesn’t actually have one, walking in patterns, etc.",0 "It's preventing me from advancing at work (public service) because I need to speak a second language at an advanced level. I keep getting an intermediate score on the oral portion of the test because of my vocabulary and fluidity are bad. I've gone through several competitions where I've been screened out on the last round because of my ability to speak in my second language. I wish they would sit down and talk with me in English first so they can see that I'm equally bad in both languages 🙃. Sometimes I wonder if I should quit the public service, even though it aligns with my values and is meaningful work. In private, speaking my second language is an asset and usually not a requirement.",1 Dude this gets me so much it hurts a bit haha... also everyone around me is also under my manipulation always knew I was a mastermind ...,0 "God, you're right. I actually intended to play video games right now. Thanks OP.",1 "Oh my gosh the arguments about whether or not it could be in the trash can are endless at our house. I’m the one with ADHD, my husband is more or less neurotypical. “Its in the trash,” is always one of the first places my mind goes. My husband gets so upset because he is adamant he didn’t throw it away. Well except for the time he accidentally threw my iPad in the trash bin outside, which luckily we found before it was collected yay! Still he gets upset everytime I suggest we check the trash. One day he gets mad, and says, “I threw something of yours in the trash one time, and now you’ll never let me live it down.” I looked at him blankly for a beat and said, “I’m not suggesting we check the trash because of the one time you accidentally threw something away, I’m suggesting we check the trash because of the dozens of times that I have.” Because he’s neurotypical, accidentally throwing something away is a once in a blue moon occurence, so he didn’t understand that it’s something I’m in constant fear of doing because I’ve done it so many times already.",1 "Literally every time I told my parents, it’s because of my ADD it’s not intentional, I’d get hit with “I’m so tired of hearing about your ADD” thanks. Me too but what would I know",1 "Planning is like my favorite thing ever. The doing part, even when it's something I really want to do is impossible.",1 Your doctor seems top notch. Feels like a lottery finding a good doctor,1 "Well it’s not like I really have a choice. I get up, I go to work, I come back home and wait to start it again. I’m doing the bare minimum. No education, no aspirations, hardly any life outside of my usual routine. And I don’t even do that well. So I gotta say no, I’m not strong. Sorry to sound like an ass here, but I don’t buy it",0 "Here lie my ""natural blonde"" roots. Gone but not forgotten.",1 2 years later and i’m still realizing i was in a shitty friendship/roommate situation 😂,1 All the time. Especially if I’m studying something lol,1 " https://whatbigotspost.tumblr.com/post/639535111667318784 [https://www.dailydot.com/debug/trad-wife-nodric-man-meme-anti-semitic/](https://www.dailydot.com/debug/trad-wife-nodric-man-meme-anti-semitic/) It's really time we stop using the Yes Chad/""Nordic Man"" meme.",0 "I was thinking this exact thing earlier today, it gets so frustrating sometimes 😩",1 "I love this post, and I don’t think your approach is spendy, it just requires a more contextualized understanding of frugality. Knowing yourself well enough to set yourself up to not be wasteful is a form of frugality. If fact, focusing ONLY on the money isn’t being frugal, it’s being cheap. Frugality is a focus on how to get the most value for the money you do spend, and on cutting out pointless expenses as much as possible. It sounds like you’ve done both.",1 I literally just posted something on here looking for ways to motivate myself. This post is the motivation I needed! Just finished changing my bed sheets for the first time in a week or two!,1 "Oh i hate it when you know that this is fucking intrusive/unreal feeling/thought and you don't gotta act based on these feelings/thoughts, then u do it and be like ""next time i definitely will not do this again"" and then next time you again think about last time you got into this trap, but you again act based on these feelings/thoughts. It gets me everytime and it fucking sucks!!!!",0 It’s fun with ROCD because being around your partner is the trigger lmao sos,0 "thank you, I've procrastinated for 1 year now to check a potential cyst on my thyroids. I think I might have to check it out..",1 Yea it’s euphoria….it’ll fade with tolerance buildup….try not to get used to it or else you’re gonna start chasing,1 Lol when I was like 8 I wanted to go to an Ivy League and now part of me doesn’t even want to go to college (but I’m gonna go cause everyone expects me to lol),0 "Thank you so much It really is amazing of you to so this, I hope everyone here is doing good and I know everyone here is strong and amazing and we will get trough it! I’m here if anyone needs just pm me take care! I try my best to get through ocd its been very up and down but I try to get over things over time! Take care everyone",0 wait... DRY SHAMPOO? i didnt know that existed holy,1 "Lmao omggggg I think you might have solved OCD. Jk but love this. I wonder if I can do something like this with my body dysmorphia",0 "That's real life, right there. Keep fighting the good fight, y'all.",0 "8+ years ago I was that guy, felt like my head was mad for 3 or so months. Thought I would never get better. Now I've fully coped with it and haven't had any anxiety or symptoms in years. As if I never had it to begin with. The thing is, you can cope with your OCD, but if you keep giving in to the compulsions, you're always going to be spinning on that hamster wheel. ",0 "I stopped painting because it felt too difficult to work with one painting for multiple hours. I then started photographing and found it much easier to focus, because the photo does not require hours of work - sometimes just few minutes of editing in post. If you're stuck and uninspired, changing the ""medium"" helps and gives you perspective of creative work in the long run. Just keep doing what you do, these things take years of practice!",1 "I am a physician with ADHD who treats patients with ADHD and I agree with all of this. I'll add one more: **Everyone has a different experience with each medication**: so if your friend thought that CONCERTA was absolute poison and made her feel dead inside, that doesn't mean that you will have the same response. It might be your silver bullet. The only way to find out is to try. EDIT: Verb tense because autoincorrect.",1 A nice reminder of what? That there are still assholes in this world that feel it is ok to vandalize property that does not belong to them?,0 I inherited ocd from my dad so I grew up with him doing this...checking all the doors in the house over and over to make sure they were locked before he went to bed. Now I do the exact same thing.,0 "YES. But I think a lot of it is that my husband doesn't understand this and he is already an above and beyond type guy that is always on the move, even compared to a ""normal"" person. Like he can't just sit around and do nothing. So I feel very lazy in comparison to him. I don't even aspire to be that busy all the time, but I am jealous of his motivation.",1 "If you’ve never before had a debilitating disease that controls your entire life and makes you miserable constantly, that’s okay! StArT nOw!! What a joke fr.",0 "That first one ""Did it come suddenly and intensely?"" This was key for helping me differentiate legit worries from ""anxiety worries"" (what I used to call OCD thoughts before I knew I had OCD). This is worded so much better though, how it's immediate and intense is a great way to describe it. This causes it to bypass your rational brain because it's simply automatic. It's like being sucker punched",0 "After reading what you've written, it's like watching myself in a mirror with a better and clearer picture.",1 "How is no-one linking this? https://youtu.be/U9t-slLl30E (Don't know how to hyperlink from mobile, sorry!)",0 Does she also have adhd? Maybe ask her to send what she is going on about as a text for you to read later?,1 "On one hand, I don't really get it, because it seems like such an early 2000s thing to still treat it as a kids disorder. All those ritalin poppers of the 90s are full grown, middle aged adults now. It seems like there's now enough adults that the landscape should reflect that, especially since the ""you can grow out of adhd"" thing was disproven a long time ago. I *suspect* it's just becuase of the toxic mommy blogging community. Mother's are an advertising gold mine, second only to children. And so there's *big* bucks in paranoid mommy content that preys on their fears that they're going to irrevocably mess their kids up. And moms have fucking invented and led the adhd advocacy movement. Doctors pooh-poohed the red food coloring ""myth"" for years but it stayed alive in the mom blogs until finally a scientist was willing to actually listen and what do you know they were fucking right. And now use of that food dye is largely discontinued in most commerical uses becuase of *how* vocal those mom's were. So as frustrating as it is, I try not to be too mad because that same hyperfixation on helping lil Jimmy now that he's been diagnosed is directly what lead to a lot of changes that have directly improved my life as someone with adhd. All that ""so your child has adhd"" led to influxes of research funding, led to public advocacy and education, led to the normalization of accessibility accomodations, let to ""stim toys"" becoming so normalized that a lot of HR departments in large companies now often provide them even to neurotypicals during trainings and things. The online landscape.will reflect our existence only after we put in at least *half* the effort that mom's put in for decades. Cause they fought tooth and nail for that internet footprint, and it appears we will have to do the same (the autism community isa *great* example of taking ownership of how your condition is discussed and frames, although there is a horrible irony in the fact that people with adult adhd are too disorganized, long-winded, and unreliable to have done a very effective job at self-advocacy. Putting on lots of thankless work with a very distant, not guaranteed reward isn't exactly a hallmark of the condition, ya know. So it kind of makes sense to me that neurotypicals interested in adhd would dominate the conversation since those of us who have adhd ourselves are probably busy using that time to fall down a few wikiholes and lie to ourselves about how long that last social media break was)",1 "Yes. I used to enjoy meditation, but haven’t done it in months because I have intrusive thoughts about the possibility of having intrusive thoughts while I’m trying to exist in a safe mental place and it sucks.",0 "I am the result of this, and while I don't necessarily want to have children (for other reasons), I worry about this a lot, especially since some of the things I did as a kid were done by imitation.",0 "did I eat? waTER? MEDS? omg did I lock the door? is she wearing Socks?? ​ ???????????????????????? ​ All the time lol",0 "“You know I had that too, but I just didn’t have time to worry about that bullshit and got over it” 😒",0 "I have a standing (zoom) therapy appointment every Wednesday at 3pm. Yesterday my partner asked me to go grocery shopping with him around 1:30 & it took all my strength to actually go because although realistically I knew there was plenty of time to go - my brain was like ❗🆘️❗ Idk what it is about 3pm that's so difficult to work around 😂",1 "OMG, I feel this so much- for me it was 20 page ochem lab reports(or any paper whatsoever) that I would sit down to do every day from the time the lab occurred to the time they were due, but still ended up fully writing in the 8 hours before they were due. Writing is hell.",1 If they would experience just a few hours our lives they wouldn't go out fetishising us like this.,0 "Hello, I’m not sure of how involved you get with medications, but could you (or anyone) please let me know if there might be some options other than clomipramine (Anafranil) to help control compulsions?",0 "Holy shit, this is so true, Im literally free of irrational and intrusive thoughts when Im busy or with friends. But once I am alone, shit gets scary",0 "Somehow my meds manage my OCD tremendously so I don’t need the therapy as much for it, I kinda avoid therapy for it because it terrifies me. I know as long as I take my meds I’ll be some what okay :/ kudos to everyone who can go to therapy for OCD I am just too afraid to",0 "That’s a big deal! You should be proud of yourself. Like, really proud. I’m proud of you and I don’t know you. Fabulous progress, friend! And remember, when you feel like you are falling, this community is here for you.",0 "Hey, hang in there. I can completely relate to a lot of things you just said, especially the part about being hypersensitive to sound. My brand of ADHD usually makes me hypersensitive to sounds and touch and it usually switches into high gear when I forget to hydrate or have no energy in my body but I'm still pushing myself on low battery mode instead of just resting. I've found that meds have helped me with that, and also, a lot of basic things like introducing myself to things in small installments, for eg; if I just can't bring myself to shower because of the texture and the hypersensitivity, I slowly introduce myself to flowing water in the sink, and then acclimate my body before jumping in the shower.",1 Yes! You’re question caused me to reflect. Enjoy your award!,0 "When I was like 16 or 17 not sure, my dad found a baby bird that had fallen from its nest. He brought him home and I claimed him as my pet. Fed him, slept with him, walked everywhere around my house with him on my shoulder. Then one night I woke in the middle of the night because I did not hear him chirping. As I looked to where it should be, he was dead. I had mistakenly rolled on him while asleep. The guilt had me for weeks. I buried him in my backyard and cried for days. His name was Tweety bird. I had it in my head that I killed him, but in the end I excepted that it was a mistake. To this day I think of him and how I should have gotten him a cage instead to sleep in. Instead of sleeping with him because he was so attached to me that he would chirp if I were away from him.",0 I came out to have a good time and I’m honestly feeling so attacked right now,0 "fuck the invalidating comments! you are experiencing something awesome and I hope it lasts forever. you were brave to come here looking for support and I believe that those who try to undermine your joy, even if coming from an understandable place of frustration themselves, are demonstrating a selfish inability to hold space. I've had a break like this before that only lasted a few hours. Doesn't mean I can't be happy for you or am gonna get anything out of telling you this shit is not gonna last. SMH at people. Everyone's different. I believe in validating others' experiences and choosing to believe something different is possible for all of us who want it. GO YOU",0 "I SWEAR!!!!! My harm OCD lets up for one day and the next thing my brain says is ""did you *really* just hear that noise?""",0 And then once you do you feel like you were faking it and start overthinking that,0 LMAO RIGHT IM ROLLIN UP TO MY COUNSELOR LIKE SHAUN HELP IM SCARED OF BUGS,0 "I feel so incredibly lucky that I got a regular schedule with my therapist and we see each other every Monday. I see my psychiatrist every 2 to 3 months, though.",0 "I have been told this by all of my lovers. They complained that I ask too many questions and still don’t do what I’m told because I hate being told what to do. Like why are you trying to control me? Why do I have to do this thing? Do I have to do it right now? Why? What happens if I don’t? Lol, I need to see if I’m interested first.",1 100% agree with this. I basically slept through my 20's because I spiraled down so hard. Seek treatment before you wind up in a place where you're starting your life a decade late.,0 "This, together with an endless list of interests but a lack of enough focus to choose one and stick to it, has been the bane of my existence. I only recently realised it was an ADHD thing!",1 I laughed but fuck you if I clea. Anymore I might just fucking die,0 I do something similar. I speak 'no' out loud to myself for some reason..,0 But now my fears are real because I am essential and in a busy grocery store. This shit is bananas. Which by the way you should wash with dawn dish soap if you bring home. Same for all loose produce.,0 A stranger caught me in the middle of an OCD compulsion two years ago and roasted me for it. Never forgot and still sulk about it to this day.,0 This has never happened to me… I feel like sometimes I don’t have ADHD because some of the symptoms that other ppl have are way more extreme than mine and yes I know we all have different symptoms but wow. I don’t think my ADHD would do something like this.,1 "This is really fantastic - definite GOALS!!!! Lots of high-fives and fist-bumps - this is MAJOR!",1 "I have ADHD and can't relate to this. My appointments have to ALWAYS be in the afternoon, else I won't be able to make them as my sleep schedule has been messed up my whole life. Having GAD and social anxiety doesn't help either as if I have an appointment early in the morning I'm much more less likely to fall asleep lol",1 I will sometimes shake my head or close my eyes but most of the time I just make a weird noise under my breath,0 "No. For me, I just forget what the alarm was for and assume I set a recurring one the previous day.",1 Then check one more time in the parking lot just to be sure you’ve got the time right.,0 Dang if my hair looked that good maybe I would spend more time styling it too.,0 "I’ve had this when I was a kid and teenager. It still comes back sometimes, but it’s not that strong feeling anymore.",0 I need to jiggle the door handle both ways five times repeatedly or else the matching door un-locker thing will unlock the door and someone will come into my house and kill me. Then I need to walk upstairs and repeat the door jiggling process 2 to 6 times more,0 I’ve been trying to explain this since I was little and this is the first time I’ve seen other people who think the same way. I’m so happy I found this.,0 "I relate to this so hard wow. also great meme, love The Office and Michael Scott!",0 "Yes! And hungry, too. Too hungry to concentrate, constantly thinking about food. Oh, but if I'm drawing, then I will forget to eat for 8 hours.",1 "This is so cool!! How does art help with your tics? I have them as well and have noticed they aren't as bad when I'm immersed in a project, especially a creative one. Would love to know more about your experience if you feel comfortable sharing :)",0 "Well, you're not alone in that feeling.. I feel this every day. I find it helpful to make a small list of tasks and do them one by one. It helps to also take like a 10 min break every 40 mins or so during my regular day and my workday. Communicate to people around you that you cope with your day differently and people will support and understand what your struggles can be. It's hard to vocalize this I know, but vocalizing or journaling helps a bunch. I hope this helps some OP.",1 "Just diagnosed here - literally the only reason I passed any classes in highschool without doing projects or homework or studying was because I consistently scored in the 90s on tests without even trying. College was a real eye opener for me. I knew I had ADHD for a long time but not being medicated or receiving treatment for it had never been a problem for me. I subsequently dropped out, spent months fighting to get tested, and now I'm planning on getting medication and proving I can handle school again before going back. No one ever noticed I had ADHD because I wasn't ever technically a ""bad student"".",1 "Wow! Instantly i noticed the counting and keeping data in track. I have ADHD-pi but without the data collecting and organizing! It is something I recognize in 2 diagnosed friends of mine. They always come up with lists and data, funny to see. It really is something i totally never do.",1 "From a fellow human with OCD, thank you for this post. People have a hard time understanding us but that's okay, we're all good people and we know it!",0 my hands used to look reptilian as if it was scaled and stale until i stopped rubbing and washing my hands with hot water for a stupid amount of time lol,0 "Ugh. I feel you. I’ve managed to still be somewhat successful, personally and professionally, but I always feel like I’m teetering on the edge of destruction. I’m married and my wife loves me, but the lack of following up on promises is starting to weigh on her more and more. My depression/ADHD combo has sent my libido through the floor which causes her all sorts of grief too… she has Crohn’s, fibromyalgia, and a few others conditions that increase the amount of ways she relies on me already. How the fuck can I reassure my wife that I can be a responsible future parent? I’ve already broken loads of promises. When is the “straw that breaks the camels back” going to come along? I’m failing her and I have no idea how to fix it…",1 "Hand washing really gets me but I don’t think it’s irrational I think It’s usually for good reason I just overdue it I also get intrusive thoughts and they used to be way worse and all of them would be very disturbing.",0 " this is literally my exact dilemma, i'll spend hours researching things that are pointless to me but can't bring myself to do anything productive whether a hobby or school my brain doesn't work",1 "Me too. I start and give up on new hobbies CONSTANTLY and get so mad at myself for not being naturally talented. It's like, you know it's irrational but that doesn't mean you'll be fine with that.",1 Saw the title and came here prepared to tear you a new one. Very glad I read the post before commenting. 😅,1 "No stepping on cracks, I have to step on every tile or every other tile depending on the pattern. And I have to step directly in the center or else it’s wrong.",0 "I fixed this! I've got personal wiki/notes that are linked to each other, so that i can go back and remember what i remember! From my notes: \> Digital gardening is about taking notes in context, and linking them to other ideas, and writings outside the notes - links as a first-class citizens. It's also about taking quick notes and getting back to them later. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckv\_CjyKyZY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckv_CjyKyZY) [https://christiantietze.de/posts/2020/05/digital-gardening/](https://christiantietze.de/posts/2020/05/digital-gardening/)",1 "ERP helped me a lot with intrusive thoughts. It gets way easier to tolerate the anxiety that's associated with intrusive thoughts, and eventually the thoughts will just move away on it's own. Awesome, photo though",0 "I like this post a lot, I feel guilty for paying more for quick and easy but if it’s not quick and easy, it gets wasted anyways and just wastes money. I’m glad y’all resonate with this",1 "you dont need to ‘man up’ you are allowed to have feelings and talk about them and its not your fault things are harder for you in this word. i relate to how u feel though im sorry edit: ive never had an award before thankyou!!",1 My middle name should’ve been “won’t follow through.”,1 "I love this. I get so sick and tired of hearing people say stuff like “I like to keep my kitchen clean, I guess I’m a little ocd lol.”",0 "I hear you and feel this big time. My life has been painfully summed by the old saying, ""Jack of all trades, master of none"". Lots of good advice in this thread that I'll hope to use too, especially the one from /u/dhhs77. I have a lot of perfectionist tendencies so that approach seems really good.",1 "> I just wish I could do nothing all day I would be happy just doing that I'm incredibly lucky enough to have this privilege (disability benefits and a flat provided by a ""supported independent living"" scheme - I often feel guilty about how lucky I am to have this). It's not *quite* as great as you probably think it is. I *love* that I have the option to do nothing all day every day, but because ADHD causes me to struggle with motivation/discipline, I end up choosing this option far more than is healthy for me. I've not really pursued any of my life's ambitions, and even in terms of day-to-day living, I sometimes get intolerably bored, lonely and depressed, but still feel as though I just want to hide and do nothing. I really hate the feeling of being required to do something, but I think sometimes it's necessary to have some commitments, especially if you'd otherwise struggle to motivate yourself. As much as I feel incredibly grateful that I'm able to have a life free of commitments, I think it's that very lack of any consequence for doing nothing all day, every day, that has turned my life into often feeling like more of an 'existence'.",1 It took me three attempts to read all the way through this.,1 "I do this all the time. I'm not yet diagnosed but I've been struggling with a lot then realised you can get adhd in adult hood. Didn't realise that. Unsure if I need to get checked out or its just me over thinking it really. I'm constantly late to work and it's like I have no sense of time, always fidgeting and often feel like I'm driving to do certain crazy weird shit (hyperactive) can never just start doing something without doing 1000 other things before. I can never ever relax and I have to force myself to go watch TV instead of staring into space",1 Whoa I didn’t know this was an OCD thing. My entire life I’ve known I’m prone to sensory overload to the point I avoid loud environments. A few months ago I had a panic attack at a small gathering when someone turned on a strobe light,0 "And then immediately after, start another experiment. 24 hour workdays. I literally have ocd in my dreams now.",0 Sometimes I do this… thought I was alone in all of this! Mine seem to be similar but even more so with anything I watch that is violent on tv. Can’t seem to make the link with it …,0 "When that happens I get over joyed because life is fleeting and to lose less than I thought, that to me truly is winning the lottery.",1 "OCD isn’t being cutesy and tidy. To me, OCD sometimes feels like there’s a demon sitting on your shoulder holding you at gunpoint screaming at you to do something.",0 "This is so me this week. Lol thanks for helping me laugh at myself. Much love op, hope you feel better soon",0 "Same! I’m usually considered more academic than creative because those are the subjects i chose, however i have so many cool ideas for stories and other creative things, however i’ve always had the problem that i just have no way of effectively expressing them. I’m terrible at art, music, and any other kind of medium through which you can tell stories, and as well as that i cannot commit to a project for a long time so its hard to even learn these skills. But i so desperately want to do something creative",1 Also me: questioning that every second of every day of that year.,0 Set a dedicated place to do school work. Honestly I'm still gonna use the school library because it'll still be open and no one is in there anyway.,1 "Reading the title I genuinely got excited, but thanks for the chuckle.",1 "I am feeling of of relieved. Once again, I wouldn't wish this on anyone, but knowing that I'm not alone is comforting. No advice as I've been a slave to my bladder every night for years, just solidarity",0 "Im doing what you did but i guess i really should finally go to the doc huh... Good luck man, hang in there!",1 "I totally understand and it's possible........ I use fullstops or add unnecessary words ...... if i have to sayyyyyyyy and will just addd more alphabets.....intill now i never realixed",1 "Livin' the dream right now. I work 3rd shift, and have been home since ~8am. It is now 3:30pm, and I haven't slept. All because I avoided brushing my teeth, because I obsess over making them ""perfectly clean."" I was doing so well, too. I finally did my bedtime routine, but now I have to go to an appointment. T.T This shit sucks. 0/10",0 Sounds like how I finally got my graduation thesis done after 5 years.,1 "adhd too Pro tip, if you have adhd you can hyperfocus while you ruminate to maximize your maladaptive coping skills.",0 "I relate to this massively. 18f and I got diagnosed a year ago, when that happened I wanted to research stuff that would help me/ increase my understanding that kinda thing and was frustrated by the sheer amount of stuff targeted for young children, specifically what I think annoyed me the most that the majority of what I found was aimed at parents/ teachers. Essentially for the people who have to ‘deal’ with us and not about how we can help ourselves. It made me feel like more like a burden to other people than anything else",1 "This is *incredible*, and surprising that it's not thought of more often now that you mention it! Seems such an obvious solution once someone else has written it out 😂 Fair play to both of you!",1 Me: take meds they will help OCD. OCD: Don’t take meds the will kill you slowly.,0 "Holy shit, I've never seen a more accurate explanation of compultions!",0 So that’s what Harry Styles was doing in watermelon sugar’s video,0 Anyone else tell a lie so often you start to forget that it’s not true?,0 "nnnggh this hits so home, I spent all of yesterday to do the dishes :D .. and ofc I started the day before too X)",1 "I write with a lot of commas too! I don't exactly know why,but,it just makes the text look better to me? Like,it feels like everything is tidy and in order with them,i don't know why.",1 Not me checking to see if I wrote this post and forgot about it 😳 we r living the EXACT same life rn,1 Sarah sounds like a kind person. I hope her response made your mom reflect on why she shouldn’t be asking questions like that. Just comes off as her trying to get Sarah mad too so they can work together to make Connor change how he acts instead of just accepting him and his quirks.,1 Ha why do I keep staying up all night just thinking of scenarios that could’ve happened in my life,0 I can relate to this. OCD has completely ruined my ability to sit and play games on my computer or console.,0 "Sounds like that bad memory OCD, I am constantly forgetting everything and my parents treat me like I'm an old guy with dementia. It really sucks, I've missed out on a lot of things",0 "Me: exists My brain: im about to end this whole mans career",0 Me but I work in a deli and count the slices of meat I cut when all I need to do it put it on a scale next to me and get it to the correct weight. I dont even remember the number afterwards so its completly pointless. I do it everytime tho.,0 Bruh...literally I feel this and I dont even have ocd,0 "Lol I have real event ocd, I’ve never been so close to suicide than now. Every day is debilitating. I fucking hate TikTok.",0 I’m sobbing I really needed this even if I only feel better for a second,0 "The hardest part about trying to explain why “staying organized and planning ahead” advice is useless to me is that it ISN’T useless; it does work wonders - until one day I just wake up and completely forget that I was ever organized or that I used a planner. I’ll literally find the planner again in a month when I’m searching for my lost birth certificate and look back at the filled in time blocks and think “Who the hell was I that week? Why didn’t I continue doing this?” And then I hyper focus on blocking out the next year of my life instead of taking the shower that I needed only for me to forget about the planner again by the end of the week.",1 "I usually just read the title and go: «Yeah, that too» 😊",1 I've often thought about hiring a virtual assistant. I've also thought it might be a good business model to create a virtual assistant service to cater to those with ADHD.,1 I buy frozen vegetables because I've watched too many heads of broccoli go yellow in my fridge.,1 "That's how I've felt my whole life, have you tried meds? I am in the third day of Ritalin, and is mind-blowing how actually doing things chages your perception of life.",1 "Ummm. Just so you all are aware, the “usual” starting dose for Adderall is supposed to be only 5mg. (20mg right off the bat was a 4-fold overdose, by definition.) And you’re supposed to increase by 5 mg each week only as necessary. (40 mg per day is the maximum dose for ADHD. (It’s 60mg for Narcolepsy.)) You may wish to call your pharmacist or Dr office for possible lower dose. (In general, especially for a pre-existing, chronic condition, it’s best to start low and titrate up slowly to be sure of the diagnosis and to avoid side effects.) Sources: 1) I’m a doctor and did my intern year in psychiatry. 2) ePocrates just to double check to make sure I didn’t misremember anything.",1 "We will not go gentle into that good night, we will rage, rage against the dying of the light. That's the quote that helps me keep going.",1 "All my life, I had no idea I had ADHD. I went to a therapist once and he said I was a perfectionist and that I had social anxiety disorder. I always thought I was just broken, no one had ever had issues like me. But now I see it’s been in front of me all along. Everyone here feels the same as me. I’m not able to get help (well, I really just don’t want to, no motivation lol) but seeing these is help enough. I know I’m not alone. And I have a name for all my issues. ADHD really is the worst",1 Ahh yes. The Nike model of success. Just do it. Just like Michael Jordan. Okeedokee suuuure illgetrightonthat,1 I don't know if it's an ADHD thing but I get this too. When I'm feeling overwhelmed or anxious about a task I get overwhelmingly sleepy. Sometimes it helps to just take a nap to reset my brain and try again.,1 Wow I'm so proud of you too! You've stood so strong and we're proud of you. You really give lots of hope to all of us suffering from OCD too! Happy for ya :),0 I remember watching a YouTube video where a guy said that it’s not a deficit of attention but a problem with regulating attention.,1 "All the time. Sometimes I just commit to getting the things prepped to do awful task and then about 50% of the time I just do it after. So if it's selling, I'll just go get out the broom and dust pan. If it's an email, I'll just open it up and read it. That's it. Then half the time I just end up doing the task",1 If I were at peace with uncertainty. Wow that would be my definition of heaven.,0 WTF so it wasn't just me after all? I was wondering why I was so useful and helpful to others but can't do a damn thing for myself.,1 "Actually it’s 1:07am. It would be better to round it off to 1:30am. Yeah, I’ll just stop then.",1 At least it's incentive enough to stay away from a corporate life so there's that. I don't want to be a cog!,1 What were you avoiding when you went down this attention hole?,1 "YESSSSSS. I have no cleaning compulsions whatsoever. My room is a mess. My hands have never bleed from overwashing. A crooked painting rarely bothers me. I'm sick of people saying, ""Oh, you don't really have OCD!"" because I don't fit the stereotype. I'm absolutely sick of everyone--even professionals--not taking me seriously just because I'm not a neat freak. Even my psychiatrist who diagnosed me said that maybe he'd need to reevaluate me because he saw my messy desk. Meanwhile I'm so upset and anxious about my intrusive thoughts that I don't have any energy to tidy up!",0 "I have had these thoughts for years, I just thought I was strange, but then I found out it might be ocd, and I found out I had other tyoes too, and now I know I’m not just dirty minded",0 "This is hard, and I feel like I (and a lot of people) go through feelings like that often. I ended up not finishing the buttload of homework and studying I had to do over the weekend and its a terrible feeling (to be fair, my AP Art History teacher told us to study almost 80 different pieces, and I had to study for a unit exam for pre-AP Chem). I know I could've accomplished a lot more if I wasn't so useless and it makes me feel like garbage. Maybe if you're staying up doing nothing and you see this, try to make a schedule of what you want to work on and when - and make sure to plan breaks - and use a timer to try to keep yourself on track. That's what seems to work best for me, and tbh, I really should be doing it more too. Keep your chin up! You can get through this! Maybe put enough time aside to take care of your interests, but whatever you do, your mental health comes first, so try to discuss this with your teacher/ boss/ whatever if you have anything that you need to finish soon and try to find a way for them to accommodate you (like getting some extra time or a decreased workload in the future). Also, if you have anyone close that you are comfortable talking about this with, then do so! Maybe they can help you out!",1 "God, it's so true. Looking for advice and support as a person in their late 20s just finally getting a diagnosis, it's all toxic positivity. But everyone here is real and supportive without bullshit. Long time lurker but first time commenter because this made me need to finally comment. You guys mod a great sub.",1 "I’m so tempted to share this on my Facebook, Twitter etc. 😩",0 "This is beautiful and probably the closest artistic representation I've seen, at least for me. Amazing job and thanks for sharing!",0 "Tru. But also i've found that if I need to be productive then i tell myself that if I can get this one thing finished, then I'll allow myself to do my favorite passtime or website.",1 Haha my usable hours are from 11 to 2 am but that's only if I can stop myself from trying to rationally go to bed cos its bedtime and then lie there for said 3 hrs thinking about how much sleep I'm missing and how much other shit I could be doing instead.,1 I'm doing this exact thing right now! I'm supposed to be packing so i can start my meal prep but instead I'm staring at my phone and doing absolutely nothing.,1 "Don’t let it get to you. These people don’t mean any harm, they’re just repeating what they “know” about the disorder from pop culture, which is inaccurate. In the end, there’s no benefit to getting upset about statements like this.",0 "Oh BIG YES. I /like/ things to be clean and organized, because one of my compulsions is rearranging things so they have ""the correct"" spacing and organisation (whatever the fuck that means). However, my depression is much stronger than my obsession with cleanliness so my apartment is often a literal health hazard. At some point though, I begin to worry that different areas of the apartment are ""contaminated"" when they're so messy/dirty and I just can't even touch my dishes or certain parts of the shower. It's such a catch 22. I feel trapped in my own mess more often than not.. Usually the contamination gets so bad that I like can only touch my bed, a part of my coffee table, a couple drawers, and like a handful of things like that. I eventually self select down to so few options that I literally need to deep clean and Purge the whole damn place. On a side note: does anyone else have literal breakdowns when they finally bring themselves to touch/deal with things that you've deemed ""contaminated"" or whatever? I find myself sobbing while dealing with my dirty, mold-ridden dishes that have been sitting in my sink for months. It's so pathetic, but I just can't seem to control the crying and panic sometimes!! I always feel better after I do deal with the contaminated things and clean, but FUCK is it hard to get up the nerve sometimes.",0 "Dum brain be like ""but liiiiisten maybe you actually DO wanna do that?""",0 "Another Hodgkin's survivor here. Dx'd in 2015 at age 33 and my mom was the person that made me go to the doctor because I kept procrastinating. I didn't have any symptoms that screamed ""CANCER!"", but there were some smaller issues that didn't quite make sense. Stay positive and take care of yourself.",1 "yes, the fact that your OCD focuses on your family is proof that you care about them. but you have an endless number of other ways to prove it that aren't detrimental to your mental health",0 "I use hair forks to keep my hair off my face! And I did a hardcore Marie Kondo of my bedroom and got tiny bins to put the mess in. It LOOKS cleaner but it isn’t hyper organized. It’s just hidden tiny messes which helps. I buy and wear only clothes that are soft natural fibers and have a bit of stretch and low necklines and have a super soft bralette for days a normal bra feels too constricting. I have two different pairs of slippers because sometimes one is too annoying. I also argue with strangers on the internet. I usually win. But I also spend like 14 hours doing it so I’ve tried to ween myself off. I’ve discovered a couple of productive comforts- painting, gardening, that help me feel kind and calm and productive that are also low key and no outside judgement. I also have shadow comforts- playing text drinking games with a friend on the other side of the country, rereading books or watching trash tv. Everything gets better when I’m medicated but even food is ANNOYING. So I make sure to stock my freezer with a variety of easy ready meals as well as have good veggies and ingredients for complicated cookin. Cause cooking is also a soemtimes hobby. Anyway. ADHD is hard. I’m sorry. Try hair forks!",1 "Saved!!! Also, sorry for coming on strong here, but I think I love you for doing this.",1 Avoiding situations like going to the bathroom or eating or drinking... the things we need to be doing to survive.,0 "I feel this. I think I have forgotten two bachelors degrees worth of stuff... like, it's funny but I'm not really joking :/",1 "My room and car are a shitshow. It's amazing. I have germaphobia but I'm fine if they're my own. People would be shocked if they knew. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ In the past when I have attempted to help, I get overwhelmed because I don't know where anything goes and what is and isn't important.",0 "I apologize to automatic doors when they open for me when I'm just walking by - I feel like I should go in, now, since they went to the trouble to open. Edit: Just remembered that when I was a kid, and I wanted a toy in a shop but couldn't get it, I would always promise it in a whisper, ""I'll come back for you!"" so it wouldn't feel abandoned.",0 "This YouTube channel was made just for you/us. https://m.youtube.com/channel/UC-nPM1_kSZf91ZGkcgy_95Q",1 "This, right, here. But in all seriousness. I use Grammarly, and it's so annoying to see so many red marks for the words that have a coma after them. There are times where I leave them there, even though it is telling me, they should not be there.",1 "I have over 8,000 photos on my phone. 90% are screenshots of things I wanted to remember... Dont remember to check",1 "So. Much. This. I tend to over-explain that I know the intrusive thought isn't real so the other person doesn't think I'm delusional, but that just prompts the ""if you know it isn't real, why does it bother you so much"" response and it's like... I don't know how to describe to a person who doesn't already understand the hell of being stuck in the cycle of intrusive thought and shame and the never-ending guilt of feeling like you've done something horrible.",0 I feel it's easier to only talk to the people you are close with. This disease is really missunderstanding to most people. If you tell someone you have harm ocd they will assume you are a murderer LOL,0 I feel like I’m constantly disassociating lately. Anyone have any tips for breaking out of this fog? It’s like I am barely in control of things in the cockpit of my brain and I constantly feel vaguely awful and not ever truly “present” at any given moment....,1 "in my mind, i write down the intrusive thought on a chalkboard and erase it. sometimes it works, but of course, other times, they reappear. so annoying! it's literally a broken record skipping over the same sentence(s). not gonna let it win though. fuck ocd",0 "For me I get this with people really bad because as well as having ocd, I am generally a very organised and neat person (which is separate from ocd) but people know that I am organised and neat and so if I mention ocd or if I tell them I have ocd they just assume it’s about me liking to have things organised. Like I told my friend about my ocd and she was like ‘oh that’s why your room is so perfectly neat’ and I had to explain about that not being what ocd is",0 I'll have you know I have at least 32 planners from plain notebooks to fancy ones with a system and all of them range from blank to good intentions filled out on the first page. I can't get rid of them cause I may use them.,1 I suspect myself of being evil and always question if I'm actually a caring kind person or if I deliberately just act that way to trick them,0 "Thank you for yelling for me! This is life! Sometimes i almost hold contempt for people without adhd cause i don’t believe they can understand what we go through. Like telling people the movie in your head but they can never see it, just watch your moves and gather from that.",1 this is so relatable like theres no way i could be but sometimes my brain things there could be i just didnt remember it like..?,0 I hate drinking water more than anything and I won't do it,1 Oh god this is the absolute truth. My mind will think of nothing else for the day before into the day after. I need to leave an hour window of time just before I even leave to travel to the appointment and afterwards.,1 "Yes, this is absolutely something I struggle with. I wish it would go away. Trying to work on it though",0 "Same, I feel like I have done most that I can, past 45, not much left to do just wake up work sleep wake up work sleep. The thought that I potentially have 30+ years of this left doesn't make me happy. I want to roll a new character. 🤷",1 "I have a theory that ADHD may be a more primal neurological system. That hyper focus like a predator on prey. The extremes of emotion. The inattentive doldrums like hibernation. Just an idea.",1 "That's actually a super good point. I use TONS of parentheses, commas, em dashes, nested sentences, etc. My mind is so used to bouncing back and forth between ideas that when I write I add little parenthetical asides and tangents that I assume everybody needs for co text, but when someone else reads it they go ""what the fuck, dude, pick a thought and stick with it for more than nine words."" Good observation, thank you. This will really up my proofreading game to make sure I write effectively for people who don't have a dozen simultaneous thoughts at any given time, haha.",1 "“The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke.” Judging by the comment section here I’d say you did a great job with your art. Any form of creative work will ALWAYS have people that want to knock it, sometimes because they simply don’t understand it and sometimes because they don’t understand the emotions the art makes them feel. Best advice to you, ignore those people, and if you enjoy drawing, fill up that note pad, get a new one and fill that up too.",0 I do the same...over and over from every angle. My C is writing down what I know and what I do not know. Funny because you do it over and over and it starts to her silly...i can't find amy more data to chew on!,0 Aye this happened to me recently. I was taking a bit too long to gather my things and leave my partner's place (my socks were in the bathroom where their roomie was showering so I really couldn't do much) and they accused me of intentionally stalling. It not only triggered my RSD but also convinced me everything was about to fall apart because of me. Glad to know it's just my perception warped by dysphoria,0 "The rare times that I forget to brush in the morning, I am literally obsessed with cleaning my teeth ASAP because of how gross they feel. Even if it’s a last resort finger/napkin cleaning, I need to, maybe I’m OCD? I can’t comprehend how someone can be oblivious to filmy, gross feeling teeth.",1 your skin is so perfect! do you mind telling me how you figured out you have dermatillomania? i’m 95% i have it but i don’t know what do to about it :(,0 "And you just have to keep reminding yourself you are not your ocd, which is the difficult part",0 "What do you mean ""a planner for people with ocd"" just curious because I've never seen a planner that is better/worse for ocd unless you REALLY need there to four boxes per page or something like that",0 Sooooo relatable. I am only lucky my battery is almost empty so I have to start my “bedtime ritual”. But I also have this problem every day sigh,1 Great now I'm thinking about how mean you are mom and about 800 other useless things,1 "Yep. I’ve forgotten more About certain topics than most people will ever know *edit: typo",1 "Whoaaaa the vitamin gummy hits so hard. I won't touch any of my vitamins unless it's a gummy version! Also, the first 2 are totally me too.",1 "After reading this and the comments, I feel like I e found my people.",1 "Oh hey, you got an hour of peace in the last year? Luckyyyy",0 "I gave up on bookmarks years ago. I do however hoard browser tabs, to a discusting degree. I had at last count a couple months ago in Vivaldi 1249 tabs over 4 windows. I also have a Pocket account full of links, and here on reddit I save posts also. On mobile I have 64 tabs in Chrome and 18 in Vivaldi (I try and put everything in pocket on mobile). I lucky do not screenshot.",1 Have you done a sleep study? This reaction to intense emotions can also be narcolepsy,1 "I’d love to see more of this on this page, this is awesome",1 "I used to make lists before bed to wake up and ignore them completely. Now, I make them with my cup of coffee for the day and I’m more likely to accomplish some parts of them at least. If lists were a completely new habit, I’d have a hard time with them but because I pair it with my coffee, it isn’t so hard to implement to my routine. Also, I have to have them on paper or I’ll never look at them. So much paper.",1 it's the worst thing ever for me. absolutely ruins everything. is there anything anyone's done that helps with this?,1 "I think there may also be a splintering of thoughts and a reiteration to make sure your point gets across. Like, partway through a sentence your brain may be bouncing enough to see two different trains of thought leading on from it, so you create a sentence that splits. and then at least for me I find people missing points I make rather frequently so I have a tendency to reiterate what I say to try to make sure they get it and follow my train of thought.",1 "My response in these situations is freeze. As in fight flight or freeze I remember i went on a extended family trip to Disney and we were buying tickets and I had military discount. I cannot tell you for the life of me what the issue was, but everyone was talking at the same time, huddled around the counter, and I just stood there arms up with the card in my hand like someone hit pause when i was handing it to the ticket clerk. Before I know it i snapped back into the present to see everyone was looking at me and the clerk asked if i was alright. Like woah when did yall get quiet? How long was i spaced?",1 "I just tried CBD oil and it helped me tremendously. My productivity went up and I actually got stuff done rather than obsessing about small, insignificant details. ",0 YEAH BIG MOOD also i'm hugging you (if you like that),0 "I attest to this. I put off having just a plain ol' physical because I thought ""eh I'm healthy enough."" No, I'm not. I've had undiagnosed hypothyroidism for at least 15-20 years based on my symptoms and TSH levels. Get checked out, people.",1 "I’ve never stepped on a crack in my life and my mothers back is in tip top condition, so I must continue right?",0 "I hate it when people are like ""I have anxiety too"" or ""everyone has anxiety"" like thanks but no",0 Yoooooo I also research e v e r y t h i n g constantly!,0 Bruh this is like the most acc thing I’ve seen all day,0 "Now that theres a pandemic, my brains always paranoiddd about covid. Like i went outside and now i think im infected shhshshs",0 "I hope you get rid of cancer. ADHD we can live and cope with. Sending good vibes, positive energy, and a little bit of focus.",1 "Most of these are very nice, but there are so many hacks in this list that don't work well for me. Like, I've tried sticking a note to the homescreen of my phone, but after a day I'll ignore the hell out of it. Same goes for my alarms. And I can't really make my alarms go off with music, because it'll disturb my coworkers...",1 "“I’m reminding you, take melatonin and get ready for be-“ “ALEXA STOP” “*spotify shuffle and lights turn on* Time to wake u-“ “ALEXA STAHHHP” “I’m reminding you, check for appointments for a psych-“ “ALEXA STOP. ....Man, I haven’t done anything today.”",1 Congratulations!!! This is such an uplifting story.,1 I honestly don’t know the best way to deal with intrusive thoughts,0 This was so hard to read and absorb but I feel a lot better. I've been really struggling lately. I love cooking but I just can't get myself to do it at all.. and it's all ending up in the trash. Maybe those prechopped veggies will help more than I think.,1 I literally just watched Bruce Almighty last night after like 10 years and I said to my sister “wow I forgot how much Jim Carey is just peak ADHD mood in this film”,1 I touched the inside of my mouth today while shopping and since then I've been figuring out what to say to everybody before I die,0 "Fuck I must have really severe adhd because I have been using a planner for years & I still cannot take this shit anymore. I finally recently got medication from my doctor (long story short still waiting for it in the mail as my dad had to pick it up & send it to me) I wish that was the cure for everyone 😭",1 Hi there. First time poster long time lurker of this sub. I haven’t been diagnosed by a psych yet but my therapist has been pushing me to make an appointment to get tested for years now. I feel kind of dumb...but I didn’t know that me always neglecting my oral hygiene could be linked to ADHD...can someone tell me more about this? Does physical hygiene link into that as well?? All my life I’ve just thought I’m a disgusting human for forgetting to do these things.,1 "This is part of why I haven’t partook in my edibles in a bit. Thankfully it’s mostly because I got a job offer with USPS and want to be clean for any drug testing they might do, so it doesn’t feel like one more thing OCD took away from me. Way easier to stay away from if it’s for a job than if it’s just solely OCD-induced avoidance. Like, edibles make me incredibly horny and right now with the return of my POCD (bc my life didn’t suck enough rn) I’m mortally terrified of associating the pleasure of that activity with those horrible, nasty thoughts because they just keep bugging me and popping up. UGH. This is the worst. 😖 Hopefully the 50mg of Luvox I’m on helps to ease the thoughts away. At least the Benadryl I take alongside helps with to smooth out the anxiety spikes.",0 Oh god I love this subreddit. I always thought it was just me!,1 I think this exact thing happened to me right as you posted this lol,1 Thank you for sharing this helpful technique. You’re awesome! 🤩,0 "Congratulations!! That's a huge accomplishment, and I'm so proud of you! Hopefully you got some sleep after that",1 “I think i’m just over exaggerating the answers to purposefully make it tell that something is wrong with me”,0 The one exception I would add to this is if the things they are forgetting is endangering the welfare of themselves or others. Yelling is warranted in such a scenario.,1 "I'm the same way. I hate doing anything before a scheduled appointment or shift. It's like my brain wants me to ""rest up"" as much as possible or something. even though I personally would love to be the lunch date before work friend, I'm definitely a ""maybe on my day off but not if I'm not feeling it"" friend.",1 "And I now have two hours of commuting (driving) every day and it seems to have come out of my usable hours, so I’m down to 1, tops.",1 "Me too.. Not just screen shots. Everything.. I even pick stuff up off the street with a plan to use it and never do, my life is a fucking mess",1 I’ve had a notification for a reminder on my screen for four days straight,1 i do this with my songwriting all the time. i have so many ideas and so much time but i just can't follow through but i know i could if i tried but i CANT,1 Wow it's literally 2am and I didn't realize. I need to go to sleep!,1 The problem with people is they're always trying to escape the problem instead of learning to cope with it.,0 Don't forget the power of timezones! Europe approves!,1 "here’s my argument: for a very long time, i knew i had ocd, but Sneaky Snitch (my ocd’s name) was trying to convince my that it was good for me and therefore i didn’t want Snitch treated. now, i am in treatment, and am able to tell that it was not me saying my ocd was good for me, but rather it was Sneaky Snitch being sneaky",0 "Like I y’all my fiancé - “great intentions, horrible follow through”",1 This post is everything I’ve ever wished for my husband to understand. This post is true love and acceptance.,1 "Wow, this is exactly me. I waste day after day researching things that shouldn't truly matter or deserve so much time.",1 Gonna save this post might find it later if I forget,1 "Thanks, saved my morning routine from falling into the reddithole.",1 That's 34-year-old me skipping the tiles so that I don't get a cockroach infestation,0 I’ve never thought of this and it’s something i struggle with so much. thank you for posting 🥺,1 "Everyone, even ""normal"" people, have fucked up thoughts. The difference is normal folks don't judge themselves as bad people for those thoughts and quickly move on, whereas people with OCD become fixated and obsessed on proving their innocence or that they would never do such horrible things. The key to beating OCD is disregarding your thoughts and acting in accordance to your values! We are our actions, not our thoughts.",0 "What if I put it off because I don't want to be alone/do it alone? Like cleaning the flat, I feel like shit when my partner does it without me, but I feel like shit when I do it without them and we both are at home. Or doing paperwork, where I get anxious real quick and therefore often have trouble understanding what they want from me. Is this ed?",1 Yeah but this time I'm sure I'm actually dying soooo,0 Literally my exact thought when i found this subreddit. I love every one of you and i hope we all can get this under control.,0 "Yep, be unaffected and disinterested. Fake it till you make it",0 "[https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/ae4a7y/helpful\_maxims\_for\_ocd/](https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/ae4a7y/helpful_maxims_for_ocd/) ​ Also, finding the right therapist for you could make all the difference. I had many ineffective OCD therapists throughout my whole child- and teen-hood before FINALLY finding one good one in adulthood. If a therapist is not effective I encourage people to move on and find an effective one. Most are not great but good therapists are out there! Great job being brave and living, by the way. <3",0 "ah executive dysfunction my old friend. don’t put too much pressure on yourself, ask for people to sit down with you and do the thing, or to hold you accountable. i do that with my mom and it’s been a lot more helpful (of course i live with her, if you don’t hopefully there’s a friend/roommate you could ask)",1 "I do the same thing with tabs haha. I have like 6 windows each 20+ tabs open, and I never go back to them but I don’t want to close them in case I do. Because when reading something I immediately want to google random things and I need to store it somehow. Same with my reminders app. My CPU hates me.",1 I LITERALLY just did this and this is one of the first things I see when I get on... I feel attacked,0 "I understand that feeling 100% percent. For example today I had to try to finnish in 1hr and assignment I just keep staring at and trying to concentrate for the past three weeks. You are actually doing your best. Sometimes is frustrating at hell and maybe you can't finnish but that doesn't mean you didn't try. I'm proud of you and your constat effort",1 Luckily they just extended my spring break by a week. But ima be dead if everything moves online.,1 "Except for homework, I live your life daily. Although, in solidarity, I went to 5 colleges, took 7 years to finish, dropped out of grad school twice, never finished, but managed to rack up 28k in student debt. Does that make you feel better about your eyebrows?",1 Jokes on you. I exclusively listen to daily mix so it’s just all the same all the time and spotify thinks and feels for me,1 "This is beautiful, I firmly believe that although we suffer, OCD sufferers are some of the most creative and honest people alive. Stay strong.",0 "I have my clients make a written list of the absolute lowest energy things they can do. For me it is emptying the junk mail from my email account. And making playlists for times when I need music to clean. Rub cuticle cream on my nails. Things like that. I can do these things while I lay on the sofa staring at the tv. Or whatever. When I hit that stuck moment I pull out my list and try to do one of the very low energy tasks. Then I can feel like I was successful. I recognized that I was stuck and I did a low energy task. That was my plan and I did it! (You really do have to have the list written someplace - probably your phone. When you are at that completely low energy place, you can’t think of the ideas you had.) Little successes really do add up and make a difference.",1 Oh shit. I have two unpacked suitcases. One from three months ago and another from Sept. 2019.,1 "I feel the same way, I entered university in 2018 and I have been struggling to get past the second semester, the point that I should've been in 2019, I got diagnosed on April of this year, but even having medication to take, I still can't manage to set aside time to study, watch classes and do house chores, my medicine only lasts for 5 hours. I feel like I'm wasting my parents resources, they provide my share of rental (I live with 3 roommates) and money for food, and I have been in the same struggle for almost 3 years now, I don't know if I should keep trying or just quit and cry all day.",1 "i especially have trouble articulating my feelings to other people/professionals as a sound designer/engineer sound is so abstract and objective that i can’t describe the “swimming” thoughts i have about a composition or atmospheric to someone to share what my vision is for a collaborative project",1 [and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming and they don't stop coming](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT3BFzSD6YY),0 "As a fellow ADHDer who is also in self isolation, don’t give into the temptation to allow Animal Crossing to consume your life. There are ways to cope. 1. Set your alarm to your normal get up time. At the very least. Get out of bed the same time you planned to arrive at work. 2. Drink a coffee, take your meds and browse the internet. 4. Make your bed. 5. if you have a stationary bike, treadmill or elliptical, set it up in front of the TV and play animal crossing for 1 hour while you peddle away. It goes quick. 6. Take a shower, brush your teeth. You’ve got time to floss and the dentist ain’t open. Go the extra mile. 7. Attend a zoom conference in your area of interest, once a week to stay in touch with your circle of professional humans. 8. Eat healthy snacks, hell meal prepping for yourself should be easier. None of this has to happen in a specific order. Just make it happen. Eventually, the real world will come back as fast as it left us and we need to be ready to hit the ground running. The best way to look at these “difficult times” is as a hard reset from real world. This is a chance to disappear, work on ourselves and reemerge like a pheonix. :)",1 "Oh god, this mess that people are going thru somehow makes me feel more normal. But! Having my fears justified also feels worse, because before all this happened, i could calm myself down, that i have no ground to think that way. Now i do 🥵",0 "OMG! This is so true. It's nice to know that someone feels the same thing as me. Congratulations, nice meme",0 "I've been doing this not just with my father, but my brother, all my ADHD friends, and even my non ADHD friends. Spreading the love goes a long way. You push people to do bigger and better things and only ask for their help in return, they'll reciprocate the help.",1 I usually wake up around 4am to pee so I’m gonna try taking my Adderall then and go back to sleep until 6 and see how it goes! I had switched to Ritalin recently because I wasn’t sleeping well but it gave me killer headaches so now I’m back to Adderall,1 The worst part is normal people will never believe you. They just think we don’t know how to handle stress like them,0 OCD? um I think you mean OBSESSIVE CHRISTMAS DISORDER!!! /s,0 "Sometimes I need this from certain individuals to get that motivation in the moment, and that's IF it works. But to just expect me to apply that to my every day living is already nonproductive considering that if I was able to do that, I wouldn't likely have a disorder to be diagnosed with...",1 "Yes all the time, especially at night when everything that has happened during the day goes through my mind",0 "Ok someone made a comment along the lines of “you’re right everything is so terrible I might as well just k*ll myself.” but I think it got removed right away. NO. That is not the point of this post. ADHD is a serious disorder. It deserves to be taken seriously. It affects our lives significantly and that is the reality of it. That is the point of this post. That doesn’t mean you are destined to a miserable life or that everything will just be struggle and darkness and pain. That doesn’t mean you don’t have wonderful qualities. You’re a person… you’re not just ADHD. And hell, there are good qualities I skipped over because that *isn’t the point.* We can be great and calm in emergencies. Hyperfocus for those that get it can be pretty great when the stars align and we accomplish things with it… We tend to be quite curious and are always learning different things (i’m rabbitholing about ferret care… lol I don’t own a ferret.) also wanna learn and guitar and flute and to speak Spanish and learn videography and painting and have already dabbled in photography and… it’s a cliche but I do somewhat credit my creativity to being wired differently, which helps me with art and stories and all sorts of projects. But I think having hung around this sub awhile, I’ve seen how so many are tired of hearing that. People want their struggles validated. I know that it certainly rubs me the wrong way when people are always “be positive” when they really have no idea about anything they want me to be “positive” about. They think it’s some small insignificant thing I can overcome with a new planner or by “pulling myself up by my bootstraps.” But THIS is the reality of ADHD that doesn’t get acknowledged often enough. It hurts to not be seen, to be seen as lazy, to be seen as “dumb” instead. Though just because there are struggles, just because this is a *disability* we are talking about, doesn’t mean things have to be hopeless and doom and gloom 24/7. There is the reality of it, and then there’s things you can do about it. Medication. Therapy. Coping skills. People with ADHD can still have a good life it brings a lot of hardship but you’re not “doomed.” That’s not what I meant to imply at all. As for the DREAD thing in the thread, that’s just my shitty sense of humor. If anyone is feeling that hopeless, I’m truly sorry if my post triggered something in you. Please reach out to someone who can help you. Family, friends, therapist, hotlines. There’s hope.",1 "Hello I know exactly what you mean Life’s so fun 🙄 (that is sarcasm by the way)",0 "Gj! My brain: ""but maybe you were supposed to park it there because where it stands now a meteor might hit it""",0 Thanks for the tip. What I usually do is record my classes with OBS Studio and when I'm confused watch them back later,1 "Caution: Your brain has become infected with malware! Press continue to quarantine and remove infected files! [Continue] Brain.exe has stopped responding [Alt+F4] Dies",0 "So, instead of currently working on the new video service integration for our digital meetings platform, I am fucking about on the Internet and you lot are distracting me. So, here's what we should do. We should all get a lifetime license for freedom ([https://freedom.to/](https://freedom.to/)). It is a good service, it can block your browser, your android phone's apps, for time periods. Then you hit up my post about my Plan-Work-Assess (how is that word spelled?) method for getting shit done. ​ And then you toss that phone in the lake. You roll off that couch. You **know** that you can do this if you **just get started.** Everybody just stop browsing now and for the next 30 minutes. I will turn of ""Centurion"" and get to work on the integration, see you back in 30 minutes! I will honestly report what, if anything, I got done. Note distractions. Note your frustrations. ​ Good luck!",1 This is my life everyday so seeing this actually made me laugh and feel less alone ,0 Me and my ocd reading this: “but are you sure? how do you know?”,0 "oh shit, I do that all the time in email! great observation",1 "TL;DR - a guy I worked with played a Spotify “recommended for you” playlist that ended up being 90% heavy, screamo death metal even though he never listens or likes the genre. I’ve had some funny moments with Spotify; a little backstory first. ^(I worked for a company as a summer student, and the job was 5.5 hours away from where I lived. Our shifts were ten days on and four days off.) ^(For the days off, this other guy and I would drive home. After working together for 10 hours a day, ten days in a row, and then a five and a half-hour drive home was a lot of time to spend together. *Just* the travel home and back ended up being like 90 hours of driving over four months.) ^(As many of us are, I’m very chatty, but he wasn’t talkative, so some of the drives we’d talk for five hours straight, but most were pretty quiet.) ^(The guy I was working with did all the driving because he wanted to and also played the music, which I was okay with.) ^(He played his music over Spotify, but because of the kind of work we were doing, we would all be listening to our own music all day, and I guess he just got tired of his own music sometimes and would play Spotify playlists.) On one of the drives, he was like, “hmm, okay, I’m gonna play a ‘recommended for you’ playlist!” The first song that played was heavy metal, screaming stuff. He looked at me and was shocked. “That was weird,” he said, then he played the next song, and again, heavy metal screamo stuff. The next song was the same. There were like 3/20 songs that weren’t metal on the whole playlist. He told me, “I swear I don’t listen to this stuff. I don’t know why Spotify recommended these for me.” It turned out he had some Metallica and some other songs from bands that have music near that genre, but none of them were like, death metal. A pretty hilarious moment happened like two more times that summer. Sorry, this is long.",1 "nah, try; anxiety, ADHD, AND depression. and asthma",1 "Wow. Of course. Why didn't I think of that. I'm cured!",1 Wait are u suggesting its *possible* to watch a movie without not paying attention for most of it?,1 "Bruh it ain’t even about contamination, I’m on the 7th time shampooing my hair and if the dallop of soap was too big i’m gonna lose control and rape my family so the compulsive washings begin",0 "“In the beginning the Universe was created. This had made many people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move.” ― Douglas Adams",0 I can relate. My intrusive thoughts are centered around time. So for me playing a video game fills me with anxiety as if I’m wasting time and cannot do it unless it’s productive. It’s so draining because all my brain bullies me into doing is drawing??? Apparently the only thing that doesn’t waste time for me is drawing. And if I don’t draw I’m wasting time.,0 "Analyzing past mistakes is my fuckin jam. I'm trying now to only analyze mistakes that happened in 2020. It's working out pretty well.",0 "I just started seeing a psychologist for the first time in my adult life a few weeks ago and she believes I have ocd. I’ve never would have been able to identify my actions caused by my disorder before they started affecting my adult life if someone else didn’t frame it this way for me, but my childhood makes sense now. Seeing it put in words makes the concept more concrete in my head, allowing me to better analyze my actions. TLDR: thank you for making a funny, relatable meme",0 Teleworking is so awful. I feel like I’m working 3 times as hard and getting half the work accomplished. On the plus side I’ve lost 5 lbs. On the bad side it’s because I don’t have meals built into my schedule so I’m eating like probably 1000 calories a day.,1 Yesterday I actually started doing the opposite of what my OCD brain was telling me and I actually did start to feel better and less panicky.,0 "I doubt I will ever make it to the C-Suite, but after many tough years of learning the hard way, I managed to achieve above-average levels of productivity and end the cycle of rage-quitting jobs by: 1. Getting treatment 2. Keeping interactions with coworkers strictly professional and to a minimum in general 3. Learning not to GAF about things that happen at work, or most things in life in general \#3 is still a work in progress...you could say its a relentless pursuit, as the TV commercial used to say.",1 "I feel for you, long distance learning would, most likely, be hell for me.",1 I've been so good at getting to the train in time everyday that everyday I'm feeling less stressed about doing anything on time ending up being much more stressed when actually running to the train...,1 "Reminds me of fourth grade when my mom bought water bottles for my school lunches. They were a store brand and tasted like the cheap plastic they were bottled in. First time I drank out of one and noticed this I freaked out but kept it to myself and ended up having a full-blown panic attack. The ""cherry on top"" was the face tingling that occurred. At the time I didn't know that face tingling (paresthesia) can be part of a panic attack. I thought it was poisoning from the plastic.",0 "oh i do this constantly, main reason i deleted instagram i would spam my private story then have to check all my logged in accounts to make sure i didn’t post it there, ive prevented it somewhat by like i said deleting instagram but also tiktok and cutting down my use of other social media apps",0 I literally was diagnosed Friday .....so my jerkassness is a symptom?,0 That is stunning! I have to walk away a lot from embroidery pieces I do because I’ll pick and pick trying to fix it... and end up ruining it lol,0 So happy for you! Bathroom OCD always fucks up my schedules,0 "Alternate (begged) question: does it matter? There is nothin you can do about Covid right now except wash your hands, socially distance and wear a mask. Maybe sign a petition to make mask wearing mandatory You can go and have a glass of water right now. You can go and eat something right now. You can’t pull those things apart in the moment. If you don’t feel good after water and food, then you can go for a walk. If you don’t feel good after all those things, then yeah maybe it is the state of the world. And maybe that can help you to let it go a bit. Hell, maybe you need electrolytes. What I’m saying is there are dozens of things you can try. Which have an effect. You trying to decipher them without experimenting does nothing but feed the beast. Now sometimes you can’t help feeding the beast, and if that’s today, it’s ok my G. We all have them sometimes. Just go have a glass of water and some food at minimum.",1 This is so helpful!! Mods should pin it or something.,1 Someone didn’t do a simple symptom google search…..,0 THIS!!! nothing makes you more uncomfortable trying to explain to your boyfriend that if you don’t wash your hands four times in a row that he will die in an accident.,0 Facts. I'm in a relationship where my gf does not understand to the max and it really fucks with me because things that bother me are so trivial to her and dont bother her in the slightest and whenever i speak up about them or act on them it turns into an argument,0 "Other possible message child might get: underperform as a defensive tactic, so you get less unreasonable demands placed on you.",1 "I feel this exactly. Before I was formally diagnosed I would google symptoms and self diagnose myself, then later I would tell myself I was only making the symptoms up and I was doing it to make people feel bad for me or get sympathy. EVEN THOUGH I didn’t tell anyone I had any mental illness and now that I AM diagnosed I still haven’t told anyone. Crazy how our minds are so harsh on ourselves.",0 "My mom is exactly the same way, you'd think that after having 2 sons with ADHD(Myself and my lil bro), that she'd know we can't just flip a switch and concentrate.",1 "Me running up and down the stairs 100 times to check the doors, switches and gas 😂",0 When you’re actively caught up in the new compulsion realizing it took the place of an old one without being able to enjoy the loss of the old compulsion.,0 It's me except the last part :( I can't force myself to see a therapist.,0 "ooof this hit harddd, pretty much not a day goes by where I don’t think im gonna die, for me it usually happens after reading about someone else struggling with a disease on the internet and then I convince myself I also definitely have it too",0 "What does this mean? I apologize for my ignorance, can someone explain this type of OCD to me.",0 Shooting for the stars are ya? Proud of you brother,1 "Genuine question. How are you doing? I don’t expect a ‘I’m doing good’ but I just wanna know if you are at-least a little okay? I can only guess on what this must feel like, I really hope everything goes well...",1 Honhonestly I try so hard and I try my best I do everything but it's still not good enough to my mom apparently I'm getting called lazy I literally take her to and from school everywhere waste my gas but it's not good enough it's never going to be good enough,1 like my whole dad’s side of the family all has ADHD... I’m so lucky they get my struggles,1 "we have bigger and harder to solve problems, just get a bigger hard drive and don't shame yourself :) (coming from someone with 3000 + screenshots and 480 browser tabs across 4 browsers)",1 "I hope the cancer is as mild as cancer can be. Good luck to you. I’m currently in the same position with half a tooth and my wife just had a biopsy on a mass they found on her thyroid that she hadn’t checked for years. Fortunately it came back benign but the procrastination is real. I try to tell myself I need to be thankful for the health insurance I have and not squander it as a motivator.",1 "thanks, this made me feel better about intrusive thoughts! :)",0 "When I get really, really worked up about a thought, I get reassurance from my mom. For me, it's not like the same intrusive thought goes away for a second then comes back, but it comes back in a different form. Whatever I just got reassurance for a thought, it diverts and I'm just be stuck back at square one lol",0 "Uses friends digital camera, likes it. Spends 2 months and 500 tabs researching, either doesn't buy one at all, or buys $2000 worth of gear and uses for 5 hours, put in cupboard. Apply this to excercise gear, cycling, camping, arts and crafts, etc. Ugh",1 I do this and at one point I had around 300 and something tabs open on my phone. Lol,0 That’s what I am going through. It’s a nightmare still after losing my 20’s to it. It’s not as bad but still a daily struggle. Now doing TMS treatment to see if anything improves.,1 "Hmm i disliked. But i like....or love u still... no homo... Trying to love one another with brotherly affection or loving my neighbour as myself... Lol a crazy man like me trying... so it seems im crazy... Hmm ..... Yup was totally off my rocker. Didnt stay sane fpr you guys. Couldnt really? Sorries....",0 Every time I read something like this - the next week I go back to debating the same thing in my head :/,1 You're doing so great!!! I have trouble being consistent with brushing my teeth too and I'm so proud of you ✨✨✨,1 Holy cow everybody! Thank you so much for all the upvotes and the super nice comments!!!! I’m blown away that this resonated with so many people. You all seriously made my day! ❤️❤️😳,0 "literally me lmao i'm paying attention not to cross my fingers/legs when i'm praying or i believe the prayer will not work :\[\[",0 "Yes. But when I analyze it, I think the feelings come up mostly regarding guilt, feeling sorry for it, or sadness. Like I'm never randomly thrilled for an object. I like that this was of thinking goes with Shintoism and the currently very popular Marie Kondo. Her book discusses thanking objects for their service, letting unused things go on to others so they can have more purpose, and having little rituals to say goodbye to stuffed animals. She was a Shinto shrine maiden so this all makes sense",0 "One time I was in the middle of it, came to a complete stop, and asked my girlfriend if her dad was going to the raiders game tomorrow. 😂😂 This was pre diagnosis but damn I should’ve known something was up at that point lol",1 "“That is why logic does not fight OCD” As someone with mental compulsions, the moment I realized this was when the tide turned for me.",0 I love this lol. I was recently diagnosed with OCD after years of treating it as anxiety alone. I love the humor in this awfulness lol,0 "From one human being to another, I am sorry that you are experiencing the overwhelming effects of what can be a very dangerous combination of mental health afflictions. A couple of years ago I went for a very similar ride. I lost myself entirely. Everything that I had ever known myself to be dissolved and I became completely disassociated from all aspects of life. I gave up and was moments away from suicide. Then it all hit me. I felt something. I wanted to live. Everyone in my life had been gently hinting to me that I needed help, but i just kept brushing them and their concerns off. When i finally realized the severity of the situation i sought professional help. At first they only offered me antidepressants. I accepted and it probably saved my life. After 7 months I didn't like the antidepressants (Remeron). It changed who I was on a base level and made me so tired that I struggled to stay awake. I could literally lay down anywhere at any point in my day and fall asleep. While on antidepressants I was still struggling with depression and moderate to severe anxiety. I was 30 years old and had never really addressed my ADHD. Once of the antidepressants and back to what I perceived to be a more standard version of myself that I enjoy being I set out to deal with my ADHD. I went to a psychiatrist and he said that he has seen this kind of scenario many times before. In the past few years I started a very demanding career, got married, bought a house and adopted my niece. I had exceeded my personal capacity to function without managing the aspect of being and individual with ADHD. He put me on a prescription of Vyvanse and my life was forever changed the very first day. The depression and anxiety were gone. Just fucking gone! I cried because I finally was able to have a perspective that allowed me to see all of my quirks that kept people irritated so far in my life. I was finally afforded a chance to operate from a vantage point that is supposed to mimic that of a more neurotypical human. I laughed to myself and felt as though anyone without ADHD is cheating; hacking the Matrix without even knowing it. And now six months after starting Vyvanse... my life is in a better place than I have ever been able to get it to before. I'm not saying that any one medication can fix everyone but there are medications out there that can help on a profound level. You've got this! This community has your back in a way that I still struggle to comprehend. Just keep reaching out.",1 "This is an amazing idea. I know that I have looked at some of my pics on google photos once when we argued. One pic of her in hospital brought me to tears as I remembered how desperately worried I was when it happened. It definately reminded me how important she is to me, as well as the promise I made to myself that day to never get angry with her again. Your idea takes this a step further and once I fully intend to try. Thanks.",1 "Yup if I want to clean the house I just have my professor give me a test to study for, house is cleaned in no time lol",1 "When they do this I just snap, I yell at them and tell them to shut up, not because I hate them but I’m just irritated. But I have to remember that they don’t know I’m doing a ritual.",0 I come from an irish-Italian family of 14 and Sunday dinners have always been dreadful for me for this reason. I love my family and the camaraderie that they bring with them but when we’re all in the same room it’s like my brains trying to listen to every side conversation at once. My mom always asks why I’m so quiet and don’t eat at dinner but I never know how to say it without making her and the rest of my family feel bad.,1 I read this as twenty-seven minutes straight and was wondering if that was too much,1 "Oh yeah, sometimes it happens years later. I'm there doing my stuff and suddenly i'm like ""oh that motherfucker, what he told me years ago was actually mean and I should have stepped up for myself"". Happens a lot.",1 I had a doc with adhd and it was unbearable. He could never let me finish talking and could not listen to more than 2 words what i tried to say...,1 "I'm not sure if it would help to ask this, so apologies if you have already tried this... Could it help to take a picture or video of the the oven knobs, etc. before you go to bed/leave the house? That might give you some evidence and peace of mind :-) From one OCD person to another, I believe in your inner strength, and want to tell you it's ok to fail and struggle sometimes, just keep getting back up :-) Hope you have a peaceful day and evening!",0 "oh my god—i'm not the only one? bless this entire. fucking. feed. #adhd",1 Added yay for employing a mom of 2 autistic kids. That is really hard.,1 intrusive thoughts is such a meme. just embrace them,0 "God, this is the main reason I'm considering a career change. I'm in software engineering and its an industry that is always adapting, coming up with new standards or technologies. I'm 6 years into my career and I've done alright for myself so far. But I'm constantly having to research and study, constantly fighting to keep up with my peers. What my peers can learn over a weekend takes me at least a couple weeks of research and studying. Or I dedicate all my free time to studying this new concept and it only take me twice as long as my peers! :D I like my job, and I'm good at my job, but I don't like the amount of extra work I need to do just to keep myself competitive with my peers.",1 "Ok could I have ocd ?? Thought : what if I killed someone , “no one ever looks like a cereal killer “ I’m a quiet person “most cereal killers are” Maybe I am , but I would never do that . Which plays on repeat . Does the dishes : can barley touch a knife without think that I would do something bad . Convincing myself that I should probably kms because if I don’t I might hurt someone .",0 Great job! Every step in a healthy direction helps!,0 "I think ""waste"" in the sense that you're using is an arbitrary term. Researching is ""wasteful"", but according to whom? It's important to stop and consider why we think such things. It's a product of productivity/hustling culture which has permeated daily life, particularly American life. The idea that we must produce something tangible, that we always must be doing something our culture deems useful, is just that, a cultural expectation. There isn't an objective law which states you must achieve a, b, and c, or else you aren't a valuable member of society. Researching isn't wasteful. We live in a wonderful world, and spending time discovering the 'how's and why's' of the universe is meaningful within itself. It's a beautiful thing to explore and to understand. Just because you can't put this on a resume doesn't mean it's useless. Trait conscientiousness from the Big Five psychological model of personality is another phenomena all together. If you're higher in trait conscientiousness, it may be because you are industrious. You can't do nothing. In your worldview, life is best lived aiming toward a goal and working toward it. Sometimes ADHD gets in the way. I empathize with you on this one. I can't sit around idly for too long. At work when there is down time I find myself searching for opportunities to go above and beyond and work to get the place in order. Much of the time, the restless nagging that happens when I'm doing something completely self-indulgent propels me to get to 'work', whether that be editing my book, researching something useful, cleaning, or something else. If the latter is your problem, I suggest identifying what you find meaningful, whether that is your own subjective meaning or, if you're drawn toward this like I am, what monotheists call objective meaning (being a benevolent force for good in the world and demonstrate God's love). Orient your life around that meaning. After your worldview shifts to rest on that framework, it will direct your decision-making. You'll begin thinking, 'does this activity move me closer to my goal', 'is this activity meaningful'. After a while, you'll almost feel compelled to get moving. Forgive yourself. You're going to get better.",1 Homie I get scared that if I dont go with my sister on a car ride she will die in a car crash,0 Thanks for taking the time to make this post. Its a great read.,1 "For me, every symptom is instantly cancer. Or COVID now",0 This is one of my all-time favorites!! I kind of had mine timed to the starting of hypnotic imagery as I am almost falling to sleep. Right when I would notice myself to almost be asleep I would get up and Pee. I think I was doing it so I wouldn't wake up in the middle of the night having to pee.,0 If it’s not in my dreams then it’s there to greet me goodmorning and I wake up with anxiety lol,0 "I actually did a skit type video on this! You should check it out and sub!! I have dealt with OCD for almost 30 years and that what my channel is about! https://youtu.be/ASG2UVZMNNw",0 "My husband casually do something like this, except I have anxiety and he has ADHD. But, do it more formally might be a really good idea. ",1 "i just want to be normal again lmao. how tf did this make me feel almost sad. all these intrusive thoughts have made me feel so numb and emotionless and now im questioning everything and who i am. i would rather go back to last week when i was panicking and crying than now, where i feel nothing and im just battling myself in the dark.",0 Goddamn this sub constantly makes me feel seen I need to browse it more often,1 I had a day of nothing but intrusive thoughts and I found this 5 minutes before I'm about to go to bed. Thank you so much,0 "That's an accurate way, of expressing the combined affects, of ADHD and Depression, with the inevitable Anxiety which follows Depression. I know very well, due to only being diagnosed and treated, at aged 65yo.",1 I feel like I remember every single thing I touch and if it was clean or not before I touched it. Anyone else? And hand lotion suggestions?? Nothing is working,0 "Silly OCD! Touching your pinky to the wall won't solve your problems. Got to be all 10 fingers, same part of the finger, and maybe the other side too. Otherwise it won't work!",0 "Just had to come here to say this is my 8 year old daughter to a T but she doesn't know how to describe all of these feelings yet and you just gave me so so so much insight into what she must be feeling and has felt for a long time. You put it better, and in such a comprehensive way, than anything I've ever read. Thanks kind stranger you just helped me see things from a great enlightening viewpoint!",1 "I was watching a sssniperwolf video once, I think it was something to do with relatable TikToks, and it was something about avoiding cracks, and she started saying something about when we were kids and we did that, and the she started to talk about how that’s what people with OCD feel like constantly and how horrible it must be. She was so damn accurate, like with her description and everything. I forgot which video this was, but I think it was something with relatable tiktoks",0 "me: _has motor tic of rolling neck_ person in lab: 'are you in pain? do you need a massage?' _stress of having to explain exponentially increases the number of motor tics_ :(((((",0 "I’m going to start my own AA. Not because I care about the wellbeing of addicts, but because my friend gave me all this wine and I hope they take one look and start drinking",0 "I vacuumed all of my luggage inside and out for my last trip in case their was any chance of them finding traces of drugs. I've never used or handled illegal substances and there would be absolutely no reason for them to be in or on my bags. But you know, just in case.",0 "AND........it’s TGIF day ! nice one, you should feel good !!!",0 "Plus the guilt you feel when you function better than you ever have on meds, and you feel like you’re cheating when you take them, or like you have an unfair advantage or something. Probably especially relevant for those who received adult diagnosis and could see immediate difference. But indeed, I would substitute your word “intelligent” with “accomplished”, though. Less successfully functioning ADHDers are no less smart!",1 "For what it’s worth, I fully disagree with you. I’ve had OCD for as long as I can remember, and it hasn’t been a cake walk at all times, but I feel like OCD brings more positives than negatives into my life as a general statement. I definitely wouldn’t have made varsity in highschool if I didn’t have OCD, and knowing my general trend towards great swaths of apathy, I think a lot of my schoolwork would have remained unfinished if I didn’t have OCD. I know that it can be hard at times, and even embarrassing (a lot of my stuff is touching objects, which can be very public), but I really wouldn’t trade my brain for a brain that doesn’t have it. I like myself, and my OCD is a part of me. Maybe it’s different because I’ve always had it, and it didn’t develop during puberty or something, so me not having a sense of a what a day without it feels like might play a factor, but I think gate keeping a mental disease based on if you hate it is dumb. No offense, but just because you didn’t ask for it it doesn’t mean it’s not a good thing. Again, I’m not saying everything has been great. My first breakup probably sucked a lot more because my brain is great at focusing on one idea for days at a time when the ideas are things I don’t care about, but literally everything has downsides. You can’t be grateful for your hands but then not want them when they’re in pain. It doesn’t work that way. OCD has huge benefits that a lot of other mental disorders do not have. OCD lets you focus and be driven on levels that other people literally cannot attain. Yes, that has downsides like yesterday when I had to touch the pot that just burned me with my other hand, but that’s just life. I don’t resent my OCD.",0 There’s some truth to his statement but even that is not easy. That’s probably the part he doesn’t understand.,1 "I'm content with contentment. Anything above that for me starts towards ""clinically happy"" mental schema, then I try to level out and get on the experience rather than figuring out which of my diagnoses is acting up.",0 "Ok, did I write this list? because I ticked off every single one...so relatable...",1 "Besides ADHD, I also struggle with alcoholism. When I told my parents that I'm an alcoholic, they said ""Well, stop drinking then"". No need for rehab facilities or Alcoholics Anonymous anymore. The solution is to just stop drinking...",1 "Been doing this more recently, and it's worked wonders lmao. Thanks for validating me.",1 "oh my god yes 100%. any time i tell myself i’m gonna go to the gym, a wave of exhaustion hits me. is this an adhd thing?",1 Corporate life kicked my ass the first couple years.. I've gotten better but still not where I'd like to be for myself,1 "One thing I’ve learned about taking meds, is that you will still have a bones day or no bones day. Adderal seems to amplify the day. If you were already gonna have a good day, then it’s going to be even better. If you were going to have a shit day, then it makes it worse. Just use those good days, and if you can fix something that’s been bothering you, but haven’t been able to do it. Just talk shit to yourself out loud. “Damnit Joy, pick up your fucking laundry”",1 if i don't complete this thought without being interrupted then this thought is invalid!,0 holy shit the thing you said about your hair and clothes brushing on you. i didn’t know this was ADHD related but i am sooo sensitive and particular about how my hair sits. wet hair on my skin? absolutely not. any random strand that i can feel out of place drives me i n s a n e. if my bangs aren’t parted properly and i can feel some hairs on a side they don’t belong on i spend forever obsessively messing with it. that kind of shit gives me so much stress!!,1 "Stop right now with the shaming yourself for not being 100% okay or not pretending to be 100% okay. I do that to myself all the time. You are just a human being trying to get along in the world. Don't set such outrageous standards for yourself. You are allowed to be feeling shitty, but there is no need to feel shitty about feeling shitty. We all need help sometimes, vent to a loved one, find a shoulder to cry on. Its okay to not be okay. If I can't convince myself when I have your attitude, maybe I can convince you.",1 But then it happens again you have to say again and again and again until you take medication and then 2 hours later you have to say it again and again.and you runaround the house the whole day until school starts back up.and then your life seems like a blur but school makes you distracted from it.and then summer break rolls in again and it happens again and again.,0 "Its so bad I can barely watch TV shows, I basically never watch movies. And books.... I really miss reading books. It only keeps getting worse with age, to where I wonder how long I have until I am just no longer functional.",1 Oh fuck now I’m going ‘haha yeah that’s me’ but still thinking ‘am I just pretending to understand this meme’,0 This is different but feels the same. I get so anxious about buying alcohol. I do not buy it without my husband there because I'm afraid the cashier is going to accuse me of having a fake ID and taking it away. I am 27 and I look 27. Totally irrational.,0 "When I was a painter and decorator I used to wake up at 4am, worrying about one thing that I had to do. This was years ago, before my diagnosis. Then I’d worry on the journey to work, only to get the task done, without any problems, in 10 minutes. Damn son. I thought it was exclusive to my redundant brain. Thanks for the validation :)",1 "Why do you think I loved Jim Carrey so much to the point of making my parents hate him? Today is the day I found out Jim Carrey had ADHD and it isn't even a big reveal because my subconscious always knew. I love that man. Fantastic post OP.",1 The amount of things I’ve lost or destroyed by leaving on the roof of my car before I drove off...,1 This shit is unbelievably relatable... I save my game after 2 minutes of progress. Just to make sure.,0 "I always thought I was just neurotic. I never thought that constantly checking my reflection in every some what reflective surface was a big deal. And everyone who saw me constantly checking my face just told me I was a narcissist. It didn’t hit me until I didn’t have a reflective surface to look in, and I freaked out. I always checked my reflection because my brain always screamed that there was something on my face, something wrong with my hair, that I looked bad and if I didn’t check right now everyone’s going to think I’m gross, ugly, and make fun of me. And now it’s just gotten worse, and evolved into hair pulling. But ya know, because I’m not cleaning I’m actually just a narcissist, not suffering from OCD.",0 "I'm having a hard day of motivation. I read this and thought, ""yeah! Why don't I just get to it!"" Then remembered thats the whole problem.",1 Ahhhh the shower is too dirty to clean thought. I don’t want to clean it because it’ll contaminate me. For some reason that logic doesn’t transfer to anything else,0 "God, that’s the worst. It really validates your compulsions, which is not good.",0 Holy shittt I’ve never related more to a meme than I do now.,0 Does anyone else have like no appetite at all even when you’re not on meds?,1 "I mean, I've listened to the 3 same songs the whole year, does that represent my taste in music accurately? I can't help but wonder.",1 "I’m about to get into painting myself, though I’m scared I’m never going to be able to get very far. Do you have any tips for OCD sufferers like myself when it comes to painting?",0 i havent had a verbal compulsion yet but now im scared😭🤣,0 "I feel this, then when a nail breaks or has problems I have to clip ALL of them or what it snags and I lose a finger in a freak accident? Then I can't pick anymore either, I literally ping pong back and forth between those 3. It sucks.",0 "I'm surprised that you were even able to write this post... ...because how did you survive the supermassive blackhole that erupted from her head when she went full galaxy brain?",1 Hahahahah this is a perfect depiction of me talking to myself,0 Same here. Can totally relate. I often try to evaluate myself afterwards and wonder what is wrong with me.... Like maybe I'm just a real disappointment.,1 "This is the opposite of pathetic. This is exactly what you should do for OCD self-help. Great job!",0 Wow I don't have kids but I may do this like once a month for cleaning. Very good idea!,1 "I started taking effexor about 2 years ago, it helps, I feel better than I usually do. ADHD is still there, but it's easier to deal with.",1 Omg all this time i thought I was a horrible person and questioned my feelings for people all the time. Now I'm realizing it's yet again just another ADHD thing. Realizing just how much my ADHD really effects me has been a trip.,1 "Man, as I read this sub (which I just discovered, wish I'd found it sooner) I'm utterly amazed at how similar we all are with this disease (although with some intellectually fascinating differences). It's like: ""You mean I'm really not the only crazy fucker going through this shit?!?""",0 This is my daily morning routine to a teeeee!! I feel 0 shame now I thought it was just me,1 I'm new here and every meme makes me go Ahhhhhhhhh!,0 "I feel this so much. I was once involved in a heated argument on an Autism group on Facebook because I said my Autistic brother should be punished for throwing rocks at me... According to her he has Pathological Demand Avoidance and it was unfair to discipline him in any way *meanwhile* I'm getting physically abused by my own little brother. I lived in fear every damn day and it's simply not true that Autistic people can't control their behaviour. I am also Autistic and the level of control it takes me to mask is pretty huge, and actually even harder for me because I have ADHD too and he doesn't!",1 "Yup same, a lot of people without OCD think people with OCD are always clean and everything is spotless but my room and car are always a mess and it’s rare that I can actually get myself to clean either one.",0 "I’m the same way. However, I think a lot of people are probably the same way, just not as bad as us. There’s a book my Dr. has me reading and it’s called “Nonviolent communication” it’s by Marshall Rosenberg and it’s fantastic on how to communicate more effectively.",1 And I came on to Reddit for something else and got lost here,1 "Seriously. I realized recently that I’ve got huge issues because of experiencing this as a child. Also, for being punished for reacting to being terrorized by my brothers, or just for shit I didn’t even do.",1 "Yes yes! This is ""walking up"" the emotional scale - first acknowledging the emotion exists, then accepting it, and finding your path of least resistance to the next level up. IMHO that's where the trip ups happen, because the next step is inherently subjective to the individual, there is no ""right"" way. For example, say you're in anxiety and/or despair. You absolutely should acknowledge these emotions, and doing so *is* a 'mindful' act. And if you've practiced this, it's more likely you'll catch it early on and be able to pivot your thoughts to a more balanced perspective. But if you've spent a lot of time feeling anxious and despairing, trying to go from there to, say, contentedness - or even calm - is just too far of a leap energetically. It's more natural to *let* your next emotion rise up rather than forcing one, and the next one up is anger, which most people have a problem with allowing in themselves; if the anger happens and you then *condemn* yourself for feeling anger, you just loop back down to anxiety/despair, and the cycle repeats indefinitely. Until you break it. So, how do you break it? Sometimes, you've just got too much momentum going on to do anything other than find something else to focus on. This is where exercise can help, or sleeping, occupational therapy, or anything that totally takes your attention for a little while. Once you let the bad feelings be forgotten for a bit, the next time you feel them, notice them again. Notice what it feels like to notice. Then, see if you can't work yourself up into anger or frustration, like... ""These thoughts are so *stupid*, they're stealing my joy and *I am letting them*. How *dare* they! I am so *frustrated* I've spent so much time on these thoughts. I'm never gonna get away from them... No. Fuck that. I decide, now, that I *am*. What else could I be thinking about? I could think about something that I enjoy, that makes me feel good. I *deserve* to feel good. I deserve to pet my cat, or draw, or play a game, or walk outside, or eat something I love. *There is nothing more valuable to me than feeling good.* There is nothing wrong with feeling good just for the hell of it. Fuck it, I'm gonna do something *fun*."" And there you've talked yourself up, into getting mad, then frustrated, hopeless, *then* the first tinge of hopefulness is felt. It doesn't even need to go that far - anger can *feel* like relief when you move to it from despair, so hang out there for a little bit! Punch something! Smash some cardboard boxes!! Get in touch with your anger, and it will lead you upwards into hope, and contentedness, and joy. The only work is to *let yourself feel* whatever it is, and deeply, lovingly. The rest is quite literally not your job! Effort is resistance, mindful awareness is allowance, and the universe is *infinite unconditional* allowance - so allow anything & align with the power of the whole universe, it will not lead you astray - it cannot, for it is Law. Your natural state is that of wellbeing. Your natural state is that of vibrant health and abundant prosperity. Your natural state is that of joy. Negative emotions feel so bad because *they defy the natural order of the universe*. A bad feeling is no different from graded bumps on the side of the road, an indicator that 'this isn't where you're meant to be'. I apologize for rambling - this is near & dear to my heart. I speak only from my own experience, and this is the process I use on a daily basis. Law of Attraction and Abraham Hicks have been massive inspiration for me. I hope anyone reading this knows, you are so, so endlessly loved, and worthy, and right, and whole. The basis of life is freedom, the objective of life is joy, the result of life is growth! Love & Light to you all, dear souls ♥️🕯️",0 "I didn't realize until recently that many others with ocd feel as though ""they're faking it/just doing it for attention/it's all in my head/made up/I am lying"". While I am sorry others suffer alongside me, I feel very validated knowing that's the ocd talking and I'm not alone.",0 "I mean, I really need to do that thing... Aw, I'll just do it tomorrow...",1 "Hadn’t even occurred to me that this might be OCD related. I still follow the sub despite getting over the worse of it years ago. But I’ve been thinking recently how much more than normal I ruminate on past embarrassments, I do it for aaaages... and make physical noises and movements to try and shut it up.. oh dear hm",0 I'm the primary provider of meals here and this is evERY FUCKING DAY. Brain plz. PLZ do not.,0 "Yeap! With my severe Postpartum OCD, I refused to be alone with my baby. One day, tired of going to my parents', I ""risked "" being alone with him for 8 hours. That day I remember in tunnel vision. But. After it, I was able to be alone with my son all of the time.",0 I keep wondering if the people around my embarrassing moments remember them like I do.,0 "why is this relatable???? this is probably the worst intrusive thought i ever had",0 Yeah. This! So much this. Exactly this all the time. Yep.,0 "##r/2meirl4meirl --------------------------------------------- ^(For mobile and non-RES users) ^| [^(More info)](https://np.reddit.com/r/botwatch/comments/6xrrvh/clickablelinkbot_info/) ^| ^(-1 to Remove) ^| [^(Ignore Sub)](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClickableLinkBot/comments/bor133/ignore_list/)",0 "God, you are way too young for this. I am so sorry this is happening to you, OP. Thanks for sharing, and hoping to hear some good news on your update! Also, fuck cancer.",1 "For me I struggle so much with for example dishes that when I complete it I feel like I've grown so much as a person that I can do it again. My brain is absolutely nuts.",1 "People that have ADHD get it, some non-ADHD people will understand over time but most people are just too dense to reach that level of understanding.",1 "OH MY GOD! I was so worried for you! I'm so relieved right now. I was brought to tears seeing what a fellow OCD sufferer was going through. I hate you, you made me cry early in the morning ! But I'm glad to know you're doing okay!!",0 "Its not dumb, i can imagine it must be good feeling. I could usually settle for washing twice BUT every fucking time i get intrusive thought i might had touched my head or thigh with soapy hands and have to repeat to remember how i did it the first two times, and so end up doing like 5 quick rinses in row, taking soap everytime.",0 "I realized the only way i can defeat my ocd is to face my worst fears, even if i leave one fear out, my ocd will use that to relate every thought to that one. exposure therapy works but you have to be willing to face your fears",0 "my geography teacher in year 9 said ""im really ocd about underlining titles"" and i damn well near yelled at him",0 "100% me I hate it. But these memes are like reassurance so... thanks 🙏🏻",0 you're doing odin's work my friend. I know a few ignorants who might benefit from seeing this.,0 "If only I had your willpower lol Executive dysfunction is literally that because you can’t just get into your head and make yourself do things.. It’s why it’s an issue lmfao.. If we could all just DECIDE to get up and do things we probably wouldn’t be taking meds and psychotherapy for our ADHD , We’d just be getting up and doing things",1 Me in the car as a kid. Making up insane amounts of scenarios. In day care I decided every game of hoops I played on an actual hoop thing where it keeps score and the ball rolls back to you that the score I ended up with would be my lifespan,0 "I have OCD and am not a clean person at all! Granted, I'm pretty obsessive about my hygiene so I guess that fits the stereotype but my living space is never tidy.",0 "Can we add an ""achievement"" flair? I can't type a custom one for some reason",0 "i dont understand on a base level, but yes i absolutely understand on an ocd level",0 "lmao! the funny thing for me is I couldnt give a crap less about the taps when I'm home. dont need to check on them ONCE. ​ but before work....or before leaving the house for more than \~ 1 hour in general, I have to quadruple check them, and then stare at the tap, and the drain, for a certain amount of time to make double triple sure they arent leaking and somehow going to flood my home.",0 i am once again looking for reassurance that i am not an awful person nor am i the things my ocd tells me i am,0 OCD cause weird obsession to make argue with yourself.,0 I dont think I'm going to get my hair cut for a while. Multiple times a day i'm scared someone has chopped my ponytail off bc of my ocd lol. but im so glad you went! gj!,0 "I’m so sorry that this happened to you - I can’t imagine losing someone close to me. Even the deaths of people I only barely know make me really sad. I think many people with ADHD have problems with telling other people their problems, even when the other people try to help. Even explaining my problems to people with ADHD can be really difficult. Sometimes it’s the impostor syndrome. Sometimes it feels like my problems are so minuscule (particularly compared to others) and actually nothing to worry about, so nobody, especially strangers on the internet, care about what I have to say, or if they listen that they don’t understand why it’s a problem. Sometimes it can even be hard to describe the problem or why it affects me. I caught myself wanting to write my whole life story, but before I spend hours I should probably stop (I really need to take a nap). But thank you for the post. I don’t know why, but for some reason I really needed to read this now.",1 "This has been my #1 failing in life: my finances. For all the reasons you posted, and the ones u/sojayn posted. I filed bankruptcy at 24! Almost did it again in my late 30s. Now that I am in my late 40s, I have gotten much better, but not perfect. Still working on finishing that degree so I can get the good paying job. And then all my worries will be over, right?! lol",1 Everyday I just figure out my whole personality is just ADHD.... cool. Cool cool cool,1 "Dude, I never knew that. I'm completely cured now. Thank you so much, this post has changed my life.",0 "Yes but for me it's hunger. I know I SHOULD get to that task, but instead of working I suddenly have the strangest urge to eat half a bag of chips and an entire block of cheese.",1 when my adhd decides to work together with my ocd by making me feel like I can’t get up and go take my meds like I need to because?????🙃,0 "I never even knew what manefesting was until i saw a tiktok about it, now im constantly convinced that aything negative i think will come true. Fun times",0 "Personally I find people trying to spin ADHD into being a positive trait absolutely maddening. Same thing with using buzzwords like ""neurotypicals"" to describe The Others or Ned Hallowell trying to rebrand ADHD as ""Variable Attention Stimulus Trait"" so people don't get their delicate little feelings hurt. I don't want to feel better about my ADHD, *I want it gone*. I ***hate*** my ADHD; what it's done to me, what it's cost me. ADHD has been incredibly damaging to me in practically every aspect of my life, and if I had been diagnosed when I was a teenager I'm sure I would be in a very different place both in my relationships and my career. I've suffered *tremendously* by not understanding what was wrong with my brain, and people trying to sugarcoat it by saying ""Nooooo, it's not a *disorder*, it's a *personality quirk*! You're a hunter, not a gatherer! You're a creative! Other people don't have your quick-thinking abilities!"" drive me up the goddamn wall. You don't go to a chemo patient and say ""Oh come on, don't be so glum, the bald look is IN this year!"" because it minimizes their pain and suffering and makes them feel like they should be grateful for the ""strength"" and ""courage"" that other people find in their story or whatever. Trivializing people's struggles with a mental disorder is incredibly condescending; I'd like to see them go three months with having only a vague awareness of things either more than three days in the future or more than three days in the past. I'd like to see them deal with forgetting crucial information or screwing up an important project at work because they got distracted, or having their loved ones say that they're uncaring or selfish because they don't remember to keep in touch. I want to see them struggle to come to terms with their actions and how they genuinely do love their family but consistently fail to show it in the way normal people do, with every slip-up met with a ""If you really cared you'd remember"" I wish they could understand the gut-wrenching panic of drifting off to sleep at 11PM and suddenly realizing that they have an assignment due in an hour that they haven't even started, or the dread of someone asking ""What's your five-year plan?"". They don't understand that *our brains don't let us do that*. We literally have a disconnect between our frontal lobe and the rest of our brain that makes normal perception of time as foreign to us as space travel. It doesn't matter how well we know what we have to do; overcoming that mental barrier to actually doing it is not only incredibly difficult, but mentally *exhausting* when we do manage it. Anyway... enough ranting. I'm glad you're able to express yourself without feeling like people are gonna jump down your throat for voicing very real and very reasonable frustrations with how your brain works (or in our case, doesn't work).",1 I’ve been feeling a ton of this. Wish it would just end,0 Was panicking really bad i needed this. Thank you and have an amazing day,0 "I literally came here to post this, and it looks like I don't have to. So... not only did I lose EVERYTHING (my job, the short play I was directing, the musical i'm the hair & makeup assistant for, the extracurricular activities I hold close to my heart, my culminating class showcases, my friends that are graduating which is MOST of them because I'm a first semester senior right now), but now I have to deal with the mess that will be online classes. I have to find a new job, too. I have to decide if I'm going to stay in university housing or go home to New York City, which is an outbreak zone, to immuno-compromised parents who won't have any money because my dad's job is going to be impacted by the virus so much. There are a million other things to worry about that aren't the way that my brain works. NYC seems like a wasteland right now. My heart hurts as someone in the theatre community to see Broadway go dark and see audition listings drop like flies. But it's going to be a ghost town up at my university. I already am struggling academically, I'm going to struggle a LOT more being while being sad. Virtual hugs are definitely being accepted right now.",1 "The other day I went to buy vitamins and only when I got home did I noticed I got 50+ vitamins, I'm 22",1 "I just made a list for the first time in months, and stopped to drink tea and scroll Reddit for ... I don't know how long it's been.",1 "This is why I don’t like watching movies with people, I hate being the annoying one askin to rewind every 5 minutes haha",1 "omg I used to knock on wood so much!!! My compulsions got so bad that i ended up getting a wooden stick and sleep whilst holding it in my hands because i had to get up so many times to knock otherwise... Luckily treatment helped immensely, stay strong everyone",0 "It would be nice if these companies trying to profit off a mental illness would donate some of their proceeds to an OCD charity. Though, that would require them to, you know, care about the reality of OCD sufferers and their families.",0 Everyone has some OCD-like behaviors and you freaking out about someone making a slightly inaccurate statement is helping no one.,0 Good job! Proud of you. This is a big accomplishment. Hope you’re proud of yourself too.,0 Thank you for sharing! This really inspires to continue fighting,0 "I know what you mean. I kinda knew what OCD was and then when I googled my symptoms I fully realized it is way more than just wanting to be cleaned and organized. I just hope when people realize they’re obsessing and can’t stop themselves from their rituals they realize that something isn’t right and they need some help to get past it all. It’s a shame people use OCD as a way to describe stuff(like being organized) that isn’t really OCD. People in my life do it all the time or try to tell me they have to it too and when I describe to them my symptoms they look at me like I’m a weirdo. Don’t get me wrong I like to be “clean” but it is because I’m terrified of getting an infection so it can become life interfering.",0 "Got the same problem, I tell my parents that the reason I'm resistant to just pick up everything and do what they said to do that very second is because I need to focus on what I'm doing and it'll be hard to get back to what I was doing before and they just don't seem to get it. They want me to do everything right when they say to, and I tell them maybe it would help if you gave me some notice beforehand so I could do it when I'm ready, but nope!",1 This + taking screenshots of the 'very important' stuff,0 The only thing that's ever worked for me is to go to an actual office. Apparently public shaming is the only feeling my brain takes seriously and so I work quite well when I know other people are watching.,1 I’m so happy to learn I’m not the only one. I be saying “stop it” aloud to myself all the time 😔👊,0 "Me. So much this. I think sometimes it's especially bad when my brain is trying to translate several different trains of thought into one coherent output, except by the time I've opened mouth and gotten halfway through the first sentence my brain had moved on to an entirely different topic or three and I can't remember what I was saying, or otherwise is moving too fast for me to get the words out anyway. Much prefer writing.",1 Ugh yes. I always look forward to having a glass or two of wine but then I’m like oh no I shouldn’t have to drink to be happy and calm. And then it’s a double edged sword cuz the next morning is horrible due to the side effects of drinking :),0 "This one really got me. Metal faucets and glasses full of the milk are the most triggering, for some reason 🙄",0 Most relatable thing ever. The funny thing is thinking that would be showing that you do have it 😂,0 "100% accurate. The tough love scenario does nothing but make it nearly impossible for me to complete, succeed in, accomplish, feel, say, or do whatever I'm receiving the tough love about. Everything in my brain goes into fight or flight mode at that point.",1 "I absolutely loathe family gatherings for this exact reason... Last time i attended a ceremony it lasted 14 FUCKING HOURS!!! At the end i was on the verge of a meltdown cause they had been blasting music and dancing and eating like pigs the entire time, thank god they know I'm not the talkative type so people barely approach me... And my parents expected me to socialize too?!?! FUCK THAT SHIT LMAO Of course as soon as i hit the bed i couldn't sleep for another two hours even though it was 2 am and i was beyond exhausted. I fucking hate my brain",1 This really hits close to home. Like fuck! I went to sleep to get rid of you don’t show up as soon as I open my eyes,0 This is me so much right now. Everything is triggering and nowhere feels safe.,0 "Awh man I feel really bad for you bro, when my OCD was kicking like a bitch a few years ago the intricacies of training The Shakers to play a high octane pressing game was really good at taking my mind off things. I still play FM now whenever my thoughts are racing and I feel like I’m struggling. The advice I’d give you is to play FM and just adopt the attitude “fuck these thoughts, you can swirl and swirl and make me an anxious wreck but I’m still playing that Carabao Cup game away to Southend and I’m still spending forty minutes trying to persuade Peruvian wonder kids to make the move to Sincil Bank”",0 Billie Joe was the first musician to let me know it’s okay to have anxiety and be bi. ❤️,0 "So glad I'm not the only person with OCD that has thoughts like this, I'm christian(lutheran) not Catholic but damn if I was it would be so much harder. OCD and religion don't mix well, but faith is faith",0 "Although I use a timer with some success, this is great advice.",1 "This sub is better than most but I still get plenty of toxic positivity comments. Or I’ll say I’m struggling with depression and get told to go do something happy or distract myself with something that I like to do. Yeah...the depression makes me hate everything, but I’ll get right on that... I’ve also seen a lot of comments that assume if meds aren’t working, it’s because the person wasn’t willing to put in the effort or using therapy with it. I’m trying therapy and meds, no luck. Sometimes I just need my struggles to be validated, not questioned.",1 "Me when I do the compulsion but then I feel ashamed of giving into OCD, so now believe it will cause something bad to happen which I can only prevent by doing a compulsion, but then I feel ashamed of giving in and on and on and on, etc.",0 Or also doing what you need to do mostly because of fear but ending up taking a monstrous amount of time just to do some simple task and at the end of the day being burnt out and half of the times not ending the task or doing it poorly. Eventually seeing ( mentally healthy) people without ADHD going through their days smoothly and feel bad about it,1 "The difference is I'm genuinely just lazy. Like I realise I have work to do and instead of doing it I keep just doing other things. Not because I can't do it, but because I don't want to. If only I put a bit of effort into anything my problems would be solved. Now, I wish I could just magically do it and turn my mind off, but I can't. Doesn't mean it doesn't have to be done. tbh im not sure what I just said",1 "I guess people who are involved/repetitively think about social situations can recall moments vividly. I can remember things from kindergarten too, even if i forgot some of their names.",0 "lol i didnt know someone actually had my OCD. i literally thought people were drugging me all the time. exhausting, I could barely eat. thank god its over.",0 "Headache? No no, aneurysm/meningitis. New freckle? Skin cancer. I’ve had relatives have all three of those things, it’s always on my mind",0 "I take antidepressants and try to keep a schedule to take them at the same time every night. My watch goes off, my phone goes off, and then my google home goes off “it is 11 o’clock at night, time to take your night meds”. It has been this way for 1.5 years. I still yell “fuck off I’m busy” and then forget to do it later",1 "I have ten alarms, 8 different reminders (that have been going off for at least 3 weeks) and 23 to-do lists in my notes",1 Actual lol moment reading this title. Damn the truth is hilarious.,1 "omg i get it, my ""watch later #2"" playlist is already at almost 1000 videos",1 Hey it’s me! It is my absolute worst trait. I hate it.,1 My PSYCHOLOGY teacher said that in class once and it made me so frustrated!!!,0 "You know how rich people get/stay rich? They pay other people to do the menial/ tedious tasks for them so that they can focus on what makes them money. This is no different. Though I wouldn’t say you have a nanny, you’re not a child, you have an assistant.",1 I can’t describe how perfect this drawing encapsulates the feeling of OCD. And feeling as though you’re two different people; one a monster and the other a moral person who doesn’t understand.,0 I hate people using it like a bragging point in a convo like i actually have ocd (along with some other lovely qualities/ disorders) that make life so much harder. Ughh,0 "OMG you just sang my university anthem of ""I'm all done! (except for the reference page)"". Take this advice from a pro. Sweet Jesus do the reference page FIRST!!!! Here's my hack: When you start researching your essay, anytime I found a great quote or article MAKE THE CITATION. I would literally have like 5-10 individual word documents or notebook pages, 1 per source. Top of each page, completed article citation, MLA or APA format. Straight off the bat. Then just start copying and pasting useable quotes underneath (remember to write the page numbers. Your brain will lie and tell you it will remember). There used to be a couple legit citation generator websites where you plug in the info and it cites it in whatever format you want. Find one and use it! Once you have the required number of sources or you have enough to argue your thesis, start writing! Then you just copy and paste your lovely quotes as you go! I would even be fancy and either checkmark a quote I actually used in my notebook, or after copying highlight it green in word. End of the paper, all you have to do is go through your source pages and copy and paste the citations on your works cited page! BAM! 10 seconds tops. When you have something fiddly like a works cited page and you know your ADHD brain hates it, put in the effort and get that fucker done first! Then it's done and you don't have to think about it and you can write your organized thoughts in peace. Good luck!!!!",1 "It feels like mental Parkinson’s. I can physically move yet I still can’t move. It’s truly bizarre. As I’ve gotten older I’ve gotten better at bypassing it. It’s still bizarre. I could let myself sit, frozen, all day if I let myself. The making and keeping appointments with Covid has been extra.",1 "Wait. How is this an OCD thing? Most notably, I can't listen to white noise because I hear voices in it and it freaks me the fuck out.",0 "Then my thoughts are like ""really? You're considering that? You must have shizophrenia 😬"" I CANT WIN 😭😭😭",0 I blink and twitch so much that I must look absolutely insane. It really does suck sometimes.,0 For me it’s “you need to hide before that car passes or they’re gonna get you”,0 First thing on Reddit that I saw today.... Didn't need to be called out like that but ok,1 Reading the title gave me anxiety about a test I don't have.,1 I can’t even begin to describe how similar I feel to this it’s like words I have yet to say but thoughts I’ve thought of,1 Wow this resonates with me at such a deep deep level,1 "NO, I don't want to get on the phone. Don't make me do it. ​ I have to make doctors appt. but i'm scared of not following through so I don't even want to waste their time",1 "Here's something I thought of the other day. OCD anxiety is like being in a room and someone pulls out a gun. They're responsible, it's not loaded, the safety is on, and it's totally safe. You KNOW it's safe. But you feel uneasy and uncomfortable because it's a gun and it's in front of you. This is what it feels like to an OCD person when the clock is on a round number, or the pen is to the left of the pad of paper, or something. They feel a threat, but they know it's not a real danger. You can explain how the gun is totally safe, but it's still a gun.",0 "this is 100%. it is so fucking hard for me to find the motivation to do ANYTHING. all the time, “are you depressed?” no, not depressed, just zero motivation.",1 "Or when you see police anywhere and aren't doing anything wrong but start thinking ""act normal"" but that makes you act suspiciously which you're aware of so now you're trying to act extra normal because you're acting suspiciously trying to act normal",0 "The line I came up with while journaling: “I’m a quiet person in a loud world”. This world wasn’t made for me and I’m okay with that. Mostly cause this world SUCKS and if it was made for me, that would mean I suck too lol",1 "Idk what it is about people with ADHD, but we are so hyper aware that we are in fact mentally ill lol. Which not to make light or jokes of it, but stuff like autism or Asperger’s is such a touchy subject to a lot of people when it really doesn’t need to be. Like dude my ADHD has been linked to depression, anxiety, slight OCD, and probably 10 other problems that have happened in my life, but hey!!! I can tell you literally anything you need to know about cars because my hyper focused personality latched onto the car community 🤩 aren’t I so quirky and unique. No. I’m struggling on the days I forget to take my medication, I can’t sleep, I stress about folding my clothes, and if I don’t have work or a prior obligation I probably won’t get out of bed until noon. There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with being a realist without yourself and knowing something is not a good thing.",1 "Omg! That's absolutely fantastic news. Good job, OP! You'll get those two days also and make it to a month. You can do it! Yaaay you! So proud and happy for you as well. <3",0 "I’m so glad many can relate to this; it’s horrible knowing what you’re doing is irrational and unnessecary, but that voice in your head, that powerful urge wants you to do it anyways because “it’ll make you feel better, won’t it?” It’s the reason I look at my dry as hell hands and think, “I don’t need to wash them that much.”, but at the same time, think, “But, they’re germs everywhere! You have to make sure they’re off!” Same with physical symptoms. I can tell myself over and over again, “Your chest pain isn’t a heart attack, your headache isn’t a stroke, your knee pain isn’t a blood clot, etc.” but every part of me is screaming, “YOU’RE ABOUT TO DIE!” It’s like another mind is leading you on, no matter how hard you try to push it away.",0 "Lmao, I've gotten this except with ""what if I accidentally stole something without noticing?"" while walking out of the store, and I've never shoplifted in my whole life.",0 You cracked me up so hard. I was expecting 'be kind to yourself' or some sort of thing. You gave us straight FUCK YOU right in the middle of the face. Thank you!,0 It’s awesome that You let yourself wear it. And own it. Action first and belief comes later. Proud of you stranger,0 At this point it exhausts me too much and I've succumbed to just being dumb and not applying myself. I'm tired of fighting my brain..,1 "Hi, I have OCD and I've only met one person that also has OCD, and I felt so seen and understood! When I tell someone about a current compulsion, they don't really get it, which is normal of course. But she got me! We were sharing stories and laughed a lot, and it was great :)",0 "I don't know if this is an example but if I can't perform an action 6 times sometimes I'll mentally do it until I reach 6 or try to rationalize it. ""Well the number of times I did do the thing is a factor of 6/ this number is divisible by 6""",0 "In the first few weeks of the lockdown here the place I was at looked a lot like that. I get where you’re coming from...especially when you live alone and aren’t accountable to anyone else for having a clean place. I found that listening to music helped a lot when doing cleaning, especially dishes.",0 "Fuck. I am so guilty of: “I can control bad things happening with my magical thinking.” Fuck. Ex- I need to order a few things, non-necessities, however I was exposed to Covid by a masked person (I was also masked) when at the dog park. Monday is day 14 of quarantine. If I order them now, my brain makes me believe that I will definitely be sick. If I wait until Tuesday I’ll be fine 🤷🏻‍♀️",0 "I love my mom, but when I finally get the drive to do one thing, and plan on doing just that thing, just to get something done for my own mental health, she'll check in on me and start listing things we both need to do and I have to verbally tell her to stop. Just stop. I tell her that if I think of all those things then this one thing I'm doing will not get done and I will have a breakdown and cry. I try to say it with love, but the mania makes it sound like overreacting and she goes ""ok, sheesh"" or something. There needs to be resources for not just those dealing with what we deal with, but those close to us. If anyone has anything I'm all ears.",1 "For me also the opposite: doing a little bit of a task for 15 mins, patting myself on the back, and taking a ""5 minute break"" that becomes hours of procrastinating...",1 I'd empathize with this more if I wasn't so effing tired,0 What about fearing that other people view you as a bad person?,0 "Not me, Pure-O gang rise up without thinking about hurting yourselves or those around you",0 The first couple hours after I wake up are the worst. It's like I haven't quite become myself yet. Obsessions pour in.,0 That’s how I was back at my old place- we had a garage and I once went as far as getting on the highway and turning back around because of that nagging thought “Did I close the garage door?”,0 "I used to be an hour or more late for appointments as a teen, I’d get there and they would have to make another almost every time because of this. I’d end up getting distracted, like take a stupidly long bath before appointment and lose track of time, almost running to the place, or I’d completely forget appointment existed, or other distractions occurred. Now I just end up being an hour early or half an hour, never perfect but better than before.",1 this would be really funny right now if I didn't have to sleep right now when its 2 am and I gotta wake up at 6 for an exam tomorrow on a subject I've not focused on during the lessons nor studied for. oh the irony,1 Didn’t know my bad memory is because of adhd so far💀✌🏼,1 "I've trained myself to be able to wake up insanely early for things so I'm never late if something's the first thing on my schedule. Work every morning at 9am? Wake up at 7am so I can brush my teeth, wash my face, make a good breakfast, and wait around until it's time to leave. This gives me some wiggle room so if I wake up a little late, I just lose out on a bit of waiting time. I set probably 5-6 alarms for every morning and 9/10 times wake up to the first one. I have a dentist appointment at 7:30am next week before work. So I'm gonna get up at 5:30am so I have plenty of time to get ready for my day.",1 "I didn't realize this was an ADHD thing. This happens to me. Usually my wife is not very talkative and I want her to say more, but sometimes she randomly will be in a talkative mood and giving 7/10 energy level when I need my environment to be like 3/10. If I say *anything at all* about this her feelings will get hurt and she'll just stop interacting with me for rest of the night. So I try not say anything, but damn sometimes I just have too much going on in my head, I'm trying concentrate on something or de-focus, and every word makes my head feel like someone trying to over-wind a clock spring.",1 "Ugh, and how much you wanna bet the OP came back after that ERP experience and said ""that's not real OCD."" \*sigh\*",0 "And now that I finally got a diagnosis and a script it's moment of silence for all the time I still waste cause society and my parents make me feel guilty for taking meds even tho it actually helps me function so I waste so many hours thinking ""meds are just a shortcut, just stop being lazy"" 🙂....",1 Plus the majority of the time progressing/promotions means taking on people management.. I can barely manage myself 😫,1 Personally I don’t really care if people miss use the term or make jokes.!,0 "Fuck, in the new year I need to find a way to deal with this better, one makes me feel so much guilt and sadness and the other so angry",0 Pls take a look this is desk http://imgur.com/gallery/Up3zI29,0 "“And if you can’t produce your own seratonin, store bought is fine.” 😂 No but for real, I love this",0 "I get so angry when that message comes up, how dare you force me to bE WITH MY OWN MIND NO",0 "The phantom feeling of “not having enough time” is such a relentless torture. I have no solutions for you, I’m just here to say thanks for putting it into words for the rest of us.",1 i have about 2 thousand probably and a million screenshot reminders,1 "You've single handedly destroyed my procrastinating. I always tell myself ""if it was anything serious like cancer, I'd be way sicker."" Apparently I am a moron.",1 "Get out of my head, OP. Literally had the “productive procrastination” thought yesterday. And the list/planning thing is definitely a thing for a lot of us. I make a to-do list every day and can feel the change in my mood as I am making it. It’s a feeling of anticipation and hope mixed with anxiety about actually being able to complete all the tasks. A routine is a must in my life so long as it includes a large variety of tasks. I can’t put just one or two things on my list and feel satisfied. This also applies to planning trips for me. The amount of research and itinerary-planning I do is obsessive. The novelty of learning about a new location and the anticipation of visiting gets me hyper focused like few things can. Thanks so much for the book recommendation! I’ll add it to my list...bahaha.",1 "I actively try to not do routines, checking or other rituals where they are aware of them.",0 Or you can realize everything you say is a question.,0 Yo... the reality of this one really punches the gut haha.,0 Same but idc about fitting in societies standards anymore. I do my own thing.,1 I'm so proud of you and so excited for you too!! Congrats!!,0 "I live this everyday. I'm almost 50 now, and I have some accomplished things, but I still long to create more. As I get older I think the adhd is getting worse. Alot of what people say in this thread, to just dive in makes a lot of sense. I realized long ago I don't learn things that standard way.",1 God I just realized my hands are starting to feel the way the first pic looks. Very slightly but still noticeable. Thing is I have to wash my hands at work before changing stations,0 "it's even worse when you're prone to emotional outbursts, which is very likely with both disorders. especially since you start feeling so frustrated with yourself that you can't get anything done, the depression comes in and tells you you're not good enough. because i don't really know what to do with the intense emotions you can feel, how to deal with them, you typically start to look for any methods to release those emotions. unfortunately for me it's self harm and binge eating",1 "It was like I could finally access my brain, like the fog lifted and I could see clearly. For people who wear glasses I tell them it's like putting on your first pair and realizing the trees have individual leaves and the hills have individual grass blades. I was on my meds for about two months before I realized I was pregnant and stopped. It's been hard knowing what I know now, can't wait to get back on them.",1 Oh my gooooodddd... and whenever I’m in the line waiting I start thinking about terrorists and start talking about 9/11 and how why do we all have to take our shoes off if kids and old people don’t have to because then the terrorists will just use kids and old people until whoever I’m with tells me to shut up,0 "This is me, but for college classes. I absolutely despise sitting there while my mind wanders off of the lecture and onto the thoughts. It's gotten better though, I think.",0 "I feel that. I have OCD with tics, as well as Aspergers, so I've heard that question more times than I can count. edit: spelling",0 "I do this too but lately I've been just saying screw it and press send after reviewing my email a few times. And then I see what I sent and I'm like, ""oh, it's fine."" And each time it empowers me to let go and just let it be.",0 "Honestly mostly it's like the realization in 'Flowers for Algernon'. Embarrassed, angry, cheated.. mixed emotions.",1 i used to have lizard hands at some point. looked like dry scales hahahaha,0 Thanks for taking your time to respond to that ignorant person,0 Does anyone have an article about why this is such a common thought pattern?,0 "YES!! I am 25 years old and am treated as if I am unable to get my shit together...it's useless to explain my predicament to family members whom have no idea what living this way is like. Every single aspect of our lives are altered in some form cause of ADD/ADHD.",1 Good stuff!! And your immune system is thanking you for the very thing you perceive as disgusting :),0 OCD: “I shall now torment you for this for the next 3 hours.”,0 "This is true, but I also try to keep in mind how frustrating it is to anyone relying on me. Whether or not it's my fault doesn't invalidate the feelings of those around me, so long as they are at least trying to be understanding.",1 THANK YOU. I live with a family like this can't wait to move out.,1 Ahhhhhh that’s amazing! Your bravery and strength are glowing right now:) welcome to taking back your life!,0 "See also: my mom. Who ironically does present symptoms of ADHD but managed to stamp it out with the same passion as a schoolm'am teaching my grandfather to not be a left-handed anymore. ""I just make lists and make sure to go through it, have you tried that?"" (your symptoms aren't organizational/motivational mom).",1 "I don't know if it's ADHD or not but I find that I have a certain amount of anxiety related to not understanding why I do o don't do something. For example: when I worked in IT I would get really anxious about working on some new piece of equipment or having to set something up using step by step instructions. What I found is that only when I understood the why behind those instructions I became comfortable with the new gear. So it took a few years for me to realize that my dislike of new things I didn't understand came from this anxiety. I had to make peace with the idea that I could eventually become proficient with something provided I made it through the initial surface level understanding before taking a deep dive into something new. I don't know if that made sense outside of my head but I think my point is that one has to learn to go through the motions of an activity before they can really get into the deep mechanics of it. I have to remind myself of this often when I get frustrated. Hope that helps.",1 got a 0% on a language assignment because ocd told me to pass up an image rather than a 3 minute video. ocd is really reckless,0 "Hi everyone! You are probably reading this because you suffer from ocd.. I know it's a struggle. I have been suffering from it for almost 2 years now.. But miraculously, I have found an amazing meditation mindfulness video and it has worked wonderfully for me! Believe me, it seriously works. I know how frustrating life is, living everyday with ocd... That's why, *I thought it would not be ethical if* I kept this info to myself...I love you all! Everyone who is fighting and not giving up! ​ [BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDITATION » for a positive & productive day (part 1) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQOAVZew5l8) [BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDITATION » for a positive & productive day (part 2) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eKD-mDa3CA) [BEGINNER'S GUIDE TO MEDITATION » for a positive & productive day (part 3) - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFotlhvCzWc) I guess the third part is the most imp one but I'd recommend that you watch all the parts! I hope you are healed! Let's send good wishes to each other! I need those blessings! Thank you!",0 Congratulations! You should be proud! It sounds small but is extremely hard to fight a compulsion like that.,0 "I actually see this Clone High meme wave coming in, I’m usually so swarmed by intrusive thoughts and rumination that I can’t notice trends anymore",0 "It's just not fun, all around no fun. Unfortunately I have both ADHD/ ADD and dyslexic my brain is a mess on a good day. I live with my MIL she makes me feel like shite when I can't keep up with thing around the house. Its been hard going from an understanding family to one that doesn't understand and almost thinks it's made up or the old way of thinking of ADHD.",1 "I've been wrestling with blender for about a year now and, because I'm an absolute friggin masochist, I'm now trying to learn FreeCAD. I know i understand it, I know what I'm trying to do isn't hard, I know I'm an intelligent person but bugger me! Everytime i try to follow a tutorial i feel like it'd be more productive to smash my head against a brick wall. The frustration is real.",1 "So I have a friend who has autism and has decided to become hyper fixated on planners. It works for them and I’m pleased really. But when they started raving about how amazing planners are I shut that shit down related to me immediately. I told them that I hate using planners, they’re never effective for me and I’m not going to waste my money on buying more…",1 """I'll never eat one of those giant Wal-Mart bulk candy bars. It's just waaaay too much."" HA HA HA HA HA!!!",1 "If you want to avoid the stigma of “adult nanny,” you could call her a “personal assistant.” Edit: typo",1 My therapist told me that the fact that I have complex PTSD may put a wrench in diagnosing for sure whether I truly have depression or ADHD/ADD as they are comorbid.,1 "Trying to sleep with OCD be like : No sleeping. Or sleep 4 hours in 2 days.",0 "Nah you know what it is, if you even mention this in the open you'll end up being cancelled so that's probably another reason why people don't come out with this problem because they're too afraid",0 "Having OCD, asthma, & LPR (acid reflux but you feel like you're choking instead of chest pains) is fucking hell on earth. Yesterday, I idiotically decided it was a good idea to take a hot bath with a week long cough and eating a large meal and came out convinced I was going to die from an asthma attack. Definitely my worst panic attack in awhile.",0 "This really speaks to me. Literally did the same with my course work, except i put it off for an entire month. Eventually i convinced my parents to add the citations in because my brain just refused to do it",1 The only way I’m able to combat this is getting a physical paper weekly list going. I have to tlel myself every night what I’m doing tomorrow and I’m what order or I won’t do it.,1 "Oh wow, can we bottle your dad in pill form? He are cured us all.",1 More true than I'd like to admit... Recently became obsessed with the idea that I somehow have narcolepsy (I have like three of four of similar issues I circle through). Was rationalising with myself for a few days... then ended up looking up everything about narcolepsy for a day or two non-stop anyway. Sigh.,0 Ocd: you do your rituals and blame your ocd because you are your intrusive thoughts and you are looking for an excuse,0 Is this a public questionnaire that you can share or is it private?,0 "omg wild, saved...hopefully? will remember to come back to it to read lol",1 "Haha, yeah it's like a Sims character bugging out and just standing still in the middle of the floor, with 5 tasks queued.",1 I wish this could be every day! OCD really makes a lot of us feel like Jekyll / Hyde more than people can understand.,0 "This part is really hard for me. I’m 26 and I just got a diagnosis this year. It’s also obvious to me that there’s a big “nuerodivergency” movement right now too, where people are getting diagnosed as an adult. I start to think “omg did I just convince myself I have it because of what I’m consuming online?” But the reality is I’ve struggled my entire life in the same ways that a lot of people with ADHD have described. I’ve forged my closest relationships with a lot of people with ADHD. In hindsight it’s probably because I felt comfortable and safe with them because we understood eachother. Also I’m a drug addict who has been clean for two and a half years from xanax. And I used to buy half my friends adderall in high school and college simply to get by. I wouldn’t have graduated if it hadn’t been for amphetamines. But now I have a very skewed moral perspective of being prescribed adderall and I feel like everyone secretly thinks I’m scoring drugs. Even I ask myself sometimes “you probably are just doing this for the drugs” even though I know I’m not. How do I get these voices to stfu please lol",1 "I wouldn't wish this shit on the person I hate the most. ",0 "You will look beautiful in this! You’re doing something that may inspire others to try, myself included.",0 "There was once this comment I read long ago in an AskReddit post or something where one user wrote this amazing comment about how our perception of something being ""alive"" might be so limited by our senses that we may be ignoring things in space It was quite a beautiful almost philosophical piece that had a bit in it like ""how are we to say that a nebula is not a living thing, just that we cannot perceive it as being 'alive' ? "" Man I wish I'd fucking saved it. Or upvoted it. I guess I was so in awe I never thought to do so",1 "Interesting. Tests were the bane of my existence and biggest weakness. Going blank or zoning out thinking about one question for thirty minutes, or thinking about how any of the answers could be the right answer if the question is subjective anything about it long enough.",1 I love this scene. He plays it so perfectly. I feel seen in this moment. Thank you Scrubs and Michael J. Fox for portraying OCD as the hell it is rather than laughing it off because you totally freak out when your books aren’t in alphabetical order or the lines aren’t straight.,0 "Nothing that furthers your recovery and makes you feel accomplished is dumb. Keep up the good work! <3",0 "Fucking seriously. I hate being at home all the time. I keep forgetting my meds because my morning routine is shot now that I'm furloughed. Yesterday I spent the whole day in a depressive fog, trying to figure out why I couldn't focus, why nothing seemed entertaining, why I didn't want to do anything but sit and stare out the window because I have too much stuff to do (like video games and books to catch up on), but couldn't decide to do anything at all. I just ... fucking hate that feeling now. It frustrates me SO MUCH. And then I realized ... oh. I haven't taken my Vyvanse or my Synthroid for like a week. That would be why I feel like total shit and my whole body hurts and I hate life. Grrrrr!",1 I did but now im back in therapy and ive learned that its way worse then i ever thought. And i thought it was horrible before lmao,0 "WOW! So relatable! That’s gotta be a symptom of OCD, I haven’t been formally diagnosed but my mother and grandmother both have OCD so it runs in my family, almost all of the tendencies described on this subreddit I’ve experienced in some way. Especially this one!! For about a year(this began after a bad mushroom trip) I thought that I had schizophrenia or something along that spectrum, once the actual psychedelic induced schizophrenic type effects wore off I found myself heavily romanticizing having schizophrenia or being permanently fried from psychedelics, I found myself envious of the homeless schizophrenics who lived nearby and one of my most common google searches was “is wanting schizophrenia a symptom of schizophrenia” or things like “how to induce schizophrenia”. Luckily nowadays I am happy to be sane, well as sane as possible....",0 "It's still the ADHD and it's still a part of you. We can tell ourselves that our mistakes aren't our fault and that's it's the ADHD fault and its true to a degree but what we just have to remember telling ourselves and others that DESPITE your failings, DESPITE your disorderly life you still can move on and live. So what you got dealt a bad hand, so what your mind doesn't agree with your actions. You keep going, you keep trying, you keep going. The next step is always what can I do now, what can I do to both help me and others now. It's not helpful reminiscing about the past, it's not helpful telling yourself repeatedly how it's your fault. Stop doing that, do something else, don't let that feeling, that thought keep poisoning your every action. I HATE that feeling of ""it's just you not the ADHD"" and I HATE how often I think it but you ARENT just your ADHD. Unfortunately, if you do think like this, I might say that you have low self-esteem and experience anxiety more than a regular person. BUT, THATS NOT YOUR FAULT, YOU were made this way, but the environment made you THINK this way. I often think what separates people who have ADHD and just seem to live better lives than others, meaning relationships, a good job and friends compared to a worse version of that. Well, the first instinct is to tell you that your thoughts, your ideas of what you are keeping you from actively growing those things, keeping you from actively opening yourself to those things. When you have the tools like ADHD medication, what your often left with is the years and years of trauma you had experienced having it untreated. Years of comments, ideas, and thoughts you had about yourself. Your hypercritical of yourself, you are hyper aware and sensitive to others criticism. Thats not ADHD, that's years and years and years of being judged, mistreated, and misunderstood. Fuck your thoughts, go fuck your ideas about what you 'think' you are. You can be better, you are fucking better and can do better. Give yourself a rest man/woman/child. You're trying your best and that's fucking awesome. Give yourself a rest with the constant criticism, the doubt, the hypersensitivity too rejection. Just let it go, let it flow from you and focus on what you can do now. And get back into a routine, get back into a healthy routine. That helps with the thoughts, and doubts and the fear.",1 Is this why I find it oddly satisfying just to be in the same room as people when I am studying? I am not sure how to describe it but its like a reminder every time I look at them that I am working. I guess in my house I get a sense of calm by knowing my roomates are awake and here.,1 My wife will remind me to pay attention because I went soft. She’ll be like “hey hun whatcha thinking about?” When I randomly go soft because I starting thinking about lawn mowing which spirals to trying to remember if I finished a program at work all while trying to remember what I was doing a minute ago.,1 "Struggling with the same, My friends tell me that i am a smart guy and a quick study, but the “quick study” part is what is hindering me, due to my sheer will to not be studying, studying is something i hate to do, so my concentration is nowhere to be found. But the things i enjoy, i even forget to take a leak, or eat something (is this hyperfocus?) I need to find a way to make it more interesting and maybe there is somebody who can help",1 "This is a great idea. Might try this also here is a great article for intrusive thoughts ocd sufferers https://www.ocdonline.com/rethinking-the-unthinkable",0 My brain has 28 tabs open and half of it won't even load properly,1 "Fuck man, I paid more than a hundred bucks for some specialty software like a year ago at my brain totally forgot about until I had transitioned into the field work portion of my graduate program. I hope this hack serves all of you who are still sitting through lectures well.",1 Tbh this made a lightbulb go off for me in my head. I've been diagnosed with ADHD since I was 10. No one has ever sat me down and explained to me that ADHD is a disability and can impair your ability to thrive. Ive always known it but never to this degree. I'm 20 now and living on my own. I've slowly been discovering more signs and symptoms of adhd that I never knew were associated with it. It never occured to me to do this because I don't think of myself as disabled and therefore think I am like everyone else and should be able to do this. Thank you for the revelation. It has changed how I view myself and has even made me understand myself better 💕,1 "Time and time again I become what I despise. I go through my manic episodes the lows make the good seem fucking cheap but, I continue to ride my emotions until it's so good I wish I could keep the feeling until it seeps through my fingers and turns into a numbing unforgettable yearning for happiness once again it's an endless cycle. Half the time I'm very social and have no problems keeping a conversation the other half it seems like I don't give a shit about my life let alone someone else's and this isn't me trying to be an asshole I'm just incapable of keeping a healthy relationship I'm a huge self sabotager so most of the time when people I love are in trouble I'm either 150% there or 0%. This sadly makes me very unreliable. I tend to make promises I can't keep this saddens me because I really try my fucking best. My highs usually consist of making goals and promises to people that don't stick I often feel like I'm going to go a mile a minute and I'm talkin like so as well. My head's usually in the right ballpark but not the exact base I need it to be at I totally understand what you're talkin about you're not alone when I feel down on myself I try to focus on the future changes I can make rather than dwelling on the mistakes I've already made. If anyone would like to chat because they relate or share similar experiences please feel free to say hey",1 I also have a problem with this. Hopefully some of the methods you used can help me too. I will give them a try.,0 "I'm here not because I have OCD but because my SO has it and I want to learn about it so I can be the best for him. It's pretty hard to understand what OCD really means for someone who doesn't have it. I read a ton of websites and I'm following this sub pretty much every day but I know I still don't get the full spectrum of all of this and I probably never will because it's so different in every case and for each of you (what makes it harder to understand what it means to suffer from OCD). Kudos to all of you who are fighting. You are stronger than you might think. Keep your heads up and don't get mad at people who don't understand. Encourage them to research and learn about how to help you. Have talkings with those you love about how you feel, especially in situations where they make you feel uncomfortable or even angry. If you don't say anything they can't think about it and change their minds. If they don't change their minds, it comes back to you in the next situation.",0 "Should you not seek out reassurance? Because, I do all the time.",0 "I had the ADHDs until I was 48, when I was told by a friend to ""just try harder"". I went home and did the trying harder. It didn't work at first, so I tried harder at trying harder. Which almost worked, but I found I had to *really* try harder. Once I *really, really* tried harder, I was finally able to try harder, at which time I finished every project I'd ever started and abandoned in my life whilst contacting and mending my relationship with each and every person I've carelessly let slip away, meanwhile being perfectly capable on any given day of walking into a room (any room!) with full knowledge of why I went in there, and also having immediately learned how to make, refer to, and remember the location of my to-do list, which I only make one of now because, again, no ADHDs, oh and furthermore, I actually do the things on said list instead of watching the clock tick by while playing insipid timesuck tapping games on my mobile phone and internally screaming at myself to move one freakin' muscle, just one, any one, to get up and do something that needs to be done in the house rather than watching time streak by with increasing anxiety about what I promised my wife I'd do and what I actually did, which is jack shit. Oddly, trying harder hasn't improved my proclivity for run-on sentences.",1 "With my ADHD, after 8 pm, nothing gets done. I don't care. My day is finished.",1 "Oh yeah, I used to feel sad for leaves crossing the road... when I was a kid. I also managed to quit smoking cigarettes because I felt bad for my body (in particular, my cilia).",0 "Other people have expressed how wholesome this post is more eloquently than I possibly could so I’m going to skip that and go straight to the most important question: I do not own a dishwasher. I dream of one day owning a dishwasher. I do not understand why she is doing the dishes when she has a dishwasher?",1 "This list...Twinsises! My dad would tell me as a kid that when it costs me I'll learn. It wasn't really in reference to this area of life (I had to pay for bad grades - eyeroll) but these things above definitely have cost me. It took some time but I definitely have learned a lesson though. All of my bills are auto-pay. I do not sign up for things unless I absolutely have to and I do not buy perishables unless it's for a big meal and people are coming over.",1 Sometimes. Other times it's paying attention to one thing to the exclusion of all else.,1 Whoah never knew echolalia was a thing but I definitely do that. In class when my professors are speaking I often repeat exactly what they're saying in my head with a few second delay. Or I doodle their words in the margins of my notes. I also will sometimes read words off of signs out loud without meaning to and sometimes not even knowing where I just read the words from.,1 Something that might help is to use apps like Relax Melodies to listen to relaxing nature sounds before falling asleep. That’s what I do to distract myself. The sounds stop after a 20-minute timer I set and I’m usually already asleep before it’s up.,0 Well this post makes me feel like a pos. So much truth in this.,1 This isn't true man. You actually won't care at all about your ocd thoughts once your ocd is cured.,0 Y’all explain your compulsions to others??? I don’t even bother,0 "The top image ruined (or atleast contributed to ruin it), the bottom one has a twist for me personally, but in the end, relatable",0 "Are you medicated? Because I still have days where I feel like what you're describing when I dont take my meds until like noon on a day off but as soon as the medication kicks in I am able to at least get up and accomplish something. I don't want to make it seem like stimulant medication is the perfect solution, but without fail it enables me to devote my attention to starting and subsequently finishing tasks. I still deal with procrastination issues and will always put off important things to the last possible minute, but at least I'm able to get everyday things going thanks to the medication and can build to larger tasks.",1 "Taking Adderall as an adult is very much like those videos of people who are colorblind putting on those glasses and seeing color for the first time in their lives. I distinctly remember being relaxed and focused and at the same time overwhelmed because I was at work and was not stressed about getting all my tasks done before close. Had to take a minute to collect myself, which I totally had an extra minute because I wasn't behind on anything. It was amazing.",1 "All that money spent on stuff I got excited about for about 1h, rarely to never using it and then tossing it into a corner and forgetting about it. Thanks to a coming move and the insistence of my gf, I started cleaning out the basement and ended up selling a bunch of rarely used stuff (which made me about 200€ which I already spent again)",1 "one thing tho...you are not a bad person,,,,,on the contrary...ocd makes people very moral and conciencious in whatever they do and intelligence we get as a gift.",0 nah I think ima keep laying in bed being an unproductive piece of shit but thank you for that reminder I appreciate you.,1 "Yeah i know what you mean they said the exact same thing to me. I’m just lucky I can get help from a privet doctor. If you can, I highly recommend going private Edit (i llive in the uk)",0 Because they probably think it means motivation for neatness or some stupid ocd stereotype,0 What are the specific areas affected? If it's the frontal lobe and thalamus it could be very useful information to me. Thanks,0 I've only ever met one other person with OCD too... and that's my stepsister funny enough,0 "Ironically, either my OCD (or my trypophobia, the two overlap a lot in terms of visual stimuli) dislikes the style of painting, just because it is so chaotic and messy. I can tell you put a lot of work into it though, and it would take skill. So good work.",0 "Yes! Oh my god, to the extent I stayed in a hotel for two weeks when I was between medications, since I'm so obsessed with 27 to the point that on my 28th birthday I ""knew"" I was going to die. Whether I had a heart attack or I was made to kill myself I just ""knew"" I'd die on my 28th birthday lol. So ridiculous. I stayed in a hotel so my family wouldn't find me like that. Thank god I've found my holy grail medication and I'm doing awesome now!",0 Depression with ADHD with anxiety is a nightmare. It's like hell has manifested within me. My ADHD meds usually help with my depression and ADHD a bit but then they elevate my anxiety to horrible levels which in turn triggers more depression. It's a (not so) fun cycle of torture!,1 It's on point. He is the personification of ADHD and I don't like him.,1 "I don’t often comment here because I don’t have adhd I just identify w a lot of the struggles posted and get ideas and comfort out of many of the threads, this one got me though. I am often told I am exhausting to be around and I think this is one of the main reasons, I can go to someone’s house or car and I simply start cleaning like mad. I’ve turned it into a hobby that friends have come to be more or less appreciative of but I call it “minding their business” as a sort of lighthearted joke about how busy I prefer to get in other’s company. I also call it the audience effect where, when someone is coming over I am suddenly inspired to make my house spotless and couldn’t have found the motivation otherwise. I’m just chiming in I guess because it has become such a big part of my life, I totally get where you are coming from and I do it too.",1 Wow I can't believe I've been suffering for a decade when I could've changed it all myself. 😀Who know it was this easy!,0 "I feel the way you do sometimes and I’m working on it. One way of thinking that helps me sometimes is… You’re here on this earth just this one time. You’re just as entitled to good things as anyone else but you’re the one that has to advocate for yourself. The thoughts you describe are other people’s ideas of how people should be. “Man up,” etc. I mean, they are imposing their worldview on you, probably to make themselves feel better about how they live their life. They’re advocating for themselves. And by accepting that, you’re basically helping them out instead of yourself and there’s no one left to advocate for you. Sensitive people have many strengths (and insensitive people have many faults—have you noticed that they’re destroying the planet and humanity) but when you’re wasting your time being self-critical at your own expense, you’re not figuring out how to access or apply those strengths. You’re not making the most out of your time here, which is all we’ve got! And you’re probably way too in your own head and not noticing the good and interesting people around you so you end up lonely in a self-fulfilling prophesy that originated from people that are broken in other ways and for other reasons. There is certainly merit to self awareness and taking other people’s criticisms constructively to be a better person. But it’s hard sometimes to separate that from self-loathing. One other thing that has stayed with me is the idea that perfectionism is essentially an attempt at godliness/superhumanity. When I’m feeling shitty or ashamed about something I’ve done that was legit probably not great, I remind myself of my humanity. How can I expect myself not to fuck up? That’s what humans do. It makes no sense to feel worthless because you’re a person. To expect more is to lack humility. It’s a humbling thought, but also very freeing and empowering. (I got this from “Healing the Shame that Binds You” by John Bradshaw but I’m sure it’s a common take. I don’t fully buy into his concept but there are a lot of good points and eye opening things about how our upbringing contributes to our issues). Tldr: you’re a flawed human person just like everyone else and it’s up to you to make the most of your time here. Don’t accept other people’s frameworks for living at your own expense. You have a right to be yourself and the more fully you can be that the more the world will benefit.",1 "Harm OCD is believing that you are the villain despite any evidence. The meme is just about anxiety in general.",0 "told myself to finish my two assignments and study for today because i failed my midterm, and ended up completing one and a half of my assignments, and no study done at all because i ended up binge watching translations of the bnha radio. thank you add, you've been so helpful today :]",1 "About the “let’s give him more tasks” I struggle with this too. I almost get a natural high from getting fully into the work flow mode and I can send out a lot of work in a small amount of time. But now that I’ve been in corporate for a while, (I work remote) I specifically take breaks to make sure I’m not working too fast. That way, I don’t get the unfair workload that often falls to us. Protect yourself. Protect your time.",1 "My ocd tells me to cut myself because I deserve pain. I’ve been doing it on my chest/shoulder to hide it. This is a new compulsion for me, and idk what to do. I don’t want to tell my therapist because I’ll be admitting I’m a failure and a lost cause.",0 What an amazing representation. I feel like I ask this every day.,0 It’s been my daydream since I first read Wodehouse and realised I need a Jeeves for my completely useless Wooster self.,1 "I tend to be cautious and see the worse in people, as in people have agendas against me and I then perceive everything as a sleight against me. Which is kind of similar. I basically have to live alone and avoid people. If i know someone, in my mind, they will either reject me for something later on or worse they will take advantage of me. I am always analysing my interactions with others as well. I mean really over analysing things. ""Maybe i should have said that; maybe that is being passive aggressive by them."" Like i say, i have to live alone.",0 ERP is rough but definitely worth it. Good luck to you!,0 "Good for you! It looks great :) I had a compulsion of not cutting my hair a few years ago and it felt amazing to overcome!",0 "My wife and I have been doing this for years. Her depression and my ADHD make it really hard to take care of ourselves, but we have much more success taking care of each other",1 Me when anyone asks about any of my rituals. Too complicated to explain and most people don’t understand. Especially strangers.,0 Or compulsively pushing them away and squashing the panic so I can pretend to be normal for 5 mins and finally eat some food or hug my SO 😁😁,0 ">Reply to emails and messages when you read them. 99% of the time, days and weeks will go by if you tell yourself that you’ll reply later on… >If you can’t stop yourself from answering that text/email/IM right away but don’t actually have time to deal with it, tell the person you’ll respond when you get a minute. 2nd one works only when you don't forget it later haha...also, there was a 'stop' that should be a 'spot' I believe: >Cleaning dishes and stop spare trash",1 OCD rather aggravates my disorder owing to obsessionally enhanced procrastination.,0 "Yup. x100 if it's something that runs in the family. My parent was dxed with a horrible type of cancer a year ago, and it's been wonderful (/s) ever since with health-related thoughts, lol. I tried to dissuade my fears by checking articles on it (because the cancer usually only occurs in older folks anyways) and was immediately presented with an MRI of someone a few years younger than me :/",0 "When I was a preteen in the 90s, I used to love watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch on Friday nights. She had a spell that allowed her to stop time. I’m now 36, and I still think about that spell about once a week, and with all my heart wish I had that power!",1 "Wake up, ocd obsessions ,eat ,some more ocd, sleep, repeat",0 "The sub r/EnglishLearning is really similar colours and I was so confused by this post till I realised which sub I was in haha. I’ve been actually trying so hard to resist the googling compulsions that come with this the last few weeks, it’s helping a little!",0 "ADHD has a stereotype of being goofy and hyperactive which is so wrong. ADHD and depression share a similar feature - they both have impaired dopamine and serotonin levels, and this impairs the prefrontal cortex which is why it's hard to do just about anything. Arguably, ADHD people are *born* with innate depression. This is why ADHD medication is so important. OP, please look into it if you don't have medication. It turned my life around in almost magical ways.",1 "I'm in between flights, and now I'm realising how easy it is for me to just... Wait. I would be bored if I wasn't overwhelmed at this airport rn. Life is weird with a brain like this.",1 Same. The logic of why is a structure to remember things with.,1 Everyone gangsta til you cough once and now you literally cannot brush off the fact that you have coronavirus and will die and infect everyone,0 Big hugs and cups of coffee is OCD is kicking your asd today. Im about ready to smash my head in a car door lol. Be strong my people. Much love to you.,0 "Some additional subtitles based on my personal experience could be: I know I'm staring right at it, but I literally don't see it Syndrome. I just missed my exit... again Syndrome. What the fuck is sarcasm, and why would anyone choose to use it on purpose syndrome. It's not an excuse, it's the truth syndrome. RSD is a real thing, why do I know more than all my doctors and therapists syndrome. Can't remember if I just took my pill five seconds ago syndrome. Huge burst of energy as soon as the sun goes down syndrome. Last one up at the party syndrome. Remember when I said I'd do that thing five years ago? Well I've literally stressed about it every day, and finally did it even though we haven't spoken since then syndrome. Filing taxes on time is literally impossible Syndrome And so many more... Edit: Just thought of some more... Just because I'm not at my desk doesn't mean I'm not working syndrome. The more I fidget and do other things, the more I'm paying attention to what you're saying syndrome. Thinking about everything, and absolutely nothing all at once syndrome. I'm not shy or quiet, I'm just really observant and have nothing to say right now syndrome. Fuck, I can't sleep when I need to syndrome.",1 "Story of my life. When I can make myself, I tell myself that the chores are easy and each only takes a few minutes. But the procrastination is such a prison. It can be impossible to snap myself out of it, even when I know taking action will benefit me. We have trouble with delayed gratification and can be impulsive, so we go for the immediate reward. I just never give up. People don’t know how awful ADHD can be.",1 ugh I'm going through a break up right now and I can't stop with the obsessive thoughts and compulsively checking his socials which I know I'm supposed to do but I can't stop. Looking into taking an SSRI to see if that helps :(,0 "Honestly, so so true. It’s a constant struggle that I’m trying to go through head first...",1 "I’ve often heard anxiety called the “what if” disease. Before I knew what OCD was I would explain what I now know to be intrusive thoughts to my friends as “the anxiety keeps telling me _____”. So yea, it is exactly like that, constant hypotheticals.",0 99% of the time it’s an honest mistake but our brains be like nah,0 R/OCD has the most relatable memes istg this is me with hand washing,0 "I was about to get real pissed and debate with myself whether it's worth it to comment something, but then I read the end. Lmao. Nice. But I am frustrated by this still. The inital ""ooooooo fuck you, asshole"" reaction is still there.",1 This is amazing. I'm always astounded at the ingenuity of ADHD folks!,1 "Honestly, I need the stimulation of a lot going on. My bad prioritization skills are on display then, but I wind up getting a lot more done, and do better stuff.",1 Coming of my antidepressant I’ve been on for nearly two years and what a great time to do it! All I wake up to is negativity it’s overwhelming. People harping on me for not supporting blm and I’m like yeah I hate everything right now so I don’t think I’d be any help.,1 That’s amazing! I started my new semester by not turning in the first Essay we had assigned lol.,1 The only choice is to shut down any sense of self and turn on auto mode to mantain peace with the family. Eventually this becomes the default and one forgets how to be yourself. You don't even think anymore. hhhhsjshbssnnm,1 "That type of curiosity is actually a really good thing to have with more technically challenging positions. Gaining an understanding of the purpose behind actions will allow you to rebuild the process if you temporarily forget specific details. It also allows for potential innovation.",1 "I related to this too much, minus the disease part. I always think everyone hates me or thinks I’m one big joke.",0 "I was gonna say be like nahhh this doesn’t apply to me today. But it does. Thank you 😩 I wish I could get my phone taken away again like I did in high school smh",1 Absofuckinglutely. People at my job thought I'd quit because I asked too many questions. Turns out I stayed and been the employee of the month for a while and people come to me to ask for stuff. How the turnatables...,1 "Well, that's going straight to the ~~pool room~~ sidebar. :D",1 "holy shit. this is literally the most resonating post i've ever read. good to know i'm not alone in this, but sucks that that popped back into my brain right now",1 "I’m kind of in the same boat as a lot of commenters. I can’t afford treatment, I was going for a while but I can’t afford it anymore. Since I can’t change much about it right now, I try not to hate it because that would mean hating myself for how my brain works and that sends me down a rabbit hole. Every thing about it is a double edged sword for me. On one hand, I’m an incredibly hard worker. I have a great GPA and am great at my job (I’m a janitor). College and my job create routines and things for me to do, and I do it well. But the other side of that is WHY I’m so good at that stuff. I get afraid that if I go out to eat with my friends before getting all of my homework done that I will flunk out of college. If I switch up my cleaning routine at work it floods me with anxiety that it will all go wrong. If I hang out with my boyfriend instead of studying I play out in my mind how my father will die without health insurance because I didn’t get my degree. I’m a cautious driver, but that’s because of the intrusive thoughts. So— I see what you mean. Not trying to disagree at all. But I’m trying to find the parts of it that make me better and trying not to resent myself for how my mind works. Does that make sense?",0 "This is actually what helped me overcome my OCD as a kid. I got annoyed with it and said, ""well what if I just stopped?"" Nothing happened when I stopped so my OCD got less intense over time",0 "I have been there too. I could give advice, but I’ll just say, keep going, you likely won’t be depressed forever, I hope you are in a situation where you have some good medical care. I didn’t. Just had to ride it out and eventually got back out of it and normalized. Do what you can, don’t be hard on yourself. Sending you lots of virtual support.",1 What can I do? Please it's awful beyond comprehension,0 "It actually does go the opposite way with Inattentive-type, you go into zombie mode without any executive function to actually engage with anything. It suuuucks",1 I feel bad for you guys who have contamination ocd... this time must be very hard for you. I can only imagine.,0 "Not to be morose but I've gone to the same esthetician for 18 years, she and I had sons the same age. About a year and a half ago, her son, at age 21, suddenly died (not suicide or a drug overdose, BTW). That really put things into perspective when my kids do things that annoy me. My friend would do anything to be annoyed by her son again.",1 i can not STAND even numbers. i have no idea why but i hate them,0 "Meanwhile, my husband is like, ""your emotionally practical nihilism is killing me."" He's a good man and it's not fair he has to deal with me.",1 "The crafts/projects/hobbies you got super into, did a whole bunch of research on, and bought a ton of supplies for, only to fall out of after a month or less....",1 Discerning the INTENT of an order or instruction is often the missing link between success and failure with whatever it is you are doing/told to do.,1 I'm absolutely astonished. Thank you so much for posting this! I feel this every day!,0 "OCD can be incredibly cruel. But as others have said you’re not alone, I don’t know how many times I’ve just felt completely exhausted from it.",0 Most times I believe I fooled my psychiatrist and that’s how he diagnosed me. Or that he just wanted my money xD,1 "I am was on a waiting list for a while, finally got the call to go in for a test and they sent over some info to explain what will happen (it was a QBtest for those curious) and all I could see was ""your child this"" and ""your child that""... I'm 23 and I don't have a child, it's me that is going for the diagnosis... Surely we know by now that ADHD can't be cured and it doesn't go away on it's own.",1 "I nearly died of a ruptured intestine following a not treated infection and I also fucked up my wrist and lost mobility because I waited to long both times. So I can second OPs urge to get your stuff checked out.",1 This is me and I had my tubes tied and haven’t had any sex and I still get these thoughts,0 "As a child, one of my neuro normal stepbrothers left a piece of fruit in his bag which went off. As a result, the rule for all siblings was to bring your lunchbox to the kitchen within 30 minutes of getting home. The punishment for noncompliance was 6 cuts of the leather belt by the step father. I, the only one who ate all his lunch every day and thus couldn’t possibly have had fruit go rotten, was the only one to receive this punishment. It happened multiple times a week for months until I started to fight back during beltings, and then started going without lunch to avoid the drama entirely, which resulted in further punishment You cannot beat it into an adhd child. Fucking coward",1 "My bane is fuel costs for all the spontaneous trips I take because being at home is so boring",1 Because I said so isn't justification. Why do I care about completing this task when I can abandon it like so many others?,1 "Holy shit that first one is SO on point. I’ve never thought of it, except “not right” but it’s literally that. You are scared, panicked and uncomfortable.",0 "It looks beautiful regardless. Also, OCD kept me from writing stories for years. I'm glad you're pushing through this as well. ",0 This is huge! AND you’re flossing?? I’m proud of you 🥲,1 or when ur brain tells u everyone else can hear ur thoughts and u should feel even more guilty :(,0 "Don't forget abandoned hobbies cost. ""I have skis"" ""since when did I even go skiing?""",1 "If using Google, you can remove things from your results easily. Try adding -child to your search.",1 "Ahhhhhhhhh yes the 5 guitars, violin, Keyboard, Kalimba, ukulele, paint set, motorcycle with 79 miles on it, countless language apps that just get deleted within four days, allllllll the business ideas I wrote down, endless household projects that are started and not completed, going into something at 100000 mph and 1000000 percent just to fizzle out within days because I’m not instantly successful at it. It’s like a constant self defeating little minion living inside me. Spent my whole life trying to find something, anything I can be good at and there’s nothing .",1 “Just make a list… that always helps me… adhd gone!” Ughhhhhhh,1 "I love everyone in this thread so hard. I've been accused of loving commas, (and parantheticals) ever since my school newspaper days; although— never accused for dashes- which is nice.",1 *about to take a screenshot* the voice in my head: stop right there. You know you'll never see that again as soon as you hit those buttons. It's time to reassess your life. Don't you need some better organizational habits? It's gonna take some time and effort but we've got all day to– *takes screenshot*,1 "This sounds like the perfect day. I admire her for picking away at the task while just living her life, enjoying herself and making you (and the cat) feel cared for. Also maybe just get rid of some dishes! We have 1 place setting per person in a 5 person household and it’s heaven to clean up w ADHD.",1 "Hi /u/irldani and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 "I've gone on long rants about my OCD to a co-worker going into detail about how it's tearing me apart. He still says things like, ""well I guess I have to get this job done before I go on break cause that's my OCD"" For god's sake...",0 "My bf and I both have ADHD so we often lose stuff together. I remember one time we tore apart the apartment looking for our phones. Usually our go-to is to have the one with their phone call the phone that’s missing, but this time we had simultaneously lost them. After hours of destroying our apartment, he went down to the car and found both of our phones sitting in our seats.",1 my lying in bed and thinking about asking my husband to check the door I check 3 times already. just in case.,0 "I'm 26 years old and I just realized I have adhd 2 weeks ago. My parents knew, my roommate knew, I had no fucking idea because I'm pretty much the opposite of hyperactive.",1 I always used to cheerfully tell everyone that I work best under pressure. What I really meant was that I work under pressure.,1 "Definately. I get stuck on trying to do or not do something that's in my head and welp, no laundry getting done today",0 "I was thinking about the same thing yesterday while ruminating, it's becomes another intrusive thought as a whole",0 I just came out of the shower and this reminded me that I forgot to brush my teeth,1 "Wow, I’m so sorry you’re struggling with this but also so relieved to see I’m not alone. I did some really insane things in college. It’s been a burden on me for over a decade, and though I’m in a MUCH better place, things happened that changed me to my core. (yay, PTSD.) I’m a mom now and often terrified people will find out and think I’m not meant to be a mom, or want me to be with their kids. It’s totally irrational, I know. Just last week this was an issue for me. It was gorgeous outside so I decided go do virtual therapy on my deck. Was talking about a former client who found me on LinkedIn (thanks, dude...) and had no idea my neighbor was outside. She probably didn’t hear anything but I was ruminating over the what if for days. Weirdly though, as much as I get terrified that people will learn about my past, or cancel me, some times I want to just scream it out to everyone. I wonder if I just made it public, I could control the narrative more than if it was “leaked”. It’s a weird mental place to be. To counteract that, I second guess every post or everything I say because I’m worried it’s wrong or offensive somehow. Totally exhausting.",0 "YES. If I ""stop"" one, another takes its place, but I often don't notice it right away.",0 I can’t believe there are people who *don’t* live like this,1 "Thanks OP. It's super validating to see that other people are experiencing the same shit and I'm not just a lazy slob not reaching potential! ""Too much"" and ""not enough"" pretty much sums up ADHD for me lol.",1 "Hahaha welcome to the club, I have 2 unofficial ""Watch Later"" playlists 😂😂 sometimes I think I likes adding stuff to watch later more than actually watching stuff",1 I actually have a hard time focusing during lectures and prefer to take my meds and study at home. That way I’m just in the zone for hours on end. I just can’t pay attention to the lecture for shit.,1 "Last thing I think about before falling asleep, first thing waking up. God I hate ocd.",0 "Tf, are you me?!? This is way to relatable D; Every single one.",1 Bruh I thought I was just weird. This page always has my back lol,0 "Wow, I have no idea what it is like to have someone understands, who is appreciative and praising. Someone that is patient and is supportive. You’re a rare breed.",1 "I think I might be in the minority here, but talking courses online was the only way I was able to complete my undergrad degree. It allowed me to work when I felt motivated to do so and I found that flexibility really beneficial. Plus, if you're a Redditor, the online group forums should come pretty naturally! As it stands, I'm set to start grad school at the end of May. Is it terrible that I hope they cancel the residency and do it all online? My program specifically draws in a lot of international students, so I feel like they might make that pivot.",1 "Totally feel you. My mum has always been the biggest source of negative comments and criticism and although I can attribute a lot to now knowing she clearly has adhd too, it still hurt all those years. Even when I was telling her about the adhd revelation she got really annoyed with me and said see you always interrupt 🙄🙄🙄🙄",1 "If you were ever hit by an authority figure because you couldn’t do the task, you may live with deep anxiety and fear about the consequences of not doing the task—it’s much more than mental anguish or feeling unloved. The threat of physical pain can trigger feelings of life-or-death, abandonment, shame, and worthlessness. It’s so debilitating because it increases the amount of dread you experience while you sit there and try to motivate yourself. It doesn’t help.",1 "Seeing this post had made me decide to go get a diagnosis myself. This IS me - I have had to develop an arsenal of coping strategies to work with these experiences - and even then, it really depends on the day on how effective I am in their use. <3 big love to all the ADHD crew",1 "Oh gosh it looks stunning ^ ___ ^ It’s making me want to cut my hair! My hair is similar in colour but not as nice :’))",0 My ocd hates that scene very very much but this is wonderfully done!,0 "Sees the post, keeps scrolling. Yeah, this shit is hard :(",1 I look at memes to help cope with my OCD. Thanks for making them :),0 "I've had this with SAD since january, but I think I might have turned it around. I check in with a friend before the work day starts now to get going and help each other structure work, and it's amazing. I want to talk to him, I want to not make him wait, and there's no pressure or any cascade of consequences if I fail. Everything has just been easier and more interesting since.",1 IMO there’s a difference from being the sickness and having the sickness,0 "These memes help me with this terrible disorder, I often underestimate the power of having people to relate to",0 I didn’t even read the second one. But it’s pretty good too. The first one just blew my mind. We all know that chair feeling and WOW did it put my feelings into words!,0 "My reason is that no matter how big a piece of shit I am... I’ll always be better than that hypothetical piece of shit who lets my son grow up without an ADHD-brained parent around to help him feel less alone. Once he’s an adult and rocking at life we’ll see how I feel then...",1 Yeah like it’s totally different if you love someone and therefore want to see them grow during ERP which I’m sure your boyfriend did and therefore was happy with the exercise but that person has no idea what OCD really is. Good on you for explaining to them in a clear and concise manner,0 "I just realized that my constant seeking of reassurance is probably linked to my OCD. People I know always get super angry at me because I'll constantly bring up random health problems and stuff I think I'm having, hoping that they'll finally say something to put my mind at ease.",0 Yep guilt is like the biggest intrusive thought I have. My brain will just decide to bring up random memories and replay how they are my fault. I feel like guilt is definitely the most intense emotion that I go through.,0 Omg yes. Literally came on here today feeling like this,0 "I just had an idea, I'm going to teach a hand signal. I'll do it before either of us snap so it doesn't end up looking like the finger or a fist (shape-we're a no-hitting/spanking family). At the moment I've had multiple conversations with my kid about not pushing my buttons after 7. That's when Cinderella's ride turns into a bitchy pumpkin. My kid and I both have ADHD. My poor husband. update: kid's not interested so I won't be able to let you know if it works. oh well.",1 "I’m a simple man. I see and obsession, I try my best to ignore it and move on with the day.",0 "Hi /u/VitaminNutrient and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 Why I write it down on my phone especially when drinking,0 My coach and me had a whole conversation about it today,1 "I'm going to be starting intensive outpatient therapy and I keep going back and forth with why I should and shouldn't do it. The fires get worse if you try doing anything and they get bad even if you do nothing so I do even more nothing. ",0 "How do I know that I do in fact have ocd? Some people say that everyone has the same issues I experience. I mean, how do I know I am not exaggerating symptoms to my psychiatrist?",0 "This has been my last 18months. Every day. I've become totally inept and become very skilled at helplessness. I don't do the things I feel need to be done, the adulting stuff. Then I don't do the things I wanna project up with or progress on as I haven't earned that when so much important stuff is falling by the wayside and going to have consequences... So I just spend most of the time just floating in my house alone, anxious and consumed by my own thoughts and internal battle to just do the fucking thing that is getting to me. Occasionally a magic formula happens and I wake up fresh and just do a bunch whilst in the window of being able to. Usually followed by days of being wiped out for no reason other than a paralysis of action or anxious exhaustion and stress combines with this learned lethargy gained by slowly allowing myself to dwindle over time to this boring af, empty void. What fucks me off is my capacity to activate is determined almost entirely by the involvement of others. I can't for the life of me figure out how to just want and DO purely for my own benefit. Unless some yet unknown special conditions are at play or im really pissed of about something going on and I just power clean to deal with it lol. You're not alone my friend",1 "I understand you, I've always struggled with brushing teeth regularly.",1 Not me being diagnosed with every single one of these 💀💀,0 "Completely agree. I think there are lots of websites that explain it well. I’ve finally reached the point where I understand that I don’t actually have control over random thoughts that pop into my mind. It took forever to get there but I also realized that the reason pOCD was the worst for me of all pure O forms is because of how strongly my moral code is against it. If you were to put them in order from worst to least worst as far as what my morality considers bad. 1. Murder 2. Pedophilia So those are of course the random thoughts that I would obsess about most BECAUSE of how morally abhorrent I find those. That’s what made me realize that I’m not a terrible person and that those random thoughts attack me because I see them as wrong and my brain goes on red alert. When that happens, you obsess about it.",0 Because germophobia and organizational OCD are the only types that exist. V funny,0 This is just... WOW. I am super emotionally reading through and kind of excited for the rest of the week. My life has not been going too great recently but knowing there is a way out gives me hope. Thank you.,1 ohhhh right this is ocd not normal thought processes,0 Wonderful! You look just like a friend I've been missing. Hope you're well.,0 The funniest aspect of this is that Nick Young is a total character that seems high 24/7. A mixture of a pimp and incoherent mumbling; the caption is not far off hahaha,0 "I went to a therapist for a completely different reason, and then she diagnosed me and I was still like, “oh my god. I’m lying to her right now.”",0 "Please tell me I'm not the only one who saw the title. Said ""True"" in my head. Then just continued scrolling. Help.",1 "I don’t even tidy my stuff and it tortured me every day, what is this dude’s problem",0 I stop reading at two third of the whole thing. Might come back to finish the rest later on...,1 "Ok but what is the right move ;0; How can i help my brother do his homework when he just CAN'T do it Hes failing really bad and i have no clue how to motivate him. I tried doing an allowance as a reward and it worked a bit, but my mom said that it would just encourage him to not do his work so that i would offer more money :( Idk what to do guys please! Any advice??",1 I love this!!! I’m gonna try thinking of it like this myself,0 "Sometimes OCD leaves the room and comes back in with glasses and a moustache, trying to make me think it's something else, something relevant. Sorry bud, I know it's you but nice try!",0 It's a beautiful thing when someone takes the pain to bring other people up.. thankyou I needed this,1 This is all I’ve done since I woke up today make it stop lol,0 "This one is a quality meme, thanks for making my first day of 2021.",0 "Each time you do a compulsion, you are making sure there is a next one, it never ends. Just don't do it and learn to tolerate the unpleasant feeling, after a while that feeling gets weaker and weaker, but if you do the compulsion it will just keep repeating itself ( i have ocd too and i know how hard it is, but at some point we have to face our fears instead of running from them, and i can confirm from my own experience that the less you do your compulsions the less important they become)",0 "I feel the same. I think always had OCD. From earliest memories there are things that really hint at it being there, and it got more pronounced with age. When i was 18 it completely took over and i was never the same again. I changed completely, i dont recognize person who i was and it happened almost over night",0 Careful... we’re also susceptible to suggestion and false memory syndrome 👀,1 "before covid i always wash my hands, avoid touching door knobs, etc. now, covid made me wash my hands 3x more.",0 i love after five pm and the weekends bc everything responsible related is CLOSED and im off teh hook!!,1 "It’s like when you have acne and people tell you to just wash your face. Like no shit, that doesn’t work, dude.",0 I don’t think I can relate to this. I didn’t know that’s a thing. ,1 "I can 1000% relate. This is the worst symptom of ADHD and has fucked up so much of my social, professional, and student life, along with cratering my self-esteem.",1 "I love when someone realizes I'm struggling and, rather than volunteering to help, decides the reasonable course of action is to point out how I *should* be able to easily do whatever I'm doing. ""How hard can it be to take out the garbage!?"" Thanks, dad. Now that I'm aware this task is easy, all my issues have magically resolved themselves.",0 "No because in reality I probably wouldn’t get shit done. Sometimes it seems that life is a tidal wave and I’m along for the ride. I’m not surfing or anything, but at least I’m moving forward.",1 "This is me. Everyone always says “oh your ADHD can’t be that bad, you are doing so well and are so smart”. I just want to scream at them and say “try living in my brain for five minutes and tell me my ADHD isn’t bad”.",1 "Feels like most of us are both. Whatever, it sounds like a ""they"" problem! Always do your best to improve yourself, but please let go of people who put you down because they don't want to try to understand. If you're already doing the best you can (and NOT the best people expect you to do), then it's not your problem.",1 "I get through with OCD with being dissociative. Depersonalization/derealization helps me a lot because it blocks out all of my thoughts unless I'm forcing to think of something. So I basically have no reading or narrator voice unless I want to. My brain used to hyperthink as a kid and it felt like 100 thoughts per minute because of how fast my thoughts were too. I had terrible insomnia because of it. Big hugs to you, you're so strong, OP ♡",0 Whenever my pure O's sneak into my dreams... shit sticks with me all day.,0 I don't know how helpful this is to you but I used to feel the same. Now I take Vyvanse and I don't really have that problem anymore. I feel like I've got the gas in the tank to get things done. Have you gone to the doctor to talk about your problem?,1 "i literally could not leave the house by myself for like 6 months. maybe to the grocery store, if I knew I'd be back in 10 minutes or so. otherwise massive panic attack.",0 "God damnit I was told I have OCD but I don’t see it and watching what you all go through really puts me through even more imposter syndrome. Like she said I have it because I have road rage when people don’t use turn signals or cross over solid lines in the road or follow other rules. And because I get so angry when other people don’t follow rules and procedures at work for transferring calls. Also I absolutely have to wash my hands when I get home and I refuse to touch door handles. I just really really upset when things aren’t like the rules say they are supposed to be. That’s not washing my hands and I’m not sure if I even have intrusive thoughts that are OCD type. Like, I get annoyed when people change lanes behind me right when I do, or I think about going up to people are saying these impulsive things that come into my head to mess with them. I feel really compelled to say thing. Do I have OCD for real or am I just a asshole.",0 "Any multiple of 4 or 3, the number 5 (only the number 5), and the number 13 (again only the number 13 and not multiples) are good numbers. I don’t like 7 it’s smug prime aura mocks me. 11 is also not good because it’s also prime and I hate most primes. 13, 3, and 5 are the only exceptions to the hate of primes. 7/11 is an uncomfortable place.",0 "Bonus points if, in a fit of isolated confidence, it was you who brought up the subject then somebody asked you to elaborate and you get annoyed at them for putting you on the spot before quickly realizing it was you who put yourself there.",1 That’s why whenever I get a free trial I immediately set a reminder on when to cancel it lol my reminders app does a lot of heavy lifting for me 😂,1 "I get what he is trying to say, and I somewhat agree (it will definitely apply to some people with OCD), although this type of situation would be arguably closer to severe anxiety? But we all know OCD is far more complicated than this and all these comparisons to coronavirus (many on Twitter) do concern me i.e. it's about germs/viruses and cleaning/avoidance. The best thought experiment I've seen that gets close to showing how OCD feels (for those who don't have it) is by Jonathan Grayson: https://youtu.be/HeYjDbRmAsM",0 "I am extremely, extremely messy. Without a lot of reminders from my partner, dishes pile up for a week. My car gets embarrassingly trashy. The microwave looks disgusting. But I also worry about germs an excessive amount and take ridiculous precautions to avoid them.",0 I've noticed a trend of people with OCD being worried about having schizophrenia (myself included) I wonder why this is a recurring theme?,0 I have been medicated for 2 years and since then have recently passed the Bar Exam. Yet the thought of picking up the clothes off the floor and folding them is literally like climbing Mount Everest.,1 "I have this too, but I am not sure if it's an Adhd thing or social anxiety thing 🤔",1 Why the fuck would you share this man. You just trying to trigger everyone?,0 "While I don't have many compulsions (aside from lip picking/picking at the skin around my nails and needing cleaning and organizing done in a specific way), I do many many obsessions. Some that eventually become so painful that I end up crying for hours and mentally begging my mind to stop. In addition, I'm a massive perfectionist which just adds to the obsessions. I wish OCD, and all other mental disorders, were represented in a honest way, instead of a joking manner.",0 I got those two with alcoholism as my bonus third condition.,1 "My brother has ADHD like i do and runs his own business, he does 18 hour days and that would kill me.",1 "it feels so good to know i’m not the only one 😭 and if i’m alone i’ll scream it out loud, for me it feels like it’s more effective cause i’m scolding myself because i really hate intrusive thoughts",0 "So true. My friends and family stare at me after washing my hands for 2 minutes straight, and some ask what the **** I’m doing. I just make excuses up like my pen burst in my pocket or I’d cleaned mud up at work. It’s horrible to have to lie and justify this to your closest loved ones, but the real explanation just wouldn’t cut it",0 It’s an awful disorder truly. I can’t control my mind sometimes it’s exhausting. I also can’t stop daydreaming ever haha :(,0 "It’s heartbreaking sometimes. When my mom doesn’t get it, that I need space and quiet. I know it bothers her. But I’m pretty sure me screaming cause my nerves are shredded would be worse.",1 I've been feeling this right now. It's like it violently punishes you for doing anything happy or against it's will. It's hell.,0 "Wait, the psychiatric nurse told me there is none :(",0 "Dont worry i did the same thing, i literally cried my eyes out when I first took it.",1 Same. Do these people realize that this is not how actual adults communicate with each other?,1 THIS IS AWESOME!!! i got out of my house and went places today so that’s huge for me too !! 😁,0 "I’ve learned to make my wife go to my doctors appointments. Because if I go alone and try to explain why I need to adjust my meds it turns into: (doctor) “how are you sleeping?” (me) “fine. a little hard to fall asleep sometimes.” (my wife) “uh no. more like she’s up all night and only goes to bed when i come downstairs to leave for work and she realizes it’s 6am.” (me) “well i mean! i can’t fall asleep!” (doctor) “what else is going on?” (me) “sometimes i’m a little irritable.” (my wife) “irritable. right. more like there are 3 more holes in the wall upstairs because you stormed off mad that you had to do dishes.” (me) “yeahhhh... that happened...” (doctor) “alright well let’s up your dose!”",0 "If I trusted my gut I wouldn't have sold my smartphone (and all internet capable devices) MULTIPLE TIMES after reading that one NoSurf post about how the internet makes us dumb. If I trusted my gut I wouldn't have bought an all-healthy and all-pure grocery list of food MULTIPLE TIMES while throwing ""bad foods"" away. I literally sold and then re-bought my devices, like, 3-4 times and lost so much money. But hey, my gut was telling me to.",0 The other day my friend said OCD isn't an actual illness it's just a term to describe being neat. I almost blew up.,0 "Omg I just remembered that scene from the first Harry Potter movie where Hermione’s name gets called for the sorting ceremony and she’s like OH NO! then she’s like OK RELAX Trying to calm herself down. Lol that’s me 24/7",0 "Dear god thank you so much, I gotta get ready for work but I haven’t even gotten out of bed 😅😅",1 "Me: I really, truthfully don't want to be a woman or paint my nails. tOCD: Well yes, but actually no",0 "That’s great!👏🏻 You’re making an active effort to limit your compulsion, and it’s progress you should be proud of",0 Does anyone else feel random sensations of feeling sharp objects pointing at their eye?,0 And saying that thing 5?! No wait 10times in my mind. Because I gotta stop at an even multiple of 5 🙇‍♀️,0 I wish you the happiest of birthdays! You are an inspiration to us all ❤️,0 Amen. If not for my executive dysfunction my life would probably not be fucked up atm.,1 i hope this is how my bf sees me when I'm trying to do things! this is so sweet and supportive 💛,1 I’m dealing with similar obsession right now. I’ve deemed my kitchen and living room off limits. Enjoy that cup of coffee!!,0 Whoa I have no idea how to do that. My typical shower is around 40 minutes too. And it doesn't really feel like I'm doing rituals it's just how I take a shower. I don't know how else to take a shower.,0 "God yes, still convinced this is why I can't get through my goddamn pre requisites at school! Especially fucking algebra!",1 "This is so much me every other month, right before the meds stop working, and I have to up my doses again :D",0 My brain screaming things like “say bomb!” almost all the time I’m going through security.,0 I see them everyday on my feed now and they feel really nice. Thank you. :),0 I can almost hear my therapist screaming reading this. This is our conversation every week.,0 "I was going to upvote & save this post so I can read it and the comments later, then I realized the irony of what I was doing lol",1 i decided to save this because its EXACTLY how i feel and i haven’t seen anyone say all of these in ways that make me feel like i’m understand lmao,1 I put off applying for college for 3 months. It took less than 20 minutes.,1 "Absolute opposite effect. Weed makes me want to roll up into a ball and close my eyes because I start noticing how 'dirty' things are and thinking I live a disgusting, filthy life. Then after it wears off I realize it's just normal things about my apartment like hard water stains in the shower and old yellowed linoleum that I can't really do anything about. But it still sends me into a panic when I smoke.",0 "I can relate 100% this is literally me everyday! Some days I dwell on my past all day, other days I wonder what’s my purpose, Then there’s the days I have so much running through my head, I want to do 10000 things, I suddenly feel prepared to conquer the world, I spend hours reading, writing, making out plans, I spend money on things I think I will need for my next projects, goals and before the day is over I’m feeling burned out and overwhelmed with everything. I give up, lose interest and that’s that. Now I’ve accumulated more mess, mess that I won’t have the energy to pick up for sometime, this will only make me feel worse as the days pass me by I’m regretting all I spent on, I’m so upset about the clutter, it all just takes over me mentally.",1 I get that this is satire but planners are a great tool to use to help organize and stay on top of things. I would be lost without mine. It’s the first thing I look at in the morning and last thing at night. I’m all for down playing the people who don’t get our ADHD issues but let’s try to not down play tools that can help us achieve.,1 "Wow, this makes me realize why I got diagnosed later and life and somewhat validates my diagnosis. Growing up if you didn't the expectations for grades or didn't follow my parent's instructions you had your earl pulled and then verbally berated. My dad would yell at me and my brother for getting bad grades, and either hit us or a table with a belt to emphasize his point. I lived in fear of being out of line or not performing what I needed to do because I knew I would either be yelled at or hit. That's why I performed so well in school and was always considered a good/quiet student and person. When I moved out and my dad finally got some help for his anger issues and alcohol problem, he stopped doing that to us then my whole world fell apart. I had NO IDEA how to function without that fear looming over my head, and now every aspect of my life just caused me to be immobilized. because I have no idea how to keep organized or work without that sort of fear lingering over me.",1 Awww this is such a beautiful and hilarious post 😭😭 so sweet. She seems like a great girlfriend and you seem like a great partner,1 "Not a year, but a week- I (female) was fishing alone at a local pond, and a dad and son walk by, the dad says to me, “how do you know how to do that?”. I was so thrown off bc wtf kind of question is that, I said “my dad?”. And that was it. A week later I was telling my fiancé about the convo, and he said what the dad said is sexist and the dad was probably more asking ‘how do you know how to do that your a girl’ lol. I was so posed I wish I realized in the moment",1 "The irrationality on display in this thread has reassured me about the irrationality of my own, not number related, obsessions. :)",0 Gunner is a really good boy and deserves an extra special scritch behind his ears for being so thoughtful.,0 "I've done this for myself without really thinking about it. Lol. But yeah I totally agree. If you budget for the mistakes, you end up saving tons of money in a weird, backwards kinda way. One thing I've done that has helped was to become a coupon queen. It helps me plan my dinners for the week, and I have managed to get a bunch it stuff for free. Since Covid lockdowns started in March, I have managed to get 7 of the last 10 boxes of butter for free. (I baked a lot which is why I went through that much butter) For a while I just focused on the grocery store I live closest to, and practiced making a habit of looking at the weekly ad flyer when it came out each week. I'd include a new store once I was able to form the habit with the previous one. Now my friends all text me for coupons.... Lol.",1 "I almost fell bad for the dad's that can't understand is. They really just want to help us and see us doing well, but they just CANNOT understand how our brains work. My dad was a dairy farmer that didn't talk much. I was a 4H kid that took stuff to the fair. I showed cattle and did photography, baking, and sewing. I'd always wait til the week of fair to start working with my calf, I'd need the 24 hour film place for my photos, and the day before the fair I'd be like ""oh crap, I need to learn how to bake cookies!"" Dad just looked at me once, shook his head and said, ""I just don't understand what is wrong with you. Why wouldn't you have been working on this all summer when you're bored and you know the fair is coming? I'll never understand how your brain works."" He never said anything like that again but it made me feel like such a huge disappointment to him, and made me feel very ""other."" That was one of my first indications that I was ""different"" and a little broken. It was also the last year I showed cattle.",1 "I get nauseous when I: * don’t eat enough * don’t drink enough * don’t sleep enough * am on my period * am just sick Always fun to think about why am I nauseous",1 the google pixel has a similar feature in its recorder app (might be available on other android devices too?) and the best thing: no internet required,1 "I did need to hear this today, thank you ❤ I am experiencing my first serious exposure in a long time and I'm trying to stay functional so that I can stay at work.",0 This is painful and beautiful at the same time. Wow,0 "I totally feel you bro/bro-ette(?) Anyway, I have been there before, and it suuuccckkkssss. Depression happens to be comorbid with ADHD so maybe there might be a low level of that messing you up? One thing I can recommend is a little book called Make Your Bed. It was a short easy read (like 60 pages). It might help.",1 Thats really great OP! But also there is no shame in taking medications.,0 "Also thanks for the advice, I have about 30 planners but maybe if I can just find the right colour, *this* time it will work! 🤣🤣🤣",1 "Have something I've been neglecting or related to something I've been neglecting cause a minor emergency causing me to go into urgency mode, dealing with the problem with only what I need to do immediately in mind. The job I do is good enough because I only had the one shot at it. Warning: this method is terrible. Alternately: Tell myself I'll just do like five dishes since yeah it's 6pm which is like almost 8pm which is basically 10pm which is definitely too late to properly do anything (and besides, I've only been home an hour, let me relax!), or just pick up the clothes on my bathroom floor, and see if I feel like doing more once I realise it actually wasn't horrible like the Wall of Awful was telling me it would be. If not, I still did more things that nothing.",1 "I actually just started as a receptionist at a small to medium law firm. I was really nervous as I had only worked in kitchens before. It turns out the variety of different tasks I have to deal with can be sometimes overwhelming, but it keeps everything new and exciting. Making the same sandwiches and burgers kills that adhd part of me that wants new experiences. And while it is difficult to be on top of everything, my boss is understanding. It's weird but that hyperfocus comes constantly because I actually give a shit about my job. What I do matters for people, probably for the first time in my life. The combination of decent staff/boss plus the heavy variety and importance in my job makes things enjoyable for me.",1 i hyperfixated on organizing my files on my phone lol i have my pics organized by person or animal i have aesthetic images organized by type and i have a folder just for shit i find to help myself deal w my adhd because i knew id lose track of everything,1 This is why coronavirus has been a disaster. The monotony is killer.,1 "> There's this weird feeling I get where every time I see ADHD being mentioned in the context of children, I feel ignored and more importantly, as if I'm just a big baby who can't get their shit together and has to be compared to school children. It makes me feel lazy and that I just need to ""grow up"".",1 "i don’t understand how people can “watch movies in the background” people are always like “omg you haven’t seen this movie?!” no. if you put me in front of a screen it will have my full and undivided attention until the credits roll. it sucks me in like no other hyperfocus out there. there is no watching in the background lol",1 "Haha, at least there’s a common etiology in obsession behaviors despite variation in content cues. I’ve always suspected that certain topics are just inherently disposed to obsession by the OCD mind.",0 "One of the most accurate memes I've seen on this sub. ""Kay, so I'm obsessing over something that most probably won't happen in the near future, and I'm shaking and sweating so much that I need another shower. Please go away, I have stuff to do...""",0 "I want to do a little bit of everything when it comes to creative arts. I want to write a novel, as well as a play, and make a video game and a comic, etc. I actually did manage to ""finish"" one of my projects. ""Finish,"" as in only completing the rough draft and barely began revising. It's more than what I usually do. Lately, I've been wanting to improve my drawing skills, but still need to find the motivation to do it.",1 "I mean sometimes this is in fact true. Although in most cases, to do something routinely over and over again requires long term motivation, which is something that ADHD patients tend to lack. I believe this is due to the lack of dopamine in ADHD patients which leads them to mostly pursue activities that quickly reward you like shopping, watching TV or playing video games. Persistance and dedication simply isn’t the nature of an ADHD brain. It can get better with therapy and practice though.",1 "Yeah that sounds familiar. I've been trying to write something for months, but all I've achieved is a lot of time thinking and only a few pages for a half dozen different project ideas.",1 "Yeah I looking back as a kid I would count how many times I would bite my nails (got to 700 once) and how many times I could run on the spot (over 2400 times) Its a surprise I was not diagnosed sooner",0 "Haha some poor fucker had to choose a number and thought ""5000, that's a number no one will ever get to, that should work"". Then you came along.",1 "Yes, yes, yes. Most days I'm really scared that I'll either be caught or found out for doing something really bad and bring immense shame to my family and friends. The fear is paralyzing. Typing this out right now is scaring me as well. I feel like my memories are now distorted. I am sorry that I feel slightly relieved to see that I'm not the only one.",0 "I always felt weird about how when I write, I often make really long sentences that just run together, when I could honestly break it into multiple sentences. But sentence transitions are hard, so I would rather connect the thoughts that go together into one sentence, held together by commas, especially when my brain feels like it's running a million miles per hour and that's just how the sentence sounds in my brain. I think I have honestly written entire paragraphs before that were just a long sequence of comma usage to break it up. (I also have a tendency to write things in parentheses a lot, and have sometimes had multiple of these types of statements in one sentence alone. Like, full on sentences of their own, enclosed inside a set of parentheses within another sentence, usually because I had extra, not as relevant, information to add in the middle of a thought)",1 "I’m kinda that way, sometimes I’ll walk through the hallway at school and see a pen laying on the ground and feel bad for it, so I usually pick it up and put it in my bag. When I was younger, like 9 years old I HATED it when my family threw away to go boxes from restaurants, I always wanted to save them because I thought I might “need them” someday. Nine years later this specific thing doesn’t happen anymore but my other point does",0 December is the only month of the year my anxiety decreases I still got it but it’s at its lowest at Christmas as it’s the one time of the year that brings me the most joy.,0 You have described my wife's process for tidying up the kitchen quite well. Its easy to complain and some times it drives me nuts (Because my challenges show up differently) but my oh my am I glad she works on the dishes.,1 "Please add homosexual, sociopath, apathetic, narcissist and psychopath in there please 🙏🏼 then it would be so very accurate 😢",0 "Those are rookie numbers, i'm on my 4th full 5000 video playlist",1 This is why you don't tell people your business. Being private is underrated these days.,1 "I ran out of my meds after and didn't schedule an appt. with my doc until almost a yr later this summer. She basically said I need to go get tested again somewhere else and gave me a list of places to go....... didnt look at the email the sent(email expired) and lost the paper with the list..... finally took the time to go to another do just this week and finally back on my meds and feel better Its so difficult to understand all these copays, insurance, and deductible crap no matter how hard I research. But Im glad I did it, and glad I got a new job with better insurance. Somehow my adderral was $120 at Walgreens. Couldn't use a coupon there... I get my new perscription and its only $13 at Giant Foods",1 "Yeah, this morning I was an hour late to work because I thought I NEEDED to scrub my bathtub in order to have a good day.",0 "Hell fucking no. Out of all of them, OCD would be the first one to go, if that was possible or the option available of course. No mf doubt, though.",0 "I definitely do! I'm bad about saying things out loud like ""shut up!"" Or ""leave me alone!"" It's... not ideal.",0 "Oh did I write this post???? Seriously though I do the exact same thing, it just makes me anxious thinking about it all",1 For me it’s because I’ve had to pee for 2 hours but I keep forgetting,1 Can you give tips to how to manage adhd without treatment like with doing stuff and studying I'm sure i have adhd but I'm underage and my perants don't believe in mental illnesses so they won't understand I'm graduating high school and moving out soon but i won't be able to go to therapy until probably a year so it's kinda extremely hard to be a normal human rn :) studying is my biggest issue i have zero focus and i can't sit still always daydreaming or something,1 "::Farts:: everyone heard that...wait omg the mic is one EVERYONE ACTUALLY HEARD ME This is a true story. The lecture was recorded. My fart was cemented into history",0 "Last year before I was diagnosed, I fully believed I had sent my dissertation on the online portal. I didn't.....I sent it to some other portal not paying attention and they couldn't accept it . It was put through as a re-sit and I couldn't receive more than 50%.",1 ":( stay strong, folks. It’s a mental disorder and it’s all in your head . Be kind to those around you :) xx",0 "Thank you, i hope you’re feeling good, and also sending love your way❤️❤️",0 Fuck... the more I'm on this forum the more it's all starting to make sense,0 "I have... 10+ daily reminders. Everything I have to do has a reminder and to my credit I actually snooze the alarms until I do it. No matter how obnoxious it is, I do. I have one to wake up kids for school, to get them to school, to do my morning routine like brushing my hair and teeth, one to take vitamins, to take meat out if needed, to pick my oldest up from her school, one to pick my other child up from hers, one to start dinner, one to read a book to my kids and one to put them to bed. Usually after that I can concentrate enough to remember specific things like hop in the shower or do specific homework. I even set alarms to make phone calls, check the mail, literally anything. After typing this out I realized I probably need some assistance 🤣 I havent been medicated since I was 16 because of insurance.",1 "Amazing! It really counts, every minute. Don’t give up! Celebrate even 8 minutes! Each time you resist, you are strengthening a new neural pathway that will make it easier over time.",0 "So here's the thing, I used to make myself do things like this. It didn't work well. There were some benefits but mostly the stress got so severe as to create a psychosis that would tell me I was a monster for NOT doing it and I'd come out the other side more damaged. These days I'm so damaged that sometimes I do do the thing. Nothing as bad as murder so far but a lot if things that are...not good.",0 "Yeah...this is me at 4pm everyday when I haven’t accomplished much at work. “Well it’s practically 5pm anyway, fuck it”.",1 "Had a snap moment the other day. My SO was eating and he would smack his lips after each bite. Normally this doesn't bother me, but between that and him talking about anything and everything. I took the bike out, got tequila drunk, then passed out in my rv. I might have over reacted 😅 today feels a little less irritating.",1 "Jesus this sounds so much like my daily routine. I swear I hate it, there are so many things that I actually enjoy doing but I completely lack the fucking willpower or motivation to do them., then I waste my day away doing absolutely nothing productive.",1 No. They just want a decent amount of pie. Stupid stuff.,0 I’m definitely sending this to my family. Thanks for a way to easily explain myself!!,0 "As an avid model rocket enthusiast, and having bad ADHD, I can confirm. I’ll get into a rocket building mood, build a few rockets and be on a great track, then I’ll run out of something simple like glue, or mess up one tiny detail, or go do something else, get off track and not touch rockets for another year and a half. It’s an endless cycle.",1 "I had so much to do today, ended up doing 1 thing and was so tired and anxious after I just lay on my bed on my phone and fell asleep. Just woke up and it's the evening.",1 "Feel this so much, I can be such an asshole and I often don’t even care what you’re trying to say if you’re doing that shit to me. Let me figure out things on my own and do things my own way. I’m so glad you said this and so many people relate.",1 "Yeah, You walk around thinking, do other people feel like this? I don't mind OCD when it helps ( fixating on something) But I hate OCD when it doesn't help ( fixating on something)",0 "Idk if anyone has said this, but I've always heard it takes 21 days to make something a habit, so great job!",1 Omg I'm laughing. Exactly my thoughts when I saw mine last night.,1 "Sometimes I don't forget the food in my fridge, I just keep not wanting to eat it. What I DO forget is how long ago I bought it. Eventually, I don't think it's safe to eat anymore and I throw it away.",1 "Well, that sure is a thought I didn't need to have! Thanks, OCD!",0 "It feels more like IF YOU DON'T TOUCH IT RIGHT NOW EXACTLY RIGHT THE WHOLE WORLD WILL BURN! But yeah, same basic idea",0 "We need an app for this. ADHD-trade-time-something-something. Anyway, brilliant!",1 "Wow, this is stunning! I’ve never seen anything like it. I bet it felt amazing to complete it. Good for you for letting your inspiration flourish",0 I nearly made a thread just like this. It NEEDS a better nomenclature *NOW*.,1 "I'm a little confused. Is this supposed to be for a stable relationship, or a relationship you probably should get out of? I have relationship OCD too, but I just lumped it together with the whole ""You never know how you feel, you're terrible"" morbid OCD that generally dominates my thought trains.",0 ">Unconsciously repeating weird sounds I hear (echolalia) THERE'S A WORD FOR IT?!!!",1 I WISH I COULD STOP GETTING DISTRACTED . I WISH I COULD FIND THE RIGHT MEDS. I WISH WHO I AM AS IS WAS ENOUGH,1 That's a tough one. Maybe an internal itch you have to scratch.,0 "Agreed. It always disappoints me whenever I hear someone like a friend say “oh I have OCD, I can’t stand when there’s dirty dishes in the sink” (like congrats buddy for being a basic human and not liking dirty shit in a household) Meanwhile they probably don’t even know what OCD stands for… little do they know how dark ocd can be and how people who actually have ocd wouldn’t wish it upon their worst enemy. So yeah it’s aggravating af when I see people using it as a some sort of fashion statement just like people bragging about having depression because they were sad for a few minutes. Nothing about OCD, depression and other anxiety disorders are fun. It’s not something that makes you cute or unique or special. Constantly seeking reassurance, feeling a sense of doom and questioning your sanity isn’t fun.. it’s hell. Sorry for the rant, I just had to get that off my chest. Best of luck to you all through this",0 As a teacher THIS hits hard. Sometimes my students do not realize how difficult it is for them to all talk to me at once. It is my hell on earth to try to focus on one student while 7 of them are asking for my attention simultaneously. I’m looking at them but I can’t hear anything they are saying.. my brain cannot handle it,1 "Dude bro, I did that with skin cancer. It's all good now except I had to get my face slightly rearranged. May you have a uneventful treatment and recovery. You got this now and that's all that matters.",1 Definitely agree!! Also if you say you don’t need medicine for it and ‘’deal with it better’’ u don’t have severe ocd,0 "This hit a nerve. Welled up a bit, because sometimes it's me telling myself that I'm not good enough, and I believe it :( Edited some autocorrects.",1 "I thought I had nothing to do, then I realized I have a laptop open in the other room where I supposedly was writing an important email before doing other random stuff. Good job 👌",1 "My mum died just before Christmas. My brother recently got diagnosed ADHD, and between us we're now convinced that I also have it and I'm starting to come round to his way of thinking, that our mum probably had it too. She struggled a lot with drinking, with her weight, with depression and anxiety. She'd been medicated (with varying success) for the depression but it was only quite late on that I suggested anxiety as a driving force (neither I or my brother had considered that any of us might be ADHD at that point, or even thought about the condition much). She was widely viewed as supremely intelligent but didn't at any stage really live up to that potential. As she was deteriorating last year, I noticed something - as she was able to do less and less, her 'inner workings' were laid bare. She was a champion procrastinator but usually managed to get shit done. Same at school, university, or in work. As she got more ill, and as she was able to do less and less, she would still get these fits of stress and adrenaline - but she wasn't able to do anything with them. She physically wasn't able. So she'd just have to sit there, festering in an anxious nightmare, until we managed to figure out between us what wanted doing. Looking back, and reading this post, I'm wondering how many times she was told to ""just do it"" as a child. She certainly gave us plenty of that.",1 "I feel this so hard, and I will add that as a parent with ADHD, when I try to find info online to help me with raising my child with ADHD and autism, *literally everything is written with the neurotypical parent in mind*",1 "Damn the rejection sensitive dysphoria I didn’t realize was an ADHD thing. I’d heard it before but I didn’t realize that’s what it meant. That one really bugs me, all of these are really relatable tho. The rejection sensitive dysphoria usually leads me to self isolation and substance abuse and a strong disconnect from my emotions. I never realized there was any correlation to that and adhd",1 Felt the exact same way. Eventually had to add «in adults» to the search to get any relevant results.,1 Interesting theory! I am only recently diagnosed at 30 but I definitely overused commas in my writing all throughout school...,1 "Yeah same here. I’m constantly bouncing around between different types of music, and I end up completely messing up the Spotify Wrapped",1 This is why I never get my hopes up. It’s always when everything is going fine that my OCD decides to throw me a curveball,0 Wait can someone explain what is meant exactly by the term reassurance. I can kinda guess just based on context but I'm not really sure,0 This is a fantastic sentiment. I don't even like the office and this is fantastic.,0 "My backpack has deodorant, dry shampoo, fabric refresher, makeup, hair ties and pins, toothe paste and a tooth brush for that exact reason.",1 "I recently had a friend who was trying to install something and definitely does not have OCD say something like ""I can't get this in the right position maybe its my ocd"" and i just rolled my eyes. Its so annoying that people find it cool to claim they have it because it makes them ""quirky""",0 When intrusive thoughts intrude my intrusive thoughts,0 "Evolution just happens. There is a randomness to life, and I believe it doesn't have an ultimate ""goal"" or ""purpose"". Through some unfathomable sequence of events, conscious meatsacks ended up on a big, wet rock hurling through space. It's fucking astonishing. Mind-boggling. There is no ideal way to be human. No perfect neural configuration. We're all the result of an amazing happenstance. And the only thing we can do is make the best of it and appreciate all our fellow meatsacks for the miracles they are.",1 "For me it means passive-aggressively asking for reassurance that I'm not annoying or unlovable, having an endless, ridiculous, intricate set of compulsions to save myself the ordeal of ever having to make a decision, obsessing over something I said that might have offended or hurt somebody, and watching videos I'm not even interested in watching because it was in my recommendations, and feeling guilty if I watch something that *I* want to watch because *oh no I didn't obey a compulsion*.",0 I disagree because I’ve seen a different side. If you’re not able to adapt to the situation at hand they’ll just dismiss you as not coachable,1 "LOL, it me! Current me: ""I'm overwhelmed by all these projects I committed to knowing I'd figure it out as I go, I'm so jealous of all my friends, family, and coworkers just doing the exact same thing they are experts at every day, never taking on stuff outside of their '*current expertise*' ."" Future me in Two Hours: ""Well this X is obviously inadequate the way it is, I'll fix-it/invent-it/improve-it, *how hard can it be*?"" Future me in Tow Days: ""X is well on it's way, the two youtube videos and whitepaper got me up to speed. But now I'm bored of it, I'll surely button it up tomorrow but obviously this new 'Y' research-based project needs some attention right now"".... Future me in a week: Overwhelmed as before but with two more incomplete projects. Though I'll have a pretty good understanding of two whole new topics....which will make it even more likely that I'll identify more 'opportunities' in the near future. The only thing I can be certain about in my life is that within a month I'll be deep-diving on a new topic that I can't possibly predict today. I'm going to die with the equivalent knowledge of like a dozen bachelor's degrees with about the same 'success' as someone who just focused on one subject their whole career. And I'm ok with that.",1 These are a scare tactic and that's it. Same as the greeters who request to check your bags. All just to cause just enough fear that you won't risk stealing anything.,0 "Yes , this is my experience to a 'T,' this statement is strong in its brevity and apt to describe how I feel every day. I'm late to Reddit, I've only joined about a year and a half or so ago, and like I don't remember to come on very often, but I am glad that this community exists because for 30some years that I can consciously recall , I felt like nobody I knew, or my family, or friends, could even remotely a little bit relate to me and it caused great consternation to me. I have an ADHD diagnosis since childhood but this was the 1980s and nobody knew what that really meant. My mother, God bless her she meant well and it's true - nobody will \*ever\* love you like your mother does and I miss her every day but but she was very Italian /immigrant mentality and she was very of the mind nobody was going to tell her that her child was different or not as good if not better than anyone else, and not that she wasn't right either, but, her method was she encouraged me in a way I think every parent can at least understand the impulse if not the practice of just kind of steamrolling it, bulldoze right over it, to have such a force of will and determination I simply ""didn't let"" it interfere with my life. But for all my efforts, I never could ""get it,"" I created a close to convincing facsimile of ""put together"" that was able to navigate school successfully and whatnot, but I still always felt like I had these what I call ""golden ages,"" a month here, or a week there, or a day there, or maybe a semester here, etc., where it all truly ""clicked"" , and I'd be focused, and driven, and oriented, and actually felt that every day wasn't building my entire psyche back from scratch each morning, and I had continuity and could direct myself toward goals cohesively and in one direction like a vector, and I was free of that daily thorn in my side of , allow me to stream of consciousness this, "" I'm not doing enough , I'm not doing it well enough, I wasted so much of my life unfocused imagine what I could have accomplished, what's that over there? now I'm reading about this, now I'm trying to learn that, I'm not doing enough, I'm not doing it well enough"" which was the vast supermajority of the time, when I felt slightly lost in a sea of chaos, untethered, driven solely by impulse and my brain feeling like it was awash in the static fuzz you'd see on older TVs , unable to root in the swirling currents of \*literally everything in the world all the time\*. But it's hard because I think what I call a golden age is everybody else's normal.",1 "Check out ""How To ADHD"" on YouTube, it's a channel by ADHD floors, FOR adult ADHD floofs and people close to them. She's amazing.",1 "I feel this. I got my phone stolen recently and instead of being more careful like a normal person, my OCD is exploiting my fear by making me check if my phone is in my pocket roughly every 30 seconds to a few minutes. Also, if I have to throw something in the trash can I need to be touching my phone while I do it cause otherwise i worry that i threw it away",0 "i hyperfixated on ONE weezer song over the course of 2 days and suddenly i’m in 0.05% of their listeners and it’s my “song of the year”. everything else is horribly inaccurate too. one of the songs isn’t even on my playlist, much less do i even listen to it...",1 I have ocd and chronic migraines. I really think they’re related.,0 "I just started strattera for my adhd for the first time in 9 years and I can tell it's starting to make a difference. Not as good as stims, but I'm a recovering addict and so my docs are hesitant to put me on stims, even though I know for a fact they would never turn into an issue as they never did before. But I figured whole I wait on the appointment to talk to the head doctor to try and convince him in not a risk factor, I'd at least try strattera first so they know I'm acting in good faith and not just looking for a prescription. (Not to mention if I REALLY wanted to get high, I'd go cop a bag of meth before I tried playing mary-go-round and telephone with doctors for a far weaker stimulant 🤦 Doctors can be surprisingly tone deaf AF sometimes but what can ya do?) But I can tell it's starting to make a difference in not only my focus as I'm able to actually focus on gaming (something I highly e joy that I've been having problems focusing on for more than 15 minutes) for about an hour before I take a break momentarily. And it's also improving my hyperactivity, which I actually struggle with more than lack of focus. I'm really wired and quite weird in the mornings still, but after I take it a few hours later I'm much calmer, and the effect is starting to last longer and longer. I'm a little less than two weeks In and I'm just glad it's working at all, because my ADHD is really severe, and I have always been quite med resistant. But if I can avoid stims that would be ideal, as I have BPD as well as anxiety, along with addiction issues and stims have always made me noddy as fuck as a teenager. But it HAS been almost 10 years since I last tried meds (I avoided them and tried white knuckling it for the longest time because they always made me feel like shit, moody and flat but I'm just too much of a cluster fucked mess these days to not do anything about it) so maybe things will be different. I'm not worried about abusing them, as I have 9 months clean in two days, work a decent program of recovery (although it could always be better 😅 thanks for making everything more difficult than it is for everyone else ADHD 😒), and I actually hate and detest the way uppers make me feel in high doses. Much more of a downer person. I just would like to avoid the moodiness and agitation that accompanies stims if at all possible. On a side note, I have been suffering from a lack of energy (yet still extremely hyper which is weird) for a LOOONG time now, partly due to being on methadone for my recovery from heroin addiction, along with sleep apnea (I think) so I've always had a hard time staying awake all day without naps, and could NEVER stay up past 9. Since starting the strattera, it's been a godsend for being able to push through lethargic feelings, and stay up all day, and even get in some late night gaming sessions (I'm disabled and don't work so I've gotta do SOMETHING with my time 😉). All in all, I'm much more impressed with the result than I anticipated as strattera always has such shit reviews. From what I gather, it either doesn't work at all for people, or it works really well. There isn't much of an in between. I'm just glad it's working period. Any help is good help at this point. I live alone with my young cats, and Its bad when I'm as spun up as they are only on a constant basis. They could use a break 😂😅🤷",1 "I just realized how long it's been since I've cooked broccoli. It's not that I don't like broccoli, I do like it, it's because I never buy it because I know I'll never eat a whole head of broccoli & I don't want to waste it. Likewise I won't buy a prewashed package because it's too much money compared to prepping it myself. By trying to avoid the ADHD tax I've managed to deny myself the healthy food I know I need.",1 It always feels we're alone... Maybe it's cause it's so stigmatized.,0 I really just thought I was a soon to be murderer and psychopath. 😭,0 soooo cute and quirky how I almost compulsively avoided myself to death last year. 😑,0 "I typically get sleepy when I'm the most stressed. Like I used to irritate my scary ex-boyfriend because in the middle of him screaming at me, I'd start to yawn. My best guess is maybe for some people it's kind of trained to get sleepy/come down off adrenaline/cortisol? No clue, but yeah it happens to me as well.",1 "This is me. The thing is that I know I haven't been the best version of myself and I've done things that I haven't too proud of, so it kills me that people look at me in the slightest positive light.",0 Why does everyone think OCD is just an impulse to CLEAN.,0 “This is beautiful. I’ve been staring at it for hours now”,0 "My psychiatrist has no solutions for me when I I him I have this exact feeling. He tells me I probably don't have adhd because I could sit through, focus on, and complete tests as a kid. Damn it all I need help why can't I do anythiiiiiiiing",1 "My number is 3 but I like prime numbers. And depending on the situation if 5 is too much and 3 is too little then 4 is okay (although these are very specific situations). But 3 is my go to.",0 This is why I’m afraid to go through this sub but it’s also the only place I can find people who are like me,0 "After a few moments of waking up and experiencing what I can only describe as a generalized calmness, down comes OCD's hammer. Also, I wouldn't describe those moments of peace as unreasonable bliss or euphoria, either. Just my consciousness minus OCD's fangs.",0 Guys I was supposed to start working 2 hours ago :(,1 "Seriously, what is this called? I struggle with decision making all the time because of this.",0 Yes I have this all the time. It feels so uncomfortable a lot of discomfort from the private area if I don't go makes it annoying to sleep.,0 "Intrusive thoughts are a bitch. Not sure about anyone else but a lot for me comes down to trauma. I am literally scared of kids because I can't look at them without intrusive thoughts tryna tell me they're secretly being abused, they're going to grow up a drug addict, they're gonna grow up a pedo, they're gonna be dead in a few years, etc etc. It's so fucking sad. It scares me so much. Let alone the ones that are about grabbing the child at random and eating them or whatever- like what the FUCK. W h y.",0 "Could you send your dad over? I need fixing too. Would you let him Know I can be available anytime. Thanks. Laser vision?",1 "Unrelated (makes a lot of sense about Jim Carrey, of that I have 0% doubt), I love your username 💕",1 It's sad but reassuring to know there are other people experiencing the same thing. So true.,1 "I get what you’re saying about doctors not understanding. I will say that you are the expert on your own experience, and while having an official Dx is nice to have, and while feeling that your doc empathizes and takes you seriously is great, the absence of these things doesn’t negate your lived experience. You know, deep down, what challenges you’ve had. If some doctor can’t get on board because you’re outside the group their Abnormal Psych textbook referenced, well, that’s on them.",1 "Do not do your school/homework in your bed. Move to a desk or a couch or a chair. Do not do the work in your bed. You'll mess up your brain's association with what the bed is for - rest and sleep and whatnot. I'm very, very likely going to be on mandatory telework soon. My plan is not to go anywhere near my bedroom during the day and to use my desk and living room as my office. To keep my same work schedule. To do as many of my daily ""rituals"" as I can. Keeping up with those will help you regain some of your mental control to switch into ""school mode"" versus ""home and don't have to do anything important"" mode.",1 "I had so many tabs open on my old phone that the numbers of tab shown was changed to “:D”. Ironically, I have a screenshot of it saved somewhere lol",1 "Maybe this could help you with solving your problem: https://youtu.be/o-5byZ_A4lA It helpt me having a clear mind🤷 Of course you need to work for it and its a process for months lol",1 ACHD - All Camp Happy Day. IDK I'm off my game today.,1 Haha I was wondering when i was going to run out of room. Same with my google podcast app que.,1 "100% can empathize with this post. It's upsetting and frustrating to see adults so underrepresented and seemingly ignored. Also, most importantly, I'm a retired medical professional - your feelings on professionals not fully understanding the issue(s) are fully merited.",1 self employment and/or a professional license is clutch IMO,1 "I dunno, they seem to be having issues solving a lot of other bigger issues, I wouldn't trust them with this one.",0 what if im just pretending to avoid responsibility and justify me being a jackass,0 "- Me reading about awful stories online - OCD: Thats gonna happen to you tomorrow if you don’t snap your fingers",0 Is it bad I got kinda excited hoping someone found a hole to another dimension that has the cure haha OP you got me I lold,1 Omg i didn’t know other people had the same thoughts I had !,0 "Yes! Once in a blue moon when there is 15 minutes before a meeting, and I start doing something while I wait, and get lost in it. Then I suddenly realize that I was supposed to be in a meeting and think ""great I'm prob 15 minutes late already"" and look at the time, and its still 3 minutes til it starts!!! 💪💪💪🤯🤯🤯",1 I’ve been there too friend. I know how frustrating it is ❤️❤️❤️,1 "Great points. The struggle with the ADHD tax is real though. That smaller container of chocolate milk, while may be more per ounch, is cheaper because I can buy it, drink it now, and I'm good for a long while versus buying the bigger container, drinking some now, and forgetting about it in the fridge until after it has expired.",1 "Holy fuck my weird ass sexual thoughts come from my OCD??? I legit never knew this before, thanks for that. I was beginning to wonder why I can develop fetishes a lot faster than others.",0 wow you were so eloquent at 12 this is really well written,0 This describes me to a T. I’m sick of it. I feel I have no direction in life and every and any choice I have in life is intimidating to a great degree.,1 Holy shit this is just what i needed to hear multiple times today,1 "I feel you 100%, friend. For me it was the scaffolding of school and life growing up that sustained me and made me unaware of my challenges. From 0-22, there was no question what I was supposed to do; graduations felt like a milestone passed so you got a sense of how you were doing in the world; there was constant accountability (supervision from adults) who kept you on task; and everything is written down and clear, so the instructions seldom get lost in translation. Oh, also, everyone tries to make sure you eat your veggies, play outside, and get a good night's rest too. Then first career after school, boss leaves you at your desk for an hour on your first day; gives cryptic instructions and looks at you bizarrely because you went down an unexpected, hyper-focused rabbit hole instead of what they wanted.... There's no work life balance, and everyone is expected to stay longer than the boss, or else they act passive aggressively about your ""performance."" When you get home, you feel tired (not the normal tired, but deep existential fatigue) and do nothing for the entire night except things that distract you easily until it's time to wake up and do it all over again. Being an adult is tough, especially when you have this kind of mental challenge, because there's no directions, no accountability, and seemingly little meaning in the things you're forced to do. I'm grateful I was able to grow from those experiences as opposed to feeling utterly crushed. I definitely feel like my ego took a permanent hit since my 20s.",1 That's why I have all my appointments at 7-8am lmao,1 "I have the same ‘urge’ all the time, Typical ADHD thing. Since there is not always something to create but I do enjoy the feeling of crafting/creating I picked up scale model building a few weeks back. I bought 2 sets and some gear to experiment. The first model I finished in two days with a few mistakes (mostly paint because I had no patience to let it try properly) and thought that because of this, the hobby wouldn’t stay very long. Now I started the second one and enjoy it much more since I look at every step as a separate project. So building the engine I want to do perfect. Bored? start with painting the body. Need to dry? Customize exhaust/any other thing. I just have a table where I leave everything as it is so I can start/stop whenever I want to. This way I wont have to fight my motivation when I have the urge to do something and end up watching YT all day. I have a few of these hobby’s I can pick up anytime (vinyl DJing, gaming ofc.) and do not require constant practice/money or time and it feels so nice. I spend a lot of time on them (maybe more than I should) but it keeps my brain active and most important don’t hate myself/feel guilty when I work on them instead of working. So if you like crafting, try it out or find any other hobby with the same benefits!",1 "I am a semi-professional writer in my local area. I've worked in and with a ton of work shops and when it came to finalizing the presentation of the work shops it always went wonderfully well but when it comes to me actually doing something only for me - like writing something independent in my free time - I feel like the least productive person. This is why short stories became my best friend but short stories don't bring any money. So I'm sitting here, brooding over how exactly I can handle writing a long ass novel with ADD.",1 This is gonna be me at my doctor’s appointment next week.,0 Love the DID representation! My alters are often trying to cheer me up but I'm stubborn lol,0 "I've been listening to audiobooks recently, and I BLESS THE ENGINEER who came up with the button on my steering wheel that lets me rewind 30 seconds. I have used that so much as I realize I've missed things whole trailing off. On occasion, I've had to rewind the same part like 6 times in a row because I can't keep concentrating for 30 seconds.",1 "if only that worked, that would be a life saver. Good luck to everybody out there!",0 "I cackled (but was also pretty annoyed) when I bought my first book about coping with ADHD and it showed up with a giant photo of a 12 year old boy going wild on a tire swing, lmao. I'm a 30 year old female contract manager with ADHD-PI. I hoped the inside of the book would be more nuanced, but it was all about how to get your hyper kid to do homework and not become a wild rebellious teen. Ended up getting other books that were super helpful and written for adults (Driven to Distraction is one of my favs,) but that one was just hilarious and annoying to me. Also got a book that claimed medication wasn't necessary and ""took people's sparkle away."" Very much a ""ADHD is a superpower"" vibe too, in an obnoxious way. Threw that in the trash immediately. I've literally never been so ""sparkly"" in my life since starting medication.",1 "Why am I being called out like this? Is it because of my Dr appointment?",0 "Yes: Adhd brain have less working memory, but got more of a ""real time computing power"" It's like a computer that have a small hard disk but with very fast cpu. That being said, we know how to store ""processes"" much more than raw data.",1 I shared this to my Facebook I hope that’s okay. I’m so sick of people treating ocd like a trait,0 "It's awesome to see people that are doing well past their 30s! Im 40, it seemed impossible to make it this far with OCD when I was younger. While it doesn't go away you learn to live with it more peaceably.",0 "This feels like the central theme of Stoicism. Also, thank you for this. Have been living in my head battling my thoughts for the last three days, so this post is a good reminder to snap out of it.",0 "Once again, Wario understands me like no one else ever has...",0 Why am I just learning/understanding this is part of OCD?! Thank you.,0 This time of the year is already extremely intense and difficult without the cards taking the piss too,0 "It’s me but I’m scared I’m bisexual whenever I do something that could makes me think I like men. I don’t think “what if I’m straight” because I’ve already realized that I do like women.",0 "Literally what my cousin said to me when I tried explaining her my mental problems: ""just don't think about all that bad stuff""",0 I'm on vacations now and I tried to go to sleep at 11 and waking up at 9. Let's just say that now I stay awake until like 3 and wake up at like 1 pm,1 I got about halfway through the first paragraph and instinctively swiped away to another app..... I think they might be on to something LMAO!,1 God I do this all the time and it's so horrible. It can honestly bring me to tears if I can't find a good one,0 "The amount of times I was told off as a child and even now when I said 'I can't do this' would probably be enough to pay for my psychologist, but I'm not really sure I don't remember",1 "I have a question about how to tell genuine suicidal ideation from intrusive suicidal thoughts. I have random thoughts of jumping off stuff, cutting myself, etc. but I never have clear thoughts like “I want to die” or “I just don’t want to live”, does that mean I’m probably not actually suicidal or do the random thoughts hint at a desire to die?",0 "Yup, pretty much. If you're working from home like me, you wake up and sit around until it's time to clock in, then probably do the bare minimum while also feeling guilty for not working harder. Also if you're me, you deal with a bunch of sales dudes who don't give a fuck about anything as long as they get paid, and this feels like an insult to not only your job, but also to your history of feeling like you're working as hard as possible and not getting anywhere.",1 Half of my classes were already online and this just made it so I don’t have to drive I guess. I recently bought myself a detailed planner so hopefully sorting stuff in that translates to actually getting things done. This is probably a good test to see if I can do fully time online if I need to.,1 "Get a bottle of shower lotion (Nivea and Jergens make great ones) and after you’ve washed your hands, apply the lotion while wet then rinse off. This saved my hands from my compulsive washing.",0 For me it’s like I count the times I’m right about something because if I’m right about those things I must be right about having cancer😭😭if that makes any sense,0 "yelling at yourself to go shower, and stop clicking youtube vids, but all your brain hears is ""more youtube"" also, am I the only one that showers really slowly? 15 minutes is a FAST shower for me",1 "To be completely honest I barely read your post but I want to add my ""watch later"" playlist on youtube going all the way back to like 2012. Probably 4k videos. Never in the right mood for watching them, especially since there's a million new videos every day!",1 THIS! i listen to one random album or song all day for a week or two or three straight and then im over it. so when i see my spotify unwrapped i am like ????? how is this song in my top 5,1 "What helps me is I always ""see myself"" lock the door, which helps retain the memory. I do this when I toss my phone all the bed, lock my phone, or flush the toilet (among other things you'd hate to forget). I learned this trick playing football, ironically, as it's natural to take your eyes off of repetitive things.",0 "Hey, I've seen this actress in Chernobyl. What's this movie?",0 I would rather suffer from physical impulsions for the rest of my life than have to fight my own mind everyday assuring myself im not insane,0 "This is beautiful. Im so sorry for your loss, you are an amazing friend. As someone with ADHD who understands to some degree, we could all use a friend like you. This brought tears to my eyes",1 "Yep. And what's even worse is when you try to buy things that will ""help"" *looks at his Cintiq 13*",1 I resonate with this on a spiritual level so much it hurts.,0 mind blown! I do this all the time. especially when writing in my journal.,1 holy shit idk why but seeing schitzophrenia ocd written out makes it seem way less worse than it is. Like it's a valid ocd form and not just my dumb ass haha.,0 It turns into a show halfway through the movie for me too,1 Even when I have earned my vacation I get these thoughts that I don't deserve it,0 “Maybe then I’d be able to keep my house clean!” The amount of people I know who believe this is wild. Big yikes,0 For me the ultimate irony is when the new obsession somewhat contradicts the most recent one you had. They can’t both be true but somehow your mind acts like they are. 🙃,0 "Absolutely true, but I never thought of my ocd being responsible for this... I dated a guy for 2 yrs, even moved together with him only to realise that I don’t really like sex.. or d*ck... then I thought I was asexual and broke up with him, only to see myself sobbing over girls. And still I think I can’t be a lesbian, I’m just a straight girl looking for attention",0 "I remember when my mom used to work as a maid for an elderly lady and even her daughter, they always worked with her and she thought of it as a nice experience since they would talk to her while they worked and she even picked up some of their cleaning habits. Seeing this reminded me of that time, and often times people might hire maids to work with just to have that company like the lady my mom worked for, so people shouldn't feel bad for hiring nannies or maids in general!",1 "Idk why but I have to ""get in the mood"" to get any work done. A combination of stress from deadlines and working easiest to hardest.",1 "Mine is exactly the opposite. I discovered 448 new artists this year, and listened to 452 different genres. I listen to new music, and all kinds of different music, all the time. It annoys my fiance and she says my playlists give her musical whiplash. Apparently going jumping from Debussy, to Unleash The Archers, to Dua Lipa will do that.",1 Remember to take the pills that make you remember to take the pills.,1 "I mean, that's pretty much my life though. I mean it doesn't matter how much I logically tell myself that it's okay there is a reason things are the way they are... I keep coming back to, ""But it's my responsibility and my problem and none of this ultimately changes that I continuously fail at everything I set out to do that's expected of an adult.""",1 I hope more reasearch goes into adhd. And people get treated,1 "This is how I feel when we got to my in laws on Sunday afternoons. We’re only there for a few hours, but it takes up the entire day in my brain & then when we get home the weekend is over & it’s like the whole weekend got cut in half.",1 "Sorry to hear that, I have so many meat eating friends and family who've had cancer and heart issues, but the treatments are quite reliable! Good luck with your recovery",1 "For me, what if it slips and I cut myself then it would lead to thoughts of stitches which I hate and scars, blood everywhere then me freezing as I reboot to undo the thought",0 "I love this trend of drawing your ocd, I think I’m gonna try it out! Always helps to think of disorders as separate entities from yourself I think.",0 I believe this is related to [somatic OCD](https://drmichaeljgreenberg.com/treating-sensorimotor-ocd-aka-somatic-ocd/).,0 "This is both a blessing and a curse I find. 😅 Some days at work I just lose myself and it's time to go home somehow. Sometimes, I find myself sat in the dark somehow... it's crazy how hard you can fixate on something. I guess this is one of the perks (our superpower?)Fast-forwarding time by fixating on something.",1 "TED Talk - brilliant I've seen the opposite: a lot of people with ADHD write one long paragraph without any punctuation at all, and I simply cannot follow what they're saying. I always skip over them, because my attention span has already died on me. For myself, I try to steer away from long sentences because I get punished for them in writing my blog.",1 [My brain](https://youtu.be/gsNaR6FRuO0) trying to make a connection between the question being asked and the words it’s locating for a frustratingly dull response,1 Thank you. I've been cursing myself for days for my adhd and I forget its just different.,1 "I identify with every word of this post. I was trying to explain this exact experience to my therapist 2 days ago and couldn't find the words in the moment, lol. She tried to say something validating like, ""I think you've been very articulate in describing your experiences,"" but I continue to feel like the shape and the substance of what I want to say, vs what actually comes out of my mouth are very different things. When trying to examine in what way they're different, I often get distracted from the original topic at hand, and then in a panic, my mind goes blank. This, as you say, is mostly true when communication is most important, like in a presentation, an interview, or a group conversation. For this reason, I tend to keep my mouth shut, except to interject funny comments.",1 "I very much relate. It’s exhausting. When I’m looking for stuff just thru a generic web search, like Google, I try to remember that I am not searching the whole world of information. I am kind of yelling into a shopping mall, and all these people are hearing me and coming running at me. They’re almost all selling me something, not trying to educate me. So they’re gonna give me the sales pitch that works on what they perceive is their biggest audience - and I think that is - parents who are worried about their kids and have money to throw at the problem. So that’s what Google tells me. What would be great is if I could yell into a library, and the best I can get is searching thru medical journals or specific psych areas of the web.",1 "I’m 16, and I went to a psychologist before my OCD was crippling, but it really did change my life. I know it’s not the same for everybody, and I understand it would be a lot harder for somebody’s who’s OCD is worse than mine, but I think it’s worth the shot if you’re able. There’s a chance it could change everything :)",0 This is my most hated aspect of having ADHD!!! I hate sounding like an idiot who has no idea what they're talking about when I DO know I just can't verbalize it! Ughhhhh,1 "I’m so fucking angry how many people are like this, fuck",0 "WOW YES!!! Thank you this is exactly how I feel. Which is why I HATE public speaking, I do not have the ability to speak off the top of my head. I normally have to memorize my presentations in order to be able to form my ideas so others will understand. Meaning I write out everything I want to say and how I want to say it. Then practice it for HOURS. It’s exhausting but it’s the only way I am certain people will understand what I want them to. Its so frustrating because I know the material well but am unable to reiterate it on the spot in an intelligent way, sometimes even with hours of practice. Which is why I could never be a teacher despite my love for learning. When I’m nervous or overstimulated my mind goes blank. Writing ,however, I excel at. I’m quite a good writer (despite my grammar/spelling errors) because I can take my time and organize my thoughts rewording them as I needed. I wish I could do that in real time. I don’t even mind being in front of a crowd, I honestly love talking but I simply cannot word what I want to say when all my brain is processing is the noise/peoples eyes on me/ my boss judging me.",1 "Man ain't this the truth. If it weren't for tests and quizzes in school, I would have flunked very early on. I always amazed myself at what I was able to absorb during class while drawing stick figure comics whilst the teacher taught lol. But at work, it's been a brutally endless road of task after task, project after project. And at the end of it all if I do remotely well, instead of getting to feel good and get that rush of dopamine from getting a good grade, I'm rewarded with more work, and more difficult work at that. And thus why I have some severe imposter syndrome, I honestly feel like I'm just faking it through my job, and at any given moment I'll be ""found out"" and fired. Edit: spelling errors",1 "I vibe with this...This just happened to me yesterday. Dropped some things off to my mom/dad (mature, not OLD old yet) and they did the hurry up and wait thing. Basically, ""I can't talk just yet"" then right before I need to leave (lots on my mind) they want to have a deep dive discussion into diets, some relative's friend who had that one thing, the last episode of this or that.....I'm trying to be present and it is ALWAYS impossible to do both...",1 Good job! I have contamination ocd as well and I know how tough it is to just say forget it and not go on a cleaning frenzy,0 "The downside of drinking to make it go away is that I only focused on whatever I was trying to avoid while I was drinking. So, it was pretty much in the forefront of my mind until I was too drunk to focus on anything.",0 oh this is literally the worst thing in the world and i suffer from it so bad,0 "Dude I totally get this. I'm sorry you have to go through this stuff. But we're all here for you, and that really matters in the end.",0 "People think I have a really good memory. They don’t realize that I force information into my brain and will spend ridiculous amounts of time trying to recall it. I also have a hard time letting go of memories in general, Probably because I play them over and over again in my head. A long while ago I read an article on “need to know” OCD. That’s pretty much me.",0 "Two weeks just got snapped like that, I am trying to do a ten minute study/finish a task strategy instead of making another schedule",1 "I find it's when I read things that I force myself to read. For example, I could speak in detail about GOT or Harry potter books but ask me what I thought about Alexander The Great's book or Charles Darwin.. I think the difference is with pleasure reading I'm excited to sit in bed at night and read more about a fictional story or an autobiography that actually interests me, but when I started reading about Darwin, Tesla etc I felt like I was forcing myself to become 'well read' and whip out cool facts when they were mentioned in convo. All I remember is one was good with animals and stuff, the other undone an impossible knot with a sword.",1 [Original source](https://www.instagram.com/p/B2w5wAiAHt7/) \+ [link to artist page](https://www.instagram.com/ocddoodles/),0 Sometimes I’ll also get a day (very rarely) when my OCD is almost gone and it’s so shocking every time to think that that’s what most people’s brains are like. Must be heaven,0 "This!!! This is why I flew under the radar in school and my mother just thought I was lazy. Now I’m a mom, and I see it in my son, and I know what to do. Thank god! Thank you. Great reminder.",1 This is definitely me. Glad to see there are others like us out here.,1 "I went through that myself. I am sure you will make it, eventhought you might not see it right now, but you are a wonderful human and life has so much great to offer. Just keep walking, start with small steps and slowly make them bigger. Soon you will get out of that hell!!! Believe in yourself!",1 "Yeah, but instead of the opposite, sometimes it's just your actual thoughts that would be a minor thing that you don't give much other thought to, amplified by a ton. For example, when I walked past my bedroom earlier today, instead of it being ""oh, I should probably make my bed"" it was kind of more like ""MAKE YOUR FUCKING BED RIGHT NOW OR ELSE YOU'LL HAVE A BREAKDOWN"" sort of thing.",0 "This is so hard for me. My kid definitely has ADHD (as do I, both diagnosed). But she also is probably somewhere on the antisocial spectrum (not diagnosed, but several therapists have confirmed this is likely). So sometimes when she says she can't do something, it's genuinely the ADHD ""I want to do this but can't make myself do it,"" for which an appropriate response might be patience or skipping it for now. But sometimes when she says she can't, it's the antisocial (which I think would be more accurately named pro-self; much like in ADHD we struggle with executive functioning, antisocial people struggle with empathy) ""I don't want to do this and so I won't,"" for which really the only response is firm, consistent limits and consequences. And it's up to me to figure out which response is appropriate, and I know I don't always get it right.",1 "I have Type 1 Diabetes and a tool that shows my blood sugar on my phone. When my blood sugar is out of range, there are so. many. damn. alarms. So I need the alarms to know when I need to fix a problem, but the alarm fatigue is real when this app averages \~80 notifications daily. (I just checked my phone's notification history, and this is not an exaggeration.) Now add to that the reminders I have for the other areas of life, and that thing is always yelling at me.",1 "'nostalgia can give you meaning' so weird. this morning I recalled some friends I spent time with in elementary, and it made me feel at ease.",0 "I am suffering from this now and I feel like I need to recall most of the things I read or videos I watch sometimes, it's really hell and I feel like I have alzheimers even tho I don't have lol.",0 I just got diagnosed & it’s crazy bc my first psychiatrist said I couldn’t have it bc I was in ap & honors classes and I didn’t know how to explain it was just bc I was good at tests like I never did hw or anything lol,1 I’m studying for an exam but I’ve scheduled 10 minute breaks every 25 minutes and I’m still on my break!,1 "I could have cried reading the second one about doubt and guilt. All my life I have lived in the netherworld of doubt and thought it was just me being too ""feminine"" or passive, and only recently am I realizing that it's part of OCD. Thank you.",0 Me too. I work in retail and boxes dry my hands too. I use lotion when I wash my hands but I wash my hands so much at home too. This happens every year for me.,0 "Yep. This struggle is all too real, and def holds me back. If I succeed, everyone would find out that I am a horrible person and all the things I have done and am ashamed of. Plus, there is always the voice telling me that I don't deserve any success.",0 The part where “have you finished those errands” repeats in his head over and over is the most relatable part for me.,0 when you don't speak/ your lessons aren't in english:,1 "OCDRecovery rubs me the wrong way. He recommended a book to me once that I really think delayed my recovery. This man parades around like a therapist without a certification because in his country they don’t regulate it. He is an expert “by experience”. It would be no different than me being like “hey I wrote a blog- I’m an expert!”. He has given some advice that was against standard or ethical practices (like saying to find the rational thought, or that anyone who promotes him on Instagram can have free services) and other therapists spoke out about him. ",0 "I’ve never attempted to explain my OCD to people. It’s just so far from what they can imagine, so I don’t even bother.",0 You know what’s trash? Their opinion. Because this is stunning! I can feel this picture. You’re very talented.,0 "Executive dysfunction is easily the single worst part of having ADHD and I can say with no exaggeration whatsoever that living with it is a complete nightmare. I get nothing done at home except when my friends want to come visit, then suddenly everything I've been physically unable to do for months suddenly becomes the easiest things I've ever done - and so quickly, too. Except the motivation to do them is derived from the stress of an imminent deadline and the fear of my friends viewing me in a negative light, so once I'm done doing 3 months of housework in 2 hours, I'm just an exhausted mess.",1 "i am so glad to see this voiced here! its so true, your mind will attack the relationship over and over again, even if its perfect.",0 "That’s why I hate marijuana. It just increases the distance between my brain and mouth and I find it incredibly frustrating. For me, at least. I know it hits different people in other ways. Regarding writing, I also find it therapeutic to write my thoughts out in a linear fashion. Otherwise I will he chewing over the same ideas over and over again.",1 "When I do the dishes, I have to first clean the kitchen and then the sink and then the drying board and then once that’s done I’ll usually reward myself with a break. And then fill the sink with boiling hot water (too hot to touch) and then let things soak. I’ll usually get distracted and start reorganising the draws because no one put the cups and bowls back in the right order and then by the time that’s done the waters cooled down and I start the next step of the dishes. It can take me a whole day but I ended up completely so many other tasks throughout the day but the one thing I was meant to do can sometimes go unfinished. I feel your girlfriend on a spiritual level ahaha",1 "This is depressing, I have felt like this before but no, I keep pushing. I'm going to carve my own fuckin' place in this world for people with ADHD. It can work. I've seen success from reading, doing tai chi, centering myself and behaviorial therapy, I'm trying medication this week. I've got a good life and you can too. It's hard. This week I skipped classes from anxiety, but I've been on the deans list the last three semesters and I'll be damned if I don't get myself together to do it again. We all have our low points you can come out the other side better. Diagnosed ADHD-I.",1 "Thank you for sharing this, it is amazing! I also find creative expression such a great way to cope with ocd and this really hits home. My fear exposure script boils down to ""I don't realize, I don't know, I can't even remember"". This is such an accurate depiction of how I feel. Would it be okay if I saved this to maybe try and embroider an adapted version in the future? I can't draw well and embroidery is how I get my ocd out creatively.",0 "As an ADHD Programmer, I can kinda see why this be. We think REALLY REALLY fast, and sometimes there's a little tangent we want to slip in right here (it's related but not the main topic of the sentence), so we need a lot of structure to not make our sentences seem like word vomit hurtling out of our mouths. Keeps sentences organized, keeps the thoughts organized, keeps us on track I fink.",1 It hurts when I'm too stressed to do something but my friends just think I don't want to be with them. They just don't understand me :(,0 "It is not unachievable. Make a structure for yourself. Try. Fail. Try again, improve - help yourself to help yourself. I struggle with this too. I do graphic design, video production and music too. Too many creative outlets, too many projects. But focus IS possible and structure needs to be created externally - even though you need to create that structure yourself. For example, in a music project, i will time myself. I will say 'Okay, for this next 15-minute window (set an alarm on my phone) I will come up with a new guitar part. Quality doesn't matter until later. Just get started and find something that works for you.",1 I recently started a new job with a lot more meetings than I'm accustomed to. Some days I feel like I just attend meetings and spend the rest of the day in waiting mode. I get very little done on those days :(,1 Oh shit I didn’t know that I think mine might almost be there,1 That was me trying to pay a hospital bill from a year ago before a collection agency took it,1 From what my adhd let me read was helpful just have to somehow read the rest and make myself do stuff on the list lmao,1 "YESSSS! I feel like people with ADHD, including myself, are actually really creative and smart people, and have the ability to create something amazing, but for me at least, if I get bored with it, I'll kinda stop, and I'll go through phases of interest in things. Like my father says that I've always been ""a sampler"" in the sense that I'm always trying new hobbies and new skills. But, sometimes my downfall is not sticking with it.",1 "YUP. Took me a while to understand, but I also believe that thoughts caused by OCD are almost never better than what normal head would have. To believe otherwise is because you have OCD and cannot understand what normal means. They say ignorance and fighting are not strategies, but I've started to cultivate myself to reject OCD thoughts based on them being nonsignificant.",0 Omg yes this! The only way I can make it work is if I get up at 5 am and never stop moving from task to task and everything has to happen smoothly and according to my imaginary timing. Sooooo ruined every time.,1 It's especially bad when you have contamination ocd and science literally backs up some of your ocd thoughts (tho it doesnt back up my reaction to it).,0 "thanks! :3 although i still blame myself, only sensible thing..",0 "This is so true. I just discovered this the other day. It's so important for us to keep tabs on the critical things in our lives (chores, talking to friends and family, bills, etc.) It's so easy to let life get out of hand, especially when we're recovering!",0 "I'm not only the OCD Club President, but I'm also a client.",0 I feel my indecisiveness has become worse. Sometimes I feel bad for the other option.,0 "Reading these comments has brought up thoughts I used to and (rarely but sometimes) still have about squeezing babies as hard as I could. Does this fall in line? I would *never* actually do this and love kids but I noticed I would have this thought a lot when I was younger.",0 "Jesus christ the title is just me, i have so many screenshots of random cool shit i never did on my phone, so, so many.",1 "You see, I would do that but like I forgot what I was gonna do",1 "I legit had almost this same obsession for a year. It wasn't all meat though, only chicken. I couldn't eat chicken for over a year. Buying a meat thermometer helped A TON. That way I can always cook it to at least 165 degrees and see physical, solid proof that it's safe to eat.",0 "Yeah, it is the inability to do the simple tasks that really exacerbates my depression. I feel so incomplete and broken!",1 "Wishing you the best of luck! I’m sorry to hear about that. I am the WORST with this. Anxiety & adhd paralyze me when I get scared about medical things.",1 "Dang, this is so relatable. I discovered that 5000 maximum last year and did the same thing. Now I have multiple playlist I rarely watch and my watch later is back to 4804. 🙃",1 "And I thought that was the schizophrenia... Ok, I need to look into OCD treatment.",0 "Also there are non stimulant ADHD meds out there!!! Stimulants didn't work for me",1 Haha. You got some work to do. If it weren’t for the fact that I often forget about the function I’d probably be right there with you.,1 I don’t think i This is related to adhd but I get it,1 "Every name it has had before and including ADHD certainly lack. But so does every alternative. Executive Function Disorder falls into the exact same trap, even. Names itself, and as such literally defines itself as, a single symptom. ADHD is more than any of these things alone. and some of them affect each of us more or less than others. Hyperactivity is so different in the way it turns up, that the entire disorder is essentially split into outwardly hyper and inwardly hyper types. And even if its name did get changed to something separated and distinct, it would still not be taken seriously. It's still going to be the disorder of children bouncing off walls. Still going be treated worse than autism. Morons will be morons. and we'll still have all our problems with a different name.",1 Hit the nail on the head *as many times as you had to* with this one.,0 "OCD wants you to feel alone, isolated. The people here are proof that you're not.",0 "wow please extend my deepest gratitude to your father. no one has ever said this to me before, and it's truly been a paradigm shift. if only i'd known it was this easy! i just flushed all my meds down the drain and sent an email to my psych telling her to go fuck herself. it's a new day.",1 "I found out by asking on reddit. I thought I just had some weird habits, and never thought that the symptoms related to each other.",0 "Yes, but also, I have alarms like ""Get up and go outside"" that hit 4 times/day. And it's something that I ignore probably 90% of the time. But at least I don't ignore it that 10%?",1 "My heart starts racing and I get shaky and on the verge of tears when I’m on my 10th hand wash in a row. And then afterwards, I still think I “missed” a spot. It’s never enough. I’m so tired of this.",0 "Hugs to everybody in here saying that they aren't doing well. I'm in the same boat with all that is happening now a days. Just a friendly reminder to get off of Reddit when you read too many [political,covid,globalwarming] comments/articles.",0 You have just helped me realize I can actually trick myself this way too thank you!!!,1 I dunno about the rest of you but having a lot leas to do cus of shelter in place has actually given me the space Ive always needed to establish a routine.,1 "Earlier today I forgot I was on my way to teach a class halfway through my walk across campus. If my backup phone alarm hadn't saved me, I straight up would have missed it.",1 Woah this is a cool way to think of it. Helpful too,0 "Damn I've just opened it and this is the first post I've seen and... Well, you've got a point. Going to try follow the morning routine! Toilet - breakfast - Parrots caring - Gecko caring",1 "Wowowowow this is 100% me. Down to the gummi vites and paying extra for something nicer that I will use and the subscriptions to avoid ads. Modern internet drives me crazy, every website has a bunch of things popping up asking me to accept cookies and telling me about their privacy policies, and those aren't even the ads, I just want to read the damn article and I can't even get to it before my attention gets pulled away.",1 ">\-Using emergency fight-or-flight overdrive to deal with normal daily problems is reasonable and even expected. ... I am well into adulthood and I've only just now realised this isn't how most people do things. You're... *not* supposed to fly into a panic to do routine tasks and complete responsibilities? Mind blowing.",1 Overthinking about stuff like this late at night is my favorite past time,0 "*«Why me? Why do I have this intrusive thoughts? Is there something wrong with me?»* I have had this thoughts on loop for seven years. I’n pretty tired of it. They were more intense before, so I guess I’m healing slowly.",0 "There’s an Instagram account - @ocdcookieco - and their company is called, Obsessive Cookie Disorder. I hate them so much. I’ve complained to them but they don’t give a fuck. I always try to tag them on OCD accounts posting about “ocd is not an adjective.” Anyways, if you want some company to harass, please bug this one 😭",0 Just stop thinking bro lmao like just walk away from the thoughts,0 "Omg as I sit here trying to will myself to do something that I have plenty of time today to do, and everything I need to do it. So true.",1 "About this, since I can sort of relate and you seem to know yourself, so, I have a question. If you aren’t sure, that’s okay too, but is there a specific type of OCD where you have a variety of the types (like harm ocd, sexual ocd, relationship ocd, etc) on a smaller scale but still obsessive/intrusive thoughts? I have a bit of everything on a regular basis, with a larger portion of Harm OCD (“If I don’t pick up this napkin on the floor someone older will bend over to pick it up and then fall and hurt themselves and it will be my fault”, etc) but I’ll occasionally get worse in other areas for a few days or weeks. Does this have a category of it’s own?",0 "I was doing that last night! I had a sobbing breakdown and was suffering and then I’m like, what if I faked it to get attention and I’m just faking it all wtf :(",0 I have even gone so far as to catch myself thinking “I hope today fucking sucks” on days where I have an appointment scheduled lol,0 "... you have opened my eyes. My instructors always kinda commented on my use of commas, but it wasnt wrong, so i never really thought about it.",1 "This makes me want to cry. I am so so proud of you. Pride really crease so much unnecessary suffering in our lives. You are such an inspiration, thanks for willing to be humble and courageous enough to ask for help. And thanks for being kind enough to share it with us.",1 Damn I have always managed to test well even though I have a hard time paying attention it’s combated by the fact that I’m smart and the contradiction I’ve experienced with my ADHD and intellect has been distressing to say the least. Imposter syndrome is such a good way of describing it though and I’m glad someone else understands.,1 I'm writing a short play about OCD and anxiety and I've gotten so much feedback about how shocked readers are by its familiarity.,0 "That's weird actually, I feel like once i learn something it sticks with me forever... my short term memory is some garbage though. You ever try recalling it the next day after some good sleep?",1 "YES! And the hardest part for me is that you can’t just dismiss them as irrational like other obsessions because dying is inevitable and people die unexpectedly every single day. The best I’ve gotten at dealing with them is using Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Accepting that, yes, my loved ones will die someday. But I don’t need to worry about it until it happens. It definitely has not stopped the thoughts, but it alleviates the pain when I’m having a full blown meltdown. For YEARS before my cat passed away, I was plagued by these thoughts, and I was sure that her death would trigger unbearable guilt that I’d live with for the rest of my life. But then it happened, and it was definitely hard at the time. But I feel like the anticipation was far worse than the actual sadness following her death. I have yet to lose one of my close family members, but I’m hoping that all these years of grief will have prepared me for when the time comes.",0 "My OCD 🤝 My ADHD Making me endlessly research stuff that doesn't realistically matter",0 "This made me go check on how many I have saved. When I saw how many, I saved this post to remember to do so later...",1 "My brain at 2 am: I must know who played the best friend in that movie I saw once ten years ago, or there will be no sleep tonight",0 "I fucking hate this sub LMFAO this is exactly what my past two days have been, then I somehow have been up since yesterday and now I’m forced to wait it out for the rest of the day to flip my sleep right ways up again. I don’t come on this sub to feel *attacked* and *seen* how dare you 😂",1 "That's what is happening with right now and I'm lost, I don't know what to do and what to say. every time I came up with something new, creating new problems and ruin every moment I have :((",0 "This is amazing. I have a really hard time articulating a lot of my symptoms, especially on the spot. Saving this.",1 Awesome!! I turned in a paper early last semester also and realized I don’t think I have ever done that. It’s such a proud moment!,1 "Ugh ... and then I argue with my inner self & start the cycle of doubting my doctor's diagnosis of OCD and wonder if I have those ""voices"" they describe that Schizophrenics hear. And then my mind starts spinning and swearing my doctors are wrong. Until I remember that just yesterday I was convinced that my blocked sinuses meant I had a cancerous tumor in my nose and the recent MRIs must have missed it. And the day before it was ABC and the day before that it was XYZ ... And then I remembered that I fucking hate my brain and come back down off the ledge and start counting to 100 over & over again. FML.",0 "For me it's more like ""Whoa I relate to too much to this sub"" but then with not getting an official opinion about my mental health I just get more anxiety thinking I'm looking for an excuse for my laziness",1 "And make some dumb mistake by ""just doing it""and hear them say ""What were you even thinking?!"" Answer: Everything. I was thinking everything. Always.",1 "I never thought this could relate to my OCD, but i do this too and it's so frustrating",0 I have to eat something with them or my stomach gets fucked all day so taking them before I’m up doesn’t work unfortunately. Also wish adderall still worked. Now it just makes me feel gross and gives me anxiety. Ritalin seems to work ok but I’m awful about remembering to take it.,1 What if I told you I can't 100% confirm to you that the lights are on in this room?,0 "Earlier this week I reached the end of my rope with buying supplies for projects I never do. I forced myself to make a couple things but wasn’t that satisfied with the result. Some things I was proud of but felt the need for validation of them, which I didn’t really receive. I did really enjoy painting recently. I like the process itself and could care less about the result. I think the main thing is striving to enjoy the process of a project and accept if it doesnt turn out as expected. Try to be proud of finishing something when you do. Of course this is all advice Im trying to make myself take",1 "It’s so frustrating, isn’t it? And every time I *finally* complete said task and feel the weight lifted off my shoulders, I think, “Maybe I’ll remember this next time and get it done earlier,” but the lesson doesn’t stick. I’ve been using the Habitica app lately; it has a section that’s basically a long-running to-do list. I used to use scraps of paper but then there were scraps all over the house and I would lose half of them. I always have my phone nearby, so I add tasks while I’m thinking of them. Then, on the rare occasion where I have a productive/motivated day, I scroll through and knock a few off the list. The list is still growing exponentially but it helps a little.",1 "I do this. I only buy frozen vegetables, diced garlic and prefab food ingredients -- anything that cuts preparation requirements.",1 This hits even harder bc that’s my favorite cereal 😅,0 "Recently I played a board game called “secret hitler” where everyone is dealt an affiliation of liberal or fascist that’s known only to them. One person is dealt hitler. Liberals’ goal is to pass liberal policies, keep hitler from being elected (game’s over) or figure out who hitler is so they can just assassinate him. Fascists’ goals are to pass fascist policies & figure out who Hitler is so they can elect him. We played through several times & every single game everyone thought I was hitler. I was never hitler.",0 "Yeah this is true. It was difficult for me to get a diagnosis because I never had to study my whole life, even in college. Now that I have a professional job I always got behind on work because I couldn't understand how people could sit down and work for more than like three hours in a day. Get put on meds and now I can work eight hours a day and still not get caught up lol",1 "Rat/mice/one sneaky baby possum made me like that about my kitchen too, took me a year but now I can cook in it (not how I used to but getting there) except for the last week or so :/ feel ya",0 My least favorite symptom of ADHD is my ability to sleep through the alarm and miss all 4 hours between sleep and commute/work hours so I end up not doing anything productive and then I feel depressed,1 "This is very real...in fact, it's what I'm doing right now. So thank you OP, I'm going to put my phone down when I'm done typing this and go boot up my computer.",1 "This is great. I imagined mine as this human-shaped and sized shadow creature, like a sleep paralysis demon, that lived in my head. I saw a picture once from a comic somewhere that looked EXACTLY how I imagined it, maybe I will post if I can find the source.",0 "Today I was able to believe the thought ""it's ok if I don't give attention to intrusive thoughts. Nothing will happen"". It was a good day only because of that",0 "So true. P.s. I managed to get it better using a few techniques - rewarding myself for any time I “make myself” start something - instead of starting a daunting task, I think of what is the first task I need to do to start the task. Eg find an email, go to a certain room, find a number to call, find the bill I was supposed to pay. Just so that, not the entire task. Many times this leads to the next step and tricks the mind by baiting it with a simple task. This works for non ADHD folks too of course. For the unpacking of suitcase, I don’t think about unpacking, I start by just opening it. That’s it. Many times it leads to unpacking one shirt I want to wear tomorrow, then the next and once I’m in it, can’t stop me. - dopamine detox really really helps by making boring tasks less boring - doing the above with Ritalin is a bit easier but not mandatory",1 This is super cool. Good for you for returning to your craft and producing something so unique. I hope you continue making art.,0 "yea. This is awesome. I can relate to a lot of these things. Always remember that those are just thoughts, and you can reason with them and lessen their hit. If that makes sense.",0 "I found a podcast recently called adhd for smart ass women and it seems to validate adult diagnoses, especially for women who are often diagnosed later in life or not at all. Really good to listen to, probably even as a man, because she goes into depth about adult topics.",1 Yeah they're calling it high functioning anxiety now.,0 "This is by far the most relevant post I've seen here. This is my biggest problem and it's so frustrating, especially in academic settings. I know the answers and what I want to talk about, but it takes me forever to actually turn those thoughts into coherent sentences and by the time I do, someone else has said it or the class has moved on. Teachers then think I have nothing to contribute or don't know anything and take points for it. Like yesterday I had a group meeting where all of my partners were able to concisely explain why they picked this topic and give supporting information while I ended up just word-vomiting all of my notes. It's so frustrating. I can write fine, it just takes me a lot longer. But talking in real time is awful. I'm really nervous now because I have a meeting with my university's disability center coming up and I'm terrified I won't be able to explain myself and not end up getting the help I need.",1 "Tough love doesn't work on anyone. No matter what your problems are, the people you care about and respect withholding love and support can only make it worse.",1 "No! Im going to be 5 minutes late to work dammit! I'll leave in a minute..",1 Don’t even! Can relate on the brain glitch but It’s not your fault lol you don’t have that much power over the universe,0 "I followed this sub for info, I didnt expect to get attacked",1 "Yep. Try being a parent of a preschooler and trying to look up tips on being an ADHD parent. There is almost nothing and what there is still puts it in context of ""if you or your partner has it, it will be tough when your child has it too.""",1 "“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.” -Haruki Murakami",0 "OCD feels like an huge lie to yourself, you'll never know the truth to the uncertainty",0 "Thats real nice. I found this very helpful too https://www.ocdonline.com/rethinking-the-unthinkable",0 "I love the tattoo, and wise words from your therapist. Hiwever, I do feel like a tattoo is an art work, and it is personal, would you mind if someone else got this aswell or would you rather like it if we then made some differences?",0 "i always think too much when im texting msgs to ppl especially ppl who i like a lil or who i might have a chance to go out with!!! many times i overthink my response, i try very hard to analyze how the person would think when he/she sees my msg, i imagine all kinds of responses before i finally send the msg. sometimes it could take me like an hour!???? its driving me crazy OMG. i dont think its even me talking to them if i have to elaborately plan out every right word to say... i just want to be normal or original or whatever but not so fake like this :((((",0 Oh thanks Mr ocd this is exactly what I needed to go into a panic attack.,0 It’s the “oh stop it there’s nothing wrong with you”s for me,0 "It’s one of the few places I get reassurance at all, so it gives positive feelings to me",0 "Wouldn't wish this on anyone, but I'm glad I'm not alone 😥",1 "I expected lots of negativity when i first joined reddit. But its quite the opposite , i really appreciate the positive community here on reddit.",1 "My mom and abusive ex were the worst to me. My mom would scream at me for making mistakes, then ask me why I’m so sensitive. My ex knew I was forgetful, and took it to his advantage. He told me I promised him things and said I would do things when I swore on my life I didn’t.",1 "You guys sound awesome, I'm really happy for you that you hacked yourselves!!!! The ultimate!!! Well done you!!!!",1 Literally what was going through there minds ahahhaha but in 2000s,0 Wowie I’ve convinced myself I was pregnant so many times!! (I’m now married at least) I never considered it could’ve been related to OCD - but I now realize it’s not normal to worry you are pregnant with your brothers child from a toilet seat...,0 I wish i got a month's long break. Most times it's maayybee a day.,0 "Yeah, but given the opportunity I know I would just procrastinate and not accomplish anything.",1 "Oh man, this is my work from home life...is camera on? Was it on? What about mic? Did I say that out loud?",0 "This post is distracting me from my work xD SO stoked to read through this and work it out, thank you so much OP.",1 "It is bad. I'm doing ok right now, but the call of the void catches up with me too often, and it doesn't let me leave easily.",1 "Reading this thread has made me feel so safe. I’ve destroyed my life many times because of ROCD. It’s torture to watch your life burn by your own hands and know you can’t stop it. Absolute torture. I love you all, and thank you for this beautiful thread. I know it will help others feel heard and understood as well.",0 "I am so glad you verified that we \*know\* the thoughts and compulsions aren't real, but we still do them ""just in case"". When I was a kid, my parents took me to a family therapy session. Somehow my little six year old brain had enough sense to ask the doctor about my OCD fears, because I'd figured out by then that I had constant fears that always existed (like fear of contamination) and random fears that I inserted into my own head (like while playing the piano, I'd suddenly tell myself I have to play chopsticks 20 times without a mistake or else mom will die). As a six year old, I wasn't capable of sorting out the difference. So in the middle of being interrogated about my parents fighting, I told this doctor that I had a question. I said, what does it mean if I tell myself that a monster is coming down the hall to get us, and even though I know I just made that up, I'd still move away from the door just in case. For a 6 year old, that's pretty darn coherent! But she totally did not understand what I was saying. She thought I was delusional. She didn't understand that you can have an OCD fear and still be in touch with reality at the same time. So she told my parents I needed serious therapy because I was schizophrenic and seeing monsters, and they freaked tf out. I saw their panic and I didn't want to disappoint them, so I told them I had made the whole thing up and that I didn't see monsters. As a result, for the next 16 years I lived with all these horrible rituals, living in fear and further removing myself from ""normal"" society until I could no longer speak the language of the natives. Throughout it all, my parents just thought I was being quirky. When my younger brother started to show OCD symptoms, they thought he was doing it to emulate me. I was only able to help myself when I was an adult and discovered an OCD quiz on the internet and was like WTF!! OTHER PEOPLE DO THIS??!! I seriously want to go on a talk circuit and share my experience and make sure that therapists understand OCD better! I've only found ONE therapist in my entire life that actually understood OCD, and explained it to me in terms of the neurobiological causes and not just ""oh it's your fault because you stubbornly won't admit it's not real"".",0 "Yes, I even just said this the other day. Or was it 3 weeks ago.",1 "I remeber once I thought I have a brain tumor and turns out it's just sinusitis, end up having a really bad 3 days of sleep. I hate being an hypochondriac.",0 "Rehabilitation physical therapists: “just walk” 👩‍🦽->🕺🏻",1 Or trying to explain something funny that happened or a joke you heard because you can’t remember it -_-,1 I knew about that feature but I didn’t think about doing notes that way.,1 Hard to say being nice to everybody no matter what is hard just so it feels like I'm fitting in makes me feel fake.but if I tell some one I have adhd makes me hate myself more then I should.,1 "I get songs stuck in my head all the time. Sometimes related to things I do, usually not though. I'M ON THE HIIIIGHWAY TO HELL HIIIGHWAY TO HELL HIIIGHWAY TO HELL HIIIGHWAY TO HELL",0 When I'm drunk I have a fear that I'll like my intrusive sexual thoughts :( but I still enjoy alcohol bc it's fun but can also feel scary,0 "Fear of death is one of the main driving forces of my anxiety and OCD. Fear of my death. Fear of people I love dying. I don't want to be afraid of it. I hate that I'm afraid of it. It does help in some ways. I'm extra alert when I'm driving. I was on top of keeping my kids safe, especially when they were toddlers. I lost the extra weight and got healthy because of it. Sometimes, though, I wish I could just live my life and not be afraid. I envy people who can live that way.",0 "Also if you need help with this (as I did, very common for people with OCD). /r/healthanxiety has some good resources. Although don’t use it for reassurance seeking.",0 Maybe that's where my imposter syndrome comes from. But really I think it comes from me being not good enough.,1 "But I finally found a combo of meds that works. Keep pushing, yall!",0 Amen. Even worse when you're a dad and Googling 'parenting with ADHD' 😂,1 "I'd say $30/*visit* sounds way more fair. I would never work for so little simply because the hassle of only making $15 for an hour, not factoring in transit times or leaving my schedule open for someone like that is a lot to ask. Glad you were able to find someone who thinks it's worth it, though! Best of luck and cool idea.",1 "This is extremely accurate, except I’m not in school. Instead of not being able to care about classes, I’m not able to care about work and I feel perpetually buried and unable to catch up as a result. It is absolute hell, I am exhausted.",1 "ADHD I think is underrated in its debilitation. Like obvious people with the illness are able to live successful and productive lives, but I think it’s still underestimated how bad the effects can be and how little of an upside there is to them. I think one upside is that it can sometimes make extroverted people more likable, not even more charismatic or more socially competent though just… more fun to be around due to the crazy stuff often brought up in low stakes conversations, but that’s it. Other than that it’s anything but a “superpower”. Pretty much all of its success stories are in spite of it, they might as well have tried to run a race with a sprained ankle. I mean if you look at all the “coping mechanisms” (a telling term on its own, people dong “cope” for good things lol) they all are pretty much akin to Torturing yourself more than the average person needs to go get anything done. Btw I have ADHD is that wasn’t clear, I don’t think I would have the right to say all this stuff if I didn’t lol.",1 "Can’t get out of bed? Just roll over. Roll over again. Roll over again. Roll over- yes I know you’re gonna fall out of bed. Just do it. Ok. Only your body is off the bed. Your legs need to come too. Just slowly waterfall your body til you’re not in bed anymore. Congratulations. You’re out of bed!!!” Also, don’t touch your phone. Just keep rolling until you make it to the kitchen. At some point in your day you’ll get tired of rolling on the floor and you’ll be a reasonable human again.",1 "I do this, but if I accidentally pick up the item in the front first I feel compelled to get it because I’m afraid I’ll hurt it’s feelings for putting it back.",0 "Unfortunately, the only constructive option is to surrender and let it knock you out",0 "That’s excellent!! Progress eventually will turn into habit! :) I’m trying to get into the routine of twice a day.. help my soul lol",1 Do you guys live in the same house or work through phone calls? ,1 "I know. I'm the same. I've started using an app called brain focus, it helps a bit to get things done and stay on tasks/subjects. I also started writing things down to get them out of my head. Just any random thing that pops up, so I don't keep circling back to it, but don't completely forget it either. I use an app called life diary for that, though I don't think it's specific for that I like the its lay out. I use it for everything from a to-do list, to random subjects I wanna check out to write down deeper thoughts. I don't know if there are better apps out there that specifically are targeted towards people with ADHD?? That would be really nice.",1 I needed this. It's 340am and I'm a damn zombie. Fuck this condition.,1 "100%. Was once told meds were like floaties/a life jacket while learning how to swim and I’ve always loved that. If someone says taking meds is the easy way out, that just tells me they probably don’t have OCD/any mental illness. Which is obviously great for them, but it would be nice if they were a bit more open and understanding.",0 I’m so sorry :( I hope he is in a better place where he can run free,1 "Whoa, someone relates with me! I'm gonna save this to read for later.",1 OH MY GOSH I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE ... wow. This makes me feel the worst too. I can’t find the right words half the time and often come off in ways I didn’t mean to. But I’m a writer and hope to be an author,1 "Somewhat. Very intelligent but could never really apply myself to my potential. Certainly seems like laziness at a glance. Recently diagnosed, tried concerta, some improvement but still lacking motivation. And then I tried adderal. Fucking game changer. Just got some expired checks issued i had been putting off, and sent in some paperwork to the military for a few thousand they owe me. It was money I had coming to me but could never sit down to take care of it. Adderal is a life saver",1 "ADHD is a terrible affliction, it's single handedly caused me to let my personal relationships go into ruin and my hobbies/chores/everything I want to do never get done. ADHD is not a joke, it's soul crushing and we need to support each other, and please if you haven't yet, see a doctor and get into a therapy treatment plan for living with ADHD. It's not gonna go anywhere, but if you can live with it then you can at least say you're trying",1 I have gotten so foggy brained I can’t even keep my house clean and it is driving me nuts. I feel like I’m in a limbo of sorts and just can’t find motivation to change. Then I find all the things I didn’t do and judge myself for not doing them. I need a break from myself,1 "I love this list...because it matches all my own experiences of it. Except therapy...I've been to two psychologists in my life and left feeling like it was a waste of time on both occasions. How does one find a good therapist?",1 Researching those symptoms and think ur gonna get the worst ones or experience negative things that others have 🤔,0 "Another thing most people don't understand is that they genuinely think we are enjoying this way of living. Like we like putting our health, jobs, financial situation, relationships at risk. I don't enjoy it. I hate it. I have to live with it.",1 That's part of the reason I'm terrified if I ever get my own place. My single room is messy enough.,0 "If this isn’t me, then I’m not sure what is. This is seriously the most I’ve been seen.",1 Tried it with youtube. It doesn't work. How would it work with zoom then if I'm not the speaker?,1 "You’re exactly right. It took me 23 years to figure it out because I don’t have the symptoms that are raging stereotypes. I don’t fidget or constantly get distracted in a really obvious way. But I have major executive dysfunction causing a cycle of anxiety and depression. I can either focus on something for hours at a time and get through everything I need to get done, or I can’t do anything for several days straight. It takes so much mental prep for me to sit down and engage even in hobbies I want to partake in. I get really overwhelmed by a lot of sounds all at once in bars and parties where I focus on everything and nothing all at once. No one ever told me they were symptoms of ADHD and not just anxiety which is what I was originally told my whole issue was.",1 "If you like your OCD, you have OCPD. Still bad, but not as tearing (terr-ing) as OCD.",0 "This is SO beyond frustrating. Im going into the same field of study as my dad, and hes super excited that I am, but when we discuss it, or he tries to quiz me, I cant remember ANYTHING specific. Ever. I study the same material over and over again, and try to just drill it into my brain, yet I feel so defeated whenever I cant recall that info later. It makes me feel guilty, because both my dad and I are genuinely passionate about this field but I think he believes that I don’t care for it “as much as I lead on.” I dont feel motivated to study anymore because it crushes my spirit each time, and its really hurting my grades.",1 "I didn't know your friend, but somehow I think they would have liked this.",1 oh. oops. did not realize my love of bleach might be OCD. And I am never concerned about the fumes. But perhaps I don't use enough. I love the smell. I love that everything is sanitized. I'm glad I saw this post.,0 Same with me. I sometimes do be getting up at five in the morning checking things are closed and locked.,0 "Ugh, yeah all the time. It's honestly held me back from having a lot of relationships and it just downright stinks.",0 "The most overwhelming irrational self hatred, anxiety over memories long forgotten by nameless strangers, likely exaggerated by your own neurosis.",0 "So True. I even have google calendar that I input all my appointments. I sometimes don't even trust that and have to check on my healthcare website for my appointment time, just to make sure.",0 "My issue is that I need to clean my house in a certain way in a particular order, I have to clean everything, and I mean everything, even the walls. If I haven’t got enough time to spotlessly clean every single thing in every single room, then I can’t bring myself to start. I can’t just do a quick clean or a quick tidy, it’s perfect or nothing. And if it’s not done I get the worst anxiety, I can’t relax and I can’t do anything else.",0 "You're not alone. I've felt this a lot, like I'm a burden... But then I think about the burden I'd be leaving behind for everyone else to clean up if I decided to give up. I wouldn't be there to help them or thank them. I'm trying my damnedest now to not be a burden, and if I'm gone then there's nothing I can do to try and make it right.",1 "As someone with the same issue, the fact that you would do this is amazing. I try to refrain from cooking any food that I can undercook.",0 "Ugh I relate too much...this just happened last week with an open book test (we had 24 hours to start and finish it). I feel personally like it's hard to share this side of ADHD because it's more subtle and less like a ""symptom"" that people feel compassionate about. Like ""doesn't everyone procrastinate? Why aren't you even trying?"" It feels so embarrassing to admit I just laid down and played on my phone all morning, when I initially woke myself up early to do the test after putting it off the entire day before. But in the moment it didn't feel like a choice. I just felt paralyzed with dread and test anxiety. And my brain just avoided the entire thing by having me distract myself with social media and youtube. Then I sort of 'woke up' after the deadline passed, it felt like I accidentally 'slept through' the test time - even though I was technically awake and conscious. It's also so confusing because I ask myself: when am I just being lazy or avoidant - maybe like a non-ADHD person who procrastinates - or when am I having an ADHD crisis? Sometimes I just procrastinate a lot and I do regret it, but I still eventually get the thing done at the last minute and it's not that bad. But other times it's like my intent to do something I need to do completely vanishes...I'm barely even aware of my decisions and the time going by.",1 "Reminder that this is not your fault. We all struggle with this. You can convince yourself that its your fault and you knew better and blah blah blah, but its not your fault.",1 I'm pretty sure memes aren't allowed here anymore. You can use r/ocdmemes. :D,0 "I feel like they should rename it ASHD (Attention Surplus Hyperactivity Disorder) because it’s really a surplus in attention, not a deficit. We have too much attention, and so we’re paying attention to too many things, which makes it difficult to focus on anything.",1 "Fellow artist (amateur here though). Face your fears, make an art Instagram! It's helped me. Plus I get to see other people awesome and very diverse art. I want to follow you!!!",0 I love how active OP is to discuss more about their experience on this.,1 That's incredible well done! You show those bad thoughts who's really boss!,0 "This hits home. So often I'm just staring in dismay at my own failures for so long that when shit is solved, the only thing I can do is stare at my next failure. The best thing you can do, is to enjoy the moments of clarity and (and this is the hardest) find a way to get some backup for the moments you lose control and freeze. Someone who checks up, without intruding in your bushiness. Someone who can keep you on your toes, without taking away your responsibilities and autonomy. Just someone who from time to time asks 'Hey, did you think about x?' (or something comparable) and that's that. It's far from perfect and sometimes the question itself can cause some of those dreaded moments, but sharing is caring. Is you have someone you can trust to keep you on your toes, it may be helpful! you can do it!",1 I accidentally touched the trash can? No I didn't! :),0 I love this so much. What a great idea. And big thumbs up on the post formatting. Well thought out and executed.,1 "I literally just spent the past hour and a half or so doing a compulsion :) ( excessive showering)",0 "The second I read the part about medication holidays I started tearing up. I’ve been trying to take more medication holidays lately since that is something my doctor has advised me to do, but in retrospect it makes perfect sense why I’ve been feeling like complete and utter *crap* the past few weeks. I’ve been going days with no adderall, or 1/3 of my dose, etc. and I didn’t even realize withdrawal is probably the reason my depression has been affecting me. It stimulates the production of dopamine, FFS, I don’t know how I didn’t put that together. Thank you for sharing, OP, I needed to see this.",1 My therapist also wants that I take medication while I go through the ERP. I thought she said that because she wants the fast route and get over with me. But hmm your post is starting to make me feel that maybe I should give it a try 🤔,0 This issue destroys my day-to-day productivity at work. It sucks so bad and tears the confidence out of me.,1 "Congratulations, confronting your compulsions is the way to beat them.",0 The fact that she only played the game on her phone for only several minutes is a miracle in itself,1 "Aa, I see, good that its helping you in someway, it helps being creative. Its so hard to quit patterns though, but its really fun too. My friend helps me out a lot, and on the bathroom I USE up alot of time «wasted» its hard to quit, but its also the best feeling in the world, If you dare. You just have to go through a terrible anxiety that will get smaller and smaller and end. A thing that has worked for me sometimes is to set your mind to, I want to this, this is how I want it to be.",0 "My advice, don't hit a benzo at 1am on the day you need to get up at 5am like I have just done. Not sure what you should do but it's definitely not that.",1 been going through a bad couple of weeks with this. Always had hypochondria and magical OCD but pretty much every other type has been on one day and another one the next. Worried about my mental health at the moment.,0 "I would love to do that, curse my skin, for that you cant repel sensation",0 "You’re not alone, and I believe there are many like us, more than we would ever imagine. The only way we know is to share how we feel, and one could argue that it takes a lot of strength to do that. And in the case of your post, you’re stronger than I am. The world is rough, and no one should have to face it alone. I have everything I could have ever dreamed of, but yet I share similar feelings and perspective. I told my therapist that I feel broken, because socially, I rarely fit in and I’m a sensitive white male. The “man-up” comment really hit home. I was an athlete for 15 years, and I’m tough, but strangely sensitive for odd reasons (e.g. social acceptance, co-workers, etc.) We need our own network, one a little more accepting than the one’s the world gives us or forces us to all co-exist in.",1 "Yeah, sure. I’ll prioritize cleaning your house even though my brain is telling me I COULD stab you rn.",0 If this isn’t the single most relatable thing I’ve ever read lnfao,1 "dont steal this business idea from me, but there's is a big demand for ocd-accessible products",0 "I saw the head line if the post and instantly thought ""this better be satire or I'm gonna tear someone a new arsehole"" 😂 Planners *can* help, usually when you have your adhd under control (i use that term losely). I really friggin hate NT's who think they have the answer to your brand of condition. CFS - have you tried not being tired all the time. Depression - have you tried being happier/exercises. ASD/anxiety - have you tried being more social. ADHD - if you concentrated more. Yeah, f**k off pal!",1 it's so exhausting man it makes u hate/doibt yourself and doubt and mistrust people,0 "The worst is that I can't ever make money in my business for the same reason. Consequently, my wife works herself to a nub while I try not to waste money on impulse buying and ""projects"" as I try to get the ""bookkeeping straight"", keep up with keeping house, laundry, dishes and meals decent all week. I could draw a picture of how that's going, but you can probably guess. I try not to dwell on what a loser I am but I just feel sorry for her and my kids. I know I have this great stuff and she loves me, but her health keeps getting worse and I know she's wondering how much more she can take.",1 Thank you! I was an hour behind on taking my antibiotics and I just finished some homework that could've been done hours ago!,1 "Ugh! I do truly despise that type of genera advice. I mean, You don’t think I’ve had that thought cross my mind a million times? You think I don’t beat myself up about that during one of my many bouts of personal introspection characterized entirely as self-disappointment? Thanks! Maybe give some tactics. Though - And I’m sure that many people here will identify with this - just having had to even DEAL with having ADHD teaches us a lot about human motivation than most people could even dream of understanding. We know that the spirit of the strategy is important, in order to feel confident working toward a goal, but the individual tactics are ESSENTIAL to success. We’ve learned that small changes can make tremendous impact in daily success and our life outcomes. We know that the “how” is just as important as the “why.” And knowing how to move from a, to b, to c, helps us understand that any task or emotional crisis management can be broken down to extremely simple and easy steps if necessary. These are things that take other people a lifetime to understand. Sure, how many steps we need and the type of steps involved are unique to us...but all people function this way to some extent. I’m not sure if anyone has ever read about/studied change management, but that is a field that should be dominated by us with ADHD (if we could, you know, not be distracted away). It was one of the easiest things in my life to grasp. Examples: “If you continuous communicate about a desired change and why it’s important, people are more likely to adopt the change.” obviously, it’s constantly top of mine. what else you got? “Outline a new process in very basic steps to ensure that everyone is following it correctly, and stay on top of people falling back into old habits.” No shit, NEXT!",1 "Possibly related, but I find it in really hard to convert my ideas into writing and presentations. I’m trying to use images and smart art to help get my points across without a wall of text. It’s so frustrating that I can’t translate my own brain onto paper.",1 "> Park in the same place every time when you go to a common place. You won’t forget where you park that way This person has obviously never been to São Paulo. jk, great job, OP!",1 "Make yourself rules. Works like a charm. Eg: dishes must be done before _______! Can’t have more then two hampers of clothes before doing laundry. For me buying food with directions or following recipes, helps me actually make suppers. Go to the dollar store and get some cheap containers and bins if you can afford to. Everything gets a bin and everything has to go into its bin. Most of all embrace the mess, it will never end, you will always be doing laundry and dishes for the rest of your life. We are the problem solvers, we make things efficient! We are Thanos.",0 "I'm in this picture from all sides and can I just say, I think front on is my best angle 😁",0 "Thank you so much. I will always remember you for this. I know you lost your friend, I humbly send my condolences however I think you will save many others with this post. I appreciate you kind human.",1 This is honestly the only thing that even remotely annoys me about people overusing the term to refer to harmless quirks and foibles.,0 "I usually call it Motivational Salience Disorder (or just Salience Disorder if I feel the word ""motivational"" would suggest too much negative connotation) since technically that's what the core issue is: the salience of our motivations are not ordered correctly, which causes a cascade of problems.",1 "It certainly is not something for only children and I share your frustration. As a person who likes to seek out resources and educate myself it’s hard to find anything that really is for someone like me. Being recently diagnosed with inattentive type and “gifted” I was told that in adults it can become more evident due to the lack of support and systems in place and we have to manage our own finances, obligations, etc. without someone checking up on us. When I brought up this issue my doctor encouraged me to reach out to a therapist for CBT and more information as I may find that more useful. I just wish there were more resources for adults so I don’t have to pay to see someone if I’m perfectly able to read about it and try to implement things myself, at least at first.",1 "Yup , having one of those days today. It's exhausting.",0 Yes. Relate so much. Though with me it’s like oh wow I don’t know enough about this topic I’m so stupid to have brought it up I’m so stupid why can’t I remember anything/understand anything/learn anything fuck,1 "If people took mental health as seriously as physical health, world would be much better place.",0 "Is this an ocd thing? Can it be related to anxiety or something else? I just joined this sub, just out of curiosity because I have severe depression and anxiety issues, and maybe adhd. But I have always had almost constant intrusive thoughts. I tend to do the headshake, along with shouting or saying “fuck” or “fucking idiot” or something similar.",0 "That's how I feel too! I swear, nothing makes me laugh like the OCD memes I have found on here smfh! I feel like Kevin Hart or some shizz.... lol ""Laugh At My Pain!""",0 "I also put off going to the doctor for 1-2 years due to a visible lump near the throat...was dragged to the doctor by my mother and turns out it was Tuberculous lymphadenitis. I was under medication for almost a year due to some medical complications. Hope you get better If there are chances of you forgetting your meds, having the weekly tablet box thingie would help I forgot to take my meds one day, memory was hazy and it's because of that box I realised I didn't take my meds",1 I have never consider myself being adhd... then why is this list hit too close to home for me... Wait,1 "Kinda needed to read this today. i just started a new job 6 weeks ago, but i didn't tell them I have ADHD because stigma (plus I only got diagnosed about one year and a half ago). I'm strugglign with meds, but they clearly help and me unmedicated is having a lot of issues. Well today i got pulled aside to have a quick one on one about me being too distracted, picking up on conversatiosn with coworkers and then kind of dominating the convo, too much on my cellphone. I knew all of this myself, but the fact I need to be confronted about it first, before I can seemingly do something about it makes me super upset with myself. like honestly woman, pull yourself together. by coincedence I was going to start a higher dose of meds tomorrow, I so hope they help... But a LOT of your points are spot on for me ... it's crazy",1 _YES_ I have thought this exactly so many times… especially in school.,1 "every one is needs a person like you in their lives. thank you for this. sincerely, thank you.",1 I did this at University and it worked until I became so anxious about it that I just gave up.,1 I don’t really know what this is but I genuinely love it,0 My boyfriend loves Meat Canyon videos but I can’t bring myself to watch them anymore.,0 Yes. I had it with worries about being a homosexual.,0 "Do you take Adderall or another stimulant? Speaking from personal experience, that sounds like how life was on a daily basis for me when I was caught in a cycle of taking what was too high a dose for me",1 "Holy shit this is relatable hahah well done my friend, swinging a weakness into a strength.",1 "Knowing that these were also symptoms of ADHD is honestly how it finally clued me into the fact I had ADHD in my mid-20s. I was loud and talkative and hyper focused a LOT as a kid, but especially because I was a girl but also because I spent just as much time in the corner quietly day dreaming (I’ve been told my whole life i have my head in the clouds and aren’t disciplined enough to stick with anything) no one clued in on the fact I wasn’t NT.",1 "Agreed--these used to make me feel so anxious!! ERP therapy can help with this! In the meantime, logically tell yourself that your choice to subscribe to an online chain/channel/account has nothing to do with your mom's health. And do something relaxing or distracting or enjoyable to help deal with the feelings that come up when you walk away from this comment. Wishing you well!",0 Lmao Merry Obsessive Christmas Disorder to whoever bought this. I hope you enjoyed the side of battling against your own reality and not this happy go lucky idea of making your personality revolve around Christmas like a cardboard box,0 "Yup. Mooch Circuit: * [https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHDmemes/comments/luetvc/my\_process\_for\_getting\_stuff\_done/gp8wth0/?context=3](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHDmemes/comments/luetvc/my_process_for_getting_stuff_done/gp8wth0/?context=3)",1 "you are not alone. if it makes you feel any better, i take a lot of ... *""scientific""* photos of my junk to verify with myself everything is OK down there (STI pre-occupation holla!) and every time i do, i make sure i turn my bluetooth and wifi off so i dont accidentally airdrop my butthole to my roommate what is this life. i didnt ask for this.",0 also me to my therapists when they try to tell me that compulsions and reassurance-seeking will make my O.C.D worse in the long run,0 "I discovered this superpower this week. My partner discovered a court letter on Monday from last month, ordering him to a appointment that was today. He completely forgot about it (due to other mental struggles). I was absolutely calm when he broke down before me, I comforted him and helped him to take every option that he has to minimize the damage. And we did a lot. I've been wondering for the whole week where what power comes from. My partner says it's a pro social aspect of ADHD. ",1 No thanks. I’ve only been on the toilet for 20 minutes.,1 It’s intrusive sleep. It happens when we are bored. 🙃,1 "Unfortunatley i take after my mother, if i get at least 4 hours sleep i'm fine. What this means in practice? Even if i'm alseep by midnight on the dot, i'll just be awake again at 2 am to go for a pee, so i may as well stay up till 2 so i can go for a pee and then go to bed. Where it gets dangerous for me is if i go to bed at 3 am.",1 "Executive function and impulse control deficiency is what I like to call it. But then again, names are arbitrary. Usually diseases don't have very good names.",1 I have been meaning to take a shower for the pasr 3 days.,1 "Little background to my caption: down the road a bit and across the street from my house is a little forest area. A couple years ago, some kids lit off fireworks that caught the grass on fire. The fire spread like mad. I was at work and when I heard about evacuations I tried to get home to get my dogs but police wouldn’t let me. Luckily, the fire was contained and didn’t reach my house, but I smelt the smoke for days. Ever since that day if I don’t twist and pull on my locked doorknob 6 times before leaving the house, I get anxious about that fire happening again.",0 It's beautiful and very unique! Great work! Well worth your time :),0 "I am studying to be a cantor (Jewish clergy, click here for more info: https://www.berklee.edu/careers/roles/cantor), have a masters in Jewish education, and have ADHD. My job involves a lot of memorizing and teaching others how to memorize things, and I struggle with this as well, so I think I can offer some insight as to why this might be an issue and how to get around it. I’ll break it up so the length of my post doesn’t scare you away. Edited:grammar",1 "It does work, not everytime but it does work, if you are someone who is lost, just trust that you will definitely be better, always remember this First, expose yourself to those fears, not all the way, but very little steps Second, trust the process Third, and if you fall again, don’t be hard on urself, its alright if you again started the compulsion, take your time and then again start the process. Good luck and sorry for bad English",0 This resonates. I've never been enough and have been too much my whole life. Thank you for putting it into words better than I ever could.,1 "Yup, literally finds any joy in your life and saps the goodness out of it with inane crap. You can at least take comfort in being able to recognize the condition and when it’s trying to be an arse though.",0 "1.) I am sorry this happened. I am sending a him a virtual middle finger. That phrase people use of “just do it” always gives me a good laugh. Like uh okay weird I never thought of that before let’s see if that works. HA 2.) your post made me laugh. ☺️",1 "meds, coffee, breakfast. I'd be late for work if it wasn't for you.",1 "Congrats! Only OCDers get how hard and how huge of an achievement that is. Keep at it! And if you step back eventually don't get sad. This will happen a lot while you progress. Eventually you'll start noticing how stronger you'll become the more you confront it. Best of luck!",0 "capitalism is the problem, not you. it expects of you something other than your brain can and wants to put out.",1 I just recently came to the realization that I may have ADHD and I was the exact Destiny player you described!! I also love coaching/ explaining all the intricacies of football. Thanks for sharing something so relatable,1 "im proud of you, i did the same thing with my dog and i know how draining and frustrating it can be. it took me a while before i stopped having the need to even wash my hands once after, but it’s all baby steps!",0 "Yeah this works for minor obsessions, anything beyond that it doesn't (for me).",0 "You're 26 and have ADHD. I turn 26 in July and also have ADHD. I'm getting my heart checked out because I had covid in December and my heart's been all fluttery and wonky ever since. If you need someone to chat with, my dms are open. Stay strong, fellow a-neurotypical friend!",1 I hate tough love. It does not work. Oh and a “boot camp” style work out? Kill me now. Nothing is less motivations. F,1 "Yes, I feel like there is a lot of thought policing and language policing going on in online autism communities. I feel like I have to walk on eggshells there. In this subreddit, I can relax completely. Everyone is just supportive.",1 "Look comments right now are a mess, but at the end of the day, this post is about you. For trying your best it might not look like it from the outside but there's a fight inside and it's Dark Souls level. The fact that you feel like this means that you are trying your best and even if the task at hand isn't showing it, your taking steps to make it on that task, and talking about it and asking for help is doing your best. Edit:forgot a word",1 My thoughts exactly.. I thought I was suffering in silence,1 "Literally just had this discussion with my teenage daughter last night. She was diagnosed at 5 and I was diagnosed at 37 (5 years after her). We were talking about how it can be difficult to explain these things to her mom (who - to her credit - is as understanding as a NT person can be). This will be great for us to have the proper words for this phenomenon. Thanks OP!",1 "Wow so inspirational 🤩 /s Really though, I'm sorry. I know how it feels, too, my dad doesn't believe ADHD is a thing despite the fact that me, my brother, and my mother (his ex wife]) all have it. I love my dad, but it's rough. This is obvious advice for sure, but remember that you're valid. We here on the adhd subreddit will get through this together (and you can DM me if you need to vent if you want, obvi no pressure on that one cause internet people can be a whole big pile of yikes)",1 "I wonder if making notes and journaling a bit about it is enough to help retain it. But in general, I don't retain new information unless I use it regularly and pound it into long-term memory. And I'm not disciplined enough to write notes on what I read. And I'm okay with that. Mainly, I just learn to be kind to myself about it, play to my strengths and weaknesses. I deal well with problem-solving at a more abstract level than dealing with all the particulars of an idea, or law, I think that's because I cope by relying on intuition by learning something in depth even though I can't recall all the particulars. Somewhere the abstract knowledge is there and accessible enough. I think ADHD has planners, act'ers, and a few hybrids, but I'm a planner. I can design a good computer system based on abstract principles and general best practices but making some of the finer decisions based on detailed specs I'm bad at. So, at work, I partner with people that compliment me. Outside work, say, learning a new board game, I just have to ask my friends to bear with me while the first few games I don't really know the rules. When I want to tell people about an awesome book I read, I'm not the reliable knowledgeable expert I'd love to see myself as, and I don't have a fix for that and I refuse to hate myself for it. That isn't why people value me, I don't think that is really part of my identity. No great points, just thinking through where I am with the same thing.",1 "Anyone ever get like this about gifts? I get moments when I am all of a sudden worried that I NEED to get someone a gift. I worry that if I dont I'm a bad person and I shouldnt be in their life. Its definitely a compulsion I have in stores too. If I just browse but dont by I worry that I accidentally stole or it looks like that so I have to buy a pack of gum or something. ......but like, I got that student loan debt kind of bank account 😆 anyone else?",0 I think you speak for a lot of people. This is a great place to share struggles and sometimes poke a little fun at ourselves.,1 "YES! I was shown how to attach oxygen to an anesthetic machine and I have absolutely no clue how to do it because I don’t understand WHY or HOW it works.. (Luckily it’s not part of my job!!!)",1 "I usually did that until about 10 or 11 at night, then decide I'd better start reading my notes.",1 "Hi OP, Really sorry you are having to deal with this. I hope you have a good doctor and get the treatment you need. I know you mentioned you are upset at waiting for so long, and in general it is wise to always see a doctor for health worries. Specifically to Lymphomas, some of these cancers the initial treatment is to watch and wait, with proactive treatment only beginning as it spreads or causes problems. Perhaps its worth asking your doctor directly as you may feel less bad if this one of the wait and see lymphomas. Crossing my fingers for you that it is one of the lymphomas that are eminently treatable.",1 "What’s a retainer? According to leo.org it’s either a cage, a plate, money you advance for an advocate or a dental thingy. I guess it’s the dental thingy, lol.",1 "Thank you for posting this. Your edit is exactly how I felt as well, but what you said makes sense. I have zero motivation and my memory is terrible. I often feel like I don't actually have ADHD, not due to any particular reason, it's just a general feeling. I do the same as your doctor suggests, except with vyvanse. I will wake up at 5:30am, take it, and usually it kicks me awake at 6:30-7:00. The only issue I have with doing that is that vyvanse only lasts 8 hours tops for me. Its frustrating, because I need it all day. I was also diagnosed with dysthemia, so I'm on the minimum dose of prozac, it should be at full effectiveness in 3 weeks. I'm already starting to feel positive effects from it, even though they are very subtle.",1 It's never too late for this kind of thing! Good work on staying strong!,0 "I appreciate the thought, but I am pooping at this very moment and find reddit scrolling to be okay for that activity",1 "I miss my old Android phone from 2012 which used to have a folder system that removed the image from your camera roll when you moved it into a folder... similar to a desktop, cutting a document and pasting it into a new folder. I MUCH preferred this because it made it all feel more organised. My iPhone doesn't do that so even putting things in folders doesn't unclutter the thousands of images on my camera roll. I hate this so much!",1 I wish I could just hit “mute” on the music and other shit that constantly fills every waking moment of my consciousness.,1 "There is also homework. That can make a living torment if you have no interest in the required studies. Add a fear of death into this, and it will be true mental suffering. Of course, I do not have depression, but I have seen it in relatives. Now, I am on a medication for the disorder. I also have another disorder, for you to know. But why do I speak like this in large amounts.",1 "I call it violent and repetitive thoughts that make me feel like a horrible person, you call it putting shit back where it goes",0 In my case it makes me forget while I'm high but later it hits worse,0 wouldn't emotional regulation disorder be more aligned for someone with bipolarism?,1 That is great. I love seeing when someone can overcome their issues. Now if I can stop chewing on my knuckles!,0 "I have been teetering on the edge of religious OCD for a long time. I keep telling myself I have all my beliefs down pat, but then hear a tiny little voice asking “really? Are you SURE? We determined what heck would be like if it DID exist and it wouldn’t be prettyyyyyy” etc etc. I am convinced it’s got to be one of the toughest OCDs out there. And I survived relationship OCD with someone who I love with all my heart. :/",0 Was this removed? I'm not able to find it on their site.,0 "I gave up trying to change myself years ago, im always gonna be messy on the inside. What I do to counter this is to design my environment in the best way possible and I mean like everything needs to be tweaked in order for my brain to be calm. The way I do this is by limiting screen time, eating and supplementing with vitamins and picking an environment with little noise. I live in a city so the last one is kind of hard, but I don't feel awkward anymore going to the park to read a book or write something. Before the pandemic hit, I hung out at cafes alot, but I don't know how I was able to focus...",1 My thing at the moment is becoming paralysed or my thigh bones snapping in half it’s almost like I can feel it I hate it,0 "I didn’t know OCD was so gorgeous! I already knew it was chaotic though. You captured it very vividly. I really, really like this:)",0 "This resonates with me, because when I was first diagnosed, I couldn't remember the simplest of instructions because my mind was constantly so active and obsessive over things that didn't matter. It made it nearly impossible to focus on reality.",0 "My Black Holes: * Reddit Saved Posts * YouTube Watch Later/Playlists * Pinterest Boards * Facebook ""Saved"" posts * Browser Bookmarks I rarely look at it again unless it's opened up as a tab in my sea of tabs.",1 Yes! I feel like I'm faking it even when I'm experiencing real symptoms and actually suffering for my mental illness.,0 I never thought about it like that. I can easily do something when it's not attached to me and there's no negative thoughts since you're doing it for someone else. Ingenious 10/10 glitch,1 "Awwww!! That’s how I felt too like I had an ah huh moment. I’ve been on meds for years and for me skipping a day each week has caused me not having to increase my dose or take more because it stops working. Plus my day off is the day I sleep all day, lay in bed with my dogs and relax. I actually look forward to my day off each week. Even better if it’s a rainy day. I feel my life is always on the go that the one day of unplugging let’s me recharge for the next six days.",1 Omg I hadn't looked at it yet I'm laughing so hard right now. My top song is campfire sounds because thats what I fall asleep to. No suprise I've been listening to a lot of Billie this year but omg my top song being campfire sounds made me laugh so hard,1 "I think about when I saw a tweet that said ""if a guy says 'How so?' to you he finna gaslight you"" and it fits perfectly with OCD",0 When this gets misdiagnosed as social anxiety for 10 years while it just keeps getting worse and you can't figure out why it's so goddamn easy for everyone else in the world to just kick back and be a good person,0 "You just made me realize I do this and that it's stupid. Sometimes, when a due date is coming up, I'll make myself work late, but most days I find myself solving procrastination with procrastination.",1 I feel so badly for you. ADHD here but obsessive about getting my health checked for some reason. I wish you the very best...,1 "not before I go to bed but I definitely do this before I leave the house every single time. sometimes nothing even happens but I still have to go again and again until I'm essentially dragged out my house. my boyfriend hates it and I'm too embarrassed to tell him it's related to ocd and have to explain that but instead I just say I have a weak bladder, frankly I don't but that's easier to explain haha I really wish I could stop that but I can't stop myself during it. I feel your pain and secretly glad I'm not the only one",0 Thought this said erectile dysfunction at first. I was about to lecture that that has nothing to do with ADHD.,1 "The worst is when you are mid sentence and you remember 47 different things, then loose your train of thought.",1 I had 2 therapists who kept saying that I should trust my gut lol.,0 "I’m going to hopefully be diagnosed on the 28th and I pray medication has a positive effect on me. I just want to be able to hold a conversation, write a book, hold onto a thought for more than 10 seconds, sleep.",1 Ouch. Sometimes it helps to keep a bottle of Aquaphor on hand. Apply a dollop while your hands are still wet and then dry em.,0 that looks like father/dwarf in the flask from fullmetal alchemist,0 Just film yourself locking the doors and be like hey ocd watch this bitch I locked the door the first time. I win! And then act all smug for the rest of your life,0 "Yep it is honestly impossible, I can't even get dressed some of the time. I'm trying to get help with my studies and a psychiatrist however there is so much involved I can't even begin to execute them!",1 "This was extremely helpful in convincing me to call someone to get help. This just gave me a quick burst of motivation to do it, thanks. For the record I still might not. Hopefully I do. I’m on the struggle bus with uncertainty here. That should tell me enough, but I might just be convincing myself. I do that a lot with illnesses involuntarily. People are sick of it. They don’t know that I am also very sick of it. No pun intended initially, but I’m leaving it anyways. Thanks, I’m glad so many others found this inspirational or eye opening too.",0 Better check. Better check. Check again. BETTER CHECK. But what if previous checks were a dream? Better check.,0 "Man, this is the perfect depiction of my head. To be honest makes me want to, cry a little bit. Although in my case most of the crap involve disturbing sexual stuff (that sometimes makes me question my own existence), i can really relate with it. So yeah, wonderful work, sometimes i put this picture on my pc as a wallpaper :-).",0 So that’s intrusive thoughts are 😅 I never really understand the term.,0 I'm one week medicated and my life is also exponentially better! Yay!!,1 "when someone’s being ignorant or making jokes i try to educate rather than attack, i find that if you approach it in a nice way it’s a lot easier to find understanding and teach someone rather than start a fight which just stigmatizes ocd more",0 "I have my whole life. It started when I was a toddler, and I vividly remember washing my hands very frequently out of fear. i thought that germs would kill my family, and i would live out the grief of everyone suffering and dying in my family from the germs, before anything even happened. I still get this from time to time, but now, it's very valid. My dad is really sick, and....here's a good chance he could die. its fucking me up. all of my usual OCD torture has doubled, and it's getting so tough :/",0 "I've been going through a big transitional stage in life and everything you listed has been weighing on me so much lately. You're definitely not alone, and you are enough",1 "I think part of it might be that even if we form the memories, we don’t trust them. Because after a lifetime forgetting things and being easily overwhelmed and confused we’ve learned that our memory is often wrong. And high rejection sensitivity makes us extra scared to be wrong. I can be like 97% sure of something and I still won’t say it bc that other 3% will make me feel so shitty about myself.",1 ooooh my goodness this sums it up so well. this sucks so much,0 Man. This actually helped me get out of a bad moment 😅 Thanks.,0 "Hi Everyone I’ve just joined this group as I know how debilitating OCD can be.. I am on here to share a bit of my story and hopefully make a bit of a positive impact and receive some hope or answers etc Anyway I suffer from severe intrusive thoughts.. to the point that I felt I was trapped inside a mental prison for the last 3 years.. I couldn’t enjoy anything, catching up with friends, reading a book, taking a walk in the sun.. nothing could stop these horrible thoughts I have OCD on and off since the age of 11 and the first obsessive thought I had was “I didn’t love my mum”. Silly thought right? That thought took years away from my childhood, I would feel so guilty I would cry myself to sleep because I couldn’t stop feeling so horrible and ashamed of thinking it and maybe that it was true.. that i was a horrible boy for not loving his mother Anyway since then I’ve had episodes of different thoughts that I still struggle with however it has gotten easier and I am able to manage them better ACT and CBT have really helped me to diffuse from obsessive thoughts and I am now off my medication however some days are still darker than others and it is something I have to constantly monitor but it has really improved compared to what it was like 2 years ago and I feel it’s only getting better through persistence and hard work Anyway I just wanted to share and see if anyone else has had some good results with their treatment? I feel for anyone suffering this horrible affliction and just wanted to send my love out to you all struggling with this! You certainly aren’t alone x ",0 I do this also. And when I wash the silverware my OCD kicks in and I have to do like pieces at once and take breaks. Glad to know I'm not the only one!,1 The only structure in my life is my toddler so I definitely know how this feels,1 I follow this guy on Instagram he's brilliant for OCD recovery.,0 "I do this when watching even short things like videos/shows. It feels embarrassing because I’ll be deep in my own head, then my husband makes some comment related to what we are watching, and sometimes I just try to nod/use context clues of what I most recently paid attention to in order to make some kind of related comment back. He can tell though most of the time and it’s pretty awkward. He’ll be like “did you hear when he said xyz?” Or “were you paying attention to blah” and I often don’t want to tell him that I faded out for a while because then he wants to go back and have me watch again. Usually if it’s something I’m really interested in I can pay full attention and remember a lot of detail",1 "This. Omg 100 fuckin percent mob psycho level this I dont usually zone out tht long but i do shorter ones repeatedly with the same scene sometimes",1 "I was just trying to explain this to someone, and right after mentioning ADHD, too lol. I don't remember or sometimes even disregard instructions if I don't know ""why"" I have to do it.",1 "Congratulations!! I'm also 26 - got diagnosed late and just found a medication that works for me. We're all gonna make it.",1 "I've made a bunch of comments like this before, but my psychiatrist recently recommended [this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell_Barkley) to me who's a (the?) leading expert on ADHD. I found one of his lectures on youtube and found it super illuminating. It seems aimed at parents with ADHD kids, but as a 29 year old I still learned a **lot** about myself. [playlist version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BzhbAK1pdPM&list=PLzBixSjmbc8eFl6UX5_wWGP8i0mAs-cvY&index=1) [continuous version](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCAGc-rkIfo) Below is a sample quote I feel relates to your post but I just want to preemptively clarify that he uses ""consequences"" in more of a *reward/cause-and-effect* way than a *punitive/discipline way*, because at first it sounded to me like he was advocating for the tough love you're complaining about. He's not, e.g. the video game references. > The fourth executive ability is the source of self motivation. Self motivation is the fuel tank for all future-directed behavior. There is no getting ready for tomorrow if there is no self motivation. What has the ADHD child lost here? They can not motivate themselves. What does that mean? It means that you will always be dependent on the environment around you and its immediate consequences for how hard and how long you can work. And if there are no consequences, in that context, you can not work. You can not persist you will not get it done. The fourth executive ability now explains to these parents why this child can play video games for hours, and cannot do homework for more than a few minutes. Because the video game provides external, continuous, 100% consequences for interacting with it, and the homework does nothing. When a problem is solved on a sheet of paper nothing happens. The consequences are delayed and therein lies the trouble. So the corollary of this is if you want to see and ADHD person fail, you put him in any environment where there are no consequences and I guarantee you failure. **The work will not be done because this person can not self motivate. And this is not a choice, and this is not willful, and this is not a child who just could, if they wished, wake up tomorrow and smell the coffee and get busy and do the work. They can not. This is an internal neuro-genetic executive failure. You can't self motivate like other people so it doesn't matter what your goals are, you won't get there. Because self-motivation is required for all goal directed actions.** Bonus related quote: > ERO - Event Response Outcome. ""If EROs are kept together, you don't *need* a frontal lobe, and ADHD people can do them, that's a video game. But the minute you stretch these things apart with time, like a book report: you've got to read this book, your report's due in 30 days, it'll take a week to grade all the papers, I just put a month between the E and the R, and a week between the R and the O. And if you have ADHD you're disabled big time, so the solution is to get the Es Rs and Os back together. And that means baby steps, little E R O bridges across time, and that's how you would do a future assignment."" edit: I think I also remember him explicitly saying ""tough love doesn't work"" but I don't have the quote saved, and it's going to be difficult to find in a 3 hour lecture.",1 I watched this while biting my nails/cuticles lol I was literally in pain earlier but here I am again,0 "That's exactly the phrase I used to describe the feeling to my psychiatrist on Monday. Forgetting to pick up last month's Concerta refill and running out for a week, I said ""it feels like the world is racing past me and I'm struggling to catch up"". It still feels that way even with meds, but slightly more possible that I can catch up eventually? Even with so much to catch up on.",1 These are great tips - I do all these things to and need to stop trying to be the person I think I should be and just accept I may need to pay a little tax 😀,1 "I’m very hygienic but not a germaphobe and definitely a very messy person haha. My OCD is more Body focused repetitive, body dysmorphia (intrusive thoughts) and rituals.",0 LMAO this is me!! When my psychologist brought up OCD i was like “nah” until I realized I was doing exactly what you are. Funny how we are so oblivious to our own behavior 😂,0 Holy shit. I have this exact experience with my rooms door constantly,0 not me crying at a comic made up of a few sentences and a cat,0 Dude someone's winning the prize of best bf of the year,1 "Bahahahha oh no I just hit 4,000... I gotta get my act together",1 TV used to be my escape but now my intrusive thoughts are literally picking at every detail of a show I watch to somehow ruin it for me so I can't even enjoy that anymore. What the hell.....,0 Report post => I’m in this post and I don’t like it,1 It’s the little demons in our heads catching their breath from TALKING SO MUCH SHIT AB US,0 "A lot of these troubles I can get pretty under control with the help of meds, do they make any difference for you? For me the Emotional dysregulation is the worst part of it... it's currently ruining a lot of my childhood friendships. My quirks aren't funny and peculiar anymore, people are 90% of the time annoyed with me now and giving me looks of extreme contempt. It feels like I'm taking 1 step forward 2 steps back with every person I have a social interaction with nowadays. Sorry for venting on your post <3",1 "yep, but actually more with friends “dude you don’t have OCD, you’re so messy”",0 "Last panel hit me hard. Anybody remember Audrey Tatou in “A Very Long Engagement” or “Un long dimanche de fiançailles”? Her character was def OCD with maladaptive magical thinking.",0 "5 and multiples, i have to tap my head five times when im upset lol",0 OMG YES!! Also my boyfriend (pretty serious ADHD) has also gotten up mid act to smoke a bowl and not returned for an hour.... I don’t take it personally though.,1 "I felt the same way, but I think all of us have a strength. I am currently trying to get out advertising where I have found myself letting people down, and into sales where I have a history of hitting goals and reaping those rewards which make me feel good. I say, have faith. Ask yourself what you are really good at, lean into it. For me, I never wanted to do sales even though I was good at it because I felt like it wasn’t for me and the quote pressure would be stressful. But looking back at my past I realize those factors were always present and I kicked ass anyways. I believe you will find your thing and although there will always be disappointment (even huge sports stars let others down - Messi has never won a world cup..one of the greatest of all time) you can get through this!!",1 And then when you finally get to sleep your obsession pops up in a dream and you wake up with your heart pounding... anyone else? Lol :(,0 This would be annoying for me to eat. I don’t want to worry about which I eat at what time.,0 "This is my life :( So many hours of reading, just to sound like a half cooked hotdog irl.",1 "I'm a *firm believer* in rational negative emotions...when things utterly suck it is *rational* to have negative feelings. Anger, frustration, sadness, disappointment all have a purpose and need adaptive/constructive expression. Toxic Positivity is the pressure to suppress expression of negative emotion to appease the group or others who basically have to maintain a large bubble of positivity to keep their suppression supported. You may be voicing what they're afraid to admit. Anger is most often a protective emotion (the *fight* in fight or flight).",1 "If I have too many posts and / or comments saved I take a screenshot so I can delete them. I’m sure you can guess what happens. When I’m in the mood I write them down in a notebook. It’s very handy.",1 I think Zach Braff who plays JD in Scrubs has talked about how he has OCD as well,0 I thought I was the only one!! when I was little my teacher told me a story about a guy finding a snake in the toilet and it's been my weird fear ever since lol,0 "I always felt there was a reason for why I was drawn to a few celebrities/ people. Jim Carrey being one of them and one of the main ones. There is loads of things I've noticed I've parroted from jim aswell as others. Head from korn being another I can think of just now. All people that were described ""excitable""",1 "I love that you include ""do nothing"" and ""self loathing"" in your hibbies. We truly are ADHD bros. Right now Im hating myself for being hangry and refusing to get up eat because I hate myself. Why do we lock ourselves in our own prisons",1 This is the kind of things my boss tell to my co-worker who has severe mental disorders.,1 Sometimes I feel like I'm the one doing the gaslighting,1 OCD is one of the greatest curses I have been bestowed in my mental illness cocktail. this is coming from someone who has BPD. I consider my OCD worse because I am convinced that I am literally going to imminently die and it causes me such extreme stress and turmoil that I have experienced since I was nine years old. I would do anything to not have OCD.,0 "I’m newly diagnosed, is this really a thing? I’ve sworn I’m schizophrenic for years, despite a bunch of doctors telling me they are positive that I’m not. I’ll research it and get stuck on the thought for hours until I throw myself into a panic attack.",0 "Yeah, OCD tends to split into contradictory perspectives and in my case it causes me to isolate and freeze completely. Literally I have no life since OCD started to rule my entire existence.",0 "Dude this energy is goals for my OCD right now. I’m still in the “come on could you, maybe, just possibly, shut up please?” phase. Oh well, at least I’m out of the “My OCD isn’t back again, this’ll all go away if I just distract myself enough” denial phase. 🤷‍♂️😅",0 Literally this sub in my feed is triggering because I had a post get rejected and j want to post but I'm now scared to. That's now triggered I am right now. The world sucks right now,0 "This hasn't happened in a while. I have learned to not repeat the past in my head, mitigates depression. Reliving mistakes in my head had brought me down to dark places. So now if someone points something out I should be pissed about, it is a bit of a different story, but even then I generally stay in kicked back gear. I have been training myself to not allow this reliving of bad memories. I regularly get ""accused"" for not sticking up for myself. That fact is though, when I do try, I get immediately flustered and fly off the handle in my head. I can't think straight and tend to say things I regret. This is why I don't like to argue.",1 That title alone pretty much sums up what my obsessions are about.,0 "I used to keep trash when I was a child. When my parents found my stash and made me throw it away, I cried lots of ugly, ugly tears. ",0 "I gotta point out, the rituals are still done by choice. We're just very compelled to carry them out and feel terrible if we don't. I just don't like when people act like they ""have"" to do things because of their mental issues. Consider yourself more in control than that.",0 "But I need to do, I dunno, something *before* I do *the thing*. I don't know what it might be, but I'm sure it's of utmost importance.",1 "I wanna downvote this so bad because it’s true. N-Not because those thoughts are telling me to!",0 "I noticed howie mandel would have something to say and said in a tweet that hes the safest guy in his house he built to avoid rituals.....its like the revenge of ocd sufferers....covid being the obsession and hand washing the ritual....only its real and the hand washing makes sense... me I wasnt afraid quick, as I realized what everyone is doing locked up in the homes is considered a self fulfilling prophecy...theyre going to catch it....doing everything not to is doing everything to get it.....and I for one wont let covid scare me more than I fear God...",0 me too omg. i constantly decide to start doing something and then give it up in a few days because im still bad at it. the other day i decided to start learning norwegian and i stopped because in 2 weeks i didnt know enough to watch a tv show without subtitles,1 "I’ve never had that happen before. But speaking as a guy, you need to really make sure he understands what happened. He wants to be the best thing that’s ever happened to you, to forget is humiliating for him.",1 "I did my entire graduate degree online. For me, the distractions of other people in the classroom were too much for me. Anyone else like that?",1 "Yes!!! Today my three hours hasn't started yet and it's almost bedtime.",1 "Pretty much every report card starting from when I was 10 has at least one mention of 'could do better' or 'needs to be better organised' or 'allows himself to be distracted by others.' How my parents and teachers didn't see the signs before them is kind of surprising. Although now that I think about it, its really not surprising. Inattentive/ADD really seems to be like the middle child of ADHD. Coasting along, chill, quiet but a 'good kid' who doesn't cause much trouble. Flying under the radar.",1 A mood. I’m currently cleaning up a couple weeks worth of dirty dishes and clothes,0 "I’m sending this to my councilor. I’ve been emailing her for a month straight to try and get it through her head on why I’m not doing well. I used to be a high 80’s to 100’s student. I was so proud of myself. Now, I’m failing all my classes, even concert choir. I LOVE CONCERT CHOIR! The teacher is awesome and I love preforming arts, I just can’t bring myself to do it. I’ve been trying to switch out of 2 classes because those are subjects I struggle the most in (we have all electives this semester, so credits aren’t needed) and would rather have a 50 then a 10. My councilor just doesn’t get why I’m failing and I keep explaining to her, she thinks I’m being lazy. I started talking to the head of the special Ed thing and he totally understands and is going to talk to her for me. Like I’ve needed this guy since day one and my councilor couldn’t even give me his email so I could talk to him.",1 I have ADD and I never considered that me forgetting these things (which I do a lot) was because of ADD.,1 Oh my gosh the amount of time I have reorganized our bloody tea collections. I honestly think I enjoy it at this point...,1 "I need to accept im not stupid and its not because I'm lazy, but I need to accept too that things are the way they are because ADHD and because of me, its not 100% because I'm lazy, but its not 0% either, we don't need to put everything on us, but ADHD cant be a scapegoat either... we also need to work towards improving :)",1 "I just bought some little magnetic whiteboards from Walmart for like $3 each, and I'm planning to take stock of all the produce in the crisper drawers and write them down, and stick it to the fridge at face height, so that whenever I go to the fridge I'll have a reminder of what I already have and need to use up. Otherwise, I just keep buying more and more. I'll have three bags of parsley and a couple bags of baby carrots, I drive myself insane. I'll admit that my main motivator isn't money so much as to reduce food waste, although saving money is a really obvious perk.",1 "honestly... as someone who has grown up with a touch love attitude, this does help for some people. I understand that I have a disability, but the world won't stop for me. The world won't care for it, and I won't be able to achieve my goals with people's sympathy. So I try to really push myself to get past the notion of letting it allow to slow me down.",1 "The worst part is when you want to do something so badly, but memories of a previous mistake prevent you from doing that task. People say 'learn from your mistakes', but when the mistakes prevent you from doing the same thing again correctly, well...",0 "Maybe ADHD increases altruistic tendencies...perhaps it's an example of convergent evolution!? I mean...a lot of our capital is sequestered in the vaults of the top 1%...altruism is more important than ever. It would be evolutionarilly favorable for a population of humans to possess altruistic behaviors so that we can maintain the overall human population at a level which promotes genetic diversity. ​ I mean...we've had more ADHD diagnoses than ever...perhaps it's due to refined definitions and greater awareness...but I like to toy with the idea that we're an example of real-time evolution! Perhaps we're survival of the fittest in action :)",1 "just to elaborate. I have face twitches, shoulder/neck, arm reactions. sometimes in my sleep. sometimes called out by strangers. I don't think there's an established correlation between OCD and tics but it isn't a coincidence. My personal theory is that our nervous system gets overwhelmed.",0 This is such an amazing post. Thank you for posting.,1 "I got rid of that by introducing my own thoughts like : override and overcome ,CE ( control emotions ) and I breathe then tell my body to relax ( legs , arms , nose , mouth .... ) then mind then fall asleep , it helped me alot to think about random stuff to stop the intrusive thoughts .",0 Anyone else give yourself quizzes on facts/knowledge about random things throughout the day? Like if I don’t remember xyz about whatever dumb stuff pops up in my head I’ll be viewed as a failure 🤣,0 "Yup! I have this a LOT. It's really messed with my ability to enjoy certain things since last year. I'm getting better in some places, but my OCD does manage to slip through the cracks.",0 "that's probably the most frustrating thing. like, even when it does make sense, it doesn't. like checking the door 7 times to make sure it's locked, like it's not totally bizarre but is also not gonna magically unlock itself and you know that but you still do it and you try to tell yourself ""it'll be fine, chill"" but you just CAN'T ugh I fucking hate OCD",0 Positive Negativity? Healthy Negativity? What do we call the opposite of toxic positivity yall,1 This is super motivational to me right now as I feel like a failure before I even start studying . Congratulations and thank you,0 "They should make some OCD candies that show your 4 year old falling down the stairs and breaking his neck in the most visual and grotesque way possible. His thought bubble could have him crying out to you asking why you let him fall, he trusted you. I love OCD candy! I get to have my own every time I go near the stairs!!",0 Yeah I get really upset when I can’t figure out if I actually did something bad or not,0 Thank you. From the bottom of my heart. I’m really sick of this misconception. Same with people thinking having mood swings is bipolar disorder. It minimizes the torture and tricks our minds play on us,0 "This hits so close to home. Reliving past embarrassaments before sleep is a regular, albeit thankfully not frequent occurence.",0 lmao it’s funny as hell from an outside perspective,0 "Good advice, it’s seriously best to just leave the thought behind you and not ponder on it. I hate the advice of “Oh yeah just think about it and stop suppressing the thought”, like hell no, some intrusive thoughts are better left in the back of your head.",0 Hey man I’ve done act with ERP and it’s really helped. I’ve never watched bojack and will now because of you. Hoping the best as you get through erp. I’ve conquered my ocd now and I have 100% faith you will too!,0 "Oh oh, don't forget ""because I'm not taking care of basic hygiene.""",1 "Hey, ""Evolutionary mistakes"" are exactly the reason why human race is here. We are a sequence of errors that occured throughout billion years :D",1 "‘You know you’re actually really intelligent’ ‘you could go to Uni if you wanted to’ if I had a penny every time I heard those phrases I would make Jeff Bezos look like a poor man. I know I’m intelligent, people still think having adhd makes you instantly stupid. No, my brain just doesn’t work the same as yours, doesn’t make it any less functional just makes it harder for me to successfully engage in a neurotypical education system.",1 It never goes away. It just jumps from one rock to another.,0 "Guys writte this below : ""No I won't screenshot this"" Too late ? Delete it and Write here 🤣",1 I literary saved the post above this one as its a 19 min long video and I was thinking: “how am I supposed to process that void?”,1 this honestly helped a lot. i didn’t know other people with ocd struggled with it. any guidance on better defeating this thought?,0 Yes! My partner and I are semi-long distance so we don’t get to see each other as much as we’d like and I find this super helpful. I also have a playlist of songs that remind me of our relationship that I play when I start to miss them/feel like our relationship is less real.,1 “Desirable” interesting I believe my ex used “very annoying” but I suppose it’s all the same,0 "It is hard, yet there are brief moments of freedom, and it is those moments which I remember in the face of adversity, in order to assure myself that all will be okay.",0 "Seen a good quote there a few days ago where it said you would not be the person you are today if you hadnt fucked up in your past. Basically you are not born good. You have to make mistakes and learn from them. ""No tree can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell."" Jung.",0 "Everyday: ""But *this one time* my irrational fear may be valid!""",0 "Somedays, I just accept it. Wondering what it's like after death. I wonder what it's like to be dead.",0 "I'm most of the way through a re-watch of this show (it's on Hulu) and while I remembered how funny it was, I had forgotten how good the good parts were.",0 I’ve been concerned about having schizophrenia recently and didn’t even realise that it’s an obsession until now!,0 "I'll save this post and read it later.. (how many hours later, will see.) But big thank you!",1 "I have a real problem with guilt and my anxiety. I often feel pressured to do certain things out of guilt. My ex used this to his advantage for 7+ years before I was finally sick of it. I will also go out of my way to help people sometimes and then regret it, but I'll feel guilty to keep my word, even if it causes me stress.",0 "I mean, if this wasn't.a problem I probably.wouldnt have considered myself for diagnosis",1 "Same..I feel like everyone got some type of rule book for life and we didn't even get the cliff notes. I have been having so much trouble with classes being online. I would never in a million years sign up for online classes but because of the pandemicI am online for my last semester of nursing school. I am going in front of the school board this week (dreading this) because one of my professors gave me an F for participation because I moved around too much. I have accommodations in my nursing program but we were not prepared for online classes and I did not think I needed to update my accommodations. I attended every class and participated. I'm sick of constantly apologizing to everyone for being slightly late on this or that..it's exhausting. And it's disappointing when you put so much work into it. I think people without ADHD do not realize how hard we work or how much time and effort we put into things (whether it is school, work, or friendships). I would be no where without self advocacy and resilience. I keep wondering when I am going to be ready to throw the towel in, but in the meantime I will keep fighting.",1 This helped me understand the emotional root of my obsessive conpulsive... It was emotional invalidation... Usually at a pretty subliminal level... I talk a lot about this on my channel... Im not sure if this is the best video directed at ocd... So i might have to make a separate one entirely to understand fully what ocd has been and means to me... But I do have my very first (my c-ptsd experience) that also might help and gets a little bit into how ocd was intertwined... This is the emotional invalidation however.. Usually stemming from my own parental abuse https://youtu.be/utmkZmgVA_Y,0 Remember when mine looked like that. So happy for you! ^^,0 "Thank you, this is such a simple statement but badly needed sometimes.",0 "As a Combined I hear both all the time. I'm so all or nothing, it's like my brain has an on/off switch or something!",1 Sorry but you can't just blame ADHD for this... start holding yourself accountable. You are only a victim of your own actions. Nothing else. Sorry it sounds harsh but I do love you <3,1 "Best organizing tips I've come across are about making things streamlined and simple. They don't have to be perfect enough to go in a magazine. Get rid of extra steps. Get rid of as much as you can. It's more than you think, usually. Makes tidying easier and simpler to find places. Trashcans! Open shelves! Keep things where you can see them. If you have to move an item from one place to another to use it, you'll either leave it where you use it or you won't use it. If you have to put something somewhere with a lid, try to make the container clear. Don't stack things that aren't the same (same type of plate is good, though keep them to a minimum, but boxes of off season clothes are bad). I use the same type of socks most days so I don't have to match them. Similar with undies. Keep a few special occasion things (long wool socks, ""invisible"" underthings for ~that outfit~). I got most of this from [this book](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007ETD7GO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_LfXvFbEYK7DRG). Already did the sock thing. This is the first book I've come across with tips that are actually helpful for people with adhd.",1 "Currently doing this. Thanks OP, I’m going to get back to doing this some more now.",1 "THIS eats me alive sometimes. While I'm trying to prioritize and make the first step, someone picks up the small task I put off, and I lose my shit. Downward spiral, drowning in guilt for the day.",1 Congrats!! I hope you keep it going as a reminder of how far you’ve come. Can I ask what steps you took to manage your anxiety? I’m currently going through exposure therapy so it’s been a very exhausting week.,0 "If I saw this in any other sub I’d say it was spam but for here? Yeah, relatable, this is exactly how I feel right now.",0 With all the distracting chaos going on this is a good daily reminder.,1 Fucking this! I’ll try and reason with myself on why I’m so upset/fixated on something and then I end up just getting in a deeper cycle of making fuck all sense,0 Hi there! Sorry that this is off topic but I’m also based in the UK and have booked a GP appointment- I was wondering you had any insight as to what the diagnosis process was like and how long it took?,1 "> You’re not disgusting or evil or a monster. I needed to be told this. Thank you.",0 "Ohh... I wish I was the lucky person to give him a forever home ❤️. I love, love, love, love dogs. 🐕 ☮️ Leslie",0 "I'm a 32 year old that had a therapist bring up the possibility of ADD a few weeks ago and after researching it a bit more it explains a lot of situations that have happened to me. Today I found out about this subreddit and started to read the top posts and when I Irene's this one I was like nah I don't have this, but then reading the comments it's so clear that it affects me in more than one way. I'm now in tears and trying to explain to my partner what happened",1 "Yup, I do this all the time. I’ll also scrunch up my face, clench my fists, or pinch/scratch myself sometimes. I know it’s not good, but it’s been something I’ve done since I was young and I didn’t even know what I was dealing with was OCD.",0 "I wonder what a scan of my brain would look like compared to these, since what I have isn’t OCD but a neurological auto immune disorder(PANS) that causes identical symptoms, along with a few other problems",0 You can’t heal from OCD you just learn to live with it. It isn’t curable,0 How do you accept uncertainty? I struggle with it so much,0 "24y old male whit adhd Try to look it like this way: Life is one shitfest , you have no attention enough to do a normal casual hobby like music . Butt that al right just make the best out of it and try coping whit video games and no drugs. They will only make the suffer even bigger. Life be like this no way around. Just try to do something and thats al right i guess.",1 "I know that emptying the dishwasher will take me a maximum of 6 minutes, but my ADHD still says that it’ll take at least one year, and that I will never have time to go back to what I was doing earlier",1 "Damn, really never connected this to OCD. It was so bad as a kid that I let two Oreos slowly go stale because I was only allowed to eat one at a time, and I was too worried that if I ate one then the other one would be lonely. I also super personify stuffed animals like a lot of y’all. Especially if I see an ugly one or a lonely one at the store, it’s really hard to not buy it. I also purposefully pick out damaged or ugly things sometimes, I’m scared no one else will want it so I have to buy it. ",0 This was me for an entire two years. Still not completely out of this mindset.,1 I did not expect to be called out so early in my scrolling.,0 Totally agree. Its all so exhausting. Being rational seems impossible sometimes lol.,0 "Yeah I’m lucky my gf’s family is understanding about my ADHD. We had a small family dinner recently and her mom’s house is a bit cluttered once all the family arrives so I get easily overstimulated. I had to put in my noise cancellation headphones to keep myself from completely shutting down. Got to the point when dinner was ready, I couldn’t really eat...",1 its a thousand times worse when you live in an abusive home and they tell you its true,0 "It took me an hour just to change my sheets last night, i got distracted trying to find the right song and then started re-arranging my bookshelves..",1 "I do!! Also I start talking gibberish out loud to do not ""hear"" the thought. Which is clearly bad and avoiding to sit with the thought",0 I saw a post/comment here not long ago where someone was saying that they make a list of things that they DID instead of things they need to do,1 I have the tendency to comment and delete 20 minutes after.,0 "My brain: Hey what if somebody spilled milk on a surface and then put hair on the surface in the milk too me: AAAAAAAA",0 Ayo is this before or after treatment ?? If it did help ya,1 Isn't is so paradoxical that most of us are both at the same time.,1 Just ordered this. Thank you for sharing that there is a book!,0 For real I’m like the memento guy sometimes “have I told you about my condition?”,1 "wow. wish I had read this a while ago when I started losing a solid relationship I had with a guy when we went long distance. Let him slip away in front of me because all the feelings and words I wanted to say to him would just evaporate when we were apart because I would hyperfixate and lose my sense of time. appreciate reading threads like this where I get to take home some wise words and grow a little bit more. someone always surprises me with a different perspective on things I can relate to and couldn’t put into words before.",1 "Pharmacist with ADHD here. That first dose is seriously bliss and I’m so happy that you got to experience it! However, 20mg of Adderall is way too high of a starting dose. It’s what’s in the manufacturer labeling but any psychiatrist worth their salt will know to start you low and slowly titrate up. In undergrad I was diagnosed after recognizing my symptoms learning about ADHD in Psych101. I went to my family primary care doctor and he referenced the manufacturer labeling and started me out on Adderall 20mg twice daily too. I suffered from every side effect under the sun. Dry mouth, dry eyes, and vaginal dryness made me utterly miserable. I couldn’t wear contacts anymore. I had several relationships end because sex was too painful. I was constipated all the time. I would get huge crashes as the drug wore off during the day and be debilitatingly tired. My heart raced all the time and made exercising pretty frightening when my heart rate climbed to almost 200 bpm multiple times per session. The worst part of all was I couldn’t decrease my dose to reduce my side effects because of the physical tolerance I built up for the drug after taking 20mg twice daily for a couple years. Every attempt to decrease the dose left me struggling with uncontrolled ADHD symptoms every day. I got to pharmacy school and learned how to **actually treat** ADHD, which is to start at the lowest dose of Adderall possible, 5 mg twice daily, and titrate up every 1-2 weeks until you get to the minimum dose that controls symptoms. That minimizes side effects and delays physical tolerance so you eventually can safely increase the dose in the future when you stop responding to the initial dose you were on. Needless to say I was pissed at my PCP. I **strongly** recommend you speak with your doctor, or make an appointment with a psychiatrist instead of a primary care provider if that’s who initially prescribed it to you. Ask them about starting at a lower dose to see if it’s effective before jumping to 20mg. I am on a crusade to prevent what happened to me to anyone else. Many primary care providers aren’t equipped to manage ADHD’s complexities and end up providing suboptimal care. Psychiatrists are far more likely to provide higher quality management of ADHD. TLDR; 20mg twice daily is too high of a starting dose. Can result in lots of side effects and physical dependence can prevent you from decreasing the dose in the future. Highly recommend discussing a lower dose with your doctor. Also super happy for you to finally get treatment :)",1 I don’t think I have it. But I do hate the thought of crumbs and other dirty stuff under my desk when playing on my pc or bingeing anime. Oh and also second guessing things,0 "I am a trainer and an instructional designer. I have to explain concepts, workflows as well as policies and procedures on a regular basis. I need to know why in order to help others understand.",1 Yeet I recently got officially diagnosed and my ADHD already disqualified me before so I'm safe,0 "Yup. I am obsessive about sanitization when I have something I fear, but that doesnt necessarily mean I'm obsessive about order or general cleanliness. Do I prefer order and cleanliness? Yes, it makes my inner disorganization with ADHD feel more manageable if my environment isn't chaotic as well, but it doesnt have to be. I also currently have a dirt clod my dog brought in laying on my bedroom floor and am in no particular hurry to pick it up. So. Yeah.",0 "I’m so happy to hear this. This disorder is so completely consuming, and you seem like a wonderful person to have on his side. nothing but love and light to you both 🖤",0 🤢 the people who come up with these are really punchable people. The most annoying people. It’s like a whole type of person... or breed.,0 This hits too close to home man. I just never bother anymore becuse i know nothing will last,1 Congrats! What have you been doing to work on them? Any tips?,0 "Sorry mate, I can't help but laugh! I was nowhere near that level but I've still had to clear out maybe a couple of hundred because I had videos in there related to hobbies I'm not even interested in anymore.",1 "Aaannndd now I'm crying. I literally just came on reddit to try to make a post here, but turns out this post was actually what I needed. OCD still has the better of me tonight but at least I know I'm not in danger and that it's in my head. Thank you ❤️",0 This post made me cry it’s so sweet. If only my s/o had have this understanding and appreciation. She’s got a winner.,1 "I know id feel so much better about myself if I got up at 7.30 when I set my alarm for so I could get out for a walk, shower and have a calm not rushed breakfast... But still I struggle to get myself out of bed before 8.30 when I start work at 9 (work from home) leaving what even I realise isn't enough time for all the things so I don't get the exercise, decide to shower later or maybe just tomorrow and breakfast ends up being toast. Im fucking sick of toast.",1 This was me the other day. I haven’t been like this in years where I just said fuck it. It felt so alien to me. FUCK IT!,0 I’m not a student anymore but I’m now going to be using this at work.,1 "Hey, I'd like to point you guys to a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel (that hopefully isn't a train). The cloud of ADHD has some silver linings. I have made a career in IT of learning the 1% of the information needed to get many, many projects underway that were formerly stalled because of a lack of information or initial direction. I was born with ADHD. My parents never chose to treat me due to the prevailing advice of experts they consulted back in the 1970s when I was a child. I never did well in school despite having a 140 IQ and a curious mind. I graduated from college with a 2.0 and an ACT of 19. I bloomed when I got to college. I was able to study what I wanted to, when I wanted to, and I could avoid the idiot professors (generally) and choose the really brilliant ones to learn from. They loved that I was obsessed with everything from philosophy to history to statistics. I was also a computer nerd from way back. I programmed in things like assembly and pascal for fun. I got bored with computer science and put it on the back burner. My original background was in English Literature. I earned an MA in Medieval English Literature because I was just fascinated by it. While I don't work daily with Old English or Middle English, my education did teach me how to research information and find the minimal amount of needed information to proceed. Due to economic reasons, I went into IT as opposed to academia. It paid well and you could go in with industry certifications rather than formal education. Eventually, I found a more open enrollment master's program in Electrical Engineering and got an MSEE in Software Engineering. I'm above 50 now, and I found a way to make my ADHD work for me. I worry constantly about the things I've forgotten to do, where did the time go, etc. But I made one determination that made me able to perform. I was honest with myself and my teams about where my talents were. I am a good programmer, I loved the theory and practice of Software Engineering, and I was the guy who could get your team going, but I was not the guy to deliver it. I was tapped with going into management, and found out quickly I was not suited nor did I desire to be the guy to manage people and hit a deadline. I've stopped trying to be a cheetah and embraced my nature of being a squirrel. What most of you probably are suffering from is the voices of years and years of disapproval and disappointment. Every damn teacher I ever had talked about how I couldn't sit still, how I was ""wasting my potential"" and then I had a crash when ""potential"" and ""reality"" switched. Here is the secret. It is your damn life, your damn mind. Do with it what you will and enjoy it. Yes, try to develop better executive function. It can happen. Meditate as best you can each day. Learn to know what a quiet mind is like and try to return there daily, if even for a few minutes. Be honest with people. Say ""I am all over the place and doing rote stuff isn't what I like to do."" Switch up jobs as best you can. I became a consultant because of this. I found a great company that loans me out and then finds new projects every so often. See if that doesn't work for you. The world wants you to be a neat little cog in the clockworks. You will never be that-- be the grease between the cogs if you want to participate. If you don't, adjust your desires and do something else. If you don't desire much, you can tell the world to fuck off. Finally, the most important thing you can do is to silence those inner voices of anger and disapproval. They have been installed in you by people with a completely different mind than what you have. God bless them, but they can fuck off. Be your damn self. Try to be mindful, but be yourself. Try to slow down your thoughts, but be yourself. In an age where every condition is given a group name and protection, we are not. That should stop, but we are not the types to complain. If someone told a gay person to ""stop thinking like a gay"" or told a transgendered person ""Stop thinking like you are another gender and it will go away"" people would be up in arms. We have a condition, much like color blindness, where our perception of things will never, ever be like the rest of the world. Telling us to ""focus"" or whatever is akin to telling a color-blind person to ""see green"" or ""see red."" It isn't going to happen. Accept and love yourselves. As I tell my kids, there is only one ""U"" in the ""Universe.""",1 "I feel personally attacked. Also the false sense of accomplishment and empowerment of “discovering” a new technique, theory, guru etc.",0 "Another pro tip #universities typically have additional resources for students with disabilities, including ADHD, and provide services such as note taking (note taker takes notes for you) or sometimes free subscriptions to dictation software that may work better than what OP described. They have other resources as well that can help you stay organized! These services I think typically require a formal diagnosis, but that may very between schools! Shit they may not care if you just ask But yeah, they often can mandate teachers give you extra time on exams, and other stuff like that as well",1 "Sometimes my brain even creates false memories just to make me panic, and even though I know it never happened, my brain is just like ""bUt wHat iF iT dId?""",0 "peak ""I'm In This Photo and I Don't Like It"" energy",0 "Haha! Oh that's lovely. Same thing happened to me. I think the second day I was on Vyvanse, my husband asked how I was doing. I stopped to actually think about it for a moment and burst into tears 'cause I could really think straight for basically the first time ever, lol.",1 "Retweet bro. I had a stint where I was heavily focused on my academics, which got me into a good college. But after my 2nd year, I lost that hyper-focus. I still want to do well, still try to sit and focus but lectures, tests, assignments are so boring. I can lock myself in a dungeon with them and I’ll still daydream until like 10 minutes before it’s due, or like 2 hours before a test. The irritating thing is it seems to only be in the school format. When I self-learn something I want to be learning (which can even be a school subject) suddenly I’m effortlessly reading concepts and memorizing terms with no distraction.",1 "Thank you for this. I’m a (40 F) who just got diagnosed last year. I’ve spent my life trying to fit into that cookie cutter mold that society feels we all must fit in. Before an epic nervous breakdown and a significant Bipolar diagnosis, I somehow managed to not just survive but thrive in college. I managed a complete associate’s before transferring to a university, I completed a double major BA (3.8 gpa), and before my future was ripped away, was teaching and working on my MA (almost graduated and maintained a 4.0). It was a significant challenge, my husband and I sacrificed, and I worked harder than I ever have in my life. I did okay in grade school but lacked significant organization, concentration, and had a lot of social/emotional issues. To this day, even with those accomplishments. I feel stupid. Ever never felt smart a day in my life. In fact, I came across a internet quiz last week that asked 50 questions to see if they could guess your highest level of education. I answered 38 correctly (they were multiple choice and several it was narrowed down to 2) and it was guessed that I had a Master’s. It didn’t make me feel good, because technically I don’t have my MA. And, I still don’t feel smart. At all. I just know how to get answers. It became very evident at my Grandmother’s funeral 2 weeks ago, that my family doesn’t feel that I’m smart either. I wrote a Eulogy (always been better with the written word because I have a chance to think about what I want to say) for the first time and read it at the burial. I shocked so many people, that my Aunt came up to me and was like “Wow, you know how to write?” She’s aware of my education level and has an MA in education as well. I found out from my cousin yesterday, that my own mother called my cousin to tell her how shocked and surprised that I could write like that. I often feel viewed as a mutant that apparently can’t communicate or interact with people. The important piece is those closest to me (a very small circle) were not surprised by my abilities. It’s just so incredibly insulting and gives complete evidence as to why I feel like a failure and idiot, even at 40. Edit to correct: *misdiagnosed Bipolar",1 "Oh my god this is so so validating to read. Also, reassuring that I'm not the only one with inexplicable intrusive thoughts about relationships...thinking of them as conspiracy theorists is so smart!",0 "I cant turn off these thoughts, but I don't wanna live with them either. I feel like I'm just existing not even living anymore. I just want thing to be quiet and be at peace with myself and my surroundings.",0 Something that helps me (sometimes) with this is setting an alarm that won't stop until you scan a barcode so I set up the barcode next to the thing I have to do ahead of time. It helps break the focus on what I'm doing/unwillingness to get up.,1 "I usually make a few of these every couple month, then delete them after they annoy me for a month or two cause I never do them. Rinse and repeat for years.",1 Awesome that you share this to help others. You seem like a good person. I hope it is treatable and you can help our fellow adhd era on this sub. Virtual hug (> •.•)>,1 OMG LOL I just realized that this was on the OCD forum. When I was younger I legit would have to pray before I sat on the toilet “God please let the toilet be safe” everytime because I worried if I didn’t there would be a hidden shark or something scary in the toilet.,0 “I wonder what it would feel like to break this mirror and squeeze the pieces “,0 "I really like it because it gives me a view of how much of a disaster my music taste is. The last 2 years the general theme has been one major artist I love that I fixated on excessively as well as a spread of songs from other genres that I temporarily fixated on. I still enjoy those songs and it's usually been long enough that my brain is refreshed and ready to enjoy them again. I like having a playlist made solely of my taste in music, not based in a specific genre haha.",1 I agree with all the other posters here. It's much easier to follow instructions if you also understand the reasoning behind them.,1 My sleeping is screwed at the moment so I've been waking up around 2PM. I had an appointment today for 3:30PM.... so can't relate this time!!!!,1 I'm stealing the shit out of this as an OCD meme format.,0 Ayyyy good work :) currently studying for a test more than 12 hours in advance FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER so i guess good on both of us hehe,1 "This is an great post. I totally agree and feel like people would see themselves in it earlier. It's amazing why things get names, actually. For example, 'borderline' does nothing to describe what is going on with people but has stuck around. Totally unhelpful.",1 "You're lucky if it's so mild you share the fears normal people do, like the person who wrote this. Lol.",0 "Idk if you were going for visual art or performing art but i have ventured into visual art and investing in an iPad ended up being a game changer for me. I don’t have to buy fancy supplies only to have my hands fail me when I try to use them, I don’t have to keep track of where all the sketches and attempts are, you can UNDO. And at first that felt like cheating to me but not anymore. I make and sell prints that I produced digitally and being able to undo things just means I don’t have to waste a ton of paper to get something right. I have the very same problem, I wish I could rewind and stick with ballet, really hone my skills, fast forward to a time when my art is better, but seriously I think investing in an iPad saved me from a good chunk of feeling horrible/panicky at all that I want but couldn’t do. I hope this helps ❤️❤️❤️",1 *Shows them my pile of unused planners on the desk*,1 "Yea uhh don’t change anything it’s perfect, i know reassurance isn’t the best way to go with ocd but wtvr just don’t touch that painting",0 "I’m an editor and I naturally will notice comma usage in anyone’s writing and certain things will bother me—commas being one of them. I have my own adhd issues (more of the classic ADD version, so to speak). My best friend has adhd and is prescribed adderall. Whenever she sends me an email to look over for her, I see so many commas! She knows she does it though—that’s why she sends them to me to edit.",1 No. Nothing personal. Just... I thrive on avoidance!!! Stop making me face myself!!!! Uuuuugh...,1 "My sis and I can definitely relate. My little sis (she has OCD, I don't) had an OCD meltdown yesterday night. While I was trying to comfort her our mom went full narc and blamed her for her lack of sleep and claimed she didn't have it and it was all in her head. Best of luck to you, we're also trying to get through this. ❤❤❤",0 you’re amazing! i hate it when pesky ocd stops you from comfortably bonding w/ your pets. this is very inspiring,0 "Wow, thank you for this scientific explanation. This is why logic and reason don’t fight OCD. Hyperactive amygdala. I’m in constant fight or flight. I’m terrified all the time. Does anyone know how to treat the hyperactive amygdala?",0 "Also: *doesn't panic over intrusive thought* Brain: so that means you don't hate it and therefore you secretly like the thought 👀👀",0 Who here experiences OCD in the form of compulsive self-harm?,0 "I love this dude. You deserve all the updoots. In your high and in your low. . We will always Root for you even for some reason you may not start believing in yourself. God speed my man. You can do it even when you feel like you have failed. You can.you can.",1 "Oh crap, this is and has been me for a few years now. It's such a tedious task to battle your head and self everyday and figure out if you are actually nice or just masquerading as one.",0 "In my case, stay standing up cause everything's dirty now and you can't sleep cause your bed's dirty too, find a none contaminated bedsheet to cover the bed and sleep on the clean side. When everything's dirty and there's no clean sheet left, stand and walk around aimlessly and don't sleep.",0 "Everyday, preach! Make more work than get any of it done. This thread, sometimes... thanks. Jeebus I should go back on my meds.",1 Yes! I get called over dramatic even though I got diagnosed at age 12 with ADHD,1 "i have veri worse oc that i cant even cant tipe certain alhphabets, its like if i use that i will got kill,or something ba will happen P.s i cant tipe alphabet that came after c & x This is just 1 of the 10000000 rituals i follow",0 It's like a constant voice (metaphorically) that is always there. I usually play music whenever there are silent moments in my day. It helps distract me a bit.,0 "Try it in reverse... it’s 6 pm which is close to 4, which means there still like an hour left in the work day to get crap done.",1 "This is how I am. I started a new job two weeks ago and I’ve been extremely nervous because they are slow to explain what processes are called, where to find the info to freaking do them, and why it needs done precisely the way you’re telling me.",1 "I got diagnosed this year and thank god I did, I wasn’t even medicated correctly, I was using drugs and now I’m clean. Obviously use cannabis medically, and my ocd is finally getting better.",0 "Whenever my brother misplaced anything, he comes ask me for help. My things are a mess. Like, the only unblocked part of my bedroom floor is a path from the door to my bed, my desk doesn't have any inches of visible surface, and my presence seems to attract chaos. But, because of that, I know where things often end up when they're ""lost."" Have you checked the clothes you were wearing? What were you doing? Have you checked inside the car? Unfortunately, that skillset came after a lifetime of losing things that were valuable to me and being dismissed as being dramatic for being upset at losing them, without getting offered help. (I still don't forget that time the hat I wore everyday for more than 8 years fell behind the couch because someone sat where they shouldn't and no one helped me look for it.)",1 "Finally a post that is making me understand my ADHD without ADHD word, I love this.",1 "I haven't been able to draw in years. I used to be president of art club in high school, did mural commissions, the whole 9.. and due to ocd I've completely given it up for over 2 decades.",0 "Oh fuck, I literally have swollen lymph nodes atm which I've been ignoring for a month",1 Why is existential OCD so rare and barely mentioned...it’s my main theme,0 "Hand raise here. I think it’s all that time as being treated as such. Little things that add up. Like your boss saying you’re high maintenance, Using an abacus to count off how many mistakes you make in a day, working out the outcome of an argument and realizing you were catastrophically wrong in most of them, before that you got your entire childhood and your parents and teachers yelling at you more than anyone else and it’s because you forgot something or made a mistake, or got too silly, or wasn’t paying attention... etc etc etc All that shit piled on, of course we feel lazy and stupid, they made us feel that way.",1 i just did this. i was talking to my mom about how she needed to help me to remind me to do something. she said to just make an alarm so then i did. when the alarm went off i automatically just turned it off without even bothering to look at why it was going off.,1 "My career is scientific researcher. I’ve got two masters degrees in my field and 8 years of full-time work under my belt. I still routinely have to look up how to do certain basic conversions or key theoretical underpinnings of my work because the information just won’t stay in my brain. I need to read a research article 3-5 times to grasp content well enough to converse knowledgeably about it. I often find myself two pages into a scientific article and realize I’ve digested/paid attention to NONE of the information presented. Part of that is scientific writing being boring (train scientists to be more engaging writers!), but a lot of it is my mind skipping around in a stream-of-consciousness loop while I should be paying attention. Sigh.",1 Wait thankyou- lol I always forget to view my saved stuff ugh 😭,1 "Yes, I have saved post and comments - thousands upon thousands of them. Each and every one of them could maybe be useful, interesting, productive, entertaining, heartwarming, inspiring, motivating and a multitude of other positive things, but in reality it is just a roaring chaos of acummulated noise that I have convinced myself will be of use. Someday.",1 "I EXPERIENCE THIS ALL THE TIME !! what i've done tu overcome it is do the thing i wanna do whatever gets contaminated or not, i was avoiding doing almost everything in my life, even important tasks, so i had to try do things with the discomfort of everything was contaminated by intrusive thoughts. when i like a music for example and i have an intrusive thought through it, that music becomes ""contaminated"" but recently i've listening to te music i still listen to it.",0 "Congratulations! That’s a very difficult thing to do, keep it up!",0 "Exercise and daily regimen certainly works for me, especially over time, but even for the immediate reward. That said, I quit taking meds with my doctor's approval, and relaxation and baths are amazing when I don't feel like exercising, something I always neglected too often, when on meds.",1 It really should be called executive function disorder,1 "Hi!! I really hope you see this because I was 100% exactly where you were this time last year, and I’m now in the happiest place where I don’t obsess over anything and I hardly ever feel the need to confess or seek reassurance anymore. I don’t mean this as a brag at all, I just empathize so much with your situation and I want you to know that it’s more than possible to overcome this and I believe in you :) Basically, for context, last year I was so debilitated by OCD that I couldn’t sleep, couldn’t eat, would cry in my car on lunch breaks from work, and would confess to my boyfriend INCESSANTLY. He really got to know my OCD well and even did a session with my therapist and I so my therapist could teach him ways to passively support me instead of enable me. But I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t really taxing on him overall! However, we’re still together today and he’s been an absolutely amazing support system ever since. What stood out to me most in your post were your use of the words “resist” and “disregard” - my therapist, who quite probably saved my life, was always good at reminding me that **fighting OCD and actively trying to reason with it or ignore it will only feed it further**. Because, unfortunately for us, the act of resisting and avoiding can be a compulsion in itself! Instead, my therapist had me work through ERP on my own time, and while it’s admittedly mentally exhausting, it really doesn’t require any sort of major effort aside from just allowing your intrusive thoughts to wash over you and pushing yourself to accept/embrace them. I know that’s so much easier said than done - for me this was of course absolutely terrifying because my obsessions were deeply disturbing (I had terrible Pure O so I was stuck on the worst, most morally reprehensible themes) and to tell myself “hm, well maybe you did do that awful thing or maybe you are this awful person, we’ll never know for sure” was miserable to say the least. But the truth is... I’m not a sick, twisted person at all - my OCD just takes advantage of every single doubt and “what if” and disturbing thought/image that has ever popped into my head. Being able to “accept” the 0.00000000001% chance that I’m actually a monster was what FINALLY, finally gave me peace because the uncertainty didn’t matter anymore, couldn’t consume me anymore, and I was free to go about my day and let the anxious chaos continue in the back of my mind until it eventually subsided completely. I guess what I’m really trying to say here is that **exposure response therapy WORKS**. It really, really works. I hope none of this comes off as preachy - I’m just so grateful that I got my life and my happiness back and I want the same thing for everyone who has had to struggle with the hell that is OCD. Best of luck to you, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions!",0 I can't touch stuff that's not mine without permission/knowing the person really well. So my ex would push me to grab his tv remote for him. It made my skin itch so badly I had to go wash my hands and would scratch at my skin for hours because I could still feel it. He would poke fun at me for it to the point where I was anxious every time I entered his room because I knew he would try to get me out of my comfort zone when I wasnt ready for it.,0 "Normal people when they lose stuff: **AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH** Us when we lose stuff: yeah it’ll randomly turn up in a week on my dresser by some unknown force, or all atoms comprising it’s matter have been eviscerated and the item no longer exsists",1 "This. Is. Me. Too. Many. Times. To. Admit. But in all seriousness, one of my struggles is anxiety about a task theoretically taking way more than 5 minutes, over-analyzing, finding every way to procrastinate, finally realizing I HAVE to do it or there will be major consequences, and then the rush of relief once it is finally done. And yet, after all that, I still have this happen too often. You’re totally not alone OP.",1 "I find that people who actually have OCD, instead of say they have it, are often quite humorous about their disorder instead of flippant. I thought I was the only one. XD (I have pure ocd).",0 OCD is best personified as an asshole older brother who knows you so well that the things he is constantly whispering into your ear are especially upsetting.,0 "Whenever I'm having a good day, or even a good moment, my brain is like: ""see, you don't really have OCD, you're just faking it for \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_."" Like, wow, thanks brain. Super helpful lol",0 "I get really perfectionist about any task I have to do or learn. Like if I want to learn to draw, I try and I realize I have to open 500 links watch them multiple times read everything. And then I get overwhelmed and never even start trying to draw because I have to know everything first and there’s too much to know so I give up on drawing.",0 Happy for you. Fuck now I feel the need to put three !!!,0 "great read. got distracted 10-15 times and skipped entire sentences but still, love the post",1 "The other night i was talking to a man that had no idea what OCD was about. He didn't know it involved intrusive thoughts and anxiety, and when i explained those thoughts to him he insisted that they could just be rationalized and dismissed. He's not a bad person, I've had good conversations with him about other things, but it was emotionally taxing to explain to him my ocd and mental struggles, and justify myself.",0 Omg I’m like this too! Wow didn’t know anyone else did this,1 "Yep definitely. Pretty sure there are 4 types of OCD, haven’t looked into them yet though.",0 how did you know i needed to do my weekend homework,1 "Yoo that is a massive achievement, I'm very proud <3",0 "I'm definitely in this camp. I mean, I definitely wash my hands a lot; but, like, my place isn't very clean at all. The act of cleaning is much too stressful to me. I have to make sure it's all super clean and done right, so, the amount of stress I have from cleaning the place means I don't clean it very often. It's actually bad in a time like this when I'm not going to have guests for a while, because it means there's no outside influence to encourage me to clean my place.",0 "You just articulated what I never could and why the mere act of speaking gives me so much anxiety. Yet I can write! (Even if it does take a while!) I can’t believe I wasn’t the only one who felt this way. Damn. Thank you.",1 "I have a really hard time doing things unless I know the why behind them..... especially when they seem illogical or make work more difficult. I once worked at a grocers that had a big banana table but then wanted us to stack more banana boxes around it and set bananas on top.... reducing the space of two whole aisles and looking ugly as fuck. I asked why, no one explained, so I proceeded to say it looked ugly and took up too much space so two carts couldnt get through at the same time. The person who I asked why to got mad and said 'just do it you dont need to think.' I did it but I was mad because it was dumb. Later I figured out they sell more bananas in january because people are trying to lose weight and theres some regular banana diet fad at that time. They were trying to capitalize on january sales. They definitely did not sell more bananas with the extra row. Yes it annoys the hell out of employers when I ask why instead of just doing the thing. You ask me to do something that anyone can see is stupid or illogical, I wanna know why. I also now know a lot of random facts about products, ways things are set, when shitty dr oz is promoting something random for weight loss, etc.",1 I don’t know if this was intentional but I love that it still fits with the rhythm of the actual song xD,0 "It feels like I'm incapable of coping with the world as a regular human being should. There just seems to be an absolute inability to cope with the world and its challenges in a way that isn't at *all times* psychologically distressing. If the world was crueler place I would already be dead, instead people I love have to carry my dead weight, I have doctors peddling medications and a social welfare program. When I have to deal with 'life' I'm in constant psychological stress: going to work every day, going to bed at the right time, eating healthy, having hobbies, being social. maintaining these activities is essentially constant hell. EVEN WHEN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE ENJOYABLE. everything that gives me a remote sense of real mind numbing bliss is abused. Masturbating, sex, food, t.v. Just to cope When I'm comfortable and happy I am eating myself into oblivion and doing nothing, I am a dead weight, ugly and unattractive. When I'm forced to cope with life challenges I'm so overwhelmed life is agony. I've often broken down, and considered suicide, not because I want to die, or rather just be removed from existence. Its too exhausting waking up tired every morning and constantly chasing yourself and failing. every. single. day. to preform even the most mundane preformatory tasks that everyone does without any consideration. ​ I'm in a better position now with a lot of flexibility, but a LOT less stress. I do not commute, I get to have 12 hours of sleep, I have all the pets I want (decompression time), and I can work how / when I feel like it. My ADHD anxiety keeps me on top of getting enough orders done on time. But Essentially my life has room for two things a day. and about four hours of any real kind of functionality. Most of the other time is spent absolutely sedentary or idle. Anything more is 'stressful' and I return to my previous state or perpetual existential dread and hysterical anxiety. Its no way to live, its a delusional privlidged bubble that I'm waiting to pop.",1 I put in my two weeks notice at my job because of this.,1 There are groups- like this sub- for men w/ ADHD or ADHD Adults.,1 One of these days I'm gonna shave my legs... or do the dishes... it's just that each one is gonna be a fucking six hour task,0 All these memes make me laugh bc they’re funny and cry bc they’re relatable.,0 Took me a month to seek insurance quotes. Realized when I did it that online quotes made it 5 minutes,1 "OK I didn't realize this was an OCD thing too?! I thought I was just a shit. When I'm in a relationship, I'm constantly preoccupied with doubtful thoughts, intrusive thoughts of me being unfaithful or dipping suddenly ... It's hard to ever truly feel cozy or secure, even when I love my partner to bits. (Ooh don't even get me started on the intrusive thought of, ""But like, are you REALLY in love?? How can you be sure you've ever felt true love?"") Good luck my guy, we're all in this together.",0 "My OCD manifests as Haphemania (The compulsion to touch things), so I’d imagine my OCD persona to be this small gremlin that’s obsessed with everything in their surroundings lmfao.",0 Oof. This definitely hits. I’m sorry you’re also going through it.,1 "I've been a gamer off and on my whole life and my OCD *always* ruins it for me. I turn into a nervous wreck trying to make sure I haven't missed any permanent missables, I get paranoid that I could have messed up some hidden variable in my save data and my brain decides that the game is ruined and I have to start over, I have trouble even booting up games or my consoles at all because of compulsive counting. Gaming with OCD is a trainwreck",0 I just had an entire breakdown about this today. You are not alone. Your feelings are valid and you are worthy. Keep pushing.,1 It never fails to amuse me while simultaneously pissing me the hell off how lightly people throw around the word “OCD”. It’s like punching someone and suddenly be like “oh that’s just my antisocial Personality disorder acting up”.,0 "My first (diagnosing) psychiatrist actually recommended the book titled “You’re not Stupid, Lazy, or Crazy” with ADHD somewhere I think in the title too. I bought it but totally never finished it. I don’t remember it about myself often enough, but at least I have that book title as a memory to help me repeat the phrase? It was a good read to start if I’m remembering correctly. But yes, so very real.",1 Although we are scattered you are speaking to the tribe. Extending love and good fortune to you sister in spirit.,1 "This is literally why I work in a role where I sort things out, and then someone else follows through with the rest of the project",1 "YES! Especially when writing essays. I can do enormous amounts of research and notes but when it comes to actually structureing the essay, and filtering out unnecessary info, I go blank.",1 "This made me lol. So wait- Does everyone here get automatic thoughts of, “You’re fucking stupid, stupid, stupid.” Or the like? I get them if I remember something stupid I did or said in the past. But it’s like super automatic and I have had to learn to take it back. I have to think, “ Ok, no you’re not, it’s all good.” I guess that could just be a habit thing though, maybe not specific to OCD.",0 "Before I knew it was OCD and knew what to do about it I would literally tell my brain anything to make it stop. I remember telling my brain that I’d kill myself if it would just go away. God, I am sick just thinking about that feeling and all the people I scared away by letting it control my life. You just feel so hopeless when it’s happening.",0 "repeat after me. do. ""do."" the. ""the."" dishes. ""dishes. do the dishes! ""Mow the lawn!""",1 The way my eyes got bigger and bigger the more I read...,1 Thats why I am telling everyone that I am useless piece of crap,1 "Goodness, that is me like everyday. I literally just wasted more than 5-8 hours on obsessions just now.",0 "Well, a sentence is supposed to compose a single thought. A single long, rambling, thought.",1 "Wow just found out he had adhd. I always really looked up to the guy and felt a strong resonance with his natural Persona. Really kinda makes sense now lmao",1 "i really needed this, this week has been tough for me. and sorry about your loss, i hope that you are able to heal from what happened with your friend",1 "This and going from 0-60 in 0.000001 seconds: My boss: ""You're doing a great job but could improve in this one area."" Me: ""Oh god, oh god, oh god I'm gonna get fired! I'll be homeless and have to live under the freeway in a tent! I'll commit suicide before living with my parents. Where'd I put that gun....?""",0 "I had something interesting I wanted to say but I forgot. Wait... oh right. I wanted to say that this is the same reason I started lying to my parents about things and say the truth that my brain believed 2sec ago. For example, Parents: how did you do on your quiz? Me: (oh sh*t I forgot to do the quiz) there was no quiz. I mean literally two seconds ago, my brain believe that the truth is “there was to quiz”",1 Completely relate to his. Just wanted to mention randomly that the water I was drinking now tastes like lotion and it's bothering me because the taste is in the back of my throat,0 Probably not great but I have days where I just don’t have the energy to resist my compulsions and I just do whatever my ocd tells me to do,0 "You are awesome and you totally deserve the care that you need!! I am currently trying to convince my partner it’s worth it. I really push myself to care for the home, to the point that I am mentally exhausted and irritable all the time from pushing myself so hard. So he thinks that I’m doing “just fine” and we don’t need any help. He doesn’t believe in paying anyone for services that we “can do” and was raised very conservative and that mental illnesses are made up. He thankfully accepts me and is trying to understand ADHD, he at least says to me that he believes in it. I’ve explained to him that it’s science based, even in people without any disabilities studies show that hiring extra help actually benefits the entire family! There are TED talks on it. I’m going to just do it soon anyways, I think this was my sign :)",1 wowzer!! congrats!!! good luck to you too!!! i hope the world is kind to you,0 I always thought that ADHD was a pretty good term to describe me tbh,1 "Both my stepfather and husband have OCD. Both have always struggled with their repetitive and obsessive thoughts far more than being clean. In fact my husband’s compulsions to always be able to see where the important things are so he can quickly grab them in an emergency leaves a lot of mess. I always try to talk to people honestly and without judgment when they say they’re “a bit OCD about” whatever it is because like you say, many people don’t know what the condition is, they just assume it’s being organised and tidy.",0 "Sneaky , domineering and a proper bastard ,,,treat it with contempt ,and listen to your loved ones when they say it's your ocd ,trust them they care for you ,,,your ocd does not ,,so happy new year ,and trust your nearest when that say it's a load of bollocks and it's just fucking with you",0 "Just read on object permanence in ADHD, and I feel like some of it doesn't really translate that well for me, i.e. I don't necessarily FORGET about things existing (not that I never do), but it's more like I forget the urgency of things. It's like if the thing is not in front of me, I'll remember it, but I'll forget it's something that's actually important to my day to day life, until it becomes too late to get done in time.",1 And then thinking about that makes you think about the compulsions...,0 "I’m at a loss for words... THANK YOU for sharing this",1 "My immediate response was WOW, BET YOUR ARM IS TIRED! but legit, good for you, your mouth is proud.",1 Is it bad I laughed at this? This is a big ass mood. Omg.,0 There is something about finishing things that my brain is allergic to. I do this with every project or task I’m supposed to do. I do it with tv shows and books. I don’t understand why I have such an aversion to finishing things! It’s bizarre,1 "My 3 useable hours tend to be 3 hours before something is due, and I don't even finish it all the time...",1 I usually just make a face. It makes me wonder if its letting people know I'm scared and disgusted at my own thoughts...,0 "My friend broke the faucet at her parents place, from pressing 28+ times every time she had to use it lol. Stuff breaks",0 "I feel it important to mention that I'm not diagnosed with ADHD, however every time I come across a post complaining about ADHD problems, I find that I have the same experience. I've just recently started job that requires great physical endurance as well as significant dexterity and attention to detail. It also allows me to have my earbuds in constantly. I am told not infrequently that I'm killing it by the other, more experienced guys. I was also a high performing kid in school that couldn't or wouldn't do my assignments, and yet still seemed to understand the material better than at least 50% of my classmates. My point is, i believe ive got a similar existence to yours, and ive found that for some reason having something that is demanding on the body as well as the mind helps me to retain focus on the task. Hope this helps someone.",1 "Let the thoughts crash over you like waves, don’t hold them you can’t hold water ....",0 "Don't forget the 8 or 9am appointment. For me, at least, that ruins the ENTIRE day before hand. Give me a solid 11am or maybe a cheeky 10:30am and that's the best for minimizing wreckage. Just enough to wake up naturally, and not have time to worry since I have to focus or I'll be late! Can't sit down to start anything else that actually just turns into checking the clock every 5 mins and trying to work out a plan to avoid being late that I won't follow and start bargaining with.",1 "Being overstimulated and then being held verbally hostage by someone who keeps, god, keeps talking without giving you any reasonable out... It's like the world is about to explode sometimes the pressure in my mind is so great",1 "My SO lost one of his AirPods the other day (after I told him “put that in it’s case or you’re going to lose it”) he left it on the nightstand and our kitten knocks everything off, including the AirPod. A couple days pass and I forget about it, then he’s like “can you help me look for my AirPod” 🙄 i was like it’s been *days* but I look everywhere, and it’s in our curtain on the opposite side of the room",1 I’m not a contamination person but I get this with showering for some of my hypersensitivity issues. RIP my water bill. 🪦,0 """Fine! Maybe it did happen! I don't fucking care! I'm tired of caring!"" ""You don't deserve to not care. You're a loser. Losers don't deserve breaks. You have to care, and you have to suffer. I don't care if you're tired. You don't get to run away from the harsh reality. You're a loser, you're a failure, and you ruined your life. You deserve punishment. You deserve suffering."" ""Please stop."" ""No. Face the truth. You don't get to have good thoughts.""",0 "I can hack into just about any computer system in the world but I have trouble doing laundry so I can have clean clothes to put on my body. Like others have already said in this post, it's a super power and a handicap at the same time. The trick is to own it. The trade off is worth it. I like me.",1 I shush myself out loud sometimes. I had to be careful with that back when I was in an office,0 OH my god this is the best post ive seen on this sub. Mine is like an overprotective soccer mom with munchausens that is also a conspiracy youtuber,0 I looked so nervous and couldn’t stop looking at the cameras that an officer started following.,0 "I used to be a fast learner, but in college I failed all my classes in the last year or two, couldn't graduate,b and couldn't leave without a degree. I developed an unhealthy relationship with climbing buildings and running from security. I stopped going to class (still had to pay for it though). And spent most of my days sleeping in random buildings, empty classrooms, or public spaces. I used to be the center of my social circle and a lively fun personality. I'm so glad my friends decided to look for me. They pulled me out of a dark place, literally. They started following me around when they didn't have class and would find me when they were between classes or on vacation. It was a small gesture. But they eventually brought me back to life. I started going to counseling for the first time in my life. And tried to get things in order. I needed to repeat a few years, and was diagnosed with depression, and likely have ADHD. But I think I wouldn't have made it this far without my amazing friends. Sometimes we just need someone to be there for us. Even if they're just sitting there to keep us company, not even saying a word. Just being surrounded by all this positive emotion and encouragement without judgement was such a meaningful gesture for me. If you have a friend going thru hard times, just know being there makes a world of difference =]",1 People will say you’re so smart but they don’t know that this whole time I’ve just barely been able to hold on to the wild bull ride that is my train of thought in the conversation we are currently having let alone all of the classes I’m still not sure how I’ve not already failed. But the grades keep coming in high enough to maintain scholarships I don’t know if I deserve that I’m just not sure what even is goin on anymore,1 "I’m in the process of getting my actual diagnosis and I feel this so much. The imposter syndrome is very real, even after being validated by my doctor and partner I still have days where I think I’m just faking it! It’s hard.",1 Like being really smart and really stupid at the same time.,1 This is literally the only thing this sub is about. Apparently every single subscriber has to post that OCD isn't about being neat in their own words. Such a boring circle jerk.,0 Ugh yes. And it’s been so much worse this year since I have to work from home with family. 🤦🏻‍♀️,1 "Ah self doubt, poor memory and paranoia, bundled all together under the OCD rainbow.",0 "My friend was telling me about that since Washington is having a Coronavirus crisis, and that seems like a nightmare!! My only pieces of advice (since I have a couple online class that I’ve worked out a routine for,) is to set up your day so that you force yourself to study with at least one other person in the class everyday at a set time that you do not allow yourself to go back on. Maybe do this with each of your classes (with scheduled extended break times because ADHD=breaks needed). Communicate with your professors your concerns. If you don’t have anybody else to study with, maybe find somebody that you can spend your time for a period of time that will encourage you to keep studying while y’all are together. (My boyfriend does this for me and is really firm about it, so it helps me a LOT. Having an external force there to encourage you to keep working is what helps my ADHD brain the most, which goes right along with the idea behind in-person classes.) Also, get an accountability buddy that you can text and/or hangout with. One of my best friends in college also has ADHD and we hold each other accountable for doing our work and remind each other of upcoming assignments. It’s really been helpful!",1 "I feel like this is the difference between what my school counselors told me too before I was diagnosed and reality. I was always good at tests but I was alllwwways the problem child as well. Deep breaths and routines my butt. Now as an adult my ""routines"" are basically how many backdoor solutions can I force into my day so I at least accomplish the minimum.",1 "I'm not the only one. I feel like before I got my anxity to a manageable level, taking my adhd meds was terrible it made my already crippling social anxiety so much worse where I couldn't be with anyone. My mom trying to help, or my brother, would just get me enraged. I would scream at them when they called, didn't see anyone besides my boyfriend and coworkers. I have to find the strength to go to work no matter what. It lead to one of my worse episodes that almost cost me my job and to get arrested. Thankfully we found a great med combo that has completely turned my life around. Thank you for not making know I'm the only one.",1 I know this is super old but I was creeping through this sub for validation that I should talk to my therapist about OCD.... this has been my intrusive thought I’ve been stuck on for two months and it sucks but this meme is so validating and I feel less alone so thanks :),0 "Thank you, I needed this. Intrusive thoughts suck these days.",0 I normally only read because I don’t suffer OCD but my girlfriend does and I like to be informed to help her out. This is fantastic!! Thanks! 🙂,0 "A housekeeper literally changed my life. I divorced with an infant, and it was lifesaving to have the support. Looking back on early motherhood when I wasn’t diagnosed yet, I so, so wish I could go back and ask for help. I spent the first year just drowning: sleep deprived and unable to do any self care at all. And feeling crushing, debilitating shame. Good for you, and many thanks for the bold type and the paragraphs.",1 "Literally just recently told my work friend we should just be friends bc im gay, and now the intrusive thoughts are like ""oh shit you just made a mistake, why did you do that"" like huh??? LMAO",0 "intrusive thoughts, ocd, and tourettes are such a bad combo",0 "Every day bromigo, every day. It's hard especially when my girlfriend is so smart and focused when she does her work, I feel like a complete idiot compared to her. But apparently this kind of thinking is common due to misinformation and preconceived bias. When I was much younger, I was classified as a ""problem child"" Before I was diagnosed my teachers hated my guts, I was loud, disruptive and could not sit still to save my life. After I was diagnosed, my teachers treated me like a freak which obviously had a negative impact on self perception. I think schools and teachers should be educated on how to properly assist adolescents while they are getting their teaching certification to keep this kinda treatment from happening (still happens even with all the research done)",1 ">“Individuals with ADHD can derive so much pleasure from the planning itself that they believe they’ve been committed to the action as well... Didn't realize that I was on r/RoastMe",1 Omg I grieve for my partner (who is very much alive and eating pizza across from me) about once every two weeks for at least an hour. I don't do it with anyone else since I'm not close to anyone else but I can totally relate.,0 "Just remember: Everybody’s crazy, sanity is just how well you deal with it.",1 This is one of the most amazing things ever!! Thank you! I just barely started reading it but I wanted to prethank you! And also ask if you were on medicine while you did all this?? Lol!,1 HOLY SHIT! I thought this was just me. It’s nice to know I’m not alone.,0 "Same here, but I thought it was more of an ADHD thing.",0 i am 21 years old and still never step on a crack. i can feel a weird feeling on the bottom of my feet if i even think about it,0 This is spot on. This happens to me with every part of my body.,0 yep I really don't know what to do. I finally have been able to get through lectures without dozing off after like 5 minutes as well.,1 That's such a perfect summary of what living with OCD is like. Hope you're okay. x,0 """but you were wrong all those other times..."" ""yeah but this one isn't like those other times""",0 I’m sorry for your loss. What you wrote is so powerful. Thanks you for sharing with us,1 Can y’all explain this more? Sensory overload sounds like something I may be feeling.,0 Thank you for this! You’ve summed up things nicely.,1 I hate that. I end up sleeping on my mattress sometimes because of this lol.,1 "Oh god... the thousands of dollars I’ve wasted on therapy, residential, and soap... I could’ve cured it all myself by CHOICE!",0 I have a buddy who was just diagnosed with lymphatic cancer not much older than you. It’s all bad. Best wish and kick it’s ass! Or at the very least procrastinate getting sick until it’s gone lol,1 my dad imitates me doing my rituals sometimes. :( since the ritual is related to my fears I was very upset after that.,0 "I feel especially embarrassed asking them to repeat themselves. ""Can you repeat that?"" And then proceed to not pay attention and miss it again, causing me to ask them to repeat themselves again.",1 Yes I set timers to remember the timer and then I pause it or forget what it was for haha,1 "Somebody here is now beginning to have intrusive thoughts about perfectionist = OCD jokes spreading across the world like a plague T H A T P E R S O N I S M E",0 OCD loves shame & reassurance. We'll all be ok folks.,0 I do this to ! I have to pee at least 2 times befor bed otherwise I cant sleep and feel like I’m going to wet the bed whe intact I go too the toilet and like you said only a trickle comes out. So annoying,0 Similar concept as paying for portion controlled products when you struggle with calorie counting.,1 "I thought this was a childhood trauma, now it’s adhd? Or both! 🙂",1 "I relate so much : *repeats random word until the brain is satisfied with a certain pronunciation*",0 "The fine shading on the musculature takes a lot of skill and a delicate hand! As a fellow artist and ocd er, I know how perfectionism can hurt. You should be proud of bringing skill and symbolism together. Have you ever tried life drawing? There are tons of free resources online to get started if you haven't already.",0 I was talking to my therapist today about how much exposures scare me. As an artist - seeing it done like this makes it seem doable. Thank you for sharing!,0 "No kidding my hands have enough cracks in them from washing to suck up any virus into the bloodstream... :| ​ \-CC",0 I’m going up in my Luvox which has always worked for me for like 20 something years. I’m having the worst OCD spike in a decade and my body is so used to just being at 50 ml. I’ve gone up to 150 over the last 2 months through doctors orders and now I’m moving up to 200. I’m about 4 days in and the side effects are kinda wild. Tremors. Anxiousness. It’s getting less each day but fuck. It’s all frightening just like the first time. I’m just scared the meds won’t work this time. It’s just such a scary time. I really haven’t had to worry about OCD for quite some time.,0 "Well, for me I cried as a child when doing homework till my mother did it for me. Wasn’t laziness though.",1 Same with autism too. It’s so annoying joining these groups on FB and then they turn out to be autism mon circlejerks.,1 "I just found a *Finish it Friday* post open in a tab ... from 7 months ago.",1 "Ho-ho-hold on. Timothy Johnson? I must've spelled that wrong. But I just don't know how yet. Lemme read it again.",0 "I work in a nonprofit with a lot of volunteers. I was in the weeds on important tech during a fundraiser (drive through meals) and was in total hyperfocus “get it fixed now” mode. one of the early 20s volunteers started into some kind of jokey remark. He does this normally (his social cues are off b/c of aspergers, high energy b/c ADHD). I was having none of it—I chased him off to the kitchen in a way that was very abrupt for how I normally react. What nobody else knows is that me not chasing him then would have ended worse.",1 "I'm in this post and I don't like it Edit: this was the exact thing that pushed me to finally see a psychiatrist in uni. I was researching a 10,000 word thesis, I had 80,000 pages of research notes, but I just couldn't start writing the damn thing.",1 "Yeah... Before getting medication, I thought it was mostly because I'm a visual thinker/learner. Meds improved my speech a little, but I'm still all over the place with my sentence structure. Kinda resigned that I'll never be articulate :(",1 "When I avoid or put off a task, I often don't know I'm avoiding or putting off a task! I only realize later, reflecting on hours spent on... I'm not even sure.",1 "This made me smile. That's really something special to make such progress and you look great. Take care, be safe, and keep moving forward (long/social distance hug)",0 This is why sometimes I have my bestie come over and sit on my sofa while I clean. Having her present helps. ,1 "Yes stuffed animals, action figures, etc. Always been that way for me, and I’m 24 now ",0 "when i clean my OCD makes it take longer than it should to perfect the cleaning, so I rather not clean at all",0 "Saw this after getting out of the shower, really made me want to wash my hands",0 "I call it autopilot, I can even do it while speaking/reading",1 This is probably the best yet simplest explanation of OCD there is.,0 Most of my saved posts are posts that I want to come back to but I never do it.,1 I always say that the day needs to be like 30 hours instead of 24. That’d solve EVERYTHING,1 "All of the above at some point *sigh* If only I could allow non believers (non ADHD people) into my head for 24 hours maybe they’d have more empathy",1 I cant afford a diagnosis but stuff like this convinces me that I've always had it.,1 "So I was forced to take a class online this semester prior to this and what’s helped me SO MUCH is to designate a block each day the length of said class in which I’ll go to a new location like the local Starbucks or just the dining room table and work on stuff for that class during that time. It’s not foolproof at all and I’ve fallen behind a few times but I’ve found that if I NEVER skip a time then I’ll stick to it but if I slack off once I’m boned. Although TBH I’m really scared too. I think I’m just going to continue waking up at the time I was prior to all this and try and stick to my schedule as much as possible.",1 Oh God. That’s the worst. Then you try and focus on what the other person is saying but you’re failing miserably because all you can think about is that obsession over and over and over.,0 I teared up a bit when I read this. It's been a hard day.,0 "The problem with me is that even though i don't do compulsions, my obsession still hurts me and disrupts me",0 "I think I've become particularly bad about this from listening to books and podcasts at 1.5x for several hours a day over the past several years so my preferred/typical tempo is much faster than anyone can possibly deliver, myself included. I try to remember this whenever I'm interacting with people and try to take a deep breath and slow down. I'm seldom successful, but I'm slowly becoming better than I was.",1 Sometimes I feel that I'm arguing with another entity in my head.,0 "Sign up for the free trial then immediately cancel the subscription! You'll still be able to have the free trial, but you won't get charged at the end of it. If you did, write the company, I've gotten refunds.",1 Same. I live with talented musicians and artists and a part of me is so envious that they are good at something and I’m not!,1 Jocko Willink motivates me. My parents make me want to disappear,1 I hate it too. In fact the doctor said I would grow out of it by adulthood so I in turn didn't take it seriously as well. I thought it was just being easily distracted so I worked hard to overcome it not knowing there was a lot more to it than just that.,1 "I feel like ""managing"" someone else is something people with ADHD are good at. I can promote people like crazy, but can't do it for myself, for instance. ",1 "Thank you for posting this, I was literally crying and burst into laughter 😂",0 Omg yes! Hahah I’m so happy somebody else feels this way.,0 "I really connect with you. My issue is PTSD. Today I decided to try to practice radical acceptance many times a day. I was blessed this morning with a healthy retort to my usual pessimism. When I thought “what’s the point of anything? “ ( like I’m Sisyphus pushing that damn rock), then I retorted “the point is to make stuff happen that I can enjoy”. I guess I’m trying to say I need to paint my damn rock. Still the grief of having mental illness is giant. Keep on trucking. There is relief. If you can, try to soothe yourself. DBT and distress tolerance teaches us to soothe and distract. When I get Intense emotions, all I can do is soothe and distract.",0 "If only my mother understood that I was never being lazy, uninterested, or didn't care about things. It was executive dysfunction and masking, clearly she didn't understand what an ADHD diagnosis meant when I was little. I don't live w her anymore bc I'm an adult and I live w roommates, thank fuck.",1 Omg. I always hated Spongebob. Now I know why. I am Spongebob.,0 "if there’s a place to post something like this, it’s here! we get this victory - i know i certainly do. it’s so hard to ignore the urge to do it again and again. i’m proud of you. baby steps are steps. you won today. and don’t forget to moisturize them hands afterwards!",0 you forget about the bonus “my brain won’t shut up so i guess i’ll clean the house at 2am” time that you get if you’ve had a weird enough day 🤪,1 "Even worse, cleaning is a good way to pass time when I already have dye in my hair. All those fumes in a tiny bathroom.",0 This is so relatable. Can't count the number of nights I've woken up in the middle of the night and been up for several hours trying to go back to sleep.,0 "I'm glad my rituals are nowhere near as pervasive as they used to be. Never mind people talking to me, I'd be more worried about them noticing me [REDACTED] a certain number of times.",0 "HELL YEAH MAN. baby steps lead to big strides. you can get even better, i know it!",0 You are super pretty!!!! I’m like 🤩 & kudos to you for surviving and thriving!!,0 "This is why isn’t so hard to talk to medical professionals about attention deficit disorders! ‘Just make a list and cross things off as you accomplish them’ Bruh, imma try to start a list and in the process of finding a pen and paper I’m going to get distracted....",1 I have a file on my phone called “shrink notes” so I can try to focus on the things I really want help with. I tried to go into thinking “if it isn’t important enough to remember it probably wasn’t that important” but we all that’s not true. Now I make sure to take notes (sometimes very detailed) to make sure I cover the things I need to work through the most,0 Also rip my grades. Quarter one and two were amazing but quarter thee is in hospice.,1 Can someone please post these periodically every week?! (Ok off to research opening an LLC remotely from outside the US!),1 Literally all these. There's a couple in this list that I always forget to mention when it comes up. They're little but they're annoying af,1 Me waking up in the morning and not dead from carbon monoxide poisoning,0 Is this an ADHD thing? I need to know. Also are there sources where i can learn about ADHD (not tests),1 "I can't blame people who can't understand ADHD. On my productive days, I can't understand why I have so many shit days. On my shit days, I can't understand how I have any productive days. So how could I expect someone else to understand this?",1 "Yes. Even with small things in my daily life when it comes to being a partner. I much prefer ""can we please put the laundry away now so it doesn't get wrinkly"" over ""can we please put the laundry away now."" If there's not a reason, my brain refuses to register its importance. At my new job, I'm praised for asking why on every single little thing. They love that I'm trying to understand everything and not just regurgitate the training books. It feels amazing!",1 "Yeah, this quote hits home. Especially the suitcase from a month ago still lying on the ground with clothes in it. I started working on my data entry job this morning before my meds had kicked in. It took me nearly 45 minutes to complete 15 entries because I couldn't focus and my brain felt like mush. But I was easily able to focus on the Youtube video that I had been wanting to watch (that also contributed to my distraction). Once my meds kicked in, I finished the next 15 entries in about 20 minutes.",1 I have DnD two days a week in a row and they're always getting onto me (and a few others lmfao) about being inactive and not roleplaying like sorry bro just the weekly disassociation idk whats going on right now I'm either on the verge of having a non-committal mental breakdown or cooking a boiled egg at 12 AM,0 "I 100,000% feel this. I pick up so many wild hobbies. Things that I want to be good at and learn but with so many of them I just.....can't. My father is an amazing artist. He can paint, draw, sculpt you name it. Me? I'm lucky to draw a stick figure with straight lines and a decent circle. Unless I sit around for literal hours, or days, just trying to draw one thing. It's always annoyed me to no end. About the only things I've ever stuck to and gotten good at is writing, story telling, auto mechanic work, and wilderness survival skills. Now, all that aside, I have a zillion little hobbies I know *a little bit* about. It's like a jack of all trades thing. I'm decent enough to help or do a bit, but never great. Sometimes it bothers me and sometimes, just sometimes, I'm ok with that. Some people are to find it interesting that I am somewhat skilled at so many things. Always an odd feeling.",1 I used to zone out *during* sex sometimes. Guess my partners just weren't that good. I wonder if they learned anything from that. They didn't really seem to at the time...,1 "My meds have been ineffective for a while now(30mg xr). I try not to take it at all just trying to get over tolerance. But the anxiety and depression are bad.......days pass in a daze. The only suggestion my doc gave was to up the dose. I was hesitant to do that. I will give it a try now. Thankyou.",1 "Sounds like a great doctor! I’ve always loved school & learning so no one ever suspected I had ADHD, just horrible anxiety. My new psychiatrist realized my Prozac blocks my panic attacks, but the overwhelming anxiety is always there. I thought she was nuts when she suggested I try adderall to see if it helped. It’s life-changing. I’ve been on adderall for about a month now & I’ve never felt this great, I feel so normal and clear-headed.",1 "What in the actual...... and apparently a portion of the profits are for helping autistic kids? Well that's nice, but what does this have to do with OCD? Just using someone's suffering label to make a profit. Like people have commented, this is a new low.",0 "I look at it this way. You’re smart because you’ve been mentally fighting a brilliant opponent for decades. Finding new ways of surviving the mental wars. It’s just exhausting. I mean I do smart shit all the time and then I start thinking maybe I’m not smart enough for preschool.",1 "I’m proud of you for sticking it to OCD and you’re doing a great job! Don’t be afraid of showing people your art, it looks great :) happy holidays ",0 "I did this with a friend and their apartment yesterday. Mine also needs cleaning but theirs was trashed by an x so I went over with trash bags and we got a TON done. My apartment needs cleaning too but I’d rather pay someone. Except I need to declutter ",1 "A good lesson for me. But I have adhd too so when my son is bouncing the ball I find it hard to focus and finishing my thoughts and end up communicating poorly Edit:spelling",1 "I am diagnosed with OCD and I didn't think that it was because of these sentiments. I'm very messy and sure I do have my rules but it runs deeper than this. The thoughts are so debilitating that I could just go on with a day and not remember anything because I'm so preoccupied with own invasive thoughts.",0 """He who controls the past controls the future; he who controls the present controls the past."" (probs not as fitting cause it's from 1984 tbh)",0 "My entire school life, in ~400 words. Happily, things have gotten better since the dark ages. My son was diagnosed early and the school district did minor adaptations for him - writing was hard, so they let him type. A visually busy environment made it hard to work, so they gave him a desk where he didn’t have all that. He did great in school.",1 "It's 10:30 p.m and we are watching the last episode of Chernobyl before bed, there is literally nothing I have to do 😂 but thanks",1 This is a great idea. I struggle to take the habit of taking pics and videos but I am slowly learning.,1 "When I was in high school, my parents tried to do the ""tough love"" thing with me. It backfired x1000000. I just become more defiant and disconnected. I just couldn't. do. anything. And they didn't understand why. And neither did I. I was so fucking miserable, and I think I made them miserable too. So glad to finally have a diagnosis/be medicated.",1 "Use [last.fm](https://last.fm) It tracks - or ""scrobbles"" - each instance of listening to a song. Not just on Spotify either. You can then analyze your data to see what moods you were in at one time. Or see when you first discovered a band. Endless data - I love it! And it's all behind-the-scenes so you can set it and forget it. I know this does not address the reason for your post. But since discovering this subreddit, I've been amazed at just how many traits or sentiments I am not alone in. So in the off-chance someone reading this also likes on-demand access to listening analytics, I open you find it useful! And to OP: when I first discovered the album ""I. Love. You."" by the Neighbourhood in 2013, I went an entire week where I listened to (almost) nothing but that album. Fortunately though, it was the type of album I needed at that point in my life, so it's actually become sort of a comfort album for me to go back to. [Here's a snapshot of the week in question, for anyone interested.](https://www.last.fm/user/thenameisdre/library/albums?from=2013-12-15&to=2013-12-22) And if anyone has similar music tastes, please share! I'm always looking for recommendations. Love you guys!",1 "Nope, I'm all Team having-an-internal-conversation while watching TV, or movies, or reading something that isn't particularly interesting. Sigh.",1 i don’t have this problem but i am taking online classes. i would for sure use a planner or reminders on your phone when you have time to complete your assignments,1 Yes and it feels really... Empty? I guess when they do die. My grandmother recently passed and I'm pretty sure I had been grieving her death for the last ten years so when she did actually die I literally felt nothing. It was so weird,0 "Maybe the Mum has ADHD as well and is unable to block out background noises. I think I would not be able to be in the same room as that myself and follow a conversation or cook or do any type of task.. Also ADHD often runs in the family.",1 My multiple planners at home finished halfway are laughing at this post right now. HAHAHAHA 😅 lmaoo,1 "Mine always happen when I am alone, often in the bathroom. No one knows unless i verbalize it",0 Oh my goodness. This is me all the frickin time!!!!!!!,0 "Yeah I feel you, the morality and sexuality thoughts are the worst",0 "THANK YOU! People never seem to understand why I get so upset over them claiming to be ""so OCD"". OCD isn't something we WANT nor are we happy to have it. For most of us this is our hell on earth.",0 "Man I felt this so hard. I am just in the process of getting healthcare and it’s so expensive with the deductible and stuff,wish I could get around that stuff",1 "I'm stuck on ruminating a scene containing my celebrity crush making out with an actress that makes me uncomfortable. I know it's just acting but the age gap between the actors is what discomforts me. She was like 18-19 and he was like 30. And how everyone reacts positively to that scene. I'm 19 but I'm not jealous, I like him too but that doesn't sit well with me.",0 "I feel ya dude. Especially if you need to work or have to find a job, it feels impossible to get one or hold one when you’re depressed. Feel worthless and hopeless applying, interviews terrifying, then keeping the actual job is mind-numbing... Yay for drugs, diet, friendship and exercise!",1 "This fits me exactly to a T. So, SO often I'm told I'm not paying attention when I forget things, that I'm not organized enough, etc... it hurts so much because I just can't change those things about myself even though I desperately want to. Edit: typo 🤪",1 "Thank you for sharing this. I am having a really really hard few days and your vulnerability is comforting and inspiring. I actually think this is a great idea. I have cleaners come once a month, but it’s not enough, and have been thinking about hiring a housekeeper, but feel shame and guilt around it.",1 "Hi /u/kittykat-kay and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 I kept looking for places for rental. I been trying to do it all week ty!,1 Just left from the post on r/Tourette’s and saw this hehe,0 one thing that I do that might help others is to not stop until all tasks are done because then I wont have time to actually listen to my brain,1 "my brain then being like ""why dont u just sit on the edge then see how close you can get to falling off w/o falling"" me: i need to get away from here ok ok ok ok",0 "This manifests itself in terrible ways for me. I work in a relatively high stress job, and I work from home. So does my wife. So when my wife needs something during the day, or needs to talk about something, I feel like I am incapable of listening. Like I stand there and try to listen because I know I am supposed to or my relationship will implode. But the more I am thinking about work, the more I cannot stop and listen.",1 "Also when waiting to cross a street, ""what if you just fell in front of that car and died"" -_-",0 "I sincerely hope they do change the name. I was shocked at how complex ""ADHD ""was and how much it effects my life and thought processes.",1 "It's always like: ""Uhuh that'd be something yeah, but how about no?""",0 OMG EXACTLY WHAT IM DOING NOW. Should be studying for my finals. This is what makes me think I have ADHD. But I’m honestly not fucking sure,1 Holy shit did I write this and forget????? Lol this is 100000% what I’ve experienced and I finally got diagnosed and medicated at 32 years old. It has changed my life. Hugs to you and your journey through this!!,1 "My bf has OCD. I used to pick on him about the way he runs his toothbrush under the running water 4 times the same way or takes longer to make the her than I ever would or needs the milk jug lid to touch and then screw on just right. Now I understand. I love him and although I will never understand his counting or strange routines, I love him for every little quirk even more so. Just as much as he loves me for my gassy ass. Gotta love everything about a person and it doesn't happen over night.",0 I could imagine trying to use all these and then failing because adhd and then feeling ashamed for failing D: I’ll try one or two,1 ".....I get a brief panic attack when I get any kind of anything on my hands. Water? Ew get off. Food? Off off off offffffff Honey? Syrup? Fuck you.",0 "Yep The other day I was nervous because I was convinced my therapist felt annoyed at me because I texted her to confirm the location (she has 2 and changed our appointment to a time she’s not normally working). One of the first things she said when I got there was that she was glad that I texted her to confirm 🙃",0 "True, it happens that i have to mute a cutscene of a videogame because that part will trigger a thing that my mind repeats for the next 30 seconds and really gets me out of concentration",0 Yes something is better than nothing hun good for you! You are so strong and each day is a day to get better 🤞🏻⭐️💙,0 Thank you :) I love this community. My ocd isnt nearly as bad as some but you all make me feel like im not alone. ❤️,0 And out of all those Schizophrenia is the least likely to ever be a choice,0 Maybe they are self-doubting (thinking they might have ‘given them to themselves’)? Idk,0 Me when my therapist talks about pedophilia cases 👁️👄👁️,0 "Also if it helps anyone, what I do is that I actually SPLIT up my routine, so I brush my teeth in morning and night along with mouthwash and I floss in the middle of the day because I've noticed that the more things I have to do at the one time the more overwhelmed I get and I shut down",1 "Congrats dude, now don’t get OCD about needing going to bars frequently now, that shit set me back a ton 🥴",0 "aaaaaaa this is me on purpose doing my assignments 1 hour before the deadline when I was given over a month of time.",1 Even if this was obviously satirical post I stressed out so much just reading it,1 "I like it :) Congrats, you won the day. Doesn't matter what else happened, you completed a difficult goal and are making a wonderful painting. I don't know you, but I'm proud of you.",0 "I don't really agree. For me it's more like needing to be stimulated, and any task that isn't entertaining enough can't be done",1 this is so good i want to make one for myself and put it on my wall is that okay for you? 🥲,0 I actually started a diary with all these tips and tricks that I forgot existed until right now. 🙃,1 "Same here, but with autistic related content. It's always an article from Autism Speaks or some pro-ABA charity I've never heard of. Oh, and they always use ""has autism"" or ""Aspergers"" drives me nuts.",1 Yea bc if someone criticizes me I’ll die inside lol,0 "I ruled out being a teacher or anything that involves speaking to people in general because I have a terrible time translating thoughts to speech. I was trying to teach my friend a topic in one of our classes and it took me about 15 minutes of umming and ahing and drawing diagrams before I could finally get my point across.",1 I realized I was doing this the other day and was so disgusted with myself cause I knew I would eventually do these things. And shit got done. It’s probably not the healthiest way but I’ll take it until better habits come along.,1 "How did you knowwwwww. It was all meeeeee. Not gonna lie, I feel by me resisting my compulsion, Im putting my relationship at risk. ._. *bows out my tedtalk*",0 "This is awesome but I think that (at least for me) the mindfullness part is where it all gets sticky. I always define OCD to people who dont have it as a debilitating betrayal at the hands of your own mind. Because although you KNOW your thoughts are irrational, you also struggle to fight the compulsion that follows. There is no mindfullness there at all. At least for me",0 "I struggled with the same thing OP. I don’t know how much my tips will help you, but I hope you’re able to find methods that help you accomplish your goals. I kinda fixed this problem for myself (after getting on meds). Basically, I made a routine for myself, giving myself plenty of time for each thing, and set timers for every 20 minutes. My calendar is the first thing I see when I open up my phone so I know what I should be doing at any given time. My schedule is very realistic and not too stressful, so I’m more inclined to follow it. Even then, I don’t always stick to the schedule but it helps me get back on track if I get too derailed. I have timers (with different ringtones) set every 20 minutes. They remind me to refocus, take a break, etc. So if I meant to take a 5 minute Reddit break but I’ve been scrolling for 20 minutes, the timers snap me out of scrolling. At the very least, the timers help me be less time blind. But don’t be too harsh on yourself.",1 “ I am not going to die today” “I’m not going to have a heart attack” “ I’m going to live a long life” “ I won’t fall down the stairs and die”,0 I’ve got an interview at 3 today and I heartily agree.,1 "I read something about the idea of being a ""perfectionist"" causing procrastination. If you can't do it perfectly, or with full commitment/concentration, you tell yourself you'll do it later. ADHD with ""perfectionist"" tendencies is awful. Just awful.",1 "Being in lockdown is not a problem. Like most if not all logistical problems it is merely an annoyance, and inconvenience, an issue. It becomes a problem when it aggravates certain emotional aspects of your life. Being in lockdown for a person that doesn't struggle with intrusive thoughts, has a healthy relationship with his family (assuming he lives with them), has friends he that he chats with regularly by text or by talking on the phone, suffers nothing more than an inconvenience. His emotional quality of being will be minimally affected. Even if he has to wear a military grade gas mask every time he goes to the store, and disinfect the packaging of the products he bought and take a shower as well in a very intricate and overly thought out manner, all that combined doesn't cause suffering, because he has the most essential components, socialization and emotional support verbally spoken, not just textually on an anonymous platform, and he isn't stranded in an ocean of his own shit. If he has a lover that he can chat with or Skype, not only is he not really suffering, the presence of such an influence in his life during that struggle can make the struggle enjoyable and later on somewhat nostalgic. I'll put a star by the last one, even if he was literally barricaded into his home, the presence of love and comradery works wonders on ones perception and experience of such a problem. In my opinion, and this I learned from struggling with ocd, logistical problems are all issues. They only become problems when they aggravate emotionally affective aspects of your life.",0 Flashbacks to all the times I’ve told people “I love planning.”,1 "I thought it was pretty normal to be so mad at germs before but the stress of like, cultural panic has definitely made it beyond ""normal"" amounts of concern for germs/contamination.",0 "It’s so tough to be misunderstood, and I’m so sorry you’re family doesn’t understand. But there are a world of people out there and on here who totally do. It’s not within our control! But you’re still here and you’re still able to show up everyday and do what you can. You’re enough as you are! I love my family but living with them? No way. Those are the people who wouldn’t replace my inhalers or coats or school supplies because I always lost my things. You will get through this. And this stupid pandemic.",1 with Pure-o the shadow would be whispering things at your ear 24/7,0 "You have logic in your conversation? When mine get going, logic isn’t allowed to speak. I have the ADHD and BED instead of the DID, but the anxiety conversation is too relatable.",0 "I feel like I run into the situation all the time where I know EXACTLY what I need to do in a situation to solve a problem or improve in some way and I really do want to do it but at the same time I just don’t. Its like I have the desire to do whatever it is but once I actually get started I can’t put out the level of output required to really get anywhere in a timely manner. That’s if I can get myself started. This could be anything like doing work for school or a job in a more effective way, or even starting something I want to work on. Idk if that made any sense, but do you know what I’m talking about? Like I could easily solve a problem I’m running into, but I just don’t, even if I really want to. It looks like being lazy from the outside, but it’s a separate feeling on the inside, laziness feels totally different. Idk if I made any sense, but maybe you know what I’m trying to say.",1 Do not step on tiles that is not whole. Or else you fail your Mission!,0 "Another lesson the child might learn: Because panic drove you to do the task, the parent/teacher was actually right and you're lazy/stubborn/defiant/otherwise defective because you didn't just do it to begin with.",1 "Yeah, I have HOCD and intrusive thoughts regarding my personality and perceptions, not so much the real world.",0 "absolutely. that and compulsively rereading my comments to make sure i didn't say ""the wrong thing.""",0 Currently terrified to take mine. I read the side effects and anaphylaxis is an caus or serotonin syndrome. F that,0 "yeah, i have ocd tiks and omg it’s so hard trying not to get looks especially when i think i’m super ugly and everyone hates me",0 i feel this. really in my ADHD 1 Hour = Approximately 15 minutes,1 "This is so incredibly true. A former boss of mine once screamed at me: ""You're such a smart guy, why can't you do stuff that is this easy?! I don't get it""",1 "I wouldn't wish this kind of stuff on my worst enemy. Having OCD isn't something I can just turn off. There is one particular photo that really gets to me. It's the one that says I have CDO...it's like OCD only the letters are in alphabetical order. Um, hello. You wouldn't go around telling people you have compulsive disorder obsessive. Sorry, that's not how this disorder works.",0 "Currently in a zoom class, unable to pay attention because these feelings of hopelessness triumph any other thoughts. I stumbled across this post while in class and it made me feel a kind of warmth in my heart that I haven't felt in a while. I've had an awful week and this post gave me something that I haven't felt in a hot minute - hope. Thank you for posting this, it was something I didn't know that I needed to hear. ​ OP, I am so deeply sorry for your loss. Sending you love and warmth.",1 I have stuff from a month ago and haven’t completed it yet. It becomes meaningless even when reminded daily.,1 "OCD caused me to miss being there fully to comfort a dying loved one when they passed. I suffer from superstitious OCD, among other types. I was so afraid of irrational things like condemning their soul to eternity of suffering if I thought the wrong thing as they died, that I could barely touch them or tell them I loved them. This is a huge source of regret for me and a big contributor to my depression. But yeah, OCD is totes desirable, right? 🙄",0 "I'm always 2nd, 3rd, and 4th guessing those little comments I made years ago. Why did I say those things? Do they even remember? But they made a weird face...are they still mad? I can totally relate to this pic.",0 I get scared I won’t make it to 50. I want to kill my OCD. It’s driving me mad. Thank you for showing it is possible to live with it. ,0 "How did you know that I was struggling with this so much this week? Every job I have, I do this. I make a great first impression, but then I take on too much at one time and I end up failing. I always feel like a disappointment because I have to admit to my boss that I need to cut back. It's like I know my real self can achieve great things, but there is a force field that holds me back. Does anyone know the secret sauce recipe for handling life? It sure seems like all of my successful coworkers do.",1 "For awhile I texted a picture to my daughter of my pills in my hand and she texted me a picture of hers. That kind of eliminates the, ""What if I forgot to fill that compartment when I filled the pill box and didn't actually take my pills today? What if I forgot to take my pills yesterday and already took yesterday's pills today and am going to OD by taking a second dose?"" Or whatever other stuff OCD cooks up.",0 I just downloaded a app that also dictates!! It’s SUPER helpful when you have to read a large paper or article. This way you can write down notes as it reads it to you instead of reading a paragraph multiple times to get any information!!!,1 This is me 100%. Something that might take me less than 20 minutes to do might take me 4 hours to work up the courage/focus to do it. And once I'm up I'll get like 5 other projects done unless I sit down.,1 Me but with driving.. i literally cannot drive in peace. I cant even look at something else in the road for 3 seconds without worrying about accidentally hitting something or someone. Everyday is a struggle.,0 "I leave my compulsions to the little stuff: buying perfect numbers of body washes, perfect placement of colored hangers, proper scents in the correct places, an ultra clean house, blah blah blah. I squelch the scary ones (throw my phone out of my car at 70mph, jump off a cruise ship balcony, blah blah blah.",0 "She said it’s arrogant of me to assume that I understand how others think and feel. I always play things out, like, you can’t say how many calories are in something cause someone in the room be a recovering anorexic then it sends them off the edge and then they die and it’s my fault. ",0 "“Yeah babe, if I didn’t round the corner on my run in 5 seconds you would’ve died”",0 "Don't forget about the accidental cutting off people in meetings (before it gets beat out of you anyway), the idea of effective before efficient not really something that comes natural to us, poor organization (huge depending on the job), and inevitable paranoia/negative emotional spiral when being told, 'you need to improve x/y'.",1 This is how I felt after my first dose of Strattera. My brain went quiet and I started to cry.,1 "Gas stove, fridge, outdoors lights, door, all windows, repeat. I make myself do this second/third/fourth round consciously and say myself 'you did that, see?'.",0 The trick is to not sit down. A task is a lot easier to start when you're standing.,1 "Thank you for this, I needed it. Your writing is awesome! Your words have a way of pulling people in.",1 "I'm the inverse, I needed to figure out how to clean up as a result of highschool sports I actually scorn sitting around",1 God won’t just cure you with a snap. God will provide you with resources in your life that will help!,0 Absolutely! And anything my parents told me to do I ended up doing the opposite. Also growing up not knowing I have ADHD was HELL!,1 "I love this! I am a writer, and the ONLY thing I've found that helps me is trying to make the experience fun. Usually I take my meds, put on my headphones, and dance around my room like a crazy person. Then I intercut this with the task I'm completing. Just taking meds isn't enough to keep me on task for multiple hours, but this seems to work.",1 "it absolutely should be named something like that. it would be so helpful in advancing understanding of what adhd really is, not what we used to think it was. when i have cause to talk about adhd to people who don't really understand what it is all about, i always say this.",1 My OCD has made some of my fears very real thank you very much. I live in a very suspicious and hotheaded society. ,0 "One more that I just found out yesterday: Do not eat or drink ANYTHING acidic, especially citric acid, an hour before or after taking your meds. I’ve been taking my meds with leftover swallows of Diet Sprite, but apparently that’s one of the worst things. My meds are still working, probably because it’s a swallow or two and not, like, a whole can. But I took them with water today, and I already feel like they’re working quicker and better.",1 5 because it splits into equal parts of 2 on either side with 1 in the center,0 "The first project I ever did on our house was replace the front door. It’s secure, it locks, but the trim isn’t done and it needs paint. We moved in seven years ago...",1 I know everyone is struggling a little so I thought I’d share a meme(with a little truth.) Hope your day goes well I know times are tough.,0 "Seriously! People romanticize it so damn much, its like ""yes karen, you totally have ocd just because you have a clean house"" meanwhile im over here, not being able to function if my daily routine is even slightly disturbed, or being extremely uncomfortable and anxious because i noticed some small environmental irregularities like flickering lights, or disorder that literally no one else notices.",0 My immediate response to this in my head was just “I love you” so I guess you should know. That you’re not alone and you are loved -virtual hugs-,0 I can relate... i used to over think the same thing like stuck on a loop and constantly going in my mi d every minutes but it gets better,0 "That's a great representation of OCD. I can relate to everything illustrated. Sometimes it's hard to explain in words to someone who hasn't suffered from it before, but this drawing explains it a lot better.",0 "Amateur! I got there _years_ ago, mate. 😂 I also have two _additional_ WL folders titled ‘Yet to Watch 1 ‘and ‘Yet to Watch 2’ - the second (in effect, third) currently sits at 4,927. That’s aside from the 30+ other subject matter categorised YT subfolders, obvs. _”Houston, I believe I may have a problem.”_. 🥴",1 ADHD meds worked better for my depression than antidepressants did.,1 "I did this last night. Record time getting something done for work, on the last step I had to switch screens to copy/paste something but got distracted by emails and texts and took another half hour to finish a 5 minute thing.",1 "Yea, I've been having sex and gotten distracted and the woman feels somewhat slighted cause my brain is like... ""what about this thing"" and I'm like ""focus damn it!"" And my brain says, ""hey, what does space sound like"" or some other random shit. It suuuuucks. Not as many problems now with medication, which is nice.",1 "Yes i do this and with texts as well. Maybe not ten times but at least triple checking. I also do this with checking doors are locked and the car is locked. Then if i sent a text or email and did not hear back i would think i sent something nefarious by mistake. Its like when i am out walking and see a police car and I think they are coming to arrest me. Replaying conversations as well hoping i was not rude.",0 Instead of sacrificing one goat to the shadow lord I have to sacrifice multiple until it feels right,0 I use both therapy and Jesus to help me :D ya need both lol,0 "No way that would make me feel the need to wash my hands less, my brain would never accept that it works",0 "I almost cried reading this. You have no clue how much I needed to hear/read this. Felt like I was going completely insane (I usually don’t believe my intrusive thoughts, but these were just so illogical yet so convincing, since existential obsessions have no real way of finding reassurance) and was losing my grip on reality, having a panic attack, etc.(existential OCD theme was unfortunately triggered by my own journey with spirituality). Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.",0 "Yes especially the tics, most people have no idea that it’s a part of OCD",0 https://drmichaeljgreenberg.com/how-to-stop-ruminating/ the best guide I’ve seen on how to stop,0 "Hey, friendly Internet person, thanks. I filled out an important invoice. Thanks!",1 This is why I lay awake all night panicking and on the verge of a full melt down,0 "It's been 8 years that I pay for a mobile line that I don't even use. And if i want to stop it, i need the account password. But you now what? I lost it and when i ask for a new, they send it by sms, on this line. And, obviously, i've lost the sim card...",1 "I find that wood working keeps me active, lots of movement and very hands on. Just put on an audiobook and let my hands work",1 YESSSS this was me yesterday! I had a job interview at 2:30pm and I spent the entire day freaking out about it and it ruined the day. I WAY prefer having interviews or appointments earlier in the day.,1 "The executive dysfunction feels, to me, like an inability to apply proper weight/cost to the activity. Everything has a very fuzzy cost.",1 ">it's also like that for work! if i work at 4pm, it feels like I can't do anything before that!!! if someone asks if they want to get lunch at noon or just go out before I work? I'm like nope I work at 4pm!!! Oh god, I feel the whole post but this about work hits so hard. I usually start anywhere from 10 to 12 which isn't so bad (in fact it's pretty great) but sometimes I have a 3pm shift and it is so difficult!",1 "Can't relate, my executive dysfunction is too poor I can't even plan. I'm really scared of planning. The endless amount of possibilities isn't so much exciting to me as it is daunting.",1 "I agree with this whole post except with the ""medication is the miracle solution"" implication. Like, maybe if I made it to 30 without it, there are other ways to cope? I have tried vyvanse and Adderall and didn't like how either made me feel. Like, why can't therapy and coping strategies be just as valid as an option? I get because the mental health system sucks and it's really expensive to do that option. But idk, I just feel like I'm an outlier in this sub every time medication is brought up.",1 So wait is this why I love buying notebooks I never use???,1 "Watching a film, having a conversation with someone, reading a book, reading reddit comments, playing games. Everytime my brain just thinks: Well, he's doing well by himself, let me just quietly start doing my own thing and he won't even notice.",1 Yes and the more annoying part is that I almost never realise I'm doing it till I'm finished with my distracted though train.,1 "Put your hand in the oven. Or put your dog in the fridge and close the door. Like PLEASE",0 Your art style looks like mine and I wonder if our brains are wired similarly.,0 My silver lining dealing with all this. OCD meme game is always going strong! A good meme does do wonders some days.,0 "Just have to say thank you for this as a new med user. My psychiatrist has been great about talking me through it and has touched on these points, but it's nice to see it confirmed by someone else. I'm one of those tiny people who apparently needs a lot, and it's been weird for me to accept higher doses even though I know I'm not getting the benefits of the meds that I should be yet. Thank you for the reassurance that I'm not doing it all wrong!",1 Didn’t read the sub name as I was scrolling and I thought it meant bad genes as the most unattractive part of your parents and the torturous disease of being ugly and was thinking that’s a bit harsh.,0 "I have pure-O so I mostly have my mental rituals and intrusive thoughts. I'm a stickler for dirt and grime because I know how bad it is for our health, but I'm super disorganized and my apartment is frequently cluttered. But I hate laundry and the dishes so those pile up pretty frequently. I hate the trope that everyone with OCD is an ever-cleaning, germaphobic neat freak. It manifests in a lot of different ways for a lot of different people. It's annoying to explain to people who think that I'm supposed to be Monk.",0 "I have this very intensely trying to remember conversations I had in specific detail, I can’t let go of it until I remember what I talked about - even if it was like over a week ago",0 I read this four times. And why are you not using symmetric font.,0 "yesterday I was working and talking to my co-worker and he asked if I've watched Rick and Morty. then he quoted an episode for like 10 minutes, and thought I was lying when I said I don't remember anything from that episode. I've watched the show 4 times same with the office but I stg I can't quote some shit to save my life",1 I'm not sure about you guys but I'm much more likely to get angry or stand up for myself on amphetamines (therapeutic doses).,1 Traded massive anxiety triggered by ocd for depression,0 I have obsessive thoughts. Cleaning has never been an obsession or compulsion!,0 "lmao okay this made me laugh. I need to study for my exam, thanks for this!",1 Im not ocd and im not suspecting it in me. But still interested in sub. Yeah i have those thoughts too. Not only being cancelled but also im afraid if someone will know my address or my face.,0 "I have never related to something so much on Reddit before. As someone who suffers from Health Anxiety OCD, the “What ifs” go out of control VERY fast.",0 So proud of you! It looks so much healthier too. I JUST got mine done yesterday after about a year and a half. It feels so good! 💕,0 I can't tell you how much I needed this right now. Thank you.,0 I spend literally hours on Reddit everyday reading.. it goes by so damn fast.,1 "I definitely should try and exercise like this. I know how my OCD manifests really well, this is fairly accurate for me too. Now I wish I had the drawing capabilities of someone older than 7 years old",0 This one hurt seeing my pain explicitly laid out. Oof.,0 "I could complain about the current nomenclature all day, but names like Executive Function disorder elicit a weird reaction from me. I definitely think it’s more accurate, but I fear it would be even more difficult for people who don’t know what executive function/dysfunction is to understand. “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” has a stigma already, and it obviously only touches on what’s at the surface. Maybe I’m just afraid of stigma being attached to how my brain actually works??",1 "I've been having some awful brain fog lately and have been super tired. I struggled to finish my paper. I figured out it was way easier to dictate and then correct errors as needed.",1 "Edgar Allan Poe also describes this in ""The Imp of the Perverse."" The main character basically has an OCD spike and that's what leads to the ending.",0 "I literally sit and am like ""fuck you fuck you fuck you. Shut up!"" To my self! 🤦🏽‍♀️",0 "hello fellow OP well I wanted to say you brother's girfriend is really nice and actually I'm in this very same situation but it got way better because my girl (we've been together for 6 months now) was confused with my ADD before and couldn't tell when I was drifting or if I was mad at her because I was ""not here"" but in less than 2 months she adapted herself to my chemical imbalance just like I did for her type 1 diabete (since add makes you restless I don't mind getting awake in the middle of the night to take her blood sugar level) and thing is my parents were like oh but just try harder parents but since last year when I explained them how it feels to be in my head for one day my dad fell off his chair (I was dead laughing when it happened) and they really understood me better and made it easier for me when I'm drifting.",1 "Hm. My intrusive thoughts are based around testicular torsion and having a dead nut, torn spermatic cord... ect. This is like the female equivalent. Ocd is so fucked up man",0 "Been there too. Start doing something about boredom. This makes depression fade away. For me, ""dopamine detox"" was very helpful, as I need to have plans. If I don't plan my day/week, all I do is sit around being bored and somewhat depressed. The best thing that could've happened to me, is that after 4 years of being in friend zone, I managed to get my crush to love me. This made my life much more stable. I believe in y'all. Always remember, we ADHD guys are a special breed, we can achieve so much more than anyone would think. I am happy to have ADHD, it makes me a ""special"" person.",1 "How interesting! I know at least four people who have it, and I’m 30. The first one I met was an ex-boyfriend, who was the first person I’d ever met with it and who took medication for it. One is a close friend, the other my aunt, and another is an acquaintance. Because of this, I’ve always assumed it was quite a common mental disorder, and that people with it knew many others who had it too.",0 "Everyday. I'll say ""I hate myself / I should die"" out loud when I think of something embarrassing. It's also a spirit crusher, I'll be having a good time, remember the cringe, and die inside.",0 "to be complely honest, I didn't even realize my ocd was so bad until I started seeing all the little tiny things I do day in and out for years. I've done this for as long as I can remember",0 Fuuuuuck. Yeah. 80 tabs open on my phone and have to read each and every one before I close them.,0 "Lmfao. Big yikes, never have I felt so uncomfortable while laughing so hard. This exactly.",0 Wow! Is this part of OCD?! This is the story of my life! I thought it was a character flaw. It helps to hear that it might be part of OCD/anxiety/ my neurological make- up! I am deep in this feeling right now as a teacher attempting to learn so much about virtual instruction. Am tearing up to realize that my stress and anxiety with new learning might not be my fault. It’s the anxieties fault- maybe?!,0 "help i don’t know what to do everything i’ve worked so hard to limit (gloves in stores, constant hand washing, constant lysol everywhere inside) is now normalized and i feel like i’m never going back to controlling that behavior once the world moves past COVID. my therapist has postponed all appointments and is not doing telepathy and i’m very afraid all my progress is lost and i’m spiraling",0 What would it be if you didnt do it over and over and over 🧐,0 "Thank you, but she is kinda pointing over my shoulder. But thank you!!!",0 "So when I was really mentally unwell I’ll call it, I couldn’t eat, the smallest tasks seemed like soooo much effort! Something that helped to begin with was making sure I drank an “up and go” breakfast drink before taking medication. So it was at least something. I then moved to smoothies making smoothies by buying frozen packs of blueberries, mixed berries, banana, raspberries and probiotic milk. I would make the most simple smoothie but it’s so healthy. Don’t underestimate the power of food ! I understand that it’s exhausting to do anything so the simplest thing like drinks I’ve mentioned is a starting point. Food makes a world of difference and it’s still hard for me. It’s about looking at one small aspect at a time rather than the big picture of EVERYTHING that has to be done. Just one step at a time.",1 "I actually never knew people had these same worries until I found this sub, so thank you. I don't know how to talk to my therapist about this stuff it's so embarrassing and I'm so worried that there's something seriously wrong with me.. But it's nice to know I'm not alone, I hope we can all overcome this.",0 This whole past year I thought I was 37 when in actuality I’m only 36.,1 "My OCD would be so overwhelmed by that mess that is put blinders on and not even notice. The messy parts of my house, I can’t even see it. But more importantly, someone touched those candies. Contaminated!!’",0 "Allright here is.my experience. In 2019 I went to work for 20 days in the whole year. I used to call it mind fog, as it took me so much time to understand basic discussions. Fear, low confidence etc always surrounded me. So I understand where you are coming from. Begin the meditation technique I used to overcome OCD. It's mentioned in my posts. Good luck",0 Well there good another personality trait I thought was my own...,0 "FUCK THE NUMBER 6, ALL MY HOMIES HATE THE NUMBER 6. Only 4 5 and 7 allowed",0 I don’t know when everyone decided that OCD was a cleaning disease. It’s manifests itself in all sorts of way just because someone like things clean doesn’t mean they are obsessive compulsive.,0 "Gosh I completely relate. I just quit my first job ever post-graduation because my boss, amongst other things, always got angry with me when I asked questions. In the same breath as she told me I always ""dispute"" everything (in reality, simply asking -why- we do something) she wondered why I had stopped coming with ideas (my ideas are often in the form ""why are we doing this when we could be doing this""). Thinking about it months later still makes me angry 😒 As a side-note, this really dealt a huge blow to my self-esteem and has made me very self concious since. I have never had anyone react other than positively at me asking questions and showing interest and now I just don't know how to behave 😩😩 tips and support welcome",1 Well I just woke up and my 2 hour scheduled waking up period begs to differ.,1 "Yep, it's a struggle trying to be in the moment. All it takes is a stray thought to make me lose focus. Not fun.",1 "I’ve had this since I was like 8 I remember touching something with my right hand, then having to touch it with my left to “even it out” if not my right hand would start feeling all weird and tense from not being even. ",0 "... Huh... That makes so much sense XD When I try to tell people I have ADHD they just say I'm lazy or ""everyone procrastinates, you're not special."" And I'm just like... It's not just procrastination, it's way more than that, and it's so hard to explain it to people who don't understand what it's like .-.",1 "Oh wow yeah, I have that with eggs. Love runny eggs, but mine are always poison. Congrats you two!! Keep up the good work!",0 I just gasped because I've done this my whole life and never thought it was possibly due to my OCD,0 The words that make the point. Those are the ones I miss. Especially if I'm tired. I know ADD can do this and I've also heard certain medications can mess with word recollection too.,1 "1) What if a demon climbed out your mirror and murdered you? 2) Your boyfriend doesn’t love you he’s cheating 3) why did you look at that man? Do you want to cheat on your boyfriend? 4) Why are you pretending to have OCD? 5) you’re probably a schizophrenic you should definitely search the symptoms at 3am",0 this is me right now and i desperately need motivation,1 "Yes, I watched a video about life with OCD and I started getting really bad anxiety that I never had OCD and all the money spent on my appointments and medication was a waste and that I had lied to everyone as I didn't show the same symptoms. Thank you for posting this, it really means a lot to me.",0 I wish my terrified 9 year old agnostic self with seriously atheist parents heard that other people felt this way. I used to think that I was a special kind of crazy.,0 Thank you so much for this. You are so kind. You don't understand how good this makes me feel 🤎,0 "Proud of you! It's nice to hear (if this doesn't sound weird) that it takes others a while for their anxiety to go away too without compulsions. Because sometimes people are like ""It'll go away!!"" but I'll be going about my day for hours with this constant dreading feeling from anxiety.",0 recently ive gotten into sewing and i found my moms sewing machine today. problem is i cant get the two threads to line up so i already gave up and am back to hand stitching :T,1 "Me, saving this post to my Reddit saved posts so I can come back and read through it later.",1 "Some customer at work was talking about how he is ""so OCD"" because he likes to keep his workshop clean and tidy, and I was like ""oh man, that must suck, my diagnosed OCD tells me to touch certain products on the shelf in a certain order or I'll go home and find my parents dead"". ​ He looked like a deer in the headlights",0 "Yeah this has been my entire life. It's hell. Also I have that book... the 'lazy stupid crazy' one. I even started reading it once.",1 "This is the best summary of Adhd I have seen. Thank you for this, Reddit has helped me so much with my ADHD.",1 "The anxiety of the whole situation can be dibilitating. And the more you give in, the more it will become in issue. This condition is really nasty that way.",0 Google Docs also has this with ‘Voice Typing’ in the Tools menu for those without Office.,1 "Thank you for the awards :’)🖤 I looove that so many of us are starting 2021 off with this energy. Our thoughts don’t define us, friends!!!",0 Yes and often say no no no and fuck no over and over again. Got a little issue when I did it say the office. Let's say the walls were not as thick as i thought. Pretty sure my coworker thought I was being raped or something.,0 "Sucks too, I’m in high school right now with Finals week and I’m currently suffering because I have so much work to do but I can’t seem to find any motivation to even bother working. Most of the time, I’m just sitting on my chair lost in my head. I hate having ADHD sometimes but also love having it.",1 "I've actually been trying to ignoring a lot of those intrusive thoughts and i feel like shite for like 10 minutes just because i didnt do ""the thing"". My ocd luckly isnt that bad that i NEED to do it but its so much easier to just do it.",0 "Sadly, washing my hands is the only thing that mentally does the job. But OCD aside this is still actually a really cool thing and would be awesome to implement in public places, or schools. I feel like this is one of those things we'd see on Star Trek haha.",0 "Every day of my life. Especially after school. Homework and I have developed an arch nemesis type relationship. It's great. However, when I make clever quips the homework never responds which kinda ruins the novelty of it.",1 "My ocd told me that if I don’t check through all my food and examine every detail, then I will eat a rotten piece that’s moldy or full of maggots and get sick",0 "I don't relate to this exactly in terms of the car example but I can relate to this in terms of small things like picking the right cup to pour my tea or drink in. If I feel I picked the right cup, I have to start all over again or continuously repeat a compulsion in my head until I felt I got it right.",0 I try to not do this but how to improve yourself and reflect about things?! I have a lot of obsessive thoughts about problems and about myself D:,0 "We might make good teachers because of that. Context and etymology are so important to me, especially in my work if I don't have a bigger picture reason for the task I know it's probably not going to get done properly, not because I'll do it wrong but because the project will need it redone once the other aspects come into the process and prove that earlier work won't fit the finished product, but if there's an explanation (usually I'm the one doing it) then we can foresee the conflicts and avoid massive rework. Following the directions to a tee is fine when there's no unforseen issue. It sure looks easy to add an abs coupling to a drain pipe when it's done correctly, but when you go to do it yourself and have no idea why it's done that way how can you hope to finish the task?",1 "I really respect your work around here, /u/pikachuuuuu. I've seen a couple-few posts of yours if I remember correctly, but I'm definitely not ultra familiar with you. However, I know you do good work. And, you're right. Mind you, I hope that most people are as perceptive as I am and immediately scan over the ""OMG look at this picture of the soda cans, doesn't the misalignment in the vending machine just fucking set OCD off! I mean man, run a vacuum through here like I did my apartment last weekend!"" titles that I know are BS. Here's an interesting point, though. I half expected when I read *THIS IS A SUPPORT SUBREDDIT FOR PEOPLE WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS.* in the title that this post would be complaining about the sub-Reddit being a source of harmful reassurance. Which, I'm sure it is for some people. This is a sub-Reddit where we should be able to break the rules of not seeking reassurance sometimes as sufferers. But overall, we should take this sub-Reddit for what it is: a reminder that **what we face is conquerable**. We come here on the good days and the bad because we know **the truth**.",0 "For me, the worst is knowing that in my childhood, I always heard that I would do great things if I ""applied myself."" ... Then I started looking into ADHD in the last few months because I realized that something deep down was really impacting my relationships and work. ... Even without a diagnosis, I know it's inattentive ADHD. Just waiting on my teletherpapist to refer me to a local psych for meds. I watched that YT video someone posted recently about treating ADHD - the willpower fuel tank and whatnot. 100% me. ... I know how to do damn near anything - I just can't get started. ... I'm hoping to strike the balance that others have with focus and imposter syndrome.",1 I just ordered a bunch of polymer clay and supplies for jewelry making because it looked fun and deep down I know I won’t have the patience to see it through. 😂😩,1 "The detail with which my OCD goes into during these thoughts, the feeling of the blade, the red on the floor, ambience and random background details, other people, could fill a fair sized issue of a serial fanfic.",0 "There is some merit to what he's saying even if he's being a dick about it. If I'm experiencing resistance to doing something... tricking my brain into doing it while it thinks I'm doing something else bypasses the resistance. That or knowing that ADHD hyperfocus will kick in under pressure, I'll give myself an earlier deadline or higher stakes and it'll snap me into productivity hulk mode. If you wanna levitate though you need drugs... no way around that.",1 "Yeah all the time it seems, but I do definitely suffer depression",0 Not really. I'm fine with people saying whatever they want as long as the context and intent is sound.,0 Overreacts. Not once did I ever have a panic attack where I overreacted. The types I have traumatize me. My reaction was definitely justified.,0 I got raped and I gas lighted myself until my therapist was like ummm... yeah.,1 Don’t worry this Reddit thing can be confusing sometimes.,0 Recently replaced my physical appearance with the meaning of life. Life is good,0 "May I suggest implementing pomodoros? Ever since I did this my life has improved, if I have that ⏲️ set and I know that I am only forcing myself to do something paralyzing for a few minutes before I get a break, I can usually survive those few minutes and I have begun accomplishing more in my life.",1 Was it just hair on your head that made you feel like this or did other hair on your body cause issues for you as well?,0 This is a great story! I have already lost so much stuff it honestly doesn't even bother me anymore if I never find it. But being able to stay this calm when others lose their stuff has definitely helped on more than one occasion!,1 I always see these kinds of posts when I most need them. Thank you kind stranger for reminding me!,1 "The first listen of my top song this year was February 27th, 100th listen on February 28th, and it had 110 listens total. It's not even in my liked songs and I have NO idea why I played it that many times over the course of two days",1 I once had a nurse practitioner tell me they don’t give adhd stimulant medication to adults anymore.,1 Bold of you to assume any obsessions get lost and there isn't just more that get piled on top,0 "Someone suggested imagining a dimmer for your thoughts. I tried it, Not only did I keep checking it, sometimes it would never stop spinning (imagined a circular knob)",0 "Yes! I'm always worries that I forgot about the part of my trip where I became an international drug smuggler. Everytime my luggage is pulled my brain ""THEY FOUND THE CRACK!""",0 It’s such a horrible ADHD „feature“. Worst thing for me is the loss of self confidence afterwards which starts the downward spiral again. Probably one of the bigger issues to built up a good foundation for my depressive phases. Especially when I am already in a thin-skinned mood.,1 "This is me only I’m waking up around 11am and then saying “shit....well there’s no time now to be productive, I’ll have to try tomorrow to have a perfect day....”",0 "stay strong bro :/ mine would turn purple/grey halfway to my elbow. now they only crack if i’ve been doing something that requires a lot of hand washing. it gets better",0 "Yes, but I never considered that it might be related to OCD!",0 I think it's for the first reason that you mentioned. I tend to ramble a lot lol,1 "Hypothetical Catastrophes! I love that description of OCD! Mine is so, so overwhelming right now. I’m going to keep reminding myself of that phrase when the OCD kicks in - Hypothetical Catastrophes! Thank you so much for posting this!",0 "Thanks fr. I needed this today, I was about to ruminate on a rando thought I had in the shower. Ready to stomp this disease into the first",0 "I am so happy for you! I see some of the comments are (kindly) warning you of an eventual relapse, but it is also entirely possible you are fully cured. I've seen random stories here and there of people walking away completely cured. The thing about internet support groups/forums is most people are drawn to it to commiserate and complain (and of course rightly so) instead of share success/good days. A lot of times when someone is cured they just stop logging in, but forget to check in with the group. Thank you so much for your post!",0 "I feel more like this on Instagram, the site has a more ""judgey"" vibe to me.",0 I Ike getting pre-prepped meals from the meat section at my store. It’s like a parchment bag with a serving of meat with fresh veg and potato or some other starch and a seasoned butter. Just throw that shit in the oven for 15 minutes. For under ten a person it’s still way cheaper than grub hub every night.,1 "I relate to this. It’s also why I hate people complaining that my medication makes me less fun. I’m all like “F off, I need to stay employed more than I need to entertain you,” but instead I don’t say it out loud because I’m medicated.",1 "now let the thought in, don't serve it beer (power) the thought will get bored and leave :)",0 My OCD is eating me up inside mi head. And I feel every time it kicks in it becomes worse and worse.,0 I’ve had this meme on my wall since last year. Sums up my life. Also love the use of Harry memes :),0 "Not adhd related Literally everyone feels this Same underlying reason for ‘diet starts tomorrow’",1 Dudeeeee same. I cleaned. I did homework. I was able to respond to my then 2 years tantrums with a calm and level head. At the end of the first day i literally just sat and bawled my fucking eyes out.,1 Thank you so much for fighting the good fight alongside us. I’m so glad you’re doing well!!,0 "Check out [https://www.focusmate.com/](https://www.focusmate.com/) Virtual co-working / studying. Seems awkward and scary but it really helps to stay focused if you know there's somebody on the other side working and able to see you through your webcam. (you can also share your computer screen i think, but most people just use webcam) Just be nice but short in the beginning, state your goals for the 50-minute session and check back in at the end. Seriously it's a godsend for people with ADHD that work from home.",1 "I have very strong ADHD but i gotta be honest, I trained myself to take criticism/tough love. I think its not only ADHD if you cant take tough love/criticism there is also alot of narcissism involved if its impossible for someone to take any criticism at all. Just my opinion tho, i have to try super hard to not react extremely sensitive to criticism cause i don‘t wanna make that part of my personality",1 I CANT. I WANT TO BUT I CANT !!! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK,1 "Before I realized adhd and anxiety affected the memory, I always felt guilty when this happened because I started to doubt myself like ""do I actually LIKE this? Why don't I remember it? Clearly I don't like it as much as I should""",1 Yeah same ): but I mean mine isn’t to bad this time compared other times,0 "I like to call is simulation mode where I processing all emotions involved during planning , all the highs and lows and the doubts, the fight or flight but I'm so ""blue balled"" by the time I have to do the action often times the anxiety immediately hits and paralyzes me. Dlivered from distraction is a good book and I've found that rewire your brain: Think your way to a better life was eye opening into the world of numero plasticity though it's not really an adhd book.",1 That’s sad! But true! Sad! Very sad! That’s was the thought coming out loud right now.,0 I told my mom about it as a kid and she smacked me and yelled at me,0 "Oh my god, THANK YOU SO MUCH! I’m going to go figure how to do this immediately (translation: when my ADHD sees it fit to do so, probably at like 5am the coming Wednesday lmao). The recorded lectures have been somewhat better for me because I can pause and refocus without losing vital information, but I don’t think I’ve managed to properly sit through a single live lecture! Seriously, I was lazily scrolling through reddit, clicked on this post out of habit and like jerked up with renewed focus when I realised what you were writing about! This could make my life so much easier 🙏",1 "I have this problem and keep getting told ‘get the dopamine rolling’ which can work for able bodied people with ADHD but doesn’t help when you have severe chronic pain as well. Because what ends up happening is I take my cup into the kitchen and go ‘I feel good today I can do this entire sink of dishes’ get a third of the way through, end up completely exhausted and in agony to the point where I am dropping things and BREAKING them. I finally myself quit while in floods of tears because I made MORE of a mess and ruined things and then for the rest of the next few days feel like an utter failure and a useless person because I can’t even wash a sink of dishes and burden everyone around me. It’s honestly on of the worst feelings and the guilt, especially about not being able to work, just eats away at you like acid.",1 Infatuate yourself with a girl... magic happens.. at least to me,1 Omg the triple threat!!! I do the 3 x ANYTHING all the time!!! <- see I almost got away with a single but had to come back and fix it,0 "Same thing with me, I explained that to my family on easy terms, I learned how to look for a information, I might relearn how to install windows or install a full home network, but every single time I will need to relearn it, and it time I need to relearn it, I learn how to look for that specific information faster, I will still forget everything I did 48 hours later, but next time I will finds that information I looked into in half the time.",1 "Thank you for thinking of us :) in turn, I am thinking about the immunocompromised a lot. My OCD is at its very worst now but the pandemic has pushed me to get back in therapy and get on a new med to help the symptoms. I guess that’s one positive.",0 This is everything BUT trash!! Really amazing work!! I hope to see more of your work on here,0 "great post!!!! >Download an app on your phone that chimes and buzzes every half an hour during your awake time. Keeps you aware of how much time has passed. can you recommend an iphone app? >noise-cancelling headset i got a pair 2 weeks ago and it was a life changer. my neighbor was noisy as hell and i was going mad.",1 Sounds like an awesome hack. Anyone want to try this system out as accountability partners? I am a 35F in Los Angeles.,1 "Two kinds of people A) She took 5 hours to do dishes B) She got me some tea, played with the cat, did a coffee and donuts run, organized our tea shelf, took a shower, cleaned the litter box, gamed, emptied dishwasher, took out the trash and got 4 bottles of wine - all in a measly 5 hours. How the hell does she have all this energy?",1 Holy fucking shit. Saved immediately. Thank you for putting this together,1 I learn more all the time about the infinite ways ADHD alters my living landscape. It is terrible and amazing and bizarre and messed up all in one.,1 Bro you and me are same.how the fuck can we get out of this shit thoughts.,0 Not until you touch the wall 4 times with your other pinky finger too 😂,0 Most of the people who get diagnosed late are in this hell ... Including me,1 "I would definitely recommend smoothies. I feel the same way you do but every other day I would get a large smoothie with 5-7 things added to it. Such as multivitamin, pure recharge, super grain, protein, muscle builder and a few other things that your body needs. Then on the off days I would blend my own smoothies to save money. Just go to the produce aisle at the supermarket and grab as much fruit as you want and throw it all in a blender. Even when Im not hungry or feeling full, I can always wash one of those down. It’s like tricking your body that you’re only having a drink.",1 wait till you finish school and have to work to survive. get help now before it’s too late.,1 "Everyone else is being (rightfully) sentimental, so I wanna talk about evolution instead! I’ll try to keep myself from rambling, but I’m a bio teacher and while I was getting my bachelors evolution was my favorite subject and I took all my extra major-based electives in that. So it’s probably not an evolutionary advancement, but the opposite. It was probably very useful in hunter-gatherer societies to have brains like ours, ones that were always on alert and ready to hyper focus on whatever task grabbed our attention first, and also able to turn on a dime because some emergency is now happening we need to respond to. There’s a little bit of research into this that I can re-find if you’d like, but it’s all just hypotheses since psychology is in the grand scheme of things an extremely young field and nobody knows what the fuck they’re doing yet. Something I always appreciate it about the sub Reddit is that it doesn’t allow all that “ADHD is a superpower” talk. If you want to be overly positive then knock yourself out, but this is a disorder, because even if we used to be the way most humans were, that doesn’t do us any good now. If you’re reading this you were born in this century, and our brains have been suboptimal (to say the least) for dealing with the demands of a post-industrial age society. I personally don’t see the point in sugar-coating it: it sucks to be us, A LOT of the time. But we can adapt, and we can grow, and we can look to ourselves and our loved ones for support. Also, if you’re a spiteful narcissist like me, you can take joy in the fact that you made it this far in life with a temporal handicap. In at least that way, you’re stronger than your neurotypical peers. Congratulate yourself more often, because you deserve it. That being said, how are you doing OP? I hope at least everyone else’s very kind words in this thread have brought you some comfort",1 "I do not have contamination OCD, but I am a hoarder. thankfully my husband keeps it in check.",0 "i feel you. my mom even was like: you are allways saying you have ocd, thats only an excuse at this point. you know how clean people with ocd are? i wish you had more of that cleaning ocd. ......why do i even care about trying not to upset others when they dont ever care for a second what their words do -,- like sure wish me more of my mental illness. as if suffering alone without any support isnt enough allready",0 "I have “real” classes until the end of this week, so we’ll see. Chances are, I’ll fare about as well as you. Good luck!",1 "Literally feel it every day, you're definitely not the only one ❤",1 Okay... where did you hide the camera in my house :O,1 "I hate how the toothbrush sounds so I bought an electric/mechanic one (I am not a native English speaker). When it doesn't have batteries and I can't charge it I can't brush them. :( So yeah, it isn't related but I felt like sharing.",1 "I have nearly all the bottom symptoms, but toned waaaaay down now. ",0 "Tough love is not about words, its about actions. In most cases tough love is about watching the person afflicted with ADHD suffer enough they're ready to act on there own. (That's the tough) Once the person is ready for help you guide and advise them how to change (That's the love) Change comes from within the individual, not from the words of the outsider",1 Maybe my hands will finally be clean when there is no skin left lmao. #inspirational #stillworking,0 "As a doctor with ADHD, I just want to say that I really understand, and I hope you'll be okay <3",1 "I cried a little for your friend, and thank you! Edit: You also reminded me to eat something this morning.",1 Shit I finally got an appointment just for them to cancel on me and then they said they'd call me back........,0 "Yes, thank you. This helped explain some feelings I sometime find hard to explain.",0 "Oh wow. I haven't done or felt this in years, but definitely when I was a kid. I felt guilty if I played with one stuffed animal more than the others and tried to play with them all equally. Wow. I had no idea anyone else did this. ",0 "Idk, i still find it incredibly difficult to distract myself with just the TV. I would argue that my thoughts just ruin whatever I’m watching sadly. But things that do work are like hiking and stuff so I found something!",0 I NEVER THOUGHT ID SEE A CLONE HIGH MEME ON THIS SUB LMAOOOOOO,0 "I dont have the snake issue ( I own two so I have no fear of them) but I have been worried about bugs or spiders under the edge of the seat my whole life or that a spider will drop from the ceiling because I'm kind of stuck to that spot till I'm done. As far as getting married late.. I'm not getting married till I'm in my 50s or 60s. Less time for that death do you part stuff! :)",0 "W o w- it looks straight out of a magical forest, so whimsical and astonishing!",0 "I love the idea of this tattoo, been wanting to get something similar. I have a chronic headache disorder and so wanted to design a tattoo to represent my pain. Cheers for the share!",0 "The artist confirms this was made to depict their experience with OCD, as seen in this post https://www.deviantart.com/canis-infernalis/art/obsessive-compulsive-595823800 I should have put it on the title, but I didn't think this would get this much attention",0 "Breaks your spirit after a while don’t it? Telling yourself your finally gonna get it under control, day after day, week after week, year after year... Only to find you’re right back where you started... On a never ending treadmill of mental despair... All while trying to convince yourself that your not just a lazy loser when the rest of the world thinks that’s what your issue is..laziness...",1 "I am in late 30's and on disability and feel like a burden to society. As I also have other chronic illnesses. I often question whether my life choices contributed to my lack of perceived success. It's the whole thing of live in the present vs learning from your mistakes.",1 "Tbh the only tough love that has worked for me was people doing shit with me. My sister, for example going so I'm coming over and doing your dishes and your cleaning the bathroom at the same time and suck it up. Tough Love is shamey, it doesn't really work well. If someone is like this sucks, let's split it up it is still sorta shamey but much easier to deal with. Also you make far more progress.",1 "Was having a what felt like was turning into a bad day of ruminating and checking. This post made me feel less alone, really thankful for the openness of the community on here. Always come here when I feel confused and alone. Thanks for this ❤️",0 "OP I have been dealing with this same exact shit for *decades*, and even when I was finally given an ADHD diagnosis as an adult, none of this was ever mentioned as a possible symptom, so it's been up to me to notice the pattern myself and put 2 & 2 together my guess is that with some of the more extraordinarily mundane shit that our particular brains just aren't wired to handle very well (for me, math is a really big one), even thinking about trying to force our focus on it is just such a huge drain on our internal resources that it triggers some kind of immediate sleep response this is obviously based on nothing but my own experiences, but it's the most plausible explanation I can come up with for how exactly I feel during these episodes and when they start to really set in although tbh I'd also certainly love it if we could pool all of our various perspectives together and see if we can work out a better and more definitive explanation for this shit—or at least put together a nice little support group community for all of us who have spent all these years thinking we were the only one with this fairly unique and specific issue, kind of like r/earrumblersassemble but with like people who just get super tired having to focus on unbelievably tedious shit, you know what I mean fake edit: also I mean it could just as easily be some sort of separate disorder that just kinda happens to have a high rate of comorbidity with ADHD, but I don't think I've ever seen anything in the DSM indicating anything like that, so I guess who the fuck really knows",1 "Just a heads up because I tried looking for it, it's not in Word 2019 or Word that's installed on the PC that's not Office 365, but you can still use a form of it by using the Windows Key + H and clicking into a word document. [Here's the support article for it!](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/use-dictation-to-talk-instead-of-type-on-your-pc-fec94565-c4bd-329d-e59a-af033fa5689f)",1 Wait..really? I'm gonna need a source for this? Everyone just accuses me of not paying attention or not caring.,0 I’ve thought I’m mentally disabled but everyone treats me normally so they don’t hurt my feelings. Def not fun lol,0 "Pro advice for your gag reflex: try to breathe through your nose and distract yourself by moving other parts of your body for example tap your feet while brushing your teeth. Also you might try not to touch your brush to your soft palate and back of your tongue, and try to buy toothpaste that doesn't contain SLS/SLES (sodium laureth sulphate) which is used for foaming agent, the more foam can make you feel more like gag. Trust me I'm studying dentistry and suffering from ADHD :) Edit: typo",1 "I had the same worry and constant panic. Before and after I had my son I kept in constant contact with my doc, took first aid classes, parenting classes and made sure that I was getting the rest I could to make good decisions. He is 17 now and absolutely fine.",0 Or every time I use the stapler or the hole punch at work I see my hand with staples and holes in it.,0 "Hey, that’s great to hear. I had to get extra time to do assignments when I went to a community college so I could never do that. I knew I couldn’t handle University. Anyway, that’s a great win for you.",1 "Thank goodness for the second paragraph, that was getting tense! This resonates with me. I’ve been having a shit time recently, convincing myself that it’s not ocd because many of my fears are about real dangers, but then I remember that actually, if it wasn’t ocd I wouldn’t be thinking about it all fucking day. I would escape a threat and then be glad about it and quickly move on; not spend the foreseeable looking for reassurance or reliving it.",0 "The workforce? HA, I almost died by sophomore year of undergrad 🥴🥴🥴",1 "I'm even on meds and I still have some stuff that is just physically painful to try to get myself to do. Unfortunately the only thing that has really helped me is leaning heavily on my partner. For example, the other day I formatted and typed up his resume because it was a fun and interesting task. He wrote the rent check and got it ready to mail because I would have rather perished than taken the 5 minutes to do that.",1 "Thank for breaking the spell, kind person, I’m free! Goodbye reddit, hello pooping",1 "I found the perfect fit for me to deal with ADHD. I will give you the steps: Drink just one cut of coffee during the morning to hit you up. Move, do some cardio exercises everyday. Drink a lot of water. Cut carbohydrates and sugar. Use lavanda oil with diffuser in your room. Listen music to block distractions. Pay attention to how deep you are breathing in, try to inhale and exhale deeply and not superficial. Stop eating process foods or that contain additives. Take Omega3, Iron, zinc, and complex b vitamins. Do meditation(can be read a book, some type of activity that makes you active and not passive. I'm not a doctor but this works for me. Thanks,",1 "Yep, I like to be able to visualize in my head from start to finish, the fact that I fully know how X thing works and why, or else it just feels off.",1 You dooo!!! Plus you’re not killing your dad. Therefore the right thing is much better than killing your dad.,0 "Time and time again I come on here thinking that you mind-readers are not gonna say exactly what I’m thinking/doing/symptoms etc, but it happens... every damn time. This is perfect, I do the Exact! same thing.",1 "Yeah it definitely feels like there are rules to everything I do. Can’t look at a clock when the little dots are flashing, must touch a certain surface 3 times when I pass it, can only look at the numbers 3 or 7 when looking at the crosswalk countdown and sooooo many more. It’s so exhausting, and I know that these things do nothing, but I can’t bring myself to test it.",0 "Oh fuck... This post right here reminded me of my fucking job interview. I had it all planned out to what I would respond with when she asked any questions that all employers ask... Actively was thinking of what I meant to say, then didn't say half of it, and constantly forgot what I was saying...",1 I have a two-hourly reminder on my phone for me to drink water bc of dehydration from meds. I barely even see it most of the time.,1 Anyone else notice the ocd brain looks like master chief?,0 Holy shit if I had the ability to pause everyone and their shit so I could get all mine done I would. Absolutely. Probably abuse the power a bit too.,1 "Yeah I agree. Whenever I got diagnosed my therapist said executive dysfunction was my biggest symptom/problem for me. Every single thing I do every day is a struggle for me. Getting out of bed, actually going downstairs for things, showering, homework, eating, all of it. Yesterday it actually took me like 30 minutes just to make myself get under the blankets because I was stuck playing a video game. I feel so useless all of the time 😞 I know I’m supposed to be smart and I know the stuff I have to do should be easy, but I just can’t seem to get my shit together and function. The worst part too is that trying to explain executive dysfunction to someone who doesn’t have a mental illness or disability or anything is so hard! It seems so stupid that I can’t get up and go to the bathroom when I need to, you’re just supposed to do it! Luckily my girlfriend also deals with executive dysfunction so she understands",1 Wow. Wowowow. I related to all of these and didn’t even recognize it.,1 i feel the same way. it’s like having another person in your head. i made a name for her so i can call her a bitch,0 I saw this post a few days ago and have been doing this so much - not only does it help but it also makes me giggle. I love it!!,0 Ugh can I get this reminder constantly on my phone?,1 "since my sleep schedule has become quite literally flipped on it's head (I woke up one hour ago as of 9:00 PM after desperately trying to stay up to flip it back) I just started brushing my teeth at random times. fuck doing it in the morning or when you wake up, how about ""when your mouth feels like there's food in it when there isn't""",1 "Online courses are definitely harder for me. I wish my campus would move to online though. Someone sent out a fake mass email saying they found COVID-19 at my campus, so they’ve been too busy playing “we definitely don’t have it!!!” damage control. Never mind that the campus is smack dab in the heart of downtown in a city with confirmed cases + an airport.",1 "I do that when I’m crossing the street. I get a huge fear of passing out/falling while crossing open spaces alone. When I really have to go, I just close my eyes and shake my head or mumble “oh my god, oh my god” to myself (or curse words lol) for the initial first steps. I probably look like I’m on drugs but I’m just scared :(",0 Never did corp life but your description of no assignments and passings test still applies to the punishment of non corp work life. Its a literal curse.,1 God I wish my intrusive thoughts were voiced by Alex Jones. It would make them easier to not listen to,0 "I like wrote a whole bunch of other suggestions, then my PC crashed completely out of the blue and I lost them :( Some great suggestions here though. But yeah basically this would benefit from a ""Driving"" section. A lot of people with ADHD struggle forming good driving habits and a few things - like getting in the habit of leaving LOTS of stopping distance between you and the car in front - can literally save lives. The only one I'm really not sure on is the suggestion to go self-employed. I honestly couldn't cope with self employment as most of the time it requires an absolute shitload of self-motivation, which I do not have. Some people with ADHD are far, FAR better off with someone else driving them. Personally I'd recommend jobs where you are valued for your problem solving ability, and that have some level of urgency. I'm at my best when everything is broken, other people are panicking, and it needs fixing yesterday. Calm as a hindu cow in that situation. I guess everyone is different though.",1 I was unsure of where this was going but I'm so glad I read the whole thing. It's It's nice that you see her struggle and appreciate her!,1 Lay in the middle of countless laxcroix cans thinking about current obsession,0 "This is the same feeling I have and this is what has driven me to get clinically tested for ADHD. Over the last 18 months, I have cut out every possible source of distraction - no social media, no youtube (except for tutorials), moved away from roommates, keeping a distance from small-thought thinkers and I started learning new tech for building things on my own. Guess what? Some 20+ courses across 7 different subjects and today I know nothing and am clueless about what I should do next, or even what I should be doing right now. What adds to this hopelessness is that no one understands what I am trying to do. My dad simply doesn't believe that I genuinely want to do something and that I'm trying hard. He has seen me as a mediocre student throughout school and college and he thinks that's what I am. I've never been able to put this out so clearly - I want to do it and I spend a LOT of time sitting down to do it. It is just that I start thinking something else in a couple of minutes and I am not able to control this wandering of thoughts how much ever I try. I am 28 now and much dumber friends at school and college have all gone on to do good work and here I am. Still going to do and nothing done.",1 "I think many people think of anxiety drugs as purely benzos rather than understanding what an SSRI is. I still struggle with panic a lot (OCD has been pretty bad because pandemic won't let me do things like workout) but it's just not... crippling. I'd regularly be spitting into garbage cans, closing my eyes and saying mantras at my old office job just because the thoughts were so overwhelming and stimulating. It's nice to have the volume turned down a bit on it.",0 "My brain: Okay the last ten thousand times the intrusive thoughts were wrong, but what if this time they are real?",0 Shaking my head like an etch-a-sketch to erase the thoughts,0 "Oh yeah. And also OCD is not an adjective? Never understood it why people use it that way. Like you're saying ""I'm soo Obsessive Compulsive Disorder""? It's something you have not something you are. lol.",0 My intrusive thought is my brain saying “I hate myself”,0 "No, no. Your brain is being held captive by satan and forced to watch those disgusting thoughts and images. He is being held hostage and he's fighting to escape. He's not enjoying it.",0 "A good way I found to fix this is to help visualize that it’s closed. For example, in [this](https://addalock.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Addalock-Test-to-Fit-A-Step-1-w1500-h1500.jpg) picture, the top lock kinda looks like some kid dabbing. So whenever I go to check, it’s easier if I can clearly see my boi dabbing. It’s stupid, but its saved me a lot of time.",0 Thanks for the laugh at the end with the ‘simulation’!,0 I haven't published anything since my dissertation sixteen years ago. This fills me with shame.,1 "This kind of stuff isn’t what “bothers me so much” like everyone in these comments is railing about. What actually bothers me is the attitude behind people railing about it, suddenly getting so offended and thinking that they have the right to say whether or not this person has OCD / if it’s valid or not. People have different perspectives and different experiences. Maybe it’s just not as debilitating for them, or maybe they haven’t noticed other aspects that could be more debilitating for them, personally, maybe their experience with OCD has been more in the realm of cleanliness / order and hasn’t been as severe. And some people do actually see some aspects as helpful and other aspects as more debilitating. Subjectivity. If that’s how they feel, then that’s valid for them and their personal mental health journey. I’ve personally had people try to invalidate me when they don’t even know or understand me, my mental health, or how debilitating it can get for me, and it’s really, really, REALLY “triggering”. It would be nice if this subreddit could post less divisive stuff that gets people upset and more stuff conducive to being a supportive community. 🙏",0 Any number with a 3 is triggering to me - Has to be divided by 4.,0 "dont be hard on yourself I think you need to look for positive improvement so it can reward you. If you can find it and give it a little little effort at a time, I'm sure your life will feel much better and lighter actually. Now eat",1 A lot. I have bad times where all I wish was rewind time. But today I don't see that as ADHD related but being raised by a mother who NEVER went to therapy for solving her share of problems and they sum up close to borderline. So I grew thinking a lot was my fault to the point it my chest actually hurts and wanted to stop time. I only started therapy at 33 and I wasted so many years of my time with problems that aren't mine. Seek psychologists <3,1 """you should be more involved"" this one hits hard. I've felt all those ""not enough"", even if people don't say that directly you can feel them.",1 HAHAHAHAHAHAHA the funniest thing is I can't even believe it's unrealistic. Right from the start the thoughts feel so real that any attempt to refute it is meaningless for the mind will say: ''Do you really think this is false? YOU BELIEVE THIS MOTHERFU\*\*\*R THIS IS REAL'' so I can't do much :(,0 I thought I was a weirdo for thinking this.... guess I'm not alone. I just feel guilt for anything and everything. Like if its something I could have possibly prevented from happening to my friend/family it somehow becomes my fault. :((,0 "It’s very much so the opposite of trash! I don’t know who would say that to you... maybe they were having a bad day but I hope that person isn’t close to you because they don’t sound like a very nice friend. This drawing is awesome and you should keep it up.",0 "Exactly! I also grew up in a frugal home. This realisation has been starting to dawn on me and you put it into words. I hate waste but ""wasting"" more money up front might save a lot more waste down the line.",1 "That and the fucking stove! I know it s off Brain:are you sure, I mean like without s doubt sure.",0 The meme quality is getting better and better on this sub. Keep’em coming.,0 "Yeah, I'm really worried about this and going to get everything checked out this summer. I've had the lymph nodes inflame off and on. But in the last year it's gotten so much worse.",1 That's the main tactic I learned in therapy and it has helped me a lot.,0 "Sounds exactly like me, and I think it's so heartwarming to see someone voice care and support for the effort they see their partner with ADHD make. I think it's also sweet how she also did sweet little things for you like the donuts on top of working on the dishes, lol. We really do love you, and we are making those efforts!",1 SchizOCD has fucked my life upside right for a majority of the past year. Its been awful tbh,0 "The worst is when you mean to go to sleep but just lie in bed for 5 hours not sleeping but also not doing anything. Please, mind, just let me rest!",1 Have to force yourself to think about it more. That's how they go away.,0 "As someone with HOCD *and autism*, I can definitely relate to this. It sucks when your brain starts increasing your hearing at the cost of your sight :(",0 I have so much shit saved.. and a bunch of waiting to be finished YouTube videos.. oh god. Saved Reddit posts and saved links to visit later. Jeez. Thanks,1 My kid was diagnosed with this does medication help guys?,0 "That's exactly how my day goes, except I don't have school and i sit there watching youtube or movies only to forget all about them a few seconds after.. playing game's is hard af for me as opening them show's me how pathetic i am, only game i can play is rainbow since my cousin play's it and we play it together making me forget about everything wrong.",1 "This was me at 12-17. At 34, I’ve finally paid off the beanbag I bought on an instalment plan, so I’ve got that going for me.",0 "Okay this happens with social media. I experience Retroactive Jealousy so I will stalk the girls Instagram and look at each photo to see if my Bf liked the photo and if he didn’t and I know he didn’t I still check another 3-4 times to double check. I also do this with other themes, like if I get reassurance and I didn’t like how I read it or it didn’t process in my brain I’ll read it another 3-4 times to feel that relief",0 "whenever I read my old diaries I think ""omg the symptoms were there the whole time""",0 "Anyone else like imagine their apartment has gone up in flames just to ‘burn away’ the intrusive thoughts? God, it’s exhausting.",0 "My trifecta of torment: ADHD-Inattentive, Aspergers and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. In action: info dumping and oversharing (in a lecture-like way) then leaving when bored/nothing else to say, ADHD interfering with special interest of pop punk by making me procrastinate discovering new bands/listening to new music, amplifying sadness into grief (other people are sad about Warped Tour being gone; I’m grieving because it’s my special interest and loved it since my formative teenage years), ADHD and Anxiety working in tandem to make me apologize for even the slightest perceived mistake (and due to short term memory issues: repeated apologies), and so on and so forth.",1 "I used to get bullied for the hobby thing, but it feels much better knowing other people switch them up as well. So I’ve been playing a LOT of Halo Infinite and I’m thinking of diving into the series",1 "I guess I have a similar problem. I don't want to learn everything. I want to do everything. I get bored very easily and start wanting a new job after 6 months. I mean it's not that I don't know how to do the job or I haven't learned enough[got two pay raises in 6 months and next on in October], it's just gets stale[boring, repetitive and more stressful]. Does anyone else have this problem?",0 Just woke up and damn I never thought so many people did this as well lol.I'm glad and happy for the ones who did this as well but were too scared to say it out loud.You guys are not alone :).And sorry for the typo 😅,0 i did the taking meds and going back to sleep thing so i could wake up and it’s kicked in and it really worked for a while but doesn’t work anymore. now i do that go back to sleep and sleep the entire day,1 "For me I just talk to them, and then to everyone for so long especially in school or even on the street or in stores I have 0 social anxiety.",1 "As a sexual assault survivor with OCD, I feel this in my soul.",0 "I had the flu and then a chest infection for the last month, I feel this on a deep level",0 "That is amazing. Good for you. Keep going strong, you give hope.",0 Damn... are you me? It’s 2am now but far from falling asleep with these constant perpetual thoughts.,1 I just found this community and am overwhelmingly happy to know that there are so many other people having conversations about this! Great art!,0 "I thought ""executive function disorder"" was the new medical speak for ADHD?",1 "Because you’re not escaping the task. You’re escaping the feelings that the task elicits. We think too much and too far.",1 This is a huge accomplishment! Thank you for caring for us all enough to say something. I’m happy they were so nice about it.,0 I pay for YouTube Premium because I actually spend less money overall because I'm not seeing as many ads.,1 "ADHD, depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, kleptomania and possibly ASD as the cherry on top. The WHOLE shebang",1 Didn't get it st first read the comments. Oh. HOCD? Or just a relabeled pride item,0 I spend approx 8 hours a day thinking about this and it's exhausting. Compassion Based Therapy and a supportive partner are helping but the intrusive thoughts keep coming,0 "This sounds like my previous psychologist. I lost track of him after he left the office to start his own practice. He was the absolute greatest, and I miss him. So glad you've found an awesome doc!",1 "I feel the same way. My current perspective, after reading your post, is that I better develop some coping strategies, now, before I feel worse.",1 I had an obsession once I was diagnosed that I was making it all up...it was a mind fuck,0 Dude the timing. Tho i really do enjoy my chill sundays. Can you post this on monday? xD,1 "This reminded me to go brush my teeth right now I always forget after breakfast when I’m not leaving home for some reason",1 "I've got the fun little ADHD-Anxiety-Depression Trifecta. I don't do anything I'm supposed to do because of ADHD, I get panic attacks when I realize I've been putting things off and it's too late, and then I work myself into a depressive slump where I start telling myself I'm a lazy piece of shit who doesn't deserve the opportunities he gets because he never actually does anything with them. And let's not forget the Hamlet-style simultaneous desire to die and fear of death. It's a fun time.",1 "> wave of adrenaline Serotonin. The adrenaline release is a physiological response to stress and is responsible for the heightened emotions and arousal, but serotonin mediates the behavioral response. Once that response is initiated, the heightened adrenaline will cause stronger memory consolidation, causing the child to learn to do that task *only* when subjected to an intense stress response, as well as causing avoidant behavior toward that task at all. The rest is on point though.",1 This random ideas at night are so wonderfully beautiful. Like last night I thought I solved the problem of not having space for food: just stack farmland and make the dirt clear so the sun rays can get through.,1 "I have asd and autism as well and relate 100%. I don't hate autism but I wish I wasn't autistic because it's made life really hard for me and I feel really rejected and alone in social situations. I genuinely wish I was neurotypical, because it would be easier.",1 "OK actually I cut my fingers twice pretty bad, and now I struggle to cut things because all I can picture is slicing my fingers with knives",0 "I found the same thing but luckily had my first taste of the corporate world at 17 during my gap year and knew it wasn't for me. I only got diagnosed with ADHD recently (29m) but I knew from a young age that my style of thinking and communicating wouldn't work in traditional environments and deliberately sought out industries/roles where it would be useful or atleast not as much of a hindrance. I ended up in Tech, currently as a software engineer, and it was a good choice. It varies by company but as a rule is very accepting of ADHD working styles. Flexible working is normal, the idea that short bursts of intense focus create the majority of output is commonly accepted and while there's still plenty of politics hierarchy isn't emphasised and you can be blunt so long as you're not an asshole about it. I still struggle and I've definitely fallen behind many peers who can just get on with it far more but I get by better than I would in most environments. I can also take my ADHD talents (getting to the point quickly cause I'm bored, simplifying everything because complexity irrationally irritates me, joking around and bringing the team together with humour, giving very frank opinions of things) and deliver enough unique value to prove my worth when I'm struggling to consistently get day to day things done. If you can, or if you're a young ADHDer, I recommend finding environments like that. Tech is full of them but I'm sure there are others",1 This can also help for some people like me who can keep focus better when speaking than writing. I sometimes use it to create the narrative arc for my writing which ends up being tighter than if I wrote it.,1 "I always feel like I'm in extreme danger. Like my life is at risk. Like I'm going to die if something goes wrong or if I do something wrong--- and apparently I'm *always* doing something wrong. Literally everyday i go through multiple fits of intense fear-- fearing for my life, heart rapidly beating, body shaking profusely but simultaneously limp, crying. I don't understand how it's come to this. It's so fucking scary. SO. FUCKING. SCARY. I never feel calm or peace. I feel threatened by merely being alive.",0 "Ah, man, the part about using it as a shield...it’s not a shield, it’s a sieve that shame seeps through because you know your actions are constantly being judged and you constantly mess up and FEEL the weight of those errors or omissions. I wish people knew how fucking torturous life can be for us, but outside of close friends, you can’t tell anyone that because then you’re just looking for sympathy and pity - when really you are just telling the truth.",1 "Those few minutes, and then you think something isn’t right except everything really is for once...",0 "Sorry for your loss, and thank you for your powerful words ♥️",1 I go through most of my saved posts whenever I get a free award every several weeks. Recommend.,1 I was getting impatient but I actually read it. And yes the post is brilliant.,1 "lol i just did this TODAY, but with a bulimia test... im glad to know im not alone in this!!",0 Same here- i purposefully only take in person classes... Don’t know what I’m going to do!!,1 had me in the first half! I was expecting something about essential oils,1 "My OCD just wondered, if I was in deed just like one of those people in this jokes without really having problems and just suffering from kind of not perfectly straight lines. 😂😂😂",0 You're giving me a panic attack because I don't know if I do have something important to do right now lol,1 "Yes, that pic is so true! Thank you for sharing. It was a little funny too!",0 "I do my form of this basically, yeah. Micro-sipping a rewarding drink, favourite music, peaceful environment. The goal is to not be trying to be somewhere else. Be comfortable *here* doing this, without trying to escape.",1 "I had 2 months almost completely ocd-free and it came back last week lol, the good thing is i can still remember how i felt during those 2 months, and in a way that makes it easier to recognise ocd for the lying bastard it is this time around",0 "how did you manage to remember that it has been 27 days??? that’s an achievement in itself, i would’ve forgotten by then! well done for both lol!!",1 "Same, one minute I think im going to hell, the next I think god doesn’t exist and nothing matters. My OCD doesn’t even know what it believes.",0 "Totally agree, and then on the other end when someone is too easy on me I feel bad about myself too. Just need to find kind people with good boundaries",1 "Sorry, I couldn't read that - there is a bubbling fountain and was a noisy car outside.",1 "What would sleep be if I didn't put my every thought, impulse, and action, under trial for hours before I finally fall asleep and then jolt awake with a racing heart because all the intrusive thoughts need to be reviewed RIGHT NOW.",0 I never thought of it that way.. just thought it was procrastination,0 "You're not a failure. (No one around here is a failure.) It's just that things right in front of us, instant things that results in a quick dopamine kick, are way more accessible than goals ahead of us. Goals takes planning too and we all know how much mental stamina that takes. I'm currently unemployed, waiting to start studying, and I have way too much time on my hands. Today I bought whiteboard pens to use on my weekly planner I have on my fridge. I'll put just small things like ""vacuum"" or ""go for a long bike ride"". Hopefully by doing those special things I'll be motivated to do more things afterwards. That's how I work sometimes - doing one thing that makes me feel productive or good about myself, leads to doing something else too. You don't have to do a lot of things everyday, but maybe one special thing. See what works for you. This goes for anyone reading this.",1 I also take screen shots that clog up my phone and I never look at them again,1 Someone told me I live in a different time signature once. Best one sentence description of ADHD I've ever heard.,1 Yo I wish I could count how many times my grandma told me TODAY “you’re so smart but you don’t apply yourself!”,1 "to be fair, I also tend to come to the realization that I said something so stupidly offensive directly to someones face and somehow didnt catch it months later, so I try to level it out in my head; maybe they just thought I was an asshole because I did something like what I just mentioned to them without realizing it. This is how i come to peace with my angry feelings about it.",1 The story makes me angry with the mother more then anything,1 "Everything you wrote, I resonate with more than you would believe.",1 The amount of times I get scared that my pets have escaped their cage and are lost or dead during the night in the hour it takes to get to sleep is ungodly. They're literally 6 feet from me.,0 "I’ve been feeling anxious since MONDAY, because my parents reserved a table at this restaurant that’s has live shows and I’ve been thinking about it all week.",1 "Unfortunately for me, it has increased my compulsions. I wash my hands 20% more than before. If I'm exchanging something with someone and our fingers touch, better believe I'm washing my hands. Wearing gloves when I go into a store, then when I get back in my car, I use hand sanitizer. Even though I'm wearing a mask, I hold my breath when I pass somebody. These are just a few of the examples. You guys be safe out there and good luck in your recovery!",0 When I get really fucked up ones you’ll usually see me shake my head and go “what the fuck” to myself. Very obvious 😒,0 "oh was it that easy? thank you! oh was it that easy? thank you!",0 "Time to ask ""am I muted?"" to nobody for the 30th time",0 "and they all have the same tone & attitude of ""poor you, so hard being the parent/guardian of a child with adhd :( it must be so hard for you to deal with it. you must be going through so much"" ...like I'm sure parents/guardians of kids with adhd don't have it easy but consider: the kids are having a much harder time.",1 "Emails, comments, texts...must proofread on a loop, google words to make sure I’m using them correctly, check after sending. On the plus side, the grammar in my work emails is impeccable. Best workaround for me is to hit send and immediately get up from the computer and go do something engaging for a few minutes.",0 Give Buster lots of love from all of us here on reddit!! ❤️,0 "**me just trying to honor the gods I follow** Intrusive thought: okay what about you explicitly think about their sex life for 10 minutes? Me: could you just fucking knock it off? It’s hella weird trying to pray at my altar and have a very bad scene in my head 😂",0 I imagine my OCD as a little devil. Me and him get along sometimes but I'll yell at him when needed :),0 lmfaoooo thank god for this community... ya'll get it hahahhahahahahahaahah <3,0 "Omg. You. Are. Not. Alone. I do this constantly and now have the weight of cleaning all this out and sorting it along with all the other things I’ve “let go.” Emails, my clothing, papers (bills, kids’ school things, things just bc I liked the pics or bc I might “use one day.”) The other part of my mind likes having clean space and I enjoy making things neat. It’s a constant inner struggle. Part of the reason I keep things is that I think I have no capacity to remember - like I don’t give my brain enough credit to trust that I can remember important sayings or that I will remember a meme or saying I love when I have the occasion for which it is perfect to use. I have tried to organize bookmarks by topic on my computer and that helps. But how often do I go back to browse them (bookmarks, photos, papers, etc)? Not very much. And yet, when I do, and I love seeing them again, and so it provides enough “reinforcement” to continue the habit. It’s really a catch-22. I believe that we actually can remember more than we give ourselves credit for. And this is shown when I do remember something that I’ve saved — I think of it on my own, and yet have no idea where to find it amidst all my stuff and so end up searching for it online again anyway! Argh!",1 "It’s funny how much I relate to this post. Yes, I totally feel that, the sad part is that most of them are surprised once you ask them “why?” What’s worse is answering defensively with “you must do it” they assume that you don’t like the process. You have to be so unreasonably polite so they don’t get defensive.",1 "You’re calling me out broski! I love making lists so much. Things to get when I’m in Target, chores to do, every single thing that will go in my future apartment...lol. And goodness the procrastination. Anxiety about not doing what I ‘have’ to do pushes me to do all the other things. When projects were due in school the next day and I hadn’t even started, I’d end up doing like 2 loads of laundry and organizing my bedroom instead.",1 "alright this argument is so flawed from my view. Think about this hypothetically. Even if by some means all this time I was making all these one off choices knowingly that led to my current experience that one would label ""mentally ill."" Well don't you think that there's a disorder and severe problem in that itself that I would just so happen to make all these choices that would lead to a huge negative effect on my wellbeing? Thus if its all theoretically a choice wouldn't making these bad choices be a cause for deep concern in themselves, where I should still be subject to the same care as if I was perceived with a disability like I am now where mental illness isn't perceived to be a choice? Either way the argument that its a choice so we shouldn't be treated the same is flawed imo for the route you supposedly took to make those choices are just as pressing of a debilitating issue as a mental illness that is not a product of choices.",0 Would you say resisting compulsions makes it better next day then?? I try but can never do it,0 "I actually had to take a deep breath and come back to this post, that’s how angry it made me. OCD is only “desirable” to them because they have no clue what it really is. These are the same people who self diagnose themselves with depression because they bite their lips (seriously, people on tiktok were actually self diagnosing depression because they bite their lips). They have no clue what mental illness actually is. OCD is hell. It’s ruined my life. I’ve almost killed myself many times (even this month) because of OCD. Honestly, people need to educate themselves on OCD before they spout bullshit like this. OCD isn’t just being super organized! OCD isn’t just washing your hands often! OCD is a fucking horrible mental illness that takes over your life. Clearly this person doesn’t know anyone with OCD, because if they did, they’d realize OCD has nothing desirable about it.",0 "This is almost like a sentence from a book I'm reading right now.""The Power of Now"" by Eckhard TolleHas anyone read it, has some interesting insights but is more on the spiritual, meditational side.",0 "Two things: 1) What an amazing idea!! I love that you did that!! And having it be someone who gets it, there is so much value in the piece alone. 2) That was so soothing to read in terms of your paragraph creation and bolding things🤤 So many things to say about this, none clear or coherent in the brain hahah This is amazing!❤️❤️❤️",1 "Bladder: ring ring, you need to go to the bathroom Me: sure, just give me 5 seconds to do this thing *An eternity later* Bladder: OMG please just go to the bathroom! Me: oh yeah, I forgot... But I just noticed I also forgot to do this important thing, so let me do this first... Bladder: nooooo Me: oh, deadline approaching painfully... Better go to the bathroom!",1 Are you taking medication and talking to someone about this,0 "Oh, god! How do they say it? ""I'm in this picture and I don't like it."" BAAAAHAHA!!!!",1 Yes. All my life I've always wanted the ability to just freeze time!,1 This is due to ‘time blindness’ which is the inability to properly sense time and is an ADHD symptom. It either makes us chronically late or extremely anxious about being on time. (Here’s an article explaining it: https://lifehacker.com/is-time-blindness-making-you-chronically-late-1847150163 ),1 "I do the same thing all the time! Most of the people I've been with have turned around and gone like wtf that's not okay, but one person had autism so she kinda got what was going on, it was the best feeling to not feel shitty for something you can't control 😂",1 "I am tired of this shit. This disorder ruins people’s lives, it’s not some quirky personality trait",0 Seroquel saved my life from this. It makes the intrusive thoughts SO much quieter and helps me sleep. ,0 "Funny, in high school I worked for a biomedical engineering firm. For my application, I had to design anything of my choosing. I designed a self sanitizing door handle! (Long before I was diagnosed with contamination OCD...who would have guessed!)",0 "Well, I was not avoiding any task but thanks for the reminder",1 One of my things is I use moisturiser after washing which has now become a compulsion too over the last few months :( but in the past it’s been so bad my hands have been cracked and bleeding,0 Same for me about Blink 182 and Tom Delonge. “What’s my age again” is literary an anthem of AD(H)D.,1 "The good news is, you get to wash that same load of clothes twice because they sat too long.",1 "BPD, GAD, ADHD, MDD, C-PTSD, OCD my brain is a deadly laser",0 ONG in writing my second book and my publisher keeps telling me to staaahp with the endless sentences and comma's. LOL. This thread is ME!,1 "I'm about to set up an appointment to get more Adderall, hopefully upping the dosage as well. I'm a 35 year old man who needs medication to function properly, and the looks I get from people, like the pharmacy employees.. ugh. I've always felt like there was something wrong with me. Like everyone else can just do stuff that I can't. I hate myself most of the time because I know that I'll never be able to do ""regular people shit"" without it. I've tried so many times. I'll think, ""I'm older, it'll be different now."" Yes, it wasn't different. It was worse, because then it was an older me with the same problem.",1 "I just want to lay in bed all day and do nothing...legs, if you could stop twitching like you're being possessed by a dog that smells bacon, that'd be super",1 Don't lie to your therapist tbh they need this information to effectively treat you,0 My OCD when I fell asleep without checking my phone is properly locked or not 9 times and it didn't get hacked,0 "holy fuck i agree with this so hard. i'm smart and stuff and capable of a lot, but i just physically can't. i'm in all honors classes rn which means the workload is a little higher, but i physically can't do any of it until the last minute stress of getting a bad grade and a lecture from my parents kicks in. executive dysfunction can get run over by a bus.",1 I was then one day I just got over it. I realized how silly it was and was wasting my time. Could have also been the medication I'm on helping me tho lol,0 "I do the same thing. I tried to organize into folders, but I wind up making different folders for the same thing (no consistency), and I'll forget the saving / naming convention, come up with a new one, then wind up with 1,000,000 duplicates, and ....",1 "I have so many intrusive thoughts that I feel are beyond immoral and I just want to hear someone else say that it's just the illness and not me, please can someone on reddit be that person as the NHS is being quite useless at the moment.",0 "I hear you! In my head I’m a model photographer, oli painting professional, sculpture prof, actor for film AND theatre AND radio, horticultural artist, poet, sci fi wryter, model etc ! I’ve been thinking this since 18 and I’m now 38. It’s like I’m stuck to my bed with glue",1 I definitely feel that with ADHD resources. One really helpful YouTube channel (Idk if she's been mentioned yet or not) is https://youtube.com/c/HowtoADHD. She makes very nice bite sized videos I relate to a lot that work for adults (21yo myself). I relate to her content a lot and have found some useful tools for dealing with the struggle.,1 "me (talking to woman): holds eye contact intrusive thoughts: what if you were to look.... *down*? me: No! Stop! Please! Don't do this! AHHHHH! (As I am forced to gaze into the dark chasm below) ",0 THIS. Ive struggled with rhis all my life and only recently found out what this executive dysfunction is. thankyou for putting it into words.,1 "<3 hate it. :! I remember using bleach one time.. not using it again, so here I am, back to ""bloody hands""",0 "Yeah I have this too. Especially as a comedian I’m sure I’ve made some messed up jokes and the general dumb teen stuff, etc. It is truly terrifying. I’m sorry that you’re going through this too.",0 "I feel this way too much. I can do everything in like 2 hours if I start early but an afternoon appointment all cards are off the table and i'm an anxious, over thinking, wobbly mess.",1 "I felt the same way at a corporate job and thought that’s the way any job would be. But I was wrong. I finally found consulting and engagement-based contracting. To me it’s just like school. Sure, there are milestones (like school assignments) which you may or may not hit in time, but what ultimately matters to clients is the final product (like the final exam). Yeah, they might judge your progress as you go but there’s always an end date to the engagement and if the project or product is accomplished by then and up to or exceeding their standards then they come back for more.",1 "I hated brushing my teeth. I was always doing too many other things and it was a massive inconvenience. I'm 40, and have been 2xday, regularly doing it now for 7 or 8 years. Before, it was usually one every 36-48 hours (depending on what I ate). However, im on meds to help me.sleep, and I have a 90 minute window of activation. So it's part of the night time ritual now. Take meds. Shower. Brush. Read or video games till I get tired.",1 "Hiding the full image from others. Nice meme man, on point!!",0 "This sucks too because since ADHD is hereditary, your family members usually ALSO have adhd. Like my mom def has adhd and she works in childcare, so she gets home super overstimulated, and I've been home alone all day so I'm understimulated and I know I must annoy her so much lol",1 "Yep, me with 7s. I have to do things in 7s or my family will die. So I get you.",0 "Sorry to hear that, hope you'll get better fast! Hang in there. Big internet hug to you",1 I’ve been thinking for a while that it should be renamed to attention dysfunction disorder,1 "This has been my entire life during the pandemic because I wake up late because I just can't get myself to sleep early even if I am sleep deprived, so I'm now in a horrible cycle where the only thing I get done in a day is the thing I decided to do at 3pm. At this point, I just say yes to a 3pm meeting because I know I won't get anything done regardless anyway.",1 I only do this when I’m on someone’s social media page,0 "My friend I struggle with this too. I think what makes it torture for me is that in my head I can do it, and it will be great. Then comes the lack of discipline and consistency. It truly is a struggle, more so when you’re in a project with end in sight only to come crashing down. Or in my case I trick myself that it’s too good to be true and abandon the whole thing assuming I would just fail, saving myself from disappointment. Then I come to be only more disappointed for not having the conference in myself. Sorry for that whole rant but it sort of ties together. Good luck fellow ADHD-er.",1 "Your bread crumbs in the pantry are my jars of mayonaise. When the fridge mayonaise runs out, I buy 2 more. I put 1 in the fridge and go to put the ""back up"" mayonaise into the cupboard only to find my 3 other ""backup mayonnaises"" sitting there. I laugh at myself, but it's also very frustrating 😂",1 "This is actually so helpful, these types of posts really fuck me up big time! Like I already have these thoughts in my head I don't need random people sharing pictures to make them worse 😂",0 "I guess one of the ways I cope with everything is humour. I am starting to feel stifled by the emerging culture of having to be so ridiculously careful of everything you say. I’ve done stand up comedy before and I really enjoyed it, but my OCD prevents me from performing more than I otherwise would. How we suffer OCD as with many mental illnesses manifests differently according to social trends and just the times we live in generally. The themes our brains create cause us to suffer differently according with the times. I’ve always been interested in social justice, but now my brain uses this against me and I am paranoid about saying the wrong thing and being judged by others on the left, either online or doing live comedy. So, I guess this culture of hyper-policing what others say about every category of vulnerable people is good for some sufferers of mental illness but bad for others - all depending on the themes that torture us. I understand where you’re coming from though. Yeah I’m sure there are heaps of trite people on Pinterest who trivialise OCD and you’re right to criticise them. I don’t know, I’m just getting tired of fighting everything perhaps also. I have to be careful because my passions and my OCD can overlap and interact and sometimes I have difficulty working out what I genuinely believe about something vs how much my OCD is turning my views from the fear it creates. I guess, we do need to critique the trivialisation of mental illness and fight it, but lets not forget the complex nuances in life as we do it. I’m with you though. Peace and solidarity. ",0 "This happened to me once with my brother’s medication! My family was SURE it wasn’t in the trash but I told them to shake all the garbage bags (they thought I was crazy) and what do you know, it was in trash. That was the only time my dad ever said “that was a damn good idea Megan”",1 "The thing is i can't sleep not because i don't want to, it's because i can't",1 "My ex graduated from Dr Phil’s School of Keeping It Real. Whenever they would launch into their usual “time to grow up” speech I would have to find a way to make it funny for myself or it would be really devastating to hear that from my partner. I’ve been an adult for a while now. I don’t need to strategies of a TV hack who hasn’t had the license to be a “doctor” for decades. Neither do you.",1 "The thoughts were absolute hell, every minute of every day. And then they disappeared. During the whole time I was doing breathing compulsions. Everything required me to breathe in patterns perfectly. If I failed, I had to redo them by doubling them perfectly, and so on and so forth. All while tackling, replacing, or neutralizing intrusive thoughts. I'm still doing the breathing. It becomes so overwhelming that it feels like I'm not even in control. It's the worst hell you can imagine.",0 I really love OCD Love Story by Corey Ann Haydu and would love to see a TV show or movie made of it!,0 Does anyone else tic when they have certain types of intrusive thoughts? I feel like it’s my body’s way of snapping me out of it or averting my attention elsewhere,0 When I’m sharing my screen on a zoom call- plz don’t ask why I opened and reopened that file 3 times 🙃,0 I do both while running. I’ll start with “I wonder if he’s thinking about me!” and it quickly turns to “Shit! I gotta reach that light pole before X!”,0 Lol nice meme format. I watch a lot of twitch myself.,0 I know OP posted this as a joke but like WOW the person that made this is dumb,0 This! I told my psychiatrist that I was worried that I was malingering. It probably just helped solidify his diagnosis.,0 can we trade ? i think these thoughts are slightly better than what i get.,0 "I have a ritual for April 4, hopefully it goes right.",0 "The tv static part though. I had a hard time figuring out how to explain that...noise in my head. I tell my husband it sounds like hundreds of radios playing at the same time really loudly and I can’t shut them off. When I first started on anti-depressants and the noise finally stopped, that’s when I figured out it wasn’t something I had to live with.",0 "Beautiful. Sorry for your loss. :( Thank you for posting this. I somehow got through university but I want a career change. The first school I tried was a terrible fit and just teaching outdated material I already knew. I found a new school that’s a better fit, but I hovered over the application submit button last night. I was afraid it wouldn’t work out and I was afraid of failing again. My friends think I have it all together and I’m so successful. I used to be? Or I used to have it held together better? My ADHD got a lot worse after a head injury. I don’t have it together. Today I had to ask my mom to help me make calls to a big health system that was refusing to bill my insurance and I’ve been at war for 6 months with that place. My earnings are depressed just based on when I finished undergrad and my inability to decide on a career. I don’t have it together, but I appreciate their confidence that I do. Because I really don’t. And no one understands that except you lovely humans here. Thank you all for existing.",1 "Sick of people saying ""oh your house must be so clean""- when in reality my compulsions are nothing helpful or useful, sometimes it means driving an extra 5, 10 or 15 minutes out of my way because I can't drive a certain route,. Or, the crippling intrusive thoughts..don't get me started. I was so grateful I finally had the courage to share them with a therapist and get the diagnosis and support I needed. Thank you for this post.",0 I chuckle while checking my apartment one more time to make sure no one is hiding in the cupboards or a closet this time.,0 "You people get me. I don't know anyone with OCD, this sub helps me alot.",0 "I read this and I wonder if I have ADHD. I know I have shown traits before that made me wonder if I had aspergers, and I know the one can sometimes be confused with the other. I actually have that Ramundo/Kelly book. I should read it.",1 "This is literally my fucking life. I'm managing poorly, but something that's helped is targetting 1 thing done a day, adjusted for abiility that day, and avoiding guilt (keeping the goal a positive aspiration). Keep doing one thing a day and you catch up sooner than you realize. Not always soon enough, but its often better than starting nothing at all.",1 "Medicine fell off at 6 pm yesterday and it took a lot of mental trickery to work myself back up to sit down and finish what I needed to do. Alarms are the worst I will nearly always snooze myself to the last minute and be just in time or a minute or so late to get started. But when it’s like oh so and so hit you up to fish at 5 am I’m up at 445 excited and wide awake. I typically have trouble sleeping so bed time is like 2 and my wife is like just go to bed earlier and I have to say no no I don’t work like that. I got to bed at 10 on Friday I wake up at 10 on Saturday groggy and slow. Last Saturday I went to bed at 4am woke up 2 hours later for a zoom wedding and she was flummoxed on how I did it. What you thought I was joking when I told you I’m an atypical sleeper? You’ve known me for 8 years and hasn’t changed once lol. Ugh I should get back to work though...",1 Nice tatoo but I think the point is to surrender not to fight,0 "Now I tell people, “I think the term you’re looking for is ‘anal retentive’.”",0 "I love this post, cuz I usually feel extremely guilty and uncomfortable because of my intrusive thoughts because my brain makes it seem like they’re fantasies or something I want to be thinking about when they’re the complete opposite",0 "Omg, I do this. I can’t bring myself to do the tasks I’ve been putting off, and also can’t bring myself to relax until I do the tasks I’ve been putting off. #Sigh",1 "Great post. Yes, this is the core of the issue. We're so used to just getting reprimanded, cast aside, betrayed, you name it that our subconscious begins to condition towards negative expectations. We then punish ourselves inwardly. You idiot, why do you fuck everything up? I thought this would improve as I got older, but instead, it got worse. Much worse. I'm doing everything I can to turn this negativity into a more positive attitude. What I found to be helping is to eat better, instill more discipline into each day, read more about ADHD, read/listen to lots of motivating speeches, talks, movies, stories, etc. I attend church every week and study the scripture. I do a lot more diligence before making larger life decisions. I fired toxic friends and I quit a few toxic habits including quitting smoking, drinking and have been scaling back on coffee. In the past year, I made more healthy changes to my life than at any time before. I use phone apps to keep track of progress on quitting bad habits and maintaining good ones. Do I now wake up and everything is suddenly great? Not at all.... the ""you idiot"" feelings are still there. However, they are gradually fading a bit into ""you **were** such an idiot"" regrets. I do eventually believe that I'll learn to accept my mistakes and just look at them as sunk costs. I've been learning to flush them away when they pop up. Knowing I am headed down a cleaner path in life is slowly giving me confidence. For the first time since childhood, I'm not ashamed of who I am. I'm not afraid of someone taking a peek under my hood. Its been an internal battle tho. The temptations are always there bothering your ADHD mind.",1 "This is where I have just gotten very used to telling people, ""Give me one second, I have that information"" and pulling out my phone to open up my notes/records. It's a little unconventional, but generally surprisingly well tolerated as long as I can get the info within a minute. Especially in academia, this has been invaluable, and ends up in ways making me more trustworthy in casual conversations because I don't just state facts as I remember them, I always have my source for them as well.",1 "I can relate so well. It's like we live with invisible eternal flame around us, all day long. Pain is there but you have to hide it.",0 "I truly believe there should be more people like you. The little things out of the blue are the things that hit hardest. Love to you brother/sister, Have a great day <3",1 "No, it was “soooo helpful” lol I have these type of intrusive thoughts way too much. I’ve begun consider it ties in my being an empath. I have a tendency to pick up people’s “psychosexual spiritual” vibe or something. So sometimes it’s fine but other times when it’s family or a student of mine, or some else that I wouldn’t want an actual sexual relationship it becomes overwhelming. So recently I’ve been giving myself that space and realizing there is a type of core energy everyone possess and I may just be hyper aware and picking that up....so the fight with myself is way more forgiving 👌🏽💗",0 "hey it's 1.40 am, but this is a great advice! let me just read one more comment to see if i find anything interesting... ok one more...",1 "I haven't opened my saved post in like 5 months, and I save stuff every day",1 "if you do end up dying your hair black, make sure to use petroleum jelly! black dye can stay noticeable on skin for days.",0 "Often while driving home my mind is flooded with all the wonderful, productive and stimulating things I can do with my time when I get there, but as soon as I step foot inside it's like an immediate brain dump and I cant think of a single thing to do, so I become easily distracted and consumed with whatever grabs my attention (tv, video games, reddit etc). I'm sure it's the stimulation from driving that lets me gather my thoughts long enough to consider acting on them.",1 And then you’re the moody/angsty/ anti-social bad guy when you snap or tell them you don’t feel like speaking to anyone at the moment,1 "yeah, it was a relief because before I was convinced I was an absolute weirdo, or even a bad person because of it. the thoughts made it seem that way. it still gives me a lot of discomfort but at least I don't feel too guilty about things that I never even did or said :/ I remember something from a ted talk I watched a while ago on youtube, where the speaker (who I think has some sort of high functioning social anxiety) said ""there's nothing wrong with me, there's just something wrong with me"". I thought this was an interesting thought - I'm not bad/stupid/weird/problematic, this is something that's not my fault, that I'm not in control of, so I shouldn't let the guilt consume me. of course we can't always control the way we that feel, but this thought may help some of us out at some point :)",0 "It’s one of the two things, either I’m asleep and I wake up because of them or I’m awaking and they prevent me from falling back asleep",0 "and that's a three-hour usable window IF you feel physically mentally fine and ready for it. Have you slept ok? enough? in the correct hours? are you anxious? did you have too much/too little coffee/tea? did you have it too close to meds? Do you have to do a thing during normal waking hours? doesn't match-up your three-hour functional time? too bad! you wasted another week trying to be functional in the correct time-zone",1 "Omg, I’ll never forget 4th grade gym class I had never had any tics before and one day I developed this dumb tic where I would strain my foot/ turn it kind of sideways every other step. This bitchy girl behind me literally said “why do you keep doing that!” And I said “idk what you’re talking about” and she mimicked the way I was stepping and it was so embarrassing. Rip",0 "I may be seeing this 9 hours late, but that doesn't change the fact that I'm proud of you. Keep trying, Academia is hard for people like us but you can get it done!",1 Oh my lord... yes CHOOSE ocd people 👏 in fact does anyone want some of my ocd??,0 Ever since I started taking Seroquel this has gone away.,0 Yup. Toward the end of my first marriage I couldn't remember any good times if I tried. Depression and ADHD are a dangerous combo.,1 "Game changer for me is wearing a Fitbit. Why? Those ""reminders to move"" that you get 10 min. before the top of the hour if you haven't walked 250 steps (which I mean, I haven't because I'm working from home right now, ha). The little vibration on my wrist is my reminder to get up and refill my water glass, and if I notice I feel hungry, grab a snack. Doesn't solve the frustration with the state of the world, though!",1 "Comparing illnesses is dumb - but if I had compare like being a quadriplegic, which loads of ppl rightfully see as awful, and OCD. I'd pick being a quad if it was a choice between the two.",0 "Wait internalizing other people’s thoughts is an adhd thing? I always did it but I thought I was just weird like yhat",1 YES!!! I’ve never heard of this but it’s sooo true I love it.,1 "Seriously glad to know I'm not the only one. I'll listen to songs on repeat for months on end and guilt myself into listening to other songs because ""you have spotify use it for other than just these 10 songs""",1 "Sorry to hear this. Please don't beat yourself up, I totally understand the thought process behind this and it's by luck it hasn't happened to me (yet). I hope you can get treatment OP and remember that we're here for you. DMs open if you need.",1 It is absolutely beautiful! Proud of you for taking such a step and facing your anxiety. It's not easy.,0 Google Recorder also does this is you just wish to use your phone. Super accurate too.,1 "That backslide is horrible. I can always feel when that moment comes, a certain moment in a day, a fucking advertisment of some kind. And then your mind panicks, and you just know... fuck, man.",0 I would love to be living my life but rn the best I can do is lay in bed while OCD and depression take over,0 "I used to have such a hard time finishing projects, like drawings, so I eventually wouldn't start things - I still do this occasionally, and my oil paints can attest to that as they've never been touched. Three things really helped me. One being getting medication. It's really changed my life in the past year, and would have made the past five way easier. The second thing being going back to school. Over the last five years I got my degree in robotics engineering. While this was a struggle some times, paying for and really wanting to get this degree helped me build the drive to get things done - especially homework since it was my time and money on the line. The work and projects that came with it taught me how to prioritize and finish things, even if they weren't perfect. The third was finishing things even if they weren't perfect. I realized that some times good enough is good enough. You don't need to keep spending hours and hours honing and obsessing over specific details to the point that you don't complete it. Just get it done because nothing is ever perfect or complete, simply finished. Any beautiful thing someone created has so many flaws in it that the creator hates and would fix, given the time. You just have to move on. Are these things easy? No. None of them are. Neil deGrasse Tyson once told me personally that nothing worth doing is going to be easy. He's right, because if it was everyone would do them. So give yourself a simple project, like clean the counter tops and give yourself half an hour. When the time is up, your project is done. Approach everything you can like this for a month. You'll build the skills to prioritize, plan, and walk away from things when they're good enough. And remember Good enough is good enough.",1 I havent slept. This is all I can do right now. I could probably sleep now but then I won't tonight. So for now....I'm like stoned kid blob from a 90s anti-drug commercial,1 Me when my therapist asked why I appeared to be having a panic attack... truth was I had convinced myself I had run over a person when I was turning my car around in a Walmart parking lot because a cop went into that same parking lot with his lights and sirens just a few seconds after I left the parking lot.,0 "The gap of informative adult ADHD media is definitely frustrating. Maybe one day we could contribute. For now, coming to your rescue with some better resources: * How to ADHD youtube Channel * ADHD rewired podcast * Totally ADD website/youtube channel * Russel Barkely's *Taking Charge of Adult ADHD -* No joke; my bible. The most actionable resource I have. * Lidia Zylowska's *The Mindfulness perscription for Adult ADHD -* applying mindfulness to ADHD at any age * Hallowell & Ratey *ADHD 2.0* \- Haven't read but is reviewed well * Ramsey & Rostain *The Adult ADHD Toolkit* \- CBT psychs talk ADHD strategies for adults * And I am just starting to investigate the ADHD reWired podcast network. More podcasts on ADHD stuff.",1 It doesn't take itself out the list if you watch it!,1 My issue is that I know the thoughts are from OCD but that doesn't help me stop the obsessive checking,0 "for seniors freaking out rn: i was worried my grades would end up being horrible and my future employer would rethink their offer. my therapist made a great point, though. he basically said you can just blame everything on covid19 & they’ll get it. work places are in chaos too. if you talk about struggling, they’re probably more likely to empathize with you, than not.",1 Not just this. I must include proper explanations and reasons when giving instructions too!,1 People always give advice starting with the word “just” like it’s going to be helpful 😤🙄,1 I have started zoning out and then fell asleep during sex 🤦🏻‍♀️,1 "I’m the same. I attribute it to a poor working memory. For me to remember something I have to have experienced it instead of memorizing it. And for some information, an indepth conversation is realistically the closest I’ll come to ‘experiencing’ the subject matter.",1 "People just literally can't comprehend what adhd is like. Just like people with functioning brains can't comprehend what being a vegetable is like. What they do need to comprehend is that adhd is a serious mental condition, so their inability to comprehend it does not excuse them from attempting to understand it.",1 "Re: vegetables, go with frozen when possible! Yes, if you have leftovers, they might go bad, *but they have to be in your freezer forever before they go bad there*. And frozen veggies are usually pretty cheap. Plus microwaving them is way easier than all the prep for fresh.",1 "Fkn a man…. Never studied a day, just breezed though. Last 15 years of work has Fkn sucked",1 story of my life can’t start homework until the house is clean,1 This haplened this morning. I realize this person has been using my kindness to walk all over me and when I finally confronted him he got all pissed off and said what I was saying was talking shit. Fuck outta here.,1 "I think it's more about what we willingly avoid, even when we know the steep consequences.",1 "This image makes me tear up every time I see it. It's what I first showed my SO to try to convey what OCD feels like. It's just so close to home. I often get very upset about the fact that it seems like I'm mentally torturing myself on purpose, like a secretly enjoy suffering. ",0 “if you don’t repeat the song lyrics you just messed up three times your sister will crash the car and kill both of you lol 💕”,0 "I used to have debilitating intrusive thoughts. The anxiety and distress I experienced was to the point that I would stay in bed for most of the day. I hardly ate because I constantly felt nauseous. Even little things like watching a movie felt impossible. After some years of therapy and anxiety meds, I rarely experience these thoughts anymore and I live a much happier life. You’re not alone, and you can overcome this(:",0 "Yeah. 100% true. With my new job I work from 2-10 and when I think about it I like the time of it. I thought to myself that I would have time to do whatever I want during the day and be productive in the morning, my best time of day. But yeah that is not at all how it goes. I sleep in, eat, watch YouTube and then it’s time to shower and go to work. Then I get off, do whatever for an hour and go to sleep. Wash rinse repeat",1 I got my driver's license! Still anxious as hell and I felt embarrassed by my age getting it but I'm so happy I finally did it. If your state is still allowing 3rd parties to test then I'd heavily suggest it if you haven't.,1 "I have always been blessed with good teeth and have always taken care of them religiously, but fell into the _exact same_ cycle. I have brushed and flossed twice a day for ~3 weeks and it literally makes you feel better. **Good job!!!**",1 "I had selective mutism all growing up and almost everything out there (which is not much) is about children. This is because many people actually do grow out of it (unlike ADHD), but it upset me because it felt like once you become a teenager, you're on your own. No one has solutions for you because you're just viewed as sort of a lost cause. It's very easy to treat in children, but the older you get, the worse your situation becomes. With ADHD, I think it's the mindset that ADHD should be recognized in children, but many people have to recognize it in themselves as adults because people didn't pay much attention. I think articles like that that are geared towards parents are important, but I wish they weren't so surface level, like ""if you're child has a hard time focusing or sitting still..."" Like why don't they talk about executive dysfunction and emotional dysregulation? My brother did get diagnosed as a child, but my parents still don't understand it, even though they're the ones that recognized it in the first place (and my dad has it too), because they just think ADHD is not being able to sit still or focus. I've honestly learned more about ADHD from tiktok than they've learned at all.",1 "I almost saved this post to reply later so yeah, can definitely relate 😳 I do the same with saving posts on Facebook and Insta too.",1 This is amazing! It reminds me of [Allison Stanley's](https://www.theicegiant.com/) art!,0 Yes. I was doing this as like a ritual for a while. Someone mentioned sitting with the urgency and delaying going. That's typical erp and it worked for me.,0 On that tip about taking them up and then going back to sleep. I can only do that on the weekends but my weekends are so much better that way.,1 Literally every romantic relationship I have ever had. Including my 7 year marriage... Definitely feel this one.,1 You can delete them rather easily: https://www.alphr.com/delete-all-watch-later-videos-youtube/#:\~:text=Using%20a%20Script%20to%20Remove%20All%20Watch%20Later%20Videos%20at%20Once,1 "I'm glad people understand when I say ""I'm exhausted."" I'm not tires because I worked all day but because I mentally worked allll dayy.",0 "4,800 points, 100% upvoted. Not surprising, I think this is the truest thing I've ever read on this entire website.",1 "I don't understand this suggestion. My school gave out planners to every student, every single year, all the way up through the end of high school. I would never in a million years assume that someone hadn't tried using a planner before, because literally every person who went to any kind of public or semi-public school was made to use one for their entire childhood and teenage life. If they worked, *we would have noticed by now*.",1 "It's hard to find a good explanation that others can understand. What helped me a lot in this, is the comparsion to erectile disfunction. You know that you want to have sex, you really really want to do it right now, but it is not possible to change anything on that by willpower or something else. In my experience this example worked great. You might try that one",1 "Well, and we're all stressed out and depressed due to the pandemic which makes the ADHD symptoms even worse. I'm so sorry you're having a hard time. What helps me: Lots of alarms and reminders on my phone which sync to my desktop, and the program ""Evernote"" which I can even make audio recordings to just as I think of something before it slips right out of my head!",1 The secret ingredient to ADHD is ~~crime~~ everything,1 "As I move through research and read and read and read all of it forms a sort of direction and deeper, applicable knowledge. I’m an entrepreneur and find that even though I forget everything something directional is always being built.... call it intuition or deeper understanding it all comes to a point. Getting there is hard and suddenly the train will just be in the station and it will always be a surprise. I wish I knew where certainty was going to come from next, and why.",1 "I feel this. There are so many things I have to double check, at the least, even though I know for a fact that the door was locked, there was nothing on the countertop, and whatever else. It's just this feeling of helpless anxiety and the looming feeling of being wrong and making a mistake when I could've prevented it by checking one last time. I try to do the task just once, focus all of my attention on it, and then actively make a memory of it so I won't have so much doubt and anxiety over whether or not I did it properly. It's exhausting.",0 "The first thing i think of when i wake up is my mistakes. The only good thing is I wont make them again because they haunt me. I read a good quote recently that said: ""You wouldnt be who you are today, without making mistakes in the past."" Its a bit like Jung said, no tree can grow to heaven unless its roots reach down to hell.",0 I only managed to break this habit this year before my wedding. I didn't want my chewed up hands in my wedding pictures. In saying that I was very much on top of my ocd and that was the last habit that really hung on,0 "I must do it an even amount of times too, even if I trip and faceplant the floor and look like a four year old doing so",0 I find the best thing is to make a study area. You can still go to public libraries!! Public libraries have saved my life because I do work there. You can even rent out study rooms at certain libraries,1 "If only there was a competent therapist in my area. The best one I had literally dismissed me multiple times. Finally worked up the courage to tell her one intrusive thought, I had never admitted any intrusive thoughts to anybody else before, and she was like(in different words) “that’s stupid because of this reason”. Wow so helpful I already knew it was stupid.",0 "I totally agree. A few days ago I had this Rose, and I realized that it would die in a few days. I was at school at the time, and even though I really try to not cry/panic at school, I did. I was just SO sad. I still am, really. It is slowly dying and I can’t help it. ( I am 16)",0 i have “farm animal noises” on my top list bc my dog really really likes cows.... but sure yes that’s mine,1 "I have an internal thought that creeps into my head almost daily of ""where are you going?"" with the immediate response of ""to hell."" It could be because of poor work performance, forgetting someone's name, losing track of what someone was talking about in a conversation. It sucks and I hate it.",1 "YES. It makes me insane just how bad that is, sometimes I still feel that anger and shame from events that have happened YEARS ago, and it infuriates me.",1 ">**🌟 My Favourite:** Use a 7-day pill organiser with AM/PM slots and put your medication and supplements there. \~ **(**[u/ImprovedMeyerLemon](https://www.reddit.com/u/ImprovedMeyerLemon/)**)** > >*I know a lot of people have issues with remembering if they took their medication. This is an easy, simple and cheap fix.* Pro tip: if you get your meds in one month supplies, buy four. Especially if you take more than just one or two medications/supplements. Get 'er all done in one go instead of forgetting to refill it for days on end.",1 "Aww that looks so nice! So happy you won the battle against the suicide thoughts!",0 this is actually a pretty good perspective on how ocd is likely a manifestation/version of just being flat out self-harm!!!,0 These people are the ones who say “I’m so OCD about my emails being organized...” Or some shit like that.,0 "Holy cow. That's me exactly. Yikes. Over and over again, the last minute crash crush horrors of getting the job done because I can't even begin until it's already almost too late. You mean... you mean... wow.",1 Totally relate i even fooled everyone and myself that i have ocd and that im stressed that the worst of the eorst will happen all the the time,0 I've been thinking about this since past few days and honestly it's one of the most painful things.,1 Lmao I feel that way too. Btw what are these little things in the picture?,0 "Omg this is amazing, I’d like to have a word with whoever called it trash",0 I didn’t realize I needed this. Those thoughts hurt and make me feel like I’m going crazy. I’m glad I’m not alone.,0 "I worry about my loved ones dying, both young and old, how I would react. And then I wonder if I am a bad person for thinking about them dying.",0 """It's all in your head""... Yeah no shit Sherlock, that's why it's called a MENTAL illness. That psychologist might want to ask for a refund for his degree.",0 "This is me 100%. I'm a guy. What's especially frustrating is that I can't even get through things I'm passionate about. I'm in an incredibly hard to get to top school, studying a film - my greatest passion - but most projects I start just sort of lose steam at some point. Even a trivial interest that's unrelated to what I'm doing can sidetrack my mind completely. Every interesting thought or subject has a gravitational pull, and it's exhausting to keep my mind on any task for a sustained period of time. It can get hellish. Only things that have helped even a little have been excersise and sobriety. If anyone knows of a good medication or other helpful methods, I would appreciate.",1 "Just to bring an other opinion. OCD makes me struggle a lot regularly, but I REALLY don't care about people making OCD jokes. I totally feel why obese people get mad about fat jokes, because it's always humiliating and dehumanizing jokes. I totally feel why people with skizofrenia get mad on the cliches about them because it represents them as potential psycho killers. But the OCD jokes are often rather harmless for me. It's almost always people making fun about their own habits, saying they're ""so OCD"", but the joke itself implies this is a cliche. Unlike skizophrenia cliches it doesn't stigmatize people with OCD, we could argue that in a way it does the opposite. And I don't think most people are stupid, either they already understand that it's not really OCD or they can understand if we explain. Tbh I'm starting to get tired of these rants in this sub which are more and more aggressives.",0 "You don't get mad at your mouth for producing saliva so why get mad at your mind for producing thoughts? Producing thoughts is just what minds do. We have no control of what we think and thoughts aren't facts. We can practice mindfulness, become aware of them and identify the cognitive distortions. Mindfulness, meditation, CBT and self compassion have changed my life.",0 This is how I view my ocd! I have to accept that may be with me for a while. It helps when you learn to accept things.,0 Are people deliberately making this a repetitive meme or.....,1 "When I was in therapy, I talked about a lot of the bad stuff I did throughout my life that could be seen as manifestations of ADHD. I expected her to ask me why I behaved like I did or get straight to “how can we fix this? Let’s review some organizational techniques.” Instead, she just said “I’m so sorry you experienced that, that must have been so painful.” And it was one of the only times someone had acknowledged that I suffered too as a result of my actions, and implied that it was more like my actions were happening to me instead of a serious of bad choices I was consciously making (because *I* was bad). I just said “yeah”. Then silence. Then cue the ugly tears",1 I’m so happy for him and good for you for being so supportive 💖 keep going!!,0 This piece of art is one of the best I've seen on OCD. Thank you so much,0 I've never had something on reddit that empowers me so much. Chills. Thank you for sending this.,0 "What kind of doctor did you see? I'm 27f, I've had swollen lymph nodes since I was 13, I would get them around my groin. Now I get them in my armpits and they've been consistent for the last 3-4 months. They shrink, grow, disappear, and reappear. Sometimes they don't bother me, other times they're kind of painful. When I was younger, I thought I had an issue with ingrown hairs but I know for sure they're my lymph nodes and I'm starting to get concerned. I don't have health insurance and I'm worried 😕",1 "Omg thank you for the laugh and also the suggestion. I will now personify my thoughts in Alex Jones voice. ""You were bit my a rabid bat in your sleep because the 5G towers are making the bats insane! The Clinton's are responsible for giving you rabies!""",0 "To an extent yes. That extent is limited to the amount that is useful to know and the audience’s needs. In classes they’d often over explain formulas in engineering esp like how the math came about and I was like nope. Just tell me how it works, why irl it works and even irl tangible examples, what limitations it has and why. I do not need a lecture on the purely mathematical proofs that have no basis in what we are using it for. If the equation is based on another we use it’s fine to show that relationship. So like your example of teaching raid mechanics is 100% what works for me. But there’s a line of too much info where I’ll get bored as it does not relate to the issue at hand. Tho I will say how far to go is odd for me as I love to hear the history of a thing like how it relates to older games mechanics over the years and maybe why it’s changed. But the math proof stuff made me disengage. > But if I can’t get a why it’s like my brain just dumps the info I just learned outta my head 3 seconds later. Same. I wonder if it’s because my brain sorts things out based on how useful to it it thinks it is. And being told it is useful isn’t enough if I don’t know WHY it is useful. And it turns out I do not actually dump that info. It goes into deeeeeeeeep storage tho and seems like I dumped it. I know this because my brain loves to engage in convos I am not super knowledgeable about by bringing up similar info to discuss and no matter how small or unimportant that info seemed at the time if the convo comes around that a piece of info is related to my memory instantly supplies it. Example: I often times yank up from the abyss names of comic characters SO has referred to and maybe I read a comic he urged me to with them being on one page of it. Specifically one time was thanos and SO couldn’t come up with the name after the first avengers end scene while talking about it and all I had to go by was him talking about thanos (too much if you ask me) and one page of what he looked like in a Nova volume I read, annihilation it was called I believe. Also correctly identified Nova in guardians teaser based solely on that one volume I read years before. SO doubted me on that one. ::eye roll:: Do you find yourself ever doing that too or is that just me?",1 Pornhub is more respectable of OCD than my own self-righteous parents. The fuck?,0 "i used to think there was no way i could have ocd bc im not very clean(thanks, schizophrenia!), but now i realise how wrong that was. stigma is absolutely horrible.",0 "Then you think “hey my dyer isn’t drying my cloths fast enough.” Do a quick google search take it apart and burn your hand, who knows if you fixed the perceived problem... Or perhaps I’m projecting.",1 I eat fruit WAY more frequently if it's pre-cut or I somehow get the motivation to cut it up in advanced.,1 That’s Bc everyone and their mother says they have ADHD to the point that it just seems like ADHD is just the natural human condition living in modern society.,1 I have 8000 unmatched watch later videos and my accounts just a year old 😂👍😂👍😂👍👍👍😂ⁱ ʷᵃⁿᵗ ᵗᵒ ᵈⁱᵉ,1 This was me before I got medicated. Highly recommend.,1 "I feel that if I try to tell myself that I’m NOT stupid and lazy, I instantly feel that I’m a cocky douche.",1 "Man I feel like giving up right now because of this mind torture that I am in for years but this post made me feel better and I know I'ma overcome this soon and it's good to know that I am not alone, we can do this!",0 "I remember when I was trying to get first diagnosed, I kept switching doctors because they would try to say that I was only trying to get diagnosed to get adderral. (I’m 21 and a college student). I even had one doctor who told me they had to meet my parents to “verify” my symptoms (again, I’m 21, an adult, and this doctor is asking for my parent.. let that sink in). Finally, after 10+ doctors, I finally sat down with one that listened to my concerns, my symptoms that I’ve been experiencing my whole life, and he allowed me to get tested right away and I was diagnosed with it a couple months back. So yeah, I felt this. 100%. It sucks because every single doctor kept trying to tell me that I should’ve been diagnosed as a child but they don’t seem to understand that doctors cost money, and I grew up without it, and I was constantly moving as a kid (didn’t permanently settle until high school) so when they asked me for references from my elementary teachers (again, who the fuck even has that), I kept getting denied/backtracked from a test because they really thought I was just trying to get drugs lol",1 I started with anxiety first. It grew and grew and one day it was severe ocd. I'll never forget that first trigger.,0 "this is such an accurate portrayal of the thinking process. oh my gosh. emotional work helps! get to the root of your past traumas... previous experiences of gaslighting.... invalidation.... honestly, a lot of times, I feel like what's at the root of my ocd has always been superstition. take a step back and let go of old and negative belief patterns. it doesn't happen over night, but sometimes knowing that everyday, our old self, our identity, it grows a little bit each day, as new thoughts and new experiences our meant to appear... and our old selves disappear.... that's the way it's supposed to be! Sometimes we don't realize it, but a lot of times, ocd can just be manifestations of suppressed memories, and us holding on to too much repressed (often childhood when our brains are most malleable) trauma! Emotional abuse is still abuse! Don't partake in self-doubt! YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE! :) <3",0 "For me it's because language is confusing, especially if you write long freaking sentences. Commas make things clear without cutting the train of thought in half, like periods do. I also love semicolons and dashes and brackets (cause they allow you to attach a side thought INSIDE the main thought and not lose ~the flow~).",1 "people use OCD as a noun and it irritates me to no end. No, I am not “OCD” because I have to line my socks up perfectly, I HAVE OCD because I was diagnosed and if I do not line my socks up correctly I will throw up in school (I have emetophobia lmao)",0 "That's a fantastic tool, and I do a similar thing with poetry. (Though with less humor, admittedly) Also, I can't help but make the joke: That one sounds like a fun way to spend a saturday night to me. 😏",0 "Ok, so, I have Obsessive Twiddling disorder, as I can understand it by others, where I seek comfort from rubbing a specific textile. It calms my brain when I’m anxious, although it never really completely stops the anxiety. More like staves it off. A few months ago I lost my special blanket when we moved, and nothing I’ve tried to replace with feels remotely the same. At first I was upset, but was eventually glad for some (if not temporary) reprieve from my twiddling compulsion.",0 If found I'm really good at learning and remembering without actually remembering. So memory by feeling rather than image or however normal memory works.,1 "I've started adapting more to this over the years. My wife is polar opposite of ADHD, so she really doesn't get it, but it's definitely the cheaper option in terms of minimising your ADHD tax bill. Actually I set up a a fixed amount per week that goes to my credit card and so I can impulse buy shit using that and pay it gets paid off weekly, so that portion of my ADHD tax bill is properly accounted for in the family finances. To make it fair we set up a home renovation account for my wife and she saves up thousands and does a little project every once in a while.",1 "the amount of times ive been battling sleeping and staying awake, mid sentence typing at like 4am on my phone and just fall asleep and wake up to it on my face, red hot and having spammed conversations sjjsbsbs",1 "I don’t want to be the downer in this wonderfully positive community but I really don’t get this line of thinking. When therapists, partners or others tell me that, I respond, “yeah I know I’m great and all but if _____ issue makes me a bad spouse, behind on my bills, unproductive or generally not meeting reasonable expectations, *that’s* what I feel bad about and there’s no getting around those facts.” Like the guilt and feelings of insecurity we share come from real world results, not just imagined inadequacies. So what if it’s “not my fault”? Life doesn’t care whose fault it is. We still have jobs to do and kids to take care of. So am I missing something? I beat myself up all the time and I have better days and worse days but it doesn’t change the reality or situations I fucked up that could/should have been handled better. With more concentration. More compensation. More medication. More responsible management of the lemons life gave me.",1 "I need to have the living room, kitchen and bathrooms cleaned but my room is an absolute tip. Honestly can’t remember the last time I hoovered it!",0 "My problem is that I thought of things multiple times in the past towards someone I love whenever I got angry at them, so it’s genuinely so horrible. I can’t see myself ever living a normal life knowing what I thought of the people I love and the possibility that I wanted to act out those thought when I was angry. I’m sure you know what I mean by now. Even saying this in a comment makes me want to turn myself into the police or straight up k*ll myself and just get it over with, get rid of the scum I am. Idk how to live anymore knowing I thought these things in the past. Idk how to be with myself and not absolutely hate the piece of shit I am and not think getting rid of myself is the right choice.",0 "You seem to have met my brain. My brain says thanks.",1 Don't think my OCD/my thoughts have been worse than they are right now.,0 HOLY SHIT this explains my last minute avoidance technique. I could never do homework until the last possible time,1 "So many insurance policies taken out and no claims made.. I have receipts and claims to upload for travel, dental and health insurance that add up to over €1000. Some have been more than a year 🤦🏽‍♀️",1 "Funny thing is: I can go back to any of my saved items- screenshots, internet tabs, etc...and know exactly what/when/where was going on with me when I saved them, AND how it relates to the present time and why I’m looking at them.",1 "You know what else is just super helpful? When you're behind and someone says ""just get it done"". Sure, right, never thought of that. Didn't even consider it. That is incredibly useful insight that I never could have thought of myself.",1 Sometimes I don’t label the alarm and that causes me to forget whatever it was I needed to do,1 "Nice to know I'm not alone, but sorry to see you're going through the same.",0 I have been depressed for so long I don’t even remember what happiness feels like.,1 "My housemates complain about the 9am alarm which I never wake up to nor switch off(i just sleep through it). They were nice people so i told them that it wasn't meant for me but for the whole house and laughed it off. Really nice to live with a psychology student and a psychoanalyst because I dont have to explain myself to them, they just understand my weird ass persona",1 I smoked from age 15 to age 30. The only reason I quit was because it started giving me terrible panic attacks. The last one was so huge that it landed me in the emergency room because I was sure I was dying. Ever since than I can't even see a meme about weed without my anxiety rising. My brain is such a butt.,0 "I typed an emotional comment, didn't know what that would matter and deleted it. :(",1 "What the... is this really a symptom of OCD, as well? I used to do this as a kid.",0 "Ok for real though are you supposed to? The other day mine said “this is a two way street, you need to tell me what you want to do”. But what I’m trying to express to them is that I don’t know what is currently feasible and safe for me to do. For instance; of course I’d like to stop using gloves when cleaning my bathroom business, but that sounds awfully extreme to just quit cold turkey given the severity of my contamination fears. I truly need help easing my way into this so I don’t ruin my progress and make things worse. It’s to a point where my therapist is asking me to come up with my exposures, and I feel like this isn’t what I was expecting. I finally came up with one the other day and it was “only use a glove on the hand that is wiping”, but even then, I could’ve just thought of that on my own watch for free.",0 "That shit hurts so bad, and I'm sorry you're still going through it with your family after all these years. I lived that hell throughout my entire damn childhood. My mom always insisted I didn't respect her and I was lying when I didn't do stuff I said I'd do. If I was lying because I didn't respect her, why would I apologise sincerely and insist I didn't mean to forget? She was always on my case about school, and even though I knew it was from a place of love, it hurt so bad. I could never explain what was wrong or why I struggled. Especially because I was a ""gifted kid"" and in all advanced classes, I was so sure I was just lazy or weak-willed. I remember once we had a family counselor come in and I was trying to describe what I now know is central executive dysfunction, just staring at an assignment, pen in hand, unable to *do something*. The counselor told me ""sometimes you have to just knuckle down and do it. Hearing that was like getting kicked in the chest. A professional confirming my worst fears that the fact that I couldn't ""just do it"" was a testament to my lack of will. It took another two years for me to see a psychiatrist who actually knew what the fuck they were doing. She immediately diagnosed me with ADHD, and later a counselor came to the same conclusion just from me talking about my anxiety. It still took a year after that for my mom to decide that maybe I wasn't taking ADHD meds for a ""study boost"". It took a lot of time (and a couple of shouting matches), but my mom and I have eventually come to terms with the issues we had throughout my childhood.",1 Not if it's during a day of work and I've got hours more left of the day than I thought :-p,1 imagine telling a fucking schizophrenic that they can just choose not to have hallucinations.,0 "It's the hyperfocus that gets me, all the times i was so into astronomy for sure and bought a bunch of books and equipment only to forget about it a few weeks later. Same thing happened over and over with investing, programming, Bodybuilder(lol),youtuber, blogger, chef All the money spent ffs",1 This one hit me. Didn’t know anyone else had the ‘back to the future’ thoughts like I do. Ugh the cringe I have on mine!,0 "Mom, I can't see behind me. Just open the eyes behind your head, silly. Did you forget about those eyes?",1 this is such a good idea!!!! just wish I realised that sooner lol. I recently started treatment for adhd and didn't realise this was a thing and felt awful for forgetting a lot of the fun times we had together. and now that we both are working it's so hard to see her as often as I used to and I tend to forget that we actually have it really good. avtually doing the work of documenting is something I need to work on but this is such a great reminder for me to stop thinking about it and actually start doing it!!,1 Trying to convince yourself what you're thinking is irrational is a compulsion a reassurance compulsion.,0 "This is so awesome. I’m very happy for you. May I ask what steps you took? I’m really struggling with it myself. It takes me about an hour to just go, and then anywhere from one to two hours cleaning the bathroom at the end of the day. I feel paralyzed and it consumes so much of me. My hands hurt from all the washing.",0 It's always good when you can find a productive way to deal with the thoughts from this disorder,0 Thank you this made me cry :( I am always told I am “too much” and it’s hard to not wish I was not this way!!!,1 "As a counselor in training and someone that suffers from OCD, I'm intrigued.",0 It really can happen to anyone. Ive had severe thyroid issues for a long time. Ive been checked for nodes on my thyroid (twice Ive been checked for thyroid cancer basically) and Ive been lucky enough to be cancer free. Im 21.,1 I dont get it. When I was younger I was really determined and had great focus and concentration. As I moved into my 30s I lost all of that and developed the attention span of a gnat.,1 OCD and major depressive disorder share a very high comorbidity rate. As do OCD and bipolar disorder. I can’t remember the exact number but it’s something like 2 in 3. Also dual diagnosis seems to be very common.,0 Bonus feature: extremely fragile ego where any criticism which implies the possibility that you're not A Genius reduces you to tears because you feel like being smart is the tax you pay for existing in the world.,1 "Uhm yea, this is beautiful and please don’t do anything else. If you want to maybe remake it on another canvas then edit that one. But this one. Wow. Beautiful.",0 "As an instructor w/ adhd that teaches online, I sympathise!!! Do what is best for you, but also reach out to folks to get assistance",1 No it’s never happened to me like that but I’ve definitely gotten sidetracked On my way! Upstairs to go do the nasty gonna grab a drink turned into do I want a snack to I should let the dogs out to did I water the garden,1 "“Nobody LIKES working, but we all just have to suck it up and do it!”",1 "For anyone with sensory issues around teeth brushing, try brushing in the shower and using a non-foaming paste or powder. The struggle is real.",1 "The friendships lost to neglect/forgetfulness. The social opportunities squandered from inappropriate outbursts. The loved ones hurt from explosive anger. The time spent seething & ruminating about petty shit. Fuck the money, I can always make more. The real cost of ADHD is isolation.",1 This is such a beautiful piece of art work but I’m sorry you have to go through this 💜,0 "I get it for sure, it's like my mind is rapid fire thinking most of the time. Can sometimes make it hard to sleep. Mostly,you have to make a conscious effort to try to zone out. Easier said than done of course.",0 "The part of asking for help not resulting in getting help is the story of my life. I know I can't help myself since I was ten, I know that my parents won't help me unless I ""make an effort"" which I can't do, and now that I've been waiting literally decades for someone to come and fix me in vain, now I must start learning how to cope with a life where I will never have any sort of support network.",1 "I am always counting when doing my rituals and I started counting while walking. It doesn't have to be a specific number though. It is around 74 seconds to go my aunt's house walking. I think I do it to avoid the pressure of people looking at me, I am not pretty sure.",0 "Call it Ravensbruck German for taking a break from the rave and getting on with work",1 "Russel Barkley calls it Executive Disfunction, and it's more real than anything else in my life.",1 "I'm stuck with work OCD right now. I constantly feel like any action will result in being scolded by my manager. The social anxiety is unreal. I got caught in a situation where I had to decide between going into an office with people judging me to do my job, or leave it undone and face being scolded by my manager after the weekend. I chose the latter. Going with the story that the door was locked (it actually was), but I don't know what he will think of me. I also may have accidentally clicked on something NSFW using my phone on the work (guest) WiFi and am getting paranoid about whether they may be able to trace it to me and whether people will judge me for it. It's getting bad. So yeah, my OCD is bad right now. Medication isn't doing enough. I am losing sleep over it.",0 "I pay a lot more than this, unfortunately, for an ADHD coach. She’s changed my life. Wish she could do my dishes 🤣👏",1 "It took me hours to finally get up today and put my laundry in the washer, something itself that takes a few minutes at its longest.",1 This is 100% the most distressing and disabling symptom of my ADHD. It's how the inattentive type typically manifests.,1 "Sometimes I would get like this, too. But I never thought of it as OCD. Guess I should add that to the list of “red flags” from my past that make the idea of me having OCD make so much sense!",0 "This happens to me all the time- I just say ""hold on, my brain turned off/is buffering"". It's embarrassing especially when coupled with a bunch of ""uhhhhhhh""s. I feel like I range from talking at 200 mph to 3 thoughts per hour",1 I did it to the key that turns on the gas fireplace lolol,0 "I've been growing my own herbs to flavor my healthy food. A pinch of basil (ok a heaping spoonful) in my spaghetti, or oregano on my eggs makes it instantly much more palatable. Growing them is pretty low maintenance too, set it and forget it until next week and they'll be fine. Herbs and spices are what get me through boring healthy food. Soy sauce helps too =]",1 "Welcome. Be prepared for posts complaining about OCD being used as a joke. A lot of people don't like when people say things ""My OCD kicked in when I cleaned my kitchen"". I hate it too but OH well. I guess. I am also in recovery for drug an alcohol addiction and am involved in A.A. I take venlafaxine and gabapentin. I talk with a psychiatrist monthly about OCD but have never meet with a therapist or found any sort of support group. I still struggle with OCD but it is much more controlled now. The consequences of my behavior have been much easier to live with.",0 "Yep. I have ADHD. If this is how you feel when you have ADHD, I 110% have it... This post is like I've written it myself about me.",1 Good luck with that I'm 16 years old and I'm high school and feel no motivation to keep going even though I have freakish athleticism and high intelligence . All the tools for success but my ocd makes me prioritise other things and procrastinating all the time cause me anxiety and stress I feel like there is no other escape in love than suicide.,0 That's how I spent 2 of the 3 months I had for writing my bachelors thesis,1 I wish I could be showing off a finished task \*jealous\*,1 I once saw someone here who procrastinated a nap. A nap!,1 More like an ms dos error screen with the words repeat on every loop,0 "Oh man, I now really understand my husband better after reading this. Thank you so much.",1 So true. Turned around after an hour on the road to check if a candle was lit and got in legendary trouble with my partner.,0 "Props to anyone who can be assed planning anything lol. I hate it. Don't have a journal, diary, don't keep track of anything. Only a few months ago did I start using calendar to remind myself of important deadlines and appointments.",1 I’m there today. And needed to read this. Thank you,1 "I've recently come to realize that I most likely have ADHD, and come to this subreddit where an absolute stranger has so eloquently just articulated my deepest, darkest struggle that I have never mentioned to anyone since I was 7 because it seemed like no one else struggled with that. I really need to get properly checked out now.",1 I wouldn’t be too worried about hand washing “excessively” at a time like this... but good job!,0 Hello friend. I am proud of you for excelling in ERP. I too wash my hands bloody but have seen progress with ERP.,0 "I hope everything turns out okay! Take care of yourself, hang in there! I've got something similar going on. Been having trouble breathing for about 5+ years now. Asked my cardiologist (I have several congenital heart defects and a pacemaker, requiring frequent check ups) about it twice. Was told both times it was anxiety, nothing more. The symptoms gradually got worse, so I talked to my pcm. He said it sounded like acid reflux and gave me pills. They did nothing. I'm currently in school to be a respiratory therapist (the irony, I know). We were learning about pulmonary function tests, and played with a bedside spirometry device. My results were terrible, I think the worst in the class. Then yesterday we played with a CPAP machine. CPAP can be overwhelming and doesn't feel nice to someone who doesn't need it. I however loved it, I felt like I could actually breathe! Now I'm certain I've got some legit lung problems. Will I see a doctor and use the referral my pcm gave me? Nope, probably not 😅",1 "I’m not sure what’s trash other than that person’s opinion? I think this looks legit and would love your skill. Also, this definitely speaks to me and many others on here.",0 "Yeah I get extremely frustrated with things that “don’t feel right” but the idea of fixing it causes me so much anxiety I usually just lay in bed and cry or whatever. My house will either be spotless clean because I’ve gone on a clean binge to distract me from myself, or very messy because I’m in breakdown mode. This virus has made it worse. I’ve got cabin fever and I feel more paranoid every day.",0 "This keeps happening to me with my fear of brain damage. I got over it after almost a whole day of work and researching web md and willpower, then today I crack my neck like I always do but this time my brain is like.... heyyyy. Let's rewind a bit to where your think every little physical thing is gonna give u brain damage. Now let's obsess about it until we find a good enough reason as to why it's not true instead of doing your work! And when you find a reason, it still wont be good enough. You'll still be afraid.",0 This PERFECTLY highlights the cruel irony of my mom shaming me by saying my OCD was due to lack of faith and that I should pray more. Lol.,0 "I don't mind the jokes, as long A. They're actually jokes and not just using the word as a synonym like you said and B. they know that they're not being literal and know what OCD actually does I actually didn't think I had ocd until recently, because my whole life, if I brought it up, the response I got is ""you're not clean enough to have OCD"" People literally think that the disorder just makes you clean everything. Most people don't even realize how far it can go. I didn't even know what the word intrusive thoughts meant until I met a friend in an RTC. I don't mind jokes, as long as people realize that it's not reality.",0 Does the penis shrinking ever go away? I'm serious and will repeat this question until it is answered.,1 "I've started being as transparent as humanly possible when I'm in a budding romantic relationship. I try and warn them about what I struggle with, and will struggle with no matter how great the relationship is (gotta get the ""no amount of love can stop mental illness"" talk out of the way early bc theres no point if they can't accept that fact) what it looks like when I have a depressive episode, how its impacted my life and relationships in the past, etc. None of them believe me until it actually starts to surface but at least I dont feel as guilty about it. Like, I warned you. Unfortunately professional life is a lot more nuanced so this approach doesn't work there.",1 i used to daydream so that i could not be with them all the time but i had a really bad one a couple months ago and now i cannot do anything like anything without it there like ugh i feel this,0 """Oh boy it's a big one this time. Gonna be one of those that last like a year""",0 "Firat thing when I opened reddit today on the train :,(",1 Not having “the why” is like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without the picture.,1 "If my parents said that crap to me they would never forget it. Call it RSD or whatever 🤷🏽‍♀️ - They’re late for work? FLY there. It’s not that freakin hard just do it. - Got denied X at work? You need to get out of your head and try harder. *JUsT stOp thiNkinG and gEt it doNe* - Just came home from work and too tired to X? Who cares just stop thinking about it and get it done. - Need me to do X for you? You don’t need hELp. Just try harder. Force your cells to divide your body into two and do what you need to do. Seriously. What an a$$.",1 "Sometimes I wish school would just take a day off so I could take extra time to catch up. Participating in sports through the whole year is rough. I have no time to study and no “as needed” medication, at least for the next week or so. I can heavily relate with the “i wish i could do nothing” idea but naturally I find myself depressed whenever I get more than a couple days of down time. Maybe you just need to find the thing you like. For me it’s coding, It seems to help my adhd mind when everything is systematic and there’s infinite things to learn and hyper focus on. For you it might be another thing. It takes time, good luck.",1 I was one of those people who used to say “I’m so OCD” in a joking way… until I actually got diagnosed with OCD 🙄,0 When ppl tell you you dont have ocd because tou dont constantly clean,0 "I'm like Wolverine (Marvel character, not the animal, lol), my skin can take anything. I wash my hands maybe 15 times in shower and i wash my body 3 to 4 times and hair like 7 times, and after i'm done with that nightmare, my skin will be normal. It still fucking sucks to go through with it. Your hands looks painful... I hope your compulsion lessens, idk how long your hands can take that.",0 Or when you get diagnosed after flunking out of your first college….,1 I started whispering the lowest note I can a few months ago. I’m way too good at it now.,0 "congratulations! it takes me 2-3 hours, i can't even imagine how amazing this must feel!",0 "I think this is the main thing that meds helped for me. Like I still procrastinate and get overwhelmed and miss things and all that (less so, but it's all still there) but when I get myself to a task, I don't get that ""fighting to turn my brain on"" feeling. I think caffeine might help with it too, if meds aren't an option.",1 Me nd my ocd loled at number 2 I wont say why it jusht never wrks for me.,0 "My mom is like “she’s trying really hard, I believe she can do it” and then my dad is like “no it’s just her time management skills, she needs to just sit down at her desk and do the work, it shouldn’t take this long.” Like thanks parents I do believe she can do it, in fact she’s right here listening to this conversation",1 "Yuppp! I assume this happens to everyone, but not sure really.",1 "Just do some yoga, meditate and eat healthy. Everything will be fixed. Please note that I am being sarcastic",1 "Well Vsauce, Michael here! The intellectual king leonidas of SPARTA is here to answer that for you.",0 "This is my Saturday today. I thought the dishes would be done in the morning... But yeah.. timeblind It is 17.12 (5.12pm) and I started at 11 🥺",1 "I joke with my wife and friends that one day long ago as a child I fell behind, and I’ve been playing catch up ever since.",1 You are a good man! She better keep you. My husband let’s me “do the dishes” all the time. We appreciate you too.,1 Ah man this one made me laugh and then I felt bad for laughing...and then I laughed again because I'm in the middle of a horrible flair up and I've never seen anything so relatable in my life.,0 "I have a 5 year old and I’ve lived like this my entire life “crap. I’m late. Panic and get ready and I’m almost on time.” But I’ve noticed my child is starting to get worried about being in time to things when I just take her. Or getting up in time for school. That hit me hard. So I’ve been trying to set my alarm 15 minutes earlier and get up right when it goes off and make sure she’s on time and ready for the day. I’m still a hot mess, but she has calmed down. It was a smack in the face for sure.",1 "My mom has OCD (different type than me) and she used to work in a kitchen. The men there would purposely leave huge messes (wouldn't clean any dishes, wouldn't mop, would leave food caked onto the outside of the dishwasher, etc.) so when my mom came into work, she'd have to stop everything and clean before she could cook because there were no dishes for her to use. When she confronted them, they said, ""Well you're a woman and you have OCD, so we know you love to clean! We did it for you!"" My mom was so close to cursing them out but one was her superior. She had to explain she doesn't *love* cleaning, she has to do it because it's her job, and her OCD isn't cleaning-based, it's making sure everything is lined up evenly and organizing things. They still left huge messes for her to clean up until the day she quit. People who think they understand OCD but really don't, are obnoxious.",0 Literally every single one of the things your doc said have been true for me. I don’t know how people do med holidays. Or even go without it for the weekend.,1 "Religious OCD victims: *laughs in doubt* Is there a religious- specific subset of OCD? Or does anyone have a form of OCD where the idea of God just messes up your coping? This post sounds comforting but I instantly went “no God’s gonna be mad, this isn’t true”",0 My intrusive thoughts usually occur when I get poor sleep. If I am depressed that makes it so much worse.,0 "I can actually live with this. Its when I think some shit is only gonna take 5 minutes and it turns out that it actually takes 16 hours, but my dumb ass only allocated 5 minutes to the shit… thats when there is a serious problem.",1 "Yes, thank you, this is the first time I've heard someone talk about it! I also always close my left eye while shaking my head, just by instinct for some reason.",0 "I feel this so much, sometimes it's like at that point the anxiety acts as a jail cell to trap you in your mind so you can just get up and get it done, despite your fear of the consequences. It sucks royally",1 "This explains a lot. I'm all about environment and atmosphere when I have to concentrate. Works better than rewards. I don't know much about Serotonin vs Dopamine, so thank you for posting this.",1 "I just found this sub so I'm probably not the first to say this, but the amount of hand shaking that goes on in the business world is usually frustrating for me. Beyond the obvious sanitary concerns, I need my body to feel symmetrical. It can be tough to have my right hand touched by so many people if I can't ""balance"" it out. I'm just over here hoping the panic continues so I can be free of that stress a bit longer.",0 Cbd/Lion's Mane/Black Seed Oil. Good combination for sleep.,0 I plan for rituals I know are coming. Usually by avoiding their triggers as long as possible. If I’m going to have to perform my hand washing ritual you better believe I’m going to do a series of things in ascending “dirtiness” to lump all the triggers into one compulsion. I don’t know if that’s healthy now that I’ve thought about it.,0 I was talking the other day about how I’d be so smart if I could remember everything I researched,1 This is perfection lmao 😅🤣😂 especially coming from someone who just finally started getting over her ocd smfh lol 😅🤣😊😛😛,0 "The feelings she mentioned are all too real. For as long as I can remember, getting disciplined by my parents more than anyone I was friends/family with made me feel like I was the one to blame for everything. I was always in charge of everything, so if someone else screwed up, I inherently screwed up and was punished. It made me feel as though I could never do anything right, and I think that this feeling is what caused me to go into a shell once I hit mid secondary school and high school. I was no longer that excited class clown who was still smart: I was that kid who couldn’t mingle well with anyone else outside his bubble because he thought nobody understood him. People with ADHD, at the end of the day, are misunderstood by their normofunctioning counterparts. For anyone here reading my comment, I want you to know that one day, people will understand you. It’s not our fault we feel this way. It’s not our fault for the way our brain processes and operates. When people truly listen to you and open up with you, they’ll be able to understand you, and you’ll feel so much better when they do.",1 "CBT has been helping me with this. It’s relatively simplistic therapy but you can kind of put the ideas to use even if therapy isn’t an option. You have learnt, through growing up in a world that tells you your behaviour is because of laziness, or you don’t care, or you are stupid. You have to unlearn you own thought patterns, and actively change them to more forgiving ones. Try to catch yourself thinking these negative thoughts, and tell yourself something that shows more sympathy. It sounds and feels cheesy to do but it works, takes time but quicker than you’d think :)",1 "All the time, I feel like I haven't stopped in 5 years.",1 "Wow, I struggled through two degrees and I wish I would’ve known. Well, not only about this but also that I have ADHD (wasn’t diagnosed until about 2 months ago as an adult). This would’ve been a game changer.",1 This is scary accurate for me. It’s one of my main hangups. I’m really struggling with it right now in every facet of my life.,1 I have a planner that is completely empty and one filled with doodles.,1 "You would be correct on any other day, but it’s Sunday and I take Sundays off and do whatever I want cause it helps me deal with the other six days (it works well and helps me focus and keep my mind from wandering, you guys may want to try it) It’s my reward day for dealing with the world all week.",1 Ah man I feel so targeted and yet so cared for. I really was putting off some homework.,1 It's all good man. I wouldn't berate you for something you feel is legitimately making you feel down. And I'm sure there are other people who agree with me as well. I'm sorry you had to experience that.,1 "I carry around a planner every day, and still forget to use it. :( Its great when I remember to use it tho!",1 "IKR! That's me every night. Also, I'm typing this while talking to someone on the phone...",1 "Maybe he meant, all mental illnesses are bad, but OCD is not as bad as the others. I have OCD, have had it for most of my life, and now that I discovered I have another illness there are days when I say ""I wish OCD was my worst problem"".",0 "I have the opposite problem. It feels like the world moves too slow for me. People see to drive too slow, people in grocery stores move too slow, making appointments takes too long, getting good at things takes forever.",1 "I feel this. High achieving all through school, until I hit college. I know now college is where my symptoms became problematic but at that time (2000) i was diagnosed with seasonal affective disorder (during the bulk of the school year I was depressed, like October-march, then was fine April till September). Turns out all the bullying and lack of knowing how to study and prioritize made me avoid life and stay in my room which then made me feel depressed. I didn’t get diagnosed until I was 35, and this was after being diagnosed, then “un-diagnosed” by a doctor who said I couldn’t get through law school and the bar while working full time if I had adhd. A year later was diagnosed again and life has been a bit better, but I struggle soooo hard at work.",1 Thank GOODNESS you shared this with the rest of us!,1 "Absolutely. My husband was harshly and unfairly reprimanded by his boss the other day. I was present in the room for the phone call and it was painful to witness. I can't stop obsessing over it. I feel deeply hurt for him, but also angry. My mind just keeps mulling over it again and again. I wish I could turn it off.",0 this hit me deep. so accurate to the pain we experience. ,0 "Woah, and I thought my intrusive thoughts about being pregnant were original. Every month I start obsessing over my period and when it comes it's such a relief I can't even describe it.",0 This is really neat. We'll be doing an art gallery at the Annual OCD Conference again this year. You should submit your art once that's open.,0 "The worst thing is when grades drop because of severe ADHD. I’m a very intelligent person, and I know that, but no one believes me. Anyone who matters thinks I’m a lazy dumbass who puts forth no effort.",1 I saw this at 2am and went to bed. Probably the only reason I didn’t stay up until 4 again.,1 "> plan ahead You lost me here. lol Did remind me that I need to buy a new phone. Mine used to last about a week before I'd need to charge it, now I only get a few days.",1 "The way mine works is...I can read the stuff, absorb it really well, and if I'm like...allowed to start talking on it myself, I will be Professor grade knowledgeable. ​ Someone just comes up and asks me 'GreenEyedCat, you read all those books on Pirates, whats the answer to this question?' ...yeah nah fam I've forgotten everything. I think Ive forgotten what the word pirate means, gimme a sec... And so on. ​ I am increasingly positive my ADHD, dyscalculia and dysgraphia combined left me such a...mess that despite recognising I was highly intelligent for my age, my teachers never flagged me as gifted (to be clear, one of my siblings was flagged as gifted and the teachers would say to our mother 'greeneyedcat is smarter than him but he can cope with the work' ​ LITERALLY cheated me out of a better education because THEY wouldn't make the effort to try and understand a six year old. Even though the Gifted classes would have flagged all my issues and addressed them then. (My school had no special education resource unless a child was....severely impaired, and then they'd just try and push the parents to take them somewhere else. The irony being the school was founded by a man who initially opened special education schools for disabled children because of his own daughters isssues. My school once locked an autistic child in a closet while he deregulated because they had no quiet room for him).",1 "I think those names sound worse, like we have dumb brains with emotional landmines. I'm thinking more of names like ""Starved Synapse Syndrome""",1 Ahh so this is why I related to Jim Carrey all these years.,1 Tell me I just need to focus without telling me I just need to focus,1 "Hey, I don't know if you're still active but your video really motivated me to do the same. I had stopped all the glasses in my kitchen(my family still used them) and bought 4 new ones from which I have been drinking from the past 2 years, but today I went straight to the kitchen and drank straight from those glasses discarded by me. I feel amazing! Thank you so much!💓",0 "I also have adhd and have always had people to help me at home. Sometimes I feel bad for it, it feels like i have a slave even tho I pay them really well. It’s just I can’t deal with everything i have to do. It’s really overwhelming",1 I've accepted this will never happen. Like I say I'll do it eventually but I know I won't.,1 "Try being an actor just pretending to be the best version of you, doing the things you wish you would be doing. Just fake it.",1 "Failed to follow instructions, internally screaming instead.",1 "Is it though? Pretty sure I need to ask everyone I know first to see if they experience what I am. Edit: guess I should have added /s",0 "I don’t really do that during movies, but it happens all the time when I read, and then I flip through like 5-10 pages then realize that I don’t remember any of it",1 "Oh you’re supposed listen to music on Spotify? I usually put my head phones in, open the app, scroll through possible options, start working, and forget to actually play anything.",1 "I try to feel good when i don't do a routine, cause i have overcome an urge",0 lol my life just imploded in a horrific way confirming all the worries I had to do with my ocd this is going to be fun.,0 "After 10 years of marriage my wife and I have a understanding. If I get overstimulated I just say “I can’t think right now” this means “I’m overstimulated & about to blow some shit up if you continue to poke/prod/talk/ask questions.” This usually happens when I am doing something that requires full concentration, but also happens with any combo of being frustrated, hot, in an uncomfortable position, or in a tight space. I say that we have an understanding NOW because when we first got married and I was overstimulated I would just ignore her or not answer her and she would push and I would end up exploding in frustration..",1 "This is the executive function issue. Thing is, the little nightmare rectangle is great to give us small hits of dopamine, which means that they in conjunction with ADHD is terrible. Get a time-lock box. Put the phone in the box. Set it for 2 hours. Study. Or not study. Just not use the phone.",1 "I'm the king of run on sentences. I've started trying to break things down better into standalone sentences. When I start adding parenthesis part way through to explain a part of a sentence that I've written, it's a good sign that things are getting a little too wordy.,",1 it would be if you stabbed yourself 3 times 3 stabs,0 OMFG...My family just makes fun of me! I get so tired of getting up a thousand times! Takes me about half an hour to sleep. This also happens if I'm traveling somewhere.....,0 Omg I feel this SO much. Sleeping in makes me insanely anxious because once noon hits it's PM which means half the day is over which means it's basically night now 😔,1 Thank you for sharing! I have somatic OCD about urinating both day and night but also with relationship OCD. It is good to be informed that OCD is not just contained to thoughts. It is really tricky and can extend to false physical sensations or feelings. Whatever it takes to make you anxious right?,0 "Gosh I stay catastrophizing :/ Probably the number one way my OCD manifests. Try to forgive yourself when it happens, seems those of us with OCD are just more aware of threats then people without OCD. You are definitely not alone",0 "Is this an OCD thing? I thought it's people thing... I'm scared being near windows because of this. I'm not scared of height or falling. Scared of jumping. It's quite often severe enough that I avoid those situations and almost never have a window open for easy enough jump. I at least would need to like open it more or something...",0 Lmao I literally saved a post right before scrolling to this. I will never check them.,1 lmao literally had a very similar conversation with my therapist today,1 Im only now coming to understand my OCD and god damn this is so true for me,0 "1000% understand that. We simply operate differently and it’s hard for some people to get that/empathize. What has helped me is being extremely vocal about my preferences and tendencies. (without ever mentioning ADHD) I will literally say, “give me an impossible task and an even more impossible deadline. That’s what motivates me.”",1 "Even if it’s true, the ‘being gaslit by society’ thing applies to so many people, so many situations. I think a problem of me spending too much time on Reddit is it internalizes this “I was gaslit” mentality that feeds into feelings of despair and inertia, at least for me if not for other people. I’ve always channeled myself to come up with solutions that my parents or others might never have thought up growing up, not because I’m necessarily creative, but out of necessity itself, because the “right” way always felt either inauthentic or too rigorous for me. So, I think to a very real degree you can solve your problems, even if or when you’ve been gaslit, and I do mean the “you” that involves experiences being guilted, the you with ADHD. Just because society or others don’t understand your struggles doesn’t mean those struggles are meaningless at all. My own life is a shit show right now and I don’t have the best relationship with myself, and I have ADD and ADHD. But yeah, I don’t really have the attention span to believe in the “I’ve been gaslit” mentality anymore, it doesn’t help me at all and hasn’t when I mentioned it in therapy. I think taking responsibility for the ADHD and still being able to keep moving is the hard shit that’s the real focus, but it’s all steps of the same process, moving us towards the same place, in the end.",1 "i ruined the door handle in my apartment :D my landlord is also my flat mate, but he didn't bat an eye, luckily. Not knocking, but checking, still, Doors are hard...",0 "I'm actually really good at scheduling. You should see my calendar. But when the event actually comes do you think it gets done? Roflmao",1 "That's incredible, and so brave! Keep surviving. You're amazing, and it's so great that you're conquering OCD and taking back your life.",0 It was almost immediate relief. I felt so good I started laughing.,0 Bruh if that’s all they’re telling u it ain’t gonna work,0 I'm fifty-one. Felt this way since about age twelve.,1 "Beautiful write up. I’ve never seen all my symptoms and experiences all together like that before. Thank you! But oh man, did I really had to force myself to continue reading when my short attention span wanted to head for the hills lol",1 The amount of times ive tried to not rip a paper out of my note because I didn’t like how the fucking date looked,0 "Anxiety about feeling anxious. Yep... a clusterfuck",0 "I mean we still call things retarded and listen to music that calls women bitches and hoes, just because time advances that doesn’t mean we do.",0 Thanks so much for sharing the huge write-up! And thanks for putting yourself out there to share this. ADHD can truly be disabling.,1 ">And bonus points because I feel awful about feeling awful. This is my current struggle, I feel like I should just get it together and feel better, but then I'm upset when I can't. Arrrrggg!",1 apparently i saved a lot of posts about frogs a year ago... maybe i was in a frog phase 😂,1 OCD is fucking with my brain. The self doubt is the worst part.,0 "For anyone who wants to get better, this is called a 2 tail spike. Learn more about it here: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMJFaxwn7sU&t=0s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMJFaxwn7sU&t=0s)",0 "It clearly runs in families! I was diagnosed later in life (24yrs). After i figured our my brain its clear that my mom, her brother and my cousin are all adhd'ers. If there wasnt science to back up adhd i would almost think that mine was ""learned"" as i am 90% a twin to my mother's thought processes and manerisms! Helping others also, heck ya! When my dad was in the hospital after a heart attack this summer i was at his place cleaning, organising, getting him things, planning meals, cooking. All of the tasks that i wouldnt normally do for myself were all easy peasy! Glad you found a hack! Now, if only i could trade with someone so they would clean my house and id be golden!",1 "same!!! i would be too anxious to do anything in the morning, and after i get back i'd need to wind down till after dinner, which i'd tell myself it's too late let's push it to tomorrow. i freelance and i know my peak working time starts at 3pm. yet today i scheduled a physio appointment at 4pm and guess who is still awake and debating whether to work or not at 12am 🤷🏿‍♀",1 "I'm 32 yo. I was diagnosed yesterday. And I finally feel like a weight has been lifted. My whole life I've struggled with depression on and off, I've watched my whole life fall apart around me time and time again and felt powerless to do anything about it. I couldn't understand how everyone else could just, manage. I've been called lazy, careless, unemotional, irrational, too much, rude, disorganised etc etc all over ever done is try my best to be a good person, to provide for my daughter who I had at 20yo and have never been with her mum since she was pregnant, but I've always felt like my best want good enough, no matter how much deeper I dig. Ive been around long enough to know what people expect me to present, so up until very recently even my close family have no idea of the struggle I go through physically and mentally every day just to exist as a square peg in a round hole. The self hatred is so real, and reading this post has made something click. It's not my fault I am different.",1 "> Don’t drink alcohol *Looks at bear sitting next to me*",1 "I just go on a tab closing spree. If they're the same site, normally reddit, the just closet without looking at them. It's one of the few strategies that works. That reminds me, I've got some tabs to close.",0 I always say “no” out loud and then in my head three times more times before doing some random ass shoulder shrug 💀💀,0 "I don’t think he has OCD, but this was me the other day trying to convince my best friend that he was actually a good person lol",0 Yes and sometimes I cover my ears and close my eyes humming to myself like it’s gonna help or something 🤸‍♂️,0 I’ve done this with all my diagnoses even medical ones that have blood test and physical tests confirming it.,0 "Well, I’m fortunate to be on an upswing now, but this resonates with me completely. This too shall pass.",1 "Oh my God, I'm literally sobbing. How? Just... How? I try so hard to not give in but my anxiety and feeling of disgust is so overwhelming. What did you think? What did you do? Just how...",0 I’m in one right now too it sucks I’m having POCD and it’s god awful I hate it cause it’s not who I am and I don’t feel normal,0 "All. The. Time. Just got into my groove and start feeling good and safe, and someone has to call, or tap your shoulder when you have headphones in as a visual cue to be left the fuck alone. It's like they're coming to sap your happy brain chemicals because they don't know how to make their own alone.",1 This is basically my reaction to every intrusive thought I have.,0 "I am so thankful everyday for this subreddit. I can't express enough how helpful it is just to know someone else is in it too. You did a great job articulating your feelings, and again thank you for sharing them.",1 "I named my intrusive thoughts Brian (strict, abusive dad who makes me have low self-esteem and makes me do the logical compulsions like checking and cleaning) and Jessie (whacko stepsister who makes me picture people naked, have sexual thoughts, and question love interests and sexuality). No Brian and Jessie don’t actually exist in my life",0 It's not so much i can't understand the instructions but I understand them more if I get told why.,1 "Feel you i have depression with ADHD too, Its hard for me to explain myself to others i always end up loosing,i only had access to Ritalin now its supply line is cut due to the pandemic things are getting bad to worst",1 "I had an MRI and freaked out as they put me in because I worried that I forgot if I might’ve had a copper IUD or screws in my body or something and forgotten. Had to triple check that I didn’t have a hip replacement or a pacemaker. Now that I realize it was OCD I feel better",0 "What a smart, effective, satisfying way to take care of yourself and fight back!!!",0 I always resonated with this song because of this HAHSHAHSH,0 "One time when I was in 8th grade, I told my friend that I had OCD and so he decided to take this container of crayons and mix match them just to mess with me. I just went along with it and acted my it bothered me because it was easier than telling him I had intrusive thoughts and urges about killing people. OCD is so misunderstood and it's frustrating.",0 "I can totally relate to this. I avoid opening emails for weeks at a time because I know I will need to respond (don’t want to forget to respond after the email is opened/ marked as read), and I will need to be a little bit thoughtful—or agree to do some task—in my response. One trick I do to help myself start some task I’m procrastavoiding is associate starting the task with a food or snack I really like. And I will start eating the food/snack at the same time as starting the task. Telling myself I’ll reward myself with something afterward doesn’t work for me for small, important-not-urgent tasks. But rewarding myself at the same time seems to work more often than not.",1 "I got told by SO that i just need some 'self discipline' yesterday. Try to keep in mind that this is actually good advice for neurotypicals, so he is doing the right thing..just not right for you.",1 "This is me. Working from home enables me to muck about most of the day, when I need to be productive... Feels like shit and it's NOT what I want. Luckily for my, therapy starts soon. Hope that helps me. I hope you can find help. Good luck!",1 "Seriously. My boyfriend doesn't pray, but he will mute the TV and wait to eat until I'm done and some days...it's a damn list. And other days I have to repeat things until I feel like God heard it. Woo I feel bad for him Hahah",0 "me: *expresses to someone that they have hurt my feelings* me, internally: you’re manipulating them. you’re a complete sociopath and a horrible person.",0 "Shower at night and have clean sheets. I cannot fathom sleeping dirty, but mostly it lets you focus on just eating/pooping/getting dressed. I definitely still leave washing my work clothes until like 11pm when I should already be in bed though. Literally every night I'm panicking to get them washed and hung out before sleep.",1 That happens to me... I’m like I need to remember this random persons License plate. Or I need to remember this small part of my day for forever. And it’s something like eating ice cream 🍦,0 "Gosh I bet we could apply this cure to anxiety as well, “just focus on the good things and stop thinking about your worries”",1 Yeah! I feel this. I make a mistake that probably nobody even noticed but i think about it for days on end.,0 "I can literally feel myself skirting the edge of falling back into full contamination OCD. I think that justifying it because everyone else is doing it is helping me not take it too far, but I can definitely feel those familiar tingles coming back of thinking I either havent cleaned enough, or I already failed and it’s in me.",0 For me it’s like catching a Pokémon if the thought is rare and I’m avoiding commons I don’t feel like I deserve to say I’m a trainer.,0 i was like r u srs for a second LOL. hate that shit. sorry <3,1 "I have very religious parent that always scared me with the idea of hell, because they wanted us all to hang out in heaven together. My OCD got progressively worst during my teen years to the point I tried to kill myself several times. At 19 I met my now husband who is an atheist. We had a lot of conversations and he completely changed my views on religion. Sience I stopped believing my OCD has been so much more manageable. I was diagnosed a month ago. For more than 10 years I just thought I had depression.",0 "trust me this was a big culprit of mine for the longest. I went thru all my reddit posts and organized them and said from now on if i want to save and look back on anything, i will save it onto my google keep. i basically have that as my second brain to brain dump whatever i need to look at or need to remember. feel free to ask more questions. i have finally found answers for this shit! lol",1 "Not just be told why... I have to personaly understand why, and it has to correspond with my own personal conviction for me to actually do it.",1 "As the official meme maker of the subreddit, holy shit that's a good one! It's always the little battles dude. You didn't do compulsions for one day? That's one step in the right direction! :)",0 "Congrats. I know there feeling and i miss it alot 😅 Keep it up and keep sharing with your fellas. You are seen",1 I’m studying for the bar exam since July and i think my brain is broken,1 "For me my CLINICALLY DIAGNOsed OCD is like if I cross my left leg over my right leg I will go straight to hell. And if I accidentally do it I have to stomp my left foot or pull hair on the left side of my head three times to undo it. I don’t know how many to mes I have to say this, BEING A PERFECTIONIST DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE OCD.",0 Then once you realize it.... you have everything that bothered you attack at once,0 Except for some of the teachers I had in college who were all “no electronics in class all electronic homework should be done outside class”,1 "As someone whose OCD tries to attach bad memories to things I enjoy for innocuous or stupid reasons, this hurts.",0 "Aw, I really like this. It’s definitely accurate and something good to hear when you’re feeling particularly frustrated by ADHD. I needed to hear it today. It communicates in just a few words a point I try to make a lot. I always try to explain to my friends who struggle with similar ADHD related issues that it’s not always a bad thing. This perfectly sums up why. If I had been able to zero in on one thing and do the perfect four year path to a degree and a career like I aimed for, I am 100% sure that I would be less well-rounded, less committed to being a lifelong learner of all sorts of things, less adaptive and quick-witted, and overall just less interesting and fun. Both the symptoms themselves and the time and effort spent learning to manage the symptoms have impacted me for the better, especially once I got a good medication regimen to better put what I’ve learned into practice. My ADHD is a part of me, and a lot of those parts I’ve learned to love as time goes on. I wouldn’t want to lose them, and I wouldn’t want to change myself. It took a long time to be able to say that and mean it, but I really do.",1 Usually I would panic about this sort of stuff but I’m surprisingly calm,0 "My psychiatrist told me I have an anxiety disorder and ‘elements of ocd’ which left me kind of confused on exactly what that meant but this post is describing exactly the struggle I am having with my brain atm, not solving those thoughts sounds near impossible to suffer through but the reasoning makes so much sense , thank you for this post",0 "What’s the difference between anxiety and pure O? I wake up every morning anxious af and start obsessing/thinking a bunch of thoughts at once. Even though I can logically tell myself, “you don’t need to worry about that right now” my mind just keeps going and going and going. It’s a terrible overwhelming way to start the day. But tbh, I’m having trouble distinguishing anxiety from pure O.",0 Omg THIS so much. I had 3yrs of art school but felt like a fraud during and after. I was SO into it during but feel like I didn’t retain as much as I had hoped...especially for how much it cost 😭,1 "The pain is real. ____ Edit: Thanks for this. It adds some perspective in a funny/relatable way. I’m dealing with a “what if” obsession about potentially leaving my phone in my car unlocked Friday, and trying not to give into the compulsion to wipe it and reset my passwords. Ruining my weekend as far as relaxing goes, but I know in the long run this will be beneficial.",0 This is so me. The way I see it is it’s a circular not linear and as long as I keep moving things get done.,1 I'm also always afraid I'm going to be treated like a drug seeker when picking up my meds. Always. Even though my current pharmacy has never done that. There have been too many past ones that have. Mostly the ones with the three letter name.,1 Do you have any social media where I can follow you? This is real good,0 "Thank you. But why is it that even while reading this my brain is like “Yes, all of them are good people, but not you..” and it hyper focuses on the one piece of evidence I seem to be stuck on as to why I’m a bad person. Anyone deal with this?!",0 "I found out at 21. My neurologist test medication on me, and when he thought that some might not work took it off and substitute with another. I WAS HEAVILY DRUGGED. Well, just so you know, he didn't took the meds, he thought that didn't work out them by reducing the doses, no no, he took th abruptly and I suffered a lot with it. The worst case of deprivation was with rivotril. He told me casually ""you have an obsessive disorder, it's clear, and endogenous depression"", and didn't guide me. I needed support, not just meds and i found it in hypnosis. Sometimes I felt like I didn't belong here. I couldn't sleep, full of anxiety, had a lot of rituals and cried a lot. Now I'm 27, go to my hypnotherapist sporadically and I'm barely medicated. I just take a mood controller, and one to control ocd. And I can't forget my 9 years bf, he was the best supporter ever. Never gave up, even when I pushed him away, because I thinked that I wasn't worthy of him.",0 "I overthink that I overthink and overthink that I'm faking it, what would happen if I did it? What if I do fake it? What if I'm actually considered ""normal""? And at the same time overthink how I can distract myself from overthinking and all the ways I can fuck up while it's still in my head (:",0 " **whoa, someone relates with me! I'm gonna save this to read for later.**",1 "Congrats! What was the thesis on, if you don’t mind me asking?",0 "Similarly, every time I leave my house in the morning and I’m mentally running through the checklist (puppy gate up, doors locked, appliances unplugged), I think, “but what If I accidentally lit a bonfire in the living room and forgot to put it out?” OCD is fun and quirky.",0 This is me in the morning before I eat or take my medicine and everyone is cooking different things and want to talk to me. Like I don’t want to be rude but I really want to have a sign like don’t talk to me right now I’m overstimulated.,1 "I have once woke up in the morning with a dead spider next to my ear. ... It is absolutely fucking valid to be worried about it. This is why I wear earphones when I sleep (unplugged)",0 "Your car's flat tyre is a choice! Your mosquito bite on your arm is a choice! ....",0 "Wait tics are apart of OCD? ...it makes sense now.",0 "This!!! Could not relate more, I play this game every goddamn day.",1 "Yes, that's the association I have with this particular comic, I'm glad I'm not the only one!",0 I try but my brain usually gets too caught up in the oh no! So it can't get to the anyway,0 "I might get thrown over a bridge for saying this, and I don't always *do* them, but -- (say the line, bart!) A to-do list! We so often think of to-do lists as ways to manage the things we don't want to do, but I use them to note down one ""productive"" thing I want to get done today, and then the rest are just... things I know will make me happy. 'Do some art' 'Catch up with X' 'Plan some D&D'. Because ""out of sight, out of mind"" is such a huge problem with me, I'll then stick this list up somewhere I visibly see it the moment I get out of bed, and it'll help me actually *remember* the things I want to do. I can't trust my brain to do it for me. Combining this with a positivity journal has really really been helping me, along with medication. Will it last? Who knows! I'm a mess! Habits are hard to keep! But I'll keep doing it until I stop and then pick it up when I invariably forget to do it for two months.",1 My man jordan is so in his head all the time with his philosophical questioning he ain't got time for cleaning. (SAME),0 "Is it nice to be happy? Yes. Are we gonna be happy all the time? No. Things like ADHD are frustrating to deal with. I can’t personally imagine what autism does to that concoction, but I’m sure it’s mountains more to deal with. From my point of view, these people are either faking, or are unable to see that these things are on a *spectrum* and effect people more severely. My case is pretty severe, so I’ve been told. It gets me all the time. School has been the worst for me this year. It often feels like people don’t understand what it feels like. I’m glad that this place is not super toxic. Let this place be a confide.",1 "Yeah, over a decade later and I have a massive pile of these in my brain that I'll just be forced to constantly scan through and reimagine/reexamine for the 98248423th time. I definitely have forgotten a lot for sure that may have stuck with me for a week or so but a lot of the time it just stays.",0 "I compare it to being forced to act in a thriller movie in my head 24/7, but I'm the antagonist :/",0 Fucking same. I was really hoping this wouldn't be the case but it looks more and more like classes will be moving online for my school. They are having an emergency meeting to declare what is gonna happen. ADHD nightmare fucking hell.,1 It's possible also a habit trigger. And i think a bunch of people would be a bit hurt. But he sounds majorly hurt. Did he know about the ADHD ? If he did and still felt that then that's kinda a jerk move.,1 Congrats. The other important part is what you did after. How long till you gave in?,0 "I mean, I *might* have OCD. I also might be an irreparably damaged psychopath who inflicts Godzilla-level harm on people simply for daring to breathe, eat, or even be happy every once in a while. You know what might help? Researching OCD, false memory, Elizabeth Loftus, and thoughts until my head explodes and my brains leak all over the floor.",0 "I relate to this post so much, and I struggle with it every morning, working on getting better. I’ve found what helps is to change your surroundings. I know it’s hard to get out of bed, nearly impossible, but it’s also good that you’re aware of it. You’re aware which means you can now do something about it. Going outside, even to just stand on the sidewalk or something, is so helpful. I read for people that are having a panic attack it’s good to get out of the house and redirect that energy elsewhere, so I started doing that in the mornings and it really, truly helps. If I wake up early enough, I can see the moon or the sunrise (my reward/motivation to get out of bed). I find stepping outside makes me feel like I have to go do something, which is really helpful for recognizing the line between tired and depression tired.",1 "Oh yeah, I also forgot to add: writing and speaking in extremely long sentences with exceedingly complex sentence structure, generously peppered with () ; : and -- marks for flavor.",1 "My ADHD brethren, reddit is only for when you're on the toilet!",1 "I laughed way to hard at this, so relatable hahaha. I go to sleep with it and wake up at the point I left off. I have a real - Fuck you too relationship with my OCD. Thank you for this meme",0 "THIS is exactly why I pushed to get my daughter, now 6, a diagnosis. She is a carbon copy of me. I have ADHD but wasn't diagnosed until my late 20s or early 30s. I remember how I felt as a kid. I felt like I couldn't do anything right. I don't want my daughter to grow up feeling that way. I get it. My husband/her dad, not so much. He just thought she needed to focus harder and listen better. He even thought that since she could focus good sometimes, why couldn't she do it all the time. She's on medication now and he can tell the difference. Now he understands better. I'm so sorry that your family doesn't understand you better.",1 This is very cool! The runner looks so happy. Truly liberated. It took me awhile to notice the Prince; very creative. Running in dress shoes! lol.,0 "HOLY SHIT. Throughout my entire fucking life, THIS has been one of my greatest internal struggles. I've felt profoundly isolated by this but internally. I'm known to say the dumbest shit ever, which has become a harmless joke among friends, yet I have the most complex thoughts in my head which I can transcribe onto my iPhone or on a word document. But when I try to ""speak my mind"" its almost like I completely fuck up every point I wanted to make in a conversation. I'm in medical school and I am absolutely fucking terrified of presenting to an attending or inevitably going into my oral boards and end up sounding like an idiot. Man, I too have honestly never been able to communicate this to anyone either and really thought I was alone. This gives me solace in knowing that this is a normal, abnormal thing for people like us. Solace in finding a solution to this frustrating problem. I hope there is, and if there's anyone out there that knows how to help, god I'm in need of it.",1 "Thank you, that made me weepy. You are a good person.",1 "I think some of weirdness I get from autism and ADHD is pretty neat but like, I don’t need to be happy about the fact that no matter how much I want my friends to hug me, I freeze up and they can sense how tense I get when I’m touched so they’re really hesitant about touching me. I understand it but also, I wish I could just sink into a bear hug instead being a split second away from accidentally jerking away from them on reflex because that’s just how uncomfortable actually hugging is like.",1 "I'm laughing so hard at your wonderful idea! I know it's inappropriate, but I know your heart was in the right place. I'd LOVE an online all day seminar for us, our families and friends. Things that anyone can enjoy. It's a great idea!!! Especially if you can get the many YouTube experts who think about this stuff and share with us.",1 "This might help : (copied) my therapist tells me to treat my intrusive thoughts like ""popups"". You wouldn't read into the popup and click on it, you'd X out of it. Same w intrusive thoughts- don't read into them they're just spam :).",0 OCD and the concept of hell do not mix well for sure. Also when the pastor asks if anyone needs to be saved and you feel compelled to go up there even though you've prayed a million times after you lied for what you had for dinner.,0 "It took me 4 months to return over $200 worth of clothes despite being tight on money. I hate returning items, especially when there is many things at once store. I wait as long as I can and get very stressed and anxious until I just do it.. I also don’t know why it goes this way, but it always does..",1 "My mother constantly told me that I ""just needed willpower"" to stay on task and get my schoolwork in on time. I was diagnosed at 30, at which point I had spent 2/3 of my hating myself and blaming myself for being ""weak-willed"".",1 How is it messed up? I thought this was a fantastic piece from r/art,0 "That part where he talks about putting your burdens on somebody else… :(( true. But lmao Zach braffs face was like 👀",0 Thanks! Finally sent that almost done email thats been open on my desktop for 2 days.,1 "I'm not a boomer but I just did a boomer and copypasta'd this into Word, tidied it up a bit, and gave it a print.",1 "*reads this on my phone while procrastinating* *keeps scrolling*",1 "Cannot describe how much this helps! WHY DOES IT HELP ME SO MUCH I THOUGHT IT WAS A ME THING AND ITS AN ADHD THING AHHH Again this is so true and I often forget how much it is.",1 "I have ADHD and do mainly unsupervised customer support/data entry on a computer. The way I’ve learned to keep myself on task is to write down the things I need to do, most dire and deadlined tasks first. Then I start a 25 minute timer that makes a classic “tik tik” noise to irritate me and keep me focused. When the timer is done I take a short mental break for 5-10 minutes. I’ve also made step-by-step guides for myself for different tasks that I do so I don’t miss any steps and if I get off track I can pick it up again! If writing is hard, google docs has a talk-to-text feature so you can speak your essay instead. It comes out sort of bland, but you can go in and spice it up afterwards.",1 omg tysm I'm totally gonna try this next time 🤩😍😘😂😁🥰🤪😝,1 Trying to find psychiatrists/ANRPS and therapists is enough to make a perfectly healthy person want to kill themselves.,0 I've wanted a body camera for years that would record everything I do and everywhere I go so I couldn't be falsely accused. Anyone else?,0 "Wait, there are people with ADHD with medical degrees? And here’s me giving myself a pat on the back if I can read a paragraph in a book without my mind going off on about 15 different tangents.",1 "relate to this so much lol, i get like 95% done on my assignment and then take a 5 hour break as a reward instead of just finishing it",1 "My Top Songs of 2020: 1. How Do You Know? 2. How Many? 3. Why Am I A Bad Person? 4. Do I Really Feel This Way or Am I Pretending? 5. Nothing Matters f/ What is the Meaning of Life f/ Nothing Matters f/ What is the Meaning of Life?",0 "Not only do I lay in bed thinking about the chores I need to do that I don’t want to do, but I think about the things I LIKE doing and can’t make myself do them.",1 Laziness is not doing things you don’t want to do. Executive dysfunction is staring at your phone battery bring at 4% while your charger is literally out of hands reach but you can’t bring yourself to reach out and plug it in,1 good job friend! <3 I am proud of you. no matter if you end up taking a step back remember that you will take 2 steps forwards again oneday soon! <3 Please keep believing in yourself!!! <3 I know that you got this!,0 "I don't know if I can say this, but this is hilarious. This happenes to me on every family trip. It's funny to see it represented like this.",0 "Hello therapist, I eagerly await to see your contributions to the community. Are you going to give out advice? Does that not go against some sort of regulation. I have much to say about ocd treatment having gone all the way up to hospitalisation on an ocd ward and would be very happy to share the experience with you. Can I suggest that the most valuable source of learning from this community would to be to make a post where we could all share the good therapists we have had and the bad and what it was that put them on the good or bad list?",0 "I thought for a while I was the only one, some of yall even doubt about your sexual orientation?",0 Haha it really is one of the greatest feelings out there.,1 Me last night when my roommates start discussing existential ideas so I have to go to bed and pop a seroquel,0 "Oh how I wish it was just ""I need my room to be perfectly clean"" and not ""I need to stay awake every night because when I fall asleep, a house fire will kill everyone in my family"".",0 "Me, coughing constantly to study any movement or sensation in my body as a result of coughing. Then actually giving myself a cough. While being afraid of coughing. What the hell.",0 "Tell your OCD to fk off in your mind, always. If it wants to be the bully, stand up for yourself and fight back. You’ll never win if you keep listening to the OCD. Whenever I have intrusive thoughts come in, I whisper to myself “Fk off with your stupid shit OCD” and proceed to do what I want to do. This helps me a lot :)",0 "continued - me: no, I’m not gonna check. brain: don’t you feel REALLY UNCOMFORTABLE right now? me: yes. brain: can’t you tell that SOMETHING IS WRONG? me: that’s just a feeling. brain: YOU NEED TO CHECK TO MAKE SURE THAT NOTHING IS WRONG!!! me: I’ll take my chances! I’m gonna focus on something else! brain: REEEEEEEEEE skskskskkskdkskdk WEE WOO WEE WOO WEE WOO SKSKKSKSK me: ignoring you! brain: ree... ... wee woo... ree... ... ... ... me: wow everything’s better! i feel confident! and I don’t have to check!",0 "hey man, if you do an email for me ill do one for you... it might just work",1 "my executive dysfunction manifests itself in i don't know how to get started, i have no idea how to break big tasks into smaller parts...i just want someone to tell me exactly what to do because obviously i can't figure it out but people think me needing that nudge to get started is also laziness",1 "Hahaha this is so me, have had all those stupid fears",0 "man i can relate lol, waiting till the last min. and then it takes up your entire day cause you cant focus long enouh, or on the flipside doing it all in like two hours cause its on a topic your obssed with . I work at summer camps and love it and literally wrote 3 papers and four speeches on it because i was so obssed with that topic after the first summer i worked at camp. Thank god i went to a tech school insted of a four year college first.",1 "I didn’t have health insurance for a year because I couldn’t bring myself to look up how much it would cost. It’s fucking free. It’s incredible. I’ve been paying for doctors out of pocket for an entire year. ~~$175 a visit. Probably hundreds of dollars on prescriptions. What the fuck is wrong with me?",1 This post is off the charts incredible. Thank you!!,1 "Can't relate. At my worst, Pure O and anxiety create a mess of unwanted thoughts and self-doubt. Which, in turn, has made my thought process much less streamlined, and my life harder, soooo... and also, I'm super, super messy in real life. Like, TLC Hoarders messy.",0 For me it's usually 7:30pm if I'm not already doing something or really don't technically have to do something. But I also try to wake up early now and get a lot more done,1 "*in exam at school* Brain: you gotta shout Me: what? why? Shout what? Brain: anything, idc I don't think I ever did, but that time could've been spent thinking about more productive things, like calculus.",0 Got on adderall and the biggest difference I noticed was I had a much better handle on the passage of time. I zone out and then clock back in and hardly any time has passed. Unmedicated I can lose hours a day to ????,1 yeah! I survived sunday. I hated Sunday. But someone gave me tango,0 i just liked all of the comments on this post because of my ocd,0 "I thought I was schizophrenic for a long time. Turns out they were just thoughts and not voices. I am firmly convinced there’s something hidden in my body that’s going to kill me. OCD sucks :(",0 "Yeah it really is. When I was in school I would try to do homework for like 5 hours but just mess around with my siblings the whole time because my mom made us sit together at the table. When it would get late I would just tell my mom I was done with homework so I wouldn’t get in trouble. But in reality I maybe finished one assignment and left three unfinished. I was constantly grounded for my bad grades. But I know I’m not stupid it’s just my attention. I was normally terrible at math until I got a really entertaining good teacher one semester and I aced her class and it was so random. I remind myself of that because I’m not slow it’s just hard to keep me stimulated enough to learn something boring af. Now as an adult most of my stressful problems revolve around house work cause I’m like you I can’t stand doing boring stuff it’s literally impossible. Like normal people can get so much done in the day I don’t see how they aren’t exhausted. The only thing that’s helped me really is my medication. I just take it on days when I really will need to be productive. It’s a game changer. I feel like I could of gotten a good gpa if I was on medication in school 😂",1 "Idk I always just feel like I'm blaming my problems on my ADHD. Seeing all the posts on here about how ADHD affects them makes me more oppen about how ADHD causes problems, but I still just hate the feeling that I'm consigned to be like how I am with my sleep and habits etc.",1 "I’m currently on a conference call doing this exact thing. I farted and then texted my colleague to ask if he heard me. He didn’t. Fml.",0 "I think having “magical thinking” OCD makes me messier than I should be. I like to clean and organize, but some compulsions are about leaving a space messy in order for something bad not to happen.",0 "Mine isn’t about stuff I have just done in the past as in like a while ago. I could do something last week or yesterday and it can become a new obsession. It changes every time I get over one. Also I notice when it’s about stuff I have done that ain’t particularly great I feel the need to confess every detail, this releases anxiety for a while until a new one comes in. Can confessing also be a compulsion?",0 "So, if I am feeling like there is too much, of anything, that could be part of OCD? There are times when I can’t take it, it feels like I am being crushed or buried. I have to get away from whatever it is and take a few minutes. That is normal for OCD?",0 Raising hand because I think I may have OCD/autistic or it could just be me....,0 I can’t believe other people feel this too! I constantly think about what I will say at my parents or siblings funeral. Or what my boyfriend will say at mine. And when i was younger I used to always think my dog was gonna die during the night and it would end in crying fits because I wouldn’t want to leave him for bed.,0 "Hey Op is this your art? I've seen this everywhere, if its not yours you should credit the OG artist.",0 "I will be back in a few hours, after I finish sleeping. Thanks",1 Our house keys got stolen so now before I leave the house I lock and unlock the door 4 times and see if it closed well pushing on the door with the knob like im breaking in 8 times,0 Delivered from Distraction: Getting the Most Out of Life With Attention Deficit Disorder & Healing ADD Revised Editions: The Breakthrough Program that Allows You to See and Heal the 7 Types of ADD.,1 Wow I was about to be late to a work call. Any way we could make this a scheduled reminder?,1 "and they always come right as you’re going to bed, or when you‘re stuck in class.",1 Fax!!!!! All my ladies with a pregnancy phobia stand up,0 "This world isn't built for people with ADHD. I too wish I can stop the world, but even if it did, I would still have ADHD. We need systems in place if we want to be productive. Because ADHD makes us fluctuate in our productivity we need solid strategies to keep us on point. One thing I've started doing recently is making a detailed to do lists with specific times and a parking space. I take a notepad and divide a page in half. top half is my to do list. bottom half is parking. i.e. I want to read my set readings for uni in 2 hours. Then I check and readjust my goal when the time is up. This works better if body doubling or studying in the library because other people kept me more accountable. At the bottom half of the to do list is the Parking List. This is all the distractions that fly into my head. Instead of doing them I just write them down in my Parking List and park them i.e. set readings mention steam engines look up steam tech. This allows me to acknowledge my distractions without acting on them so I focus more on my to do list. Later in if I have free time allocated in my day I will look at my Parking List and do it, but most of the time I just move on to another new to do/parking list page. So far I've been more productive. I am actually on my break time looking up Reddit ADHD from my parking list for today🙂 hope that helps.",1 I'm so grateful my mom is an ADHD mess just like me.,1 With you there.. knowing the solution but being unable to follow through regardless of effort is a frustration that's hard to put in words..,1 "Oh yeah totally. Got something at noon, welp can't start anything because I'll just have to stop! And we all know I'm not starting any projects AFTER that. This is why I go to the gym immediately after getting out of bed. I get there and start my workout before my brain catches up and realizes what we're doing. If something is seriously important, it has to get done FIRST THING or it won't get done.",1 "Thanks for the reminder, I kept forgetting to beat my schmeat before my mom gets home",1 I'm saving this post. I'll read it again when I need this x,1 "Why does this happen? Like I know it’s ADHD, but what about it would cause someone to do this. Like is this procrastination for some?",1 "This was me with my Math when I was in Grade 10 about five thousand years ago. We were doing an ""outcome based"" module, so essentially all of our math class was at our own pace. I was finished 95% of the class by December. I did sweet FA from January until June and ended up having to go to summer school to finish my math class lol.",1 "What’s so different about OCD at least with me. Is that truly all people have these thoughts, but with OCD- we have such tremendous guilt and anxiety about it - we can’t let it go and worry, will I get locked up, people will think less of me, will I lose control and do it, and the list goes on- verses someone without OCD who is like wow that was a bitchy thing to think and moves on.... I just can’t move on.",0 That and/or disassociating so you have no idea what the other person said,0 "This is me, I stare at it for like five minutes straight just to be sure",0 "please dont be psychosis, please dont be psychosis, please dont be psychosis...",0 Smartphone have totally hijacked our prefrontal cortexes.,1 "I feel this deeply, not so much on my social life/friendships, but at work, yes.",1 My daughter barfed on friday and i spent two days disinfecting the house. Of course there was no more lysol wipes so I had to mix disinfectant spray 😵,0 "Online learning was incredibly hard for me, especially back when my ADHD was undiagnosed. I managed to do 1 (and working on a 2nd) Masters degree online. Here's my advice. -Set your alarm as if you were still expected to get up and go to class. Get up, shower, eat. Whatever is normal for you. One option: take the time chunks you would have spent sitting in a classroom (say, M-W-F from 10:00-12:00). Devote that same time to sitting down and working on that class's assignments. -Allow yourself (a little) wiggle room. If you sit down to work on math, but you just can't focus, swap it out for a different class. -Change of venue. I always struggled to focus at home, and work better if I'm at the library or something. Look to see what your options are. -Communicate with your professors. If you find you're really struggling to get stuff done, let them know. Most profs want to help their students, especially right now. Let them know if you start to fall behind. Best of luck!",1 I have to set alarms for myself. Like alarm to wake up at 7. Set alarm for 7:10 when I have to be out of bed. Set alarm for 7:30 when I have to be out of shower at the latest. 8 have to be ready to leave soon. 8:05 be ready to walk out the door. 8:10 you better be out the door. 8:15 you're gonna be late.,1 "Me. Me. MEEEEE. This is my entire existence. It’s fucking horrible.",0 "Did make me LOL as I'm sitting here about to leave for a dentist appt, which I actually enjoy going to but today anxiety is making me rethink if I did everything right, didn't miss anything, nothing bad will happen to/from/during.",0 I feel you. My dads realized this and has tried to take a new approach of reminding me to do work. I hope your family also realizes this too.,1 I sure do love that I remembered that chain post that said I would die in 5 years oh boy here we go again 😖,0 The first one of these memes that's both funny and relatable.,0 "Reminds me of my pet birds somehow Creating mess but is just cute xD",0 Yes especially my dogs. I’ve never experienced a death of anyone close to me and I’m almost 25. All four of my grandparents are still alive even. I have this overwhelming fear that when death inevitably affects my life it will be everyone suddenly and I’ll have no idea how to cope.,0 Happy birthday! congrats on getting through it all and keep this as a reminder for future ocd compulsions :),0 "All kidding and anecdotal tales aside, it’s import to remember that It’s a frontal cortex disorder. Only say this to help with any value judgements you may be having. Needing a stimulating event to get the part of your brain that allows you to make decisions and therefore act on them to work is a defining trait of the disability.",1 Yes totally for me also like to grab the ones at the very back of the shelves... I also love to to grab the last of my favorite drinks or food if there are only one left or just enough of them left...,0 today in: tumblr can't tell the difference between intrusive thoughts and impulsive thoughts,0 "My top songs of 2020: 1) How do I know that I actually think or feel or believe this? 2) How do I know that you actually think or feel or believe that? 3) Better make a list of it 4) Better set everything at a right angle 5) If my roommates cook one thing in the kitchen then it's not clean enough for me anymore Absolutely bangers, y'all",0 "I have both and I literally don't feel like a functioning human being, like I was just born missing something that makes me fundamentally broken.",1 I’ve tried to do this and god do I wish it would work. Ultimately I end up wanting to leave to spare everyone involved.,1 "Don't mind me screenshotting this and sending to everyone I know. Such an incredibly well-written, well-thought-out post and it hurts how validating it is. We fight twice as hard.",1 "I made a point of learning every word in the English language between 2014 and 2018 and now it’s a fucking curse because I know there is a precise word that I should be using and I can never find it. Like in every single sentence. But yeah I struggle majorly to communicate verbally and i guess that reflects how my thoughts are in disarray compared to most others - I’ll usually start saying something with no idea how I’ll finish it. Even if I know the topic well. I am actually very fast and witty but I will also say ridiculous and offensive stuff quite often because I can’t apply a filter whilst trying to communicate my convoluted thoughts at the same time. And that can lead to anxiety and social aversion So yeah it’s very very very very frustrating",1 Little late but I get this constantly. I hear something that triggers me and I have to do mental compulsions to sorta reverse it but can’t do that and listen to the person at the same time!!!! Then I get really scared and frustrated ,0 "100%. I didn't know people thought this way. Medicine helps a lot, but therapy is vital to teach you how to manage the anxiety as well as how to handle the obsessions/compulsions and any new ones you'll inevitably develop throughout your life.",0 "I tended to use more commas and dashes than necessary, and it was something I tried very hard to get rid of when writing. Never thought it could relate to how my mind works. Never really thought about it actually, and now come to think of it, with more than average experience with reading & writing as a kid, I really shouldn’t have had this habit when other kids could write normally with a better flow. Thanks OP for the insight!",1 Aw🥺 even though they’re probably a pain they’re so cute.,0 Big mood. I don't have enough meds so my dose is low bcus I got depressed n forgot to get it raised and the ocd is back ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ. ~~I mean OFC it's actually all denial and my therapists and psychologists are all just feeding into my delusion~~,0 "Ah, shit. This hits hard as someone with an abusive mom and a late ADHD diagnosis at 30.",1 Oh wow I relate to this hardcore. I didn't even realize this was an OCD/anxiety thing....other people really don't do this huh? I'll add this to my list of things to talk to my therapist about lol.,0 Someone without OCD will never understand what it is like to have OCD. Do not expect any empathy from them and you will be fine.,0 "Like spirituality is okay and all, but the idea of stuff like “The Secret” and manifestation is so annoyingly anti-scientific. My therapist specifically told me that thoughts are just thoughts and 90% of them are just stupid and make no sense, and have zero bearing on reality. That was the thing she taught me that I keep going back to because it is so powerful against my OCD. Thoughts can lead to actions. Like if you want a sandwich, maybe that will prompt you to make or buy a sandwich. If you want a relationship, maybe that will prompt you to create a dating profile, get a haircut/new clothes, work on yourself so that maybe you will be more attractive and available to others and that could lead to dates. But... your thoughts are just thoughts. They cannot by themselves call into existence anything. Maybe you don’t have the ingredients for a sandwich and can’t make one. Maybe you put effort into finding a relationship but no one replies to you on Tinder. Reality is totally independent of what is inside your head. Sorry for the rant but I hate this stuff so much and yes, it is dangerous for people with OCD and GAD. We depend on the ability to separate thoughts from reality.",0 Thank you for reminding me that I need to feed the cats.,1 "This is so beautiful, thank you. And I’m sorry for your loss. And I’m sad I don’t know you in real life but it’s so nice to know that you exist somewhere.",1 "I'm currently taking 2 classes, one is a tig welding class, the other is 3d modeling, both are lab classes. Uggh.",1 "Omg if I knew all I needed was a positive attitude, I could’ve quit the meds, therapy, and doctors eons ago! Thanks, OP, I’m fixed now!",0 "I feel the same way when I look up anything about that or autism. Because adults with ADHD and/or autism don't exist, just gotta suck it up and be normal now! Only children have that absolute luxury!",1 "Well done for actually getting on the waiting list though. Waiting sucks and it feels like surviving rather than living but time passes anyway and you should get there eventually. The long waiting list has made me give up twice and I would've gotten sessions earlier if I didn't give up. After a year and a half I finally have my first sessions. Try to look for smaller volunteer based organisations that could provide some counselling during this wait time. Maybe your gp or a nurse would know some, or maybe even the provider of cbt would know of some organisations. You can also call suicide lines and other mental health lines to just chat. You don't have to necessarily be at your worst to contact help. Hang in there, you're doing well! I hope this helps a little. :)",0 "I feel this. On good days when I’m at 60% productivity instead of a usual 20% or less, I’ll excitedly explain that I did household chores, I did my best at work, etc. But my mom isn’t supportive or understanding and just berates next for not always being at 100%. Because 60% isn’t good, that’s the BARE minimum. And I am just lazy and inconsiderate. I always have an excuse. I’m on meds so why can’t I do everything I’m supposed to? Because it’s the meds that got me up to 60%. And I thought it was really good that I did as much as I did. But it’s never enough. I’m never good enough. It’s worse cos I work from home and my mom expects me to do household chores during my breaks. I tried to explain I’m at WORK and the breaks are needed to be productive at work, but in her opinion, I’m at home so that means I should AT LEAST be able to do this, this, that, that...",1 "Wow!!! I think this might be me, thanks for sharing - good food for thought!",1 "Doesn't help that I'm cutting down on soda and coffee. So tired of always having to fight a craving. I tell you, though, I should definitely NEVER get into drugs, lol. ",0 Literally like I’m fully aware it’s so irrational but I still feel compelled to do it,0 Yes. I am either motivated completely randomly or entirely by spite.,1 “What if they’re dead?? What if they don’t like me anymore?? What if-“ I felt that,0 This is basically the vast majority of my ~~day~~ life,1 I don't need a tattoo to remind me I have ocd. If only I could not think about it for 10 seconds lol,0 I need to find me a partner that's understanding like this. 🤣,1 My body is absolutely riddled with cancer despite the fact that I don’t really have cancer,0 Okay what’s the difference between executive function and being an undisciplined soul who never got use to the workload?,1 "Is it just me that gets a crash after I take adderall? Like I’m in a pretty happy mood, then I mellow out, then I’m all of a sudden emotionless and bland. It’s kinda weird",1 "Most things I type I have to proof read, I do try to resist it tho :(",0 Just be straightforward. Nothing wrong about saving lives,0 "This is my life. I've failed out of college, have had trouble getting real long term employment until I was 24, and practically just lived a life of confusion. I did not know what was wrong with me. I thought and still do think that I'm a defective piece of human garbage because of this hellish disorder.",1 "How the hell am I supposed to kill myself when I see this type of stuff? Seriously though Im in tears right now, I really need to see this.",1 I always apologize more than I should to my boyfriend and it’s probably getting out of hand,0 "This art could be a new trend on here, lol. Cool idea.",0 I just feel like people seriously do not care what I have to say whatsoever now that I have gotten better at social interaction,1 "This is how I felt. I joined autistic subreddits as well out of curiosity of my own neurodivergency wondering if I could relate and also to get a better grasp of what my little brother lives with every day as he's autistic. It's all memes and jokes and good times, but I don't feel like I'm actually learning anything from most of those subreddits. This sub makes me happy to see everyone who struggles like I do bc we can all actually help each other. I hope to see more helpful honest topics in those subs soon",1 "Just when I feel the imposter syndrome creeping in because I’m relatively newly diagnosed and my fiancé has been diagnosed since he was a kid, this post comes along and I find myself nodding vigorously along with every part lmao.",1 Struck me right between the eyes. This speaks so much truth I can taste it.,0 "I put on a show I know very well (Futurama), cover the screen, and just lay down, close my eyes and listen. I know the episodes by heart and fall asleep every time. It helps my mind from wandering but I also don’t need to focus because it’s so familiar.",1 me and the monsters living in my mouth agree with this,1 I hate that because I have internal auditory hallucinations I hear a god speaking to me and the fire we converse,0 This does happen. I can confirm but Sometimes it actually help because the new one might be easier to deal with.,0 "DUUUUUUDE. Relevant. I just woke up at 4 A.M., had a little burst of OCD intrusive thoughts of my usuals themes I’ve been having for the last (checks calendar) seven months, including “OCD doesn’t apply to you you’ve just been lying/your obsessions aren’t REALLY obsessions they’re all real” (I’ve had diagnoses of OCD from four different doctors who’ve all told me my obsessions are obsessions.) Started to dive in and checked this sub for a bit of grounding (not reassurance.) Needed this, friendo. Thanks. *Thumbs up three times or grandma will die.*",0 "I'm a generally messy and don't fear contamination, although I am reasonable germaphobic. I have a good number of rituals, struggle with digital hording and organization, incredibly frequent and persistent intrusive thoughts such as, ""Hey Drew, remember that horribly traumatic thing that you don't want to think about, well think about that"" or ""Do this random terrible thing that would have very, very bad consequences."". Also, I'm really big on preparation as well as symmetry and random arbitrary patterns and organization. It's a fairly diverse disorder with a very high comorbidity rate. I almost started a similar thread myself. As I said, I'm not contamination OCD but I still have OCD, which has been quite bad still, but if I mention it, people will say ""no you don't (have OCD) because you're not an extreme neat freak."" It's been frustrating, so I just have to keep myself obsessively occupied, actively engaged and thus distracted from the pandemic.Thank you if you read this, it felt great to type out.",0 "My mom decided to go off the meds in the 90's because she said they dulled her out. Medicine has obviously improved since then, but she never looked back and has never been on meds since. Whether it was better or worse for her OCD I do not know, but she has fared well given how crippling the disorder *can* be.",0 "when you're driving and there's the slightest bump in the road and you're convinced you've hit someone even though there's nothing in the rearview mirror, and you continue driving which must mean you're guilty and you're trying to get away and you wait anxiously for the 6pm news to announce there was a hit run and they're searching for the killer lol",0 "And there's also the equally illogical inverse of this pattern of thinking: *""Oh, it's already 6 p.m. I meant to start my assignment a 4 p.m., but I still have until 8 p.m., so if I've already wasted this much time, I can spare another couple of minutes.""* I'm definitely guilty of both of these conflicting tendencies.",1 Heh. I guess I prefer my town where even my doctor doesn't know what ADHD is. Make me feel like an intelectual and they can't dismiss it.,1 This literally feels like I wrote it. I've recently decided that all the people who came before me survived long enough to mean that I could exist. I can try and survive too.,1 mines obsessive octopus. it’s a cute little octopus that’s confused and doesn’t know what to give me so he keeps offering me different thoughts with all his different arms,0 "Eh, yes and no. To me, everything is organized because it’s in an order that I can manage and find things in. But to others it’s disorganized because everything isn’t “in order” in terms of size, color, object. If somebody moves my things or reorganizes my items I would be very upset, it doesn’t seem like much; but to me it’s very personal because it takes so much time to figure out what order of things works for me. I’m not sure if anyone here feels the same way but this is how I am when it comes to organization",0 "This makes me so happy. Congrats :) Sometimes people don't understand how difficult and how big of a step these sorts of things are, so congrats on the progress!",0 "When I told my dad I had OCD recently, he turned all the attention to him and talked about how he is ""so ocd""....rather than say I'm sorry you have OCD, etc. It was just all about him, how his gf calls him ""ocd"" etc....lol",0 "2000% agree. Thankfully, I’ve worked incredibly hard to be where I am financially (35, and debt free bayyybeee), so now I’m outsourcing like a mofo. My time is valuable, and my mental health is too important to waste on the space and anxiety around my to-do list that isn’t budging. Yeah, sure. I could learn how to frame a closet from YouTube. Over five years. While the supplies sit in the hallway. Or I just hire someone and happily live with a swanky new closet.",1 "wow i thought this was just me, too!! allow me to save this and never revisit it as well",1 "It’s very true, if it’s out of sight then it’s out of mind. I’m no therapist but writingthings down really does help a plan of action. Thanks for the recommendation.",1 "Now I'm starving Soo many saved recipes 😋 I dont think I've ever re looked at them or made one but they all look good",1 "Is there anywhere you can get out for a walk/run/cycle? I know it's a cliche, and don't take this the wrong way if you already know it definitely doesn't work, but taking a walk or jog somewhere for no other reason than just to walk or jog can sometimes snap me out of that sort of state of mind for a while. I know that sort of thing doesn't work for everyone, and it certainly doesn't always work for me (maybe 50/50 with walking but jogging helps every time) but when it does work, it's nice. Literally just say fuck it all, I'm gonna take a walk, then do it and try to just relax and let your mind go where it will for a bit as you walk.",1 Ocd has nothing to do with being clean but good shot Martha or whatever their name is,0 Thank you. Really needed this. It’s been pretty dark the past few months.,1 "Easy for you to say. The feeling doesn't go away just because I tell myself not to worry. I just get the thoughts anyway, and I also can't STOP them.",0 "I really didn't know this was a thing that other people than me were struggling with, damn ! I know that also sounds bad but it kinda makes me feel better about my own struggle to keep up with that? Anyway congratulations !!",1 yes thank you!! i can remember every detail but none of the names or dates so it sounds like im bluffing,1 Same here buddy. I don’t wanna live but I have to do it for my baby girl.,1 this all day instead of normal life kind of looks like heaven though,0 "I feel this at my core. Then there are the hours of list sleep repeatedly going over in your head what needs to be done tomorrow and what could have been done today, yesterday and last year.",1 I've lived with that a long time. It's very difficult.,1 "Can someone explain why this is a thing for ADHD peeps? How is insomnia and getting a wired ""high"" just in the evening a part of it (for people not on stimulant meds). I'm glad to see other people do this.",1 "I do this. I had no idea it was a symptom of OCD. I have bad anxiety. Can someone explain the connection of this behavior to OCD? I am trying to understand my behaviors and make a better life for myself (which includes a set routine so I don't get into a paralyzed state of overthinking what to do) ​ Edit for spelling",0 Exactly. Sometimes I feel like I’m travelling at a different speed in time than anyone else.,1 "This looks amazing, like the Goodnight Moon picture book but for people with anxiety disorders",0 "Omg , I stopped my meds at age 13 and only restarted at age 33 . Im not like , mr does his laundry but just being able to finish the dishes / fold some laundry just so any of that without it being a grind has been huge.",1 "Been there done that, over a year ago from now I was was in one of those loops for a whole week",0 "Nice job!!! I help my husband with this too, because when he misplaces something, he panics and is like literally at a loss of what to do. But for me, pshh, this is normal, I know I’ll find it eventually, so it doesn’t faze me at all.",1 OCD nearly caused me to take my own life a few years ago. So “desirable.”,0 "I cannot believe how some parents act with their children. I have a 9 year old son with adhd, I would never say something like that. What’s with so many people’s lack of empathy?…",1 No matter how fucked up I get I always brush my teeth at night. My mom lost all her teeth by time she was 45 and seeing her mess with dentures was enough for me.,1 Self acceptance is the first place to treatment tho ;),0 "ADHD teaches you to hide your inner child away, deep in your inner space, far from those who would do it harm. You laugh about it. I laugh all the fucking time. When I am happy, when I am uncomfortable, when I am confused, when I am sad. I laugh. Not because I am amused, but because it is the facade that shows the world that everything is ok. The problem is, your inner child needs love. And it cannot experience love unless you know where you have hidden it. Remember yourself at age 3. Remember yourself at age 7. Remember yourself at age 10 and at age 12. I have a picture of myself that has me with a shirt that says 100% baby, and when I look at it I can't help but cry a little. Loving your past self and forgiving it for doing the things it did to you in order to survive was key in my abilities to de-tangle my emotional relationship with my past, and begin to understand my mental health.",1 "Just do a little bit every day. It won’t seem like much but it adds up fast. I made a goal to write for one hour every day and within a few months I had 40,000 words in my novel. You can do it. Even start with just dedicating 30 minutes every day to whatever long term goal you are trying to accomplish. Another thing that helps me is when I have a clean house I feel more at peace and organized. Block out 30 minutes a day to focus on tidying up. Take 5 minutes to make your bed. It really helps me feel centered and organized and it takes less time than you think.",1 "On a similar note, I was just today thinking to myself about how uncomfortable I can get if someone gives me a compliment. It’s like I can’t get myself to believe that I actually deserve praise.",1 "I‘ve read that a hallmark of OCD is indeed the fear of being accused, so very common among fellow sufferers! Sorry you’re going through this though...",0 "It's clear that people who say that don't have OCD. If they had it, they wouldn't be saying it. They would know it's a much more insidious, horrific experience that can cycle for days. As someone who suffers from OCD, I can't stand when people say that.",0 "Not necessarily an adhd focused post but this applies to people having trauma. I resonate with not having much to talk about. I learnt something from this book - we can work with this I read something from Dr LePera’s How To Do The Work book . She described a persons social connection mixed with having trauma feels ‘paralysing’ - our bodies have a mind blank when listening to others talk - our system immediately feels danger. Depending on our conditioning we will follow this system and feel out of place. I personally have major social anxiety and growing up feeling clueless and not knowing about my adhd left a big struggle in my life What I’m trying to lead up to is, our thought process connects to our gut instinct - to feel paralysed and in space during these situations. The holistic psychologist (lepera) describes this better - definitely check out her Instagram. She recommends meditation and future self journalling. I believe that even though adhd makes everything a big challenge, thing are still possible. Try meditating and better words of affirmation. We go through so much trauma and struggle with understanding our bodies, that it takes just as much time for us to reprogram our bodies to work for us in a healthier way Be kind to yourself, get to know yourself and befriend that voice that puts you down when you aren’t ‘enough’ in this society. You are enough! You have always been enough!",1 I hate this bullshit. What did I do to deserve this? I just want to have a good life.,0 "Yeah this definitely happens to me. Not sure if it’s to the same degree. But i make sure I haven’t liked or commented on things I didn’t mean to fairly often. If I ever pull up a share screen, on purpose or not, I need to check and make sure I didn’t share anything I didn’t mean to. Probably other stuff like that, but I can’t think of more specific examples right now.",0 "You took the words right out of my mouth, this is exactly how I feel about this sub :) I don’t know anyone else with OCD and it’s so nice to feel a little less alone❤️sending you lots of love on your journey",0 "Thank you so much for this. I’ve struggled with OCD for the past 10 years, been on various medications and I’ve had one of the worst episodes for the last month that I can ever remember. The part where you say ‘checking feelings’ is exactly what’s rough for me right now. A thought comes up about a loved one and then I continuously have to check my feelings that the thought is wrong and I need to find a feeling to feel that creates reassurance and sometimes I find it, sometimes I don’t. Sometimes it takes 30 minutes and sometimes it takes hours. It’s been crippling. In a very bad space right now.",0 "Man this comment section is out of hand. Bosch was a fucking genius",0 Fyck it. I need to start fecking crying right now! :),0 "Every fucking time I hear my dad say ""you just gotta focus on..."" I want to flip a table.",1 I’m fake for sure. Never used to wash my hands much but now I’m a mad man,0 "\*Pfft\* Please! I've been doing this since I got out of the womb!",0 oh my gosh! are you me with these compulsions? very proud of you!! I know how hard it is,0 "Yeah, that sucks. I came across a subreddit that makes fun of people for faking disorders and it fucked me up for a week. I felt super convinced that people perceived me as a faker. Honestly, though you have to stop and think what's the worst that could happen? you have convinced yourself you have a disorder...that is still in itself a mental health issue. No matter what you are not a bad person and you still need treatment. At least that's how I look at it.",0 You’re girlfriend is fucking awesome. Who cares about the dishes,1 "I've been there. In the end I just had to say 'RIGHT! that's enough, if I burn the house down I burn the house down' and I'll deal with the smouldering embers when I get back.",0 If you are dealing with anxiety or ocd this is a gem 😇click 👉👇https://youtu.be/kvdgt6IScO8,0 I have laid in bed wondering if I'm a narcissistic abuser. Convinced I'm a Bad Person (TM).,0 "The more I’ve talked to different people about OCD, the more clear it becomes how little a lot of people understand about mental health. The “don’t worry about it, it’ll all be ok” phrase is NOT helpful or reassuring, I feel it’s basically what people say when they don’t really want to spend the time to listen to you.",0 Question- no offence to anyone but is this also where you get obsessed with a topic that is bothering you and google the shit out of for hours?,0 "This is me with some thoughts but recently I’ve been having different thoughts so it’s so hard, but I’m trying.",0 i relate to this so much. so accurate how you explained it bc this is exactly how i feel,0 " I don't suffer from OCD thankfully, and I am glad to have a representation to help me emphasize with you all. Thank you for sharing this OP. To anyone dealing with this : I think you are amazingly strong, and I hope you find the therapy/medication that can help you live a more peaceful life.",0 "Lmao I’ve never heard that one before. That’s great. Edit: I’ve never seen that one. What’s the real line?",0 "Not going to lie I teared up reading this...thank you, I truly needed this today, OCD levels have been up because of pms so it sucks...but I know I’ll be okay...that I’ll get the proper treatment soon, that I’ll start to feel better soon...once again thank you 💗",0 "We have approximately 7 doppelgangers around the world.. oh my God, excuse me. I think I need to go check something..",0 "Three weeks to make a 2 minute call. Yeah, it is a bit.",1 I relate to this so hard. I find myself tip toeing on tile even if my anxiety is low.,0 You made me burst out laughing while my dad was on the phone. I've had some really weird intrusive thoughts. I don't wanna share lol,0 Omg. I'm so excited to try this. I'll put it on my to-do-list.,1 "Thank you :) I usually just say no and keep scrolling but I actually got up and finished what I needed to! Granted, after a few hrs I just sat back down and came back to this post but it feels nice to know I did something productive.",1 And hear I was thinking why can’t I find my people. I forget(of fucking course) I have ADHD. I often feel misunderstood and therefore lonely because of it. But God dammit I feel such at home. Here I got plenty of company. Thanks guys. Y’all are alright to me.,1 "First of all, you're not alone struggling with this pattern. Small relief I know but it gives you incentive not tonfeel guilty about it. Second, the key is to bring yourself to start. Once you have your feet on the pedals you kind of have to pedal. And once you start, either you enter a tunnel or you have STH to come back to. Bringing yourself to getting started, even at 5 till 6, is already a small victory.",1 YES i’ll set a reminder for a certain time and when it pops up i’m like “hmmmm in a second” and realize two months later the reminder is still on my lock screen and i just got so used to it being there that i stopped noticing it,1 "I hate the improper usage of OCD as much as anyone but more than anything it's a symptom of the piss-poor education regarding OCD and mental health in general. I tried to get a therapist for OCD and even someone with a degree and career in psychology didn't have any knowledge of pure O, and told me I didn't have OCD because I didn't have cleaning OCD",0 "I find I also tend to focus on the why. Knowing why definitely helps me better process what is wanted from me and how to complete the task. Sometimes I'll approach the task from a different angle than what was originally provided because knowing the why lets me focus on getting the end goal instead of focusing on doing it exactly the way others would. For many things, the how isn't as important as the product.",1 "Okay, so this right here. This is why we can't have stable things.",0 "I struggled (still do some time to time) with this a lot thorugh the years. I managed to get most things done that were ""mandatory"" (school, work, cleaning ect.), but when i finally have the free time to either read, play video games, play music or any kind of sparetime activity, there would just be an internal fight which almost lead me to just go on youtube and scroll through social media - a complete waste of time mosr of it. I wish i could get the years back i wasted on not doing anything. I firstly god diagnoses with ADD not long ago, so medicine helps me with being motivated to actually spent time better without worrying to much. Still, to get started on something, most of the time i just have to act impulsively if i start to wonder what to spend my time on. Just go and do the first thing that pops up to your mind. If you dont feel satisfied, then jump to the next thing that comes to mind (of course, this is still not easy at all). Well im glad that i have a good amount of games in my steam library that still havent been given their justified time (of course, this is also a common thing).",1 "You're lovely OP. I just wanted to say to younger ADHD people, things do get better once you've faked-it-till-you-made it to a higher point in your career. Once you have in-demand skills and insights (which many ADHDers do have in high degree), people will be a lot more flexible. I had such a shit time trying to keep up with expectations for entry level roles, but now I'm a respected go-to expert in my field. Hyperfocus means I turn out quality work much faster than others, and I'm enough of a lateral thinker to pick up on vital issues that other people miss. My home life is a mess, of course. But I am respected outside of that, and people are keen to work with me despite knowing I will cause them frustrations in some areas.",1 "Yeah, I like literally have a refrigerator full of bad food and freezer that I need to go clean out now, which I'm going to go do right now after posting this comment. I will literally go days without eating because I don't want to deal with it. When I had people to feed I certainly still had forgotten food that went bad, but nothing like now. I don't have to make sure I'm feeding others so it will all just sit in there and go bad. That's another thing, you shouldn't buy so much at once, either. It is not worth the discount you will get buying more if it is just going to sit there and go bad, and you are less likely to find what you forgot was in the refrigerator if it is packed full. I still shop like I have multiple people to feed, and even then I was buying too much at once.",1 "I'm really sorry that I don't have any advice to offer, but I just wanted to say that I felt this post on a bone-deep level. I can relate to everything you wrote. You're not alone.",1 Actually got out of bed holy shit. My day might’ve been ruined if not for this post lol.,1 yes! i take the stairs weird every time and i think it’s normal till i see my family staring at me wondering why i take the stairs like that😂,0 "._. Didn't even knew that there's THAT much kinds of ocd",0 "are you me? it's actually an issue, i do this across every platform and it translates into real life through hoarding. it's absolutely insane and ridiculous and i want to rewire my brain stat",1 I thought I had a mild form of torrets syndrome before I joined this sub I’m relieved to find other people lol,0 "omg this is me too!! when my partner loses things I look EVERYWHERE because I've lost and found things in some of the absolute dumbest places. I have no idea how they got there, but I know that I need to look there now haha",1 I’m really depressed right now. On the bright side I’m to sad to do my compulsions!,0 I relate to all of those!! I didn’t know my dependence on sugar and caffeine was connected to adhd,1 "Thank you for this! I’m looking for ways to talk to my partner about some of the stuff I go through. I think this will be incredibly helpful, thank you so much for sharing! I wish I had an award to give you.",0 I agree. I think I would rather not have my “good” days because the contrast to the bad ones is too much. Yes my brain is constantly fucking me up as well. COVID is a big factor for me personally so I am being really kind to myself right now and letting myself sleep all day if that’s what I think I need.,0 fuck that shit i need myself some ad-block on my ocd,0 Tell me about it. I used to be a drummer. I was *good.* But I couldn't move forward with my talent. I couldn't muster the discipline to be *great*. I haven't played in over a decade.,1 Yesterday somebody said on tik tok a really random and irrational fear they had and now it keep getting it as an intrusive thought,0 "Yes, sometimes I might just say something to think about something else, too. 😔",0 Trying to find something but got upset at everything being a mess after I searched all over for it. Thank goodness for Ativan.,0 I write with a lot of ellipses... for the same reason.,1 AAAAHHHHH I'm so glad I searched this sub. This. Is. MY. INTEGRAL. PROBLEM. IN. LIFE. I'd be so much better off if I could just finish things that weren't attached to a deadline,1 You can be proud of yourself. Truly. You've done an amazing job. Congrats!,1 Ah yes so desirables I love almost ending my life because my ocd wouldn’t leave me alone,0 "That’s a good one, I’ve always compared it to having to go to the bathroom without actually getting relief from going to the bathroom. Or like a rock in your shoe that you can’t remove, it’s just always there.",0 "Thank you for this! It was perfect timing. I needed to get in the shower so I could go pick up my grocery order. I stopped scrolling, showered, got a few tasks done, and made it to the store in perfect time. Now I'm eating lunch and have a few minutes to scroll.... As long I don't sit at the kitchen table for a few hours, I'll be good. I have the house to myself today and I'm gonna get shit done! So thanks again, dude.",1 "I actually have been brushing & washing my hands way more. Showering, on the other hand.... (I literally can't remember the last time I took one, oh dear. Iso is really messing up my schedule...)",1 "Does anybody ever follow through on a slightly negative (but harmless) compulsion? Ex: it could be bad if I squeezed my phone as hard as I could (squeezes phone). If maybe you construct something and then get the urge to ruin it, then do? Does anybody follow through on a more harmful compulsion?",0 "It’s one of the most infuriating aspects of ADHD Today at work I called everyone together because the team was fragmented and dysfunctional... I was planning to give a little speech about how we need to cooperate or we’ll collapse... but it’s like my mind fell through my ass and I had nothing to say plus couldn’t remember any specific examples. Now of course I remember what I wanted to say",1 "The cherry on top is that your brain also tries to convince you that you WANT to have the thoughts 🙂 overall a terrible experience, straight up not having a good time",0 I totally feel this. Sometimes it's just easier than trying to resist it. Especially when the days already been rough.,0 "This! Lol my boyfriend is hyper type, I'm inattentive, and the amount of money spent on bull*** is laughable lol. We are getting into the habit of making a grocery list, tracking finances in general and even a schedule for our days, because ADHD has a terrible ""time tax"" as well. I will add these tips in - we've already saved over 300.00 on groceries a month, making sure to get only what we eat. I've personally saved about 200.00 a month, buying dress up clothes (I do amateur theatrical fx modeling stuff,) by buying sets as opposed to random things impulsively.",1 I used to open the door first and THEN wash hands :-P,0 But what if what you fear/ what feeds your ocd is stemmed out of a realistic fear. How do you combat that,0 "I'm sorry but I can't get behind this lol. Call-out culture is bullshit and using OCD as a figure of speech is not ""contributing to harmful stereotypes"". As someone whose intrusive thoughts could've easily landed me in a psych ward, people making jokes is the least of my concern lol. Jokes are not at all at odds with mental health awareness/education. Everyone knows bitch means female dog, but they still use it to refer to women. I can easily conceive of a future where people understand OCD and all its forms and still make little jokes. Like... Instead of demanding someone personally cater to your opinions, why don't you just ignore it, move on, and share information about OCD? Why do something negative when you could do something positive? I suppose positivity isn't in the nature of anxious types like ourselves.",0 "Dude that’s what my fucking brain does and I hate it. I check the local jail website from time to time and I’ll look at peoples names and my brain says “if you look at that guys arrest you’re going to go to prison for the rest of your life” like what the fuck is that",0 It’s because of people self diagnosing for it and getting it wrong makes people cynical,1 "As someone with existential OCD, this hits HARD. I've gone from is there a god to is there not to why does it matter to politics to more politics to slightly different politics to slightly slightly different politics",0 "I know I have it I just don’t know how bad mine is Hopefully I’m imagining things and I don’t but that’s not likely",0 One day I’ll go through my 3k+ screenshots in my phone haha. Most of them are things I’ve saved to read or watch or tips,1 "Old post but thought I’d share. Something that really helped me getting past perfection was experimenting with abstract art. It’s such a relief to have no end goal, or desired outcome. Nothing to compare your work to. Abstract art allows me to relax, zone out, have fun like art should. It’s great for venting as well.",0 yes i have to read everything over a million times before i feel like i can send it! it’s so time consuming,0 "Lovely! Your mother doesn't realize, of course, that you have to ""think about other things"" in order to function...and that unless someone else takes care of those ""other things"" for you and that they truly don't need to be tended to, as a functioning human you have to strenuously train yourself to be aware of those ""other things""...and even then, you will break training often without even knowing it because your slippery ""remindery"" brain will simply not report for work if your other concentrative functions are busy. Successful hyper-concentration can mean we forget to eat or take a bathroom break or check that our pets need something and you gotta make a phone call at 10:00 and that kind of thing...gotta love your people but they just don't have a fucken clue. Someday we will have robot assistants and ADD will be easier, I am sure of it, because they will backstop us",1 "This made me cry. After a couple horrible days I needed this. Thank you so much OP, I’m saving this post to read when I’m down",1 I get this so much - getting angry at myself for forgetting the stupidest little detail that doesn't matter at all :/,0 "Actually! I have done really good today! So I deserve this break! But still, thanks for the reminder!",1 Honest question how is this adhd and not just procrastinating,1 "i can totally relate. if i throw anything away, i have to check the trash like 15 times so it ends up piling up x.x",0 "Honestly I'm so over being questioned about every little thing that I do that now I just mono-tone explain: ""I have OCD and am currently stuggling. I feel as though I have to do this or else someone will die or get injured. I realize this is irrational, but it's easier for me to do it than to sit here in agony. Please respect that, and if you have questions about OCD, I'm an open book."" Usually the stranger or coworker GLADLY stays to learn more, and has many questions. I'm not hiding myself from the world anymore and comming up with excuses, it's exhausting for me. Since doing this, I gained more respect in my workplace as well as I've educated some people about OCD. (And it's really sweet when they ask me how they can help their significant other who stuggles with the same mental illness.)",0 "yeah, probably because i’ve been diagnosed from a really young age. so it’s like the default for me",1 Yeah this is life with OCD. Stigma sucks and people assume it's some weird quirky cute thing.,0 "Ive always been that way where im super into a song or album for a period of time then i move on to the next and repeat the cycle, Is that actually cuz of my adhd?",1 "I was on my way home and a whole stream of them happened. I thought about punching a woman at the train station,jumping in front of the train, when I got on I noticed the loops to hold onto looked like a noose so I imagined myself hanging then everyone else on the train hanging. Some woman told a man that he left his umbrella then I thought about him impaling her, then thought about another man stabbing 2 teenagers on the train, when I got off I thought of kicking this dog then I thought of self harm and suicide.",0 "I have had OCD since before I can remember and my psychiatrist suspects bipolar II, so he asked that I track my moods but I became so obsessed and hyper fixated on everything I was writing down that I’ve had to stop. I mean, I keep thinking I’m going insane and actually driving myself crazy 😂",0 "Good for you! It sounds like whatever you learned while off meds, e.g., good habits, positive coping mechanisms, are working out for you. Though being really hard, take pride in being able to accomplish something sooo huge (people without ADHD would never really understand this feat); continue to do so and things will get easier. You’re very fortunate that you had the insight and wherewithal (at 26 years old nonetheless!) to accomplish this and to celebrate. I had to go through undergrad, grad school, and early on in my professional career to gain such insight and force myself to work differently (I wasn’t diagnosed until the age of 31). My next personal hurdle is applying these skills to my personal life and with friendships as I am notoriously known for not taking initiative and following up.",1 Thank you for this 💙 This means a lot to me right now,0 "It's 1:20AM now where I am now. I feel so called out, but thank you.",1 This is me but I'm asexual - I always get thoughts similar to these. Nice to know I'm not alone!!,0 "I have taken to writing the expy date of meats on my fridge calendar, otherwise they sit in my fridge until they spoil. Also, my potatoes love to grow more potatoes in my pantry. They think they're being helpful, but it's terribly annoying.",1 "my problem is that I have a bigger cycle. I did manage to break that cycle sometimes using the 2minuts rule but I feel tired after that day and get distracted back to the cycle again for many days, it's annoying when I have motivation but i don't do anything with it then feel guilt and anxiety and intrusive thoughts prevent me from sleeping if I try to fight my laziness and then I start to resist it and manage to overcome it and then get distracted again...",0 I skip all of that and chose not to have friends lol,0 "Yeah it's much easier to do a job properly if you know why you're doing it, Its easier to remember what you need to do as well",1 Hahahahha kills me. My ROCD has spiked since quarantine with my partner. SoS,0 correct them and say they may be ocpd and should get treatment for it. from the googling ive done OCPD is obsessive compulsive personality disorder and typically shows up in the way you explained. my grandma is the same way and the whole family has joked ab her having ocd so me over here who does genuinely have OCD is not taken seriously,0 "I have cis OCD (basically TOCD in reverse) and am taking steps to come out to family and friends even when I’m full of OCD-laden doubt about my identity. I know who I am, and OCD does *not*.",0 Lmao used to be a hand washer but now not that extreme also used to use a lot of hand sanitizer so my hands where mega crispy,0 "Someone tell my fam this. Even tho my dad is ADHD too, when I say that I literally cannot do something they think it's okay to yell at me like ""WHY! WHY CANT YOU DO THIS"" Me: *crying because I don't handle getting yelled at very well* ""I don't know!"" Mother: ""WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DONT KNOW START DOING YOUR WORK!"" Me: *cries more*",1 "That is a great tip. I always used voice memos to record meetings that I was sure I'd zone out of. It was painstaking to spend the same amount of time to painstakingly transcribe everything. Never thought dictation would work so well. Gonna start trying this out from now. Thank you for sharing!",1 "I used to do this with dust or small objects on tables, id walk by and think the worst things would happen if i dont pick up the eraser shaving",0 "for me its: someone else feels nauseaous or.... whenever pregnancy and children are mentioned anywhere my brain instantly goes: your ex been pregnant when she left you. or ,,this and that person is pregnant thanks to you"" which..... is bullshit i think. but the intrusive thoughts come and come and drive me insane \^\^ the thought triggers way to easy and gets attached to every thing i does when the thought comes... like.... i am starting a new game. get the thought. dont act on it and that game is ruined for me cause now every single time i wanna play it i get that damn intrusive thought... just bought code vein and yeah..... the fun changed to constant stress and anxiety. i know those thoughts cant be real but my dumbass brain tries to make me sure that things happen if i dont act with my dumb little rituals..... sry for the rant.... i just hate all this so fucking much..... ​ ....but the memes good \^\^ that soulless smile perfectly nails it xD",0 "Thanks for all the comments folks. We're all in this together 😊 Good to know we're not alone, eh?",0 "I don't have OCD, but I have these same 4 tabs open on my phone for manga, so I don't have to go to the bookmark every time and select the latest chapter",0 Where were they? I’ve had swollen lymph nodes in my legs for well over a year and the doctor keeps telling me it’s nothing!,1 "Damn, I tried Luvox and it didn't work well. Then I tried Zoloft and it didn't work well, now I'm on Lexapro and it's been ✌",0 "My boyfriend started working nights and it brought forth so many triggers, I thought had been lost years ago.",0 "Hi, I'm going through some version of this, and a kind person from this sub just sent me this about Rejection Sensitive Dysmorphia: [https://www.dropbox.com/s/rzsjp65q0fu6r8o/Lauren%20RSD.PDF?dl=0](https://www.dropbox.com/s/rzsjp65q0fu6r8o/Lauren%20RSD.PDF?dl=0) Please give it a read - I'd never heard of it and it's blowing my mind. It's not you, it's part of ADHD and there's medication for it separate from stimulants.",1 The best part is when you consciously realize all this and think 'hey I should do such and such' but then your brain can't be bothered.,1 All the time I didnt even know that was mind of like thing I even did,0 I think it should be recognized as a legitimate disorder.. I can’t go or bring up to up to my boss what’s up without him saying “oh really?” And getting fired. That’s the hard part is finding a way to cope and being normal. I can understand their point of view like an it’s excuse to be lazy but it’s not.,1 "I wouldn’t say I’m disorganised or unclean, but I don’t have contamination OCD in the slightest",0 Holy crap! Never thought of that being tied with ADHD. I thought I needed to improve my English writing skills.,1 "I got over 900 genres. I'm at the other end of ADHD. ""Give me only new things all of the time! Yes! Good! This is my favourite! ...Next!""",1 "Wow. Are you me lol? This is my life. Every. Single. Day I have a very understanding parter thank goodness but holy shit, this is me.",1 "I have that fear aswell, but with autism too. If only it was true, sometimes I feel.",0 "Yeah this is onevof my main problem since im finally medicated. I finally am able to work again, but I still get lost in sudden ""good ideas"" and what felt like 30mins were 5h. I should get my task and time management get straight and start putting new tasks on the end of the taskstack and not upfront. I know how, but Its still hard to stick to it.",1 "Hey fam, we are here for you. You can talk to any one of us, no one will mind. I am not a therapist but we can talk about other stuff. About how much GoT S08 sucked or argue if Geraldo IS a metrosexual fruitcake.",0 I thought I was just lazy. I didn't know it was an OCD symptom. Thank you so much for validating my experience! <3,0 My switch flipped in the summer of 2015 and its been a sisyphus type life since,0 DUDE that's a super big deal. You just kicked your OCD in the ass!,0 I’m sick of this shit. It’s not even funny or cute? (What is it trying to be?) It’s just stupid.,0 "I’m surprised people talk in depth with their psychiatrists mine are like : “Do you hear voices? Do you want to kill your self or other people ? No? Good here ya go call me in two months. “ Now my Therapists are great. Very in depth and work with me. my Psychiatrists are great too but they just very hands off in my experience unless there’s serious issues.",0 "It’s really unbearable at this point for me. Affects my school / work and school life.",1 "Was convinced for some time that I had mania, turns out feeling more than one emotion is considered normal",0 Is it just me or does OCD most time come out on the evening. But when I wake up the next day it doesn't feel it is that serious.,0 I hope one day I can control it and have a normal life,0 "Ughhhh too real. I am lucky that the outside influences (severe Covid-19 stressors) arent an issue where I live - almost eradicated. However not eating, drinking, exercising because being too focused or wasting time...",1 "When you get paranoid about having a rare prion disorder that would kill you *Gaming*",0 This is me. And it's mostly because of my memory. When I do remember to call or make an appointment it's too late in the day already. I always get hounded for washing dishes. But I get less complaints now then before when I'm the only one who knows how to use the new Dish Washer.,1 If you use zoom and its recorded it probably has a transcript as well,1 "Om my god. I hope you will be okay! I also have a few, and doing the exact same thing you did.. Thank you for this wake up call!",1 "Also, what's this brick shapely thing I'd buried my nuts ere...",0 "I do this constantly. Glad to hear I'm not the only one. Got to the head shake after years of doing much longer compulsions to deal with the thoughts. I'm now at the point I'm relieved I can get rid of the thoughts with just a head shake. Etch-a-sketch indeed.",0 "Lol literally me. Me: cutting up vegetables Me: go stab ur dog",0 "Guys I finally know the truth: my ten year old self completely made up ocd! All that hand washing? I made it up. All those lists? I made them all Up! Even though no ten year old would willingly put themselves in a situation where they have anxiety attacks so often they feel chronically ill, I made it all up! /s",0 I am a fan of Monet and I still think this is beautiful!,0 "Anytime I'm doing nothing, I spend the whole time fixated on thinking about all the things I'm not doing.",1 This is sooo beautiful! I love the style and the vibrant colors!,0 "Quite helpful, and also the most ADHD thing ever to compile a list of helpful tips out of 700+ comments. How much homework did you put off for this?",1 "It's more like a ""What if"" thought for me My brain: ""What if you stabbed yourself?"" lol",0 "Does anyone else wash their hands so much that they've crossed through the stage where redness and cracking and bleeding happens to where their hands are now unaffected by hand washing and sanitising? I used to get the redness and bleeding and all for a number of years and now it's like my body and skin are just so used to it, it doesn't happen anymore.",0 Congrats and keep it up! Hopefully you will be posting soon that you graduated!,1 What kind of intrusive thoughts do you have? Can you give an example? Thanks.,0 "Woah. This hits close to home. I do pet portraits as a side gig, and it always takes me forever because I hyper focus on the beginning, and then lose all interest or motivation to finish. << this is also why it’s a side gig and not a full time job for me.",1 My classes haven't been cancelled yet and I really hope they dont. I commute 1 hour to get to classes and find it so difficult to make this one 1 hour tutorial I have. If I'm late I pretty much miss the whole thing. But I took it thinking it would be good because its half online. What a mistake.,1 THISSSSSSS IS THE MOOOOSST ACCURATEEEEE THING IVE SEEN IN MY LIIIIFE,0 When your legs fall asleep from sitting on toilet from looking at phone,1 "Me being rational and logical: “But I don’t understand how that will solve anything...” My OCD screaming: “JUST DO IT!”",0 "Oh my god, I feel this so much. And I'm an English teacher! I've had to first write out everything I want to say so that I make sure I'm not forgetting anything when I actually say it to my class (this is for online teaching). I think it's the act of writing that lets you slow down your thoughts and slow down the mixed messages you receive so that you can actually say what you want to say when you want to say it. Plus, with writing, you can always go back and revise. You've said the wrong word? Go back and change it. You've taken a bit of time to think about the best way to phrase something? No one will ever know because they're not watching you write it out. When you speak, it's more immediate and can't be reviewed. I've had to tell my students that they'll probably get back better written and more well-informed written comments rather than anything I might say in a lecture because that's just the way my brain is. They seem to be okay with it.",1 "I hate it. Like I need to meticulously plan my day. Every single step. And then a 3 PM appointment just throws a spanner in the works",1 If just have to go back to pre-concussion as that’s what triggered it for me. I would very much appreciate it lol,0 "My best description is having something that worries you greatly, like an important test, or giving a speech, or being in an uncomfortable situation, but the situation never ends. There's no getting past the worry, no running away. Uncontrolled, it becomes all consuming and the anxiety gets so bad, you start fearing your own thoughts because they bring such painful anxiety.",0 "I have 4980 screenshots and a phone with almost full memory capacity. Any time I try to tackle the screenshots, I get distracted by looking up info form one and stopping a few photos in. I am scared to look at my tabs.",1 "😂 I immediately lol'd. I was 10 years old, just came back to school after having the flu, still slightly delirious and called my teacher mom. Still cringe",0 This is amazing! I never would have thought to do this but it’s certainly something I’m going to keep in mind!,1 "Yes congrats!! (dont forget how good this feels to have it done early & not be stressing at the last minute. )",1 "I always gravitate towards 11, probably because it‘s one of the only uneven numbers I can bear.",0 "Me right now. I loved having my nails long I'd shape them and make them pretty, but I have to cut them I just can't keep digging at myself. Now my fingies look stubby :( but I'm gonna do some cute nail polish to make it better :)",0 Because I drop my healthy eating and exercise **two months ago**,1 "Nooooo this hits too close to home I hate catching myself mid sentence and being like “yo literally wtf am I doing”, sometimes the sentences feel super detached or it’s entirely relevant but am I even present for it? Seemingly not hahahaheijsjdjejelsms",0 "nah bc the second i even try to joke about it, my ocd will realise and will just make me relapse all over again💀🤚",0 I felt that. This is why I tend to lean more towards email communication at work so I have time to recollect and avoid being put on the spot.,1 "I have thought about this before and i think i know Its the hyperactivity in the mind making you want to put down alot of things at once. Secondly its the emotional dysregulation that makes you want to put disclaimers on EVERYTHING you say (Its X, but not Y, its really X) to be able to control peoples reactions and not feel out of control.",1 "A friend of mine teaches mindfulness to elementary students and after a 6 hour conference call about executive function told me this ""Doctors and scientists are actually considering renaming ADHD as EFDD (executive functioning developmental delay). Good news though - it’s a teachable skill. 🙌🏼"" So you might not be far off.",1 "This made me laugh during a rough time after some of the ""Advice"" I have been given lately. Thank You.",0 "Don't neglect your dental hygiene, guys! It can be hard to get a dentist appointment.",1 "I like to tell people...""if you think OCD is about being a clean freak, have a look at my room""",0 "Ok I choose to have none of these!! wait... why am I not cured yet?",0 Door knocking is one of my biggest compulsions. I have to knock FIVE times. When I watch a movie or TV show and a character knocks on a door my brain will automatically start counting the knocks. It's almost always four and it makes me so uncomfortable.,0 "Sooo fucking true. I don't clean my room because the process of doing so might have to be so thorough with disinfecting things and my self, that it could literally take me 30 minutes of hand washing between picking one thing up and the next.",0 "When your own feelings are given words by another human stranger, it makes you feel not so alone in this world. Thank you",1 Me taking 3 google search pages worth of ocd diagnostic test,0 I feel you. It’s like the world is moving in fast motion past me and I can’t keep up. I just wish I could hit pause once in a while and catch my breath.,1 "Yep. I have a recurring fear I killed someone years ago and that the body will be found any day now. I sort of live in a constant state of minor stress (sometimes more, sometimes less) that makes it difficult to function. I have to sit myself down and calmly and logically give myself a reality check.",0 This is so real lmao. Sometimes I get paranoid that I made up my OCD to justify/explain to others how uncomfortable I am with bacteria and human physical touch and then I'm like....what...no lets look at the original fear here. Its so irrational that I'm even struggling to verbalize it right now. I feel like I made it up to hide my real neurosis...which weirdly matches the description of OCD but too well to the point where I'm like... did I make this happen?,0 I really need help with this. I don't know how to talk about it though,0 I don't mind people misusing the term as other people have said. What I do mind is people saying you don't have condition because you don't match common stereotypes. The main one is OCD and not being ultra clean.,0 ...anyone else use A LOT of sound effects instead of words?,1 The worst for me is that even if I DO know I never feel confident in it which keeps me quiet when I could have input because I’m not sure if what I have to say is correct and when I do speak I don’t sound very confident.,1 "I hate how much I apologize for shit that’s not even close to being bad/wrong. And I know I’m not a timid/submissive person, but lately I feel like I’m just unraveling with worry and guilt",0 Literally why I don't tell people I struggle with OCD.,0 I really like this vid idk nice to know other people feel the same about their compulsions,0 "I am stuck in a potential stress loop where my brain thinks I’m perpetually doing something wrong. All because of scenario that played out similar where I’m thinking I’m doing something right due to either incomplete instructions, the assumption that I know some core concept, or ADHD not hearing instructions. Then when I’m told I’m wrong, I get ‘well why didn’t you ask?’ Im like, I didn’t know to ask? I thought I was doing it right?",1 Wow it’s never happened to me to that extent but I def do zone out,1 "Im so happy for you that you able to do it!!! I cant draw like a normal person because of OCD, everytime i try to draw something, instead of me focusing on the art, my mind instead thinks alot of disturbing things that, made me like, stop drawing, you know that feeling? Its very hard... I still do art, but i waste alot of time, like instead of an art that i can finish in 5-10 minutes, i can get as long as 2-3 hours to finish it Anyways, speaking of art, I LOVE YOUR ARTSTYLE!",0 "Michael Phelps has severe adhd. He had to quit stimulants at age twelve and used swimming to medicate his adhd. I met him and did a swim clinic with him before he became the GOAT of swimming. He was incredibly humble, bright and clearly adhd. Adhd is a strength if the right material conditions of the individual are met.",1 "Oh hell, it’s a good thing I saw this! I’ll just FOCUS Non-ADHDers don’t understand how easy they have it",1 "thank you, but sadly the culture is cemented and we're still going to get gaslit for the years to come. But I'm happy to have found a community that doesn't at least doesn't vilify me but is accepting",1 "Thanks, now they're in my head again. Time for intrusive thought guilt!",0 "I had this tendency too. I just kept washing my hands with soap. Whenever i thought the washing was done,the feeling that my hands could still be contaminated germs just took over my brain and the cycle goes on. But with the time the feeling went away. I was a child then didn't know that it was an actual problem. My family didn't know much and gave it name of just an habit. But i knew it wasn't an habit but more of a compulsion to do it. Happy that it was over before i learnt it was an OCD.",0 "As much as I hate wallowing in self pity this disorder is really taking a fucking toll on me - I’m overdue with my rent, I just blew it with the girl i was supposed to have a date with by not replying to her, I can’t seem to send more than one job application per day, my parents think I’m suicidal... it’s fucking dogshit",1 i once had this group mate repeat to me something more than 5 times continuously and I still didn't hear anything she said.,1 "This!!! Unfortunately this extends into like everything in my life. Work, school, relationships. If my girlfriend is upset, its not just why are you upset, its why did that thing upset you things don’t register unless i know why. If a teacher has a policy, why?….why is it important, why is it useful, why would I follow it? If i dont get a why, responding “properly” is physically painful. It reminds me of when a kid turns 3 and asks why to everything. Parents talk about it as if it is annoying. I think thats how it should be. Not enough people ask why. We get weird looks for asking why because it makes the people we’re asking realize that they don’t even know why they do the things they do.",1 "Josh, I’m going on about a year. Keep going buddy, made my day to see your post. Helps to know we’re both still pushing Sisyphus’s rock",0 Wow it is such a relief to read in the comments other people who experience almost the same obsessions as I do.,0 "I can't count the amount of times I've told my girlfriend that I listen to a parenting podcast the night before about a cool topic that she might want to listen to...then she asks me what did they say about it...I usually end up telling her to listen to it because I don't want to misquote it... Or they are watching a movie in the living room and I have to ask...have we seen this before... I like doing body work on cars but I for some reason always needed to ask to confirm what to sand with or the next step...not that I didn't know to do it but wanted to confirm...found out a couple years later everyone just thought I didn't know what I was doing...wtf",1 "I actually had an intrusive and obsessive thought like this yesterday! ""But did she really say that?"" ""Am I just making it up?""",0 "My roommates: haha your desk is so cluttered you must not have ocd Me: okay but i cannot control the thought that comes every time we’re all in the living room that I should just ✨leap✨off the balcony.",0 "I read ""The Bullet Journal"" by Ryder Carrol and got really excited about trying this journaling thing out. And so I spent days finding the right journal and pens on Amazon to get started -- because, dammit, it won't work if I don't have the perfect pens! Anyway, having secured my Pentel Energel^(TM) Needle Tips -- and they MUST be needle tips -- I was gung-ho about getting started. I stuck to journaling for a few months before realizing that the only thing journaling helped me with was... umm, journaling. I see this problem as a form of analysis paralysis. I spend more time preparing to do stuff than actually doing stuff. The preparation is satisfying because it *feels* like I'm doing something productive, even if I haven't actually gotten to the doing part. I can spend hours cleaning up the directories on my desktop, installing and updating software I might need, repeating analyses 100 times using 10 different methods, ... I've read the books on ADHD and I know what the problem is. But instead of doing the thing I need to do, I read another ADHD book, thinking that the next one will contain the magic formula that wasn't in the 10 previous books. But they all basically say the same thing, and they all regurgitate the same studies and anecdotes. I've become an expert on ADHD, but I still can't get myself to DO anything about it.",1 I do this ALL THE TIME. Ive committed the rewind button my memory,1 Well done! I'm exposing too and it's bloody hard. Keep the good work up!,0 Oh my god I started dating another mixed person who is an Asian guy and sometimes my head is like “you’re going to say something racist to him one day” and it’s insane. This one I don’t obsess about as much anymore but it used to come into my head and take me out of the moment a few times. I felt really bad too because I want him to feel built up and race isn’t even a part of me truly loving him.,0 Yay. Going through the process of thinking through what is the actual problem every time you encounter someone thinking you're just abusing meds yo get a performance boost.,1 "I had been in therapy some last year, from June or so to July, and I felt a lot better. It was great to finally be in therapy to be treated for the right issue. But I've started slipping really bad and I think I need to go back. The problem is I stopped going because I moved and I don't know how I can find someone new where I've moved that is able to treat ocd and takes my insurance. But I want to try and see",0 "So your brain (if you were neurotypical) is built to receive an incoming stimulus, process meaning, decide on an action, carry out the action and then finally give a chemical response (satisfaction). ADHD is primarily the realization of the satisfaction not working properly. It is all of these processes being borked but it explains why input is so annoying... receiving stimulus is hard because the chemical balance isn't right. Making decisions is hard and many times we are indecisive because that process is not the right mix of chemicals. Carrying it out is impaired because the chemicals aren't right there either... then finally everything is boring because we only get some of the satisfaction (and thus only really satisfying things like chocolate work). I often wonder how satisfying and rich the world is for neurotypical people. Like this is also why I'm pissed off when my doctor will tell me that my meds are ""very effective"" and the treatments work! No mother fucker the treatment just makes me able to do things despite no rewards it does not fix the whole system! I just hope that before I die that we as a community demand research into something that actually tried to fix the problem not just make us able to work.",1 I wish there was an organization that could support/charge people with mental health abuse. Mental health awareness isn’t supposed to be this way.,0 "Anybody else have OCD as their main OCD theme? XD Realized I had OCD last month, and guess what my brain IMMEDIATELY latched on to? I'll take it over the least two theme before it, though.",0 "Jesus, look at that frontal lobe activation. I don't know what the stimulus these people are responding to is, but that is some serious overthinking going on.",0 "Congratulations! I have to shamefully admit now that I was the same before I moved in with my boyfriend. It’s still hard and I still find myself trying to get out of doing it without him noticing, but he really notices and it keeps me in check. Something like this can feel so shameful and gross but I have to remember that lots of people are like this.",1 "You are completely correct, but consider this: adhd rolls off the tongue while EFD and EERD do not /hj",1 This is me but replace germs with “developing a fatal allergy”,0 Oooof. I feel this. ❤️ You're not alone. I wish I had an answer but I'm sure yoube heard it all (and so have I),0 STOPP i literally just got on reddit to procrastinate and this is the first thing I see HAHAH thank you so much,1 OCD runs in my family. Only myself and one other are the clean freak type.... The rest are hoarders. I don't think most of them realize the other effects that come from their OCD tho. They live in the middle of nowhere so it's hard to get mental health care to start with but since they all hoard and that comes with it's own shame I think they are scared to talk to anyone about the other stuff they are dealing with.,0 That's great! I've definitely been there :( I wish you the best of luck with your progress!,0 Thank you for the subtitles and bolding! Made it so much easier to read through :),1 Lol yikes I'm in class right now no need to call me out like this,1 I just got done checking to make sure all of the doors were locked for the 3rd time. This hit me right in the s o u l,0 The fact that’s literally 1am rn and I’m doing exactly that. Who are you Satan,1 "Oh wow. I cannot believe other people's minds think the same crazy shit mine does. I was extremely triggered until I got to the end... and then very relieved.",0 "It's insane how true this is. Those few hours are the window(s) in which focus flows and things are done without hindrance. During the other hours it's a white-knuckle / exhausting battle to get the simplest tasks done that need to be completed. I can focus on everything (for periods) but those things.",1 "i think the best is when i try to explain what ocd actually entails and they tell me ""damn thats not ocd are you sure ur not a psychopath"" and then my ocd acts up and starts to torture me even more and we're back to square one not being able to educate these folks..",0 Undiagnosed here. Can anyone else anecdotally say meds helped cure this at least a slightly noticeable amount to make it worth getting diagnosed? I move from one hobby to the next anywhere from a week to 2 months. It's to the point where no one wants to support anything I do because they know I'm gonna be detached in no time and on to the next. I don't even bother to tell family or friends what I want out of life anymore because I seriously have no idea.,1 I wash my hands so often compulsively that I heard the sound of my hands rubbing together when the hand washing scene appeared.,0 "I'm not humble-bragging or anything of the sort. Just speaking facts. I have a vast knowledge of many subjects (of course only subjects that have interested me). I know a little bit about a LOT of stuff. To me, reading Wikipedia and watching how-to videos is a sport. I pick up on things that interest me very quickly. Unlike when I was forced to try and learn Security + as a job requirement. I had no interest in that, and though the subject matter was simple enough I could NOT retain the information. Now, with all I know, I can't implement any of it. I know how to build a house from scratch, but for the life of me, I can't bring myself to do any repairs around my house. My yard looks like crap, but the second I get an urge to clean it up and landscape it, it looks marvelous in the end. When it comes to my business, I know all the things I should be doing, but getting myself to do them is extremely painful. Writing proposals, talking on the phone with potential clients, etc. Hell, I would write a list of the things I need to get done if I could bring myself to just write the freaking list! But that would mean I also have to determine what is most important to put at the top of the list... They're ALL important! Yes, executive dysfunction sucks. My kitchen is a wreck, my yard needs work, my house needs work. Laundry all over the place. Christ, I have a car tire that keeps going flat from a small nail and all it needs is a plug which would take me all of 15 minutes to do. Instead, I've just been filling it up with air every day for the past month.",1 "This is so accurate!! Like from the moment I wake up, one of my toddlers is trying to stick their fingers in an electric outlet, the other one has shit themselves and is crying and smearing it everywhere and the last one is throwing a tantrum that’s lasted 4 hours because their teddy got washed and now it smells too clean 😤😳😳 wtf is this life lmao",0 I did ten push ups in a row the last 5 were the hardest but this gave me the strength I needed this thank you,1 I'm lucky to have married someone who helps me through of all my obsessive thoughts.,0 "haha, yes, and if that doesn't work, the old head smack. I will beat that thought out of my brain.",0 people keep telling me that i have ADHD and after reading this post maybe i should see a doctor,1 "I don't know though, that affirmation about equating time spent planning and time spent carrying out the plan sounds dismissive of ADHD problems. IIRC I remember reading that our brain get rewards imagining things before they're realised so for example we shouldn't brag too much about our new diet because we can lose motivation from the compliments we receive when we're still far from the goal or something like that. BUT when I plan things is because I'm literally lost and don't know where to start, and I have to write down everything or else I'll forget steps and details..If I feel accomplished after planning, isn't it because it IS part of getting it done? and if I don't carry on doing the project is not because I feel accomplished already, it's because *I lack executive function*!!! I don't feel like I already executed the plan, I think constantly about what I SHOULD have done but CAN'T do it anyway. I can plan or not but the results are the same, only thing is that I can get lost in the planning because it is entertaining to research and hyperfixate on stuff but it's not the reason why I don't finish the project IMHO",1 This is beautiful! ❤ Do you have an Instagram/Twitter at all?,0 "sorry, been there and know exactly how if feels. Wish I could say it will get better soon or that there is a simple solution, but that's just not true. You'll try, you'll fall, you'll get back up and so on for several times. After going on this cycle so many times you may even think there is no way out and that you're not making any progress. But yes, eventually it is indeed possible to get where you want. I have lost days to compulsions and thought it would never end, yet today I can rest without the constant disturbing ocd thoughts and sensations. Eventually some still show up but after so much training it is fairly easier to deal with. There is life after ocd. Work hard on your therapy, take meds if you need to and you'll get there. There is no other way around it and the sooner you commit to it, the sooner you'll get better.",0 "i laughed so hard , but then remembered i can relate to this and i got sad 😥",0 Aw man I'm still having cringe flashbacks from my interview this morning. Can't I just write my answers down?,1 Interesting the red really catches your eye. If I were to think of a color for my ocd it would be red,0 "Can I ask more about your symptoms/ which lymph nodes? Crazy enough, also have ADHD, also have swollen lymph nodes I took forever to get looked at but doc said it didn't seem a big deal, did ultrasound which said yeah they're kinda swollen but nothing weird on that end..now I could get a biopsy but scared af of that if it's unecessary and I'm being a hypochondriac..",1 I forgot to hydrate yesterday... Today is epic migraine... So much pain... So much regret...,1 "Hahahahhahahaha. I haven’t been on reddit for the past few days. I have been doing my hardest to stay focus on get things done with my art projects, website and additional things. I literally said myself. “Maybe I can handle reddit and see what is going on in the world.”(Even though it is all shit and pure depressing news). This stop me me in my tracks to take a break from this hot as weather and go take a shower. I have been working since 9am today. So thank you for holding me and thousands of others accountable today and helping us not destroy the little joy and sanity we have left.",1 "Ah I hear you, today was just a bad day! I feel like my ADHD made me act out more than usual but I'm not sure and it makes me anxious. Thanks brain, my day is already shitty enough haha",1 Me even after taking 10 pictures proving the oven is turned off,0 You're just giving us one more reason to ruminate 😅,0 I’ve never related so much to anything on Reddit. Oh the hours of my life spent doing weirdass things because I can’t not do them,0 "I understand, but also hopefully this gives you hope. I was diagnosed in 2019 and though things have not gone back to “normal” they have pretty much gotten all the way better. I still have fears but they don’t control me, I am able to notice compulsions and stop them before they become a problem. There is an end in sight, it does get better. I credit all of my progress to my amazing therapist, and exposure therapy",0 My therapy is at 4pm. Not sure if it's better or worse than 3pm but I feel all of this anyways.,1 I'm afraid of taking them after trying them first for suicide,0 "I’m a teacher now, not a student, but I struggle to sit down and do my marking. I’d happily welcome a Skype study buddy where we make a time to “meet” online and do our work together.",1 "Ooof. I spent so much time trying to figure out how to be “normal” growing up because it felt like I was doing everything wrong. Spoiler: it didn’t work. Seriously though, I always felt like I was always missing some secret. Like there was some set of instructions everyone else knew about. I remember spending so much time wondering how was it that other girls could go minutes, hours even, without touching their hair. I couldn’t stop playing with mine. There were so many things I’d try to figure out and I’d get the same advice from multiple people but I couldn’t get it to work. When we finally figured out I have ADHD and started medication, it felt a lot better. I still know that I’m not doing everything the way everyone else does but it’s a lot easier to know that I’m not broken, just different.",1 I've lost things so often that the first place I look is the least likely place it would be... and it's always there.,1 "I’ve encountered so many misunderstandings of OCD that at this point I don’t even care anymore. Which is kinda fucked up now that I think about it, but what can I do. At some point, some number of years ago, I just accepted that OCD would never be understood by the general public.",0 "Never thought this actually had a name. Finally though, I know what to call it.",0 "Oh god yes. Spent entire days locked in that loop. Alas, I did not warrant a diagnosis so I pretend it won't be an issue in the future and I muddle through trying to skirt the wall.",1 This is exactly the kind of environment we've wanted to create and maintain. I'm glad you've found your place here <3,1 "I’m sorry friend, I’m a already on the toilet! It’s a dangerous place you know, the bathroom.",1 "I have this recurring fantasy where I have a watch that can stop time a la Bernard's Watch. I would have time running as normal while I'm doing productive things, then as soon as I feel my dopamine starvation kick in and me start to get unfocused and distracted I would stop time. I'd do all the goofing off, scrolling reddit, snacking, sleeping, and whatever else my ADHD brain wants to do while time is stopped. Then when I'm feeling ready to be productive and work or study again, I would un-stop time. I'd get SO MUCH done every day I'd be like a superhero.",1 ">The pathological lying that comes as a result of trying to always say the right thing becoming so deeply ingrained that you become incapable of functioning honestly Wait, that's an ADHD thing and not just me being a terrible person? Holy Fuck",1 NICE! But be careful not to get burned out. Anyway Congrats and keep up the Great work.,1 Sometimes god commands I listen to wouldn't it be nice by the beachboys at three in the morning. This does not define my taste.,1 "Yep. First week back at university and my final year, and I relate like you wouldn’t believe...",0 not being able to fall asleep without TV/Radio/Podcasts bc you need constant distractions from your own mind is like an OCD Initiation,0 "I was wondering why it isn't named something similar to the names you just gave it. I'm not diagnosed with ADHD (yet?), I'm just waiting to get assessed on it, at the moment",1 I used to be artist of germs but that started developing into a fear of the chemicals used to kill the germs.,0 "So whats the solution to this? Or, what are some ways to overcome this issue?",1 "Airports and customs when going into another country. That shit is terrifying especially if you've ever seen those ""locked up abroad"" type shows",0 Yo I wish I had I had this kind of OCD instead of my pocd,0 "I've actually started saying ""I'm a little OCD"" but the difference is if someone questioned it I could say yeah I have it. It's kinda taking the power back a little bit.",0 "I loved seeing this. It was always, “I won’t hurt anyone I love. Of course I wouldn’t.” But then my ocd creates the opposite thoughts. ",0 "I have a whole gamut of ""fun"" diagnoses. I'm trying to figure out what about me is ADHD, what the Bipolar 1 causes, what is caused by my MTHFR mutation and what the MS causes. I can't decipher which disease is responsible for my symptoms or problems, or if I'm over diagnosed and over medicated. All of these responses are helping me to sort it all out. Many of the symptoms, I thought were from Bipolar 1 but it seems as if they are from the ADHD. But executive functioning can be affected by all of the above, so I am still rather lost as to what symptom is from which diagnosis. I can tell you that I feel fundamentally flawed as a product of all of these defects, and that's not a good feeling at all for me. Edit: and when I tell people about all of this, they tend to not believe me and assume I'm looking for attention. I assure you all, if I were healthy and just wanted attention, I would try to do so with my work, and not by panhandling for pity. I don't want pity. I just want to be understood, like anyone else. And I want to figure out how to thrive, not just survive.",1 "I was 34 years old when I got my diagnosis. Almost all of my “cute quirks” are actually adhd symptoms. The not so fun ones, too. But. I’ve also learnt to just go with the stims and oddities, because in the long run, I’m living better life like that. (That has been coupled with me being honest and informative about adhd with my friends and colleagues)",1 "You can’t treat it like such though, that’s what strengthens it",0 Source? Don’t assert neuroscience claims without evidence,1 "Thats why i deleted Youtube. I had 100-200+ Vids in Watch later multiple times, cleaned it out and did it again. And i deleted tiktok. And facebook. And Instagram. And after that one i reinstalled instagram. And Youtube. And TikTok. And then i deleted Tik tok again. And then Youtube. But i kept Instagram and Reddit. And i actually dont spend less time in my phone, if im honest. I guess my next phone will be really shitty. Only whatsapp and stuff and thats it.",1 Oí. Same boat. Half makes me just want to give people a heads up of the incoming disappointment.,1 I found [this guide](https://imgur.com/gallery/3RgV6Qo) on the internet at some point that lists a lot of these things. It’s sort of a list to go down when you can’t figure out why everything sucks so much.,1 "I am really sorry you go through this with your family. My son is ADHD and honestly, I really struggle with lessening frustration and letting my frustration show. Posts like this are why I joined the ADHD sub to begin with, to understand what he may be thinking and feeling. He is in elementary school and with school being online and very independent-driven, it has only gotten harder for him. I sometimes need to remind myself that he is trying and he *wants* to remember things and stay on task ... it is very hard to remember in the moment that he is not purposefully ""slacking off"". Thank you for this reminder of how I can continue to try to do better with and for him.",1 "Does anyone else either say stuff with anger in your head, scratch your head aggressively or shake your head? I do all of those and I don’t get it lol.",0 Holy shit yeah😟😟I need to pee so much and if I don’t when I go to bed it feels so weird,0 "I used to struggle with that pretty bad. I learned to pay REALLY close attention when I lock things or turn appliances off, etc. Then I can make sure I remember I did it and don't have to check again. Sometimes I forget to pay attention though. If counting is part of it then that makes it harder though.",0 "Before I finally got the right treatment for my OCD, I spent a weekend shaking back and forth in my bed crying for about 13 hours of the day. I hadn't eaten in 4 or 5 days because everytime I ate it reminded me of a story I read about a serial killer and I was convinced I was a gay pedophile cannibal, and eating reminded me of it. I checked and double checked every few minutes whether every noise and sensation and thing I was real. I was so scared that I had schizophrenia or was in the process of developing it... The only thing that could stop the checking was reducing all my stimulus - so I just hid under the covers for as long as I could. ​ ...I was more than not okay. I don't know if your meme is a joke or not, but at its worst for me, it really was that bad. It was so much worse than that bad... ​ But over the next few years, I got better. I take my meds, I do what I'm supposed to do. And my symptoms only show up a few days per month, and even then, they're at about 5% of what they once were. ​ I found a treatment and medication plan that worked for me. And over time, you probably will too. ​ It sucks. It sucks sooooo much. But that's okay. It wont' always suck.",0 "I always found it easier to remember things that I could put together in my head, rather than just as a piecemeal assortment of points or things to remember. Even when I had to completely fabricate the why (like with learning languages I would make up stories about words to remember them).",1 "I pretty much never clean. I do laundry maybe once a month. I shower once a week at most. A lot of this is my depression though. But since this happened I've been washing my hands constantly, using hand sanitizer after I wash them, and spraying things down with rubbing alcohol. I bought 20 bottles of hand sanitizer before it sold out and 9 bottles rubbing alcohol. Then just in case I bought 13 bottles of peroxide. Now that I can't leave my house due to medical conditions, I am cleaning my hands/surfaces less but I'm actually cleaning the house more, probably out of boredom because my jobs don't actually require that much working time. I put all my dirty clothes in a pile instead of scattered everywhere, and stacked up all my empty amazon boxes (will maybe have energy to break them down next week) but when I had groceries delivered I had to spray everything down before it got into my house, and i wore a mask while doing it. I also stocked up on masks when it was still known as the Wuhan Flu. I struggle with paranoia and obsessions obviously.",0 "Hahahahaha I literally missed my 4:15 appointment on Tuesday. Rescheduled for Wednesday at 3:15… also missed that This sub kills me sometimes",1 It’s good I just hope there isn’t an Alien egg here,0 My bathroom doesnt have a fan so when I go crazy cleaning it I feel poisoned with bleach fumes and dizzy for the next 2 days. Love being a health icon.,0 This is the equivalent of throwing a bucket of spiders into a car full of arachnophobes. Bit cruel if you ask me.,0 "Its nice seeing you spread love and hugging fellow kpop fans, spread love not hat🙏",0 "Damn, this is actually really smart. I’m gonna try this with my mom.",1 "What does the graphic mean ? Oxygen consumption ? Electrical activity ? And why is greater activity in frontal lobes a bad thing ?",0 Holy shit this thought actually goes through my head every time I go through security and it causes full blown panic attacks sometimes.,0 "I am with you 100% even just this morning before work/school and now its in my head with no where to go and could ruin my whole day. I'm a grown ass man at 43, married, 2 kids I should be able to shrug this off but when it happens I may as well be 10 years old all over again and crying about ""I don't know why I forgot""",1 "This is a problem for all the ""NTs""... It's difficult to create a site that unite all the information about ADULTS with Autism, ADHD, OCD,ecc...? I will gladly donate to something like this.",1 "I have problems with this too, I've had some fun replacement words like 'foot towel' instead of bath mat. I have found some strategies that help me a little bit. I have scripts I've made up that I follow at work, I even use the same jokes with customers. My partner I ask to have patience, or just acknowledge and say I'm getting my words together so they're not sitting around without context, but also that I'll say something, think of a better way to say it, say 'no wait that sounds wrong I more mean...' Everyone else 'I'm practising on them to get better at talking to the important people' Its not perfect but I have less speaking induced anxiety so I hope that helps someone a little bit!",1 "Ah, yes, religious OCD is one of the worst ones I've had to deal with.",0 I ended up creating a WatchLater 2 playlist. It didn't help me clear things out.,1 I raised a daughter with adhd. I recognized early on she learned differently than others but she was an avid reader. She struggled with completion of virtually everything from homework assignments to cleaning her room. She only had one childhood friend that I recall. When she was old enough to recognize she was different I explained to her that she had a little something extra than typical children. That she was quite unique and would always walk to the beat of her own drum. We talked about “herd” behavior and that all greatness came from those outside of the herd. We talked about the courage it requires to define and follow your own path. She is happily married and raising 3 beautiful girls. 2 of their girls also have adhd along with sensory disorders. She has championed her children in the school system and they are coming along nicely making As&Bs. Socially they are getting comfortable but still have a way to go. The take away from this is to embrace your uniqueness. You are 1 of a kind. You have enhanced sensitivities that typical people don’t understand. Stop seeing yourself as having a deficit. I see you as “above normal”!,1 Omg this is exactly the logic behind my tendency to gag after I eat. There’s literally no other reason other than it’s a habitual impulse.,0 "My family comes to me when they lose things. They always doubt my methods, and I almost always find it. Thanks for sharing this - I enjoyed it.",1 Holy shit finally an explanation for what I’ve felt like ever since i was 12,0 "Omg this was me when I had a car. My main compulsion was to check if the hand brake was applied. I started to take a picture of the hand brake before leaving my car and it turned out okay for me. Also, my main concern wasn't if I ran over someone or not, it was if I ran over kittens (there's a lot of them nearby my house). I tought if I ran over someone I'll sure notice it. I mean you can't not notice it.",0 "This is so true and has also been key to my recovery. I’ve had many different themes over the years, but often POCD/harm have been the worst because it’s very easy to get wrapped up in the content and feel intense shame. But if I really think about it, the anxiety I get and the things I do to try to resolve the anxiety and reassure myself (compulsions) are identical. Doesn’t matter if it’s harm or worrying that I’ve left the stove on and it’s going to burn the house down. OCD = 1. Encounter trigger 2. Feel anxiety 3. Engage in compulsions in a pointless attempt to reduce anxiety * the content is the only thing that’s different",0 """Oh, right, there's my daily reminder for Super Important Task I just set up yesterday. It worked! I'll get to that right now."" Three milliseconds later: ""Well. Maybe I'll do it later. And if I forget to do it later the reminder will fire again tomorrow and I'll do it then!"" Three weeks later: ""Oh, wait, I've seen this reminder every day and I still haven't done it. Oh well. Nobody's yelled at me about it so maybe it's not important. I'll just delete the reminder and get back to video games."" Two days later: ""Hey, tonsilsloth... Why haven't you done Super Important Task yet?"" ... ""Oh, shit.""",1 "So many tips in here I've been following from the get! Plus a few others I've learned... I take my meds at 7, fall back asleep, and am ready to churn at 8-9ish. I take my next med around 10 so I have enough run to get through 5 pm. I set 3 alarms: one for meds, one for wake-up, one for oh-shit-get-up. I make sure to keep just the right # of pills in a bottle next to my bed (for wake up routine). That way I know if I already took them and fell back asleep, or if I forgot with my first alarm. I just use my previous med bottle for this. The dosage range is so true. My meds increased from 5, 10, etc. to 50mg before I really felt it was working. My wife took one of my 10mg pills once and she was sky high for 18 hours; it had no effect on me. And now mines been at 50mg for 5 years steady. It's a lot, but if I die, I die. Family needs the money. If I do a ""holiday"" I just half-dose. It keeps me alert enough. Get my rx ordered as soon as is allowed. Sometimes there are delays at the pharmacy, which could really fuck up my work productivity if I run out. Dependent? Fuck yes I am. Therapy doesn't do shit for me. I also don't seem to care about actively participating in behavioral modification (pretty certain the planet is toast before I get to see retirement, so why bother?). But to each their own. If you do get therapy, make sure you find someone you feel like you could be friends with IRL. It makes it more personal and less medicinal, which I feel helps me to express myself and articulate my thoughts more openly. And why did I spend 15 minutes responding to this when I should be asleep? You know why... And this has been your friendly reminder to get yourself some zzzzs.",1 Tbh for some reason PERSONAL care like hygiene is where my adhd. Kills. Me.,1 Then there’s me who hasn’t eaten breakfast for 5 years,0 One of my professors in college told me many years ago “I never see you taking anything seriously.” My first partner I lived with told me “you never do anything.” People say this shit and don’t realize how damaging it can be. That feeling of not being/doing enough is so familiar and so ingrained. Thank you for the encouraging words,1 "What about semi colons, em dashes, and ellipsises? I use those a great deal, as well as parentheses--nested on bad days. For me, it's trying to run the whole idea together, without letting it get interrupted. My wife talks a lot about how I seem to think in gestalts, and my writing reflects it; each subphrase of sentence is a different facet of the whole idea, and taken as a whole it makes sense, but individually the cast weird shadows. Oh, yeah, that's another thing, I will bounce from metaphor to metaphor within a sentence...it's probably really annoying to try to read my stuff when the meds have worn off. I'm pretty comfortable say that when I'm writing, it's really hard to keep both a writable sentence and the thought I'm trying to convey in my head at the same time. Which is really bizarre now that I'm thinking about it, as I tend to experience my thoughts as streams of text. But maybe it's not so odd, because I'm also trying to see that what I'm saying is coherent while I'm writing it, and writing seems to use a lot more of my brain than thinking or talking, even if those are kind of like reading and writing experientially.",1 "I just spent 6 hours planning out my planner and didn't get any work done today. Am I doing this right?",1 "I feel you so much. It is beautiful♥️. I am very happy I know how it feels to achieve something like this. You are very arty🖌️",0 Today's my day off and I hate you but I also love you,1 "Me:(tries to do compulsions without getting noticed) Mom: why are u moving you hand like that? You okay? Me: nah , nothing, it was itching. Just scratching hand. (Gets embarrassed)",0 "I had this realization after having going through journalism school and having to retrain myself on commas. It took me so long to train myself to write in short, but complete sentences with proper punctuation.",1 "I made it to work on time this morning because I saw this, and then took my shower and got out the door. Of course I forgot about it until now, so belated thanks!",1 "On long drives, my OCD and ADHD like to battle in this situation, so either it's this or I forget my dog is in the backseat until she barks at something and it terrifies me haha",0 "Haha, I find myself all too often thinking way too hard about things and as soon as I start thinking about my thinking...well its all over...",0 Jesus that hits home. I usually chugged out essays in half an hour and scraped by. I hate references. It's the hardest bit because it's boring af and tedious. - ADD-adjacent,1 "I do. I also often let out an audible sound that is somewhere between a ""Hey!"" and a deep derp sound. It's very embarrassing. Sometimes I even say ""shut up"" or ""shut the fuck up"" when I think I'm just thinking it at myself but I actually say it out loud.",0 "I'm an artist and i big time love it.. it is thought provocative, and that's what art is, well according to me.. Cheers!",0 "I was so happy that I had managed to rid myself of one of my small insignificant tics until I realised that I in it’s stead had developed a habit of unfocusing and then focusing my eyesight several times per minute. It would take ages for me to read a single sentence (since I would blur every other word) and I’d have massive headaches every day. Simple tasks, like using scissors, were difficult or dangerous. It’s almost a year later, and I only blur occasionally. I have developed other tics since, but they’re all a blessing in comparison. Loved your post. So relatable!",0 This was me until recently 😭 Glad I realized it wasnt just washing your hands excessive (which I do as well)! My life is definitely better now with at least knowing what's anxiety vs OCD,0 "I’ve also recently invested in things that will help make things last longer because of this same issue! I now have a set of the Rubbermaid Freshworks containers and they really do keep things fresh much longer - especially fruit and greens! I also got a vacuum sealer this year so I can buy meat in bulk when it’s on sale. It does require the commitment of immediately sealing things as soon as I get home, but it also means things basically never go bad before I can use them and that I don’t have to make myself go to the store as often",1 "I'm SO proud of you OP!!! This is genius solution. I have been trying to figure out if I want to hire a housekeeper or like a ""life coach"" and after reading your post I realized I would like a nanny!",1 Mine told me to give it a name. I call mine dickhead,0 "Wow, this looks like someone harnessed their hyperfocus like a superpower! Nicely done! I may try to make some kind of tip sheet or cards to share with patients. On the point of house keys, I upgraded 2 of of 3 locks to keypads, so I don’t accidentally forget them and get locked out when I go for a walk. I’m going to switch the last one soon, now that my wife sees how magical they are.",1 "This is where the “trouble finishing tasks or finalizing details” question of the ADHD assessments comes into play. And yea, citations killed me in college but the principle of supporting your conclusions comes in handy in business/life haha.",1 Congrats! I just graduated as well--proud of the resilience and perseverance you must have shown. I know how hard that can be!,0 If I started organizing OCD would kick in and I wouldnt stop. Now I'm able to ignore it and not give a fuck...my body can't keep up with my brain so I just dont.. Having a child helps with that.,0 Grade 8 me thinking i have AIDS even tho i had never done a sexual intercourse,0 "I had to buy an alarm clock and leave my phone in the other room. It only occasionally kept me up, but it kept me from getting up in the morning. If I didn't have to be somewhere in the morning, I could lie in bed for hours, bladder bursting, before I'd get off my phone. I am working on a bed time routine now that's helping me go to bed earlier and drop off to sleep quicker.",1 It sucks because I’m aware of what I need to do in order to complete a certain task but I can’t which makes me feel lazy and ashamed and like I’m making excuses. Thanks societal norms!,1 Ocd is the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. The thought of someone thinking it’s attractive absolutely disgusts me. I had to go and upvote you.,0 "I tend to procrastinate a lot. When it comes to my health I procrastinate still not a lot, usually regular routing appointments are already setup. Recently I procrastinated because I had bad knee pain. I waited like 2-3 months to tell my parents. I went to the er they didn’t find anything and I had to wait for a orthopedic doctor (I hate waiting days and weeks for appointments) but the day finally came. Turns out I have rheumatoid arthritis, I’m 13 :/ so yeah don’t procrastinate, or try not to if somethings wrong. go to the doctor!!!",1 I had just woken up when I saw this post and was sure it said Erectile dysfunction- became seriously concerned the ADD was gonna start hitting me where it really hurts,1 "I really, really needed to see this today. The spring semester tore me apart mentally and physically, so I kept telling myself that once the summer started I’d be able to heal and come back stronger than ever because everything else would stay paused. I’m only one week away from the fall semester and I’ve been panicking because the healing I thought would magically happen didn’t. Your post brought SO MUCH peace and reassurance for me. Thank you, stay safe and well 💗",0 Ah cute ♡ we are not linear working bees.. and look at all the things she did along with the initial task :),1 "Where a normal mind can enjoy a simple ride through the park, this [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0onvRmD34c) is the ADHD mind trying to enjoy the same ride. I FEEL YOUR PAIN! HAVE FOR 36 YEARS NOW AND IT'S THE WORSTTTTTTTTT!",1 "Yep. 6 times a day, 7 days per week. I want the reminder, but I can't accurately predict the time I need it in order for me to do it.",1 "I’m just so desensitized to it at this point, doesn’t make it right though.",0 "Yep, dad told me the same thing. Didn't work for shit. Normies don't understand.",1 I think about this every day. Sometimes I get angry at my parents for bringing me into a world that I can never experience the same way others can. I wasn’t made for it haha,1 "I love you very much, thank you for this 😭 I might just make this my wallpaper",1 I have a little bit of a hoarding problem too so that's nearly impossible to do lol,0 "I feel this. I work part time shift work, so my usual max. Shift length is like 6 hours. Hasn't stopped me from just entirely writing off the next 4 days because I'm working, even though I know realistically I need the time outside of work to do uni stuff. But nope, I'm working those days, so clearly I can't do anything else.",1 If I didn’t play music right or mess up at my job I fill a weight bearing over me I have to mentally remove. Some days worse than others.,0 "I've got a pile of different bass and guitar books next to a pile of rpg books, next to a pile of writing books, with a PC stuffed with all those and no clear plan on any of them. I've tried courses and sites but I think, for music especially, I need paid tuition. For me, what I found in both music practice and GMing tabletop RPGs - it's about consistency. Others might get by on less work, but they condition makes me feel like I need to be much more tenacious for the same results. I've learnt not to rely on motivation as much for my creative pursuits now, and focus on sometime just allotting the time to be in that space to learn and practice, if creativity isn't happening.",1 Intelligence and executive function are not the same thing. The problem is that society acts like they are and then tells you that if you're smart but lack executive function you're lazy for not succeeding.,1 "When I read nanny I completely thought of something else😂😂 we use the term maid, and it's fairly common where I'm from that everyone has them, some even live with them",1 "Thank you for sharing this, it really made my day as someone who's struggled through similar obsessions. Wishing you every health and happiness in the world ❤",0 Meanwhile my dishes has been sitting in the sink for a week now,1 Great. Now all the candy boxes have some jerk's fingerprints all over them. He made the display so much worse.,0 "My friend and I are at the opposite ends of the spectrum (he is hyperactive) He wakes up at 6am, goes mountain biking, hits a brewery, walks the dog, goes biking again, gets mad when he has to sleep I wake up at noon, lie in bed for two hours, shower, lie on the couch for an hour, try to read but can’t do it, try to play a video game and also can’t, put on TV and zone out",1 "I spent two weeks forbidding myself from social contact or internet use, trying to get a late final for a college class written. I didn't get past paragraph one until after I gave up and let myself see my friends one night.",1 "Damn…. I did the exact same thing in Destiny 2… Lately I’ve been observing that people don’t understand my questions. I ask why a fucking lot! Lol Si people think I’m challenging them or that my questions are stupid, because I have to do it and why question it, or maybe are just stupid. And then I get frustrated, because I always need to explain that my questions are because I genuinely want to fully understand the why of things…",1 "Next day? Don't you mean within 30 minutes? I can have an idea that I think is great, amazing even. Do some sketches, come up with a list of things to buy or that I'll need... and within a very short period of time, will talk myself out of it because there are too many steps, too much to do and no guarantee of success at the end of it (just like all the other ones)",1 I take pictures of things to send to people then never send them,1 "Ehhh yeah I don’t even want to consider the quantity of time I’ve spent in this state. Not even going to go there. I’m adding to that time right now. Don’t know why it just *seems* so painful to do what you need to do right in this moment. Something about it feels insurmountable. I get sucked into learning stuff… that’s my escape. Learning, comparing, online research etc… it still feels like lost time but I dunno if it’s better or worse because I tell myself I’m at least learning something new/a skill? 🤷🏼‍♂️",1 Despite this post trying to be uplifting I just realized (I have inattentive ADHD mostly with some bouts of hyperactivity) for the rest of my life no matter how much I try many people will always think I’m not enough,1 "Yeah exactly this. Unless not having your pens an exact ways means feeling like puking then pls desist. People who actually have it dont joke about it they're scared of it controlling their life",0 "Similar situation, though for me it was more like my parents thought my meds would ""cure"" me, so when it didn't fully work (ie still helped me focus but I still had to fight to do things I didn't want to do and grades sucked) it was my fault as a person, not anything else. I was always told that me saying ""It's because my ADD\ADHD"" was a poor excuse and that I was just being lazy and stubborn. Ended up in crying fits and rage where physical punishment was enfored a lot of the time. (note: physically hurting ur child like spankings or slapping is never right, please DO NOT do it) I even had money for lunches at school withheld as punishment for ""being lazy"". Needless to say, made me feel like a shithole of a person growing up and I'll probably need lots of therapy to even consider lovong myself as a person again. They just thought that ""Hey, my child is not doing well, lets throw her on drugs and it will cure her and she'll be a perfect, obedient child who will make us look good and not terrible parents."" Without regard to me as a person was... a scary realization for me when I could finally understand why my parents did this to me. After all, parents know best for their 8 year old daughter and clearly clinical psychiatric drugs that the doctor purposefully made the dosage higher than it should have been for my age (to please the people paying her to keep them coming back ofc) is the best way to go about it, and not sitting down and actually taking time to think that hey, maybe this is an actual fucking disability and we should learn about it and our daughter more. Sorry for the long vent lol. If anyone should take anything away from this, just know that children are humans too, just like you, if not more sensitive to what you say to them. Love them and take time to learn how they work, not try to force your way of life on them and scream at them how much of a failure they are.💜",1 "Fighting is the problem - not the solution. ""Fighting"" is doing compulsions. Which always lead to more of the stuff you hate.",0 "I used to never wash my hands even after pooping sometimes... Then I used to wash my hands ALOT, then I balanced it lol",0 "Since day one of diagnosis I have been thinking it was wrong and I’m probably just making it all up or pretending. I have to remind myself to trust my awesome therapist and how much better I’ve been feeling since I’ve stopped doing so many compulsions and rituals. Thank you for posting this, I didn’t know other people felt like fakers too",0 I feel awful because of the f*ed up decisions of my country and I feel like I made those decisions and feel the burden all the time.,1 "My cousin and I lived next door to each other and we would sometimes trade houses for a day. She’d clean mine and I’d clean hers. Poor thing, mine was always so much worse. I don’t really understand why this worked. She’s the one who originally suggested the trade. She said she liked cleaning other peoples houses but hated cleaning her own. ",1 "For me, getting, now hear me out, a cleaning person has changed my life. It saves so much time and stress looking for lost possessions and it generally makes life much, much easier. For me, it is absolutely worth the money and I make sacrifices so I can do it--though I know that for a lot of people this is out of reach, especially right now (and I've stopped during COVID). For years, I thought I should do it myself, but I really can't. Even having someone once per month has been a life changer. It can be a good holiday or birthday gift from a family member--even if the family pools their money to get you one thing, and this is the thing. This can also be a bartered service. Massive life changer for me. Related: Way too late I've realized that as a person with ADHD, the fewer things I own, the better. Less to organize, think about, pack, move, pick up off my floor, and clean. If it interests you, there are lots of ""minimalism"" YouTube videos that can double to help a person with ADHD. I personally also find the Marie Kondo book helpful. Theoretically you could sell your extra stuff online to pay for a cleaning person.",1 I just say I have a learning disability and don't elaborate any further unless I trust the person to not turn it around on me.,1 "Literally tried to explain this to my mother yesterday after I told her I was diagnosed as an adult but I don't think it translated. To her, I was a star student so anything I couldn't do was from lack of effort. What she didn't know was that I lived on anxiety, adrenaline and a pretty good memory. That and the crushing expectation to be perfect and normal, so hiding my struggles became my reality because otherwise, it would destroy her perception that I was a perfect student. This effect gradually disappeared as the structure of school decreased and I was crashing and burning during college when a lot of independent work and self-imposed deadlines were needed. She still thinks it's because I never learned to be disciplined and focused as a kid but it was not for lack of trying. If I hadn't taught myself coping skills or used productivity tools or had access to medication (very recent), I would be a fucking disaster. At the end of the day, to my parents, I still seem like I don't try hard enough even though it probably takes me 5 times the effort to accomplish the same task an average person could easily do. EDIT: Thank you for the gold, friend! First time ever :)",1 "Oh my god, this makes me feel less crazy. My thought process usually goes something like “I don’t know if I believe in god...” “shit, now god is going to kill me/cause something bad to happen because I don’t believe in him.” Literal bonkers OCD brain.",0 Never have I connected with a meme more than right now.,0 "I’ve always described it as the wheels are spinning, but I get no traction. I want to, but cannot even seem to start.",1 "I've discovered that once I do a task long enough to where I feel good about congratulating myself, that's when I realize I was in that ""hyper focus"" mindset and I have just finished the optimal productivity point and should just take a break because now I'm about to reach the diminishing returns point and slowly crumble into the deficit haha.",1 "If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, please do not hesitate to talk to someone. US: 1-800-273-8255 or text HOME to 741-741 Non-US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/OCD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",0 "Side note, but is the thing about clothing bothering you an ADHD thing? I had a really weird thing about socks as a kid, and I did wear them because I had to but they made my feet HURT. It felt like the hairs on my feet and ankles got threaded in to the fibers of the socks and yanked on all day. I got a feeling similar to when you've had your hair tied up/a pony tail and all the hair follicles are sore when I removed my socks. I've never been able to properly describe it, and no one else I have ever talked to has ever experienced the same feeling.",1 Me at 3am sitting in my filthy bedroom ensuring I am not secretly a murderer by frantically tapping between my eyes: no. no we are not the same,0 I get so excited about doing stuff at night though!,1 "Ah I used to have ocd when I was about 7 or 8 and I would always tell stories about me washing my hands super often until they bled and etc. And now here we are with my ocd coming back a year ago. But worse. Ah I love it",0 Say hello to me blushing and fast heartbeat 15 years later.,0 You're too happy. This can't be right. Imma fix it for you.,0 Ok everyone calm the fuck down let’s do the ritual over again and hope the virus goes away soon,0 "I’m so happy I’m not alone in this, it’s been leading me to stay friends with toxic people for way longer than I should. Hopefully now that I know I’m not crazy, I can end the trend.",1 "Omg this. Can I also mention how I've been asked so many times if I had ""racing thoughts"" by professionals? Racing compared to WHAT. how do I know what a ""normal"" thought looks like? I can't just look into your brain and compare my thoughts to yours. How about when it just seems like static? What do you mean that counts as RACING? WTAF",1 If I wear this shirt someone I love will get injured 🤠,0 Fire underwater symbolizes how unrealistic they can be ,0 Mine’s more like a bunch of prison bars in a mostly black and white world.,0 "for me, if the topic I’m researching was fascinating, get ready friends and family for a 30 minute rant where I somehow won’t notice that their eyes are glazing over",1 i’m so glad my ocd is finally gone. thank you for this post /s,0 "This is a beautiful post and I sincerely hope some people take you up on the offer. It's been six and almost three years since I had two people really close to me OD on fentanyl and complications from years of drug abuse. It's been very hard and I've felt very lost but every time I've reached out to someone I felt better about... some weird kind of survivor's guilt? Even if the storm inside beats us down telling us that nobody, nobody gives a shit: it's wrong. Even people who you talk to casually have no idea what's going on with you unless you tell them and the internet is such a caustic place sometimes it's hard to remember that a decent portion of the population *isn't* shitty and just want to be understood as much as we do. The idea of getting rejected freezes me right up, but more often than not people are willing to talk or even just listen. Sometimes that's all you need. I am not awake enough to make this into a coherent... thing so stream of consciousness awaaaa^a^^a^^^a^^^^a^^^^^a^^^^^^y!",1 I truly and honestly can't shower in the mornings bc of this lol I became a night showerer. It was the only reasonable solution,1 "I finished my resin pour I was putting off for half a day. I really needed this, thank you lots.",1 "Great I’ve tricked the sign too. What’s the P stand for?",0 When I started cilexa in my mid 20s I stopped washing hands and showering all together for weeks on end. It's only a miracle I made it out of that crazy cycle. Clean from all meds a year and 7minths now,0 "> Understand that FUTURE YOU IS STILL YOU. If you think you’ll do something later, understand that future you is still you. Future you isn’t more likely to muster up the desire to do the work. f you don’t have the motivation to do it in the next 24 hours then future you probably won’t either. This hits home. I've always had the mentality of ""That's future me's problem, screw that guy"". I'm getting better, but it's definitely something I need to work on more.",1 "I hear you OP, I have a similar problem. There is no quick fix but I rehearse conversations in my head before I have them, or have total made up conversations and review conversations I just had and come up with something better. Over time I haven't had to use it as much, it's what has helped me, maybe it can work for you.",1 Yes. I’m inattentive ADD I wish I had hyper energy. I have low energy. Everything is a chore for me to do. It takes me time to mentally prepare for anything.,1 "I just left the doctor, trying to get a prescription for Vyanse. She told me she thinks I’m depressed and is prescribing an antidepressant. My head is spinning.",1 Are you me? I literally said this to a friend earlier today.,1 "Something like 4, 5, 8, 9, 11 or more if I accidentally go too far:/",0 "I'm definitely in this boat. This is the primary reason I started my own business. I always have questioned ""why"" the rules or instructions were setup the way they were. I quickly came to realize most rules and instructions are so idiots don't kill themselves, not because it's the most efficient or best possible route. I got sick of that crap and set out in my own. Because I have a big ego and think I'm better than most other people. Sometimes thats actually correct! Lol",1 "Same, I’ve learned to ask “I’m not trying to be a pain, I’m just trying to understand why, what happens if I do this differently/don’t do it”. Sometimes (but rarely) the answer is “I don’t know”, that’s fine and I let them go on then google but I also think people who don’t know why they need to do what they do or refuse to answer questions have no business training/teaching others.",1 "It's not just artistic endeavors that are derailed by this condition. I am a very technically minded person (STEM more than fine arts), and it makes things ridiculously difficult. Not trying to nit-pick (in case it came off that way), just figured I would give a different viewpoint. Fuck ADHD is a sentiment I think we can all agree with.",1 "*dont make eye contact with random pedestrians* ... stares into souls of everyone who passes by",0 "I know a lot of people have already commented, but this just made me so happy, and I had to say that I'm so proud of you!! OCD is \*so\* hard to combat, and you're doing so well. Congrats!",0 Totally agree. I've never dated someone. Not because I didn't had the opportunity but because I find it really really hard to connect emotionally with someone. I really need someone who can know me enough and have that emotional connection.,0 "Has anyone seen Death In Paradise recently? The new lead detective, Neville (I think that's his name), has a lot of routines and anxieties and seems to always have to do things a certain way (like OCD, but it's not been said), to the point where it really interferes with his life. But it's constantly made fun of, and other characters are constantly shaking their heads and looking frustrated and dumbfounded at him. And in a recent episode, he said that he ""didn't make enough effort to get involved in island life"" and ""needs to be better,"" like he's been selfish or something! Maybe it's just me being stupid and oversensitive, but it seems like a really unhelpful representation (again, it might not be OCD, but it looks like it)",0 "Another thing I wanted to add, is that during my childhood I was very stubborn and I agree I did things wrong. However, during my childhood I had very valid arguments that would be shot down due to an overwhelming general consensus in family. For example, during my sisters university graduation, I hated what my mother and sisters were forcing me to dress up in. Even though, in non-misogynistic way, females including myself be batshit crazy, they were unnecessarily controlling of my fashion sense. Another thing I wanted to add, was when I sat with my legs a little wide open in the bus, both my sister and father dragged for me for drawing attention to myself. Im not sure whether I over- reacted, but I said that their opinion was sexist and that it was too exaggerative because nobody cared about how I was sitting. Anyway, the lack of respect did exhibit over-reactions. But now I realise it, there lack of respect for my opinions and lack of knowledge on Aspergers (another condition I have) makes me realise that I was heavily gaslighted during my childhood. And my behaviour was often mistakenly called ‘selfish’ and ‘disrespectful’. I acknowledge at times they really were, and that me taking responsibility over my own fault. Although, my family really should have taken the time to educate themselves on the feelings I was having.",1 This is why I almost exclusively buy frozen veggies/fruits. It's more expensive (especially fruit RIP) but it gives me the ability to eat it when I actually want to eat it and it's pretty much ready to go off the bat.,1 I’m really struggling at the moment to even do the things I love doing :(,1 Me whenever i open an excel Sheet. Strg+S until the screen freezes,0 "Literally me. I've had to make myself wash my hands after touching everything again, and now that compulsion has come back, although not as bad as before. But my hands are fucked again.",0 "I agree, but I also do find my compulsions a little funny sometimes, as long as their not interrupting my day too much. Some people think the rituals are cute, like if I bump into my best friends arm with one hand so I try to sneakily do it with the other. It stops becoming something I can see positively though when assholes purposely prevent me from doing rituals or purposely do something I've asked them not to, I definitely hated OCD as a kid (even tho I didn't know I had it) because so many kids would purposely disrespect my space, when I opened up new markers or Pokemon cards for example, I like to always keep them in the same order they were packaged in, but some asshole friends would see me do that kind of stuff and then purposely throw them on the floor or mess up the order when borrowing them because I told them how I wanted to them to be careful with the order. Luckily no one in adulthood is as much of an asshole and even if they do try to stop my rituals they recognise they are the source of genuine distress for me and try to do it in a more kind caring way like, ""please stop, for your own good you need to not care so much about *insert ocd obsession*, which is something I appreciate. And it's nice to know there's a reason behind the way I do things, people always used to think I was really weird but now if anyone questions me I can just say ""it's actually because of my OCD, formally diagnosed"" I fucking despise my pure O tho, always have always will. All it does is make me think sick thoughts of people around me and shows me graphic images of myself dying anytime I'm near a road or railway And my perfectionism has completely destroyed my mental health, I care so much about the smallest things and it gives me so much unnecessary stress and self hatred.",0 my parents still refuse to believe I have ocd because i’m messy,0 "I used to have the same issue, but a crippling fear of dentists made me one day just go hard into making it essential routine, so now I literally can't fall asleep if I don't brush my teeth. Even when napping, but flossing remains a problem",1 This is seriously so TRUE!!!!! Completely depicts how real ocd us.[compulsion](https://youtu.be/yucYPr3GT4M),0 "My very hyperactive big sister always tell everyone that because of her ADHD, she can follow at least two different conversations and do some task at the same time and that she understands perfectly both conversations. But when you ask her about them, turns out she hasn't understand either one and the task is often done in irrational way. She still has a strong feeling that she has superpower-level attention to everything at the same time because of her ADHD which she clearly doesn't have. I'm way less hyperactive and more forgetting and get lost in thoughts. Before I got diagnosed, I too had a sense that I can multi-task more easily than others but unfortunately that has turned out to be false too. Now I recognize that my attention may switch rapidly on different things going on at the same time but if I don't fully concentrate to just one main thing, all things suffer from my lack of attention and is just chaotic. I do believe some who have ADHD may have the ability to do multiple things at the same time without any one of them lacking but neither my big sister or I don't. And as the case is with my sister, I think many who are diagnosed may think they have the ability but actually have only the sense of it. I also don't pay attention to everything but because of my short attention span to one topic, I start to notice and think of other things too but more of my ADHD symptomizes in a way that I may not see the obvious things even and can't find the remote that's in front of my nose because I'm too distracted with some thought that pops up. Meditation is truly a life saver with my symptoms.",1 "This is a great way to describe it! It answers a question I’ve been asking myself lately as I’m watching too much tv during the pandemic: why does it take me several viewings of the same episode of a show before I understand the point/what we’re supposed to be thinking as the audience? I realized I don’t always catch on right away, not because I’m dumb, but because I’m too focused on the writing, or how I would’ve acted a scene, or the costume design, etc. I’m too busy taking myself out of the story to actually pay attention to the story. My attention is being scattered in a million different directions. So this explanation really resonates with me.",1 "I'll wash my hands till the skin starts cracking but I won't clean like that, it's not even worth it as it's impossible to clean all the dirt.",0 "Ik you put smily after kill me statement but ik sometimes it’s feel like too much to even comprehend, I sometimes wonder if my beliefs keeps me going? OCD with anxiety Is like the worst punishment that even to enemy sounds frightening.",0 I just fill up the entire perimeter of my monitor with yellow sticky notes . Now I have a yellow bezel,1 "If it gets this bad, I tell a friend or partner I need to do it and have them walk me though it on the phone. Sometimes they even have something similar going on and get something done in the meantime.",1 U have no idea how relieving it is to know im not the only one who thinks shit like this lmfao,0 Especially true for low interest activities they say? Hmmm....*looks at stack of procrastinated homework I keep promising I'll do early.,1 "Ahhhh this is soooo real and sounds so much like me in my teens/early twenties! Best thing I ever did was force myself to learn how to finish one thing before I started another, or, even better, do two things at once, from start to finish. It’s kind of addictive though. Now, years later, I have a compulsion to finish what I’m doing and have to try not to be super annoyed at anything that interrupts me.",1 "To get the ball rolling on new activities, BOOK IT or organise a time with a friend who you are super comfortable and open with. For the ADHD brain if the current activity you are doing isn't urgent, interesting or engaging it's hard to get the ball rolling. To clarify, the thing you want to do might be interesting or engaging once you start doing it. But the bit that can get us is the researching a place to do it at and organising the potential equipment to do it. This aspect or the 'plan in our head' that never unfolds is due to that lack of instant engagement or urgency. For a long time I wanted to do a triathlon sprint and knew I would love it.......but for months I did nothing that set that goal in motion. So what did I do? I booked one a months in advance without any planning or 'thinking about planning'. This really got my ass into gear and I instantly went and got some swimming lessons, something I would never have done if it wasn't for that ""omg I have to swim 750m in a month and I can't swim the length of a pool without stopping"". So BOOK IT. Learn to love your ADHD. It will make things much easier.",1 I hate OCD. Had it since I was 11 and yes it can be managed. Yet it still is there and still have unwanted thoughts and still makes me over think. Nothing to like about the condition. It's awful and really makes things difficult at times.,0 "My girlfriend loves to point out when we're trying to decide what movie to watch that it doesn't matter if I've seen it before, it will be like watching it for the first time. Lol. She's not wrong. I've seen Talladega nights probably 20 times and can still only quote a handful of lines.",1 "Very happy for you! Keep going! Maybe you'll fall off the wagon or have a couple slips but you got this for sure! Don't ever think for a second that you can't get through this! You have the will! :) <3 I believe in you! <3",0 "WOW, I AM NOT ALONE. (Except with a knife, not scissors.)",0 Me when I used to obsess about having schizophrenia 🙈,0 "AHAHAGAGSIQHAIA OMGGG bro you had us in the first half ngl Can relate tho, I hate people telling me ""Just control it"" or things like that, oh glad you mentioned i really didn't think if that! *sigh*... like I'm done 😩",1 Guys I’m sorry but what is reassurance? I’m not familiar with English OCD terms,0 I go through cycles of disorganization and hyper cleanliness.,0 This was aesthetically pleasing and made me feel less alone thank you,0 "Lol, about the song I listened to the most : 1st listen on April 26th, 100th listen on April 27th, most listens on April 28th",1 "i get so triggered at this shit. people at school say things like ""i'm so OCD"" about completely unrelated things all the time",0 Sometimes I feel like I'm only seeing a therapist because knowing that I have a therapy appt coming up makes me more calm😂,0 "I might not be on reddit much but something aligned today for me to come on at this time and see this message <3 I saved it and it meant a lot. I'm doing okay for now but if anyone is currently struggling just know, you're fucking amazing for making it this far",1 "Yeeupp, but! I’ve found that if I watch with my mom then I should/can pay attention. Because she’s always asking me what’s going on. Either at the beginning bc she’s too impatient to wait and see or later after the movie bc she fell asleep (movies are alway at home. We almost never go to a theater). (Moreso for movies like the Avengers where I knew everyone and how they connected but she didn’t. But also in some other movies especially if the audio is bad (ie dialogue is too quiet but we can’t turn it up without blasting our eardrums with other noises))",1 "Yes, this whole ""manifestation"" nonsense definitely tweaks the OCD. But it's just that, nonsense. One of my good friends even dedicated a whole blog page to his belief that everything you say causes it to happen. I thought he was intelligent before reading that load of B.S. I have big challenges thinking that G-d will hear my ""bad"" thoughts and act on them. I also fear that I accidentally pray for ""bad"" things to happen. To combat all this, I have performed exposures (as part of Exposure and Response Prevention) thinking, saying, and praying for real bad and real good things. None of it has ever happened out of proportion to things happening that happen randomly or naturally. It's sometimes a challenge because bad and good things happen naturally, and you can't ascribe causality to coincidence. An easy way to start is to think about (or pray about) winning a huge lottery. Not a small prize, but the whole thing. Yes, if everyone did this, one person will inevitably win. But it's not because they were thinking harder about it or praying more for it.",0 "Yup in elementary school teachers always gave me crap for long and run on sentences. When I discovered the semi colon I used that like there was no tomorrow. I never fully understood what they meant, because like you stated all these ideas/thoughts are related and connected. And my biggest problem is probably over explaining, and so most of the times sentences were too long and could no be broken down into further sentences because often times the thought that came after a comma was just too short or too connected to be broken off into it's own sentence. I write pretty similarly to how I speak although my vocabulary is much better writing because I can type much faster than I can speak. So I can actually keep up with the thoughts. When I'm speaking I feel like I stumble through my words and end up have a difficult time getting my ideas accross. Especially when it seems so often that people just dont listen and I have to repeat myself several times over.",1 "Oh wow, I get sensory overload a lot I just didn't realize it was an OCD thing. -I get really overloaded at restaurants because there's too many noises at once -I can't just have people hug or cuddle me because I tense up and freak out (they have to ask first, and then I'll tell them if they can or not) - and I HATE concerts and big parties and any really loud event really since I get so overloaded at once",0 everytime i try to wash dishes i just end up playing with dish soap and bubbles,1 I love seeing these. It makes me feel less mental. My brain says the exact same thing to me,0 this is beautiful. it gave me some of that elusive...hope,1 "Abso fucking lutely. And I have a hard time transitioning from one task to another once I am dialed in. I've recently tried some level of meditation: set timer on phone for 15 minutes, begin with what I'll be doing task wise when I'm done, do the box breathing technique and just focus on the counting, bringing my brain back to it every time it wanders. When the timer goes off I remind myself what the task at hand is and go to it (or try to). It isn't always effective but I feel it helps. At least skipping the napping and idle time is a good thing.",1 "Same. I also listen to lots of interesting podcasts and audiobooks, but can never remember what they were about. To retain the information I need to write it down, but even then I have a notebook full of random bits from various articles and podcasts that I have no memory of reading/ listening to.",1 I have an alarm set for when I'm supposed to start getting ready for bed on weekdays. Turning it off and continuing what I was doing is a reflex at this point.,1 yes! i used to be scared to do simple things like shower because i'd feel like i'll be flooded with intrusive thoughts.,0 "Being intelligent with ADHD gives you what we might think of as *functional narcissism.* Narcissists struggle with emotional instability because they think they are the best people ever, yet know they are not, at the same time. This divide tears at them and causes them to indulge in grandiose fantasies and to use other people as a means to bridge that divide. When you are ADHD and also intelligent, you have a lot of evidence for your skills - you *know* that you know a lot, and could do a lot - yet you also have a lot of evidence that you're a lazy and useless piece of shit. This divide tears at you, and causes you to indulge in cheap sources of reward like fantasy, games, porn, drugs, etc etc. This is what gets me the most. I got my PhD in 3 years because all I had to do was work on what I found interesting every day, with a few nightmarish paperwork scenarios mixed in (formatting a dissertation LOL FUCK). When I went into the working world and had to listen to other people telling me to do obviously suboptimal and also boring work... I failed. Utterly. And that hurt a lot. Your results in the world will not match who you know you are, what you know you can accomplish. Being intelligent is not worth anything on its own, but it IS an incredible resource for playing the adversarial game that is ADHD. You need to apply your intelligence to manipulate your immediate environment to produce the immediate behaviours you need. You can see ahead, think ahead, and then trick/nudge your lower brain into doing what you want. You have to outsmart your condition by understanding its weaknesses and exploiting them for your personal gain.",1 "100% I think personally, it's for risk/reward assessment. If I know the reason behind doing something, I have a much, MUCH better chance of following through because I can accurately place it on a scale of need instead of somewhere in the nebula of ""probably important I guess"" where it joins the rest of the ""shit I should do"" that's floating around untethered and untouched.",1 This is a great idea. I am actually going to start doing this now,1 "Me staring at them but using only my left eye, because using my right eye became a compulsion and when I slip up I have to do 10 pushups to 'reset' everything😡",0 I feel that. I’m just can’t remember directions that have no substantive impact on the end result. Like why does it matter that the font on the paper is times new Roman or calibri,1 "Not to mention the moment you feed into it, it tries to get worse. ",0 "Write it down on a Todo list, forget about it and regularly try to criss things of this list",1 Great tip. There is a web service/app called otter.io that does it to. It’s free and I’m not sure if there is an eventual pay wall or anything but I don’t think so.,1 "Woah, look out for *Mr. Reflexes* over here who can catch a ball!",1 "My friends have told me that sometimes I space out and walk away while somebody is in the middle of talking, completely oblivious. I had no idea I did this! I thought I had been attentive to them! It's okay to stand up for yourself and to say, ""hey, I love you and appreciate everything you have to say, I'm just really tired / overwhelmed right now so I don't have the mental capacity to love you and listen to you the way you deserve right now. Can we talk later?"" Most of the times people will appreciate the honesty and it shows you care about them and want to hear what they have to say.",1 Like literally laughing at how stupid a thought was and then crying because you believe it minutes later 😩,0 "ohhhh. whoops. that might explain why I get so obsessive about listing/categorizing things (games I want to play, game achievements I want to get, books I want to read, projects I want to work on, etc.) but end up spending a lot less time actually working on clearing things off the lists.",1 "Yeah, absolutely. It’s one of my big ones. I get paranoid that I’ve done my taxes wrong and the IRS is going to punish me, that CPS will come find me and will think I’m a bad mom because our child didn’t have insurance for a few months in between jobs a few years ago, that I overstated my skills on my resume and my job is going to fire me for my (imagined) incompetence…I could go on for an hour. I always feel like I did something wrong. My dad was a strict disciplinarian and could not *stand* lying or half assing anything, so I think that stuck with me and became a “thing” with my OCD.",0 "This is going to sound really hokey but, do you like what you're studying? If you find it interesting, or if you can play a mental game with yourself so you trick yourself into finding it interesting, you will soak it up like a sponge. When I read, I hear the voice narrating in my head like a movie. I really get into it!",1 Somedays I can do this other days ishard but majority of the time this I howi dealwith them,0 "Gods, this is exactly how I am. I can't throw a single thing away because I'll get obsessive thoughts about it like, ""what if I need this"" even if I don't. I also try to examine every single paper item on the floor when I pick it up, and any sort of solo cleaning effort ends up taking literal days if I even try at all. On the opposite hand, every single image/video/document on my computer/phone (which is quite a lot, since I tend to download almost every image I come across on social media without thinking about it) is organized by genre, franchise, individual creator if it's some form of art, et cetera. I'm not sure if that last part is OCD, or just not wanting to scroll through 14000 files every time I want to look for something.",0 "I always was able to overcome it...until I told myself ""your dad isn't dead, calm down"" and I walked in and found his body and now I am never going to be ok again. ",0 I have most of my anxiety come from stuff like this. Health anxiety sucks,0 "Or if you were getting spam emails all the time, and you couldn’t unsubscribe, you could at least designate a folder to send them to instead of reading the spam emails every time",0 "Totally agree, I use commas way more than any other punctuation in almost every reply to people but don’t use full stops in those same sentences haha",1 "My husband joked that he loves when I lose one of my AirPods because the house gets clean. I have found that the best way to find something when it goes missing is to clean. Eventually, you find what you are looking for.",1 "Just remember that unsuccessful, fat, and people that aren't conventionally attractive can wear whatever they want any day! Your OCD makes it very hard to believe you've done ""enough"" to receive any award so fuck trying. Lean into wearing whatever you damn well want to because no one deserves an outfit more than anyone else.",0 "Mine looks like a cross between slenderman and a classic butler-type dude. His name is Mr. Park and he speaks in an uppity, BBC-english sort of way. He smells like pine cones and freshly mowed grass. He spends all of his time judging me, and whispering horrible things in my ear. I’m trying to do some “Riddikulus”-type magic on him ...",0 "I definitely have issues catastrophizing and with ""negative thought distortions."" I've lately been dealing with driving anxiety/OCD despite being an incredibly safe driver. This usually manifests in rumination over ""call of the void"" type thoughts (i.e. ""hey you should totally drive into oncoming traffic rn"") and thinking about ""what could have happened"" (""you did wait for that car to pass before performing a left turn, *but what if you didn't*?"") while imagining the worst-case scenarios for each case, even though there are many possibilities and outcomes that aren't necessarily the worst case. I've had some success reinterpreting some of these thoughts as my brain being overly cautious (such as ""hey you should hit that car"" -> ""*be careful of hitting* that car"") in addition to conventional breathing and grounding techniques, but I'm going to consider giving this app a try as well.",0 "No idea what this meme is talking about. (stares into my fridge that’s almost empty because I’ve been taking almost a week to come up with the “right” grocery list)",0 I think about all the reading and studying I do. I wish ocd would disappear. I am on a new med.,0 Hi y’all this is not sponsored but there’s a website/app called trello and it’s super helpful and you can have lists on lists and ALSO you can make them shareable to others so you can make class ones to help each other on materials and to study!!! I never learned about it in school and I wish that I had.,1 Okay but the difference between me and everyone else here is that I *really am* just a lazy asshole,1 It's almost funny out of context until you realize just how serious it is.,0 "I have this problem with playing games too. What I found out worked for me was to mess up a stage or a prize on purpose so that I won't be able to 100% the game. It makes me super anxious but I find that I have an easier time playing after that, because I feel like it won't matter as much if I mess up. Won't work with everything and I can't even look at certain games, but you should really try it out and see if it works for you!",0 Literally just had almost a week of the same intrusive thought and when I woke up it was like a slap across the face :| glad I’m not alone but man I feel bad for everyone experiencing it,0 "I don't know how many I got, too busy watching other series and rewatching old ones",1 "Omg this is so fantastic!! The best part about conquering a fear for the first time is that you KNOW you have it in you to do it again, no matter how many times you fail. So if you can't bring yourself to do it next time don't give up! Remember the good times!",0 "Currently having ocd thoughts on this post as if I like the post it won't be an even number if I divide it, but there was 13 comments so mine will make it 14 at the time of posting this, so yes relatable post!",0 I feel like there world is pretty much stopped right now.,1 "It's so common I use it for my insomnia. When I need to sleep, I read. I never read or remember any of the book and progress about a paragraph a night at best, but it puts me out like a light.",1 "I have been diagnosed with OCD although my psychiatrist is not entirely sure of the diagnosis and cleanliness is like the last thing on my mind often. Actually leaving trash almost takes on a ritualistic element to me, so I can very easily see why cleanliness would not be a ubiquitous trait in OCD patients. I hope in time that we can start breaking down some of the stereotypes that seem to come with OCD and have people recognize better that OCD is an illness that manifests in ways that often seem to be entirely contradictory depending on the person.",0 "I shall let my nails grow so I can pick at my skin But then having long nails bothers me and they start to break then I'm tearing them off I finally cut them I can't pick anymore so I panic until they grow out again \-repeat cycle every few weeks",0 "I'm seriously so proud of u, especially since I know how impossible that is for myself to do. Great job!!",0 I love/hate Prozac so much. Like now my brain works but my clit is nonfunctional :/,0 Hahahah I’m just reminded now of every little angry rant I’ve had in my head about things that happened so long ago. It gets pretty heated,1 I have ADHD on top of my OCD so it feels like trying to parent an anxious three year old and an obstinate five year old at the same time,0 I feel this and I’m gay. Like my brain tries to convince me I blacked out and had sex with a guy lmao,0 "I have never been good at remembering things I'm not extremely interested in. I also have issues learning things if I can't understand the foundation, but once I do the rest is almost effortless. Long ago I gave up on trying to remember everything, now I try to index things in my mind. I might not know the details but I can pull them, or similar information, back up pretty quick. Honestly in the modern world, it's pretty pointless to memorize facts about things I'm not regularly interacting with, especially when I literally carry the knowledge of the planet in my pocket. I'm not saying no learning should be done but, unless you do/use that thing regularly, it's not worth the storage. Take Math, for example, everyone should know basic arithmetic, fractions, simple statistics, things like that because you need them to calculate sales tax, tips, woodworking, construction, filing taxes, figuring out if that article you saw was of statistical importance or being overblown by stupid people pushing stupid ideologies. However, I don't need to remember the Pythagorean Theorem (though I do remember that one), or the formula for calculating compound interest, or any number of equations you learn in school. As long as you know what the equation is for and how to use it I don't see the necessity to remember the exact order. I just used Math as an example, this applies to almost any knowledge not regularly used.",1 I’m very nervous to see my work ethic slowly decline until I am in living in utter chaos and disfunction,1 Yes yes yes. It’s worse with books for me and I honestly don’t know how. I will be reading and turning pages and then realize I have no clue what I just read for the last 20 pages. I haven’t read a book since graduating high school (managed to avoid it in college) because of this.,1 I have OCD and def not the most organized! Might be because I also have ADD. Idk?!,0 "Oh my God this is so true. I've been shamed for it, but people don't get that, say, the alternative to buying groceries from the expensive supermarket near my house is not buying groceries from the cheaper market. The alternative is not buying groceries.",1 I told my boss I was diagnosed with ADHD and he said well go to another room and put headphones in. I said if it was that easy don’t you think i would have done that already?!?!?,1 "My teenaged son sounds like this and I thought it likely had to do with ADHD and processing skills. It's especially prominent when he's been on the computer all day (for school or...any other day really) and we chat later in the evening. Luckily we both find it hilarious - him because it just sounds ridiculous and me because he sounds completely baked. (he's not, btw but god, he sure sounds like it!)",1 It’s perfect to me. I color to help manage my OCD and would love to color this! ,0 "This is amazing. I love this. I have one too. “It’s” name Is “Data” hopefully him and squish run off together and never come back! Hang in there my friend. Great job doing the work.",0 Yes! I'm like this with cleaning. Can't clean my own damn apartment. But I sure can clean my friend's and do all his laundry. And fold it. And put it away. ,1 This. I refuse to raise my daughter in the same kind of home my husband grew up in. The effects are devastating even in adulthood.,1 "OH MY FREAKING GOD. Thank you for posting this. I cannot express how much this means. I'm 37 if that matters and I've always ALWAYS felt this way. By far the single biggest factor in my life to this point, or so I thought until i read this ~10 minutes ago. Just... holy shit. I can't even think clearly.",1 "It's even worse for me because I use a hobby knife frequently when building model kits and you have to get kinda close to make sure you're not cutting to deep, so I always get the intrusive thought of stabbing my eyes.",0 Feel this but idk how to stop blaming myself. I know some of my coworkers are unintentionally sabotaging me because they derail my routine trying to ‘help’. But I also have a lot of trouble telling them no because I know how much faster they can complete projects.,1 Im very conservative so I’m used to it. People all the time tell me how evil my beliefs are lol.,0 I do not have the attention span to read this but I agree,1 "Oh hey, I did pass it on. Only difference is that he was in therapy right after he turned 6 as opposed to being 28 and spending a month in a psych ward like his mother.",0 "I stumbled across this picture the other day & I keep coming back. I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for capturing what I can’t bring into words. This image has become a staple for me that I show to others how I feel. If I may be so blunt: am I allowed to set this as my profile picture on several social media? I’ll add your name as a description in my iPhone’s gallery so I can always mention & credit you. I hope you’re OK, friend. Stay happy. And thank you once again for saying and describing what I, and most likely others, cannot. We need people like you.",0 They just wanna be different they dont understand how much it actually fucking sucks,0 Wow my bullet journaling addiction makes a whole lot more sense now... Explains why I own so many supplies yet have so little progress 😅,1 "Oh my god this post hit me so hard it made me ILL. Ouch. I am so anxious over work, why do I still sit on the couch scrolling my phone, anxious about what I can fix RIGHT THEN. Man, the struggle is real.",1 "There are some days I *feel* my lack of intake filter. I wish I could just live with noise reduction eaebuds in the entire time I'm out of the house, most of the time I don't strictly need them but then randomly throughout the day I'll become hyper aware of things around me and wish I had them in.",1 Thanks! Getting off the toilet with tv static in my legs now. Cheerio!,1 "So funny enough I use this in a different way. I have impulse buying trouble... so when I am out at the store or online. I either take a picture of the thing i want OR screenshot. This helps with in the moment gratification that I THINK I need and if I really do, I can come back to it. And like what others were saying. FOLDERS, this will feel better and allow you to revisit what you want more easily, when you have the time or need.",1 i can have my camera off with tape over it and i still need to check if my camera is off.,0 "I've said for years that if I could have one superpower, it would be time control.",1 "If you have a therapist that says this; they do not know how to work with OCD. :) --- Exposure and response prevention is the only way to go. I have worked with hundreds of individuals with OCD and am creating videos on the treatment. Follow along for more! I hope it helps! [https://youtu.be/56VVuhMmFR4](https://youtu.be/56VVuhMmFR4)",0 "By “overstimulated” do you mean exhausted and just want to sit quietly staring into space with some music on? Because yeah, hard agree.",1 "Congrats ! I had a reminder on my phone to brush my teeth and someone saw it and tried to humiliate me. Jokes on them , I used to ignore that reminder every single day !",1 ITS OK IF YOU DIDNT HAVE OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER BEFORE BUT PLEASE DEVELOP OBSESSIVE COMPULSIVE DISORDER NOW,0 "This was a big thing for me, once I'd start to get better I'd get scared of not being disgusted enough and would go out of my way to force the 'right' reaction out. It's still a pain but if you ignore it it becomes easier to label as just OCD and move on.",0 "If there was, I was wash my hands until they bled after touching it. Edit: handwashing is one of my major problems",0 "Same here, it's almost like i can't help it. Mine's more like a twitch",0 "So weird I had no clue this was because of ADHD. I'm an EMS instructor and I've been complimented on my ability to explain things well, and it's because my philosophy is to create a knowledge web (or an algorithm) that you can pull answers from instead of knowing if A then B. Memorizing should be minimized and I'd rather be process oriented than outcome oriented.",1 "Yup! So many to ignore.. * Start Work, Weekdays, 9am * Floss, Daily, 9pm * Check bank account, biweekly * Change pillowcase, biweekly * Water plants, weekly",1 It's amazing. You forget there are other people with this struggle.,0 "Yeees. I find it takes longer and then I somehow just feel more dirty from trying to pretend clean myself. Or the time I spend debating the shower takes longer than the shower would have.",1 "I love it when someone asks you a question and before you've had two seconds to answer the fucker asks you another question about the first question. Like hey y'ass one thing at a time. Or going to the farmer's market because they have the best produce and there being more people than you can handle so you just keep walking the same routes like ""Nice they got collard greens, wonder if anyone has a better price on them. Ope nah the next guy was a little bit more maybe I'll swing back around the other way again. Wait now they're really busy gotta get outta here why is some asshole playing saxophone right outside there?"".",1 It’s always so sad to see other people with the same looking hands but it helps me feel not alone!! Stay strong friend!,0 "OMG!! I’ve been thinking about this for the last few weeks. I’m tired of having ADHD. I want to be able to have my shit together enough to look normal. I understand “normal” is so broad. But my mom worked 3 jobs, had 4 kids, kept the house up, laundry, groceries and took care of the pool. My brother and I had chores but she got tired of hounding us to do them so she’d do them herself. As an adult and living with my fiancé I’ve apologized to my mom for a lot of things. Living with another person has opened up my eyes to her frustrations with us.",1 "You have to do something at 9: 8am - loads of time 8:15 - loads of time 8:30 - loads of time 8:40 - loads of time 8:43 - fuck",1 "This is a really good point! (Along with the clarifying comment that it is simply training dopamine in a different way more suited to OP) And something I have been kinda doing unintentionally that has really helped! Whenever I need to psyche myself out to to a bunch of work, I always turn on some lofi if I need to do a lot of reading or writing, or music I like and am familiar with (stuff that has lyrics that I can still zone out to) when I need my brain to kick into math or hands-on- project mode. I always make sure I have a blanket, coffee (or other drink), and snacks. And I’ll often start a pomodoro timer to help me get started, but then once I’m in the zone I tend to ignore it haha. Once I’m zoned in to my work, I’ll often change the settings of the pomodoro to like 30-45 minutes paired with a 10-15 minute break. Because the shorter 25/5 method just doesn’t give me enough time to ramp up and get into the task. And once I’m in the zone, I don’t want to stop going until its done. But I still need breaks to avoid burning out. So I give myself longer breaks after longer sessions.",1 "I'm... Working on getting back there after OCD won the first round. Happy for you, dude; it's no small thing. :)",0 That’s amazing!! Big well done! I’m still 2 years behind with mine so this is a positive motivational message to see!!,0 Temporary super intelligence is just a side effect of ingesting those seeds.,1 "I'm going to the psy later today and likely getting a prescription. I really, really wish I can feel like you do when I take it, just feeling like that for a little bit would give me so much hope :(",1 Thanks I am currently in the process of being diagnosed but with some of life stuff it’s being slow. I can’t wait to at least have a diagnoses because it will help massively. But today was in the car my dad was like “you’re not stupid just bloody lazy”. I just responded “I don’t mean to be. I just get distracted easily” so his response was “don’t get distracted”. Like thanks dad I’ll try not to,1 "I played sekiro for close to 6 hours and it felt like maybe 1hr 30 or 2 hrs max. It was 5 am 💀",1 "I didn’t know this was a thing until now, and I feel relived a little bit",0 Or being stuck in the car with people talking a bunch!,1 Trying to work out whether I'm being gaslit or actually making the right decision by leaving my partner. Obsession or reliable decision?? I don't know and I'm so scared,0 "Wow I just started to do this sometimes. I have a Pure-O form of OCD (it started physical tho) and lately, sometimes I just shake my head to get rid of these thoughts as well. It happens when a though is (in my opinion) so bad and I feel I just cant process or justify it. Obvioysly, now its becoming more and more automatic, which is dangerous. Yes, it is defeniteley not a good thing to do, 100%. Whereas the right thing to do is leave the thought and the subsequent anxiety, what you do is creating a new ocd coping mechanism to ignore the anxiety the thought gives you. However, on the long run this will make your ocd stronger and harder for yourself to fight it. Lets both try to minimize it from this point, you have to start somewhere! Hang in there :)",0 I’m surprised my girlfriend puts up with half of the shit that comes with this curse of a disorder.,0 man i really just got a notification for this post while watching youtube and avoiding doing my reading for tomorrow,1 My husband currently has a cold. I spend every waking moment cleaning and washing things he touches. 🙃 I am exhausted.,0 "I relate 100%, My dad passed away 4 years ago and that makes the fear worse...",0 "Found it over with some of my other friends at r/bipolar, and thought it was a good fit here. I tried crossposting, but it wasn't allowing it, no biggy. [original](https://www.reddit.com/r/bipolar/comments/cfgawa/it_be_like_that)",0 Are yoh me? I named mine Karl many years ago. It helps so much haha,0 "Me, reading this meme: ""Am I the one who actually hit the person in the story?""",0 "if it makes any of you guys feel better i’ve been “cancelled” multiple times on twitter when i was like 13 for some stupid things like saying i like tyler the creator or idk sometimes a valid reason? it was for making fun of someone’s bio (in twitters defense, i was wrong for that one) and it wasn’t nearly as bad as it seems tbh. most people forgot a week later, my friends on there got a little cold to me (not even friends w them anymore so it doesn’t really matter) and that was basically it. so yeah, if i can get cancelled by a bunch of other teenagers online for saying i like a rapper they don’t like it must be pretty easy for anyone to get cancelled with a certain group of people. i have OCD but i’ve never had this theme but a little advice i guess is apologize if you find out you’re wrong about something you said, you don’t ALWAYS need to be sorry if someone gets their feelings hurt, it’s not your responsibility to deal with other people’s reactions and emotions, and you can’t control what happens after you say/do something. hope you all feel better <3",0 "And you'll beat it's ass again and again! Maybe not every time, but it gets easier Happy new year guys, and cheers for a better mental health",0 "These people have ZERO CLUE what living with this disorder is like. My BFF has major depressive disorder and it’s no picnic, but even she says she’d rather have her burden than mine. Jesus fucking Christ. If only these people knew. Lucky them.",0 "For me it's ""Oh, someone did something for me that I had been putting off? That's great, now I can relax!"" Then an hour later I find I can't relax because I feel guilty.",1 "Not to vent, but I was first diagnosed with OCD mainly because of my intense anxiety over my health, and I worked so hard to overcome it. Then...the pandemic came and scrambled me back up. 🤦 Wishing luck to everybody else trying to find their footing again..we got this.",0 You guys make me feel so much less alone about this haha,0 Sending lots of love your way! Dm anytime and know you’re not alone friend.,1 Thank you for expressing something I’ve been trying to express. Words just don’t make sense tho when I try to explain it. So thanks.,1 "Your post is very timely. I was just telling my sister how difficult it is to verbalize my thoughts. I’m a smart person with multiple degrees, but I feel like an idiot most of the time. It’s gotten to where I’ve just decided I’m going to live a more solitary existence because I can’t seem to explain myself to others, have a hard time with interpersonal relationships, and always feel a palpable distance between myself and others. It’s sad because I’d like to have friends, but I don’t feel like anyone “gets”me. So many thoughts swirl around in my head and they make sense to me, but they just don’t translate well. I almost feel like I’m fueled by emotion that there just are no words for. And I always feel regret about not having been able to say what I really meant. I’ve not been officially diagnosed as ADHD, but as all my children have struggled with it, it has forced me to see the similarities between them and myself. I was always able to just push through and finish school or find work, but my resume is laughable with the number of vastly different jobs I’ve held. I wish I could make it better for my children, but I haven’t figured it out for myself yet. At least they know they can talk to me, but it would be nice to be able to relate to others.",1 I've been trying. But writing a resume is so booooooooring! ლ(ಠ益ಠლ),1 "This combined with people who are close to me gaslighting me is a very confusing experience. I know I'm a sensitive person and I don't always reach 100% of my potential. Some of the things I'm blamed for, I do. So it's extra hard sometimes to even draw the line of is this gaslighting or am I actually the person they describe. I know that I have good intentions and always try my hardest but it's rough when there are people in your life bringing you down constantly.",1 "It aint called a disorder because living with it is all sunshine and rainbow, it’s called a disorder because it makes living life HARD! Toxic positivity is seriously invalidating. Glad you found home here",1 "Hey there! This is for those of us who haven't used word in forever and want to know where to find this mode in word. If you are like me, you haven't updated word, and when that happens, the help bar at the top of the screen no longer works for the older versions because they are no longer available to the public! Could you tell those who aren't too familiar exactly how to find this ""dictate"" mode if they have it? Thank you! \^\^",1 "Holy shit. This is the question that haunts me. Even before my diagnosis, I knew there was something functionally broken in me that prevented me from giving my all. I thought it was pure laziness. But I never had the secondary apathy that laziness allows. I always cared extremely deeply about my work, so I didn't even get the numbness of complacency. And since I wasn't doing my best, my work wasn't great. So it was all anxiety and poor product. The worst of both worlds. It's such a vague question too. What is ""my best?"" In a perfect world? Right now? In the morning? Evening? Intermittent breaks? What if I spent 5 more minutes on it? What if I slept poorly the night before? Am I culpable for every decision I made prior to this moment? And while I love my field of work, being a creative professional means there's also no clear definition of ""done."" When do I cut myself off? Am I stifling myself from my best work by imposing deadlines? Do I need to get feedback first? Am I focused? Ugh.",1 "Me: actually having a day I'm not fucking panicing 24/7 and wanting to die Mr brain: Is his evidence that all of your OCD obsessions are true after all, and you're secretly just ignoring the truth and that's why you're happy right now?",0 You are a beautiful artist and he sounds like a beautiful person <3 I wish you both all the love in the world.,0 "Medication has been the key difference for me, but I've learned something fucking weird about myself in my student identity. I have to read the text out loud. Like I have to animate the lecture notes, the text, the letters. I hope by the end of the semester I'll develop a cool gravelly voice.",1 "I was the same way with my watch later, but since I can sometimes listen to yt while at work I've actually been using it for its intended purpose! Atleast sometimes!",1 im in high school and theyre talking about doing this. like as it is i have trouble turning things in on time and actually doing shit. i cant imagine having to be responsible for turning it all online,1 "Remember, frugal doesn’t mean cheap. Buy the $75 blazer because it will last you three times as long as the $30 blazer and if you have to repurchase the $30 blazer once a year, you’ve spent more money in the long run. This is of course, so long as you can afford it. Being poor is expensive and I definitely understand that.",1 "Dopamine went bye-bye. You're not getting any stimulation so you start to feel sleepy.",1 "I have hundreds of saved Instagram photos, but I've never ONCE went through my saved collection even though I always said I would like to look back at these posts. Apparently the ""save"" button for me means that I really like something lol and that it deserves more than the heart option",1 "🎶 *he ruminates instead of sleeping, he ruminates when he's awake, He's not sure if he's been bad or good, or if his existence was a mistake?* 🎶",0 "i can wholeheartedly stand behind this. as someone with ADHD, Anxiety, and Depression, putting these photos on my phone and looking at them helps tremendously. When i have breakdowns or can’t focus, i’ll look at a photo of me and my S.O and try to tell myself to do it for them. The latter end of my strategy may not be the healthiest, i’ll admit, but it really does help.",1 How sweet! Awww. So happy for you. Stay happy yall! Lots of love.,0 "Not to mention, swearing at everyone and everything around me, wishing other people harm, cussing at me to name a few. It's like having turrets on the inside.",0 "Thank you for this. I hadn't realised how isolated I felt, it's heartwarming to know that there are some people out there who understand. I'm incredibly sorry for your loss but I want you to know we are here for you too, and I'm certain he would be happy you are spreading so much light and love in his memory. I hope you find your peace too.",1 "This is the best thing I've seen all day 😂😂😂😂 mine would be 1. The world is going to end RIGHT NOW 2. Did I leave the stove on? 3. Did I forget to pack my kid lunch for school? 4. 5. All the trees are going to fall on my house, ALL OF THEM",0 this is absolutely amazing! so happy for you keep it up,0 I sometimes worry that ex boyfriends may have videotaped us without my knowledge even though logically I know it never happened. Thank goodness I was paranoid even back in my hoe days and never showed my face in nudes 🥴,0 "I hope this is a joke. No one choses to be this sad, on edge, and have all the complications and struggles that go with mental health. I can’t stand people who say this crap. The amount of times people have told me to just stop worrying. Kindly let the door hit you on the way out please.",0 "It was honestly such a relief to me back when I was diagnosed and I was offered psyke education. I, of course, went and learned that because of the lack of noradrenaline and dopamine my brain needs to produce to store information as long-term memories I am not just choosing to forget stuff.. My ADHD is the reason why I forgot to go to birthdays I was invited to. I need to have this big ass calendar up on my wall, so I can write stuff like that down the second I make arrangements with other people. On the other hand, my ADHD brain is really good at storing memories, if they have some kind of emotional impact on me. Especially if it's negative. But before I knew of my ADHD I and people around me just assumed that it was my weird personality, and that I was just indifferent to certain people. I'm so glad it isn't the case because I never really felt like it was the truth but how could I ever explain it, when I didn't know what it was?",1 "I feel this so hard 😖 lately I have been having obsessive thoughts about someone and keep having intrusive thoughts about them, no matter how hard I try I can't stop these thoughts, what should I do?",0 God me. My issue is my hands will go from soft and pretty to dry and painful as hell in one day and I'm not sure how to fix that!,0 "I have contamination OCD and can't used the bathroom with few exceptions. No, it's not an organizational disorder",0 Very good thank you sorry i am 10 coins shorts of an award but if i get some free coins itll be on this effort used post,1 i came to this post with hope and left with sadness lol,1 "wait.... not everyone.... did this? every day i learn all the forms compulsions come in",0 "I've had symptoms of OCD since I was in third grade, I'm 23 and I was just diagnosed this month. I'm the exact opposite of the stereotype. I'm scattered and disorganized, I cannot stand sterile environments and I just thought I was a bad person with bad thoughts meant to be alone and rejected. My boyfriend talked his throat dry trying to convince me I'm not the horrible things that pop into my head but coming from a culture without any mental health representation he didn't have the right words to show me how to get help. I stumbled into my my journey to figure out how to cope because my little sister was ""lucky"" enough to have more ""typical"" symptoms and was able to tell me there were ways to get help. The amount of relief when I got the diagnosis and now the amount of relief I get reading some of these posts in this sub. I'm far from better (in fact obsessing about the diagnosis has been an issue recently) but it really does offer some fucking hope which is something parts of me have been missing as long as I can remember. Even just scrolling through this sub seeing posts like this showing that OCD doesn't have to look like it does in movies makes my spirally ass day an iota less shitty, so genuinely thanks a lot.",0 Having ocd is like having your own personal torturer that lives inside your head. Most people don't have to put up with that shit. We're strong,0 "I have to step a certain amount of steps in each slab of concrete before I could walk over to the next one lmfao, I always thought people did this as a fun game or something.",0 I been struggling with intrusive thoughts too ): maybe I should try that please let me know where you got it from thank you :),0 "I remember two things. 1. My dad would tell me ""C's get degrees."" If I can't handle 100% of what's expected, do as much as I can, aim for 70%, and if I run out of time, apologize. I often can get way more done aiming for 70 than 100. 100 is hard. 70 is easy. 2. There's a Ben Folds Five song, the only one I actually faved on Spotify - Do It Anyway. I have had too many moment I've regretted not doing something, and then I heard that song and now I do it anyway. Risk it anyway. Those both help. Not always. But they do. Today my routine got interrupted and I'm a little bleh. So tonight ill work out late anyway.",1 "It's funny, I've always lived life this way and now it makes sense.",1 "Oooooft- I’m worse if I google someone else’s symptoms. “I don’t know how to break this to you, but you’re dying and it’s my fault...”",0 "Emails, texts, & Reddit posts. If I screw up a single comma, I feel physical pain.",0 You should consider selling this as a tshirt on Redbubble or similar,0 do u get a discount ?! or is just free coronas.. goooooooaaaaaallllll,1 "Hehehe that is actually kind of endearing imo. He needs to get over himself and laugh it off. Haven't ever forgotten having sex, but I bet you it could happen. I'm a guy btw.",1 I literally just experienced this exact thing and was trying to put it into words. ,1 "Can I ask if you ever thought you would make it? I’ve had ocd since my childhood, I can’t pinpoint an exact age, but I’m only 19 now. It feels like an impossible task to live into adulthood ",0 Doesn't happen a lot but those songs that have sounds like a police siren give me a one second freak out moment when I'm driving 😂,0 I have a think where no matter what I actually think about myself I have forbidden myself from saying anything nice because I’m scared I’m secretly evil.,0 "This is my life hahah. I mainly do this surrounding calculus currently but I’ve always been this way. It seems to always work out in the end though, there’s no consequences (my grades don’t suffer) and if there’s no consequence why would I change what I’m doing. This frustrates me beyond belief because I feel like I could do better - I know I’m capable. Even if I want approach a task I want nothing to do with and just fucking knock it out - I can’t until it’s the very last moment and the pressure is on. “Can’t” meaning I literally have to fight my mind for it’s attention. I will try to focus on what is being said but my mind wandering will just pull me right back in. I know in the back of my mind I’ll get it done eventually so there’s a part of me that’s like fuck it it really doesn’t matter right now let’s go elsewhere. Completely different story if it’s something I’m interested in though.",1 "So, uh, yeah, turns out our whole personalities are formed around this.",1 Then i seek reassurances from all over the world....,0 "if they knew how bad ocd really is, they wouldn’t be making such menial jokes about it",0 Google docs also has this! But they have to be talking slowly and enunciating or else ull just get gibberish lol. I talked at a normal speed using it once and it didnt even register,1 "« When put in a setback, we must challenge our assumptions ». Nicely done",1 "you are working to create the reward itself, on top of working. that just sounds like more work. nah.",1 Lmao I hate that I always laugh at these because it is not a fun time but this is so accurate.,0 "Thank you so much for your post, if you can next time you see your doctor ask a question for me? My doctor didn't want to adjust my dose past the initial 20mg ritalin LA x2 daily AM/PM, their solution was just to take both pills in the AM so 40mg (which seemed like a massive jump) and nothing for the afternoon, which is just infuriating as it doesn't just help me work, but also live a relatively normal life, could you see if he thinks that's absurd? I wish my country had more medication options but we're limited to ritalin and dexam, I cant metabolize dexam so I'm a prisoner with ritalin, which isnt horrible but it still just feels like normal me most of the time.",1 "You said, ""runs slower on purpose,"" are you okay? I'm gonna leave this here in case you need it /r/suicidewatch",0 I’m not very clean or organized and I definitely have OCD. To the point where obsessive thoughts and actions put strain on my body (tics) and my relationships.,0 Can confirm. Had appointments every Monday at 3pm for almost a year. Shit sucked.,1 "More like, ""Are you sure? Are You SuRE? HUH PUNK? ARE YOU?!?"" ... Yes I'm sure. [Repeat till a new theme appears]",0 "Oh man, I feel you. A younger me would be horrified if she knew I would be alone at this stage of my life. Current me really enjoys the quiet.",1 What a trigger. Dislike reading statements like this.,0 bro just don't do your compulsions it's not that hard 🤓,0 "Ah yes… I remember purchasing a new planner every few weeks when I was in high school. Each one would have 2-5 pages filled out, usually with little fighting stickmen running about in between sentences. End of the year I’d scoop all 2 dozen out from the bottom of the locker I literally never used for anything but dumping weight from my backpack and throw them away. Just another thing that makes me frustrated it took me until age 31 to figure out what was wrong.",1 Yea man Thas the thing most people thinks it’s just about being organize,0 "!!! Yes! I've been listening to coffee shop ambience on youtube in noise cancelling headphones and it helps so much. Also, using a planner to write down EVERY task (school assignments, laundry, exercise, etc) and crossing it off as you go down the list is really helpful for me. It's physical proof I'm being productive :)",1 "Hey, you're gonna be alright. These 6-9 months will be the hardest in your life. You might feel like you're alone in this, or you may even be discouraged to seek help. You're not alone at all, I know people who got help after years and made a full recovery! And you're a person who deserves happiness just like everyone else, please don't be scared about reaching out! In the mean time, i recommend Freedom from OCD.",0 Does your dad do seminars? We could all benefit from his wisdom.,1 "Sometimes this works but sometimes it doesn’t but when there’s something I need to do, like a shower, I keep thinking: SHOWER SHOWER SHOWER SHOWER SHOWER SHOWER Until I’m in the bathroom or am ready to do what I need to do... maybe I’ll also repeat the things I need to get like SHOWER BAG or TOWEL until I’ve gotten it to move onto the next step.",1 I missed two appointments in a row at 3pm and missed two others for other reasons (forgot). Went unmediated for 4 months. Only just got my Vyvanse refilled.,1 "WoW!! Saved for future reference, well done & thanks",1 "Does it ever stop?? Been going on 2 years now on the same intrusive thought, its getting old lol",0 "YES. I used to make sure that every object had a 'friend,' as I would worry that it would be lonely. This meant that everything had to be in two's, e.g. eating two grapes at a time. I would also make sure that certain objects didn't get preferential treatment, e.g. stuffed animals. I still experience the latter sometimes and I'm in my late 20s.",0 "Me: enjoying life OCD: hey bro you gonna keep playing this game? Oh yea? Stop playing this game right now or else (insert punishment) Me: OH NO PLEASE NOOOO OCD: hahaha Me: wow I can’t believe 5 seconds made me go depressed for 3 hours. OCD: Hi! Me: no OCD has left the chat.",0 "IMPORTANT: youre supposed to floss, mouthwash, THEN brush. Most people do this backwards. Theres been statistics stating that rinsing after you brush could undo upwards of 50% of the work you just did. also worth noting that you are supposed to leave 30 minute gaps between when you eat/drink and when you brush your teeth. This helps prevent uneccessary tooth enamel erosion. other than that, congrats on your 27 day streak!",1 "I’m yet to be diagnosed (likely ADHD primarily inattentive), but you just described my biggest struggle. It’s been incredible to feel validated by others experiences",1 "This happens to me when I dread an evening chore/activity and I find out that I was confused and the activity is the next day. It's seriously like a wave of calm washing over me. There's at least 2 major issues with this of course, which is that I have no mental image of my weekly planning, and that I associate procrastination with happiness, but I'll get to that someday.",1 And the joy of finally clearing everything up after dozens—or hundreds—of tries actually feels like winning a lottery.,0 "Haha, saw this post way too late. Was dumb and chased dopamine for four hours straight and now it’s 7am. Whoops. I’m just gonna shower, take a small nap maybe, and then go about my day. Honestly might just even avoid sleeping so I can try and reset my sleep schedule tonight, *again.*",1 """you have so much potential, why don't you just......"" this sentence I heard so many times and it's so painful.",1 "Me: *paints miniatures* OCD: you are a parasite upon your family, sitting here with toy soldiers, fsiling at everything! Me: i aint failing in thiy at least",0 "I’m an essential worker and I’ve been working overtime because of all my coworkers getting sick or taking leave of absence and let me tell you, my days off are something. Work is the only thing distracting me from losing it right now :)",0 "I’ve always thought that shitty people don’t think about if they’re shit or not, they just are. People who second guess themselves and are cautious and aware enough to question it probably aren’t as bad off as they think.",0 "Honestly I barely care about the world. What I absolutely cannot get behind is how bad this gets once I enter a relationship. I mean I’d tear off my arm and give it to a one-armed stranger who smiled at me. Can you imagine my last relationship? It was absolutely horrible and I still don’t know if I was to blame for being so intense. Edit: For LOVING in an intense way. Let’s put it like that.",1 "i am so so proud of you! keep it going, you’ll get there!",0 "This is such a beautiful piece of work, it’s definitely something to be proud of!!!",0 "im so scared my mic is on, even while staring at the muted symbol. Also i worry they are still watching me after i close the app!! So annoying and doesn’t make sense",0 "When I was younger anytime my mom asked my to clean my room I would just get stressed out and take a nap. Eventually she realized that wasn't working for me and started asking me to do one very specific task at a time. Now as an adult I still try to break things down into simpler tasks to avoid getting overwhelmed (although most of the time I get distracted and start doing something else in the middle of it).",1 I’m the guy who posted a few days ago a fairly popular post saying that OCD is heavy duty but treatable. You are the living proof of it. Thanks for this!,0 "I’m temporarily living with my parents as an adult and so many times I’ve said I’m going to do something over and over for a couple of days and then my mom will just do it one day and I’ll feel awful. I try really hard not to do that, but then I end up just doing everything right in the moment and dropping whatever else I was doing, which screws up any type of routine or planning I try to maintain. I’ll get things done for my parents and for the household as a whole, but I’ll completely lose track of personal tasks and projects. No balance whatsoever. Damnit.",1 "I hope this gets noticed because it seems like this could help many people in this thread. This may be an ADHD thing, yet it is also a trauma thing. Hearing negative comments from what feels like everyone you see, over and over since childhood, is emotionally traumatizing, and has real psychological consequences. Gaslighting yourself? Just taking it? Not who you are as a person. It's a planted response. The anger is normal. There is quite a lot of relevant information in ""CPTSD: From Surviving to Thriving"" by Pete Walker (you can get it for free on pdfdrive if you're not against piracy for health improvement). Most importantly: there is nothing shameful about this delayed response, and it may go away after self work. The book mentions the following key points: Awareness and recognition of past unfair treatment. Having ADHD doesn't take away your humanity, people do. Nobody deserves this. Emotional flashbacks: reliving emotional pain when triggered by something similar. May present as an overly strong reaction to something normal. Inner critic (who is NOT your voice) and necessity of thought replacement. Grieving the fact that traumatic things happened. There are 4 ways: verbal ventilation (can be a diary), sitting with the feeling of grief, but most important are anger and crying. If one or both of the latter summon inner criticism (shame is a form), verbalizing is best until critic is less of an influence. Anger together with tears is a normal response hardwired in babies. Unfortunately society tends to block either or both in people, which diminishes the capacity of emotional healing. Finally, the start of the book mentions that ADHD may be a misdiagnosis of trauma. I don't believe in that applying to everyone, of course. I've read elsewhere, though, that the same brain areas are affected (and helped by medication). It gave me hope that some of the worst things may go away with time. Hope this helps you in any way.",1 A jump scare in a horror movie happening over and over again.,0 "It could be a learning style issue more than ADHD, but I'm the same way. I'm a ""systems"" learner. I learn an entire system at once and need to know what does what and what and how. It makes me slower to learn, but I get a much more thorough understanding of things - and I retain it for years even if I don't use it.",1 "I feel trapped in this life. I have enough money to realize it can’t buy happiness, so what else is there?",1 "I have an absolutely *terrible* time following instructions if I don't know the reason. Drove my mother NUTS when I was a kid because she's the kind of parent who wants to give instructions or opinions and be done with it. Apparently I argued all the time. But then, apparently I still argue even when I'm doing my best not to, so I'm putting that one on her. But I definitely have to know why. This came up because I give my kids reasons for everything and she told me that once they hit middle school, they're going to argue all the time. My (internal) reaction was to look forward to it. There were a few years where I had UTIs often. Doctors said to drink lots of water, but they never said why and I never thought to ask, I'd just fail at it afterwards. Finally one gave the instruction to ""drink lots of water to flush out the bacteria"" and it was like a light went on. I stopped needing antibiotics after that, because I'd just drink plenty of water and the problem would go away.",1 "This is awesome. I have a friend who actively corrects people now, ever since I opened up to him about the thoughts I get he's realised just how different it is to how it's often portrayed.",0 "I'm diagnosed ASD but I'm on this sub as I'm awaiting a ADHD referral. You're absolutely not alone. I used to feel like that so much. That nothing I could do is right by anyone else, that we're just cycling round on a burning planet full of misery, that I will damage my children no matter how hard I try not to, that I would never stop having panic attacks. Please know that things can get better in your head. Also, 'man up' is a phrase that makes me livid because of how much harm it does to people - please allow yourself to ban that phrase from your internal monologue. My husband is all the man I could ever want and he cries with me when he's sad, talks about his feelings lots, and always shows his love and affection openly. I don't know how he puts up with me, but those traits you feel are letting you down are exactly the ones that some people are looking for - you just haven't found those people yet. Sending you lots of love and well wishes OP xx",1 "This is is the perfect explanation of ADHD i have ever read. This is what I have been trying to tell my father and brother for years (both have adhd as well and think of it as an Ooh! Squirrel!) I've never been able to get all of this together whenever I try to tell them about how ADHD is so much more than that. Usually because they interrupt me and i forget everything else I've wanted to say.. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. I am on the verge of crying.",1 "Y’all, most of us have a ton of empathy for others. We care a LOT. IIRC this has been studied and is a recognized thing. Lots of us are really good humans who are often in a lot of pain. Lots of love to all my homies with big hearts undertaking courageous, usually hidden battles everyday.",0 "Im so glad im not the only one with ear issues, i sleep with earplugs and always have qtips on hand because i get convinced somethings flown into my ear",0 "A lot of the time I'm taking in the info and it's floating around in my head for a while but the moment I go to try to explain it, my words get as jumbled as my thoughts. Its a bit easier if I go to write out what I know though because it relieves the pressure of when someone's staring at you waiting for your words to come out lmao. After a while the info gets lost in my memory though and can only be accessed in bits and pieces at random times lol. Like when I put something in a spot where I won't lose it, and then lose it anyway. Till a year later, out of nowhere my brain goes ""oh ya I put that thing in that one place!""",1 "My OCD demands things clean and organized while my depression just kinda makes me sit and suffer being unable to do anything about it. It's this weird cycle of hell lmao 🙃",0 "The only time “tough love” works for me is when someone who knows me KNOWS I’m essentially self sabotaging myself and tells me that they know I’m better than this. They know I can do the work, do a task well, etc. I honesty would much rather have it than someone being passive aggressive. Like at least I don’t have to take an hour trying to read in between the lines of what you meant and then go into self loathing mode because I don’t know what you meant.",1 You just reminded me I should probably clean my list out too. I have thousands of videos sitting on there for years and I never watched them nor do I even know what the hell I thought putting some of the videos on there,1 "(TW): \> has intrusive thoughts about >!death.!< \> watches comedy show \> has intrusive thoughts about >!the comedians dying.!< Every time.",0 That is so true. I had no idea how debilitating my disability is. I am intensely struggling with my work life. I have no idea how I will be able to support myself. I’m scared of the future.,1 "Yeah, this is me too. I think we have to stop trying to force ourselves to think in terms of the timescales set by morning people, at least when it comes to the time we're actually in control of. ""Late"" or ""Early"" in the day are relative concepts and mean something different to us. Sometimes that means saying ""I'll just have a really productive 30 minutes while I have the time and see what happens from there"". One thing I've discovered is that I just like doing things at night, and am much better at it. I can either stay up until 4am doing stuff, or I can get up at 3am and start doing stuff, but I just can't do a productive 9-5 in daytime hours. Getting up super early (3am-5am) is somehow easier than getting up at regular morning person time (6am-8am) because it's still night time (which is my time - the world is quiet and serene and expects nothing from me) and it feels like something exciting. It's a valid alternative to getting up at noon, but getting up at a ""normal"" time is impossible.",1 """Everyone has a little ADHD, I forget things too!"" ~~""Okay, so you forget to eat, too? Because I forget to eat""~~ ""Okay, so you forget you're having sex when you go a 5 min break to pee during sex?"" This a new level of ""No dude, you Don't have ADHD. You don't know what it is like"".",1 If I ever get my life sorted out enough to have a partner - I’ll take this advice.,1 I didn’t even realize that other people with ADHD struggled with this. This really helped me a lot,1 "Damn it OCD wasn’t actually affecting me that much today, but now that I’m thinking about it the intrusive thoughts are coming",0 "Yesterday I went to the dentist for a tooth ache. When I arrived there the dentist was fixing someone's dentures. He run the tips of his fingers in water, no soap, dried them and put on gloves to check my mouth. I told him I had to reschedule. I am not going back.",0 Gag me with a butcher knife came to mind the other day...,0 "Thanks for sharing and you'll get through this if you ever need support, advise or just need to rant we'll be here. Recovery will probaly be hell but you WILL get through it . -all the best",1 Fuckkkkk this is me scoping out every aspect of my room just incase I need something else😫,0 "wow other people seem to do this too it's annoying for me because I feel like I have to read lots of negative comments and that triggers my hair-pulling and *then*, after I've scrolled for a while, I start to feel health anxiety because ""oh I've been looking at a screen too long aaaaa"" sigh",0 "You need to set up a system of constant accountability. The most productive I have ever been has been on a rigid schedule with regular accountability. A job, a boss, a spouse, a routine… something to hold you accountable.",1 Any tips on how to fight these intrusive thoughts. It gets so overwhelming for me at times.,0 Very true but also feels like this belongs in the oddly specific subreddit too :),0 This is why my job as a schoolphotographer is perfect. I work maximum 1 week at a school. And then change people and place.,1 Sighs… it’s nice to know I’m not the only one. Procrastination and self-frustration are two of the worst things about my ADHD.,1 "Damn this is spot on, way to go. This is insanely impressive",0 "You look awesome Sir! I can only wish to have the amount of strength and courage you have. I'm only 18 right now but honestly contemplating my existence because I can't really do anything well (if I start doing something well, I get nervous and purposely start ruining it). Keep fighting Sir and please never give up! You are stronger than your illness.",0 I literally became the top 2% of listeners for the gorillaz based off of listening to melancholy hill for the past 6 months,1 "ah yes, the ""if I don't get it done now I can't, ever, even though there's an hour till I even need to get ready to leave and im going to be a half hour early anyway but there is NO MORE TIME"" experience, im familiar",1 "I’ve had this exact thought process countless times i thought it was only me This sub is a blessing",0 "My big thing is whenever I’m at a concert or in a pub, I constantly have to check my pockets for my phone, keys, ID and bank card, no matter how many times I check I am NEVER convinced I’ve got them all",0 "I have experienced so much negativity that someone can have their entire lifetime, I want to spread positivity as much as possible in my long life here. All types of Love is the ultimate feelings and I went so long wanting to give it but be unable to that I don’t want to be like that again. Social anxiety and being a fake person I’m not doing that again and actually being in touch in my emotions after thinking for so long emotions are bad, I’m so much happier for it.",1 "Me: There's 16 steps down to my room in the basement, hasn't changed since the house was built. OCD: Count them anyways.",0 "Oh yeah I have to verbally speak out loud to silence the cringe, I sound like a crazy person talking to themselves if someone were to eavesdrop",0 Well shit is my brain basically John Carpenter’s The Thing now?,0 That’s why I hardly ever look at posts to see if I can help people because it fucks me over lol,0 "Yes. I went to college for computer programming. As new database technology was developed, programmers were often only told what they need to know to do their segment of the work. In top secret environments you wouldn't even know what the data was. I couldn't. I had to know the whole project.",1 "I recently told my mom about ADHD being hereditary. I’m pretty sure she doesn’t believe I have it, but whatever. My dad for sure has it. My mom might too. It explains why I grew up never feeling listened to.",1 i have OCD & depression & they can make it so if i don’t have to go out i’ll just sleep on the floor & not shower. my room is also disorganized as hell but that’s how it be ¯\_(ツ)_/¯,0 I am ashamed to say that i used to say ¨im so ocd i colour code everything¨ Little did i know i had ocd and have had it since i was 10 but....,0 "Hey! I'm writing a paper on ADHD and how it affects older students in academic settings for my Public Speaking class for my Informative speech. These sound like quotes, can you please tell me what sources you used for this information? I now suddenly have a killer idea for my introduction: ""I'm going to describe a condition, and I want you to think about what it might be. X, and Y, and Z. How many of you guessed that these are symptoms of ADHD?""",1 ADHD folks have object impermanence?? I've never seen this anywhere.,1 "It is been a really shit day, but this gave me a good laugh, thank you very much",0 "That is AWESOME! I spent middle school, high school, college, and a few years beyond, only able to use 2, and somewhat recently had the same success of being able to take it down by one. You’re a freaking rockstar! I hope you’re letting yourself celebrate in some way!",0 "I dealt with a similar compulsion in the past, so I know just how big of a win this is, congrats!",0 "My arm and face almost always twitch or jerk. I’m berated with intrusive thoughts everyday. I can’t go out in public without people looking at me. I feel like a freak on display, and you think OCD is just being tidy? Fuck you.",0 I do this with lids and plastic forks at fast food restaurants.,0 "The biggest thing you can do, besides self-care and therapy, is educating others. It is immensely helpful for those in your life to understand what you deal with and ultimately give them the tools to help you. You are not alone. It is so exhausting, but we are here for you.",0 "A lot of that reality show is scripted. And yeah, society does not understand nor empathize with OCD, or abnormal psychology in general for that matter. Its best to keep it between yourself, your therapist, and your community of OCD sufferers. No one else is going to understand and few have the intellect and emotional intelligence to learn over the course of a conversation. Before it wasn't cute anymore to talk about drug problems (about age 25 IMO), I used to explain periods in my life of lack of productivity and health as results of drug addiction despite never having tried hard drugs for the most part, definitely not to any extent of excess. That went over better than OCD, I was and still am horrified and stunned at the callousness, ignorance, and malice that abounds for OCD. ""Just stop!"", ""if you were being chased by a bear you wouldn't spend a hour tying your shoe"", ""oh yeah I/my so/my mom/etc. had ocd and always had to check the locks before going to sleep, it was nothing what is your problem!"" ""you are faking it to get pity and attention!"". The last kind of comment I hated and despised the most, which upon hearing I can't even be in the same room with them without struggling to withhold punching the f out of them if they are male.",0 "Yep exactly describes my life. My whole life is the Minecraft achievement “how did we get here”. I swear I was a failing grade 7 student just yesterday, but somehow I’m an A student in my last year of high school, I can barely even remember last year, I don’t remember learning, I don’t remember getting here. I don’t know how I am here, it’s all a blur, everyone is laughing and smiling, with so much free time to do activities together, while I’m just starring at the clock a couple seconds and somehow it’s been 3 hours. If time doesn’t slow down, next time when I blink I’ll be 37, I feel like I’ve already had a midlife crisis and it was when I realized I was in high school already.",1 "I literally call my compulsions a bitch. When I try to ignore them I’m like, “No bitch, I’m not doing that. You can, but I’m not”. Sometimes she be winning thooo 😣",0 "Ok. So I have the H, due to lesser hyperactivity, and more impulsiveness. I still feel this in my bones. Does that make my diagnosis of the H less valid? Or are ADD and ADHD really the same thing only resulting in different outcomes? Because here (Netherlands), the ADD people tend to argue that it is ""completely different"" from ADHD, so it is not the same. (Sorry, meds have finished working, it is bedtime and my English isn't working for me anymore)",1 "Well, I think I can say with confidence, you’re not alone. This is my life in a nutshell. I read all the comments enthusiastically, hoping someone would have some suggestions. Turns out we’re all just procrastinating on Reddit!",1 "Finally, a decent post describing life with ADHD. It's not simply the act of procrastinating, its an involuntary and wholesale rejection of executive function.",1 The other night I watched a movie that triggered me really bad (and idek why) and after I had a panic attack and a breakdown and whatever I convinced myself that I was just overreacting and none of the last hour really happened... I’m still just as confused as ever :’),0 "This is sooo me. Im glad that Im not alone in this. I mean its sucks but at least I know Im not just lazy. Sharing this kind of stories you make other people to feel more relief.",1 "Heyyy, welcome to the club pal ! 141 IQ as a comorbidity to ADHD, I feel dumb as fuck, I'm tired all the time and my ADHD was harder to diagnose because higher IQ makes it ""natural"" to compensate for the usual ADHD issues. And I'm a walking imposter syndrome too.",1 "If you didn’t have a mental illness yet, START NOW!",0 "Oh man those 5 min emails are torture. Maybe its cos the payoff is not a reward. It needs to be a reward like dopamine or something. But i get nothing, and then naturally one email to do is soon replaced by another.",1 How do you check your saved posts on the official reddit app?,1 Wow yeah this one hits me. Usually I have a hard time relating to the physical depictions of OCD here but this is exactly how I feel.,0 I hate this as advice but it’s my latest strategy to “yell it out” so if my brain is saying *intrusive thought* I try to think “NO NO NO” and fill my thoughts with literally anything that it’s my the intrusive thought. I can only think of one thing at a time so it works for me.,0 14 is a garbage number! fuck 14 all my homies HATE 14,0 Genuinely have never related to anything more in my life,0 "OH MY GOD. THIS. THISSSS I made a little needle felted owl and I never got back to it for months and the only thing it lack is it's left wing. I dont have the motivation to do that anymore!",1 "One of my big ones is that if I do a backflip, I have to do a front flip after and vice versa. The same thing applies with spinning. If I do a 360 degree spin to the left. I’ve gotta do it to the right afterwards or my sense of direction will be lost forever somehow.",0 "It's a problem. My brain interprets planning as writing itself, so I sometimes plan a whole thing... ...and don't write because my brain is high-fiving itself like ""WOO GOOD JOB TEAM"" and I'm here thinking ""but I haven't finished the thing yet, why are you celebrating?""",1 "As I read this paragraph, it was like looking into a mirror... I just flashed back to every time I struggled in school without knowing why I couldn’t do the work like everyone else. Not knowing why I took longer to learn and why I couldn’t remember or pay attention to anything no matter how hard I try...",1 This is amazing I’ve been trying the same thing but can’t do it as well,0 Remember. The lion is not in the room with you. He is far away.,0 "When I first started taking Adderall I was required to see my medical doctor every 3 months (now it's every 6 months), like everything else with ADHD it was a major project remembering appointments & getting there etc., but there was one good upside, I now have a terrific relationship with my doctor & I had the opportunity to discuss every new medical issue as they came up. After asking me if I still had ADHD (✓) & was the Adderall working (✓) we basically used my required Adderall appointments as time to check in on other health issues.",1 Yooo i hate that. I can do little tasks around my big task but I can't do two big tasks in the same day,1 "Sorry to hear of your struggles, but we can all relate here. Others have already said it, but if you have to focus (even just having a convo with mum) you need blood sugar and that means eating food. Carbs and nutrition is so important for ADHD brains. Another strategy is do something while having the conversation, like play with something in your hands or unpacking the dishwasher, it'll help you focus on the conversation. For house cleaning and organisation, try to not let the clutter bog you down, but it is very freeing to have everything in its 'place' so even if a chore is too hard, try do the mini version of it, eg. Prepare for the chore by organising the mess and clutter. A lot of the time I do this and it leads to me doing the chore anyway. I feel more in control when I know where to expect the mess and clutter, design your mess, but also acknowledge that your brain can't handle it, try pick one thing to do, like vacuum the cat hair. And only do that one thing. (I know it won't happen that way) When everything is so overwhelming you feel like a foreign object in a world that wasn't built for you, forgive yourself and allow yourself to live based on what will help you. Not what you think you should do to be 'normal'. I don't know what I'm rambling about anymore, but just want to say 'same'. You're not alone and it's ok to feel completely hopeless. Keep trying and make sure you tell the people closest to you how you feel and what is making you struggle. Best of luck.",1 "Exactly. I wish this disorder made me just a perfectionist.....not a worrying, extremely doubtful, apprehensive ball of sadness....",0 I have straight up zoned out doing it. You are not alone,1 "I’ve been trying to pay two doctor copays for 7 months. They’re probably in collections by now, but I finally purchased the money orders to pay them…. Last week. I still haven’t filled them out or mailed them.",1 "My catch phrase “I’m a jack of all trades, master of none” bc I quit if I’m not an instant master",1 Anyone else get so anxious and quick tempered when someone interrupts? I have Pure O and I swear every time I’m in the middle of trying to solve and almost have the right feeling my mom asks me to go to the store for her.,0 "We need to make a 3,000 mile move in a couple months (that we've known about for a couple months already) and I've been like this with packing and sorting. My hubby is just as bad. I don't know how we're gonna pull this off. Just looking at my to do list gives me anxiety.",1 "Alright guys, what are we not gonna do? We’re not gonna procrastinate work just because it’s online now, we’re gonna kick it’s ass properly.",1 "My OCD just recently made me develop health anxiety, and now that I'm on the up and up from that, I can safely say that that is not a rabbit hole I ever wanna go down again lol",0 Oh I thought I was the only one that dealt with time skips. :o,1 I go to an online high school so yeah welcome to hell,1 You already lost me to laying on top of whatever warm bedding I pulled out of the dryer right around step 1,1 Most people think this but in the end its just you. I’ve legit asked people and they’ve looked at me like “what are you talking about dude?” We tend to ruminate about moments having OCD and not doing things “just right” in the end it’s part of the OCD. If you do actually do strange shit within conversations you’d probably do it without OCD as well.,0 "I’ve hung around the autism subreddits before(I am a teacher and felt a more personal perspective would give me a better understanding of the actual experience of my students) and I noticed this, but I want to note that the majority of toxic positivity seems to come from one place: parents of autistic children of varying spectrum degrees. And I think even some of this from autistic people can be viewed as coming from parents because the rejection of autism as a negative seems to originate from either a parent who was desperately supportive in the wrong way, or desperately upset by the traits of their child. I see this also in real life with students. There is a bit of a difference here, in that people with ADHD (usually) do not have deficits in communication as severe or debilitating as is found in autism spectrum. Thus, toxic positivity takes over in subreddits where the disabled cannot self-advocate as easily, because it is necessary for the comfort of the parent advocates and the children who want to please them. But that is just a theory.",1 For me I feel some slightly annoying in my foot like I have to walk on the white ones and the red ones are bad it's not as strong as it was in my childhood,0 "its 12:44 am, about to watch the office s2e3 with ice cream while my belly and butt are already starting to have stretch marks, also, I have a paper due tmrw",1 "Yes. Furthermore, that song on the radio “oh she’s sweet but a PSYCHO a little bit PSYCHO.” No. We will not compare a cute temperamental girl to a person with ACTUAL FUCKING ISSUES. So many people use things like mental illness as a way to seem “edgy” and “relatable” and it grosses me out. People with real mental health don’t wear it as a badge!",0 That picture just captures everything so perfectly. I needed that laugh!,0 Actually i did go to sleep but i woke up and now i cant sleep,1 "Beautifully written, glimpse into your soul. Thank you very much for these words.",1 "I can absolutely relate. If I don't know why a piece of information is important, then it goes in one ear and out the other. I am unable to remember anything unless I know why it's important to remember it. I'd also add that I struggle to absorb information unless it builds on other information I already have. Information without context is just noise to me.",1 "Oh for the love of Vera YES! It feels absolutely necessary to every part of my life. I live for the why.",1 "Actually it's bedtime, but now I'm gonna be thinking about this while I'm trying to sleep...",1 "Bro for real. When this all started I was like oh great, the one part of OCD I’ve hardly ever had a problem with. And now here we are.",0 "Wait, you guys ALSO spend $400 on a 3D printer that, by the time it arrived, you're no longer interested in, and it's been sat in its box in your attic for 2 years?",1 "Exactly this! Brain’s always on and obsessing from the time you wake up to the moment you pass out. As others have said here, you’re not alone, stay strong.",0 Have you ever tried any medication to help you be a bit more productive so at the end of the day you don’t feel like you’ve wasted time?,1 "This is so accurate, and I've been doing it without even realizing it. - Ordering healthy(ish) groceries and paying the delivery fee and tip because the alternative is impulse-buying crap food or getting takeout/fast food. - paying for youtube premium so I don't spend money on the stuff advertised to me - paying more for better makeup that I spend less time putting on. Time is just as important as money, and cheap makeup just leaves me in the bathroom twice as long trying to make it look good. - dog food on Amazon subscription so I never forget to buy it or get too lazy to go out - same with my toothbrush: quip is the crap man. No charging, auto-refills. - I'm sure there's more but I'm getting bored trying to remember more examples",1 """Stop caring so much"" definitely heard that one a lot",0 "It looks beautiful and you are so brave, congrats!! ❤ I've also had a very hard time with creativity ever since my OCD got a lot worse 10 years ago. I love writing, but I constantly re-think plots and get completely tangled in them. Brainstorming is more like a brain-hurricaning to me, and nothing ever seems good enough :(( I've also had a hard time with the spontaneity and playful side of creating. But sometimes it gets better and I really appreciate those moments.",0 "Omg. I told my colleague about my OCD today, her response was ”Have you tried going to the gym? I think it could help!” wow thanks great advice (And just for the record: I am already in great shape, eat healthy and exercise regularly, so it was not some kind of hint that they just think I’m unhealthy.)",0 What if its just an excuse cause I don't want to change my shitty behavior !!!,0 "Also search RSD/Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria for all y’all wondering. This also happens with objects, not just people.",1 Odd numbers for me! I find myself chanting them to myself like some weird goblin when I do my checks.,0 "When people say this garbage to me, I always say ""Really? Because I am actually *diagnosed* with OCD . . ."" and that usually shuts them up. Like, what? It's an anxiety disorder that interferes with my life (less so now that I'm on meds). Take your BS nonsense and GTFO.",0 "Why oh why did I read this post today at 10am, and not at 1am... or 4am for that matter...",1 I've always wondered if these thoughts are Pure O or a byproduct of my abusive childhood/cptsd. Or both. Maybe my childhood shaped the core beliefs that cause the thoughts.,0 Thank you for the post. My whole life i thought i was a uniquely damaged person. When i started looking for answers i realized im a carbon copy of a million other fucked off people. The knowledge gives me comfort and pisses me off.,1 Yes! This is exactly it. These memes are so good sometimes,0 "**is cooking** Brain: pour the boiling hot water on yourself",0 """Son, im here if you need me and ill always love you. You are a strong and hardworking man. Dont let a handicap decide your fate. You can get through this, i believe in you""",1 "I totally resonate with this. Project after project after project.... ""I'm tired of walking on the sidewalk of my own life."" is brilliant. at 40+ I feel this every damn day. Working to fix it but damn that's a good way to put the struggle into a new light.",1 I think this is why vigorous exercise sometimes helps me when I'm having an episode. The intense exertion followed by rest makes my stupid monkey brain think I just won a physical fight with my obsession.,0 yoo i have a water tic and i always mess up so i drink so much water i never don’t have to pee,0 "... um, this makes my whole childhood make sense now. And all my resulting panic and anxiety over simple tasks, and reliance on adrenaline overload to get anything done. Holy shit. I need to process this",1 Always happens when I'm having a good time with friends. Ruins my whole mood and then my friends think they are the problem. Horrible feeling,0 "That's a beautiful tattoo, glad you're doing better",0 "I have been having a really hard time lately, my intrusive thought came back... not funny at all when u take anxiety pills and you go ""take them all and just finish it"" while crapping yourself with fear.",0 "THANK GOD I’M NOT ALONE HERE! This has been my exact thought process. I tried online classes and guess what! Because of bad time management and my ADHD forgetting I had to work, I failed all those classes! I’m very much not looking forward to doing this again.",1 "Fuck those people, like rly, they have no idea of how its really like",0 I start feeling all of the sheets and blankets touching my skin. And then I get hyper focused on them touching me. And start panicking. So I just have to stand up and not sleep lol.,0 "I spent 4 years of mental hell torturing myself daily with the indescribable agony of questioning why I wasn't ""good enough"". When I acted out I was seen as malicious, selfish, lazy, cold. In the words of my stepfather as he looked me in the eyes and meant every word. ""You're an Evil little shit."" He said that to me sometime after my 20th birthday. I spent my 21st alone and seeking death. Only the desire to not hurt my brothers or my mum from taking my own life prevented me from doing so. Every day of my life the man who replaced my dad has made it his mission to try to mold and control me, to force me to conform to his standards while scorning the idea he could possibly be failing me as a parent. His self professed greatest fear is failure. Its my belief that because he could never accept how he's a failure of a man by his inability to control his temper he became a covert narcissist with a victim complex of growing up poor that justifies his treatment of me because he earned enough to put a roof over our heads and feed us 3 good meals a day. There's more nuance to it but its my rough understanding of why he chose to crush my spirit instead of understand his flaws. I no longer feel like I have a will to live for myself anymore. One day I tripped on acid and felt my perception of myself, the totality of angst, self hatred, loathing and regret that had formulated me until that moment fall away. Moments later I remembered my name. My next thought was that I am not, and am also more then the sum of the negative thoughts, emotions and perceptions he had cruelly piled onto me as a means of escaping his own painful reality. Still, I wake up each day. I draw a breath. Upon exhalation I remember I am alive. I choose the will to live even when those who are charged with my care would rather I die for the convenience of never having to be wrong. I hope this fits what you asked for. I am truly sorry about your friend.",1 "seriously. I can't remember the last time I was able to sit down and just watch tv and not NEED to be doing something else (play a game on my phone, eating with both hands, etc.) at the same time",1 But what about intrusive thoughts ?? How ere you able to not perform them? Ohh if you don't get those thoughts then you are a lucky one,0 Not particularly successful (I have a two year degree that took about ten to get and is pretty useless because I can’t drive with my vision issues and no job currently) but I’d consider myself pretty smart book learning wise. School was very difficult sometimes but I had people who realized how I learn and helped me through the worst of it.,1 my active hours are 5:30-9pm and that’s why i’m fucking broke because it’s the only time motivation i have to go doordashing ☺️🙌🏼,1 "brushes make my gums bleed, and toothpaste makes me nauseous. I just use mouthwash before bed 😅",1 "You're telling me that you're sitting with the uncomfortable feeling of your anxiety and refusing to give into your compulsions, all so you can better yourself? You're a fucking rock star.",0 "Yeeeeep. I wish I could know things like what do all the numbers I've ever looked at add up to, and are they divisible by 4? How many times have I turned my body clockwise vs counterclockwise? Honestly those things I don't want to know.... I'd go crazy trying to even them out and keep them that way",0 "I feel like this every time my mom or grandma is over and tells me to just to it. How hard is it to forget to do the dishes, to throw away some stuff, to do house chores? Just don’t forget it and just do it IF IT WAS THAT EASY WOULDN’T YOU THINK I WOULD HAVE DONE IT?! They just don’t get it, no matter how many times I try to explain it. I’m starting to try and ignore it. Isn’t working so far",1 Is this the superpower of ADHD people and also their drawbacks?,1 "Christ this is relateable, If i just do the essay i need to do i could finish with uni for the semester but i just cant focus no matter how hard i try and end up even more stressed and depressed as i beat myself up over it.",1 "Guys like this one are the reason I almost died without even suspect I have OCD, I needed 1 week in the hospital, 2 medications a day, 2 years of therapy and this subreddit to finally find out what was happening to me all these years",0 "Well it's only natural you can't expect to go away for good in instant, it will come back in few days or weeks . You can only control your compulsion, and not give in to despair.",0 "Omg I’ve been saying the sentence “I want a nanny/mom/assistant” for years now! And thanks to your post, I feel a lot better about it and motivated to seek someone out. I’ve known I need an assistant for awhile but I always added nanny/mom because I think I’m looking for that loving care. That reassuring person that uplifts you and tells you everything will be ok. Thank you for posting! I’m proud of you!",1 "Why did you use a model with two blue shirts and one red? Seems to me you could have used three blue shirts is all I’m saying.",0 "A patient was talking about how I was organizing something. I told him it was an OCD thing. He told me he wished his daughter was like that. I looked at him and said ""well I organize because I'm terrified that if I don't something bad will happen or someone will get hurt, so I hope your daughter never has to experience real OCD"". He was very quiet after that.",0 "The worst is when I tell myself I have to do the thing before I can sleep, because it's due tomorrow and I know I can't trust myself to do it in the morning. But then, I just stay up all night not doing it, and am too tired to do anything in the morning.",1 "I work at a university and we just got told that classes are all moving online until the beginning of April and effective immediately, staff should work from home if they're not urgently needed on campus. (my team has been told we can work at home after Friday - I work in IT and we're doing a lot of work to support faculty moving classes online) Going to the office and having a dedicated space for work is what helps me actually get stuff done, and having that stable and mostly distraction free environment yanked out from under me is making me super anxious. I know my productivity is gonna tank once the novelty of having my work computer at my home office wears off.",1 "It's amazing how happy I am for you - a complete stranger to me. My OCD use to be about my hair/balding, and it was absolutely suffocating and the time I spent in front of the mirror was plentiful. Now I'm on a whole different obsession, and I'm looking forward to wins like this. It takes so much to talk back to OCD. Thank you for the hope and congrats!",0 This is the most hilariously accurate statement I've ever heard lmao,1 They don't know I just imagined I could kill them all and then throw myself out the window. But it's just an idea and jow I feel guilty,0 "This is genius! I find that when I work with someone on a task, I can her it done quite easily. This is an awesome hack and I thank you for it!",1 this happens to me whenever i’m having a panic attack,0 "Oh boy, OCD does get funky... Honestly it was when I more or less worked my way through POCD that intrusive thoughts found me with this kinda bs. Funnily enough it ended up being a turning point for me - so long as I was the bad guy in my obsessions I apparently wasn’t motivated enough to really ERP the shit out of this condition but once it started revolving around my loved ones being the bad guys I really did feel and know that I have had enough. And yay! things are so so so much better now. So just hang on, be patient, let the thoughts be and your turning point will come. <3",0 It’s been really hard for me having obsession with germs and my compulsion be to sanitize everything. I can feel myself skipping back in to some bad old habits,0 I can’t believe other people think and feel this way too.,1 "I want a canvas print of this to hang on my wall, with the partially cut-off ""e"" and all. Then whenever someone asks what I'm thinking I can just point to the wall.",0 "Librarian here. My job is cataloguing. I have two job flows: a. Going hiperperfeccionist in one-three fuckin' books, making rest of the books in speedrun. b. Reaching the perfect balance between detail/productivity for one or two hours, spend another one or two hours lurking Internet 'cos ""I earned it"", speedrun for the rest of books. So, yeah, fuck ADHD. PD:Between the writing of this comment and pushing the button lasted about 30 minutes because I 'm just made another speedrun.",1 "The only thing I’ve been able to become really good at is sports, because there’s a coach telling me what to do, and other people to keep me accountable and on track. It takes a community sometimes. Involving other people helps, and it can help kick your ass into shape when there’s a bit of fear of falling behind your peers. Joining a community that is also participating in what you’re doing can be really great. I can’t do anything without other people being involved honestly, but that’s okay. After using a community to become more rigid and responsible in my sports I’ve just become more conditioned to do well on my own. Try joining a community of people who are trying to accomplish something similar to you, or seek a coach or mentor for whatever you’re trying to do, it may help :)",1 To everyone trying to say this is a thing everyone does. Im aware. Neruotypical people do it for different reasons tho. Us people with ocd will do it out of compulsion weither that is because of fear of contamination or poison or just brain saying bad things will happen if we don't. So yes. It very well can be an ocd thing. Thank you,0 Oh my gods I needed this so much today. Thank you for sharing.,0 Have y'all been watching me since second grade? It feels like you have.,1 This reminds me. I have to cancel an accidental Audible subscription 🤦🏾‍♀️,1 "Also apparently a max amount of ""liked"" vids are 5k too, anything you like after that 5k doesn't count :/",1 "Holy shit. Who is doing their online marketing? China? Fuck Target and fuck CVS. Never support them. Their prices are high anyway.",0 "I take my showers at night for this exact reason. I never leave myself enough time in the mornings and I never will, I’m always rushing out and get to work with minutes to spare if that. Well, that, and I’m also a nurse so the thought of climbing into bed at night without a shower is gross... but night showers! Seriously!",1 I’d literally smack the shit out of someone if they ever say that.,0 "....That's going to be hard to let you know when I finish going to bed when I should be in bed trying to sleep... I'll let you know tomorrow edit: Closed reddit, but didn't immediately go to bed",1 "I have a cat, but my contamination ocd is terrified of bodily fluids and secretions so sometimes I don’t scoop the litter everyday, and clean up messes immediately just because I’m so scared to touch it. It’s kind of embarrassing honestly. Also, a lot of times when I’m cleaning I will get hyper focused on cleaning a specific thing or area really well and get too tired to clean the rest of the room so it’s hard.",0 "I’ve actually started to lightly exercise(because want before quarantine) by taking the stairs in my apt building as much as possible instead of the elevator. I have a weeny dog, and I take her out multiple times a day. When I go both up and down the stairs I have to carry her. So I’m holding a 20lb weight on top of walking up the stairs. I’m also cooking regularly. Keeping things pretty clean and organized. But yes, I’ve also let other things go!!!",1 "This is a good thing during quarantine! Me: ""Ooo this looks fun!"" Watches for 30 minutes Husband: ""Haven't you seen this before?"" Me: 🤣😂 No it's hilarious! Husband: 😒 Me: 🤷🏾‍♀️Have I? 🙃 Dang it!",1 "Ha! Yeah. The only reason I'm good about it is my teeth are absolutely awful and if I don't do it I wind up with extremely painful and very expensive crowns and root canals. Sure wish I had my 20s back in which I did so much damage to my teeth drinking diet soda all day every day.",1 "Yeah my dad does the same thing when I check to make sure everything is locked in the house. He just doesn’t understand, just thinks I’m being weird.",0 Thank you. May you experience peace and loving kindness. 💜,1 Fuck.. yup. What's the craziest way we can imagine everyone around us dying today,0 "Doing nothing sucks, even when you’re doing a lot and look back it looks like nothing. I feel bad for my son at times, although I take him out and we play and such things, my thoughts consume all my headspace and it feels like there’s more of them then thoughts of my kid. It’s only a feeling but yeah, I get it. It does get better, this is just how we illustrate our struggle",1 I'm sure your gf totally appreciates you being understanding and accepting her as she is 🙂,1 "Wow! This is amazing! What does the 7 and the bold square represent?",0 "Jesus Christ I never knew how badly I felt until I read others experience. I was taught to ""grin my teeth and bear it"". And until now that worked. My entire life I've been constantly belittled by family, school etc for not being normal. I've always had GOD AWFUL grades but know the work I'm doing. I've always deemed myself inadequate because that's what I was told. I had zero self worth for my entire life. It wasn't until I began playing guitar that I realized I'm not a terrible waste of humanity and I actually have potential to be something that I can be proud of.",1 "My OCD has more to do with unrelated intrusive thoughts rather than fears of contamination. I've always had a smidgeon at least, and sometimes it's been very troublesome, but by no means is it the majority.",0 "Yo this I think is the truth now for me too. it is real,I hear you. My ADHD is so bad now. Keep at it! im trying",1 Not religious anymore but jeez if this isn’t an accurate representation of how difficult prayers were when I was younger.,0 Does anyone ever get the same kind of thing but when walking passed windows you get the intrusive thoughts of punching the window or smashing it somehow,0 Great job fam! I’m proud of you for taking the opportunity!,0 just started college and I feel this everyday. You are not alone.,1 Dude I haven’t been to therapy in years but I feel like my therapist might’ve used this book with me at some point when I was younger. Also if it works then who cares what the target age is? Good luck!,0 "I completely agree. It also leads to more people self-diagnosing and romanticizing ADHD which makes me so angry. ADHD and any other disorders are not something you want to have. It's easy for neurotypical people to self-diagnose themselves with ADHD because they may be high energy, but ADHD is way more than that.",1 "I legit cried when skimming over this. This is exactly me, diagnosed and on meds for it, but its just exhausting. I just want this hell to end.",1 "That's so cool! I thought I was the only one that has these brain ""clicks"". Like my brain suddenly just shifts gear and my worries are gone. Really happy for you!",0 I like it but you should add one: OMG these different font sizes make me SO OCD!!“,0 Pathological grooming from my OCD has ruined my life and self-esteem,0 "When my dad said something similar, all of a sudden my brain chemistry was altered, and my ADHD vanished. Since that day, I’ve been producing much more dopamine and acetylcholine, and my frontal lobe even developed a little more! Who would have thought!!??? All my dad had to do was tell me to start paying attention, and wham!! Everything started working magically.",1 "A lot of my intrusive thoughts and behaviours are based around safety. All those plug sockets in use, and flammable items near heat sources are freaking me out. But apart from that, looks like my place much of the time . Don't be so hard on yourself. Just do one little job on the occasion that you feel you can. Moving is stressful!",0 "I needed this. I have a hand washing/contamination issue and had to fight with my brain that no, I don't need another 5 five minutes of hand washing before bed :/",0 "Honestly though, if it did, I'd just piss away the time rearranging my desk drawers.",1 "I had a friend that always insisted on showing me ""don't look at this if you have OCD""-pictures because she read one book on psychology and wanted to see if my OCD diagnosis was correct",0 "Not being able to go downstairs without making sure you have any item you might possibly need while downstairs, because if you fuck this up you will have to walk back up the stairs to retrieve it / Satan will be resurrected",0 That crow is operating under the assumption it was getting under control.,0 "i do best with distractions from stuff and hiding myself away from news, but because he wants constant attention i can focus on his needs and not my stupid bullshit. i’m near the washington outbreak and he (and my other dogs) have kept me mostly content. stay safe everyone!",0 "I feel you. I've been into music for decades, but it's always off and on. I was really making progress with producing and using virtual instruments (so lack of playing skill wouldn't hamper the creative aspects), and then it just dried up. I'm starting to listen to music again for the first time in a few months, so hopefully I'll get back into it. I've also been into art for a few years. I've tried drawing, charcoal and soft pastels, but so far watercolor has been the best medium. I'm kind of stuck on needing to get a large piece of wood laminate and staple gun to stretch the paper.",1 My panic attacks were getting so bad my mother with asthma broke quarantine to *safely* come to my house and talk me down with the help of my sister and boyfriend who have had to live with my crap during this 🙃,0 "I'm a bot, *bleep*, *bloop*. Someone has linked to this thread from another place on reddit: - [/r/u__wolfsuicide_] [My whole life has been making great first impressions and then slowly disappointing people when I can’t keep it up.](https://www.reddit.com/r/u__wolfsuicide_/comments/i8ybkn/my_whole_life_has_been_making_great_first/)  *^(If you follow any of the above links, please respect the rules of reddit and don't vote in the other threads.) ^\([Info](/r/TotesMessenger) ^/ ^[Contact](/message/compose?to=/r/TotesMessenger))*",1 "One day I will get over that one guy who gave me the finger in traffic 6 years ago. Preferably, I'll forget it. Today is not that day.",1 "I do this with my IG DMs or whatsapp messages! I always take a screenshot or two before quitting the app to assure myself that I have not sent anything unwanted, wrong etc. I do this with my IG stories as well because I am scared that I may have unknowingly written something wrong that will lead to trouble. I did it with reddit too but with the content that I post because again, I was afraid that I did something wrong. It's like a constant state of fear and doubt. :(",0 I’m sorry man. It’s like your already feeling bad yelling just makes it worst. What doesn’t help is pandemic brain. I don’t know bout others but for me makes the brain 5x worst. Hang in there!!!,1 Literally none of the general public understands what OCD actually is.,0 Well I've heard this one my whole life. Hasn't changed things once - unless getting more depressed and angry is change ☺️,1 "Have you tried omega 3 fatty acids? My mother insists that's all you need.",1 The fact that I’m in bed literally like damn I’m not doing my coding lab rn THEN the notif for this popped up O.O,1 "Ever since my vyvanse went from like 20 to 30 to now 40... I keep losing HOURS on the toilet lol. Like my boyfriend comes home, asks me how my day was, what I did all day, and I am ALWAYS confused bc when I say it out loud it was like.... 2 - 3 things that typically take 15-45mins per task .... but it’s been 8 hours and I genuinely have no idea what I did 😭",1 "While I appreciate you can feel this way, this is really to me like I've been gaslit by my own mind my whole life. I can't really blame people for not even knowing what ADHD is.",1 "Oh my god...I have this frustration constantly but I was never able to figure out why or how to describe it until reading this. I figured I might feel imposter syndrome sometimes but the idea that my discomfort and frustration comes from imposter syndrome in both directions is light a light bulb went off in my head. This is one reason why I feel like I can never explain myself to my dad when he is mad about me forgetting something or not being ""responsible."" I can't just be like ""It's my ADHD,"" that makes me feel like I'm scapegoating.",1 "Very accurate, never felt in control of myself or life growing up, it genuinely feels like being a puppet, and being in constant fear.",0 I have OCD and I became a hoarder after trauma I experienced in my teens. My horrible mother won’t acknowledge my OCD diagnosis because “you can’t have OCD and be as messy as you are at the same time” big yikes... don’t need to look too far to see where the trauma came from aye? 😅 no longer a hoarder but still have trouble letting possessions go. OCD is still here but it has mainly started to manifest in the form of dermotilomania/trichotilomania as of late and still horrifically depressed and trying to deal with CPTSD at the same time but what can ya do.,0 "Omg same. I'll post something on Facebook.. & then if someone comments.. My answer is generally something like: ""Right?!""",1 Drinks and some drugs alleviate all my ocd. The only problem is that I have to be stoned or mildly drunk all the time to make that happen. Luckily I’m an extremely high functioning drinker.,0 "Meds aren't the answer, I turned into a dickless zombie numbed out from the world. Whats the point? To reduce my thoughts, once you get off they come right back. I'm sorry if im negative but meds numb your emotions so you don't feel anything. Some people have it easier then others. Peace",0 Can I get this permanently running through my feed?,1 Sometimes I wish I could remember being molested so I could validate the OCD intrusive thoughts I had as a child.,0 Wow congratulations!! That's such a huge accomplishment!! :) Now I'm thinking about it so I'm trying to do the two exclamation points too. I think this is called exposure therapy. I can't remember what it was called when I went to counseling ahaha,0 GOOD JOB!! DON'T APOLOGISE FOR YELLING!! SCREAM YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS FROM THE ROOFTOP!!!,1 "I spend untold hours and lose so. much. sleep creating pretty organized color coded plans and literally ""designing"" lists and making them eye candy.... only to never look at them, think of them, or remember them again after that moment. I never even complete any of them - I just work on them hyperfocused until my body steals back the sleep it's missing. Then *poof*",1 "HAHA these posts always help me feel not alone, so thank you ❤️",0 "Well, I feel better reading this post and the comments. I wish other people would feel better about me knowing this info. ​ Edit: The info being what ADHD actually is like for me. This is a great list of traits for ADHD.",1 "I totally feel this. Ugh 🤦🏻‍♀️ I am constantly doubting myself because I don’t ever believe I’m doing my “best”, I just feel like I’m in this awful cycle of acceptance/forgiveness/anxiety/self loathing/guilt.",1 "It's funny I am way because that's what ERP teaches you to do. If you slip and do your compulsions by washing your hands they tell you to re-expose your self to it (door handle). But yep here we go again 😃",0 "I think your answer was great! I feel like OCD is often not taken seriously as an illness because of a lot of misconceptions, and that actually made it harder for me to find out I had OCD and get diagnosed.",0 "This is exactly what I do, but I didn't realize what I was doing! I'm in law school taking classes from home and unless I put on my low fi, toss my heated blanket on, and grab a cup of tea, I just can't motivate myself to work. This makes so much sense!",1 I feel this so hard. I want things to be organized but depressed over it never being able to be perfect and no energy. I wish you good luck.,0 "Exactly, as a kid, I read up about the symptoms of OCD, PTSD and Anxiety, then I thought ""there is no way I can have all of them, it's not possible, right""? Well, got diagnosed and it turns out I do... I don't even know how to get treated for all of them, it's just a constant struggle every day.",0 "“kept telling myself to just finish the goddamn references, but i didn’t want to.” 100% my life",1 "I'm big on the 'but there's a chance?!?!?!' You know, people will try to make you feel better by saying oh the chances of that happening are slim to none, or 1 in a million, etc... I'm like, so, that could totally still happen. Yeah, I can't see it any other way. I really hate statistics.",0 "It took me 4 months to return over $200 worth of clothes despite being tight on money. I hate returning items, especially when there is many things at once store. I wait as long as I can and get very stressed and anxious until I just do it.. I also don’t know why it goes this way, but it always does..",1 "how do my relatively uncommon posts get deleted for being ""common"" and this one is still here...?",0 Wtf there are so many things that I didn’t realize were commonly shared symptoms of ocd!,0 "It won’t work for everyone, but I have pretty severe scrupulously and mostly rely on communities like these and workbooks to treat it. I’m on Medicaid and the only therapist who takes it within two hours of where I live said (in response to a description of my compulsions), “have you tried not thinking about it?”",0 I just woke up! Nothing wrong with scrolling Reddit for a bit. 0keasevfo not remind me of stuff when I do not need it... :-P,1 "Silver lining of working from home is that whenever I feel over on a given day I just record the meeting for watching it when I'm ok and give generic answers to pretend I'm listening Not proud of it but it works wonders and I never want to work in person again",1 "yeah man, as a kid i would often feel very bad for my clothes if i didn’t wash them or for building blocks whenever i would disassemble them and put them away. i didn’t have panic attacks, but it would really bum me out.",0 Honestly!! My mom always says “I wish you were ocd about your room” when I start cleaning it i don’t know when to stop so I just don’t clean it most times. It’s too stressful thinking about it. Wish they understood that,0 Does anyone else sometimes try to do this intentionally?,0 It's... 1:21 am. All I have to do is sleep. Do I ***have*** to do it?,1 "This is why I make sure that all of my appointments are as early in the day as possible, and why I prefer to work morning shifts. I have the most energy to get it over with.",1 I have been there before with the hands. I am glad you are doing well with it.,0 "Most of the time I just say fuck it. If I need/want something done I'll just focus on doing it and seeing how it ends up. If I really mess up, I just leave it to the side and use it when it's absolutely the right time.",1 "I’m super proud of you too! This is an awesome idea! I have a housekeeper come twice a month and deep clean my house, I struggle to remember to do the bathrooms and floors. I totally get what you’re saying about her presence unlocking your paralysis, having someone to come clean pushes me into working too. Her momentum helps me get up and get going too, so I’ll do laundry and declutter and other things that are mentally painful for me that I keep putting off. Setting aside those two days a month to do the things I avoid has been the best way I’ve found to make sure it gets done. You’ve made a great choice OP, and this is great advice!",1 What I actually do: Replay the video from the beginning 7 times because if I don’t look at the right part of the screen I’ve pretty much doomed myself,0 My compulsion is becoming checking statistics. I feel this,0 "I am in an online university, you say your alarm clock doesn't matter but giving myself timers and scheduling the day the same way I would if I had to go there helps IMMENSELY.",1 "Lmao I felt this. I'm subscribed to sooo many channels it gets overwhelming, my watch later list is always a mess. Hubby tells me I need to purge some channels, but I've been watching some of these channels since I was 16!!! I can't give up now",1 then I'd become convinced that I was going to act on the urge to punch them and I'd either clam up or leave the conversation,0 "I don't want anyone to do my stuff for me! I just want my brain to let me actually do it. That's why I hate when my wife asks me to do something, I say sure, but then she gets annoyed because she wants it done NOW and does it herself. Then why did you ask me in the first place?",1 Literally I have the same problem. Fuck Kaiser tbh. Every time I go to schedule an appointment the next available appointment isn't until two to three weeks later at minimum. You think that since I'm paying for mental health care and healthcare I should be getting it,0 Yup. Every new job starts with a clean slate that ends up covered in shit by about the fourth week.,1 Same here. Took me until my mid 30s to be a) diagnosed and b) to not give a crap and be me. It’s a process and I’m getting there with behavioral therapy.,1 "OCD, Depression, and Panic Disorder. Also chronic pain.",0 But what if I’m just using this as an excuse now ahh,0 "This is why I never learned math passed addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. I would struggle and struggle with my parents and teachers on flashcards and anything else, all of the laws of math were ""it's just because that's how it goes"" never settled right with me",1 My teen struggles with this so I understand how amazingly wonderful these moments are. Much love.,0 "I saw you starting to pour, and was thinking ""yup, just a quick shot of it should be enough to show my brain who--"" you kept pouring for the thickest gulp AND THEN SOME ""--holy shit this is metal as hell!"" Congrats to the not-so-little victory!",0 I'm the same way. I think of it like skipping to the last page of a mystery before reading book. It's why prereads of presentation materials are recommend. It helps provide context so I can attach meaning as the talk unfolds.,1 "Sounds like my ex. She often would convince herself she is totally gay and that she couldn't be in a relationship with a straight white guy. Truth of the matter, is if she one day came to her senses and turned out to realize that she made a mistake, I'd take her back. I'm single and I don't really care. I thank her regardless of whether we are together or not because she taught me what love actually feels like and that has been utterly invaluable to me as a person. Thanks Mar EDIT: When we were apart, my OCD caused me to collapse in fear if I saw you in public. If I saw your car drive-by, or any similar looking model of car in the distance. I still get those from time to time. Prozac and therapy helped me realized that I these thoughts had such an effect because they were constant reminders that I still loved you.",0 "Um, I can’t stop laughing bc it’s literally me. My friends always laugh at me for it. (These friends are ok to laugh bc ....they’re not asshats).",1 For me it's fingers and toes...and picking always finds a way,0 "35 years old guy and I feel like I have a sh*t ton of catching up to do in life while struggling to give myself any credit for what I have done because why would I give myself credit because clearly I'm a f*ck up, in spite of what other people around me tell me. Your post is timely because I have been incredibly sensitive the past couple days so I get it. I hear ""I'm useless"" in my brain a lot and my partner gets mad at me when I say I feel that way. Then I feel worse because someone got mad at me and that must be clear evidence of being useless. It's exhausting and doing anything positive to help with everything is overwhelming. Sorry today is rough. Thank you for sharing. You did not waste my time.",1 "Mate, totally the same. 4pm is my excuse to do coding and gaming. Cant do anything or I'll be late lol",1 Please and thank you. I'm literally one of the least organized,0 "I’m going to do my art project, I’ll let you know if I come back :)",1 Back in 2014 it convinced me that I will die a week before starting high-school and even gave me images of how my classmates will be talking about me that I did not show up to the first day of school because I died.,0 Dude I turned in a programming assignment a whole day early yesterday too! I’ve never done it more than a few hours before it’s due so it felt really good. Congrats man!,1 "“If you miss your window then you’re fucked” Don’t think i ever put this together till now but yes. If I’m able to get started when I need to I can be somewhat productive but if I find just one distraction, the next few hours are GONE",1 I’m not a particularly neat person so my dad could not figure out how I had OCD and didn’t have to constantly clean my room.,0 I wish each day was 40 hours so I could get a days worth of work done,1 "True, but I’m gonna be honest if I don’t try to reassure myself the guilt stays with me and so I feel like reassurance is the lesser of too evils, I feel like simply not dwelling on it isn’t as simple, but I appreciate this post!",0 "Thank you. I have a feeling that if I can take this diagnosis seriously, it is going to be pivotal in how I might look at, and treat, my entire future. It seems that we may have been ""barking up the wrong tree."" What a flood of new info.",0 I basically realized this 5 months ago and began rapid recovery. 7 years of therapists calling me schizophrenic couldn't do that.,0 "This strategy is the WORST for me. As someone who’s stubborn since birth- the second someone tries to “make” me do something, I’m instantly disinterested (even more so if they happen to get under my skin and make me feel badly or negative). Even if it was something I was going to do/ was interested in doing before, my brain is like “ oh you want to be a dick about it? how about no, just out of spite.” I wouldn’t be surprised to learn this isn’t all attributed to personality lol.",1 "That must be really tricky :/ Also I wish that I could find more resources that talked about the intersection between trauma and OCD. A lot of my obsessions are trauma-induced, or relate to trauma. I’m sure this is quite common but you just don’t seem to see much stuff about it",0 Why do his hats look like 2 feet stepping on his head,0 "I have rarely related to a post as much as yours. We don't have the same issues, but the feelings are so familiar. I'm going to save this to show to people what ADHD is like (at least to me). Thanks.",1 "This is kinda explaining my childhood. “See! I told you you could do it! Why do you make things so hard for yourself.” 😩",1 "I’ve had OCD for over ten years now and it’s honestly never been consistent. As a kid I’d be afraid of touching certain things or people, or look at certain images but over time it’s evolved into the typical intrusive thoughts and rituals type of OCD. What I’m saying, is that OCD has no rules and that doesn’t make it any more of less OCD.",0 If it was Emotional Regulation Disorder then I would have Emotional Regulation Disorder AND Emotionally Unstable Disorder 😭,1 "I know got my Mom worried about me eating, sometimes it slips my mind.",1 "Since you know that this is a temporary feeling, use this period to set up good habits and routines while you have the executive functioning to do it. Starting a good habit takes so much energy, so take advantage of it while those typically hard things are really easy, whatever it may be: laundry, dishes, brushing your teeth, etc. Also (since I wish someone had told me) please make sure you're paying attention to your eating schedule. Most people notice a reduced appetite on stimulants, and it's really easy to get caught up with whatever you can now be productive with and just sort of forget to eat, but your brain still needs fuel in order to keep functioning. Take care, and congratulations!",1 The more you try to ignore a compulsion the louder it gets! Why can’t my brain just stfu for more than two seconds?? Lol,0 "This made me cry :( i love you gunner, thank you for believing in me",0 "I just don't understand this line of reasoning. Knowing I have ADHD hasn't relieved the feeling of being broken. It's just confirmed that I really am broken, and that I can't ever be fixed. The things that I used to have hope of one day working around and fixing? They're a literally an innate part of who I am.",1 IM SO PROUD OF YOU!!! This is such a big deal to me too; so it means so much more to me! I'm so proud :),0 I was ab to say i do all these except the books but the full box of books from a book sale where ive only read 1 or 2 says otherwise,1 The worst part is when that dread sets in and you suddenly think of all the ways you could have prevented it and your whole chest gets heavy and you wish you could go back in time or you wish it was all just a dream but you don’t wake up and can’t go back in time so you just sit there and panic. Literally just happened to me yesterday so the feelings are all very fresh. Still haven’t stopped thinking about it.,0 "i guess i'll go work on my paper...? this is why i shouldn't be trusted with a laptop, honestly",1 For me it's that tick where you shake your head as if to shake the scary thought out,0 I have this friend who purposely messes stuff up that’s neat infront of me and then when I don’t react he’s like “I thought you had ocd shouldn’t this bother you” honestly makes me wanna cancel a mf,0 This'll make hubby feel better about me just wandering off during conversations 😁,1 "Like today when I went to hang up some clothes to dry, I thought ""I could be cooking dinner while doing this"" so I go put a stew on a slow simmer then I forget the clothes ever existed and go do something entirely else Speaking of which this reminds me I forgot the second round in the washer...",1 CIA?! My shit was just germs and doodoo from people that touch my mail and is spread vicariously to my everyday items. I’m reevaluating.,0 "I can only double what was already said: Simulate it!! Get up when you normally get up, go to/schedule a call with a friend or go to your porch or just an unusual table for working, whatever, and start working like it's uni. Let alarm clocks ring every hour or half hour to not be too time blind and work as long as you'd normally would if there were classes. Really, this is the way to go. I've been through it, it's the only way that works and that keeps you from a long spiral down procrastination hole. (Kept me from it, anyway.) Do it! Edit: Didn't see that this was said before (phone, sorry), so I mentioned it now.",1 "god I feel this. I'm very greatful that ~~soo far~~ my depression seems to only be seasonal, just a few 2 week slumps spread throughout winter, but man... the absolute just, hatred and rage I can feel towards this thing that's a part of me is bewildering.",1 "Meds helped a lot. The biggest thing is to remember how I felt when I didn't get the things done I wanted to and try and remember that the next day.",1 This is such an adhd thing to do lol. Thank you for your (hyper-focused) hard work! I appreciate you :),1 "SO ALL OF THIS IS ME. But I’m 42 and I’ve learned some tricks. First, when you feel that anxiety first hit you that you need to do something, it’s really best to just drop everything and go do it. You won’t always be right but it’ll be good practice for future you. Lastly, if you can put screen time reminders on your phone and stick to it, bro it’s life changing. I just remember that my limits are set by me, not anyone else and therefore I should respect them.",1 Every time I tell myself it’s all in my head and to stop using techniques or ways to stop my OCD I realize the next day that that’s also a technique,0 "Oh yeah. My greatest wish is that I could just declare some sort of a ""Life Bankruptcy"", where I can just call a time-out on all of the things that are simmering on my back-burner, and just reset everything fresh, without all of the pent-up anxiety holding me back from moving anything forward.",1 "hmm it seems someone was hyperfocused today... nicely done! 🙌",1 "Bravo!! Fantastic, You’re creating a great habit for yourself. Keep it up!",1 Me every morning when this girl hasn’t texted me back,0 I've been doing this all along without a word for it 😂 finally have something to call it.,1 "Everything can be so enjoyable though, just make it that way. ​ Washing dishes- a hand bubble bath. Driving someone to work- a ride in the car",1 Great way to put it. It's so hard to explain to people what it's like. ,0 "Yep totally, in addition to social media I always check that I haven’t called anyone.",0 "That was me. I was struggling for years but was able to mostly manage it/hide it from others. I just figured it was normal anxiety. OCD never even occured to me because I wasn't neat or particularly organized, I didn't really count things, and I wasn't a germaphobe. I wasn't diagnosed until last year when I saw a psychiatrist specializing in anxiety disorders. They diagnosed me immediately, like it was the most obvious thing. In hindsight, it was obvious, but that's only because I know more about OCD now. But none of my previous therapists or psychiatrists picked up on it. I figure it's because they didn't specialize in anxiety disorders and didn't actually know much about OCD specifically. But not knowing almost cost me my job/degree and I was extremely suicidal for a time and needed intervention.",0 "Wonderful! Now make one for bipolar personality disorder! Or how dysfunctional or impaired a person afflicted with both might be, and how receiving the appropriate help for these problems presents a series of cascading road blocks, both internal and external. I used to think I was simply ""depressed"" or suffered from a clinical, cyclical depression, but I'm beginning to see how it's more than likely symptoms of having BPD in conjunction with ADHD (inattentive). I've sought help multiple times in the past, only to forget I was on the path to self-help a day or two later, for weeks, months, or years — until coming across posts like these.",1 "My OCD is sometimes worse with weed. Main issue is I have DR, and when I wake up, my DR is AWFUL.",0 "Is this confession like to a priest or confession to her about something you did? I also dealt with this with my ex gf. I had the same thing going on, and it was torture. It IS torture. My ocd was about my ex, and I felt like I couldn’t even tell her about it. It ate me up inside. But you have to just let it go. Let it win. Let it have its way. Because it isn’t the truth, it’s lying to you. And when you let it “win”, you realize that it really has no practical influence on you. The choices that you make are what’s important, not what your ocd is saying to you. I know it’s painful, and it’s convincing, and it’s nonstop. But it is a disorder that you don’t purposefully have. Let go your grip on it, and let go.",0 "I get through my bad days by giving myself permission to admit that sometimes life can be one big shit sandwhich, and I’m not always so great at navigating it. Tomorrow’s a new day, there are good things to appreciate and new adventures to have, sure. But sometime, you just have to take a moment to admit something really sucks. Do that, and it’s a lot easier to move forward.",1 "I am dying from not my having work to center my routine...and things got worse today when my landlady is blaming me for the increase in the electric bill (my utilities are included in my rent) because I run an energy efficient dehumidifier as is live in the basement of her house. She treats me like I am a guest in her home even though I am a formal tennant with a lease and pay rent. However, I live in a college town with a high cost of living and low wages with minimal job options and this is affordable housing is allowing me to make it and save a little money. The thought of having to pack up and move again when this is the first place that has felt like a place/home of my own. Yet, once again I may have to deal with another issue during a year where I finally found a job that made me feel good about being me and I enjoyed and was good at, I was about to start my first privacy after my promotion and then I was laid off due to COVID-19. Then my grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer (he was my favorite person) and then died a couple of months later. Then the only project/job offer I got was one that nearly made me cry every day and the work environment was toxic and hostile which I did until a couple of weeks ago. The year 2020 started out with me feeling like finally at 34 I was getting my life in a good place where I was moving in a healthy direction. Then it all did a 180 degree turn and once again I am the loser incapable of being a functional adult. I just want to die every day and I have no real support system and what I did have is limited due to COVID-19. I am just so tired and I do not know how many times I can keep getting up off of the mat to continue to get punched in the face.",1 "We're all gonna die anyway. So in gonna go easy all the junk food I want. Death can wait.",0 i always think someone poisoned my food or there’s gonna be a mass shooter anywhere i go,0 "Thanks friend, you too! It gets easier, was just able to get back into gaming and holy shit was it a struggle at first but it feels incredible now. Keep fighting the good fight!",0 "At the beginning of your post you say you wish you could just not feel anxious or guilty - this is compounding your suffering. You have to learn to be willing to feel your feelings in their entirety. The more you try to control and escape your anxiety, the worse you’ll make it. Look into radical acceptance and also look into how to stop ruminating (see my post history and work by Michael Greenberg). It’s hard but you can get better once you learn to stop your compulsive behavior (usually rumination is a big one). But changing your behavior will likely force you to experience all the anxieties and feelings you are desperately avoiding.",0 "It's similar for me. There are changes I am making every day. Here are some of my new thoughts I've adopted: \- What is one thing I can do for somebody else today to make them feel better? \- What am I grateful for today? \- What is the one task I want to complete today? (I only pick one cause, uh, ADHD) \- What is one act of self-care I can do today? It is hard when you have ADHD, I really empathise. There's always times when it all gets too much, but I try to break everything down into categories of ""one"" because it seems easier that way. I am hardly motivated, but when I am, it's always fear motivation. Panic motivation. Need to complete something I forgot motivation. *No wonder* I don't want to do anything. I am operating from a place of ""should"" which already puts me on the wrong path. ""I should be better, but I am not,"" is what I am telling myself in that moment. I am trying to change that core motivation to something different. When you operate through should, you aren't treating yourself with respect, you're just telling yourself all the ways you've failed, which usually makes you even less inclined to do anything moving forwards. Best to create lists of all the things you actually *did* do on a day. Then, you will start to feel the rewards from achievement, rather than the pains of so-called failure.",1 "I'm not clean or organised but I also have OCD. People love telling me I don't.",0 Literally mood 😩😩😩😩 and think about it every single day putting it off…,1 Every time it seems like my current obsession is getting better another one hits,0 I set daily reminders but then ignore them because I just get used to them.,1 Have to say bye to my kitty boys and kiss them on the head every time before I leave the house.,0 """Now that we got over that last obsession, looks like it's time for a new one....""",0 "They can have my intrusive thoughts if they want. I hope they don't mind graphic murder images and being convinced they gonna end up as a serial killer someday. And the constant checking of their bodies response to the thoughts! Also, I hope they love the number three because my illness doesn't care if they don't 😊",0 "Yeah I've been using this feeling as a way to avoid relationships, or even attempting at them. I've basically been telling myself since I can remember that I wouldn't date me, so I shouldn't even bother until I'm somehow a more worthy person at some indefinite point in the future. I'm pretty sure if a doctor told me I was terminally ill I would feel relieved in some twisted sense, at least that way I'd be sooner released from the guilt associated with the feeling being described in this thread.",1 I more so worry that this is something that everyone deals with and I'm just complaining about it/can't handle it when everyone else can.,0 Intrusive thoughts can really suck the joy out of mudane things we like doing. Good meme!,0 "Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, I’m definitely going to look into this when I have stabled out financially. Congratulations! Also, I have always found it ironic that I’m very good at complex problem solving but I am absolutely horrendous at doing simple things like, cleaning my dishes, folding my laundry, making my bed, etcetera. However, I have noticed that if there is something that I am passionate about, such as computers/gaming/tech, I will go out of my way to meticulously clean and maintain my computer or any tech device. I deep cleaning my PC every 2 months even though I know you only have to do it every 6. But taking apart things is therapeutic for me",1 "Please search for a new psych, OP, I finally found a good one. my first one not super helpful. My current psych is a little off with the scheduling (COVID has him super busy) but he tries very hard to keep up with all of his patients via phone. He's never told me ""control it,"" we talk more about what's going on in my thoughts, how they correspond to different things in my life, and troubleshoot ways to get past the obsessions. He always ends with, ""you're a good kid, with a good heart."" I'm 24 and married, but it hits me in the feels every time because he honestly cares so much about everyone's well-being.",0 "Hi /u/coloncancer_sucks and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) - we will remove your post if it breaks one - and also check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, it is likely to be removed; if you think this might happen you can delete your post here and resubmit it there instead. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 The time and effort put into this my god. Greatly appreciated,1 At this point salad mix is just a weekly lie I tell myself,1 I just woke up and read this and oh my sweet baby Jesus yes!!,1 "I love that part when he says “ditch the geeks” to the redhead and the ‘geeks’ are right there. Lolol But damn, reassurances feel nice though.",0 Sorry have to look up the same thing I did yesterday for the 900th time,0 "Im worried i dont have ocd, im faking it and im a lazy person",0 "Thank you for this, I needed it as I sit here worrying about having every terminal illness I can think of 😂",0 "So cute 🐸 I’ve been doing a lot of crochet, it’s so relaxing to craft stuff",0 LMFAO I think about how my life would be like if what is making me obsess didn't exist,0 "Me: *Playing The Forest* The POS inside me: If you go between those trees you're gonna die in the next few years. Mate: What the fuck are you doing? *Looks at me* Me: *Finding new excuses*",0 Wow - you just explained 50% of my successful marriage ,1 "Yea my mistakes haunt me like the tombstones do a graveyard. I am always thinking about my mistakes. The only good thing is i wont make them again.",0 "I can relate to how your feel. I’ve been struggling with OCD for over four years. It’s been VERY debilitating, but I know things will get better. There have been many days where I feel discouraged, but some things that have been helpful is going to therapy, talking to friends or family, working out, journaling, and reframing your thoughts. I definitely understand that this is easier said than done, but even when you feel discouraged, you can always make some progress every day. Exposure therapy and regular therapy have helped me a lot. I hope this helps, and I hope that you will improve every day. I believe in you. You are amazing, and you will defeat the OCD!",0 "I noticed you might be from a different country than me, so I’m not sure if it’s available for you, but have you looked for/tried out NOCD’s app? It might at least help.",0 For me it’s opposite I need to close every tab right after using although imma open it up 2 seconds later to use it again,0 "Holy shit, I experienced the exact same thing when I was 8. I thought I was just crazy, I had no idea that it was in any way linked to OCD. I still deal with this on occasion, mostly with my toys (I'm 25). Now I don't I don't feel so self-conscious about this! Thank you for sharing",0 "I love it when people find out that I’m a hoarder with ocd, and that my ocd is what causes the hoarding. Trips everyone up",0 I remember feeling like such a failure during and after my interview for art school because I couldn't recall names of artists I liked despite art being my key hobby and interest since the age of 2 (going off of a story my mum tells of me being asked to draw a straight line for health visitor and drawing a teddy bear instead),1 I 100% agree! Like at work my manager also gets on me for doing things that aren’t “important” n need to just focus on helping customers when I feel like I really NEED to do everything,1 I was confused what they meant until I noticed it. Like if that doesn't say something...,0 "Hahaha I got in the top 1% for some random European band... I listened to one of their songs on repeat for a month or so. And then my second favourite band is apparently ""Concerned Ape"" - the developer of Stardew Valley",1 "I didn't tell my therapist about my intrusive thoughts for about four years... too scared to. Just told her i was having panic attacks every night as i was falling asleep, when i was driving, in loud crowded places, in supermarkets, at work and pretty much everywhere else.. Never got officially treated but the therapy did eventually get me through it. It was hell. Don't be me. ",0 "I feel like the universe’s chew toy whenever I look at how hilariously tragic and impossible to win my life has been and for years I only lived because of some imagined debt to the universe for basic things like shelter, food, and education because other people have even less and I had done nothing to deserve any of those (I’m better now, it’s okay, I’ve learned that everyone deserves those things and the fact that billions of people *don’t* is *criminal* of our social systems and institutions, not that I was taking away from people who should be in my place by being a waste of space). But I have to say, whenever I think that how there are *others like me*, I can’t help but be filled with horror and *fury*. I’m lucky to be alive after what I went through. If things didn’t save me when they did then I would have been dead before 15 and there are so many people out there who didn’t get those lucky breaks *when they could have been saved.* Society could have done more for people, society was *made* to do more for people, and the fact that it doesn’t care if people are left dangling and defenseless is a *disgrace*. I may have learned to live for good things to come, but I am so angry at the world for not supporting people like us like it should and I plan on making sure that less people have to go through what I did and secure their futures.",1 "Our brains are shitty artists that force us to listen to their songs twenty-four seven. When you wake up, when you go to sleep.... They are always there, just waiting for you. T_T",0 That’s the best fucking meme Iv seen on this subreddit,0 "I never remember when I’ve bought a lottery ticket Could be a scratchcard zillionaire and never know I’m ok with it. Time I don’t remember is time that never happened",1 I have about 12 different alarms over 2 devices atm.,1 "Yes ! We love in a world on uncertainty, it is ok to not be sure about everything",0 "I never realized just how much I heavily relate to Squidward, and in this episode in particular.",0 I mean....having ADHD... it's probably not comforting .. but you also could've procrastinated one more time and several times more and have a worse end result.,1 "oh my god fucking saaaaaaaammmmeeeee. I keep bouncing around to different projects because I Just. Can't. Finish. Anything. I hate it so much. I want to be good at things, but I can't get my brain to focus long enough to do that.",1 Yes. And try it during different times of the day and different days of the week. And mentally record results. But try it just a few more times because you have to have a control group,0 I haven't responded to my best friend in 3 months because of this and I'm pretty sure I'm dead to her :( Why the fuck did I have to be born like this,1 "So, yes I've been diagnosed with OCD. Choose your reaction: ""Really? I usually like my paintings squared at home"" ""You don't have to be in an hospital?"" ""You seem quite messy..."" ""People love to find quirky names and labels for mere personality traits!"" ""Nowadays everything is a disease, back in my day..."" ""You don't look crazy.""",0 I swear I have this exact thought process at least once a day. Must be exhausting for people around me lol,0 "My dad is one of these people that believes in tough love, but I am so insecure that I need all the positive reinforcement I can get to not instantly regret anything I've done. The problem is I use the tough love with my loved ones too... Let's add this to the list of things I have to work through😔",1 Hahaha!! The episode where SpongeBob loses his name tag and retraces his steps 89756 times also resonates strongly with me.,0 "In my experience with OCD, it likes to target areas of insecurity. Or put better, subjects that you can ""never really be sure"" about. Topics like ""will something bad happen in the future"" and ""what if I'm just a computer simulation"" are like breeding grounds for OCD, because you won't be able to quite disprove it. How much time/energy in one's life should one theoretically spend analyzing and classifying the nature of existence though? Ultimately, you have this existence, whatever it may be. And to some extent you influence it. Idk, that makes me feel a little better for some reason. Best of luck, nice beard, X-men rule ",0 "I DIDN'T KNOW OTHER PEOPLE HAD THIS, I LITERALLY DOING 5 THINGS AT ONCE AND AM TERRIBLE",0 I am melting in my office chair right now because I— I FEEL SO SEEN.,1 So my OCD makes me think these crazy wild thoughts? My brain almost forms a path for bad thoughts to enter sometimes... I'm scared of it,0 "My husband asked me why I want to have ADHD. I said I don't want ADHD. I don't care what I have, I just want a diagnosis, I want to know what's wrong with me. That is how it feels though, I can't do the things that normal people do, from concentrating on a conversation to organising the house to just fucking getting up and doing something. It feels like something is broken.",1 Great tip it also gets someone else's point of view on an issue.,1 "Fuck. Thought it was just me and psychopaths. I watched Locke and Key on Netflix the other day (binged it, obviously) and they have this key that lets you walk around in someone's head. I almost went into convulsions imagining them doing that to me. What on EARTH would they stumble across?! I (and I'd imagine most of you reading this) don't have much say over my imagination. If I hear about something that's bad, be it violent, sexual, both, or any other thing, it's like I'm THERE. I'm not enjoying what I'm thinking, I just can't stop it. This worries me about getting hypnotised, too. I'm not aware of any ""dark"" secrets I have, per se, but that's not to say I haven't read about a really graphic murder or something and it's now lodged in my brain in all its glory. Also, I lose track of what's real all the time.. Was it a dream, an actual memory of mine or something someone told me that they'd done but time + my vivid imagination has stored it with my memory files instead? I have no idea how I've gotten this far in life with all this unsolicited nonsense in my head. I just rambled intensely. Sorry.",1 "Literally today: Playing game on phone and remember that I am supposed to be at work with an automation script ready for presentation in 30 minutes. Keep playing game on phone. 15 minutes to presentation. Still playing game on phone wondering what I am going to do. 5 minutes until presentation. Get the idea to convert an old script that has a small possibility of working with the new API since they are pretty much the same with just a few find/replaces. It should make it at least work enough to make it look like I had done something. 2 minutes to presentation. Do that idea. 1 minute to presentation. Get message from boss that they are going to be 15 minutes late. Back to playing game on phone. Presentation time. The script throws an error that the URI was not found. I never changed it from the old one. Boss notices and says ""Looks like you wrote it for the old API, no big deal just a few find and replaces will fix that, it's pretty much the same as the new one. Lets shoot for next week."" Video conference over. Go back to playing game on phone. Edit: Wrote this and am now editing it even though I need to submit a billable time report in 10 minutes that I havent started.",1 I read it. It didnt really help me but glad it did for you guys!,0 "My fridge has so much stuff in it i need to throw away. Also, buy a battery pack for your phone and always carry it with you.",1 "Tbh, I've realized this thought can be counterproductive and really just feels like more reassurance, to me personally at least. I realized at some point that doing erp meant not countering intrusive thoughts with this mantra, and then invariably ruminating for hours about whether it was even true (like the other commenter points out, it might not be, and is definitely a lot more nuanced in reality), but instead accepting that maybe I am a bad person, maybe bad people do worry about being bad people, I can never know for sure and just have to live with that. I have to sit with uncertainty. At the end of the day it boils down to this: this phrase tries to give certainty, and trying to gain certainty and assuage doubt is reassurance. On the other hand I think this phrase is helpful for people who've just learned they might have OCD, and for understanding the difference between intrusive thoughts and actually being a murderer or whatever, but I think it can very easily become a compulsion.",0 I had to laugh because yes....I had a 3pm counseling appointment on Tuesday that I showed up for at 3:30pm on Wednesday!! Totally messed that up AND had to pay the $120!! So I agree- 3pm appointments hurt especially if you forget them! 🤣I cried and had to regroup - I had really tried and was really sad at how I could have done that...again 🤣 Funny not funny!,1 I have a horrible gag reflex to. I just got severely worse a few years ago and hasn’t gone down since. Taking my meds everyday is an ordeal in itself. But I just switched from my old sonicare to an oral b electric toothbrush. It said it’s good for small mouths and gag reflexes. It has a narrow neck and a small circle head. Haven’t gagged yet.,1 "I have more of a problem with written and not spoken, but I feel this. Bottom line is my thoughts feel quite smooth and succinct until I attempt to translate them into another medium. Also, I will think of a more eloquent response to this post at random in three days.",1 I needed this so much today. Sometimes I just feel like a problem so thank you,0 "I do stuff like this all the time. Objects around me seem to have a weird energy that makes me do weird shit. I remember once we were getting our answer sheets and I had to exchange with the guy beside me because o felt there was something wrong with the one I had. I never got a proper diagnosis... Could this be OCD?",0 I haven’t thought about it too hard but I feel like this really opened my eyes. The only problem is that the main person who has been doing this to me is my own mother. And I don’t know if there’s any way to tell her this. Could you help me?,1 "Yeah, I feel the same. It’s almost worse when you have a list of things that you need to do by an undetermined period of time (because you probably procrastinated past the official deadline, which may or may not have been your intentional fault, but no one takes “I just did what [insert-authority-figure-here] told me to do, and obviously they were wrong or misinformed” as a viable explanation), and have that *one* thing that keeps pushing it back… and then the anxiety of both is crippling. (Unfortunately this pattern of overlapping deadlines and resolving the issues that result compounds into an ever-repeating cycle…)",1 "right! i have a compulsion where i tie my , hit the floor twice, untie and repeat seven times",0 "At 34, I've realized that I have SO MANY funny ideas to animate because my brain is *constantly* animating ideas and funny situations in my head, but then I realized I'd have to spend years learning how to draw static figures, then learn how to animate the things I now know how to draw lmao",1 I have such a big fear of water that tastes off. I NEVER drink from the tap or drink water at anyone else's house unless absolutely necessary. I bring my own water everywhere I go to avoid it. It has to be filtered by me or it has to come from a refrigerator,0 "If covid brought back your hypochondria with a vengeance, clap your hands! Which I can only imagine are in rough shape because of how feverishly you’re washing them.",0 100%! people get irritated by my need to ask why. Even when I say so you mean this? Or do you mean this? They get annoyed like I’m being condescending when really I just can’t fully back something unless I know the why’s,1 "you described what’s been happening to me for 2 weeks. today i got up at 12pm, got ready, lounged around, now i’m back in bed. i want to cry. i want to be motivated and not exhausted.",1 "Wow, that is a good illustration of how it really feels.",0 Or any diagnosis that I've gotten but especially the OCD one.,0 "For me it was, ""You're so smart so why can't you just pay attention in school?"" Fuck you, that's why!",1 You’re a good person. If everyone cared just a little for their neighbor this world would be a much better place. Thanks for being the change.,0 "Been working on this since 2019 I’ve gotten A LOT better, I look back at myself then and ask “How could I treat myself so bad???” I 👏🏻 am 👏🏻 amazing 👏🏻 and 👏🏻 no 👏🏻 one 👏🏻 can 👏🏻 tell 👏🏻 me 👏🏻 otherwise 👏🏻",0 "Can someone explain ""medication holidays"" to me? I haven't really heard of this before. I don't take my meds (generic adderall) on weekends but I am not sure that counts.",1 "!!! Is this what that is? I haven't been diagnosed w/ anything because my parents are hesitant to let me see a mental health professional, so sometimes I question whether I'm unconsciously exaggerating my symptoms, faking it, etc. But this....is seriously a big mood. I hate being trapped in the car with someone (esp, just like you, my mom, who can talk for literally hours about the same topic, saying basically the same thing over and over again), and I have to put in earbuds or, like, mess with something with my hands, wiggle, etc, otherwise I just want to crawl out of my own skin. I feel like a huge asshole because of it but otherwise I feel like I wanna bash my head against a wall :( When we're waiting in the parking lot I've legitimately considered getting out of the car and walking around because otherwise I'm just gonna physically explode omg.",1 "The amount of times I've had to laugh slightly look away and say ""I'm just weird"", ugh",0 The creation of email is among the most hostile acts the NT world has ever dropped on us.,1 "Well this was me today with our laundry and reading this timeline helps me not feel bad about myself. Now, I feel endearment for your GF and a little bit more love for myself reading this!",1 I’ve been biting my skin as a stim since I was capable of it and the worst part is I do it for the feeling of the flesh between my teeth and not the swallowing or skin feeling; I’ve yet to find anything I could use to recreate the chewing between my front teeth feeling (gum is too big) I know this is ocd and not adhd/autism but if anyone has any suggestions please do share,0 i intuitively started doing something similar a few months ago (even before i assumed that i have adhd) and it actually kind of worked a bit but my procrastination got worse again and i also stopped doing these things. i’m gonna try it again tho soon after i just read this. maybe a bit more extreme: when i did this i just cleared my whole desk and used a candle that has a scent(?? it smells good haha) and made tea or coffee. i would like the sweet stuff thing but idk i always try to just see food as food and not eat for emotional reasons (it’s hard lol) and i think it wild maybe be contra productive for that...? and also i kind of get anxious and stressed around my desk and all these tools are not enough to create a really good atmosphere:( i already use mantras to create a better mindset towards studying but idk nothing works:( i hate that so much because i fail at school so badly because of it and im actually graduating soon so everything i do now is so imprtnant:/,1 "You can apply this thinking to anything that deviates from “American dream” normal. The real problem with ADHD is that it’s often not considered as a possible disorder by family until it’s too late. Imagine if there were “mental health physicals” required every year like regular physicals. That actually sounds like like a reasonable , practical solution to our mental health pandemic (the one that’s independent of covid)",1 "Wow, I wish I could use this for when I zone out of work conversations",1 "This used to be accurate, until I learned was black and white thinking was, now I see things in more than good and bad.",0 "Reminds me of when I was a kid in elementary school. Our class was obsessed with tetherball at recess including me. I entertained a thought for a moment of a tetherball post in my mind and thought to myself I should be able to control my mind, so I'd try to make the ball swing hard in my mind in one direction but I'd try and try and my mind kept making it go hard in the other direction. It was frustrating because I thought ""I should be able to make this ball swing hard left in my mind over and over again but it keeps wanting to go right so hard, so it was a fight in my mind to think it to swing in one direction but it would go the other just as hard in my mind. Since tetherball was on my mind alot and I couldn't make the ball swing a satisfying left in my mind as though someone had hit it really hard (it would swing really hard the other direction) I got so invested in this thought and I'd try so hard to think it in the direction I wanted and for my mind to obey me and do what I'm telling it (it's MY mind!) that I'd move my head physically in the direction I wanted the ball to go. I'd swing my head to the right over and over to try to get the ball to go right but it was a battle that I could not gain complete control over. It turned into a tic kind of thing where I'd be pushing my head right or left to try to get the ball to go that direction over and over and I'd be doing it kinda in the background at home and school and stuff. So frustrating to not be able to control your own mind! My parents were trying to figure out if there was something up with me back then in elementary school because of certain weird behaviors and I eventually came to be diagnosed with ADD and maybe small seizures. Only far later in life at the end of senior year of highschool when my ocd arrived hard did we start to realize all of the behaviors I had as a kid were probably components of early ocd. Stupid f**king ball would not go left!!! Bulls**t!!! I hate bulls**t. Today bulls👀t is the bane of my existence and I'll do anything I can to wipe it the * out of my life and keep myself from giving any of it to others. Don't give me any kind of bull**** or I will be pissed and will not have it. Anyways in time the tic moved on and probably morphed into something else having to do with a different feeling.",0 "“Wanna see it?” *unzips pants “This here is a Barrett M109. She pounds harder than you do”",0 i always loved jim carrey and his movies finding this out through you just makes why he became such a key part of my life just that much more logical,1 "I've had it my whole life. I can remember struggling with it since childhood. I didn't know what it was until I watched Monk with my dad. The whole selling point of the show was ""the detective with OCD, so different, omg,"" but everything he did that was supposed to be ""weird"" totally made sense to me. Then I start putting things together... I told my mom I thought I had OCD ""like the guy on that show, Monk."" She seemed a little surprised, but then said, ""you probably do because I have it, too."" I was 13 when that happened. I then began going for treatment.",0 "True, but they're not mutually exclusive. Decades ago, I had a co-worker who had a HUUUUUUGE Type-A streak. If I found a task distasteful, I could just let it go. ""Larry will do that."" Yes, I've matured since then.",1 "lol it's so hard. On paper it seems so easy, but man, it's such a challenge.",0 "I am a messy person but am a germaphobe. If it’s outside of me I can freak out over germs, but if it’s me and my stuff then I don’t mind as much but it doesn’t mean I like it. I have other mental health problems and if I can’t make a mess perfectly clean then I can’t start because to me, what’s the point? I also can barely focus on anything and only want to do things I enjoy. I have read that people with OCD can be messy people because of varying circumstances depending on that persons life.",0 "Positivity looks different from the outside of a sucky situation. It's like slamming the gas when your wheels have no traction. The person outside the vehicle thinks you should move faster, but the person inside the vehicle knows how fast the wheels are already turning, and they know they have to go slower in order to actually connect to the ground. It looks like it's more negative to someone who doesn't get it, but for people who see how much more traction that outlook has, it makes them feel heard. They see that it's a net gain from being left in the dust.",1 "Continuation: Once you DO manage to see the psychiatrist online, they can’t prescribe stimulant medication, so you actually have to go in person to _another_ psychiatrist, to get the medication. Meanwhile, your insurance has already charged you the full amount for the first one, because it turns out they said they were in-network, but they weren’t. And now… You have to write a letter to the Appeals department, explaining everything that happened, and including the invoices/bills. You have to mail it or fax it, and wait for a resolution, or follow up again with them in 30 days. But you have executive dysfunction. Oh, the irony. Source: my life.",1 "It's stupid, but it doesn't offend me for some reason. I think I'm just so used to everyone misunderstanding or joking about it that I don't get mad / offended anymore, even though I too suffer from this stupid ass disease and it's been an extremely hard year because of it. I only get pissed if someone I know makes a lighthearted joke or describes themselves this way because they ""like stuff clean."" Then I ask them when they were diagnosed and wait for the response (usually bs or they never were), then I explain what my life is like because of it, without calling them out in a mean way. They usually never describe themselves as OCD again. hahah My favorite misunderstanding of the disease was on Grey's Anatomy where Bailey had it for all of five minutes and had to keep like counting to 10 or something in front of everyone during surgery?! And then after a couple eps it was a non-subject.",0 "“Didja hear about that massive fire that happened in a different country? Actually that was your fault, you started it.”",0 "Eat that frog does not work for me. I've had to learn this from repeatedly failing. Then I heard it on an ADHD podcast and I was fully convinced. What does work for me - warming up to certain tasks by collecting small wins. For example if I have a project to do then it certainly can be divided into small easy tasks and larger difficult ones. So I try to start with a couple of the easy ones. Check those off my list and feel good. Then I start with the simplest 'hard' task. Finish that - more wins. This generates momentum until I'm engaged. Once I'm engaged I'm all in .. it's like my brain is a dog with a bone and will not let it go until it's done. It has a lot to do with attainability. If I _feel_ something is attainable then I'm committed vs when it doesn't look attainable I will avoid it. So the easy wins helps me make larger tasks feel attainable. Edit - when I'm procrastinating - the best thing to do is start breaking down the task. That is the #1 priority for any project. Keep breaking it down until everything is a single-step process i..e a task. If any one task feels overwhelming, you didn't break it down enough. Each task should be doable in 30-60 minutes. Once your breakdown is ready, pick the first 4 tasks you will do in order. Set a timer and get to it. If you broke down the job well your brain will _want_ to finish it because it's so easy.",1 I hate having this stupid disease and I just want to be normal,0 Oh god I know. I feel like I’m never gonna get anything done.,1 Wow! Can you get your dad to call me and cure me too?,1 "1 - that's awesome! Really happy for you. 2 - that man is a keeper.",1 "It makes me so mad. I’m currently debating on whether to just tell my dad to jog on and have no contact. He openly admitted he winds me up (with politics, life and other nonsense) on purpose because it’s “so easy” and makes him laugh. After I processed it, I felt like that’s a really shitty thing to do, especially to your own child! He doesn’t see that I’m a 35 (nearly 36) adult women, and he’s just gotten worse through the pandemic, more antagonistic. They just don’t get it, they have no wish to understand us or even attempt to do any research. I’ve given up on it now, and I’m not going to lose any sleep over it.",1 "For me, it meant going to the psych ward, being in trial, having disabilitating tics, have panic attacks, violent meltdowns, hands bleeding from overwashing, social phobia... you know, regular stuff",0 "I have ADHD and I'm fairly sure my son has it too to the point where I've reached out to our GP. He's a talker, he talks faster than I ever thought was possible and he gets so overexcited and hyper. I work a mentally taxing job and honestly, it's a recipe for disaster. It takes all my willpower not to bite his head off, he's only 8 and I remember being the exact same way at his age so I don't want to be a person who makes him feel like a nuisance like I did as a kid.",1 "I thought I was the only person in the world who experienced these thoughts. I'm so grateful for this sub, I feel much better now",0 I meaaan when I watch videos on yt of people cleaning then I get motivated real quick and clean too haha,0 "You are not a waste. Please do not give up living. It honestly breaks my heart to heart you say that, as a human being, someone with ADHD, as a mom, and as a teacher who works with a ton of teenagers with ADHD. Please know there are so many people who care about you and either reach out for help through therapy or to a loved one. As the responses have shown you, you are not alone. This goes for everyone, some of your responses make me just want to either reach out and hug you or to shake you until you understand your worth because I really do care. If it helps, I'm sitting here at 30 with two kids that light up my world, a husband who has been with me through thick and thin, friends and family who supported me through some really tough times, a house in a great neighborhood, and a job that I love and more than pays the bills. I feel fulfilled in life. All of this, even though I have ADHD. It's not impossible, and whatever future you want you can achieve that would be fulfilling to you. All everyone is looking for is to feel happy, loved, and a sense of safety and belonging. It's out there and sometimes we even miss seeing it when it's in front of us. Also your ADHD or bad experiences in life can help you to make a difference. As a high school teacher I actually specialize in working with students who have conditions like learning disabilities, OCD and ADHD and I love it because I get it. I may not be in their exact shoes, but I can relate to them much more than a lot of other adults, know strategies that can help them reach their goals, and have been able to use my experience with ADHD and mental health challenges (including things I learned in therapy) to better help support them in whatever way they need. We can't help what life throws at us or how our minds work, but we can use it to better the world which ends us bringing us joy in our own lives. If you only take one thing from this, just know that I really, really want you to keep hanging on. Anyone who is reading this, who thinks their lives are worthless, or is just too hard. Take it day by day, minute by minute. Know you are loved and seek support. Seeking support is not admitting you are a failure, but instead shows the strength of character and amazing person you are. You've got this <3",1 I have about 8 hours a day free of this feeling. When I'm sleeping and maybe an hour before bed.,1 "I have inattentive type and this describes my experience to a T - ""paralysis of will"" is such an apt way to put it.",1 "This actually happens to me all the time, and it honestly baffles me when this works for non ADHD people. But quite frankly I don’t have enough discipline to not do leisure activities most of the time.",1 Right on! I’m in the same boat as you all. My particular panic attacks make me feel like I have no idea what reality is. The advice above is helpful. Any other advice? ,0 "The ole ADHD tax. You are right, and there’s more. - the student debt from courses dropped out of - gym memberships not used - emergency mechanics because of not doing regular servicing - dental extractions because of not doing regular servicing - paying all the interest because of overdue bills - and my personal demon, ebooks downloaded and not read",1 "From experience, you would be more proud that you got through it and had the fortitude to not act on those thoughts. Gotta stay strong.",0 Totally didn't bookmark this page in my bookmarks bar,0 "I was telling my therapist about being distressed for having run late to something over the week, and I said “i was only like, 5 minutes late, 10 max...actually I don’t know why I’m pretending not to know, I was 6 minutes late.”",0 "Yep, knowing the why doesn't really change anything, it's like like I'm gonna debate them on the reasoning. But if I don't have the logic of it in my head, it's like my brain doesn't believe it's important. Seems like every day that passes, I realize more and more how I clearly have had adhd all my life.",1 I DIDNT CHOOSE TO FORGET! People will ask me why I forgot something... How am I supposed to know?! Lol,1 Oh my this is actually amazing. It needs to be up in a museum or something - it looks so good! Also art is a very good coping mechanism and Im grayeful to see you doing that.,0 "LOL, dude i love showing OCD memes to my mom because shes the only person i know in real life that can relate to these.",0 "If I don't slap three times, it will never be sold. OCD Salesman",0 "Oh my god it’s not just on Reddit. All those videos in my Watch Later, Tiktoks in my Favorites...",1 Awwwwww I want someone has understanding and kind as you are someday. Ty for being the best to her,1 "I think people don’t realize, we talk about our ADHD and it’s symptoms as a way to manage and cope with them. If we acknowledge they exist, or are reasons for some of our roadblocks, we are that much closer to working through them. We don’t just sit here and talk about our ADHD to get attention, or make up excuses, or whatever “bullshit” people think…",1 "My suggestion would be to try and keep the same schedule, for example if you have recorded lectures try to watch them at class time, or work on homework when you would normally be in class. That’s my plan",1 "Not specific just to ADHD posts. About a dozen times a day, I save posts into neatly sorted folders that I never return to except to add to them.",1 "I understand your pain. I love sex, but unless we are straight up going to pound town, I tend to zone out. I love pleasuring my wife, but it's super embarrassing to completely lose arousal in the middle of oral.",1 "You're blowing my mind a little, ngl. I always go back and force myself to remove commas from nearly every sentence I write, mainly to appease grammar nazi's I work with. I also use the infamous semi-colon more than...well I don't think I've ever seen anyone else use it lol",1 "Dude, can anyone tell me if medication will help with this even a little bit",1 "My health insurance is shit but i went and paid $1500 for ten sessions anyway (for depression, not OCD) I basically just got told to wake up on time, make a schedule, and meditate. Like, bud I literally cannot feel 95% of emotions except dread and guilt, I'm permanently tired, and I'm so depressed that just sitting in bed breathing makes me tired. Fucking breathing makes me tired. I woke up today and had to take a nap after breakfast because i was so tired. When I got a prescription for stimulants it helped me so much to act more like a functioning human being, and my therapist got mad at me cause apparently having every inattentive trait for ADHD, and stimulants alleviating these traits with almost no side effects, doesn't mean I have ADHD (even though the neurologist said he was very sure I have it). In conclusion, some therapists are helpful, others are less than helpful.",0 "All of my hopes, dreams, and aspirations will never be fulfilled because of this. I see all this talent that other people have and it's terrible. Seeing a really drawing or watching my friend who is really good at playing snare drum just makes me so sad and angry at myself and I'm thinking about it constantly. I've tried before, but I can never keep up with anything. I'm always too lazy, not wanting to put the effort in to something which will be terrible anyway, or I'm trying not to fail school (not going well anyway either) and I can't do anything. I know that practice makes perfect but I just can't do it. I hate the word practice with all of my being. I've also got a really bad perfectionist kind of attitude where I will lose my mind if I can't do something absolutely perfect. Of course someone who just started drawing won't instantly be good, but I can't get myself to understand this and I'll be just completely defeated and on the floor crying if things aren't going well for just a bit. I can't get myself out of this mindset, and I feel like it is destroying me. I just don't know what to do. Sorry for writing out like an entire rant. This has been on my mind for years, and especially in the last week.",1 "God, it just floors me how different my life could have been if I didn’t learn those lessons. Yikes",1 "My only consolation is that whatever hobby I abandon, I know I’ll come back to it and get a little bit better before abandoning it again. I figure forty or so years down the line, I’m gonna be amazing at everything.",1 "i blame the snooze button. they shouldn't have put it there, it's so easy to reach.",1 "My blessing is making me seriously consider suicide. Whatever her blessing is, its sure as fuck not OCD. OCD is as fun as a brain tumor.",0 "I even got this when I make plans with friends. I'll see my friend on Sunday, so this means that half of my weekend is practically gone and I only have Saturday to chill and worry about Sunday lol. Why does my brain work like this??? Someone also asked me to hangout tonight and I'm like ""no, I work until 2:30pm and I have to go run some errands after that. I'm fully booked!!!""",1 "But then what are the people who are neurotypical going to say when they get fidgety or can't sit still for a while? Oohhh I'm so ADD today... Or oh I have a bit of ADHD, I don't like to watch tv.../sarcasm",1 I feel like I was finally getting to be in a good headspace then the pandemic fucked me up to the point where I can’t imagine myself ever going back to “normal” or even close to where I was before,0 "I think this song sums everything up for all of us on here, also this post has helped me thank you, I have been doing well with fighting my ocd but I got caught off guard and was having troubles. https://youtu.be/Zj1muqpEDQI",0 "Lol I’m not very neat. I’m kind of organized (idk who to compare it to) and when I start obsessing over things like what to buy, spendings, decisions, I’ll start compulsions like making spreadsheets with formulas just for the sake of deciding what to buy for Black Friday and crap (spending a completely absurd amount of time on it). And I’m generally very germaphobic but I feel like just like everyone else with ocd, that isn’t stereotypically clean. Like I’ll spend half an hour washing my hands but because I like being clean, I may try to avoid cleaning things so I can avoid touching them SINCE they are dirty. And also, this may be relatable to y’all but I tend to hate cleaning and stuff because of OCD.",0 YES OH MY GOODNESS I WAS LIKE “EVERYONE IS ME NOW! THIS IS CRAZY!”,0 It’s currently 5:30am where I am and I’m watching a UFC stream despite never being interested in the sport in my life. I wish I read this earlier.,1 I just realized i didn't eat the whole day on monday.,1 Jokes on you my exams are still far away and I am at my parents. There is nothing for me to do.,1 "Perfect! And also, did I lock the house door, did the garage door close - I better back up down the street to make sure, do I have money/wallet so I better touch my pocket at least 5 times to make sure they're there....",0 "I missed my chem final in college because I thought it was the day after it was actually. I woke up and the whole day I was just like I’ll study for chem later I’ve got the whole day! Well when I finally got around to it and opened my chem stuff that night, I realized I had already missed the exam as it took place earlier that day",1 "FCK!!! Whow!!! This is stupid, I hate it but it sounds pretty right!! Grrr Also there is a hidden combo so that you unlock 3-5 extra hours for the current day but the combo is actually 80 thousand different ones and every couple of minutes the combo changes so that often you can’t figure out which combo has a real effect and which combo is only imaginary",1 Everything except the one thing I’m supposed to be paying attention to LOL,1 "I love this post, I has a toxic friend who would always gaslight me and make me feel like I’m the sensitive one! She would insult me and manipulate me 24/7 then laugh at me when I couldn’t react in time. She would put me down for ADHD symptoms and make me feel ashamed (prediagnosis) for being disorganized. In friend groups I was the bunt of the joke because of my reactions and how easy it was to hurt my feelings or pick on me. Solely because my brain cannot process jabs in time and I just react with emotions instead of logic. It made me DEPRESSED always crying and anxious. Wondering why I’m the one who is the bunt of jokes and “slow”. I know how intelligent I really am, but I had major imposter syndrome from her mental games. I put up with it for FOUR YEARS. One day I realized (much later) how I was being put down and abused for laughs. I eventually ended the friendship! I just resonate with the fact that things don’t hit us until later and our sensitivity makes us vulnerable to abusers. It makes me almost tear up how I thought there was something wrong with me, but I read all these comments and see I am not alone in this. I hope my prescription coming in Friday will help me with emotional regulation and perception when people are saying things to me. Wish me luck!",1 "Aw damn, you got me! But fr I do think you have a point, and now thinking about it, other people I know with ADHD do use a lot of commas, counting myself! I also use semicolons, to make reading my own stuff easier when needed",1 "Yes, that's me. I work really, really well with patterns and getting deeper understanding of processes and things, but I can't memorize things without a LOT of extra work.",1 I used to do the eyelash thing when I was younger but now I just always touch my eyebrow back and forth,0 "Have you been taking antidepressants? They have driven me into hypomania. Not my opinion, a doctor's view...",0 "This is a great analogy. I think people tend to assume that compulsions are the virus, when really they are the minds attempt at eradicating it",0 "Take vitamin d3 every day, it has helped me tremendously in dealing w these thoughts and my general daily outlook on life! Especially in the winter.",1 "I come here as a father to also learn what’s going on, this is a most interesting and incredible place with beautiful and wonderful people. The human condition is one of great joy and some Pain.",0 "I feel this. I have been doing a 10 min a day thing and just posting the result on my twitter. I don't really like most of what i have posted but there are a gems. It really boosted my confidence. Hope you find what helps you.",1 "Nobody can say I'm a good person, because they don't know me like I do.",0 "This was something as a dad of an ADHD kiddo, I learned to get over. “Because I said so “ didn’t work for him. Found that extra little effort of explaining or sometimes even reminding what we are trying to accomplish saves effort in the long run.",1 "We judge ourselves by our intentions. We judge others by their behaviour. Everything in life is about behaviour. So even if someone with ADHD has the best intentions, they will be judged on their behaviour and actions or lack of action. Our society is asked to stiffile their emotions and needs in the name of capitalism and the attitude is, ""If I can suppress these feelings and behaviours, I expect all others to as well."" Everyone could benefit from some education about how to relate with others that are different than you, but our leaders like to keep us as divided as possible in order to control the work force to give up everything in the name of capitalism.",1 "Me, a woman in her 30s. ""I'd like to make an appointment for ADHD, please. ""Is this for your child?"" Just about anything I do in relation to this I'm asked if this is for my child. No sorry, I didn't get a new brain for my 18th birthday. I don't even have any children because I can't keep a houseplant alive.",1 "Oohh Interesting. How do I check if my brain responds to dopamine or serotonin?",1 "It's beautiful. As an artist myself, I believe the imperfections in art are what make the work a more realistic portrayal of each human being. No artist is perfect; no work of art made by human hands is perfect. No matter how closely we stare, how long we take on each line, no matter how we hold our breath and pray as the paint meets canvas, our imperfections as living beings is in our art just as it is in our blood. Life is a wonderous struggle and the attempt to make something beautiful from that struggle is pure. Just as we learn to live with the imperfections in ourselves so do we learn to work with art as it flows, not to try to control it as if creativity is some solid, measurable, minute substance we can grasp so tight that it concedes. It never will for it is within and through us all. My hands shake. Either nerves, epilepsy, or my unwielding desire to create, the tremor will never go away. That's ok with me.",0 "a few weeks ago i lost my younger cousin to suicide. he hadn’t even finished highschool and his entire life he endured mental torment from what i know was some form of undiagnosed disorder, what i believe to have been in part adhd as someone who’s grown up with it. Me and his younger sister both recalled a story from years ago, me as a young teen begging his mother to get him tested or therapy and she refused. Every day it feels hopeless, like people will never realize what it does to your mind especially when it feels like no one understands. Very sorry for your loss my friend, thank you for sharing.",1 "I only have 20 minutes of work to do today. I will wait untill 1 hour before quitting time to do it, then decide there's not enough time left in the day to accomplish it and put it off until monday",1 There is a limit to how many you can save (though it doesn't tell you when you hit it). .... since learning that I've been putting interesting things into new tabs,1 "Excellent points, all. He has always been one of my favourites. I was able to quote most of his lines back when they were fresh and my mind was functional.",1 "“yeah, this is just crazy...” *five minutes later* “but, maybe I should ask people on reddit just in case”",0 "I truly believe that I have good luck in life and it's because I have good karma. I try to be a good person. I am unlucky that I was cursed with anxiety/OCD with intrusive thoughts. But I definitely get into the ""don't manifest bad shit!"" mindset because I obsess and overthink about certain things. A few months ago a friend got me an interview at her company. The interview went well and the person told my friend that they liked me and I got the job. But they never called to officially offer it. So a week went by, and I started obsessively thinking they were going to start drug testing and I fucked my new job because I won't pass the drug test. They didnt drug test. I just thought they were randomly going to start and I obsessed about it for days then weeks. Then I never got the call for the job and it all fell through because of a ""hiring freeze"". I still sort of believe that I manifested bad luck upon that job by worrying about dumb shit that wasn't even real. But I've been trying to work on that!",0 "First, I feel you on the feeling awful about feeling awful. I spent 3 hours trying to decide if I wanted to read or write fiction last night and ended up doing none of those things because I started wondering if maybe I shouldn’t be writing at all and I was probably forgetting something... ugh! Second, let me just say I get that the OmniFocus To-Do list app is expensive, but it works for me. If there’s a to-do app that works for you and are able to remember and look at it (which can be tough for me, I won’t lie) I will put things down like “drink water,” or any stupid thing I may forget that I can’t forget. It’s a huge help. The one problem I’ve had to work on is not having too many to-do items that I get overwhelmed.",1 "Honestly this weekly planner I got has helped a lot. It’s not set by times and is essentially a to do list separated by day. Reminds me I need to do it but I’m not pressured by a time lol",1 This looks like Instagram's bullshit. There's two things I hate in this: 1. follow whoring and 2. making more people to not know what is OCD.,0 "Thats kinda tho whole point of the ocd loop, if it doesn't bother you the loop is broken and you're basically ocd free.",0 "I relate to this and it drives people around me crazy. I don't know if I'm sounding like I don't want to do something or what, maybe it's my tone, but so many people get defensive when I ask why.",1 I haven’t experienced this with therapy but doctors in general. Scheduled a dilated eye exam? 2 months is the earliest appointment. A biopsy of my thyroid? 3 months earliest... nice,0 "For me it's luckily not this bad. I've had a period where it was close to being as bad as you describe but I feel like I'm slowly getting better. The problem I'm facing is that it's soo hard to keep it up. You can do all the right things one day and mess it all up the next. It's so hard to keep that streak going, but I try to focus only on the times I do get it right, it seems to help..",1 "Yeah but when noone asks, I'm able to explain every minute detail whether they like it or not!",1 "I had my first appointment in years yesterday and the whole time I felt like maybe I had overreacted, that I didn't really need to see anyone, that she would tell me I'm fine and to go home. Maybe do some meditation and I'd be good to go. Not what happened. I'm glad I went.",0 I took today off to catch up. I did maybe 2 things? Just barely. One was an exam that I completely failed cause I spent too much time on 1-2 questions so I ended up running out of time. Day went by so fast and feel like I didn’t do anything.,1 Oh my god. I have been having these feelings all day let alone all the time.,0 "I can understand this. I remember a ""brain doctor"" once was talking to me about WHY I need constant stimulation that I actually like, to be productive or happy. I know what you mean with your friends. You'll almost feel like you are just annoying, then switch to how they are just boring. Why wouldn't you want to have entertaining discussions and conversations. Do you have any interests in hobbies , or something that you've been interested in and put off? I find that stimulating and refreshing . It also helps with that need to not feel guilty about not being productive or whatever. I'm really bad at explaining things. Lol, but hope this helps some.",1 "Some people do that in order to prevent a bad thought from occurring in real life, like a car crash. In their minds... flipping the light switch on and off a certain amount of times prevented the car crash. Or they might open and close the refrigerator a certain number of times in order to prevent some other unrelated disaster. The feeling goes away after the repeated action is performed exactly right.",0 Totally struggle with this! Thank you for sharing! 😁,1 I got this notification while signing for our new house and freaked myself out. XD,1 "We all need professional help we can't afford or isn't available! (If you live in the US, at least)",1 This pandemic has exacerbated my condition. I now have pretty regular panic attacks and it’s been very difficult to keep it under control. *Diagnosed with OCD and GAD years ago. I thought I had it relatively under control pre-pandemic.,0 good shit! WE are all rooting for you adn I for one am big proud of anyone who can overcome ADHD in any way whatsoever :D,1 On the one hand in glad I'm not alone. On the other hand I wish I were alone because this sucks.,0 People with ADHD can share things that help them whereas people without ADHD can only theorize what might help.,1 "**Me at 15:** an ambitious student with straight As and dreams of studying at Oxbridge **Me at 22**: terrified of the prospect of living independently and tormented by intrusive thoughts",0 Wait it's not normal to wipe yourself about 20 times?,0 "Eating my breakfast and scrolling reddit, it is rutine.",1 "I've been thinking a lot about exactly this lately and have a couple additional takeaways in my case: - Constant self doubt and anxiety because my effort and self evaluations have no relationship to how others evaluate my work and effort - A fear of raising workload concerns because it might cause a series of unpleasant situations, similar to the story",1 saving this post so i can come back later and read the comments,1 So your saying it’s like the kronk in emperors new grove when he has the demon and angel on his arm. Not gotta lie pretty accurate lol,0 Yes this is me completely like I will mentally freak out if I start thinking something that I know is wrong. Then it’s like it becomes a compulsion for my brain to thing said wrong thought bc it makes me upset,0 Can relate to this. This is because of Monica from friends 😂,0 I go through this conversation in my head all the time,0 "Posts like this are sad bc I know that hopeless feeling, but it's also oddly comforting to see others like me, knowing we're not alone in this struggle :')",1 i thought i was the only one with major sensory issues surrounding teeth brushing that caused me to stop doing it! im happy for you and proud of you and hope i can accomplish what you have someday soon!,1 I had this. I would reassure with my mum even some of the most embarrassing things…,0 This irks me to no end! My aunt in law posted a thing on FB about how she told her grandson that he got his OCD from her because he didn’t like when his light switch was in the up position when the lights were off. Her FB posts are always a nightmare spelling wise. If she had OCD there would be either no spelling mistakes in her posts or no posts at all.,0 "yes my mum doesn’t even bother to understand me,, she thinks all my behaviors can be attributed to the notion that all my peers “think” they’re mentally ill and depressed and that im just easily convinced to follow the crowd",1 Gotta be honest I don't think it works for anyone ever. Tough love people are just too much of jerks to know how to actually be supportive and encouraging.,1 "OMG, this is so me!!!! Before my current job (been at this one 8 years), I job hopped a lot and now reading this, I guess I gave really good first impressions and was able to get jobs easily, but then got over them so quickly and either quit or was fired a couple months in.",1 "I’ve noticed that now that I am older this has changed a bit. When I was younger it was almost impossible to do things I didn’t want to do. Now I can do most boring school stuff but I’m literally falling asleep through my python class. It’s sooooo boring the way they are presenting the material but not only that it’s hard. I think that’s my sleepy combo, hard and boring.",1 "The struggle is real and I've discovered that it's like having an understaffed filing room, only it's more like an ever-growing filing warehouse with short-legged, overworked gnomes cross-trained in everything (intake, processing, outtake, sorting, stamping, labelling, recall, etc...). It can make me seem like an absolute moron when someone asks me questions regarding subject matter I'm well versed in and the gnomes can't get their little legs fast enough from ""thing I was focused on when person asked question"" to ""file containing the answer to person's question. It's like ""I swear I know what you're talking about, but I need a few minutes to let the gnome traverse the mental labyrinth to the appropriate file cabinet, please stand by.""",1 "I remember seeing this before- Yea I scarfed some down and maybe took a nibble of some of the others. Kinda jerk move I know :P",0 This is literally me every single fucking night. My fiancé’s alarm goes off at 5 am every morning but I still can’t bring myself to bed before 1am. Need to try some of these appblock things.,1 "I feel the exact same way, especially today. Sending you love and strength!",1 "Seriously how can you understand if you have add or not, in both occasions it's like having someone talk to you all the time while you're trying to think",0 """If you have OCD why are you so messy?"" I know that this would be the first to come out of anyone's mouth if I told them I OCD.",0 Lol basically looks like any given time I try to brush my teeth,0 My roommate and I both have it and our apartment is a disaster most of the time. My roommate has talked about how avoiding cleaning feels like a compulsion to her because she feels like she’ll do it wrong or won’t finish.,0 My exec function is terrible!!! It doesn't matter what I try i just can break through it,1 are you me??? my top song was from this album (nanã) because I listened to it a bunch for three weeks in march!!,1 This happens to me none stop since my TBI. It’s really discouraging to even try learning something. In the given moment all sorts light bulbs spark and minutes later I’m what I just read to or heard. Constant irrelevant thoughts that have nothing to do with my day ruin my day to day life. I’d really want it to stop but there’s literally nothing. I’m going to try these peptides and see how these stuff help. There were some post about these peptides that help with TBI 🤞🏻,1 That’s why I hated those stupid chain email things like “send this to 10 of your contacts or x bad thing will happen to you tonight”. I knew it was fake and stupid but my OCD brain would say “you better do it *just in case*”.,0 "This is me in a nutshell. This is honestly why I hated online schooling when we had a lockdown. I never got anything done I would just sit in front of the computer. Another horrible combination is: ADHD+Depression+Anxiety The anxiety you get from other classmates saying they handed in homework and you sitting there not even knowing what they're talking about because you weren't paying attention to the teacher announcing it or you forgot to check google classroom. So now you have homework you didn't hand in, you don't even know what the homework is and if you do, you don't understand a single thing because you weren't paying attention to the teacher teaching the topic in class.Same thing applies for the online quizzes/tests",1 "i used to just close my eyes and imagine if everything was ok, the doubts and questions need a pause sometimes",0 I hate OCD so much. I want to protest against it so badly but then I feel like I'll be a bad person,0 My problem isn’t lacking the memory. It’s that I know and love the subject so much that my brain inundates my mouth with so much that I end up not being able to communicate it at all. Also ending with “well... you know.”,1 Scrupulosity telling me if I use the number 6 i’m evil so I have to use 7,0 I'm currently having shitty and horrific intrusive images,0 "How does one go about looking into whether they have this, and possible treatment?",1 "I made sure when I stepped on cracks that the horizontal line went through the top part of my foot, because if it went through the bottom part it was making an upside down cross symbol and God was going to punish me lol wtf child brain",0 Holy shit. This is me. I ended up cancelling something because of this that I wanted to do. I ended breaking down and self harming. I burnt my hand with a lighter.,1 "Not just shaking my head, I flat out make a face or say something quietly to kinda reject it and sometimes it weirds people out because I'm to nervous to admit what just happened",0 6 months ago. My therapist was so happy with my progress. I'm also obsessing that people will start hoarding laundry detergent.,0 "!!!!PRESS X TO DOUBT!!!! god damn it , whenever anyone makes that refference outside the gaming community I just melt but srrsly the gay thing fucked me up too. Wonder if some gay guys with ocd have it with being hetero.",0 DAMNIT can this sub be any more relatable??? I swear next post I see will be a picture of me with my face on it.,0 "I feel this especially because I always do my best, but my best takes much longer than the average person's best. My brain knows this, so I feel a great deal of anxiety surrounding every task because I already know how much time/energy/willpower it will take me. Even on medication, it helps get me started on a task but does not help me finish the task in a reasonable time period.",1 "Damn, then I start to think that I am narcissist for thinking such a way. You can't win.",0 Love that especially when the specific OCD you're suffering from is religious OCD 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃,0 "Omg same, i bite my nails to keep em short yet i still pick and pull 😞",0 "Umm wow, this is me. Mine is that I always keep my car on the lowest 'fan' setting so it doesn't have to 'overwork' itself and blow at max fan speed for me, lol. Glad I am not alone in this irrational thinking. ",0 "Loll I had one that lasted a week or 2 about the real meaning behind Iron Maidens ""prowler."" Actual torture.",0 "Therefore, almost all people here with ADHD procrastinate, while we have more important things to do (myself included) lol",1 "I mean, he didn't write these movies though. Also, Me Myself and Irene is about dissociative identity disorder and is honestly SUPER insensitive. But again he didn't write that either.",1 "My Guilt and past tears me down I can’t take it anymore, I feel I deserve anything good I don’t even feel like a good person. I should probably deserve suffering.",0 "Over Christmas I heard a story of a house fire in which an ember from the fireplace jumped out and landed in between the wooden floorboards, sparking a blaze. And since then I’ve been unable to normally put out candles, I have to hold a plate or lid over it to be sure it doesn’t start a fire",0 "It is I! But I don't remember writing this Because of the unexplainable time skip I have started waking up with just enough time and if I'm lucky I will arrive just in time, if there is one more red light than I anticipated, I will be late. I am writing this reply as I turn on the computer at home, although I despise working from home and planned to go to the office. But when I woke up I refused to leave the bed and by the time I did it was 9:22 (I work at 10:00)",1 "Do you ever surprise yourself when you know something you never dreamed you knew? Just this last weekend my fiancé was watching the Masters Golf Tournament and we mumbled something about women being able to join the all-male Augusta Golf Club. My fiancé asked me if I knew who the first woman admitted as a member was and my first instinct told me it was someone from the LPGA. He said no, it wasn’t a golfer. “I’ll give you a hint. She wanted to become a classical concert pianist.” And I blurted out Condoleesa Rice! That was the correct answer but I couldn’t, and still can’t believe I knew that. How did I know that? ADHD brain. I can’t count on it when I need it though.",1 "Holy shit, YES! And during plays and books too, holy shit",1 This is HUGE! You've explained a core facet of OCD recovery very succinctly.,0 "No I don’t want to plan it because I will take 12 hours and freak out trying to make the plan perfect. I much rather live in an organized world that someone else made. I thrive on structure",1 "Hahaha I was at the lake with my cousin's boyfriend's family and I was having several mental compulsions sitting at the bench and his brother was like, ""Are you okay? Because you look fuckin pissed."" He was so concerned, and I was honest with him about my OCD. He was totally cool about the whole thing. I couldn't even remember what the thought was about. Now I have mental compulsions with hypochondria, which isn't much better haha.",0 Totally accurate. Except for the fact that they are rubber knives. 😂,0 It's far more easier when I think that it's me who's at fault.,0 "Hence why anxiety is a coping mechanism for undiagnosed ADHD. I got through my History degree by weaponizing last-minute panic. I didn't get into a master's degree because I knew I wouldn't be able to manage that much with last-minute panic. I got good grades in school. That doesn't erase how stressful it was. The only thing I'm grateful for is that my traumas from school were social, not academic.",1 This is pretty dark but thanks for sharing. I like your style.,0 "so true! had a medical professional tell me ""you just need to make a routine and stick to it, be consistent"" thanks my brain doesnt produce the routine chemical.",1 "How do we know this isn't just laziness? And where's the answer for beating it within these comments?",1 My ex-gf did the same thing to me once… walked out of the room to pee or something and came back 5 minutes later with a bowl of chips. Lays down next to me and just says “want a chip?”. Lmaooo,1 "Copying from our automod response for convenience: ​ Please be aware that that object permanence is the understanding that something continues to exist even if you aren't looking at it. It's part of early childhood development, not ADHD. It's why babies get so surprised if you play peek-a-boo; you cover your face and they legitimately don't realise your face still exists. People with ADHD can have difficulty with working memory, but when we forget about something, we still know it exists. i.e., parking your car outside and then entering your house means your car is no longer in sight - but you know it will still be there the next morning, even if you forget where you parked it. Without object permanence, once the car leaves your sight it no longer exists. This difference may seem subtle, or semantic even, but it's important we don't attribute false symptoms to an already misunderstood disorder. Working memory dysfunction is a known part of ADHD, that has been studied and written about. Your post hasn't been removed, and this is not a punitive action. This comment is meant solely to be informative.",1 "> Use text-to-speech generators to help you read webpages/books ~ (u/elliptical_orbit) I would love some recommendations here, specifically for webpages. Thank you!",1 My OCD is making me feel like an asshole because I want to point out the you're*. UGH I'M SORRY.,0 "I think this is a club I’m ok with being in... the internet is the worst for this though: wanna find out just how you are gonna die from sitting on your couch? It’s all right here with pictures! And conspiracy theories! And then you’ve spent an hour obsessing and you finally remember why you don’t google your symptoms any more.",0 Wish mine were funny and quirky enough to be a viral tumblr post and not deeply disturbing and distressing ,0 """PTSD Candy Company If You're buying it, you probably can't stop thinking about it"" hmm... not so glamorous is it?",0 "Yup, I’ve noticed that too. It attacks anything you deeply care about. For me it’s my identity and my relationships.",0 "Maybe consider the Japanese way. Shower or take a bath the night before. Then just wash you face, hands and brush teeth in the morning. It's an easier schedule to keep.",1 "Executive *Function* Disorder would be a better name than ""Regulation"". ""Regulation"" makes it sound like we just need to get better control of ourselves. But there's one big, glaring problem with renaming an illness - it makes it look like a new disorder, and muddies the information landscape. Take ADHD. ""ADD"" used to be the name for the disorder. Then ""ADD"" was used to describe what we now call ""ADHD-PI"", and ADHD was introduced to describe what we now call ""ADHD-PH"". Then ""ADHD"" became the catch-all for the condition, with the suffixes to denote the subtype. However, you still have patients with ADHD-PH saying they have ""ADD"", doctors still giving diagnoses based on the old system, and people in general not understanding what the differences are. Renaming the condition entirely would introduce a whole new layer of confusion.",1 Well shit I always thought I was just good at grammar,1 God it pisses me off. I’m so fucking depressed every day coz of this shit. She’s so oblivious and Ignorant,0 "Awww thanks so much. I hope you're doing well too! I don't think this situation is being kind to anyone, and I hope everyone of us will get out of this well.",0 "Lol I can't hold knives at all, so hard to control my hand. Its the worst.",0 "I literally tried to talk to my mom about one of my compulsions the other day because my OCD has been relly bad lately (and she never got me treated for it, even though I was diagnosed) and her response to me was just ""you just need to remember that you have a choice in these things. If you don't want to do that then just don't do it""...I WISH I COULD JUST NOT DO IT BUT I'M SORRY THAT MY MIND HAS ME CONVINCED THAT I NEED TO DO IT IN ORDER TO SURVIVE...I try to just not do it but then I end up holding my breath for a really long time, and I would have to told her that but she didn't want to listen to me 🤷",0 I remember watching this scene as a kid and it was so shocking and heartbreaking. I never would have guessed it would be my reality as an adult. I’ve had plenty of times where I’m sobbing and scrubbing my bleeding hands over and over and over saying “I want to die please just let me die” because I just couldn’t stop.,0 You’re a kind human. Thank you:) positivity matters!,1 ERP sucks ass. I keep thinking I'm dying. Mine is worst cuz I'm coming down from psychosis.,0 This is much better than what I can draw. This is great.,0 "Every single task I execute gets almost done. Every. Single. One. Even when I get stuck in and work hard and long. I’ll do most of something, and and then find myself working on something else. But, hey! Some progress is better than none...",1 "I hope you don't mind me saying, this is beautiful and horrifying and amazing and intricate and wonderful. Thanks soucb for sharing!! It's incredible.",0 "Awe I really like this! I’m going to be trying to implement this too and try having his same attitude. Thank you 😊",0 "Yes. Unlike you though, I don't have the guts to talk about it even in the slightest detail. Reading your post brought back a very repressed memory, oof. I do appreciate you sharing this though-- in many ways these types of posts in /r/ADHD are very helpful in that they just... make me realize that ""normal"" is *such* a social construct.",1 "I really like how Mel Robbins talks about procrastination. She says it’s a form of stress relief. You feel the anxiety of what you have to do, you let yourself off the hook and you feel relief. It’s the pattern that you’re repeating. Obviously the 5 minute task isn’t the issue. I still procrastinate a lot. A LOT. But it helps the mental anguish to know that when I feel unable to make a phone call every day for a week straight it’s usually an alarm bell that I am over all too stressed out and needing a release valve so I orchestrate one with something I can control. Not a fix - I am the worst at this but it’s helped me be a little more compassionate towards myself when things get bad.",1 I just finished the sketch I was making of my RPG character. I'll just finish this song and I'll go to bed.,1 Think I normally get to about 250 tabs open on my phone before I just close all of them at once,1 "21,469 and counting emails here. Can’t delete…Can’t read !!!! 😫😫😫",1 "Solden's book changed my life. I remember crying when I read her reference to You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid, or Crazy?! ​ WAIT SO DOES THAT MEAN I'M NOT EITHER!???????????????????? Drastically improved my self image and relationship with myself.",1 "I hear things from one side to the other “you talk too much, you’re too emotional” then I get “you’re inside your head, you aren’t driven enough”. It’s draining",1 its morning and if i dont eat ill feel like trash thr whole day so i forced myself to eat. now i dont feel so well,1 People tell me all the time that I'm OCD because I like things to be straight or equal distant apart or because I sort my M&Ms by color. I tell them that doesn't make me OCD. Your post helped confirm that because I don't have the negative thoughts that go with that.,0 "Hey, I've recently started brushing again after not brushing for months and it's a weird but good feeling! Let's keep doing it together 😄 (I also have a horrible gag reflex, but for some reason never started having sensitive teeth until I started brushing again. Probably because of the lack of care lmao)",1 "People who like their obsessions and believe they are positive attributes about themselves probably have OCPD, not OCD.",0 I literally was talking about this to my therapist earlier today! I have so many meetings for work that are kind of useless and I can't get myself to start a task before because I'll always forget where I was when I come back to it and i tend to make mistakes that way. It's SO annoying,1 "i dont relate to much of what is posted in this subreddit. but i relate to this and most of the comments here very much. even tho ive been diagnosed with adhd 3 times, i still struggle with feeling very guilty for not doing the things that matter. what the fuck is wrong with my brain? why am i always self sabotaging by not studying for uni, and instead write entire python libraries? is my brain really physiologically different, or am i a psychologically fucked up person that doesnt think he deserves whats best for him? i went to a therapist once, for one session, and he told me he thinks i have an aversion to studying because of my strict upbringing. i cant tell wether that or anything else is the reason for any of my self sabotaging behaviour. i read some comments here about how to manage to get by with that sort of brain, but it just feels unfair and like i need to work harder than others, just because the rest of my brain doesnt listen to my frontal lobe. it makes me want to create a space for me where i can be who i am, without having to struggle or adapt to any other persons idea of normalcy. is that possible?",1 "I do this when closing the door, I just can’t remember and if I forget I get a panic attack",0 "Hey Josh, wish you luck with your troubles! And love X-man and Marvel too:)",0 Right like can you not just enjoy that it is a possible good day brain lol,0 "i always thought about the fact that i get really lost reading long sentences, but i had never thought that the ADHD was the main reason why it happened. jesus. also, i hate when people explain a lot of things really fast (although i tend to speak fastly), because i usually forget things they said in the beginning, then i ask them to repeat so it can get clear what they just said lol",1 how did you do ERP on your own? were there any resources you used?,0 "My struggle comes from getting frustrated at myself when I'm not immediately great at something despite knowing full well that ""practice makes perfect."" Why am I like this?! It's caused me to stop trying new things because that feeling of personal failure is so painful.",1 "Honestly, this is just me but my OCD has almost nothing to do with disinfecting and cleaning, I have more of the compulsions to do something multiple times. And intrusive thoughts/GAD is very common with my symptoms as well (the GAD feeding my OCD.)",0 "This is awesome! I don’t have kids, but I’m looking into getting a maid to come help me clean the apartment at least once or twice a month. I’ve realized my bf and I just can’t do it ourselves. I love having a clean space and mine is always so messy and unorganized. I’m also about to do a consultation with a professional organizer and I can’t wait! I’ve realized it’s 100% okay to ask for help. I just hope I can maintain the organization after we’re done lol",1 "This is perfect, and I genuinely needed to see this today.",0 "My brain filling out the survey as I enter the counseling center: how you were feeling was not representative of how you actually feel. Counselor: wow you’re less depressed than last semester Me who’s been crying for a week straight and dealing with intrusive thoughts and other OCD symptoms: uhuh",0 Or you're comfy in bed and you see something that's just not /right/ and you're trying not to get up to fix it because if you do then you wont be comfy again.,0 "Omggg a 94 in ALGEBRA, you are a legend. Also Congratsss on the grades!!",0 "Yes to all of this! I used to take Med holidays on weekends and traveling and found myself aggressive and too hyper to where I would drive everyone around me nuts and feel like I couldn’t be in my own skin. Now I take 10mg adderall on weekends and 20 on week days and I have never felt better!",1 Is this something mostly ocd people suffer from? I feel absolutely terrible after making a mistake but I thought it was more of a general anxiety/low self esteem thing.,0 You don't know how badly i needed this today. Thank you,0 "That's just dopamine with extra steps... It's great you've found a system that works, and that you're sharing it. However, you really need to understand what serotonin is, how it works, and how it relates to ADHD. Nothing that you describe in this post relates to serotonin. Feeling productive, or arranging your living space to feel productive, IS a dopaminergic mechanism. Again though, these kinds of practical tips are exactly what so many of us need, so thank you for your post, and I'm glad that you've managed to find a system that works for you!",1 Whenever I try swimming in lakes my ocd tells me there’s sharks lol,0 "Oh yeah. Guess whos here because he's procrastinating instead of cleaning his room which has been a mess for the longest time, yet have worked in cleaning and disinfecting and been great at it. And Its not an abundance of laziness but a lack of motivation. We need motivation from outside sources because we cant come up with it by ourselves like other people can. They say working out, meditating, things like that help motivation but then I procrastinate on those too. I found that fear of punishment is a great motivator for me. For example if I want to clean my house, I'll have a girl or friends over and that'll force me to clean because I know the clutter will get in our way but mostly out of fear of embarrassment since I take pride in how I receive guests. Ill still procrastinate all week until the day they're coming over but you'll see me clean like its my favorite thing to do in the world a few hours before they get here.",1 "I feel like breaking a list down even further into tasks that have individual steps might help. Instead of just “get groceries” try breaking it down to “get bags from closet”, “make grocery list”, “choose sneakers to wear to the store”, etc. By making extremely small steps, it might help make the process happen easier and more organically for you.",1 "I’m glad this came up on my feed. I have been obsessing over specific things for DAYS and I could not resist the compulsions. UGHHH it is exhausting. But this post gives me hope. I’m going to try to just sit with the thought because if you can do it, I can do it too. Proud of you Thank you",0 "Not really all those awful thoughts are actually funny to me now, like I was worried about nonsense.",0 "Just thought I might give my opinion, seeing as pedophilia is such a touchy subject on this platform and anything that might remotely seem like a justification for pedophilia gets pigeonholed or axed: People suffering from OCD with themes of pedophilia are usually afraid of associating with children, often even avoiding them, while pedophiles will actively seek out children to prey upon and have their way. pOCD isn’t an easy subject to talk about, and I hope that this meme sheds more light on the theme and that not all people who have terrible thoughts of children want to actively enact upon those thoughts. I think it was Anthony Mackie who said something along the lines of: “Your first racist thought doesn’t make you a racist, your second and every [racist] thought from there on makes you a racist.” Such a principle might allow for people to be more open about talking through these iffy subjects with openness and empathy and that not all people who simply have these horrible thoughts are monsters. I think that that same principle applies to people who are suffering from OCD with themes of pedophilia. It’s one of the most difficult subtypes to work with, considering how taboo the mere thought of having such thoughts can be — most people suffering from it don’t seek help, as they often feel too remorseful, ashamed, or guilty to do so, despite never wanting to cause any harm to any child. I hope we can all find peace through and through with whatever OCD we suffer from.",0 "Good luck, Mr(s) introvert (yay for deduction). Also has anyone noticed that the skeleton nosehole looks like lungs (not accounting for the left being small).",0 AAAAA it’s such a problem with me and I was just fantasising about picking when I saw this. Weirdly it helped by reminding me it’s an OCD thing.,0 "I had painful swollen lymph nodes the past year and was absolutely panicking since I got furloughed with no health insurance. I jumped at an offer to go back to a lower paid position. Turns out it's because I tried to make chocolate one of my main food groups and my body wasnt having it. Im sorry about your diagnosis OP, I wish you a speedy recovery.",1 "Lmao, you’re reminding me of all the things I haven’t done yet today",1 "Isnt that what Ocd is??? lmao INTRUSIVELY SHUTTING OFF FROM ALL CONTACT- MISSION TO ALLOW INTIMACY INCOMPLETE! NICE TRY!!! OUTSIDER!!! BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME. EXCEPT NOT. B/C insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.... BUT TRY TO LOVE YOURSELF ANYWAY! It's not your fault you're broken!!! :P :) :) :) <3 <3 <3 <3 <3",0 "This hits home. Randomly when I woke up this morning I remembered all the times I procrastinated so hard on a school project or subject that my elementary school teacher stuck my desk out in the hall so I would get my work done. And that was agony! And now in my mid thirties I'm realizing that the reason I just couldn't force myself to do whatever project wasn't really a lack of discipline like the adults would say it was. Because ""She's really smart, but if she would just apply herself..."" was the broken record of every single parent teacher conference from 3rd grade onward. And because I wasn't like ""Jason"" in our class with ADHD I was just being rebellious. It's been interesting to read the comments of other women who are struggling to cope as they get older. I can see myself reflected in their experiences. I was diagnosed with ADHD by a neuropsychologist at 18 following a TBI. I think the TBI ruined my established coping methods but I didn't take the diagnosis seriously at the time. So I've continued through adulthood with untreated ADHD and now it's finally gotten to the point where I'm struggling to function. Seeing that other people have similar situations is extremely helpful.",1 Living with my parents definitely exacerbates my OCD. My mom is so loud and annoying. I love her but surviving mornings is nearly impossible.,0 "I empathise with this so much. It's frustrating as all hell. Worse when people want you to explain yourself as you know you can't offer a plausible reason other than ""I don't know why I do this and it keeps happening even though I hate it"". Be good to yourself mate and just keep trying to do the best you can x",1 "Raised Catholic, grew up subconsciously fearing God. Honestly think a lot of Sunday school was meant to just guilt us into going to church and scare us about going to Hell. I would be so distressed when these sorts of thoughts popped up, I thought I was a wicked person. Nope, humans are just shitty! I’m still Christian but have a lot of resentment for people who use religion like that. No Debbie, they are not damned to Hell for being gay. If that actually were the case then dude wtf why are we supporting this lmao",0 U just saved me. Im not okay at all. Im bawling my eyes out and the thoughts wont escape me. I cant tell who i am anymore. Thank u,0 "I will happily stay up until 6am gaming or all day on my days off. So you would think I’d be able to have a good session in the 6 HOURS OF FREE TIME before work at 4pm?! NO SIR. A work day is a work day and it takes up all my mental energy tokens for the day. It’s the all or nothing thinking too, it’s either a day doing NOTHING and just gaming OR it’s a productive/work day. It’s writing off a whole day or week of good eating because you had one naughty treat (and instead, bingeing the rest of the day/week) It’s I clean the whole house or nothing. Clean one room?! Why?! What a waste of time! Why bother even taking a shower if you aren’t going to wash your hair. Or wash your hair, put on clean clothes, have clean sheets on the bed, have a clean tidy house. I JUST HAD AN EPIPHANY, This is what all the fellow adhders mean when they say ‘overwhelmed by all the steps’ in a task or activity. And the time blindness and poor concept of time overarches EVERY aspect, every decision of our lives. So we fixate or freeze.",1 I'm sitting in a drive through waiting for food :( should I be doing something else?,1 "OP, it's 'a part', and also, the sympathetic nervous system is responsible for fight/flight/freeze response. The limbic system is in the brain and is actually part of the 'mammalian brain', where the CNS is 'reptile brain' Your concepts are correct, but having the proper anatomy/physiology will be helpful for others seeking information.",0 "I love this! Mine is named Bitching Betty. It's actually helped me develop a better understanding of my OCD and a more positive relationship with it. My frequent internal dialog when Betty is freaking out : ""I appreciate your concern, I know you just want to protect us, but I'm gonna have to say no to you right now, were gonna be okay even if we don't do the compulsion. We're gonna get through this together."" Idk your relationship with squish but they are pretty stinkin cute. 💚",0 "Another tip is buying multiples of useful items like chargers, umbrellas, etc and putting them in locations you will use them instead of having one and forgetting or misplacing it.",1 Also nothing worse than an 8am appointment or a Monday appointment,1 In my case you should really add misogynist and judgemental.,0 "Me before bed: Check all knobs on the cooker are off. Check front door is locked. Check all knobs on the cooker are off again. This is every night, even if door has not been unlocked & cooker has not been used. Many nights I get to the top of the stairs & have to go down & redo it as I think I somehow got it wrong. Some nights I have to get out of bed and do it a 2nd time. If I have to check the door a 2nd time then I will have to check the cooker a 3rd time, as it has to be the last thing I do before I go upstairs at night. I know this is mild compared to some people, but to me it is very annoying as I often wonder if it is actually part of OCD, or more that i just don't trust myself.",0 "Stop looking at my camera smh /s Jokes aside, thank you!",1 "Oh! I’m gonna comment like 50 times on this thread lol, but ALSO: I cannot CONCENTRATE on studying because of the brain fog, yeah. My brain feels TIRED and thoughts aren’t coming to me, sentences are a jumbled mess, etc. But when I take a break to scroll through Reddit, I can suddenly type up several well-structured and long comments on a topic lol, with all the fancy words I can’t think of when trying to study. Like right now!",1 OP this was very awesome of you. Thanks for sharing!,1 "To add to this image: when we perform our compulsions, we continue to push our amygdala farther and farther as we ultimately lower our threshold.",0 """I want to learn programming. I should start right away! But the chair isn't right for it. I don't really have a desk now that I think about it. ... Or shelves. I should redo this whole room so that I can have something to be productive in!"" *Buys yet another $1 notebook for this project alone*",1 this is so true! specially when you parents or family members that are like this and were raised like this. I try to explain ADHD and how this doesn't work. They just don't get it. I'm to the point that I'm going to stop talking about ADHD and just do what I have to do. If they get mad cause I'm not doing what they said then its whatever. I'm an adult now.,1 "I get the message behind the meme. For me, a more accurate description is holding my co-workers 6 week old baby and thinking ‘what would happen if I just dropped him? Right here in front his mom and the rest of my co-workers.’ Obviously I didn’t, and I wouldn’t, but who the fuck wants to think about this? So... how do I not think about it? Bite the insides of my lips and pick at my nails until they bleed 🤷🏼‍♀️",0 Oh wow yeah I just thought it was my analytical nature. But that explains why whenever I try to explain the why to other people regarding tasks their eyes glaze over and they end up more confused than when we started. When I try to explain why we’re doing what we’re doing to my wife she always tells me “I don’t need to know why…”,1 "I had to setup a new spotify for my kids because on top of my very eclectic taste in music are the theme songs for dora the explorer, super wings, etc.. My wrapped playlist is wild..",1 "Holy fuck. The effort you put in to help us 😭 Thank you!!!!!",1 "I love the vibe your sculpture has! It may be wrapped in pastel colors and cute on the inside, but the outlines of the people on the inside, just visible, give off a sense of dread. I like it! Also it's, intentionally or not, done almost entirely in the trans pride colors, so I approve :) I hope I don't sound offensive or anything. And it's tough living with OCD, and I'm glad you got to return to something you enjoy. I myself have a lot of mental compulsions, so I get how distracting and even debilitating those can be, especially when you're doubting the validity of your own illness like I do. -- another gay sky fairy",0 The first time I took it I felt like I could finally think clearly. It was like watching someone lift a veil from my mind I didn't know was there. It was an amazing feeling. I'm so happy for you.,1 This reminds me of when I start having violent intrusive thoughts and I just zone out and smile starting at the wall while nobody else has any idea of what I’m thinking.,0 "Me. I haven’t been freaking out about hand washing and I’m grateful. It’s just that not being the kind of person who freaks out about the stuff OCD people are expected to worry about makes it hard to build up the courage to get treatment. My room is a mess and I want it to be clean. I just feel sad and helpless and that makes it impossible to find the motivation. I count. I obsess. I excessively screenshot funny conversations because I’m afraid of letting them go. But my family refuses to take it seriously.",0 "I feel you. Whatever you're going through I wish you a better and more calm day. For me this happens when I need to speak with others and state what I need from them that's not right. It's something even less consuming like a two minute conversation. Make something you really like (coffee, tea, a snack?) and be at peace with yourself.",1 some days it's unbearable. seriously considering asking my doctor for an ssri at this point,1 This is me 100%. If anything goes wrong with my morning at all my whole day just disappears,1 "Leg shaving, armpit shaving, wearing deodorant everyday",1 "Pre-COVID I would go to my a library (either my campus’s or a local one) and that helped me immensely. My brain knew I was there to work and even though I had WiFi and YouTube my brain kept focus and I would breeze through my work. One semester I didn’t own the textbook (I ain’t paying over a hundred of dollars for a textbook I’m gonna use for 12 weeks) so I just used the one the library had on hold for students to use and I would finish my work for the week less than 2 hrs. If I was at home I wouldn’t be able to do that.. I miss going to libraries 😭",1 "I've always felt that the word ""deficit"" is so far off the mark. Surfeit, maybe, but not deficit.",1 Glazing over while others are talking: now if that isn't just the way!,1 "As a VERY unorganized person with (clinically diagnosed) OCD, this shit annoys me. Especially if I bring up that I “also” have OCD & you can see the immediate confusion/disbelief. 🥴🥴",0 "OMG YES , my timing though is more around 5 , if i have something at 5 then after that it is too late to do anything and before that theres still too little time to sit down and tap into hyperfocus like it’s exhausting :(",1 I have a professor who does this almost every class and it pisses me off so much and I need to call her out on it.,0 OMG other people feel this way? Its so good to know im not alone because i literally feel the EXACT same way. Its good to know we’re not alone,1 "r/CPTSD Trust me. We're really vulnerable to it for this exact reason and that whole RSD thing is literally a reaction to this type of trauma. Be mindful of flairs on that subreddit, though. There are a lot of different causes of CPTSD.",1 "My first instinct when my son says he can’t do something is to say “Ok, do you need a break and then we can try again?” 9 times out of 10, he’ll take a 5-10 min break, get a snack, and skip and hop around. It refreshes his brain and he’s able to sit back down, bouncing in his seat, and complete it. People just need to have patience. Not everything has to be done THIS SECOND. If it’s something that can be done together, like cleaning up, I’ll offer a break then we can work on it together. I break it up into little, manageable tasks. Like you pick up all the books and I’ll get all the legos in the bucket. We’ll listen to music and I try my best to make it fun. Screaming like a banshee and removing every privilege known to man won’t help.",1 "\^\^\^ agree 100% rn im just tryna convince myself that maybe its not irrational- that way i dont feel bad... but yaknow.... the truth prevails... And with the ruder responses when tryna explain my OCD, they think im just crazy. sometimes when explaining, i legit get a panic attack thinking about ""oh what if they think im stupid and that im mentally dumb"" and it f r e a k s me out because i have trauma dealing with that sorta assumption thanks to being physically disabled and my mom being delusional. and then when i think about if i have an illness, i THEN think about ""oh what if im a hypochondriac????"" and its just hygtyuigvt IT NEVER ENDS, MAN.",0 No that’s OCD. Just send who cares what people think,0 "I literally came to the sub to post something similar. I feel awkward telling people my hobbies because it goes something like this: Me: ""My favorite hobby is domaining!"" Them: ""Oh cool, how long have you been doing that?"" Me: ""6 days.""",1 "It’s now 7:36am for me. I shall go to sleep soon, and hope no pretty lights or tasty ideas get in the way",1 "Yep If I touch bodily fluids, including my own, I feel contaminated and have to shower for 30-60 minutes. I worry about whether something (a used book for example) has been touched by someone who had sex and didn’t wash their hands, and have to shower if I sit on a friend’s couch or bed and wash my clothes I’m also afraid to go down on a girl because of this and other reasons",0 "The last 2 hit so hard for me. Obsessing over info to make sure they don't miss an important detail and asking for reassurance from loved ones that they weren't offended by the sufferer's remarks. You don't know how many times i've asked my dad ""Is everything good?"" or asking my mom the same thing in Arabic... I can't relax unless they say the answer I anticipate and it makes me come off as manipulative and mean and I hate it.",0 even if it is a repost i wouldn’t mind because of the creativity put into it.,0 Does medication help with this? I’m going to start meds in January—this is the top issue I struggle with.,1 Thanks god I quit being religious. Cured my religious obsessions completely.,0 I’ve started having a setback last night and let me tell you I needed this so badly today. Plus the cat. Love it. Thank you.,0 I don't think its the average person's fault they don't know what OCD actually is. Society continues to stigmatize actual discussion of mental health and create lots of misperceptions,0 I didn’t even realize that was intrusive thoughts. I do this all the time. Just did it yesterday actually.,0 When it just gets replaced by a similar but even worse one lol,0 "I feel this. I soon have an appointment in hopes of being diagnosed, and though I'm fairly certain I might have it, I can't help but feel as if I may be wrong, or I may actually be lazy and that it's all my fault. Damn everyone who made me adopt this toxic mindset",1 This hit home. Every time I go to my therapist I avoid talking about things or lessen the severity of my compulsions/issues because I feel like I'm exaggerating them :(,0 "Same, people get to know me and my awkwardness and then drift away.",1 "Let me save this post, I'll reply when I'm on my desktop.",1 "Hey, can we do something? Anything to change it a bit? To have more tolerance? To not give up? I am desperate please don't ignore this",1 "HA this is why I still don't meditate regularly. That said, I've been taught that the point isn't to get rid of them. The point is to get really comfortable with the discomfort of having them. To not give a shit either way. To invite them in when they're not there. Bring them on. Easier said than done I know, but for me this does seem to be working. They are there all the time but are basically just background noise most of the time.",0 Yeah it sucks. Luckily mine seems to come in waves and when I'm in remission it's not so bad but my latest episodes have been horrible,0 "I have the same issue. Ocd really fucks with the way I drive and park. It creates a lot of distractions, especially in the highway, that I have to ignore for safety.",0 This is literally my whole life. Is there any way to...?,1 That's great! Ive been able to do this for yrs now...bout 10 yrs. But i went through nearly 15 yrs of repeatedly washing my hands until it felt right before that. That is seriously a huge accomplishment.,0 "I have a book recommendation but it isn't specifically about ADHD, it's called 'drawing on the right side of the brain' if anyone here is interested in learning to draw but also interested in learning a bit about how different regions of the brain work and how learning to draw relies more on using the right side of the brain etc, it's a very interesting read. Also regarding your first point about spending too much time planning. I can relate so much to this. try using a timer, try being stricter with yourself about the amount of time you spend. It is helpful to think in terms of hour to hour and just be really strict with yourself. ADHD folk have a big big problem with prioritising. I realised I'm doing it myself actually. Want to learn to draw so I am just reading a lot about it. Gotta find a balance between reading/planning or learning about something to actually doing it. I can relate so much to this. anyway hope you're doing alright. x",1 That’s such a huge step congratulations!!! Super proud!!!,0 Oh that’s why my room is like a constant hurricane and never gets cleaned. Yeah I get it. I try but like 30 minutes later I just stuff things inside my drawers and stuff (things=everything).,1 I have a screen timer thing on the iPhone for like YouTube and shit to limit me. I hit ignore for today everyday for over a year now lmao,1 "Aside, understanding the why of of something is superior to memorization in general.",1 My hands look the same. I even got some scars on my right hand from this year. I found a lotion that helps but I can only use it over night (so far). Using it during the day only triggers my compulsion to wash my hands. Stay strong and safe!,0 "I played the RE2 remake with my dad when it came out, and in my playthrough on Leon's route I think I saved around 200 times. My dad was cracking up over it but thankfully he has OCD as well so while it wasn't a personal obsession of his he was understanding and just found my goofs really funny. It actually made me feel so much better to be able to be giggling about it with my dad. This subreddit gives me the same good feelings.",0 "it’s funny - I would have never visited a therapist had it not been for my super strong belief that I had schizophrenia. My therapist was like: Yeah, you have ocd 0___0",0 Yeah sometimes. Though when I'm trying to relax and sleep in and I feel like I've been lying around waiting for my second alarm for half an hour and it's only been 5 minutes. That's rather frustrating.,1 "Yup!! All the time. I love seeing these posts and reading these responses and learning how to hold myself accountable/deal with these situations. The reminder that some of my thoughts are still intrusive, despite not acting like the worst intrusive ones, is also nice",0 "Just look at it, it’ll definitely cure those obsessive and intrusive thoughts bro",0 Yes I love constantly hearing music and numbers repeating in my head all day.,0 "I always set an alarm the moment I start cooking or else something gets burned or undercooked. Sometimes I have two alarms and timings written on my kitchen blackboard.",1 I have to eat it first because I’m scared I’ll kill him if it is poison and would rather die myself,0 My wife said to hurry up and shower and here I am on Reddit sitting in the bathtub. Thanks!,1 """Tell me what your problem is right now"" ""I. DON'T. KNOW.""",0 Uuggghhhh this is the worst. You wake up thinking about all the things you need to do and obsess over how you're going to start and and get overwhelmed by the fact that you haven't done any of it so you just don't do any of it and then the day is over,0 "coming from a hairdresser, i’m so glad you finally went!! and you look BEAUTIFUL!!",0 "Did I write this post and forget? Dang. I'm so sorry you're going thru that. So am I. For the last few years.",1 "Thanks I have a physics 3 hw due in 43 minutes, off I go",1 "I used the FOTO Gallery app to sort large amounts of pictures into folders.other than that I make sure to add a photo to the right folder as soon as I take it, and sort any leftovers before bed",1 "It’s weird having ocd and most people don’t know a damn thing about it, just that you’re weird it’s kinda frustrating",0 "Anyone else decide whether to go straight take 2 lefts and a right, or right turn the red to save 10 seconds? Or what ever lol.",0 "There are books for adults, but much less common. For example, ""Taking Charge of Adult ADHD"" by Russell Barkley.",1 "I’m seeing this at 2am central time. I feel personally attacked.",1 Me protecting my loved ones by filling the glass to its surface tension point and then drinking it all at once,0 "Yeah, but at the same time, ""Ugh, my thing is in half an hour. That's SO LOOONG! I guess I have no choice but to learn about all the different flying dinosaurs until I realize I'm late.""",1 "Coronavirus has actually helped me sucsessfully relapse my OCD because now I actually should compulsively wash my hands it helps reinforce the obsessive thought patters so now I can't get the voice to stop insulting me and telling me to kill myself Well worlds ending anyways so guess I won't have to deal with it for much longer yaay",0 <3 Likewise my good friend! Were all in the shit together,0 "I wish it was, dude. Then I would choose not to have it. Are these people really that dumb?",0 Yup. Same with sticky notes and planners and calendars and literally anything in my life that I set up to help me get shit done.,1 "Lol Squidward. Im so sorry for whats happening to you :( Im in a bad situation as well... clean the phone 100 times, open doors strangely, get mad wanna cry then all over again",0 "I've been struggling lately. I'm in a relationship that seems to be hitting an end point because we can't seem to stop fighting (partially because my ADHD frustrates the hell out of them). I started a new job 6 months ago, and working from home makes me pretty much useless, and anxiety about how little I get done makes me get even less done. I moved to a new city 6 months ago for the job, and so I don't know anyone here and have no one to turn to. I've been a bad friend to old friends and feel guilty about reaching out to them because I need people to lean on. I'm unmedicated because I can't find a single doctor around here that's in my insurance and will treat ADHD. My apartment is a mess (because of all of the above + ADHD) which stresses me out further. And I injured my back earlier this year so I can't even go for a long run to get my anger/frustration out. I'm okay. I'm just needed to vent.",1 "I'm so glad people were so nice to you! And congratulation for being able to accept that you deserve help ♡ I am very lucky my boyfriend is looking after me all the time. Though it's frustrating sometimes to feel like a child he has to care for, and I feel like a burden to him. He often has to reassure me on that subject.",1 "Yep, I had the original compulsions, then the ones I do when others are around to make it less noticable. Unfortunately now I tap everything on my tooth 3 times before drinking anything. It started as a hidden/secondary compulsion but it's been everyday now since probably 2008. 😑😔 My computations never went away I've just changed them to be less noticable. Like I wouldn't dare switch the light on and off anymore but I will tap my ring finger against my cheek 3 times. Basically to be able to do anything, that has to come first. I find fighting them helps but sometimes giving in so I can move on in my day is the only way. If all else fails I scream, STOP! Then won't allow myself to do it until I get out of the door. That helps. What a constant struggle.",0 "This one is really hard for me...my parents told me all the time how smart I was as a kid, but come my teenage years I was berated for my grades becoming shit. Anyone else not have much of a problem academically & socially until high school?",1 "Yeah I attach reasons to tasks it helps me remember to do them right. I was always the ""why kid"" no clue how many times I heard ""because I told you so."" Not a satisfying answer for my adhd brain.",1 "Me: spoils my dog Me: what if I accidentally murder the most precious thing in my life? Me: :(",0 I love this song from the tv show crazy ex-girlfriend - great reminder that I’m not alone needing medication [Anti-depressants are so not a big deal ](https://youtu.be/OG6HZMMDEYA),0 "This is a great point!! Hello Fresh is my splurge when it comes to the ADHD tax!",1 "this is a very good insight you had; however, not doing anything and moving on isn't much of an option when you have ocd; if it were, most people here would be doing it already; the thoughts catch you in an unexplainable way; it is interesting that anything you try to cope with ocd is completely useless",0 Am I the only one who would compulsively touch that?,0 "I wrote a complaint to a website run by my local health board. [https://www.moodcafe.co.uk/parents/adhd.aspx](https://www.moodcafe.co.uk/parents/adhd.aspx) ​ >ADHD/ADD is a **life-long condition** and it is important to understand the impact of the symptoms on a **child** with ADHD and on the **family/ carers** as a whole. ​ There is absolutely nothing on that website for adults with adhd even though they accept it is a lifelong condition. Have a look. It's run by the clinical psychology and public health departments of an NHS board. I was furious. I'm still waiting on a response to my 'enquiry'.",1 "It's a struggle because my love language is acts of service. So if someone else does it for me, yay. But also I feel bad.",1 holy shit. I'm 3 months away from turning 30 and this hit me to the core. My therapist is working with me on the negative self-talk and said something similar last week.,1 "Omg, I love you! Thank you so much for making this post!",1 I'm not worried about mess but I must have everything organized or I'll lose it and flip my shit,0 Been suffering with horrible intrusive thoughts today. Truly needed to see this so much.,0 "Honestly it’s so comforting seeing stuff like this. Before I found this sub, even though I knew I had OCD and knew other people had it my brain would trick me into thinking “you’re the only one who has these thoughts. You’re a seriously disturbed human being.” Seeing these posts on a daily basis helps me with my OCD because it lets me really recognize that it is just my brain being a dick and there’s nothing “bad” about me or anyone else who suffers from it.",0 "I feel this. All I want to do is sleep because I seek stimulation but nothing is stimulating enough. Video games are the only thing that comes close, but even then they're not enough. I'm starting to seriously think about killing myself because I can't reasonably sleep all the time.",1 "Does anyone else feel stuck? Because of past regrets, I feel I can’t move forward. No way I could even be in a relationship because I can’t share my ugly mistakes from the past with them. Looks like it’s me, myself, depression, anxiety and regrets for the long haul...",0 Oh my god!! I thought I was just a terrible human being 😦😦,0 One thing about people with ADHD... we know how to bring the laughs!,1 I hope you know how lucky you are to have such a vital support system! I would kill for a partnership like this! Good on y’all ,1 The only time I wish it was appropriate to scream at people.,1 "I will admit, I have had both of these. But the latter is waaaay more common for me.",1 Not me on reddit instead of doing this tasks I've been dreading for the past 2 weeks,1 Congrats! I struggled with OCD symptoms a lot during my MSc thesis. It is like finishing a marathon within another marathon. Proud of you and I hope you take the time to celebrate!,0 "Ugh! You speak to me, completely! I have the opposite problem, as a clutterbug. I am extreme in the aspect that I subscribe to certain rituals. I have a hard time throwing things away at home become I *might* need it. At the same time, I am very organized at work concerning paperwork and tasks; I dislike a messy work environment, but weirdly, if I create the mess, I can readily find what I need. If someone else creates it, I mentally twitch and feel angry. I have been striving to hone this feeling when considering the actions of others. Be more considerate. When I tried to tell my Internist that I felt I had OCD and had for years, he asked me, *why*? I told him that I had to count money a certain amount of times or check locks numerous times. He told me it sounded like the characteristics of a good manager (something I had been doing for nearly 20 years, at that point). I felt frustrated. What I failed to tell him...and what came out later when being evaluated for PTSD: I have to perform actions in a certain way...and if I cannot remember each moment, I panic. Sometimes, it wakes me from my sleep. In my worst moments, I have woken up, dressed and gone to work to disable the alarm and perform my closing walkthrough again. My therapist recognized I had OCD before I embarrassingly confessed this. Apparently, I ruminate too much. I laughed when he told me, admitted this and the denial I received several years prior (the thing that stopped me from seeking further help at the time). He said it must have been disturbing to not be acknowledged. And while it was, I realize I should have been more explicit; but at the same time, I was scared. I didn't want to be perceived as crazy, as much as I knew it wasn't normal...I just wanted to be helped, to feel free of my feelings.",0 "I’m the opposite of this, gotta close everything plus close the browser when I get off.",0 "I do the same thing, also with interests. For so long, I spent my life going through countless jobs and hobbies, looking for something to inspire me enough to create a long lasting routine. Everything lasted maybe a month, and then I went back to being a wreck.",1 "Event barriers are my kryptonite. If I leave the room, everything in my brain is rinsed clean and I have to get my bearings again. There's times I'll be making out with my girlfriend and things are about to get into gear and I'll run to the bathroom to pee and freshen up and I swear if I make the mistake of looking at my phone, it's game over. I might not even go back into the bedroom. I might go into the kitchen or my computer to look at reddit.",1 Like seriously….I am just sitting here cracking up at the last paragraph still 😂,1 "If medication works for you and makes your symptoms better, by all means take it. If it doesn’t, find another form of therapy. It’s kind of like the breastfeeding debate—at the end of the day, you can only do what works for you. For me, going on meds probably saved my life. I was pretty despondent when I started on Klonopin—like, I had worked myself into a fever, that’s how anxious I was—and it immediately cut the anxiety by at least a quarter. It also helped to make sure that I was getting enough sleep/eating well, because I had stopped doing both at my worst. Being on a long-term SSRI has also been a game-changer. There’s enough self-judgment that comes with taking meds. Am I taking enough? Am I taking too many? Does it make me weak or stupid to take meds? Do I even deserve the relief meds will bring? What if I actually am terrible and taking pills numbs the guilt and makes me a sociopath? Wow, I immediately feel better after being on this drug, that must mean that I never had OCD in the first place and was looking for a way out. It’s not fair for me or anyone else to put our own shit on top of that. Tl;dr: Do what makes you well, always.",0 "Yes I need to listen to that. It's now 5:15 in the morning and I've been up all night sewing things. Although kinda good as it's going to be 40 degrees tomorrow (today) bleurgh.",1 "Yes! This ADHD tax is much better because you get the use from it. I had that realization myself a few weeks ago and thus far-life changing. However I just discovered emergen-c makes gummies! Guys those things are legit! Reminds me of sour patch kids! Just throwing that out there!",1 "It’s like holding onto a funny phrase for literal weeks, it’s crazy oh my god",0 "Yeah. Same boat OP. Pretty close to saying fucck it. 30, no education, no job, small desert town, no friends and little family. Tired, tired all the time, no energy to even eat. Life is a fucked up mess. Last chance to fix it before I set up a c02 inhalation system and go out listening to metal and drinking walker to the end of the world. waiting for the therapist to call sucks.",1 Yes. Oh my God yes. I do this all the time. I don't know if it's an OCD thing or if it's because of some other bullshit from childhood but I do this all the time. I try not to pick up anything in a store I'm not gonna buy if it has eyes because I don't want it to get it's hopes up and then feel abandoned. I always figured it has had something to do with how I felt after all the childhood bs though.,0 "It's the equivalent to: ""Tell your bullies to stop bullying you and they'll magically stop.""",0 This is me first thing in the morning when my intrusive thoughts are in a real ugly phase,0 "I'm in grad school right now and it's absolutely horrible. I've lost all ability to force myself to do things. I never had that ability in the first place really... but at least I could fake it. Now, it's all catching up to me. I don't even have anything hard to do. It's just a lot and idk how much longer I can do this. 😂 It's a race between my graduation in May 2022 and me giving up.",1 "Was just thinking about how lonely it can feel if you don't have anyone to talk with about your obsessions and compulsions... I had to take time today to realize that they don't call it ""mental illness"" 'cuz you feel great. But having people to talk to helps me feel less trapped. Highly encourage.",0 I actually tend to forget commas and have to put them manually for my rambling to make sense,1 "The lack of sleep anxiety was real.. what helped me was a therapist somehow said this in that specific way that allowed my adhd brain to unhook from this particular worry. Even just lying down provides rest to the body, some nights you’ll sleep like the dead, others nights you will not. I have no idea why, but it helped me.",1 yea same with animals by pink floyd being my most listened to album even though i only regularly listened to it for a month or so. its a fire album though i still listen to it,1 I'm sorry for you. I hope that soon you'll be able to breath easy.,0 "ah nice, thx bro finally cured from ocd. Took me only 10 awful years. /s",0 "Damn. That ""arrrrggggghhhh"", cuts right down to the bone.",0 Mine is shoulder shake. When I’m fighting off something I have a shoulder shimmy tick.,0 "guys.... i have ocd (at my worst, VERY servere).. and i use sanitizer stuff...",0 lmfao. i wonder why this insanity is still somehow funny to me... knowing fully and damn well how terribly destructive and unfunny this reality really actually tends to be... smh!!!! XD XD XD XD XD,0 That's why I only watch visually impressive movies. Every time there's a quiet drama scene I forget I was watching a movie.,1 "TV is the worst to me. If He is on and someone Talks to me, listening gets damn hard",1 I remember after my first dose I felt like Harry after he took liquid luck in the half blood prince. It was amazing.,1 "Dude! So crazy. I accidently lost my bottle of adderall right after getting it. Somehow my dumbass wasn't paying attention and threw it in the trashcan. Searched literally all day, even outside and retraced steps. I was about to give up and literally my hail marry was to check the trash can AGAIN...dumped it all out on the floor and there it was!",1 I love how this expresses the slow reaching dread that is always there and what it feels like when it starts to get a hold on you. Sending lots of love ❤️,0 "My whole heart and soul are with you on this one. This is me to a T, all the way down to being able to help people overcome this but not myself. I too feel like a prisoner in a body unwilling to cooperate sometimes. I’m early in my journey exploring how ADHD impacts my life but it’s very comforting knowing I’m not the only one who feels this way. Hang in there!",1 "YOU CAN HAVE RELATIONSHIP OCD? Oh god, I didn’t even think about this. Someone needs to tell my monkey brain that my boyfriend not actually going to break up with me.",0 "I’m sorry you have POCD. That sucks. It wasn’t your fault and, in a way, you’re POCD means you’re really a good person. I kinda have the same thing actually from being sexually abused as a teen. Thank you for sharing.",0 "You know what, I can honestly say that I don't think I'm a bad person; I think I'm a badass. However, I'm aware that people I get close to need to (and I encourage them to) set up boundaries for what they are willing to emotionally take on. I draw hard lines with them if I feel like they are attempting to solve my problems for me (it's surprising how many people do this). I encourage them to take time away from me if they feel overwhelmed by the force of nature that is my magnificent self. I make sure that they know exactly what I need from them, and what I will not tolerate from them. They also know that I will do anything I can for them; they have only to ask. And above all else, they I make sure they know that my crazy ass loves them.",1 I have all these bookmarks not because “I’ll read them later” but because I’ve already read them and I’m scared I’ll forget the information inside them and need it later. Can anyone relate?,1 "I am sorry. I feel the same way sometimes. It will get better. I promise. Hang in there, you're a great person.",0 "OCD really is like debating Donald Trump in your head, but there isn’t a moderator.",0 "Not to be that person, but that is not really ""serotonin"". What Serotonin is like is hard to describe, but I would not call it really pleasurable. These things sound more like endorphin producing tasks, which produce dopamine as a side-effect. Dopamine is not pleasurable necessarily by itself. It is just the ""enforcement"" element of it. There may be little ""liking"" associated with it. Just doing and wanting to do (liking and wanting are two different concepts, but for neurotypicals are usually pretty insync.) However, endorphins are the ""liking"" aspect, and the body then also releases dopamine with it to say ""do more of this shit please."" Dopamine is about movement and motivation. It came about from directing movement (why low dopamine causes shaking, trembling, or other movement disorders.) Dopamine also directs ""internal movement"" or aka motivation. Anyway, sorry I find this shit interesting and couldn't help myself. I know it really isn't important to the post, but I couldn't help myself.",1 "I’ve just started talking pics of *everything* that I want to remember. My object impermanence is awful, and somehow I’ve never connected that to my ADHD.",1 "Thanks for the laugh! I recall my mom giving me that advice when I was younger (she understands it's not that simple now). I did find that having a planner does help a lot, but not when I forget to use said planner!",1 if you ever think you're over an ocd obsession...... you're not.,0 "I'm tired. I've been fighting all my life; physically, mentally, emotionally. I'm physically incapable of feeling gratification or happiness in general because of anhedonia. I'm just so tired of fighting. And I'm bitter at the fact that struggle is a natural and universal part of life, and that having mental disabilities on top of life's standard hurdles just makes everything even worse. I'm bitter at this entire universe for being the way it is. I don't want to fight anymore. Why is it always made to be wrong to want to leave? If a film is horrible, why is it wrong to want to leave the theatre? If a game sucks, why is it wrong to want to quit? Life as a concept sucks, so why is it wrong to want to die?",1 "Ocd will then convince you that this UV light gives you cancer. Problem is NOT bacteria. Its OCD!",0 "I just stood & clapped, alone in my LR, so overwhelmed am I with gratitude to your dad. 😭 Sounds a whole lot like another dad I knew for many, many years, funnily enough. **sigh* *",1 "A friend of mine joked recently, “I’m so OCD” because he arranges items in chests in Minecraft in a logical order. I decided it wasn’t worth responding and telling him how OCD hasn’t been cute and quirky for me and has nothing to do with being organized.",0 thanks for sharing this. i want to be a middle school teacher and i will definitely hang this up in my classroom!,0 Hey lets make a thread for school organization! I too have found some unorthodox systems for easy organization and id like to hear others as well!,1 "All of that and also; The car I had sitting in the driveway thst rusted to death because I couldn’t get around to selling it online. The internet connection I paid for with one supplier for three years while also paying for another connection with another supplier. The shitton of different hobbies I’ve bought equipment for and never really gotten into.",1 Oy vey. This hits home. I one time had an incredible therapy appointment and processed all of these very clear and powerful thoughts an affirmations and my therapist was so proud and excited. Literally the hours before were agony and distress.,0 "I think it’s just about fighting the fight. You don’t always win but you shouldn’t let that discourage you and maybe it’ll get easier. It’s saying “I will never change” that gives ADHD an upper hand in the fight. Have faith in yourself even if you haven’t done well up to now, it’s the faith in yourself that makes it easier to do the things you don’t want to do.",1 "“Whole, unwashed broccoli is lower on cost and higher on willpower and demands” OMG YES. Our brains need to save all the mental energy we can. I love this!",1 "Yes, absolutely. It doesn’t help that it actually happened to me when I was younger",0 I have hoarding tendencies (caused by my ocd) so I think it’s hilarious when people ask if I’m organized,0 "This is so me. Last week I had a head ache for a few days and I was convinced I had either one or all of the following: brain-eating amoeba, tumor, or blood clot.",0 It's only relevant only in that OCD attacks what is most important to you.,0 "Oh yes. If I’m needing to listen to something and know what is going on/being said I have to be doing something else while listening. I generally keep whatever I’m doing to a task that doesn’t need much concentration or thought so i can pay attention. This can be stuff like the games I have on my phone (solitaire, mah jong, etc.) or drawing/coloring, or filing/sorting- these type of things. If it doesn’t matter as much if I miss something here and there I may do something that requires more attention and thought and so I may miss a sentence or two here and there that is said but I get the gist of it. But if the task requires my full concentration I do that when I’m not listening/watching something. If it looks like I’m just sitting there peacefully listening to whatever is being said it is likely I’m off somewhere else in my head and don’t even realize it.",1 "this is such a mood bc my ocd fixates on something for months/years at a time and then that thing goes away, I have a while without/with minimal obsessions, then something comes along and it's a really big obsession that takes up all my time",0 "And then you get hit with the classic, “...what are you doing...?”",0 Or how about if I somehow left my lights on even tho they aren’t on? Love driving with OCD,0 "like telling a blind man ""just look at the damned warning labels, geez.""",1 "Of course, much easier said than done and you have to be very careful about this. Don't push yourself too much and don't do a lot if you feel that your situation is intense. Sometimes you are at a point where you're overly committed and sometimes it's better to be aware of how you already feel in that moment and how doing either or will affect your mood. Don't push yourself if it's too much and on days where you feel you have slightly more control, you can actively try to push the ""boundaries"" a bit, little by little. I believe in you.",0 "I was sorting by ""top/all time"" which is why I saw this so late...but damn I really needed to hear this today. I want to save it on my phone as my background or something.",0 "Oh, I am so sorry. I gave existential OCD too. Yoga helps me but it is definitely not for everyone and I wish everyone else who suffers from this awful pain a path to healing and relief. ",0 Literally reading this on my break from almost completing half of my assignment,1 I handed in a math problem 2 days late after completing 75% of it 3 days in advance lol. Good thing my professor understand ADHD is disruptive.,1 "Oh, is this ever relatable. I hate worrying about the future. :(",0 "This actually made it super hard to have a relationship because I’m 98% sure I made the guy I was going out with uncomfortable. I remember I once told him jokingly I felt like a creepy stalker since the pandemic took away social skills and he said “you’re doing fine.” It meant the world to me. We still talk just we aren’t serious.",0 Yes! I can relate. I get most frustrated about not having the capacity to remember a lot of things I have “learned.”,0 "I’ve gotta get back on this stuff. Life complications got me off it 3 years ago and I’ve been in hell ever since.",1 "Forgive me, is this from excessive hand washing? Congratulations on your healing.",0 congratulations!! my hands used to be like this. it was so painful. hurt to even touch them. they’ve been soft and fine for months now,0 Sometimes I trip running up the stairs; I am so cerebral palsy.,0 What changed from two weeks ago? Genuinely curious.,0 I don’t get y’all that’s so much work just enjoy the disarray,0 "Sending positive vibes to you!! If you don’t mind me asking, what were the symptoms?",1 "My OCD tells me i'll get fat if i don't go to the gym and under-eat everyday. Today i did not go to the gym, i stayed home and played with my child.",0 "I feel ya. So turns out, we tend to procrastinate out of fear of doing what we are supposed to do. Like, you think the task is difficult and thus, out of fear, we tend to put it off for later. Ofcourse, it is much more difficult to do a 4 hour task in one hour but we are instant gratification monkey, smh.",1 "I've been ""negative"" my whole life. It's even my blood type 😂",1 "I haven't sent my landlord a bill for installing the internet, it's been so long it's well beyond a normal point and the tax year is long gone for it, they're will within their right of telling me to fuck off. My last customer I do it for, I never billed then in the last 2 years",1 "Apparently I once went on an ADHD rewired marathon and listened to 5 episodes in one day. I do not recall this at all. But I've listened to 63 episodes, so I've got that going for me.",1 My life is a mess. My room is a mess. My mind is a mess. And yet... I still have intrusive thoughts that drive me crazy. I still cry over a class I was obsessed with that’s over. I get attached to things I shouldn’t. And yet if someone brought me to their messy house I would start crying and full 180 out of there.,0 My daughter was 28 when she was diagnosed. I'm so glad I wasn't that parent that yelled at her. Somehow I always knew she was going to forget something and was always reminding her of things or running to school to bring her projects she always left behind. We kept it light and decided she was either forgetful or artistic or just cute. I adore her personality and this was part of the so many things that make her unique. I only wish I had know then that she needed medical attention.,1 "or also brain: see that knife ur holdin? would be a shame if u slipped on nothing rn while holding it",0 "whew i felt this deep in my soul. i know i’m just being dramatic but i frequently feel like i should be volunteering for studies or making sure to donate my brain when i die. ocd sucks & all that. at least we have internet strangers.",0 "The worst is when you’re at work and everyone else can multitask but you obviously can’t, but you don’t want to be a rude cunt and ignore your coworkers",1 "It reminds me of how any option I consider sparks a spiral of doubt and ""what-ifs"", leaving me paralysed. I love the art style even though the experience that inspired it sucks ass. Hang in there 💙",0 "Congrats dude! It'll only get better from now on, just gotta let yourself help.",0 this is really well put. and i still fucking hate ocd.,0 "OP you have nice hands, Glad you were able to get over that :)",0 Oh for sure. Shower nah. Eat nah. I think this is why I was diagnosed with just major depression for so long! Lack of motivation is my main symptom.,1 "Hmmmm . . . iteresting. Could be. I've often wondered if I use more commas than most people . . . also em dashes, en dashes, ellipsis, slashes, etc., but the comma? Oh yeah! :)",1 "Why do people insist on mocking mental illness, this towel is just wrong.",0 I don't have an OCD but that lowercase `I` is so damn disturbing,0 me when my OCD makes me upvote this or i'll get a brain tumour i-,0 I think the complication for me is I'm afraid I'm going to get stressed out by the task and my perfectionism. And the fear has basis in reality. I often do get stressed out after dealing with something I don't want to deal with and then I'm kind of worn out and it's annoying.,1 It is indeed insane how fast you can stop compulsions after stopping one. The brain is very powerful.,0 "Thankfully, I'll be going home and am gonna bring my gf and her friend to study in the library. Having a good social safety net around you is always a plus.",1 "I feel bad for all my teachers, I always end up with like only two sentences without commas in my essays.",1 This was exactly what I said to my doctor when I got diagnosed (obviously a lot of other things too) I was just venting about a particular Saturday. He,1 "3, 6, 9, 12, 15, all the multiples of 3 are bad. 4 is good, 5 is okay, 7 is kinda bullshît, 20 is great, 25 is pretty good",0 Every day I come on here and realize I might be ADD even more.,1 "In my case, it's more that I sometimes freak out, thinking there might be some chance that my abuse wasn't real.",0 This is awesome and probably the best example of what social networking should be like. Thanks!,0 That is a very simple yet mind blowing concept I’m gonna start thinking about thank you for sharing!,0 This is off-topic but my entire OCD is me having an irrational fear of being immature,0 is my intense morality / loyalty from my ocd? i can never parse what is derived from my ocd and what isnt,0 Thanks for this. I lost my best friend to depression back in 2010. Still think about him,1 Stop being so sensitive. It is really not a big deal at all.,0 "yeah that's pretty freaking toxic... I think the reason is, because there is so much hate in rl, people get triggered. safe spaces aren't really safe to discus problems. its just a sounding board of how awesome people are. we all have real problems and they need to be worked out. the more the issues are ignored the more isolated a person is. but try telling that to people that only want to wear rose colored glasses at all times, you can't. they get angry and call you terrible names... its weird to hear a phrase like toxic positivity but it exists and I'm glad its not here.",1 do these people not get the D part of OCD? jezus christ,0 "Sounds like America. Make your employer aware of your situation and help them understand. Better to have that dialogue than not. This is also the difference between junior employees and regular/seniors. They know when to ask for help and support.",1 Thank you. You just made me get out of bed for work. 😂,1 "I’m not clean or neat, but I have health anxiety/have intrusive thoughts that I think “but bad things *do* happen, so what if this is one of those times that had things are happening” and this has basically become justification for that.",0 Happy birthday. I once thought the same thing and now I’m 40. So there’s something I guess.,0 ">Stop checking feelings, stop ruminations. I've been doing that so much lately that it became impossible to enjoy even those few moments of peace and quite. Thank you for this.",0 "Thanks for the support, im not crazy or anything but if OCD was a person I would prolly kill them😅",0 "For real, thank you. I had just started a workout and then had to stop to answer an important phone call, and now here I am, ass on the couch, phone in hand, barbell on the floor.",1 Yeah my go to is to just scream in my head so I can't hear anything else. Works sometimes until I am in a better place to think about it.,0 Thank you so much everyone for the love you're sending out! You're good eggs in my book 😄,0 "A lot, but it's nothing compared to the amount of r/nosleep posts i have saved to read later.",1 Nothing has worked for me. I'm stuck being a loser for the rest of my life.,1 "That's how I felt too! I said to my friend I was waiting for the ""high"" to hit me but it didn't. But then reflecting on the day, I got so much done and was generally just happy. I cried because I wondered if the last 37 years I could have been happier this entire time but never knew I could fix it. That's just how it was. I'm forgiving myself for doing the best I could have then and just moving forward but I cried as well.",1 "Ooh I have fun with this because of diabetes as well (not trying to one-up you here btw). I have to sometimes work out whether my adhd meds have ran out, I need insulin, I need sugar as I may have had too much insulin , or I'm just knackered.",1 Im ashamed to say that i would definitely start cleaning,0 "How many posts do I read the title and think “yes! This person gets it...” then open the post, read the first two sentences and then think “this is too long” and close it and go to the next one?, is the real question.",1 I wrote down to use a planner on a sticky note that I put inside my phone case. When I opened my phone case I found my vaccination card that I have been furiously searching for since April.,1 "Quite accurate, people need to stop romanticizing mental illnesses tbh, just look at the word depression, it's basically a meme.",0 "I feel like this is the reason I was diagnosed with ODD as a kid, and adults in the 80/90’s were terrible for this, “do as I say and don’t ask questions!” https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/oppositional-defiant-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20375831",1 "Ok, the amount of reality in this thread is ridiculous!",1 I didn't realize I had it because of this. I went undiagnosed for 29 years,0 "thank you for posting this! feel the same, as you and many others here, every . single. day. regularly have existential crisis. regularly say I'm not meant for this garbage world. regularly wonder why people are born into it and not generally 'allowed' to leave it without having a say in either. it's a mindfuck. and frustrating. you're def not alone 💜",1 "I do this but it’s with childhood memories. Then I feel them starting to slip and I can’t remember anything anymore and it’s destroying me I do the same thing with the 236 digits of pi. If I forget a digit, I beat myself up and obsess over it.",0 "I’m so relieved to know I’m not alone. I so often find that the tough love approach involves the sentiment of “you’re never going to succeed if you can’t handle criticism delivered in a mean/harsh way”. It crushes me every time. The more I get these tough love “motivational” talks, the more it drags me down. ADHD alone is hard enough. Depression alone is hard enough. Anxiety alone is hard enough. All of them together is hell. Then having someone point out all of my insecurities in a harsh way just lowers me deeper into that hell. Thank you for posting this. I really needed this today :)",1 "Omg that outfit is adorable, congrats on getting the courage to be adorable outside!!",0 "Yeah, basically it's a curse. It's nice to read the comments and know i am not alone, though.",1 "She should patent that idea. She will be wealthy once everyone finds out! I had no idea. 30 years and dozens of educated, licensed professionals later and all I had to do was focus?",1 me googling if anyone has the same exact theme as me,0 "I mean.. you know I wont be able to read that, right?",1 Sounds quite similar to those on ASD where stimuli can overwhelm them.,1 "For some reason doing therapy over skype has helped me with this, idk if its the phenomenon of the internet removing the human element but Im more able to be open and vulnerable",0 Dude this is perfect especially when you finally got it that hit on whole nother level,0 “But... but what if I doooooo??? Now I must check all the time to see if I’m looking at children/ hearing things.”,0 This is an awesome idea and beautiful for a father and son to share this dynamic. Wish more of us had someone like this in our lives. ,1 "Every night, I’ve got the Golden Girls from 10-12 and Frasier from 12-3:00ish? Hallmark reruns I’m not Netflix so I don’t feel like I’m actively ignoring the TV. But usually it’s on mute or super low just enough to remind me there’s happy stuff in the background. Also do Modern Family and the Office depending on the night.",0 The best adhd doctors are the ones who also have it. Yes! 🙌,1 Man I felt the design of that second panel so deeply. Well done,0 "Yea i have this all the time. I did some stupid stuff when young. Then in college was under a lot of stress and drinking a lot of alcohol and did more stupid stuff. I fear being shunned immensely. I mean i really fear it. I just keep to myself now and try not to interact with others. I just hope i dont become famous any time soone.",0 "All the time. I think about my own death too. Every detail. The process of finding me, the process of everyone finding out, who speaks at the funeral, on and on, to the point I break down and cry.",0 "Look into IHSS. Could allow you to cover the cost since it is for assistance with things like cleaning, meal prep, laundry, grocery shopping etc. Our lawyer mentioned to my mom about looking into it at one point but I felt weird bc …it’s me and I’m always feeling weird about any kind of help.",1 Thank you. You are wonderful. Im sorry about your friend.,1 "Yes! I also do this while reading books. I'll read several pages and have no idea what I just read. And I can't just sit and watch a movie and do nothing else. Crocheting while I watch movies helps me focus on the movie.",1 "I've been using a meditation app called Atom for a week and a half now (actually found out about it on this sub!) and it talks about the science of forming habits and how to make them stick and stuff. It also mentions in one of the lessons that the /motion/ of doing things, stuff like planning, scheduling, and making to do lists, is different than the /action/ of doing things, which is the actual act of accomplishing tasks. I still haven't quite figured out how to ride that wave of motion into action but I think the distinction is interesting",1 "Same. I mentally catalogue these thousands of screenshots when I take them for whatever purpose I feel they might one day serve, but everybody knows my brain just chucks that info out immediately. Same goes with tabs that I just leave open. I also unfortunately have a huge fear of losing records or things however pointless they might seem so I also have thousands of records for saved tab sessions, including when I briefly got really interested in reading up how EVERY animal evolved back in 2014. I have 500+ tabs open at any given time and it periodically gets too much to handle, so I will save all these links in an extension with a date and start over. I have never once checked back on one of these lol Also, notes. I have a million notes of EVERYTHING and none of them are categorized or tagged, even though though when I write them down I again mentally catalogue them whether for future lyrics or just random thoughts of reflections or reminders or to-do lists. At least you can search these - I have the same problem with voice notes and these can't be frickin searched!! Maybe if I named them but nope they're all named Voice Recording 223 etc...",1 you can try some guided meditation or try to focus on deep mindful breathing,0 "Ugh, why do our minds have to do this to us. It's like turning in a paper or a resumé and checking to make sure you didn't scrawl the ""F"" word somewhere.",0 [object impermanence ](https://www.addept.org/living-with-adult-add-adhd/how-to-remember-things-with-adult-adhd),1 Exactly how I would draw it too...just perfect bro...,0 "i'm glad i'm not the only one, i thought i was being stupid about it but these seriously really fucking eat me up no one seems to understand that i know it's not fucking real, but that doesn't mean anything to my ocd",0 THANKS! I really needed to see this to go through this day!,1 "Actually I'm on Reddit to distract myself and hopefully prevent a panic attack, but thinking about stuff I could or ""should"" be doing would just make things worse. What I need to be doing right now is nothing. I know you mean well and maybe 80% of the time you'd be right, but this just made my anxiety skyrocket.",1 "Yep. Every time. Brain: ""Oh it appears you aren't worrying about anything right now...let me fix that for you...""",0 "Same, it feels like you know you can do it in like 1-5 minutes but you just don’t fucking want to for no ding darn reason",1 "I don't cry or get sad, just extremely annoyed. Being annoyed via people interupting compulsions without the ability to resist the feeling of annoyance just makes the anxiety worse causing me the shit to pile up. Need to yell or sing in an operatic manner to release pent-up energy.",0 "Pfft I ain't cleaning shit, I've always been too busy with pure O cognitive rituals and checking shit to care how anything looks",0 wasn’t expecting this but holy shit thank you for it,0 Think about how long that would've taken with a shower,1 "Cleanliness doesn't come with my OCD at all. While I often experience intrusive thoughts about general health, I don't fear contamination. MY OCD makes me quite organised but i definitely don't have the cleaning part. This is why it's so frustrating when ignorant people immediately think OCD is just washing your hands.",0 "Honestly I hear it so frequently I wonder if we should just change the name of the disorder. We'll call it outdated, make up a more complicated term, and everyone whos annoying can keep calling themselves OCD because I don't see them stopping",0 "I have res, so i accidentally bounded save post and ext post shortcut keys together, so it woukd just save everypost i looked at for a while.",1 My sleep schedule is absolutely out the window after my university moved classes online. Literally days after I got it set back to waking at 8:30 am classes went online.,1 "I've been especially struggling with this because I do have a diagnosis but I haven't had any luck to speak of with stimulants (Adderall, Concerta, or Vyvanse), so now I'm like...okay, what's more likely, that I actually have something else with a lot of overlapping symptoms, that I do have ADHD but I'm in the lucky 20% or whatever that aren't helped by stimulants, or that I'm basically neurotypical (well, aside from the depression and anxiety, I guess) and things aren't actually harder for me than they are for everyone else but I want an excuse for my own laziness? I've been really trying not to hate myself in general, because I did that for years and it's always been actively counterproductive--it just makes me miserable without making me any better at time management or anything else--but it's still...I want to think there's a reason, partly because it would be really nice if something could make it *less hard* for me to get things done, but also because I want to believe that it's not just me. I want it to be an issue with my brain chemicals, not just a character flaw, because that way maybe it doesn't have to be all my fault.",1 "Ah and then when you're both, it somehow doesn't even out to ""just right"" and instead you're just ""complicated."" No, I am not complicated, Stephanie, I have varying levels of comfort with things, just like everyone else, and am entertained by simple things like a single bead. I'm pretty sure I'm the least complicated person I know. Let me enjoy the bead I found on the floor in peace.",1 "I love how you have shifted attention from the necessary, but limiting, trope of ""my brain, my bad"" to considering how we may need to retrain mental habits persisting rom childhood. They were best-effort adaptations from childhood that fail us now.",1 "I don't know, though I relate to every title that ends up on my feed",1 "Turned out I listened to the same five artists on repeat and ranked in the top .001% for three of them, but also listened to over 1000 artists, so that was a weird contradiction.",1 "Me at work “wow the deep fryer must be so hot” Also me “stick ya hand in”",0 "Ai, not me watching 20 episodes till 4am, bcuz i didnt do enough fun things in the day 💀",1 "that happened to me, but as a fourth grader LMAO. i didnt know how sex worked tho, which was mainly the cause of it. it was several years ago, so i have gotten slightly better with... that, even told a few friends about it lol",0 You're the man!! Graduated in college and in OCD university!!,0 "Just told myself I couldn't go to sleep for the night until I throw away some trash on my bed. So naturally, I'm currently sitting on my phone on reddit instead of doing either.",1 squish is too cute of a name. you could name a small monster in a kid’s show squish. i will call mine dickhead.,0 "Sorry to hear about your difficulty with your mom. It must be extra frustrating because you're already stressing about the exam. If you and your mom get along and she wants to help, try talking to her about what would be helpful for you. It sounds like she's telling you *what* to do- focus on your work- which you already *want* to do but it's difficult. First, you want her to understand the difficulty you are going through, then what would be more helpful is being reminded *how* to focus. Like helping you remember to exercise, eat well, set up a good environment for work. This book is helpful for having those kinds of conversations. https://www.amazon.com/Nonviolent-Communication-Language-Marshall-Rosenberg/dp/1892005034",1 Ugh yes. My little sister is 7 and I strongly suspect she also has ADHD. Sometimes she just gets so effing loud and she also never stops talking or moving. I've snapped at her a few times because it gets to be too much. She doesn't even realize she's doing it.,1 I'm impressed you actually read the alarm and remember what it's for! I set an alarm and dismiss it without reading it and then realized I've still forgotten long after the alarm.,1 "Man, this is really considerate, and nice of you. Respect. And, I wish all the best for you and hope you'll come out of this good.",1 "I've built up a habit of opening tabs I want to look at in small chunks and reading them when the top bar gets cluttered enough to make keeping track of what I'm actively doing difficult. Firefox doesn't compress tabs like chrome does, instead you have to horizontally scroll when you have too many open. I still have a massive backlog of sites and images I've bookmarked from years ago but I add to it a lot less these days.",1 "I'm due to start some meds in a couple days, I was diagnosed a couple weeks back, it's been very up and down and my thinking has been so distorted around laziness / lack of intelligence even since my diagnosis",1 "IIRC, I believe Executive Function Disorder is already its own separate diagnosis. The difference is that with ADHD the drugs help, and with EFD they don't. Might want to fact check me on that though.",1 "Currently struggling with this right now, and I have to say, it's the WORST. This past year, working at my first job out of college (especially working from home during quarantine) I realized how ill-equipped I was for working life and a 9-5 and it has completely changed my world view and has made me realize how debilitating ADHD really could be. There was a time I didn't even think I had ADHD because I did so well in school and got by really really well in high school and college with cram sessions and last minute assignments and still made it out great with a high GPA (in a pharmacy program no less). But now I realize that I had great coping mechanisms and our education system is structured in a way that is conducive to quick memorization and pumping and dumping information. Also, in college, the convenience of a flexible schedule, not having to go to class on some days and honestly not having to focus on the same subject while sitting in place for 8hrs a day was probably a mental life saver and conducive to my focus and learning style. Now, an adult in the real world working in pharma, I just can't get myself to focus on the monotonous and irritatingly low executive function tasks that come with my job. Don't know how to orient my mind around the idea that when you finish work, more work will be given, and end up just thinking ""what's the point"" if this is going to continue for the next 40 years. My soft skills like organization, time management, and communication are poor, and while I have the aptitude for the job those soft skills are severely lacking and it shows because I never had to form those habits my entire life. And then I'm hit with an incredible wave of imposter syndrome feeling like the people I work with must hate me and that I'm bad at this job, always being behind on tasks and not knowing how to communicate properly about it. It really sucks, and I'm already jaded.",1 "My therapist called it “ the mental waiting room”, and it was spot on.",1 "Definitely, but I don't see this as a problem. Idk if it's ADHD or just being a curious person though.",1 I always thought it was social anxiety but no that just developed because I cannot get my words out organized and in order while at the same time remembering all my points and also not thinking about what a fool I must sound like or if my face looks correct etc.,1 "There’s some of the good ones left don’t worry, just keep digging for them.",0 My brain tries to convince me I have every mental disorder under the sun,0 "Even worse when the old ones don't get swapped for the new ones, so they just start accumulating",0 Ok so this actually made me laugh out loud so there is that!,0 "The exact reason I haven’t told my mom about my diagnosis yet. How am I supposed to explain to her that my OCD is part of the reason I can’t clean it like,,, that doesn’t make sense to someone who doesn’t have it ugggghghgh I’m so worried she’s gonna say I don’t have it and then my brain is gonna be like “mom right. Therapist wrong! You’re making everything up!”",0 "Did you know art can be about the PROCESS of how it’s made? Not about a finished product? Your art could literally be about not finishing tasks. Or it could just be playing and experimenting with materials! I’m an art teacher and artist with ADHD, send me PM if you need more guidance. Or anyone else for that matter! 😊",1 Just opened reddit and this got me out of a half hour loop about why my roommates actually want me to move out so thanks! Happy quarantine guys,0 "I love ducks too :) I raised some over the summer, so much fun!",0 "When I was 15, I remember my dad taking me aside because I was struggling and directionless. He asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I said anything as long as I’m happy. There’s just so much weight on your mind with this condition, peace is the #1 thing I crave and it’s impossible to find. I somehow knew that at 15 before I was diagnosed.",1 I’ve sometimes wondered if people wouldn’t stigmatize so much if I said “I have an illness that makes my brain chronically low on dopamine” instead of saying I have ADHD.,1 "I feel you :( Was happening when I was in school ,and still happens sometimes... Domt worry, just let the thoughts go their own way , let them pass, focus on the present task, and imagine yourself lying near the tree near some river in some place you love.All of the sudden u see a leaf in the water and u start yelling and worrying without any reason - you cant control the leaf, it is in the river and it will go away and you just need to continue enjoying and not carrying about that leaf.Let the thoughts pass, dont argue with them, let them pass. Be strong and dont worry , it will get better :) ",0 "My OCD does not manifest in this way , so I’m really grateful for this perspective on how it feels for others I know. Thank you!",0 Totally agree. I think that with being easily overstimulated which leads to insanely high anxiety is the worst part of it for me. Trying to find the balance between being understimulated and overstimulated is tricky sometimes,1 Thank you. I didn’t even know I needed to hear this. 💜,1 "I also hate how it says ""how to bother your ocd family members"" like can you not give a how to guide on how to trigger people's illnesses",0 "Like, I know it's not real. I know it. But it's just not worth the risk.",0 "Hahahaha yes, for me “what if I have drugs”. I look so anxious and worried that I normally always get randomly chosen for for the random drug present test....",0 and bully you until you don't enjoy or care anymore,0 "It's always so nice when your experience is now an advantage to a neurotypical. My wife (correctly) assumes she can remember just about everything -- vs. I tend to forget things within a few seconds of executive disfunction. Because of a lifetime of so many lost items, I have developed a ""home for everything"" system in my life. I put **everything** I own in the exact same place every time, no matter what. This took years of practice. The first thing I do when I get something new is find its own in my house, car, office etc. My wife thought she lost her engagement ring one day because she was used to putting it down wherever and remembering where it was. She did end up finding it within 5 minutes, but she said those 5 minutes were unbearable. So she began using my ""home for everything"" system by placing her ring in the same place every time. This habit has now extended for her to most things, and our house has never been cleaner :)",1 I’ve read this 30x. I’ve sent it to all my family members. It was the only way to explain to my wife the whole jist of whats going on in there. It’s my only saved post on Reddit. Thanks a million.,1 Reading a book and having to reread pages because of this. Skipping thru words while intrusive thoughts take over my relaxed brain and don’t let me neither read nor sleep!,0 This happens whenever I forget what I was about to say next. I struggle with memory hoarding and absolutely hate forgetting things..,0 "thank you :) i needed this right now. was having a fine day and a good therapy-session just to ruin it for myself right afterwards on my way back and now i have to cope 2 weeks before i can talk with my therapist about it >.< xD so... thank you for reminding me that resisting the rumination is fine >.<",0 "Me too!! The only ones that have stuck with me is martial arts, the ukulele and Japanese. I've currently stopped the ukulele and martial arts because I've gotten to the point where I'm happy, but it took me blood, sweat and tears. But I've gone through learning Gaelic, Australian sign language, Morse code, learning ice skating, photography (when I had access to a school owned camera lol), cooking, fitness, sewing, knitting, soccer, song writing just to name a few. Some I did for a couple years, most I did for a couple days. It is just so frustrating seeing what I could become, trying ridiculously hard for a little while, getting burnt out and upset that I won't become as skilled as I want to and essentially rage quitting. I have gotten better since I got my black belt, but it's annoying that most other activities don't have some kind of rank/belt system where I can physically see my progress as I'm doing it.",1 "Maybe a silly question but is ADHD intrinsically related to overthinking? This sounds absolutely pitiful but my PCP recommended I go get a psych eval... probably 2 or 3 years ago now (we tried a few different medications for anxiety, none of which did a ton for me). I still have never been “officially” evaluated or clinically diagnosed because the thought of doing anything with more than two steps is absolutely overwhelming and completely shuts me down. (Trying to find a good mental health professional who will listen/which professional can actually diagnose, be covered on insurance, find an appointment to work with my schedule, etc.) The more I think about it the more I’m convinced I must have ADHD (I’m 26), not just in the way where you might joke, “Oh I forgot what I was doing, I’m so ADD” but in the way that it truly makes any task so wildly difficult. Lesson plans? Any task at work that requires me to actually use brain power? Simply reading a book? I can’t do it. I get overwhelmed with the sheer amount of possibilities in...everything. And everyone knows I overanalyze everything. I’ve gotten to the point where I’m scared I will miss out on my entire life because of it.",1 "AAAAAAAAAAAAH FUCKING TRUE OH MY GOD. My grandmother has done this to me my ENTIRE life, saying “well EVERYONE has that at some point” to any and every complaint or comment about my health and habits. OCD was no different, except that she went on to unknowingly reveal that OCD is HEAVY in my family! It was very useful for my next therapy appointment discussing my family history!! Ha. At least I got that out of it. Sucks we all have to struggle in this way.",0 Thats just like when telling people to 'cheer up' or 'look on the bright side' and then their depression goes away! Not sure why these folks don't just set up shop in front of psychiatrist offices to save us all some money!,1 "Sensory overload, praying that someone doesn’t say something shitty to you because it’ll just put you off the edge",0 Posts like this have been helpful to see especially since it was only recently that clinicians have fully believed that I have OCD. Having therapists try to convince you that your intrusive thoughts are you is one hell of a nightmare! Thanks <3,0 "My boyfriend us a gem. He is understanding and carrying. He goes to all of my psychiatrist and psychologist appointments and was there with my mother the day I got diagnosed with OCD. He's been there since day one. The problem? His mother. She is a bitch (I'm sorry, but there's no other way to say it). She is always talking about my ""weird obsessions"", how miserable her grandchildren would be with a mother who has OCD and that she would die if one of her grandchildren are born with my terrible condition, among many other comments. It really sucks, but he always defends me and supports me, and that all that matters to me.",0 "The most annoying part for me is learning difficult skills as quickly as others, for an example, I’m a medic in the military and I applied for a pretty tough course whilst in, it included things like basic soldiering skills to a super high standard (marches with increasing weight, land navigation etc) as well as being put through mock casualty scenarios that included treating traumatic injuries, triaging mass casualties etc. I was one of the fittest there and a competent medic as I learned my skills my own way in my own time, but when I was put in that scenario of a small group being taught different complex skills by instructor I just couldn’t concentrate whatsoever and kept making mistakes, then worrying about making said mistakes meant I could not concentrate and it creates this awful negative feedback loop.",1 "I had ocd as a kid and it gradually went away. Sounds crazy but it was intense and unmistakable. Part of how I got over it was learning to accept bad thoughts and just allowing them to exist in my head. You think you are going to rape an old woman. Okay. You think you are going to shoot up a school. Sure. You think you are going to die if you don’t tap your foot four times 8 times over, okay. Accept it all. Don’t fight it. It could happen. It probably won’t, but it could, and there’s nothing you can ever do to change that.",0 "I used to have this fear a lot, but honestly the fact that you’re aware of the possibility and truly worried about becoming schizophrenic means it’s highly unlikely that you’re psychotic. But I know how scary it feels when a lot of your symptoms line up with schizophrenic disorders and then your brain just goes OK WELL THIS MEANS YOURE CRAZY AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT",0 "It is freaking midnight. Perfect time to do my laundry, conduct a 50% water change for my aquarium, water my plants, and ... Nope, out of energy just thinking about all that. Back to scrolling. Fucking memes, amiright, but this shit happens to me all the time.",1 "OP is the hero we never knew we needed, thank you 🙏",1 Getting past that initial “umph” to get you going and started is literally the struggle,1 "Monks of Shaolin, Kung Fu masters would train their hands against wood. Bruce Lee, just as his Master/Mentor: Ip Man did, used a wooden wall as a punching bag. ""Won't that break your hands?"" Yes. ""Well then wtf why?"" When you work out at the gym you can and will tear your muscles. Not a matter of if but how much tearing occurs. Anyone reading this who's tried to get ""ripped"" knows that it's a literal goal. Lifting the proper amount of weight for you, correct amount of reps and sets. It's a fine line between micro-tearing your muscles so that your body regenerates the muscle fibers broken and dressing your body to the point muscles are strained, ""macro-torn,"" at best you'll have a sprain, at worst your muscles will have overworked to the point where they begin releasing shit it shouldn't into the body like myoglobin. Generating new fibers in the space made from torn fibers vs poisoning yourself is different. I learned this lesson the hard way with a New Year's Resolution plus OCD plus a very ""triggering"" New Year's Eve. Day 3 of the new year I focus on weight lifting and I use it as a means to get the rage about the current situation and anguish of what happened out. I'm not against talking about it but it requires context upon context to be told, longer story short is going to still be long (longer than this monolith of a post that serves as a hyperbolic, superfluously detailed metaphor and then a message.) ""fitness expert"" friend was their working out with me, he spotting me and giving motivation so I can give 100%. Well thats a very good mantra to generally follow, literally doing so isn't such a bright idea. I work my back and chest primarily. Some abs some legs in between rests. It ends and while I feel definitely sore it's no more so than what I've experienced as few times before. Later that night I feel sore as shit but a hot bath soothes it like anything else, honestly nice in it's something distracting. Day 2 and I'm thinking I did a more than moderate but healthy routine. The grey area between moderation and obsession: disciplined devotion. I swung too far one way. I don't know it yet. I'm compelled to go back to the gym, sure you guys know what that feels like, but self assess my body and am like nah, gotta wait for more repair. I could barely lift anything heavy at home. Day 3, the brown color urine I noticed yesterday (typical of dehydration, I was hydrating so thought I was fine) turned red. Like rosé wine. Later it comes out like the color of coca-cola and I pee in a cup to show my family. I'm not too worried and am like what do you think? We go to the Dr.s, Does a urine test and runs it for what he thought might be an infection, his best guess. They run tests. Reports a small amount of blood in the urine but cant find anything substantial. Run it further for other shit, mother is not pleased with this answer as I start making lots more Coca Cola in the toilet. Maternal Instincts kick in. We go to the Er. They are confused. Few hours later and the second Dr. starts figuring it out. Went to the ER at 12 am, It later is 4 and I'm thinking oh boy cant wait to go home. About that time the other Dr. says I may have to spend a night there. That was a lie. At 8pm I'm getting put in my own room with my IV bag of saline. It's Rhabdomyolysis, Rhabdo for short. Rare generally but relatively not. They get people who are really into high intensity workouts like CrossFit a few times a month. If anyone watched House M.D, great show, the reason he has his pain problem is because of a case of rhabdo that flew under the radar for far too long. (It doesn't hurt I can tell you that so it's easy. It is essentially muscle death. I was fine because we caught it early thanks to the myoglobin in my muscles filling my bloodstream, traveling to my kidneys and blocking the ventricles of the kidney: piss was brown cause my kidney was shutting down. The muscles that died were in a state too late to regenerate for Dr. House, why they had to remove a hunk of muscle from his leg. I aint a dr. like him so if anyone reading this is a med student, forgive my 'tardation. 9pm and I realize I'm not going home and am pissed (turned out it took 4 nights of constant IV fluids, hydrating me on a scale that one could not possibly achieve by drinking. I remember writing down Xhr= 500ml each hour, they were impressed by my good bookkeeping on the wall's whiteboard. I pissed into a measuring bottle... ...I had to shovel snow because if I don't someone stubborn with a bad back was going to do it. Anyway so I pissed it to cups a lot, first night their begins with (im avoiding the work MILF) nurse who was quite attractive and had a tray of pharmaceuticals, the good stuff so I was alright. Y22/G258 to my nibas is the know. TLDR point is punching a wall will micro fracture the bones in your hands. Bruce Lee among many martial artists before and after would do so to strengthen them. But like working out a muscle, you have to pace it correctly. Natural change over time from discipline will give you Iron Fists. (Not the Marvel series that bit off more than it could chew and spewed over the others) If you want iron fists in any fight you can't give in to the all or nothing attitude OCD often bestows, or at least in my experience. One man punching a wall is meditation and strengthening while another man punching a wall is self-harming. Depends on the person and what they are fighting. I've been cognizant of what OCD is before I learned the initials. (some would call it an acronym but we call those people stupid, you don't spell those out like initials. An example of an acronym is something you say as a word like NATO. Unlike the UN or US. Tangental. My point is that I've acquired pretty irony fists. I would like to help anyone feeling less armored. I have about 85% of the level of the OCD that I've had since 4 years old. Or earlier, I can't remember, I for a long time thought everyone with it had it right from the get go. I now know that some people develop it later, whether it be always growing and only noticed when large enough or hidden inside waiting to manifest with the right environmental trigger. I recall with good memory my vivd imagination of germs then. The multicolored array moving in waves on the sidewalk, an invisible layer of microcosm on top of microcosm. Germaphobia was my first major theme, I've cycled through many and have not only a deep empathetic grasp of this disorder but (I like to think at least) an intellectual.",0 Holy shit wait you guys also inner monologue about irrelevant things and arguments that don't exist?? Ohhh I love this sub so much,0 Isn't it normal for people to worry about those kind of things or is it really an ocd thing?,0 I have similar thoughts. I cant figure out wether im doing what I do for attention or wether its real and im actually experiencing it,0 "KEEP ON ROCKING OP maybe I'll hit my stride in a day or two and be productive as well 😭🥳",1 "Exactly it starts with grounding in yourself, so that you cam begin to create distance between you the observer - and your toughts. Creating choice, to respond consciously",0 I have ocd and I'm not neat at all mine revolvs more around sex or hurting people,0 "U can't make me! Ur not my ma! Ugh there's so much stuff in there I really don't wanna.",1 "I was literally laying awake last night until 3am thinking exactly this. I wanted so badly to just text everyone I love and tell them “I’m sorry I’m such a shit person. I wish I knew how to fix it, but I can’t seem to figure it out. Just know I care very much about you.” I think a lot about how I want to just disappear.",1 We all learn differently. Some people open their ears when they have something tactile in hand to reduce boredom or day dreaming or fidgetting.,1 Congtulations! All the best for your future and happiness.,0 my version of this is raising my eyebrows and blinking,0 My routines working out like this. I usually take elevanse first thing but if it’s one of them days where I have a long deep late sleep I don’t. Luckily I’ve just been prescribed dexamfetanine ir afternoon boosters! It’s horrible the days you crash without anything or loss too much sleep. Couldn’t be working better for me this way,1 "when i was younger sometimes when i was whacking off i'd imagine ""what if i'm insane and actually doing this in the middle of the park right now?"" because when people do stuff like that there has to be some justification in their heads and idk this reminded me of that",0 "The thing about the gummy vitamins is so very very true. Added bonus for me is that I can then swallow my meds along with the chewed up vitamins (chew vitamins, then add pill to mouth), so it gets me to take my meds in the morning at the same time.",1 Omg! It's all so clear! If I just choose not to have debilitating OCD I just won't have it! I can't believe I never thought of this! (extreme sarcasm for anyone who can't tell),0 Very very true. I wish the people in my life understood this,0 Stories and successes give me hope. I have fought back myself even to just stay alive. It is hard to understand how difficult it is to do anything with an illness,0 I think this sounds like me. Or at least it sounds like the struggles I’ve dealt with. About 50% of people with ADD/ADHD have an additional learning disability. I have ADD and an expressive/receptive language disorder. Expressive language disorder is a person who struggles to get their meaning or message across to whoever they’re talking to. Receptive language disorder is a person who is struggling to understand a meaning or message coming from others.,1 "Wow thank you. I’ve been struggling with these same ongoing thoughts for a really long time now, I like the idea of taking it a week at a time and trying baby steps. I go back and forth from thinking the things previously mentioned and trying to tell myself I’m a great person to overcompensate. I bet trying it piece by piece makes it a little easier. Thank you fellow heartless monster.",0 Yeah I’ll be like “you only want to make yourself look good. Everyone else knows it too. You’re selfish.”,0 Thank you so much. We need more accountability posts like this. At least one per day :D,1 "The side of OCD people without OCD do not see. No, not all of us like tiles matched up and super clean houses. 🤦🏻‍♀️",0 "So I live in a society/country where ADHD is underdiagnosed and generally unknown in public, so people seeing me struggle with basic concepts think Im slow/stupid and call me out on being slow to grasp concepts and to follow instructions. So people have the habit of calling me an Idiot and the R-word. What fun!!/s",1 Every time I go to the dr my brain is on its best behavior,0 "Yes!! And it’s taken me till this(or last?) year at therapy to realize these thoughts aren’t me,but my OCD. I also love this subreddit because it’s nice to have other people that experience the same kinds of thoughts.",0 "No this is a huge deal, great job. Currently struggling a lot with this, and honest/vulnerable posts like this help me realize that I'm not just gross or lazy, and that adhd can legitimately make this much harder. Thanks for sharing!",1 "The fact that you took the time to write this entire post, which so many of us relate to shows me that you ARE trying your best. You are not your feelings, I believe in you and you believe in yourself",1 deleted ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^0.1802 [^^^What ^^^is ^^^this?](https://pastebin.com/FcrFs94k/17319),0 I wrote up a covid procedures agreement for our organizations rental groups. Something I had previously told myself I'll do later. Feels great to have that crossed off my list. Thanks for the shove!,1 "To this day, my childhood friends remember teachers HATING me and singling me out. As a little kid, I was so stressed out at school, more than any kid should have to feel, because I never understood why they didn’t like me. I didn’t want them to be mad. I didn’t get diagnosed until adulthood.",1 "I love it! I make videos to cope with mine! https://youtu.be/M_WGgDIzONk",0 "That is amazing. If you don’t mind, would you please share some tips on what to do to overcome this problem? Dealing with something very similar to your situation.",0 My mom told me the other day that I should just ask my therapist what the one thing that will help me focus and stay organized is. Like she really thought that my therapist has the magic calendar that will be superior to all other planners and calendars that I have used. like what??,1 "Wait, so this is a normal ADHD thing?! Hfs, this post makes me feel a lot less like a weirdo. Thank you! ♥️",1 When the adhd demon decides to rear its head while you're trying to listen to the teacher in the middle of class,1 "I actually had way more success suppressing compulsions in public places. Still kinda feels like I had to dedicate more mental energy for it so being out there was a constant source of stress.",0 "Haha TRUE! When I was still living at home, my room was a disaster because I was literally afraid of touching anything that had been on the ground so I just... didn't lol.",0 A saw this image a while back and never wanted to see it again but now it’s here,0 "I’m saying this for anyone that needs to hear it: even a great psychiatrist might not be the right one for you specifically. It’s not uncommon to go through multiples before finding the right one. They are professionals and will NOT be hurt by you doing this. If you don’t click with them move on to the next. I myself went through 3 different ones until I finally clicked with the fourth. It’s worth mentioning the third was a pioneer and a specialist in the field of my very specific OCD (thrichotillomania) and yet I made zero progress with her. She was boring, lazy in that she would never disagree with me or push me to say anything other than” I’m fine” or obvious lies, and her best strategy was “distract your hands with a Koosh ball.” I’m not kidding. She had serious credentials and experience but it meant nothing to how we worked together.",0 "Paralysis is a choice Heart attack is a choice Getting hit by a car that swerves off the road and kills your family is aaaaa chooooiiiceee I am very smart",0 "Im cool right now, but I’m definitely in guard mode",0 I don't remember anything important for school but I remember exactly what time I paused my film 2 weeks ago,1 "I face the same problem and totally understand your struggle. There's a great tip in this [video by Dr. Tracey Marks](https://youtu.be/yj6_1t1PAcE) that i have been trying out for about 3 weeks now and it's quite helpful. The way i have adapted it to suit me is this: I have a small notepad for my to-do things and each page is dedicated to each day of the week. On the facing page i have made a Priority Table by dividing the page into four squares with the headings: Urgent+Important ; Urgent+Not Important ; Not Urgent+Important ; Not Urgent+Not Important. I have also designated a colour to each category. Every task that I need to do, I first place it on the Priority Table and then write it down on the day's to-do page and mark it with the designated colour. The priority of course is to get the Urgent+Important tasks completed in that day. As it turns out there are often only a few Urgent+Important tasks and knowing i only need to do those helps get it done. Once they are done, often the feeling of cutting it out the list motivates me to do the next tasks in the priority chart. Also, it really helps if you do the exercise of making the to-do list the night before. Because if you leave it for the morning, you're not even going to look at the to-do notebook because your brain just wakes up dysfunctional when you're in that cycle of not being able to get anything done.",1 "I saw someone comment on this sub the other day about this issue and they would reply: “I’m medicated for that, do you take anything?” And that should shut them right up. And honestly I can’t wait to try it out.",0 It is special and it sucks and I think most of us could agree that adhd is the base of a variety of mental cocktails,1 Lol I have contamination OCD and I’m super messy. Cleaning honestly gives me anxiety because I’m afraid I’ll get stuck in a loop once I start cleaning. I’m trying to get better though but it’s tough,0 "Taking care of your teeth is so important. This is a great post. I recently bought baby tooth wipes to keep by the bed for when I’m too tired to force myself into the bathroom to brush. It’s not ideal, you can’t get between with them but it’s better than nothing. My nephew has had to start using the spray that shows up the plaque to keep him on task and actually stop him brushing too hard. I tried to get him a We Will Rock You Tooth Tunes brush but they’re bloody collectors items now! My motivators are: Deteriorating teeth ages you faster than any other feature. I hate going to the dentist; paying a bunch of money to lie in a vulnerable position and be judged 😂 I have ADHD so I know people will be looking at the weird teeth and not listening to a thing I’m saying.",1 Is that really a thing?! I don’t know much about ocd because I had no idea this was a symptom.,0 """They may try to start a task only to quickly get distracted on something else completely irrelevant, and may end up focusing on that instead. "" u/OP seems like someone got carried away with this beautiful ""Time Consumption Piece"" :)) Love it tho !!",1 "Instead of working or sleeping, I hyper focused on cleaning my iPhone photos, moving photos onto my computer them into new folders. Then very much disliking when I had pics I could tell categorise so now I have random pics on my phone and all my fav photos on my computer. For no reason.",1 Y’all ever go so hard in the bathroom with bleach that your whole body starts tingling?,0 I do exactly that!! Except with this phone because it’s not mine (it’s a phone I’m loaning from my friend cause my other one kinda broke lol),1 yayayayay. way to go. I’ve been working on exposure therapy for myself and it’s really been helping. You got this!!,0 "Me, but the bat is intrusive thoughts/feelings. I’m literally just sitting here, why do you got to be like that man? 😕",0 That happened to me when my friend gave me one of her Ritalin pills. She’s has adhd and told me to take this as an experiment and I took half. Sat there super anxious waiting for it to kick in and once it did. I have never felt more. Just. Calm. Level headed. RELAXED. In my whole life. And I just started sobbing too. I’m in the middle of getting my diagnosis with my dr right now I’m glad that you’ve gotten yours :),1 This is freaking amazing. I’m so proud of your brothers girlfriend!,1 I can't thank you enough for this accurate summary!,1 "It really fucking sucks, not being able to get shit done At least programming is easy and fun",1 "This is just the best way to educate people, congrats!",0 "I had a professor tell me...make a decision and the rest will follow. Choices still cause me a lot of anxiety, but it helps to remember this. Indecision is the stressful part.",0 "According to my parents, one of my childhood therapists actually dropped me as a client because I was too clever and just fed him the answers he wanted while we played games. I really wish they hadn't told me that, since it's turned every therapy session into this.",0 "OMG i was actually stressing about getting either schizophrenia or cancer last week, shows how much I actually do have ocd 😬",0 "Hey, I get that your car's transmission is broken, but who cares? Just get over it and merge onto the interstate in first gear.",1 The worst part about this is that the more you check the more you’re telling yourself that you can’t trust your own memory,0 Thanks you just reminded me to brush my teeth. It’s almost 2 o’clock in the afternoon...,1 This couldn’t have come at a better time for me. My obsessions are coming back for another run and I’m already not enjoying it.,0 "Yep. And the alcohol seems to make the anxiety and thoughts worse once the buzz is gone. Put down the wine, Marge!",0 "I was thinking about this but in the realm of research. Most of the research I have found is on the common symptoms hyperactivity or attention, not the insane amount of other factors or side effects of those symptoms that are actually much more detrimental to our lives. Identifying the extent and cause of the executive functioning deficits would be beneficial. I feel that many of us our left to our own devices to figure out why we can’t plan, organize, or overcome these mental blocks.",1 "I’m a female with ADHD, and I totally support this public service announcement!",1 "You post all of this in an adhd sub r? Are you crazy? At least give us a fair warning to open our ritalin box first",1 This hit me recently hard in the face. Have been working years in a laid back security job going to school for IT. Finally land a part time IT gig and was happy certain things happen that I had to leave because it made me realized theres some mental shit going on and it sounds like its gotta be ADHD.,1 "At 11, I laid down, turned off all the lights, and stared at the ceiling for 30 minutes. I came back on Reddit just so my brain wouldn't eat itself. But you're right. Lets try sleeping again.",1 "If it’s an option for you, I highly recommend attending the annual IOCD conference. I didn’t know anyone with OCD and felt isolated, but a few years ago I had the opportunity to attend one of the annual conferences not too far from me in Washington DC and it was a truly amazing experience. There were thousands of different people just like me who were struggling too and talking to them I almost felt “normal” for once. Ofc that’s not an option for many people because of cost and travel, especially for those outside of the US but if you can it’s more than worth it.",0 "I feel you. Its frustrating as fuck. But, on my better days I like to think of my ADHD as my fatal flaw that reminds me I am actually just a human meatbag.",1 I do this. But why do I stop when there are other people in the house? My ocd trusts people?,0 I’m about to start therapy with an ocd specialist (seeing a normal therapist for a few months) and I’m ducking terrified because they’re gonna make me do exposure lol but I will do whatever it takes to untie myself from these chain,0 I have this with harm OCD and it is terrifying because the feelings come with strange urges/impulses and some weird craving/desire/urgency to carry it out...it is debilitating and souls destroying...,0 "The worst is that you know this wall is there but it’s hard to overcome, and you get more and more anxious because you know you’ll disappoint people. But it still won’t get done, and then someone points it out, or does it for you and your entire world crumbles, because what you feared came true",1 Honestly? I've been doing this and it's been somewhat effective. Just personifying my OCD and telling it to shut the fuck up when it acts up is kinda working for me.,0 "My ADHD made me a loser for the first half of my life and a superstar for the second half 24yrs so far Learn to harness it if you can is my advice, but I know things are never that simple",0 "People: “where?” Me: “over there” “WHERE?? Use ur words” “It’s... uh... there. I literally don’t know how to bleghmjs sjhfheidh”",1 Yup. $100 for a reusable Rocketbook and folio to keep all my relevant work stuff in is way better than $30 for a bullet journal and 2 sets of pens that I will never touch again. Just had to explain this to my mother with prebagged salad kits that I can just toss in a container and run. Salads have always been such a weakness of mine lol,1 Good job not engaging in compulsions 💯 every little bit counts🙂,0 "I juat said pretty much the same to my therapist yesterday. I am always starved dor stimulation and I need to find something to focus on. On the bright side I notice details that a lpt of people miss and I got interested in a variety of fields to keep away the boredom. On the other I can't sit for ten minutes in a row.",1 Me having intrusive thoughts about milo and otis because I watched the original version and saw how fucked it was,0 "I've been taking a long break from my meds and it's made me wonder how the fuck did I pass my fall term when I sound like a dumbass now. It takes me longer to remember shit and when I tell stories, I sound so dumb.",1 Wow that’s great! How were you able to sit with your thought without obsessing? I’ve tried to just think and “let it pass” but usually I obsess or ruminate without even realizing I’ve spent hours on a thought.,0 "Thank you for this. I keep doubting whether it's worth getting assessed for ADHD because I was clever and got good grades and a degree. But this has encouraged me to talk to my doctor.",1 super relatable no matter how many times I recognize an intrusive thought is what it is and that it is not logical that doesn't make me any better off.. it just starts working harder and harder to convince me until I give up and accept it as truth,0 "needed exactly this right now. no, brain, i am not going to suddenly lose control while i chop tomatoes and put an 8 inch chef knife through my eyeball. we’ve been over this.",0 "Ugh, been feeling this so hard! It's my first year in uni and it has been literally the most unconventional year ever, lol. First we went online for a while, while the protests were getting really rough (I'm in Hong Kong) and now we've been online for ages because of the virus. It's been hard enough settling into the new academic lifestyle already, and it's double hard to stay in ""school mode"" and keep up with everything when I'm at home and surrounded by so many distractions!",1 "This is actually a really big thing for me, and it has a few variations in the way it manifests. The most ""obvious"" one is that understanding why something is done emphasizes importance, but learning why is also more engaging than just being told what to do. For me personally, the why is important emotionally, too; If I'm told to do something NOW but not why it needs to be done now, it feels like a command given with no regard to my autonomy. Alternately, if I'm told to do something a specific way but not why it needs to be done that specific way, I'm very much liable to try to figure out an easier, faster, or simpler way, which might be a problem if there WAS a reason I was told to do it a certain way. This need for contextualization applies to explanations too, actually. The dumb example I like to use is someone explaining how a cabinet with both doors and drawers ""opens."" If I'm wondering about the drawers and they start explaining hinges, I'm more likely to wonder how the hell drawers use hinges than I am to realize that they're talking about the doors.",1 "SET REMINDERS and ALARMS! These are a massive help for the ADHD brain. Even for seemingly simple daily tasks (because they are often not for us!) The advanced warnings are important to ensure you have time to.process what needs to be done before the main alarm rings. Change this to how ever much processing time you usually need to register something. You may even need several advance warnings Reminder apps only work of they trigger an actual Alarm you have to turn off. Notifications don't work, they are too easily dismissed without you registering what it said. A day's alarms may look like this... 7.30am Wake up Alarm 7.45 Get up! Alarm 8am Get breakfast Alarm 8.30 Leaving for work in 15 mins Alarm 8.40 Defrost the car Alarm (if you need to) 8.45 Leave for work Now! Alarm 12.45 Lunch in 15 mins Alarm 1pm Get Lunch Alarm 5.45 Get dinner in 15 mins Alarm 6PM Get dinner ready Alarm 8pm No more caffeine Alarm 9PM get shower Alarm 10pm 1 hour before bed Alarm 10.45 15 minutes before lights off Alarm 11pm Lights off Alarm Weekly alarms may be like this... Monday - Request medication, Alarm Tuesday - College SA due 3 days, Alarm Wednesday - Take bins out for collection, Alarm Wednesday - College SA due in 2 days, Alarm Thursday - Pick up prescription and take to chemist, Alarm Thursday - College SA due in TOMORROW, Alarm Friday - collect medication from chemist, Alarm You may not need everything here. Just use the alarms for the stuff you usually forget or are late with. And stop using the bloody snooze! Everyone you use it you are rewarding yourself (by getting more sleep) for delaying what needs to be done which causes a positive feed back loop for a negative action!",1 "Refill your water before and nip bathroom before it gets to that stage in the bedroom so your mind won't trail off the present mood too much ( I say too much because it's so easy to get distracted ). Also it's good to go bathroom before and after to prevent UTI's anyway , good habit to get into .",1 "Yeah all the time LOL. Worst is when my wife will mention something in the show. Sometimes I’ll play it off but others I’ll have a blank look cuz I’m so far gone. It’s actually kinda funny because I’ve told my wife this. That I’ll zone out and just start thinking random thoughts. It used to be she asked “what are you thinking” and I’d say “uh nothin” because it was too embarrassing. Now we’ve both embraced it and sometimes it’s just utterly hilarious. Like I always envision some weird ass scenarios. We were watching the wonderful whites of West Virginia and I zoned out the first time sue bob white started talkin. She sounded like this dude I cut lawns for when I was a kid. He had that voice wand thing you hold up to your neck. So I start imagining them both having a conversation. Then I imagine Tom Waits also joining in. Then it evolved (in my thoughts) into a sort of American idol thing and then my wife said “what are you thinkin?” I froze and asked “uh, you sure?” So nah you’re not alone.",1 "Congrats, I’m very happy to hear that! I’m usually able to get it done every morning, but only manage to do it before bed once or twice a week. It’s something I get really down on myself about, so you’ve given me inspiration!",1 "Now he has to dry his paws, move over to the right, and start working on 'C.' Ahwooooooo!",0 Can anyone tell me how they experience the symptoms of paranoia please??,0 "First thought: May is mental health month Second thought: HOW IS IT MAY ALREADY???",0 "Jokes on you, I got distracted from what I was supposed to do by the notification that this was trending",1 "It's easier for me to say I don't care and just brace for whatever response I get than to have to explain myself, so that's what I do. So frustrating.",1 I laughed at this way more than i should. Soo relatable!!,0 "> Anxiety can also be used as a (poor, if I do say so myself) coping mechanism, as the rush of adrenaline and cortisol associated with (say) being about to miss a deadline may be able to temporarily compensate for the lack of dopamine that is thought to impede their ability to focus. Basically sending them into fight or flight just so they panic and complete the task. This is how some people with the disorder learn to function: by being stressed all the time I’ve never seen this written out before but it describes how I got through college to a T. All-nighters were a regular occurrence. Saving your post. It’s extremely well written.",1 And people wonder why others never come out about mental illnesses... maybe it's because they're trivialized to the point of being an attention-grab.,0 "Same bad habit here. Currently saving this post to my "" read later "" folder right now. Sorry I can't offer any helpful suggestions or solutions. I'm here looking for some myself",1 "same way with me bookmarking posts that i want to read someday but never end up reading, like this one",1 "Some Androd 11 phones have this as well, with the recorder app.",1 Yeah and then I forget what I was thinking about before the intrusive thoughts happened.,0 "You can either hold twice as much water in the glass, downsize to a glass half the size, or keep things the same.",1 "Me when visibly placing an object somewhere else but not being sure if it is not sitting in the empty space that is litterally in front of me. Good video btw",0 "I literally remembered at the last possible moment to withdraw from a race happening in October (July 1st was the last date to do a rollover for next year’s race). Why. Whyyyyyy. I was reminding myself to drop since May. It required five minutes of my time. :|",1 Yes! Shaking my shoulders and blinking really hard to “shake” it. Wringing my fingers as well.,0 A week-long training for my job got turned into a remote session from home instead. This second monitor is going to get me in trouble.,1 "*TW* mentions of self harm Even though I repeat them everytime I definitely feel this with my reactions to the stress compulsions cause, I know that when someone is angry with me and my head begins to spiral into ""I'm a fuck up and they hate me"" mode that I shut down on the outside completely or feel the need to self harm because that's all I can focus on is the repetition in my head. Knowing that people don't react well to this doesn't make it any easier to stop, when I'm in that state of heightened emotion and the endless loop begins I couldn't even begin to imagine how I'm supposed to break out if it enough to stop myself, it's like all of my senses black out, my eyes unfocus completely, all I can hear is a constant whooshing sound in my ears, and I dont recall ever smelling anything in this state. The only thing able to break through for me is touch, if my partner wraps me in a tight hug or even just rubs my back it slowly subsides. Since I can't just tote him around with me wherever I go any tips on how to combat this?",0 "was struggling with ROCD and immediately after that with thinking im a sociopath, and now I'm struggling with TOCD.....can't be more accurate than this meme.",0 oMg PuT tHaT mArKeR bAcK uP yOu ArE tRiGgErInG mY oCd!!!1!1!1!,0 "Or even better, getting 90% of the way through a task, taking a quick break, getting sucked into another task, and only realizing you didn't finish the first task days or weeks later. I did this last week replacing the ignition coils on my truck. Now I have no idea where the hell the bolts are because they've fallen down somewhere, and I'm going to have to pull out a bolt that's already in it and see if I have bolts that will fit laying around somewhere. It's not my only vehicle, which only made it worse because I didn't notice until I needed my truck to go get something.",1 "Definitely. To me it has always been 100% focus, 100% of the time, I just can't control what that focus is on or how long it lasts.",1 The Zelda fan in me is telling me to shoot the eye while it’s open...,0 It's really really hard. But you know what your brain is doing and you're trying to take charge. That's a huge step.,0 "This is me. I have been diagnosed with depression and had a few depressive episodes in my life, but I’ve never been tested for adhd in my life. I am 40 years old and a female and I never knew that there was something wrong with the way I feel and struggle. I have been struggling my whole life and now it all makes kinda sense. I will be tested soon and I hope I get diagnosed so I can finally get some proper help.",1 Pretty much why I am so shy/antisocial. I fear impending rejection.,1 This downward-spiral type of thinking has literally sent me into panic attacks quite a few times in my life.,0 "People recently started complimenting me on how nice and kind and pure of a person i an and i honestly thought they are fucking with me because the way i see it, im toxic, i talk too much, selfish, etc, i guess its just been bothering me last few days because its such a stark difference and i realized how off my pen perception of myself is.",1 "Ok, seriously...I had no idea that my bad oral hygiene was related to my ADHD. I've always just attributed it to my all around laziness. This actually makes me feel a lot better. Well aside from the currently excruciating pain from the loose filling that is currently pressed up against a nerve. Too bad TriCare for retirees doesn't cover dental and open enrollment isn't until November.",1 "Ah yes. Bleach. I compulsively wash my bathroom because I feel that it's ""contaminated"" and I'll spread germs through my clothes, but then I use the bleach. It's fine for a while, then I think ""Wait what if when I was cooking I didn't wash the bleach off and I accidentally kill my family??"" It really sucks.",0 "I feel this in my soul. 28m. Diagnosed as a child, but stopped medication as a teen. My life has been up until recently, been lived with ADHD in control and most choices done on impulse without rationality. Thank God a psychiatrist recognized and asked about my past, and now it's like night and day. I can't believe it's taken this long for me to even think about it being ADHD.",1 "Indeed, there's an interesting study on change blindness I haven't seen it but I'd be interested if the tolerances for change blindness is much lower or higher on ADHD people. Because I can see it two ways, either we've trained ourselves to ignore MORE as part of having adhd and being bombarded Or Were less tolerant because of our brains firing more actively",1 or maybe I just made myself forget that I am faking it,0 "i’m really surprised because i had no idea this was ocd i used to feel bad throwing away my trash from lunch when i was in elementary school, so when i got home i had to throw it away there because i thought it was just less gross than the school for the trash. so weird to say that. this is weird that it was even ocd because it just further proves i’ve had this my whole life",0 "I have two small kids who talk a lot, a husband that I’m separated from (partly because he talks to me when the kids are talking) and a puppy. He and I get along pretty fine, but all the noises at one time are so chaotic for my brain. I needed to get my own place/space and I WANTED to coparent so I can get some alone time to recharge. My brain needs a good rest in between all the stimulation.",1 I was forced to do a research paper and choose mental health in America and I had such a hard time writing about ADHD even though I have it😂,1 "OMG SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST I love that description. Telling my mom that later. Seriously though, I hate when stuff like that happens. Like I'm not trying to be rude but PLEASE SHUT UP I'M GOING TO EXPLODE.",1 "I have Major Depression, OCD, Panic Disorder, and chronic pain. My whole nervous system is fucked.",0 I love how relatable this sub is. People don’t understand how annoying going to the bathroom can be. And keep it up! It’s the small victories that count,0 I’m not sure where these people think this other place that isn’t in my head is. Doesn’t exist,1 "This is exactly what I was thinking about the other day. Compared it to activation energy in chemical reactions, and how certain things can be catalysts to make that easier like novelty or deadlines. The ""paralysis"" part of this quote really hit hard because that's what I feels like quite often. I want to do something but I just can't make it happen in the real world, it's all just perfectly formulated in my head.",1 holy shit that is amazing. Im going to use this with my oldest.,1 "This is exactly why I keep having to retake classes. I keep telling myself I'll actually try, but don't when it matters most.",1 Is this an OCD symptom? I thought this was universal,0 "Reading this post sprawled across my bed with my neck awkwardly against the well with not even a pillow but a throw blanket supporting it. I’ve been scrolling and flicking between apps for like 2 hours now. Tried to balance cooking, cleaning, and doing homework today to no avail. Fuck this life man.",1 Thanks OCD for ruining every amazing moment I have with my boyfriend,0 Such is the crux of OCD! Uncertainty is all of ours’ biggest enemy. You’re not alone. 💖,0 "Oh man, my fingers are a mess and it is so painful! I can't leave bits of akin alone, but when I bite them off it makes more bits of skin. Drives me nuts! If I could wish one thing away, it would be my constant attacks on my poor fingers. I definitely feel your finger pain!",0 This has been my life for the past 6 months at least :(,1 now i’m picturing shane dawson telling me my instrusive thoughts,0 This post made me get up and pick up my dental picks instead of watching YouTube while doing nothing. Might as well pick my teeth clean while I'm watching stuff right?,1 Same. My heart starts pounding if the sound of the car behind me gets louder,0 "Luckily I’m not immune-compromised, but I do have contamination OCD so I can’t even imagine how difficult this is for you. I’m having to up my meds and get more Xanax because of this. It’s definitely tough. Stay safe :)",0 "Here's how I think about it. I read information that I might not always remember the exact details of what I read, but what I'm doing is building an understanding of an idea. The more you learn about something, the more you learn how much you don't know about that thing, you should be coming up with a lot of ""I don't know""s. There are a TON of people out there who seem like they have all this knowledge and understanding, but what they really have is a bunch of facts memorized and/or siloed knowledge. I might not have a great immediate recall of things I just read, but if I found it interesting, I know its in my brain somewhere. I constantly am reminded of things I read somewhere, am able to make connections I hadn't realized yet, and think of things in fairly unique and creative ways. Its like this: if you gave me a recipe for ""How to make tomato sauce"" to read for 15 minutes, and then ""tested"" my memory for accuracy to the recipe, I'd fail every time, BUT if you just asked me to make some tomato sauce, I'd make a great sauce because I've read a million articles and recipes and gained an understanding of how to do it, not an exact step by step replication of something else.",1 Love this!!! Others look at howblong it takes and belittle us for it call us lazy etc.,1 "Man, sometimes this sub is the best for just making me feel like I’m not crazy.",1 I keep ruminating until another obession came out but thank you for your advice:),0 "It's a terrible thought. To know what to do but when you try to do it you can't i feel it everyday. Medicine helps, but i envy those who dont need it.",1 "ah executive dysfunction my old friend. don’t put too much pressure on yourself, as for people to sit down with you and do the thing, or to hold you accountable. i do that with my mom and it’s been a lot more helpful (of course i live with her, if you don’t hopefully there’s a friend/roommate you could ask)",1 This May be meant as a cry for help but holy fuck that was cursed. Made me laugh IRL ngl,0 "It's very easy for people with hyperfocus to land on the negative and get stuck there. It's very easy for people with memory issues to remember if it was ever not like this. It's very easy to self-sabotage, and it's easy to self-destruct. It's hard to realize you're actually in a cycle or in the trough of a wave when you're still spiraling out. You think it goes down forever because we are too hyperfocused on the downfall to see the big picture. Much like planets in retrograde, we don't realize we're on a track and it only *looks* like they're moving backwards, but we actually are just turning a corner around the sun. I've never been disappointed by staying long enough to see the planets move forward again, to watch myself grow.",1 Haha yes! Dude is anyone else struggling with racial thoughts. It’s really weighing me down. I’m obviously not openly racist. I’ve signed petitions donated etc but some times my mind goes wild.,0 Wow. My childhood and now my adulthood in a nutshell,1 "I used to be angrier with this. I believe that somehow romantism regarding mental illness was introduced as a coping mechanism by writers and creatives in general, in order to comprehend their own struggles as well. Obviously, the average person started to extrapolate their own conclusions about some symptoms (tidiness/order/overthinking). Everyone can relate some kind of problem. Better information about mental health woul help us solve some questions about this.",0 "If you have an iPhone you can scroll down in your photos to where it says ""screenshots."" Click on that and then ""delete all."" Doesn't solve the issue but relieves some of the photo app congestion.",1 I’m like this with checking that my phone is on silent at school.,0 "This made me get up and pee. However, getting out of bed also activated my dogs. Guess the morning starts here!",1 "This is amazing. For me, not having control reduces my anxiety tremendously. Thank you!",0 "Wow. Brilliant. I am going to try doing this with my ADHD boyfriend, even though we are long distance right now.",1 It happens to me all the time but when am reading a book more than movies/series (though it can happen) hdbdhd Like I can be literally physically be reading the book but my mind is just thinking smth entirely unrelated.,1 I wish i just wanted things to be tidy. I really wish that’s the problem I have. Alas it is more insidious and disruptive than that.,0 "So this is why I always plan in great detail how to become world-class in whatever it is I'm into at the moment. Interesting. Never really thought about it that way, but can definitely relate.",1 "I used to fall asleep in every class. No matter how tiny the desk. Usually sitting up. One time I was standing, leaning on a desk, watching a demonstration, and I fucking fell asleep in front of my lecturer.",1 "What if im the only conscious human ever how can i live with this possibility? Therapist: you are not im conscious too so solipsism is false Me: Thank you problem solved!!",0 My OCD when my leg stops hurting and I don’t die of a blood clot induced stroke,0 "I have OCD and ADHD, and going through this tough breakup has my mind all sorts of wild. But I thank you for your support my friend!",0 guys what do you mean about this post? I feel stressed now.... I have false memory ocd and fear what if I killed someone.... That means I have paranoia??? Please answer me,0 "THIS IS INCREDIBLE. I’m telling you, OCD is a hell of a dose of creative inspiration. find your outlets and pour in your obsessive nature to create and inspire others. absolutely beautiful.",0 Holy shot this is the most true thing! Stupid curious brain NEVER stops.,0 "To be fair, it's only been since 2014 or so that ADHD has been officially recognized as a mental illness. It used to be a behavioural disorder before that. It's going to take a lot of time to undo a lot of the miseducation and stereotypes from the last couple decades :/ Which is why it's still really common to see older people who think people with ADHD are just misbehaved.",1 "Here for this kinda stuff. I have been paying double (or triple) for my ADHD… First it’s my own personal life. Then I pay double with my work. Then finally, it’s my relationship - which takes a final cut that pays 3X…..",1 Oh yes. Precisely what I needed. More intrusive thoughts of death woo.,0 dude i get this all the time. but usually it's when i'm like jacking it or showering and i'm like... what if what i was daydreaming earlier is actually real life and i'm having a psychotic break and i'm embarrassing myself in front of everyone right now at work or something??,0 Yep. This applies to many messages/comments I send too.,0 "I’m sitting here struggling to read this through the tears... This is absolutely 100% me. So completely, totally accurate...",1 Man what great timing!! I purchased this book about a month ago. Tried reading but keep getting distracted. I know it will be good but my mond wanders! Then I ended up having recurring issues this week and got the book out and started it!,0 Same... I suffer from really bad ocd and I can't stop having intrusive thoughts. I feel like shit!,0 "Is doing things in sets/multiples of 4s common thing? I'm new here and have seen a few threads involving 4s, and a great deal of my mental energy each day goes toward doing things in 4s.",0 "Install sub light mimicking lights in your home. It tricks your mind and body into feeling as though it isnt night time yet.",1 "Thank God for this Community. I truly knew I wasn’t alone on this earth bc of y’all. Truly, thank you. Each and everyone of you. ♥️",1 "I might have to steal this. I always thought of my Intrusive thoughts as an edgelord 12 year old named Kyle, but this is definitely better. I'm dying 🤣",0 "Mhm, OCD always makes me feel trapped in a horrific scenario with no way out",0 I'm sorry for your loss. Your writing is amazing and if you enjoy it you should consider writing more. I am going through the grief of a friend and ex and I've been writing a book about it.,1 I am so surprised by all the people saying tests were manageable at school. I couldn’t retain a single thing in class unless I wrote it down and memorized it. And I never did that.,1 This makes me feel especially lucky that my mom has ADHD too! She got diagnosed right after I did. 😂,1 I was literally telling my therapist I had this fear yesterday lmao,0 "Yeah I haven't talked to my friends for more than a year partially due to this, quite overwhelming, and hard to communicate to others.",1 I've been acting like my ocd is an annoying little sibling I'm being patient with. So i acknowledge what's said and then move on. Basically this meme. It really works,0 "Yup. Arbitrary rules are meaningless, need something to back them up.",1 I work in an elementary school I’m nothing but overstimulated. It’s sometimes hell,1 "I’ve realized that’s not a curse. Pick up another hobby and another and another. You will go back to the rocket when you want to. Don’t force yourself. Once I gave in and played to my strengths (adhd), I grew leaps and bounds. I grew at work, at home, in my marriage but most importantly I don’t feel like shit about myself any longer. Why restrict yourself by quitting completely. Just pick it up again later.",1 Always and I'm terrified if they can listen to those intrusive thoughts. Well I guess that's also an intrusive thought. :(,0 Ugh I had this just a few hours ago. Meditating helped but being triggered and worrying you like the triggers is hard to deal with when you’re tired and not anticipating it.,0 "​ ""Yeah we're a little too R-rated, but they're a little too damn blind We're just looking for our angels, but they're a little hard to find"" A song lyrics EDIT: I'm not saying Jesus will cure your OCD lol, but these lyrics really stuck with me.",0 I used to never have OCD dreams but I started to about a year and a half ago I loathe it.,0 "Amazing, congrats!! I hit my 2 month recently as well but was inspired by my schools group therapy. Do you mind if i ask what resources you’ve used to do ERP on your own?",0 "Man, I wish I knew at 12, this way of thinking wasn't normal.",0 i agree i hate it can we all put ocd in a garbage can and then light the garbage can on fire thanks,0 "Lol protecting my loved ones by the door locks 5 times, then 5 lots of 5... Then the windows... Then the plug sockets... Etc",0 "My son just had his adhd iep and thankfully his teacher agreed one of the needs was to be allowed to do multi things at once and not require eye contact. He cannot pay “attention” like others but he’s paying attention just fine. He’s just also writing or drawing or at home playing dinosaur war. If you ask him what they are talking about though he can tell you nearly word for word what’s been said. And that’s medicated, without the medicine he has to be physically moving.",1 Your obsession about not having an obsession is in itself an obsession ... OCD never stops 🤦‍♂️,0 I've been sober a month and my life is a living hell.,0 "Since we're all feeling this one pretty hard, I wanted to share these videos about what is going on and how to address it moving forward. They've probably already been linked in this thread, but there are way too many comments for me to search through right now. I HIGHLY recommend you watch these, even if you've already seen them lol. We could all use reminders :) Jessica McCabe (How to ADHD) on Brendan Mahan's metaphor for the Wall of Awful Part 1: https://youtu.be/Uo08uS904Rg Part 2: https://youtu.be/hlObsAeFNVk",1 "I had to check to make sure I wasn’t the one who posted this. I don’t have any useful tips; just wanted to commiserate.",1 "Hang in there, you will get through this. I promise you. Feel free to reach out whenever(:",0 Yup I jump around various obsessions. I feel very insecure about myself which seems to be a basic component of ocd,0 "I’ve been living with OCD for over 15 years and didn’t even know I had it until I found this sub and went to a doctor. I started to get an idea of what it was a couple years back, but couldn’t tell anyone for fear of being called out as a “Self-diagnosed attention whore”",0 "This happens all the time with my ADD. Like I'll complain about my ADD causing me to have problems in everyday life, and someone will be like; ""lol, don't we ALL have a little bit of ADD?""",0 "Morning me is hating evening me right now because I could have gone to bed easily at 12 but decided to start research about some medical issues until 2 am. The medical problem is that my eye doctor said I have high pressure in my eyes and wants me to go back to check me again and perhaps put me on medicine. Im a 40F and he said it’s too early for my eyes to show high pressure and it’s a risk of Glaucoma. The conclusion of my research is that the primary cause of high pressure in the eye is not getting enough sleep, min 7-8 hours each night. So yeah, “go the fuck to sleep”!!!",1 Now anxiety is kicking in 'cause I can't remember what the F it is! fml,1 ">Unexplainable time skip This is EVERY DAY working from home during this pandemic. What the hell occupies my time every day??",1 "I'm very late to this one, but God damnit this is THE insight I needed most. I am almost crying now cause this is something that has been haunting me for my whole life. Words cannot describe how much needed this was for me, thank you so much, I've screenshotted it.",1 "It’s the 30 second ad, but every time the ad finishes it starts over. It’s the same ad. Over. And over. And over.",0 "I actually have lived that nightmare many times with a toxic ex and home life, and it translates into my OCD. I will convince myself that I’ve done something bad or that I am capable of it and it’s horrible. I hate that they have gotten to me in this way :0(",0 "Is this a sign ( or symptom) of adhd? Been checking in on this sub for a while now and I'm ticking many boxes of behaviour, but... I dunno..",1 "Mine has privated, deleted and unlisted videos in it. It's a grave in there",1 Oh my gosh. Finally someone is able to put the key difference between the two in words! I saved this post and will make sure to keep it handy whenever I feel like I'm lazy or someone thinks I am.,1 "I've stopped telling people I forgot to eat ( when asked). There's always the inevitable ""How do you forget to eat?"" Has always made me feel dumb.",1 I’ve done this with so many projects at work! Lol. I hate budgets so much I celebrate being almost done and then take forever to finish.,1 "THIS. THIS IS WHY I PROCRASTINATE TOO DAMN MUCH WITH WEB SURFING. cus boi do I have ideas. i'm an idea hoarder and you bet that I research every single thing about it. hmmm",1 "Hurts like a bitch, don't give up before you try though that's worse than having never tried.",1 "This is true to some extent with work and friends. My friends understand me to the extent that they know that what I am saying is truly how I feel and don't judge me for how irrational the thoughts are, cause even I know they are irrational. My work however, does not understand and is not able to comprehend it. In two days of bad anxiety at work and OCD, all I was doing was keeping 10 feet apart from people and washing my hands a lot and I got scolded this morning but it took them months to confront an employ coming in with overly sexual and inappropriate jokes like saying ""teamwork can lick the back of my ballsack"". This makes me not want to work here even more so then I normally do.",0 "I love that I can believe this and simultaneously believe that if it’s 8:15am and I have to be to work at 9, I still have time to hit snooze once more and then will still have time to completely get read and get to work in the remaining 36 minutes.",1 "How would I set this up for zoom classes? It works for my microphone, but don’t know how to get it to work with the other people in class",1 "I had two friends and my grandmother who have had that type of cancer and as long as it didn't get outside of the node, it makes it easy for them to remove. Crossing my fingers for you! But it's treatable! Please come here for support whenever you need it",1 I'm not diagnosed at all but I think this shit every fucking day,0 "I've been there! The takeaway from this one is great - I now can't stand the feeling of my teeth being unbrushed for about 12 hours which means I almost never skip brushing any more. I managed to ""retrain"" myself so that normal = clean whereas before, clean was nice, but normal/comfortable was kind of dirty. Now I hope to do the same for showering.",1 "I feel like this, and I'm a researcher/PhD student. I can't tell if I have impostor syndrome or if I'm legitimately incompetent. I feel like I can't even introduce myself in meetings because I have no idea what I did in my life until now and what am I supposed to be specialized in. Sometimes I get cold sweat at night before a meeting like that, fearing that by morning I will have forgotten everything starting from my last name through my degree to my current research topic.",1 !!!!! This right here!!!!! I hold all of this random knowledge in a secret compartment in my brain that’s not accessible when I frickin need it or want to actually talk about it. But I ~know~ it. I’ll go back and re-research a topic I thought I understood and feel like wtf why do I have to look this up I already know all of this??? honestly really rude.,1 Do you have any techniques to prevent mind jumping from thought to thought constantly?,0 "Google Docs has this feature too under Tools > Voice Typing :) It's a little spotty sometimes though, so maybe test things out first before you jump right into a class/meeting. Hope this further helps someone else out!",1 This is what I do. I’ve gotten better at telling ocd to fuck off about it though,0 "Me: *Shows up at theater excited* Oh, uh... Those seats are kinda steep. Well, that's fi– OCD: Oh man, if you leaned to far forward.... Me: *Whispers* Please don't... OCD: We'll definitely die if you– Every organ in my body: FUUUUUUUCK",0 This makes me so happy to read!!! & gives so much hope to others 💛,0 "I've found it helpful to keep an extra toothbrush, toothpaste, floss picks, and ACT mouthwash near my bed.",1 "Me too. I had a boss actually tell me this once and I feel like it’s happened in every job, friendship, relationship since",1 I’ve forced myself to take showers everyday in the morning. I’ve placed my toothpaste and tooth brush in the shower so I brush teeth while conditioners in my hair. It’s the only way I’ll consistently brush my teeth. It’s weird but it works.,1 "Hmm is this why I often feel like I have no real memory of things and struggle to feel any emotional attachment toward past experiences that I try to recall? I always put it down to my dissociative disorder but maybe it's an aspect of ADHD",1 "You just described my grandmother to a T. She's like a walking thesaurus. She'll say the same paragraph over and over in various ways like she's trying to find the best edit. Also can't grasp the fact that I need like 2-4 hours to fully mentally wakeup. I cannot engage in intellectual discourse when my brain still foggy and operating on dream-logic. No, I don't know what new job I'm looking for. I gotta orient myself, am I sitting upright or is it 2:15? Also, can koi fish live in a bathtub? I prefer the calico one. 🥴",1 "34 male here, and I feel this way at least 2 times a week. 4 months ago I started treating my ADHD. Before that I always just thought my downfalls were due to untreated ADHD. Now that I'm medicated, makes the mistakes I still make much harder to take. It's like ""It's not your ADHD, it's just you"". Hate that feeling.",1 "I can definitely relate to the written assignment stuff. As a person with a mix of OCD and ADHD among a few other disorders, I can write-ish some days and I simply can’t write or read on others because I can’t focus on anything for more than 2 seconds and it’s like hell. Sometimes I can’t even do anything to prevent these days from happening. I just wake up and realize that it’s one of those days. Still, I’m on meds so I know it could be worse... but still.",0 Well this made me cry. It's hard trying to minimalize everything you feel because you don't want to cause panic. I'm a Mom and if I go to shit we all go to shit so I gotta keep it together.,0 "Definitely understand. The moment I'm off work I feel completely out of control. Sucked into my phone or console or computer, social media. Maybe I'm self soothing from discomfort, I don't even know what life is like outside of that. I can see a pattern and it's scary to think if I don't figure it out I'll just do this forever. Executive function is cooked too. I can't even respond to a text to hangout now, every single thing feels up in the air. Do you waste you day on your phone? I found making a list for weekend cleaning helped a bit, breaking it down and getting it out of the way. If I pissed away the entire rest of the day I'd at least know I did a few substantial things in the morning.",1 "I love this!!! I get so sick and tired of hearing clean freaks say “omg I’m so OCD!” Like, do you know what it even is? It’s like saying “she is so bipolar!” Mental disorders shouldn’t be used as insults lol",0 Thank you for this! Such a good reminder to make that distinction!,1 You are not that good at tricking people. List here why you think you are a bad person. Let others see why you think you are bad and we will tell you if you are right. But you have to be honest.,0 Trueee I had a panic attack the other night ago from intrusive thoughts 😞,0 "IDK if this is at all accurate but I would image it feels like driving down a road that is slanted 45 degrees to your right. Frustrating, anxiety inducing, and you would do anything to get off this road. Problem is the only way to get off this tilted road is to do compulsive behaviors. Idk feel me of this is accurate",0 "I told my dad I have OCD- and he questioned it a lot. I finally said “remember when I crashed into that tree when I was a kid, riding my bike? Ans you were shocked because I was already good at riding?” He nodded. “I did that because a voice in my head said that if I went around it to the left, you would die. And if i went around it to the right, mom would die.” He understood. It was so liberating.",0 Yep! I used to be very clean and neat and everything bothered me. But now my OCD focuses on other stuff like grades and school and my weight and diseases and I am very messy. It’s a party,0 I feel like my playlist with top songs is basically three or four albums I listened to obsessively for a few months lol,1 "This is me to a T, throw in some HOCD and you’ve found me",0 "I'm a public health social worker at a non-profit that supports older adults and folks with disabilities. I've been at my current job for over a year and I'm continually saving legislation and state regulations to my drive. It's helped me do my job better because I've been able to push back against bad practices and provide sources! The regulations have also inspired me to design better agency forms and streamline our processes. During my first week, I created an index (to help me learn new terminology) and it's expanded to include legislation and government forms as well. I also have a Resources folder where I save information about lots of other subjects (which are outside of the scope of our practice) that occasionally come in handy! Understanding the why helps me communicate to other professionals and the families we support because, in addition to listening to their problem, I either know the answer or can find it. Even if there isn't a good solution, they're able to trust that I've exhausted all options.",1 "Oh my god, mood. Sometimes I’m just like, “Okay, we’re worrying about THAT? That doesn’t even make any sense”",0 "I just checked this and it still says ""Great for OCD"" and ""OCD Approved."" I called the corporate office to file a complaint. I encourage everyone to do so, too. We are greater in numbers! Here is the corporate number: 612-304-6073",0 You are a beautiful person who chose compassion even when overwhelmed yourself. Please don't change. You are my type of person and I needed to see this today .,1 Im experiencing a really bad thought right now and I feel devasted... I will fall asleep to stop it...,0 "Great job! It's important to never rush yourself! Being proud of this seemingly ""small and irrelevant"" baby steps is really just so important and just really so much means a lot!!! Fantastic job!!! I wish all the more and best in your recovery of the future!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 :) :) :) :) ;) <3",0 "Congratulations! ocd can make it so difficult to find motivation for anything, or make anything at all seem worth it, but you’ve done it - and a master’s at that! You should be extra extra proud of such an achievement!",0 "Anyone else just feel like if you stop believing in something then the whole world is changed? Even though it isn’t? Like sometimes I think if I start believing in flat earth somehow the Earth will become flat. OCD is wacky man.",0 "100% agree Also goes along with self acceptance and not feeling the need to justify yourself to others, including the internalised critic that we've got questioning our judgement. I used to use a decent coverall that I kept with the painting stuff and I noticed I got on with DIY tasks and didn't wreck my clothes with paint. No longer have it, wanted to order a replacement but I could hear that voice in my head saying ""You've got loads of old clothes you could change into and your supposed to be on a budget, what the hell are you wasting money on that for?"" But you are right, it's much better to be realistic and budget around that. I know it will pay for itself. How do you know which things are actually going to save money and which ones are just justifying buying stuff that you want though? That's the tricky thing for me. I just got a smartwatch ( to improve my productivity and time management ) and don't know which category it falls in yet!",1 Of course I don't ignore it. I snooze it 352 times like a proper adult.,1 Meds keep the symptoms in control but you have to work for it. Meds won’t work unless you try.,0 This is OCD? I guess I’ve had OCD most of my life. I take meds for anxiety and depression. Is treating OCD much different. Thank god I found this room.,0 omg wtf i’ve had sooo many ppl complain to me about how i add an unnecessary amount of commas. wow,1 I didn’t know this was a thing until you told me. That’s my life! I need to find another to hack it with!!! Thanks and good luck to you!,1 Cute! At first I thought it was coloured pasta lol (idk either),0 "Something that my psychologist told me that really stuck to me is that the main difference between me and a delusional person is that I get obsessed with fears that are *logically plausible* but *extremely unlikely.* I won't give details about my own fears but it's about possibilities that are grounded in reality--like catching a disease or accidentally commiting a crime, for example--that the OCD mind blows such remote possibility that no healthy person would consider for more than a few seconds into cataclysmic butterfly-effect proportions that are absolutely paralyzing.",0 "This is so accurate it hurts. :’( We have this sub though and each other. I’ve been on somewhat of a personal journey in my life, trying to find myself. I’ve found that in many ways, OCD has always prevented me from being true to myself, or even really knowing what that means. It’s basically made me scared to open the curtain. I’m afraid of what I’ll find. But we all have to keep fighting, together.",0 "My hyperfixations last longer than y'all's...my top artist is one I hyperfixated on at the end of August and I'm still going strong. I would hate to think what the stats would be if combined with my YouTube music stats as well...cause the catalog for this particular person is like 4 times bigger over there so I made my husband upgrade us to a family account 😏 (Normally I use Spotify only, he uses YouTube)",1 "This is the reason I have about 45,000 screenshots on my phone lmao!",1 This is track 3 on the greatest hits album of my harm OCD,0 "I was actually doing this earlier, recognized it, got up, and did the thing. Being aware is the first step to being better!!!",1 "Yeah, OCD is so useful. My kitchen table has no varnish left on it from scrubbing, meanwhile my floor hasnt been mopped in a month. So useful.",0 "It’s a neat feature but does not work as well when you live in a country that employs a heavy accent to our english, lol.",1 "bruh I just realized how my whole thinking pattern about my actions is based on this, wtf",0 "My ritual is to check the stove is turned off. It’s fine when I’m home alone, but when other people are here they can see me talk to the appliance and say “burner number 1 is off”, etc and touch it in its off position for a good 10-15 seconds. I like to say that it’s been dodgy for a bit, but now the same people are asking why I haven’t got it fixed. :/ It’s weird, but it works and I’m fine with that. Better than getting out of bed 15 times. Haha",0 "Exactly how I've felt. The human condition though, I think.",1 "My boyfriend, ""Just move on! Find something positive to focus on!"" Me, ""HAHAHA As if I'm in charge!""",0 "YES or I’ll zone the fuck out during sex and then it’s super awkward “Wyd thinking about bby 😏” “Idk just how the sharks survived the dinosaur extinction”",1 "I disagree slightly. While OCD is awful and horrible and I wouldn’t wish it on anybody, working to understand, appreciate, and re-frame the motivations behind the behaviors can be extremely helpful. Also, they’re celebrities! You’re rarely going to see celebs with OCD being realistic about it because they’d risk their careers.",0 "I love everything about this. Can I add something? When procrastinating, tell yourself ""Reddit/PS4/ isn't going anywhere."" This has helped me tremendously with getting off reddit or putting down my controller and getting back to the task I'm putting off.",1 "Okay, on the real, when I took my adhd test, it was basically a general knowledge test, some mensa shape/pattern stuff, and various things involving letters and numbers and the switching thereof (executive stuff). Now, I have desperately tried to find anything online which corroborates what my psych gave me. Every single ADHD site is the same >Do you have trouble paying attention? >... >On a scale of 1-5, how much do you think you have ADHD? >You prob have adhd Song and dance. I thought scoring in the upper 99% for IQ and tanking on executive functions meant you had adhd. Since our brains go a mile a minute, it makes sense we’d be good with pattern recognition since we’re practically brute forcing every pattern. Edit: to reiterate, during my test, I had to say a string of numbers from memory and when I did that properly, I had to say it backwards. I started slipping :/ Then it was connect each alphabet character to its corresponding number (1-A-2-B...). For that one, I scored in the same range as people with actual brain damage LOL.",1 Wow I'm so proud of you! I actually finished my powerpoint 2 hours early and it was the best one out of everyone's I felt so accomplished,1 Great job!!! I’ve been here because of OCD and from time to time still find myself here but that’s a good sign to me that I’m having a bad episode or experiencing a spiral. Things that he’ll my hands are thick lotion immediately after washing but also aquaphor slathered all over then sleep with a cloth glove on!,0 "It also means loosing complete self identity, googling the same question wake to sleep, avoiding music and TV shows, crying out of nowhere and being unable to eat, shower or sleep. Fuck OCD.",0 Do you guys ever just sit on the toilet for like 25 mins after peeing because you can’t get off your phone or just me?,1 "Bro. I feel you. I say the stuff you probably heard already but i give you an extra tip. It worked for me. Get your Shoes, Download the App Zombies run. Go running. After you Have run 2 or 3 Weeks, 2 or 3 Times a week minimum, you order New Shoes. Run with the App. Everytime you are finsished, you go for one more Sprint. Sprint for Your life Sprint as long as you can. The App costs not much. Start with Getting the App. Go and run. Get New Shoes After Your first runs. Keep running. I am not joking if i am saying that running in General (i barely never run without this app tho) prevented me from doing really really really stupid things. Its Like Meditation for others. It clears my head, it gets quiet. Dont overdo running After Your first Weeks. Your bones and everything Else beside Your muscles grow slower and wont be able to keep up with Your muscles. This could hurt. Maybe you need some Inlays but if the running will be painful but still motivating, write here, we remind you to get inlays If you Have Problems, Text me. We all have Problems but still we get though this together. AND TAKE YOUR MEDS!!",1 "YES. YES. YES. All of it. I also use the technique of backtracking, I can backtrack my movements, literally where I steped and touched for an entire day. Depending on how busy I was, two days. Thank you for sharing this!",1 "They merely adopted OCD. We were born into it, molded by it.",0 "I usually reply with ""Oh! did your doctor diagnose you with 'a little bit a OCD?'""",0 "I wonder how this person would think and feel, maybe they get in a serious accident and have trauma to their brain and develop a form of mental illness. What if they had a sexually traumatic experience. What if they just went through something mind shattering. You start picking your skin til it bleeds, being paranoid, you start having multiple personalities, why don’t you go through something horrible or even just have your brain fuck up your life without a reason and then you can tell me what works best for you. I’m not wishing harm on the fuck head that wrote this but fuck them anyways.",0 Me and the 100+ tabs open on my phone's browser are feeling very attacked right now.,0 "I’ve been HORRIBLE. I always brushed my teeth before I left the house. Don’t leave the house, don’t brush teeth. At least I still do it at night.",1 "but seriously tho, can medicine cause you to be less creative ?",0 "Jading is the nature of time. Things wear down and decay, novelty becomes commodity, it's about the people who stick around who value you as a human and mortal. People often pin us as ""Manic Pixie Dream Girls"", but there is an order and sense of preference under all that ""adventure"", and only the most mature and valuable people will recognize that, and those are the kind of people who you'd actually want.",1 "Omg my fiance got admitted to the hospital for a cyst that popped on his ass(long story😂) I found out what room he was going to before he got there. I immediately left and rushed to clean the fuck out of that room. I used to work in a hospital. I grabbed the industrial cleaning supplies, because I know where most hospitals store stuff. I scrubbed the FUCK out of that room. All surfaces, beds, changed the bedding, scrubbed the bathroom and showers and floors. Pulled it off in about a half hour. But, then they showed up with my fiancè and the nurses were less than thrilled, but didnt scold me, it was 3am But. He DID NOT get a staff infection...or MRSA...or flesh eating bacteria....or.....",0 "Take sweaty shirt off Moisten the shirt Add soap to shirt Wash self (ABC - armpits, ballsack, crack) with soapy wet shirt Apply deodorant Win",1 Yesterday I was in bed and thought I had to check the door lock but in order to do that I would have to walk through my dirty hallway where I put all my packages so the virus can die off before I touch them. Quite a quandary of conflicting OCDs. Meanwhile I would have rather stayed in bed. This is the gateway to much more involved and pointless rituals “just in case”. I realized that since covid19 I’ve been having more OCD patterned thinking and I’m worried it’ll come back full force.,0 """The sidewalk of my life"" Damn. This sub really is for me...",1 Thank you so much for 1K everyone! Humor really helps lighten up the burden sometimes :),0 Al of this list… minus the last two. I love food. A little too much. I also caused trouble in school… class clown… and I’m still ornery… with a Peter Pan Syndrome. And I’m one of the best procrastinators out there.,1 I’m new here. Is this an ADHD thing or just a human thing? To me it seems like a human thing not related to ADHD.,1 "This KILLS me at work. I will sail through allthe hard parts of a project, and then when it's DONE basically and all I have to do is take 10 min to submit final documentation so I can move on and get paid....and I don't do it. For weeks. While feeling the described angst. I have different take than the self-sabotage others have mentioned. I don't that's it. I think of ADHD as, like, an adrenelaine defeciency. I need a certain level of stress/pressure to get whatever hormones we need to take action up to a functional level. It's precisely when a task is easy/low pressure that I *cannot* find the ""on"" switch. Like turning over the key in a car where the battery is almost dead - it grinds & grinds & then goes silent but never catches. Nothing you can do will make it turn on until the power source is replenished. That's why stimulants help. It's like a repacement battery, cause mine just won't hold a charge.",1 I find it crazy how so many people have these types of thoughts. And they all think they're the only ones.,0 Honestly I'm so glad I can maintain one thought at once... or I just made this placebo to not go completely crazy...,0 "Yeah, but I was never able to distinguish it between adhd or depression. I guess it’s both. When I was over extending myself in college, my brain would just shut off and tell me to take a nap",1 "I’ve really noticed, if I can manage to have my meds on time, get myself out of bed to get my coffee and pop on some music. It turns my day around ten fold!",1 "My ""The One Song That Helped You Get Through It All"" was one called ""Easy Way Out""... 😂",1 "Do you guys ever get anxiety and worry like what if you’re not attracted to your gf/bf or that you don’t really love them. I’ve been talking to my boyfriend since June, we’ve been hooking up since then and I’ve been head over heels for this boy. I’ve even felt like out of all my relationships I’ve had he is really the one I can really end up with and marry. So in the beginning of March we finally became official. I also have HOCD which I also think triggers my rocd. But with this whole quarantine thing going on I’ve noticed my ocd and anxiety and risen a lottt. So I’ve been having so much anxiety that I don’t really love my boyfriend and that I’m not attracted to him anymore of something. But meanwhile I’ve been so giddy about this boy for almost a year",0 "Wow, this is exactly what I’ve been going through for the last three weeks. Every place on my health insurance either isn’t taking new patients or is backed up 3-4 months.",0 "I find it’s the anxiety of making a decision and turning it over and over but not doing anything about it. I read a quote years ago which sticks with me. It’s simply “Make a decision and go with it. The worse thing to do is not make a decision as that has worse consequence”. I’dd love to say that I can do this every time but I try.",0 Bro if you ever want to talk about adhd or any kind of mental health I'm right here and i get no sleep so message me anytime <3,1 Made me lol pretty good. I love how brains (especially ones like ours) will come up with great ideas and yet also manage to think of the worst possible names for them at the same time. Pretty sure I've done it a few times!,1 "There are counseling services , then there are drugs to help , there are blogs and write ups and there are books but this place.. this place should be different it should be ""THE FINAL SOLUT...aaahhh fuck""",1 ....when someone is unknowingly doing something that triggers ur ocd and u just stand there like . 😟,0 "I've been thinking of this and never thought they put it in words like this before. To be more precise, Rowling battled with depression for a long time, dementors for instance symbolize depression, that's why lupin gives Harry chocolate after he encounters them. Also the ridiculous spell paralells how certain CBT types suggest using humor in defusing from intrusive thoughts.",0 "That’s awesome!! Great job! I usually just have issues with germs/contamination when it comes to raw meat. When the virus first hit I could NOT stop washing my hands. I would slather on aquaphor at night but it didn’t help much! I’ve been forcing myself to cut back and my skin is going back to normal. Cheers to soft hands!",0 "I'm seriously terrified of this. Even worse because I have TS, and everyone knows what you do when you have Tourettes (specifically coprolalia) in an airport.",0 When you disassociate turning the switch off so the memory you try to recall overlaps the reality of it and causes THIS,0 i think this every single day on repeat ever since my diagnosis.,0 I check both and delete all the stuff that’s not important because if there’s too much stuff there I feel uncomfortable and uneasy,1 "so im not alone , im so scared of hell and even heaven but i dont believe it like wth",0 "Oh wow, this is proof that some people still glamorize mental illness.",0 Hello. Have you noticed cognitive defusion method working in managing ocd thoughts?,0 "I tell you what, I had an appointment at 2 pm and guess what I did.... I just forgot!!! Just the good ol forgetarooney! Had to cut a sorry figure to the doc. And it has ruined my day ever since.",1 "Oh yeah. * Organising a student loan repayment scheme (10 minutes, took 2 months to call them) * Fixing the stuck screw on my bike (5 minutes carefully turning it with some pliers, which was the 2nd thing I tried, but then spent six months claiming it ""couldn't be fixed"" before I took my time and did it) * Clearing out the garage (1.5 years since my last clear out, it took 5 minutes to call a dumpster hire and 1 hour to do the clean-out) ... and I live with my wife, who waits for me to do these things. It's horrendous. I am the worst person to live with.",1 "Sort of! Like sometimes if I do something completely innocuous, like return something to the store, I might feel like I've done something horrible - like I've rejected something that was perfectly fine and I'm some sort of bad person. I don't think this is related to my OCD, but maybe?",0 "Random kid: “Step on a crack break Your mamas back.” Kid with ocd: “ok that sounds legit”",0 It’s so sad I relate to this. Also walk from my bathroom to my bed in exact 9 steps.,0 "Yeah I totally get this and agree on all the points. On the broccoli point, I even get a kg of pre cut frozen broccoli and then it lasts for ages and doesn't matter if I don't eat it that week. -Also disinfectant wipes are another tax I am willing to pay as it is far easier to whip one of those out and have clean surfaces than it is for me to maintain a routine of washing and drying an adequate supply of cleaning rags etc and of disinfectant fluid. And I feel like with covid it's extra important to keep things disinfected. A similar tax is that I bulk buy face wipes as I will definitely sit and clean my face whilst watching tv but can't seem to get into a good routine of washing my face at the sink. I feel bad because wet wipes aren't exactly the most eco option but it seems to be either that or things get grimey because I don't have a clean cloth. A reverse tax I put upon myself is that I can no longer buy expensive headphones. They either get broken or lost no matter what I try, which is so frustrating as I have generally got better with these things (I rarely lose my phone, keys or wallet) so then I bought multiple sets of cheap wired brightly coloured ones so it wouldn't matter if they got lost or broken. However I am forgetting that 2 days ago I cracked and bought a pair of discounted bluetooth headphones cause the headphone socket in my phone stopped working and I needed better sound quality... so yeah actually headphones are another tax I will pay...",1 "Well that's the only way, i know it's hard but we need to learn to tolerate the anxiety, and after a while we will feel it less and less, we have to choose, do we want to touch that door knob 50 times until the day we die ? Or we want to live a normal life",0 My husband and I both have ADHD so we lose things a lot but we’re both able to find each other’s things so it works out 😊,1 "If anyone is interested in starting a meal kit, my partner and I use EveryPlate and I can hook people up with $20 off the first box. It is the cheapest service I’ve found, it’s definitely more expensive than DIY but it’s been a huge help for me as I’m also dealing with depression. https://www.everyplate.com/plans?utm_campaign=clipboard&utm_source=raf-share&utm_medium=referral&c=ES-15GJ2F0ST (Disclaimer, this also gives me a discount on my box.)",1 Ooomfg. I thought I was alone. I was just telling my therapist about always wanting to pick up an artistic/musical skill but procrastinating to the point of shame. I just bought a guitar but have barely tried to use it. I’m literally always making up movie scenes and lyrics in my head with no way yo express 😫,1 "yeah! Mark Freeman wrote a post on this recently, how the first time he felt anxious and obsession free it actually freaked him out and he ended up relapsing on purpose because he was so used to his OCD. It's a pretty interesting read!",0 "I try to do this sometimes. I try to do everything except what my OCD tries to make me do and it kind of works. It’s very difficult though and very stressful, especially someone like me who has pretty severe OCD.",0 As a new person in the realm of ADHD. Do you guys ever have problems with making a choice ie choosing from several objects?,1 oH WoW yOu HaVe OcD?! bUt YoUr HoUsE iS sO mEsSy!!! HeRdUhHeRhErHeR.,0 Knowing the reason behind things form mental pathways that help our memory :-),1 Sometimes I get what feels like a real cold chill/shiver when I start to tell myself to stop the thought. Real weird lmfao it feels like shaking the thought off of me,0 "It's funny how I notice other people's lack of contamination awereness when they touch their masks, noses and go touching everything around, despite all recommendations. They can understand ""use sanitizers"", ""use masks"" but they can't understand the simple concept of ""hey, after you touch something contaminated, your hands are contaminated. That means you can't touch any other stuff before you go wash it."" I guess growing up with ocd made a difference.",0 I love this so much!!! Everyone knows how anxiety provoking getting a bunch of pop ups can be and tries to button mash their way through it.,0 "I don't get people who do this. It's not just with neurological disorders, it's with everything. When a minority struggles, it strives for equality, but this equality often becomes wanting to step on the majority and treat them like shit as revenge. Why can't everyone just accept the others for the things they can't change about themselves instead of making everything a fight of who's better?",1 "It's a thing I'm working on with therapy, but it's exhausting I can't understand why I just can't do the thing and then avoid the mental exhaustion. Self-sabotage is not even a thing I was aware of until my therapist pointed it out to me, the human brain is honestly a joke sometimes.",1 The professional who diagnosed me was a woman with ADHD herself. I'd never felt more understood and validated. I completely understand where you are coming from and it sucks.,1 I'm proud of you! I know how hard it can be to do these seemingly small tasks and do them regularly,1 oh my god I'm gonna use this! I've been really struggling lately but now all. i hear is Alex Jones,0 Yes. I had an alarm set for every hour to remind myself to stop slouching. It worked for a few days and then i just kept deactivating them.,1 ">100% Upvoted with 1.9k Yup, definitely relatable lmao",1 So true. One of the reasons I didn’t think there was anything wrong with me because the stereotype was that it was just being nearly and tidy which I am not. I never knew checking was OCD so I feel I wouldn’t have got as bad if I knew I wasn’t just being clean etc,0 "i find trying to structure my day helps me get things done. wake up, workout or go on a walk, come back and have breakfast, take my things to a coffee shop and work there. (it can be a bit overstimulating but I use noise cancelling headphones) If i stay home all day unmedicated, I will do the same thing over and over again. (watch brooklyn 99 for the 10th time & order sushi) I live the same day again and again. it’s easier when you have a set schedule, or set work place. if you’re doing work from home or you’re a student, try finding a coworking space near you that u can just go to & study/work. it really helps being in a work environment when you’re trying to get things done and keeping a clear work/ home boundary.",1 WOW just WOW i cant even study half an hour without something else getting my attention but you just killed it,1 Imagine having type 1 diabetes with adhd. I would delay giving myself insulin or doing the math for carbs I’m eating and it’s caused me so many issues >.<,1 "Congratulations on the levitation, must be his use of the word ""just"". Don't we love it?",1 I have the same problem. It’s nice to feel validated that I am not alone. This is so frustrating to me also... like I know I am smart and that’s why it’s so maddening. Im always so jealous/amazed with people when they can just read something once and be able to speak about it and have a substantive conversation and I’ve read the same things but can’t recall any of the details enough to sound like I know what I’m talking about :(,1 "This is upsetting ew I shop so much at target and used to work there and I have a target card but now I’m gonna make a complaint as someone with very severe ocd that is ruining my life more than it ever has before last year, I feel EXTRA offended and triggered whenever people make “jokes” or whatever about OCD. Including friends who have said stuff like “I’m so ocd about xyz” (same with gross jokes I always see nowadays like “that gave me PTSD lol”), god I hate all of this so much and it’s like do they realize some of us d*e/end ourselves over these disorders? Like I’m so incredibly tired of this shit. Rant over.. gonna complain now.",0 Unrelated but the show this still is from is so entertaining! (The Politician),0 "Woah. That seems a lot. Especially these days when there's all kinds of theories on life it self it must be hard to accept the uncertainty. I was wondering, is this on your mind all the time like in social situations like waiting in line at the cashier etc.? Do you think I fit in this category since I can get a feeling that Im actually alone when at the mall with a friend or so. I can logicly aknowledge that im really there with him but the thought of it gives me goosebumbs. ",0 My mom has undiagnosed adult add sure of it she talks non stop its exhausting i dont need any extra stimulation I'm already oversenstive enough. Luckily I live alone now,1 You deserve a lot more happiness and I hope you get it! Same with everyone reading this. ❤️,0 "It's because we've been told so many times that we messed up because we're lazy, inconsiderate, selfish, rude, etc. It's because we were TOLD, often by our parents, that if we were really sorry for our mistakes, we would stop doing it. Since we wouldn't stop, obviously it was because we *liked* being bad. Did you know that the word ""sinister"" just means ""left""? As in ""left-handed""? Discrimination against left-handed people was rampant world-wide until only very recently. It's still heavily stigmatized in some countries and there are plenty of grannies out there in the good ol' US of A smacking crayons out of their grandchild's left hand. People with ADHD are essentially left-handed people living in a right-handed world, being bullied and accused of wickedness because the world isn't willing to let us approach tasks differently. *We're not wrong. We're different. Different isn't better or worse; it's just different.*",1 "Every single time I look at this sub I see something that relates to me :,)",0 Me pretty much every night unless I knock myself out with Xanax and sometimes that doesn’t even help lmao,0 "Should name it something like ""dumbass piece of shit ass balls"" or something lol",0 "But I ended up discovering 686 artists, for 1300 total for the year 😁 I keep discovering new artists then going back to whatever song I have listened 50 times in the past week 😅",1 "Oooh man, this x 1000. After about half of my social interactions, I fear that I've said something or did something wrong, and the other person(s) may have noticed and are angry at me for life. Part of me wants to go back, each time, and apologize, but the other half tells me to let it go. This and contamination OCD are my life. I wish it would just end.",0 "reminds me of every sexy incident between me and my ex. were you on medication at the time?",1 "I thought you were lucky to have some one ask you that, but then I saw the lack of a question mark and wondered if they even meant it",0 This is my life all the time. Never trusting the present.,0 "My hair looks exactly like your before pic. Maybe its time to go. Congrats btw.",0 I always leave the bathroom door partially open so I can use my feet instead of touching the doorknob.,0 "Yup. And if I wake up after 10 on a day off, I've wasted the entire day.",1 "Same, I have learned it's all about willpower and how much you really care in the long run.",1 "I do this at my job, I now call my mom so she can listen to me pulling on the door so that when I have the anxiety as I’m leaving , she can remind me that I locked the door lol.",0 My skin is bleeding and my ocd is inching higher I hate it.,0 "Check out the ADHD Rewired Podcast. The ads and self-promotion can get a bit much, but it is targeted at adults and has helped me (and others) a lot.",1 "I hate the void. Lately, I've been trying a new thing where if I still haven't done the dreaded thing after a predetermined amount of time (say, an hour), I tell myself ""it's okay, we can try again tomorrow"" and just go do the fun thing. I'm way happier, spend less time berating myself, and it's not like it's reducing the number of dreaded things I do... because it's not like I was doing them in the first place!",1 "DePaul has announced its considering the same thing. Well, it was nice being a good student for like 25 seconds.",1 "Wow, I needed this. Sometimes my brain goes to some dark shit and I'm like ""No??? That's not me???""",0 "I want to print this out and put it above my desk. I live the constant battle of feeling like I'm not doing enough, like I'm not trying hard enough, even though my partner and therapist reminds me constantly that if I really weren't trying, I wouldn't have gotten where I am. It's so hard for me to look at the things I've accomplished because it always feels like I could be doing more. Thank you for this reminder ❤️✨",1 "Go to your public library. I always had a bunch of homework and I would never go home (even though I had a work space). I knew that I would get distracted by picking up (mild OCD), or my puppies or a TV. It really got me through my semesters.",1 "Woooooaaaaawwww. This would totally work. I think some debugging needs to happen, tho but this is a practice we should make a whole thing about",1 "Ugh why are we like this. Finishing a task is like a black hole, how time just slows down the closer you get to it but without actually getting there! Like instead of having 10 unfinished projects why can’t I just have three that I finish and do well? I honestly think this symptom is the worst of all!",1 "It’s fun for me, who has both OCD and bipolar II, to know when I’m ACTUALLY in a hypomanic/depressive phase or an just feeling emotion",0 "filmmaker here. always felt this way. i have this fear of one of the girls i've previously talked to coming out and trying to smear my name in a purely opportunistic sense. this fear of course comes from the fact that most previous relationships I've been in haven't ended on good terms. I've always maintained consensual and respectful relationships but I have a history of breaking hearts unfortunately, things usually end along the lines of the girl wanting something more from me and me not being able to offer that. I just hope no one comes out and makes any bullshit up later on down the road. At the end of the day, you just have to be confident in your own innocence and not worry about shit until it happens. Most of what we worry about doesn't come to fruition so just remember to maintain your own locus of control and always do the next right thing.",0 "I'm in the middle of trying to do laundry and tidy the apartment, thank you for appearing on my feed.",1 They are indeed your thoughts that are uncontrollable. It’s just that people without issues in their basal ganglion filter out the noise which causes these thoughts more effectively.,0 ironically i couldn’t even get through the first paragraph of your post but i definitely get the gist!,1 "If he can get over it and be understanding when you explain it in a gentle way he's a keeper. Just saying ""I forgot we were having sex"" with no long term rapport and understanding would probably not go over well. But being like ""oh actually, I get really easily distracted and go through the motions a lot sometimes without realizing it because of my ADHD"" and saying something about how its not his fault, and how you can deal with it the next time in a gentle way - if he accepts that he's a good one. I know that for me, my wife has to remind me of certain things (not usually halfway through sex mind you) and we've learned how to communicate and have those gentle reminders. Especially for certain things that regularly branch into other tasks. Going to our bedroom at night when I haven't yet brushed my teeth - for any reason - tends to make me go ""oh yeah teeth, do it now or you'll forget"". So maybe the solution is having him know that certain actions at certain times trigger these branching moments and find a way to have a gentle ""come back to bed"" comment with no judgement. IDK, just an idea. For me I also tend to go water the veggie garden, then realize I need to tie up a plant, and then realize there's a ripe tomato, then ripe other veggies, and maybe a trim on that plant over there - and I'm out there for like an hour or two without realizing it. My wife now knows to just come to the back patio door and check on me after 15 minutes and remind me that I should be going back to work, or coming in to finish helping with laundry, or whatever. Tends to work for me! All about finding a way to communicate. This might be more long term than any sort of one night stand or first few dates kind of thing - but if you're really into the guy, he's going to have to learn to work with you eventually.",1 "Oh big oof, makes me feel supremely stupid every time. Like, there's actual evidence of me not being an unintelligent, ungrateful or an uncaring person (as in I have people in my life that take the time to tell me straight up that I have redeeming qualities as a friend/person alright), but these are the things that make me feel like I'm half the person I should be, in the moment they really do and it really kicks me in the shin.",1 "I also can't sleep well if I have an appointment, I'll spend the entire night before thinking about it. So not only does it totally ruin my day, but my preceding sleep as well.",1 "I don't hate the fact that people joke about OCD. Make as many memes of clean freaks as you want. What I hate is that no one seems to understand when I'm actually trying to be serious. I'm stuck in a constant loop of hellish thoughts, it's not something that ""everyone"" has to a certain extent.",0 "This self aware piece is a tough one. I know I have OCD, but I don't completely believe it's just OCD. I've been kind of looking for my therapist to give me proof that it's OCD and that I can trust that the process will work, but that's obviously reassurance. And I get that only I can choose to believe it's not important or it's not real. How did you get there?",0 "I’m struggling immensely. Yet I feel terrible acknowledging my anxiety due to what’s going on. Like almost selfish going to my Dr. for having an OCD flare up because of what everyone is dealing with? If that makes sense. It still doesn’t feel real, everything right now. And I was making so much progress with exposure therapy prior! I feel for every single one of you too.",0 "I let the thoughts come and go like the sun and the moon. No matter how bizarre, that’s how I beat my terrible ocd. And stopped doing urges and rituals",0 "Yeah it shouldn't be attention deficit but attention surplus xD Like it's why we have such hypersensitive sense, and can hyper focus. Irs not that we can't pay attention, we just can't regulate our attention. Ya know?",1 "This part of OCD becomes infinitely more fun when you actually probably do have a rare, serious medical condition! I'm in the process of getting diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that I dismissed for years because I assumed I was just being obsessive-compulsive about it. It took my ex-partner who doesn't have OCD begging me to get checked out for me to consider maybe something is actually wrong. I'm constantly confused now. ",0 "Yes, because laying in my bed at night terrorized by my thoughts and afraid each breath will be my last is something I chose. Good deal.",0 "LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL (can I just post laughing?) I do this for so many things. I can't put on my shoes so I gather them up and have to balance everything so I can get out to my car when it would have been MUCH easier to just put on the shoes. And so many more. edited for spelling because it takes too much time to review my post before hitting ""comment""",1 They say the bullets in the revolver represent our genetics and our environment pulls the trigger. But I never knew it was the answer.,0 "true, for me tidying and placement is a massive compulsion tho",0 "Yes, this is why I don't understand math. Psychology and development make sooo much sense to me. This causes this. But in math it says multiply by this... but why?? I can never get an answer that makes sense.",1 "It's insane to me how many articles and opinions on ADHD are from people who don't have it. I'm in a really good spot mentally, and am just waiting on my appointment to get my treatment plan. Once that's underway and I can direct my focus, I'm seriously thinking of becoming an advocate for ADHD. I need a career change now that I know why I was having such a hard time in life. Learning and digesting everything I can about ADHD and learning to articulate how it impacts our lives is one thing I'm able to really focus on without trying. My wife has a completly new understanding of how I function because I've been learning and explaining, using my own experiences to fill in the blanks. It's a passion of mine at this point. I figure I should try to use my experiences to help.",1 yes oh my god . if I didn’t freak out enough then maybe i would do it if I just let it go as an “ocd thought” still struggle with this ouch .,0 Harry potter is going to learn a lot from these men.,0 Seeing ocd memes bring me so much joy because I can relate so well to them and not many people will understand this lol.,0 I can feel this picture omg. My hands would get so dry due to my excessive hand washing. Luckily I’ve gotten on medication and I have some good hand lotion now! Congrats!,0 "I feel this. My worst trait with exec disfunction is getting out of bed. I've stopped making lists with time slots because I never meet my goals. I can't fall asleep at night and then when I do finally get to sleep it's almost time for me to start my day. But I can't get up. So my day starts in the late afternoon and hardly anything gets accomplished. When I'm not in bed, I believe ""tomorrow I will get up, go to the gym, blah blah blah"" but it never happens. I feel like a child in an adult body. Here is the weirdest thing... if I have to work, I have no problem getting up and being productive. I seem to value my job more than myself. I want to be successful, I want to learn, but I can't make my body do what I tell it to do.",1 "I find that i subconsciously filter out information if there is no reasoning behind it. Sometimes it has been problematic for me - say for instance when i have an unusually complex tasks with dozens of steps that involve other people with other specialities. Other times, though, it’s almost been a strength in those cases where this is *no* reason behind some process or step, I’ll be the first one to reject it and find a better solution. The truth is - I just can’t remember it and I’m forced to figure it out, and so I find something that makes sense to me. This usually happens when I’m working with ERP software…adhd is weird. It’s almost like a coping mechanism against bullshit - and yet that could be a problem since so much of what we do is, in fact, utter bullshit.",1 "Does anyone on here have any study tips for adhd ,because I’m currently medicated but don’t want to rely on the meds to be able to focus all the time because they don’t last long enough for me",1 "Yes this is extremely common for me lol, always sucks cause it wastes literal hours of my life each week.",1 Wow that sucks ! I hope that each one of you can look on the bright side and wish for and hope that u can rewire that brain making some new neural pathways that get u out of believing you are shit! You aren't crap ok. #loveself,0 Great job!!! I'm working on my evening brushing. I did it twice in 2021 already!,1 "Haha, I'm so bipolar **_and_** OCD that most mornings I wake up wondering what flavor of hellish torment I'll be dragged through by my brain today. Am I going to be flying high and terrified of stopping working or sleeping? How about wound extremely tight and incapable of coping with other human beings? Oooh, or I could be utterly dead inside and use it as an excuse to avoid anything and everything in my life. It's such a fun game, just spin the roulette and combine [toxic emotional state] with [baseless fear] for a good time, right?",0 "Guys. If John Mulaney has OCD, then maybe his mom was right all along and he did cause Princess Dianna's death even though he was in the US and a kid.",0 I have that issue too! Like I would want to make a song but then end up not doing it or learning a song. It sucks,1 Me everyday. Sometimes I just don’t want it to become the next day because the struggle continues then...,1 This is incredible and deserves much more recognition!!,0 Yeah i couldn't read all this but reaction was hilarious.,1 "when my ex-husband used to ""help me"" by doing stuff i wasn't doing i would freak out. rightly, he'd be all ""wtf i am just doing stuff that needed to be done"" but in my head it was just one more proof that there was something terribly wrong with me that i couldn't do it.",1 "As a guy... yup this is my brain Luckily I dont care if the intrusive thoughts are true they’re just annoying",0 "Yeaaaah. Where I live, ADHD is a kid's disease by law. Meaning medication and treatment is reimbursed until adulthood.... And then everyone is cured of ADHD instantly.",1 My SSRIs make me feel emotionally numb and just smoking one bowl a day even makes me feel stuff for the next like day or two. I love weed for OCD,0 "I know it feels good to get reassurance and all, but going to 'Dr Google' over and over again is only going to increase your dependency on it. It's an addiction. The first steps I took after learning about my OCD was to step finding reassurance on Google, the dependency only keeps thoughts in your head. Trust me, it can minimize it all, make it all just slightly more liveable.",0 "Mom: what u want for dinner Me: PLEASE DON'T SPEAK WITH ME",1 Thank you ❤ Im not sure tho for me ... I feel so tired,0 "I totally share your pain, I can't explain in words how much I hate it when someone jokes saying ""I'm so OCD"". No, you're not. Because if you were, you wouldn't even be able to make a joke about it without a tear escaping your eye.",0 "Yes lol I've done it with books where I end up re reading because I wasn't paying attention. Many anytime I'll look like I'm paying attention to something and I'm really not. The lights are on but no ones at home 🤣 Thankfully everything is now digital. So no video tapes to destroy 🤣",1 "Upvoting everybody's comment to wish them luck ❤️ We've been through harder and we'll probably go through worse. But slowing things down one day at a time and trying to find joy in whatever we can is important! Good luck, all! Sending everybody love 💕",0 "If they want ocd so bad they can take mine. I'm tired of not living my life & doing what i want to because of it.",0 Gotta double check just in case I wasn’t thorough enough the first time,0 Sometimes my obsessions have been *real* possibilities - just very unlikely. It's dealing with uncertainty that's I find difficult. ,0 "Oh nu bebe, I hope it gets better soon! Sending love.",0 But I don't want to get off the toilet and clean my room.,1 I don't see a thing wrong with this; it's absolutely beautiful! Having OCD and being creative don't go hand in hand. I write sometimes but it's hard to accept that imperfections are just part of the process. I'm proud of you for overcoming your fear and I hope you have a very merry Christmas! ,0 My OCD would like to say: “Some of these squares are actually rectangles.”,0 "Holy cow I thought I was the only one. My OCD would make me >! make promises to God that u would have to fulfill or else I would go to hell !<. After being on some meds i finally got better, but man it was torture. Anyways what I'm saying is things can work out",0 "The only thing that helps with this feeling for me is medication or sometimes caffeine. I can completely relate. Just dealing with life takes all of my emotional energy. I have nothing left over to actually try and accomplish anything",1 "This sub has helped me more than any medical professional I've ever seen Thank you!!! Love you all!",1 its so hard not to. because then you start questioning everything you think.,0 "I don't know how to help you, because I'm in the same place. All I can say is: yep.",1 "My formative years were filled with disapproval, insults and abuse from authority figures. I'm in my 30s now and I don't know how much reprogramming I can realistically achieve. I don't plan on giving up, but it's easy to be dispirited when the challenge you face is essentially insurmountable (it's a neurodevelopmental disability; it's very much a part of you and there is no cure. Stack a shitty childhood on top of it and you have a recipe for dysfunction) and all you can do is continue to fight a losing battle until you drop dead.",1 This would honestly be perfect if I actually read the notes I take in class lmao,1 "Too true.... What has helped me too eat enough and healthier was to pick a few heathy ingredients and try to constantly come up with different variations and foods made from them. That way every time I want to cook something healthy it’s a little puzzle. and this way I made many things that have became favorites since.",1 "At this very moment: trying to continue studying A&P II, watching a TED Talk on ""what top students do differently"", reading posts from Reddit, and adding The Disorganized Mind to my TBR list... yup, my life thus far.",1 I’ve really had enough of this horrid illness. Is this what I’m meant to be for the rest of my life? A slave to my own mind? I didn’t ask to be like this.,0 "Omg same here.. especially work related and maybe romantic relationships, not so much with friends. Work wise, I nail interviews, I’m amazing the first few weeks, months or even the first year and then.. I get bored and disinterested and make repetitive mistakes due to lack of attention OR I keep asking questions that have already been explained because I forgot. 😔 I am very smart but somehow I forget things, I learn something and it slips my mind so I have to ask again. With romantic relationships I feel like men love me at the beginning cause I’m fun, bubbly, pleasant to be around etc.. but then they get the real me with flaws, the good and the bad and it rarely last longer than 6 months.",1 "I dictate all of my papers because for whatever reason it seems to help me process it better and I actually get some words on the page. For anyone who has trouble writing, 10 out of 10 would recommend.",1 "I experience not so much of an impermanence. I’d explain it more as if someone hasn’t been around in a while (ie my parents when I am at college). My initial brain response is ‘oh they’ve never done anything for me’, but it’s like I have to double take and force myself to recall. This happens on a smaller scale too. So I could see why having the picture in front of you to trigger memories would help and be easier instead of having to have the executive function to double take at all times",1 Awesome!!! I really want to do something like this.,0 I feel like I really better need to research the scientific findings of my own debilitating condition.,0 "There is hope! I have ADHD and was able to make it through an online MS program and now have worked full time remote from home for 2 years—it’s all about finding ways to make it work for you! (And, for me, staying appropriately medicated)",1 "idk if its my adhd or undiagnosed ocd, i have no clue, im a dumbass, but i get this aswell",0 If I can't have it perfect... then I don't clean at all and I just let things go to hell. Why bother if it can't look good anyways?,0 "I used to struggle with this a lot, my boyfriend is very patient too! Thank goodness for them! Hope everything is okay!",0 "Me : haves a headache for two days in a row My brain : OMG ITS BRAIN EATING AMOBI",0 He deserves to get one. Most people just dont understand and seems like they even dont want to.,0 "I have a dangerous ocd where killing myself is better than living .I fear contracting HIV .I am currently on pep because I touched a box where I saw a positive HIV test in it and now I have gone insane .I can't deal with his nmre .I constantly have tests done and nothing can convince me that I want infected .I have had a blood draw and thought I was infected that way.i thought someone threw HIV positive blood in my coffee ,I thought the HIV test I bought came with a HIV positive lancet .I thought a nurse injected me with hiv .it's all about hiv.i wouldn't eat the meat at a restaurant because I saw blood in the meat.if anyone can help me please do.coz at this moment I can't nmre .I dunno if this was a blessing to come across this post but I was planning on killing myself but maybe someone here can help me 😭😭😭😭",0 every. single. night. you formulated what i go through so perfectly.,1 This is awesome! Mind if I crosspost to r/psychosis?,0 "You might as well add narcissist, murderer, misogynist and racist to complete my list.",0 "Oof yes. I had a story to do for English yesterday. I started at 9am and literally didn’t look up till almost 3pm. I was done except for the small fact that my story should only be 2500 words max. My story was at 6300. I sighed and decided to take a break. Ended up never going back to it. Now this morning I’m struggling to focus and edit it down. It’s frustrating to feel so on top of everything one day and a mess the next.",1 "Undiagnosed and yup. I love learning however of all the courses I have done i could barely tell you a thing about them. I am always in awe of people when they talk and they have this abundance of information, I can barely even speak about my wants and desires in life, it has to be sentences I've either pre-planned or have said to someone else or even other peoples sentences. I don't know is pretty much my most spoken phrase.",1 my ocd has nothing to do with cleaning so i’ve always been extremely messy,0 "Actually I did something today before COB! The post it has been on my desk for weeks and I thought if not now, when? It took me 30 minutes but it is Done ✅",1 "Arg, YES it’s the worst! I’m having such a hard time with my preschooler and husband, they are always talking at me at the same time & I try to give my kiddo my full attention and then partner comes in and just starts talking over her and seems perturbed if I don’t respond or ask him to repeat himself moments later. *spontaneously combusts*",1 Ugh people act like OCD is some fun game of Tetris. This is why mental health disorders don’t get taken seriously 😒,0 All the feelz!!!!! I misspoke a word and left someone to assume the worst days ago and the panic of not fixing it - even though they probably don’t remember I said it- because it is irrelevant - ahhhhh. Obsessive cycling!,0 "Ocd and eating disorders are choices, rest are not. Its same as saying feeling pain is a choice. Now, when i say OCD is a choice, i mean its a choice same as its a choice to live, or die, lol. Of course we could all stop, it just causes fucking massive anxiety and makes death feel like tempting option. People who never experienced any of those on the list, wouldn't ever understand how they feel, and in my experience its complete waste of time trying to explain any of them to anyone.",0 "High-Five, dude! [goes to wash hands furiously] [jk] 🤪 But this is a super step forward, it's all about these little victories, they do add up eh 👍",0 "my favourite ones are ""just make a schedule and stick to it"" ""just make a to do list and follow it"". how are you sure i will remember to check my schedule or to do list. put a reminder on my phone? whos gonna remind me i need to do that??",1 "That sounds so cute, although I can imagine how miserable it was to work up the motivation to do the dishes not one, but five times. Meanwhile, I spend more energy procrastinating on the dishes than if I did them every night or two. I organize them throughout the week in the sink so they fit more efficiently. Then I have to hand wash a bunch of them during my weekly dish washing session because they dried with caked on food or didn’t fit in the dishwasher. Finally after 30-60 minutes of dishwashing, I’m done for the week. I may unload the clean dishes by midweek, if at all. Ugh. The other day I had a plumber come by, so I had to wash the dishes the night before to clear out the sink. The two day accumulation of dishes took just over 5 minutes to load, and ended up just as clean as my Method^^TM because I didn’t absolutely pack the dishwasher. Why do I do this to myself? I feel like I just typed a “dish” and “wash” tongue twister for no good reason. Sorry.",1 "Anyone ever find that they need to step perfectly in front of a door before opening it so when approaching the door you focus on each step trying to land the perfect distance in-front of the door It’s kinda hard to explain but I’m sure it’s OCD related",0 "I accidentally started a fight with my mom last night because she was looping a tiktok, or somesuch, while I was waiting for water to boil. Like sorry I have executive disfunction??? She'll have some noise on her Phone and TV at the same time. Then when I'm to overstimulated to breath; I'm the bad guy.",1 "I've never seen it put into words. But yeah. Fuck adhd.",1 "Yup. It's finals week and I'm too stressed out to do anything. I can relieve this stress by either taking the day off to do fun stuff or by just going hard at getting work done, but I end up paralyzed and doing neither. Still in that phase right now. Thanks for reminding me. I'm about to rip this band aid off right now and do something.",1 I would still wash my hands regardless. Am I missing something here ? There is OCD but there is kitchen hygiene. I always wash hands after touching eggs. The egg shell may have egg feces. The inner egg is actually clean. (OSHA training for kitchen safety).,0 Well done. It's a pretty big step and I hope you are proud of yourself.,0 "Hold up...I heard a crack of the floor, that's suspicious...RETRY! Wait...I thought about a triggering thing in the process, RETRY! Stop...I'm getting too distracted - I should try to focus more, RETRY! ...",0 "I asked someone to wear a mask when they come by my house, to avoid the spread of germs",0 Everything will be fine. The world is safe. You definitely locked the door. No need to complete compulsions........my car got broken into,0 "I proposed this exact same solution to a friend last night but we didn't actually seriously consider implementing it.....until now! Thanks OP ​",1 This hits really close to home. The Paralyse of Will is very accurate,1 "My brain actively throws all sorts of lines at me about this. ""What if you locked it wrong?"" ""What if it unlocked right after you locked it? "" ""What if you unlocked it after locking it and didn't notice?"" ""What if you only think you locked it but never actually did?"" ""What if, in the process of removing the key from the lock, you accidentally unlocked it?"" ""What if the key is messed up and is turning without locking?"" ""What if a ghost unlocked it after you walked away?"" ""What if a magic illusion was projected that tricked you into thinking you locked the door?"" ""What if you instantly transferred into an alternate reality,trading places with your alternate version and they had not yet gotten around to locking it?"" I wish i could say i was joking, but all of those occur to me regularly whenever dealing with locking my door. The last one in particular is nearly constant and all are very insistent. It often takes me several minutes to get my door locked, and even from the inside i have to check it repeatedly and often.",0 It's all fun and games untill you realise you go through a 500 ml bottle of handwash a week and get dermatitis on your hands. Gotta keep washing them!,0 "Suddenly and randomly had intrusive thoughts of self-harm, been anxious for 4h, with extreme panic, I needed to see this so thank you so much",0 "I’m working on not letting this bother me so much but it’s sooo hard. I have seriously self destructive OCD and then someone who likes a clean house thinks they have the same. But it’s not meant to be harmful, and therefore patience is required. I think it’s very similar to those who self diagnose depression.",0 Every night I wake up between 3 and 4am obsessing over what I would do if my house caught on fire and i hate it. Its freaking torture. I just lay there full of fear and panic in my chest trying to convince myself to stop thinking about it but I cant.,0 I think I might have ocd lol. I mean I use to say this to myself but I say oh but it’s my anxieties.,0 "I'm super curious and attempting to do research on this. It wasn TB until recently I realized this could be OCD. Can it be medicated? This might be the root or a lot of my issues over the years.",0 "I remember once when I was around 12 I accidentally opened one eye while washing Hallowee make-up off and got soap in it... so I opened my other eye to make it even. Looking back the OCD tendencies were always there just minor enough to be brushed off.",0 Another huge positive is that dogs cannot contract covid-19!,0 Exactlyy and I neverr needed to know the 100th listen of my top song was the 3rd day of streaming it 😭,1 "This is really awesome. It conveys a really Serene form of the energy. Like a perfect distillation of how that moment feels. Especially when it happens inter-dimensionally. I know you're meant to feel sadness. But I like to look Beyond. To think of the feeling after. Right now the woman is crying. The catharsis she is feeling in that moment. As she accepts the energy and lets it run through her. And now she is free of it. Now the crying stops. This serenity is now. Basking in effervescence of the temporal nature of life. Of the temporal flow of energy. Learning from whatever energy was there. Being in Rich from the experience of that energy. Not looking down at having had to undergo struggle. Being grateful for having an opportunity to learn from an honest struggle.",0 Why should I stop washing my hands over and over and over and over and over and over if it makes me feel better when I’m finally finished?? (☝︎ ՞ਊ ՞)☝︎,0 "dude i realized this the other night. my just right ocd has mixed with my religious ocd so many times, i thought God was against all these things i was passionate about(writing music, writing a book, video games, etc) just based off these feelings i had. also ocd has hands, my pocd is literally 24/7 dude. im just so fucking tired. though thats no different than any other themes ive had, just unrelenting, day and night...",0 "Hey homie, from one guy with ADHD to another: don't try to hold yourself down by living up to some arbitrary standard of ""man"", you're bigger than that. Look at Mr Rogers, that dude was an incredible man, and what was he about? Kindness, compassion, and allowing yourself to feel, but controlling how you deal with those feelings. I know that sometimes it feels like your feelings are ""too big"" for the situation. I get emotional with music a lot, sometimes when it seems random or inappropriate. Some of that is just who you are, how your brain works. But some of it might be other things as well. You ever heard of cognitive behavioral therapy? Its therapy thats based around learning *how* you think: biases, thought patterns, ""fast"" thinking vs. ""slow"" thinking, etc. Been really helpful for me to learn about these things, and have a professional show me how they can influence my thoughts in ways I didn't realize. I went from teetering on the edge of an anxiety attack everytime I got a text message from a woman I wanted to date, to making progress on things that I've wanted to change my whole life. If you want examples of stuff I've learned in therapy, lemme know. ADHD medication helps too, of course. I'm glad you felt that you could share this here; this sub is great at confirming that I'm not alone in my struggles, and for some good memes. You're not wasting my time, and its OK to feel this way. How you respond to those feelings is whats important, and you're in control of that. Much love from a town called ""Normal"" (thats not a joke btw its literally called that lol)",1 "I came to this subreddit to search for something which I can't remember. I've already switched tasks 3-4 times now since opening the sub's page, and I've cycled back around to this. And that is *after* self-medicating with 125mg of caffeine I scan-read this post and its actually a really good description of adhd! Really well done!",1 "My family won't die if I don't do my compulsions, I'll just have to experience the intrusive thoughts I get about embarrassing or bad things I did, every 10 seconds, all day, every waking moment of my life",0 "Thank you so much for this post! I simply thought it was a personality trait. I didn't consider that it could be my ADHD affecting me. I'm often a quiet and reserved person because I can't translate what's going on inside my head to actual words. Sometimes I figure out what I wanted to say way later. People must see me as such a distant and uninterested person, but truthfully I do care and can think about things a lot. I just don't get it said.",1 "I use [pinboard.in](https://www.pinboard.in) to keep track of my bookmarks and random snippets that I might want to reference later. My bookmarks folders quickly become a confused morass of random links, but pinboard lets me tag everything and add a description, and it also takes a snapshot of the site and indexes it for later searching. Being able to access it from different devices/browsers is just the cherry on top. Well worth the annual subscription for me. I currently have about 3000 bookmarks saved and on those occasions when I need to dig up an old scientific paper or random website I remember stumbling across several years ago, I can't think of any other tool that would do a better job of helping me find it.",1 For me ocd is like multiple pop up ads. Overnight your screen and you can click them off because the button is too small and you are just trying to watch YouTube,0 "I feel this! Taking baby steps toward going to bed works the best for me. I put the computer away but don’t make myself try to sleep right away. Most often I’ll read for a few mins then put on a podcast/music. That way you’re not going straight from YouTube to trying to fall asleep, but you start working your way out of the “one more video” cycle Hope this helps!",1 I think ADHD and ADHD is bad enough. Hard to remember to take meds for anything else as it is. Sorry you have to go through this.,1 "I agree about making an enjoyable place to work. I have a beanbag chair under my loft bed and led lights. I also usually keep candy under there and have everything I need for school and work within arms reach, as well as blankets in a blanket chest behind me. The only thing I haven't been able to do is make a separate place for work and play because the chair I had for my desk broke and I have yet to get a new one. Pomodoro timers do work for me, but only as a way to get started on something, not as a way to stay focused on it. If I'm struggling to start something and just can't get over the executive dysfunction, I turn on a timer and say ""okay, I can just work on this until the timer goes off"" (though I'm not gonna lie and say I'm focused on it for the entire time). Usually I'm in the right headspace after that, but if I'm not, then I stop working on it.",1 "Had to replace my driver's license because I lost it in my car. I knew there was nowhere else it could be but couldn't be bothered enough to actually thoroughly search the car for it. Couldn't get my meds, but my husband was able to pick them up for me. Then I lost my Rx sunglasses, which cost about $200 and would take a few weeks to get a replacement. Also, very necessary for both driving and my job. Actually cleaned my car looking for the sunglasses, found my DL in the process. Now I have 2 licenses so I'm putting one away for backup.",1 You started your chores? I wasted my whole day away lol I wanted to get so much done today too,1 Congrats! As someone still suffering what helped you was it just meds or anything else?,0 Yeah I can’t tell you how much this subreddit has saved my sanity. It’s memes like this that make me feel human.,0 "ADHD Life tip: if you can bare the sensory side of it, squeezing toothpaste on your tongue and swilling it around with water is a great way to freshen your breath if you don’t have time to brush! 😊 (Just don’t forget to actually brush your teeth for way too long like I did lol 😹🙈) Edit: Also baby wipes are a godsend when I don’t have time/energy to shower. Just wipe under the pits and crotch/ass area, slap on some deodorant and we’re good to go!",1 "I often wish the rotation of the eath would slow to create a 36 hour day. Give me an extra 12 hours on the clock. That or get the powers of the character on the old sitcom ""Out of This World"". https://youtu.be/9BuSUH4vt\_I?t=47",1 This is wonderful. Congrats. I don’t mind cooking but I feel overwhelmed cleaning every day and deep clean only once in a while cuz it takes all day. Dishes suck but I’m thankful to at least have a dishwasher. I used to get overwhelmed by dishes and some rentals I even bought a dishwasher just so I could focus on working 2 jobs and cooking and not constantly be hand washing dishes too.,1 "Tbh, the smart phone as really helped me manage my life. I basically just do as my phone commands when it commands it because it's really just me commanding me but will interrupt whatever I'm focused on.",1 "I'm at work right now and I decided not to take caffeine for the last two days to see how I'd feel. I was depressed af on caffeine. Now i'm depressed but can't bother to do anything. Its very slow work day and I just keep thinking i'm wasting my life, but I'll go home and do nothing productive anyway. When someone says ""I got paid to do nothing today!"" That to me sounds like hell unless you didn't have to show up or you got paid a lot of money. The worst is being forced to do nothing because you are on the job. I can't do what I want to do when I want to do it. I'm so fucking bored of living this life the way I'm forced to live it. No meds only crazy high caffeine, vitamins, and brain supps. I need help.",1 "Oh my god yep, me. Thank you Covid for making this 50000000x worse",0 "Look into making peanut butter energy balls! NGL it's hard to summon the effort to make a batch lol, but I make big batches so only have to make every other week. -cup of oats -3/4 cup shredded coconut - cup of some sort of grain seed (like flax or ancient grains) -half cup chocolate chips -big tablespoon of cocoa powder -some cinnamon -handfulish of kosher salt (trust me, salt adds sooo much) -big tableapoon of brown sugar -tablespoon of Hemp hearts -table spoon of Chia seed -edit: half cup of walnut bits -handful of almond slivers, or some other nut **mix all this in one bowl** Get a bigger bowl and mix these -cup of real peanut butter -1/4 cup real maple syrup -1/2 cup of honey (local is best, good for allergies too!) -teaspoon or so of almond extract Mix these really well and the pour the dry stuff in bit by bit and mix. Keep going until it is well blended! Gotta split and smooth the sticky base to work the dry base in right. Next, with wet hands (prevents the stuff from sticking to your hands and making a mess!) grab enough to roll into mouthful sized ball. Wash and rewet your hands after every 3 balls or so, otherwise your hands get sticky and its hard to roll them. Then put them in a container and freeze! Eat them as needed, each ball has a couple hundred calories in good proteins, sugars, and carbs your body can use right away AND also use as a longer ""burn"" to prevent headaches and low blood sugar. Feel free to vary the ingedient amounts, I obv eyeball it all lol. But these are a game changer for energy and are moderately healthy too! Plus they are sooooo good, better than any chocolate bar IMO (and I FIEND chocolate)",1 "So much this. I had a recent deadline, and I was seeing how it was approaching and absolutely nothing was happening, I just couldn't get around to doing the work. So I decided fuck it, I'm going to work when it feels good to me to do so. Worked from about midnight to \~5am for a few days, would make coffee, light candles up, and put on a compilation of café jazz to try to give myself the feeling I was working at a café. I changed the spot in which I worked too; sometimes the desk, sometimes the sofa, sometimes the kitchen. I finished one day ahead of time. That being said, I got right back into my slump of not being able to do shit right after, but it felt good while it lasted!",1 "This post is so relevant to my life. Medication definitely helps me overcome this fog (Adderall xR). However, the side effects are unbearable. The loss of appetite, sleeplessness, muscle spasms it’s just unbearable. But to be able to get my assignments done is amazing. But I always get off of my meds because of the side effects. I never found a balance. Plus let’s not forget the prices of these medications... It’s like risking your well-being for couple of assignments. Ugh like why is it our fault for being born this way. It’s frustrating",1 "Hate to say this, but some people with OCD can also be dirty and unorganized. Just like anyone else.",0 "Holy moly...are you me? Did I write this? I feel and understand your frustrations and don't have much of a solution or ""trick"". ​ Sometimes when I have a compulsion to do something silly like you listed above, I will get myself some cold water with a slice of lemon in it. Used to be just a nice treat for my nausea-ridden belly, but I found it makes all of me feel good, even if just for that moment when I'm firing up mental replies to loons in the comments.",1 "Is this really an ocd thing? As a kid I got taken to therapy for possible ocd when I would freak out in school if given an assignment, because I was so afraid of messing up I would just breakdown and not be able to do it. I guess the outcome was they couldn’t really determine if I had ocd or not. Or maybe it was autism. I don’t remember, but I never got diagnosed with anything. But I do this kind of stuff all the time. Is this really an ocd thing? I’ll walk back outside to double check I locked my car. sometimes I’ll do it upwards of 3 or 4 times. I’ll feel keys in my pocket, actually hold them and *feel* them, but I have to take them out and see them otherwise I’ll be afraid I messed up somehow. I also don’t have them as often anymore, very rarely actually, but I used to do that thing where “simple thought about random object” leads through a series of chain thoughts in my head that somehow lead to “I have to kill myself, it’s the only way I can avoid being a bad person.” I know this sub isn’t for self diagnosis. I’m just wondering if constantly double checking everything all the time is actually a symptom of ocd. I certainly have what I would broadly categorize as “anxiety,” but i do wonder about the ocd thing quite often.",0 "Im on the toilet though... Well, I mean you're kind of right.",1 i can honestly say from experience ocd intensity does not descriminate gender......but women seem symptomatic longer,0 It’s crazy how we all realize *DIZ SOME BULLSHIT* but our brains force us to do these things smh.,0 "For some reason I'm really feeling this one. Beautiful drawing, you are extremely talented OP",0 I'm the same way. Do you sometimes have difficulty recalling a word?,1 "I don't know what to say more, you described it perfectly. AND I LOST MY FCKING PLANNER. AGAIN. -nervous fidgeting-",1 Saw this on tiktok and here again! Love this reminder.,0 Can we talk about the username intrusivefrogs?? Lmao I’d prefer those over intrusive thoughts any day. Existential dread < interruptions from frogs,0 "I have one day a week where I don't have to work, and I'm going to stretch that day as far as possible damn it.",1 People say 'im so OCD' so much that I'm literally filled with rage everytime I see the word OCD even if it's in the correct context lol,0 "I relate to this very much! My issue is though I can't wake up early in the morning, and if I don't have a certain amount of time to get out of bed and do my pre-doing-stuff routine, I can't function very well. So for me, it's morning appointments that tend to be total disasters. If I can get through my routine, early afternoon appointments work for me. Anything earlier or later? ARGH.",1 Omg ok so i just realized i have that? I thought EVERYONE HAD THEM,0 my top song of 2020 was the fucking coconut mall theme song from mario kart. i listened to it ONCE on repeat for 8 hours straight while catching up on 3 weeks’ worth of homework. my first listen and my 58th listen were the same day. algorithm done broke,1 "I have one too! I just have no idea how to share it, lol.",0 "I actually did it! Finally studied properly and made a 98% on my criminology exam! (I’m in my second year of college and this is the first time I’ve actually *truly* studied for something) edit: wow, thanks for the gold kind stranger :,)",1 "I'm not like other girls, I suffer from debilitating mental illness",0 Omg this is amazing! I always worry I’m going “crazy” and ruminate whenever I have paranoid thoughts like that. This makes me feel so much better!,0 "You also forgot managing emotions. I’ve lost whole weeks to this. Then being 4x likely to have a mood disorder or depression",1 "I'm not saying I'm good at practicing this advice, but it has been helpful once or twice. A therapist recommended that for every scary ""what if"", I counter it with a positive ""what if."" E.g., ""what if I have a terrible time and make a fool of myself?"" could be countered with ""what if I have an amazing time and am a lot of fun to be around?""",0 "It absolutely can and does get better. You just have to find what works for you... and normally it’s a combination of things. First and foremost, accept you have a chemical imbalance. It’s not your fault, most of us are predisposed. Find yourself a trusted friend, family member or therapist to talk through your struggles and trauma. Identifying triggers is KEY. Be open to medication. It may take a few tries but you’ll eventually start to feel relief! I was on Zoloft for 2 years and it was awful. Fortunately I decided to give Prozac a chance and it has changed my life. When I think back to even a year ago, I can’t believe how much my quality of life has changed. I literally couldn’t go 1 minute without a horribly disturbing intrusive thought. Now for the most part during the day... my brain is QUIET. Never did I think I’d achieve that kind of relief. Never never never give up, no matter how hard it is. I promise you it gets better.",0 "Weird thing is, I can lead and help others. But for myself it gets hard being consistent. But I have amazing ideas and I do think that I am quicker in thinking then others. And I have the tendency to quit when it goes well, because something else in life is disbalanced. I solved this by starting my own business, you decide the hours, you do the saless, you come up with crazy risky ideas that your competition does not dare to think off. It works if you just make sure that the important stuff is handled by another company or employee. Such as finances, fulfillment, legal lol. Imagine me being responsible for that shit. Shit would go missing or I would get sued. But now I have good concept ideas for stores and I got the energy to sell. I hope you guys have some faith that if you use your best traits and focus on what is good. It will work. I also stopped hoping to be happy, i just be. Happy or not happy, life is life and if I aim to be happy all the time, I will be very miserable every time it does not work out.",1 """...but what if there's a remote chance it IS a fact..."" That's the line my OCD uses to justify my irrational thoughts.",0 "This. I wasn't diagnosed with ADHD (inattentive) until I was 23. My parents didn't think I had it because my brother had it and he was on the hyperactive side. They just always thought I was depressed, anxious, and ""quirky"" and it made my relationship with my entire family so strained because that *wasn't right*. It wasn't until my roommate started talking about how she was going to see if she had ADHD that I finally looked into it. It was insane how much I found out and how many answers about my own life were answered that day. I still become emotional about the amount of things I had to cope with alone and how insecure I became because I just thought I was ""stupid"".",1 "Holy crap, this is such a great idea! Thanks for sharing! ",1 "WOOOH! And you got me, no I didn’t :C I normally say up late, and don’t wanna risk waking anyone else up and go straight to bed. Bad cycle. I started wishing mouth wash again, but I can’t floss. Bad feeling, I can’t do it. Makes my teeth feel loose and that makes my anxiety go ZOOOM into the sky. But retainer.... heh... you see. *runs away* (I’m gonna get murdered if anyone finds out about that one)",1 "Yes. Breathing on napkins, I totally get that. Dont act on the compulsions that much anymore, but still think about it very often. I do that thing with the pens too, except not the baggy at the end. I take a lot of pens and various different types of pens and pencils and markers and erasers 'just in case' i might need it or someone else does or if it gets lost or.. etc lol.",0 Wow that reminds me of my life in 2017. It does get better I promise,1 "Thank you for posting this, I really needed to hear it and it’s really encouraging. I wish you all the best. I am proud of you too and everyone that gets up every day and fights this illness 💗💗",0 Kash Doll- Doin’ Too Much is a great song that literally describes this 😂,1 "Oh, at least when I don’t go out to visit my girlfriend, I feel a lot like this. Also, there is so much stuff I need to do, finding out what leaks in the kitchen, cleaning up the apartment, but I don’t have the energy. On a normal working day the best case scenario is standing up 20 minute before work starts, starting the computer, drinking a Coffee, working 8.5 hours in my cluttered room on my cluttered desk, going to the store, eating while staring at another different screen... not even that as while videos are running I have my phone in my hands, googling stuff, checking social media, classified ads.. smoke, masturbate, all that until it’s late at night and I need to sleep. At least this week I managed to fall asleep prior to 1:30 and wake up 7:40 with only one alarm! It’s only Wednesday but I hope it stays this way. I hope it will get better now as the days are getting longer. Oh, also, i don’t take meds at all. I took ADHD meds as a teen, stopped taking them at one point, started giving them a try once again a few years later, becoming very confused and depressed, and never took them since. I will start to get therapy and / or meds again. Maybe I will be able to take care of this tomorrow.",1 "I don't really go through this that much anymore, but I remember being younger and I would take my lunch to school but keep all the packaging from my food in my lunchbox. My mom was always upset with me for doing it. Weird thing is I wouldn't mind if she threw it away, I just couldn't do it myself ",0 "It's crazy, I never realized how much of my behavior is coping skills to deal with my ADHD. This list is validating that I'm doing the right things. Thank you.",1 My brain: clear your throat one more time there’s something obstructing your breathing oh and do a weird burping thing that’ll help lol keep trying sweetie,0 "If I have a superpower, I would like to be able to freeze time whenever I need, for as long as I need 🤘",1 "Ah yes, a mental disorder which destroys every aspect of your previous life and leaves you with life-long trauma. 'Desirable'",0 "My OCD at it's worst was also in my dreams and started immediately once I woke up. :,( Why does OCD have to be such a bully...",0 "Sending love towards you. I have some bulge thing in my nose, it's been months. Need to see a doc.",1 "Ah, yes, I can't remember the time when I could actually concentrate on something for more than 15 minutes. And don't let me multitask, because it doesn't work. I concentrate on my phone more than anything else.",1 "I'm in the same situation I wake up and want to be productive but I usually ways end up masturbating, crying, or playing video games. This has been going on for years and I feel like a waste of space on earth since I don't have a purpose.",1 LMAO my top songs are all depression music and this one dutch rap song i found 2 weeks ago,1 "Omg, this got me laughing ahhaha. At the same time the feeling is terrible when that situation happens :(",0 "> take your morning dose 1 hour before you have to wake up :0 :0 :0 how did I not think of doing this? This could work!! *Omg*",1 "Find a place you can go where there are no distractions. Simple as your patio, or à corner. Put yourself in “time out” for x minutes or until x is done. A pomodo rimer might help that’s what I did in schoool, kinda like forced hyper focus. But it isn’t as un of because you get breaks and there’s a close end/break in sight.",1 "I did well in school but had set myself up for failure as l had so many expectations thinking l was going to achieve great things later on life and career wise but then had this invisible force of self destruction that could not be explained, l felt compelled to do other things even when knowing there’s more important tasks to be done but was just somehow drawn to instant psychological rewards instead and completely disengaged from responsibilities, it felt like l was at war with myself every day. I only got diagnosed late last year which at the time l still was in denial and only saw the psych to get a medical letter for an assignment extension, which happens way too often. Which l have now realised is abnormal and l have poor time management in all other areas of my life too not just with uni. I’m yet to get through a semester without requesting for extensions, l constantly feel defeated with my impulsive ways even though it’s a relief knowing it’s a genetic condition beyond my control rather than a character defect. It still devastates me when l finally do the task realising it wasn’t even that hard, what’s hard is having to tell yourself to make a start above all else. Sometimes l hate living with myself",1 "Great work! I always regretted sleeping during lectures and missing the notes but this would have been excellent. Oh well, good thing I dropped out!",1 Its so obnoxious and insensitive of her to say that. She has no idea what its like,0 "Honestly as someone who sorts their candy before eating it, this is nice. I mean could be better executed",0 "I mentioned that I was OCD to an older co worker once, and she was like, ""Oh! My daughter has that! She's weird about cabinets so I'll constantly open them and just leave them like that to see how long it takes her to notice and go close them."" I'm pretty sure I bit my tongue so hard I drew blood that day...",0 My ocd makes me unorganized because I get so overwhelmed by doing too much all at once and then I burn out. Then the un-organization gives me panic attacks and also prevents me from falling asleep because I’m surrounded by clutter... and can’t stop thinking about the clutter. But I’m too irrationally anxious to move it for some fucking reason. It’s so weirdly crippling. I hate it.,0 "Since this thread has turned into some random OCD things, I just realized I always have to find the middle of words. Does anybody else do this? Like If a word is 9 letters I have to find the 5th letter that is the center, or if it’s 8 letters, I have to find the split in the center. It’s typically for longer words or words that look unbalanced. Like typically where I typed it above, I had to find the center, which is “c”, especially since the y and the p on the front half of the word take up more space than the double “l” on the second half.",0 "That clean laundry one made me cringe. Time to add that to my exposure list. Good job!!! ",0 seeing these memes literally help me so much when it comes to normalizing the fact that I'm not the only one with these thoughts. And it's only reddit you can turn to with this comedy. Would never find this shit on instagram and facebook.,0 Wait omg I didn’t realize this was part of ocd!! I’ve been dealing with this ever since I was a little kid!,0 "I feel far worse trying to force myself to bed and just laying awake, doing nothing. So no thanks. Will get to bed when I'm ready to sleep.",1 That's awesome! Happy for you and hope it stays that way for you,0 "To avoid that I insert myself in the plot. At least it works on movies, haven’t tried on books.",1 "I always remind myself that motivation is a barrier that my meds can't eliminate. It lowers the barrier *considerably* but harnessing motivation is something I have to bring out myself. Once I get past that barrier and focus then my meds often help me coast through whatever needs to he done. It can be a 2 minute task or a 2 hour task, once I'm in the zone it's like the time doesn't matter.",1 "I hate it. I get minutes of relief before another obsession takes over, for the next several hours.",0 "Every handful of soil, 2021 7ft tall, burlap, tulle, vinyl, acrylic paint, thread, twine, safety pins, synthetic hair, old bedsheets, mud, assorted Joann’s scraps and coupon catches, Target-quality faux fur, fiber filling, bedazzler beads, nails, clay, wood, chains, some blood oops",0 Iv had both both for years add some trauma too no help,0 Found this while I was procrastinating. I feel ya. 🙏,1 "Yes, absolutely. If there is a question to which it is very difficult to find an answer (for example: do we live in a simulation? does God exist? do we have free will?) and I cannot find a definitive answer, I feel very anxious. I feel I MUST know it or I cannot go on with my life. Another thing that bothers me are paradoxes and philosophical dilemmas.",0 "I kind of thought this was just me. I often have to edit my writing, even reddit comments, so it's broken up more effectively.",1 This is actually super validating because my brain does this. Makes me feel not so alone and crazy 🤷🏻‍♀️,0 "I also have issues with trying to communicate my thoughts. I call it “mush mouth” because I typically try and say multiple words at the same time, and i basically start stuttering.",1 "I just discovered what OCD even is and, like.... I just thought I was a future fucking serial killer or some shit with all the stuff I see in my head... finding out I might be ""normal"" made me cry the other day",0 "Did you just.... Describe my 20 year long struggles in a post? Damn. I am floored. Thanks for this, I copy/pasted and thrown in in my already very disorganized post-it's that sit on my phone describing this thing.",1 """Bullied by"" our ""own minds."" Exactly. Hope you don't get pushed around by the OCD today. Your little note makes me stronger too.",0 "Thank you Gunner! Love your top, it’s very fashionable.",0 Came here to give a triggered comment. Left with a laugh! Thaks for making my day!,1 "I think I overcame OCD by doing exactly what you just said. I had it very strong 5 years ago and I just fought it. I still have some rituals now to do sometimes, but it's ok. It happens once in a while, I would say not even one everyday and it's pretty much a random cycle. I think you don't have to fight it ""too hard"", it's a mistake. You need to understand how to live with it first. So not getting upset or feel stupid when you have to get up to touch the doorbell 4 times or it causes anxiety and discomfort. Then you can resist some rituals sometimes and keep on in this way. It's not your enemy, it's part of you and you will never beat it, just learn to live well with it. Don't treat it as a problem",0 No I haven’t but I’ve left my gf hanging on chores and activities mid way through because I completely forgot what I was doing,1 "Nah, I'm in a waiting room, waiting. I'm not allowed to do anything else and I just want to go home and sleep 😂",1 "I workout everyday, typically at around 4pm, I can’t get myself to do anything until I get that task done. I usually plan to workout early but that never happens. I’m typing this as I am procrastinating my workout lol, I’ve been awake for 6 hours and have spent it all on my bed. Sick",1 "It doesn’t make me mad, it just keeps me from ever telling anyone I have OCD because they assume this is what it means.",0 "Lol, yep. I had myself a nice long shower cry last night! Then got up for work this morning and pretended to be a “normal” human being.",0 "I look back on my life and see the exhaustion and mental suffering rarely being understood by others and my own lack of understanding that the intuitive ways of fighting back (trying to force the thoughts out) really make it worse. So I can't pick on them too much when I made a fundamental misunderstanding myself. I am outraged though by the level of ignorance in the mental health community of what is actually a very common disorder.",0 "Ikr, they could say they are just a bit “obsessive”, rather than boiling down a complex mental illness",0 This happens to me sometimes. I can relate. My OCD is mostly contamination OCD and that in itself is like hell. Anyone with the same? Any tips? At college and in classes it takes over.,0 Me and all my homies dislike squish 😤 and will continue to do so until he does not hate bacteria and allows you to not feel guilt over irrelevant things.,0 Howard Hughes is the reason OCD is characterized as germaphobia or excessive orderliness. He was a billionaire too so most people see how much he accomplished and see OCD as a mild personality flaw at the worst. How wrong they are. I've had to explain what OCD was at least 1000 times in the past 8 years and it's just amazing how little understood it is.,0 "Yeah I had to delete them because I became totally habituated. People used to make fun of my reminders like “check work email.” I restarted a couple and I use them for distant future stuff. For near future, I have a bullet journal and just write the same thing over and over until I hate it and finally do it so I don’t haven to write it anymore. Or I just cross it out and decide my life apparently doesn’t need that task. I still don’t check my email...",1 "i have religious ocd. i was accused of devil worship a couple days ago,,,yeah",0 "Really good looking and friendly guy! Cheers to working through OCD - you're doing awesome, and it definitely helps to actually see other people with OCD. You're killing it. ",0 "I totally understand you! For me it's also way harder to understand and learn something (e.g. a new Topic in Math) when I dont know all the exact details and things on **why** I have to do this one specific thing. It's way easier to understand when I have all the details that my brain wants. It's of course problematic in certain life situations, since it can start bothering people rather quickly. I'll take school again as an example, but let's just say that: You're in Math class, and the Teacher introduces a new Topic. He maybe starts off like ""This is our new Topic, where we learn this, and how to do it. You start by taking these numbers, and doing exactly this with them. And boom, there you have it!"" My problem would be, that I 100% would need to know why I have to do all those certain things, otherwise my Brain 1. couldn't understand and 2. Would forget everything again rather quickly. And since one does not want to ask the Teacher in that case a 1000 times about every little detail, I atleast for myself stay quiet then, resulting in me ultimately not understanding that Topic. It's of course not a smart decision, but a gentle one to not annoy someone with ""useless"" questions. Hope that somehow maybe helped you, or atleast let you know that you're not alone! Have a good one!",1 "I remember telling my mom I thought I had OCD. She didn't believe me because I didn't act like the other people she saw on tv or in the movies. I was in tears because if my own mother didn't believe me then who would? Flash forward about a year later and I finally got a diagnosis from a Psychiatrist. I felt completely validated. My mom was super apologetic after I told her about my OCD diagnosis. I even made her watch an episode of hoarders where the lady had extreme OCD. I said, ""See mom, not everyone with my diagnosis is a complete neat freak."" Some days are harder than others, but we get through it the best we can.",0 """No one ever died from OCD"" is particularly upsetting to hear when I have a friend who has literally thrown herself out of a window to escape this sisyphean hell.",0 You don't collapse into a depressive hole in the middle afternoon when you relise you haven't done anything??,0 I would love to do a brain scan and se wtf my brain is up to. I have multiple diagnosis and now I want to know what that looks like!,0 Damn I feel that. I should be studying for a class rn instead of looking at all this but haven't been able to look away,1 "I did finish reading this, but my brain felt a typist on a typewriter with an overeager return key.",1 It contradicts its namesake. Intrusive means uninvited. Just like intruder is uninvited.,0 Sometimes I think I've never actually fully relaxed in my life.,1 "I've got a friend who talks nonstop about his job as a teacher when we play games online together. He's like my best friend... but it drives me up the fucking wall. It has gotten to the point where I almost completely tune it out, and it puts me on edge real bad. He asked how my job is going recently, and I said ""It's fine, I guess. I'd explain what all is happening, but the problem is you have no frame of reference or interest in my field which would make listening to me explain it kind of a chore, I think..."" He goes ""... oh... haha... yeah, good point."" 😬",1 Yeah i felt this. Unfortunately everyday was a breakdown basically for awhile until i got medicated for it. Thank Goodness for Luvox.,0 This summarizes everything. I apparently have over 20 posts from this sub saved which I kinda.....never went back to and totally forgot about. Whoopsies.,1 "Hm, this makes me wonder. I don't believe in God but I have the same conversations in my head minus God. Is this an OCD thing that I'm doing? I was just convinced that this is me being pissed at the world constantly.",0 Its like having that annoying person who says disgusting things because they figured out they could make you think about it if they say them enough.,0 "Thank you for posting this and sharing your story! Cancer sucks but you can and will beat it’s ass! My brother had cancer when he was 28, had 3 rounds of chemo, he’s 41 now and healthy. Please post again to let us all know how you’re doing!",1 "I have someone come do house cleaning once a week and she’s amused because I’ll help out. It’s hard explaining that I can’t do it alone, but if someone is doing it I can get into gear and do it myself. It’s a good system.",1 "if there's no wood anywhere I knock on glass and say ""knock on glass to save your ass"" you're welcome",0 Wow this perfectly describes exactly how I feel every day.,1 "Yep. Get this all the time. When me and my wife argue I just sit there and stare at her trying to calculate the appropriate response. She always says why aren't you saying anything and just staring at me when you brought this up. What she doesn't realise is that I'm going through 100 different responses trying to work out how she will respond to them, if it will be taken the wrong way, does it make sense, will it hurt her feelings etc. Its a nightmare lol. Its weird because I'm brilliant at reading people and their emotions, maybe thats why I struggle because I'm thinking into it all way too much.",1 "JFC, dude! Of Course!!! The answer was there all along!!",1 "For me I sometimes cringe to shit I haven't even done. I'll just imagine it and it feels like someone is pouring hot coals down my throat. Fucking sucks. Just trying to laugh it off and sing a dumb song next time it happens. Also I'm exactly halfway through Avatar and yeah it is pretty good so far!",0 "I gave a talk to about 20 coworkers on a topic I really understand. I felt comfortable the whole time and held a Q&A afterwards where I answered rapid-fire questions. It went so well I was asked to give the same talk 3 more times. I didn't struggle for words, misspeak, or space out. A few days ago I went through the drive-thru at burger king and in the span of 30 seconds I... * Said the wrong number for my meal * Forgot to ask for Onion Rings instead of fries * Somehow told them not to give me ketcup/sauce even though I wanted it * Asked for Dr. Pepper instead of Sprite * Didn't ask for cheese on my passenger's meal as she requested * Didn't ask for less ice in my passenger's drink, even though she was literally reminding me in that moment * When we pulled forward, I was reaching to accept straws I didn't want when my passenger told them ""no straws"" over me. My ability to answer questions and navigate interactions is primarily based on my experience, confidence, and focus. The burger king drive thru was a last minute decision and I hadn't had time to collect my thoughts and mentally prepare for the experience. Unlike my presentation, I wasn't prepared, rehearsed, well versed in the subject (I rarely went through drive-thrus pre-covid), or in a comfortable environment. I had difficulty hearing and understanding the speaker, and my passenger talked over them sometimes. I felt stressed, anxious, and unprepared. For a friggin drive-thru. So, I totally understand. It happens. I can speak articulately about advanced subjects some contexts, and in others completely fumble my words or just stare blankly back at the person. It's one of the paradoxes of ADHD and it's what makes the condition so perplexing to people like my passenger. It's also why I have about 10 straws in the glove compartment of my car.",1 "Yes absolutely!! I struggle with these all the time and thought it was just me!!. What helped me particularly is remembering if I see something embarrassing happening to someone, like they wore their shirt inside out or dropped a lunch tray, that I think ""Oh I feel sorry for them! That happens to everyone, I'm sure they feel embarrassed!"" and I also try to think about all the times I've witnessed something like that and just don't remember it. Everyone is human and it's about being patient with yourself :)",0 "Holy Christ, I feel heard with this. And then...AND **THEN** it’s like “11:30pm? Time to do everything on my todo list ever right now, and I can do it all before dawn.”",1 "A bunch of my family members and friends are autistic and they have a similar problem but different reasons. And yes, I know there are people on here who are both autistic and ADHDers. With my autistic friends, sometimes they don't reach out because to them the relationship and the people are fixed, so there isn't a need to do maintenance. If you're my friend you're my friend. My parents are my parents living in Chicago, just as they always have. I'm mentioning this because I'm interested in figuring out why one of the ADHD hallmarks seems to be this out of sight out of mind thing even as it pertains to people. What are the mechanisms involved?",1 "Me knowing very well I’m going to marry my girlfriend and knowing I love her very much. My brain: you need to break up with her, you don’t love her, blah blah blah blah blah let me make your life a living hell",0 This is 100% me. I’ve been doing this all damn week 🥺,1 "Damnit this is me. Same with locking the front door, making sure the fridge door is closed, and checking that the stove is off.",0 I had no idea that this was an OCD thing. I have this too.,0 Oh my god yes. I had no idea other people went through that.,0 "Ok, so this post appeared on my “similar to...” recommendations. I don’t have OCD or anything like that (or at least I don’t think so...?), but I’m so relieved to find out I’m not the only one who does this. I’ve been having this thoughts for a while now. I’m grieving the deaths of my granny, mom, friends and some of my pets. I also kind of grieve or have nostalgia over moments that haven’t happened yet or that didn’t/will not happen. My imagination takes over and I imagine every scenario vividly. I also do or say things I know they appreciate, ‘cause there’s a voice that tells me to do it, because I probably won’t see them alive again after that “see you later”. It’s really intrusive and exhausting. Damn, it feels so good to talk about this with other people that have the same experience...",0 "Yeah I’ve been trying to do this, I think it’s working a little bit.",0 "Screenshots, browser bookmarks, browser tabs (currently having 67 browser tabs open), magazines, boxes, bags, and the list continues. All ""saved for later, maybe I need them"" or ""have to get back to this to learn how/what"".",1 "It's hard for a lot of older people, no really, it's hard. Many parents raised us under the lash, physically and mentally. It was improve or suffer the consequences. I was never more at a loss than when I was trying to deal with my daughter and school. Adults often suffer from what's called selective memory. You forget all the bad stuff that happened in your own childhood, so you can move on. My own examination of my life, has led me to conclude that I probably also have ADHD and it was never diagnosed because Catholic parents often only pray to God for help, instead of asking doctors for help. I get glimmers of that past. My life could have been completely different. I'm 64 now, my daughter is 24. She's doing college online and working towards her first AA degree. I'm a lot less of an advisor about school or how to do things because ultimately, she will have to do what needs to done. I support her decisions. I try to help her in ways that don't involve judging her or expecting her to do something that I want her to do. I just wish I had learned more earlier, after her diagnosis. Keep doing your thing and realize that parents are FHBs (fallible human beings). I'm not excusing his cluelessness. Sometimes a lesson must be repeated before it takes hold. I wish you well in all your endeavors.",1 this happened to me yesterday and i had a whole breakdown because i convinced myself i was just a selfish narcissist and had no mental illnesses.,0 While most of this is great I’m super sad that she’s so incredible and helpful but only gets $30/A WEEK?? To come over twice and do household chores…is that a typo? Genuinely asking bc $15 for one visit seems super low :(,1 I also have to check every seal. It takes me forever to grocery shop.,0 "Beat ya to it with a podcast a few months ago [Conspiracy Theories and Listener Questions](http://www.fearcastpodcast.com/2019/05/20/conspiracy-theories-and-listener-questions/) Either way, it's so true! And conspiracy theories are NONSENSE!!! Never engage in discussion or debate with them or you'll just be more confused or angry!",0 me right now but it’s 3:47am and I’m already dreading my 7:30 alarm 😑,0 "I'm getting my masters through online classes, and it legit took me 3 semesters before I was able to navigate the platform without constant anxiety and frustration. I feel really bad for all of you who got thrown into it unwillingly and recommend you email your professors to let them know how difficult your ADHD makes the situation. All of my professors have been really understanding and flexible with me for the last 7 classes.",1 "Me in bed with online lectures playing on my laptop whilst listening to a podcast, scrolling through social media. Knowing full well I’m behind already.",1 Congratulations that’s such an honoured accomplishment. You deserve to go treat yourself! Glorious. OCD is chilling but now you’ve made it lose it’s many masks congratulations you are an inspiration darling 🙌🌊,0 "That's awesome, congrats! When I'm done with grad school and have an established career and finance plan, I'm 100% going to hire some help to keep my apartment neat. That's always been difficult for me - I love organizing (see: all my craft stuff in neat, labeled boxes) but actual cleaning has always been such a struggle. (Example: I've been meaning to do laundry for two weeks now and am down to my last clean shirt, but getting off the computer and doing it just seems...monumental.) Thank you so much for sharing how you found your nanny, I am saving this post to use when I'm ready for this step.",1 Because one day I said to myself “yea I’d love to have a mental disorder”,0 Especially when I'm trying to sleep. It's like I need to go over what I plan to do the next day,0 "Hey man, me too!! Congrats, we’re gonna make it through all of this!",0 "This is so true!! It's like I am playing ""Hunger games"" with my own soul",0 ah perfect! i’ve been looking for OCD approved hand sanitizer! have any of you tried it?… i heard that some work wonders for intrusive thoughts and rituals!!,0 "Take anti anxiety meds like Lexapro, it will help a bunch. Then take your ADHD meds, because it will also help. Yes, it's hard, and it happens to all of us with the condition if we are't medicated and sometimes even with the medication.",1 "In the first grade I was told to leave the classroom because I was making what sounded, to me, like a submarine. People have told me it sounds like a boop boop boop and nothing like a submarine. But I swear to you in my six year old ADHD brain it sounded EXACTLY like a submarine. That was 55 years ago and I still remember it. I was just diagnosed two weeks ago. Ugh.",1 "Every year at the beginning of the year I make a playlist for that year to be like a soundtrack of all the music I loved during that specific year. And every year it fucks up my spotify wrapped because I listen to it so much that whatever I add to the playlist in the first few months gets played more. But I don't want to stop making these playlists 😂",1 "I can completely relate to this one :( > It's like, why even read if it's not going to stick? I do wanna point out though, if it brings you enjoyment and it nourishes your brain or your desire to learn more information, that still makes it valuable to you. It's alright to have hobbies/interests that aren't necessarily ""productive"" in that regard. (Not to belittle your feelings at all, I just know I personally struggle with feeling like my hobbies have to be ""valuable"" to justify doing them, so reminders that enjoyment itself is valuable always help!)",1 "I definitely feel this. What ive done recently is gotten some post it notes and put ""do"" ""doing"" and ""done"" up the top and put everything i need to do below; that includes brushing my teeth and showering. Its definitely helped me remember to do somethings and having some stuff in the ""done"" pile at the end of the day makes me feel a bit better hope that helps!",1 "I definitely do it, but I always attributed it to reading lots of Victorian writers growing up, who were big fans of the well-placed comma. But that's an interesting argument, I didn't know it was more common with hdhd.",1 Literally a conversation I've had before with myself. I'd say damn well verbatim. ,0 "well they’re not wrong. my nice little cleaning OCD, i organize my pens in color order and wash my hands like 5 times a day! it’s crazy hah!🥴",0 "I can relate to this. Some things I’ve found helpful to counteract feeling super shitty about it: - Remembering that it’s ok not to be productive and not tying my value to how productive I may/may not be. - Reminding myself that it’s the ADHD & not caused by lack of will or laziness. ADHD is an executive function disorder so it’s hard to execute things. I also have a bad back, so there are limits to what I can do - but when it’s a result of my back hurting, I don’t blame myself for not being able to lift things…I try to apply that same self-compassion to my brain’s limitations as well. - Limiting my “to do” list to three things. They don’t have to be anything major, sometimes it’s just brush my teeth, go outside, and open that day’s mail. Anything beyond that is a bonus. - I’m a big fan of co-coaching/accountability partner (telling someone what your goal for the day is & then following up to tell them when it is done) and shadowing (just having someone there next to me or in the same room while I work on whatever I need to do). Focusmate is a really good resource for virtual shadowing & there are lots of folks with ADHD who use it. - Avoiding the research rabbit hole altogether. If I can avoid looking online or on my phone at the start of the day, it’s easier to get things done. Once I “just check” Facebook, Reddit, the news, etc., then I’m going to be spending a few hours online. Sending you hugs & love - because you *deserve* it❤️",1 "When people are like ""omg I have to put the cutlery away in order because I have OCD"". OCD is becoming less about the real mental aspect and more about what people think it is",0 This is a great infodump on ADHD and all the problems it entails. At least in the spots I read while skimming because it is very long lol,1 "Well folks, TIL that my passion and desire to learn ALL THE THINGS is likely driven by my OCD! 😂🤦🏼‍♀️ The more I learn about my OCD, the more I use it to harness my powers for good! I’m learning to listen to my brain and body when I start to spin and rabbit hole when researching a new topic or making plans to prioritize my to-do list. Today I actually did that! I was working on writing a training and started to spin about where to go with it and I could feel a migraine coming on. So I walked away from my computer, took the dog to play, had a pb&j, a little rest, and then back to it. I love how the universe continues to reinforce the work I’m doing in accepting me for me! Thanks fellow OCD warrior for posting this! It was exactly what I needed to hear!",0 "Good for you! I have to keep moving when I take my adderall in the morning or else I feel so calm & relaxed, I fall right asleep! More napping is not what I need! lol",1 "**maybe it should be (as it is in my case) “phone, wallet, keys, MEDS”",1 "I can’t stand not doing things and not being productive. It used to be awful before I got on the right adhd med. I’m bipolar as well, and was being treated for that, but didn’t realize how much of my depression, that persisted, despite bipolar treatment, was from adhd. That and being on a high dose of extended release serequel. I was utterly useless. Couldn’t wake up before noon, even though I would take it at like 5pm, and it would feel like I had a bag of bricks on me. Would take hours to get to a place where I could kinda do something with my day, but the day would basically be gone by then. Don’t get me wrong. I needed that high dose of serequel. Eventually, put it down and switched to extended release. Was a huge help, but the depression and inability to really accomplish anything persisted. I finally listened to my doc and started adhd treatment. He had tried for years to get through to me about it. I just didn’t think it was that much of a problem for me, and I was on so many meds and didn’t want to be on more. But, thank you adderall!!! I’m maybe only depressed for a week tops here and there, and it’s because I’ve been focused and present with something for an extended period of time. I always need to crash after a vacation or I took care of my brothers kids for 3 weeks once(I was super mom during, I put my all into caring for them). It’s just so much consistent stimulation and use of energy, that I dip and have to reboot. Depression comes along with that dip. But Ive gotten the hang of not being hard on myself and just letting myself be how I need to. If I don’t, I won’t reboot as well and it will drag on instead of me cycling through it and coasting out.",1 "literally daily. tried meds, they're not working. it sucks",1 "Demotivatedness due to depression and anxiety is so insidious. What sometimes help me, tho it's a bit of a grasping the last straw kinda thing... I daydream. It's not me doing the dishes. It's a huge construction bot preparing space ship parts. I try to find some little scene i can pull over the situation, that has some similarities with what i do. While ""writing"" the scene, improvising stuff based on what i am doing, my brain is occupied with generating the story, and less capacity goes in to OCD thoughts. There is a different version which i call ""lightning rodding"". If i am doing a mental task and need the brainpower taken up by OCDing, i hold up my right hand, and draw random symbols in the air, or just do random typing motions. It looks weird, yeah, but no issje when you are alone. How it works i think is, do you know the strange expressions, and twitches anxiety makes you do? The moment an intrusive thought comes up, and gives me anxiety, my mind desperately seeks a physical motion the decreases my anxiety. The moment such a thought comes, i move my fingers the way my brain feels is necessary. It's like fidgeting.",0 "I always just assumed this is like, 90% of our generation. It's still hard for me to believe that most people actually get things done right away.",1 "Back to improving my drawing skills, thank you :) Update: sadly that never happened :(",1 Any reason is this is animated? Because I thought I had some serious HPPD for a second lol,0 "Got off the toilet, finished 'chest day', showered, and had a nap",1 "I always say that my first gear is broken. Like how a car uses its first gear to get a heavy-ass vehicle to go from stationary to moving. That first gear works as it should for non-adhd people and makes it possible for them to start a task, our first gear is rusty and broken and whenever we try to get moving it starts making sounds, refuses to go into gear, and after a while smoke starts coming out of it. Thats why we have such trouble with starting tasks. That initial mental-weightlifting of putting your focus on something can be sooo tough that it almost seems impossible. And starting things that we do enjoy would be the equivalent of a car that needs to go down a hill, no first gear needed, you just have to release your brakes. Unfortunately we seem to only excel at using our 2/3/4th gears, because after a while even if we are focussed we cant maintain it, because our 5th and 6th gears are also rusty lmao.",1 "Speaking of watching Netflix, I hate when I get fixated on something a character says and miss the next 20 seconds because my mind won't move on. Or watching a movie / TV show that I can't enjoy /focus on because of darker obsessions. I feel like this disease has robbed me of so many simple pleasures in life.",0 "YES!!!!!! I even bought a subscription to this magazine “ADDtitude” and most of the articles are for parents and shit. I fckn hate the fact that ADHD is seen as a children’s disorder . Like the adults with it need help more than being a child with it. ADHD is SOOOO much more debilitating as an adult and in the real world than it is as being a child where a lot of these things don’t matter near as much in the world of a child. Like the whole image around ADHD is so messed up, abd it’s hurtful and isolating. The stuff you struggle with is brushed off to being lazy or incompetent and that it’s all an excuse to school’s, employers , and basically any area you need to succeed in life. It ruins friendships and relationships, and it’s not even possible to describe to someone who doesn’t have it as they will all give you “ why don’t you just change “ or something along those lines. It’s so beyond frustrating",1 Hot OCD girl summer 🤪🥵 You can’t go to the river Bc she’s afraid of skin eating bacteria but she is extra cute when she’s having a panic attack Bc she convinced herself she committed vehicular manslaughter ♥️,0 "All the time! I also do a little hand shake too. I know I should stop, but it can be so hard!",0 "I see this saying a lot here but I don't totally understand it, can someone explain?? What do you mean by a lie?? Oh... lol nvm I just figured it out as in typing but I'm gonna a post anyway. It's like when I wake up and my brain convinces me ""today is the day you're going to die. I just know it"" and I actually believe it lol",0 "I was wondering why I had issues when it came to less-thrilling things between me & my gf. Thanks, this makes so much sense",1 "I love this! I just spend an hour and a half deciding if I wanted to eat a frozen beef burrito Or a frozen chicken burrito....... I felt like I had to make the ""right"" choice....",0 I spent 16 hours cleaning my house once. It was probably technically dirtier after.,0 "This was hilarious, because it was so relatable! Thanks for sharing.",1 Sometimes I tell my wife that I' just waiting for my arms to move. There's no telling when that signal might come. I'm not even sure it's coming from my brain.,1 I just don’t feel like there’s enough hours in the day... it’s 5am rn. I’ve gotta sleep....,1 "No, but i've gotten distracted in a different way. By that point i've just changed the movie, because it's obviously not good enough for me to watch",1 How did I know exactly what the image would be before I clicked it?,0 And now you’re sleeping in your sleeping bag on your mattress for a week. Finish your sheets!!,1 Don't have to prepare for the next one when they're constant *taps head,0 "Honestly if someone can afford it, all power too them and nobody gets to judge. There's just way too many things that need to get done in a day for a single person, it can seem near impossible",1 It was very hard for me when I was young because people had no idea what it was and how to deal with it and neither did I. I spent most of my teens with a knot in my stomach and scared of my own shadow. It led to drugs and alcohol but with lots of help I almost have it under control. But I still get weeks of the slump.,1 "In elementary school I had a “friend” who faked mental illnesses a lot. She said she had ocd so I asked her what it was, and she told me, and i quote, “it’s when you have to wipe down a chair before you sit on it”. The kicker? I had ocd even back then and I had no idea cause of all the dumb stereotypes",0 "This is kind of funny to me, because i have bipolar disorder, and have always been searching for another diagnosis. Dont get me wrong, i 100% most definitely have bipolar 1 disorder, but i always wondered if there was more going on. I am currently in a manic state and two days ago i was diagnosied with OCD as well. And now i am satisfied. Cause the OCD diagnosis was the missing puzzle piece and now i think i may be able to get better and back to working. After intensive therapy, of course. But yeah. Its like maybe finally i can understand myself and why i am plagued with obsessive thoughts. The conpulsions were a complete surprise to me as i did not recognize them as such but now, oh god now i am noticing all day long all the compulsions i have. I have been sick with bipolar all my life, and ocd too but never knew it. The compulsions that are ""typical"" of ocd have only become obvious since i had kids and have been constantly triggered by their messes and the noises they make, how accident prone they are. Annnnd i re read that paragraph like 25 times so i guess i can safely hit post? But yeah, ill probably read it once more, find an error then obsess all day about it. I had no idea that was an ocd thing. I have blown 2 hours at work several times just perfecting an email to my colleagues that had norhing serious or conflicting in it. But i was still so worried i may have worded it wrong so id obsess the rest of the day reading it again and again. And again. I thought that was a bipolar thing. But, i thought all my ocd behavior was a bipolar thing. ",0 I feel the exact same way. If only I had the ability to *do* stuff.,1 "Hah, I remember finally having a break from harm ocd for a couple days like 5 years ago. Took me like 10 minutes in my car from realizing that to my brain going, but what if you wanted to kill yourself? :))))))))))))",0 "Relationship/flirtation/sexual dysfunction? It's my time to shine! But yes, I have become distracted during sex. I was talking about me not picking up on subtle social cues to my ex, she then straddles me. It took five minutes, and her saying directly she wanted to have sex with me, for me to get the point.",1 "I did that once for an infected cut. That attitude of “it will go away on its own” is so engrained in my family (I suspect my parents have adhd too) that it was only my non adhd fiancé who convinced me to see a doctor after one of my lymph nodes painfully swelled up. I wish you well and hope that the diagnosis is not too bad. Since you are young, hopefully your body is able to cope with it better than most. Take care.",1 "ive been dealing with this really badly for the last few weeks, in part due to sleep deprivation caused by other health issues. i read about a phenomena of involuntary sleep sometimes happening when people are overstimulated, particularly people with adhd. like your brain just hits a point and nopes out of consciousness. ive never been one to fall asleep during lessons, but (back when i was in school) during 1 on 1 dutch tutoring i used to literally be unable to keep my eyes open, and eventually slump down on the desk. so maybe the anxiety of confronting the task at hand, combined with the stress of doing it, is raising your stimulation to a point where you feel the need to sleep? edit: nevermind its not high-stimulation, its extreme boredom, and the phenomenon i was describing is called intrusive sleep",1 It's when you take in everything and get super overwhelmed and do nothing.,1 """I definitely haven't accidentally packed anything massively illegal or explosive right?? Right?? RIGHT?????""",0 "Thanks. I'm just ugly crying after fighting my intrusions all day long, trying to calm down and this feels like a virtual hug ❤",0 "This is a great achievement! And you're definitely not alone when I was younger and going through my teens I also struggled a lot with this. It still requires great level of motivation for me to do this everyday. My motivation in brushing my teeth honestly started with a comment made by my closest friend when I was 12 which is still stuck inside my head years later. She asked me in a crowded place whether I brush my teeth or not. I obviously lied and said yes but she quizzed why they were so yellow and stained. I said it's genetic and made up some waffle. But ever since then ""why are your teeth yellow?"" Comment from my friend has made me feel ashamed. From that day onwards I have made a struggle of an effort to brush my teeth daily. So maybe, tap into a memory where someone was grossed out by you and motivate yourself in that way. Cause usually, we don't judge ourselves enough to care or take action. Although not the best advice it worked for me.",1 "200 iq The book “The Four Agreements” put it in a way that helped me a lot. When you commit a crime, you pay for it once and that’s it. But when we mess up we punish ourselves over and over and that isn’t right or fair",0 "Hmm. I have not been formally diagnosed, but have very strong suspicions. I think I did this yesterday/today, lmao. It all started out sooo simply. I wanted to meal plan for my family and... I wanted it to be calorie conscious, so... I googled meal planning apps for families, didn't see any I hadn't tried before... Then I googled calorie database (thinking I can set up some thing in excel since I'm good at that)... I find links to various APIs, so... I know what they are, but don't know how to use them... Cue spending 4 hours on YouTube and LinkedIn learning to sort of grasp the basics, but I still need a couple more hours to get exactly what I need... And none of that stuff is actually done.",1 "Why is she pointing over my shoulder Why does the wall deserve happiness and I don’t",0 "This makes so much sense and doesn't surprise me at all! I like your analyses. I also now know why I related to his sense of humor so much LOL. I always said that if I were stuck in an elevator with a famous person or if I could meet a celebrity, It would be Jim Carrey.",1 "Yes you are 100% right I self diagnosed years ago my ADHD and Dyslexia. But now I am starting to see I have OCD and it's debilitating. I think it's close to ""pure ocd"" I have hyper sexual hyper violence thoughts. Even hard going to the tops of buildings or walking in stairwells with a opening in the middle. I always have such strong ideas to jump. Not like in a suicidal way. Just in a omg can't stop thinking about doing this. Thank you for your post and bringing more awareness to what OCD is. Idk even know",0 "I have ocd and I struggle with self destructive perfectionism, but the output is far from anything perfect in a timely manner. So yeah. It can be sometimes annoying when people do the whole ""lol I'm a perfectionist I'm so orderly,"" but I don't really ever say anything as its not that big of a deal. Just a stupid phrase.",0 "My mind moves faster than my mouth so my sentences while said extremely fast, also miss details and logical order. I guess I’m lucky, especially at work that most people just kind of accept my logic jumps as a part of me and I generally get most of what I need out. It is frustrating though, especially if I lose my train of thought or if I can’t remember what I was saying...I just have to laugh about it most of the time though.",1 "I have a tab from a book I was reading with my ex still open. We broke up 18 months ago, haven’t been able to go back and finish reading it yet. Maybe one day.",0 "Honestly, beyond someone who suffers from these fears a lot, this is a really good way to cope with that I've found. Saying ""we'll cross that bridge when we get there.""",0 I have to keep doing it until it does the double click. That shits the most satisfying.,0 I am once again repeating my rituals to insure nothing bad will happen,0 "Honestly? This whole COVID thing has been rather vindicating for me. Granted, it's made my cleaning supplies a nightmare to get a hold of due to hoarding, and its left me cooped up with my thoughts for way too long... But at least people are starting to act at least a little less disgusting in public places. Actually washing their hands after using the restroom, not going out of their way to handle everything, etc. And on the bright side I didnt really have to change my routine at all, just added a face mask.",0 I don’t think it’s pathetic at all. I think this is a great way to keep track and be able to see how much progress you’ve made which looks like a lot to me! Keep going you can do this!!! :) ,0 Need to comment so I can save this without wasting time trying to figure out how to save on mobile because it's already 1 am....,1 "Yep. And after so much RSD and cyclical I explainable loss of people I thought I'm close to, now my first impressions suck too because they're a big adhd spiral of autism and depression and cries for help. Lol",1 "i cant stand unnecessary commas, *however*\- any comma that would be grammatically correct HAS to be there or i go nuts. tbh i use a lot of dashes, italics, and parentheses, because i *always* have extra thoughts to slip into the sentence and theres really nowhere else for them to go. pretty much, i use as many commas as grammatically possible, and then when im not able to do that i use a dash, or in other cases a colon or semicolon",1 This is freaking genius. As a poor gal this will be a hard gummy vitamin to chew but it will be so worth it. Thank you stranger,1 AND WHEN YOU GET IT WRONG AND HAVE TO DO LIKE TRIPLE THE NORMAL TIME,0 In the middle of reading this I remembered that I was supposed to be on a zoom meeting at 7:30 pm. It was then 8:30 pm 🙄.,1 "But I must be prodyctive at all times!! Just wish I could sleep productively.",1 "First of all, I am super happy that you were able to get the help you need! But where do you live? Minimum wage at 9.70$ is insane!",1 "the night before, or right when you wake up, come up with a list of things that you could do that would make you feel good about how you spent your day. Then, just try to do some of those things. If you catch yourself doing something not on the list, like watching a bunch of youtube videos or something, stop and think 'wait, this is not on my list.'",1 "First rule of my life when things are lost: closed system. I repeat. **Closed system.** Nothing in, nothing out. I don’t care if there are trash bags in the hall or piles of recycling. They can wait a day. The more that enters, the more clutter there is to dig through. The more that leaves, the better chance the item may be thrown out.",1 "This is me. Nobody would ever call me hyperactive, so people give me an odd look if I tell them I have ADHD. This is one reason why I think it should have a different name.",1 "This happened to me today, I had to read 3 books for school over the summer and was convinced that it was gonna be hard and that I wouldn't remember anything even if I read them and this lead to me being really anxious about it until today I decided to read one and it only took me 30 mins to read it and write what it was about and I feel really stupid VC I could've done it before without being this anxious",1 This is why I'm struggling with class this semester...,1 "Having both diagnosed ADHD (which I did not know too much about to begin with) and a perfectionist mindset has made this a constant struggle that really impacted my mental health. While I'm working on alleviating my perfectionism, I still struggle sometimes with getting myself to do something that I might really want to do but am discouraged at every step of the way. Taking it one step at a time helps, but anyone have any other suggestions?",1 Ah yes thx for curing my OCD I don’t need my therapist now .,0 "Jimmy's brother from Better Call Saul, while I'm not sure it's OCD, has some sort of mental illness and it's the most real-feeling representation I've seen",0 "Absolutely. I used to collect stuff like rocks and bits of tree bark because I felt bad for them and thought they needed some love. I've gotten better about it, but it still bothers me.",0 "I've lived with intrusive thoughts ever since I was a kid. It really is like that sometimes. Sometimes they're funny, sometimes disturbing.",0 This kinda made me nearly tear up .. so simple yet so powerful ^-^,0 "Seriously... “dude I’m so ocd, I have to make sure everything is lined up on my desk haha haha” ",0 "Hah! Literally just now, I was supposed to do the dishes and I was going to but then I went to the bathroom, and instead of coming out when I was done I just stayed there for a half hour. I came out and ended up doing the same thing once more. I went to my room wanting to play on my computer, but not because I was JUST ABOUT to do the dishes, my dad came over an hour later to see me just on my phone, not even on my computer. Like Ffs man.",1 "“Just get off your ass and do what you need to do. Who cares about the being paralysed bullshit, just move your legs and get it done!”",1 YES. I did quite well in school because they were not triggering enough. But University was tougher for me as exams were split up and accumulative instead of one paper like in school so I had little time to salvage myself? And work is just people not understanding me and getting into trouble and being two steps behind everyone in learning about workplace etiquette. Just tip toeing through this whole thing.,1 "I am doing just this, 2021 is the year to get my life back or even started. I am going to treating myself as a priority for a change instead of avoiding the situation",0 As i pace between my 20 minutes to clean room to my 20 minutes to clean kitchen wishing for anything to do...,1 "You've got this. Even very advanced forms of most forms of lymphoma are extremely treatable. Pretty awesome of you to turn your situation into a PSA for the rest of the community though, we're all pulling for you here!",1 "Huh, interesting. I wonder if this has anything to do with sk.ethubg else I learned, but can't find the article. Basically the gist was that planning a vacation satiates you just.as much as actually going on vacation.",1 "i hope i get that effect when i'm prescribed meds next week. kinda need that in order to be able to school normally. also beautiful story",1 "Adhd can be a nightmare. Everyone else I see gets their homework done in due time, but for me, I have to take triple or even quadruple the time to complete the same homework. In the future I might have to take Adderall or something because staying up to 3 or 4 am to complete homework that isn’t too difficult isn’t normal. I’m sorry your experiences with Adhd aren’t great at all, but the adhd community is always here for you!",1 "You got one thing wrong, man. You can never have too many teas.",1 Oh definitely. I was having a really rough day yesterday (I’ve been trying to be more in control of compulsions and stuff) and I remember thinking “it’s probably because I haven’t been counting my ice cubes”. It made total sense to me in the moment (it still does tbh) but I also know it’s 100% not because I’m not counting my ice cubes.,0 "This is fucking hilarious in the worst way, I've never related to a meme so much. ",0 "Them: “I’m so OCD hehe” Me: having a panic attack because I think my penis will turn inside out",0 "For me it’s if I feel like I accidentally touched something. Like even if I know I didn’t see my hands get close enough to touch something, sometimes I get the feeling I did.",0 What is reassurance in this context? I’m fairly new to the sub,0 This is my absolute favorite one of these. So relatable.,0 A big one for me is if I don’t clean everything in my apartment at once if I die they have to retrieve my body from a dirty place.,0 This is basically me in school especially when I need to.know how I can apply the information that I currently learn for future purposes or if it can even be appied at all. Gets pretty frustrating for teachers especially lol when I just can't seem to start doing practice questions or assignments without knowing why we even need to know this in the first place.,1 No but I do feel like I have to go to the bathroom suddenly.,1 "the lights are off I just shut them ​ better open and shut the door like 20 more times just to make sure",0 "yes... i have so much summerwork to do and school starts next monday. currently, i have five chapters of notes and three chapters of vocab, with each chapter being like at least thirty pages long, three articles to write, a (small) book to read, a google slides project for a book, some random biology stuff, and watch and answer questions on two ted talks. idk how i’m going to do it. great!!",1 Thanks for the prodding 😄 bedtime was a half hour ago. I sleep now. Good night.,1 The best way to kill time is to obsess over something that’ll probably never happen ,0 "The best is when I'm just chilling out with my friends on voice call and we're just vibing and then my head is like ""if they actually knew x/y/z they'd hate your guts tra la la!""",0 "Poorly! My semester was already 100% online, and was really looking forward to the late start classes on campus to help anchor me. My “Pivot then Spiral” strategy of starting with the least engaging material first, then pivoting to the next least engaging task when I hit a wall strategy has a breath limit. When I reset each time after a break, esp the three times a day after meds, it starts out OK, but the amount of time I spend on the least engaging tasks gets shorter in Block 2, and even shorter in Block 3. My initial courseload was all CS/programming or maths, which is a nice clustering of similar cognitive tasks, and subject matter, so that I can sometimes circle back to the original task in Block 1 or 2 by downshifting for awhile. But bringing in other subjects, like screenwriting or social science, with different methods of instruction and assessment, like dreaded discussion posts with Internet strangers or reading & watching videos, there is zero human interaction to catalyze my writing process or keep me engaged. Our college is trying to move to more fully online credit classes in general, without investing in remote support services or humans to provide necessary engagement, so this COVID-19 situation is just accelerating an existing trend. :/ As a mature student at a community college to save money before transferring to a university for a career change, I’m not excited at the prospect of further delaying doing research and eventually resuming work. And drop courses bc of Access issues will hit my financial aid. All around not a great situation.",1 I worked on a logo design project. Gonna work on my website next!,1 "i absolutely hate when people say these things. like i f**** wish my OCD was as petty as keeping my binder organized lmfao. people don’t realize that for someone with OCD , even obsessing over perfectionism , can be debilitating and anxiety inducing if they do not “correct” the issue (messyness in this case) it’s not casual at all and people who can handle themselves and do not deal with this day to day need to sit down",0 "Pains me to feel that I'm still far from my ideal dosage and yet I have to try so hard to prove that what I'm feeling is not just remnants of depression and anxiety despite being incredibly disorganized with my speech cause of the ADHD But it's like she said to me ""the people who abuse it to get a high ruin it for the people who needed."" Laws are anal af.",1 "I have been struggling with a very specific and uncomfortable sexual obsession for the past month, cus it relates to real-life past mistakes, and for that time I've experienced most of the OCD symptoms you could think of. It was almost like a living hellscape in my mind, but once I decided to stop attaching myself to those thoughts and take them less seriously, my obsessions took a dramatic turn on an emotional level. What I did was think of an imaginary bin, in which all of the inappropriate/useless thoughts would get in and accumulate over time. Anything that is ambiguously or outright sexual would get in, no matter the subject. Images or thoughts that are uncomfortable or are thought of at an inappropriate time would get in as well. Although, what makes this strategy most effective is the fact that I re-contextualize each one of my intrusive thoughts as just something that could be found on the side of Deviant Art or WattPad that is extremely erotic, and frankly I find that shit to be hilarious. I even found myself laughing at some of the thoughts because they remind me of the time when I found a well-illustrated NSFW comic with cute characters which made me laugh so hard at how ridiculously gratuitous it was. So I guess it's an excuse to drop those thoughts into the bin and not worry too much thinking about them.",0 It's always something with me. It gets so fucking old and wish I could just crawl out from under it. I get on my own nerves so I would have no patience with someone like me.,1 "Thank you for sharing this. I want you to know that while this is scary, you did get checked out. Unfortunately cancer does not discriminate on who gets it. My dad’s side of the family is apparently prone to cancers. My dad’s 2nd oldest brother had a terminal brain tumor and his oldest brother had to have 3 feet of his colon removed due to colon cancer. You can fight this. If you need to the support from people who have experienced this themselves or from others who have family that have fought and won their battle with cancer I’m sure a lot of us on this sub have experience with cancer in some form. If you need help with support we are here for you. You are not alone in this. You can fight this. We are here for you. If you need help or support you can message me. Keep your chin up. It’s scary, but you got this.",1 AGREED but you know what’s even better? Semi colons; Linking related sentences together without them being the same sentence is really living the dream.,1 "I hope my story can help you and any of those going through this please read. https://www.reddit.com/r/OCD/comments/m8r49q/my_journey_i_hope_it_helps_you_guys_so_you_can/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf",0 Triggered by bleach fumes beyond belief! One mans trigger is another mans non trigger,0 My current psych always makes me feel like just one wrong answer and she'll stop prescribing my medication.,1 "Holy CRAP that’s a cute outfit! And I don’t want to offer reassurance, haha, but if I did see you walking down the street I would think you were much cooler than me. 😅",0 "Oh my god this is me all the time, I’m just glad she always says it’s okay for me to keep asking about it",0 The moment of silence that i trued giving is full of anxiety unfortunately,1 Contamination OCD for me feels exactly like sexual disgust. It’s weird because I’m male and women tend to have higher sexual disgust. Might be related to the fact women have OCD at higher incidence.,0 I abandoned my YouTube watch later and after every few hundred videos I make a new playlist like “this is gonna be the one I actually use”,1 I would not say I am quite as messy as that. But I have a hard time throwing anything away. I feel like it could be used somehow later.,0 "It's okay to make mistakes, learning from those mistakes builds confidence. Confidence doesn't come out of nowhere, it's earned through experience, so congratulations and good luck grinding that experience!",0 "TLDR getting told and thinking you’re lazy and having bad self esteem is incredibly common when having undiagnosed adhd, knowing what problems you’re struggling with and having an explanation for them without judging yourself too harshly is not making excuses or letting yourself off the hook it’s the first step towards figuring out ways to improve, and you are not a bad person for having to deal with these hard things nt people don’t, so I wish nt people would understand. (tfw the tldr for your rant is itself a wall of text, I really can’t stop myself from rambling today) I guess the ADHD experience is getting told for all of your life that you’re being lazy so you internalize it and end up with huge self esteem problems because you beat yourself up all the time because the response you were taught to experiencing any difficulties to do anything is to blame yourself because it means you’re a bad person. People with undiagnosed adhd have a completely different understanding what the word lazy means than nt people, because they were taught by their environment that it means “not being able to do something despite internally screaming at yourself to get up and do the thing, and that means you are a terrible person”, while most people’s understanding of that word is “just not caring about doing a thing you should do”, but that definition is also understood by people with adhd as their understanding of laziness because we got told all the time when we failed to do something that we are “apathetic” and “just don’t care” so we learned that this is also what those words mean when we really have strong negative emotions about not doing the thing that go beyond just slight guilt. You always struggled to find words to describe what the problem was so since you couldn’t explain it properly you just accepted what other people told you the reason was, and the reason was pretty much always “lazy”. And even if you found a way to describe it you were told you were “just making excuses”. So finding out that you have ADHD and learning about it is such a revelation because THAT’S IT!! THAT’S THE THING RIGHT THERE IN WORDS!! You learn that there are others like you, that you are not a bad person for having this disorder, and that you can learn to handle this better and you not being able to follow nt people’s advice doesn’t mean you aren’t even trying it means that that advice just doesn’t help you personally, and that there are better things you can learn to trick your brain into not refusing to function as much, and that you not being able to be productive as easily as nt people doesn’t mean you’re a failure. Being told by my psychiatrist after I was diagnosed that me studying computer science, despite all my setbacks and difficulties while doing so, was actually quite impressive and that he thought that I might have good conditions to be able to handle my ADHD better with some treatment like meds and/or therapy, since this showed that I might have some good skills to trick my brain to function properly already, despite my high levels of especially inattentiveness. Knowing that getting this far is pretty impressive already on one hand, and having met people with ADHD and finished computer science degrees, some having worked in the field for a pretty long time already on the other hand has given me long-needed determination because knowing I’m not a failure for being late to lectures all the time and constant procrastination on homework which led me to fail a lot of stuff because at some point you will not be able to finish it in that night-before-the-deadline panicked rush and stuff like that, they were not a moral failing but things that many, many people with my diagnosis encountered and that I could work on without having to beat myself up for by calling myself stuff like “the worst, most lazy failure there is”, helped me so much. Being able to explain my struggles doesn’t mean I’m making excuses, it means I’m identifying the problems which enables me to figure out ways to handle them, which is much more beneficial than just saying I’m a lazy failure. I’m not letting myself off the hook, I’m actually working on my problems instead of just beating myself up. (Sorry for this wall of text, will put a tldr above)",1 "Going through the same thing right now and every day,",1 i feel this. im in grad school and its a trip. its also like i pick up so many hobbies and special interests and i know a lot about so many things but im not a master at them and that does notttt help,1 I contacted target through the website. They said they will have someone look into it. Hopefully they will. *sigh*,0 "Obsessive–compulsive disorder? More like obsessive cunt living in your brain rent-free. Fuck off, OCD. Nobody likes you.",0 "In addition to OCD, I have PTSD. I relive my 33 years of my life just about every day. Every stupid decision I ever made, said, you know it. Basically living the opposite of a dream.",0 And since my chores aren’t finished I’ll just shove the piles of half finished stuff around until it’s as messy as before I started! And my eyebrows are now overplucked.,1 "Hey - I'm a nanny, and I have ADHD, and I love this post so much. I've been talking to my therapist recently about how I find it easy to help the nanny kids do chores or clean up after them, but so impossible to do my own damn housework.... And one of the solutions she suggested was essentially putting myself in ""nanny mode"" to help me get stuff done. I love this, though. I think it's amazing, a super clever solution, and I can tell you right now that if I saw your ad I would totally contact you. This is awesome. You're awesome.",1 "I named mine something for a while but I can’t remember. Anyway, I never found it helpful to push the personified version of my ocd further away. The humor helped a lot, but the true recovery didn’t come until I would challenge it to get bigger, get meaner, and if it tried to run away I’d drag it back through the door and make it sit with me until it realized what it was: nothing.",0 "Same here, It's a condition that can be fought against, and it gradually loses its grip. I've been fighting as long as I can remember and it wasn't until about 3 years ago I really put an emphasis on fighting it. Now I actually function consistently like a normal human, which is amazing. I can hold close relationships, and those close to me have been holding me accountable now and helping me step through it. It's completely possible to break that cycle of rumination and self destruction, but you have to be the one to make the first step.",0 I'm sorry to hear that and hope you get through this in time.,1 "It definitely is dumb overly simplistic and insensitive “advice” but it kinda is true. The hardest part for me is the starting, I can’t make myself get up and go do it. But eventually once I do start, it’s not so bad. When I’m dysfunctioning executively, I give myself the same advice basically. “Okay no more bull shit overthinking and delaying, just get up and do it. Just try it for a minute and if it really is that bad, we can stop.” And that works like 30% of the time",1 "We need to make a 3,000 mile move in a couple months (that we've known about for a couple months already) and I've been like this with packing and sorting. My hubby is just as bad. I don't know how we're gonna pull this off. Just looking at my to do list gives me anxiety.",1 i would rather be the most depressed i've ever been than to deal with ocd and anxiety. i wish i could go back to just being depressed lol i think that all the time,0 Facts. I feel like it gets progressively less effective each time I give in,0 "<3 its crazy that when i was young i couldnt even journal bc i was so in my head about it, id rip out pages constantly and rewrite it was dumb. i have gotten past that tho :) ocd is crazy tho, i feel like its really bad when youre young bc you just have this anxiety but no way to get rid of it or not know good coping mechanisms",0 "I'm a child psychiatrist who treats (obviously) a lot of ADHD. The only thing I disagree with here is the characterization of attention as motivation + memory. It makes it seem that inattentiveness = laziness (i.e. lack of motivation). I think of it more this way- Attention has several moving parts: * Orienting to the task at hand. * Remaining on the task at hand (ignoring distractions) * Attending to alternate distractions (yes, it seems contradictory, but you want to ignore the bird outside your window, but attend to the fire alarm going off in the building. Hyperfocus causes folks with ADHD to ignore both) * Completing task at hand (the only point in the process where motivation really kicks in, since unless a person is in the zone of flow, they want to stop when they are almost but not quite done). I also think of motivation as more a conversation with yourself. ""I can stop after I finish this. I only have to do X more to be done"". That last one I learned from a teenage patient who would talk herself through homework (""I can take my break after I finish the 10 math problems"").",1 "This....makes a lot of sense. I honestly dealt with a lot of self hate because I couldn't seem to do a task till the last minute where I was stressing like crazy. At one point it got so bad in college I damaged my own jaw from grinding and clenching my teeth so often. Now I periodically have to pop my jaw to realign it.",1 "I don't even have OCD and it drives me mad whenever someone says stuff like this or something like ""Oh I'm a bit of a perfectionist, it's just the OCD kicking in lmao 🤪"" so I can't imagine how much it bothers all of you",0 So heart wrenching but really does ring true. I love the wonderful things my brain can do creativity and empathetically among other things but it really does feel like parts of it try to hurt you.,0 "I feel this way too. Understanding the bigger picture makes everything so easy for me to understand. It makes me remember repetitive tasks more too. If I understand why I am calling these people and putting in this info every day, then I will be able to do it more efficiently.",1 "OH and alternatively.... Gets clear test results for blood clot/thyroid/biopsy etc? No, that can't be right. I'm positive I have *insert this week's chosen disease*. The test must have been faulty (despite having no real symptoms or reasons why id think have these conditions). 🙄🤦‍♀️",0 "I think it's safe to say everyone with AD(H)D is unique in terms of how they function cognitively, in specific situations given certain circumstances. I find myself somewhere between the two descriptions OP provided. :)) But, wow - I can definitely recognise myself in what you wrote about yourself! I overexert myself in social situations because I constantly hold back my intuitive behaviours and habits (such as interrupting people, being too loud, forgetting to pay attention to other people's needs etc.) I've developed social anxiety due to the fact that I was bullied by my peers and scolded extensively by my parents for exhibiting said behaviour... Initially, I was diagnosed with anorexia (coping method, signaling that I was struggling mentally). Only to find out at the age of 16 that I, in fact was autistic... Approximately a year ago, my GP referred me to a psychiatrist to help me unwrap my mental issues (depression, anxiety etc.). However, the psychiatrist immediately suspected that I might have a comorbid ADD diagnosis - rather than some sort of recurring depression due to unhealed mental scars... And ... Finally, at the age of 23, I received the (comorbid) diagnosis ADD. :// A few months afterwards, I started getting medical treatment for which I am eternally grateful. I have come to gain such a deep understanding of my cognitive constellation, so to speak, allowing me to implement coping strategies etc. so that I can be more happy. <3 It's like the missing pieces to the puzzle of my cognitive issues have all come together to form a clear picture of my anomaly of a brain! It's wonderful! :'))) I don't quite fit the typical descriptions of either diagnosis but, in combination, it makes much better sense to me.",1 Is it just me or does tough love not really feel all that much like love?,1 "Dear OP, try and make your tasks more interesting. It is definitely hard and overwhelming, and I only occassionally feel a tiny jolt of hope that I can clean things up, but when I have it I just instantly spice it up: 1. I have two friends who know I might call them to clean whilst catching up. That makes my cleaning less boring and the catching up less overwhelming and also downgrades my expectations of having a passionate talk. 2. I listen to a podcast that sparks my curiosity and whilst letting myself be absorbed in that, I just quickly clean as well. 3. Shamelessly singing out loud to some of my favourite tunes always helps me pay less attention to the fact that I’m also cleaning. For food I have a different approach: I cannot get up without thinking go eat your breakfast. So waking up already links my thoughts to my breakfast table. There I do the same: 4. I listen to a podcast or watch something on YT, something I would usually do to satisfy my dopamine low body. Whilst watching I just munch 5. I try and eat my food whilst walking around the house sometimes. It might look dumb, but sometimes makes the act of breakfast less tedious 6. For lunch I have set an alarm on my phone. I also have several alarms for “rehydration time” which makes sure I drink enough 7. It helps that I’m the chef in our house, because I then feel obligated to have food on the table because the person I care for and therefore feel a sense of responsibility to is coming home hungry for dinner. 8. Some of your food and drink moments will get better once you get a fulltime job: that structure basically tells you when you have to eat because it is lunchbreak 9. I know sugar is your go to and it is mine too. Try and put it this way: if you allow yourself to eat a lot of healthy things during one meal, you can finish that meal with your sugary favourite. This helps you eat mostly healthy stuff, but finishes it off with a beautiful sugary layer of your favourite food in your stomache. Hope this helps and you can pm me for more tips on how I try and cope with my ADHD if you want to!",1 "I remember my friends asking me to go out, me telling them I have an appointment at 4pm and them like ""ok so? We can have lunch or something"" and me just thinking like ""well yeah but no...?""",1 thanks a lot JoJo now I can’t use the number 4 in anything,0 "I can relate. It's a miracle that I even have these great, consistent people in my life. Friends have said thousands of times ""Where were you?"" Or ""When did you leave?"" because I glide in and then out of social gatherings like a ghost.",1 I even feel that way when there isn't any intrusive thought in 10 mins lol,0 "me when theres a video about genocide in class, and theres a silence when they show a pile of bodies, and by brain is like, ""BRO LAUGH RIGHT NOW THAT WOULD BE FUNNY""",0 Now go out there and tell people in wheelchairs to just walk dammit!,1 "When you open gum in class, everyone asks and you say no:",0 Omgg i can soo relate to all that. I can't believe I used get picked on because of all that and not knowing it was ADHD. 🤦🏻‍♀️,1 "I'm so glad you found a place you are able to have real talk about your struggles. Everyone needs that for sure! I just feel the need to comment on what you said the people in the other group say about people that do not have autism. I find the idea of feeling superior to others because of your genetics abhorrent. That is akin to feeling superior because of your height, skin color, or where you were born. It is disgusting, and anyone suggesting such things is foul. I'm sorry you had that experience. I've only recently been diagnosed with ADHD-I and learned about this nurodiversity business. I think it's sad to see so many new ""movements"" that divide us all into different groups and make people that don't belong to your group the ""other""",1 "Bipolar disorder, OCD, and PTSD Bonus points: ADD, and dyslexia 😎 But I'm still thankful everyday to be alive! Keep chugging along my friends!!! Thanks OP for the laugh haha haha",0 "I have to know why. If it’s just simply mechanical, I get distracted and can’t memorize. If I know why, I retain better.",1 OneNote will do this too. Both versons. I used to use it to transcribe lectures.,1 "I was late to EVERY. SINGLE. JOB. INTERVIEW. I. EVER. HAD. Sound familiar to anyone: MY KEYS..I just had them ...right HERE!??! WHYYY NOOOW???!!! I got to DMV 30 minutes early, brought all my paperwork, brought my car to a car wash because i was getting new plates and thought..yes.. got that envelope in the file. Waited in line, class act up to the counter... and envelope checkkkkkkkkkkrap. CRAP CRAP CRAP I never went to the bank. NUMB. LETHARGY. DULL . DROVEoff_ I spent decades wondering if I would ever meet and sustain a meaningful friendship. I found out from the self dissapointment and inner judgement and coping mechanisms and fear of rejection and intense pain at failed social cues or being called aloof, best intention overboard that my best chance for success was being such an over achiever that my lateness, forgotten things, lost keys, biff- abuntant brightness... was excused. It never lasted. Eventually the super chill supervisor becomes resentful, the understanding buddy becomes impatient, disenchanted, and the time runs out on your leeway... and you grow up and it stops being quirky and starts becoming a real WEIGHT on your progress. Chronically bright side, survivalist, butterfly, making the best, emotionally intelligent, interest equals excell, but the other little errors.. so creative, such potential becomes just a big last chance to prove you can be the expected brand of responsible, competent. You never get a guidebook for the reality of perceptive differences. Having been thru such failure, masking and distracting from it to spend less time hurting because otherwise you already have the proof you fail so then what accept defeat? Not a chance. Boredom is hell. Self assessments and rigorous analysis are so common and such a filter for some of us to better our ability when the constructs around us claim less acceptance toward us or help for us and more put up with us or dim our lights a bit. I will keep SHINING and CREATE a path.Ill keep aligning my aims and my tasks. My people are far more uniquely authentically equipt. KEEP GOING KEEP KNOWING YOU'RE NOT MADE TO QUIT. THANK YOU FOR YOUR HEART. YOUR WORDS HEAL ME AND MANY OTHERS. PROFOUND HOW IMPORTANT VALIDATION IS. IT JUST SAYS .. I SEE YOU. YOURE NOT ALONE. YOURE NOT BROKEN. YOURE NOT AN OUTSIDER YOURE FAMILY.",1 what’s crazy is i barley listened to EDEN this 2020 compared to Sadboyprolific which i have listened for hours every night falling asleep and HES NOT EVEN TOP 5 artist like tf.,1 Im a psychologist and this is becoming a super common theme for my clients,0 "I recently noticed that I can unlock more hours if I set a timer and power through 10 minutes acting as if I'm serious about focusing on the thing. And then refuse to move my ass off the chair for an hour. I'm starting to accept that i need to put in my time to stare at the wall of awful and count it in my work time and try to focus on it too instead of taking it as a sign that brain has left the building. Alas, taking a break moves me back to the starting block and when I'm working on something complex I need breaks or my brain overheats. Also, priming helps my brain warm up to the task. Like, I'm working on a big writing project on post-covid social changes, so I start with: 1) playing a background video of a coffee shop ambience with rain outside 2) reading some thinkpiece tangentially related to covid 3) when I start my actual writing, having read a 1k word article somehow makes it easier to write sentences 4) maybe reading that article gave me some thoughts that i write in my piece, or just gets me back in the same mental zone with the topic, so it's like I've almost started, so the activation energy treshold is lowered. Then again, i haven't started work before 11pm in a week, so maybe I'm just fooling myself that I'm on to something. But--- !! Why the flip do basic human functions like eating and smoking take half a day??",1 "I could use your help right about now! Believe it or not, I have actually lost my ADHD meds. Going on day two now. I have checked all of the logical places and I am now procrastinating on tearing my house apart to find it. I’m so sick of having ADHD...",1 "Surreal, kinda made me anxious lol. Very true to life",0 Yep because most of the good psychiatrist dont accept insurance so you have to be stinkin rich.,0 "I literally can't get schoolwork done at home for a variety of reasons. I went to the library anyway, but I can't see that is being a viable option in the near future. Maybe I'll clear out my closet and study in there lmao.",1 "Sometimes it is real, though. When we come home late at night, my husband can't go straight home if a car has been behind him for more than a few turns. I've privately thought it was just his OCD, but it doesn't hurt anything for him to drive around for a few extra minutes, so we do it. Last weekend one of the neighbors shared video footage of his son getting home from work at 3am and being robbed at gunpoint by a car that was following him. Then several other neighbors said it had happened to them in the last several years. So what I thought was part of my husband's OCD was actually him keeping us safe.",0 "Having dealt with this for about two years now this is a ridiculously on point example of mine. Reading through a journal I had kept when it first started, before I knew it was OCD, ranged from everything to gay, a murderer, schizophrenic, that I was in a matrix type world, that god wouldn’t accept me and I was damned to hell because I once didn’t believe in him. That I was transgender, etc. Thanks for posting (:",0 Hes gonna have so much fun here! Colorado is a great state and theres so much for a good boi like him to do here ❤️❤️🥰,0 Yea fuck this! OCD pretty much ruined my Christmas and my whole life tbh.,0 """your ADHD is a sUpErpOwEr!!"" Ok, maybe, but it's a superpower inasmuch as Rogue from the X-Men where she can't turn it off or on, she has no control over it, it affects her personal relationships and has an overall negative effect on her life. 😑",1 "Lmfao this is me and my spouse. Working at home, my hyperactivity usually results in talking. When he comes home, he's overstimulated and I used to just talk and talk and talk because I haven't seen anyone all day and I miss him. My medications are also mostly worn off by the end of the day so the hyperactivity really kicks in then. My RSD kicks in when he rejects my talking. His RSD kicks in when I'm upset. Good thing is we found a therapist who specializes in ADHD and it was so helpful. I'm really sad to find out some couples can't work through these executive function problems and end up breaking up. Now he has like an hour or so to unwind without me talking and he comes to me when he is ready.",1 "I have ocd. I was recently diagnosed and havent really researched it. I feel like my ocd is very small compared to others who suffer with it. I have to unplug everything before i leave the house and then double check to make sure its unplugged or i feel that my house will burn down. I know logically thats not true, but my ocd doesnt give a shht about logic. Lately ive been trying to do my own form of exposure therapy where i leave one thing plugged in then next time ill leave two things plugged in. Etc. im determined to be rid of my ocd one day.",0 "Well shit. The medication holiday I've taken, only day 3 now, explains my severe depression returning I guess. Sometimes I can't tell if it's from the CPTSD or not. The tip about taking meds and going back to sleep is amazing and I'm going to try it tomorrow.",1 "Embrace the cringe! One thing I've learned, over the years, is to try to remember the event from an ""outside"" perspective as if you were an objective bystander. Easier said than done but it works with practice.",0 Im so grateful for you all here.. It is very comforting knowing youre not alone in this,0 Avoidant Personality Disorder was what I was previously chalking this feeling down to be,1 "My room is kind of messy but body, desk..etc is very clean. But I would also like to say I'm more of the checking type of ocd, where I check everything at least a few times. Eg . Locking the door, car door..etc.",0 Hahahahaha... I just made my first legit post on a different thread and the shoe fits like Cinderella’s.,1 "TURN IT OFF YAY! My main culprit is the ""Feed cats"" alarm at 9pm, but the cats don't let me forget about it. I'm supposed to take my evening meds at that time, too (the cats are supposed to function as reminders), but I usually just feed the cats and forget about the meds and that's that. :/",1 Lol get out of my head. My phone and iPad and computer all have huge folders of screenshots and saved for later pages bookmarked that I’m avoiding out of sheer embarrassment.,1 "This isn't going to make you feel any better, they have gone backwards instead of forward: EndeavorRx is the first FDA-approved video game proven to improve attention in children 8‑12. Doctor‑prescribed and kid‑approved. Seriously not joking",1 That’s awesome. Id suggest starting at a much lower dose though!,1 "This is so cool!!! I love it, I wish I was able to paint but I am a disaster haha, I'm better with water colors. Congratulations for the achievement!!♡",0 "This is very validating, one of my biggest struggles is with chronic executive dysfunction. It's nice to hear it might be more of a common symptom rather than an exception",1 "I literally saved this to come back and read it later because it sounded quite relatable, then the irony set in so I came back",1 "Ummm (trigger warning) do you consider it a blessing to almost chop your hand off, like having a knife to your hand, because it feels so contaminated and no matter how hard you scrum it's not enough and it makes you feel nauseated and like you're gonna die? Personally, i don't but to each their own i guess.",0 Currently with harm ocd. It get so debilitating at times. What can I do? How do I fight this demon. It consumes me,0 "I feel this. I was recently asked what my masters dissertation topic is and I legitimately could not respond. The words just would not come.",1 Ah this depression is a nice calm break from my debilitating anxiety disorder 😌,0 "I'm super OCD and I've actually had many amazing days, beware of the negativity of these posts, don't let it become your reality, this kind of information can be toxic to many trying to have a normal, or even above average life. My best wishes to you all :)",0 I struggle to clean because I tend more toward hoarding because WHAT IF YOU NEED THIS SMALL SCRAP OF PAPER EVENTUALLY...I literally almost have panic attacks when forced to clean.,0 I cannot tell you how many bosses and coworkers have labeled me some level of incompetent for this reason.,1 Congratulations I’m so proud of you! Wishing you an amazing future 🌟,0 Ok then. What did you want to learn about that wasn't in the literature you've come across so far?,0 sometimes i cant even hear my father speak let alone look at him without an awful intrusive thought that sticks for the next 2 days,0 "OCD has literally ruined my life, And this shit just triviallises it.",0 "I have been in exactly the same boat as you! I didn’t properly brush my teeth for 18 years. Then i went to the dentist and had to fix them for 2k euros. After that i started brushing and in the start it was pretty hard but now its become a habid and i do it with ease! Im proud of you! Keep it up",1 “Oh you got lung cancer? Well just stop smoking what’s the big deal?”,1 "Your feelings are totally valid!!! Counseling is really great. Medicine can help, but talking through everything with someone who won’t get upset with you is the best!! They can help you plan out strategies to help you function at a higher level. It takes work but you will feel better about yourself and avoid the same mistakes over and over with new strategies.",1 "I not only shake my head, but my head twitches as well. It’s so strange and peculiar how our body reacts to OCD.",0 "It's a pretty stupid recommendation if you ask me, as the virus (like most viruses) can only survive on hands for a few minutes.",0 "Problem is, as soon as I tell it that, it throws me down and says “oh you think you’re in control?”",0 This is so cute I thought it was on r/wholesome at first,0 "As an added bonus, the compulsions can supplement your self-doubt and questioning and serve as proof for those worries and ruminations. 2 for the price of one! Exclusive special offer",0 This is brilliant. This takes the thing about not being afraid to reach out for help to another level!,1 "Oh my god, that is so true for me. Thank goodness for this sub. It’s comforting to know that there are others of my kind out there",1 "Yep, can’t stand seeing 911 or more than one 6 in a row 🙄",0 "Somehow I need my psych to remind me of this every single session. Trying to get my meds dialed in right now and every time I update her I’m like, “I’m sure this one is working but I’m just not trying hard enough” 😑",1 You don’t need to organize your mind! I felt this way too until I learned to let go and let my mind be messy. Categorizing every thought and emotion just makes things complicated. Eventually the mess clears itself.,0 Ohhhhhhhhhhhh yeah. Every God damned time. Best thing ever.,1 "Actually... No This is the first weekend where I haven't had to work in months. No more 6-7 day weeks at 10+ hours a day because I'm struggling to WFH... I'm caught up... Idk what this feeling is.",1 I have never felt this honestly. I’ve had four doctors confirm my diagnosis though lol,0 But what if you work at EA then you have to pay to listen to your thoughts,0 I have this exact same thought like 10 times a week,1 "i was convinced i had adhd, my dad has diagnosed adhd, i matched up almost 90 percent of common symptoms and when i seen my doctor i was planning to get very upset if not diagnosed. i had been taking adderall for a few weeks prior anyways. the doctor analyzed me very well , told me that i am actually a very highly wired person and very easy to mistake for adhd, but suffer more from anxiety/depression (issues with serotonin, dopamine and noephrehirehmine (whatever that shits called) i also realised the adderall had increased my anxiety and made me feel a bit closer to a panic attack than usual when he mentioned he wouldn't feel safe sending me away with adhd medication. my advice is to keep talking to your trusted doctor and giving them as much info as you can because it may be a different solution that you need. i am currently getting off venlafaxine (tapering), on clonazepam to chill me out and once i am done in a few weeks i will be trying an old school MAOI inhibitor which the doctor seems to think will drastically improve my life",1 "Wow, someone finally mentions it. I used to shake my head sometimes to get rid of the ""thoughtcrime"" I have committed.",0 Ugh...my worst fear described in a nutshell...WHAT IF 😳,0 "Anyone else experience a surprising inverse reaction to Covid? I feel like I am oddly level-headed about Covid, given my usual obsessions with contamination, and hypochondria.",0 "My 267 saved posts, 36 opened tabs and I relate to this so much. I usually do a “purge” once every year. I’d clean out my schedule, sat in front of my computer and power through every saved posts and opened tabs, saving only those that still interests me and requires further research, and delete the rest. But as my 267 saved posts would attest, my system is far from perfect.",1 "Monica in friends had OCD, in some episodes it showed how it can make her struggle, but generally it didn't show the extermities of it",0 "Wow, I feel this so hard. I can tell you one thing that's been helpful for me. In a yoga class one day, the teacher said, ""how you do one thing is how you'll do everything."" Meaning if you slack off in one area of your life, you're likely to do that in all areas. But if you push yourself in one area, you'll bring that to other areas as well. ​ On that note, I try to ingrain this principle into everything I do -- ""finish what you start"". So say I'm doing something mundane like reading a news article, my inclination is to quit once i'm partway through. But instead of thinking, ""oh it's no big deal if I just stop reading now"". I will try really hard to think to myself ""it is of the utmost importance that I finish reading this article -- simply because I started."" ​ I'm not perfect, but the more I can bring this mentality to the little things in life, the better I tend to be at bringing it to the bigger things in life. ​ Oh and also, i've found meditation to be another extremely useful tool for developing this skill, but that's a whole other story. ​ TLDR: start thoroughly completing small things you do in life (e.g. like reading a news article) and then you will train yourself to take the same approach with big things.",1 This is the best description of my brain I’ve ever seen.,1 "thank you for creating this, truly spoke to me and probably so many others",0 "legitimately, the reason why I'm so scared to start medication and ERP is the fear that it won't work, and it'll become another compulsionary routine. Being diagnosed has been like a tragedy, but also source of strength in that I am like many other people. Still, I cannot help but think how much better my life could be without OCD.",0 I have never viewed my saved threads unless I accidentally click something that takes me there.,1 i dream of the day that someone can understand and appreciate my efforts like this,1 Dude I just took your fathers advice and I am suddenly able to do all the things I couldn't do before. My life would have gone so much differently if only I had a father to tell me to just get it done,1 "I feel like we have the same lives. I get this feeling at times too. You aren't wasting anyone's time on this sub that is one thing I know for sure. We are always here to listen, relate, offer support and so on. I am sure most of us have been where you are now. I know I have and I still get that way from time to time. There is nothing wrong with sharing your feelings and emotions. Keeping them inside isn't healthy and with this sub you can let it all out. No one will think any less of you for it because like I said we have all been there. Living with ADHD isn't easy that is for sure. Hope you feel better soon.",1 "I'm super proud of you, you got this! You look really nice in that video, too c: ",0 Damn all those Minecraft ideas I was gonna use on the server...,1 I’ve never read something I resonate with more. It’s honestly so difficult and frustrating. I find I’m much better in writing. Thank you for posting!,1 My smart watch has been the absolute best thing for this for me. I worked afternoons for years and had this same thing daily—just so many wasted days. Now I set alarms for when I need to remember I need to work (in case I’m not dressed yet) and then another one for when I need to leave my house. And an alarm on my phone basically means I need to move now (I set reminders for less important things so that I never get in the habit of ignoring them).,1 "Considering my constant intrusive thoughts are mostly about self-harm, I'd tell this Luna bar a huge ""I'll pass"".",0 Entirely relatable pal! You really hit the figurative nail on the head,0 Holy fuck I tried the waking up early to take meds then go back to sleep and it worked amazingly I hope this is consistent because this might actually change my life,1 "URHHHH you’re so hard to please! I thought it’s the perfect card for people like you who do OCD /s, of course",0 "Yes, it can be draining to always think of the worse case scenario for every intrusive thought. But it’s important to remember that not everything is in our control, and often times we take on a lot of responsibility that we cannot control.",0 "Not before bed, but before I have to go catch the bus. Better pee just in case x7",0 "Ahmmahhh... This is my situation. It's felt like a steady decline for the past three weeks into this place, as if my coping mechanism is facing those other things rather than the pandemic which I know I have no control over. Not that I have any control over those other things either. Ugh.. I feel the solidarity though, thank you for that.",0 "Man, that's fucking stupid. Disorders cause problems in day to day life. Pretending those problems don't exist isn't healthy at all. I don't know how it is on the autism subs, but for ADHD I see people claiming that ADHD is a superpower and that they've ""hacked the hyper focus"" so it works to their advantage. Others claim that ADHD used to be super beneficial and it's actually society that's wrong . Luckily we don't see too many of these people on here!",1 My anxiety's gradual transformation into OCD is so obvious in retrospect lmao. How did no one (including me!) notice.,0 Same here it's a struggle with studying because I feel like I need to know everything and memorize it also with video games I have to explore the entire map even when I know there is nothing there I still do it or that voice in my brain won't shut up,0 "I knew this wasn't just me! This is why I struggled so much in science classes! I questioned everything! And junior year of high school, I failed my chemistry class because I think my teacher got tired of me asking why to everything. He started answering with ""because science"" to all the questions after the first quarter so I stopped asking after the second quarter.",1 My wife told me she “likes” when the volume for stuff is on an even number or multiple of 5. Now when I change the volume I compulsively change it to an odd number and look to see if she notices. I have no idea why I do this. And she never notices. I now always want it to be on an odd number.,0 Wow this is amazing. OP definitely adderalls!! Thank you!! ❤️,1 Omg I didn't know something like this could be considered as ocd... I thought it was me merely overthinking the whole time??? I'm starting to think that I might actually have some ocd symptoms. Time to consult a therapist when I'm ready for it!,0 The person that called this trash is the actual trash...,0 Holy motherfucking cow 😲 As a female I feel like I can do all these tips for about 2 or 3 weeks until I get hit with my PMS and it's fucking awful. Cycle repeats 🤦🏽 my living hell!,1 Imagine you just saw a fucked up movie or true crime story or even something disturbing on the news. Imagine now you cant stop thinking about it no matter what. It might even fuse with other similar disturbing thoughts to creates something not even the most fucked up people in entertainment would make. Now imagine not being able to stop thinking about that. That's life and you hate every moment of it.,0 I want to understand this but I can’t read the entire post,1 "This is exactly why working from home sucks for me. I can’t make myself do the work while I’m clocked in, I just never feel like it It always gets done at some random ass hour n starting an endless cycle of anxiety re: my performance",1 "I'm so glad I'm not alone. I feel like a worthless, lazy loser. I know I have depression (and anxiety and add). I've been here before, in a severe episode. It always feels the same. And yet each time, my first instinct is relentless self-criticism and hopelessness. Fun illness and treatment hasn't improved much in decades.",1 "It’s the same thought over and over. I get over it for half a year, comes back after. The cycle continues.",0 "Thank you! It's weird how helpful it is to just have people tell you ""hey dummy, you don't suck and deserve to be happy""",0 "It reminds me of a short story by Edgar Allan Poe name ""The Imp of Perversion"". He wrotes: >We stand upon the brink of a precipice. We peer into the abyss—we grow sick and dizzy. Our first impulse is to shrink away from the danger. Unaccountably we remain... it is but a thought, although a fearful one, and one which chills the very marrow of our bones with the fierceness of the delight of its horror. It is merely the idea of what would be our sensations during the sweeping precipitancy of a fall from such a height... for this very cause do we now the most vividly desire it.",0 Try setting a phone alarm that goes off every x number of minutes. That way you’re less likely to lose track of time. It’s been working for me.,1 "Me after going to my car and seeing it was not stole, because I in fact locked the doors...",0 "This kind of sentiment can be offensive for sure, but I treat stuff like this as a teachable moment. A lot of people are genuinely unaware all the forms OCD can take, and I like to think I've enlightened a few of them by sharing my own experience with the disorder.",0 "Same and it's so demoralizing. Either I say no and convince myself that I just wasn't trying hard enough, or I say yes and they tell me I'm lying and show me how easy it was to do. It feels like I can't meet even the most basic standards.",1 Do you think being obsessed with health “health anxiety” is actually ocd and not anxiety?,0 I’m in high school at the moment and unironically love the “Dan has 40 watermelons” type questions. They help keep my attention if I’m not hyperfocusing,1 "Every time I browse this sub I have at least one new “wow, I never realized that this thing that I do was an ADHD thing” moment haha ha ha But yeah I have definitely been told many times by many teachers that I use way too many commas.",1 "....damn. This is a great post, great insight. Holy shit.",1 "So because I have OCD, I'm not really trans? I've had severe dysphoria ever since I started puberty",0 "Ever since I saw the movie Luca I say “Silencio Bruno!” and it’s actually really helpful I love how people of all ages can take lessons from children’s movies",0 "wait it's POSSIBLE to not live by ""due today means do today""?! I'm in the same lack of focus time frame as you, idk how I seem to have gotten worse as the years have gone on, but here I am. congrats op!",1 Accept the probability that it is off since you actively turned it off while also accepting the possibility that it could be on and that you would have to deal with the consequences and finally recognize that you would be able to deal with them.,0 Or that your brain reacts to things differently than most people. All you can do is try to control it. Some days easier than others,0 "This is my first time on here and I have no idea what I am doing, so I will do something productive after I figure out what this is all about.",1 "The material for OCD is endless, my psychologist said.",0 Thank you for this because I felt like my paranoia was just my own.,0 "Nice! One more day and it’s a habit. I was actually really bad about brushing as a teenager, up until I broke off a piece of my tooth and decided I needed to do better after the dentists told me I had gingivitis. Now it feels weird if I don’t brush my teeth before bed.",1 "Okay so I already commented but I have to add that things are going better for me at the moment (though covid sure ain't helping...). It's tough and for weeks I didn't care about anything. I'm only recently getting back the reason to do literally anything. I wish you the best and things will get better",1 Focus camp: Because sometimes alliterative names just aren't a good idea,1 "I’m in a depression hole for the first time in years because of my job and literally have nothing left to give when I get home or even on weekends. I can’t tell you the last time I’ve done a load of laundry. I can keep it together at work, but the second I get home I’m just done. My husband is frustrated because he’s working multiple jobs and I don’t even cook most nights anymore. He doesn’t have clean clothes unless he does laundry, which he honestly doesn’t have time for most weeks. The only thing I’ve remotely kept up on is dishes, and that’s only because we run out of silverware and I HAVE to do it. I feel so shitty and lazy all the time. So guilty for not being able to keep my home livable, or make phone calls, or pick a place to stay on our upcoming vacation, or even be any fun. We’ve upped my ADHD meds, but it’s not a med problem at this point. I’m due for a few weeks off work so hopefully I can get myself back to normal. I know the cause of the depression hole, and I will get a good break from the cause, and I know depression often comes with ADHD. I just feel like I’m making excuses though, so I don’t want to explain to anyone what’s actually going on because logically I know I’m not, but I really do just feel like an absolutely lazy asshole. Thank you for posting this. I needed to get that off my chest and it helps knowing others feel the same.",1 "I have made myself SO upset with this!! (""the audacity/nerve! that's exactly the train of thought!!). Hence why I tend to hold grudges for life, because the emotion will always feel *so* strong and fresh when I remember. I will say, it at least only applies to people who hurt me *really* badly without remorse- people who hurt me accidentally? Pffsh happens all the time, you only did it once and we all learned a lesson, we're fine. People who do it and insist they're right to bully me? WELCOME TO THE SHIT LIST :) Get comfy and eat a canape because you're here forever buddy :)",1 I have a normal doctors appointment today at 1:30 and then a therapy appointment at 4. I hardly slept last night because of the stress.,1 "My top songs of 2020 1. Obsessing About A Mistake That Happend 3 Years ago/Guilt And Shame 2. If I Don't Press Each Key On My Laptop 3 Times Everyone I Love Will Die 3. Pray To Wash Your Sins Away 4. Paranoid Conclusions That Make No Sense/ Everyone Is Against Me 5 Time To Think About Horrible Things That'll Make You Feel Like a Monster",0 Had the epiphany last night that I realized I felt rushed and that’s why I was stressing out (especially at work).,1 thank you for sharing this! I looked up the artist on instagram and i love her stuff,0 """We do care about people and commitments"" -- I have heard so. many. times. from numerous people that I am careless. They say I must not care because I don't try hard enough like f**k that sh*t is annoying. I eventually started to believe that too (not anymore though) and I messed up so much crap in my life. .... damn.",1 "Yeah, no matter how much evidence I present, the OCD dismisses the facts. It's just so annoying.",0 "Even though you don’t own a gun or have never even held a gun, the consequences of it actually being true are so dire that you simply cannot just ignore the thought and go into the cycle of checking and rumination. Can relate to this so much.",0 We need ADHD education as a seperate subject in schools to help and educate ADHD students and parents,1 "I am a pathetic human being who thinks not only my intrusive thoughts are my own but that I should fucking tell others about them!!! : ) God. It fucking sucks.",0 "Oh god, that's my kitchen except there's probably no dried urine in the sink. 😑🤣 I can't use my bathroom much right now. This shits real man. We get you 👍",0 Non adhd people be like “get rid of distractions so you can work!” Bold of you to assume I will not just stare at the wall!,1 Hyperactive impulsive adhd here. I once literally fell asleep when my dad was talking to me about some boring financial paperwork thing. I think it’s the opposite of hyper focus. Good luck!,1 "I just got fired for being ""an asshole"". I am so tired.",0 "It's also been super helpful for me to understand my spouse better. Thank you everyone who feels comfortable enough to talk about such personal things. It has made me feel so much closer to my husband, and hopefully more understanding as well.",0 You have been formally invited to the White House to meet with president Donald trump to discuss your proposal. The president is very impressed with your patriotism.,1 "I’ve started NOT bringing all my art supplies with me when I am sick or trying to rest. I used to just luv everything around and then get mad at myself for not doing something. I like to set aside relaxing time and tell myself that this is NOT productive time that it’s okay to rest. And if I’m really stressed over it, I’ll write what I need to do later down in my notebook to “table” the idea.",1 Mine don't stop. I repeat words over and over again all day until I manage to fall asleep.,0 I can relate to a part of what you wrote. I believe not being able to deliver constantly should guide such a person to a more creative job. That could be arts or even laboratory work. Even R&D.,1 "I always gotta tell my cats before I leave ""Love you little ones, do good things"". Before this, though, i have to hunt down all of them to ensure I didnt lock them somewhere. Then I have to unplug all things I can think of and then....",0 It is normal to feel ocd at the morning because it is the time when you have the less serotonin in your brain :))),0 "funny name ""Soras-majestic-butt"" for an enlightening discussion hahaha",0 I didn’t know this was a thing. I guess I’m still new to all of the ADHD things. Holding my tongue or tears when overstimulated is literal hell.,1 "I said I can’t and my friend told me that that was my issue...that I say “I can’t” what he doesn’t get is it’s not a negative attitude let me just believe I can type of I can’t... It’s more of a idk what’s wrong w me but I literally can’t. A mental paralysis almost. I just sort of just sit/stand in diff places and stare off trying to find the strength to do what I need to do.",1 "I can function, but I want to understand. Knowing the why helps with knowing the critical points, getting a better grip on the topic than an input-action order.",1 I keep forgetting to cancel my audible and prime memberships every month 😭,1 Wow this is amazing. OCD is the pop up ad from hell. Whoever wrote that really made my day!,0 "and the sequel: me: I can't, I have OCD friend: What? your room is a mess!",0 "I saw someone on reddit refer to this as “E- hoarding the other day” It’s quite true.",1 "I would simply never put my brain back if given this opportunity. No brain, no thoughts, just vibes.",0 I think Chidi from the good place is a really great example of moral OCD...they show how much distress and havoc it wreaked on his life.,0 I’m so anxious about my work tomorrow. I go through the same cycle of worrying I’ll do terribly even though I’m still pretty new.,1 Fuck you 4th grade science teach I would ask her to help because I didn’t understand the question and she would tell me just to reread the directions but the thing is we had the same kind of question on every bit of homework and I would ask every day for help I hope she goes to hell she was bitch to every one not just me the kind of teacher to tell you who the favorite was and least favorite,1 "Oh my god it looks beautiful you’re really talented! Im very new to OCD (in the middle of being diagnosed) and I have ruined so many of my songs. It didn’t even occur to me that it could be because of my OCD. I’m really glad you were able to take a step back from it! I wish i would have, I have so many projects that could have been good that i ended up hating or destroying because of how many times I re-recorded, bandaged, and patched over audio.",0 "my brain: you have to do everything in increments of 3 minutes. It's 3:02 you can't get up until 3:03. me who's just trying to get a glass of water:",0 Damn. This is me entirely. Then the plan is too grand to follow through with.,1 I would be lowkey anxious touching it regardless because of the top and bottom piece. They aren’t germ free. But I kinda like this.,0 "I've just learned to live with the fact I'm useless after 6:00 pm most weekdays, not all, just when the sun goes down.",1 I hated brushing my teeth because it always hurt using the nylon bristles on my tender gums. I searched forever for a natural option and found these toothbrushes: [http://www.fuchs-toothbrushes.com/](http://www.fuchs-toothbrushes.com/) They're great! Natural boar hair is used and you just soften the bristles in warm water and the're never that hard.,1 "I opened the app specifically to search this subreddit for this exact issue and this post was at the top of my feed. It’s driving me crazy to the point that I don’t even know if it’s worth it to have interests anymore. I love learning and connecting the dots between all sorts of topics, but I have a hard enough time remembering what I read, let alone thinking critically about it.",1 "I HATE these, I went on Etsy (which is a lovely site, support independent businesses!) recently and wanted to buy an OCD pin (for my dad who also has OCD). When I searched it up 90% of the stuff there was ""obsessive Christmas disorder"" ""obsessive car disorder"" ""obsessive crochet disorder"" and the occasional ""CDO, it's like OCD but the letters are in alphabetical order :p"". There were a few nice pins and I ended up buying one for him anyway, but it really pissed me off that OCD still isn't taken seriously.",0 "From my own experience, I super duper agree. I also think it’s the tendency to impulsively add more onto our thoughts that makes way for comma usage. Complex and compound sentences (sentence structure that requires commas in most cases) are just ways of adding more words/explanation into one thought, and I think having ADHD makes us regurgitate more into paper/text. In reality we can get our point across just fine without the added words, but it doesn’t FEEL RIGHT. 😂 I also use parentheses and forward slash (“/“) a lot to squeeze in added explanation on top of an already over explained concept. I am a consultant, so I have to really work on my conciseness to get points across quickly. This results in spending 30 minutes writing a one sentence email. NOT EFFICIENT. I always think of a funny term I learned in my presentation class in business school: Eschew Obfuscation. AKA avoid confusion. Don’t over complicate simple topics. A paragraph later, it’s obvious suck at this. The meds don’t help with this part of ADHD either because they allow me to focus more on the topic - which results in regurgitating more info. SOS. Help. Hahah",1 "this is exactly what ive been dealing with the past week of reducing my identity and values and comprising who I am but then later im angry at mostly myself fuck",1 I also get a lot of “something is wrong... I made a horrible mistake... something is out of place...” - like a fire inside my head. Hard to breathe sometimes.,0 I've had a rough day. Having unchecked thoughts that make me want to give up and this helps a bit. Thanks!,0 "It is ironic because people with ADHD often have high IQ’s. The struggle with the pressure of being “smart and mature” when you feel nothing like that. The pressure I put on myself to live up to that was exhausting, depressing and gave me full fledged anxiety. The only saving grace is I know exactly how my son feels. It’s rough but know you have a whole Reddit fam here with you ♥️",1 "Sorry, all I'm doing is staring at their hands and wondering why they're in such odd placements?",0 "My thoughts are going so fast and there are so many that I cannot think about the next sentence I want to say. I usually get distracted by my thoughts and forget what I wanted to say. I don’t mind, it’s part of who I am. I explain to people how my mind works and why I sometimes say 2 sentences at the same time. And when people think I am stupid because of that, I really don’t give a shit and I don’t want that kind of people in my life so I think that that’s the reason why I don’t get anxious about it.",1 true. i wish more people knew how this disorder isnt just an inconvenience but that it crawls through your head grabbing everything you like till youre left with nothing. though sometimes i like to try to reclaim stuff :) like i start a game and just force myself to play it till the anxiety fades. it doesnt allways work... and sometimes it totally backfires and suddenly i have to deal with twice the amount of allready way to much thoughts xD buuuut eh.... ya gotta pass the time till therapy somehow .\_.,0 "Thought this was an inspirobot post for a second cause I had one just above this lol But yeah, thanks for posting this. I needed it",0 "Bigtuna’s response was by far the best I have seen. I had confession OCD over one single confession my OCD wanted me to make for over FOUR YEARS and finally beat it in the last few months. The only way to win is to not play the game. I know exactly what you mean where if you don’t confess, you still have a buzzing, nagging anxiety in the back of your mind that seems it will never leave. I had already tried to explain away the need for confession for years, and had determined I would NOT confess. But the anxiety persisted. The only way I got rid of it was, counterintuitively, accepting that the anxiety was still there. “I have this need for confession, I’m not going to confess because it’s the wrong call and will only feed my OCD, and thus I have constant anxiety. The anxiety is not based in reality but there’s nothing I can do right now to ‘fix it.’” Ironically, after stubbornly saying that for days, the anxiety left. I was truly free for the first time in years. And there is no better feeling. Tl;dr: please, don’t do the compulsions and do accept the anxiety. OCD is a coward, and if you refuse to play its game, it will leave. This is the only permanent solution, and no matter how hard it is, the freedom and peace are worth it.",0 "Wait, no, hold on... I gotta remember what it is...",1 "Its rough man, myself and many others w/ it feel your pain. Sending good vibes to you <3",1 "For me (M,30)the adrenaline rush happens in small increments throughout my day at work. I work a fast paced and physically demanding job, so I can attest to being exhausted from both work and the adrenaline rushes by the time I get home.",1 "Me in my preschool classroom (I’m currently the only adult) “Has anyone seen my phone?” “Wait where is my dry erase marker?” “Everyone look around. Do you see my phone” “Where is my water bottle?” “Does anyone know where I left the paper towels?” “I was just holding the eraser. Where did it go?” All. Day. Long. Preschool with me as a teacher is like a daily scavenger hunt.",1 "Wow! I never thought about it, but you might be right! When I wrote my thesis, one of my friends commented on my use of commas, but when I read it aloud, he told me he understood why I had them. I write how I think, and talk, which is usually - like you said - a series of points which are related and in order to keep the pacing right, commas are usually, always, needed.",1 "I learned to read before I started going to school. I knew I could read and my parents knew I could read. My kindergarten teacher did not. She thought that I was somehow faking it, perhaps reciting kids books that I had memorized -- never mind that that's actually part of how kids learn to read. (My Dad's great line after one of these discussions: ""You mean he memorized today's newspaper?"") But when she asked me to read something from the board, I couldn't. What neither my teacher nor my parents knew was that I was pretty severely nearsighted. I was about a year from getting my first pair of glasses, and a few years away from getting an ADHD diagnosis. But the experience had its lasting effects. It was the first of many bad relationships with teachers, which lead to a bad attitude about school in general, which persisted well into college. My \*kindergarten\* teacher helped ruin more than a decade of schooling for me, despite the fact that I was not only not falling behind, but was ahead of the class in most respects. I know that she didn't know what she didn't know. And I know it's unreasonable to expect her to know and understand every nuanced medical issue that might come through her classroom. But I wish it had been different.",1 This is so me! I am constantly picking at my cuticles.,0 Wow .... The world needs to know how disturbing ADHD is. Can I share your content for this I will give u cridet for this?,1 "As an adult with ADHD, I feel you. Gentle reminders, alarms on the phone (you need to do this at X time), post it notes, all of these help, but negative feedback doesn't. It can be difficult for neuro-normals to deal with though, as most do not truly understand, and find it very frustrating, which comes across as anger. If possible, have a long heart to heart with those in your household about this, and bring them the suggestions (that I assume will be added to mine) from this thread to help them and you deal with your condition.",1 This but also I’m berating myself in my head for being a terrible person because a part of me enjoys watching the mental strain she’s going through deciding how to respond while not reassuring anything.,0 "That sounds amazing. I've been trying this with my husband, his 'brand' of ADHD works different then mine so on certain things we can really help each other out. His superpower is extreme hyperfocus. My superpower is the fact that one of my coping strategies is that I write everything (really everything) down in my calender because I will not remember anything otherwise. So I write down what needs to happen and then he does that one thing extremely well. The only pitfall being that if I forget to write it down, it will NEVER happen. ",1 "ANY time I try to sit down and learn a programming language. It’s like my brain shuts off. The key I’ve found is try to push through that initial foggy period, because eventually you’ll strike upon some tidbit that is exciting to your brain, and then all of a sudden you’re invested again. Or, if pushing through just isn’t working, say out loud “I don’t want to do this because I just *don’t CARE* about this!” then take a 5 min break...when I come back to the task sometimes I can magically focus XD",1 i keep telling people not to yell at me but no one listens,1 Absolutely. I has a diffeq class at a community college. The teacher was amazing and he wrote the proofs of what methods we were doing. I could follow almost everything it was crazy. Now I'm at a university being taught a harder math class by a grad student who barely speaks english. Its awful and I have no idea what I'm doing. Makes a world of difference.,1 I’ve been trying to push myself to go to bed before 2am,1 My grandma has it. Her dad had it. My grandmas uncle had it. My great uncle had it. My mom has mild symptoms. I have it severely. Its definitely been passed down and I fear passing it to any kids bc this disorder is absolutely agonizing. My grandmas is pretty severe like mine and she even hoards so I try my best to keep that in check since I have the tendency to as well,0 "Always. The only thing that works sometimes is if I start having thoughts like this, I drop everything and run (literally run) to any task I'm supposed to be doing and do the most i can in 20 mins.",1 "At first I was like ""what do you mean?"" And then I pictured myself with a 3pm appt and I went ""oooohhh"" lol Yeah unless i had something else actually scheduled... there is no way Id get anything done all day and then when I got home around 5 or so Id be too exhausted to even try",1 "GO YOU! OCD is not “incurable” as some have stated. You can take this day and learn from it! Did anything you feared happen? nah. If the thought does happen to come back, so what? keep putting your phone on the counter. That is also beating OCD!",0 "I have contamination ocd and have asthma. This made me chuckle. I needed that. Thanks.",0 "Wow this is amazing, you are so talented. I relate to this a lot.",0 was not expecting a death grips meme on this subreddit,0 "yes, but then sometimes it's extremely disappointing, especially during covid b/c I'm so incredibly bored all the time.",1 "I'm in a very similar position. I currently work at construction on private houses (repair, renovation and so on). Since my job is considered a ""construction assistant"", I don't have any studied knowledge in the field, only what I've been taught at work. So often it happens that there is something new that I don't understand why. My employer is a god send, he's always willing to somehow very simply explain why we need to do x thing. If I'm not told why we need to do it (just a ""get it done"" situation), I for some reason just don't want to do it, it doesn't make sence to me either.",1 "I honestly don't think many people know that ADHD can be in adults too, or that kids who get diagnosed with it young still have ADHD when they're older. I went to a job searching office and they asked if I had any struggles to which I replied I have ADHD, and they unironically replied back with ""it goes away when you get older :)"" I was 21 at the time.",1 "This was me. I used to travel internationally a lot, and my passport was actually marked to always flag me as someone that needs extra screening, I found that out after they pulled me over for an interview and they found out that I share a name with some terrorist serial killer from San Francisco, and they were able to fix it for me which has greatly reduced my anxiety going through airports and seaports, because I now know that I shouldn't be pulled aside anymore, and if I do, it's not my fault",0 "Aw man, that sucks i wish you the very best, adhd has a role in this procrastination you stated, im sure as young as you are, you will make it and pass cancer :) take care.",1 Me clicking the SPen on my note 9 for the 84574th time in the hour to make sure its *really in there*,0 I didn’t have the patience to read all of this and went straight to the comments LOL and then I went back to read everything since it was pretty amusing. Congratulations btw! Lmfao,1 Wait why is this an OCD thing I think everybody experiences this,0 "Geez thanks. Deleted Instagram, now procrastinating through Reddit. *facepalm*",1 "I'm an Army vet and luckily didn't experience anything traumatizing enough to suffer PTSD, but I have a few friends that did. PTSD and OCD are definitely not conditions to make light of.",0 "I love ""just"" advice. Just stop worrying about it. Just get it done. Just get a better job. Just lose weight! If I could ""just"" solve all my problems that easily I would have ""just"" done it already!",1 "But my hip hurts, im feeling sad, im too tired, i feel anxious...",1 I loved taking good notes in university. I would have never wanted a laptop in front of me. Graduated just in time.,1 "Sir u/Kai_Halo the brave, nothing stands in his/her way",0 Omggggggg this is definitely me. I'll check th stove and then worry that I somehow knocked it back on during the act of checking to make sure it's off. Like...we can't win,0 Or if I don’t check if the thought was bad or not I’m gonna turn into a serial killer,0 Even the psychiatric nurse fell into this trap when chatting to my mother about my ocd. He said the house must be very clean. My house is a mess in reality.,0 "This is EXACTLY what has kept me in therapy for so long, and through its persistence with my current therapist, led her to suggest I may have ADHD. Very light bulb moment!! I am a teacher, and it's amazing because with all the busyness of being in school, I do get some really nice long holidays. But, I can genuinely feel like I fail at my holidays. I'm a bit better now, but my general pattern still follows putting off all sorts of stuff while I was busy with teaching, to get done in the holidays. I would reach the holidays and be exhausted. And so I would want to be getting these things done, but not getting them done. I would genuinely feel like I was failing at my holiday because I wasn't getting things done, but I also wasn't relaxing because I was constantly thinking about getting things done. I've tried all manner of approaches, from leaving things till the end after I relax, or get things done first to get them out of the way, NONE OF THEM WORK. The best I had been able to do was to get away from home for the first couple of nights so I could at least properly switch off. But now Covid... I'll have to admit I haven't done much thinking about this yet, but this video and the one that follows it feel very insightful and give a frame of thinking about procrastinating in a way I hadn't heard previously. [How to ADHD video - wall of awful. ](https://youtu.be/Uo08uS904Rg)",1 "Moving away from labeling people as bad or good, ethical or unethical is helpful. We’re all just humans and the human experience as an interesting mix of up and downs. Also, as humans we are always changing, and even if you’ve done things you disagree with, you can chose not to allow that to define you. Also, defining your personhood based on a few actions isn’t fair to you. You can label a choice you made as “a lesson learned” or “not reflective of my values. “ Edit: also I do see this as reassurance (therapist opinion) Edit edit: from my work as a behaviorist, ocd does not manifest from traumatic experiences but rather is linked to a genetic predisposition/malfunctioning amygdala. However, the themes can be tied to your personal experiences",0 "Man this is too relatable. The lack of information retention with ADHD is so annoying, probably my least favourite part of having it. I work in IT and imagining trying to get more certifications and knowledge to keep up with the industry fills me with dread. I can barely even remember what I learned when I was in school for it.",1 "Deadlines. And someone you’ll disappoint. It’s about the only thing that keeps me on track. Granted, I still don’t get things done until I absolutely have to… even though I know it will literally only take a few minutes. I’m going through this with a society I’m a committee member on. The pain is real.",1 "And then I get stressed I didn't do it and the entire thing feels like a pain in the ass because it's causing me stress, so I keep on ignoring it",1 "Sorry mate to sound like an ass, but this won't work for long. OCD is a bitch and it's really powerful. In order to beat OCD as the enemy, one needs to know what I've really is and what is it made up of. Only then can we overcome it. This is more like a compulsion to say "" no I won't"" Work on fear which is the root of OCD and only then you can destroy it.",0 Thank you for doing that. I'm glad they responded well.,0 you guys can do the dishes... i can’t even do that! be proud of yourself,0 Do you have a link to the Microsoft word that doesn’t need a subscription? 😅,1 Yeah today I turned off my alarm for my alexa I work nights and I was supposed to be up and ready by 5:30 because that's when my husband takes me to work and I turned off the alarm in my sleep and couldn't get out of bed. Then I brushed my teeth and put dry shampoo in my hair and had to find my pants and socks and shirt and thank God I went to bed with a bra on.,1 "also not everyone with ocd has things about neatness or order, it's just whats common i think for me it comes and goes and is honestly very rare",0 Id like to think my insomnia is part of it but its more likely delayed sleep phase and insomnia from my pots and thyroid,1 "It’s 4 in the morning where I am and after failing all of my classes last semester and being on the way to failing all of them again this semester and finding out last night that the girl I’ve been after for years has a boyfriend, this post made me feel just a little better.",1 "I think the most damaging thing anybody ever said to me was “I don’t think you tried very hard”, “you are so smart, why don’t you try harder?”, or “you aren’t living up to your potential”. I was really trying my best most of the time and I still failed. Years later I’m still battling that association of trying hard and feeling like I’ve failed, even if I accomplished something. I desperately wish I could have been diagnosed sooner, just to rid myself of that feeling.",1 Why would you post a crooked picture on the ocd sub?!?,0 Some days are so rough that the only thing I do is brush without paste and/or use mouthwash. I'm so glad I inherited the strong teeth in the family. At least I made a small attempt.....,1 Crazy they started you off with 20g I’ve never heard of that That is ALOT for your first dose.,1 I wish I could say me as hell but I have Schizoaffective Disorder lmaooo. Guess for once my OCD was right about something,0 "I feel this extra hard as a veteran with Probable but undiagnosed PTSD and ADHD. I feel like I’ve been getting fucked over from the VA and everyone else since. I sought help from the VA when I got out in 2011 but they’ve only been willing to put me on antidepressants and I feel they’ve labeled me with depression and BPD while dismissing my combat tour in Baghdad 06-07. I never had the vocabulary to identify what could’ve been traumatic when I left Baghdad. The game is rigged. Most of the players toss their hand or blow their minds and it’s no wonder.",1 "I have completely resigned from anything creative, I accepted years ago that I am a task do-er, not a creator or leader.",1 "well, poor social skills figure more prominently in one syndrome than in the other.",1 Holy crap you’re putting words to how I’ve felt for a long time!,1 "Yikes. I've had a swollen lymph node for very many years, never had it checked out.",1 "Yes, this is called Real Event OCD and it’s one of the hardest things to shake",0 "I found that putting a clock on EVERY wall in my master suite helped a lot. Just having a clock in the room is not enough because it's usefulness depends on us remembering to look at it. We end up with ""time-jumps"" where we thought 10 minutes had passed, but it was really 20. With a clock on every wall, though, there's always a clock in view so time jumps are much less frequent 🙂 Also, I have a mantra, ""Hygiene before clothes. Clothes before hair. Hair before makeup."" I repeat this to myself again and again to make sure I'm prioritizing what matters most. This way, if I run out of time and have to leave with things undone, it's my make-up that got missed, not brushing my teeth or wearing deodorant! 😂",1 "My girlfriend broke up with me recently, and I’ve been very depressed for the past couple of weeks. I know how this feels. I constantly want to go outside and do something, and once I’m outside I want to go inside and do nothing. I don’t want to be inside, I don’t want to be outside, I don’t want to be doing something, and I don’t to be not doing something, I just don’t want to be.",1 "No that’s not accurate. What you do is you say oh no, then you do a thorough investigation of the thought, you might start with a helpful body scan, you may ruminate on meaning of body sensations, you might do some very enlightening online research, after several hours when that hasn’t hit the spot, you might engage in another helpful activity like reassurance seeking that raises more doubts and questions, then move onto ritualised hand movements to ward off the intrusions...ahh I feel better...but 5 minutes later it’s back...and so you start the cycle again...😊",0 "So much this. I never understand it. Currently I'm delaying making a GP appointment instead of just booking it and going. Why the hell is my brain making me lose sleep over booking an appointment that is just a routine ""hi, I'm good. Gib meds"". It's not even with every appointment, just some. I'm still struggling to find a pattern, since establishing a pattern could help me figure out a way around it.",1 This is awesome! I usually can’t read that much before I just stop because it’s too much for me but I actually read this all the way through! This is great I thought about getting somebody to come clean my house as well I’m going to follow your advice and do this! I don’t have much money but it’s a peace of mind.,1 "You’re right, I should get to that computer game...",1 "I saw Tenet last night and zoned out in the first 10 minutes, then spent the rest of the film thinking I didn't know what was going on because I'd missed some crucial plot point in that ten minutes. It wasn't until about an hour in when my friend nudged me and said ""I have no idea what's going on"" that I realised no one did.",1 "They must be one of those people who want mental illness for attention or for pity or they must be one of those people who actually think that they will always have a clean house, because there is no way someone would actually want an anxiety disorder.",0 "100%, every time I say it it's still fresh, I'm so glad I found this sub",1 "My adhd tax was paid on an Apple Watch. I got a new phone because I shattered my old one and it was in need of a replacement lmao. BUT with the new school semester starting and knowing my lack of control, I bought the watch. I throw my phone across the room cause I’ll be too lazy to go get it. I turned off all notifications to my watch except texts and phone calls so my anxiety from missing an important call is eliminated. I also don’t have the same ease of texting friends since it fucking sucks on the watch so I’ll keep it short lmao. The best part is that I don’t get distracted by apps when I just go to check the time. That was the cause of my biggest time sinks. In addition with my meds, I am now a beast with my study schedule and haven’t been late for a single assignment. I’ll still be behind a couple lectures for some courses but I’m slowly building self discipline so I’ll study when I feel like staying up.",1 I actually sometimes finds it helpful when someone talks to me during a compulsion. Instead of concentrating 100% on the thoughts I can instead concentrate on talking,0 "OH my god, I thought I was the only one! I have no idea how to put my feelings and thoughts into actually spoken words. That's why I communicate in memes and stuff lol. It sucks cause during therapy she'll ask about how I'm doing and I just don't know how to convey what I'm feeling into words to tell her. Thank you for pointing this out and making me not feel alone.",1 Glad I'm not the only one who struggles with oral hygiene.,1 All of you poor souls - I feel you. Sending everyone positive vibes and love today.,0 "On behalf of all of us, thank you for showing us this photo. It comforted me and I'm sure it did the same for everyone else.",0 "I used to get stage fright before presentations for days. That pit-of-the-stomach adrenaline feeling for weeks ahead of time in college. As soon as college was over I would get the same feeling but with my car. If I know I have to drive somewhere I'll get sweaty, racing heart, basically the exact same symptoms. I'm not so much worried about traffic incidents but about something happening to the car that I can't afford. It's like my brain will latch on to one thing to obsess about and when that's gone it just finds something else.",0 "Hey-I can relate to this in a big giant way. BUT! Wanna say this: the times I’ve been able to make a smaller project and see it through (even if this is something like, staying up all night to make my kid a super elaborate Halloween costume), it takes away the feelings of grief/helplessness/fury/disgust you’re talking about, at least for a time. Whatever it is you like to do/make, is there a way you can do it just for the joy of it, on a smaller scale or with restrictions of some kind (time constraints, subject constraints, etc-do you know what I mean?) I’ve found that working with restraints actually makes me MORE creative and can be weirdly motivating. Whereas if I had all the money/materials/time in the world to create something, I’d get overwhelmed and probably never see it through. Give yourself “fake” restrictions (“you only have an hour to make a painting and it has to have a bat somewhere in the painting,” or “you have to write a haiku but it has to be about someone you despised as a child”—obviously these are like, just ideas, haha, but hopefully you understand what I mean). Do something small and see what comes of it. I’m not always able to do this, mind you. But when I do I feel much, much better. Some of the creative stuff I’ve made with very limited time and/or resources has been some of the best and favorite stuff I’ve ever made. Keep on, you. 💜",1 "I know it’s been said but SHOW THIS TO HER!!! I can’t speak on her specific experiences obviously but I tend to get *so* down on myself about how long The Main Task is taking that all the In Progress tasks get forgotten about entirely - showing her this rundown not only shows her how much she really did, it demonstrates that **you noticed**. This is an amazing post, and if it’s a reliable indicator of your outlook - you’re an amazing person.",1 "I love this, you are so awesome and it really moved me.",1 "One of the best ADHD (and life) hacks I've learned is if you think of something and it takes less than 2 minutes, just do it now.",1 "Are you me?? I'm the same, I sleep 7 hours most days, but am so stressed from work and school I take 2 hour long naps nearly every day. I just can't cope. And when I know I should be studying I feel physically unable to move and just stare at the schoolwork frozen for a second before I manage to start.",1 Beautiful work. People with OCD are beautiful souls tramped in ugly cages.,0 "You put my childhood academic trauma into words, thank you",1 I’m so glad we van all come and learn about this affliction together! 🥰,0 "In college I just didn’t have any hobbies because literally all of my time was spent procrastinating. I spent a A LOT of time goofing off and doing useless stuff, reading random articles, but had no idea what relaxing actually felt like. I was either procrastinating or crunching. Now that I’m working full time I still don’t get that much relaxation time (but I do get some) because I spend all day at work doing nothing and then have to stay until 9pm to finish my work. At least I get a few hours in the evening 🥲 it helps that I just buy frozen dinners and take out so I don’t have any cooking to worry about after work.",1 This is me if you replace drinking with picking out hairs lol,0 But then I freak out because I am not normal and having a mental illness feels like an imperfection,0 "Ha! This is how I usually feel with my intrusive hOCD. It has helped me wonders to just accept it, and try and stay positive about the fact that my brain is a strange straaaaaangeee neighborhood. -usually I find it better when I have a friend or two along for the stroll. :)",0 "Breaks my heart to hear others go through this hell every night, but I'm selfishly glad to not be alone. One quote I cling to when in that mentality is ""we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act but a habit"" -Aristotle",1 This it's me to a lesser extent. Embracing Minimalism and Stoicism has helped * a lot*.,0 "I highly recommend introspection, basically just dive in DEEP in your thoughts, sometimes you can find help in your own mind, always with a positive attitude (think of this as an special suit that will protect you from negative thoughts), some of the thoughts we have like the ones that trigger anxiety are not ours at all, define with words who you want to be and follow that, for me structure and to socialize it's a must have.",1 This is such a great representation of how it feels,0 "I have a fridge that sometimes just looses its seal for no reason, and goddamnit I check every time I walk by it!!!!!",0 Full day anxiety attack yesterday up until this morning because the thought of “what if I’m not in the right job”. Can’t leave the job because it supports my family...don’t want to start over in a new career....but what if I can’t handle the stress!? Broke out of it this morning. Rough day. Hang in there folks...we don’t have to believe everything our brain thinks. Anxiety and OCD triggers a physical reaction to thoughts and fears and makes you think your thoughts have more weight than they may have. Steady the course. No rash decisions. You got this.,0 This is my main issue does anyone have advice on this,0 I’m so happy I found somebody who understands this I’m crying,0 Only reason I organize stuff is cuz it’s a compulsion to prove I do have ocd and not all my other obsession. I can’t even explain my adhd cuz it’s just intense and annoying,0 "Wow, I genuinely appreciate this post and completely understand your thought process here. Yeah, I’ll absolutely be applying this to future purchases. Thank you for this perspective!!",1 Is it me or do we (people who suffer with OCD) have a great sense of humor?,0 I listen to audiobooks on 1.5 speed because any slower and I wouldn't be able stand it.,1 "Yeah I'm not like germophobic, but I do have contamination OCD so I can't have stuff that is greasy or my hands I have to wash them. I'm also a vegetarian so I used contamination OCD with meat. I also obsesse and check stuff like crazy.",0 "So as an ADHD individual, do you find this to be an easy read? Lol I have a hard time with prolonged focus tasks like reading (I loved it as a kid, but my English major kinda killed it for me) but I really want to learn about why I do what I do, and techniques to improve it. This book seems like it may be a good tool for that!",1 me at the end of the day repeatedly going over what I did in chronological order,0 I'm always worrying that my family will die in their sleep,0 "Haven't read the link yet but holy shit. This directly relates to my childhood experiences. I had the hardest time with math as a child. We would do these math facts sheets and the whole class was timed, the kid who could complete it the fastest would get a prize. I always dreaded the day we had those. In 5th grade, I broke down in the middle of class crying because I just didn't understand it. I felt the pressure from my teacher and the kids around me to complete it. They gave me more math homework to take home and I remember sitting at my kitchen table in tears, completely stressed out, my mom getting mad at me for not being compliant and doing my homework. I think that time of my life has completely fucked me. Anytime I have to do simple math in my head, I have a freeze response, I literally can't think for a split second before I'm able to figure it out.",1 Ugh. THIS. The amount of money I spend on fruits and vegetables that I don’t eat.,1 I'm going to assume you have obsessions over perfection because this is like drafting quality. Good on you for sharing,0 "DAE get excited to take on a new hobby or learn a new skill, read everything about it in preparation, order the books and supplies, and then never touch them? Is this related?",1 I little bit of shadow work might help. I still struggle with these. I have never been diagnosed with ocd but I suspect I have some aspects that seep into my brain pretty frequently. I find that other people don't help my thought process and I just need alone time to tell myself that I'm trying my best.,0 "YES!!! A million times yes!! I never had the words to fully describe this experience. I used to have to shudder and be physically disgusted. Now, I just accept that my mind thinks I’m a sexual deviant. My mind is the most toxic place I’ve ever experienced.",0 "If I couldn’t clean my room I’d kms. I need a clean space to be content and not feel like an epic failure. That may sound like an exaggeration but it’s really not. Messy rooms make me feel depressed, dirty, and disgusting.",0 "Thank you, I feel seen in a good way. Your success makes me feel like my little success isn't stupid.",1 Thank you omg this is very well-said. Saving this post if ya don’t mind!,1 "Yoo excessive hand washing be relatable af!! A week ago a police officer was literally standing in front of my door and said 'sir a truck driver hit your car, please come with me' I was like 'yeah wait a second' and then I proceeded to wash my hand twice before going outside",0 "Literally EVERY single time my period is late I feel like this, even though I’m in the same boat as op",0 "it doesnt work with most mental illness, but for some reason people still keep trying to do it!!!",1 Happens to me too. While on the toilet I wonder if I’m dreaming or sleepwalking. Hate the thought cause my bed mattress is pretty expensive lol,0 THIS. SO MUCH THIS. I think I need to go get an adhd diagnosis soon :3,1 "I actually get really angry when people call me lazy. I mean I’m constantly giving 150% to be the best person/worker/daughter/friend... I could be. You’re probably just giving 80% so s up and F off. I still think that I’m lazy sometimes even though I’m not. And whenever I realise that I have to give 150% to get to where other people are with 80% I cry sometimes. I’m honestly getting better. I used to think I’m lazy all the time but then I researched adhd more and it got better but it was still a lot of work. But then again I look back at what I’ve achieved so far and yeah it might be less than a lot of neurotypicals but considering how severe my adhd was (and it was very very severe) I have achieved a lot. So I can’t be lazy. Expectations for me when I was younger we’re basically: she’ll never finish school, hopefully she won’t be a homeless drug addict at least. She might be able to live in assisted living or something. Now I finished school (relatively well even) and I moved to another country on the other side of the planet and I’ve been in a great relationship for the past 4 1/2 years. I’m only going to start studying what I want to study next year when I’m 25. I don’t know if I can even finish the degree since it’s even intense for neurotypicals. But I have already defied all expectations for me so I can’t be a lazy person. I’ve achieved to much. So yeah, I call myself lazy all the time but no one else is allowed to do it.",1 "I do this with almost all how-to YouTube videos. I think it's why I'm garbage at makeup Sometimes a puzzle or something can help me get through a movie if I'm not enthralled, but I'm usually doing laundry or something",1 "> *Understand that FUTURE YOU IS STILL YOU. If you think you’ll do something later, understand that future you is still you. Future you isn’t more likely to muster up the desire to do the work. f you don’t have the motivation to do it in the next 24 hours then future you probably won’t either. \~* ***(***[*u/Moon\_In\_Scorpio*](https://www.reddit.com/u/Moon_In_Scorpio/)***)*** ​ *""Or we could let future Ted and future Marshal deal with it""* [meme picture](https://miro.medium.com/max/500/0*WXx5yfkRt9_W2UoA) ​ Story of my life =)",1 Wow! I have been worrying about “burning in hell for all eternity” on/off all of my life and I am almost 60. Facing an OCD diagnosis and will learn more next week.,0 "SAME!! Any negativity directed toward me makes me want to do the exact opposite... Like, right now, with DHHS pretty much telling me that I CAN'T raise a child (my daughter has been in foster care for almost 15 mos)... That, and the ""cognitive assessment"" I had done recently, the resulted in saying pretty much the same thing - AND that I ""need a guardian"" bc ""it's difficult for me to care for myself"" bc of my disability. This is all making me want to try again, with another baby - not to replace my first child, but just to prove all the naysayers WRONG, and to be able to experience the joys and struggles of motherhood, FOR MYSELF!!!",1 I recently realized going to college to be an electronics engineer at the age of 30 while working fulltime is probably not the best idea. More of an ADHD dream lolol.,1 Read the same paragraph several times until I’m finally able to know what I’ve read.,1 "Hi! I’m your friendly local ADHD professor! The shit has me absolutely shaking.",1 How fucking ironic that I get caught up reading the title of an OCD meme 16 times,0 """You have to learn to love yourself"" ""Dude, don't you fucking hate yourself?"" ""Yes but this is about you, so listen.""",0 it's like a radio constantly on in the background that you can't turn off or even down for a second,0 "I got diagnosed 6 weeks ago. It was a huge relief to know that hey, I wasn't actually just stupid or lazy. I was doing my absolute best and it should've been enough. I've been on varying doses of medication for 5 weeks now. It helps! I'm beginning to understand myself a little better now. As a person, I'm not lazy - I work really hard. I've experienced the feeling of paralysis when trying to start tasks many times, that overwhelming ""I can't do it"" and ""I don't know how to start"". But I definitely still have lazy moments. It's not that I can't do this one thing, I really just don't want to. Like taking the kitchen bins out - it'd barely take any time, but because it's kinda gross I don't want to. It'll be hard because I know I don't like doing it. I'm working on that though, I've got a little rota going where I tick tasks off for the day which is kinda nice. It's like an ""I can't"" vs ""I won't"" thing with me right now. Of course it's different for everyone, for some they might feel like me with lazy moments, and for others it's completely just down to their ADHD. Maybe once I reach the right dosage on my medication I'll change how I feel. Being called lazy by anyone (including yourself) absolutly sucks, but being lazy isn't the end of the world. You can work on it. It'll be made harder because of ADHD, but as another commenter said, ""any progress is still progress"". When I feel like that, it helps when I take a minute to appreciate little things I've done through the day, even if it was just waking up or putting socks on. I hope you find a good way to cope with how you feel, and that you get the support you deserve. (edited bc i posted the comment when I wasn't finished by accident haha)",1 "I was told by my therapist that the disgust isn’t necessarily the damaging way of managing the intrusive thought. Fear is the main thing that is damaging. Just always important to remember that EVERYONE has disturbing intrusive thoughts sometimes but the problem with people who suffer from OCD is that they attribute meaning to those thoughts.",0 Good job man! I'm glad there's a place here to celebrate these achievements that normal people don't understand.,1 "My saved posts are basically a front page, there is no end",1 Totally agree. But now I need to know the French pop lo-fi album you're talking about.,1 "Even at work, even when its slammed, and virtually impossible for 1 person to do do the job, i still feep like a huge failure when people help. Like i know its not a bad thing to ask for help, and i offer to help people all the time, but just.. needing people to step in to help just takes it all out of me. Like.. why couldnt i do it alone. If i need help, then im a failure..",1 I'm just gonna leave this here...Roomba will change your life.,1 "This is something kinda cute for y'all to enjoy, but my dad would always reach over my plate and go ""You dont want that part, that parts bad."" And would eat it. It used to infuriate me as a child because it would mess up my entire plate, and I dont like my food being touched or having my food touching other food. It actually helped me relax a little bit and it became a trait I do to others as a cute little gag. ""Oh you don't want that piece, its poisoned."" As I fix their plate. I'm a little food obsessed aha. But it made me normal and interact with others a little bit more.",0 This isn’t pathetic at all. It’s admirable. I am so proud of you. Keep fighting. 💪🏻,0 "Good job! It gets easier when your brain learns it's something you ""have to"" do. Hardest part for me was convincing myself every day that that specific time mattered, but once it's something you do every day, you are less likely to be like ""ahh it doesn't matter anyway"",because it's something you just do!",1 "LOVE THIS! So glad she understands! My husband gets it too, so when I’m embroidering while we’re talking or watching a movie, he knows I’m still paying attention and I don’t have to worry about it.",1 "I’ve lived years with this crippling disease. I am going through a lot of medication changes and I am severely depressed. I’d give anything if there were a cure, at least in my lifetime. OCD is sabotaging. If I could only have a normal life. At least to have a free mind without obsessions and be able to manage my life and time better.",0 I'm taking breaks doing my engineering homework so that my laptop doesn't nuke itself. So HA! I'm gonna keep scrolling........ for probably longer than I should though lol,1 "Also an adult living with a parent. I get a lot of, “I can’t be your brain” comments from my parents. I feel like everything I do and say upsets someone. What has helped me is just keeping my nose to the books and acting like I have a regular 9-5 by working on school during that period and making it known that I cannot be bothered. Maybe you could take up a hobby or two and add some structure to your day around that? Writing? Exercise? Dog walking? I dunno. Do whatever it takes to get some distance and space from your family. Set up boundaries.",1 "That’s massively appreciated ☺️ Thank you. I hope your adhd is not in overdrive right now.",0 "I ask ""why"" because I want to understand. That allows me to apply the information in a more flexible way, to a larger array of settings. I often get backlash for asking why from my bosses. Even with good bosses that I primarily get along well with, they hate explaining why. It's exhausting and really frustrating. You know who I don't usually get backlash from? Coworkers. This says to me that it's 100% a power dynamic thing.",1 This is the most accurate thing I have ever read in my life,0 "Can some of you with this problem elaborate on how bad it really is without hyperbole? I don’t have this activation problem, I can get up and sit at my computer, open up what I need to do, but from then on can’t sustain focus very well if at all. Is this activation problem always an obstacle everyday? Only sometimes when you’re depressed? How do you ever get anything done at all if it is this bad?",1 tfw you're an obsessive and also immunocompromised 🙃,0 Sometimes a saved post is just a nsfw post i liked tho,1 "Same here. As much as I'm happy to be able to sleep in again, this is a nightmare for my productivity.",1 "This happens alot whenever Im going through the motions, and Im really deep in it this time........",0 "When I was much younger (about 6) I used to get up and pee in the middle of the night so many times back to back to back, probably an hour straight of me just walking back and forth to the bathroom to ""try"". And while I knew I eventually wasn't peeing anymore when I got up to go, I also knew I HAD to continue to get up and go. Now that I'm older I still like to be the last one to pee before bed. Like if I go to the bathroom and pass my partner in the hall as I'm on my way back to the bedroom I have to go again before bed. If I go to the bathroom and then lay in bed and scroll on my phone for say 10 minutes, I need to get up to go again before I sleep. I also find myself doing this before I leave the house and overall, I think it stems from anxiety. Some nights I'll go to the bathroom, get a sip of water, scroll for a couple of minutes on my phone and sleep just fine. But if I have an alarm set I feel like I HAVE to go right before I sleep or else I worry I'll wake up to go and interrupt my sleep. And in terms of before leaving the house, I think that that stems from anxiety that I may not have a bathroom available while out. Just for funsies if you can wrap your head around it - my partner, who god bless is so patient with me and doesn't make me feel like shit for doing all my weird shit - will sit on the couch and watch a movie with me, get up, get ready for bed and just \~get in bed\~ to sleep WITHOUT EVEN TRYING! Can you even?! The first time I ever witnessed it I was so genuinely confused and when I questioned it all I got was ""no why would I try if I don't have to go"". I'm still shook every time it happens",0 "Ouch, too close to home. I feel it's a bit of a deathlock, specially when everything around you falls apart because of that and it seems that's never enough of not being enough.",1 "Also, people can feel our sense of doubt, and low esteem. They smell weakness which encourages a predator to gaslight even more. And often , we buy into it.",1 "I usually use the a method I invented to at least make immediately fixable possibilities go away. I call it the dog method: Basically I mentally go through all the things a dog needs to live a happy life and do something to do with them. When have I last drunk water? -> drink When have I last eaten? -> snacc/meal When have I last been outside? -> Time for walkies! Felt sunshine? -> Walkies! Or just chilling in the garden or on the balcony! or maybe a daylight lamp! Can I make myself exercise? - > Sprint the last bit home of the Walk for the quick endorphins boiii When have I last done something extraordinarily silly? Something silly with someone else? -> Go do something silly! I do things like spinning in circles or dancing really silly or just wiggling my body all over. Even better when you can find someone willing to participate but it's great alone too! Take care of the puppy in your brain guys I find this works so well for me because I have a list I saved in my brain that I'm working on and usually I manage to get at least the water and the fresh air done which already makes me feel 1000x better. Usually I'm really bad at making myself take care of myself but this is a routine™ so it works because I don't have to do any big boy thinking, I can just autopilot it",1 "Yes. Then I got my wish in the form of a global pandemic that shut everything down for months. I didn't catch up. The problem for us isn't a lack of time. It's an inability to control our focus. The start of the pandemic is when I realized how serious my life was being affected by ADHD. It pushed me to seek medical help. I got diagnosed, and I started therapy, coaching, and medication. I don't need more time, I need to use the time I already have, and medical intervention is slowly helping me gain control over my time.",1 "I feel this today! I’ve been lucky enough to be ocd symptom free for a couple of years but occasionally little thoughts will try to wiggle in. This morning one of those thoughts crept up on me and my first question to myself was ‘why now? Am I stressed or anxious? Nope. Oh, it’s because I’m happy’.",0 lol this is me being insecure about actually having OCD,0 "There are people I suspect have it but due to poor public and medical understanding of the disorder, they're more likely to be diagnosed with other anxiety disorders. And of course I could be wrong but some acts and ideas scream ""obsessions"" to me; not just a high level of nervousness and tension.",0 "Sometimes I fear that if I wish I don't have a test tomorrow, but I'm not extra specific about it, the teacher will die or something like that, so then I force myself to think like ""I wish there wasn't a test tomorrow, but not the teacher to die, nor for her to be fired, nor for her to have a family tragedy, nor for her to be sick, but I just wish she got bored and stayed home or whatever.""",0 "Hey! I already started online lesson for one month. For me it is an amazing experience. I only need to wake up five minutes before class. I can always listen to what the teacher said clearly, even I have problem on the lesson, I can always replay it. Studying alone also means that you don't have to get distracted by the surroundings in class. I spent less time to commute and even less time to social therefore I am able to finish my assignment. Downside is I really annoy my sisters when studying in the same room. I hope you have a great study experience too!",1 "> I put an ad in the Nanny category, and this was effective! there's a lot to unpack here, a lot a lot. I'm actually just put off balanced and horrified reading this. I know you meant this as a triumphant moment for you but I just. You hired a housekeeper and just made it incredibly awkward by calling them a nanny because you personally have issues and hangups about your ability to care for yourself whether or not those concerns are based in reality? When people do what you do, the people answering those ads think you have some sort of mobility issue or what have you and phrasing it the way you did... it really reads like you're lumping yourself in with those that do need in-home care when your situation is more fitting for calling merry maids. I'm glad you found help and had some sort of epiphany but also wow. Wow. Yikes a little bit too, yikes.",1 "May I ask what type of cancer? And are you doing better now, cause I’ve had swollen lymph nodes for almost a year now, like right under my chin, and I’m kinda scared to go to the doctor",1 "Well yeah I know I did, but that sure as hell ain't gonna stop me from going to check cause WHAT IF",0 ALSO OTHERS CAN BE DIRTY AND UNORGANIZED AND STILL HAVE OCD,0 "Every time I see a post on this sub it just solidifies that all these “odd habits” I have are in fact, OCD. I. Have. So. Many. Tabs. From. Months. Ago.",0 "All the stinking time, and time only seems to be passing by faster and faster as I age :/",1 [when i found out googling things was a compulsion](https://media.giphy.com/media/l3q2K5jinAlChoCLS/giphy.gif),0 "Ever since that came out, Samuel L. Jackson has been telling me to ***""go the fuck to sleep""*** when I should really just go the fuck to sleep. Goodnight.",1 "Awesome, op!!! Good on you; and give ur OCD a big “fuck you” from me, yeah? Edit: you weren’t looking for compliments but can I give u one?",0 "I described it to my psych once as having *too much* attention. Focusing on one thing usually doesn’t require all of my attention so my brain opens some background tabs to use up the rest. Like pouring a big bucket into a small glass. Some of the water inevitably gets spilled.",1 It feels like when the ad loads but not the actual video.,0 My hate that the Courses page of Blackboard is open on my computer right in front of me.,1 "Thank you so much for reminding us of this :) I always forget it, but it is so important to remember. <3",0 "I think this is the one of the reasons I stopped praying. Also that ""demon possession"" craze, amplified my OCD lol.",0 "Aside from it being insensitive, it’s also just annoying. Imagine saying “omg I’m so obsessive compulsive disorder!”",0 "Im 19 and i found out like 6 months ago lol, turns out i was having it since i was 8",0 "Very creative. Also, thank you for crediting the artist. Most redditors don't do this.",0 If Im being honest OCD gets much worse over the summer when I am left with my thoughts all the time. School generally keeps me distracted with social and academic stuff.,0 "oh my god.... can someone just answer this real quick, besides self harming thoughts with random items.... do random thoughts about hurting others count? sometimes I get these weird thoughts planted into my head about anything at all and I feel like I need to try super hard not to think about them. is that part of ocd? I'm not sure I'm even making sense here.",0 I have a feeling this person is very uneducated regarding what OCD actually entails and is one of the many people who see it as a “quirk” with pretty organization and clean spaces.,0 "No No and no. Wait maybe no your wrong. Wait yay here come the sleep sleepy time..",1 "I'll take depression over OCD any day, happened recently and it's actually a relief even if I still don't feel great",0 "I hate that OCD doesn't get enough attention or it's always misinformed... If it was something about bipolar disorder or autism, this would be all over Twitter by now and it would be cancelled.",0 "If time blindness affects time management, then these probably go hand in hand. I am really terrible when it comes to ""I have this thing I need to do later today, therefore I don't have time to do this really quick and simple thing right now. So I will just veg in front of my computer waiting until it's time to do the other thing.""",1 "I am 40. I have never been on proper ADHD inattentive type medication, and when I tried 4 yrs ago to get on proper ADHD meds the first doc I saw poopoo'd me and said I should just take Wellbutrin. My son is ADHD hyper type. He is prescribed Vyvanse and a Ritalin booster if he needs it, he doesn't, I do. My days I remember to take the Ritalin are so organised and accomplished it's wonderful. They days I don't are just standard. I have learned to live by a routine. I can keep showered, clean, hydrated, fed, if I follow the same methodical routine. If the routine is broken I forget.",1 Lol! My husband tells me to keep a pad and write things down. Problem solved. Lol!,1 Me but half of the time it turns out it is actually my psychosis 😅,0 I finished my math homework cause of this. Thanks :),1 "Hi /u/parastro and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 "Sending you all the love and support!! I hope you have a safe and smooth recovery. I believe in you, you got this!!",1 "I'm not neurotypical because I have severe ADHD but I'm aware I may be verbally attacked by these people if I talk about my younger child who is autistic and if I just state facts. These people are very high functioning and want to pretend the rest of the spectrum doesn't exist. I'm a ""troll""for mentioning that my younger son likes to do ear piercing screams into mine and his brother’s ears and has been doing so for years but their denial of other's symptoms does not change the fact that he really does do that or did until after 14 years of it he was put on an antidepressant and my God I didn't want to put him on meds when he was little simply because there are no meds for autism so I didn't think anything was appropriate when meds were brought up. But I never knew an antidepressant would stop all the screaming.",1 Bonus round: Did I forget my meds today or am i showing signs of Coronavirus,1 any guess who set an appointment to get her second covid shot at 3pm? 🤦🏽‍♀️,1 Thank you so much for this. God I have been struggling all week and breaking down crying multiple times a day. I have had obsessions for so long but until recently I never realized that it could be OCD.,0 "i have this exact issue and we've talked about it and she understands! and when i sometimes have to bring it up she is capable of stopping herself from half an hour long rants but it has to really be me exploding and ~~crying~~sayin I CANT DO THIS PLEASE DONT TALK I BEG YOU (bc i dont just bring it up usually) for that to happen. Sometimes she will say ""Oh here im ranting again, sorry!"" and doesnt talk anymore. And then several days later she stoppes self controlling, again. ive found out that talking to her without emotions, with flat intonation, helps me not feel overwhelmed. And Ive also learned how to talk to her without listening, the ""Oh!""s, and ""Wow!""s, and ""Oh, yea, yea""s, they keep me as distanced from her as I can be without hurting her. Luckily i dont have to use those every moment, she is a pretty self-sufficient talker",1 "Are you me? I have an assignment to hand in by midnight. I mostly finished it by Sunday and was super proud of myself for not doing it last minute. But I had some doubts, so I figured I'd worked hard and could take the rest of the day off, that I'd get back to it the next day and double-check/complete my answers a bit the next day. Lol. Of course not. It's now 5 days later and I'm hating myself per usual.",1 Break the project into bite sized chunks. Its taking me over a month to build a small pagoda for my yard but it will get done.,1 "Talk about a relatable statement - you hit the nail on the head with that one! One of the biggest pitfalls I've run into with my ADHD is comparing myself to others. I was only diagnosed with ADHD in September of last year (I'm 26) and am not yet successfully medicated, but in hindsight it's been a lifetime issue for me - memory loss, brain fog, difficulty communicating, you name it lol - and the whole time I've always been comparing myself with people who seem to have their shit together. I've had countless breakdowns where I just beat myself up, wondering why the fuck I can't just function like a normal person, etc, but there are a few things I frequently hammer into my brain that slightly ease the pressure. 1. Even the people who seem like they have it all together probably aren't as together as you think. Life is unpredictable and confusing, and it's common that things don't go as planned. Chances are that a lot of people freak out about things at least sometimes - the difference is you don't see it when it happens to them. 2. Habits take a while to build, and need to be taken on one thing at a time. Trying to change too much at once is overwhelming, and will cause too much frustration to be helpful. 3. ""Have"" to do, ""need"" to do, etc are reserved for high priority things like bills, taxes, taking care of pets, and so on - things where if you don't complete them, there will be tangible consequences. Anything else I refer to with less urgent language, depending on how important (or not) it is. When everything ""needs"" to be done, it gets very overwhelming 😅 Sometimes it's like you're a toddler having a meltdown AND the parent at the same time tbh 😂",1 Every time! It takes a lot to get my attention so my list of favourite films is very limited and specific lol,1 "Are you guys perfectionists? I wanna know, because I think it's relevant.",1 OMG THANK YOU! SOMEBODY SAID IT! There was a girl in my class who said this all the time so I stood up and just ranted at her. Its just so frustrating to hear,0 "Try to keep the schedule up yourself (set an alarm at your usual uni wake up time, at your usual course times and course ends, try to follow those), and try to form other habits of accountability (asking your supervisors if you can send them weekly updates on your progress/weekly excerpts of your reading/coursework as a checking method because you need the structure, asking friends for daily/biweekly checks, skype learning groups at a fixed date and time...). Oh, and if you’re unmedicated: any chance you can get on meds? Because trying to achieve a structure and doing chores is just so much easier on meds than it is without (in most cases). Also, try to make work as pleasurable and novel as possible. Use the sparkling pen/the new graphics tablet/the pretty bookmark/what have you, try to challenge yourself with things like “how long can I read this while sitting upside down?”, sing it, whatever helps. Gamify it, include physical activity wherever you can.",1 "Better safe than sorry. If I don’t say goodnight enough they might be dead tomorrow. If I hear the intrusive orchestra sounds too much I know that I’m going to be clumsy and spaced, so I extra have to be conscious of whether I remember doing it - even right after it’s happened. Maybe dreams affect this.",0 Went through some bad family trauma when I was 9. Lost a sister that was more like my mother than my mom. Now I’m about to be 21 and this couldn’t be more true. Always felt deep inside myself was just something rotten. Last year it was gettin better but now I’m falling back in that hole. School and gaming can only keep my mind occupied so long. Thanks for sharing your experience! Question for anyone else who’s felt this way; do you find it impossible to turn your brain off and have a moment of silence? I feel crazy(like batshit crazy l) cause of how often I talk to myself in my head or just have fake arguments over stuff stressing me out,1 "I always felt a compulsion to always tell the truth, however I know that I don’t need to do that. It’s important to be honest but not EVERYTHING has to be disclosed.",0 I forgot that existed… I regularly put videos to watch later and forget they’re there :/,1 This is very sweet. I need this right now. Thank you.,0 "This has totally been me recently especially because I work with the public, I find myself questioning throughout the day ""Am I washing my hands cause it's the responsible thing to do or am I just encouraging my compulsions"" I take it on a case by case basis. Also if you all have issues with hand washing for the love of god take care of your skin, hand lotion is your best friend, surprised that hasn't run out like hand sanitizer.",0 I used to have this obsession over whether or not I had already took the medicine.,0 Y E S!!! I had my fallopian tubes removed and still have this fear!!!,0 "This breaks my heart, and as a junior high teacher I love it when I get these “tough” kids. I love it because I get it, I see my brother, and my kids, and me in them. I tell them from day one, we just need to figure out what works for you to learn. I have fidget toys available, bands to kick on chairs, and we talk about what makes assignments to hard, and brainstorm ways to do them. I hope that by finding success in my class, they learn to advocate for themselves in high school and beyond.",1 "Just chiming in to say yes yes yes. Many times... It's so insidious. Great meme, spot on.",0 This is exactly how I feel all I hear from my family is how I’m in such a bad mood all the time. What they don’t realize is how everything is just so nothing to me,1 """I'm still a believer, but I don't know why. I've never been a natural; all I do is try, try, try..."" Maybe Taylor Swift is one of us. 🤷🏻‍♀️",1 "I don't know if it's the same for anybody else, coffee absolute amplifies my OCD/Anxiety. I tend to stay far away from caffeine.",0 "For me, it's not even that I don't remember, its that when I get put on the spot, I can't recall it in the heat of the moment.",1 "Yeap for me 15 minutes can feel like an hour, a month sometimes feels like a 4 months and so on.",1 "This tbh, I never really considered myself human growing up. Always felt like I was something else. Now that I'm older, I know I'm human, I'm just a defective one. Makes me wonder if literally all people adhd have this though.",1 Intrusive thoughts are literally like 60% of my thoughts.,0 "Hello team. I have diagnosed OCD and take daily meds. But before I was diagnosed I would have never thought I had OCD. My unique signal was this, I write things down and write them out again and again and again if the slightest change happens. For example, i wrote my bills out for the year projecting what I would make and how much the bills would be. When I would work over it under my predicted hours I would go back and rewrite all of my yearly bills again. And this was every day. For years. Or rewrite a list if one item was different or needed changing. There was no eraser or scratching out. I have never seen this behavior on TV or movies and I think it would be cool to see it.",0 "The given situation also sounds like depressive disorder, which is known to be one of many possible comorbids resulting from uncontrolled ADHD.",1 I hate the dreaded question - “have you seen this film?”,1 Congrats man. I am working on making the act of showering less obsessive. It’s a hard road!,0 Focusmate.com is an affordable site that offers online study buddies,1 "Oh my God. I literally had to have my psychiatrist (who was the second person to diagnosis me with OCD) say, so I could hear it, that it was his professional and expert opinion that I had OCD. I think I responded with, ""Ok. Are you sure it needs treatment?"" Good gravy.",0 "And if it’s really overwhelming, lie down and tighten your entire body (clench your fists/flex your calves etc) just make it as tight as possible and then exhale while loosening up your body (sorry for the awful explanation, but it helps)",0 "So, that’s OCD? I never really delved into the disorder itself, but I just thought my internal guilt was just my brain being my worst enemy.",0 "My whole life was tough love. No going outside after school to meet with friends, homework has to be done first. Get the best grades or we will be disappointed in you. This is why it has taken me until I am 24yo to realise I have had ADHD my entire life. I can't help but be mad at my mom for this sometimes, but I have to try and remember that if she hadn't tried I probably would not have a degree right now. Even if it was a dark time in my life.",1 "Gods. Ignoring friends. I literally set myself reminders to talk to them and I ignore those reminders, like what the fuck?",1 I've actually had my family try things before me for this very reason. Then I feel guilty,0 I press the button until I hear the beep lol. The first 2 times doesn't count.,0 "Who the fuck are you, and what are you doing in this sub? J/k of course, and good job!",1 "My heart goes out to them. I honestly thought that I was a sick freak before a good friend helped me figure out what I was struggling with. It was literal hell. I truly wish I could help those who don't understand that they're perfectly wonderful people, just inflicted with this disorder.",0 "Damn I feel you. Anyone have any mental strategies to help combat this, because it can lead to complete avoidance if you allow it to.",1 Yeah this is why I never win an argument with my SO- I forget everything.,1 "‘Dying your hair black’ because what else is there to do mid breakdown. Jokes aside, I hope you’re okay",0 "I feel like I have seen this exact picture before, repost or OC?",0 Also check “Watch Later” on YouTube! I have quite a lot saved there to go through still lol,1 Why didn’t god just put a planner in our head instead of a brain? Makes me question his existence. Your friend is greater than god!,1 "Thanks for posting this, it's an excellent way for me to rethink how I value things.",1 I struggle with many of the same things! Great job!,0 This has got to be a joke 😭 - “ schizophrenia is a choice”,0 So accurate. This has actually happened to me a few times. I feel like I always (or will inevitably) say the wrong thing,0 Omg! Why didn't I know this earlier?????? *sarcasm overload*,1 This helped me feel less guilty about my life decisions. I always buy salads in packages and prefer frozen items etc and a bunch of other things that prevent me from. Forgetting or wasting items.,1 My dad has ocd so my parents are really understanding. I hate it for my dad too. I grew up witnessing his compulsions so I grew up thinking those things were normal things that everyone’s dad did to protect their families.,0 "This is great! One thing I wanted to point out though is that a person with OCD can learn to control their compulsions (specifically with ERP therapy). What they cannot control is the thoughts and anxiety that come up. Source: Currently in therapy for OCD and my therapist reminds me that I cannot control the thoughts and feelings but can break the OCD cycle by not performing my compulsions.",1 Wild how “cleaning” and “organized” can even be in the same sentence here.... I have contamination type ocd but am failing most of my classes because the stress I face every day has turned my brain into mashed potatoes,0 "!!!!!! I took this literally the first time I heard this! I was on a school trip and my mother fell or something, and I cried because I thought it was my fault.",0 I try to sing whenever I have an IT. Singing is great for relaxing yourself in many ways.,0 I am now limiting my time on social media. Half the time I get scared of shit that isn't going to happen.,0 My intrusive thoughts have been excruciating recently. And they haven't gotten better. Every round of torture is worse than the last. And I've been getting rounds of the same shit for far too long.,0 "I do this. It's so irritating. It started with crunchy leaves. Then it shifted to random spots and marks on the sidewalk, then this stupid rhyme took over. I've been struggling to walk like a normal person for about a decade now. On the bright side I think I am finally starting to recover from OCD. ""I'm getting better and better every day"". It's true that sometimes things take as turn for the worse, but in general our world is improving for the better with the march of time, and there's a reflection of that on the individual level. We may face obstacles and challenges, but we are constantly striving to overcome them. It's a natural instinct. Even if we just sit and stare at a wall, on some level our mind is working to improve our situation.",0 Love it! I would love a HD wallpaper of it for my phone!,0 I have never related to a post more in my life. I constantly think that every emotion I display outwardly is just for attention. I also feel like I do things just for the story I'll get to tell later on and it makes me feel so fake.,0 "Works for a week then my brain forgets this and goes ""is it really ocd if i dont get extremly disgusted? Well thoughts must bei true then. Dont. You. Think.?",0 I do this with purchases. I just spent 1.5 hours looking for the perfect new waders I dont need. Finally caught myself and walked away from the pc. So crazy how it can consume you,0 "having the “what if i don’t love my boyfriend” shit rn and it’s the worst. i had those thoughts for either friends and past relationships and in the end, i always did love those people but my current relationship is just so special and perfect, resulting in me being so overly scared with the “what if” and the thought of losing him but simultaneously i don’t feel anything at all which makes it even harder to ignore and freaking me out more",0 "If this is a drawing it's insane, I've never seen something so close to reality.. congrats OP!",0 "Dude, not everything is ADHD related. This sub is the worst case of ""Correlation is Causation"" i have ever seen.",1 "I read this book after seeing this post. I feel like this should be pinned or something, it's a great book",0 "My manager asked me if I wanted to stay to help make the store looks nice for his boss, and I absolutely did, because he’s done so much for me in terms of not fucking firing me for being late >95% of the time. But holy shit did the prospect of just straightening things out and making sure everything looks neat with no tangible end goal make me want to explode.",1 "and then in defeat, “Ok I did it” OCD: “NAHHHHH THAT DIDN’T FEEL RIGHT SAY IT AGAIN”",0 "I don’t have anything to do! Ha! Edit: never mind people are talking about brushing their teeth, I completely forgot about that as I usually do it a lot later. I’m going to do do that now. Edit 2: done, thanks Reddit! Third and hopefully final update: I saw some cereal in the pantry and wanted some and almost made some before remembering I brushed my teeth. Damn you ADD.",1 "It's weird that this works. My girlfriend has picked up that I can be apparently focused on a video game and repeat back what she's saying to her word for word, or I can be starting straight at her acting like a normal person would in a social situation and be completely unable to take in what she's saying. Explains why I was so good as a bartender I suppose.",1 When I was a kid my mom would spank me for not being able to remember my spelling words and from that I feel like I developed a fear of failing or saying anything wrong. I don’t even think I ever asked a question in class in my life,1 I don't have the germ/bacteria compulsion but for sure appreciate how everyone is hand washing and hope it will continue to do so after the outbreak!,0 "Anyone else find the things they save are often not there later? I’ve tried to find old posts, probably dozens of times, and they’re just not there despite being saved.",1 "I recently got diagnosed with OCD and now for the past few weeks I've been thinking ""Me, OCD, really? That's not possible, right?"" And now looking at this meme I can't help but to feel like holy fucking the psychiatrist might have actually been on to something.",0 "Don't worry it gets better when you are in your 30s. Lol jk, it doesn't :)",1 """Normally, if given the choice between doing something and nothing, I’d choose to do nothing. But I will do something if it helps someone else do nothing. I’d work all night, if it meant nothing got done."" - Ron Swanson",1 This is an OCD thing? I just thought my memory was shit.,0 "Oh yeah, and if someone is criticizing my failure to achieve I will double down. Pair this with narcissistic parents on a power trip and you have yourself a very uncomfortable home situation growing up. It has never dawned on them that if they had just tried to support me or empathize with me in any way instead of trying to break me things would probably have turned out differently. They're proud of their tough love.",1 "Not exactly what I'm trying to remember when I have a compulsion to remember something, but yeah. More like I feel like I need to remember my previous thoughts to undo them and change my mind.",0 """liking"" your ocd is MUCH better than hating it and its also better than being unaware of it.",0 "I constantly feel like one of those ""I guess I'll never know who's the good boy"" -memes. Could we please have one of those?",0 "I've listened to 5564 minutes of Hamilton since July 4th. The 100th play was October 22nd and I have played the album 116 times total... it used to be mainly Taylor Swift but this year I only played Hamilton. My ""favourite"" podcast wasn't even my favourite this year... it was the most played because I binged all the episodes while working.",1 "At my worst, I couldn't sleep every other night because I was busy doing compulsions the entire night. The only reason I slept at all was that I was so tired after staying awake for so long, I just passed out in the evening. That shit was exhausting. I'm so grateful that I can sleep again",0 FUUUUUCK my LIIIFE. i hate it so much when this happens!!,0 "I was today years old when i discovered that ""Please dont bother me im actually motivated right now and i dont know when its gonna end, probably soon, but still"" was a thing. Oh god. I just joined this community and i havent found anything about this anywhere. Holy shit.",1 Try a scissor kick combo with a follow up right hook and head lock,0 "hey man, I know what you are going through. From personal experience, I can say that it's never good to ""man up"" and keep your feelings inside. whether it's here, with trusted friends, or a licensed therapist, you'll always feel better after getting your feelings out and getting some feedback. Communication issues are rough and there one of my biggest issues. I seem to just keep it all bottled up, and let me tell you it's not good for us. ADHD sucks there's no denying it. The good news is, we understand it sucks too.",1 I feel you. I have a bunch of saved things on Facebook that I haven’t looked at …,1 Am I the only one who wants to pick all those dots that look like dirt off this meme?,0 It seems that the theme of exercise (running) and meditation (just reading about it for me) is what I see in recovery !! Another thing is a good sleep wake cycle that follows the sun.,0 "Fuck, I tune out so much that I have to rewind films or shows. I def. cannot rewind @ live shows or @ the movie theaters. I wish I could rewind IRL convos or lectures. Yes, I totally tune out and either daydream or have an inner monologue (granted, I'm unmedicated, maybe medication helps?).",1 You’re right. I’m done pooping. I should get up before my legs fall asleep!,1 "This is what happend to me yesterday! And this morning I ""overslept"" and missed a test and math and I haven't been studying in my chemistry test because I couldn't and I just had to redo the last chemistry because of it",1 why did you just describe my life when can't even describe it myself,1 "I need to do the opposite of the last thing, because I’m 100% trans and my ocd relentlessly tries to convince me I’m not trans and that I’m regretting and making a huge mistake in the moment, but then when that goes away I’m like oh yeah I’m definitely very transgender with gender Dysphoria. But in the moment, it feels very real the fear that I’m not really trans and I’ve somehow faked it. It’s weird how real the thoughts feel even though in the back of your head there’s still a TINY voice that knows your fears are unfounded, but it’s always “what if the fears aren’t unfounded and you’re ruining your life”. But I dead ass feel like that about everything and it sucks.",0 Panic disorder doesn't make it any better either...,1 "I tried to correct this kid in my class when they said it and they straight up ignored me. God, you gotta love the lack of any awareness or sensitivity that high schoolers can have.",0 "My OCD presents itself in many ways, but I’m not a “neat freak”. I’ve got laundry piled in my room right now (clean, not dirty laundry, that would be gross, ha ha), and in general I have a messy garage and storage space. I just close the door behind me and don’t worry about it.",0 omg im eating [watermelon](https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/645057080155308042/713571784989081640/image0.jpg) rn how did you know,0 Screw that ignorant cunt. She obviously doesn't know the difference between a blessing and a curse.,0 "i hate this. i had a really important essay to get done (like if i don’t hand it in i don’t get my diploma) and i just couldn’t work on it because i was so stressed. then after my teacher called my mom about, which is embarrassing cause at 17 i shouldn’t need my mom to make me do work, i sat myself down and did more work in 20 minutes than i did in all of two weeks. that led to me congratulating myself, but not being able to do anymore work that day. i just wish i could have normal work habits",1 You just described my life. I’m so glad I’m not the only one.,1 " Wall of text below, so tl,dr: find the right organization, attitude towards projects and tools, and use communities! EDIT: also understand _how_ something works. Makes it much easier to remember if you pick it back up than if you tried to learn steps by heart or blindly follow directions I grew up in a very crafty environment (my mom is a crafts teacher with very probable ADHD, my dad is close to or on the autism spectrum and loves to tinker and fix things, I got into reenactment at 14 and started going to crafts circles). I don't get a tenth done of what I imagine/ plan, but that's okay. Still decent output for working full time, I think. What helps me: -Having a variety of tools at hand that are multitaskers. Also when in doubt choose the smaller/less fancy option. -Trusting my own resourcefulness. If I mess up or don't have the tools, I can usually come up with an unelegant hotfix. Ain't stupid if it works. -Having a bit of a stash in standard materials. I always have mockup fabric, q few different kinds of threads in variety of colours, a box of buttons etc. Often looking through curbs that impulse to buy new stuff, and it's helpful to get your projects down smoothly -Have duplicates of universal tools you'll probably lose. I think I have four #2.5 sets of dpns and five measuring tapes plus a million scissors, also many pencils. Not worth the hassle of dropping your project to root for it. Keep only one of specialized tools though and group them per craft. -Find your best organization levels for different intensity of use. Yes a rainbow yarn drawer is pretty, but for me digging through it works fine (unless overstuffed). -Don't spend tons of time rooting for tools. If you're unsure but have a range of options craft forums will usually delight in telling you what they like in model x and y. Also a good way to meet new people to motivate you, unless you're like me and challenges don't do a thing for you -Take your time to analyze and take notes. Sucks but helps a ton.... The 'proper' way would be a craft journal but if you're more likely to use your phone, use your phone. Look up previous notes if you've done a similar project before. -Don't burn yourself out on a project or a craft. For me this means avoiding deadlines altogether but you may be different. If you don't burn it you will probably cycle back to this hobby and then you already have some steps down. I think I'm on my sixth attempt at learning tin whistle and it does get easier every time. -Just don't ditch it because something doesn't work. Issues that don't get fixed by sleeping on it usually warrant a question on a forum. We don't bite. And I've seen plenty of people who are really good at their specific niche ask stuff. Somebody usually has an answer. And you still made it yourself, it's not different to doing research in books. Just more interactive. -Keep stuff for one project in one box, separate out tools. Keep the box and the toolbox that goes with it together while you work, if you finish or it hibernates back they go. It is OK to just shove it all in the bin, screw wrinkles, irons exist. Put a rubber band over dpns if you put down your work. If you take a tool out of it's place because you're attaching it to sth, put a note in the spot it belongs (this is hard though, I forget sometimes) -Buy your tools and possibly materials second hand. -I try to limit expenses for a new hobby to 50€ for the first few months. Then it's a bit easier to gauge how much I should actually invest.",1 "If I might make a suggestion. Consider counseling for your whole family. You are 30! You need to be an adult and be expected to act like one. Put alarms in your phone for everything. Stick to a wake up time and a sleep time. Doesn’t matter as long as it’s consistent and you are functional. Be a part of the family/be a team player. Do not get involved in power struggles with other family members. Have a family meeting about their expectations. Have them explain what they think your goals should be. Explain what you think your goals should be. My child has ADHD and so do I. We use simple kitchen timers and phone alarms for everything. We get our chores done every day and we are a family that is a team that works together! You need to act like an adult and find ways to get support and for everyone to cope better with your disability. Do I still forget things YES. Does my kid? Yes. Do I yell out of frustration sometimes, absolutely. I am preparing him to be an adult and put myself out of a job. Act like an adult clean up after yourself. Grow up and ask for what you need. You need to improve and your family needs to support you. If you wash your clothes set your phone alarm to put them in the dryer. Have you offered to cook dinner for everyone? If you eat something make sure it’s not an ingredient needed for dinner. Think before you act; act like you are 30. If you are gaming all day, not looking for a job, and not showering-it’s you. They will yell less if you make an effort and have the family meeting and remind them to stop yelling. I know you are frustrated; I get frustrated with myself. I have a family to take care of and I have bad weeks sometimes. Get back on a schedule and pull your weight around the house. You are not 15; you are 30.",1 "Complete opposite with me. 3 pm is annoying because it interrupts my day, but it's better than anything before 1pm. Before 1 pm, and I guarantee I will be late or won't make it.",1 How come we don’t talk about how to find solutions to this more? Cause this is exactly me and I’m ready to grow,1 Haha all that thinking with how the camp would work and all that time trying to come up with a good name for it to only then realize the name you did come up with has a bad past and history associated to it.,1 "Dude is this an ADHD thing. I've never been good with, do this when this happens. I need to understand how it all fits together. I need to know the process. If I understand it I can make a decision if something unexpected happens. So now I'm prepared. And I can't forget a piece of information because I understand the thing as a process. Math, physics, chemistry, done; I got this. History. English. Hell no!",1 I love this and hope it spreads like plague throughout the interwebs.,0 "Yes I have always felt this way. In school I always had to know whyyyy, and still as an adult find that having bigger picture context for what I'm being asked to do makes it so much easier to absorb and apply information. I think it's a systemizing thing maybe?",1 "This DOES remind me of Dali’s “Persistence of Memory”. It is almost as if were i to step through her *stretched* eye, i would stand in Dali’s painting. Dali deals with the internal mind in a symbolic sense, but you have shown the physical, external reality. Both both the photo and the subject could be said to be one - the inner and outer person. Well done.",0 It’s like screaming at a cripple person to run faster...just cruel. Because people can’t “see” anything wrong with our brains on the outside for many it’s too hard to empathize which is unfortunate.,1 "My brain when I’m trying to relax: Hmm what is the most fucked up thought I can think of?",0 "I feel the same way. I know I am smart and people see it but I do so much dumb shit and get down on myself..like how can anyone think I’m smart? Try not to be too hard on yourself. We all have our quirks and weaknesses but all in all we are magnificent beings. 💜",1 Can confirm. All I need to do to get health insurance the past 9 months is look up the federal id number of an employer. I’ve been paying hundreds out of pocket. I’ve started the application about 8 times.,1 I just involuntarily visualize the worst thing that could happen. I see myself tripping and stabbing myself... and then afterwards comes the planning in case it did happen.. the ambulance ride.. the bills.. the loss of my financial future... I run through the whole 9 yards of consequences for every mistake I involuntarily picture myself making. I wanna use the garbage disposal? Hands in pockets or I’m seeing my hand get shredded.,0 "This is absolutely amazing, thank you! I got up to the end of General. I'll read the rest later....probably. I'll save it anyway just in case.",1 "damn dawg, good shit. i hate eggs and raw meat, so i can relate and i can tell you that what you did is a great achievement. keep at it bro",0 "i never use ""..."" (x3), I have to use ""...."" (x4) even doing it now as a demonstration is messing me up right now.",0 Thats so true the only thing i like about not remembering things is when i buy things off Ebay (Cosoles and old games) i cant remember what i bought and everytime i open a package its like chrismas because i dont know what i bought. But the negative traits are about 99% of it i cant remember any conversation i had cant remember a text i read 2 minutes ago or when im out with friends i alwas ask them to take a photo with them so i can remember it or at least partially what we did or that we even did it (sry for Bad Grammar English is not my first language),1 "My ADHD ass with a planner: *spends hours making it look nice, color coding it, adding stickers, creating systems and notes and tabs... Only to completely forget to use it after about a week...*",1 I beat ocd with psilocybin look at my post for the story,0 "This is worse than other blantant advertisements. Replace it with ""Bipolar 2 Approved"", or ""Major Depressive Disorder Approved"" to see how weird this is.",0 "A friend of mine said something similar once regarding my brain fog: ""Well have you been drinking enough water"" Instantly cured not only all of my adhd symptoms and brain fog, but also my tendency to forget to hydrate! Wish someone told me sooner! Oh wait, they did like 500 times...",1 "You do, however, control your feelings which ultimately controls how you think. **epic mic drop**",0 "I often think that people without the hyperactivity part of ADHD probably suffer from being lumped under the umbrella term. Personally, I never once considered that I might have ADHD until after my 24th birthday because I was under the impression that hyperactivity was the main symptom. Even after checking the NHS website, it seemed to give a list of definitive ADHD symptoms, rather than *possible* symptoms.",1 I cannot express how glad I am to know I'm not the only one who does this,0 "My top 5 songs are all Hamilton songs, and I apparently spent a fifth of all my listening time this year listening to Hamilton. My top 100 contains the entire musical, and also conplete album of that artist I had a hyperfocus phase on. Not really representative of my taste either haha",1 "Sorry I don’t mean to take away from this post, but I’m trying to post and it keeps saying post failed, how do I make a post..?",0 One month I had Bruce Springsteen on 24/7. He is my favorite artist of the year,1 That's not OCD. What's the compulsion here? There isn't one.,0 My non ocd family trying to say I don’t have ocd because I don’t care if something is symmetrical or not when they do,0 "I am really proud of you and for creating your own “accommodations”…accepting that we have a disability is key to have a better life. And the good thing of having ADHD is that most of us are really resourceful and can create “tools” to that makes our daily lives much easier. Due COVID-19 (things still bad where I live), so I prefer to not hire anyone to help, but I got two cleaning robots (a mop and a vacuum that clean much better than I do), and my food is delivered. It reduced a lot the household chores (as well as my anxiety and depression) and I just have to focus on keeping the house tidy, and today I beat myself much less for having it messy for one or two days. Furthermore, congratulations for the great text, despite being long I managed to read it all and loved it. You really know how to write for ADHD people with all the emphasis and energy. (Contrary to what I just did 😅😅😅😅)",1 "Don’t worry, I just found out I probably have dyscalculia and all of the books are for like 4th grade math, with pictures. Gotta start somewhere!",0 "Thankfully I have gotten good at this to a degree. It depends on how intense my thoughts would get. In particular if it is something along the lines of doing the worst atrocities I can think of to my closest friends and family members.",0 "That would be a much better description of what I struggle with. At my job, I can often focus enough to write code or debug things for several hours but I'm terrible at project management or keeping track of an onslaught of emails.",1 I just finished reading the assigned chapter in my economics textbook(:,1 "My schedule: You studied for seven hours Reality: You studied for an hour and a half",1 "This post reminded me that I forgot to put my sheets in the dryer, so thank you!",1 God it’s so true. I hear people call themselves OCD at work all the time....,0 "ok holy shit u may have just saved my grades, thank you from a struggling college student!!!!",1 "Lmao I love this. Recently been practicing NOT glancing repeatedly into the toilet bowl, as well as closing my eyes in the shower and just enjoying the water (usually I'm glancing out the curtain and checking the drain every few seconds).",0 Me but i wake up 4 times before the alarm. I dont even need the alarm because i cant stay asleep,1 "THIS. “Pull a U-turn so you can go back and make sure...okay, do it again.”",0 I legit feel like I'm fooling people due to this sometimes.,0 "This is the best post I’ve ever read on here, literally summed up my mind yesterday. If I had awards to give, you’d have loads",0 Lol this has just turned into a confession thread. I am dying omg.,0 And then you get overwhelmed and start deleting tabs but then your ocd tells you that you done messed up and wanted to do what was on said tab. Then you dissociate to get rid of the problem. Exhausting,0 I guess I will never truly accept the fact that the week is got seven days. I can’t go on with seven. I just can’t,0 OH MY GOSH I'm not alone!! The number 28 used to anger me so much (I'm slowly getting over it)! I thought only I had number-related issues,0 "Sounds like me, but in reverse lol, it seems I've only gotten worse. Today my sister burped while holding some food(she never touched, just held the plate) and I refuse to eat it, even if it was baked and boiled all over again.",0 "Would upvote, but it’d end in a 3, and that’s a Nono number.",0 "Lmao I've been feeling lumps of my neck for three years now, one doctor told me not to worry but now I'm worried. This literally sent chills down my spine and I didn't even read the post yet, just the title. I'll seek a second opinion. Thank you for sharing this.",1 recently had a covid scare so right now it’s all of these + “Do I have covid symptoms?” lol,1 "Exactly this but just with my phone in general. My family gets on me all the time about my ""phone addiction"" and being anti-social, ans I don't want to be, but they don't understand just how painful it is to let your ruminations roam. I know there are other hobbies to distract myself but it's far harder, so my phone is the quickest way to relieve the pain. Keeps me distracted, and occupied.",0 Ugh I’m so glad someone said this because I feel like a ding dong for my top 5. I mean. I enjoyed the heck out of all 5 of those songs this year but I don’t know if I would call them my favourite. Do I even have a favourite anything?! Who knows!,1 Thank you for this. I had no idea so many others were like me. I was really down on myself today about it. It can be shameful and embarrassing when I can't recall basic information about a topic I truly enjoy reading about.,1 ">Using emergency fight-or-flight overdrive to deal with normal daily problems is reasonable and even expected. Thank you for articulating this. I couldn't put my finger on it, but it explains a lot.",1 I do that and many other things when a uncomfortable memory comes up. But I don’t know if it counts as a symptom of OCD.,0 "This is exactly how I have been feeling lately, constantly, just moving from one obsession to the next like I'm stuck in a horrible loop",0 Making fun about it and accepting it at the same time like that is the first step to a healthier life,0 I’d like to make this into a version of “there was an old lady who swallowed a fly”,1 I only discovered recently I suffer from OCD and was shocked. I thought OCD was like Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory. Having to knock on the door a certain amount of times. But when I found out my constantly checking things are off and having panic attacks because I thought I hit someone driving even though I knew I hadn’t. Everything started to make sense the more I researched OCD. It baffles me that I have lived with this my whole life but never even had a clue it was OCD. My life makes so much sense now but I wish I had known sooner.,0 Waiting on a package that has live gps tracking is worst,1 "##r/TrollCoping --------------------------------------------- ^(For mobile and non-RES users) ^| [^(More info)](https://np.reddit.com/r/botwatch/comments/6xrrvh/clickablelinkbot_info/) ^| ^(-1 to Remove) ^| [^(Ignore Sub)](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClickableLinkBot/comments/bor133/ignore_list/)",0 "It’s horrible. I remember how much I suffered when I didn’t know, and I would never wish that upon anyone. I try my best to spread awareness, both in real life and online, just hoping to at least help one person.",0 Also question... Have you gotten blood tests prior to the diagnosis that showed abnormal levels of anything?,1 Me what gets me is if someone I thought wouldn't know knows more then me i feel like a failure after but everybody knows a lot about alot just not the same alot,0 "I’m Not Gonna Get Accepted Into Medical school I actually got an really bad anxiety panic attack and lost my consciousness. It’s a dream and my mental health is damaging everything.",0 "holy shit well done!!! ERP is tough as shit WITH a therapist, never mind doing it on your own. you should be so proud of yourself, this is amazing!!!!!!!!!",0 "The 10 pairs of sunglasses I have stashed in my draw because I can’t find them so I just buy another pair. The cooking oil I couldn’t find at the back of the pantry so I picked up another one at the supermarket. The take away coffee I brought on my way to work because I ran out of time to make one at home and my executive function won’t allow me to function like a normal adult until after 10am. The endless socks bras and underwear I have stashed in washing hamper because I hate doing laundry. Forgetting to pay my Afterpay payments because a giant inflatable peacock for the pool on sale at tk maxx was way more exciting then paying off my payments. Forgetting to fill up my reusable water bottles and having to drink warm tap water in the summer because they weren’t cold on time. Having 3 of the same cutting boards because you forgot you already brought one.",1 Often. I’ll typically have to watch movies in three different stages of time because my attention is limited to a certain time capacity,1 "It's really good, it really portrays the intrusive thoughts. Good job! <3",0 You’re definitely right. I deal with the same thing about thoughts of family and friends :(,0 Oh my god yes. And now I look bad telling my husband stories and realize how bad off I was and didn’t realize it.,0 "Totally get the depression-ADHD interaction. Your trouble getting out of bed made me wonder if, in addition, you might be a night owl? Seems to go with ADHD and can definitely complicate things. (Can also make it hard to tell which is giving you trouble at any particular moment).",1 "Both my left and right brain laughed at this genuinely, out loud. Bravo.",0 "ALWAYS the only thing that works for me is caffeine, really and a diet with foods that I can digest well",1 "Comforting …… I’ve been told that surviving / living with ocd. I should give myself credit for getting through everything I have and what I go through on a daily basis, etc.",0 it’s actually healthy to express your feelings instead of bottling them up,1 I was literally just playing this game 5 minutes ago. Then i washed my face. Feel 5% better.,1 """It's fine, it's just in the *somewhere*, I'll find it eventually. Not now though, I don't have the mental fortitude at the moment.""",1 Ugh been feeling it clawing back after two months pretty free of it. Thanks for this.,0 "Had this happen yesterday, it can't catch me being happy for more than a second!",0 Sometimes it’s the only way I can get myself out of a cycle of intrusive thoughts or even flashbacks sometimes I like have to break myself out of the thought physically,0 "I figured out what this is about and in part I think it’s how I loathe to be interrupted when I do actually start something. So I can’t do anything at all because if I do and I have to stop to go to the appointment it will suck. Of course this makes no sense. I could do a one hour task at 11 am in theory, but my time blindness keeps me from doing that.",1 "ADHD; Do it for the penguins. Got it. Love you OP.",1 "Well done! Both on the exposures and keeping track of them. Now you know it can be done, and the proof can help you trivialise your anxiety. I'm really happy for you!",0 It’s torture. I ruined my best friendship by having to many psychological issues. I sulk in my loathing everyday in my room I can’t deal with this world I swear to god,0 Anyone get these that make them angry so they can't but ruminate?,0 years ago i used to set alarms on my phone to remind myself to brush my teeth + shower etc but deleted after people saw and made fun of me for it. well i finally got diagnosed this summer and looking through this sub and realizing other ppl struggle the alarms are back baby bc remembering/motivating to keep up w hygiene can be so hard!,1 "My son paces. He always has. The main areas of our house are laid out in a square-kitchen to family room to living room to dining room. He does the circuit, sometimes with a jog behind the kitchen counter and back. It was no bother when he was little; but I had to put my foot down once he hit 6 feet and kept growing. No pacing in the kitchen when I am cooking. You either help or get out. Nothing like turning around to grab something and smacking into a moving wall. 😀",1 holy shit i used to think this. also thought i or my family members were having seizures after someone in my class had one. i watche dyoutube videos about it for a month and then forgot about it,0 ERP fucking ruined me and I fucking regret it. It probably works for most people but it fucked me up,0 "Idk, I always used this to excuse my weird ass OCD rituals and people were nicer because of it. Just because someone makes fun of their own OCD doesn’t mean it’s invalid. Like I understand what this is going for, but honestly it’s kind of crap to gatekeep a disability. OCD is a spectrum like autism, some have it worse some have it better. Saying you’re a little OCD can be perfectly valid.",0 "I am so so sorry, and I’m also truly grateful that you shared this with this sub. I’ve consistently neglected my health and this has been a much-needed wake up call to try my best to prioritize taking care of myself. I’m the same age as you, so this really hit me. Especially since I have a young daughter (11-months-old) and I desperately want to be here for her as long as possible. OP, I really hope that you have a strong support system and have the resources available to aid you in whatever ways are possible. If not, I know I personally would contribute to something like a GoFundMe etc if one is created. I know it’s a corny sentiment, but I’m sending so many supportive thoughts your way.",1 me making every coin i count face upwards replacing counting my steps like----,0 "Everyone has something going on in their life that others don't understand. For us, it's OCD. Just because other people don't understand it, doesn't mean we should be upset with them. If it does upset you, that's okay, but try to take a step back and explain to them why that could be considered offensive, 9 times out of 10, they just didn't know. Shoving this burden we bear down peoples throats in anger will never lift any stigmas, but enforce them.",0 "I've never been diagnosed, but when I realised my intrusive thoughts were some kind of obsessive compulsions things became so much easier. It's still deeply disturbing but I know it's my brain overrunning and not my personality.",0 "Yeah I get this too. It’s really frustrating, and I was actually thinking about postings about it here.",1 Yeah I used to think that was what ocd was until I started getting intrusive thoughts and didn’t know why it was happening until I learned that that is also a part of ocd.,0 "Still full of doubt, but thank you- that means a lot 🥲💞",0 "Yes absolutely! It definitely helps me at times to remember that the thing we are all battling is our OCD and compulsions, not anything else! There are still times (mostly in the mornings / at work) where I think about those million reasons why it's not OCD and how I'm probably just the 1 in a million where my OCD is going to come true and that my life is ruined, but allowing myself to do some self-ERP has helped me immensely with dealing with those thoughts when they arise. If anyone is reading this and hasn't tried some level of exposures followed by not acting on your compulsions, please consider doing so! It really helps an incredible amount.",0 Oh my god is that what this is? Im like looking into ocd symptoms now wondering if maybe i just have munchausens but so many make sense? Am i on entirely obselete meds cuz still in the 'figuring out what works' stage?,0 "Can’t clean my room mom, too busy separating my eyelashes with a pair of nail scissors so that no one notices what a mess the rest of my life is... - Me in high school",0 "What if I'm a master manipulator who has played the victim so much, that no one knows I'm a monster.",0 Omgggg i love this community yall really are my people 😩😩😭 i love you guys 💜,1 "I just had my first baby and am mostly exclusively pumping... my partner takes the night shift and sleeps during the day, I do the opposite. So I set alarms at night for every 2-3 hours so I can get up to pump. They're loud as hell but nearly half the time I turn them off anyway and go back to sleep, only to wake up hours later with engorged and leaky boobs, milk stains on the sheets... sometimes it looks like several ounces leaked out onto my sheets. 😑 it is heartbreaking and so frustrating but I'm usually too tired to care the next time it happens. Lmao",1 Can someone lemme know how hat the mechanics behind this is? (Aka the scientific explanation). Why are we like this lol,1 "Dude same bro. I do think I'm above average ever so slightly on the IQ scale like most people with adhd its just that you can't slow down enough for your body to react. I have a hard time with my words sometimes and I try to speak too quickly. My adhd was diagnosed 3 months ago and it explains so much. Your brain is faster than your body, thats why caffine and energy drinks may actually calm you. But at the same time your brain is like ""HELL yea thats a bomb idea"" but youre moving too fast and you mess up and it's like ""I made an oopsy poopsy"" Thats just how it is sometimes. Taking a breath and pushing through when you can is a huge help.",1 The other day I was making macaroni and cheese and I looked over while I was waiting for the water to boil and noticed my dog needed some more water so I gave her water and that reminded me that it was about time for her nighttime treat so I went into my bedroom to get her treat and saw that i had a bunch of water bottles on my bedside table so I picked those up and put them in the recycling but the recycling was getting full so I took the recycling out and then I sat on the couch and watched tv for an hour because I forgot I was making macaroni but luckily I had also forgotten to turn the stove on in the first place,1 This is me after a cup I just drunk from smells a little too clean,0 "At least with the bad weeks I can recognize it now and do the things I need to do to get out of it, and the more you do it, it gets easier.",1 "On the first day of fall classes, my roommate for my sophomore year of college walked in on me coming in from my microbiology lab. I had to leave the lab only a few minutes into the class from having a panic attack. She had come to check on me because she had heard the water running for 30 minutes. She walked in on me sobbing and trying desperately to get my hands clean. She didnt talk to me much after",0 You can also do this on Google Docs! There is also an application/website called Glean! My university’s disability service gave us subscriptions and it’s an awesome service,1 Thank you so much for showing me that I am not the only one!!,0 "I’m the queen of overusing commas and semi-colons LOL also when people put a pause “...” I actually for some reason do “,,,” I don’t know why but putting “...” seems so weird and serious to me 😂😂😂😂",1 Bruuuuhhhh. Thank you. Seriously thank you for breaking the scroll-sorption as I call it lol. Ima go do some house hunting now lolol,1 "Please be aware that RSD, or rejection sensitivity dysphoria, is not a syndrome or disorder recognised by any medical authority. It has not been the subject of any credible peer-reviewed scientific research. It is not listed in either of the top two psychiatric diagnostic manuals, the DSM or ICD. It has been propagated solely through blogs and the internet by William Dodson, who coined the term in the context of ADHD. This means that Dodson, his explanation of these experiences, and claims about how to treat it all warrant healthy skepticism. Here are some scientific articles on ADHD and rejection: * [Rejection sensitivity and disruption of attention by social threat cues](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2771869/) * [Justice and rejection sensitivity in children and adolescents with ADHD symptoms](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24878677/) * [Rejection sensitivity and social outcomes of young adult men with ADHD](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17242422/) Although r/ADHD's rules strictly disallow discussion of other 'popular science' (aka unproven theories), we find that many, many people identify with the concept of RSD, and this post has therefore **not** been removed. We do not want to minimise or downplay your feelings, and we find that many people use RSD as a shorthand for this shared experience of struggling with emotions. However, please consider using the terms 'rejection sensitivity' and 'emotional dysregulation' instead. Your post hasn't been removed, and this is not a punitive action. This comment is meant solely to be informative. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 "You will never break this behavior by shaming or hating yourself for doing it. You have to do two things: reframe “I should go to sleep” into “here are all the reasons why I want to go to sleep” (helps me do my work, I’m a nicer person, etc.!), and stop shaming and hating yourself for doing it. You aren’t stupid for wanting to feel good with a dopamine hit. It’s even ok if you don’t go to sleep sometimes. You already know why going to sleep earlier will help you. Put that to use. Be kind to yourself people",1 I needed this today. Thank you doesn’t even begin to cover it. Love this community more than words can describe.,1 "It be like that sometimes (most times, like all the time)",0 "my psychiatrist increased my zoloft from 100 mg to 125 mg recently. after I picked it up, I had a dream where my insurance covered the 100 mg tablet and denied the 25 mg tablet, and the 25 mg tablet cost like $1000 out of pocket. terrifying.",0 "My moms side of the family has a long history of mental health issues like schizophrenia, and a ton of health problems, and my dads side of the family has a history of mental health, physical health problems like cancer, arthritis, and back problems. And my uncle worked on a government project, and then something happened that he wouldn’t talk about, after that he went extremely paranoid, started hallucinating things, and ran off and they haven’t seen him sense. But my grandma gets calls of someone just breathing sometimes, and she says she knows it’s him. I’m 20 and really hoping I’m at the worst of my issues. I sometimes wonder what my parents were thinking when they had 6 kids, and didn’t just adopt instead of passing down all the fucked up genetics. Suffice to say I’m not having kids",0 but then that one time that you don't do the thing and the bad thing doesn't happen and your OCD is like *yEET*,0 oh what I would give for my ocd to just want organization.,0 Brain in John Cena voice: **ARE YOU SURE ABOUT THAT?**,0 "In my eyes this is just a form reassuring yourself, which just keeps you in the OCD reassurance-loop. What would probably be a better coping strategy on the long term is to 'simply' accept the thought that you in fact may be a bad person. I put the word 'simply' purposely in quotation marks, since it may be easier said than done. Accepting and embracing such thoughts is not simple at all, but probably the only way to snap out the OCD thought loop. Stop rationalizing why you are not a bad person, stop reacting to your thoughts and 'just' accept. You'll find that the intensity and frequency of those thoughts will decrease in the long run",0 "Good news guys!! I decided today that I’d prefer not to have ocd, so it’s gone now!! /s",0 "Thank you for sharing your experience, and I agree with your sentiments that this should be normalised. Would change so many from surviving to thriving. Well done you.",1 "I'm currently in the middle of a contest where I literally have to write a novel in three days. Last year, a day and a half was taken up by that being the only possible timeframe where I could move. I made the finals. This year, I have a million things on my plate and the story I picked starts out really, really hard before it gets easier. So... four hours, maybe five if I push it left in the second day, less than half the time left, and somewhere between one half and one third of my writing is done. Good news is, it gets easier as I get closer to the ending.",1 "What I’ve noticed after my doctor telling me I have anxiety, ocd, and depression is this...in my mind I’ve noticed that these are just labels for shit. They are mental diseases, not physical, which means they are in my head. Once my doctor put those labels on me I identified as the person with ‘these’ problems and not who I truly am. I stopped taking all my medication and now I just let nature take it’s course. I remind myself that I’m normal and I’m just going through something. Those labels made me feel as if there was something wrong with me that isnt fixable but I try my best to remind myself it’s in my head and I am in total control. It’s up to me to behave differently and not blame these issues on my ocd, anxiety, or depression. When I feel anxiety coming or I’m doing some ocd shit I stop everything I’m doing and fight it as best I can. This is the only thing that keeps me sane.",0 "I feel a lot of shame because I can't finish a task all at once. Like I want to reorganize my home office (OH THE LOFTY GOALS I SET FOR MYSELF!) and I'm feeling a lot of anxiety and shame right now because I know if I start it will set of a chain reaction of hyper-anxiety cleaning/thinking of ""what do I do with all this STUFF?!"" and then the task doesn't get finished.",1 Thank you soo much for posting this. You don’t know how badly I needed it.,1 "Try switching from ""I have to wash the dishes"" (example) to: ""I *want* to wash the dishes *because* then ____________ (my kitchen will smell nicer) Instrumental music (lo-fi, classical) played on headphones can help make mundane tasks, bearable. So can a ""conversation"" with a one-sided talking relative (example, mom)",1 Is the blanket supposed to replicate part of The Persistence of Memory?,0 "OMG yes, the number one reason for not cleaning my apartment is my compulsions and thoughts that keep me away from life(including cleaning my place)... I never was a clean person tho so can't blame it on my OCD 😂 Usually it's my female friend who cleans my place when she comes here, since she's very organized and can't stand my mess haha",0 "Me to my bf: I love it when you are near me! Voice inside head: No you dont",0 "(My comment is completely unrelated to the post) I have this problem where I am very aware about my breathing and it has been 36 days since it started (and counting) (I have no other Symptoms) sometimes I feel like I am short of breath but it's just my dumb brain making things up. What should I do?",0 Idk what to do when it happens! Should I mention it’s a trigger or ignore it? My friend doesn’t know my theme and said the most triggering joke and it ruined my whole day now i wanna avoid her lol,0 "Why is my heart racing and my legs feel tingly? “You forgot to worry about that thing” OH FFS",0 This sounds like a lot of the shit I tell myself. I literally don’t post in this sub cuz I don’t think my ADHD is severe enough. Nice to know other people feel this way.,1 Still paranoid of odd numbers to this day. They are bad luck 🙃🙂 except 6. 6 is NEVER allowed.,0 Wow im so happy for youuu. Give yourself a break too sometime so u dont wear yourself out ok bro,1 Remember that it’s very likely your mom has adhd as well,1 "Oh god i feel this, it comes in waves. Like there will be days when i will literally cry if the beds arent made and the towels arent sorted correctly, but then there will be days where i have to go searching for my pillows cos i mustve thrown them somewhere during the night and then just left them in the mess that is my house.",0 I’m so grateful for this sub and how relatable all these posts are. You guys all make me feel like I’m not going through this hard journey alone. Thank you. 🙏❤️,1 Yes! I also need instructions shortening down so I can memorise them,1 At first glance I thought you meant you brushed your teeth non stop for 27 days 😭😭,1 I used to hit myself as hard as I could in the face or head but now I usually shake my head or just tap my head/forehead to make it stop or to snap myself out of another compulsion I can't get out of,0 "When I was younger, I would feel exactly the same way about cleaning and doing math homework (I later discovered I have dyscalculia). I've learned to do things in small portions and steps, so it doesn't seem so overwhelming to me.",1 "I use the “Due” app. This still happens for me, but I can snooze the task for a later time. It reschedules it, but the task doesn’t go away until I actually do it.",1 This happened to me when I got over it just for it to be replaced with a worse obsession,0 that’s amazing dude ! glad you’re achieving things like this :),0 "Honestly the need for reassurance is the scariest most annoying thing out there. But I feel like once you can get over that initial hump, it does get easier… Similar to other “addictions” & cravings.",0 Saaaaaame. I hoard information because it's interesting or potentially useful and then can't find it amid the other potentially useful information. But I got the huge folders of it pretty organized.,1 "Congratulations on the victory! It's hard to overcome those thoughts, I'm proud of you! Enjoy your coffee <3",0 "It won't always be like this. Keep pushing to get things done and take a moment to appreciate the victories. Your mind will gradually stack these, and your confidence will grow. Keep talking to yourself and the people that love you.",1 Gosh OP. I relate with you too hard. I’m working on my PhD apps right now and it takes me FOREVER to write a silly paragraph about things I already know. I am constantly forgetting important details about my research when talking to my prof and it’s extremely stressful. Not sure how anything can help with this trait? It’s definitely related to working memory and medication doesn’t seem to address that,1 I started chatting about taxes and what not while she was doing her thing with me. Guess it was a combination of bad sex and ADHD.,1 "I did need to hear this! I just had a wonderful day and then I decided to obsess over something I said on a date over a year ago with a guy who I don't know that I even liked that much. I'm really trying to make my home space as calm and clear as possible so I can work on deep breathing and pushing thoughts away. Sometimes it's a good reminder to tell your brain to stop being a dick or say ""I'm here and now."" I've taken to saying ""There's nothing you can do about it so stop it,"" when the past creeps up. Guys I know it's been a long time in quarantine and it's making OCD so much worse, but it's temporary. I know it may not always feel like it but we're going to be okay.",0 "Would making a daily schedule in the hopes to get your life together, then tweaking it almost every night because it’s not really suiting you, but still never following it also fall under this category",1 "My hands used to look exactly like this in middle school because of excessive hand washing. It was so painful! I'm so glad you're fighting back. Congrats, I'm so happy for you!! 💕",0 "Yeah, sorry, this kind of thing sucks ass, I do it a lot, too",1 "as someone who's main symptom has always been hyperfocus I'm not *deficient* in shit, I am however super bad at regulating it. Petition to rename it Attention Disregulation Disorder",1 Finally someone else who has it. I have no idea what to do.,1 "Get a VR headset and play beatsaber. Especially after a couple bong rips, it feels like you are creating the song, not to mention it is one of the best games I have ever played",1 I’m pretty sure my husband could have written this about me. Lol.,1 "Hi /u/Common_Teaching2554 and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! If you haven't already, please take a minute to [read our rules](https://reddit.com/r/adhd/about/rules) and check out our list of official megathreads [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/nu534w/official_list_of_radhd_megathreads_please_check/). If your post fits into one of them, please resubmit your post as a reply to the relevant megathread instead. Thanks! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*",1 "Nope. I remember the main points, but not the details, unless it involves a coherent story. Like, “first this then that” and each event is logical and flows into the next, I can remember that. But not names or dates. So I’m good at neuropsychology and stuff, but not history for example. I always have the basics down but not the details. The more abstract and verbal the information, the better I am with it. If it’s concrete or “fact-y” it’s in one ear and out the other unless I really rehearse it.... and even that’s no guarantee.",1 Is there an award for procrastination? You also have perfectly captured the classic ADHD excitement about every new thing. Well done👏,1 "I just remembered that I haven't brushed my teeth over a week, thanks for the reminder",1 "Lucky for you, you're tidy! If I leave my hair brush on the counter facing the toilet, my son is going to be decapitated on his way to school. But, yes, we're the same. Haha",0 "I have ocd but don’t get this meme? Also my ocd brain has decided that when I have thoughts like “if I don’t do this compulsion something bad will happen” is true and that I somehow control how the world works by doing stupid rituals, like I will physically cause something bad to happen in reality just because my brain says it will. Does anybody else get this?",0 "BRUH yeah! that´s exactly how it feels! Finally someone put it into words I was talking to my bro how we needed a 48hr. day and hes was like ""and wtf are you gonna do with 32 hrs."" and I was like ""something I hope lmao""",1 "I always think that ""why"" is the most important aspect of everything. And current state of the world usually proves me (and everyone similar) right. If enough ppl asked why often enough, we would have a lot less problems. And probably a lot more dead ppl that asked too much. :D",1 I fall on both depending on the day... adhd m bipolar make a crazy mix lol nobody understands me... I hate when I go on rants blah blah blah but not being enough for anything is definitely where shit is hitting lowww n nooo I hate it there... the empty black whole.. feeling of missing something but don’t know what I want to do things but I feel too shitty to even show interest probably come off uninterested n uncaring n probably an asshole. I think they hate me because I can’t even predict that just hope it isn’t the 😭😭,1 "These prey on people with anxiety and OCD so much. I'm sure some people don't know how much it can affect people, but there are definitely those on the internet that just love to bully those with mental illness.",0 "This brought tears to my eyes. I needed this reminder, thank you so much",0 "This is part of why I love ceramics. There are elements of “if you don’t finish this today all the work is going to go to waste” and “This can sit for a few weeks until you’re ready to work on it again”. There are so many phases and steps, and when your done you have something to hold and use. That being said, ceramics is one of the 3 things on earth I can focus on.",1 """You can be rational, intelligent and logical but there's no ability to implement"" This so succinctly puts into words my biggest struggle with ADHD.",1 Thoughts like these is why I avoid everything. (I'm on a list to go to an inpatient OCD and anxiety disorders treatment),0 "I'm so honored that you included my tip! Now to read through the rest of them... Thank you for doing this incredible work!!",1 "I am dealing with this too. My solution, set an alarm at 8:15 everyday, wake brush my teeth. Go back to bed. I hope once this becomes habitual I can build upon. I am giving it my all to fight my consistent inconsistency. Currently pursuing my diagnosis so feel like an impostor. But seeing posts like this give me some piece of mind I'm in the right place.",1 "I sit by my son’s bed and sing him a song at bedtime every night. Some nights after I sing he’ll say he didn’t hear the song because he was thinking of something else. He will get super upset if I tell him it’s too late for another song (not in a mean way, just in a past bedtime way.) I pretty much always end up singing the song again when this happens because I know he can’t help it, and his genuine distress at not hearing the song the first time breaks my fucking heart.",1 do you know of any way to set word up so that it records audio from Microsoft Teams meetings? that'd be super helpful,1 "Ah yes, for it was the learning about executive dysfunction that gave me the executive dysfunction. I also am unable to complete tasks bc of all that time spent dysfunctioning executively, on purpose. I think the man’s onto something!",1 I haven't been able to get my ADHD meds for almost 3 years. I had no idea how much I missed it until I read your post,1 "You’re not alone! For me I’m mostly a picker and also want balance like touching things left and right or eating even numbers of things. But no hand washing or contamination fear. My room has always been messy and honestly and I was so bad about brushing my teeth and washing my hands as a lot. My mom used to say I had the “wrong kind of OCD” because she was tired of picking up after me. Interestingly enough though, I’ve actually started stress cleaning during all of this. But not scrubbing everything down, more organizational.",0 That’s something worth being proud of! I have a really hard time having routines as well. I brush my teeth when I remember to because I’m supposed but that’s not always at a set time for me.,1 "Same, I’m not looking forward to sharing a dorm next year because I already annoy my family by going to the bathroom up to like five times a night, I thought it was a UTI too Apparently it’s an ocd thing, I found an article on this exact phenomenon and ocd through either this sub or lexapro a while back but can’t remember the name or the psych who wrote it",0 My school announced this today. My math class is going to be a NIGHTMARE,1 This hit me in my heart... I feel completely alone and I hate myself so much. My life is completely trash.,0 "My diagnosis has helped me realize this. Its a slow process though. Today I'm really struggling with ideas of being too lazy, too careless.",1 "I’m the “not enough”. Not enough ambition. Not enough motivation. Not enough “sticktoitiveness” I have a high degree of perfectionism, but only a portion of the time. So I’ll get so stuck on making the “cover art of my book report” (or whatever) look like the million dollar concept I want it to be, that by the time it comes to like, reading the book, or taking notes, or writing the report, or whatever it may be... I simply don’t have enough fuel in the tank, motivation to try, confidence that I even *can*, to follow through with the rest. Or I can just simply run out of give-a-shit. I was never the hyperactive type. No extra energy. Just distracted, disorganized, unmotivated, and good at giving up and accepting the consequences of being sub-par. Technically the last grade I completed was 7th. I attended 8th grade (failed), 8th again (for three months, then failed so badly they bumped me up to 9th anyway), and a little of 10th before I dropped out. My scores and grades were mostly 0’s and incompletes. Spent too much time drawing pictures and trying to socialize. Anyway... I’m a work in progress I suppose.",1 I was given the same advice by a coworker. I don't know why I never thought of a planner before. I was instantly cured! /s,1 Wow. So I think I do have ADHD because I said yes I do that to each statement. I’m realizing that some of my best friends cut me off for these habits. I wish I knew as a child so I could have found ways to cope as I grew. Anything besides meds to help cope with these symptoms. Better late than ever that I start taking some control of my life,1 "I feel like I ""permanently quit"" doing my rituals every few months. Longest it lasts is a day, usually it lasts 10 minutes. It usually just forces me to think about them which causes my OCD to just flare up more. Only time I get a break from the ritual side of OCD is when I simply forget.",0 "I feel this. My mental image of OCD for years was either me curled up like a wounded animal inside my own head or a metronome of pain that cycled through ""intrusive thought-anxiety-compulsion-relief"" ten-thousand times a day. The isolation and shame can be unbearable.",0 "Because I forgot to sleep right, because I skipped the gym, because I drank yesterday, because I binged yesterday, the list goes on.",1 I wiggle the handle for like a minute just to make sure,0 Well the key is to never read what stupid people say,0 "It’s SO crazy reading these comments. This is ME completely. And like so many other comments I read here, I just didn’t connect these behaviors to my ADHD. To say this sun has been enlightening is putting it the understatement of the century!",1 It doesn't stop after school. You just described all of my home projects. Every single one.,1 "I love it. Thank you. Hope I can employ it. I fear I'll still say.....""what if""",0 Man if it were that easy for me. The only thing that worked were SSRIs and it took me way to long to convince myself to try them,0 "I feel like this too, all the time. I'm not making progress on Critical Life Things. Thing is though, are you really giving yourself credit for what you've actually done? I feel this way, really intensely, but when I actually enumerate the shit I've been up to it's a mountain on top of 'working full time'. I felt like this after working my arse off to create something in a week, and I *didn't* feel like this after a staycation where I just slobbed around for a week straight. The only difference was not having this looming feeling like I haven't done a Task. Giving myself permission to relax. There's things you can do about feeling this way. It sounds corny, but making a reverse to-do list -- where you write down all the things you have achieved today / this week, even if they feel minor -- really does help put things into perspective and helps you celebrate what you are doing. Try it. Every time you feel like this. The second strategy is to recognise those Looming Tasks that are making you feel like you can't / shouldn't relax. Keep breaking them down into smaller bits, ask what's blocking you on them and FORGIVE YOURSELF for being blocked. Every time you make a step towards completing it acknowledge that you're working hard and you're making progress. Stop comparing yourself to people who can do it effortlessly. You can't. But you can start to appreciate your own hard work. All this is because we don't seem to get the same sense of innate satisfaction / reward out of completing tasks that people without ADHD do - this means all we really do is pile up the feelings of frustration from the doing the task / trying to get ourselves to do the task and our minds get no reprieve. Hence why these techniques work: if you want reprieve you'll have to do it manually.",1 That's amazing! Keep going strong. I'm curious to hear about how the process went and how you did it if you don't mind sharing.,0 "Congrats, way to go! I haven’t done my dishes in a year due to OCD and it’s ridiculous. I paid someone to do them twice, but that was months ago and now it’s up to me...",0 "One time I said something like this on here and was accused of gatekeeping. It really hurt my feelings that people were assuming I was saying, “Oh, your OCD is NOTHING compared to mine, mine gives me bruises.”. No, this is exactly my point. People throw “OCD” around like they do with almost all mental illnesses and it’s incredibly detrimental.",0 "I'm totally ADHD, DID and CPTSD. All medicated. All diagnosed in adulthood. I used to be like this. I had guilt and other regrets. I thought I had no control over this ""ruminating"". But I read an Eckhardt Tolle book called the Power of Now. Its about living in the present moment and and getting rid of that self talk or pain bodies Tolle calls them. Once I was able to experience that peace. Wow! I was not going back. It takes a little practice and reminders. Its retraining the brain. I don't automatically start to have these thoughts fill my head anymore. But it changed more than that. I began meditation practice shortly afterwards and have been faithfully practicing and progressing for 9 years now. It helped get me through breast cancer and radiation. And taking care of my dad who had dementia and was dying on hospice. It's an amazing tool and when I read through all your posts I can't help thinking how you could all be helped just by downloading a mindfulness app and trying it out. Give it 2 weeks. I guarantee if you give it a REAL 2 weeks, you will like it! It's also been scientifically proven to have health benefits so why shouldn't we?😁 Edit for some guided ADHD meditation links https://youtu.be/uuzJffTliSc https://youtu.be/ULyLsGVs7ng https://youtu.be/J6k8PGpOaHQ https://youtu.be/y5EqO8CQ_cQ",1 "Oh my god. All of these annoy me but the asking me to clean/assuming I’m organized/clean myself gets to me. Like there’s so much more behind OCD and people feeling the need to clean is most likely because they feel like their brain would melt if they didn’t. I’ve had a bit of an obsession with hand sanitizer lately and I’m trying to not give into it because I know where it could go, I put some on when I’m bored or don’t notice. I assume it’s better than picking at my skin but still.",0 "Yes, and I think it often lead me to develop codependency with some friends: I'd worry that I'm secretly evil, so to compensate I'd be chaotic good and overly generous to friends, to the point of wearing myself thin. And then have friends always expect or even demand that from me has lead to confrontation/accusations of me being a shitty friend. That's just my experience as to how a compulsion has worsen/reinforced my thinking of being a bad person. I try to balance it now.",0 "i literally had to drop out of school bc my ocd got so bad, it annoys me so much when people downplay it",0 "OMG. Yes. I've always felt this way, and only at certain points could even put my finger on it. There's always been that feeling that I was bad. Not enough. Just...wrong. I know that I act like a good person, do good things, try to make the world a better place...yet at the end of the day, I still feel like the biggest piece of shit. Like if people could really see me, they would hate me too. If someone tries to tell me how kind or generous or [insert positive here] I am, I feel like a complete and utter fraud. I just cannot believe them. But if this is really just part of my brain being broken, then...I don't know. Maybe I'm not.",1 "I always was called lazy or easily distracted as a child. Never went away as an adult. Just got diagnosed at 30 and am medicated for the first time in my life. Definitely not just a children's issue! Although if the general public wants to learn more about it and better understand kids with it, surely that will help a lot of people take care of it earlier than they would have.",1 "When coworkers laugh about their ""OCD"" I usually tell them the word they are looking for is anal retentive-control freak.",0 "My hands look like this so hers can look like this. Fr though, congrats!",0 let’s! fucking! go! i’m in the same boat. so proud of you- COCD sucks but it’s so gratifying to overcome. i see your growth and i’m so so stoked for you!!,0 "I have swollen lymph nodes and got an ultrasound and blood test that they said looked fine a couple years ago. How were you diagnosed? Ultrasound? Blood test? I’m still suspicious bc of fatigue, night sweats, always swollen tonsils and lymph nodes... I know I should trust the test results but I’m a super worry wart.",1 "Dude but I think it rolls over cause that happened to me too so I just made new playlists and used those as my watch later playlist for a while, but then I tried adding to watch later again recently and I can now so idk but either way ahhhhhh I hope you do well on your math exam!!!!",1 Such great advice and such a cute tattoo idea! Love it!,0 "I'm actually the opposite. I used to have some Oppositional Defiance type thing when I lived with my parents and wasn't on medication. The only way to make me see sense was to butt heads with me, I'd get upset and go away, and then once I calmed down I would realize how irrational I was being. Besides that, I need the tough love. I know when I am being lazy, unmotivated, or socially awkward but I need that reality check. It helps keep me in check. Other have commented how they are angry and ashamed of themselves but I use that to motivate me to do better. It doesn't work for everyone but its helped me.",1 That's why I work in retail because reasons why are normally straightforward and my manager at least doesn't care if I ask why about everything.,1 "Oh and also 'have you ever thought about not being depressed?'. Always the same bullshit. My uncle wanted to give me similar ""advice"" once so I asked him (part time alcoholic) if he has ever thought about just not drinking because that should be pretty easy... Weirdly enough that wasn't the same and I was the asshole afterwards 😂 I don't get it.",1 "Maybe i dont get the full picture but personally i dont get angry from things like these, its like people usually says playfully ""yeah thats depressing"" but everybody realizes that oy doesnt mean you are really depressed. But yeah, i get how frustrating/challenging it can be to teach somebody whats OCD is really about. But its not just only ignorance, people just dont genuinely know what OCD is. I have to add i have pretty hard OCD myself.",0 Bro for real. It’s like my brain says “oh you’re ignoring my anxious thought? Nice try I’m having a 2 for 1 special”,0 "Neurotypicals don't even think about any thing. I never heard them say I was thinking about that.never having opinions different from what they were taught.so he really can't understand ,and this is his problem not yours.",1 This is the way to do it! That's sounds like a pretty effective way to make obsessions concrete.,0 "Yup. I love setting up documents like nice headers, tables etc. I make a plan and stuff, but the actual event - nope. No thanks.",1 "This is it, this is the pull of obsessions, thoughts, loops, you can’t even pull your head up to see anything else.",0 Oh I'm far too busy worrying about what thing I should do next to be able to read the dozens of saved posts I forgot existed until you posted this. Far too busy,1 "Ugh I hate it when that happens, because if I get interrupted, I have to start the whole process over again.",0 All of this made absolute sense- had a great doctor that basically said the same. I’m in the US so... now I can’t afford a psychiatrist so I’m going it alone. My doctor isn’t covered under my plan so it would be out-of-pocket...haven’t been back since. It’s definitely rough.,1 This almost made me cry. I think I need to hire housekeeping. I just checked out care.com and it's cheaper than I thought!,1 This is beautiful but I hate that you had to go through all of that. Sending hugs ❤️ ily keep going,0 "My therapist just told me that it's weird times that we're living, because OCD symptoms are pretty much accepted by society and considered the norm. ""If you don't wash your hands 52 times your grandma will die"" is what we're told here in Spain, where shit got real two weeks ago. It's not that we're right, it's that now what we do is accepted.",0 "1. Gotta wash my hands 14x in a row or I will get sick and die. 2. If I don't shuffle the cards right, everyone is doomed 3. What if someone breaks in (Gotta check the locks again) 4. If I don't stir this right, someone will die 5. You looked at the clock while the numbers changed (do it again or DOOOOOOM) (Bonus Track: What if everyone secretly hates you)",0 "So much this. I always feel like I'm too much, or not enough. There's no happy medium most days. I'm learning to embrace it 😊 (Recently diagnosed and medicated, just after my 46th birthday!)",1 "I have mostly all of these but I never put it down to my OCD, now it makes much more sense. People don’t seem to understand that no matter how much they compliment me and reassure me I’m not annoying or putting all my problems on them I will never believe them. You’re such a strong person, thank you for sharing this and helping me understand a bit more.",0 Huh. If it wasn’t for this sub I’d have no idea doing this would be a symptom of ocd,0 "God it's wild, isn't it? Growing up and well into adulthood, it is literally impossible to do certain things because of executive dysfunction. I never knew what it was, and I would beat myself up so badly for not being able to do something without someone holding my hand through it; and even then it was a terrible struggle. I remember in school I just could get my work done, at home or in class, no matter how hard I tried. I couldn't even comprehend how other people simply did things and got them done with what seemed like no effort. I can't even begin to describe the hope and relief I felt when I found out that there's name for this phenomenon. People would always tell me things like ""Take some initiative! Work hard, just do it and get it done!"" And it was so painfully difficult trying to explain to them how I simply couldn't do it. I understand your pain, friend. Be kind to yourself; none of this is your fault.",1 "Lots of great advice here. Game developer by hobby/degree/career and I still feel this. Gonna tell you a secret about people who make creative things. 1. Almost no one is just magically good even if they think they are. Creativity is no different then any other skill, you have to practice it. Make 1000 tiny terrible things. You'll find making shitty art is the best way to make good art because you are building the skills to move forward. 2. Scope. Your goal should always be attainable even if it's at a child's level. Making music? Write a 4 bar ditty every day. 3. Find structure to organize. Don't say ""oh I need to work on this composition"". Have a list of every minute task. Pick a key. Write a 4 chord progression. Repeat 10 times. Write a bridge. Don't go to bed until you mark at least one thing off the list. No one makes halo without first making a circle move on the screen first. Wiggle your big toe. People who make things look easy or natural tried reeeeally hard to make it look that way.",1 "Oh my god, that’s one of the most adorable puppers I’ve ever seen. I love him!",0 Lol I can't even afford my meds or basic food and clothing.,1 "I was reading this and half way through said, homie has adhd, and read which sub it was posted in lol I done shit like this so many times",1 "Im not sure what im looking at, its really nice though",0 "My compulsions made no sense... they were super severe (better now!) but I really didn't have any specific thought behind them except ""this feels wrong, I have to do right. I must do it right."" My intrusive thoughts appeared usually alone.",0 Your TLDR is spot on. This has been my life for a while now.,1 "lol, please someone tell him sub OCD types! This is just painful to read",0 Rip days w/o video games played September 2019-february 2020,1 "Recently I’ve been wondering if I have schizophrenia, it’s like an obsession kinda but I’m not really scared of it so idk",0 This is amazing. At some point I forgot I was reading about you and thought I was reading about me. And then I was wondering how you got to know me so well. Literally only three of these don't apply.,1 Hangin out over here with my OCD/BFRB double whammy,0 My brain be like: FrEuD sAid tHaT thE sUbconcSioUS is tHE reAL yOu,0 "Paralysis of will is the perfect word for it. I don’t “not feel like doing an assignment” I would love to get it out of my way, but I physically can’t manifest enough will to start",1 "I'm not like this about appointments, but I am about dates. At least I used to be; I've been in a relationship for 4 years now and we get ready for dates together at reasonable times. But I used to spend all day getting ready for an 8pm Tinder date.",1 "Excellent share! Related to this idea I was introduced to a concept of **body double** some days ago by another post. https://add.org/the-body-double/ I think this approach is deeper, but I find both very interesting. ",1 "As someone who doesn’t have OCD, do you guys experience those ticks too? Like is it that you’re not neat-freaks and germaphobes, or that you are those things but it’s just a lot more than just that?",0 "I thought that was a just a me thing, especially when they're unnecessary. I'm also a fan of the Oxford comma lol",1 i think this will help. i’ll try and keep it in mind.,0 I have a 280 page first draft of what I hope will be an amazing novel. Haven't been able to focus at all and no writing has happened since last fall. It sucks so hard.,1 "Or you could just use copper, bronze &/or brass, as they kill bacteria in between minutes to hours.",0 "Wow. I'm getting flashbacks and starting to understand things retrospectively. Thank you for sharing this, I sincerely appreciate it. It truly means a lot, thank you. :)",1 Thanks for posting this. I feel your pain and think it's hard for normal people to understand how frustrating and debilitating it is. There is some comfort in knowing there are others that get it.,1 "Yep... ADHD, autism, and BPD are all written about by neurotypicals and for neurotypicals instead of as resources for NDs...",1 "I've been trying to learn a coding language lately. Even though it's something I'm doing voluntarily, and am interested in, going into depth about math heavy content is my idea of a nightmare. I've been experiencing EXACTLY what you're describing. That sleep coma kicking in every time I try to sit and read about it. Then I think ""I'd just do better if I went and took a nap and come back to this later."" \*goes to bed\* WIDE awake. I second the above post that suggested binaural beats. I haven't used them for nap timers yet, but they do help tune out ""extra noise."" Usually if anyone else is home, I don't get anything done because it's super easy for me to get auditorily distracted, but it helps a lot to put droning music on in the background. No words, not something I would listen to any other time in my day, but somehow with that right amount of white noise going, my reading comprehension goes up, my ability to sit and focus on the ""homeworky"" tasks goes up. Type any combination of these search terms in youtube: ""Binaural beats"" ""Alpha waves"" ""study music"" ""brain beats"" One last tip I use is to look into the Pomodoro Method. It basically says that humans didn't evolve to do one extremely focused task for hours and hours. They recommend doing 25 minutes of work, do something else for 5 minutes. 25 minutes of focus, 5 minutes of rest. Repeat. For some people with ADHD, it may sound like it's breaking us out of our ""super focus zone,"" but there's a bit of scientific research that suggests that we perform better using this method. [Here's the wikipedia page for the lazy.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique) I've been testing it out lately with pretty good results. I use the breaks to do a few pushups, wash a few dishes, change the laundry, get some water, or ideally, reward myself for 25 minutes of productivity by having a snack. Something like a carrot, or a few grapes. It makes it like a game, so I'm more likely to challenge myself to ""win."" Or maybe I'm just stress-eating and finding creative ways to justify it. Either way, I hope it helps!!",1 This is so true. It’s weird to tell people you have OCD because it’s always assumed that it means you are obsessed with cleaning or doing things repeatedly.,0 I had it from 10 years of age or so . But it was around seventeen that it just went from worry of contamination to worries and obsessions about thoughts. I reduced it up to an extend by 2 or 3 years but then it returned full fledged after 2 years or so. It has been ruining my life since 17.,0 "Have ADHD, also musician. Totally know how you feel. God, kill me for loving a hobby that is so adversely affected by my brain.",1 "Planned out a whole shed I wanted to build myself, including setting up the concrete base. I've picked out a plan after tons of debate with myself. Now that I'm ready to start buying, I feel that the shed is already done. No lie.",1 "But you can't ever point out their mistake because then they're like ""oh shit dude why are you so triggered?? Its just a joke chill out""",0 "Or how about when you're leaving the house and your parent or partner goes ""Hey... can you do 10 things before you go?"" as you're running late or whatever else is going on and then tell you a 30 minute story to go along with all the tasks?! HELL ON EARTH!",1 "The problem is when you think you can go through the house anyway but OCD gets the better of you and you end up paralyzed, sitting in a corner inside the house, scared.",0 "Yeah 100%. But then again OCD ist different for everyone. Mine's just about numbers, geometric shapes, dates and worst harm OCD (which got better since i started taking meds). But i never had the fear of contaminating myself or felt the need to clean up or wash my hands 100x a day. In the past i also couldn't plug in electronic (tv, etc.) bc. i had the fear i would get an electric shock. But my flat looks like an absolute mess. x)",0 I feel this so hard. Every goddamn day is a struggle. Make enough money to pay bills and that's about it. But mostly it's the HAVING to get up and go to a place I hate everyday and do the same mind numbing thing over and over to survive. This isn't how we are supposed to live. We arent supposed to be shoved into this box.,1 "I knew when I started work at 15 that I never wanted to do anything office oriented unless it was working for Social Security like my mom because every day was different. I’m 23 now, I’ve worked at a dry cleaners, two restaurants, grocery stores, factories, daycares, and now I’m starting with a cleaning company thanks to some friends. Being able to go more or less my pace and expect the unexpected has been AWESOME.",1 Yeah I always end up watching a whole different movie in my head,1 This is me. But ALSO my daughter whenever i ask her to do dishes or laundry 🤷🏽‍♀️,1 I feel so immature and unprofessional sometimes due to this,1 Word it’s not real if you can’t explain why it’s a thing,1 this be me but with moisturising cus i fucking hate the feel of dry skin,0 "Haha yeah but it normally takes me 1-2 hours to shower, so I don’t normal shower in the morning.",1 I get pissed off when people try tough love with me. I instantly switch off and go into Fuck you mode,1 Try the self hatred of ADHD on top of the self hatred of homosexuality. 😂,1 This is the first thing I saw when I opened Reddit that’s not fair >:(,1 """tell me you know nothing about OCD without telling me that you know nothing about OCD""",0 I know exactly how you feel. I’ve felt as though I’ve been trapped like in Get Out. Except with OCD. 😔,0 Depends on the day. I can go days with my apartment looking like shit but then one day stay up until 1-2am cleaning and can’t stop. 🤷‍♀️,0 "This sums it up perfectly, I hope we all heal and get through this, we are not alone!",0 I’m struggling. I know they’re just thoughts but it fucks with you.,0 "i want to share my experience, and it might not be totally uplifting but hopefully it’ll help ease some fears. also i’m doing work so not gonna proofread this before posting, sorry for mistakes or redundancy. so i’ve actually already been sorta “cancelled” on social media. looking back on it now it wasn’t insane because i wasn’t a big creator but it did ruin me completely for a while. i still worry that people from school, on the street, anywhere will recognize me and make assumptions about me. the video in question got 100k+ views on tiktok when i had maybe 100 or so followers — so you could say it spun insanely out of control, and fast. you wouldn’t believe the amount of hateful comments i got. people accusing me of deleting comments, making personal attacks. when i tried to explain myself, people flat out told me “i’m not reading all that.” there was nothing i could do. my anxiety got so bad i stopped even opening tiktok. accidentally opening it would make my heart rate spike and make me feel nauseous. i eventually had to delete the app, and i still haven’t made another account. all over a mistake, a misunderstanding. i don’t believe i even did anything wrong. but that didn’t stop people. they tagged their friends. relentless hate. it was a traumatic experience. 100k people is a lot. so whenever i meet someone new my age, my mind sometimes panics, obsessively thinking — do they recognize me? what do they think? are they judging me? but it’s been about a year now — and things are okay. i haven’t encountered anyone who has seemingly remembered me. i still remember it and it gives me a sick feeling and i get anxious, but even if you were ever to be in that situation — you’ll heal from it. the mostly awful, but in this circumstance great thing about the internet is that it moves *so fast*. the internet moves on, jumping from trend to trend, drama to drama as fast as within a couple of days. i think back to my time on tiktok, pre-cancellation, when i used to see videos cancelling regular people over actual heinous, recent stuff. but i can’t remember a single face of any racist or bigot. if i saw them on the street i wouldn’t know. my existence used to be fueled by the fear of being recognized, but its only because i lived the experience that i remember it. everyone else has probably forgotten because it never really mattered. i was just a person they could target, laugh at, harass, make assumptions about. but they’ve all moved on, and i am, too. even with my OCD. like with most of my other OCD fears, i force myself to think logically. logically, you don’t remember the faces of inconsequential encounters on the internet, much less a year later. so i shouldn’t be too worried. and i’m mostly okay now. maybe one day i can make an account on tiktok again and show my face, but i’m not ready yet. the most important thing i’ve learned is that all those tiny people on the internet do not matter. what matters is the people in front of me — my friends, my family. the people who’ve been there all along, who love me enough to not drop me over one thing. and i’m going to assume that no one’s “after” you, so that’s even less cause for worry. people who get cancelled usually have something other people are envious of, or do something publicly bad. so if the things you’re worried about happened when you were younger there’s no reason, logically, for that stuff to be dug up about you, assuming you are a normal, non viral person.",0 "Yup, so much this. I was prescribed adderal and talk to a therapist twice a month and it’s helping. I just started a job I really love and don’t want to risk losing it over disappointing people. My gut tells me that’s what happened to a past job over a 2 1/2 year period.",1 I feel your pain. Having OCD REALLY REALLY REALLY FUCKING SUCKS!!!!,0 "I read this comment on the original post: ""Also, Child never learns how to articulate why the task is difficult. They learn they're not allowed to."" I think this is my problem -- I don't know how to do certain things, break them into steps, not even where to start, and I don't know who to explain it to anyone so I'm just plain stuck. If anyone has any ideas on how to learn to articulate why a task is difficult, I would so so appreciate it. Then maybe I can start asking for the right help.",1 That is beautiful and I am very thankful for this. You seem like an amazing person! Wish you all the best ❤️,1 "I needed this so fucking badly right now❤️ I’ve felt like such a piece of shit for the way I’ve been feeling about my girlfriend lately. I love her to death but it’s not a new and super stimulating experience so I’ve felt this disconnect and I’ve been beating myself up so hard for the unwarranted resentment I’ve conjured up about our relationship. Thank you so much for posting this, I couldn’t have seen it at a better time",1 "This post is helping me finally articulate why I've been subscribing to Blue Apron meal kits, and relying on Uber Eats during the pandemic. I like cooking, but I hate grocery shopping, and we waste a lot of food when I grocery shop. So, even though Blue Apron is stupid expensive, it still ends up being right for me, and I \*do\* actually eat the left-overs once I've gone to the trouble of cooking it. Everything is pre-measured, and ready to to be assembled (the part of cooking that I like). Once, someone re-organized my pantry, and I cried myself into a panic attack. I lose groceries in my own house and forget that I bought things, and accidentally re-purchase things I already have in stock. I like this post for normalizing our quirks, and for making me see that it's related to ADD which totes is not my fault, hahaha.",1 "The real problem with intrusive thoughts, is that they scare or upset you. I am (was?) suffering from suicidal thoughts... The weird thing is, the more you learn to accept these thoughts, the more you see cause and effect. My suicidal thoughts come from a deep sense of shame. And another problem is, that our society deals with these usually by oppressing them. Thats why you feel you want to run away or erase these thoughts. By learning to allow them, without you trying to control them, automatically will cause you to see the reason behind them. Obviously its quite challenging to learn, and you should always respect your own limitations. So feel free to quit and start again, however much you want. Its also good to build in a few basic fysical things in your day, that make you feel good. For me its a hot shower every morning after being online for an hour. Then later perhaps a short walk. Some basic household work can also work. These things can get you in a meditative zone. Also, I am not at all a good technical guitarist. But I can get a deep sense of peace sometimes from it. Something about the body of the guitar against my stomach, and feeling the vibrations. I just play some soft peacefull tunes, or some bluesy/grungy stuff. Depending on mood. Very important when you wanna do something creative: DO NOT try to be succesful at it. It kills creativity, and defeats the purpose. The feeling that the result doesnt matter, creates freedom in your brain. And the result will likely inspire a sense of love or peace. I have a yt channel which is completely private, on which I about 15 short vids of gitar playing I recorded in the past years. Sometimes I get a little tipsy, and play em on my tv. It always gives me a unique feeling, because as time goes on, you really look at yourself/things you did in the past, with more love, respect and grace' Sort of like looking at a project you did when you were young, and sort of feeling more positive about it than you did in the past. When you were being too hard on yourself, just like we all are doing now. The present quickly fills up with worry, and makes us sick in the head. And were more likely to mis the beauty of things... Also, dont underestimate the power of a hug. We all know that though, but we dont know that this ""hug"", can happen on a psychological level, by yourself. And be just as good, if not more. Fantasising about positive things happening to you/to you life, can also be good for mental health.",0 "OMG YES!! I think this every single day on my commute to work. my biggest one is transfer trucks!!! You know the big trucks, logging trucks, dump trucks, pretty much any of those big trucks that can only drive like 40 mph because they're so heavy. ​ Every day, if I am at a red light with one, or I pass one, or I see someone cut one off, I feel bad for them. I literally say out loud, ""sorry little buddy, good luck on your journey and hope your day is great"" and I feel genuine emotion for these damn trucks, because they are being left behind by everyone. we all just leave them in the dirt with our fast cars, and they're puttin along behind us. ​ It makes me angry at myself that I feel sadness about these trucks. If any truckers read this, I AM SAD FOR YOU AND I DONT KNOW WHY! :( ",0 "Yay for happiness and yay for supportive boyfriend! I had pretty big emotions the first time I took my medication too. It can be a bit overwhelming to feel the “oh so THIS is what I should feel like” it’s like a huge validation that yes indeed we have been struggling more than people give us credit for.",1 "There was a TLC (maybe?) show I remember one particular episode of whatever show this was where a woman had harm OCD where she wouldn't even touch knives because of how terrified of her thoughts she was but the therapist actually did ERP with her starting just with being in close proximity with knives all the way up to the having her hold a knife to the therapists throat if I am remembering correctly. Anyways, that was kind of the first experience I had with understanding intrusive thoughts. I also remember an episode with compulsions being shown. I wish I could remember the name.... Edit: Found it! It's called ""Obsessed""",0 "I get this kinds fuzzy feeling in my head, I'm not tired or anything but I just slide past the task I don't want to do.",1 Currently going through some real world issues(tm) and honestly I sometimes don’t know what’s real right now since my life is so filled with uncertainty Thank the powers that be for therapists who text on off hours ❤️,0 "I thought this was just anxiety? I do this. And it’s been called anxiety by my therapist. Y’all do this and it’s ADHD?",1 "I struggle with intrusive thoughts as one of my symptoms. I know I have OCD, but my doctors refuse to diagnose me, and just say that I have OCD ""flavors"". It's so dang annoying.",0 Yessss. I always think okay this is the last time and then my ocd is like um no you didn't do it perfectly and you need to do it 16 more times,0 "I’ll do you one better - I have never once, even though I have saved things constantly for the last ten years, even opened my saved posts / reading list / bookmarks / one tab / email folder / notes list of links. Not. Even. Once.",1 "If it matters, I used to say I was so OCD before I actually had the diagnosis...... because I sensed that my checking rituals and obsessive attention to details, intrusive thoughts and raging anxiety .... were something. I just didn’t know what it was and no one else ever cared enough about me to pay attention. I’ve formed coping mechanisms for most of my life, OCD was just another life obstacle that I found ways to “cope” with (some of my coping was in the form of joking about it) but as I’ve gotten older, it’s gotten much worse. Now, I know, a lot of people jest and mock and joke about OCD. But some of them may actually BE OCD and just not know it yet.",0 Ironic since jordan peterson harps on people to clean their room,0 "I see posts like this and feel like i'm in the massive minority...I don't feel this when i take my adderall (15mg). Seems like it works maybe 35-40% of the time then wears off stupid fast. Like today, took my pill at 820 at work, and it's now 11 am and i've managed to focus for a total of 30 minutes on my actual job.",1 """Hitting like lightning"" is such a wonderful descriptor. I always had a hard time expressing how intrusive thoughts have a *feeling* to them, it's like a supernatural force is pushing them into my head. Like I'm trying to hold to door closed but whatever's on the other side is terribly strong!",0 "Ugh, yes. I play golf with a guy that keeps telling me the same stories and will stand at his ball telling a story and never getting to a point and we get people up our asses, and he's always trying to coach me and just screws me up. I would love for minimal talk.",1 "When I was little I used to spend an equal amount of time with each of my Webkinz stuffed animals (and I had a shit ton). I never thought that was an OCD behavior, but that explanation makes total sense",0 "I'm struggling with this currently, I always thought that I would have enough time to work on my project,t but I end up getting distracted with other things.",1 "In all seriousness, I use an app called todoist which allows me to add items to a to do list, which I have a widget that I can add, modify and tick off things right from my home screen. Its great... As long as I don't forget to add the things I need to do... Which is often...",1 "Yeah, I spend hours each week tutoring people in math just because it's fun, meanwhile I still have my own homework that I've been putting off for way too long by helping people. But as a result I just end up being really really good at the material I help with, so it strengthens my understanding of the high level stuff. Hacking my brain to be better at math.",1 "Considering we're in the midst of a pandemic, this is even more of an impressive feat. What did you do differently? Any advice on how to wash fewer times in general?",0 "Absolutely. Knowing the why and the systems is important to me. It’s like o don’t understand the task until I understand it’s purpose. And I usually try to figure out a better way of doing things too. Weirdly related- I got PTSD when I saw a plane crash. And then a few years later an Air France plane crashed and a member of the Riverdance troupe was on it. I was a dancer and knew people who toured and even though I didn’t know her, it did a PTSD thing. Part of how I got through it was reading EVERYTHING about that crash. Any report that came out, including the final investigation. Learning about the failures of the de icing system, the anti-stall system, and the many pilot errors made me feel a lot better about air flight. It was still years before I could fly unmedicated but it helped to understand more about how planes work.",1 "Trigger warning! OCD says i will be forever tortured in afterlife if i dont do the things it wants. its so hard to resist. Im going crazy",0 me thinking about that time i drew a gun on paper in 3rd grade and everytime a cop was at school i thought he was coming to arrest me (until senior year i had thoughts like this),0 "I have the same issue. I constantly think I have posted something without knowing or remembering. Snapchat is a big one for me. I’m always re-opening the app and checking who I sent snaps to, and making sure I didn’t accidentally post things to my story or send them to the wrong people. I check even when I haven’t used Snapchat that day. I’ve deleted many social media accounts for this reason. I haven’t had Facebook for 4 years because of similar reasons. I’m constantly deleting and remaking email addresses and other accounts.",0 "This was so inspiring, I am cured, my skin is clear, I've lost 15 pounds, my periods are regular. Please give my thanks to your father.",1 For me it's not that I can't pay attention (although it's a toss up). It's more that I can't transition. Once I'm started on something I'm good until I burn out. But if I'm doing something that requires multiple steps I'll end up standing in the livingroom with an arm full of dishes trying to figure out what in the world I'm doing.,1 "L I T E R A L L Y me. You don't know how many (please don't come for me) vegan/environmental documentaries and youtube videos I've watched plus how much I've read online. But if I get into an ""argument"" with someone about veganism, I know there's many supporting statistics/facts but I can't remember any. It seems like I don't know anything. I avoid debating with anybody. It's like, I know what I don't know. But I don't know the details. I know... But I don't.",1 This hit me so hard in the loveliest way. thank you,1 "I will be sitting alone in a room, actively having intrusive thoughts, and then think I don’t have OCD or am faking it for attention. Like girl what",0 "If there is anything in the thread that goes against subreddit rules please let me know. I will remove those tips, but everything in this post is collected from the other mega-thread of tips.",1 "You can do it my friend. We’ve all been there. If you keep truckin along you’ll learn ways to cope, and every day will be just a little easier.",0 "I don't have anything encouraging to add or say, other than I feel the same. 38F, recently diagnosed ADHD, but have had depression since a teen. Maybe I was ADHD at that age, who knows. Been told with a shrug that they either go hand-in-hand or that one was the cause of the other. On anti-depressants/anxiety meds, which kinda helps other than feeling numb and empty inside, but I still feel like the ""weakest link"". Not cut out for the world we live in, dog-eat-dog, survival of the fittest etc. I'm also incredibly sensitive to everything around me. No one in my current world understands or can relate, and they look at/treat me like I am making a bunch of excuses for my shortcomings. Or that I am being selfish because there are people who are in worse places than me. I wish there was a way that I could donate my life to someone who deserves it, who actually wants it, who would actually fight for it. If there was such a thing as devil or death gods, I would not hesitate to sign over my life for someone else to have. It feels like I am a mistake to the world. I got a low end job, constantly making mistakes...like the ones my boss brought up today on things I was suposed to have been thorough about but wasn't. He asked me, ""what are we going to do about me?"" Haha like hell if I knew. If I did, then maybe I wouldn't suck like this. I wonder how all of us here who feel the same, would interact with each other IRL. You're not wasting anyone's time by posting how you're feeling, and def not a bad person (unless you actually cheat ppl lol but it doesn't sound like it). It helped me in knowing I'm not alone or irrational in the thoughts we have. I don't know if you would feel comfortable and try reaching out to a therapist to talk through what you're going through. I don't have a therapist but I know sometimes it helps to hear what I am saying outloud. If no to the therapist, you've got all of us here to listen and talk with about anything. I hope you have a close friend to confide in, even if they may not understand. Hope you get some peace, friend *hugs*",1 """Are my kids alive!?"" Yup, still alive... in fact there's nothing remotely dangerous around them. ""Okay..."" 15 minutes later... ""Ah!! Are my kids alive!?"" Mhm...",0 "I got ""too eager"" on two job performance reviews at two separate jobs. *sigh*",1 I always say I want to wash my brain with bleach when its really bad.,0 "BUT WHAT ABOUT HEAVY RAIN AND MASS EFFECT AND BEFORE DAWN AND OTHER GAMES THAT TAUGHT ME ABOUT HOW A SINGLE ACTION CAN DETERMINE ONES FATE?!",0 I expoet everything to PDF because I never know if the site will still be up whenever I come back to it. I have the saves go to a folder that is scripted to organize by the creation timestamp. I have checked exactly zero of those PDFs. No idea what's in there.,1 Lmao that’s what happened to me...I had lo fi as my top genre which is just not true....,1 Lately I've been feeling this while working with my personal trainer. He has to tell me which muscles are being worked for me to understand the movement.,1 "This is assuring but there is so much stigma against people with POCD, people assume that if you’re having the thoughts (despite them being intrusive) you’re a disgusting human being and honestly that’s what prohibits me from feeling better for more than a few hours or days after seeing these kinda reassuring messages/poses",0 "I used pray for 2 hours a day because of this. This one time, I convinced myself I couldn’t move while praying and it was so stressful",0 The best thing about losing stuff is you get to re-discover all the other things hidden away in the drawers you've forgotten about.,1 I have this problem too. It is bad before I go to bed.,0 That's beautiful!! I'm happy you're making sculptures again :),0 "Hey now, don't forget Ace Ventura! Animal-loving empath that uses humor as their go-to coping mechanism for everything and sees the world so differently from the average joe that they come off as damn near crazy? God I love that man.",1 "Ugh yesss and it's usually because I have experienced something bad happening after doing said activity and my OCD says ""nope, remember what happened last time?""",0 Dunno if I’m the same but this might explain why I have to explain WHY everything works the way it does to my research students.,1 "I'm just realizing the fact that I'm a hostage myself. Maybe I can befriend him with Stockholm syndrome.",0 One symptom I would include for how ocd makes you feel: absolute terror about the future,0 "As much as I hate to say it...you're not the only one, my hands are absolute agony, I have so many cuts, splits, callouses. I have tried cream and gloves and it soothes a little but not enough. I hair can't seem to keep the cream on long enough. I hope this improves for you , I have no advice just well wishes.",0 "The problem is it manifests in such a form in adult hood that normal reasoning and symptoms don't apply to it. Even the symptoms are so unexplainable like I want to do something but I don't know why I can't. How will u explain this. So people/medical practitioners don't even try.",1 "I’ve had the issue where my brain is scattered so I see it and say it to my SO for him to do at some point (we both have ADHD: him diagnosed me not due to circumstances) so I 100% do not expect it done in even a day generally. But I keep saying it when I see said thing at least 2-3x because I keep forgetting. I feel terrible about it but at this point we understand that I don’t mean “do it now” I mean “oh did I say this thing?”. Now he just tells me that I’ve said it already when it happens. I think it might be helping me keep track actually.",1 "Mood. Every time I think I am just about to catch up, bam. Something else.",1 I am like this at work and it’s only gotten me near the top of a (small) company; it’s also a key attribute i look for when interviewing people. I don’t want to hire someone with no curiosity.,1 "Similarly a swollen hard lymph node appeared in December and I quickly mentioned it in a doctors appointment later that month where I was having my implanon removed and replaced. My gp confirmed it was a lymph node and to come back in 3 months if it’s still there. I’m a little late but have my appointment booked for early next month. My mum was diagnosed with stage 1 (thankfully) lymphoma mid 2020 and went through radiation and is okay now. I’m not sure what to think about my own situation, it would be really surreal to be diagnosed with cancer at 20, but I don’t know why else I would have this hard bump in my neck at this point. Not looking forward to all the appointments that will come with it but this post has encouraged me that I need to just get my shit together and get it over with. Good luck with everything! Hopefully you have a good outcome 🙌🏻",1 I relate to every single thing under this post. But i haven’t been diagnosed yet because of anxiety and I have ambitions. The exact words of my psychiatrist. But i always have hard time starting those tasks to reach the goals.,1 This is really hitting hard. The three of them all work together against me and make sure I make all the wrong choices and have an absolutely unproductive day.,1 "I've found myself a pretty sweet niche doing social media marketing/customer service. A big part of what I do is consuming ideas and content and then remembering it when the right opportunity comes along to share it. (kind of like taking those tests!) I still have deadlines and things I need to produce, but I think it's a nice match for my abilities.",1 It's funny - I function best when I don't take my ritalin on weekends. It's more effective and my anxiety is lower. Whatever works for you is great!,1 My thoughts can manifest themselves in the worst ways. This is encouraging. Thanks.,0 "Wow, the timing 😔 THANK YOU so much for this 🙏 You are a real life angel 💖",1 Ugh I can't open the door into my laundry. And I can't bring myself to throw any of it out.,0 There are so many saved... I might as well start a new username because just the thought is overwhelming! Lol,1 "Seeing people share the same experiences is so validating to me. I know it's my brain, it remindes me that I'm not an awful person.",0 "Personally I know if it ever actually did I’d be like “oh cool, now that everything’s stopped this means I can put off catching up until tomorrow!”",1 I’ve got cptsd and I can relate. I’m in the triage area with a panicked attack and I’m still doubting myself but I feel physical pain and difficulty in breathing,0 "Psh, I wish that was the reason. I just can't sleep.",1 "The unsung option, permanently(long time temporarily?) severs trust with your parents or guardians. Teaches them to hide things which may be important, because you learn important tasks==punishment.",1 "Honestly same here, I have been having this internal monologue lately that’s been repeating that I have some form of autism even though I know this isn’t true. I just feel so debilitated by my productivity that I sometimes feel like there’s something very fundamentally wrong with me.",1 "It's actually working out really well for me. I can't pay attention in class anyway, and this way professors are forced to put their notes online. With classes being fully online, I can work according to my body's schedule/circadian rhythm. I used to think 8 hours of sleep wasn't enough for me because I'd always be tired even after 8 hours, but it turns out my body prefers if I can sleep from 3am to 11am instead of 10pm to 6am. My productivity peaks later in the day, and usually by 10pm I'm still in productive mode, so being able to sleep later and wake up later is going to do a lot of good for my productivity and mental health.",1 "I use a lot of mid-sentence punctuation in general. I tend to proofread and edit everything I write, and long sentences get me lost, so I feel like I should fix them—but inserting a bunch of periods makes the rhythm of the paragraph sound so horribly wrong to me, so commas, dashes, and semicolons it is.",1 "There can be odd fringe benefits of having OCD. Sure, the completely socially unacceptable intrusive thoughts can make me unable to function. I have a time obsession that leads to me consistently being at least 30 minutes early to work every day, and cause me great distress when I might be ""late"" (not early), but it also allows me to trick myself into thinking a long drive is shorter than it actually is. Sometimes, it helps to try and find any positive you can.",0 "I'm what you would consider a high performing student ig (I refuse to believe I am but everyone around me insists I am and my grades too ig so we go with that) but I also suspect I have ADHD. I have almost all the symptoms to a high degree and they arent something I struggle with once in a while, its practically a constant battle. I have friends with ADHD, who, whilst they can't diagnose, can confirm that my struggles are extremely similar to theirs. My parents are boomers though lol and they arent so believing in mental health, I feel like it's something to do with not wanting to believe theres anything wrong with me, so I havent actually been evaluated for it. I'm still in school, but I'm not looking forward to having to work or going to university in a couple years",1 If people actually knew what a living hell OCD is they wouldn’t make fun of it.,0 I think they've banned memes here but there's r/OCDmemes,0 im going thru schiz ocd since last april and i dont even know how many times i did this lol,0 "I felt the assignment part… it’s been hard to work recently… Stay strong ❤️",0 hey! I'll have you know that it's 1:07 am right now :),1 "what does that word ""finish"" mean?? I don't think I've ever seen it before",1 "For a while mine was a LOT better (it's a bit worse rn bc college apps are SO stressful bc I procrastinate) and if I were alone I'd kinda just look at a wall or something like I was on the Office and be like BRO what the heck?? that makes zero sense! and the ""voice"" would actually shut up it was THE BEST",0 OP I literally had the same thing happen to me. It hit my thyroid and both lymph nodes. I waited a year and half thinking it was no big deal..,1 I have an appointment at 3:10 tomorrow ugh pray for me I’ve had undiagnosed ADHD for years I’m on stratera seems to be working I have to wait 2 years to see a therapist,1 There's not one of those chocolates I haven't had/have.,0 Is it throwing up my tummy is hating me at the moment,1 Did I wash my hands? Of course I did. But... what if I didn’t... *stares at wall for 5 minutes*,0 Why is tesco a carrier? That’s like Walmart being a carrier I’m confused,0 "I have the opposite problem. I dont forget. But I cant get out of the shower again. I get stuck in there with my thoughts. ADHD is very much a visual impairment disorder. If it leaves you eyes you forget it. Thats why lists like post it notes work really well. And constant calender reminders. We forget things because we seek new dopamin, so we look for new stuff all the time - unintentionally. So when we close the showercurtain we essentially lock our self in with our own thoughts and we get stuck there.. So have somekind of sign/reminder in the shower to get out. It could also be a timer on your phone or a simple egg timer.",1 Good for you!!! I desperately need to clean my apartment. What gave you the motivation to do it??,1 So I’ve had a lymph node that is slightly larger than the other on my neck for years and I never thought anything of it until I went to nursing school and my doctor said it is swollen but he doesn’t think it’s anything unless it grows but he would be willing to do an ultrasound if it would ease my mind. Were there any other symptoms or things that you had?,1 "all my therapist does is judge me for my ocpd, i always feel like a failure when i go, i'm starting to not like her very much, and then she telling my parents what to be doing and they end up making everything worse for me. i thought they were supposet to help me?",0 Holy shit you have got to get in contact with psychiatric researchers right now because this is a BREAK THROUGH!! Who would have thought we were just misplacing our focus the whole time??? 😂,1 You just made me so anxious and uncomfortable... accurate description,0 "That is so sweet of you. I’m doing okay as long as I don’t have any physical contact with the outside world. Every couple of weeks I have to go out to get groceries and that’s an absolute fucking **nightmare**, but I’m managing as best I can. I hope you’re hanging in there too, thank you so much for your kindness and support, you made my morning ❤️",0 What is that drug you have tattooed there? ( ͡ʘ ͜ʖ ͡ʘ),0 "Yoooo for real. I'm 33 and have an appointment next month to get some spots on my skin looked at for skin cancer. I have a few spots on my face that I thought were pimples that wouldn't go away. With the pandemic, working from home, and to be honest, showering less, I figured it was just part of the breakouts I was having. I have *no idea* how many months those spots have been there, and do you know how I figured out I should call my doctor? Someone posted about it in a skincare subreddit with photos of what basal cell carcinoma looked like, and I realized that I needed to suck it up and email my doctor before it got really bad. This also prompted me to actually do a full body skin check, and I've got some possible melanoma spots to get checked as well--and that stuff is super deadly if not caught early! I'm a stickler for sunscreen, but thanks to genetics, I'm at a higher risk for melanoma than the average person. Without reddit, I wouldn't be getting this checked, so I'm piping up to say TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!",1 Yeah I've literally been out the last three days from side effects of trying meds.,0 "This sub has such a victim complex. If you don’t want people to offer help (however useless), stop complaining.",1 "I've had the lymph nodes on my neck get swollen for a few days for over 4 years now. Out of curiosity, for you were they constantly swollen for very long periods or was it also just swollen for short periods with big gaps in between were they weren't swollen?",1 "Sometimes I imagine my mother just died a sec ago and kinda go into a mm panicattack until I text her and she responds. I used to as a kid wake my mother up In the morning to make sure she was alive every morning from elementary to about 9th grade prob. Due to my childhood verbal abuse from my father. Well fuck him I'm gonna be a nurse and I'm not a dumbass, lazy fat slob FUCK YOU DAD",0 "No, no. I understand. I have trouble remembering to do it as often as I should also. I'm trying to remember that even if it's just a quick brush that it's better than nothing also so if short on time or my attention span is being a pain like I SHOULD brush my teeth but the time and effort involved sucks and I really want to do this, well fine but at least do a quick one and even if don't deal with toothpaste so no taste issues then at least I got the other shit off. It's helped and then more likely to do the rest later too. It's annoyingly harder than it should be",1 "1 AM? It's 09.55 AM. Pretty sure the 'going to sleep' option expired a few hours ago... :-/ Oh well, will sleep like a baby from early afternoon sometime.",1 My husband does this all the time. I try not to get mad because I know he can't help it. But I end up just doing everything because shit needs to get done. And then I hold a grudge bc I do everything.,1 lol hopefully now I won’t have to keep commenting “r/mildlyinfuriating”,0 "Any resources to look into? This is something that I struggle with and I don’t like admitting it. I know that doesn’t help first of all but I am tried of not looking for help or ways improve..",1 "My wife joked... That's not ADHD, it's just bad sex lol",1 I often catch myself doing this to myself. Calling myself stupid or trying to punish myself for not remembering something. It feels good to say those things but obviously it doesn’t work. What does work is holding yourself to different expectations because you can’t compare yourself to someone who’s neurotypical when your brain just simply doesn’t work the same as theirs,1 "Great observation, dude! Let me save this for later...",1 You got me back to work OP but of course had to jump back in when I saw the Reddit window was open...,1 Ahh!! The same thing happened to me! I was finally able to sit on the couch without that ball of energy swirling in my stomach and feel a level of calm and relaxation. I burst into tears and my fiance also teared up while hugging me. I had never felt that way before. I'm SO happy to hear you had a similar experience 💕,1 "Anyone at the age of 12 should not have to deal with these thoughts or anything related to this form of thinking. I feel so fucking sorry for you lad and I just hope you’re doing better. If not, then please know we’re here for you.",0 "I can totally relate to this, especially over this past year... my mental health has been on a steady decline since March 2020. Without the outside world to keep my mind occupied, I’ve had a lot more time to overthink and overanalyze every little thing. My rituals that I’ve had have only gotten worse, and since so many heartbreaking things have been going on it’s given those rituals even more reasons to think things like “You only tapped the light switch twice, you know you’re supposed to tap it three times, because you did it wrong, you’re probably the reason your friend got Covid, you should’ve done it the right way.” even though I tell myself that’s ridiculous, I still think it. I just want so badly for things to go back to the way to they way they were, they already weren’t great, but they were mostly better than this.",0 "Any mistakes haunt me. I basically have to live alone now and just do nothing and say nothing. Every day i wake up, the first thing i think about is the mistakes i have made. I am like the complete opposite to a psychopath who lacks remorse. Does anyone else be haunted repeatedly by errors they made? The only good thing is i wont fuck up again.",0 "Omg. Thank you for posting this. Like... I just realized my terror for having guns in the house is because of my OCD convincing me I’ll shoot myself than anything based in reality. It really be your own damn mind don’t it??",0 Did you have any other symptoms apart from swollen lymph nodes?,1 "omg yes. i’ll suddenly get thoughts like trigger warning ahead “you could just go and stab someone” “you’re gonna be a serial killer” “you could just touch that kid” even though i don’t want to and i’m not into that. i care about people too much.",0 "Ya know the shitty thing? It's actually your logical brain causing the problem. Anxiety is the alarm bell, the anguish we feel is the logical side trying desperately to explain why the alarm bells won't stop. Logic is the enemy of dealing with anxiety. No amount of logic helps, it makes it worse. I laughed at this more than I should of, also while dying inside because it's too close to home.",0 Agreed! My English comp professors biggest complaint about my writing was excessive use of commas. Lol. Now I’m hyper aware of it!,1 What is a good solution? My boyfriend is undiagnosed and spends all his focus at work. He has no clue how our house gets clean or how our bills get paid or how anything else gets handled. Every time I try to talk to him about it he just gets all quiet. I've got one foot out the door but I don't want to give up on him. What's a better way to address?,1 I'm going to take a Xanax bar now.... maybe four and a half,0 One time in school i was compulsively blinking and a girl stood in front of me and just started blinking back,0 i caught my rOCD today trying to convince me i was possessed. ignored that bully of an illness today,0 "This is a cool as fuck post and what a way to remember your friend, by using your time to uplift us all! A bright spot much needed during this time! I hope these good vibes are returned to you ten fold!",1 "Weird question but does that feeling last? I take extended release methylphenidate but I took er Adderall, never experienced immediate release stuff",1 "Told my boss about getting diagnosed, specifically how my emotional dysreg being relieved by a med I started and she immediately tried to say “I feel like everyone feels like that”… So in a slightly nicer tone I said: Ma’am my prior profession, before burning out and become a student plus serving at restaurant, was as a mental health clinician. These symptoms occur to people as a normal response or difficult as a difficult moment they eventually learn to cope with. Having a disorder comes into affect when symptoms perpetually interfere with my ability to be a person, this is measured by people who have dedicated their lives to understanding mental health, so I understand what you’re saying but there’s more to it.",1 I made several errors on a post one time because I’m on mobile and someone copied my post to laugh at in case I edited it. Motherfucker.,0 "I *love* this!! Please continue to resist your O.C.D and don't paint over it! I cut out the background on [this painting I did of a cow in a field](https://www.reddit.com/r/painting/comments/hjmii2/i_painted_a_cow_in_a_field_but_the_field_looked/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) and I kind of regret it, haha. Don't let perfectionism take over.",0 "God, I’m dealing with the getting dressed right now. I feel gross but I know a shower will do me good.",1 "As a two ADHDer household (partner and I) I can attest that at least 8 broccoli crowns have gone stale in our crisper drawer in the past few months. Unfortunately with the pandemic, it’s very rare we have enough energy to cook at all, especially when delivery take out is such a convenient alternative. DoorDash is our ADHD tax.",1 "It is a really awful feeling. You are definitely a good writer, this post is evidence of that.",1 "But isn't it like saying someone's feeling depressed, doesn't mean they have depression, it's like they're feeling so OCD just means they're feeling a neat freak, it's not a big deal is it?",0 "I just want to say thank you kind stranger, this is exactly what I have been looking for quite.",1 "I feel bad that it gave me a chuckle not because its triggering or offensive or anything, cuz its a shity boomer joke",0 I didn't wash that often anymore but when I was it take like 10 min,0 "This shit will legitimately wake me from a dead sleep -- at 3 in the morning -- ultimately waking my wife who will find me fuming mad downstairs about some slight from YEARS ago, that I only just realized. Luckily, she's ADHD, too and gets it.",1 "This hits so hard. And what sucks is that great first impression is still real and genuine, I do have merit, I just miss big things sometimes because I’m a small picture type of person.",1 That’s very sweet and also really true! People I’m close to know that if I’m on my phone while we’re talking or doing something else it helps me listen better and don’t mind it anymore. It’s nice when people adapt and accept that.,1 I just want to say I love you. (Sincerely but not in a creepy way. K thanks.),1 I don't understand at all. What is object or emotional impermanence?,1 "I just wanna finish my novel, is that too much to ask?",1 "Ok. I went through this whole big thing today where I tried to explain to my skeptical friends that (1) Pink Floyd is not one of my top 5 bands (my genres were like lo-fi and neo soul and electronic) and (2) I don't remember listening to half the songs on my 2020 list this year even once. I feel a bit better now seeing this here with 580+ comments and 4k upvotes. It's really annoying how it's presented. ""Hey, this is your favorite song!"" Nope. ""You don't know yourself very well! It's your favorite song!""",1 "Saving this for future reference for people who tell me I'm 'not *really* disabled' just because I'm well educated and have a good job. No-one understands just how much of your life it affects, or seems to care/remember when you explain.",1 "Stop it, iv never been too clean or organized, i just used to think im gay and now that people arent real like me thats it thats my ocd i wish it was being perfectonistic.",0 Having one of those electronic door locks helped tremendously with this issue. Unfortunately I haven’t gotten around to changing the batteries and 3 years later I still use a manual key lol,0 "I think I reallllly needed to see this today, thank you this is such a good post This isn't the same exactly, but I've been doing this kind of with app purchases. I've never really paid money into apps or anything like that before, but if it's affordable I've been giving in if I can stick with it for a while. I mean only with a couple really helpful things I always thought spending money on apps or anything that you could ""do yourself"" with more effort was a huge waste. But I'm accepting I will never get around to setting up systems like that myself and it saves so much stress. Idk that just felt the same to me even tho it's totally different lmao. I really like the concept of accepting I'm not going to do the thing on my 100th try and save the stress instead",1 "Loooool true story, hope everybody here find calm and heals",0 To paraphrase How to ADHD: want you want and need in your wrokspace can be very different that what you think shouls bw in your workspace,1 "HahAaaaa... As yes, this is the visual representation of inside my head when I have an internal episode of unstoppable bad thoughts",0 "Mood. My parents talk shit because I'm like an amazing author, writer, and I'm amazing at advanced science and biology but everything else is undoable without meds. Fucking Mood my guy.",1 can we please not let r/ocd get overrun by statement-based humour :(,0 Obviously. If I knew it wasnt real I wouldnt be late to work cause I spent 20 minutes checking a clearly locked doorknob,0 "I have not dealt with or heard of the ""pathological lying"" part of ADHD. This list is awesome. Puts a lot into perspective. Also I just love that man, and hearing that he's ADHD just... means a lot to me, you know?",1 tiny symptoms translating into giant things hit different. if my period is in any way delayed i think i’m pregnant or i have an sti or some disease that has made me infertile 😳,0 When mine was real bad this is how it felt and it sucked... it was like well im fed because its sorta hard to explain when you aren't feeling it!,0 I know the feeling i think of scary drawings all day. To try to show people what it is like to be in my head. Great illustration of that dark feel lingering around you,0 "I have a question..if you don’t mind. I suffer from contamination OCD, and delusional parasitosis, mostly due to parasite infection a while back. Am wondering if exposure therapy is something useful for that? Or what you recommend? Sorry if this question is inappropriate",0 "When we were kids we couldn't wait to be adults, boy were we wrong.",0 Don't fortget to love her before going off work. She rocks.,1 "yes I have had a swollen lymph node for 2 years behind my ear, thank you for terrifying the living fuck out of me, I have booked a doctors appointment, 10 minutes after reading this. but thank you so much for sharing this, I had just decided to not even care about it anymore at this point. ​ and I hope you get well soon!",1 I’ve gotten into the habit of telling the thoughts to shut the fuck up until I (hopefully) stop thinking about it. I’ll legit “talk” over them until that part of my brain gets discouraged I guess you could say LOL,0 "Hi Josh! It sounds like you’re making great progress through the hardest times, wishing you the best of luck we’re here for your support!!",0 "I had a week-long period where I had a bizarre hyperfocus on the song ""I Can't Decide"" by the Scissor Sisters. Guess who got the #1 spot!",1 I'm always surprised there's actually that many hours in a day. I still don't have a good feel on how long an hour actually is. Time just doesn't mean the same thing to us.,1 "Take my poor man's gold, friend. 🏅🏅 off to put away the recycling (and eat something)!",1 I feel like my first Reddit comment ever should be on this post because my hot mess ADHD mind actually saved it and didn’t forget to come back to it,1 Sometimes I just go back and forth around the house checking things with seemingly no end. I call it boomeranging.,0 "How about OCD: Now is the time. Me: Come on, I am in my 30s, we were playing these games since I thought I am gay when I was 7. It’s getting old. If you wanna hug, be my guest and GTFO. 😂",0 "Coronavirus has spun my OCD out of control. Raw chicken is taboo in my kitchen because of potential salmonella contamination. Now, how do I keep the Coronavirus out of my kitchen??? Don't touch it...clean it! Ugh..",0 I’ve found that good days feel really foreign and I’m always aware that they’re not going to last. Sometimes this makes me really appreciate the good days but other times it just makes me anxious.,0 "This would be a really helpful message at like 2:30 on a Tuesday. But it’s 7:30am on a Sunday of a holiday weekend, so right now not so much. BUT STILL! Thank you. I really appreciated this and wish I could have this automatically pop up during the week, it’s a good reminder.",1 "Thankyou. I finally had a shower after a week. Thankyou",1 "Aww mate. You've no idea how much I needed to see this. I'm just getting over a full blown meltdown, I came to this sub to remind myself that it's not just me. It feels good to know other people understand what it's like.",0 "ALSO: not looking for compliments or validation about the drawing. I just need to put it out there for other peoples’ eyeballs to see because it’s not perfect and I’m trying to teach myself that that’s okay. Reference credit: Myra Oh",0 "What do you mean once you give up on yourself its all over? (I totally know what you mean im just asking to make sure you know)",1 "Oh wow I get this. I recently told my wife that I'm thinking of hijacking AA meetings for some therapy. She was like hey we have insurance for that! I'm like, yeah, but I can find an AA meeting anywhere anytime, unlike the rigidity of scheduled appointments. I didn't even bring up the weird anxiety that scheduled appointments give me...",1 I absolutely love this mentality and that's a great way to embrace the concept!! <3 Props to you and your therapist.,0 "I think you are a genius. I use a lot of punctuation in longer sentences, and totally overuse commas, semi colons, parentheses, and dashes. I’m an over explainer, too. Fear of being misunderstood? Or because I like to break things down thoroughly for my own mind? Idk... But yes! You are on to something!",1 "... And then you start over-analyzing every single thing that person has ever said or done to you in order to discover a pattern and then you start seeing the same pattern in every person you know and then you internalize the fuck out of it all and decide that, since you are the common denominator, you must be the problem? Like that?",1 No. I just go straight to doing the thing I enjoy while pushing the thing I'm dreading to the back of my mind for as long as possible until I eventually can't ignore it anymore or the opportunity to even do it has passed (homework and stuff like that) and then I beat myself up for being an idiot and not doing it. And then repeat.,1 "Honestly grateful I learned of ROCD, in past relationships I couldn’t pin why I’d obsess over why they haven’t answered me, why their single text seemed like they no longer loved me, etc.",0 "Anybody interested in Chinese water color drawing set from Costco? Never opened. :-)",1 Dude i didn't know this was ocd too. Fuck man this was me and yesterday.,0 "The Monolith you cannot ignore, there is no ‘time left’ there is only the shadow of its presence as a timestealing entity.",1 "I 100% agree with spaced repetition - I lived until 23 without being diagnosed yet I graduated grade school with honours. And my college program with flying colours. I find it hard to apply it to my personal life but everything else was in shambles besides my academics and I taught myself spaced repetition studying at a young age. Highly attribute my successes to it. Edit: Thanks so much for compiling this fantastic list!! I hope many make use of it. :)",1 "That was so beautiful ,I'm sorry u lost your freind tho 🥺",1 "That’s because when you turn 18/graduate high school it just magically goes away! /s",1 "Bloody hell, I even relate to being okay at writing but taking ages.",1 "So happy to see this here, I love bodyposipanda <3",0 This is what convinces me that OCD is totally self inflicted. Even when I'm not stuck in a rumination loop I keep searching my brain for something to trigger it. It's almost like I'm addicted to the pain it causes.,0 Ooh this is gonna be a game-changer for my programming classes.,1 What do you mean go back and actually look at saved posts? Are there people that actually do that? How.,1 "I'm waiting for a scan for a swollen lymph node under my armpit and this is my worst nightmare. Bloodwork didn't really reveal much except for a huge vitamin D deficiency and doctor said that we'll find out more from the scan. so big fear.... big fear...",1 My little sister did the same thing with the same result. It's taken a few surgeries and chemo and radiation to get rid of it.,1 "My fiancee recently helped me with a breakthrough on this thought: Yes, you were supposed to. Being an adult has a lot of down time you're not sure what to do with. Some people have hobbies, some visit friends, some play games all day. As long as you have a reliable living situation, it's up to you to decide what's considered ""wasting time"" or not. The idea that we aren't doing well enough in life can often be tied to feeling like we aren't meeting *other* peoples expectations, forgetting that all of our downtime belongs to us. Just do what you like to do, and try to live guilt free. It's hard, I'm still working on it, but the best advice was that sometimes, that's the entire point, is to waste time when we're bored with things we love like games and painting and music. Much love.",1 "I was diagnosed with OCD and I had no idea I had it because I used to not know what it really was, so I thought ""Oh if you have OCD, you must make things in a certain way, and turn lights off 10 times to make you feel better, etc"" I was very ignorant.",0 My fantasy is to move to a coastal cabin in Alaska and live off the land,1 "Wow, I never knew it was there. I just turned it on while I had a podcast playing. That's impressive, thank you.",1 "Me-My OCD is realllllllllll My brain-/play charlie puth attention/ U just need attention...",0 "I JUST GOT DONE WITH THIS EXACT THING I took an ""empathy quiz"" and i got moderate empathy so now im scared",0 This is awesome. There’s so much truth to how a lot of mental illnesses are haywire processes that were in many ways essential to our species’ survival.,0 Did you know that when you have over a hundred tabs open on Google Chrome’s app the counter changes into a smiley face. I’m other words yeah I relate to this waaaay too hard.,0 "I’m a professional artist, and live-streaming helps me stay on task. Having people watching me work gives me a sense of urgency and accountability that is motivating.",1 "Yo, one time my OCD legit tried to tell me that my prom night back in highschool was ruined because someone spilled their drink all over my $800 dress. ...and I was almost convinced.",0 "Mood. I've recently found though that setting two alarms helps? I set one as a heads-up, so that i KNOW i need to do it, but i can still mess around on my phone until the second one goes off fifteen minutes later, and I know that its time to get up then :) Setting two alarms helps me prepare mentally for the chore ygm?",1 Yes..its like...even if probability of any event is 1:billion..it moght happen with me...then i start picturing it vivdly...then i remember i have to stop thinking it..then i think..why did i think that...and it goes on and on...thoughts really take a grip on u....its scary,0 "HELL YES IMMA GET ONE OF THESE FOR EVERY DOOR IN MY HOUSE SO I DONT HAVE TO USE MY FEET TO OPEN THE DOORS AGAIN ZODLOW9W929W9DIIVIIRIWWJWNNQ Will this give me cancer tho?",0 "I’m still consistent, be consistent now and when life turns to normal it’ll be a breeze",1 "I mean, it's not *totally* inaccurate. Personally I find the urges decrease greatly if I don't engage with the thoughts. Sure they're still there, but I can at least get on with life.",0 "It really is like that I swear... I feel a rise in happiness suddenly my intrusive thoughts decide “hey lets rise too, she really thinks she really getting away with it.. let’s never let her be completely happy with no intrusive thoughts because we want her to be miserable all her life”",0 "OMG. This is me! It doesn't really bother me....and I while struggle translating thoughts to verbal communication, I never knew it may be ADHD related. (I always thought it was the 2 concussions I had as a kid.) Thank you for posting this. It really was an eye opener. I guess I am not alone.",1 Yep. Pretty much anything that someone says need to be changed/not done I automatically assume it was me and I'm the problem. It could be something as small as not changing the toilet paper roll to being pulled over and told that I broke the law while driving. One that's been particularly bad for me lately is convincing myself that I've been racist whenever I see other people (on social media etc.) being called out for doing racist things.,0 "If you think about it, this is a very rare opportunity to do something you enjoy, self-educate. Or begin trying erp. But not on extereme levels.",0 "I'm awake at 6am and can't sleep because of some OCD fears related to the pandemic. I send all my love to you, you're not alone in this... And I really feel everything you said.",0 "I literally opened Reddit, checked a notification, and this was it. Guess I don't even get to mindlessly scroll! Time to go to the gym",1 "Yes, but that's how you fight OCD, you must get out of your comfort zone on occasion. Build up self esteem! You got this",0 "Seriously. My manager gave me a (deserved) hard time for forgetting to update someone on a project I was working on (I'd written an he email updating them on my progress, but forgot to hit send and didn't realize it was still sitting in my drafts folder until asked about it. Yay!). She wasn't trying to be mean, but she kept reiterating that this was important because x, y, and z. I ended up spending the better part of the day just castigating myself, feeling like shit, and getting noting done. Later when we talked about it, she said that the problem was that I'd done the hard part, but forgotten the easy part. She knows about my diagnosis, so I pointed out that that was the problem: the 'easy' part is hard for me. I'd literally had no doubt that I'd sent that email! I just... hadn't. I don't know what my point is here, except I feel you.",1 "yeah... had a fun day... went home, got hit by ocd again, tried to distract myself by gaming, went into voicechat with friends, got super salty from all the pent up frustration and started to get super angry over a shitty mobile game... and then got moved out of the chat after people started to shout..... .....might have destroyed the few friendships i had left.... haha..... ....why cant i function normal for like one day....",0 "Unfortunately, computers are not our friends. Almost every website offers the ability to ""save"" things, and each one uses it's own system. Browsers have bookmarks Facebook has saved posts Youtube has ""watch later"" Reddit has saved posts Not too mention all the ways we come up with trying to organize and save things on our own. Note taking apps, excel spreadsheets, notepad files, screenshots, etc. My most recent system? Discord. I created a discord server with a channel called ""brain-dump"". It's intention was that any time I get distracted from something, I copy it all to discord as a message and send it. Links, notes, etc. This way, I don't feel like I did all this research about some random thing and then threw it all away. I've been using it for months, I've dumped to it probably over a hundred times at this point... I've never once gone back to it.",1 "I know I should put the clothes in the washing machine RIGHT NOW, but I'm not doing it. Could have done it first thing and it'd be done by now. Got the house to clean today, and last week's laundry to put away. Will it get done?.. Partly, I imagine. Never fully. Instead of getting started, I'm here on my phone ""just having a coke, first"". Waiting for the postman (who might not even be coming). Then I'll be waiting for the food shopping delivery. I'll probably get a shower around 2pm (if I force myself), get dry and 'dressed', and think ""well, no time to do anything else today. Will *definitely* do it all tomorrow..."". It's always 'tomorrow'. I've written my list and I've literally got NOTHING else to do. And I know the cleaning would only take a few hours, at most, if I went non stop. Even if I thought ""forget it, I'm not doing it"", I won't do anything else instead, because I *should* do the housework first. Awful, mental. At least I know why I'm like this now. But, not sure if that makes me feel better or worse.",1 "If we’re not the sum total of our thoughts, what are we? We only exist, personality-wise, in the minds of ourselves and others.",0 "Beautiful post. I don't have any real grumbles today, it's a wonderful day. I've had struggles, tears, failures for sure. But today I'm sitting here, listening to my audiobook, and playing with my baby with every door and window thrown open to let the gorgeous weather and sunshine in. I picked up my phone (which had reddit open when I unlocked it) to text my mom a picture of the daffodils blooming in my yard. They are her favorite, and she just got over Covid Pneumonia, which is another reason it's a beautiful day. It hasn't been an easy year, but it's a beautiful day.",1 "I get really anxious when I realise that I can’t read every book, watch every show/film that exists in my lifetime. Making a list of media that interests me and ticking it off once I’ve done it helps",0 If they named themselves the LGBT Candy Company it would have been alright but no they had to be petty,0 I’m having a very hard time doing this and it’s causing me great anxiety these days. I really hope that one day I can stop being tormented by my own brain.,0 "I just made a post about this, but I have an UNWANTED obsession with gore BECAUSE I HATE IT. does that make sense?? No, me neither, and it is KILLING me.",0 So so hard but once you get started it gets easier and easier to be comfortable with uncertainty,0 I think it is our ADHD induced anxiety. We know from past experience we get late to appointments and we dont prepare until the very last minute and it's about to happen all over again and it does!! That o think feeds further and continues this cycle of anxiety,1 "if you stay in bed all day, your ocd can’t touch you. 😁😁😁😁 and this is why i stay in bed and get nothing done.",0 "I lowkey hope that I never get one of these scans, because I'm afraid it'll come back as normal. I know I have ocd, but I doubt it at the same time.",0 "Uhhh, excuse me are you watching me? Lol but yeah, no on a serious note, yes indeed",0 "Hey guys so I experience this pretty freq obv i can’t be diagnosed on the internet but can this be a symptom of OCD fr, been at a crossroads lately in figuring shit out",0 "I mostly just think I'm a failure and no one wants a failure. .... and then I realize I've fallen in my hole again. Not a failure.",0 "xD i hope you wrote it down before falling asleep :D i have the best ideas when laying in bed, and i forgot sooo many things -.-",1 "Me too! It's almost as if it's a compulsion to read all of the comments. I think in my case the discomfort caused by morbid curiosity is roughly the same as the discomfort I feel regarding an obsession. For some reason. Trust me, being easily triggered and being morbidly curious is a killer combo. It's done me a bunch of harm. I should better get off the Internet long term",0 "... I didn't know other people go through this too. I have to at least once a week spend time with no one talking to me. Though sometimes I have to do it more than once a week, other wise I'm a raging b*tch with a spinning mind.. this sub has taught me so much!",1 "Literally meeeeeeeee. I start early March. Like, so many of my OCDs (ok, more like 2 but they suck me in badly) are on themes around lying anyway, and I have had a trauma response of lying to avoid being seen as I am since I was a young teen. Probably best to start off with other obsessions with her tbh. Which are all perfectly taboo in and of themselves yay. I’m pretty confident she will side with me and not with the thoughts on the ones which don’t have any themes about lying. But my self image of myself as a liar (which fo sho is linked to being accused of manipulating every day by my nutty mother as a child but also is linked to all my bloody lying) done got me convinced that she’s going to judge me on the ones which do.",0 "Oh wow, this is such a good idea. Defo trying this! Thanks for sharing!",0 This hits home so hard I’m the exact same yet I can never win,1 Wonderful..absolutely wonderful! I promise I will take your words to heart and please keep writing!,1 That's a cool idea to remind you. I may share this with some of my friends that struggle with OCD. Thank you for sharing,0 "That is awesome!! I have had problems with brushing my teeth too, I would usually brush then every other day but now, since the year changed, I've brushed them every day and I'll try to keep it going. :)",1 "you deserve it!! so happy you can make this transition, it’s hard and you really powered through it! good luck to you for the long run",0 "Thank you for this. I've often struggled with bouts of ""What if I don't have OCD? What if I'm not really depressed? What if I'm not actually that anxious and just want to get out of work/school?"" Combine this with the dismissive comments I've gotten at various points in my life about what was ""really"" wrong with me or how I'm using it as an excuse, and you've got someone who doesn't trust their own reality.",0 "....just want to see what happens. And ig it doesnt work, well ill make it ore do what might be fun for me in the moment.",1 "I'm in that spiral right now, and I'm afraid it's pushing my girlfriend away. I *hate* OCD. It's ruining my happiness with so much anxiety.",0 "I don’t care what you say. There will be a day, and it may be 50 years from now, where I’ll hyperfocus and go through the screenshots.",1 "Man I'm with you, it really sucks. Thanks for sharing",1 I do this too. I’m a teacher. Me being trained: “Kids must keep their shoes on at nap.” “Why though?” “….in case there’s an emergency and we need to leave the building?”,1 My favourite ocd meme ever...as a person with ocd this is relatable and hilarious,0 That or people say “fight it” like ok no shit you think I just let it beat me down and don’t try to do anything about it? Lol,0 "I hear you. I love my hyperfocus for how I can get massive amount of work done and feel good... and I \*\*hate\*\* how it makes me ignore my wife, ignore my *three year old daughter,* makes me snap at both of them if they interrupt me (I am pretty good about not snapping at my daughter, thank goodness, but its hard - so hard) ​ ADHD (and other things like being on the spectrum) are not super powers. They have some ups that you can channel to positives, but they come with a whole host of downs that are really hard to mitigate! And if you only ever spout what is good, you're probably just ignoring what is bad - and that isn't making you any better at dealing with the effects of whatever it is that ails you. You have to channel the positives ... and recognize the negatives in order to deal with them in ahealthy manner.",1 "I’m like this too, it seriously affecting my life. I’m pretty I would’ve been like this regardless of covid restrictions 😞",1 Validation only here you person. It is tough. I do not want to give you a dangerous or bad suggestion so I will just say this weirdass somewhat mystical shit. Look into brain nutrition. Maybe corporate stuff will work but look into something natural you can grow yourself and explore your psyche. It is helping me out of a similar fugue state of existence.,1 My OCD tells me that one day I'm going to snap and seriously hurt my family. But I'm working through ways to avoid anything that would trigger those thoughts and I'm holding on to a hope that I'll be able to have a well-paying job that I can use to move out with soon.,0 "Lately I’ve taken to just recordings all of these things/meetings to have for later. Gives me peace of mind if nothing else, but has been extremely useful.",1 "I am telling y all its the fear that drives us crazy , that moment of panic due to which you go into compulsion mode, the best way to beat that is to take a deep breathe , smile and in your thoughts say the word "" accepted"" and move on whenever your old obsession pops up or if you see or think or feel a new situation in your cycle of obsessions. The key is to break the chain and not do compulsions in the form of analysing, checking etc. Although, it's easier said than done, the mind always finds a way to get you back into compulsion or fighting your thoughts, as that's the only way your OCD stays alive. So, remember just say 'accept' to your obsessions and don't give in to compulsions no matter how hard or how cunningly your brain takes you back into your compulsions. This may take a while and you may relapse after a time and fall into compulsions again, but you ve made progress, and that's a good kick in the head of OCD.",0 "Now THIS is closer to my picture of OCD! It's like an ordered mess - something with randomness and chaos but a firm regularity, like reasoning and entropy are intertwined. OCD to me is like a mess I have to organize, or a maze I have to get through, even if I'm going in a straight line. It's not a monster. It's not fearsome. It's a puzzle. It's something to figure out, but the rules keep changing. It's calming and foreboding at the same time. Plus I really like the painting.",0 "I don't see imperfections. Don't worry about what other people think. Its for you, not them!",0 There was a long time I thought I had ADHD or some other attention disorder,0 "I was always curious if ocd patience have similar personality traits, i believe most of us are moral people to maybe an extreme? That can be the reason we feel so guilty. Hope someone can make a research paper about that one day",0 "Adderall is a life changer for people who truly suffer from ADHD, first time I’ve ever felt normal was when I started on it",1 Legit just hopped onto Reddit and this is the second post I see....... I'm meant to be doing online uni right now haha,1 Does it have tips to actually complete things after planning?,1 I feel that. I've had breakdowns in the past stemming from this exact thing - 'why can I never stick with anything long enough I'm so shitty',1 "absolutely. i was given a fairly large project to handle at work and even though the basics of it fall in line with my regular duties, just with a more important project, i was having a hard time getting started until I understood why we were doing this, the background on the project, etc. and now my momentum on it is much better",1 Yeah I tried really hard. It just didn't look like it from the outside.,1 Just got multiple fillings earlier today. Pretty bad experience.,0 "You need to link your mum John Bowlby's Maternal Deprivation Theory and Mary Ainsworth's The Strange Situation. You then need to link her Russell Barkleys lecture on executive functioning. You're not insane, you're not lying. It is not your choice or your fault.",1 I was pretty sure I developed anorexia nervosa but it was just my good old friend OCD in disguise,0 "That looks delicious, think I’ll make myself one now. The kitchen can be triggering! Sharp objects, chemicals, open flames. Congrats!",0 "I used to have dermatillomania too! The best advice I can give— since mine stems from OCD— is to become more OCD in regard to healthy skincare habits... nice face wash, moisturizer, etc. can go a long way. I’ve also tried the 7 (or 9?) step Korean skincare routine and it helps greatly. Also, dim lights in the bathroom to prevent you from seeing imperfections. Your skin is looking great! I’m also a redhead, so I use SPF religiously. I don’t even think you need these tips, just sharing my story.",0 I fricken hate this 😝 leave me alone I just woke up you beyotch!!,0 "yeah no i'm totally not memorizing exactly how each footstep feels and forcing my footsteps to be symmetrical, even if I have to hold onto the memory of a footstep (and the next dozen or so for each foot since my footsteps *NEVER FUCKING MATCH UP* because of a birth defect) until the exact mirrored footstep can be made and they can both be removed from the list 🙄",0 "To be fair, greeting cards often make fun of problems or take them lightly. Look at how many joke about getting older. It's not pleasant to lose your vision, or hearing, or looks, or functions, but cards frequently make jokes about that stuff too.",0 I managed to get brushing my teeth in to my normal routine. Never been more thankful to my self!,1 Yes. Every pleasant experience is immediately followed by 'how will I handle this death?'. it's miserable and it ruins so much.,0 Omg how did you know. I’m literally putting something off that could cost me my job and my future and I know this but I still can’t seem to do it.,1 "Thanks bud. I’m just recently starting to figure that stuff out again but it’s a long and difficult journey. Still got a long way to go, but hopefully we’ll all get there eventually :)",0 "Yep. The whole “reward yourself to provide incentive to do the tasks you hate” doesn’t work well at all for me because my jerk brain will just be like “you’re not the boss of me, I’m gonna do what I want anyways!” Ugh. I don’t know if this is just me or an ADHD thing, but I’m trying to become more accepting of the fact that some approaches just don’t work for me, and that’s okay. There’s no one “right” way to get things done. A strategy that (sometimes) works for me is breaking down a task into as small of pieces as possible. I think a to-do item like “clean the house” seems so big and vague that we subconsciously shut down around it. Where do you start? What areas of the house are high priority and should be done first? How will you know when you’re done? How long will it take? So instead, break it down into smaller tasks. Make a list like “gather up dirty clothes”, “pick up trash in living room”, “organize stack of mail into bills and junk”, etc. and start working through those tasks. If there’s things that need to be completed in order to do that task (for instance, you need to get your oil changed in your car but don’t know where to take the car, include Googling a mechanic on your list too). Often this can be enough to overcome that inertia of not wanting to do the thing, and even if it’s not quite enough, you at least have a detailed list of what you have to do so that you can come back to it another time. Hope this helps a bit.",1 "These thoughts are symptoms of trauma; ruminating insecurities and doing compulsions and things to try and get rid of them cause you can't regulate your emotions. Healing means facings the roots and learning to sit with your feelings and examine where these thoughts come from, practice self compassion and exposure to some things that make you feel uncomfortable and respond without judgment, and have acceptance and love for yourself. Sounds simple but it's REALLY, REALLY hard. Anxiety is terrifying, it is a skill to learn to be able to not judge it, accept it, hell even view it as good in some cases because it teaches and tells you what your concerns are and demands your attention to address something , but when we do this we actually start to experience it less. But this initially makes you feel worse. So anxiety is so self sustaining. It feels safer to avoid it. Re-wiring our brain sometimes and often requires professional help too and that's so hard to find. Adequate, non judgmental and skilled therapists are hard to find.",0 "Sigh. YES. I didn't know I had ADHD until I was in my 40s and had been fired from several fancy jobs in a row. I'm smart and present as confident, so I could get the jobs, but no matter how many management classes I took I couldn't make the work happen. As u/TattooedOpinion said- try to get to one thing, One. Then *maybe* the next, then recognize what you DID do.",1 "I talked about this to my friends before. Most people with ADHD have all the attention in the world, they just can't control it. It should be Attention Dysfunction Disorder or something.",1 "Sometimes I feel like if I didn't knew what ocd was maybe I didn't have it. However untrue it is, but I feel this way. And that my ocd is not real.",0 "I'm kind of in the opposite boat, I have ADHD hyperactive and I've always done terribly in a classroom setting but exceed in an online setting. My tips are to capitalize on your enthusiasm in the morning and to do the work in big chunks. I find that I can get lost in my school work and complete an entire week's worth of assignments in a few hours. I'm not one of those people who can do a little bit each day, I don't have the long-term attention span.",1 I feel you. Ive had samsung android phones from the start and in the early days Samsung made it really easy to carry everything over to the new phone. Now android does it by default so I've had my pixel for a few months but it has 10 years of screens I send to my wife random pictures of things at work. I've tried to go through them over the years but there is just so much crap,1 Okay fine but I'm still gonna scroll through the comments first.,1 "I’ve started to beat my OCD by realizing it’s not my thoughts and that I’m not a bad person for having them but that my brain is reverberating intrusive thoughts that it’s receiving from everything it comes into contact with in day to day life in its twisted attempt to try to protect me. So whenever I have a fucked up thought instead of saying “I’m fucked up for thinking this” and “this is my thought” which would just start the downward cycle of me feeling like shit for thinking these things, I just say “my brain is having this thought.” Like yes, “thanks brain for making me want to double check the door to make sure I locked it or to make sure I turned off the stove. I know you’re just looking out for me.” It’s helped.",0 "Everytime i beg to the voices to stop ,it's how it is.",0 "Haha, I suspected this was satire and when I saw the word ""planner"" I laughed. Thanks for that, it's good to know I'm not alone!",1 Can someone ELI5 what I have to know about serotonin and how is it related to OCD? Thanks in advance!,0 My husband says I’m addicted to reddit 😭. I can’t quit you!!!,1 "My hours are generally between 2-5 am, any other time of the day I’m unproductive as hell.",1 "I do this too. But I’ve realized that there’re aren’t set rules for times to do things unless it’s work or an appointment. You can go to the beach at night, go grocery shopping at 2am, toss in laundry at 10pm, work out at 11am... What matters is that things get done when we feel up to doing them.",1 "I did the exact same thing today and the whole day was wasted with no ""actual free time"" left. On top of that I didn't even get as much done as I wanted to, which is depressing. I'm constantly thinking about people vetting way more done in a quarter the time I used and actually managing theor free time to stay happy, healthy and motivated",1 "Knowing it's OCD is only half the battle. In fact I'm pretty sure that I can logically understand/identify the vast majority of my OCD thoughts... it's the fear, the unrelenting pounding fear and terror that has me in a death grip. Like do you just eventually get numb to the fear/learn to ignore it? I've only ""had"" OCD for a few months, so I'm really new to all of this.",0 Still working up the courage to do the same. Congrats!!! It looks gorgeous and healthy! :),0 Itll be okay. I sleep in gloves with aquifer on my hands to help.,0 "My father thinks that, just by applying, I can get a job that pays six figures. He assumes that I'm going to live off of him for the rest of my life because I make a lower middle class income, even though the only time in 15 years I've asked him for money, it was money he owed me.",1 "Lol, wellll... how do we know she ain’t gonna break her back in a car accident on her way home from work, huh?! You just can’t be sure, better just avoid those cracks, 😂🤣😅😢😭",0 Needed this. Brain's in this subtle but constant panic mode.,0 "God, everything on this sub is sooo relatable. I'm going in to get tested on Thursday. After reading so much about ADHD and all your guy's experiences, it all just clicks",1 "since covid my anxiety around leaving the house has worsened so much and whenever i do leave the house and see anyone my throat gets scratchy and my eyes sting within seconds like, i know i can’t have gotten it that fast but my body is in panic mode 😂",0 "ADHD is 'Intention Deficit Disorder', not 'Information Deficit Disorder' ? See Russell Barkley vids: ​ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JowPOqRmxNs&ab\_channel=whatshakin3](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JowPOqRmxNs&ab_channel=whatshakin3) \--> title is 'Dr Russell Barkley ADHD Intention Deficit Disorder' ​ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=\_tpB-B8BXk0&ab\_channel=AdhdVideos](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tpB-B8BXk0&ab_channel=AdhdVideos) \--> see 0:38 until 1:32 --> paraphrased 'HAHAHA GOOD LUCK. THEY'RE NOT (STUPID). THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO. THEY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TELLING THEM TO DO. They're not gonna do it.'",1 Having add means fealing like you're somehow overachieving and underachieving at the same time.,1 "Im so scared to clean my room sometimes, wish my mom understood ",0 You could have an overactive bladder separate from OCD. The medication can help.,0 Oh god this is relatable. I hate driving now because my OCD brain is always convincing me I hit something or did something wrong when nothing actually happened. It's torture,0 Same with checking the doors are locked at night. I do be getting up at three in the morning checking them.,0 "You know what I hate about those kinds of articles? The fact that some of them literally just tell you to focus. It’s basically like telling you “How to help with ADHD: Don’t have ADHD”",1 "This is so familiar to me that I would barely even question it if it showed up in my own post history. Has anyone found a good, succinct way of explaining the ""looking at the thing I had to do and just... didn't..."" thing so that people who haven't experienced it can understand? It always seems to be a sticking point when I'm trying to explain how ADHD affects me, even to psychiatrists/cologists.",1 "I've been battling with my mental health for some years. When things got pretty bad this year, I saw a psychiatrist who immediately diagnosed me with ocd - I had never even thought about it before as I had never spoken my ruminations or compulsions out loud. I'm now full of mixed emotions because I'm finally understanding that what is going on are compulsions (which fills me with relief) but I also can't stop myself even though they are self-soothing actions (which fills me with frustration and dread). How do you go about explaining that feeling to a safe person? You have done it so coherently here but I still worry about it for myself",0 This is why i turn my medicine bottles upside down after using them,0 "So true. I feel this way all the time. “When will they find out?” is a phrase that buzzes round my head all the time. Yet, I have been to a top uni. I have a secure home, a loving family. I have been told I am good at my job, even great at my job, by people who I respect. Yet, still the imposter syndrome runs round my head all the time and has, I am sure, prevented me from pushing forward in my career.",1 I’m in the same boat if you ever want to chat. Set an alarm to take your meds. All the best,1 "I've decided that I'd go to the campus library at the normal time I wake up to go to class. Most likely going to sleep in most days but I reckon going to the library 2 days out of the week rather than being holed inside my house EVERY day is better than nothing.",1 """I'll be back with a different theme."" ​ Jesus that is too real lol",0 "I absolutely feel you. Without meds and counseling i couldnt keep up with my hw and now I'm a server with 84% of a physics degree that i cant afford to finish. My dirty dishes pile up. My laundry piles up. I can go days without showering. I forget to brush my teeth. The only reason i havent gotten pregnant is bc i have nexplanon in my arm (i kept forgetting to take birth control). Today is my first day back on vyvanse after 4 years and I'm hoping to see some positive changes in my life.",1 "Step 1: Do nothing until the absolute last minute Step 2: Finish everything passably somehow",1 "I wasn’t diagnosed until a year ago. I’ve spent my entire life being told by society that I was lazy, unmotivated, and deficient in every way that mattered. I believe it and I still do. I’ve internalized it and every time I think about how the ADHD (and autism) may be to blame, I just assume that it’s all PR talk in society and that I’m really just lazy and unmotivated and deficient. I just don’t believe what I know I should. Will this ever get better? Maybe a little, in time. But it’s already been too much time and now I’ve just settled into this grey landscape of apathy. Not sure I can dig myself out of it, really.",1 "are you guys still doing daily stuff like going to the gym and hanging with friends? I just turned my S/O down cause he works at target and he doesnt seem to care at all about any of this.Pisses me off, my dad doesnt even think its real.",1 "Omg this explains so much! The other day, I needed to schedule a vet appointment for my dog and they couldn’t get me in before work, only at 11:30. When I called my boss to say I wouldn’t be in until after lunch, and then later told this to my mom, I was baffled when her response was, “why don’t you just go in at 8 and take an early lunch at 11?” I was like what? No! I can’t do that, but ended up trying. I ended up going in, and even though I got nothing done, I at least was present at work—which I realized is half the battle as far as making a positive impression on your boss.",1 "Imposter syndrome is real. Know your limits and be open with your relationships about them. It’s real fucking hard, but you got this. You’re worth infinitely more than you think ❤️",1 I struggle with this too and whenever I try to explain it to people they just don't get it lol,1 "If you’re smart enough to get by you never learn the necessary studying et al type skills. Just in time to go to college or into the work force where the skills required are just above the level of where you can just skate by. And you don’t know how to learn it properly bc you never learned how to apply yourself to learn a skill set. Or at least that’s what happened with me",1 Any advice for good therapeutic approaches to seek out?,1 Aw man this made me laugh! Glad to know I’m not the only one who goes through these crazy stages.,1 Can’t tell you how many times I have accidentally lost all 67+ browser tabs on my phone and not been able to remember what any of them were,1 This makes me feel better about my feelings of dread and impending doom that I was having last night.,0 "Well I would say this is definitely true if you aren’t properly diagnosed and treated as a child. As was the case with me. And what you described is something I can very much relate to. I’ve noticed that my friends who were diagnosed and medicated in elementary or middle school did pretty well, were able to go without medication following college in some cases and functioned very normally. I have an IQ that’s decently above average, something that humble me always cringes to say, but those who don’t know me well generally assume the exact opposite, where my close friends know how smart I actually am. I was raised in a family where they (well my mother in particular) believed that my high intelligence meant I was being lazy and needed to apply myself more. I was never taken to a single therapist or anything, despite the school psychologist and teachers recommending it. - There had been a few deaths in the family around the time symptoms became significant and my parents told the school I was just going through something. Well that wasn’t true and years later I still struggled and couldn’t complete college. The ironic and furious thing is that when growing up my parents were very well off, and they spent tons of money on tutors and the like, which barely made a dent in my academics. Yet despite very obvious symptoms never spent money on a therapist or psychiatrist. Of course things were compounded even more when I developed PTSD from a few traumatic events close together. It seems that the baby boomer generation and older ones just simply don’t get or care very much about psychology and how debilitating psych issues can be.",1 "my mom would always say ""21 days makes a habit"". Not necessarily accurate, but a good goal to strive for; you're doing fantastic. I'm on day 10, definitely improvement. How do you get over the sensory issues of flossing? :/",1 100% know this feel. So glad that you’re working on it though!! Cheers to you!,0 "last time i tried a planner i wrote three days of planning in it, then 5 pages of drawings, and now it sits in my bedside table",1 It looks great! One thing I noticed though is if you look at the picture kind of far away the mans forearm has a balloon effect and I think it’s not proportionate to his hand.,0 Triggering myself on purpose by going down a google hole about my current obsession > anything else enjoyable,0 "So does “something bad” have a time limit for you then? Ah lucky you lmao:d Congrats:))",0 CALLED OUT. FUCK. That's exactly what I'm doing right now,1 "And this doesn't just happen with things you don't like doing. Someone who can't even budge to do something they really want to isnt just being ""lazy"".",1 ">She returns to the kitchen to resume dishes but instead organizes the tea shelf because we have too many teas. This made me cry cuz this is SO me at work, and it's worse right now. Nothing is getting finished. I talked to my psych about ADHD meds but she doesn't want to deal with schedule 1 controlled meds while she's working from home...",1 Holy fuck I never see things like this anywhere and doing it SUCKS.,0 My favourite thing is guessing ‘am I doing this because of my Tourette’s or OCD’,0 Do any of you also get the urge to jump off a building or a cliff whenever we're in extreme heights or a relatively tall building. That's why I don't go near the railings of a tall building.,0 """you're being irrational.. but wait, what if youre not? oh no, you might have schizophrenia for thinking this way..... omg, you must be hypochondriac for thinking you have schizophrenia... are you truly being irrational? no, no... if you dont believe this, \_ will happen!! THINK!!!"" \- my OCD",0 "This is so relatable, I was looking back, thinking the exact thing yesterday! Dang. I guess you don’t realize how normal some things are until you see a meme about it.",0 "or grabbing a soda cup, have to get one in the middle of the pile...",0 "ill let them borrow mine for a day to test it out, if they like it they can keep it !",0 "Argh I get this. It’s why I never bring the dirty cups/pots out of my room because I know that I’m not going to immediately deal with it and then my flatmates get annoyed with me and wash it up for me. This is a horrid vicious cycle because then I have no glasses or desk space in my room because it’s all taken up by bloody glasses!",1 Definitely feel this way. Some days I simply watch tv and read books without cleaning or doing things I \*should\* be doing.,1 "It's interesting (and hilarious) to see from an ""outsider's"" pov on how we complete tasks. I do this constantly but never fully realised it or thought about it until I read this. Ditto on letting her know your appreciation for her efforts. It's often not noticed in this society that we with ADHD work and put lots of effort on tasks but results are intermittent.",1 Great job!!! Definitely not pathetic at all. I recently started ERP/ACT and it can be overwhelming. You’ve got this! ,0 Preach. I'm on vortioxetine and ADHD and my depression wasn't really cured until I got the ADHD meds. If I don't take my anti-depressants though I am more agitated and angry.,1 "And now I’m crying because this is what I do on a day to day basis except I’m in-person, and yet my mother refuses to acknowledge my symptoms, thank you op",1 "I feel guilty about shit that actually happened but I didn’t even do, if my friend made a mistake when I was with him I will feel like it’s my fault even though I didn’t do it",0 Dude I know that feel all too well! Ask your doctor about Latuda. It helped me with intrusive thoughts like these!,0 "Man, I am like Doc from Back to the Future, but having accomplished fuck all. It’s just a stack of ideas and sheets and notes and drawings that never go anywhere.",1 I get this with online D&D. The mic distortion mixed with the voices turns everything around me to white noise/cable static.,1 "It’s crazy how all the words you want to say are in your brain, but none of it translates well when trying to speak it. It’s something I never understood about myself, until recently.",1 "Despite the overall great experience I have when smoking weed, my OCD and anxiety gets very bad. 😭",0 "Ugh I feel this. Had a headache/stroke, meningitis brain tumour etc today",0 "I can just imagine if i was invited. ""okay, now clean."" No. ""Why?"" I'm too busy fighting back intrusive thoughts about offending you and breaking your prized belongings.",0 "If I have ADHD and OCD, does that mean I get to slap someone twice? Or with both/two hands?",0 Woahhhhh most accurate comic depiction of an intrusive thought.,0 "I also do this a lot, for me it’s like movies/tv. I’ll go down a rabbit hole of watching movies and next thing I’d know it’s nighttime and I would have to get to bed. Don’t get down, everyone is different but for me what really helped was the day before figuring out what I “needed” to get accomplished tomorrow. Maybe it’s only 1 thing, some days there are a few. But I would start my day with those things and I wouldn’t do anything else until I did them. It could be something as simple as “gotta get to the grocery store for some food, gotta return a shirt to target” etc but I’d wake up get dressed and make it my mission to accomplish those things, then if I trailed off the rest of the day I still did those few things I set out to do and at least felt like I was able to get something done. Good luck friend and if there’s anything you ever need hit us up here, there’s lots more like us!",1 "im currently at 270 videos, glad to know this isn't just me who procrastinates their watch later by watching my recommended videos LOL",1 "My whole heart and soul are with you on this one. This is me to a T, all the way down to being able to help people overcome this but not myself. I too feel like a prisoner in a body unwilling to cooperate sometimes. I’m early in my journey exploring how ADHD impacts my life but it’s very comforting knowing I’m not the only one who feels this way. Hang in there!",1 I wish it was my only obssession and compulsion 🤷🏻‍♀,0 "I have not the words to express how much this resonates with me. I'm in my 40's now and only just being diagnosed with ADHD/ADD. All my life i felt deficient, like i wasn't good enough, like I'm stupid and it's been damn hard not to buy into that narrative. I've done the online testing and currently waiting for an appointment for an official diagnosis. What gets me though is something my psychologist said to me: ""trauma can sometimes manifest in a way that mimics ADHD but then I've never met someone with ADHD that didn't have trauma"".",1 THANK YOU FOR REMINDING ME TO BRUSH MY TEETH I was going to do it now and I forgot and you reminded me thank you,1 I save so many things for later and maybe look back at 0.01% of them.,1 I struggle with this a lot too. I have some strategies I use for my work life so it’s less of a problem. I actually find that it’s more of a problem in my personal life because I end up snapping at people (usually my husband) out of frustration.,1 "I am not alone after all... Yeah, I now only limit myself to brief encounters with people, as I don't let them too close as it gets draining to have to deal with their inevitable disappointment, but if you have a strong bond with friends or family, hold onto that and don't get trapped into the seductive addictive trap of being a hermit like me!",1 Agreed. Ocd is the absolute worst thing that has ever happened to me. Fuck anyone who acts like it’s not a big deal or it’s somehow inspiring or poetic.,0 "Therapist: No one can read your thoughts... Me: *shows them this post* Therapist: ...now listen",0 Omg i hate this so much. I spend my productive hours doing work work and then my passions/hobbies are just completely disgraced by my shitty attempts to put 10% effort in,1 I work from home and this is my life. I did it to myself... WHHHYYYYY,1 "I still think that episode of Scrubs with Michael J Fox as a doctor with OCD did it best. He's shown as being quirky but successful the whole episode, until the final scene where JD walks in on him stuck washing his hands/flicking the light switch for hours.",0 "I have one thing that was extremely helpful for me in most of those areas: MINIMALISM! I adopted this was of living for efficiency before Marie Kondo even finished her book (which I briefly perused and seemed decent). Do I love it?! No... Than im not buying it unless.. Do I NEED it... no than absolutely not getting it. On top of that I only purchase extremely high quality items which makes me less likely to purchase frivolously, less likely to toss if it gets dirty/broken/torn, more likely to handle with care and remember that I own it. Take a day or two every month (when medicated preferably) and ask those qs for everything you interact with starting with the physical items like food, clothing, dishes, papers, magazines then moving to apps, subscriptions, emails, texts This has lead to having bare minimum of everything except clothes because I do love fashion but still only a handful of items. Subscriptions I have: only prime and tidal hifi because I love music Bills: Get rid of what you can. Cable? Nope. Netflix? Borrowed not because I can't pay it but because I won't be able to remember. I pay my bills as far in advance as allowed. Utilities are mostly automated and paid from one single account once a month. I do still forget the ones that can't be automated from time to time. Groceries: I keep a checklist of all foods I want from the market on Google keep arranged by department. When I purchased it I check it off and when I run out I uncheck the box at the bottom. This has created the new issue of not having an item as I forget to uncheck it to buy it instead of buying multiples. A welcome problem imo. Eating out for meals: I do not like to cook (because of how mentally intensive it is) so I eat out quite often which I don't mind but if you don't want to you can try things like (home chef, blue apron) Uber/Lyft: In my city most people drive as public transportation is extremely unreliable. When I drove I would get pulled over for speeding 3-6 times per year. I wouldn't always get ticketed though 😉. Even with that I calculated that after tickets, gas, maintenance, insurance and time spent driving that taking Uber was the better choice for me. I've found that I'm more on time this way as well! I'm not going to have the typical life and I've accepted that but I can try to find the silver linings.",1 I think one of the most frustrating things here is the inability for the other person to see this completely earth-shattering feeling.,1 "Intrusive thoughts were a huge issue for me. Now, I can manage way better. This article literally changed my life. Dr Stephen Philipson dis his research on intrusive thought ocd and it shows in the article. Please read it! https://www.ocdonline.com/#!rethinking-the-unthinkable/cbqk",0 I liberally sprinkle some epilepsy on the top to be absolutely sure I can never be happy,1 "Or me when I am 100% sure I shut the door the first 12 times I checked, but oh boy I need to check a 13th just to be sure.",0 "I use IFTTT to put saved posts into my todo list haha. I wish Twitter had a similar ability, so many saved tweets that I'll never go back to",1 Lol I would have probably found this out eventually,1 Very true. I'm already over here being my own worst critic and beating myself up over my lack of productivity. Anyone else adding to it just crushes me.,1 Levitation would be the worst. I'd start misplacing shit on the ceiling fan.,1 I’m so exhausted lately it feels like I have the flu . .,0 This is my life. I swear I thought I was the only one.,0 "While I agree this is shit advice, I do find myself setting notifications on my phone a lot. It's helped me from forgetting important things while I'm packing for a trip, or when I need to do something after work.",1 Don't forget the other option: because of my chronic anxiety or depression?,1 "Congrats!! I love hearing people's success stories 😊 I have trich and I turned to pulling my eyelashes again for the first time in like 15-20 years (it's just been the hair on my head since then) when quarantine started since I didn't have anything to distract myself with. I got through half the eyelashes on each eye and started on my eyebrows but I just started going back to therapy and I'm really working on it - my eyebrows are full, my right eye is almost fully back to normal and my left eye is getting there too ❤️ success stories really help to keep me motivated",0 I hate that shit. It’s such a damn burden. Not fair 😡,0 I'm always daydreaming about having the power to stop time anytime I want.,1 "Man, I'm on my 9th max out Watch later ""watch later 9""",1 For some reason my executive dysfunction has gotten so much worse. I had to study for an exam and just couldn’t get out of bed. Couldn’t do any assignment. I just want to curl up and die.,1 Yes very true like its always scanning for vunrabilities,0 Me when I was 11 and randomly remembered about that time I was 6 and dialed 911 on a pay phone and it worked (I didn’t think it could work with no money) and then hung up and ran away from the phone. I ran into my parents room crying and told them about it.,0 I want to upvote it but its currently on 69 and I'm not going to be that person so I'm making the effort to leave a comment instead. You're fucking welcome. ,0 "My room is always a really big mess because once I start cleaning, I can't stop. I have been cleaning my room for the last 4 days, maybe like 8 hours+ every day. It's never clean enough. ",0 "I feel guilty about my somewhat disturbing past. And thanks to Covid, I am rn suffereing from bouts of intrusive thoughts stemming from it. The fear is fucking crippling. I know I can take control of my mind, but fuck, it's hard. It's like, guilt. regret. can't do anything about it. beat yourself up. repeat. I wish everyday to God and Universe to get over it.",0 Haha yes. Bf and I decided to build an extension of the hamsters cage. We got frustrated when we noticed it's difficult for complete newbies with no tools and equipment.,1 one of my first like major existential crisis/intrusive thoughts spirals was because of a vsauce video lmfao 😭😭😭,0 "If your OCD isn’t too severe and/or you feel like you have a good understanding of how to DIY ERP, you can work with Freedom From OCD by Jonathan Grayson and The OCD Workbook by Hyman, and conduct a self-directed treatment plan. I find that to be a great alternative, especially while you’re waiting on a specialist for a long time or if there isn’t one available in your area.",0 "I named my OCD ""Brogan"" and I picture it as a really bitchy over the top blonde girl who comes off as if she's trying to help but in reality she's condescending and intrusive :P",0 Who says they like having OCD???? What celebrities are you referring to? That’s vile.,0 Congratulations! I always admire grocery baggers for all of the interesting things they get to see every day! Have fun xo,0 "When I do something odd because of my OCD and my wife asks me what I’m doing if I hesitate she will follow up with “is it an OCD reason?” And if I nod or say yes, she will leave me alone about it so I don’t get more stressed out. She has tried very hard to be supportive of me dealing with my illness.",0 Yes. I don't have depression because I think it's more serious and constantly with you but I've been feeling depressed at times. Wish I never let it get to this point,0 "Pretty much. If i was not ruminating over one thing, i would just replace it with another thing.",0 The Boys is such a good series. Looking forward to the next one!,0 "Congrats on your progress. It is an incredible feeling of power, accomplishment and inner peace when you start getting it under control. I know from experience.",0 wait u mean to tell me that i will become LESS paranoid if I stop quadruple checking my cars back seats to ensure there is not a secret tiny murderer folded up underneath the passenger side waiting to strike. Ha! i will not be so foolish as to take that chance!,0 I've been browsing this sub for 3 minutes and now i know i have ocd,0 "Welp, this post hit home and is now pushing me to put down my phone and try to get going. See y’all later... *twenty minutes later*",1 "Yeah same, i spend hours rapidly pacing and daydreaming and usually the music that gets me into it is electronic dance music so all my ""top songs"" are just dubstep songs i spent apparently THOUSANDS of hours daydreaming to. My real taste in music is rock and indie 🙄",1 I have imposter syndrome about my vision and one time I printed out a snellen chart to shut my brain up.,0 It's my 3073992728947374737th thought on a theme that shits me,0 "If I time every task of my morning routine, it should take 45 minutes. It consistently takes me 2-3 hours in practice. Even if I never touch my phone after turning off my alarm. Meds help so much with allowing me to switch tasks efficiently.",1 Bro I literally stopped having a breakdown today over this lmfaooo,0 Good shit! One of my biggest issues is with hair so I’m glad you’re getting some progress,0 "My entire, just figured out I might have OCD, maybe 2 months ago.",0 Oh my god I thought I was the only one. Unfortunately I have no one to do this with aha,1 multiples of threes are my number so this hits hard,0 "I always feel like I'm not enough of the ""productive"" side of life and too much of the ""emotional"" side of life.",1 "I wish I could be more dynamic during conversation. I feel like I don't have much to share and spend the time in awe of other talking skills. Once the conversation is over and Iam by myself, Its then I realize I could have contributed to the conversation in so many ways. Delayed thoughts.",1 "Stuff like this drives me up the wall. 🙄🙄 I had an old roommate who was constantly like ""I need the dishes done or I go so OCD"" or ""I'm so OCD about xyz"" And I fucking hated it. It was so annoying. I have no patience for this stuff. Probably because I've had alot of exposure to dumb ass people like this.",0 It’s ok tho I’ll just touch the corner of my bed 6 times and I’ll be good,0 Het u/__whyamibroken !! for how much time did you have it ? and how bad was it for you on 1-10 scale ??,0 "i have 2 essays due monday, haven’t started either of them because i keep telling myself i’ll do them and for sure start them today! and then end up doing stupid shit that doesn’t need to be done instead. fuck adhd",1 "I lived with undiagnosed adhd j til my early 30s when I mentioned to my dr my friends said I had adhd and he immediately agreed and he knew and assumed I was coping well. Hmm no. Meds made a big difference. I took a long break from meds after I didn’t like the side affect and it was causing issues with my wife( I was agitated when they wore of)and super focused ifnoeing things around me. But the last year I was really struggling and my new dr suggested vyvanse which 2 months in is soo much better. Anyhow. I listen to edm while I work and I never really hear words in sones but I can repeat the melodies really well. I was listening to this edm song today snd maybe someone need to here thr lyrics. Maybe it’s cheezie. But it hit home with me since as a kid I felt stupid compared to my straight a honor role and advance placement siblings. I got a in the subjects I liked and barely passed anything else. Anyhow. Just know someone is feels this way about you. And uplifting trance song. To me anyhow. https://youtu.be/6jGr5yr43W0 Maybe its because I feel broken...",1 "Ha! Me! I have alarms for everything. Literally every hour there is a reminder for something. I also created a Windows Task List which I share with friends to keep me accountable. I have a morning one and an evening one where if I fail to check off tasks they highlight red and my close friends can see it. That all worked out great for about two weeks. Then the alarms and check list got totally ignored. My friends went from trying to pretend they cared to not even following up with me anymore haha. I wish I could figure out a realistic and honest way of getting my shit in order but I fear this constant war of being brilliant and inept all in one will be fought forever. I recently learned all my friends see me as being “super smart” (out of their own mouth on separate occasions) so I know I’m not totally doomed I am doing something right. I just cannot help but wonder where I’d be in life if my brain worked for me rather than against me.",1 "I have periods of time where I will strongly obsess over one specific thought and interchange. Usually due to some stressor or another I’ll end up making it to the last panel... which is honestly so much worse. Constant anxiety, terrible sleep quality, and this constant “adhd” feeling.",0 "OMG, my mum always comments on this, I never thought it could be related to ADHD.",1 You're right. I should keep exercising. I so rarely get to be in this mindstate. It's absolutely marvellous. It's like being a new person.,1 "Man, I 100% cannot relate. I actually work best when left alone and away from other people with little supervision. Is that abnormal for someone with ADHD?",1 "And then you only get like 10 sessions. Dude, that's not gonna fix me.",0 ">It’s a learned self hatred. Is it ever, I still cannot fully throw it off even though I have gotten much better at handling it over the years.",1 "Can only vaguely relate, never been in a real relationship, but partly (among other things) because I know that I'm not worth the trouble my OCD (and/or myself in general) causes xD ​ Not to say that you all are invalidated by your troubles",0 Me staring at the boxes of crackers for 5 minutes to determine which box has the best tasting crackers in it even though I also know they all taste the same,0 so true ! so grateful to finally find a post I can heavily relate to lol,0 "I left Tourette’s subreddit because of posts like this. It makes me consider that I am faking it, and now it hunts me here",0 "Oh my god, I didn't think it was an ADHD thing... Bruh...",1 "Nope, not at all. I have severe OCD and am in no way bothered by the casual use of the term. Not trying to be a dick to people who are, just sharing that it's possible not to give a fuck.",0 "Not sure if it’s been mentioned yet, but gum with xylitol in it is good for oral health. Not a brushing replacement, but I believe there’s some research out there for it. Heard on a podcast with Dr. Rhonda Patrick awhile back, and brown nosed to my hygienist about it in the fall who confirmed its benefits. I personally chew the brand Pur.",1 I analyze everything I can’t focus ever it sucks man I wish it didn’t exist,1 "I’m currently struggling with this. I’m 29 and still trying to get a diagnosis. I excelled in school despite being undiagnosed, but now I think this disorder is going to cost me my job. I work in data entry and I’ve been struggling. My management hasn’t been willing to work with me, so I’ve been sinking. I can’t really do anything to convince management to pull back a bit since I don’t have a proper diagnosis. It’s a scary situation to be in.",1 "I have this everyday, this is why I fear being naked or undressing",0 "I used to hate dishes until I got into habbit of listening to my fave podcasts with headphones every time I did them. 30 mins to zone out listening and keeping my hands busy well spent. Although, that doesn't solve the problem of me not wanting to start them until 11pm haha",1 "Damn so relatable man. Why u gotta do me like that",0 I do this physically when it's happening in my head. To real.,0 "The support groups/discord ideas are AWESOME!! Good luck to all you guys, this woukd have been my absolute nightmare at Uni. Well done supporting each other!!",1 Wouldn’t the anxiety (and everything else) be the result or the mind in the first place?,0 Oof really though. Is being a business idea pitcher a viable career? Because i have about a million ideas/give good advice and insight but have absolutely no motivation to actually do the thing,1 My main hobby is seasonal so I can't even do it in the summer and I can't quite get into anything else,1 I have so many screenshots (from more than just adhd stuff but a lot of it is) that I’ve never looked back at or used and I have to pay Apple for a ton more space for cloud storage because it’s too overwhelming to go through all my thousands of photos and decide what can and can’t be deleted.,1 "My OCD brain would take this as “ah, but that means some of them ARE true... I’ll never know which ones, so best keep doing my rituals just in case” *sigh*",0 "Psilocybin essentially curbed and ‘cured’ my OCD. I still have traces, but I shit you not it’s been watered down about 90%",0 "There was a girl in my psych class talking about how she’s so OCD because she eats all the red skittles first and I was like “I want to pull my teeth out every time I touch a doorknob, Brittany”",0 "I use to add video there, but then I realized I never went back to watch them. Should probably clean that out — bet I have some videos I can’t watch now because I use to be subbed to channels that have now become horrible *cough* creepygroomingfansforstuff *cough* people. I know this wasn’t the intent of this post, but it shall serve as a reminder for me to clear (and maybe watch) what’s in my water later playlist.",1 "It’s just people who have no understanding of what OCD really is. Doesn’t bother me any. Before I was diagnosed, I thought of OCD sufferers as Howard Hughes types, germaphobes, and people with strange sequential ticks. And I think that’s a pretty common stereotype. When my therapist brought it up with me as a potential diagnosis, I thought to myself, “this lady is crazier than I am”. But when I went home and did a little research, it made all the sense in the world. In fact, my entire life started to make sense in ways that it never previously had. As far as common stereotypes about it, and folks throwing around the term without any idea of what it means, I don’t think about that at all. Dealing with the OCD itself is enough of a challenge for me. Public perception of it is way down towards the bottom of my list of concerns.",0 "Counting always, also include chopping your steps to make the right number of them between a section of sidewalk.",0 "Dr.Russel A Barkley, makes a very great point when he says that teaching skills in ADHD is basically useless without pharmacological treatment, and even then it should be more on building behavioral interventions rather that skills, but both are still heavily dependent upon the efficiency of pharmacological treatment. A planner doesn't help when you \-forget it \-forget to write in it \-lose it \-Attempt to write something in it, and then get distracted and forgot what you were going to write or totally forgot what you we're doing \-don't have a writing utensil \-Forget to check the planner when you finally do write things in it The list goes on, a planner can help, but it's very dependent on other factors if it's going to benefit at all. Also it only helps with like a very small fraction of ADHD symptomology, you then have the list of problems that occur when your actually reminder by the planner to do something, then you have all the problems that come with, ya know... actually doing it. Like beginning it, not getting distracted, finishing it in time, not making careless mistakes, oh what if the planner reminds you when you're in the middle of something and you're giving that dilemma of droping one thing and potentially forgetting the other. Yeah, it's not easy.",1 "Yes and even after I've sent it, I worry that maybe somehow it didn't go through so I'll keep checking the sent box to make sure it shows it went through",0 "I just try and block new information out lol. Also is that Toontown? lmao",0 "Same, had a ""rent-a-mom"" for years and a personal assistant. One handled all the house chores and shopping, other handled all the bills and reservations and calendar. Life was grand. I could operate freely and let my add creative brain do its thing and made some obscene money. Then I got married and my new wife didn't get it, bullied me into firing everyone. House was a mess, id just overpay all the bills by huge amounts so they'd stop showing up for like a year or two at a time and I was always disorganized and ended up seeing my income drop by about 450k usd in the span of a year because she couldn't accept that I needed the assist to operate at full capacity. Sooo now I'm freshly divorced and rebuilding.",1 "I think the biggest barrier for me currently is not being able to shake the feeling that I’m blaming my problems on ADHD. To me it just feels like a scapegoat for everything going on in my life, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to accept ADHD as the source of many problems in my life.",1 "Yep, I used to have this a lot, to the point where I'd avoid going outside for anything.",0 Me this weekend. Missed out seeing my sibling's friend because I have to work on a project. When they came back home I had made no progress,1 "When my doctor told me I probably had it, I was incredibly confused due to the fact that I have **amazing** attention but only towards very select things. My professor last year told me that he’d never seen anyone with my focus, and in retrospect I find that kind of funny, though I do have great focus for that specific subject. I was told after the class ended(by a classmate) that I was ignoring people. I had no idea because I was so into what I was doing. With non-special interest topics? It’s polar opposite.   But yeah, I’ve always known something was wrong, I’ve struggled with learning my whole life and my special interests aren’t things that pay well or at all. I came across “ADHD” several times and though I identified with much, I thought there was no way due to my ability to hyper focus. I just recently learned that was an adhd thing.",1 I am so sorry for your loss. This brought me to tears. Thank you. Sending you love <3,1 Mad Hatter checking in! Welcome to reddit. I have multiple diagnoses including OCD and recommend checking out r/bipolar too for raw experiences involving obsessions and irrational behavior. There's also r/mixednuts for general mental health discussions. Reddit is a great place for us Wonderlanders to vent and get support :),0 "I should practise Bass , and read for and exam I should and I will .",1 "This has been me as far back as I can remember. Since I've deemed it not solvable, I have gravitated to work that facilitates *sprints* . For example, as a tech exec evaluating investment proposals and then recommending to top management, I would focus on one topic intensely right before I'd have to: once I read about 5k pages on education technologies in a week, to assess a proposal properly. Weeks later I could not remember one thing!",1 "Facts. People who are obsessed with cleanliness and feel like its a positive trait probably have OCPD, which sounds a lot like OCD but is not the same thing at all.",0 LOL literally crying out of frustration from dealing with this EXACT problem every night—— & went on my phone per usual. This did make me feel better that someone else understands. Thanks for sharing 💛,1 "It's such a viscous cycle. The more you don't want to think about it the more you end up thinking about it. When I try not to ritualize, I get this weird sensation where I feel compelled to say the words like they're on the tip of my tongue.",0 "I once lived with a girlfriend that had OCD. It got so bad it was crippling. We couldn't leave the apartment without her insisting on turning around and going back to check if she locked the door, turned of the stove, etc. I attended a few counseling sessions with her and we came up with a way to help deal with the situation. She would lean on my certainty in order to make herself feel better. I would lock the door and I would check things. When she asked to go back and check, I would tell her I checked and I was certain. That helped when we were together, but it did nothing when she was alone. Such a complicated disorder. I wish it upon no one.",0 "Yea, cracked and bleeding hands here I come. I love that everyone can understand the feeling that if you just do these things people you love will be protected, its always hard explaining that I know its illogical but it still feels that if I do x,y,z I can keep them safe. One is that if I dont make sure someone got home safe somehow retroactively they will get in a car accident and die. I feel less alone in this sub, thanks y'all!",0 "omg YES!! i check every email, assignment, application, etc. i’m always worried i put in some disgusting word, or insulted the person reading it, or said a slur or something. ocd is whack.",0 "https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2805706/table/T1/?report=objectonly -- the omega 3, vitamins, minerals help alleviate fear either as foods or capsules. With food sometimes its much more difficult to get the right amount of each. So supplements along with food help.",0 "In every exam term at school, in order to study more, I skip going to the gym, which is really pleasant, at least for a week. In the end, I neither study nor do sports.",1 Whoa I love this!! And I’m happy that you’re happy!!,0 if i was able to cure one of my mental disorders id definitely go with ocd and i literally have bpd,0 "I feel like I experienced this in all my relationships, including my current one. At first I seem great because I'm super social and can keep up appearances of being stable in the first few weeks. Then they discover the ""real"" me and they slowly start to dislike me because I'm ""not the great girl I first was"". Jokes on you, I'm always great now because my meds are finally working bitch",1 "I feel for you man. Can’t stand that “my disease is a superpower” bullshit. What’s the superpower then? Being unable to read basic human emotions and body language? Hearing even quiet sounds at crippling volume? Being completely unable to think about a calendar in my head? How many issues did that superhero comic get before they realized nothing about him is actually super except his anxiety? Like... you can have acceptance for who you are without trying to paint it like life is better for you. I know my life would be undeniably more fulfilling without this stuff going on in my head.",1 Hahahahah this is so stupid and accurate! I just increased my dose and think that there's no reason to. The other part of me is like yeah right,0 Girl More like 15 seconds. I hate it and i feel u /edited cause i don't know how to english,0 "This post helped remind me to go to bed. Tip I use is to wear headphones and play the spotify deep sleep playlist. I used to play podcast, but then I would realize I may have missed something.",1 The term “OCD about” drives me bonkers. Oh what a luxury it would be to be “OCD about” a few things.,0 "Invest in paper plates and cups and cutlery, it has absolutely saved my life. Just throw that shit away.",0 My house burned down when I was 8 and that’s when my OCD symptoms first came to fruition,0 I could see how this person could think they are helping but in reality they are just an idiot,0 "In my teenage years I used to have ocd and horrible intrusive thoughts. At some point I just leveled with the darkness and they went away, with the consequence of me becoming severely depressed. At times I almost miss my ocd because of the order it imposed. My suffering was intense but felt meaningful. I can’t say the same now",0 "This made me chuckle. I do react to some intrusive thoughts this way. The ones that I'm coming to terms with. ""Yea yea I get it, what if you wanted to do this?"" ",0 "What I realize is, I feel less sad about the things I had to give up on because of adhd coupled with epilepsy, and instead just wanna get away from all humanity.",1 This title is surreal for me. Like someone just grabbed my shoulders and shook me into reality. I have to take sleep aides to force myself to sleep or I’ll just stay up doing random things or stay wake in bed day dreaming or thinking to no end.,1 "Yes. I completely shut down and become angry and will either have a smart-*ss very mean response and storm off or just storm off all together and feel terrible. I’ll feel terrible because of the shame and guilt of whatever it is I ‘just couldn’t do’ and anger because I feel worse for for having that shame and guilt magnified by someone else’s words. Ugh, it’s horrible. Sometimes I say sh*t I reeeeeeeally regret.",1 It's crazy how many soulmates I have in this group. You just described my whole social and professional life. Why can't we be each other's friends - we would understand each other perfectly!,1 This is incredible. It brought me to tears because of how well you captured what OCD is like. 💜,0 "attack this mf'in cancer AGGRESSIVELY :) sending you positive thoughts",1 "I’d be in prison if I trusted my gut, or maybe even dead.",0 the funny thing about OCD is I convince myself that it’s a choice and try to resist my compulsions but then it actually drives me insane and I just have to do it 😐,0 "Jokes aside though, I'm new to the sub and barely discussing this with my psychologist (she said there's a chance that I have ADHD but still working on the diagnostic). When I started talking to a few friends about it, their innocent reaction was: ""oh yeah I think I might have it too, dont we all have a little ADHD?"" and ""isn't it just that you don't set out proper goals?"" the last one followed by a bunch of advice as ""stay motivated, push yourself more"" etc. Although I know they mean good, it felt extremely frustrating, because in one hand they are reducing the struggles of my ADHD to ""problem focusing at college"" and ""lazy, unmotivated"" and on the other hand they think I'm making a big deal about it because of the idea that we are all a little distracted sometimes. I tried to explain in depth about emotional desregulation and long term consecuenses of untreated adhd like the extreme social/generalized anxiety and impostor syndrome, and how I been trying so hard to be functional for as long as I can remember. But at the end I got an ""don't be so bummed out about life, you have great qualities! You are exaggerating your problems"" and ended up looking like a neurotic. After that I decided to keep it to myself specially with my neurotypical friends. My boyfriend also tries to disqualify my suspicion since I told him. Even my psychologist isn't too sure about adhd being persistent in adulthood as she told me is probable that I had it AS A CHILD, but isn't sure I could still have it (even though I have all of the symptoms and they express in every aspect of my life but whatever.....). Sorry for the rant, I really needed to vent about this one.",1 "It does have its pros and cons! ✨ Pros: I don’t have pimples 🤩🤩 Cons: I have gaping craters in my face from where I continually pick at my skin and pick open scabs that have healed and I am covered in scars 🥰🥰 (by the way, /s)",0 The amount of stress I got from this video 😂 it’s perfect.,0 I’m getting out of bed to get ready for my appointment at the MS specialist. Thank you for this.,1 i don’t like the disease itself but i find the fact i was diagnosed to be reassuring because then i know that it is just my ocd torturing me instead of it being something i want,0 "If you changed the ""What I think I should do"" to hurting myself this would be accurate here.",0 "I am once again avoiding moving from looking at reddit on my PC to looking at reddit on my phone in bed.. I mean going to bed, im avoiding going to bed",1 Who else feels like they are dealing with something that is both super smart and super evil .. can’t find a way with this thing,0 Such an accurate representation. I’m sorry anyone else who is going through this 💙,0 "Good job writing this, we need a permanent and effective cure ASAP. I'm interested in Neuralink(Elon Musk's new project) that gonna basically gonna connect the brain with a computer and hopefully they could just delete/deactivate the areas responsible for OCD and other damn illnesses, I'll gladly be their human lab rat I don't care about the consequences just help us get out this mental hellhole",0 For me actually thinking about gore and painful violent things over my sexual and nasty intrusive thoughts helps me get through them more quickly.,0 "Lol I do this with the LAST load of laundry. I do it all. Fold and put it all away. And the last load sits there, getting all wrinkled in a big ball on the bed. Adhd is super fun",1 "I had what seemed to be swollen lymph nodes along my collar bone that my doctor was concerned about. They’d popped up during a respiratory illness I’d had the year prior, but I didn’t have a gp at the time. They were still there for my first visit with my new doctor. She sent me to get an ultrasound, which was a week of waiting for the appointment. Then it was a full week more for results. The results literally said there was nothing at all there. Nothing more. No explanation for what we were feeling. Now I still have these lumps and no explanation at all. This delayed stuff with no explanation in the end is a killer for my dopamine and motivation for getting prompt care.",1 That's the charm of it. You trick yourself with rationalising it and then it gets hard to break out of the cycle,0 "lmfao yeah but now unless they’re my actual friends I just stopped giving a fuck, but I do relate w the real ones",0 OCD has made me stronger. It's forced me to learn patterns of sustainable work ability. Because my OCD was a result of failing in workload.,0 "I failed my EMT field training because of this. Situations develop so quickly that I would forget to verbalize with my partner/trainer. He thought I was being stuck up or something, but I spent so much mental energy focused on doing my tasks correctly I felt like I could never communicate properly. Also holy fuck receiving patient care reports is the worst. A bunch of random information about a person I’ve never met, and it’s very important to remember it all, in precise order, and in exactly the words they used for it. And good luck remembering it at the end of your 14 hour shift when you finally have a chance to write *your* report!",1 "Yeah well apparently I can’t even hide my shit. In my recent work review my work was praised but in one category I failed to meet expectations because according to my boss “some days you’re bubbly and interact with everyone and that’s great. Other days you don’t at all. Be more like the bubbly days.” It was also said that I’m generally “too negative” despite the fact that apparently I’m bubbly plenty of the time? Sorry for being human and having off days? Pardon me while I burn.",0 This meme is really good because of how high definition the photo of Tom is. I find my OCD thoughts are always very loud and crystal clear just like this image.,0 I find it gorgeous 😍 the fact that it helps you cope makes it even more beautiful to me,0 You said it. It pisses me off when people say ocd like its some kinda trendy thing. Those morons have no idea what a living hell OCD is.,0 "No, sorry, I'll probably just stand in your kitchen and pace back and forth as I contemplate the consequences of my every action.",0 So happy for you!! I used to be the same. It was painful and embarrassing for a long time and I hated it. Those were some pretty big motivators for me to work on it.,0 "I don't have intrusive thoughts telling me to do something bad to others, but I do have intrusive thoughts about bad things happening to me or loved ones. I actually love writing parody songs so this might work for me? lol",0 like many others..I can 100% relate to this. I’m almost relieved it’s not just me. I always call is “nostalgia anxiety”. but I generally worry about my mother dying multiple times a WEEK! and I have no idea how to stop. as she’s aged it’s only gotten worse. I have feel of the future too but I think these go hand in hand. I worry about how i’ll be able to cope with the death of certain people etc. it’s draining to be honest.,0 "I'm pretty sure ""tough love"" just doesn't work in general",1 "I was diagnosed at middle age. And the medication helped with my focus/motivation issues, that I expected. What I didn't expect was how much it helped with my anxiety and depression",1 "yeah, that hits a nerve. and i’m probably way older than you, so i’m going to have to have a REALLY long moment of silence. 😁",1 "*me, who has cried over emotional scenes in videogames*: how can I be sure I'm not an emotionless sociopath ://?",0 "For me, I usually have a brief moment of peace immediately after I wake up, only to have it all come flooding back into my mind as I fully regain consciousness.",0 "I literally almost just cried when I saw this. I know that sounds stupid, but it's just been so hard lately to tell myself that it's an intrusive thought and to try and suppress it, even when my friends are telling me the opposite of what my brain is telling me. I mean I trust them, it's just hard...",0 I feel called out and personally attacked by this post,1 I’m struggling with the plastic feeling right now and hoping they’ll go back to normal. Seeing this gave me some hope. So happy for you!!,0 Congrats 🎊. Pat yourself on the back. You deserve it. Keep up the awesome work.,1 "One a heavy blanket, while the other a fire inside my head. I would rather be smothered to death than be burned inside out.",0 "Jesus this speaks to me... Been struggling lately trying to just keep my apt in order let alone my job hunt.. Trying to stay constantly motivated + positive while so many things slip through my fingers because for some reason I keep thinking I can handle all of this like the super-lady I am, except I haven't been able to be on my meds since being let go back in April; when everything shut down my company needed to let go of folks to stay afloat + I came up short. Lately, I've been trying to consider a new career + have been fighting with this paralyzing fear that ill just loses motivation halfway or run into a professor that causes my rejection dysphoria to rear its ugly fucking head... Had someone at least explained what that was to me or had been medicated back then I could have done so much better in college... Now I'm just praying for a job w/benefits so I can not only get back on my meds + function ”normally” but more importantly be able to contribute more to my future rather than sitting frozen >_< Edit: really sorry for rambling, apparently I needed to get that off my chest ♥️",1 I'm an ex girlfriend who got cheated on alot and now (4+ years later) I still have intrusive thoughts and reoccurring dreams about him and still lay in bed at night fucking pissed.,0 "Question...are you prescribed ADHD medication? And if so, do you take it daily?",1 "Congratulations!! I'm finishing a paper that's due in a few hours lmao.",1 "I’m a prisoner inside my own head. Everything I’ve ever done, good and bad, is replaying in my head constantly. Especially after this past year. It’s like I’ve been buried alive with my thoughts sometimes and it really feels like I’m being punished",0 "I scrunch up my nose, blink hard, and shake my head a bit.",0 I'm really glad you made this post because I feel exactly the same way. I often reply to questions with 'I dont know' simply because I can't put my thoughts together to form a coherent answer. Even if I know the answer I often won't be able to think of it.,1 "When my OCD was bad, I would obsess about people breaking in. But when things were seemingly far too secure for humans, I used to get paranoid of evil spirits/demons breaking in (cause they can walk through walls). Like I managed to ""logic out,"" real threats, so fake threats came to mind. I don't even believe in demons/spirits of any sort. OCD is a ride.",0 "Yes, when i worked at maccas i had a really good manager who wouldnt just tell me what to do but would explain it detail and the importance as to why, other managers would just roll their eyes if i didnt understand them because they saw it as something ""simple"".",1 "Authoritarian types often bristle at being asked ""why"" by employees, because they think it's a challenge to them.",1 Naw that is so sweet:) and damnXD i hope your mom is okay after that:p.,1 "I feel like my family notices it and offer to talk, but when I do they would rather not help or don't know how to help, as expected. They don't show that they really know.",0 My OCD now during New Year's Eve lol. I can't relax because intrusive thoughts are causing me discomfort. What a weird beast of a disease...,0 But I opened this because it came up in my notifications so this begins endless scrolling time...,1 Can non-ocd people get this? I relate but I am not diagnosed,0 "I went and bought handcrafted artsy soap and I loved it. It was more expensive, but staring a a pretty bar of soap while in the bathroom helped me to remember to wash, the scent and the way it suds up made me want to play with it, which in turn made sure I got at least 20 seconds of scrubbing time and showed exactly all the places I still needed to scrub, unlike liquid soap where I have a difficult time doing more than just rinse with it. It was a tax I was more than happy to pay-three times more than regular soap, but useful... until it turned out that the special soap made it impossible for the roommate to walk into the bathroom because of her perfume sensitivities...",1 This is beautiful. Thanks for sharing. Using art as an outlet is an amazing thing!,0 Yes but also this pictures origin is concerning. Please tell me they didn't hurt the kitty :(,0 "This won't help. Your brain is irrational. Its not reasonable. You just have to be okay with saying ""I am the worst person ever"". Thats erp, and thats effective as hell. Here is the article that taught me the way. https://www.ocdonline.com/#!rethinking-the-unthinkable/cbqk",0 "You know what fucks me up? This post’s title. No uppercase at the beginning, but the I is uppercase? Kill me please Sorry, that shit just triggers me greatly.",0 "I’m just trying to get a partner in my life, that’s what I’m striving for now",1 What if muscle mass actually increased with the amount of knowledge you possess over an illness you have,0 ">Do you guys ever feel like you’ve won the lottery when less time has passed than you thought? Yes but its often the opposite. Today, I did about 15 minutes of work but four hours passed in real time.",1 Being awake doing things only for excitement at 1 am only drains my energy for the next day. And I don't seem to understand.,1 "I think people are pretending to have mental disorders because it's basically bragging and brings them pity and attention. It makes them stick out but they really don't have that quality. I'm going to confess I said I have a certain mental disorder I really don't. It's oddly enjoying to do. It's like flexing a sports car you don't have an the internet except your flexing about a disorder you don't have. I don't know why humans enjoy pretending to have disorders.",0 "Lol sometimes during a movie I’ll space out and when I snap back in, I have no idea what’s going on. So I gotta turn to my gf and say, “what happened?” To which she’ll fill me in",1 I really needed to see this today. It makes me feel so much less alone. Hang in there and thanks for sharing.,1 """No ever died from OCD"" well i am trying hard to resist the temptation not to stab you in the face.",0 "Well, this kinda confirms that I have OCD, I guess, although I was already aware of it.",0 Any guidance from your disability services departments?,1 "The same thing happened to both me and my wife on our first dose. And we both had the thought ""is this what normal feels like?"" It really was indescribable for me. The best I can do is say that a burden was lifted, I felt free, and I had hope for the future. But those words just don't do justice to the feeling. All because an insignificant chore didnt feel like a huge obstacle anymore. Things felt manageable on not overwhelming.",1 "Of all the scenarios for my brain to skitter away and get distracted during, I've never been more grateful that it doesn't happen during sex or while I'm driving. Though I'm incredibly distressed at how many people **don't** silence or DND mode their phones beforehand, or turn off the TV/music if those are known fuck-times distractions. It seems disrespectful as fuck to partner(s) - and oneself!!! - if you're already aware that it's possible. (If not, it's cool, learning experience, can't find out it's a problem until it happens, right?) (As for driving while inattentive: try a stick shift. Having something for all four limbs to do plus keep the brain engaged so we aren't murdering anyone with a ton of motorized steel can work really well. Parallels can be drawn between this and being less distractible/more hyperfocused during sex too, lol, though... your mileage may vary. *fingerguns*)",1 But at least I know what tension pneumothorax is. Because I'm definitely going to need to know how to spot that someday. And I figured out the name of the tree that is in my yard. And that I probably don't have a blood clot. And I found that meme I've been searching for for ages. And I finally remembered to look up the lyrics to that song I keep singing wrong. See? I did stuff!,1 "Damn I thought missing out on a 2 thousand dollar payment from the government was rough Don’t beat yourself up too much and Good luck with the treatment and recovery 💪",1 The ADHD in me is so strong that I actively scrolled past this and ignored it. I CAN’T STOP,1 """Worst"" is subjective, but the bad thing about OCD-related mental fatigue is that I've not been able to notice how bad it is. OCD makes it seem like you're performing well (putting a lot of effort etc.), even though you're performing at least 2-3x less effectively. You think you're doing well, but you spend at least 2-3x more time as non-OCD and you do more errors. You do a lot of work for the same results that non-OCD head produces in 1/2-1/3th of the time. There's also the ""Freudian"" myth that OCD sufferers are more intelligent etc. I call it delusion and huge amount of confirmation bias.",0 honestly this feeling is almost as relieving as when it goes away for a whole few days for no reason.😁,0 My Brain: what if told him if he doesn’t wash his hands right now his whole family will die lol I’m just so quirky like that,0 The issue is capitalism you have to work for a minimum of 8 hours just to survive. We shouldn't and don't even need to work that long its inneficient.,1 "Checking the tracking on something I ordered three million times a day starting mere minutes after I bought it, ha. That's probably more impatience than my OCD though.",0 "Omg I agree so much, this drives me nuts and is sooo insensitive!! I was in a minimalism group on fb and I eventually just left bc everyone was showing off organized homes saying ""I'm soooo OcD!!!! omg""",0 "The solution to this... don’t give a shit what anyone thinks of you. Be confident in yourself. Think positive. If someone doesn’t like you, so be it. Life will go on. OCD and the anxiety it produces makes everything seem like the end of the world is near. It’s not. You just have to stop caring and replace those negative thoughts with positive thoughts. This takes practice. But don’t give up",0 "Imma just say this I figured out that I AM stupid when it comes to some things. I just don't fit the well rounded mold but then from that I figured out something really crazy get ready for this I was practically born for the career I'm at now. Every flaw I got my career loves about me. I fit that mold and very few other molds. I'm super viligent I'm slow because I don't make jumps on anything I gotta be DAMN SURE I got everything down pat before I do shit and that annoys everybody but the people in my career field. I am really fu*kin bad at some subjects I make up for that by being really damn good at what I'm good at. I CANNOT handle 9 hour 5 days in a row shifts. I can handle 2 24 hour shifts a week though or 3 12s or somethin similar. What I'm tryna say is HELL YEAH sometimes you are just so fu*king bad at fitting some molds that they think you're a dum*ass cause everybody fits it. Well sure yeah you're a dumbass in that area but EVERYBODY is a dumbass just sometimes they aren't a dumbass in the common areas while you are. Turns out you're a mf genius in some rare areas nobody ever talks about.",1 ">“paralysis of will” What a slam dunk of a term. I have exactly what is described here and sometimes it feels like my brain and my body are not even connected. I *want* to clean my room, I *want* to get that boring work project done but I just can't *start*.",1 I can’t let dishes pile or I will obsessively think about it. I wash everything immediately after cooking.,0 "Oh my gosh this literally gives me goosebumps. You're such a talented and awesome artist!",0 "I actually am transgender, but also add any number of bigoted things I could be as well as useless and keep pedophile and you're cooking with gas.",0 "I write in a pursuit of a living. When I am struggling to get stuff done at home move remove myself and go to a library or community college and sit in my car with my laptop specifically set up for least amount of distractions and write in intervals until I either burn out and it's not happening or find focus finally. If there are distraction-less or quiet places then that works to but leaving the house makes my brain shift mindsets (going to school I, mr brain, am now thinking about it. Work, errands ect) Works decently for me but its not fool proof. It doesnt work all the time for me. I'm sure others have better ideas",1 "Out of curiosity were you born in the 80s when ADHD didn't exist. I was the same, everyone said I was just being lazy or I didn't care. The invisible forces in my head that stopped me from doing anything was not something anyone back then would understand so there was never any point trying to explain. Do not accept that these apparent faults are yours. If anything you're working extra hard just to combat your brain to allow you to do start anything in the first place.",1 "TIL the name for the thing I’ve been doing consistently for the last three years. Congrats on being in a better place, and thanks for sharing!",0 "I don't want to make light of your struggles but I have to say that I laughed at first because your title reads like you just started having adhd today. Like someone hit you with an adhd spell and you were like ""woah this sucks.""",1 Congratulations!!! Let me give you a HUG (from a distance if you don't like physical touch),0 I always enjoyed “As good as it gets” as a movie with a person with OCD.,0 "A mate had the same thing happen, a single lymph node got massive and they found out it was cancer. Lucky in lymph it can often be benign/contained, they had it removed and everything has been fine 😁 I hope this calms the nerves but encourages getting the help you need!",1 These things are so stupid. The only reason they exist is to manipulate little kids and people with OCD into giving them more money. What kind of a sick fuck do you have to be to think doing this is okay.,0 "Haa when this used to happen to me I'd come up with a very elaborate cover story... ""man, I swear when I closed that door the first time I heard someone calling me from inside! And then the second time I thought I forgot my phone in there. Geez.""",0 "I originally never planned with writing my novel three years ago and it’s fucked me over major, and along the years I’d keep adding to my nonexistent plan and having to destroy and rebuild everything over and over again and now that I’m trying to make an actual plan I’ve already made three documents, two that are now old and I’m not getting anywhere with it so idek anymore",1 "Yep. Every morning. *Alarm radio going off* ""I'm should get up. ""I really don't want to get up. This story on the radio is kind of interesting, maybe I'll just listen to it before I get up."" *... much time passes, still in bed ...* ""What was I supposed to do again?"" Looks at clock. ""Damn it, I should've been up an hour ago!""",1 haha wouldnt it be funny if you said obscene words and acted really fucking weird and ruined your relationships with others? 😳 - my brain,0 "well, i can't go to bed till i have made some progress on uni work, the slight problem being I have written about 100 words the last week and have 4000 to go before Friday. it has been less than fun, it is currently 4:30 in the morning",1 This is how I feel most days. Just got health insurance and don't even know what to say to the doctor,1 Hopefully I can get some good rep in with a project of mine. Why would I write stereotypical OCD when I could write my own and have it be more interesting?,0 It’s so sad because I’ve had thoughts like this for years and only recently (within the past 2-3 years) realized that this is a symptom of OCD.,0 "i didn’t realize i even did this until i was sharing a hotel room with a friend on a school trip. she must’ve noticed that i checked my alarm, the time we were supposed to be ready, our room number (the list goes on) every few seconds. she low key called me out on it yikes",0 I fell asleep listening to 1 song on repeat and its my top played 😭😭,1 This is why I started buying organic milk. Lasts long enough for me to use the whole container.,1 "it looks incredible!!! this is honestly amazing, keeps me motivated to paint more",0 My asexual ass gets sexual intrusive thoughts and it makes me want to throw up every time. OCD really is like the cruel sibling that always shows you stuff you never want to see and loves irony.,0 I play a variation of this game called “Why did my libido disappear?”,1 Having ADHD and managing to become a productive member of society is worthy of valor,1 "Commas, em dashes, semicolons, colons. Yup, gotta break it all down into littler chunks.",1 "This is true. I feel bad for you. However, some people have victim mentality. Like suck it up dude. Its not your ADHD. Face the pain head on.",1 Something about your post resonated with me. I'm currently untreated and it went undiagnosed for years. It saddens me looking back thinking how different my life could have been if I got diagnosed when I was young. I'm sorry for your loss.,1 "I am the opposite of clean. Instead I'm really out here saving a receipt from 3 years ago because if I don't, the world might end or something.",0 This is the final form of having 30 open tabs of Wikipedia articles that started with a quick search on the diamond industry.,1 The ONLY upside I've found to being depressed with ADHD is the executive disfunction of ADHD generally keeps me from hurting myself.... can't unalive myself if my ADHD traps me in bed all day. 🙃,1 "Those sorts of chain mails really messed with me as a kid. That was a loooong time ago-- 15 years ago I'd say? They were everywhere. I never did forward them because I didn't want anyone else to be frightened by them, but I'd frequently check on my parents as they slept just to make sure everything was ok. And if its threat was aimed at someone I couldn't check on, I'd make sure to contact that person to make sure they were fine. Even worse were the ones that said that YOU would die if you didn't forward the message... Or that Bloody Mary or someone would haunt you or something. Fuck those emails and the people who started them. It's pure evil to incite fear into people for sheer entertainment. I'd regularly sit in bed and cry and shake out of fear and anxiety for my safety and the safety of others and the guilt of something bad happening to them. And I had intrusive thoughts and visualizations every night that made me have lots of problems sleeping. I now realize that I've always had certain OCD-like tendencies all my life-- intrusive thoughts and certain superstitions that I had to do something small to relieve the anxiety from. Or i would just shake off the thought and not worry about it. It was all very minor and never affected my life. Until recently.",0 I wish my intrusive thoughts were voiced by Alex Jones.,0 That’s so cool! I had no idea they made books like this. I’m gonna go check this out. Thank you so much for sharing!,0 I'm glad I have legs to walk away from situations like that,1 "What if while I was looking at something, a jewelry item accidentally fell into my purse and I don't know and I cant explain it and I get detained",0 Um me? No matter how many times my psychologist tells me I’m not a bad person I tell myself she’s lying 😩 why brain why???,0 [Hopefully we can get rid of the OCD voices and choose freewill.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnxkfLe4G74),0 "Read Bukowski's ""[Creativity ](https://youtu.be/KZgE_YXuzXQ)"".",1 "I used to do online work... Get up at the usual time and be down to the coffee shop if they have a quite corner or book store! It gave me that third place, and structure to come and go as I would classes in person. (I usually worked later in fact so I could just finish the papers...) worked for me I know it isn’t for all though.",1 "Amen to this. My pantry is a mess, my OCD is valid, and ALDI groceries are supreme!",0 I think were all thinking the same thing about what peters holding? 😑,0 "This is why I usually just tell people about the specific symptoms I struggle with, like time blindness, face blindness, decision paralysis, working memory impairment etc",1 At first i thought you did it as a new pointless compulsion lol. Just ocd things .. Very proud of you btw! Absolute goals,0 "I can't even walk through my living room to turn on the air conditioner so my room has been over 100F most days. It's on my todo list to clean it this weekend though. Maybe. We'll see.",0 "Thank you for reminding us to take care of ourselves. Best of luck with your recovery - I hope you have appointed an adult to help you manage treatment.",1 "I've been on Adderall for a couple weeks now and I've increased my dose a couple times but never felt the way you're describing. I was somewhat hoping/expecting to feel that but it just hasn't really been my experience. I just kind of feel what I expect ""normal"" to feel like. Just kind of neutral. Then yesterday I forgot to take it for the first time in about 2 weeks and I remembered how terrible, foggy, tired, and unfocused I felt all the time before Adderall and I realised just how much it's actually been doing for me. It's a game changer for sure. I will say that I had a similar experience to what you're describing though when I got a pair of airpod pros about a month ago. I was messing around with them and really enjoying all the features then I turned off music so there was no sound and initiated Active Noise Cancellation. It was so quiet and peaceful despite my 6 young kids running around, fans and electronics buzzing and whatever else was happening. It was just so quiet and serene I started crying and couldn't wrap my brain around what I was experiencing.",1 Congrats! So proud of you! Just ask if you need help:) You're going to do great!,0 "Vyvanse has been absolutely life changing for me. I went from scatter-brained, anxiety-riddled, never-could-get-anything-done to eloquent, confident, competent in a matter of days. It’s helped confirm that I am actually intelligent and have always had the capability of being successful. My depressive bouts have diminished substantially and I’m an overall happier person. Congratulations! Im so happy for you!",1 Did I lock the door? Did I leave the stove on? Did I light a candle this morning? Did I forget my keys? Did I forget my wallet? That one light I left on will start a fire...did I feed the cat..the cat is starving I have to go back. Puts wallet in backpack. I think I forgot my wallet... no it's good.... checks again 5 minutes later. Great times......And this is just the soft stuff.,0 OK saving this to read the comments later tonight. I'm probably not coming back =(,1 "I was diagnosed at age 14/15 for OCD but I never even got any true help, and I'm sure I had OCD before then. Since when did these books exist?? Damn, Lancaster PA's mental health system must've sucked at bad as their CPS smh.... I bet that book is helpful even as an adult lol, don't feel bad. It's better than nothing sooo ya. Plus, who doesn't like to age regress for a bit? Idk being 'an adult' all the time is stressful.",0 "Just had a shower, thank you. Time to get my teeth stolen!",1 "This has been my life for so long. It’s exhausting.",1 Add to this “reading long lists of symptoms at 2 am when you have to wake up in 4 hours”,1 "Takes me forever to be ok with the fact that I have properly set my alarm clocks, I could be in bed for a half hour before I even feel sure enough to set them in the first place.",0 "yeah but asbestos and silica dust is real, so take that,",0 "I hate intrusive thoughts they're disgusting, I seriously start to consider beginning to use benzodiazepines again because of this",0 "Ive struggled with self-deprecating inner talk and believing that I am both different than everyone else and that something is wrong with me, specifically with my brain for as long as I can remember. Probably my entire life, I’m sure.",1 "The other day my dad was like ""make a spreadsheet to make your to do list so you can move something something columns"" like ok but how do I make the to do list that says ""make a spreadsheet""?",1 I am literally doing what you wrote about about trying to get stimulation anywhere I can find it. So accurate.,1 "OMG that's so funny. If you can find someone who can find the humor in this situation, you know that you have found someone who is secure and emotionally mature. If not, you have to wonder if they are right for you.",1 when Jesus gave you your OCD. scrupulosity moments.,0 Lately it’s been there just as I wake up. I miss the minute of calm and existence,0 "When I first saw this I didn't notice it was posted in the OCD sub and I was like ""Hey that sounds like my OCD"" lol",0 you had me there in the first half. Its very funny that these people just decide to feel this way about it without a second thought. I wish I had that mental confidence.,1 "This whole thread has done me such good. What an awesome community. Thank you all for taking the time. All these comments and experiences are like a giant support group. Thank you all.",1 "To me, I feel like the worst part is the short term memory issue. On medication I can recall information I picked up a few moments ago. I can retain this information for some time, even. Off medication, I can barely remember a word just spoken to me. Makes me look incompetent. I play it off as being a ditzy blonde, but it really bothers me that I'm so uncertain of everything I hear around me, and can't remember my own actions. ( Did I do that? What was I doing? What did they say? )",1 "Thank you for this. I am having a terrible week and thinking my job deserves a ""normal"" worker, my husband deserves a ""normal"" wife and my kids kids deserve a ""normal"" mother. The shame of adhd runs deep. Please also take care of yourself and I'm sincerely sorry for your loss.",1 I agree. I feel like it really needs to be renamed.,1 "I did not know that this was a thing. I dont think i have this specifically, but it's certainly been among my obsessions.",0 I'm conflicted here because my OCD takes over when my anxiety and agoraphobia get worse. When it happens the rituals that I resent having to go through become a welcome break because I can't think of anything else but those rituals and it keeps my anxiety and panic attacks at bay. Then it all goes back to 'normal' and I hate my brain again! 😞😅,0 Wow! I actually really needed this right now. Thanks OP!,0 "Same. Same numbers, too. I can't do 3, 6, 23, 19. I can do 4, 7, 10 and aim for 16, or if I'm having a rough patch, 64. And next from 64 is, unfortunately,.......... 128. When you have to look at an item on a shelf 4x, or 16 (4x4) if it's not okay, 64 (4x4x4) if it's bad, 128 (4x4x4x2) gets physically painful no matter WHAT the compulsion is :(",0 "Thank you!! I really need to start my homework, thank you for getting me back on track :)",1 Then tell them it's not yours and they can investigate,0 "I do also suffer OCD… And I just cannot stand when someone says that kind of things, I am with you. One of my best friends understands it perfectly, thankfully. Once, I remember I had to solve a maths problem on the board, at class, and someone told me “Erase that stick, that gives me OCD”. Also, we had to put one day if we had any mental disorder, and I asked my pair: Me: Do I put me if I have OCD? He: It’s a silly thing! I do also have A BIT of that and I am not dramatizing. I got so angry…",0 Wow I don't think there has ever been an image that so accurately describes me as this one,0 "as im recovering im working hard and constantly afraid to fall down again,quick question for all of you does ocd attack the things you love the most? idk i just need yall opinion tbh",0 What is there to love??? Band-Aids give me severe anxiety and I still don’t know why. I have to count the syllables of my words after I say them,0 "I'm on the staff side of your issue. It's . . . very wild, ramping up for all this sudden transition. Sending student computers and clothing home on request, tracking who's here, super-cleaning the remaining open buildings, cordoning off areas that won't be super-cleaned in an ongoing way, teaching faculty who hate computers how to teach remotely . . . ​ It is WILD. I can't be medicated (same heart problems that make me susceptible to corona, YAY), and am trying to keep up with all the new information. Once things settle it'll be more of a motivation and scheduling challenge. Good luck!",1 "Please tell me there's no limit for playlists, I make those daily.",1 "Way to go! You’re an inspiration, no doubt. Congratulations to you!",0 LMAOOOOO YUP. fuck i relate to this more than I want to,0 "I have had ocd since 8-9ish and am 50 now, and had 11 years to recover from it. Im so a master of it, instead of MD's and phd's doing anything for it, i recovered from it in good faith..... instead of guru...id say since im a pastor, im the f ocd mystic b.",0 Gosh dang this hit home harder than I expected. Fuck ADHD.,1 definetely. somedays i just have control over it and other days not. I have noticed though that this is usually on days where i have other eternal stresses,0 "I actually had lots of success with med holidays on Adderall. I couldn't take too high of a dose, though, because of side effects (palpitations), and the meds only last about 6 hours instead of the 8-10 it was supposed to last. Turns out, I'm a hyper-metabolizer of stimulants. We ended up having to switch me to non-stimulants due to the surprise appearance of IST (Inappropriate sinus tachycardia). Even medicated for that, Adderall still shoots my heart rate up to about 130-140 at rest. I've still not found my perfect combo of meds using only non-stimulants, but my shrink and I are working on it.",1 This meme is the closest thing I've had to a spiritual experience in a decade.,0 "Shitty Watercolour, eh? Seems like a pretty cool guy, I might have to check out his work some time. I wonder if he has a reddit account?",0 "Haven’t reached that, but would’ve if my watch later playlist didn’t break. Now I just save it to one of my many old music playlists.",1 My daughter and I both have ADHD. Her ADHD doctor only schedules appointments between 2 and 4pm.,1 "I just yelled “ME!!!” at my phone. Thought you should know that.",0 "I think I feel attacked. Lol nah, but people say I use a ton of commas a lot when they read what I write. It's something I really have to think about, and I still put too many.",1 It’s one thing writing this stuff down. It’s another thing actually thinking this way which is not possible for our people.,0 "Okay guys. We are all human. She was/is wrong but I’m sure she doesn’t deserve to be ripped apart. Just comment on her post, theres a lot of ignorance I’m sure we’ve said something we shouldn’t have before.",0 I have this three headed monster too. I’m sending out a virtual hug to my fellow sufferers. You’re not alone my friends,1 "It’s SCARY how much this resembles my painting from 2016. I painted this during a time that was really difficult for me - I was unknowingly at the beginning of my recovery after 8+ years of thinking I was untreatable. Really cool to see someone else see OCD in a similar way. Hope you are well - it doesn’t always feel that way. Here’s a screenshot of a pic of it. Just to show the date lol https://i.imgur.com/4Dw6Hwm.jpg",0 "This is classic OCD. Absolutely textbook: whatever you love, it uses against you.",0 "So, how's that hyper focus? Ty, we appreciate your hard work",1 My organizational skills aren't that high but it's nice my OCD believes in me.,0 "Honestly, the 75 day hard challenge has really helped me in this regard. I am really unwilling to restart, and I’ve added my own list of habits in to grow it. See if it works in your situation!",0 "Why do you have so many teas?? Are the organized properly? What's the organizational structure? I do mine by box color. It takes me 8 hours to clean my room typically.. Good for her tho! When I finish something like that I feel the proudest and my fiancee only make me feel even better when she tells me how proud she is of me :)",1 "Welcome friend, to the exciting world of mediocrity!",1 It annoys me so much because people that make posts like that are usually unaware of what ocd is and what it feels like to have ocd.,0 This is SO useful!! I've been doing this subconsciously the last couple of months and my productivity is on a different level. I fucking hate the pomodoro technique so much I don't understand how this works for anyone ever.,1 "This is so amazing, I’m so happy for you!!! It’s a huge achievement",0 I really liked[this](https://youtu.be/wGSOHs0hkXs) TED talk as well on the subject!,0 It used to be helpful but depending on the strand it will def cause my OCD to get carried away. I hardly have it anymore.,0 "##r/ptsd --------------------------------------------- ^(For mobile and non-RES users) ^| [^(More info)](https://np.reddit.com/r/botwatch/comments/6xrrvh/clickablelinkbot_info/) ^| ^(-1 to Remove) ^| [^(Ignore Sub)](https://np.reddit.com/r/ClickableLinkBot/comments/9wy10w/ignore_list/)",0 Yeah I get sleepy when I sit down to do something I don’t want to do. Prolly cause I don’t initiate until it’s almost bedtime lol. Ahhhh procrastination is my special talent.,1 "This is so awesome. I'm curious as to how you were able to do it so successfully on your own, do you think you could maybe make a post on it with some advice? I'm just kinda desperate for anything, my OCD was improving but once the pandemic hit it's just gotten worse, to the point now where I'm not sure if I'm gonna get to go to college in the fall",0 I see it and you’re doing a great job. Sometimes I cant even focus through 1 paragraph unmedicated. But gosh darn does it feel good to get something in early.,1 "God i wish it wasn't as romanticized as a ✨neat organized perfectionist quirk✨. Cause a woman who i work with keeps saying things like ""I'm so ocd"" ""i need to have this clean and perfect im ocd i just can't"". I kinda wish I could tell her it's an incorrect stereotype but i also want to be on good terms, don't wanna come off as a triggered snowflake. It's a mental illness and it can be pretty ugly.",0 What happens when the obsession fear actually happens?,0 I always say that instead of growing out of my shell I grew into mine,0 "I feel this so hard. I hate when my SO chews gum. He’s not super obnoxious about it but for some reason it seems amplified when he’s doing it. Over the last seven years there have been problems 10 times that he’s been excitedly talking to me about something while he has gum in his mouth. I get INSTANTLY irritated to the point I have to stand up and go do dishes or something because it makes me feel the type of anxiety like I need to stretch out of my own skin. Like a physical & emotional anxiety. I’ve never told him because it don’t want to hurt his feelings. Plus I forget until it happens again. When I get sharp mood swings, I get SUPER drowsy and forgetful. I’m gonna go tell him now, while I’m thinking about it. That when he is looking for positive feedback from me, spit out your gum!😂",1 I love the supportive foundation and community we have here that nobody us alone.. Thank you OP...,0 Just found out about adhd and how I’ve always had it. No wonder I’ve taken so long because I’ve been taking online classes. I didn’t know this was a set back! All along,1 Man I have been through that. These day I don’t even attend lectures anymore. Deadlines no longer trigger any sort of urgency for me. I basically do nothing everyday at this point.,1 "hey there. long time ocd'er here.. which type to you find the hardest to treat? personally scrupulosity for me seems like that hardest.",0 "My top hits: 1. Am I going to get fired? 2. Does everybody hate me? 3. Fuck 4. I’m gonna be fine, look how good it is 5. Nevermind",0 "Forget the wasted money, how about the never earned in the first place money 😒",1 This is incredible. And so is the walking away! Well done.,0 "Don't worry, im right there with you! It's incredibly frustrating and my disappointment with myself grows with each day",1 "I’m 50 years old, I have felt this way my entire life Treatment for ADHD has help led me achieve at a level I had never imagined possible but it still can’t shake the feeling that I’m just a bad person and everything negative that happens to me is because I am a bad person. Conversely of course everything good that happens to me feels undeserved and I am always waiting to be found out",1 "This is me 100%. But more around commercial ideas/projections than art/creativity. I guess broader question, do you think this is just an area of “learning how to be a grown-up” that a bunch of people (like me, like you) haven’t mastered, and we’re just like “oh god, there’s my ADHD again!” ? How many suboptimal attributes of your own do you attribute to stuff outside of the ADHD basket, so just things you’re suboptimal at and need to work on to be more disciplined and effective? Like waking up early and on a schedule, working out regularly, eating properly, reading more, journaling more, etc. Is it possible that there’s tons of people without ADHD that also have this same issue? Asking purely out of curiosity and to shine a light inward to figure this out for myself as well.",1 "Just through posting this, I'm now fixed too. Thank your dad for me. I guess I just never thought of it that way 🤔",1 "I don’t know how I found the focus, but last week I went through my photos and deleted close to 7000 screenshots that I had collected over the last three years. Most of them I had told myself I would need at some point, and all of them were things I had forgotten about. Mostly just screenshots of Twitter posts. It felt embarrassing to see all of the digital clutter, but I’m feeling so much relief right now seeing extra space on my phone",1 "My scrupulous ocd: “oh if you upvote this you go to hell because it says fuck” Me: upvotes anyway because ocd can just choke on a stale fortune cookie",0 "Just got here from therapy where we think this is a diagnosis I need to explore. A lot of this makes sense. So accurate, but also liberating in its own way.",0 "Yep. When I was a child, I used to pick up objects that had fallen on the floor in the store. If there was a stuffed animal that had been knocked off the shelf, I could **not** pass it without putting it back. If I did pass it, I usually felt so bad that I eventually returned to put it back. I truly felt like it had feelings. I think this kind of behavior really helped my mom understand how I “was”, so to speak. I’m now 25 and I still do this. ",0 I read this as erectile dysfunction and was like.... Wow I didn't know that was a thing.... Lol,1 I have ADHD and I have a 4.0 in my online degree. The key is to set a lot of reminders and to use a calendar. Print out when your assignments are due and stay onto of everything. Make sure to utilize routines it is what has kept me same and kept my grades up,1 All the time. It might be the reason I watch shows over and over again - I can miss chunks here and there without missing a beat.,1 "I'm going to borrow your post to rant myself... I'm working on getting into a internship program right now and am paralyzed by the thought of reaching out to professors to advise me and to potential internship opportunities. There is a counselor to assist with all of this who I info-dumped on last Thursday about my spotty work history and difficulty developing relationships with professors (especially given the pandemic the last year has caused most of my entire program to be remote). I haven't hardly slept since then because I was afraid of what she would write back in the email. I wasn't able to enjoy anything over the weekend, worried about what she would write back. I finally reached a good level of meds and caffeine and forced myself to check my email just now after worrying myself all day and wasting it watching YouTube and reading Medium articles (side note: why do I love spending dozens of hours learning about productivity and task scheduling software and all these systems people have for being organized when I know I will NEVER use them? And why do I use learning about being productive from an escape from things that would actually be productive? ARRGHH!) Anyways, the email I got from her basically said ""I will discuss your resume and situation with potential placements and advisors and contact you with more information. Thanks!"" Fuck me. If I had checked my email on Friday, I'd have been able to enjoy the holiday weekend. Why can't I learn that advisors are here to help me and not judge me and mock me? I have been in college longer than I was in K-12. This is literally my fifth degree I'm working on. All part of my apparent plan (ha! as if I could actually plan something longer than a week away) to procrastinate actually earning money by staying in school forever--PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DON'T DO THIS. And after all that I still haven't learned to let people help me. Or even to just check my fucking email. \*cries\*",1 My last job role was like this. I’m 100% certain they regretted employing me but were so thrilled with me when interviewing and giving me the job. 1 of many situations. Couldn’t relate to this post more!,1 "One thing that's helped is working on my self awareness. Getting to the point where you realise that just because you're interested in something doesn't mean you'll enjoy it. Look at what you're currently doing and find what you enjoy. Then hone in on that, dedicate 15-30 mins a day to doing it. I've found that small bitesized chunks done consistently have the biggest impact. (For background context, I live a rigid lifestyle where every minute of my day to day life is rigorously planned. For me it's really helped deliver productivity over a sustained period of time. Yes I have bad days where I'm like I can't be bothered and that's okay. As long as I forgive myself, I have the ability to start over the next day instead of ruminating on it and feeling guilty. I hope these words may be of some comfort to you.)",1 "I’ve never been reprimanded for this actually, and get A’s on basically all of my papers, but the sentences I write a long because of a continuous thought I don’t want to interrupt. It’s hard to separate paragraphs because of this also, and they end up being rather large, like a third of the page sometimes. And then to compensate for the big paragraphs, I’ll have smaller ones if my thoughts around that topic aren’t as lengthy, or if I figured out a way to separate the big paragraph. I have no idea how I get such good grades; I hate reading and I lose my place every few sentences if I’m reading something I lack interest in, like a textbook. I also zone out in class (pre-COVID) and have a hard time taking notes and listening at the same time. Nonetheless, I somehow got a 3.72 GPA in my undergrad.....",1 "This reminds me a lot of my lists when I was getting started with exposures, it's hard work but keep at it!! Be proud friend",0 "Oh, absolutely. I used to get in trouble at school all the time because I'd ask why x rule was in place—hats were a huge one—and if they couldn't tell me or hit me with the usual ""it's the rules"" crap I'd just. Forget the rule existed. Like, no, tell me why I have to do this. What is the reason. Why does it matter if I'm wearing a hat or have playing cards at recess.",1 "The Buddhists say that to live is to suffer. If you go by their philosophy, just don't get reincarnated. If you have to, try to be a tree or something simple. That's my goal.",0 You can clear all your watched videos with a single click btw,1 "I think a lot of people right now are worried about this, ocd notwithstanding. its a difficult topic to breach: I always cringe when someone like Ricky Gervais says he can't joke about the same things or that a tv show “couldn't be made today” when it's simply not the case, or they're making a bad faith argument. but I also worry about the mental health of young people in the public eye or in general, because I know how easy it is to live in fear of hurting someone's feelings or having your life negatively impacted because you didn't say the right thing. we all have things that we've said that could be considered offensive, and I think young people now who don't think they fall into that category just haven't lived long enough to have it happen to them. *Anyway*, it sounds like you're trying, and I'm sure you know that you can't always please everyone. it doesn't stop it from being an obsession however, and it's a difficult one to stop indulging as you need to be in the world and be a considerate person. that's why stuff like this (or food stuff) can be my hardest to let go of. something that kind of helps me is remembering that ultimately, the core of my fear in this case is wanting to be a good ally, a good person, and somewhat selfishly, protect myself from criticism and the financial and social pushback of criticism. and the best way I can fulfill those desires and obligations is to make the focus other people, and its hard to do that when I'm always worried about what people will think of me. it's like a form of selfishness, in that way. of course, this is what helps me and it's not universal. I wish you good luck and good therapy with this!",0 I am so glad I took the semester off to get my meds and finances sorted now,1 "I once had a day where I kept going to get water bottles. I'd get a bottle, come back to my room, sit for 30 minutes, crave water, go get a bottle, see I had a bottle already, and then repeat the process again in 30 minutes. Not nearly as bad, but forgetting you've gotten water 4 times in the past 3 hours and only drank a bottle worth between them all is something else.",1 I thought was this waa foreal in the beginning lmao. Not gunna lie my anxiety spiked a bit,0 "OMGGG LMAO same here. I love particle physics, I read books and journals and whatever you call it. I studied them too! But if I get to speak about it with someone? I do not know anything. Like NOTHING",1 "This is a really awesome idea and I’m proud of you stranger! Fortunately I have an extremely capable human being for a wife who also likes to do things for others, unfortunately I’m wracked with constant guilt because I feel like I’m forcing my best friend to do almost everything for me solely because she gets to it first. Oooooh maybe I could pay her…. Except she’s also super non-materialistic. Christ, I don’t know why she’s with me. Also, your new nanny helping you out of your paralysis sounds a lot like body doubling! I know having a body double in the room with me always helps IMMENSELY",1 "Lol no. I had a mini breakdown today because my husband suggested a new way to put away the kitchen towels. Having a clean, organized space is so calming to me, but the actual process is so overwhelming.",0 this is just too on point and true. This would probably make for a decent video to show someone what OCD is like. It makes me wanna watch old episodes of Spongebob now,0 Do 1 thing. Literally 1 thing. Like literally wash your one bowl. Make that the goal. If you end up doing the whole kitchen cool. If not do it tomorrow. Set your alarm for 1130am instead of noon.,1 "Agreed.... it describes a symptom of the disease, not the neurological condition itself. The symptoms of executive dysfunction include altered attention.",1 Especially because it’s a physical sensation which’s hard to ignore so my typical coping skills don’t work 😭,0 "As someone who suffered tremendously awhile back with this Im sorry for what you’re going through. I had to take medical leave from school because I couldn’t even think about anything else for 6-8 months and this was the only OCD I’ve ever sought therapy for. It’s horrible and the hardest part is that part of it is real. Know that you’re not alone and the thing that’s helped me is realizing that everyone makes mistakes, some way worse than others but you can always become a better person. The only good that’s come from this for me is becoming much more empathetic towards people and less judgmental of them. For me to judge someone for anything they’ve done knowing that I’ve done bad things too, makes me feel ashamed even more, so it’s helped me to understand people and acknowledge how anyone could result to anything given the proper environment. We are all just doing what we can with what we have. This is corny but a phrase that has helped me a lot is *we do the best we can with what we know and when we know better, we do better* -Maya Angelou",0 "I'm a little OCD, but I'm occasionally a lot OCD. It depends on the day, how much I've been sleeping, anxiety levels, etc.",0 I get 30 mins at 10am if I end up waking up that early. 3pm for about an hour and then 1030pm cleaning mania or crazy painting sesh. If I’m still up at 2:30 that’s when I get my accounting stuff in order. Fun,1 "I tried reading this twice and just gave up, my adhd something else",1 "I always daydream during sex, it never fails smh. He getting it in and im wondering ""shit did click 'submit' to turn in my homework?"" then it's downhill from there.",1 "I really do want it to be real, its been affecting me up physically. I don't like it, I want my normal life back.",0 "I think this is why I’ve always preferred language-based classes in school. Because you can BS them, provided you have a decent enough understanding of the language/are a good writer. In foreign language classes, I always hated memorizing grammar for the same reasons you mentioned. But once I became good enough and was able to get the basics down, i developed a somewhat intuitive understanding of the language and was able to get good marks because of my writing abilities.",1 I feel this so strongly right now. My gut is twisted in anxiety and guilt.,0 Fucking hate OCD. The worst thing my twisted mind could ever think off became one of my obsessions. No matter how hard i tried the thoughts always came hammering hard. Literally almost lost my mind. Stay strong my friends,0 Way to at me for ignoring and resting and alarm for the last three hours. Oof.,1 "Lol you just awakened a core memory. \*trigger warning\* I once apparently accidentally shared a porn video when I was super young and into really weird stuff. I still am into weird stuff, I'm just more careful now. I instantly deleted it when I realized it, but I still don't know if anyone saw.",0 That’s amazing! Now sleep for 4 days in compensation 😫😝,1 Then you send the email...compulsion to go to sent folder to reread email...notice a minor mistake...torment yourself over the mistake for the rest of the day.,0 Sometimes I think party/event planning would be the absolute perfect job but I don’t think I could handle the demanding customers you may get,1 Was reading my psych textbook for class and it describes ocd as one of the most debilitating mental illnesses out there. 🥲🥲🥲,0 me today 🥺 I forced myself to sleep so I can get 8 hours and feel good today as I had an exam but instead I slept 9 hours and feel worse than when im sleep deprived. why am I like this...,1 "If you're writing well, then you should be using commas. Most of the sentences I write are two independent clauses joined together. It's called a compound sentence. They give your writing more meaning and better flow, but it's easy to do it wrong. If you don't write with commas, then your intended meaning can be harder for the reader to interpret. It can be hard to know which sentences are related if you don't connect them with commas and a coordinating conjunction: and, or, but, yet, so, etc. Commas are good. Thank you for using them! The grammar that I hate is when people write using ellipsis instead of using commas. Ellipsis are the 3 periods in a row used when you're omitting words from a quote. ""When you quote... you can remove words from the original quote with 3 periods in a row."" I like turtles... and sheep... so I went to the store... they didn't have any turtles... or sheep... they should have both... did I say I liked stuff? When I think of bad ADHD writing, I think of ellipsis, not commas. On the other hand, your writing is very easy to read. Good job!",1 Wtf this is exactly what I'm doing rn and it turns up as the top post of the sub?????????,1 "Have you been able to use telehealth options? Video therapy? I've been seeing my therapist weekly over video chat, and it's one of the few anchors I have.",0 I have also suffered from OCD since I was eight. I'm sixteen now. I've lived half my life with a debilitating anxiety disorder.,0 "One thing that I remember that helps me is “if your debating if it’s an ocd thought, it’s an ocd thought”",0 "Its actually not that weird everyone does it, stores mostly put old stuff in front so people buy them",0 """what if something fell into my purse while I knocked over that dress!"" every.time.",0 We are far more powerful than we give ourselves credit for!! Proud of you for embracing that part of yourself and taking control! Keep it up!,0 "Comorbid ASPD kinda prevents me from that feeling, maybe I’m lucky.",1 "Well I actually tend to worry about things that i've been doing and have control over. Even though i know that there's nothing wrong about it. It feels like there's someone in my head who like to criticize literally everything I decided to do with my own will, from basic human behaviors to complex decisions",0 "Sleepy is putting it lightly with me.. Any unsolicited information or expectations thrown in my direction, usually results in a total shot-down of my intire central nervous system, or so it seems.. Even when I want to engage in a task, or receive information, I still feel like all energy is getting sucked out of me, for every second that passes. As recently as last saturday, I had asked my Granny to teach me how to crochet and not even within the first minute of her showing me how to start, my brain just nopes out. After 3 hours, I finally got the gist of it. I also I couldn't contain anymore information and I would have gone straight to bed, had I not been at my Granny's house. I did sleep most of the sunday away. Ooo! This reminds me that I want to share a song [D-A-D 🎶 Sleeping My Day Away 🎶](https://youtu.be/ASfVIFUw20Y) Pretty random, IKR, but I think it will be appreciated in here, and I just got to think about it",1 "I had a similar experience. It took someone saying (about the racquetball sized lump in my neck), “That looks bad. You should have someone look at that.” to go get it checked. I had stage3 Hodgkin’s. I also was perfectly healthy except for the cancer. 6 months of godawful chemo and I’ve been in remission 20 years now. Side note. I’ve always believed stress caused it. Best wishes. It’s definitely a life altering experience.",1 "Normal People (reading) - the little girl ran away into the forest.. Me with My Reading OCD Me: the little girl OCD: you didn’t read that correctly read it again Me: the little girl OCD: I don’t feel satisfied. Do it again. Me: the little girl (can we please move on??? That was the third time) OCD: fine but one more time Me: the little girl (are you happy now?) OCD: not rly but okay read on Me: ..ran away into the forest OCD: you don’t know what forest means Me: (ofc I do!!) OCD: no, now visualize it Me: (why? *proceeds visualizing*) OCD: okay fine now read the last word Me: forest OCD: do it again Me: forest OCD: DO IT AGAIN Me: FORESTTTT (SHUT UP STUPID BRAIN)",0 this is me walking the same pattern in front of my room for the 9th time tonight in a row when I have 24918410841 assignments piled up all due on monday,0 "I don't have OCD, but my SO does. I always look at the posts from everyone here and try to understand her better. At times like this one, I share some ways to help fight back, so thank you for posting. Have a good day OP",0 I just want to say that I'm loving this conversation :-),1 "Damn you, Bobby!! Thank you for this post, it gave me a good laugh. Hope that you are doing well, and I'm proud of you for taking such big steps to recover! Also, fuck you OCD.",0 "I would say this is true for me. I was just barely diagnosed (will be doing a QEEG when quarantine is over to confirm), but for a long time when my dad would edit my papers and give me a second pair of eyes, he would comment on my use of commas all the time. I've since gotten better at recognizing when commas are not necessary, but I used to use them way too much.",1 "Yeah, because having thoughts of torturing animals is ""fun"". Would do anything to get rid of the thoughts. I hate life like this :(",0 "This is a great idea, thanks! I’ve also taken to screen recording my online classes (if my professor doesn’t already) and it’s definitely saved my ass a few times.",1 "I cried reading this, it's very relatable to me. I am very passionate about filmmaking, and long to finding a team, creating sets and alternate worlds, but ADHD makes it close to impossible to sit down and focus on learning anything, I empty this craving with practicing photography, since it's something that guarantees faster results, and is still related to visual-art a.k.a my passion. But my heart still hurts, ADHD makes it so easy to just give up...",1 Shiiiit. I wish. Is there a compulsion for that lol?!,0 Omg..I was literally sharing this with my dad(also adhd) today that I am too sensitive for this world. How every one keeps saying life is too short but somehow it feels so long for me,1 "Here's an idea I'm going to employ, the first week of every month I'll put my SIM into a basic feature phone. The fact I think it's a big deal, is all the more reason to do it. Fast forward one year, I'm really really good at snake...",1 "Ya, glad to know I’m not alone, but also sad to know we all deal with this shit",0 I have been struggling for six months to clean my house but I have so many doom piles that I just can’t get myself to do it. It’s so overwhelming that I’m paralyzed. My friend just says oh split it up into time chunks so I do but the part I do just gets dirty right away again (very small apartment so not a lot of storage). Makes me feel like a failure as a fiancé and woman (stupid society expectations of women as the housekeeper and she’s a “terrible woman” for not being perfect). Sigh.,1 "My mom: ur ocd isnt that bad My brain: u should impale ur hand with those scissors,,, haha jk jk,,,,, unless??",0 "Guilty... this is so very much me, but it has lent itself to project management at work.",1 "Laying in bed, browsing reddit and about to put my phone down to read and I saw this. I'm glad this is starting to be a thing. Lol. Keep up the good work guys!",1 "Don’t feel bad about the rest of us reading this. It is always reassuring to know that although ADHD really sucks and it’s not our fault, that we’re not alone. ‘Manning up’ is a surefire way to dive deep into depression and never learn healthy coping mechanisms or feel confident enough to start therapy. That mentality is a blight on our existence and for those of us with ADHD it can be a death sentence. I for one feel lost in life at 34 even though on paper my life looks pretty good with my job/hobbies/friends/wife, I go though bouts of “what am I even doing? what’s the point?” and it is fucking tough to do basically anything some mornings. Here’s something I wanted to pass along: stop negotiating with yourself when it comes to goals or even daily tasks. I have adopted this after decades of “well I don’t have enough time to do all of X so I guess I won’t do it at all/do it tomorrow”. Now, I do my best to tell that voice a firm “NO”, we said we were going to do X and just because we don’t have a full (insert time frame) we can still accomplish a chunk of it, now let’s take the first step, put on your (insert activity related item), now the next, and then we’re on our way. Even then, while in the midst of whatever I might be doing (dishes, laundry, scheduling some appointment, cycling) that voice will still keep telling you to finish/quit before the goal line you initially set so you keep having to say “no! we’re doing the whole thing and then we will do the next”. I hope this helps and if you ever need support, we’re all here for you.",1 "I’m so sorry :( it’s so difficult I’m reading Freedom from OCD by Jonathan Grayson, I had to order a paper copy of the book cos it doesn’t seem to be available as an ebook. It is not the same as really good, OCD-specific therapy but so far it has been much better than the well-meaning but uninformed psychologists and counsellors I’ve seen over the years who were not trained to work with OCD. I highly recommend the book if you are able to afford it (I found it cheap on book depository, about $15 usd and free shipping). It is the only thing that has brought me any relief or peace of mind since my OCD got really bad about 2 years ago Jonathan Grayson has also been interviewed on My Anxiety Toolbox, a podcast, a couple of times this year",0 Shit okay I have one really big lymph node on one side of my neck. If I got it ultra sounded like 5-10 years ago and they just said “yup that’s a big lymph node” you think it’s still fine?,1 "Hold the fucking phone. Threshold effect? You mean waking into a room holding a screwdriver and cup of water but totally forgetting why I went into that room had a fucking name? WHY AM I JUST LEARNING ABOUT THIS NOW!?!?!",1 My fathers voice is strong even though I’m in my 60’s and he’s been dead for a long time. These things roll around in my head.,1 I spent years working on not wearing a mask and gloves to the grocery store. I’ve taken about a million steps back in the last three weeks :),0 Luke in The Haunting of Hill House has a counting ritual which is fairly representative.,0 "I get what you are saying, and I find it really helpful, but sometimes it feels like you would be trying to run away from yout own thoughts forever instead of ""facing"" them; so it feels just as bad as doing the compulsions; it is like sooner or later the thoughts that you are ignoring will eventually find you and you will have a relapse; and logically, if I were to have a relapse, I would rather have it immediately asap and try to solve what is bothering me, than ""postpone"" it for later what I know that will eventually happen; does that make any sense to you? but maybe the act of FACING the thoughts by doing a compulsion is just another compulsion... any insights on this?",0 "I feel like if I don’t do them then the probability of the thing I’m afraid of will increase. Does anyone feel this way too, sometimes I feel so trapped in my own mind? :/",0 Lol I can never take my birth control . I always see the alarm and legit just think “later”. Like why I need to take it and it’s literally two steps away . It is also no effort to swallow as well .,1 "2:45am, time to switch to different reddits to wind down...for a couple hours.",1 "OP Do you know why you have not seen me and you in the same room together... because we are the same person!!! Well played me, well played....",1 "God, reading this felt like a whole callout. I can write perfectly fine, actually i consider myself almost good at writing even if i write, well, slowed because my brain has to take its time to catch up. But all i ever do with in person interaction is get stalled, and it angers people. It takes me so long just to come up with replies to things, or make up my mind, because my brain just keeps spinning around and spurting out random answers that sometimes i know i definitely shouldn’t say, but the answers are never the one i actually want. So i just have to sit there, silently, thinking, and it annoys the hell out of everyone when i have to be given a half hour before deciding something like lunch because if i dont id eat later than everyone else. I cant even let myself talk usually because i don’t have time to review my words and how they’d affect people before I speak. And that’s just... one of the most stressful things i have to put up with sometimes, honestly.",1 "Your question about whether ADHD is an evolutionary advancement reminded me of something my doctor told me when I was diagnosed at 18. She said that when everyone was out hunting, focused on their prey, the ADHD person was the one who noticed that the hunting party was being stalked by something bigger and more dangerous. Is it true? Who knows. But it makes me feel better thinking about the ways that ADHD could also be helpful, rather than just a burden. Just wanted to share! ETA: also, I am truly sorry for your loss. (My ADHD made me forget to add that part)",1 I am so proud of you! This just happened for me too and it's so wonderful! Keep it up! You're doing great!,0 This hits home. Especially when it comes to screenshots and browser tabs. Every couple of months I do a cleanse. Then it’s rinse repeat.,1 "funny thought I had,"" remember the attack that happened when you were 2 or 3 years old, maybe you did it"" and I fucking believed it",0 Do they ever make no sense? I’ll be like “wow his voice is very calming 😰😰it has such a nice resonance 😓”,0 "I think it doesn't work because most of us already try everything. Pointing out to be an adult is then basicly an accusation of not taking responsibility which is wrong if an person is already trying hard. I can understand why people think we don't really try. I do think it's because they think they know that the problem is a lack of will, which might be often the problem but that's basicly the reason why I hate generalizations. It really sucks if you have an executive funktioning disorder.",1 OH. MY GOD. YES. My ex girlfriend left me for my best friend and for WEEKS they made fun of me and made slights at me until I finally fucking figured it out.,1 "I’m going to echo the other comments a little and say, why shouldn’t there be an easy way out? It’s a disease just like any physical one and should be treated like such. Taking medication for OCD is like taking medicine for any illness, and you shouldn’t feel bad about that. If anyone tells you different, well, screw them lol.",0 thinking about how abnormal my brain is just makes me sad...,0 "I am all this. Thank you. (Although not diagnosed yet) I wish I had some award so I could give it to you.",1 "happens to me all of the time, start doing something that actually that i like without making me bored, then something comes right by and ruins it for me, it’s a vicious never ending cycle depression and grief for me.",1 "This is amazing!! I have ADHD along with my brother, who has a lot of sensory issues when it comes to brushing his teeth. This is a big accomplishment!!",1 "I can relate. When things go well, my brain will try to mess my day up.",0 This song was written about his Generalized Anxiety Disorder...I always appreciated it. When I was younger it was nice to know I wasn't suffering alone.,0 "Yesssss. Laundry example: I hated doing laundry. Sorting, the loads, the wait, just fucking ugh. So instead of getting that hit from finally doing the laundry, I made doing laundry easy - multiple laundry baskets so I sort as clothes come off. I use multiple machines in the room on off hours so I’m not depriving others, but the laundry gets done in one cycle. This has allowed the entire process to be rewarding instead of a chore. Pretty much it’s taking pleasure in unpleasant duties, but to make those duties as efficient as possible. Even that process of streamlining gives me a boost.",1 Lol. When it takes longer to list my mental problems then my entire work resume.,0 Intrusive thoughts are the worst part of this illness,0 "I didn't have anything planned right now but your post made me think about whether I forgot something and I noticed I forgot to drink my coffee, thanks! Haha, thanks to you I get to drink my coffee before it gets cold :D",1 "Omg I said almost this exact thing to my therapist last week - I feel like there’s a parent me and then there’s this toddler me, and the parent me is at their wits end trying to figure out how to be a better parent and get this damn toddler to fucking sit down and behave!",1 "I know the comments are full of people saying this hits close to home but it really hit there for me because there have been many times where I too have just felt like quitting. It can all be so tiresome. I'm physically tired everyday and it's a real worry of mine that some of my best friends might one day be in a spot where you are. I'm doing my best to keep the momentum up though, that's what this feels like sometimes, keeping momentum. If I stop and get overwhelmed I sink deep so in order to stay afloat I have to constantly be moving. But the fatigue is very real. Thanks for sharing and sorry for your loss.",1 "I thought the exact same thing recently, same with ‘sometimes I give myself the creeps’",0 "I'm primarily inattentive-type, and I fall into both categories, ""too much"" and ""not enough""! Nowadays the ""too much"" comes out more, because I'm less ashamed now of my over-sharing and laughing too loud. For most of my childhood, though, I kept all that hidden as much as possible. My thoughts were scattered and over the top, so rather than risk minor peer judgement, I just didn't say anything! Any and all hyperfixations were kept completely to myself! I was going to be the weird kid either way, so I at least didn't want to be weird AND vulnerable! Now my perspective is, if I'm going to be the weird person anyway, I'd rather be weird and shameless.",1 "I've been out of school for several years now, but will probably face the same struggles soon as offices are moving towards a ""work from home"" method. Good luck to all of us!",1 "Or maybe since they dont have ocd they dont know what it is so you, shouldn’t have to get mad at everything someone says oh yeah thats your ocd idiot",0 OMFG IVE BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR WEEKS AND FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE SAID IT,0 "Yeah, I'm pretty sure I was a few weeks away from getting fired when I finally got a diagnosis.",1 Bookmarking this to come back to when I struggle with this but guarantee I’ll forget to,1 "I felt bad for finishing assignments right before 11:59pm, but u reminded me that it’s because my brain finds it more exciting that way 😭🤣",1 Thats funny because tough love is like having an audience watch me work so it does work for me. After getting over the fuck you fucker thoughts of course.,1 "Someone just asked me if I've seen any movies recently, and I blanked so hard hahaha",1 " YES!! It was stronger in my childhood tho, but it’s still there. I have this feeling especially for stuffed animals.",0 "I will read the title and say ""hey that's relatable"", upvote, then scroll down to find something stimulating",1 "Thank you for sharing your story and your message. I’m sorry to hear about your friend — his suffering and yours too. I cherish the memory of a friend who chose to go and another who died of illness. They’re reasons to let go and reasons to hold on depending on the moment. Let go of the pressure, the comparisons, the endless churning of my thinking brain. And to hold on to what matters — soul and love and small, beautiful, joyful, sorrowful moments.",1 "Yes, happens to me all the time. I don’t really watch movies much because I rarely follow the plot",1 "That's great! I've done my own ""withdrawals"" from my compulsions and it's hard work, but worth it in the end. So glad you're getting your life back 😊",0 It’s so healthy to get any thoughts onto paper just so they’re not clouding up headspace! Awesome!,0 I’ve had depression and anxiety my whole life and recently was diagnosed with adhd. My dad recently heard me mention something about my antidepressants and said “you’re still taking those? I didn’t realize that was still happening” as if depression was something I should have grown out of.,1 Accidentally left a Lizzo album on my laptop headphones for a day or so and my whole wrapped is all Lizzo. I love her but it’s really not accurate.,1 "On top of everything, I’m also very clumsy which costs me too much. I don’t remember how many times I replaced the screen of my iphone6. My repairman knows me by name and even started giving me a discount.",1 Hey glad to see I'm not the only one who uses sleeping as a coping mechanism,0 "Yes. My dad, my husband, my dogs, my little handicapped brothers. I have no reason to be scared for any of them currently, but I am frequently",0 I force myself to go to the library. Kinda defeating the whole purpose of moving classes online,1 pick cracked skin around hands and feet. pick skin around nails of fingers and feet. pick fingernails. repeat,0 "I also am religious and you have to accept that we are all deeply flawed and God understands this and wants us to get the medical help that we need. OCD is a medical issue caused by a chemical imbalance in our brains. While Jesus does indeed love you, and he can help you cope, he will not cure you or I or any of us right now...but he will when his kingdom comes. In the meantime he can help us cope, but we NEED doctors to assist us. Even the apostle Luke was a physician. Matthew 9:12 says “healthy people do not need a physician, but those who are ill do”. Maybe you can share that with your mom. I hope that helps.",0 "Honestly you can change your life no matter how old you are. I barely graduated high school and spent the majority of my early 20’s pissing my life away stoned and working jobs with no room to better my self. At 26 I am now studying 8-10 hours a day working on a math major. Don’t ever let yourself feel like you can’t get better and reach your goals.",0 "Haha, this is what I told my therapist - don't break my day with an appointment in the middle - I won't be able to work before and won't after either",1 "The medical community seems to think only children have it and that they must surely grow out of it by the time they reach adulthood? Maybe they don’t say that explicitly but it sure feels implied when I read some of those",1 "My OCD tells me that I'm a terrible driver and will hurt someone by accident. I just got my first drivers license in a foreign country.",0 Reading stuff like this makes me think my diagnosis wasn't entirely fruitful.,1 "Lol. What I do instead lately on Google (which is taking way too much of my time) is that ANY curiosity or doubt that I have, I must clear it up.. it takes quite some time sometimes, especially when they stack up, because you can imagine that during a day you could end up with a lot of curiosities or doubts.. and some of them may take more time than the others to clear up.. lol...",0 "Ah yes, the crushing weight of a small mistake that feels like the world is going to end. I know it well.",0 He helps but I’m still waiting for that miracle cure.,0 I came to this page to feel better..but i saw this...i am half laughing half scared...lol,0 "Agreed! And all of the meditation and peace music that reflects in my Top 100. I need that to focus my brain, not to bop to 😭",1 Hey at least you can a recall a time when your head was quiet and peaceful. But I totally feel that. You know what’s been helping me out a lot though. 200mg if l-Theanine in the morning and 200 at night. I also take fluoxetine though but the combo is amazing,0 "Oh my god, I just realized I’ve been doing this all my life lol. My English teachers always took out like 30 commas from my writings, even though that’s how I would string thoughts together, and no one else would. Thank you!",1 "When Casey Neistat was moving out of his highly (organized) office NYC he said that anything he did not know existed was immediately left behind. I do so with most of my photos. I take them on trips because I like the place but after I leave home they aren't worth anything to me. So they sit there until I need more space on my phone. Now, something I have found most useful for organizing specific information (e.g class notes, job training information, etc) is org-mode in emacs. *That is if you are dedicated enough to learn emacs*. The good thing about org-mode is that it's like source code for files. You can make pdfs, htmls, presentations, odt (kinda like word.docx) and probably more with like one command.",1 "This looks like something out of Evangelion, I actually thought this was fanart from that subreddit at first. It's cool, I like it.",0 This is so perfect. It just feels like there's nothing positive. It's like there's nothing really wrong but you can't shake the feeling that there is something very wrong. Everything just seems boring. I hate everything. I don't even want to be typing this post right now. I just want to sleep and disappear.,1 Wow this is going to sound extremely weird but I used to have an obsession/ritual with the 'another one' quote... It was really goddamn awful,0 "Uhh, if the right dose of Adderall is 100mg (like it is for me now), there's no ""right dose"" anymore. It takes a toll on my life and I've chosen to quit it altogether. It is the source of my other substance abuses, and is no longer right. There definitely is a point where it stops working.",1 Numerology is not a good obsession to have. It can destroy your ability to think mathematically,0 "trust me i feel you. it's a huge thing to be proud of for me too. I always will miss a day or two in a row, or forget to brush twice, or forget to floss. it's the worst, and it makes me so self conscious because i just feel like im gross or lazy because of it. thing is i just got my teeth cleaned and cavities filled for the first time in like 6 years a couple months back, and for the first month afterward i was great. but i started hitting that wall again, and began forgetting and such. now i just remind myself if i forget a day it's no reason to quit, because it takes a while for plaque to turn to tartar (rock solid plaque, big yikes. had tons of it when i got cleaned and filled) so i just make it a point to floss brush and rinse ASAP when i think of it. if i have to, i'll brush for the first time of the day at 2pm... better late than never. congrats my friend, im with you",1 "WAY TO GOOOO!!! I’ve dealt with a similar kind of thing, since where I live the dumpster is communal and it always freaks me out to open it. So proud of you🥰",0 "Why are you me? Sure the money's pretty good, but who would want to live like this?? Now you're up for a 15 minute harangue from the Boss about; ' if you'd just put in the effort, you'd be here on time just. Like. Everyone. Else!'",1 I need constant signs of approvable from people or else I will spontaneously combust,0 "This is why I hate having like social engagements or something where people want to hang out late in the afternoon, and people think it's just because I don't want to hang out or spend time with them. Like, no, it's because you asked me to be there at 8pm, so now my ENTIRE day is gone because I have to prepare for these plans at 8pm. Which then leads to me spending my entire day prepping myself for the socialization, which drains my battery before I even get there, and by the time the event actually starts, I'm miserable 20 minutes in and already want to go home. This is one of those adhd things that is practically impossible to explain to anyone who doesn't have adhd like. How do you explain that having plans at 8pm ruins an entire day? Or 4pm, or 3pm etc. Like I never understood how people could be okay with working second shifts where they have to come in like 12-9 or 3-11. Like - your entire day is gone, why would you want that? And then I have to remind myself that normal people don't have this problem lol",1 "I couldn’t mute my mic once. (Slack meeting, and slack said it couldn’t find my mic so I couldn’t disable it, but it was *on*.) So much anxiety.",0 "Spotify actually made up it's own list in my case, there are 4 musicians in my top 5 that I never listened to and it told me ""Thank you for spending all 67 months of 2020 with us"" I mean, it felt like 67 months, but I'm pretty sure it was just 12 this year right?",1 "just like 8 months ago before i had ocd i thought my life was shit and i was a mess ... i was waking up at 6am, still believed my life had a purpose and was keeping up with my hobbies ... if you were to tell early 2020 me that one day i’d be rlly jealous of myself at that time i’d have thought it was bs :/ still, i’ve got to get better",0 I read a book that was called „effective strategies for kids and adults with adhd“ (I can’t find the English version unfortunately). Try „scattered minds“ or „the mindfulness prescription for adult adhd“ :),1 I shake it out of my hands and wiggle out flick it out of my finger tips - like I got to get it out of my body.,0 "I've had a diagnosis since I was very young, sometime mid-90s. I've been told all my life that I can do better that I can do things and that I can succeed at life. Now here I am, approaching 30, and I'm still yet to make anything out of myself. Despite trying so hard that it caused me to start having panic attacks if I was ever not doing something to actively try and better myself. It is not because you are stupid and lazy.",1 So fucking relatable. I’ve been off medicine for years. I’m at the point where I’m very seriously seeking meds. I’m so exhausted emotionally and mentally.,0 "27 when I was diagnosed definitely got worse with age, not being able to realize my potential was a really tough pill to swallow but have been since medicated. If you have coping mechanisms that help you get to the point you are now then kudos! I haven’t held a job longer than 1 year and numerous other debilitating effects because of this shit. I believe doctors and people question us because the severity can differ wildly. My sister and brother are also diagnosed my brother uses it to his advantage and is on the way to becoming a lawyer. Me on the other hand can barely function at my job everyone is different don’t be discouraged!",1 "Damn dude, the same happened several months ago. I was in a perfect mood, sitting in the park enjoying nice weather and life in generally because my OCD had been dormant for a very long time and nothing terrorized me anymore. While thinking aboud some random things the awful, horrible new thought , related to my previous obsession but different at the same time, intruded and haven't left my brain ever since.",0 "I’ve been feeling this more and more recently :/ Even with my meds it’s getting harder to focus and get schoolwork done even though I want (and need) to do good in my classes. And when I should be doing school, I’m procrastinating, then I feel anxious and guilty about procrastinating because I need to be doing school",1 "Try to talk to your teacher, if you can. One time, a doctor a really loved made a joke about my race that really bothered me. Everyone else laughed, but I didn't. Later on, I pulled him to the side, alone, and we were able to talk about it, ending very amicably. I'm so glad I went ahead and stepped out of my comfort zone and confronted the issue, but it's really only because I knew there's no way he meant to hurt me, and that I would definitely sit and stew over it forever and it really didn't have to end end way. Sorry for the essay. I'm sorry people say that. Mine isn't neatness, either (sometimes it is, weirdly enough?), it's mostly repitions and counting and rituals.",0 Please put a NSFW tag on this. Many people find images of guns shooting stuff to be triggering.,0 If you pull an all-nighter you get the functional equivalent of 30 minutes throughout the entire night.,1 "i’ve had harm ocd, hocd, tocd and ocd about food. now my harm ocd is back and i attached it to being “too fat” so now i’m scared that i’ll become depressed and TW : suicidal or harm or something but the thoughts make me scared and i’ve had harm ocd it just keeps attaching to body image.",0 "This is so pretty and I am so creeped out by it (in the best way possible). Absolutely stunning work, 10/10",0 This works for me somewhat because my partner also has ADHD. So we can help each other out to get stuff done!,1 Yes it is and no one gets it unless they have both.,1 Your OCD does not care about probability or statistics. It simply holds onto the fact that something bad *might* happen. It believes in the bad things and worships them like a religious doctrine. It causes your subconscious to believe things that your conscious does not.,0 "Just read your post it is the perfect description of ADHD. Truly amazing description; my hats off to you. It’s strange to read a post by a stranger that knew exactly who I was down to the last hair on my head lol. Like you’ve been following me around studying! It’s amazing we do so well in life it can be daunting to read the challenges we face with this disorder. First rate description of ADHD. I’ve done so much research and study experts do grasp adhd and even describe our symptoms. The way you broke it down though, in a human empathetic way. Just so much more descriptive you should consider sending this into a few places. Not kidding this should be put into an educational pamphlet for family, loved ones and others that face this. another poster said you gave her so much insight for herto better understand her little one. I forwarded this to my wife. I have tried to explain what it’s truly like in the past many times. we also believe one our twin daughters might have ADHD as well. Just wanted to thank you. thank you very much help to understand while I raise my 3 year old because of your time spent to write this up. Although I live with ADHD and I know from life experience I learned even more Take care",1 BRO FACTS I have Experienced this In My Early Childhood,0 "My mom is like that, and I hate it. She has arthritis, so I told her to focus on not feeling her joint pain. She just cut off the conversation and walked out of the room.",1 "Im 18 with adhd and got depression when i was 14 and got cancer. My ‘friends’ almost never visited, so I really feel this, my life was such hell back then. I was so lonely",1 I love this community. It makes me feel so understood,0 Yes. I go through this nearly every single day and it’s hell. 🙃,0 "PLT: USCIS will think your marriage is false unless you have tons of pictures and selfies of yourselves together. As a person who abhors pictures of themselves and avoids them at all costs (and has USCIS claiming our marriage is false because we don’t have tons of pictures together), make sure you literally take pictures of your every waking moment, just in case you have to prove your marriage was done “for eternal love forever and ever” (because apparently picture prove that?).",1 "i love it. this kind of humor content is great and can help us cope, imo",0 "That whole ""tidyness"" OCD stigma really fucked me up when I was diagnosed. I still feel like I'm taking it somehow.",0 "Oh man, mine is at 1,100 something lol. Ideally I would clean it out, but at this point I might just try to figure out how to clear it completely. Somewhat similar of a discovery I made yesterday; my phone stopped letting me open tabs in the Safari app because I have 500 open and apparently that’s the max lol.",1 Thank you so much for this! My husband has OCD and due to the pandemic it has gotten even worse. I’m going to show this to him and hopefully it will help him 🙏🏻,0 "Honestly I have actually taken the time to go through the steps of healing, and doing the emotional work/exercises and ect... and honestly it is more worth it than I think people could ever know otherwise! About a month ago I was feeling I guess a little obnoxiously optimistic so I shared my youtube channel where I talked about healing and my journey and I've seen a couple of responses where people get basically ""triggered"" over the ""accusation"" that there OCD is curable....? Like I get that it can make us feel like if we had control over it, then it wouldn't be a problem, but why wouldn't you want to believe in the possibility of recovery? I mean have you even experienced OCD? lol (not meant to be accusational but from somebody who has suffered my entire life and is recently recovering, you get the point...!) But yeah, plus not only that, but I recently watched a video and it was said that OCD is not a disease.... like its literally a result of emotional invalidation, neglect, abuse, and ect... and people want to argue that it's biologically rooted (which can play a factor yeah, but it would have to be an extremely rare that was the source of the symptoms in its entirety...!) Plus... Neuroplasticity! The brain reconditionable! Idk anyway, just wanted to add my two sense! For anyone who has been avoiding therapy work (perhaps even childhood trauma, or memory work, which has been the case for me...!) DONT! everytime you feel a compulsion start asking yourself what is the source of the question! IN THE WORDS OF RUMI------> LOOK FOR THE ANSWER WITHIN THE QUESTION! (or in this case, compulsion!) DO NOT TRY TO WORK THROUGH THESE THINGS THE OTHER WAY AROUND!!!! YOU CANNOT SOLVE A PROBLEM WITH THE SAME THINKING YOU USED TO CREATE IT! -EINSTEIN!!! \~much love ya'll! and btw here is my channel for anyone who wants to share the healing process/journey with me!!! HERES TO HEALING!!! <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1ikz0\_b6Ngx1mouoRA7cQ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd1ikz0_b6Ngx1mouoRA7cQ)",0 someone’s lost something and you’re like what if someone’s framed me and put it in my bag?,0 I don’t believe ocd is chronic in every case. It’s not denial because I’m pretty sure my case is.,0 Congratulations op its 6 am here and i have a paper to finish by 10 am 😅😬,1 "Then you have to wipe the wall because you can't stand to leave traces behind, such as fingerprints. Or, you go rinse your hands because you cannot stand the after-feel of touching things with your hands, especially the walls of public places.",0 "Mental disabilities are watching everything you've built about yourself personally being forcefully ripped away from you without your consent by an illogical demon. I've watched my life crumble apart in front of me for over 3 years now. OCD is a beast that lies and says it will give mercy if you concede to feeding it to only then demand more till you have nothing left. I have never felt so weak, ashamed, and afraid as I have when in the depths with this disorder. The strength required to conquer mental illness is having the ability to not just overcome yourself but to accept your inevitable failures on the way to recovery. I don't blame people for not understanding. I didn't at one time. Being afraid of something you know is not true is just not something people can comprehend till you are the one watching yourself being dragged down into the depths of anxiety.",0 "Would you mind explaining bathroom ocd? My cousin stays in the bathroom for like 2 hours so he holds it in until he knows he has time to go. I’m guessing that’s why, because he has ocd caused by autism, but I’m just seeing if that’s what it’s called",0 So I have this same problem. I think what I was doing was trying too much at once. Hobbies require time and patience and sole dedication. I took up compound archery 3 weeks ago and I still haven’t quit. And I just bought a spin cycle and have been using it every day just about for a minimum of 30 minutes. The exercise has helped edge my focus and made me feel good. It’s distracted me from my hypochondria too since I feel healthy I’m not worried about my impending doom as much.,1 "Wait wait wait hold on. Is this an OCD thing? That would honestly make so much sense! I thought everyone did this? I used to (and still sometimes do) only step on the tiles because I was 100% convinced that if I didn't, my family would get murdered. I'm still uneasy about stepping in the cracks inbetween...",0 "You don’t HAVE to get good at a discipline to have a creative outlet. Pull a Jackson Pollock and slap paint onto a blank canvas. Rip out pages from a book and do black out poetry. Tie-dye your clothes. Buy some cheap canvas sneakers and just start doodling. You’re falling into the perfectionism trap which is, ironically, another adhd thing.",1 "I tend to hoard this stuff too. Glad I'm not the only one. I got into raving years ago and when I was wrecked I got trigger happy and just spent all night taking photos with random people. I have years of completely unorganised folders full of pictures and random screen shots. All my folders over the years on my smartphones over the years are just a total mess and I refuse to even look at them again, I have well over 100GB of unorganised crap spanning from about 2003-4 to present day. And 3 facebook accounts with 1000s more pictures. Aint NO WAY in hell im sorting out nearly 2 decades worth of shit. It would literally take me forever. I visibly cringe at the thought of even trying to get the motivation to do this. I keep putting it off all the while, while it just steadily gets worse with every passing year.",1 "Anyone know of a good iPhone app for cleaning out photos? I feel like something with a tinder like interface where you can swipe right to keep, swipe left to delete would be amazing",1 I heard hoarding can be an OCD symptom. People don't know that. And even then the messy one can be someone whose OCD is a different thing altogether. Like someone too scared to be around kids because POCD or someone else that checks the stove and door constantly or someone that needs to blink and wink multiple times when they have an intrusive thought.,0 "A phrase I've seen someone comment on this subreddit before is ""it's better to half ass than no ass"" and I've been saying that to myself whenever I feel rubbish about not completing a chore in the same day",1 I'm so afraid of that last one. I'm so scared that one day I might actually hurt/kill someone.,0 "Same here, especially in lectures my head just goes. Anytime I’m doing school or uni work or revision and I literally fall asleep. I do the same when meditating I’ve tried to do it so many times but I just fall asleep and get so sleepy 😂 and then I go to go to sleep and can’t and think of random things I need to research and stay up on reddit until 4 in the morning. I think it is an adhd thing because we just get so bored we get sleepy because we need mental stimulation and reddit snd our phone gives us soo much dopamine",1 "I understand that I'm a stranger on the internet, but I'm proud of you. That's a long ass time to be dealing with this. In other news, you're a very handsome fella, if you don't mind me saying! By your replies to comments on your post, you sound really nice. Cheers to you! ",0 Recovery is not a straight line remember that. I have harm OCD and intrusive thoughts/feelings that direct towards my family and it was horrific to go through but much better now with coaching a professional help...but some days it creeps back in so these reminders help...,0 "If I feel like it, I make my sim do the things I wish I could. Tbh it's skill levels in random stuff are pretty decent. Yeah the garden looks horrible now but before I forgot about it and decided to do something else in-game it was enough to get the skill up to 5.",1 Thanks man this really helps me hope you have a great day,0 "omg I strongly relate. Specially when I get the thought that I should feel more guilty and that I deserve feeling ashamed otherwise I'm a bad person, so I keep ruminating.",0 This is literally what I’ve been thinking about for the whole week ,0 And the popup’s start to block out every app on the computer (aspects of your life) so you can no longer use then.,0 the weird part is that ive watched that episode before. Hsgshshs it was so wholesome,0 "Holy fuck yeah hahahhahahaaha I usually stay up until about 2am doing worthless shit But whenever I have to do a specific task I’ll go to bed at about 9 and convince myself that I’ll get up the next day at 5 and start working on it I have never once actually done that (I don’t know if it’s a chemical change or if it’s just a way of avoidance or both)",1 Sorry I’m too busy saying “I love you Jesus” to the crucifix in my room 12 times every time I see it because if I don’t my soul will burn in hell to clean.,0 I do like the moments in the tv show Monk where you can tell it is really bothering him but he can’t help it. There are times where you feel sad for him because of what he’s going through and then there are the times you can really see the struggle.,0 That’s a beautiful journal. People with OCD tend to be very talented. I have a journal that I write my inner thoughts and feelings every day. A lot of famous people had OCD. Read about the life of Howard Hughes. He definitely had OCD.,0 "Yea, its OCD. And I deal with it by joking and not taking myself so darn seriously. OCD can be really fucking funny if you take a step back. Like I'll be wiping my ass sometimes and think ""if I dont use exactly 13 pieces of paper my dead cat is going to think Im wiping my ass with her and get hurt"". Like that is an absolutely batshit insane thought. Yes we all know how much those thoughts can fuck you up. But if you take a step back its so ridiculous that its pretty funny.",0 "Great job! That’s a huge step, and you deserve every bit of happiness coming your way!",0 This genuinely makes me angry. This person is so uneducated on OCD and the nature of it they think you can simply “gain it”. I don’t know how anyone would want constant fears and compulsions.,0 I used to dream about being able to pause the world and retreat into my brain where i could just sleep and relax,1 Don't get your hopes up. It might be gone but it'll come back. Only thing is... you are stronger now and know how to get over it,0 "Oh gosh this describes me so much. I can usually start tasks--USUALLY--but finishing them is another matter. And I start berating myself for being lazy. I did laundry recently (win!) and actually carried the laundry upstairs to my room (double win!) but it's still in a pile. A neatly folded pile, but a pile nonetheless. WHY? There's no logical reason. It would be much less stressful to put up the damn laundry rather than have to pick through the pile for underwear every damn day. But I can't. Or I won't? I don't know. It's so frustrating because I should be able to JUST DO IT. But I can't. I was actually very proud that I got the energy to carry it upstairs rather than leaving it in the kitchen again. Because the day before, I had to carry my pants downstairs and get dressed in the kitchen so I could put on underwear.",1 "I watched a YouTube video tonight recommending that ADHD people should try bullet journaling for their planning and organizing of life. You better believe that as soon as I finally get my tired ass out of bed tomorrow, take my vyvance, skip breakfast, spend way too long in my closet trying to decide what to put on, finally just throw some sweats and a sweatshirt on, rush to get my kid off to his basketball tryouts on time because I got up too late and procrastinated getting ready.......I’m totally going to the store to buy a new notebook and some fancy bullet journaling supplies. And I will spend hours bullet journaling the hell out of that thing. It will be super organized and put together. And It will make me feel like my entire life is organized and like I don’t have to follow through with the plans I made in the notebook. I might not remember to use it the next day or remember where I put it. But DAMMIT!! That thing will look amazing!!",1 "Okay, this is way to real LOL. Also I appreciate it because ""you think it makes for a cool personal narrative"" is basically the paranoia I have but it doesn't usually crop up when people are talking about diagnosis self-doubt. Rly like the perspective this shows...",0 Sometimes I wake up to find myself counting every time I feel my feet move lol,0 "I opened this on the browser and didn't read the first line and my ocd was like ""hell yea"" but then-",0 "Dude, you are so damn right! I've never been able to put it into words and I'm gonna remember this. Whenever someone hits me with the ol' ""we all have with that, can't be that bad"", I'm gonna say to them: ""You know what you are doing right now? You're gaslighting me. You're dismissing my feelings and problems as if they are not valid. I don't appreciate that and I'd like if you could be a bit more understanding"".",1 "Legit juggling. I work in data science. Most of my work is task based inside of 2 week intervals (sprints) . I excel at planned work because I can maximize efficient time periods. Problems occur when people get excited and start adding on things inside the same interval that should be added to future sprints. Personally I just ghost / ignore them. But im sure that doesnt always work out.",1 "I'm glad it isn't just me with the wipes! This may be TMI, but I HAVE to wipe with personal wipes multiple times post-toilet paper. I feel gritty and paranoid if I don't. One of my intrusive thoughts is constant fear of body odor, so I have to be squeaky clean at all times.",0 "I’ve been feeling that pretty hard today. Just got told by my boss Im not doing as much as everyone else. “There is enough time to do x,y, and z too.” Pretty much feel like I’ve been running as hard as I can for months.",1 "This should be the top post of all in this sub, imo. Here's my upvote for your hard, FOCUSED work.",1 "I think just hyperfocus on my own thoughts to the exclusion of the rest of the world. I am not hyperactive. But I am very distracted and forgetful. But I'm not distracted by the things around me, I'm distracted by my own mind. I'm usually either world-building or my mind is a thoughtless void.",1 "A fundamental misunderstanding of what they are asking for. They have no idea how brutalizing, relentless, never tiring, and persistent OCD is.",0 I don’t even know if I have ocd but I have a deep fear of becoming mentally ill to the point where I’m unresponsive or insane. All I’ve been diagnosed with is a generalized anxiety disorder but sometimes I fear becoming schizophrenic or psychotic so much that I’ll start to question anything as being a symptom (etc. the lights in my bathroom will flicker and I’ll get anxious about if it was an illusion or I actually saw it even though deep down I know I saw it and then the fact that I’m even doubting it makes me feel like I’m loosing it even more) basically my anxiety and possibly ocd of becoming mentally ill makes me almost feel symptoms of worse mental illnesses even though I know I don’t actually have anything that severe,0 I’ve been avoiding making phone calls for my job today. I saw this put down the phone got on my computer and made my first phone call. The client didn’t even stay on the phone that long because they wanted to reschedule for next week! Thank you so much for this post!,1 "Candy Land fetus tree. It's like if you combined death stranding with candy land",0 Story of my life while I was in college. I was very lucky my professors were lenient in accepting late work.,1 "Oh since I been moved away from my family. I can't handle my dad, when he is to visit me, with my mother sometimes, and boths talked and talked wild and I get crazy. Especially my father can't be quite! I say to him:“Please be 5 Minutes quite, I need a little bit silence!“ He is one second quite, after its before the one second!!",1 "Love it. to me, it's us - the sufferers - caught under the weight of what looks like a skull that's being directed by our 'little voice,' as you describe it. thx for this",0 I actually really really need that. This is why I love this subreddit. Everyone is so kind. ❤,0 "This is just so extremely familiar... I couldn’t (can’t) clean my room. I couldn’t read (although I was actually very dyslexic so I never got to the “breakthrough” part). So many things actually.",1 "This is good advice, of course. But I don't really like Jim. Jim is actually kinda mean. He doesn't actively resist Dwight, because he's passive-aggressive. I know this is not the point here, but ya know. lol",0 "I struggled with religious based ocd as a child and I associated the number 6 with Satan. It still bothers me sometimes, as does any number with 6 in it and multiples of 6.",0 "I'm not ignoring my morning chores, you're ignoring your morning chores (with me)!",1 I feel bad for all of you who have this type of ocd. Thank god the coronavirus doesn't bother me.,0 "No words... ​ Thats just wanting to fuck your life.",0 I finally worked up the courage to make an appointment back in early August. I'm not scheduled until November 12th. 1.5 weeks left. I feel like I've been waiting forever!,0 "I keep a bullet journal with my daily habits to check off and I write down what I have to get done every day. I also write down what I did accomplish even if it wasn't planned. Being able to look back at my accomplishments helps me a lot. I feel like I did nothing yesterday but if I look back I can see how many of my habits I checked off. I also put away the clean dishes without my girlfriend asking me, helped put clean sheets on the bed, moved laundry, and took the dog to the dog park, then read for a few hours. After a full day of work that is a lot!",1 "I saved this post to show it to my husband in the morning lol he just told me to stopped folding clothes the other night because he was sick of seeing me “got distracted”. It bothers him so much for no reason.. Now after typing this, I remember I still haven’t folded those clothes..",1 ">She returns to the kitchen to resume dishes but instead organizes the tea shelf because we have too many teas. Well call me out why don't you lol! We have our teas on open shelves in our kitchen above our dry bar, and my day long task has been installing a third shelf and reorganizing all the tea, which of course led to other tasks that \*had\* to happen before I could finish putting all the tea away! Do tell your partner if you haven't how much you appreciate her. It's hard to get going on chores, and is often a long rambling process that can be frustrating for people who are able to spend fifteen minutes and get the dishes done. It's nice to hear that our partners are noticing how hard we're trying.",1 ">It may have taken her five hours, and the dishes might not ever get totally done, but wow do I appreciate the effort she's making and all she does for me. Shit, when you put it like that, same. Now, if only we could convince the rest of the world that many of us with ADHD are indeed _extremely_ hard workers that genuinely care about things they do daily, even if we don't complete things like those without ADHD.",1 same here and I thought for the longest time I was the only person on planet earth who done this still have screenshots on my phone I have yet to look at lmao,1 "My dad used to commend me for keeping us all safe because I would stand at the front door at night and lock, check, unlock, lock multiple times. Not a single damn time did he ever ask me why or if I was okay.",0 There’s a really good show called Pure (which is also a book) which is the best representation of OCD I’ve seen on screen.,0 "Oof. My ocd doesn’t tell me to do any of those things. Though if ya’ll’s tiny shoulder person is gay and trans, you might want to check if you actually are too. r/egg_irl",0 "I don't really think of it as a defficit of executive function. Sure that does happen though, it's just not the best angle to look at this from. I just a body through my genes that produced a chronically low level of dopamine. So my brain learned to process time in a different way, because it's evolves to sit at the front of the cave for many hours and only let my body move during a crisis or when something very interesting is happening which can draw my attention in. Evolutionily, it worked because I would help keep other whole tribe save at night, and as they are able to process time and plan ahead (as they developed that inner voice as they didn't have low dopamine levels at the developmental goals) and make sure I drink water and don't spend all winter in a place far away from food. Sure, I can remember better than others where the food is due to my visual executive function. I just can't act until something cases a huge spoke in dopamine levels. Just use strength based design principles on your meta analysis of self.",1 "Hey OP, I'm sorry you feel that way. I once did too. It can feel like this world isn't made for us. And people can say ""just quit the job you hate and do what you want"", but we still have to eat, and we need a roof over our heads. I don't know what to say to make it less horrible, but I do know that it is possible to feel that you do deserve to carry on living. You might not feel that way right now, but you do deserve a space on this earth, and despite what we are socialised to think, you can do whatever you want to with your space. You can be your imperfect self, and in the grand scheme of existence it doesn't matter all that much. You could spend your whole life forcing yourself to be a certain way, and it won't matter in a hundred years, let alone a thousand. I don't want that to sound more depressing lol. What I mean is that you are 100% allowed to just exist the way you are, and you don't have to play into societal expectations all the time. Maybe in scenarios like work, where it guarantees your survival, but there's a lot to be said for looking yourself straight-on, and seeing yourself with no filters of judgement - and taking that hard but worthwhile step of accepting that person. In a way, everyone could benefit from doing that, even those without ADHD. Many of us are living in denial of ourselves, and the truth is, the modern world isn't a healthy space for any human beings. We've lost touch of the things that make us human, and have bastardized the human experience. But the good news is that you can still reconnect with that. You are just a human being with complex thoughts, emotions and motivations. Not a failure, not worthless, not inferior to others just because you are different. You are enough. Please allow yourself to believe it. ❤️",1 "Woo!! Another reason why I can't be drafted! 😊 Though I imagine once they can tell that I'm trans, I'd be kicked with no further questions lol",0 "I feel this so hard...it's gotten worse for me after: 1) Graduating college, and 2) Losing interest in my job/feeling frustrated in my abilities",1 I've not gotten up the courage to post on Reddit yet and when I comment and get downvoted ( most I ever got was 7 downvotes for calling a bug nightmare fuel on a What's this insect subreddit) I feel devastated and embarrassed. I feel equally lousy when I post a positive/ helpful comment on a subject and get zero or like 1 upvote. I mean sometimes I really open up and share to try helping and my comments lack of upvotes makes me feel embarrassed ( yet again). I tend to get long winded and am working on that but I refrain from commenting quite often because...lack of confidence.,0 I get my contacts through Hubble because I didn’t have insurance for a while. Finally got eye insurance in September 2019 but have yet to schedule an appointment so I thought hm maybe if I cancel Hubble I can force myself to make an appointment. So I put a reminder in my phone to call Hubble to cancel and have been snoozing it every day. That was 7 months ago 😂,1 "I know that when someone doesn’t text back they either are busy/forgot but it wasn’t to intentionally spite me But my brain is screaming at me that they hate me & are trying to end our friendship And for some reason I have some flaky friends 🙃",0 This is spot on. When I’m in an episode I can almost feel brain “tentacles” reaching into every corner trying to find something to trigger me.,0 "For some reason I read ""I'm so OCD"" as I'm so OLD and I was like girl same",0 Oh my God. Other people do this too? I thought it was just me.,1 "I would constantly argue with my ex boyfriend about this. He hated how flakey I was in his eyes, missing deadlines and forgetting important tasks/dates etc. He really did not understand that I already felt like shit, and he was only making it worse.",1 Wow amazing! On both fronts! (OCD and the painting itself),0 "Thank you so much! Read all through it and found a few things that will help for sure! Also, some of the stuff (like having 10 chapsticks, in my case it would be 10 handcreams xD), I already did and tried to get rid of these 'bad hablts'. You guys made me realize that these are legit strategies =)",1 I'm cured! But seriously that watermelon looks delicious,0 "This is dope, it’s always good to keep busy when dealing with intrusive thoughts, oddly mine has been detailing cars and trucks etc. But this is so cool! Keep up the awesome work!",0 "I'm such a shit, can't even stop myself from tricking them so hard wharrgrblrlglrlr",0 "When he screams in frustration, it makes me want to cry. I know that feeling all too well.",0 what makes me hurt the most is that I don't dare ask/tell them bc they just get mad. Then if I do it doesn't matter. Passive aggressive methods don't work either.,0 and here i was thinking i was the only one who did this fuCKK i feel a lot better now,0 "Actually, I'm not for once! I got up early for work! I have 21 minutes to leave to be on time.. Let's see how that goes.",1 "It really does get easier. Nowadays I just tell the majority of people that im too tired to come or just that "" I have other plans"" (plans being tv) real friends dont care as long as you still hang out from time to time, and non friends dont really matter most of the time in this instance",0 I think this scenario repeats itself in my current job,1 This is fucking awesome bro. I know what it’s like to struggle to find work due to mental illness and cognitive impairment. Congrats!!! Kick ass.,0 "Please take mine. I’ll give it away free of charge. In fact, I’ll pay you to take it.",0 "Let me say that you're absolutely beautiful . Sorry , I just had to comment . I know how shit acne can make you feel and I'm glad things are improving .",0 "I dunno man, my eternal hard on for rawstyle seems pretty well reflected.",1 "I haven't been diagnosed, recently I've been worrying that I might have ADHD a lot because of simple things like nor remembering words, names, or everything in general. I can't speak confidently because I never know where I'm going with my words or make my thoughts organized as well as equally for writing. When I'm either in school or browsing on my phone, I have trouble writing because of many different things, I constantly re read my stuff and miss errors regardless. I remember in highschool I spent an hour trying to write a paragraph about why U.S history class should continue in my school and ahh do I still think about it constantly. It brings me down everytime because it hasn't changed since then. I can't think/build a sentence fast enough on the spot so I look for things other people have said to make up a better thing for me to put out. I only remember one time in highschool where I felt like I knew for a fact I was gonna get a 90% on an essay because I knew what I was saying with every word. But most of my life is just not like that at all.. if I was having an argument with someone it would take me FOREVER to send a reply because I'm busy constructing something to write so carefully so I don't sound stupid. I constantly feel like what I say and tell people isn't good enough or missing something and it's true. I've embarrassed myself many times. Most of the time I miss the whole point. I was talking to someone and I said these things has been getting worse for me ever since college started, and they said ADHD doesn't get worse for people so I really don't know what my problem really is but I guess ADHD does it for me. I would go to a counselor and ask for help but with the lockdown it's hard, so I'll just wait. It's really upsetting, it sets me back miles and I'm always behind. I constantly judge myself and it's very tiring. I'm not really asking for anything but I hope that what I think is the problem (ADHD) is correct because otherwise, it could probably be something worse but I have no clue. I relate to this sub a lot. It sucks. It really does but I hope things get better.",1 "I understand where you're coming from. I think family are usually just trying to be helpful. If they don't have the lens of ADHD it really quite possibly may be that easy for them.",1 "I try to remember HALT which is an AA thing - hungry / angry / lonely / tired - if I want a drink/drug, check if I am any of those things because I probably am.",1 Same. I don’t have a competitive bone in my body either - positive motivation is the only thing that works for me,1 "I’m laughing so hard right now, I thought I was the only one! We’ve all still got monkey brains lol",0 "In school, I consistently got one of two criticisms on papers: either I'd used too many commas or my sentences were too long. In my mind, it's very much organizational; everything in a sentence goes together the same way all the sentences that make up a paragraph go together, just on a smaller scale, and if anything I felt like breaking everything into smaller sentences *sacrificed* some organization. (Case in point, my teachers would have had me make ""If anything I felt like. . . "" a second sentence, but I could not bring myself to do it here -- I was still talking about the organization of the sentence, see?) The criticism wasn't really helpful because it didn't address the root of my problem: I usually have a lot of messy tangental thoughts that don't *really* add to the main point but seem to be related so I want to squeeze them all in. When my ADHD is better managed, those thoughts don't disappear, but they certainly seem much less important -- another one of those things that is probably not actual diagnostic criteria in itself but an interesting illustration of poor organization, which I believe is.",1 AHAH. Nice try. I'm already in bed. I'll do it tomorrow.,1 "Congratulations! You'll do fine, I'm sure they'll let you learn as you go :) enjoy your job!",0 "“I’m going to meditate” “My therapist” “recommends” a lot of “meditation” My “meditation” includes wearing ear plugs that “help clue me in” to the beat of my heart and breathing by blocking out external noises. This does not work when my ears can’t handle wearing ear plugs because something even THAT is too sensory stimulating. Also means I have to pretend to meditate. It’s not a great solution in my world but IN THEORY it works.",1 "I am so glad that people at my job don't treat it like something just for kids. I work as a mechanic and it seems like a fair number of the guys have it most of em needing to get checked out (myself included, I definitely need to at least seek help because I don't have a formal diagnosis)",1 "The worst part is the food for me, I used to plan what to eat during each week but then end up eating something else because Im too lazy to cook or I simply forget to cook, then comes the anxiety about throwing away food. I HATE wasting food and feel extremely bad when I do which make me really depressed and mad at myself thinking ""all this money I could had saved, this is not what the enviroment needs, someone else have a hard time affording food while I just throw it away"". I never plan what to eat anymore, I just simply decide each day.",1 "Thank you SO MUCH for posting this! I have honestly thought about this before and just assumed it would be prohibitively expensive. And i totally agree with you on the ""society"" bit, too. Humans were never designed to all be independent, one-man-bands. Congrats on finding something that works!",1 "This is giving me flashbacks of so many ""there, now was that so hard?"" And only being able to respond with an exhausted and manic giggle before mentally wanting to shut down...",1 "Oh this hit deep. I'm actually scared to read this subreddit in fear of developing more compulsions than I already have. At this point, they've only stacked up for me. I would welcome a trade at this point lol",0 "Doesn’t you posting this and describing how you didn’t touch anything count as a compulsion? Sorry to be a Debbie downer but 95% of posts on OCD subreddits are either blatant reassurance seeking or cleverly disguised compulsive acts. I get that you’re proud of yourself but someone without OCD wouldn’t still be thinking about how they didn’t touch stuff/how it was fine to resist the compulsions etc.",0 So very true. I don't like going out for dinner or whatever at night because I spend the entire day clock watching and counting down.,1 Parents will always make us fit into their world while people who choose us will always try to fit in our world.,1 "I will spend HOURS on YNAB just fucking making my plans. now i know why...",1 "Haha okay mine would be 1. Just one more hour of showering and I'll be clean 2. You caused mum's cancer 3. What did I touch on the last Tuesday of November 2017 and other random dates 4. God's gonna get you! 5. Why can't you just get better?",0 "I don't want anything for Christmas. I don't want anything anymore. I know that the only thing I could want will never come. Hecc",0 "This is wayyy too accurate I sit at work all day exhaustingly going back and fourth in my head with this stuff",0 "I named my thoughts Brian and Jessie 💕 ✨ Brian is the mean one, Jessie is the sexual and crazy one 🥰 🧚‍♀️",0 Yeah usually 5 or 12 for me lol. I even do it when stroking my dog.,0 "You're not alone! I never really thought about my OCD playing a role but that wouldn't be the first time that's happened. Just know, there are a lot of us bi girls who go through this and we've all got your back.",0 sUdDenLy aLL mY iNtrUsiVe tHouGhTs anD cOmpUlsIonS hAvE SimULtAnEouSly vAniSheD!!! i’M CuReD!!!,0 "Yes, I absolutely have this. I can't make sense of or keep track of instructions until I know why, and once I know why I can remember the what, including the order of operations",1 "I do something very similar! I named my OCD Philbert, and whenever that little twerp decides to act up, I'll say ""Fuck off Philbert"" and it helps a lot. And yeah, I agree, this whole concept reminds me of a more mature Luca XD",0 "OMG SOOOO RELATABLE 😂😆 I always have to tap 6 or 12 times before leaving it. ",0 Don’t you think a boomer meme page with a name like Laugh Til Your Hearts Content With Jonnae is grabbing at the low hanging fruit? This is just one cheeky glass of sherry away from a Minion meme.,0 "I do this but with determining whether people like me or not. I always think that someone i know will talk to someone i knew twenty years ago and they will reject me or something. I am constantly replaying conversations i have with people in my mind, looking for things like whether i was rude or not. It is ocd but it sounds like schizophrenia, but i always have doubts about peoples loyalty. I am always obsessing about how they are scheming against me. It is ocd but sounds like schizophrenia.",0 "I can't tell you how many Saturday nights I've gotten tired and headed to bed, only to realize that my bed sheets are still in the drier (or worse, in the washer) and so I need to get my sleepy head to make my before sleeping lol! There have been nights where I didn't even bother, and I just crashed on the mattress with a blanket haha",1 "EVERY GOD DAMN DAY. Every single day, even if for just a second, I think about how I wish I had the power to pause time for as long as I want so I could just catch up on work or sleep a full eight hours because I stayed up all night the night before. Every. Day.",1 "About 50% of us have dirty or messy houses / rooms and around 100% of the human population wouldn't even want to touch this shit for free Jonnae. :P edit: unless it's these english cleaning ladies on TV that always touch and lick dirty shit.",0 Confirmation bias is the absolute worst enemy of people with OCD. Thank you for posting! :D,0 My brain told me to throw my newborn into a pool the other day. I almost cried. I fucking hate ocd.,0 "This reminds me that I bought an ADHD workbook that someone on this sub recommended. I've had it a few weeks...haven't used it yet. Also, where did I put it..?",1 "My daughter, who has ADHD, does the same thing. She becomes super chatty but she always talks about the same things and they are all past events from long ago. I'm a likely undiagnosed ADHD but professionals see different things in older adults. It's a two way street and it's just as annoying when she does it.",1 "Have definitely had a random thought and followed it into a full 20 minute monologue, forgetting that I was in the middle of something 😏 so embarrassing!",1 "If it is any help, rationalizing those intrusive thoughts have helped me very much. For example if I have an intrusive thought about if I am treating someone well and that if I am a bad person, I tell myself that the fact that I am ready to torture myself rather than even entertaining the possibility of not treating someone well proves that I am a good person.",0 "Yup, this describes mine too. That's why ultimately exposure therapy was a better fit for me. I ""just"" had to confront the full blast of my thoughts without avoiding, and to do exposures to things I felt were ""bad"" (like leaving the shopping cart in the parking lot instead of taking it inside). It was very hard but I saw huge results so fast and it's nice to have therapy be so concrete, you know? Thought challenging is so nebulous because it's all in your head. But walking into a store and leaving without buying anything is a very visible, straightforward task, if hard.",0 "Wow. Thanks. Your rawness touched me. Please be well, keep well and may your shining light for others always burn bright and for yourself always keep you warm.",1 "I’m 27, I just joined this subreddit at the end of last year. I’ve been watching a lot of videos on YouTube about people with adhd and reading posts like yours lately. The first time I saw that someone felt the same way I did, I broke down. I would never wish this feeling on anyone and it makes me so sad that we all suffer the same.",1 "Me, right now laying on my couch at 5:47am. Okay good night.",1 "You’re so talented!! This looks beautiful, and congrats on resisting the compulsion :)",0 Love this! Is that donna from twin peaks i see there? :) Ocd made me call it out im so sorry xD,0 "Hey buddy. I recently learned about how we ADHD folk make decisions, and while it may not help you to fix this issue, a little understanding might help make you feel a bit better. The way we make decisions is based on four things. Interest, challenge, novelty and urgency. If a task is not one of those four things, we simply won't do it. Learning that explained so much of my life. Haven't figured out how to address it yet. Maybe you can.",1 I read this and ignored it because it hit so close to home. This exactly. I love art but can’t bring myself to commit to a project or practice long enough to actually do it.,1 I hate myself on adderall even though I’m super productive. But I’m glad you find peace in it.,1 Here’s a cool hack that guarantees I’m at least 30min - an hour early for everything: anxiety.,1 I experience this question towards me more often than not. Doesn’t help that I also have Tourette’s...,0 "Yep. Inattentive ADHD, Pure O, and chronic depression.",0 "I think some folks are confused by these terms. obviously we don’t experience objective permanence the same way an infant does. I think this is talking more about how ADHD people tend to lose things a lot. I can set my phone down somewhere and walk off, and a few minutes later I’ll be desperately searching for my phone and I have no idea where I put it, and even when I find it I have zero memory of even setting it there. Or maybe a better example would be…I have tons of piles everywhere. In the house, in the car, in closets, everywhere, piles of my random stuff that I couldn’t be bothered with putting away or going through. Then I’ll decide to go through a pile one day while cleaning and I’ll discover an item that I completely forgot I had, and it could be something I used to use often or really enjoyed. I do this very often with new things too, I’ll buy something, and either leave it in the car or I’ll toss the bag it’s in on my table and completely forget I have a new treasure. Everything is very out of sight, out of mind. So not exactly object permanence, but similar. I totally understand the emotional issue too. I have an amazing boyfriend who loves me and treats me so so well. But if I don’t hear from him for a while or if his texts seem short for whatever reason, I start to think that he has somehow very suddenly fallen out of love with me. It’s ridiculous but I can’t help it. But, this is one reason I have a hidden album on my phone with pictures of us and a ton of sweet messages he has sent me.",1 I am so proud of you ... and also this post was a really great reminder for me to take care of my own oral hygiene. :),1 "So super strong, sounds so insanely hard. props to you.",0 "Along this vein, for me, I'll often find myself negotiating with myself over physical compulsions. ""Ok, ending every flight of stairs on your right foot on the way up and left foot on the way down is totally unreasonable, how about if you JUST do it when you're on your way to work?"" I feel accomplished when I succeed at this, but at the same time, in hindsight, it is so irrational to think that there is any difference between the two. It's a practically positive outcome, but ultimately validates the compulsion anyway- maybe even more so, because I'm compartmentalizing this as ""rational behavior"" in my negotiation with the illness. God this disease is fucking complicated.",0 Lmao and then you wake up the next morning like “what the fuck was that!?” It honestly makes you feel drunk,0 "I thank the gods for the watch later button lol. I used to think ""oh I'll find it later"" haha.",1 "I was awesome at first meeting sales pitches. I had great ideas, spoke well. My follow up was poor and things would fall apart no matter how hard I tried. Thanks for your post.",1 No what if my ocd isn’t real and everything i’ve been thinking is true at the first place?,0 "AHH. Ok, so I'm a ~chemist~ (jokes, Im a grad student who pretends to know shit but really is just a void). ANYWAYS. I legit call that ""activation problem"" an activation barrier, or activation energy lol. In chem, we use reaction coordinate diagrams/plots to show the energetics of a reaction system...and to get from reactants (start) to products (finish) requires energy input (transition energy, activation energy)...anyways, there's an energetic hurdle ya gotta overcome to get from one thing to the end product. Even favourable, spontaneous reactions have that lil energetic hurdle. With my broke-ass, adhd brain...I'm always at the start, I'm at point 0, and the thing I wanna do, or don't want to do, is all the way over this massive fucking barrier that requires mental energy & physical adherence to overcome. Even the shit I wanna do! Everything has an energy barrier, a transition energy, associated with it and it is fuckin exhausting. Sometimes those energetic hurdles are too big 💁 even if they're fairly small (e.g., for shit I ""genuinely"" want to do). Thnk you for listening to my dumbass nerd comparison of adhd brain and chem reaction diagrams lol",1 "Not being able to finish the last 10% of anything, while not the worst, is the most pervasive and consistent ADHD symptom that I have.",1 "I guess you could say that I... *check* off most of those bad boys. ;D Yea, I know. Sue me. ~~*did I offend anyone?*~~ kidding. Just kidding.",0 "Congrats ,i bet your ocd is mad that you did not succumb to it and fail",0 "I feel you, friend. That's what my hands look like too. They itch and bleed, and it's worse in the winter. Hang in there!",0 "Yup. Been diagnosed for about a year (30M) and I'm starting to realize how many bad career choices I've made. Breezed through high school without putting in any effort, but failed my first year of college at 4 different universities... I'm glad that there is a neurological reason for this, but it saddens me that I have ""wasted"" so many opportunities. Pandemic has been rough, but I have learned so much about myself. Currently working through some mental issues that I've accumulated over the years by bullshitting myself through life. Hopefully I'll have enough energy, courage and stability in a few months to find job that suits me better.",1 "This sounds very common, and sounds like a pure ocd (not as in the form of ocd) thought-behavior. An exposure you can try is to purposefully include some typos in your emails, then sit with the discomfort. You know the truth and know that you would never include a racial slur or nude photo in an email. A more extreme exposure idea would be to pen up an email in your head with the most horrific pictures or things you can possibly imagine and imagine sending them off to others. Be warned that this will make you want to check, so be strong. Have fun with this and make it funny for you. You might not be ready to do this yet, and that’s totally fine. Stay strong and hang in there!",0 "Never. I read the whole thing, get sidetracked by links people answered with on that post, made me think of something else I wanted to look up, and then realize I'm still in bed at 11 in the morning, or realize it's two hours past my ideal bedtime.",1 "“Slap that guy.” “Get naked.” “Jump out of this moving car on the highway.” “Just start screaming for no reason.” “Smash your phone.” My brain is fucking wild.",0 oh my god i do this too. i didnt realize it was part of my OCD. im so sorry i know how it is.,0 how the fuck am i not alone in this. im always scared im a pedophile,0 Sometimes this feeling of dread just comes over me like I’ll never be happy again & im dying tonight or something it’s the worst,0 this exact thing happened to me the other day and i was like 👁👄👁 and the OCD was like 😏,0 "Me staring at this post, then staring at my sheetless bed with a pile of half folded clothes on top of it, wondering why it took me so damn long to get diagnosed.",1 I snorted at work reading this. It's just so accurate 😂 and comical to see written out. I'm going to save this to remind myself it's irrational when I start spiraling.,0 "Sounds familiar. I have to keep my bill paying tasks in an app to remind me to do it on time (but that has been working for me!). Additional: bounced checks because you overpaid, paid twice, paid too soon, or forgot you paid and didn't record it anywhere. I used to spend hundreds on fees every month before I got it all in an app.",1 This is an overwhelmingly big deal! I am in the same boat! You got this!,1 "I am concerned about taking my medication without a meal due to side effects, are there any other issues with taking it on an empty stomach in the morning?",1 "Thank you for this post. I tried to kill myself twice and the second time I decided I never wanted to attempt suicide again. That's what made me start taking ADHD seriously. To actually accept the condition and to ignore my family who continually tries to convince me otherwise. Now that I'm diagnosed and am receiving help I'm finally getting my confidence back. I'm eternally grateful to this sub. It makes me feel alot less alone. Also I'm sorry for your loss. I know how you feel. I had a friend commit suicide a few years ago. They will live through your memories.",1 Do you take some medications? SNRIs and TCAs can cause that.,0 Literally oh my gosh.... now add in a couple other disorders including anxiety and you've got the nightmare that is my life. just end me already,1 "When I'm writing off the cuff, I use a lot of commas, but when I have time to edit I think it's important to keep things as concise as you can. Write a big block of marble, chip away at it the next day, repeat.",1 "I used to have religious OCD, so I stopped being religious, and now I still have moral OCD but without the possibility of redemption.",0 Did Biden actually say this during the debate last night? Big mood.,0 i burnt through the lexapro column now im chilling in the 100mg zoloft section,0 I just got my quarterly “LET’S DO THE SHIT YOU NORMALLY CAN’T STAND” boost and I’m desperately trying to start habits now before it goes away. ADHD fucking sucks.,1 "Oh my goodness. I knew something was wrong when I was in elementary school. My experiences didn't match up with my classmates. I was upset more often and upset by things they never noticed or thought of. I tried asking my mom for help and she told me to get over it because life isn't fair. I was called high maintenance, a cry baby, a hassle, and other things by parents, family members, coaches, and teachers. I didn't want to be those things. I wanted to be happy and bubbly. That's my true self. Whenever I am free of OCD that is who I naturally am. I love to laugh and I love to do everything in my power to bring laughter to everyone around me. I knew that when I was little but I didn't know how to make that a reality that other people saw, outside of what they liked to tell me I was. I remember so many times when I tried to say I wasn't crying, when I was. I didn't want to be crying. I wanted to explain why I was upset. I would try to calm myself and ask for help calming down a lot of the time when I was having a 'meltdown.' The more I explained myself the angrier adults seemed to be. The angrier they got the worse I felt and the harder I cried. It feels like I'm being strangled and squeezed in my full body when I have these 'meltdowns.' I would try to tell adults why I was freaking out and they'd just start yelling most of the time or say incredibly hurtful things to me. I've just given up now. You don't want to understand me? Then stop asking me to explain. You can go ahead and not understand until the end of time.",0 It's.. 1 am. And I'm tired af. Thanks for the reminder. I'm going to bed now.,1 "Am I the only one who doesn’t really mind? Just correct them and move on, brings a nice bit of awareness",0 This is happening right now with a girl I like very much and I think she likes me too. The anxiety is killing me. Any advice on how to deal with this would be amazing.,0 "Ok, but the different colours are touching. They should at least sell it by colour in different bags. This is pointless. *Edit: disregard the below paragraph, someone clarified certain things I was wrong about* Also, autism is different. Most of the time autistic meltdowns are triggered by a disruption in routine. Not because of a fear that they're gonna die if they don't perform x task. (among a slew of other things, also, not a psychiatrist, but I work with children/teens with disabilities)",0 either i blink like hell or mumble to myself “nope not today.” whenever i got deja vu i used to shake my head a lot though,0 "I have OCD and I'm here to be blunt with you: It gets worse. Not better. Just thought you all deserved to know.",0 "for me, it's been about a week of all clean dishes after a while of piling up. wishing everyone good luck and brighter days.",0 It was happened so bad that the shaking became involuntary 😓,0 "Yup, my obsession changes every single day. I'm just letting it be at this point, I'm never going to win against these thoughts.",0 "This is something I struggle with with my daughter. She's only 3, but has very strong ADHD tendencies and I find myself yelling at her a lot. Then I feel like all I do is yell at her and I feel bad. I'm trying a different approach with her where I try to acclaim her 3-5 times more than I criticize her. One of the areas she is really struggling with is peeing in her pants instead of the toilet, so I praise her every time she goes appropriately. It's not easy for anyone involved, but I am trying to remember that she can't help it.",1 "I saw a job posting that would've been an amazing opportunity, but passed up any consideration because they ""wanted someone with OCD."" It was a research/writing job and ALMOST wrote an elaborate article on OCD, and how it's a MENTAL ILLNESS. But I really just had to walk away, I need to think of myself as more than just my condition.",0 Thanks I was going to take a shower 2 hours ago. I'll do it in an hour.,1 "Congrats! Anything you can do to take off the weighted vest we call ADHD is a win. I've learned this lesson as I've gotten older. I'm now willing to spend money on anything that makes my life a little easier. A robot vacuum that also mops has been a game changer for me. A nice electric toothbrush with a timer. Getting a dog walker for my very energetic little guy has relieved all of the guilt associated with not giving him the attention he deserves. If I'm stressed about getting somewhere in time and my wife needs the car - I'm ubering. Sure the bus is cheaper but clicking a button on my phone and showing up exactly on time is worth the cost. A real big one for me was getting someone to come deep clean my apartment twice a year. This isn't just a cleaning person. This is a team of people who descend on the place and clean every single thing in it. They clean things I didnt even realize you should clean! This allows me (and my robot vacuum) to do the minimum amount of upkeep cleaning between deep cleans. I used to sit paralyzed for months, knowing I needed to clean behind the stove, or clean some hard to reach spot. Now it's not my job and I literally never think about those things. Invest in yourself to free up some mental energy! God knows we need to conserve as much of it as possible!",1 Yep. I’m not quite the horribly unstable mess I used to be but quarantine and not being able to go do anything is amplifying everything x100,0 "This sums it up. I mean, I make sure to not put anyone in unnecessary danger (I mean, all the safety recommendations are pretty much my life already), but I'm way more concerned about the economical part of the pandemic than actually getting ill. I'm just so desensitised. It's kind of like... ""oh, a new virus I should be worried about? Yes, get in line""",0 "I couldn’t be more proud of you. I wash my hands an exorbitant amount too. I hope to make as much progress as you! Thanks for being an inspiration 🤘🏻",0 "I've had a lot of people recommend me a book called ""Smart but Stuck"", but I haven't got round to reading it yet (kind of ironic I guess haha). Probably worth a look though because it's supposed to be very good.",1 "I mean mindfulness training does have its positives. If you’re able to catch thoughts as they happen (self-awareness) you actually do have a shot at controlling them. I read a research paper today about theta waves and hippocampus function and what have you. But yeah your moms probably not a scholar on the cutting edge, and more likely full of it lol. Moms are like that haha, they’re also so full of love though EDIT, because I can’t shut up: *Bear in mind ADHD is genetic. So it may not seem like it, but parents might know what the hell they’re talking about. My dad shows lot of similar traits to me, and kind of my mom too. They’re also Asian parents who had to fight a competitive system so they got work ethic beaten into them. There’s a chance that works*",1 "Yeah, but I can do that at any point in the day, I have the tab open and everything. In fact, I need to find my wallet to do any of that, and well, not sure where that is right now. I guess I'll keep scrolling reddit until I magically remember where it's at",1 i’m so happy for you! i’m sending you the most love to keep it going ❤️❤️,1 "I'm new here , can you please tell me what else is it called ?",0 "This is amazing! I think I need someone to be my own personal nag. Somebody to remember bill due dates and help me plan big picture life admin stuff, and then repeatedly nag me via text/email around the time they are due until I’ve confirmed I’ve done it. I feel like that’s not the same thing as a virtual assistant though so I’m not really sure what to search for 🤣",1 as im reading this reddit post im going through this exact situation lmaooo...,1 "Everyday day is a challenge, but fighting the distractions keep me going in the right direction",1 This is making me reconsider getting diagnosed. I don't have the funds and feel like I'll be dismissed for not having ADHD but I do want to feel this happiness. I wonder what it's like...,1 HAHAHAH I can literally relate. Im either all in or I'm thinking about a weird dream I had the previous night.,1 "I think I'm the only one with the exact opposite problem. I can focus in on a movie and pay attention to every frame. Same with a good TV show, or music. I can marathon Lord of the Rings no problem or listen to a 30 minute piece of music and think about nothing else. Traits like this make me wonder if I have ADD or not. I relate to so many threads on this subreddit but not this one. I actually get frustrated watching movies with other people because they're too distracted which is distracting for me lol If I'm alone I can just zone out and watch the whole thing no problem.",1 "Ehm... Yeah, been in therapy for 4 days intense exposure training - straight two days - exhausted, thankful and happy - the OCD = frustrated and understanda, I will try my best, but hmm, wont get anything from that gurl no more I’m afraid, shes just dont care!!!!",0 "A friend of mine pointed this out to me one time. They told me that I always know more than I think do, I just get anxious and become a blank slate. If I brought something up rather than being asked I could take up an hour and a half of someone’s time no problem. But that same friend also had this dope habit of asking me something and coming back to it like hours later and given that amount of time I could usually wrap it all back up. What a freakin homie right?",1 "I've thought I might have adhd for quite awhile now, and I tend to excessively use commas and other punctuation. And I often go on long rants over text to my friend about all kinds of things, from history to games to politics and philosophy, or whatever the hell else is on my mind at the moment. I also type very fast and I can overwhelm friends during discussions by sending things too quickly, or by sending large text blocks. And then I also have tendency to go back and re read everything I typed to make sure it makes sense and is concise and coherent. Then I oftentimes end up lost, trying to edit and re edit a sentence because something just feels off, either thinking I'm being redundant, or not clear enough, and I have to change it or the other person won't understand. Edit: lost sight of the original point lmao. I think you may be correct, but I don't know if I actually have an attention disorder, or if I'm just an introvert who struggles with motivation. Until I saw this post, I always figured my manner of writing was a stylistic choice, influenced by the authors I've read, many of whom have been decades old when such writing was more common. And honestly, that entire last sentence, I cannot even think of a way to break that up into multiple sentences without it sounding choppy and elementary.",1 "Congratulations!! Keep up the good work my friend, I’m proud of you! :)",0 "Agree with the advice, disagree with the idea that ADHD doesn’t respond well to dopamine. I think *because* we lack dopamine, we are driven by activities that provide it and we require that stimulation to complete the activity. Rewards don’t work for me either, but I don’t think that’s because I can’t get the dopamine reward.. it’s because I don’t want to wait for it. If I tell myself I can have a piece of chocolate if I read my chapter, I’m just going to say “who is stopping me?”, skip the chapter entirely and go straight for the chocolate reward instead. It’s much easier to read if I eat the chocolate simultaneously because I need the rewarding stimulation to focus.",1 "So true!!! It sucks so hard that there is this literal addiction in me, to constantly worry. My brain always tells me ""Don't get to comfortable! You'll regret it."". It's the lost of control for me. You simply can't change anything about it, still I'll try to think about thousand ""possible"" scenarios that could happen and for every single one I try to come up with some crazy solutions, I can't execute anyway. I needed this, thank you! Gotta remind myself to at least try to worry less.",0 "Yep, I absolutely can’t watch/read anything about OCD, i’ll get a new obsession almost immediately. It’s so weird, because I can’t really create new ones in my mind but something about hearing someone else mention one makes my brain go, “They have a good point!!”",0 "I have a lot of anxiety committing to anything because of this. There are family members that I mean to call and talk to, but I am afraid I won't be able to keep up with calling them in the future and will disappoint them.",1 The one time I’ve literally got nothing else to do... Still appreciate this post though.,1 "oh god I’ve never really commented on this sub but this is my life, except I’m also deeply ambitious and constantly have shit going on/am trying to get in grad school. I barely graduated because covid wrecked the executive function dregs I had to my name and am now floundering worse than I have so far, which is saying something...been fired from 2 jobs and counting since summer and I think I’ve gained 40-50 lb in a year. what a joy to live. might end it soon",1 "I had a similar experience. I was at home trying to do a paper. I couldn't do it for the life of me. Kept getting up, doing dishes, fiddling with random things, etc. You know the deal, typical ""ADHD"" things. Then, my fiance comes and asks how I'm doing, I tell her the whole thing. She tells me... ""Why don't you go sit somewhere quiet and just focus."" It never hit me before, all I had to do was just focus! Eureka! Since then, whenever I need to do something, I just remember to focus and - BOOM, I can do it no problem. Who would think that the only thing I needed to was just focus.",1 "My OCD is both illogical and based around my ADHD symptoms. I have at least once (definitrly more than once) forgotten my wallet or keys or to lock my car, so when my obsessive thoughts suggest I might have done it I have trouble dismissing it",0 This is a quirk of mine that I did not realise was my OCD. Holy shit.,0 I wish some people would take the no as is though. It’s always so bothersome when they keep asking why you’re declining.,0 "Wow... were you in my brain? I was just thinking of this when I was making coffee this morning. I was thinking of everyone I perceived to hate me and how the other shoe will eventually drop.... then I remembered something my therapist said, you are not a good source of information on you. You are not a good source of information for what you are like or how other people view you. You cannot trust your own opinions of yourself because of our disorders we have. Go to a mentor or trusted individual and ask them to reassure you that everything‘s gonna be OK. When my friends and family don’t know what to do for me I told them that all they can do is be louder than the voices in my head, remind me that I’m loved, remind atone for my past and build a better future.",0 This always happens when I’m reading. Then I have to start the paragraph over and over again,1 "If you have trouble with overthinking, second guessing yourself and getting adhd paralysis (like me) then it can be a good idea to try and start something before thinking too much about what can go wrong (like schoolwork or a project). But that doesn’t always work for everything. I always get frustrated when my parents make comments like “just do it” and “just think positive and try harder” It feels like they are belittling my problem and assuming that I am doing this to myself and can simply stop when I want to. If your dad says this to you when you are struggling, just remember to tell him you don’t have an “adhd switch” in your head you can turn on and off like a light switch. It is more helpful for him to be there for you and support you and validate your feelings.",1 "Yes!!! My mom always says I should buy the cheaper vegetables (I’m a student and struggle to eat healthy and budget; usually get takeout). She just doesn’t understand that if it’s not pre-cleaned, I won’t eat it.",1 Pure chaos. This is how I almost failed out of my first year,1 This is probably the most helpful reddit forum I’m subscribed to as far as positivity and willingness to be open to new ideas and help with managing what some people consider a fake disorder.,1 "Meanwhile in a strange reversal of fate, I'm over here trying to convince family not to over-wash and over-Lysol everything. It's like they didn't literally watch me destroy my hands and poison myself for years??",0 "I'm saying this more for me than I am anything else. ""Return of addictive behaviors"" is a sticky one for me because some of those behaviors were not just hurtful to myself, but hurtful to others. I absolutely refuse to return to the behaviors that hurt others! If you're someone who used to do asshole things, if you find yourself coming back to addictive behavior, please be extremely careful and make sure that what you're doing isn't taking advantage of or hurting others! A pandemic is not an excuse!",0 "jokes on you, i already had depression, THEN the ocd hit 😎",0 "Thank you. I will consider to do this with my son. I manage over 100+ people daily in multiple projects in several countries, love to motivate, help and support them, yet on personal level, if my wife does not support me, I would be doomed. ",1 "Added bonus: A lifetime of anxiety issues! Woo! /blugh",1 "Yeah, the ocd stereotypes are why I was shocked I have ocd. Like wait...I am not clean!",0 I never realized how perfectly this fits until now. Sigh.😂😭,0 How about the insane amount of cleaning products I had to buy for my house because my brain decided it would be productive 2 days a month instead of 15 mins each day and now there’s mold in my shower and grease stains on my walls?,1 "I use Samsung Notes to list recommendations for books, or movies/shows ect. Like I'll watch a YT top ten (for example) horror movies on Netflix, and make a check list of the ones I haven't seen. Problem is I often forget to title my non work check lists. So I have years of lists of things I haven't read/watched/played, some of which are relatively obscure, and no context as to what they even are. For instance *looks over at bookshelf* is Cold Heart Canyon the book by Clive Barker, or an indie game on Steam/XBLA, or a movie thats streaming in the bowls of Netflix? The notes dated 2017, and I have no idea anymore. OFF TOPIC: I do heartily recommend the book. Just to be clear.",1 "I took Adderall for the first time this week on Tuesday. It was surreal. I was in a meeting this morning for almost two hours and was fully present. It's amazing the difference when you find the right medication that will work for you. Congrats to you, and both of us. And good luck to everyone trying to figure out what works best y'all.",1 "I can so relate! I had even a professional saying that to me. I tried explaining by the pink elephant analogy (try not to think about a pink elephant and you end up thinking about a pink elephant). His answer: simple, think about a zebra. I gave up",0 "Do you take your meds at the same time every day? My meds tend to regulate my sleep schedule ... for the most part. Can’t help when I fall asleep but I always wake up 30 minutes to an hour before the time I took my meds last - if I forget to take my meds it’s a mess. I forget to take it often enough so it’s been a roller coaster, but, for the past few days I’ve taken my meds around 8am due to a fluke of my waking up at 5pm, then going back to sleep around 1am and then randomly waking up at 7am (I know, I sleep a lot but I love sleeping). I’ve woken up at almost 7:30am on the dot since then and find myself falling asleep at 1-2am. Pretty sure this will continue until I take my meds at a later time or forget to take it one day. Sometimes taking your meds at a specific time regularly can help with your sleep schedule. Your body automatically wakes up before you have to take your meds and becomes tired when the meds wear off. You can stay awake, like I have but the moment you relax you’ll fall asleep. I recommend putting on something you’ve seen enough to not be able to look at the tv to know what’s going on. Makes you less curious to look at the screen and once you close your eyes you’ll likely fall asleep within 30 minutes",1 "Man, but withdrawal feels so terrible, I’d rather fight through my intrusive thoughts and take meds than go through those whole body headaches.",0 I always feel like i was meant to live on a different planet because where both days and nights are longer because it feels like there is not enough hours in the day for me to do everything here and I also require a lot of sleep and feel younger than I really am,1 "Dishes are the actual devil, I'll vacuum and clean the entire house + do a couple loads of laundry just to avoid them",1 "This happens to me often when I'm going down on my wife. I get distracted by a random thought. Works well for me when I either subconsciously slow down or speed up the tempo. But gets awkward when the thought is so consuming I stop completely.",1 Proud of you! As a fellow contamination OCD suffer I give you all the praise. It gets difficult but you fought back today! Keep the fight alive! Sending you best wishes.,0 """Oh I'm so ocd about washing my hands"" shut the fuck up you dont wash your hands just cause you touched the wrong thing shut the fuck up you dont wash your hands depending on what you touched in your room. I wish i could just enjoy using my things without worrying about cross contamination",0 "Bleach, while yes can cause dangerous fumes when mixed with other chemicals, it is actually a fairly safe chemical and it kills a lot of germs and viruses pretty quickly with only a small amount. You can also use regular bleach (tiny amount) to make water potable and also disinfect wounds again tiny amounts diluted with water. But if people don't want to use bleach and want something that is still pretty powerful but isn't dangerous Purell Foodservice sanitizing spray. It has a pretty fast kill rate of germs, except mold (5 min) and you could literally lick the counter and nothing would happen to you. Purell has this same solution marketed under multiple names because the EPA requires it based on what industry will use it, including Healthcare surface disinfectant (its exactly the same) but you get more info on what it will kill in a healthcare setting and its pretty much everything with a 30 second rate. Staph, MRSA, HIV etc.",0 "Feeling like an imposter is fairly common with mental illness. I'm not a psychologist but the way I rationalize these feelings is my disfunction is not logical. OCD doesn't make any sense that is kind of why it is a disorder. No one is going to be like ""yes you should totally feel complete and overwhelming fear/anxiety/paranoia because you can't stop thinking about your potentially on water faucet destroying your house and causing an electrical fire that kills every child in a 2 mile radius"" So when you try to rationalize it you basically just end up coming to the conclusion that you must be full of it and therefore feel guilty anytime you feel normal/not compulsing.",0 "OMG yeesss!! I struggle so much to explain myself, often making small sentences. I'm afraid people will think I'm not very smart, or rude. I keep adding commas everywhere!",1 I have to take detailed notes of everything that happens in class and my answers to questions before I even put up my hand to answer because I’ll forget what I wanted to say. It’s so embarrassing. I’m in a class of graduates who have incredibly detailed understandings of their specialization - some of them are in law school. Meanwhile I’m a bachelors student who will have to ask my professor to repeat the question in the middle of my answer. I feel like a clown.,1 I’ve been sending them to my friends instead of telling them I have OCD.,0 "Oh my Lord, liked. Or upped or whatever. For me it's all about how I get up. Or should I say, how I go to sleep the night before. If I get an early fresh start on the day, I'm gold. If I miss that crucial early morning window, the day is shot and despondency sets in. After seven pm I'm useless regardless of when I started. I personally wouldn't say I max out at three hours. I will say that I'm probably not doing eight hours of productivity in eight hours of being at the desk. I need more breaks and have to spread the time out a little longer.",1 "Same here, with anxiety to boot. All I require from myself is ‘Progress’. It doesn’t matter how small as long as I make progress some days",1 "I think we can get ocd about anything that we care about, the trick is to identify that thought comes from ocd and aknowledge that, but not try to reason with and just let it be there until it goes away eventually",0 "I hate when I forget to eat, and it’s been happening a lot lately. Suddenly it’s 2pm and I realize I haven’t eaten at all. It ends up ruining the rest of my day, because I don’t feel well from not eating, and then I don’t feel well when I finally eat, because it’s my first meal of the day and is too late in the day to be my first meal. Ends up making me lethargic, nauseous, and crappy mooded. I used to be real on top of water consumption, for most of my adult life, because I love water(my fav thing to drink), and with some of my bipolar meds I need to drink a lot of it. Used to drink 3 litres a day. But I started to have a drinking problem(not Airplane style), and I would forget to drink enough water, because I was consuming liquid and didn’t feel parched. Drinking has gone down, and water consumption has gone back up, but it got me out of sync of just naturally drinking lots of water throughout the day, and now I have to remind myself to drink water.",1 What worked for me is thinking how intrusive thoughts aren’t real? They are interpretations of weird subconscious brain shit. And over time as you dismiss the validity of the intrusive thoughts you will begin to heal:),0 "Yup, it's the ""going through the door frames resets your action"" issue and I've had it happen too lol",1 My son is very much like this. It has caused him so much stress and he went on meds and now he’s fine,0 "Wow... I joined this subreddit because I‘ve been recently questioning whether I have ADHD or an adjacent mental illness. I’m somewhat against self-diagnosing, but this behavior is eerily familiar....",1 This hits home lol I’ve finally started CBT after taking just meds over the past12 years,0 Yes omg or sometimes I will explain my worry to someone and realize how ridiculous it sounds.,0 Me washing my hands three times in a row to get it right is not the same as you finally having some cleanliness,0 Definitely. I have both and have been pretty shut down when they start reinforcing each other.,1 """What if you threw your cat against the wall. There’s no one stopping you. I bet that’s what you want to do, otherwise you wouldn’t think about it for so long.""",0 "I love that the nutritional advice isn’t “give up all evil modern processed foods and consume nothing but steamed shrimp, well water, broccoli rabe, and this expensive supplement that I totally don’t profit from because that’s so much better than taking *drugs*”. That’s hyperbolic, sure, but I’m so sick of people in Facebook groups especially laying out their personal diets as the cure. Like, seriously. Vitamin D is good, and has actually been studied. Drinking enough water helps. Meds work for many of us and are nothing to be ashamed of.",1 "Part of it belongs also to my borderline. I just fucking hate all of these disabilities, why me, why? I was the one who firmly grounded, now I can't even take care of myself. It's so annoying. I can't even go to work, cuz of insomnia. From hero to the zero in few months, I feel so useless piece of shit. :(",0 omg YES I made a similar post a while ago but you just expressed it perfectly. My english isn't so good so that's a reason why but yeah thank you for this post man couldn't have said it better,1 "This is exactly what I am going through today. I just made a huge rant post about it. Its.. the worst feeling when you have full intentions of getting to it and someone else does it and its like...well...fuck im useless..damn.. this was a very good way to put the differences into perspective for me though. Because i still feel like I am lazy and then I have my days where I doubt I have ADHD, then it comes and smacks me in the face like NO BITCH YOU DO! Thank you for putting that sentence in my mind so hopefully I can refer to it when I am having a bad day.",1 "To be fair, some OCD behaviors revolve around neatness and organization. Other than that, this post is accurate.",0 "So much so! On good days I’m like “no fucking thank you!” And it’s on to the next thing, feeling good. ❤️❤️❤️",0 """I know I put that earbud in the right ear. Uh, lemme check. 1..2...3...tap, uh... 1...2...3 tap""",0 Can relate though. Never forgot that i have was having sex but there have been many occasions where a sudden thought would pop into my head and I'd be distracted thinking about it,1 "I almost did this once. Omg I do remember though 12 years ago I was like ""I have much money"" on a date cause I was trying to show I could handle my own stuff and be flirty and that was so cringe and I remember it. (He's going to remember for the rest of his life now. Lmao jk.) Ahhhhh And I remember that person I should've told off in 2007. Damn it. I have the perfect come back now.",0 "I'm pretty sure I duped both doctors, all of my teachers, my parents, siblings, and all of my friends into believing it and it's just because I'm a lazy POS. Doesn't matter that it would take constant effort in order to do that, I'm still convinced it's a lie.",1 "Whenever my mom tells me to do something I always ask ""why?"" literally just out of curiosity but she gets mad because she thinks I say it cause I don't want to do it",1 "It fucking sucks but hey, my obsession for checking things has led me to make VERY little mistakes in work. So I have to see the silver linings to keep sane haha",0 "Fantastic job! God I've come so close to shaving my head because I'm scared of lice, and I have trichotillomania. This really inspires me, thank you.",0 My psych told me that I might survive Coronavirus with my hand washing OCD. Might??!!,0 """Just use a planner!"" I got a planner, it lives on my desk and does help me somewhat remember my appointments. Problem is, I forget it a lot whenever I go to appointments, and then I forget to write down the appointments in my planner because I don't have it with me at the time, and then I miss my appointments because I didn't write them down in my planner. So, yes, a planner has helped me, but the ADHD has found ways around it anyway lmao",1 "See, I don’t think it’s just that I’m an asshole, but I DO often think that I’m making it up and perhaps I have Munchausens.",0 "Is it lying though? Because all the issues I'm struggling with are the thoughts as truth. Maybe they're always right, and I shouldn't bother trying to block them out. Maybe I should just accept them as facts and stop fighting them. At least, that's what my thoughts are always telling me. Why is my brain so damned self-destructive?",0 "That's definitely relatable and an indicator of my depression level, very glad you put this into meme format lmao",0 "I have OCD and I am not the tidiest person. I don't get where OCD means you have to be organised. Some are like that but not all. In my experience it is less (not including ""omg my ocd, I need to clean this...."" that's not how we talk)",0 I tried it and it worked for me! Someone get this man a tiktok account!,1 "Unfortunately yeah. I hoped I’d be stronger by now; I read about how to fortify your mind against criticism and accept constructive scrutiny; I am actually pretty self assured.....but perhaps not because man some criticism really gets to me, even if it’s just a passing comment from someone who hardly knows me. Too much criticism makes me say fuck the world, give me some space and fuck outta my face But we need to keep fighting against it",1 Yes and while I do that I want to also touch and mentally count the other items on the shelf! So they don't get left out.. Oh OCd!,0 "Definitely helped to have the diagnosis. It explained so many little things that people just dismissed as quirks, and I think made people in my life realize that this was more than just anxiety. For better or worse, they have that mentality that if it’s anxiety you should just get over it, but see OCD as an uncontrollable illness. So they started actually believing that I needed to spend the time and money getting help. It made life a lot easier.",0 "Yeah last time I had an online class I forgot about it until one week before everything (12 months of exams, quizzes, assignments) were due and ended up dropping the class and just losing almost $1000 on the credits 🙃",1 This made me LOL because I totally overuse commas 😂,1 "Turns out there’s no such thing as good and bad person! Living, breathing entities are fluid. But we don’t have unlimited time. It’s a good time to check the harmful thoughts are exercise compassion, first with ourselves.",0 ADHD is brutal. Much love to you and your friend. May he rest in peace.,1 That is well put together lovely outfit. You should see how I dress - one hot mess lol,0 Seriously? These people have no idea of what they're talking about.,0 "I’ve had very few fellow ADHDers in my life, but lots of friends and family with Depression, GAD, and ASD, and a difference I’ve noticed is that unlike those 3, ADHD doesn’t change your perspective of reality as strongly. Maybe the emotional disregulation gets close, but in general having ADHD doesn’t paint my perception of the events occurring in my life, I just... lack the tools to actually manage my intentions. It also means that I’m fully aware of the non-neurotypical shit I’m doing which is making my life worse, which is both a blessing and a curse I guess. It’s nice to be able to notice how and why my brain is fucking up so I can attempt to manage my symptoms, but on the other hand, I NOTICE WHEN MY BRAIN IS FUCKING UP. Ignorance is bliss",1 "Yeah, but I don't think of intrusive thoughts as thinking too much. It's more like having really bad images pop into my head that ruin my vibe.",0 "Amazing work!!! When I was in my teenage years, hand washing was my main obsession and people used to ask if I had gotten into a fight because my hands were so red and cracked. My hands are much better now but they do get itchy when triggered by stress/anxiety. Do you have any hand creams you would recommend btw?",0 "Hahaha yes this is me also, I have an alarm that goes off twice a day that says “BRUSH YOUR FUCKING TEETH” Surprisingly I finally have the right combination of meds and for the last 15 days straight I have been using a habit tracker, there were only 2 days that I neglected to floss and brush. That might still sound gross to some people, but it’s a big improvement for me! That self monitoring/visual feedback can work really well if you have enough motivation to do things.",1 I’m the opposite. I get OCD about bleach fumes killing my brain cells. I went from fearing germs to fearing the cleaning chemicals used to kill them.,0 "My house is so dirty, I can’t pick things up or put things down or even touch things without counting so even walking is hard at times so I can’t really tiday anyway I have a really bad and illogical habit of pouring bleach all over things that are mine that people touched. Like my brother came in my room and sat on my bed and so I poured bleach all over my bed, now my bed looks stained and dirty from the bleach lol. and my door",0 You’re highkey super attractive. And it’s amazing how much you’re thriving!!,0 "Shoot, thanks for reminding me to go brush my teeth.",1 I've always wondered. Got over 1k at one point. Currently under 800 atm and hoping I can get lower.,1 "No, but i constantly worry if i don't have an actual OCD, but some degenerative brain disease instead and my symptoms just seem like an OCD. My brain don't fucking register anything. Closing a toothpaste can, closing anything, moving a fucking bag of bread from point A to point B doesn't feel like i did anything. Oh and just passing from room to room, because i feel like i did something wrong, so i walk back to the room i left and repeat multiple times. Constantly paranoid that i touched something, short term memory loss at times, and no amount of logic gets through my skull. I'm not even joking when i say this, my palms are sweating and i feel like i'm about to get a panic attack right now, because i need to wash my hands and brush my teeth, and i already feel like i fucked up by rubbing soap into my chest or head, or sprayed it to walls or ground and same thing with tooth paste. Then comes the ever lasting rinsing of tooth brush and hands, which takes like 15min or more, and i get my body sweating from anxiety, because i can't stop.",0 For me it’s usually making weird sounds and spastic movements...,0 "Yes. I get very stressed out when I can’t remember something, especially things about my personal life. I’m about to graduate college and I’m freaking out bc I feel like I should know so much more about my field.",0 I know this was meant to be funny but my guilt actually comes from feeling like a burden to others because of my ocd. I feel extremely guilty for the things I can’t feel comfortable doing or the things I ask my husband to do to make me feel comfortable etc... Especially with Covid. Stupid Covid. Stupid ocd.,0 the lessons the child can take can be all of those along with: their emotions don't matter to adults so it's gonna be this way when I'm adult...might as well get used to it,1 This is a wonderful thing to do; it's also good that they responded in the way that they did. Stuff like this really does benefit all of us. Good work!,0 "This subreddit is giving me mixed emotions, on one hand, I'm relieved I'm not the only one and on the other, I am sad I'm not the only one because OCD sucks!",0 "That was beautiful thank you, made me cry 😭❤ Sorry you lost your friend 🙏🏼💫",1 "Yeah it was hard. I guess I sort of had to be okay with not having a total empty bladder, as well as reminding myself that if I really have to pee, my body will wake me up. And then I will pee, and go back to bed, and the sun will still rise. Way easier said than done. But honestly, accepting that my body will wake me helped a lot.",0 Opening and closing my backpack multiple times to ensure I have everything and still worrying that I forgot something on the drive to school.,0 This is why I took time off. I was sneaking an AirPod in my ear to keep me calm at work with my fav podcasts but then I’d start crying ahhhh!,0 "I have a feeling of misanthropic quite often. Its never to devastating and extreme degree, just to the point where I dont want to talk to anyone, and become emotionally wrapped up in my own head. Theres so many times where Im A. Tryin to explain something and someone just isn’t understanding no matter how hard I try to say it. B. Im not understanding them, just being un-able to process the information going to my brain. C. Working slow at my job. And being essentially bashed for it. Even kinda small things like “Why isnt this fan up yet?” Or “You gonna take all day?” just start getting to me. Its not that I try to, I try to get things done in a timely manner, but it just seems like theres so much at play and I cant control it. Just the other week, I was told to do something and I wasnt picking up much on what, just looking between my co workers and they had just been bashing me, and were now telling me to go do something else, and one ended up saying in a pretty rude way “You just gonna stand there with a dumb ass look on your face?” And I still didnt even know what I was really supposed to do. And stuff from over years start coming back in waves in waves of the same type of comments. I had ended up walking away with ear buds in as the thoughts just berated around in my head, and nothing I could do about. I didn’t try to really start crying, but a few tears did shed. Like, I dunno where the problem lies to start targeting it, because it seems its always shifting around and never staying consistent",1 "I definitely do this too. I don’t know if I have OCD, but I also will sometimes go through the entire pile to find a box that is “perfect,” with no blemishes or squished corners or anything.",0 "It's a place where you learn how to switch your focus. How Switch Concentration Camp",1 I am both. There's one side where I am quiet and smart and generous and kind and then there's the flip side where I am extremely aggressive and can't control my emotions or myself :(,1 Look into the book Atomic Habits. It may help change your perspective about how to bring about the change you want in your life.,1 You did this to me you told coach Sylvester about my summer surgery,0 I think that God reads my mind and I sin by thinkong about bad stuff and I apologize inside my mind but I think that im lying and that God knows that I'm lying,0 This is why I don’t plan anything more than the minimum. Study plans can be a trap for some of us.,1 "I tend to do the opposite and I know it can't be healthy. I find things to remind myself of all the ways a person hurt me because I can forget so easily, so I keep little reminders and tell myself it's so I can remember who I'm actually dealing with when the dopamine starts flowing again. It's kind of like a crazy backdoor so I can escape back to depression if I start to believe my SO actually likes me. I always need a lot of time to process every situation to see if I'm accurately understanding reality and my biggest issue with this is that we ""speak"" different love languages and my love language of touch and closeness causes her irritation and annoyance so I have very few memories over the last 20 years where I can actually recall ""feeling"" loved so all my pictures etc just ends up bringing me more pain cause when I'm having an episode I just see them all as reminders of how stupid I was for believing someone really loved or even liked me.",1 "I have entire days like this. Sometimes I can force myself to take a walk, or do a load of laundry, and it helps a lot. But there are times when I can't and I just sit there and be nervous.",1 "This really cured me. Thanks bro, gotta tell all my friends.",0 I always hated those “if you don’t ___ then ___” comments. They destroy me,0 "Put everything, and I mean abso-fucking-lutely everything (all your due dates, paper timelines, tests, quizzes, estimated chapter completion dates, other priorities, fun times, workouts, etc...) nothing is too much or too small, on a calendar (I use Excel) and look at it at least 5 times a day. Go through those syllabuses with a fine tooth comb, then do it 3 more times. Then take all that info and input it into your phone calendar and make alarms with multiple alerts for each event with reasonable reminders. It’ll suck, it’ll take a good 3/4 hours but it’ll do wonders. I haven’t missed a damn thing yet since doing this (only took me 5 years of struggle-busing to figure it out). There’s a reason so many ADHD people don’t graduate from college, it’s literally rigged against us. Balance the scales back in your favor my friend!",1 "I have delusions of making a video game in the future and I save anything that gives me concept ideas. I’ve been doing this for like 4 years now across YouTube, Twitter and Reddit and honestly I should probably stop.",1 "OCD isn't all contamination OCD and cleaning.... that's an assumption that a lot of people make, especially those not in this community. I am very messy and don't feel the need to obsessively clean (though with the virus stuff I am washing my hands more). I keep things because I'm afraid of getting rid of them. My OCD attacks my relationship and is mostly mental obsessions, rituals, and compulsions right now. I'm sure there are a ton of people with OCD who are messy.",0 "Going through this right now. Started a new antidepressant recently, fingers crossed. It has been a rough couple of months.",1 I literally *just* talked about this with my friends haha.,1 "My mom has always done that to me, always punishing me or giving me shit for not getting shit done quick enough or getting distracted. Basically now I can somewhat do that (I'm not on medicine) due to IDK what but probably some form of fear or some shit and not giving a care to my health because ""It just needs to get done"" and when I can't get it done I break because of it. I FUCKING LOVE IT!",1 I don’t think any post on here has ever called me out as much as this one,0 Lol I actually laughed out loud so hard. I was expecting some deep life wisedom,1 "I’ve got 3 spots on my skin that I keep meaning to reach out to a dermatologist about. This is going to be the factor that actually forces me to make the call. Thank you for this post. I hope you are doing well.",1 "Yep, this symptom of ADHD is commonly referred to as “brain fog”. I get it so bad lol. It’s different than tiredness in that if I switch to a more interesting/stimulating task the fog immediately lifts. I try to combat it by adding stimulation, like a random podcast playing in the background or switching to a more stimulating environment (in pandemic times this means going outside to work if possible). Also, if it’s a really bad day or a really boring task, I will literally set a timer for 5-10 minutes and try to push through just for that short time. Then, take a 5 minute break and repeat. If your timer goes off for the break to start and you’re on a roll/the brain fog is gone, absolutely keep going! Double also, every once in awhile I just give in and take a nap. I think that solution is perfectly fine too ha",1 This is one of the things that I thought only I did 😂.,0 That's me when I get seen doing something senseless over and over again because a voice in my head told me to do so.,0 "Thanks, that was great though I'm pretty sure I didn't read every word sorry. One fascinating irony about my condition is that reading can be excruciating yet I really enjoy writing and I tend to be really verbose making reading back my own work sometimes impossible.",1 "Yep, can relate OP. Just curious, you in uni? If so what major? I am a chemical engineering major",0 "Mindfulness meditation helps me! I'm able to realize what's my ego and what's my true self more effectively. That way I can shut off the intrusive thoughts that come from my ego and recognize them more efficiently. I really do recommend mindfulness meditation. Although if it makes you feel bad, (I've heard of that happening with some people) take note of that and maybe try something else.",0 So eloquently said. Good on you! We all deserve help when it's needed.,1 "That is so upseting. I have ocd and I don't care how my family members cut the cake... Unless I get the smaller slice... Jokes aside, it's so odd to see posts like this. Why do people want to have OCD? It's hell! Plus, it upsets me the misinformation it exists regarding OCD",0 Hahahah this is oddly relatable. I stole pennies from my parents when I was younger and the guilt suffocates me sometimes.,0 "high five, but wash your hand before. i dont wanna catch anything and then worry not to touch my face and eyes so i wouldn't go blind or die.",0 "I don’t have OCD, but it always annoys the fuck out of me when someone says something to make OCD seem quirky/funny. Though I get that many people just don’t understand at all.",0 * Immediately after right back where you were before **for the rest of the day.**,0 My college is doing a stress test tomorrow and announcing Friday if it’s permanent. I really fucking hope they don’t move all online because it would completely tank my grades.,1 Sometimes I wonder if I actually have ADHD. Diagnosed with it but mine seems to manifest differently than a lot of the ways people describe it here.,1 "Yep. The way I’ve started to view it is I’m internalizing other people’s negative perceptions of me. I’m so worried about always being a “good person” in the eyes of others that I can’t handle ambiguity in a healthy way. Guilt and shame are two of society’s control mechanisms to keep me in line, and I way overdo it. I’m getting better at accepting my faults and growing from that, or owning my actions and words and not letting other people’s reactions bother me if I was acting or speaking in good faith, but the struggle never really ends. Meditation helps a ton, specifically focusing on my breath. Makes it much easier to watch these types of thoughts like a movie instead of becoming swept up in the current and having my head bashed against the bottom.",0 "Everything, including the edit. Especially the edit.",1 All the time. I have alarms that are still on my phone after a year and I still have to do them. Any day now.,1 "Oh yes! This is accurate. I feel like this all the time. Especially on my day off. Makes me mad every time I do this. Just sitting around all day, avoiding the one thing I need to do. Procrastination is a bitch!",1 "Happy cake day! And oh god the feels. I go into auto mode of 'this is what a human being does, oh god they're looking at me, remember to smile'",0 I had to do an essay and I was so scared I laid in my bed and cried for a bit and just hid from my parents for a few days (pretty easy cuz I have a loft bed and don’t eat ever so i just snuck down to get snacks here and there) they then got pissed when it was late and it was so hard for me,1 "I’ll buy it as well, I’m willing to try anything at this point, even if it’s meant for kids.",0 "I’m glad I no longer have this issue. IIRC this was my first sign of having OCD thought patterns as a kid, started around 9 years old and only lasted a couple years. Unfortunately OCD still affects me in other shitty ways..",0 I just saw the Spotify wrap up of mine and judged my past self heavily for my poor taste and opened Reddit to this....,1 I need this but it needs to say estrogen on the bottle. It’s super cute tho and I Love it.,0 "Please watch this and if you find it of benefit share it - https://youtu.be/0jcEME1-5gQ Completely healing your anxiety and ocd is possible with the right information and guidance - I’ve been there and have come out the other side - if you don’t want to watch the vid just google Dr.Claire Weekes - trust you won’t be disappointed 😊💯",0 "I don't know if this is a sign, I have contamination ocd too and have been putting off going to the the dentist",0 This looks amazing. How did you paint this? Did you look at a reference?,0 "Especially as of late, I relate to this so damn hard.",1 "Lmao I don’t actually mind ADHD that much because I do a lot more dumb shit than my friends and thus i’m seen as a madlad in school, and also when going to parties and singing along to MAMA LAUDAAA! max volume",1 "Only until I take a day off and then I’m back to reading and absorbing whatever I can to feed the dopamine addiction. Change is my addiction and a fast-paced world/environment keeps the adrenaline pumping. I’d like to slow down, but every time I do I’m back to restless, bored, or depressed in no time.",1 "Very well done. Sorry for you and all of us that the comments from ""loved ones"" are so familiar.",0 Is this why I can picture people being bald sometimes?,0 "i've been struggling with this myself, but you know what? it's 11:30 pm and this post just reminded me to go brush my teeth, so i'm gonna go do that now",1 "It’s tough because anytime I’m super productive, I forget to eat. So I feel good and then really really bad. But if I put time and effort into making something fancy to eat I feel good at first and then I don’t feel like putting energy towards anything else that day, and end up feeling guilty. Plus I’m always afraid people secretly hate me",1 Thanks for this! I’m still not going to get up but thanks. Lol.,1 How do I get them to take my picture of me out of this book?,0 OCD in its bag tryin to make me have an aneurysm at 22 from all this fuckin overthinkin &perfectionism goddamn,0 The brain on your father is just so huge I too have been cured of my adhd just from reading those wise words of wisdom and for that I thank you,1 "I’ve seen a few people with the semi colon tattooed, what does it symbolize?",0 Congratulations!! Proud to see someone with my affliction achieving their goals and winning at life.,0 "ok but what was the name of the album not that I want to listen to it but I just reallyy wanna know",1 "Respect and love (= I too have a past with OCD that used to be debilitating. It still surfaces sometimes and its lonely because so few people understand the immense pain, distress, and suffering it causes at times. ​ I'm going to graduate school next year too. Wish me luck. I'll keep you in my prayers tonight.",0 "I love being told I don’t have OCD because I don’t touch a doorknob, flick a light, or compulsively wash my hands. People can be so ignorant that I don’t even think of telling people anymore. It’s a waste of my soul.",0 "I wanna directly respond to this, but it’s a long text and I can’t sleep (took my meds too late), so lemme respond, bit by bit. Firstly, would you mind sharing the playlist? From the way you described things, I’m thinking the Flaming Lips, maybe “Ladies and Gentlemen, We Are Floating in Space” by Spiritualized? I’m curious, and sharing would help commiserate your friends’ memory, stranger or no stranger! Also, one thing about growing up with, maybe it’s ADHD or maybe it’s just me, is that I kind of always feel like a stranger to myself. I’m kind of just existing, and whatever thoughts and emotions hit at the moment are what’s there— it’s like I’m just terrible at remembering or having a sense of continuity of self over time. So i think it’s fine to be strangers, since I’m basically a stranger with myself most of my life, anyway. Anyway, I reverberate a lot with the way your post reads like a somewhat variable and disjoint word salad, that somehow makes sense as you read through it all. What, though, did you mean by your CV looking more and more like a comic book? Is that not a good thing? Too puffed up, too many masculine figures in tight tights? Kinda curious what you were conveying by that. The general vibe of this post reminded me a lot of this book I read, “The Magic Mountain,” by Thomas Mann. I was living in Philly and going through some shit, and had read a Murakami book where the main character drank a shit ton of whisky and read this book, in the book itself. That, weirdly, inspired me to go buy the book, and I made some friends by reading The Magic Mountain and going out to bars, which eventually got me out of my funk. Something about reading books and talking to strangers feels V ADHD or ADD to me. I can get to know a completely stranger hella well for no real reason or even without really trying, at some random CVS or dollar store or local college coffee shop, but struggle to do shit like remember to show up to my psychiatrists’ appointments on time or remember where I put my keys/glasses. Just last week, the dude at the Trader Joes’ checkout was impressed since I remembered this random, specific Killers’ lyric (not Mister Bright Side, ha)—in my head, it seemed not so out of place, since the Killers are a pretty popular band from the early 2000s, and the cashier and me were just randomly chatting and both seemed in our 20s. Just made me think in retrospect now, damn, I guess most people throughout the day don’t actually know most of the bands as associated with the early 2000s, like the Killers, Panic at the Disco, as grouped by a general pattern or vibe of music. Meanwhile, on that same grocery trip, I’d thrown away my fucking car keys along with my facemask walking out; and had to go back and dig through the trash to get it. I don’t know if there’s any generic outliers for childhood stuff that immediately makes me go “this dude or person has ADHD and they’re my kin,” but books and stranger-talk is probably it.",1 It should be named “literally everything about my brain is fucked up disorder”,1 "Didn’t even realize I was like this/had these symptoms until I tried dating for the first time, just another thing I have to work on and manage.",0 Damn this is spot-on for me. It is so exhausting. Wish I could turn it off. I always thought this was normal though.,0 Your tldr is so spot on. It’s like limbo. I just want to freeze time and take a goddamn nap forever.,1 "I do! Or, I did. Not sure what happened to them, but, yeah, for a long time there it was like every 10 or so seconds a thought would pop into my head like, ""Remember that time in 1993 when someone pointed out you were being racist because you were, and then you got mad at them? What a dumbshit you are."" My therapist told me that thoughts like that were ""not helpful,"" and somehow that worked. That might have been it, anyway.",0 "My brother, mother, grandmother, and further back from what I hear, all have some form of moderate-severe OCD. I have severe ocd as well. I worry so much about my future children, but I really want a big family and have wanted kids since I was like 12. Hopefully, by the time they're my age we'll have cured OCD or have some brain chip to regulate it.",0 "Once I had a therapist that told me I'm not ocd because I didn't take any sanitizer from her desk, and when I tried to explain her I didn't take any because the handle is dirty from everyone else also putting sanitizer on their hands she said oh well you would still find a way if you were ocd. Ocd is not clean or dirty, it's obsessive ideas that eat your brain and torture your soul",0 "Haven't read the other replies, but yes. And many people seem to view ""why?"" as a childish or irritating question.",1 "Ok , quick fucking poll right now, did anyone here read the whole thing?!",1 Laughing so much at this it’s so nice to see some relatable content,0 Keep a package of Colgate wisps in the car. I buy the large bag. Lol this is me all the time.,1 I am so happy this was posted. I didn’t even join the rush to share on my IG story. Maybe I should just post with a disclaimer mentioning fixation. 🧐,1 "Yeah, this instagram account is really good, probably my favorite OCD resource",0 Totally me... Even for things not related to OCD and even when i feel good I'm like this.,0 "Same 😔 Honestly, I think THIS is my biggest problem of adhd besides RSD :( I bookmark, screenshot and save in every platform possible+ 3 notes apps... (and if I weren't to have I would in any paper) And I have literal more than 1000 tabs open I counted ; ; At least I delete and organize from time to time and in many folders to look it up easily but the problem is that I will always have more+more folders+different platforms and is so much info that I don't even have time to look it up (or even remember it xD!!) since we get distracted by every new thing or hyperfocused for hours in something. It's my biggest problem mainly bc I need and want, to know, keep and share the knowledge yet I mainly can't bc I don't know where is something or what even is that I want to really share with the world. I'm fine but also could live better and more peaceful without my cluttered mobile, and as if our brains weren't cluttered enough! 😩 And even more, my main problem is that I can't do what I really want, not only bc Idk/I'm not sure/many things. But also bc I really can't move on to do my bigger purposes if I don't have organized all the mess, and it never can be organized everything if I keep adding or being distracted so in conclusion: I kept being stuck, with all the bad consequences it has :')",1 "My brain: This literally goes against everything you believe in or love & causes you anxiety to think about. Me: It must be real!",0 "I’m a dancer and a shirt that they sell (and my friend actually wore to class) was “OCD- Obsessive Compulsive Dancer”. Like??? Let’s not put mental illnesses on shirts, please",0 "I feel like this affects me less than a few years ago, but I feel like this kind of mental preparedness takes away a lot from my energy and makes me tired.",1 I’ve tended to notice OCD intrusive thoughts is mainly “what if” question.,0 "you got this, op! i've just read through all the comments and feel better! this community is so great, so welcoming and supporting. i've learned a couple of important things and felt like i'm not alone in my ocd state of being. you guys all are great! and op, you are not alone, we are rooting for you!",0 "All medication has so far been useless for my OCD. Been through five combinations so far and recently decided to quit Paroxetine because I felt extreme laziness and anhedonia. 4 days later, no regrets. In my case, the side effects were way more than the benefits. So I have just decided to live with my OCD. I don't want to give a shitload of money for a psychiatrist again when I can spend it on things I enjoy that can help me cope.",0 I have a alarm to wake up early to take a jog but every day I wake up like hell no and disable it,1 "I've got small cuts on my right hand from scrubbing too hard. Also, after seeing the new CDC infographic (the one that's getting memed), I feel like I'm re-learning how to wash my hands all over again.",0 Thank you! Ims saving this and I'll try not to forget about it.,1 "I pretty much don’t fully comprehend instructions until I do something hands-on. I follow along but when I actually do the thing, I find myself saying “Oh, that makes sense now.”",1 Reading this made me realize I forgot to book my therapy appointments for the month. So I call to make an appointment and laughed when they told me the only available time is 3 pm two weeks from now.,1 "And then the horror of trying to go to sleep with no pillowcases on... yes, been there.. the tag is always bothersome 😭😅",1 This is amazing. You captured the feeling really well.,0 "Im combined, but definitely more inattentive and yeah... this is my biggest problem.",1 "You explained this perfectly. Public speaking is the hardest for me because like you said, I get distracted by realizing I'm talking and then my mind goes blank. I'm lucky because the majority of my friends are online so I always use written communication. But when we do hang irl, I dread it for all of the reasons you listed.",1 I have always said that the first thing I would do if I won the lottery would be to hire a PA to help me stay on top of tasks. A girl can dream.,1 And then they roll their eyes when you ask them to let you focus.,1 I did try today but there were so many 8 couldn't find the one I was looking for lol,1 "I’ve found myself parroting random noises a lot. I also get way too excited by stuff that typically startles non ADHD people. My husband has called me an excited parrot in the past. Case in point, my one pet rabbit, Zelda, will squeak when she’s really happy. I will squeak right back at her and it usually results in her stopping and looking at me like I’m insane. My other rabbit, Loki just kinda stares and then does the slow wink that rabbits do. He could care less, but Zelda, she just stops everything and looks so concerned. 😂",1 "It's so obvious now that you've said it! I remember in school my English teachers always begged me to be more concise and every time I'd hand something in I couldn't understand why she was still complaining, as far as I could tell I'd written less, she should be pleased! I guess this is exactly what she was talking about haha",1 "same, and sometimes when i’m thinking my brain decides to improvise and says stuff like, and then i stabbed them 37 times in the chest, and that weirds people out, and by the time i thought of what i wanted to say people either already left or think i’m super weird.",1 "yes! I did this today. also, 2 days ago. and this past Monday. and two days last week, too. rinse, repeat.",1 "Whoever called this trash just wanted to be mean to you and make you feel insecure, because this is very good and you're very talented.",0 "Please write more, your words are so perfect. I need a daily calendar filled with your wisdom love and hope",1 Every time someone says this I tell the story about how I scrubbed the top layer of my skin off of my hands because my brain said I would die if I didn’t and they almost always say “that doesn’t sound like ocd”,0 "Yeah, currently i have 296 overdue reminders on my phone lol ... but hey it used to be like 400 so making some progress",1 "I've checked myself against various measurements, and I'm not exceptional, I'm just above average. But man am I good at using deadlines for homeworks and projects to get them done and learn the material at the same time so I can do well on a midterm. Wihout the structure of professor assigned homeworks, I'm totally fucked. I don't know how to study shit I don't know without you handing me a problem set where I can slowly figure out the shit I don't know. A junior in college and I shouldn't be floating but I am. Ah and also I overload myself on work so I'll have an excuse (too busy~~~) to never be the top of the class smart because of my careless mistakes in everything I do. But maybe it's sleep deprivation during the school year too? And poor life skills? Cause I don't eat and sleep right. And I also plan to off myself when I get tired of it all, but hey not for a while at least. Seriously, I'm mostly optimistic, doing decently in everything, on holiday break, and saying shit like that? I got brain damage I swear (that's why I'm here)",1 My heart melted a little when I read this. Somebody gets it.,1 "“Your (X family member) had (Y much worse medical condition) and *they* had no problem doing (Z thing)! Why can’t you?!” Lol wow, that’s amazing, I didn’t even know it was possible to feel that much shittier about it.",1 "I was impressed with the title, but I got dissapointed with the body of the post. \s",1 Yes I hate it. It's the worse. It just makes the stigma against OCD and other mental illnesses worse making the world think that mental illnesses is something easy when its something only a few people around the world can handle.,0 Why would people report this. It’s a nice distraction from the world right now. ALL the dog photos please,0 "Me: ""ah, what a beautiful day"" OCD: ""yes, a beautiful day..."" Me: ""no, don't do it-"" OCD: ""*but what if*""",0 "Psychologist told me to ask myself, ""Where's the gray area?"" to combat black and white thinking. I'm thinking of putting that on my fridge.",0 I’m unmedicated and I always half finish things I always mean to do it but...,1 "So I got diagnosed pretty young, and still the amount of times i procrastinated was a lot I would get yelled at for either remember last 2nd or just pushing till I literally couldn't push it off anymore. The worst was we had to build this game board with history questions or something. I actually needed help getting it finished in time. No one was happy with me x-x I get more frustrated at myself for this than anything despite knowing I actually work better with that looming timeline being right there. I get frustrated cause afterwards I am so exhausted from all that effort of focus I put in and end up beating myself up for not starting sooner Don't think I ever got extra time for assignments unless i asked like the day of for just one extra night but honestly its probably for the best I so would have procrastinated then too (probably...i know I would have who am I kidding)",1 "Dunno, there is also the other side of the coin, which is going to sub to tell people that having autism is a curse and pure suffering and we are all doomed. I do agree that the super power thing is stupid and pretending it isnt hard doesnt help, but going to a sub full of people living with a condition to tell them they are doomed isn't helpful, people are trying to live how they can. If you cant avoid having autism what are you going to do? spend your life complaining? There is nothing left to do but accept the pain as it is, life is painful autism or not and wishing it wasn't is what causes suffering. On the other hand you have subs life /r/depression which are all about how there is no hope and people tell each other that it only makes sense to suffer and cant be avoided.",1 "Gurl you look great, wish you all the confidence in the world ✨",0 I tap my head. And if I accidentally double tap then i have to tap again because the 2nd tap would have cancelled out the first tap. Maaaan its a viscous circle.,0 "off topic but i've seen this pic so many times i have to ask, does aquaman actually tackle him?",0 "I can only dream, my bitchass will succumb to my thoughts and cry",0 Clearly the nicest looking bananas were put front and centre because they are poisoned. I'll grab the green ones instead.,0 "OCD: Okay, so for this week you are (shuffles deck) a potential rapist. Enjoy.",0 "Live in the present, the past has sailed. Breathe easily and look to good deeds, confide in being emphatic. What helps me the most with this fear is caring. Be someone who can tend to others. Represent your struggle. No one can take that from you. Your care.",0 "I only realized after watching the Scrubs episode with the doctor with OCD. Not from his cleaning, but reaction to KNOWING what he was doing wasn't necessary, but his mind was making it necessary. Very powerful scene",0 "Congratulations!!! It’s not dumb at all!! You should be so proud, I’m so proud of you!! You’re a inspiration to others, thank you for sharing! 💖",0 """did you or I put the müsli in the freezer?"" ~ my mom Never only search I'm sensible places.",1 The inside heels of my shoes are often bloody bc I walk in them without breaking them in and just walk through the pain....,0 "Yeah, there’s that and then there’s the overcompensating extreme… I have to be at work by 9:00, I have to get ready and give myself ~20-30 minutes to get distracted or to try to remember what the hell I was supposed to be doing real quick… I have to walk my dog who’s old and can’t be rushed, because if I don’t then no one will until I get home 10-14 hours from now… okay, wake up at 5:00… anxiety, restless sleep, can’t actually fall asleep until 12:30-1:00… woke up at 6:30 instead, *shit*…. Rush, rush, rush… get to work at 9:12, Fail. Anybody else feel like they are constantly self-medicating?? Wake-up, Adderall. “Shit, I’m late!”, Caffeine. Traffic-Nightmare, Cigarettes. Work, work, work… Domestic Stress, Ativan. Still can’t de-stress to sleep… Trazodone. Hour later, Benadryl…. Start Again. Repeat… Days off? Couple Drinks. Cannabis… Start Again. Repeat.",1 "Does tolerance really have a ceiling? I have high-functioning, impulsive-type ADHD and was on Concerta for a few years but stopped for two reasons. 1) I heard about having to increase dosage over time and being at 54mg already, I was worried it would be ineffective sooner than later. 2) I wasn’t sure it was doing anything anymore. That last point must be normal, right? Once something becomes your new normal, it can be easy to forget how it used to be. I guess I also stopped taking it because I wanted to try and function without medication and I didn’t want anything unnecessary in my body if I didn’t need it. My wife would probably suggest I give it another shot...",1 "A guy I see regularly always sits behind me on the bus. I know he carried weed, or some kind of drug - I saw it, but don't say anything. The way he looked and dressed made me panic. Luckily I don't really take the bus anymore.",0 "I definitely do! At first I thought it was kind of normal since other people around me mentioned they experienced flashbacks from past mistakes often; then I realized those thoughts occupied most of my days and prevented me to carry on with life (it started when I was around 5 or 6 years old up until I was 15). Now my obsessions are slightly different, but the worst panic attacks I have and part of the most dangerous triggers for me are said past situations. At the time it slowly took over my life and ended my future as a professional swimmer, on top of other stuff without remedy, but I'm glad I found help and noticed I could live differently. Nowadays I'm better and only experience panic once or twice a week, so I really hope other people that went/are going through similar situations understand there is hope even if it seems silly, to far fetched or straight up impossible. I've been under treatment for over four years and although sometimes it gets particularly though, I understand we've managed to overcome so much things that ""regular"" people can't even imagine, so I think we can keep the effort for a little more. Things do get better eventually, and I'm glad we are not alone in this journey :)",0 "Thank you. Looks like she should up the dose. She's only taking 600mg x2 a day. Do you take the pills or powder? The Dr just prescribed Anafranil, but the list of side effects scare the crap out of me! Thank you so much for the information. ",0 Just brushed my teeth for the morning at 2pm lol. It’s not perfect but I’m doing my best to hold onto any ounce of routine that used to keep me sane.,1 [adults in this thread](https://i.imgur.com/aRMkaJD.jpg),1 "Aye. It's like it's not designed to actually help people with ADHD. Just like the name for the disorder. It's about how it affects other people, not how it affects us. ""They are just so hyperactive and it's impossible to hold their attention."" ""Here's how to deal with your hyperactive children.""",1 wow that's amazing! I have the same kind of ocd and I've gone from 1 hour to 45 minutes recently. this gives me so much hope that I can get this down even more :),0 "I dunno, as a person who also has a lot of ptsd-related hypervigilance, I feel like I’ve been on top of my game organizing everyone else. Though I’m still being considered “essential” so it’s keep it together or go bankrupt right now. The OCPD is poking out and going “OUR TIME IS NOW!” ...On the other hand, before this I had a lot of bad panic attacks that had me wanting to try new meds and a new doctor, but oops doctors aren’t taking appointments and I have 2 Xanax left.",0 "Yea even with the SSRI and going to the gym, by the end of the day I just get too tired to fight the anxiety and obsessions away.",0 Is that ocd cos like I do that occasionally if something feels weird. I thought it was something like health anxiety.,0 I didn’t know I could credit this to my adhd. I have been trying to understand why so many instances from my past plague me in such a way. I go through a rollercoaster of emotions and end up abusing something for balance. This exact post is going with me to therapy. Thank you for helping me understand.,1 Congrats friend! We are all OCD Warriors. This is AWESOME!,0 "This is me. Right now. Right an hour ago when I read this post. Right an hour from now. Sigh... I'm tired. We're all so damn tired.",1 "I like this sub because when I have a bad day due to ADHD, someone here is also going through something similar. Makes me feel I'm not alone. My family thinks ADHD is made up. So sometimes a little negativity is positivity.",1 "I feel this so hard and I feel for you. Luckily treatment has come a long way. At 17 I had lymph nodes in both my armpits swell to the size of an XL egg and two in my pubic v-cut start swelling. I went to a GP, he said let's get them biopsied because it could be cancer or lukemia. Scheduled, done in a week. I didn't hear anything about it for months. After two weeks, I became irrationally scared bc I didn't know what it was. The swelling went down, but figured it could be getting ready to ramp up! Maybe they didn't want to let a kid know he was dying of lymphatic lukemia. Stupid, I know. Fast forward a few months, I'd gotten a bad sinus infection, went to same GP. During the visit, I finally worked up the nerve to ask if I was dying! He looked at me like I'd asked him if lizard men were real, and then he said ""They didn't call you with your results?"" Cue mini heart attack. I'm so dead. My short life flashing in front of my eyes. Meekly, I shake my head in the negative and I'm about 2 secs from fainting or ugly crying. He says it was just an infection. I think I passed out from relief for a second, then started laughing uncontrollably, full belly and ended in wheezing. He figured out what was going on. Let me tell you, I did live like I was dying in those few months. I did stupid and fun stuff, usually together. Ever since then, I started looking at the whole life experience a little different. I wasn't bullet proof anymore, but I also stopped being so scared of stuff. Heck, I'd just defeated death in Battleship, Clue, Electronic Football, then Twister. Not really, but it felt that way. Yes, the brazenness I now had led to a lot of mistakes. But it was so... freeing. I want you to #fuckcancer up so bad and when you do (not if), don't lose that feeling that if you can beat that, you can go through anything. Bc you're a BAMF!",1 "Yup, I have [18,000 screenshots on my phone ](https://imgur.com/a/AHC7K0B)",1 "OCD the disorder not the meme But memes about it can be cool.",0 "This meme is the one I was going to use for my OCD meme as well but then I chickened out. But this meme is SO OCD appropriate, it’s like the ultimate OCD meme template to me",0 "Man, I am not allowed to take meds against my mental illness because they contradict each other",0 "I have a similar thing when im trying to express myself. I'll start a sentence then it's like my mind gets stuck in a feedback loop where I'm thinking about the words I want to use, have already used and how they'll sound together. Then I start stuttering over a word and have to focus on getting that word out which makes me forget what I was talking about. Unfortunately the same thing applies to my writing, making it a rambling word smash of various half ideas. Makes for good creative writing ideas but terrible factual or informative writing. TLDR; Mind too fast - words don't work.",1 crazy how we all have the same experiences/feelings.,1 "congratulations!! makes me so happy to see, great work :) you are so fuggin strong!",0 All the time. My nose has been a little itchy and I keep thinking it might be Corona but it is probably just dry since the air has been cold and damp.,0 "Damn, I feel called out. I haven’t had a healthy sleep schedule (or a schedule at all if I’m being honest) since I was a kid, when I used to sneak torches into my bed to read into the late hours of the night because I just wasn’t ready for the day to be over. I’ll take any excuse to stay awake, even when my eyes are burning and the birds are chirping outside and I know, _I know_ I should just go to bed. I just can’t. I never know whether it’s insomnia, depression, anxiety or ADHD... maybe it’s just a mix of them all, who cares. The worst part is that my psychiatrist gave me sleeping pills, but those don’t work either because my stupid brain fights the effect and I just end up awake but high as a kite. It fucking sucks.",1 My ocd is in the form of dermatillomania. Complete opposite and super inconvenient right now. Lol,0 "Hey josh nice beard. I have the exact same diagnosis as you and have the exact same thoughts as you, seriously. Solipsism, time, free will all that, even thinking about killing themselves to get back to the ""true reality"". I once cried with my girlfriend in my room asking if she was real or not. I also begged the people ""running the simulation"" to stop it in my room. How/when did it start? It started with the idea of Solipsism for me.",0 Well I would it it ever happened. 😂 I always underestimate time. Always! I give myself like 3 extra hours for everything because I run on ADHD time.,1 "Also! If you're cool with spending a little more on energy bills, the dishwasher CAN be run without a full load. As someone living by myself this saves me so much mental energy, haha.",1 "Shit like this is what made me not know I had OCD for 20 years. I always thought it just made you clean obsessed, which is not what I suffer from.",0 Lol good thing you're not diabetic. Who cares if your pancreas can't produce insulin? Just eat your dinner and absorb the sugars yourself.,1 "Funny story. Sort of? My boyfriend was off working and we usually always text. His phone died ( I did not know this ) so it was 2 hours he didn’t text me. Me being crazy I called him like 20 times and he never answered so automatically... of course I assume he got in a car accident and died or something really bad happened to him and he died. So I’m just legit freaking out for like 2 hours, crying and thinking he died waiting for a police call. When he gets home and he’s like “my phone died” ... I looked like an idiot haha.",0 ahhhh words that explain that thought i was trying to think about it all! thanks,1 Daily. I always say that I’m traveling on a freight train with no windows and when I get off I have no clue where I am or where I’m supposed to go. That’s how I see the events on my schedule. “It’s Friday? Do I have plans? No? Crap…everyone’s busy now….”,1 "Oh wow, glad this isn't just me lol... Hope you're doing okay dude!",0 Haha I just did that and now it's back to bed and wasting the rest of my day,1 "It has resulted in me getting irritated with my husband when he's done nothing wrong. I have created a habit of saying ""there's a lot going on in my brain right now"" and that helps :)",1 "Yes to that - or the alarm will ring and i’ll be like, “i’m in the middle of something right now but i’ll TOTALLY remember to do this thing when i’m done!” And then i’ll forget xD",1 I hate so much when people think it is trendy and cute to say they have OCD because they are tidy,0 "Weed in the end ended aggravating my anxiety. At first it was novel and cool but then with all wild thoughts just altered consciousness (especially with strong stuff and being super high) it got super terrible. To the point over the years smoking weed basically consisted of me telling my self that I was ok for the whole time. I remember being so high once I used the bathroom and only realized i was using the bathroom half way through. It was like my body and other parts of my brain were like (oh dipshit here is doing again lets take it from here again boys.) the last time I smoked weed I wrote a note to myself to stop it. I still have it and will refer to it when I am tempted. I also think LSD changed the game. It literally was a before and after for how anxious altered consciousness could make me. Acid destroyed me and in many ways its ghost still lingers in my OCD (The whole dumb what if im going crazy) is basically a theme that originated with LSD and Weed. I totally support using psychedelics potentially in a therapeutic environment with medical and psychiatric supervision. But outside of that I think drugs tend to wreak more havoc than benefits. I know weed helps some friends of my with anxiety. It makes mine so much worse.",0 "Yes!! Same thing with the Facebook ones that are like ""like for jesus, ignore for satan"" or ""like this or you'll have XX years of bad luck""",0 "I have to walk around in a particular pattern before bed, checking doors are locked / windows closed / opening cupboards and checking behind doors to make sure no one is hiding there, and if I deviate from my pattern I have to re-check it all. Or obviously if I don’t check there’ll be a murderer behind a door that I didn’t check and they’ll get me. Some nights I have to re-do this infinite times and it’s a bad loop :( what if this is the *one time* someone is there. Living alone is hard.",0 I handwash my water bottles and i may have had a tiny bit of soap left in one so it had some bubbling when I put water in it and i kept worrying i had some kind of fucking lead or some shit in it and i haven't drank out of that bottle since,0 "Love how the same people who say ""oh I'm so OCD"" call me ""insane"" for my compulsions.",0 i wish my brain would obsess over the tasks at hand,0 That’s a good idea. I like to make things tangible so it can “disappear”. Like when I journal to help lighten my chest from depression. Might not cure it but it does make me feel a little okay sometimes,0